Chapter 310

In the eyes of transcendental civilizations, chaotic artifacts are essentially embryos of ultimate treasures, for chaos possesses infinite possibilities, granting it the chance to evolve into a cosmic ultimate treasure.

Therefore—

Cosmic ultimate treasures can be said to be artifacts surpassing chaotic artifacts, yet they contain wondrous powers and immense might far exceeding those of chaotic artifacts!

Know this: a Void Divine Vocation practitioner who possesses genes at the cosmic limit level, coupled with a set of chaotic artifacts cultivated to their absolute peak—just half a step away from evolving into a cosmic ultimate treasure—can reach the cosmic limit.

Like that immortal-level Chaos Child.

Though he possesses supreme secret arts and a half-step cosmic ultimate treasure as his life weapon, his strength can touch the cosmic limit chiefly because his genes exceed the cosmic limit.

But this is the limit.

Even if that immortal-level Chaos Child grew a full notch stronger, he still could not break through the cosmic limit; his strength would remain trapped at the Yu Xingyuan Twenty-Fourth Layer threshold.

This is the cosmic limit, or rather, the cosmic rule.

No matter how strong one's strength, it cannot breach this boundary, cannot shatter the membrane separating the universe's edge.

Normally, only transcendental experts can shatter this limit, can break free from the constraints of cosmic rules.

Yet Lin Qing, by relying on a cosmic ultimate treasure, can ignore the restrictions of cosmic rules!

Originally, within the Shanhai Realm, with the support of the world's primordial source, even the most ordinary chaotic artifact set could grant him strength reaching the peak of Yu Xingyuan Twenty-Three Layer.

After forging his life weapon, its unleashed might would multiply many times over.

Merely wielding his life weapon alone was enough to elevate his strength in the Shanhai Realm manyfold, easily touching the cosmic limit.

Not to mention that after his life weapon fused with that single drop of cosmic divine blood, it directly evolved into the cosmic ultimate treasure tier!

Although Lin Qing has not yet sensed any special qualities in the so-called "foundation of a pillar-level cosmic ultimate treasure," the might of this cosmic ultimate treasure is truly terrifying beyond measure.

It is at least a hundred times stronger than when his life weapon was first forged!

Thus, the strength he wields through this life weapon cosmic ultimate treasure set far exceeds the Yu Xingyuan Twenty-Fourth Layer cosmic limit by more than a full tier.

"I wonder how strength beyond the cosmic limit is categorized…"

Lin Qing felt his life weapon cosmic ultimate treasure deep within his soul, clearly sensing within it a new world born from chaos, even containing various cosmic rules and exquisitely intricate invisible spacetime movements that provided him with an endless torrent of terrifying power.

This is the wonder of a life weapon cosmic ultimate treasure.

As a life-bound entity, this cosmic ultimate treasure has fused entirely with Lin Qing's soul, becoming part of his soul itself, sharing life and death, inseparable even through reincarnation.

Should his body perish, this cosmic ultimate treasure would perish with him.

This is both the advantage and flaw of a life-bound artifact.

Its might is greater, others cannot steal it, but only the owner may use it—it cannot be passed down.

"If I had no hope of reaching higher, perhaps I would not have used the cosmic divine blood on my life weapon. But after I achieve Chaos Divinity, I intend to reincarnate into the Rank of Kings…"

Lin Qing felt his life weapon cosmic ultimate treasure deep within his soul, and a sense of reassurance grew within him.

After his future reincarnation into the transcendental civilization, this life weapon cosmic ultimate treasure would aid him greatly—it would be his vital reliance.

Moreover, cosmic ultimate treasures are ranked in tiers, and in the future, they may continue to evolve.

"Mr. Lin Qing."

At that moment, the Ancestral Founder of Tianyuan Seat flew in from outside the Shanhai Realm, gazing at Lin Qing with an unusual expression, "Thank you for eliminating that traitorous disciple of mine. I never expected it would be Mr. Lin Qing who resolved this grudge for me."

Lin Qing blinked slightly and said, "Ancestral Founder Tianyuan Seat has great grace toward my Shanhai Realm; no thanks are needed."

He had not anticipated that the Ancestral Founder's address toward him had instantly shifted from "Young Lin Qing" to "Mr. Lin Qing," clearly showing far greater respect.

"Mr. Lin Qing possesses such strength; even without transcendence, you are an existence worthy of reverence by transcendental experts."

The Ancestral Founder of Tianyuan Seat shook his head slightly, "Moreover, with Mr. Lin Qing's strength, you will surely go farther than I ever could, and I shall rely on you to seek my daughter's whereabouts."

"Ancestral Founder, rest assured," Lin Qing nodded slowly, "After I reincarnate into the Rank of Kings, I will do my utmost to help search."

This was precisely why he had confidence in asking the Ancestral Founder of Tianyuan Seat for aid.

When he simulated the future, he had learned of the Ancestral Founder's obsession—eighteen aeons ago, his only daughter, who had achieved transcendence, was taken away by a powerful figure of the Rank of Kings, and she has remained unheard of since.

