Chapter 301: Progenitor?

In the blink of an eye, more than a thousand years passed.

Under Lin Qing's deliberate control, the bloodline genes, which could have reached their limit very quickly, took a full thousand years to slowly exhaust the bloodline energy within the Bloodline Divine Crystal.

And during these thousand years, Lin Qing's gene index kept rising.

Finally, on this day, the gene index stopped rising completely, as if hitting an incredibly solid shackle, reaching its true limit.

"My gene index..."

Lin Qing murmured, slowly opened his eyes, sensed the changes in his body, and couldn't help but say softly, "Three million eight hundred thousand times the universal standard?"

Originally, his gene index was roughly five hundred and sixty thousand times the universal standard; now it had increased by more than three million times, a naturally immense improvement.

Just the improvement in his gene index had raised his own strength to the peak of the twenty-first layer; if he were to unleash the Supreme Secret Art and activate the Chaos Divine Artifact set, it would be far more terrifying.

At the same time, Lin Qing felt he seemed to have undergone some inexplicable, strange change.

The surrounding space-time was like subjects paying homage to a monarch, vaguely possessing a sense of submission, as if he could manipulate the surrounding space-time at any moment.

"Yes, didn't you know?"

The black-haired woman beside him looked at Lin Qing with some awe, "The universal upper limit of the gene index is three million eight hundred thousand times the universal standard; I never expected you to have such talent in developing your bloodline, actually managing to develop the Void God Clan's fourth-generation bloodline to its limit in one go?"

"I feel like I've undergone some changes." Lin Qing raised both hands and said somewhat puzzled, "I seem able to manipulate the surrounding space-time?"

As he spoke, he tried moving his will.

The surrounding space-time suddenly twisted; a powerful gravitational force instantly formed a micro black hole, and even the flow of time kept shifting and changing before vanishing.

"It really works!"

A trace of astonishment appeared in Lin Qing's eyes.

His comprehension of space-time was clearly still limited to spatial rules; he knew nothing at all about temporal rules, everything was hazy and indistinct, yet he could actually manipulate space-time?

This was a space-time technique only the Three Progenitors could achieve!

"Haha..."

The black-haired woman beside him laughed, "Of course. The so-called 'overcoming laws with force'—your life level has already transformed into the tenth-level life form at the universal limit, the Spatial Divine Body; your will has also reached the universal upper limit; now even your genes have reached the universal upper limit. With all three foundations touching the universal limit, you can instinctively manipulate space-time on a small scale."

She sighed, "Although it cannot be used to transcend, it is a technique envied by none beneath the Transcendents."

"Manipulate space-time on a small scale?" Lin Qing nodded slightly.

At this moment, he indeed sensed he could manipulate the space-time within a range of several thousand meters around him.

Compared to the Three Sacred Progenitors, who could easily manipulate space-time across hundreds of millions of li and teleport to most places in the Void Sea, his ability could only be called a mini version.

"However, although the range of your space-time manipulation is small, the intensity of your control is not inferior to that of a Transcendent."

The black-haired woman said, "At the very least, even a Transcendent could not manipulate the space-time around you; they would be unable to toy with you at will using space-time techniques."

Lin Qing nodded inwardly, already quite satisfied in his heart.

Moreover, he discovered that after manipulating the distortion of the surrounding space-time, he could completely obscure the space-time where he was located, and his aura could be entirely concealed.

In this way, even if he left the Misty Star Sea to act outside, he need not worry about being discovered by the Progenitor of the Space-Time Island!

Most importantly—

He could also, like the Three Progenitors, freely break into other Void Secret Realms; even if the Lord of another Void Secret Realm used the power of the world to forcibly expel him, he could use this micro space-time domain to forcibly remain!

"Better than my expected plan..."

A smile appeared on the corner of Lin Qing's lips. "I can now safely prepare my Innate Divine Artifact... just in time to eliminate the Yuan Emperor..."

Central Sea, outskirts of the Misty Star Sea.

Above a desolate, uninhabited sea area, a space-time vortex quietly formed, from which a figure flew out; it was none other than a youth clad in a black robe.

The surrounding space-time changed subtly, completely shielding this area.

"The Progenitor of the Space-Time Island truly cannot detect me..."

After hovering silently in mid-air for a while, Lin Qing couldn't help but smile: "Unless I actively lift the shielding, or the Progenitor of the Space-Time Island comes in person, mere distant space-time sensing simply cannot find me."

However, to be safe, he was not carrying any Divine Artifacts at this moment; he was only in a fused state with his Black Flame Clone, while all other items were left with another clone inside the Misty Star Sea.

Even if he died, he could revive at any time through the clone within the Misty Star Sea!

"It can begin."

