Chapter 213: Arrival of a Level Two Civilization

Mars.

Inside the Blood Cauldron King's fortress.

The emperor, clad in a dark red robe, stood before the life restoration pod, his brows tightly furrowed as he sensed the Blood Cauldron King sleeping within.

Using void perception and a secret technique for investigation, he could clearly sense that the Blood Cauldron King's vitality and lifespan were slowly declining, and his spiritual fluctuations had nearly vanished.

"What exactly happened?" the emperor said in a low voice.

The commander of the Nine Star Civilization's Imperial Guard, who had always stood behind him, spoke up: "Your Majesty, we do not know the specific details, only that Yuan Chen Civilization's elder, Kaduan, was discovered outside Mars at the time. After the Blood Cauldron King summoned him for a meeting, according to the surveillance records, Kaduan suddenly produced a special instrument that not only blocked the surveillance records but also severed the connection to the Second Universe Network."

He paused, "About ten seconds later, the two generals of my Imperial Guard who were following the Blood Cauldron King were killed, and the Blood Cauldron King was critically injured, near death. It is said he fell victim to an unknown method of the Earthlings."

"Kaduan is an elder of the Yuan Chen Civilization; how could he help the Earthlings?" the emperor frowned.

The commander of the Imperial Guard pondered for a moment and said: "Kaduan once actively possessed a body on Earth; perhaps he secretly reached some agreement?"

The emperor let out a cold snort, then flipped his hand, and a pale green hexagonal crystal appeared in his palm.

He gently pushed it forward; this strange crystal pierced through the void and directly entered the life restoration pod, transforming into a flow of green qi brimming with vitality that completely merged into the Blood Cauldron King's body.

With the intense infusion of vitality, the rate at which the Blood Cauldron King's lifespan was declining slowed down significantly.

The emperor looked on with some pain in his heart.

For void beings, converting the void energy that contains all things into vitality allows them to replenish millions of years of lifespan in a single breath; thus, what matters most for void beings is the total amount of vitality.

And this treasure is sufficient to increase the total vitality of a void being, making it quite precious.

He had originally wanted to accumulate more before absorbing it, as the effect would be better.

Now, he has no choice but to use it to extend the Blood Cauldron King's life.

After all, in the future, he plans to station himself permanently on Earth, cultivating a new group of geniuses on Earth to help him explore its treasures; once the Blood Cauldron King breaks through, the Nine Star Civilization will be managed by the Blood Cauldron King.

If he dies like this, I don't know when I will be able to wait for the next successor.

"Your Majesty, has the Blood Cauldron King recovered?" the commander of the Imperial Guard could not help but ask.

"No."

The emperor said coldly: "I do not know what treasure those Earthlings obtained from the ruins of the ancient civilization that caused the Blood Cauldron King's consciousness to fall into such a deep slumber?"

He took a deep breath and said slowly: "I can only ask Father to take a look."

As the seed with the greatest hope for becoming a void being in the Nine Star Civilization, now that such a thing has happened, it is appropriate to ask the Ancestor to intervene.

"Ancestor?" the commander of the Imperial Guard could not help but say, "Did not the Ancestor go to search for a Level Two Civilization?"

"He only found a ruined secret realm, that's all," the emperor said indifferently. "It is just right for Father to come to Earth and take a look; this is the true treasure."

Inside the life restoration pod, the Blood Cauldron King lay still as if plunged into death, with only a faint, barely perceptible thread of consciousness remaining.

However, he still retained some perception of the outside world.

"The Ancestor of the Nine Star Civilization?" Lin Qing's heart stirred involuntarily.

At this moment, he had specifically gathered almost all of the Blood Cauldron King clone's consciousness back into his main body, leaving only a tiny thread, making it appear as though his consciousness had fallen into a deep slumber.

This operates on the same principle as separating part of one's consciousness to enter the Second Universe Network.

As for the vitality slowly weakening, it was merely the act of actively and continuously infusing vitality into the fate treasure within the body.

"The Ancestor of the Nine Star Civilization has lived for nearly ten million years; he is probably not so easily deceived. I wonder how he will handle this..." Lin Qing thought to himself.

He was not afraid of the Blood Cauldron King clone being exposed and destroyed; his main goal was to delay time.

If he could threaten the opponent with the Blood Cauldron King's life, he should be able to delay even more time.

"... Father has decided to personally descend a projection to investigate."

The emperor suddenly spoke, then flipped his hand and produced a silver-white conch shell.

In the next moment, accompanied by the strange ripples emanating from the silver-white conch shell, the space itself rippled, and a thin, deep spatial rift silently tore open within the conch shell.

A faint stream of light flew out from within, immediately transforming into a short man with deep blue long hair.

Standing only one point five meters tall and merely a projection, the aura he emitted was extremely strange, obscure and hidden, as if he himself was part of the void.

"Father?" the emperor was momentarily stunned and said in some surprise, "Have you broken through?"

"No," the Nine Star Ancestor shook his head slightly. "I have merely recognized the second true form of the void; breaking through is still far off."

He said no more, simply looking at the Blood Cauldron King.