As a transcendental expert who has lived to this day, nearly all his kin and disciples must have perished in the Great Extinction; those worthy of the Ancestral Founder's attention are exceedingly few, making this daughter, also a transcendental expert, his greatest obsession.

Lin Qing understood that had the Ancestral Founder merely seen potential in him, merely hoping to survive this Great Extinction, he would not have aided him so thoroughly.

But when he openly revealed his intention to reincarnate into the Rank of Kings, the Ancestral Founder's attitude changed completely.

"Then I am in your debt, Mr. Lin Qing."

The Ancestral Founder of Tianyuan Seat smiled, his heart considerably eased.

He believed that with Lin Qing's potential and talent, even in the Rank of Kings, he would surely become a prominent figure, greatly increasing the chances of helping him find his daughter.

"By the way," the Ancestral Founder said, "after my traitorous disciple died, the Sacred Ground of the Time-Space Island became a world without a master. Would you like me to take you to plunder it?"

"Good. After I settle matters in the Shanhai Realm, we shall depart," Lin Qing nodded.

Though the Sacred Ground transcends time and space and cannot be destroyed even by the Great Extinction, once it loses its master, it loses its ability to resist—unless a new transcendental expert immediately inherits its lordship.

The Time-Space Island Sacred Ground's accumulation over dozens of aeons must contain many treasures and resources.

With the Ancestral Founder of Tianyuan Seat accompanying him, he could easily locate the Time-Space Island Sacred Ground.

"With Mr. Lin Qing's strength, even destroying the Time-Space Island Sacred Ground would be no difficulty."

The Ancestral Founder of Tianyuan Seat sighed, "My traitorous disciple, though among transcendental experts his strength was mediocre, neither I nor the Ancestral Founder of the Ten Thousand Gods Hall could kill him. Mr. Lin Qing's strength places you among the strong within transcendental experts."

Lin Qing could not help but say, "By the way, the Yu Xingyuan's maximum is Twenty-Fourth Layer—what lies beyond? I still don't understand how transcendental experts' strength is categorized."

"To be honest, I don't fully understand either."

The Ancestral Founder of Tianyuan Seat shook his head slightly, then patiently explained, "Yet we transcendental experts rely on spacetime rules to transcend the universe, even mastering primordial forces beyond the universe. Thus… to advance further, one must master more spacetime rules."

"According to what I currently know, upon first achieving transcendence, one primarily relies on the spacetime domain and the spacetime divine body. Mr. Lin Qing already possesses a spacetime domain, so no further explanation is needed."

"The spacetime divine body not only easily raises our gene index to tens of thousands of times the cosmic standard, but also allows us to draw upon cosmic primordial energy—wherever we are, it is as if we have the support of our home world's primordial source, and the might of cosmic spacetime energy reaches the cosmic limit level, plus the ability to break through the cosmic rule's upper limit… Therefore, transcendental experts can effortlessly surpass the cosmic limit; even the weakest transcendental expert's strength exceeds the Yu Xingyuan Twenty-Fourth Layer threshold."

The Ancestral Founder of Tianyuan Seat sighed, "If one cultivates primordial-level secret arts or creates divine techniques infused with spacetime rules, the enhancement to one's strength becomes even greater."

Lin Qing understood.

He roughly grasped the meaning behind the Ancestral Founder's words.

This is like the Realm Lord in his home world.

The Realm Lord can freely summon the power of his home world, and this world power, as an external force, has a fixed potency of Yu Xingyuan Level Eighteen, endless and inexhaustible.

Moreover, the Realm Lord gains reinforcement from the home world's primordial source, elevating his strength by one major tier.

The Transcendent, however, can manipulate cosmic spacetime forces; though also an external force, its potency reaches the threshold of Yu Xingyuan Level Twenty-Four, the cosmic limit.

Added to this, the Transcendent draws upon the cosmic primordial source, making it equivalent to home-world primordial reinforcement wherever he is, raising his innate strength by one major tier, with an extremely high gene index and the added power of spacetime forces—naturally allowing him to effortlessly break through the cosmic limit.

"My rebellious disciple's strength is quite respectable."

The Ancestral Founder of Tianyuan Seat murmured: "He even created a spacetime rule divine art. Though it contains very little spacetime rule, if the Yu Xingyuan had a twenty-fifth level, he would barely qualify as Level Twenty-Five—unfortunately, he met Mr. Lin Qing."

Lin Qing pondered.

After receiving the home world's primordial reinforcement, even if he used only his newly forged life-artifact, his strength would surely reach Yu Xingyuan Level Twenty-Four; after transforming into a terrifying cosmic treasure, its potency would surge over a hundredfold!

Thus, even in his home world, his innate strength far surpassed that of the Spacetime Island Ancestral Founder. The Spacetime Island Ancestral Founder, affected by the Illusory World Annihilation, could only unleash two or three tenths of his power—naturally no match for him.

