Chapter 319

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

Shen Jingjing had fully broken through to become a Void Sovereign; Lin Qing had handed over all subsequent affairs to her, and now it was time to truly transfer the soul imprint of the Shanhai Realm's primordial source.

"Transferring the Shanhai Realm's primordial source is bound to be discovered anyway—there's no need to hide it."

Inside the primordial site at the highest point of the Shanhai Realm, Lin Qing wore a loose, pure white robe and strolled casually through this sacred place filled with the world's primordial energy, teaching her as if in idle chat.

"Though our Shanhai Realm still cannot be called the first civilization in the Void Sea, we need not fear any other civilization."

Lin Qing glanced at his direct disciple, "Since you've become the master of the Shanhai Realm, from now on, openly acknowledge it—there's no need to conceal anything."

"Yes, Master." Shen Jingjing bowed her head.

"This time, I'm going to Zhiwen Star to attempt the Chaotic God Trial; I'm not certain how many years it will take."

Lin Qing said, "It could be as short as several hundred thousand years, or as long as ten million. During this time, only my avatar will remain in the Shanhai Realm to guard it. If you encounter a danger you cannot resolve, summon the Ancestor of Tianyuan Seat."

Shen Jingjing hesitated, then said, "My strength is negligible—I'm not even a fraction of your power. In a million years, during the Civilization War, if I face a powerful Civilization Master on the Civilization Master battlefield, I fear I won't be a match. If I lose and cause our civilization to fall..."

"Then let it fall."

Lin Qing said calmly, "With the Shanhai Realm's foundations, given enough time, it will always reach its peak. Besides, my avatar remains a Void Sovereign and will still guard the Shanhai Realm."

Hearing this, Shen Jingjing finally felt much more at ease.

She had only just become a Void Sovereign; though her bloodline had been developed to an extreme—tens of millions of times greater gene strength than ordinary Sovereigns—she had yet to create a divine technique incorporating spatial laws. Even with a full set of divine artifacts, her strength was merely at the 18th or 19th layer of the Yu Xingyuan.

Any powerful Civilization Master could defeat her.

But the Shanhai Realm held a massive advantage in Void-level battlefields; across the entire Void Sea, few civilizations could match it there.

And on the Sovereign-level battlefield, Lin Qing's avatar stood guard—without a primordial cosmic treasure, yet still the strongest under the Ancestor, thanks to his set of Chaotic Divine Artifacts.

Thus, the Shanhai Realm's victory rate in Civilization Wars remained nearly 100%.

"Enough."

As he spoke, Lin Qing had already brought his disciple to the core of the world's primordial source.

That seemingly tiny, formless, yet omnipresent strange luminous primordial energy emitted a wave of joyful, affectionate emotion upon sensing Lin Qing's approach, like a child clinging to its parents.

The world's primordial will naturally regarded its master as the sole beloved owner.

"Let's part for a while."

Lin Qing smiled and reached out, plunging his hand into the world's primordial source, gently soothing the Shanhai Realm's primordial will as if calming a child, "Let my disciple keep you company for now, alright?"

The primordial will's emotion clearly grew sadder and more reluctant; after a subtle, invisible ripple carefully scanned Shen Jingjing, it finally emitted a faint signal of reluctant acceptance.

Lin Qing couldn't help but smile, "Don't worry—I'll return."

As the first master of the Shanhai Realm and its creator, his significance to the world's primordial source was utterly different; as long as a successor was willing to step down, the original master could instantly reclaim the position of World Master at any time.

"That's enough."

Lin Qing turned to Shen Jingjing and said, "The Shanhai Realm's primordial source has recognized you. Prepare to plant your soul imprint."

As he spoke, he began slowly erasing the soul imprint within the primordial source.

This was unavoidable.

Shen Jingjing then began planting layer upon layer of soul imprints within the primordial source; as the soul imprints changed, the primordial source's aura shifted accordingly.

At this moment, countless beings within the Shanhai Realm felt the surrounding ambient energy ripple and tremble.

Those with experience would understand—

The master of the Shanhai Realm has changed!

In an instant, news of the Shanhai Realm spread throughout the Void Sea, leaving all sides stunned.

The master of the Shanhai Realm, long regarded by countless beings as the strongest in the Void Sea, had actually relinquished the position of World Master?

Could it be...

Had the master of the Shanhai Realm perished? Or had something else happened?

In an instant, all sides began probing.

The Shanhai Realm quickly issued an official announcement: the former master intended to travel to Zhiwen Star to undergo the Chaotic God Trial, hence transferring the position of World Master.

Upon the announcement's release, most naturally believed it.

