"Hmm?"
The Samsara Celestial King, Bai Bin Celestial King, and Wushen Celestial King were all stunned.
Try?
Lin Yuan wants to try?
He wants to try continuing to forge the remaining Immortal Path?
The Immortal Path leading to the core region of the Illusory World bore an overwhelming pressure and suppression. Even someone as powerful as the peak Celestial King, the Samsara Celestial King, dared not continue forging it.
Lin Yuan's cultivation speed was unprecedented—he became an Celestial King in just over two million years.
But to continue forging the next section of the Immortal Path required more than just peak Celestial King strength.
Not to mention, Lin Yuan had only entered the Immortal Path a few hundred years ago. He couldn't possibly already be at the peak of the Celestial King realm.
Lin Yuan glanced at the three confused Celestial Kings, offered no explanation, and simply took a light step forward.
Whoosh!
Lin Yuan silently appeared at the very front, even standing ahead of the Samsara Celestial King, who had originally been leading the way.
In an instant, a pressure capable of annihilating everything descended upon him.
Previously, with the Samsara Celestial King bearing the brunt of the pressure, even ordinary Mortal Immortals could withstand it.
Now, with Lin Yuan at the forefront, he naturally had to endure most of the pressure coming from the Illusory World.
Buzzing~ With a flicker of thought, Lin Yuan's inner universe instantly surged in all directions, resisting all the suppressive force.
Now, in every aspect, Lin Yuan's inner universe surpassed top-tier dimensional spaces like the Chaos Void. When using it as the foundation to activate the divine power "World," the resulting external universe's defense was so strong that even Time Lords couldn't easily shake it.
Under normal circumstances, Time Lords couldn't do much to top-tier dimensional spaces like the Chaos Void unless they paid a tremendous price.
Since Lin Yuan's inner universe surpassed the Chaos Void, Time Lords could do even less to him.
The core of the Illusory World was of extremely high essence, but Lin Yuan didn't need to face its full power—only a minuscule portion, which his external universe could easily handle.
"Let's go."
Lin Yuan took bold strides toward the Illusory World.
Relying solely on his inner universe, Lin Yuan could now overcome technique with raw power, suppressing a host of Celestial Kings—essentially Second-Level Time Beings.
Compared to before he arrived at the third Source World, when even suppressing a Grey Ancestor required careful planning, Lin Yuan's strength had improved drastically—his fully transformed Undying Material body, combined with his recent centuries of insights into the Illusory World, changed everything.
If that same Grey Ancestor appeared before him now, Lin Yuan could suppress him in a single breath.
Boom——
The endless, sky-crushing suppressive force was completely resisted. Lin Yuan marched forward and soon arrived at a spot very close to the core of the Illusory World.
Standing there, Lin Yuan could clearly observe the terrifying chains crisscrossing the surface of the Illusory World.
"Hmm?"
Lin Yuan looked back and found the three Celestial Kings frozen in place, their eyes blank.
"This..."
The Samsara Celestial King, Bai Bin Celestial King, and Wushen Celestial King were still trying to interpret what he meant by "I'll give it a try," only to realize Lin Yuan had already completed the rest of the Immortal Path. For a moment, they were completely dazed.
What did they just witness?
How was this even possible?!
"Emperor Tianyuan...?"
The dozens of Mortal Immortals following the Celestial Kings couldn't believe what they were seeing either.
"The closer you get to the Illusory World, the more terrifying the pressure becomes. The Samsara Celestial King stopped because he wasn't confident he could withstand the pressure ahead. But Emperor Tianyuan just walked through the most difficult part like it was nothing?"
"That's insane. How did Emperor Tianyuan pull that off? It didn't even look like he struggled."
"If the pressure in the second half of the Immortal Path is the same, then Emperor Tianyuan's strength definitely surpasses that of the Samsara Celestial King."
One by one, the Mortal Immortals looked on in awe. They had spent countless ages on the Immortal Path, so they understood just how terrifying the Illusory World was. Seeing Tianyuan forge a path to the core region so effortlessly filled them with shock and admiration.
The three Celestial Kings were still dazed.
"Samsara, aren't you coming?" Lin Yuan immediately transmitted his voice.
To forge a stable Immortal Path, resisting the Illusory World's pressure was just the first step. Next, they needed to stabilize space-time and create a firm environment.
