Chapter 272

The Shanhai Realm.

This vast and immense world has since grown and transformed greatly, nearing its first limit, with a diameter of over forty million kilometers.

The number of living beings and the number of powerful cultivators have both increased dozens of times compared to eight thousand years ago.

The Zhongzhou Region.

Mount Buzhou has now risen to a height of hundreds of thousands of kilometers, its base expanded significantly, and the cities atop its peak remain intact.

Within one of these cities, in an old-fashioned courtyard.

The young man Mo Luo sat bewildered before the courtyard's stone table, his heart filled with unease.

He was merely a Starborn being, powerless to resist the Lord of the Shanhai Realm, unable even to leave this courtyard, forced to wait for the Lord's judgment.

Most importantly…

Just now, his father told him that this Lord of the Shanhai Realm did not even spare the face of that great figure from the Time-Space Island, causing the great figure to rage.

"Mo Luo."

Lin Qing suddenly appeared within the courtyard, his gaze level as he spoke: "Regretfully, the true disciple of the Time-Space Island Ancestor your father mentioned holds no threat over me—he only enraged me. So… whether you wish to join my Shanhai Realm or not, I have no intention of letting you leave."

Mo Luo fell silent for a moment, gritted his teeth, and said: "My lord, my father wishes to speak with you again."

"Oh?"

Lin Qing slightly raised an eyebrow, noticing an invitation from Buiweileisi had arrived on the Second Universe Net.

He had words of his own to say, so he did not refuse.

Within the private space of the Second Universe Net, Buiweileisi spoke with a bitter smile: "Mr. Lin Qing, Master Bingshuangyan is the direct disciple of the Time-Space Island Ancestor. Now that he is enraged, our positions are likely to become quite difficult…"

"Positions?" Lin Qing said coolly. "So what if he's the Ancestor's direct disciple?"

Buiweileisi sighed. "But what of millions of years from now? Would Mr. Lin Qing truly wish for his home civilization to be destroyed?"

"That is none of your concern," Lin Qing said coldly. "You speak grandly of sacrifice—for your home, you're willing to sacrifice your own son?"

Mo Luo beside him froze: "Sacrifice?"

Buiweileisi frowned slightly, then glanced at Mo Luo. "Mo Luo, step outside."

"What?" Lin Qing said indifferently. "You're content to let him remain ignorant, a mere bait—but unwilling to let him know the truth?"

Mo Luo stared, disbelief mounting. "Father?"

Buiweileisi frowned, shook his head. "I act only for the sake of my family and civilization."

He looked at Mo Luo, speaking slowly: "Mo Luo, you were born from my precious resources and efforts. To sacrifice yourself for family and civilization is your duty. I concealed this from you only to spare you worry and pain. Do you understand?"

Mo Luo stared blankly at his father, voice trembling: "Father, you once said you hoped I would become the pillar of our family, its pride. Why am I bait…?"

Buiweileisi frowned. "I have been merciful to you before—rarely instilled in you the loyalty your family deserves. Yet you show no gratitude? The family gave you life, nurtured you—naturally, it holds the right to decide your fate. Don't you understand that?"

Mo Luo froze, then trembled: "I didn't choose to be born! Had I known my birth meant becoming bait for my family's future, I would never have agreed!"

"You…"

Buiweileisi's face turned icy, about to rebuke him—when Lin Qing spoke coldly: "Chief Reisi, all beings are born free—especially the strong. Would you dare say such things to your other Void Sovereigns in the Reisi Clan?"

The path of the strong grows ever more demanding of the spirit and will the farther one travels.

And the human heart, from birth, yearns for freedom. A Void Sovereign governs not only space—but his own destiny.

If one loses oneself, the spirit and will cannot grow strong.

Buiweileisi fell silent, realizing his words held no ground.

When Mo Luo had not caught Master Bingshuangyan's eye, he had trained him to become a Void Sovereign—he could never have brainwashed him like a disposable pawn.

"…It's merely reliance on the strong."

Buiweileisi took a deep breath, voice low. "Mr. Lin Qing, your Shanhai Realm is still a newborn civilization. Without protection, you would likely choose as I have."

"You're not wrong," Lin Qing said coolly.

Buiweileisi paused, then said: "Besides, Mr. Lin Qing speaks of this only to persuade Mo Luo to join your Shanhai Realm."

He looked at Lin Qing. "Since matters have come to this, I agree—but only if you provide a Level Seven natural-elemental domain artifact, and guarantee Mo Luo must serve our family at critical moments. Only then will he be considered a member of your Shanhai Realm."

