Lin Yuan stared at the towering and majestic Gate of the Myriad Realms.
He quickly realized that the disturbance wasn't coming from the gate itself, but from one of the many worlds connected to it. The Gate of the Realms Worlds was merely a "gateway," a "medium" for this transmission.
"Which world is sending the signal?"
Lin Yuan focused on the base of the gate, where ten world coordinates were etched, representing the nine worlds he had previously traveled to and the yet unexplored Immortal Realm.
"The Azure World?"
His gaze settled on the mark of the Azure World, and it became clear that the disturbance was originating from there.
Before Lin Yuan descended into the Azure World, it had been facing an invasion by evil gods from beyond the world. During his time there, Lin Yuan had taken control of the Ancestor Demon Tree, a subspecies of the evil gods, and ultimately replaced it as the world's ruling deity, becoming the absolute sovereign of the Azure World.
Lin Yuan had a deep impression of the Azure World, as it was just a small world in the vast void. Outside of it, the realm was a playground for evil gods. When Lin Yuan left, time was running out, and he had no opportunity to explore the vast void beyond the world.
But since he had become the world's ruling force and left the Ancestor Demon Tree's body behind, he could maintain some connection to the world through the Gate of the Myriad Realms.
Shortly after returning from the Azure World, Lin Yuan had taken an interest in its development, occasionally checking in for updates from the Ancestor Demon Tree. Over time, however, he had stopped paying much attention to it, except for receiving periodic reports from the tree.
But now?
The fact that the Ancestor Demon Tree was actively sending Lin Yuan a message signaled something urgent.
"Hmm?"
Lin Yuan's consciousness followed the Azure World's coordinates and received the message from the Ancestor Demon Tree.
"Another invasion by the evil gods?"
Lin Yuan pondered. The time flow ratio between the Azure World and the main universe was 600:1. This meant that 600 years had passed in the Azure World for every year in the main universe.
It had been about 300 years since Lin Yuan had last visited the Azure World, which meant that nearly 200,000 years had passed in the Azure World.
"Are those two evil gods launching the invasion?"
Lin Yuan mused. After taking over the Ancestor Demon Tree, he had inherited its "network." Outside the Azure World, two ancient evil gods had been lurking, likely backed by even stronger forces.
Lin Yuan had interacted with these two evil gods before, and he sensed that they harbored ill intentions towards him.
They had repeatedly invited him to explore a secret realm in the void, but Lin Yuan had declined, as his time in the Azure World was limited, and he had no interest in taking such risks.
He had also been wary of the two evil gods, knowing that relationships between evil gods were tenuous at best. If they could, they would have devoured Lin Yuan without hesitation.
"Why are they suddenly invading the Azure World after all this time?" Lin Yuan wondered.
An evil god's invasion wasn't something done lightly. With the Ancestor Demon Tree and the defensive measures Lin Yuan had left behind, the two evil gods would have to pay a heavy price to attack the world.
The risk outweighed the reward. Even combined, those two evil gods alone would not be enough to conquer the Azure World. For the Ancestor Demon Tree to send such an urgent message, it seemed like a higher-level force had been brought into play.
Such powerful measures were costly. Why would they use them on the Azure World? It didn't make sense.
"Something must have changed in the Azure World over the past 200,000 years," Lin Yuan thought.
"Or perhaps something has shifted in the vast void, pushing those two evil gods to act."
Lin Yuan stroked his chin thoughtfully.
The Ancestor Demon Tree's message made it clear that the situation in the Azure World was dire. The two evil gods had already broken through the world's defenses. If Lin Yuan didn't intervene, the world would fall into their hands.
"Alright."
"I'll descend once more," Lin Yuan decided.
The Azure World still held many mysteries. Though it was a small world, the vast void beyond it, where countless powerful and terrifying evil gods roamed, was of great interest to him. While the Azure World's limits were low, the vast void beyond had a much higher ceiling.
