The Strongest One, Xia Qin, looked at Lin Yuan while quickly pondering in his heart.
As a Rank Twelve lifeform, how fast could Xia Qin's mind operate?
In just an instant, Xia Qin deduced various reasons and possibilities for why Lin Yuan was inquiring about the twentieth stage of the Witch Ancestor.
The most likely reason was that Lin Yuan had already reached the nineteenth stage of the Witch Ancestor.
It would be normal for a Witch Ancestor at the nineteenth stage to want to know the intricacies of the twentieth stage.
However, this reason seemed too far-fetched.
The nineteenth stage of the Witch Ancestor? In the current two-dimensional world, it's still uncertain if any of those perfect Rank Eleven legendary lifeforms have even reached that level.
Lin Yuan was only a Rank Ten lifeform. No matter how heaven-defying, there must be some limits, right?
Aside from this possibility, Xia Qin also deduced several other possible reasons.
For example, Lin Yuan might simply want to see further, to gain a rough understanding of the twentieth stage of the Witch Ancestor, or he could be asking out of pure curiosity.
"What stage of the Witch Ancestor are you at now?" After a moment of silence, Xia Qin couldn't help but ask.
The two-dimensional world within the white paper could block the detection of the Strongest Ones.
Therefore, even Xia Qin couldn't discern Lin Yuan's exact stage at that moment.
"I'm at..." Lin Yuan thought for a moment and did not hide the truth, "the nineteenth stage."
In front of his own civilization's Strongest One, Lin Yuan would conceal the transcendental opportunities like the Gate of Myriad Realms and the mysterious gourd, which surpassed Rank Twelve, but he saw no need to hide anything else.
In the two-dimensional world, only by accurately revealing his own strength could he receive Xia Qin's guidance.
Lin Yuan had great respect for the Strongest Ones. After all, any lifeform that could become a Strongest One was a person of great determination. Becoming the ultimate being was not something that could be achieved by talent alone.
"The nineteenth stage of the Witch Ancestor?" Xia Qin looked at Lin Yuan, and although he had already expected it, he was still a bit shocked when Lin Yuan said it himself.
The nine Strongest Ones of human civilization had combined their efforts to recreate the two-dimensional world using the "Virtual World Heaven and Earth," spending nearly a century to deduce a generalized cultivation method from the first to the sixteenth stage of the Witch Ancestor.
Yet Lin Yuan had managed to reach the nineteenth stage of the Witch Ancestor all by himself?
Admittedly, the two-dimensional world recreated by the "Virtual World Heaven and Earth," as descended by the nine Strongest Ones of human civilization, had only about ten to twenty percent accuracy compared to the real two-dimensional world.
Additionally, the cultivation method deduced by the nine Strongest Ones wasn't limited to a single lifeform but could be broadly applied to others.
It was certainly more difficult than the cultivation methods deduced by the strong individuals in the two-dimensional world itself.
But they were Strongest Ones! Ultimate existences! Rank Twelve lifeforms!
The vision and insight of a Strongest One far exceeded that of a Rank Eleven lifeform, let alone someone like Lin Yuan, who was only Rank Ten.
Given this, it was understandable that those perfect Rank Eleven legendary lifeforms might have explored the eighteenth and nineteenth stages of the Witch Ancestor. But Lin Yuan?
"You?" Xia Qin sighed, "You've really startled me."
When Lin Yuan first sent an avatar into the two-dimensional world, Xia Qin was extremely worried, fearing it might affect Lin Yuan's chances of becoming the ultimate being.
The nine Strongest Ones of human civilization had jointly activated the Virtual World Heaven and Earth to recreate the two-dimensional world, which came at a considerable cost.
But Xia Qin had insisted on this approach, concerned that Lin Yuan's avatar might actually perish in the two-dimensional world.
Now, however, it seemed that Xia Qin's worries were entirely unnecessary.
If Lin Yuan truly had the strength of the nineteenth stage of the Witch Ancestor, he would be living quite comfortably in that two-dimensional world.
"It was only recently that I barely reached the nineteenth stage of the Witch Ancestor," Lin Yuan quickly explained.
"Recently?"
"And you barely made it?"
Xia Qin glanced at Lin Yuan.
"If you've reached the nineteenth stage of the Witch Ancestor in such a short time, then our human civilization won't need to rely on the Starry Sky Alliance."
"The Starry Sky Alliance?"
