"So this is what it feels like to completely control the Mysterious Emperor's Secret Realm?"
Lin Yuan's mind and will were elevated as he gazed down upon the entire secret realm.
Whether they were native life forms or Ninth Rank aliens, with just a thought, he could activate the power of the secret realm and annihilate them.
Within the secret realm, even Tenth and Eleventh Rank beings would be unable to resist Lin Yuan's killing intent.
Of course, the Mysterious Emperor's Secret Realm only allowed Eighth Rank invincible and Ninth Rank beings to enter, so there was no threat of Tenth or Eleventh Rank beings.
"I can leave the secret realm anytime I want now," Lin Yuan thought to himself.
The Mysterious Emperor's Secret Realm had an entrance but no exit. To leave, one would have to wait until the realm closed a hundred years after its opening and be near the periphery at that specific time.
But now, as the master of the secret realm, Lin Yuan was no longer bound by this rule.
He could leave whenever he wished.
He could enter whenever he desired.
"Better to leave the secret realm with the others," Lin Yuan decided without haste.
He was unsure if any Strongest Ones were watching outside the Mysterious Emperor's Secret Realm. Even though he could leave the realm quietly, it was still wise to be cautious when dealing with Strongest Ones.
Whoosh.
As Lin Yuan was carefully observing every detail of the Mysterious Emperor's Secret Realm, a six-armed figure appeared beside him, bowing slightly toward Lin Yuan and saying:
"Master."
This figure was the 'consciousness' of the secret realm, and with Lin Yuan having refined the realm, he had become its master.
With his current authority, Lin Yuan could easily erase the six-armed figure and then restart the secret realm to birth a new consciousness.
But there was no need for that.
"Master is cultivating the 'Mysterious Emperor's Body,' which requires a large amount of mysterious emperor crystals," the six-armed figure immediately said.
Before Lin Yuan had fully refined the core of the secret realm, the figure had some control over it and knew how many mysterious emperor crystals Lin Yuan had used.
"There are many mysterious emperor beasts kept in the secret realm. They are condensed by the power of the entire realm. Master can obtain mysterious emperor crystals by harvesting these beasts, but please be careful not to harvest too many at once."
The six-armed figure hesitated for a moment before speaking cautiously.
If not for replenishing the realm's origin, the Mysterious Emperor's Secret Realm would have accumulated far more mysterious emperor crystals over countless millennia—far more than just a small mountain's worth.
The reason for this was that most of the mysterious emperor crystals would dissipate on their own, returning to the realm's origin.
"I understand," Lin Yuan nodded.
The so-called mysterious emperor beasts were the native life forms within the secret realm.
Lin Yuan understood the six-armed figure's concern.
With his current control over the realm, killing those mysterious emperor beasts and extracting the mysterious emperor crystals was as easy as eating and drinking.
Even if he were to slaughter all the native life forms in the entire secret realm, it wouldn't take long.
But doing so would inevitably lead to the realm's decline, and it could even start to collapse within a million years.
The collapse of the realm wouldn't be an irrecoverable loss for Lin Yuan as the master.
But for the six-armed figure, it would mean complete and utter death.
Therefore, Lin Yuan naturally wouldn't do such a thing.
Sustainable development of the Mysterious Emperor's Secret Realm was far more important than exhausting its resources.
The most crucial aspect was that the Mysterious Emperor's Secret Realm would become Lin Yuan's second most vital means of survival, second only to the Gate of Myriad Realms.
Even in the future, should Lin Yuan find himself in an extreme situation where he was being pursued by a group of Strongest Ones, with all other escape methods proving futile, he could still hide within the Mysterious Emperor's Secret Realm.
Over countless millennia, the Strongest Ones of the main universe had watched the Mysterious Emperor's Secret Realm open many times, yet they could do nothing to it.
Hiding in the secret realm would be absolutely safe.
Compared to the 'physical transmigration' across dimensions through the Gate of Myriad Realms, hiding in the Mysterious Emperor's Secret Realm didn't require the expenditure of boundary-breaking origin power. Lin Yuan could enter with just a thought.
Moreover, the 'physical transmigration' of the Gate of Myriad Realms had too many risks. Displaying such a power in front of a Strongest One? That kind of dimensional power could drive them mad.
Additionally, the Mysterious Emperor's Secret Realm could isolate internal and external causalities.
As long as Lin Yuan was inside the secret realm, those outside wouldn't be able to sense any related causalities; only those within the realm could feel them.