He had originally sought to ally with Master Bingshuangyan, the Saintly Ancestor's direct disciple, to ensure his family and home civilization endured.

But he never expected Lin Qing to be so arrogant—to openly defy Master Bingshuangyan, show no respect, and simply take Mo Luo back to the Shanhai Realm?

So now, he could only strive for maximum advantage under these circumstances.

"A Level Seven artifact?"

Lin Qing smiled. "I offered you a Level Seven artifact before—you refused. Now you dare make demands?"

His expression turned cold. "Too late. I won't give you a single Void Coin."

Buiweileisi's face darkened.

"Mr. Lin Qing…" he growled, voice strained. "When we raised Mo Luo—a genius like him—we never left him entirely unchecked. He carries a contract. Without my consent, he cannot betray the family."

Even a four-star contract can bind all below the rank of Void Divine.

Even if Mo Luo became a Void Sovereign, he could not escape the Second Universe Net's restrictions—violation would result in his consciousness being imprisoned and punished by the Net.

"Oh?"

Lin Qing narrowed his eyes, studying Buiweileisi.

"I have no desire for conflict with Mr. Lin Qing," Buiweileisi said slowly. "If you accept my terms, I will release Mo Luo immediately."

At that moment, Mo Luo suddenly gritted his teeth and spoke: "Mr. Lin Qing, thank you for your kindness, but I don't need your…"

He had always felt guilty toward this savior; gritting his teeth, he was about to refuse Lin Qing's aid—when Lin Qing waved a hand, cutting him off.

Then, Lin Qing looked at Buiweileisi with mocking eyes. "You threaten me? Then do as you please. But your Reisi Clan and your home civilization—best remain hidden in your secret realms forever. Otherwise… one emerges, I kill one."

He spoke coldly: "Your world, Yugeisi—such a weak civilization. Do you even have a single Void Divine? Or perhaps not even a supreme expert who has forged a spatial rule divine technique?"

Buiweileisi's face changed.

Even now, Lin Qing—who had slain General Cang—was undoubtedly far more terrifying than the strongest of his home civilization.

After all, the strongest expert of the Yugs civilization was only a Void Dominator, and had not created a divine art of spatial rules — they had merely pooled the entire civilization's strength to learn two Dominator-level secret arts and equipped three seven-colored divine artifacts.

Although he could be considered a top-tier expert among ordinary Void Dominators, compared to those super experts who had created divine arts from spatial rules, the gap was still considerable.

And this Lin Qing already possessed such astonishing strength now — once he became a Void Dominator in the future, he would only become even more terrifying!

If he had offered Moro to that Master Bingshuangyan, and truly helped that lord, the other party would naturally shelter the Yugs civilization — but now?

He was no longer certain.

Buweileisi fell silent, countless thoughts flashing through his mind, but the moment he recalled that the other party was the legendary Child of Chaos — possibly destined to become a supreme expert at the most fearsome tier of the Void Sea — his courage drained away.

After a long while, he forced a bitter smile and said, "Mr. Lin Qing, I meant no threat — it was merely a momentary impulse. Please don't take it to heart. As for the contract regarding Moro… I'll dissolve it right now. Please calm your wrath, and do not implicate my Leiyisi family and the Yugs civilization."

Lin Qing could not be bothered to say more, merely remarking lightly, "Remember what you've said."

He said nothing further and departed at once.

Buweileisi sighed, glanced at the silent Moro beside him, and forced out a faint smile. "Moro, just stay peacefully in the Mountain-Sea Realm from now on. If you need anything, feel free to mention it to the family — we'll do our utmost to satisfy you."

Moro was silent for a moment, then said, "Is it because I still have utility value to the family? That through me you can cling to Mr. Lin Qing?"

Buweileisi frowned slightly, but in the end did not scold him — he only sighed and said, "The survival of a civilization has always been like this. What else can be done…"

……

……

Mountain-Sea Realm.

"Mr. Lin Qing, thank you for rescuing me." Moro said respectfully.

"I only did it for my own benefit." Lin Qing glanced at him. "Your father did nothing wrong either — in the end, it's simply the strong standing above all. When all is said and done, it's just a difference in stance."

"Regardless, it was Mr. Lin Qing who saved me." Moro said respectfully.

"Not bad." Lin Qing nodded slightly. "My demands on you aren't high. Go temper your will first — I'll do my best to train you. In the future there is a trial waiting for you; if you can succeed, it will be an enormous benefit to you as well."