Lin Yuan was slightly puzzled.
The Starry Sky Alliance was an alliance of many special lifeforms across the universe, on the same level as the grand alliances of pinnacle species like human civilization.
"Without asking the Starry Sky Alliance for help, it's hard to bring out the strange treasures from the two-dimensional world," Xia Qin explained. "As of now, the Divine King of the Starry Sky Alliance is the most likely being to return to the universe through the Heavenly Gate."
"For the strange treasures that our human evolvers have obtained in the two-dimensional world to be brought out, we must rely on the Divine King ."
Xia Qin continued.
Those strange treasures would only show their full value once brought out of the two-dimensional world.
However, human civilization's evolvers hadn't performed strongly in the two-dimensional world. At least for now, they couldn't compete with beings like the Divine King for a place to enter the Heavenly Gate.
But now that Xia Qin knew Lin Yuan's strength, hope suddenly rose in his heart.
Given Lin Yuan's current stage, even if he wasn't yet a match for the Divine King , he could still aim for the second or third time the Heavenly Gate opened.
"I see," Lin Yuan nodded.
Relying on the Starry Sky Alliance or the Divine King would certainly come at a cost since they would be seeking their help.
But human civilization had no other choice, given that special lifeforms had an overwhelming advantage in the two-dimensional world.
Not only human civilization but also pinnacle groups like the Insect Race and the Tianyu Race couldn't compete with the Starry Sky Alliance's special lifeforms in the two-dimensional world.
"Of course, if you manage to leave the two-dimensional world through the Heavenly Gate and bring out the strange treasures of human civilization, you won't do it for nothing. You'll get fifty percent of the value of each treasure, depending on its worth."
Xia Qin quickly added.
Simply bringing out the treasures would earn Lin Yuan fifty percent of their value, which might seem exaggerated.
But considering that without bringing the treasures out, human civilization would have no gain at all, this arrangement was quite fair.
And the fifty percent wasn't going to outsiders like the Starry Sky Alliance—it was staying within their own group. Xia Qin was more than happy to make such a deal.
"No problem," Lin Yuan agreed immediately.
This was essentially free profit.
"My only concern is whether I can actually enter the Heavenly Gate," Lin Yuan said with some hesitation.
"Given your cultivation speed, as long as you avoid the Divine King and focus on the second or third time the Heavenly Gate opens, your chances are still good."
Xia Qin reassured him.
"Avoid the Divine King?"
Lin Yuan's mind raced. The Divine King was well-known, whether in the two-dimensional world or the main universe.
"Yes, the Divine King has a Strongest One weapon that suits him perfectly. Even if your stage is higher and your strength surpasses him, your overall combat power might still be questionable."
"With your potential and cultivation speed, there's no need to compete with the Divine King. The risk is too great."
Xia Qin shook his head.
"I understand."
Lin Yuan's thoughts aligned with Xia Qin's. Unless he was completely certain, Lin Yuan wouldn't risk competing for a spot in the first opening of the Heavenly Gate.
Time was on Lin Yuan's side. The longer he had, the greater the advantage his Unrivaled Insight would bring him.
In just over a hundred years, Lin Yuan was close to catching up with the perfect Rank Eleven legendary lifeforms. Given another ten thousand years, Lin Yuan himself wasn't sure what level he could reach.
"By the way," Xia Qin added, "since you've already reached the nineteenth stage of the Witch Ancestor, the cultivation method we deduced won't be of much use to you. However, you can still comprehend the essence of the power we captured when recreating the two-dimensional world through the Virtual World Heaven and Earth."
Xia Qin continued, explaining that the essence of power they captured through the Virtual World Heaven and Earth was the foundation for deducing the Witch Ancestor's cultivation method.
Normally, such a power essence wouldn't mean much to a Rank Ten or Eleven lifeform.
But seeing Lin Yuan's performance, Xia Qin had a different perspective.
Since it wouldn't hurt to let Lin Yuan comprehend it, Xia Qin was happy to offer it.
"The essence of power?" Lin Yuan's eyes lit up.
While inside the two-dimensional world, comprehending the essence of that world's power was slow due to its natural restrictions.
However, outside in the main universe, without the limitations of the two-dimensional world, observing the essence of power would yield far greater insights.
"Yes, your true form is on the main star of the Milky Way Star Domain, right? I'll have Yu Die guide a strand of the 'Virtual World Heaven and Earth' power for you to comprehend."
