Outside the Palace.
Lin Yuan was carefully observing the grand structure in front of him, which spanned across multiple spatial layers—an incredible sight.
"According to the intelligence from human civilization regarding the core area of the Mysterious Emperor's secret realm, no similar palace has ever appeared in past openings of the secret realm?"
Lin Yuan thought to himself.
It hadn't appeared before.
So why is it here now?
Lin Yuan couldn't help but suspect that it was related to him.
The calling sensation he felt was coming from deep within this palace.
Boom.
At that moment, the entrance of the palace, which had been sealed, slowly began to open.
"Hmm?"
"The door opened?"
Lin Yuan's expression became serious. If he had merely suspected that the palace's appearance was due to him before, he was now almost certain of it.
The special Ninth Rank individuals had been loitering outside the palace for quite some time without entering, yet the door opened on its own after he had only been there for a short while?
"So be it."
"I'll go in and take a look."
After a moment of contemplation, Lin Yuan made up his mind.
For him, the worst-case scenario would be the loss of this body, but it wouldn't affect his true body. With the Divine Sealing Bead bestowed by the strongest one, Xia Qin, even a Twelfth Rank individual wouldn't be able to completely kill Lin Yuan.
The origins of the Mysterious Emperor's secret realm were unknown, and even ultimate beings couldn't lock onto its coordinates, but that didn't necessarily mean it was more terrifying than the strongest one.
If the humanoid statue Shen Ji was correct, the 'Mysterious Sovereign' of the Mysterious Emperor's secret realm had disappeared ages ago, almost forgotten by the time of the Devil Jade Tower master's era.
How much could possibly remain now?
But before entering the palace, Lin Yuan took out a drop of essence blood and placed the treasures he had acquired in the secret realm into a spatial ring. He then sent both deep into multiple spatial layers.
This way, even if the worst-case scenario occurred and his divine soul perished inside the palace, the drop of essence blood could quickly perform a 'Blood Rebirth' and leave the Mysterious Emperor's secret realm with the spatial ring's contents.
It wouldn't be a wasted trip.
"Let's go in."
Lin Yuan collected his thoughts and stepped into the palace.
As soon as Lin Yuan fully entered the palace, the previously open door slowly closed, and the grand palace began to rapidly fade, eventually disappearing from its original location.
If those special Ninth Rank individuals who had fled earlier were to return, they would find that the mysterious palace had completely vanished as if it had never existed.
However, given the reputation of the Milky Way Star Lord, even those special Ninth Rank individuals wouldn't dare approach the location where Lin Yuan had once appeared, no matter how brave they were.
Lin Yuan entered the palace.
He vaguely sensed obscure spatial fluctuations and thought to himself, "I should be far from the main spatial layer of the Mysterious Emperor's secret realm now, but I don't know which spatial layer I'm in."
The number of spatial layers in the Mysterious Emperor's secret realm far exceeded those in the world of the gods. Even after traversing more than two billion spatial layers, Lin Yuan still couldn't see the end.
"Hmm?"
Lin Yuan looked around. He found himself on a vast plain, silent and still. In the center of the plain stood another palace, similar to the one outside, but its aura was much more peaceful.
"The Mysterious Sovereign's Palace?"
Lin Yuan noticed the three complex characters engraved on the pillars of the palace. Although he had never encountered these characters before, they seemed to represent the very foundation of the Great Dao, and he understood their meaning at a glance.
"So, it's indeed the Mysterious Sovereign's lineage."
Lin Yuan's mind settled slightly. The humanoid statue Shen Ji had shared some information about the Mysterious Sovereign's lineage with him.
Though the information was limited, it was enough for Lin Yuan to confirm that the Mysterious Sovereign's lineage wasn't an extreme evil sect.
In fact, through the 'Mysterious Emperor' evolution path, Lin Yuan could sense that the creator of this evolution path had a magnanimous and profound nature—certainly not the kind of being who would set traps for future generations. Such a powerful being would likely scorn the idea.
Soon, Lin Yuan reached the front of the Mysterious Sovereign's Palace.
At this moment, the palace did not exert any oppressive aura on Lin Yuan; it felt like an ordinary palace.
Standing before it, the calling sensation Lin Yuan had been feeling nearly became tangible.
"Child, come in." At that moment, an old voice echoed from within the palace.
Without hesitation, Lin Yuan strode into the palace.
Deep inside the palace, a figure several dozen meters tall was seated cross-legged.
"Child, you must have many questions in your mind right now." The figure, though humanoid, had six arms, wrinkled skin, and a smile on its face as it looked at Lin Yuan.
"I can't sense any aura from him?" Lin Yuan's expression became more serious.