The Blood Cauldron King was also his son; although in his long life, he had countless children, and he felt no particular affection for this one son, he was still his bloodline.

"Mirror."

The Nine Star Ancestor gazed at the sleeping Blood Cauldron King with closed eyes, and strange light appeared in his eyes.

Suddenly, he narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Father, what is the situation?" the emperor asked.

"Very troublesome."

The Nine Star Ancestor walked forward slowly and said: "Here is what we will do; you will perform the Secret Technique of Void Blood to examine him carefully."

"Void Blood?" the emperor was momentarily stunned, then received the Nine Star Ancestor's telepathic message.

He frowned slightly, then tapped his fingertip; the void rippled in response, and the space at his fingertip seemed to flow out like water, with a faint scarlet red swirling within, appearing like fresh blood flowing from the void.

This spatial power, resembling scarlet red blood, flowed like water, quickly passing through the life restoration pod and seeping into the Blood Cauldron King's body inside.

Lin Qing was still pondering what the Secret Technique of Void Blood was when he suddenly felt an overwhelming, unresistable terrifying power fill the Blood Cauldron King clone's body, causing the clone's body and strength to become as if petrified, instantly freezing completely.

With his strength, even if he exerted all his power, he could probably only barely move his eyelids, lips, and other minute actions.

Lin Qing instantly realized that the opponent was imprisoning him!

"Hmph."

A cold snort rang out, and the Nine Star Ancestor said icily: "Although I do not know who you are, I know you are not Alreya; your consciousness has changed... Did you possess Alreya? Or did you refine him into a clone?"

The emperor beside him said in surprise: "Possession? Clone?"

The Nine Star Ancestor said coldly: "In the void star sea, those from Level Two Civilizations may possess such abilities or treasures; although extremely rare, they are not non-existent."

"Hahaha..."

Accompanied by the domain energy's tremor, a burst of laughter suddenly rang out, and Blood Cauldron King, lying inside the Life Restoration Pod, opened his eyes.

"Truly a Ninth Star Progenitor."

Lin Qing looked at the Ninth Star Progenitor with mockery: "You old monster who has lived for nearly ten million years, it seems you have encountered many people from Second-Level Civilizations; your knowledge is indeed extraordinary, to actually guess these things?"

It did not surprise him that people from a Second-Level Civilization could deduce this.

After all, geniuses possessing the authority of the Tenth Energy Level within Second-Level Civilizations were not few; he had encountered quite a few during the God-Child Trial back then.

"Are you from Earth?"

The Ninth Star Progenitor gazed at this strange son of his and said coldly: "The ability of the Tenth Energy Level? Or the Ninth? Such a perfect Life Clone has been refined; I say it must be the Tenth Energy Level. Truly incredible, there is actually a genius of the Tenth Energy Level on Earth?"

Lin Qing smiled and said: "Take your time guessing."

"Earth is truly lucky." The Ninth Star Progenitor nodded slowly. "I heard the leader of Earth is a very young little fellow named Lin Qing; could it be you?" "Is that so?" Lin Qing looked at him with a smile.

"It seems there is nothing left to discuss." The Ninth Star Progenitor suddenly said: "Destroy him."

The Emperor frowned, took a deep breath, and his gaze sharpened; the void immediately shook violently, completely annihilating the Blood Cauldron King clone.

"Father." The Emperor's expression was not very pleasant.

Although he did not feel much brotherly affection for Blood Cauldron King, he was after all the heir he had recognized.

If he died just like that, how long would it take for him to break free from the throne?

"You have gone to Earth; what do you think of the treasures on Earth?" The Ninth Star Progenitor indeed asked.

"Very useful." The Emperor said: "I explored the Bronze Demon Mountain Ruins on Earth; merely ascending to the ten-thousandth floor, I obtained a mark of a 2.1-Level Civilization, and it was the most suitable for me. I do not know how many tens of thousands of floors are above; the origins of Earth's pre-civilization are probably extremely extraordinary."

"A 2.1-Level Civilization's induction mark? And the most suitable for you?" The Ninth Star Progenitor was stunned.

Although this son of his was a Void Creature, he had not explored the Void Star Sea many times to manage the family civilization; he probably did not understand how special this was at all!

No mistake, one sentence, one release, one content, one look inside!

"Perhaps, there are many 2-Level Civilization induction marks within that pre-civilization ruin?"

The Ninth Star Progenitor was shocked in his heart. "This should not be marks actively offered by those civilizations, but rather induction marks created by that ruin?"

Although the masters of the secret realms of those Second-Level Civilizations would sell some induction marks externally, they mainly exchanged them with other Second-Level Civilizations, just like exchange students in some academies in the universe.

But there was another situation.

That was a 2.9-Level Civilization; as an existence standing at the peak of Second-Level Civilizations, it could easily analyze the Void Secret Realms of other Second-Level Civilizations, thereby creating corresponding induction marks.

Without needing the consent of the master of that secret realm, it could directly create the induction mark for that secret realm!