Yet many with ill intent still did not fully trust it, continuing to investigate covertly.

They probed not only Lin Qing's life-or-death status, but also when he would enter the Chaotic God Trial, his chances of success, and how long it would take.

Among them were several of the Void Sea's top-tier civilization powers.

"Master, now that you've stepped down, many are watching the Shanhai Realm—most likely with hostile intentions."

The newly installed Shen Jingjing couldn't help but feel a headache, "We must find an opportunity to strike back and intimidate these treacherous forces."

"Intimidate?" Lin Qing smiled, "No need to intimidate. Can you identify which civilizations are involved?"

"We can, yes."

Shen Jingjing frowned slightly, "But it's hard to pinpoint the exact individuals."

Lin Qing shook his head slightly and said, "Knowing which civilizations and which factions is enough."

That same day.

A cataclysmic event capable of shaking the entire Void Sea swept across all civilization powers like a hurricane, leaving them utterly frozen in shock.

The Divine Mountain and Nourishing Sea of the Five Source Sea Civilization, the Moon Wheel Court of Tingxing Civilization, the Immortal Pavilion of Qinghe Civilization...

In a single night, twelve of the Void Sea's most elite civilization powers suffered devastating blows: their bases were obliterated, and every single high-ranking member perished!

Whether they had avatars or not, no matter how powerful their survival techniques, not a single high-ranking member of these factions survived!

The most terrifying part was—

The Level 2.7 Civilization "Yunxiao City Civilization"—all its top-tier powerhouses were slaughtered, and even its world's primordial source was destroyed!

Yunxiao City Civilization, once the Void Sea's top pirate civilization and one of the Four Emperors, had been granted a Level 3 Civilization relic; its Emperor Yun possessed a terrifying treasure that guarded the Yunxiao City world.

Within the Yunxiao City world, apart from the Three Founders, no one could rival Yun Huang.

But…

Yun Huang still perished, and the Yunxiao City world was utterly destroyed!

In a single night, dozens of Void Divine Officials and hundreds of supreme elites among the Void Dominators all perished, leaving all civilizational powers utterly stunned.

In these eight point six billion years, such an absurd event had never occurred!

And the slayer? It was none other than the recently resigned Lord of the Shanhai Realm—

Lin Qing!

All sides soon realized that the sole commonality behind the annihilation of these twelve factions and the Yunxiao City civilization was—

Those who secretly probed the state of the Shanhai Realm and its first Lord all harbored ill intentions toward the Shanhai Realm. This left all sides both shocked and terrified.

Merely probing, merely showing a hint of malice, and they were utterly eradicated—even their world's primordial source destroyed?

This unrestrained slaughter made all sides fully realize one thing—

Never provoke the Shanhai Realm.

Naturally, many civilizations' elites jointly petitioned the Ancestor of Tianyuan Seat and the Ancestor of the Ten Thousand Gods Hall, hoping the two Sacred Ancestors would intervene and uphold justice.

But it was like throwing a stone into the ocean—no response at all.

This made all civilizations across the Void Sea realize… this Lord of the Shanhai Realm must truly have killed the Ancestor of the Time-Space Island, which is why the two Sacred Ancestors made no move!

For Ancestors transcending the universe, each Great Extinction causes countless beings of the Void Sea to return to nothingness—what is the death of a few more?

…

"Merely destroying the world's primordial source, without damaging the sanctuary itself, should still be acceptable…"

Within the Shanhai Realm, Lin Qing sensed the negligible changes in the Void Sea and nodded slightly. "A single Yunxiao City civilization—its world primordial source merely went dark. It won't add much to the Void Sea's accumulated cosmic primordial source."

The Void Sea continuously and automatically accumulates cosmic primordial source; the birth of a Level-Two civilization's Void Sanctuary also allows the Void Sea to absorb more cosmic primordial source.

But no matter how many Level-Two civilizations are born, they do not accelerate the Void Sea's accumulation speed—only burden it.

Once it exceeds the Void Sea's burden limit, it triggers a Great Extinction.

Of course, the Void Sea is still far from reaching its burden limit.

But… if a Void Sanctuary is utterly destroyed and reverts back into cosmic primordial source entering the Void Sea, it will cause the Great Extinction to arrive sooner.

Just as in the simulated future, Yuan Huang, after becoming the Deputy Lord of the Yu Xingyuan, utterly destroyed over a thousand Void Sanctuaries—not merely extinguishing their world primordial sources, but annihilating the worlds themselves.

This instantly caused the Void Sea's accumulated cosmic primordial source to surge dramatically, shortening the time until the Great Extinction by tens of millions of years.