Xia Qin said.
"Thank you, Strongest One." Lin Yuan expressed his gratitude.
Having the renowned Yu Die, a Strongest One, act as a guide for him was a rare privilege, one that few in the history of human civilization had ever enjoyed.
Deep in the cosmic void.
A mysterious "scroll" slowly unfolded.
Dozens of towering figures stood nearby.
"Xia Qin, how's your consideration coming along?"
A gigantic figure, billions of miles tall, sent a message to Xia Qin.
"Your human civilization has decent relations with our Starry Sky Alliance. For this opening of the Heavenly Gate in the two-dimensional world, if you're willing to part with sixty percent of the strange treasures, I can have the Divine King bring out the treasures your evolvers have found."
"This is a good deal. I'm asking for seventy or even eighty percent from the Insect Race and the Tianyu Race."
The enormous figure regarded Xia Qin. He was a Rank Twelve lifeform of the Starry Sky Alliance, leading countless special lifeforms in their struggle against the pinnacle groups of the universe.
"I'll think about it," Xia Qin responded calmly.
"Think about it?" The massive figure was slightly taken aback. "Xia Qin, you weren't like this before."
The giant figure was puzzled. Not long ago, he had discussed this with Xia Qin, and the latter had seemed quite enthusiastic.
But now?
The figure could clearly sense a change in Xia Qin's attitude.
"Your price is too high." Knowing Lin Yuan's true strength, Xia Qin's confidence was bolstered. He was merely stalling for time.
"The price is negotiable." The giant figure quickly replied.
"Well, I'll think about it," Xia Qin repeated, bringing the conversation back to the starting point.
"Fine, take your time," the massive figure said, "but time is limited. When the moment comes, sixty percent might not be enough."
The strange treasures in the two-dimensional world concealed their aura to the extreme. Even someone as strong as the Divine King could only identify them by using various methods after getting close.
Therefore, as long as the human civilization's evolvers scattered and hid the treasures they found in secret locations, even if the Divine King killed all of them, they wouldn't be able to obtain the treasures.
Outside the main star of the Milky Way.
A virtual aura gathered and formed the image of Yu Die, the Strongest One.
"This little guy actually reached the nineteenth stage of the Witch Ancestor?" Yu Die looked toward the main star of the Milky Way, still thinking about what Xia Qin had told him.
"How did he even cultivate? Without the vision and understanding of a Rank Eleven lifeform, how could he cultivate so quickly?"
Yu Die was astonished but soon smiled. "But this is a good thing. At least in that two-dimensional world, our human civilization now has a peak combatant."
"The Virtual World Heaven and Earth..."
Yu Die's thoughts stirred, and strands of virtual power traversed countless light-years, descending upon the main star of the Milky Way, or more precisely, the Star Lord's palace on the main star.
Inside the Star Lord's palace.
Lin Yuan sat cross-legged.
Suddenly.
Strands of illusory power condensed.
"This is?"
Lin Yuan quickly opened his eyes. "The power of our human civilization's guarding weapon, the Virtual World Heaven and Earth?"
The Virtual World Heaven and Earth was said to be able to replicate everything, including all the laws of the universe. When combined with the "Outer Land," it greatly accelerated the cultivation speed of human civilization's Rank Ten evolvers.
It was said that one of the nine Strongest Ones of human civilization, Yu Die, had followed an evolutionary path derived from the Virtual World Heaven and Earth.
The Virtual World Heaven and Earth originated from the greatest opportunity in the long history of human civilization's dormancy, when countless treasures and inheritances fell like rain across the universe.
Buzz.
Strands of illusory power swirled and gathered, vaguely revealing a miniature version of the complete two-dimensional world in front of Lin Yuan.
"So, this is what the real two-dimensional world looks like?" Lin Yuan carefully observed.
Lin Yuan's Yang primordial spirit had fallen into that two-dimensional world, and for him, it had been difficult to fully grasp the entirety of the two-dimensional world.
It was akin to the feeling of being inside a mountain and not knowing how deep the clouds went.
But now, Lin Yuan finally had a concrete concept of the two-dimensional world.
"So, this is the essence of the two-dimensional world's power?"
Lin Yuan carefully observed while comparing the real two-dimensional world's aura felt by his Yang primordial spirit within the two-dimensional world.