Otherwise, Lin Yuan would have to constantly resist the Illusory World's pressure, and even though he could still divert his mind to comprehend the Dao, the efficiency would be drastically reduced.
"Alright, alright."
"Tianyuan, we're coming right now."
The Samsara Celestial King quickly came to his senses. Although Lin Yuan's solo breakthrough had upended their understanding, it was undeniably a good thing.
Being able to comprehend so close to the Illusory World's core meant a much higher efficiency than any other Immortal Path.
"Everyone, begin stabilizing the Immortal Path at once."
The Samsara Celestial King turned to the Mortal Immortals. Now that the most difficult part had been handled by Lin Yuan, the rest of the work was up to them.
With his command, the Mortal Immortals were instantly filled with energy.
They had thought they would have to abandon this Immortal Path and start over. Who would've thought Emperor Tianyuan would forcefully carve through the remainder of the path?
Now, they were essentially just riding on Tianyuan's coattails.
"That Immortal Path Samsara's group is forging..."
The other Celestial Kings from the four remaining paths immediately looked over, their expressions filled with disbelief.
"An Immortal Path to the Illusory World's core, and it was opened so easily?"
"It's mainly because Tianyuan did it. Samsara only managed to open the easiest first half."
"Emperor Tianyuan resisted the pressure from the Illusory World so effortlessly. When it comes to defense, even if all of us joined forces, I doubt we could do anything to him."
"That level of defense is probably close to an Celestial Emperor's."
The Celestial Kings watched from afar.
Among Celestial Kings, the difference in strength wasn't usually overwhelming. A peak Celestial King couldn't fully dominate a newly advanced one—the latter could leave at will.
As such, Celestial Kings rarely acknowledged each other's superiority.
The reason the dozen-plus Celestial Kings and several hundred Mortal Immortals split into five separate paths was partly to observe different areas of the Illusory World, and partly to minimize conflicts.
Why did everyone treat Lin Yuan with such goodwill? Because he had no significant karma or enmity with any Celestial Kings or Mortal Immortals.
But that wasn't the case between the others.
Now, however, all the Celestial Kings genuinely admired Lin Yuan's defensive capabilities.
Even if they joined forces, they likely couldn't do anything to him.
"Emperor Tianyuan's defense... what kind of fundamental Dao is it based on? A Chaos Source World Dao? Chaos Origin Space Dao? It kind of feels like both... but also not quite."
"It's probably a secret technique of his. If you could figure it out that easily, it wouldn't be a secret."
"Exactly. I think he's comprehended quite a few Chaos Origin Daos. Only by perfectly combining several could he achieve such terrifying defense."
The Celestial Kings discussed among themselves.
At the Celestial King level, as one comprehended a fundamental Dao, they would gradually unlock more Chaos Origin Daos.
Then, by using one Chaos Origin Dao as the core and combining it with others, they would create unique secret techniques.
Now, the external universe Lin Yuan activated was as profound as any Chaos Origin Dao.
Near the core of the Illusory World—
Three towering figures sat cross-legged.
"To think that after the Primordial Era, the Great Wilderness Source World could still produce a powerhouse like this," the figure on the left said with a smile.
At the end of the Primordial Era, the Three-Lives Celestial Emperor forged the main Immortal Path, leading numerous Mortal Immortals and Celestial Kings inside.
As the three Celestial Emperors sealed the Illusory World, the supply of Undying Substance—which originated from the Illusory World—grew increasingly scarce.
Scarcity of Undying Substance meant that the quantity and quality of future powerhouses would decrease.
But Lin Yuan?
Even in the Primordial Era, a powerhouse like Lin Yuan had never appeared.
Back then, the Three-Lives Celestial Emperor, while still an Celestial King, never possessed such terrifying strength.
"I sense traces of the 'Three-Lives Technique' in him. Three-Lives, could it be that your legacy in the Great Wilderness Source World was inherited?" said the figure on the right.
"The 'Three-Lives Technique' is my foundation—I never left a legacy of it behind," said the central figure, shaking his head. Even if he had, it would be useless.
No one else could learn it.
"That makes it even more interesting."
The figure on the right became intrigued.
"This 'Tianyuan's' strength... he likely has no rival at the Celestial King level."
The figure on the left spoke.
Compared to the Celestial Kings and Mortal Immortals, they observed Lin Yuan with far more depth, knowing that Emperor Tianyuan's capabilities were by no means limited to defense.