Therefore, some peerless geniuses of 2.9-Level Civilizations could enter and exit the Void Secret Realms of various Second-Level Civilizations at will; they were also the most terrifying existence in the background of the Void Star Sea!

"Earth's pre-civilization could actually be a 2.9-Level Civilization?"

The Ninth Star Progenitor's heart trembled.

Looking across the entire Void Star Sea corresponding to this universe domain, there were only a few 2.9-Level Civilizations; they could be called the truly most terrifying hegemonic existences in this region!

He took a deep breath and suddenly said: "Give up on Earth."

"What?" The Ninth Star Emperor could not help but be stunned.

"The origins of the pre-civilization ruin on this planet are too great; it is absolutely not something we, a mere 1.9-Level Civilization, can lay hands on." The Ninth Star Progenitor said slowly: "Excessive greed will only invite destruction; even Earth geniuses created merely by the legacy of a 2.9-Level Civilization have already caused us a great loss; this is not treasure we can control."

"Father!"

The Ninth Star Emperor said anxiously: "The pre-civilization ruin on Earth is too helpful to us; how can we just give it up? As long as we can obtain those treasures, our Ninth Star Civilization will be able to deal with the harm of the Yu Xingyuan Demon Clan in the future, and you and I can also..."

Speaking to this point, he noticed that his father's eyes suddenly turned cold, making his heart chill, and he stopped.

"I have no intention of discussing this with you."

The Ninth Star Progenitor looked at him coldly. "Remember, I can cultivate you as my son, and I can also destroy you."

The Ninth Star Emperor gritted his teeth and slowly lowered his head.

"I will now notify that high-ranking official of the Second-Level Civilization whom I know best."

The Ninth Star Progenitor said indifferently: "By informing the Second-Level Civilization of such a discovery, we can also obtain huge rewards; perhaps we can even get the opportunity for authority awakening."

The Ninth Star Emperor fell silent for a moment before speaking: "Father, how long will it take for the Second-Level Civilization to descend?"

"Uncertain, but descending from the Void Star Sea of the High-Dimensional Layer into the universe, the speed will definitely be fast." The Ninth Star Progenitor looked at him and said lightly: "What? Do you still want to take this last opportunity to scoop up another batch from Earth's treasures?"

"Please understand, Father." The Ninth Star Emperor said with his head bowed.

"Go." The Ninth Star Progenitor said coldly: "But once news comes from the Second-Level Civilization, you must leave Earth immediately; do you understand?"

"Yes." The Ninth Star Emperor nodded immediately.

"Remember this for me."

The Ninth Star Progenitor said coldly: "Do not do anything superfluous to Earth; if it really causes Earth's annihilation and provokes the anger of the Second-Level Civilization, then both you and I will die."

"Boom-boom-boom—"

As a vast amount of memories surfaced in Lin Qing's mind, huge quantities of Eighth Energy Level energy also continuously poured into his body, causing the original World God energy to undergo a mad transformation, emitting a roar like the creation of heaven and earth.

Unknown time passed.

"This is... the most perfect World God?"

Feeling the terrifying power after his complete transformation, Lin Qing could not help but be secretly shocked.

Although this power was too strong and had not yet fully fused and solidified, it was already astonishing enough; on the foundation of his gene strength and basics exceeding the universe standard by a thousand times, the energy was even more vast and abundant.

After all, this was the most perfect combination of various powers existing in the universe, ranging from the Sixth Energy Level to the Eighth Energy Level, like stacking a high building.

Reaching this step was already the theoretically strongest divine technique.

Next, there were only two steps left: fusing and solidifying the World God, and achieving the Star God.

Beyond that lay only darkness.

There is no road ahead.

One must carve a path oneself.

The ninth energy level does not exist in the universe, so everyone's ninth-level power is different; beyond that, one can only create one's own Divine Technique suited to oneself.

Moreover, transforming into a Void Being is not like in the past, where merely comprehending a specific energy was enough to transform; one must also seek the ethereal, elusive Void for even a sliver of possibility.

The eighth-level Divine Technique, the Ultimate Star Being—these are the limits of the universe.

"Only when the future is clearly visible can one reverse cause and effect, directly advance the result; as for creating one's own..."

Lin Qing shook his head slightly.

He had no certainty about the road ahead, but he held some special thoughts in his heart.

The specifics would have to be tested gradually in the future.

"At least... I still have great room for improvement now. Let me first solidify the World God, then deal with the Star God Trial."

Lin Qing took a deep breath.

Regardless, he no longer needed to fuse and solidify the World God; simply merging with his Black Flame Clone already granted him the combat power of the tenth layer of the Yu Xingyuan.

"I wonder how the Nine-Star Ancestor will handle things next... Better head to the Vacuum Great Tomb soon."

The vertical eye on Lin Qing's brow brightened, and he immediately retrieved the temporary pass for the Vacuum Great Tomb from the otherworldly space.

This temporary pass only allowed a temporary return to the Vacuum Great Tomb; it could not grant entry to the cultivation chambers, so it made no difference where he cultivated.

"Return."

Lin Qing immediately activated the temporary pass for the Vacuum Great Tomb.

(End of this chapter)