Lin Qing pondered for a moment. "Let's start by dealing with the Four Emperors and the Seven Marshals. The Yuan Emperor barely possesses the strength of the twenty-second layer of the Yu Xingyuan; in his home world, with the support of the world's origin, that would be the twenty-third layer of the Yu Xingyuan. With my current strength, even carrying a Divine Artifact, I do not have absolute certainty..."

Dealing with the Yuan Emperor requires absolute certainty.

Otherwise, if the Yuan Emperor escapes and breaks through, becoming a Vice Lord of the Yu Xingyuan, it would be troublesome.

Therefore, he decided to wait until his Innate Divine Artifact was forged, and after it absorbed that drop of Cosmic God's Blood and transformed into a Cosmic Supreme Treasure, then act.

By then, he believed his strength would surge once more; even if the Yuan Emperor hid in his home world, he would have sufficient certainty to resolve the matter.

"Deal with the Void Pirates first!"

Lin Qing immediately hid inside the micro space-time domain and began flying at an astonishing speed.

Even without a Divine Artifact, combining the space-time domain with the Mist Pigeon Secret Art, he could achieve a terrifying escape speed of hundreds of billions of li per second!

Moreover, there were almost no dangerous areas he needed to detour; he simply needed to rush directly toward one Void Wormhole after another, traveling with maximum efficiency.

The Sky Void Rainforest was a natural dangerous area in the Central Sea of the Void Sea.

Here, countless origin energies were swallowed by Void Vortices, then transformed into endless torrential rain falling from the high heavens; the power of countless raindrops falling was such that even most Void Divine Officials dared not venture there.

And the Rain Emperor, one of the Four Emperors, was the master of this Sky Void Rainforest.

Since the Rain Emperor refined the origin of this dangerous area, the Sky Void Rainforest seemed to have become the Rain Emperor's private property; under his control, the endless torrential rain was even more terrifying than domain-type Chaos Divine Artifacts.

When the Rain Emperor was within the Sky Void Rainforest, almost no one in the entire Void Sea, except for the Three Progenitors, dared claim they could defeat the Rain Emperor.

Within the Sky Void Rainforest, the Rain Emperor could absolutely be called the strongest among the Four Emperors!

This also allowed the Void Pirate faction of the Rain Emperor to grow immensely, extending beyond the Central Sea all the way to the Arctic Sea, plundering wealth beyond count.

On this day, the Tianxu Rainforest was particularly lively.

For today was the day when the many pirate factions under the Rain Emperor paid tribute; the numerous top-tier pirate factions scattered across the Central Sea and its surroundings had all come to present their harvests from the past million years.

In the central, towering palace of the palace complex deep within the Tianxu Rainforest, tens of thousands of pirate leaders from various regions, each at least at the Void Dominator level, sat in the vast hall, all gazing with awe at the old man in green robes seated at the highest point of the hall; when the Rain Emperor did not speak, no one dared to raise a cup.

Everyone knew that the Rain Emperor hated those who disregarded rules and propriety the most.

And those who did not know had long been dead.

"Left General."

The old man in green robes, seated at the highest point, held a wine cup in one hand, smiling as he looked down at the many pirate leaders who stood silent as crickets; suddenly, he turned his gaze to a one-eyed man seated below and said, "You have done your duty well, yet why has your temper shown no improvement at all? With so many places to plunder, why did you specifically choose to raid the subordinates of the Life Emperor?"

The one-eyed Left General spoke expressionlessly, "Your Majesty fears not the Life Emperor, and there is already a grudge between us; is this not good?"

The old man in green robes laughed and said, "Of course it is good, but every time you raid, you do not kill, nor are you willing to plunder the uninvolved; do you not see that you no longer look like a pirate?"

The Left General frowned slightly and said, "Did Your Majesty not say that no matter the method, as long as sufficient tribute is delivered, it is enough?"

The old man in green robes laughed and said, "I did say that, but if you only target the top-tier pirate factions of all sides, are you not afraid they will join forces against you?"

"Let them come," the Left General said expressionlessly.

"Why not truly join my ranks?" the old man in green robes said with a smile, "With my protection, you need not worry about being targeted; how about it?"

"No need," the Left General said coldly, "At worst, I will lose a single clone in battle."

"Very well, then I will not force you," the old man in green robes suddenly smiled and said, "However, your conduct has also caused me some trouble; I think the next tribute must be increased by fifty percent."

"Increased by fifty percent?" the Left General slowly furrowed his brows, "Is Your Majesty's demand not a bit excessive?"

"I have not violated the agreement, have I?" the old man in green robes smiled, "I have neither asked you to kill indiscriminately nor to plunder the uninvolved, and your family has also developed very well here; it merely requires you to work a bit harder."

The Left General fell silent for a long while before speaking in a low voice, "Very well, but Your Majesty must remember: I will serve only you for one hundred million years."

"Of course," the old man in green robes laughed.

He liked such powerful figures who had principles and held certain things dear; they were easier to control.