Based on Lin Yuan's calculations, the void was comparable to, if not slightly below, the Immortal Realm in terms of potential. The most powerful beings in the void could likely reach the peak of the eleventh rank.
Lin Yuan had three reasons for returning to the Azure World. First, it was his territory, and the martial path he had established there had become the dominant force after tens of thousands of years of development.
The Azure World had more martial path practitioners than any other world he had traveled to. The world's entire evolution was tied to his teachings, and the countless practitioners could provide crucial support for Lin Yuan's future ultimate leap.
Second, he wanted to explore the secrets of the vast void beyond the Azure World. During his last visit, Lin Yuan had only been a seventh-rank being and had been unable to explore further.
Now, as a tenth-rank being with power rivaling the peak of the eleventh rank, he was eager to investigate.
Finally, the cost of descending was incredibly low. As the Azure World's "heavenly law," it would only cost Lin Yuan a third of a single strand of boundary-breaking energy to travel there.
Not three strands. Not even one. Just a third of a strand.
Currently, if Lin Yuan wanted to travel to another world besides the Immortal Realm, he'd have to "customize" his journey, as there were very few worlds left that could benefit him at his current level.
Random travel was unlikely to yield useful results, even after a hundred or a thousand attempts.
The Azure World, though less powerful than the Immortal Realm, was a bargain at the price. On top of that, the evil gods controlled many unique abilities and powers that could be of great value to Lin Yuan.
Last time, he had only been able to study the Ancestor Demon Tree, but this time, he could capture and study more evil gods, potentially enhancing his cultivation.
With the decision made, Lin Yuan began to prepare. When traveling between worlds, his consciousness would leave his body through the Gate of the Myriad Realms, leaving his physical form temporarily dormant.
However, with the gate's support, Lin Yuan would still be able to monitor his true form and his surroundings. If necessary, he could interrupt the travel and forcibly return.
"Almost ready."
Moments later, Lin Yuan stood before the Gate of the Myriad Realms, having finished his preparations.
There wasn't much to prepare, as Lin Yuan had already completed his understanding of the twelve pillar fusion rules of the black planet, and his avatars stationed there had long since returned.
His only other consideration was his avatar studying the light from beyond the universe at the Evolution Tower, but he had already informed the supreme being Xia Qin that he would be temporarily recalling all his avatars for cultivation.
As for the five spheres of law insights from the myriad races, Lin Yuan could take them into the Azure World if he wished, at the cost of a few strands of boundary-breaking energy. With nearly a thousand strands of energy accumulated, Lin Yuan could afford the expense.
"This time, I'll stay for 600 years."
"If everything goes smoothly, only a year will have passed in the main universe by the time I return."
Seated cross-legged, Lin Yuan contemplated.
"Alright, let's begin."
He focused on the towering Gate of the Myriad Realms and initiated the journey.
Due to the time difference, every second in the main universe translated to 600 seconds in the Azure World. Given the current crisis in the Azure World, every moment counted.
With a hum, Lin Yuan's consciousness—his true form and both divine avatars—flowed into the Gate of the Myriad Realms.
The Azure World.
On the ground, endless evil god puppets ravaged the land. The sky was torn open by a terrifying rift, through which more evil god puppets poured.
Beyond the rift, two towering figures stood, emanating an eerie and malevolent aura, their blood-red eyes fixed on the world below.
The people of the Azure World had been forced to retreat to the central part of the world, where the great World Tree stood, supporting the heavens and earth. The tree's power shielded the world, and with a slight movement of its branches, countless evil god puppets were instantly obliterated.
Without the World Tree, the Azure World would have long since fallen, with no hope of resistance.
Beyond the world, the two massive evil gods observed the scene.
"Our lord's power is truly astounding. With just one strike, the world's barrier was shattered."
The evil god on the left transmitted a mental wave, tinged with a hint of awe.
Without their lord's power, the two evil gods wouldn't have been able to breach the Azure World's defenses. The Ancestor Demon Tree would have repelled them.