Even just his external universe could crush multiple Celestial Kings—it wasn't just about enduring attacks.
"Indeed."
The right figure nodded in agreement.
As Celestial Emperors—Time Lords—their vision was not limited to the Great Wilderness Source World. They understood the vast dimensional gaps all around.
Among all the Second-Level Time Beings traversing those gaps, none could compare to Lin Yuan.
He could truly be called invincible among Celestial Kings.
"If a powerhouse like this becomes an Celestial Emperor, we might finally have a chance to fully explore the Illusory World."
The figure on the left spoke softly.
"Agreed."
The right figure nodded.
Currently, the three Celestial Emperors had sealed off the Illusory World at the end of the Immortal Path.
But sealing it off didn't mean they had fully explored it.
Even now, the three of them were still helpless before the Illusory World.
Under the leadership of the three Celestial Kings, the Immortal Path steadily took form.
Lin Yuan no longer needed to resist the pressure from the Illusory World constantly.
"Hahaha, the Immortal Path is almost done!" the Samsara Celestial King laughed heartily.
"All thanks to you, Tianyuan," Bai Bin Celestial King looked at Lin Yuan. "You really kept us in the dark. If you hadn't acted, who would've known you were this powerful? Even peak Celestial Kings can't rival you, right?"
"That's for sure," the Samsara Celestial King nodded.
He himself was at the peak of the Celestial King realm and could accurately judge.
There was absolutely no way he could be Lin Yuan's match—not even close.
Lin Yuan smiled.
In truth, he hadn't used many of his other methods yet, but the external universe could already count as one of his trump cards.
"Ever since entering the Immortal Path, I've made great progress," Lin Yuan said. "Just a lucky breakthrough."
"That kind of luck is terrifying," Wushen Celestial King couldn't help saying.
"Alright, now that the path is forged, the frontmost position belongs to you, Tianyuan," the Samsara Celestial King said.
A well-established Immortal Path brought different insights depending on how close it was to the Illusory World. Naturally, the front had the greatest insight efficiency.
"I have no objections."
"Me neither."
Wushen and Bai Bin nodded.
This time, they'd completely benefited from Lin Yuan.
Without him, they'd probably still be struggling to find another path, not sitting here having this conversation.
"Then I won't be modest," Lin Yuan didn't decline either.
He had done the bulk of the work in opening the path, so it was only right he took the best position.
"If you declined, none of us would dare take that spot," the three Celestial Kings chuckled.
While chatting casually with them—
Lin Yuan had already begun to comprehend the Illusory World.
Now, on a path near the core region, the Dao insights available were vastly superior to those from his previous location.
Lin Yuan could even faintly see deep into the Illusory World.
[Your insight is unrivaled]
[Your insight is unrivaled]
[Your insight is unrivaled]
Countless flashes of inspiration surged into Lin Yuan's mind, merging and colliding, forming entirely new understandings and perspectives.
"Can I enter this Illusory World?"
A desire surged in Lin Yuan's heart—he wanted to go in.
If he could gain this much just from studying it from outside, wouldn't entering it make breaking through to the Third-Level Realm as easy as eating or drinking?
"Forget it."
Lin Yuan dismissed the thought.
Not only was it unclear whether he could enter, but even if he could, would exposure to the essence of the Illusory World affect him?
Anyway, with his Unrivaled Insight, his gains from the outside were already unimaginable. There was no need to take the risk.
As far as Lin Yuan knew, not even the three Celestial Emperors had entered the Illusory World—they were only observing it at a closer range.
If even Time Lords couldn't do it, Lin Yuan wasn't going to try it alone.
Time passed slowly.
In the blink of an eye, two hundred years went by.
Two centuries of close-range study of the Illusory World's core had been immensely beneficial to Lin Yuan. Numerous Chaos Origin Daos intertwined in his mind, gradually merging into a massive Dao of yin and yang—black and white, surging and vast.
"The Chaos Origin Tao of Tai Chi... I'm close to grasping it."
A smile appeared on Lin Yuan's face.
The Mortal Immortals and Celestial Kings on the Immortal Path all assumed he was an Celestial King because he had grasped the Chaos Origin Destruction Dao.
In reality, Lin Yuan had not yet comprehended the Chaos Origin Tao of Tai Chi. His true realm was still Thirteenth Rank, First Stage—just a Mortal Immortal.
...
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