When the Mysterious Emperor's Secret Realm opened and the Tianyu Clan's strongest being, Huny, was chasing Lin Yuan, he had asked the 'Maduo' walker to sense Lin Yuan's causality and lock onto his location.
This was because the 'Maduo' walker was also inside the secret realm.
What did this mean?
As long as Lin Yuan left behind a clone, or more accurately, a drop of blood in the secret realm, the isolation of causality would prevent any curse-killing techniques from completely killing Lin Yuan—not even a Strongest One could do it.
So—
In Lin Yuan's eyes, the value of the Mysterious Emperor's Secret Realm far exceeded that of the mysterious emperor crystals.
Especially from a force's perspective, it was an absolutely safe 'stronghold.'
"I could establish a force now if I wanted to," Lin Yuan thought to himself.
He had so many bloodline evolution potions at his disposal, and once this secret realm closed, he could harvest another large batch. Moreover, after becoming an Eighth Rank citizen, he would gain the right to establish a 'human' family with the prefix.
And with the Mysterious Emperor's Secret Realm as a backyard, Lin Yuan had all the prerequisites to establish a deeply rooted and terrifying force.
The only flaw was the lack of trusted subordinates, which was mainly because Lin Yuan's time in the main world had been too short.
Furthermore, Lin Yuan wasn't interested in having offspring, which is why the Lin family still had only a few members.
"Take it slow."
"My lifespan is long."
Lin Yuan reined in his thoughts. He wasn't very interested in establishing a force, but becoming stronger would inevitably require him to do so.
For example, as the Milky Way Star Lord, Lin Yuan already had many followers, which could be considered the embryonic form of a force.
"Master should be attempting to reach the Tenth Rank next?" the six-armed figure asked cautiously.
Lin Yuan had already reached the peak of the Ninth Rank in every aspect, far surpassing the peak set by the myriad races of the main universe.
Now, to significantly increase his strength, he would need to step into the Tenth Rank.
"Yes." Lin Yuan nodded.
With the current period in the Mysterious Emperor's Secret Realm coming to an end, advancing to the Tenth Rank was indeed Lin Yuan's primary goal moving forward.
"His Majesty once said that to become an ultimate being, one must fuse as many rules as possible during the Tenth and Eleventh Ranks. If one can comprehend the chaos rule before attempting to break through to the ultimate level, it would greatly benefit the process."
The six-armed figure pondered for a moment before speaking.
"Chaos rule?" Lin Yuan's expression turned serious.
The so-called chaos rule was the fusion of all rules, returning to the origin, which was chaos.
In His Majesty the Mysterious Sovereign's era, there was no concept of spreading one's evolutionary path. So, to reach the level of a Strongest One, one had to rely on oneself, using all available means.
Typically, fusing the time and space rules was the threshold for becoming an ultimate being.
But that was already extremely difficult and had trapped countless Eleventh Rank beings. As for fusing all the rules and reverting to chaos?
Even in the Mysterious Sovereign's era, it was just a legend. No one had ever heard of a being achieving it; it was merely a theoretical method.
Of course, whether it was comprehending the chaos rule or spreading one's evolutionary path, both could assist in achieving the ultimate level. Even without these, it was still possible to attempt the breakthrough, though the success rate would be lower.
His Majesty the Mysterious Sovereign had become an ultimate being and a Strongest One by exhausting everything and with some good fortune.
"Thank you." Lin Yuan nodded slightly.
Just because others couldn't do it didn't mean Lin Yuan couldn't. With his Unrivaled Insight, even comprehending the chaos rule wasn't hopeless.
At least this was the only method Lin Yuan had heard of that could greatly assist in achieving the ultimate level.
After all, even spreading one's evolutionary path only offered some benefit for the ultimate leap, not a significant one.
Of course, the difficulty level of the two wasn't the same. Spreading one's evolutionary path? That was clearly less difficult.
"However, spreading one's evolutionary path not only helps with the ultimate leap but also aids in cultivation after reaching the Twelfth Rank, helping to stabilize one's existence mark."
Lin Yuan thought silently.
In any case, he wouldn't give up on spreading his path. He intended to spread his evolutionary path not only in the main universe but also in other dimensional worlds.
This dissemination of his 'Dao' across the myriad worlds seemed to hold infinite benefits for Lin Yuan's future.
In the virtual world.
Lin Yi and Xia Keran's wedding came to a close.