The two perspectives reflected each other, providing insights beyond what even the Strongest Ones could obtain.
"Wait a minute..."
"Why does it feel like the two-dimensional world recreated by the Virtual World Heaven and Earth isn't complete, as if it's only a part of it?" Lin Yuan was slightly startled.
With his Yang primordial spirit inside the real two-dimensional world as a reference, Lin Yuan quickly realized that the two-dimensional world recreated by the Virtual World Heaven and Earth seemed incomplete.
This shocked Lin Yuan.
Given the depth of the two-dimensional world, it wasn't surprising that the Virtual World Heaven and Earth couldn't fully replicate it.
Xia Qin had specifically mentioned to Lin Yuan that the recreated two-dimensional world only had about ten to twenty percent similarity to the real one.
But there was a difference between similarity and completeness.
For example, when replicating a famous painting, the details and craftsmanship of the replica might not match the original, but at least the size and dimensions should be similar.
However, the two-dimensional world recreated by the Virtual World Heaven and Earth seemed much smaller than the real two-dimensional world.
"Two possibilities."
"Either my perception is wrong."
"Or there's a larger hidden space in the two-dimensional world that the Virtual World Heaven and Earth can't detect and thus can't replicate."
Lin Yuan thought to himself.
"That two-dimensional world..." Lin Yuan looked in the direction where the "white paper" had finally stopped.
Around the "white paper," anything that came close would be reduced to two dimensions. If not for the intervention of the Strongest Ones, a vast area of the universe could have been turned into a single painting.
"Forget it."
"What secrets are hidden in that two-dimensional world, and what does it have to do with me?"
Lin Yuan pondered for a moment and stopped thinking about it. What he needed most now was to increase his strength as much as possible.
Then, when the Heavenly Gate opened, he would defeat the other contenders and return to the main universe.
In the two-dimensional world.
Lin Yuan felt the essence of the world while gently stroking a silver mirror he had taken out.
"How do I use this mirror?"
Lin Yuan carefully examined it. According to the information he had gathered, before the mirror was obtained by the ancient god Tuoba, its previous owner was likely a strong being from the Ice Race.
That Ice Race being had possessed the mirror for decades, during which they might have discovered some of its uses.
However, after the Ice Race being was killed by Tuoba, their true form went into seclusion. Even if Lin Yuan tried to contact them while hiding his identity, he wouldn't be able to reach them.
"If blood doesn't work, I'll try using mental energy." Lin Yuan cautiously released a strand of his mental energy.
Even though the two-dimensional world suppressed all extraordinary powers, mental energy, being the most essential power of life, transcended physical form and blood essence.
Therefore, even in this two-dimensional world, mental energy was allowed to exist.
However, like all other extraordinary powers, mental energy was also heavily suppressed.
Since Lin Yuan had already reached the nineteenth stage of the Witch Ancestor and had gathered a fair amount of mental energy, he had the confidence to expend some of it on the mirror.
For other strong beings, losing a strand of mental energy would likely cause a drop in their state, reducing their strength and causing negative effects.
"Hmm?"
"This mirror is absorbing my mental energy?"
Lin Yuan's spirit was lifted as he felt a slight suction force from the mirror when his mental energy touched its surface.
Just as Lin Yuan was about to consume a portion of his mental energy to fully understand the purpose of the silver mirror...
Cha Ran Gu appeared outside, seeking an audience with Lin Yuan.
"Come in."
Lin Yuan put away the silver mirror and said.
"Master."
Cha Ran Gu's tone was respectful.
"What's the big deal?"
Lin Yuan looked at Cha Ran Gu. Before entering seclusion, he had instructed them not to disturb him unless it was something important.
"The royal family of the Blood Rain Ancient Kingdom wishes to meet with you, Master," Cha Ran Gu quickly said.
"The royal family of the Blood Rain Ancient Kingdom?" Lin Yuan shook his head.
"Not interested."
If it had been when he first arrived, Lin Yuan might have been wary of the Blood Rain Ancient Kingdom's royal family.
But now? Even if the royal families of all twelve ancient kingdoms joined forces, Lin Yuan wouldn't even bat an eyelid.
"The royal family of the Blood Rain Ancient Kingdom claims to have a precious treasure to offer," Cha Ran Gu added.
"A precious treasure?" Lin Yuan's interest was piqued.
...
20 chapters ahead on patreon: patreon.com/David_Lord
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