Even an Eleventh Rank individual wouldn't give Lin Yuan such a feeling; at most, they'd be unbeatable, impossible to resist.
"Could he be a Twelfth Rank?" Lin Yuan looked gravely at the figure. He had encountered the strongest one, Xia Qin, but that was in the virtual world.
As for meeting one in reality—he never had.
"Child, don't worry. Since you've cultivated His Majesty's evolution path, you are considered a disciple of His Majesty. I won't harm you."
The six-armed figure smiled and said.
"His Majesty's evolution path?"
Lin Yuan had already anticipated this. The calling sensation he felt originated from the Mysterious Emperor evolution path he had been cultivating, which was connected to the Mysterious Sovereign of the Mysterious Emperor's secret realm.
When Lin Yuan first learned about the Mysterious Sovereign from the humanoid statue Shen Ji, he had already speculated that the 'Mysterious Emperor' evolution path was the same path that the Mysterious Sovereign had taken.
"Indeed."
"Throughout the ages, I've left the first half of the 'Mysterious Emperor' evolution path in various locations within the secret realm. But unfortunately, no living being has ever fully comprehended the first half and entered the Mysterious Emperor's secret realm."
The six-armed figure spoke with a tone of regret.
"No living being?" Lin Yuan was puzzled.
The 'Mysterious Emperor' evolution path was indeed obscure and difficult to understand, but if a Ninth Rank individual forcefully tried to comprehend it, there was a chance they could grasp it, even if it took a lot of time.
When Lin Yuan first comprehended the 'Mysterious Emperor' evolution path in the Seven Star Cave World, it didn't take him very long.
"Indeed."
"The 'Mysterious Emperor' evolution path was created by His Majesty. Only those whose foundation has not been set have a chance to comprehend it."
"Once the foundation is set, even an ultimate being won't be able to comprehend it."
The six-armed figure slowly explained.
What does it mean for a foundation to be set? According to the definition of human civilization, it means reaching the Sixth Rank.
To step into the Sixth Rank, one must confirm their core evolution path and achieve a 100% fusion with their soul.
So, theoretically speaking, every Sixth Rank individual has confirmed their foundation.
Of course, even if the foundation has been set, it can be changed at a cost. Some Sixth Rank and Seventh Rank evolvers in human civilization have attempted to switch to other evolution paths.
But according to the six-armed figure, the prerequisites for comprehending the Mysterious Emperor evolution path were extraordinarily strict. As long as the foundation was set, comprehension was impossible.
"I see."
Lin Yuan understood. No wonder the Red Kun Star Lord had made no progress in tens of thousands of years after obtaining the Mysterious Emperor evolution path—the problem lay in this.
"I can sense that there are some beings outside the secret realm who have cultivated the Mysterious Emperor evolution path to the entry level, but they are too weak to even qualify for the calling sensation."
The six-armed figure sighed.
Lin Yuan nodded.
He wasn't the first to comprehend the Mysterious Emperor evolution path. Ten thousand years ago, the Red Kun Star Lord's disciple had also comprehended it.
But—
The growth of a strong one is fraught with difficulties.
To qualify to enter the Mysterious Emperor's secret realm, one must be at least an invincible Eighth Rank, and most of the strong ones who enter the secret realm are at the Ninth Rank.
And how many lives does it take to produce a Ninth Rank? A hundred million? Ten billion? A hundred billion? A trillion? Ten trillion?
Far more than that.
The Red Kun Star Domain has more than a million life planets. With a population of around 50 billion per planet.
In reality, the actual population of the Red Kun Star Domain is far more than this, and the citizens on some high-level life planets far exceed this number.
Moreover, citizens don't only live on life planets; many resource planets and special planets also have large populations.
But since the opening of the Red Kun Star Domain, not a single Ninth Rank individual has emerged.
To enter the Mysterious Emperor evolution path, the most important factor is the compatibility with this path.
This alone filters out the vast majority of people, and even those who manage to comprehend it find it extremely difficult to continue cultivating it to the Seventh, Eighth, or Ninth Rank.
It's no exaggeration to say it's as difficult as climbing the heavens.
The fact is, most strong ones, upon finding out they can't comprehend the Mysterious Emperor evolution path, stop paying attention to it. Only a few, like the Red Kun Star Lord, place great importance on it.
But even if they value it, it's useless; they must cultivate to the invincible Eighth Rank or even the Ninth Rank.
These restrictions might not seem impossible individually, but together—they're almost insurmountable, as the six-armed figure's tone indicated.
Since the Mysterious Emperor's secret realm opened, Lin Yuan is the first.
"But it's fortunate that I waited for you." The six-armed figure looked at Lin Yuan and slowly said.
"Are you a strongest one?" Lin Yuan thought for a moment and asked his question.