Of course, this was mainly because cosmic treasures can break through the cosmic rules' upper limit; otherwise, no matter how strong he was, he could only reach the Yu Xingyuan Level Twenty-Four threshold.

"But a spacetime rule divine art doesn't seem much stronger than a pure space rule divine art—only one level higher?" Lin Qing suddenly asked, puzzled.

A Void Divine Officer, if possessing cosmic-limit gene index, creates a perfect-tier combined divine art, and wields a set of half-cosmic treasures cultivated to their limit, can reach the cosmic limit.

The Spacetime Island Ancestral Founder was also a Void Divine Officer, his gene index close to the cosmic limit, and with a half-cosmic treasure—even without a perfect-tier combined divine art—under cosmic primordial reinforcement, his innate strength should already approach the cosmic limit.

That is, nearing Yu Xingyuan Level Twenty-Four.

Yet after creating the spacetime rule divine art, his strength only barely reached Yu Xingyuan Level Twenty-Five?

This suggests…

A spacetime rule divine art is only one level stronger than a space rule divine art?

"Not quite."

The Ancestral Founder of Tianyuan Seat shook his head: "Actually, it improves by two levels—but a half-cosmic treasure cannot truly unleash the power of spacetime rules, only slightly amplifying them. It is said that only a cosmic treasure can fully unleash the terrifying potential of a spacetime rule divine art."

Lin Qing finally understood.

For Divine Officers, divine arts and artifacts are mutually reinforcing—like the Seven-Colored Artifacts, which require the Seven-Phase Divine Art to fully activate, yet cannot unleash the full power of space rule divine arts.

The Chaotic Artifacts also require space rule divine arts to fully activate, yet still cannot unleash much of the power of spacetime rule divine arts.

"So it seems, if I one day master a spacetime rule divine art, with my life-artifact cosmic treasure, I can directly unleash its utmost potency…"

Lin Qing silently rejoiced.

If the Spacetime Island Ancestral Founder had possessed a cosmic treasure, today's situation would have been entirely different.

"Cosmic treasures—how precious are they?"

The Ancestral Founder of Tianyuan Seat shook his head: "Even cultivating a chaotic artifact to a half-cosmic treasure takes a Transcendent an immense amount of time, let alone a cosmic treasure. It is said they require rare materials and treasures even scarce beyond the cosmos—only a Level Three Civilization might obtain such treasures. Among us Transcendents within the cosmos, it is nearly impossible to ever encounter such artifacts."

Lin Qing himself possessed one cosmic treasure, so he understood perfectly the vast gap between chaotic artifacts and cosmic treasures.

His perfect-tier combined divine art, forged from space rules, could only barely pry loose a sliver of its power.

"Mr. Lin Qing, your next step is preparing for the Chaotic God Trial, correct?"

The Ancestral Founder of Tianyuan Seat changed the subject: "With your strength, the first half of the Chaotic God Trial will be easy—it's the second half that's difficult. I once heard Lord Mirror say the latter half tests one's understanding and perception of the cosmos. Mr. Lin Qing should prepare thoroughly before attempting it at the Supreme Star."

Lin Qing nodded slightly.

He had already passed the Chaotic God Trial in his future simulations, so he knew exactly what to expect.

But the second half of the trial is random—he couldn't be certain it would match his simulation—so he still needed thorough preparation.

Best to wait until every aspect of himself reached its peak.

"With matters concluded, I shall return to Tianyuan Seat."

The Ancestral Founder of Tianyuan Seat said: "Mr. Lin Qing, should you wish to go to the Spacetime Island Sacred Ground, simply notify me."

"Thank you," Lin Qing nodded.

After the Ancestral Founder of Tianyuan Seat departed, Lin Qing gazed down at the Shanhai Realm and smiled faintly, then waved his hand, sending all the treasures he had acquired from the Immortal-Realm Chaotic Child and the Spacetime Island Ancestral Founder into the Shanhai Realm's treasure vault.

The sheer volume of treasures left by these two men—merely a glance made his heart leap and his flesh tremble.

Their exact value would be clear only after inventorying later.

"Pity—the Immortal-Realm Chaotic Child was only a projection; killing him won't let me absorb him as a projection."

Lin Qing sighed slightly, shaking his head.

Otherwise, if he could turn the other into a projection, he could use the Fusion Technique to elevate his own gene index beyond the cosmic limit.

As for the Spacetime Island Ancestral Founder—he was a Transcendent, his life tier higher than Lin Qing's, impossible to convert into a projection.

But now his authority had reached Level Eleven; once he himself became a Transcendent, he could turn other Transcendents into projections.

"Now…"

Lin Qing left behind the Blood Cauldron King's projection and the Silent Vacuum chaotic artifact set to guard the Shanhai Realm, while taking his Black Flame Projection with him as he quietly departed the Shanhai Realm.

Next, he would first deal with the greatest threat—Yuan Huang.

(End of Chapter)