Thanks to their lord's assistance, they had severely injured the Ancestor Demon Tree and torn through the world's barrier, allowing them to invade.
"It's a pity. Even though the Ancestor Demon Tree was gravely injured, it still has enough strength to resist our soul-based abilities. Otherwise, we could have plunged all the living beings of this world into our nightmare domain."
The evil god on the right shook its head in regret.
"How has that tree grown so powerful over these hundreds of thousands of years? Even our lord's power couldn't destroy it."
The left evil god was equally astonished.
They were well aware of their lord's terrifying might. Over 100,000 years ago, their lord had conquered a powerful secret realm, becoming far stronger than they, as ordinary evil gods, could ever hope to match.
"But it doesn't matter. The tree is gravely wounded. We could enter the world right now and finish it off, but it's better to take our time, minimize our losses, and slowly exhaust its remaining strength."
The World Tree stood tall, shielding the heavens, with countless martial path practitioners taking refuge within its branches, defending themselves against the oppressive soul powers of the evil gods.
Over the course of hundreds of thousands of years, and with Lin Yuan's covert guidance, the martial path had become the sole focus of the Azure World. As for the World Tree, it was merely a remnant of the great Martial Ancestor.
The Martial Ancestor was the origin of the Azure World's martial arts. Without him, the world would have been destroyed during the last evil god invasion, countless years ago.
For the people of the Azure World, their faith was in the Martial Ancestor alone. The World Tree, which had protected the world for tens of thousands of years, was simply another of the Martial Ancestor's legacies.
At the highest point of the World Tree, within its vast crown, a massive continent-like structure housed numerous martial path practitioners. This was the last bastion of the Azure World. As long as the Crown Continent remained intact, there was hope for the world.
At the heart of the Crown Continent stood the Martial Hall, where the "golden body" of the Martial Ancestor was enshrined. It was a sacred place for all the living beings of the Azure World.
No one in the Azure World had ever seen the Martial Ancestor, but his legends and myths were everywhere. Periodically, the high priest of the Martial Hall would lead the people in rituals to honor the Martial Ancestor.
To be precise, it wasn't just the people who honored the Martial Ancestor—everything in the Azure World, from living beings to inanimate objects, paid homage to him. During each ritual, the heavens and earth themselves would tremble in reverence.
Within the Martial Hall, a towering statue of a man was enshrined. This was the "golden body" of the Martial Ancestor, a representation of his form based on the insights gathered from the World Tree.
In reality, this golden body had been commissioned by Lin Yuan himself. He had ordered the Ancestor Demon Tree to spend over 100,000 years, drawing on the essence of the Azure World to craft the body in preparation for his return.
The body was initially at the eighth rank, and after tens of thousands of years of rituals, it had reached the ninth rank.
In other words, when Lin Yuan descended into the Azure World again, he could immediately inhabit this body, akin to the innate powerhouses born directly from the cosmos.
This golden body, representing the essence of the martial path, was a perfect match for Lin Yuan's cultivation. Once he descended into it, he would quickly recover to his full strength.
Thanks to Lin Yuan's total control over the Azure World, such extravagant measures were possible. In other worlds, such resources would have long since been stolen by others.
But with the protection of the Ancestor Demon Tree, this golden body had been safely nurtured to its current state and had become the focus of the people's faith.
Inside the Martial Hall, countless people prayed to the Martial Ancestor.
The air was thick with incense smoke as countless worshippers bowed before the golden body. A sense of supreme power filled the hall.
"Please, Martial Ancestor, have mercy on the people. Grant us your power to drive out the evil gods."
The high priestess, a woman with a solemn expression, knelt before the golden body, praying fervently.
At the same time, the branches of the World Tree swayed, and an invisible aura began to spread, as the entire world joined in the reverence.
In this world, all beings—heaven, earth, humans, ghosts, and gods—worshipped the Martial Ancestor.
At that moment, a trace of consciousness crossed dimensions and descended into the golden body of the Martial Ancestor.
...
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