Now, Lin Qing, to deter the Void Sea, destroyed only the Yunxiao City civilization's world primordial source—equivalent to extinguishing it. The cosmic primordial source returned to the Void Sea amounted to less than one percent of what would be released by destroying the world itself.

At most, it will advance the Great Extinction by a few hundred years.

"This much is enough."

Lin Qing took a deep breath. "Even if I'm trapped in the latter trials on Zhiwen Star, stagnating in Yin Peak for tens of millions of years, few will dare lay hands on the Shanhai Realm…"

Moreover, should a major crisis arise, he can still call upon the Ancestor of Tianyuan Seat.

He has done all he can.

The rest is up to the Shanhai Realm itself.

"It's time to go."

Lin Qing wasted no time. He departed the Shanhai Realm with his Black Flame avatar and his primordial cosmic treasure, teleporting directly to the vicinity of the nearest Level-Two civilization to Zhiwen Star, then headed straight for Zhiwen Star at the heart of the Central Sea.

…

…

Void Star, Main Star, Zhiwen Star.

These three celestial bodies, as great wonders tied to the Void Sea and Divine Offices, have the most Void Stars, and new Void Stars continue to form as the Void Sea accumulates cosmic primordial source.

As for Main Stars, each faction has exactly three hundred and eighty!

As for Zhiwen Stars, though divided among the Six Factions, each appearing to possess one Zhiwen Star, they are in truth merely projections of the one true Zhiwen Star.

That singular, unique Zhiwen Star constantly shifts its factional attribute; only when its attribute aligns can Divine Officials of each faction ascend to Zhiwen Star.

Any warrior who ascends Zhiwen Star must surely be a supreme powerhouse dominating the Void Sea!

Not only is the requirement to ascend Zhiwen Star extreme—the inherent danger of Zhiwen Sea itself is already immense.

"Here we are again—Zhiwen Star."

In the heart of Zhiwen Sea at the center of the Central Sea, Lin Qing looked up at the star, barely one million kilometers in diameter, and sighed inwardly.

During his simulated future, he had nervously ascended Zhiwen Star and barely survived the Chaos Divine Trial.

This Zhiwen Star, merely one million kilometers in diameter, was roughly the size of the Sun in Earth's former star system. To his current power, such a mere star was as insignificant as a grain of sand.

Even his perfected World Divine Body stood over one hundred thousand kilometers tall—hardly much smaller than this Zhiwen Star.

Yet he knew well the greatness and terror of this Zhiwen Star.

Even the Six Main Gods could not ascend Zhiwen Star, nor harm it in the slightest.

Because…

There is only one Zhiwen Star in the entire universe.

This singular, unique Zhiwen Star, merely by projecting its essence into countless Void Seas, has birthed innumerable Void-Level Divine Officials—proof of its divine marvel.

This fact was a secret Lin Qing only learned after becoming a Main God in his simulated future.

Legend says this Zhiwen Star is the origin of all Divine Offices in the universe.

Legend says the rare Divine Offices in the universe are fragments of power split off from this Zhiwen Star, hence their fixed numbers.

Legend says Zhiwen Star was formed from the cosmic divine power that created the universe, granting it such immense power and enabling countless miracles.

Countless legends about Zhiwen Star circulated among Main Gods; Lin Qing had heard too many.

"It is said that the ultimate end of all Divine Offices in the universe is the Void-Level Divine Office bestowed by Zhiwen Star."

Lin Qing looked up at the Supreme Star, which was currently radiating an endless aura of destruction, and narrowed his eyes slightly. "But as far as I know, there must be divine offices higher than the Void-level, such as the Universe God above the Chaos God?"

Setting aside other matters, when he originally learned the Divine Skill of the Army Commander, that Fourth Army Lord of the Lin Yuan Realm, Senior Feng Xue, had actually followed the divine office path of the Universe God, even surpassing the Star God level.

In other words, that Senior Feng Xue had once been a Chaos God!

It's just that the competition after becoming a Chaos God was truly too fierce, and that Senior Feng Xue also failed.

This also means that even after becoming a Chaos God, one has not yet reached the end.

And after Lin Qing became a Chaos God in the simulated future, he had also learned the name of a higher-level divine office—

Universe God!

This is the true ultimate of this path.

It makes sense.

The path of the Universe God is itself a divine office formed by simulating the Universe God; naturally, the most ultimate divine office is to become a true Universe God.

"Universe God..."

Lin Qing couldn't help but shake his head slightly, then waited patiently for the projection of the Supreme Star to transform into the Life System.

(End of this chapter)