The various families developing within the Tianxu Rainforest were also those that these powerful figures cherished, which allowed him to gather so many powerful figures under his command.

Relying on this method, the tribute he received annually exceeded even the wealth his faction plundered.

And after refining the primordial treasure of the Tianxu Rainforest, he was truly the ruler here; with his strongest clone stationed here, he had no need to worry about these powerful figures rebelling, requiring only another clone to act outside.

This Left General was the one he cherished most, a powerhouse comparable to the Seven Marshals.

"This batch of tribute is even larger than the previous one..."

While smiling and drinking wine, the old man in green robes checked the tributes of his subordinates, "If this continues, in another twenty or thirty million years, the wealth I have accumulated will be enough to exchange for the fifth-generation bloodline of the Void God Clan from the Chaotic System's Lord God..."

"However, it is still a bit slow..."

The old man in green robes noticed those on the tribute list whose amounts were clearly insufficient; his heart stirred, and he immediately spoke, "Lord of Hongyu, Tiannan Prefecture, your tributes in this batch are lacking quite a bit, are they not?"

"Please forgive Your Majesty; this year, we happened to encounter the Universe Star Patrol Alliance, and our original bodies carrying the treasures were annihilated; otherwise, I would have made up the difference myself. The next batch will definitely be made up."

"For the next batch, I am willing to add an extra fifty percent; please forgive Your Majesty."

The two below quickly stood up and apologized one after another.

The old man in green robes shook his head slightly and said, "Make up the difference? If one errs, one must be punished; otherwise, this would not be the rule."

He waved his sleeve and ordered, "Come, for these two, whatever percentage their tribute lacks, select an equal percentage of their clan members at random and cast them into the Flame Water Prison for one million years."

The faces of the two below changed.

In the Flame Water Prison, a prison akin to purgatory, only a handful could survive one million years; casting people into it meant almost certain death!

If they were selected at random, what if the ones chosen were the closest to them?

"Your Majesty!"

Before the two could even beg for mercy, the old man in green robes waved his sleeve; countless raindrops gathered out of thin air into a massive wave, sweeping the two out of the hall.

After killing the chicken to warn the monkey, the old man in green robes smiled and scanned the silent crowd below, raising his cup and saying, "No need to worry; continue the celebration. As long as the tribute is sufficient, you are meritorious."

Suddenly—

"Finally gathered? Perfect, to sweep them all up in one net."

Only a cold voice was heard; simultaneously, a blurry figure suddenly appeared within the hall. The space-time around that figure was completely distorted; its aura could not be sensed at all, nor could its appearance be clearly seen.

The old man in green robes above changed color: "Space-time techniques?"

In the entire Void Sea, only three lofty Ancestral Founders of the Holy Lands could manipulate space-time!

The old man in green robes hurriedly descended from the Wang Zuo, bowed his head with utmost respect, and said, "I do not know which Ancestral Founder has graced us? I have always treated people from the Holy Lands with courtesy and have never offended the Holy Lands; I wonder where I have provoked the senior?"

The blurry figure within the distorted space-time let out a low laugh: "What? Do you kill only because others have provoked you?"

The old man in green robes changed color and hurriedly said, "Senior, one of my clones is at the great Chaotic System's Lord God; the Lord God once said he was willing to protect me for one cosmic cycle; please..."

Before he could finish speaking, he felt brilliant and terrifying beams of light fly out from the distorted space-time, scattering across various parts of the hall; terrifying domain pressure arose immediately, causing even space-time to lag slightly!

Under the coverage of this terrifying domain, except for the Rain Emperor, whose strength was the greatest and who relied on the protection of the Tianxu Rainforest's primordial essence and could barely still move, the other powerful figures could not even stir.

"A domain? Such a terrifying domain?" the old man in green robes felt even more fear in his heart.

In the next moment, the figure within the distorted space-time swept his gaze over everyone in the entire hall, and then this terrifying domain suddenly trembled.

Under the terrifying power of the domain's vibration, a small portion of those present in the hall were directly annihilated on the spot.

The old man in green robes could not help but be stunned; he did not expect that this senior, whose identity as an Ancestral Founder was unknown, would spare him?

However, he immediately discovered that those who were annihilated were actually those pirates who acted with considerable principles, had lighter sins in the Universe Star Patrol Alliance, and possessed clones!

After all, these pirates were not originally pirates; they were forced to serve him only because he threatened their families.

Did this senior of unknown origin only annihilate the clones of these people, merely to inflict a small punishment?

A flicker of unease flashed through the old man in green robes' heart.

Just as he was about to speak, he saw the blurry figure turn its head to look at him; at the same time, a illusory yet vast world covered his mind, covering the minds of most people present.

Afterwards, this illusory world shattered, and everything returned to nothingness.

Along with their consciousness.

(End of this chapter)