With the influence of the Xia family and the Milky Way Star Lord, the wedding had a significant impact on human civilization. Countless virtual world 'celebrities' and 'streamers' had paid a high price just to participate.
Once the wedding ended, Lin Yuan held a private gathering with some of the Tenth Rank evolvers who attended.
"Hahaha, I've long heard of the Milky Way Star Lord's name, and today I finally get to meet you," laughed a one-armed man.
His left sleeve fluttered, leaving only his right arm. With human civilization's technology, it wasn't a problem to regenerate a left arm, let alone a Tenth Rank evolver like him—it would be easy.
But the one-armed man's left arm had been severed by a powerful enemy from the Insect Race.
Since then, the one-armed man had not allowed his arm to regenerate, using it as a reminder to himself.
At the Tenth Rank, the competition was in the fusion of rules, and the presence or absence of an arm didn't matter.
Otherwise, wouldn't the multi-armed races of the universe have a significant advantage?
"I've heard of the Black Star Lord's reputation as well," Lin Yuan replied.
The one-armed man was known as the Black Star Lord.
The Black Star Lord was an extremely terrifying Tenth Rank expert who had long been on the 'Alpha' level threat list.
Additionally, the Black Star Lord came from the Hei Yuan Tower, one of the nine evolutionary towers.
"Milky Way Star Lord, it's a pleasure to meet you," a green-haired woman said with a smile.
"Liuli Star Lord, when you were the top genius of human civilization, I hadn't even been born," Lin Yuan said, with a touch of emotion. "I once looked up to you as a goal."
The Liuli Star Lord was also a peerless genius of human civilization from a certain era, possessing a rare special constitution and a bloodline of unparalleled potential. Many factors made the Liuli Star Lord shine from the First Rank to the Ninth Rank.
When the Liuli Star Lord was at the Ninth Rank, she had opened nearly sixty million layers of space, making her the strongest Ninth Rank being in that era among the myriad races of the universe.
After stepping into the Tenth Rank, it took her less than a million years to reach the 'Alpha' level.
"You looked up to me as a goal?" The Liuli Star Lord sighed. "The Milky Way Star Lord certainly knows how to joke."
"Hahaha, the space layers opened by the Milky Way Star Lord are several times more than Liuli's. If you say that, Liuli might feel ashamed," a thin, skeletal elder said with a smile.
He, too, was an Alpha-level Tenth Rank, once a luminary in human civilization during his era.
Lin Yuan looked around at the dozens of Tenth Rank beings present, with the lowest being at the Beta level. All of them were significant figures in human civilization, and all had a chance to reach the Eleventh Rank.
Among everyone present, Lin Yuan was undoubtedly the weakest, only at the Ninth Rank.
But none of the Tenth Rank beings dared to underestimate Lin Yuan. With the strength he had displayed in the Mysterious Emperor's Secret Realm, it was only a matter of time before the Milky Way Star Lord stepped into the Tenth Rank.
He would quickly rise to the Alpha level, becoming the most powerful being under the Eleventh Rank.
So all the Tenth Rank evolvers present were very friendly toward Lin Yuan.
"The Milky Way Star Lord's talent is truly enviable," the skeletal elder said with a tinge of admiration.
Geniuses like the Liuli Star Lord, with their special constitutions, powerful bloodlines, and sometimes even the offspring of a Strongest One, didn't evoke much envy from him. But the Milky Way Star Lord? So far, he hadn't displayed any special bloodline or constitution.
Even his teacher was just the Eighth Rank invincible Red Kun Lord.
The Milky Way Lord had reached this point entirely on his own.
"Talent is only temporary. When it comes to pursuing the ultimate level, even the greatest talent won't be of much use," Lin Yuan said, shaking his head.
The Tenth Rank beings present were all hopeful of reaching the Eleventh Rank.
And once at the Eleventh Rank, they naturally aspired to become ultimate beings.
Of course, this was just an aspiration.
The vast majority of Eleventh Rank beings couldn't even attempt the ultimate leap, let alone succeed.
Breaking into that realm was incredibly difficult; no matter how deep one's foundation was, without crucial luck, one would still fail.
An Eleventh Rank being who failed to break through to the ultimate would face complete and utter death, even beyond the power of a Strongest One to resurrect.
After chatting for a while, the Black Star Lord turned to Lin Yuan and smiled, saying, "Once the Milky Way Star Lord reaches the Tenth Rank, you'll consider entering the 'Outer Land,' won't you?"
"The Outer Land," Lin Yuan repeated, his expression slightly serious.