With Moro's current strength, his mental will, bloodline genes, divine arts, and secret arts were all fairly ordinary — there was much room for improvement.

At this level, going to attempt the trial of the Lord of Wujiu City — who knew whether he could pass?

Therefore, he had to first do his best to train Moro.

In any case, after killing General Cang he had obtained quite a few treasures — casually taking out a small portion would be more than enough to cultivate a mere Star Spirit.

He didn't seek any grand reward; at the very least he had to get Moro to pass the trial before he could claim the reward.

……

Time-Space Island Holy Land.

In the depths of time and space at the highest point of the Holy Land, a small, delicate island floated in midair, and at the center of the island lay a jet-black stone coffin.

The golden-haired, white-robed Bing Shuangyan was kneeling respectfully before the black coffin, somewhat puzzled. "Master, that Lin Qing is someone the Progenitor of Tianyuan values highly, isn't he? Are we truly going to do this?"

A cold, eerie voice came from within the black coffin: "That old thing Tianyuan clearly knows the origins of the Mountain-Sea Realm's Tier-Three Civilization relic, yet deliberately concealed it, and openly offered favors to that Lin Qing in front of everyone. Hmph… Since he refuses to speak, then I'll force him to."

Bing Shuangyan immediately replied respectfully, "Yes."

"Take it."

The black coffin shifted open slightly, revealing a dark, abyss-like rift in time and space. From within, a hand wrapped in bandages stretched out; a strip of bandage detached itself and flew toward Bing Shuangyan.

Bing Shuangyan received the bandage with utmost reverence.

……

……

In the blink of an eye, another three thousand years had passed.

Lin Qing felt himself drawing ever closer to the spatial rules — the world he perceived seemed capable of bearing complete spatial rules at any moment — yet he still fell just short.

He could only continue drifting and sailing across the Void Sea, continuing to perceive the world.

And the Mountain-Sea Realm had already expanded and grown to its limit — the world's diameter had reached exactly fifty million kilometers.

At this point, unless he achieved Void Dominator, the Mountain-Sea Realm could no longer continue to grow.

On this very day, after three thousand years of cultivation within the Mountain-Sea Realm, Moro had finally reached his limit — barring the passage of vast stretches of time, he would not improve further.

After examining him, Lin Qing confirmed that Moro's mental will, bloodline genes, and divine arts had all improved sufficiently, and so he brought Moro to the Great Vacuum Tomb to attempt the trial of the Lord of Wujiu City's mausoleum.

"The inheritor you've brought this time has rather ordinary talent."

His Highness Su glanced at Lin Qing and said casually, "The last one at least had decent soul and bloodline compatibility. This one is merely somewhat suited to the Lord of Wujiu City's nurturing secret art — but… whether he can pass is uncertain."

"Nurturing secret art?" Lin Qing asked curiously.

"Yes, his soul is rather special — very suited to cultivating this kind of secret art used for nurturing exotic cosmic lifeforms," His Highness Su said. "The secret art he currently cultivates has also slightly brought out some of his soul's special traits. If a cosmic exotic species were to devour his soul, it might even undergo an essential transformation."

Lin Qing nodded in sudden realization.

No wonder the seventeenth direct disciple of the Progenitor of Time-Space Island, 'Bing Shuangyan', had said Moro was merely bait.

It seemed that Bing Shuangyan's aim was to nurture a cosmic exotic species?

Two more days passed, and Moro's trial came to an end.

"Oh?"

His Highness Su smiled. "Not bad luck — he barely passed the Lord of Wujiu City's trial. From now on, your Mountain-Sea Realm has gained another master skilled at nurturing exotic species. Weren't you worried about the Mountain-Sea Realm's first civilization war? Have him nurture more exotic species — it will surely be of help to you."

Lin Qing nodded at once.

At this moment, the Jin Zita mausoleum belonging to the Lord of Wujiu City in the distant dark void trembled slightly, and an invisible force of time and space instantly teleported him away.

By the time Lin Qing came to his senses, he had already appeared within the dark mausoleum.

"Tomb Keeper? Not bad."

A wizened old man, his entire body shrouded in a gray cloak, looked at Lin Qing with a smile and said warmly, "Although the inheritor you found only barely passed the trial and can only be considered a third-tier inheritor, I'll still give you a copy of the Wujiu Secret Art I once created."

As he spoke, the wizened old man tapped a finger, and a streak of flowing light flew into the space between Lin Qing's brows.

(End of this chapter)