"I'm not a strongest one." The six-armed figure was slightly taken aback, then shook its head. "I am merely a consciousness formed by this secret realm."
"A consciousness formed by the secret realm?" Lin Yuan quickly understood.
The Mysterious Emperor's secret realm might be called a secret realm, but it could be considered a world, and the so-called consciousness formed by the secret realm is akin to a world consciousness or a Heavenly Dao.
In the Azure World, Lin Yuan had replaced the world consciousness with the consciousness of the Primordial Demon Tree, making it the Heavenly Dao of that world.
Over the years, the consciousness of the Primordial Demon Tree had been carrying out the commands Lin Yuan left behind.
The six-armed figure before him was probably similar, carrying out the instructions left by the Mysterious Sovereign over countless ages.
"Back then, His Majesty established 33,333 Mysterious Emperor secret realms, leaving behind corresponding legacies. I wonder how many of them still remain now."
The six-armed figure spoke with a tone of nostalgia.
Lin Yuan couldn't help but be astonished at this revelation.
The Mysterious Emperor's secret realm, whose coordinates couldn't even be locked onto by the strongest ones, had 33,333 counterparts?
Lin Yuan was well aware of the profound foundation of the Mysterious Emperor's secret realm. Calling it a secret realm was an understatement—it was more like the Mysterious Emperor's world.
"But all of that is in the past. After His Majesty disappeared, the Mysterious Emperor's secret realm lost its source of power and has been gradually declining. If you hadn't appeared, it would have taken only a few billion to several hundred billion years for me to fall into a deep sleep with the secret realm."
The six-armed figure explained.
Billions of years?
Lin Yuan looked at the six-armed figure.
But for the strongest ones, billions of years weren't a long time.
The Mysterious Emperor's secret realm was created by His Majesty the Mysterious Sovereign and should have remained eternal as long as the Mysterious Sovereign existed.
In fact, it's not just worlds—entire universes can eventually decay, which is why the concept of cosmic epochs exists.
The internal universe of the strongest ones can remain eternal because they constantly intervene and adjust.
"If I fall into a deep sleep or even perish, it doesn't matter, but His Majesty's legacy, His Majesty's efforts, cannot be lost."
The six-armed figure spoke with a determined tone.
Lin Yuan quietly listened. He knew that he didn't need to ask; the six-armed figure would voluntarily explain why he had been called here.
Lin Yuan didn't believe that the call from the Mysterious Emperor's secret realm, which had crossed countless light-years, was merely to have him listen to someone's 'complaints.'
"You may have guessed it already—the call you felt from your cultivation of the Mysterious Emperor's evolution path is because anyone who successfully enters the Mysterious Emperor evolution path is considered His Majesty's disciple."
"But to inherit His Majesty's true legacy, being a disciple isn't enough."
The six-armed figure looked at Lin Yuan. "One must pass the numerous trials set by His Majesty."
"I understand."
Lin Yuan responded.
The Devil Jade Tower master had also left nine layers of trials, and only those who passed each layer could receive the corresponding rewards.
Lin Yuan was already familiar with this concept.
In human civilization and among the major peak races, the same principle applied—if you wanted something, you had to pass the tests.
"What trials do I need to pass?" Lin Yuan immediately asked.
"What trials?" The six-armed figure fell silent, its expression turning strange as it looked at Lin Yuan.
"His Majesty established 68 lower trials, 25 intermediate trials, and 6 advanced trials."
"Only those who pass all the trials can inherit everything from the Mysterious Sovereign's lineage within this secret realm."
The six-armed figure paused for a moment before continuing, "But for you, there's no need to go through all that trouble."
The six-armed figure gazed at Lin Yuan. As the 'Heavenly Dao' of this secret realm, it knew everything Lin Yuan had done within the realm.
There was no need to mention anything else—just the number of spatial layers Lin Yuan had traversed was enough to shock the six-armed figure.
This Mysterious Emperor's secret realm only allowed invincible Eighth Rank and Ninth Rank beings to enter, so all the trials set by the Mysterious Sovereign were targeted at Ninth Rank beings.
But Lin Yuan?
How could he be tested?
How could he be trialed?
"No need for all that trouble?"
Lin Yuan raised an eyebrow.
"Indeed."
The six-armed figure waved its right hand, and a yellow crystal appeared in front of Lin Yuan.
The aura of this yellow crystal was exceptionally pure, faintly connected to the entire Mysterious Emperor's secret realm.
The six-armed figure looked at Lin Yuan and said, "All you need to do is refine this secret realm core, and you will become the new master of this secret realm. Everything within the secret realm, including the treasures and legacy of the Mysterious Sovereign's lineage, will be yours."
...
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