The Outer Land didn't exist within the main universe. It was one of human civilization's most important foundations.
Human civilization had only existed for over two million years, yet it had produced so many Tenth and even Eleventh Rank experts. Why was that?
It was important to note that even Eighth Rank beings could easily live two to three million years, and the confirmed maximum lifespan for an Eighth Rank being was five million years according to the Devil Jade Tower.
Of course, this maximum lifespan referred to what could be universally applied. Certain special life forms in the universe, like the 'Son of the Tree Realm,' had much longer lifespans.
Even so, Eighth Rank evolvers could live two to three million years, and Ninth and Tenth Rank beings even longer. Eleventh Rank beings, after comprehending the complete time rule, could achieve a form of 'alternative' immortality.
So why had human civilization, with only two million years of history, produced so many powerful beings?
One of the reasons was the 'Outer Land.'
The time flow in the Outer Land was vastly different from that of the main universe.
One year in the main universe could be equivalent to ten thousand years in the Outer Land.
Although such a significant time difference could lead to blurred perceptions of the Dao rules, the nine Strongest Ones of human civilization used another ultimate foundation—the Void Realm—to reconstruct the Dao rules of the Outer Land.
Although still far from the perfection of the infinite rules of the main universe, this reconstruction alleviated the issue of blurred Dao rules to some extent.
The blurring of Dao rules was due to the time flow difference, making it difficult to perceive the Dao rules of the main universe clearly.
But reconstructing the Dao rules in the Outer Land partially solved this problem.
However, it was only a partial solution. The Dao rules in the Outer Land could never match those of the main universe.
Ultimately, the rules comprehended in the Outer Land would 'shrink' by about two-thirds when one returned to the main universe.
But even so, the existence of so many Tenth and Eleventh Rank evolvers in human civilization was closely linked to the Outer Land.
"I'll think about it when the time comes," Lin Yuan said, showing some interest in the Outer Land.
While the Outer Land was inferior to the main universe in terms of comprehending the Dao rules, its exaggerated time flow was ideal for rule fusion.
For example, after comprehending the rules of life and death, one could then proceed to fuse them, which didn't require understanding the Dao rules.
This was why human civilization had a rule that only Tenth Rank evolvers could enter the Outer Land.
Tenth Rank evolvers had a much weaker dependence on perfect Dao rules compared to those at the Eighth and Ninth Ranks.
Moreover, the most crucial point was that the drawbacks of the Outer Land could be mitigated for Lin Yuan.
This could be achieved through the 'Chaos Crystal' and the 'Miniature Universe' from the Devil Jade Space.
The Chaos Crystal contained the fusion and differentiation of countless rules, while the Miniature Universe had a comprehensive balance of rules.
Lin Yuan needed only to bring these two into the Outer Land and comprehend the essence of the Dao rules within them. While there would be some differences compared to the outside world, they wouldn't be too significant.
During his gathering with the Tenth Rank evolvers, Lin Yuan gained many pieces of hidden information.
These were insights from the personal experiences of these Tenth Rank beings, which were not documented in human civilization's records.
Soon.
The gathering ended.
Lin Yuan disconnected from the virtual world and sat on the Milky Way main star.
"These Tenth Rank evolvers are all very friendly," Lin Yuan thought to himself.
He knew that this friendliness from the Beta and Alpha level Tenth Rank beings was directed at the infinitely potential Milky Way Star Lord.
If he were just an ordinary person, it would be impossible for these Tenth Rank evolvers to be so close to him.
For almost all ordinary citizens of human civilization, they would never have the chance to see a Tenth Rank evolver in their lifetime.
Whoosh.
Inside his inner world.
The vast world was slowly expanding.
It finally stopped at 1.998 billion square miles.
"The blue liquid has finally been completely absorbed." Lin Yuan exhaled softly. The sixth color liquid from the mysterious gourd was especially difficult to absorb.
But this was normal. As his inner world expanded beyond one billion square miles, Lin Yuan could faintly feel the pressure from the universe.
An inner world of one billion square miles exceeded the universe's permitted limits. Even unique special life forms wouldn't have an inner world surpassing a billion square miles.
"Continue."
Lin Yuan flipped his right hand, and a gray-blue gourd appeared.
Lin Yuan inverted the gourd, with the mouth facing downward.
After a long while, a drop of deep purple liquid condensed. Just by looking at it, Lin Yuan could sense the awe-inspiring perfection contained within the purple liquid.
...
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