Chapter 378

"Simultaneously cultivating two spatial-temporal rules does indeed influence each other."

Star Refiner Marquis said: "But once you master one complete spatial-temporal rule, the many mysteries within your memory and soul become a unified whole, and you no longer care whether they’re affected—then, when you turn to contemplate other spatial-temporal rules, you needn’t worry."

Lin Qing nodded in understanding.

"Of course, this is merely the most clumsy method."

Star Refiner Marquis said: "Under the influence of one complete spatial-temporal rule, contemplating another becomes extremely difficult, so some choose to deliberately seal all memories related to spatial-temporal rules, then reincarnate."

"Reincarnate?" Lin Qing raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Yes. Your soul’s essence has already merged with one spatial-temporal rule, and your inner world constantly influences you—sealing memories alone is useless."

Star Refiner Marquis said: "Only by abandoning everything and being reborn can you contemplate another spatial-temporal rule without interference. Once you fully master the second complete spatial-temporal rule, you unseal the first—then the two rules merge, and your inner world breaks its limits, rivaling a small universe."

Lin Qing pondered deeply.

Then he shook his head slightly: "Even if you seal your memories and reincarnate, it’s still hard."

"Of course it’s hard." Star Refiner Marquis sighed. "Mastering a second spatial-temporal rule is said to be harder than achieving the Ultimate. That’s why the number of Dukes is rarer than Ultimate Beings."

"Mastering a second spatial-temporal rule is harder than achieving the Ultimate?" Lin Qing asked, puzzled. "Then why not achieve the Ultimate first?"

"This... I don’t quite understand."

Star Refiner Marquis hesitated, then said: "I’ve heard that after opening an inner universe, the cost of reincarnation is too great. Opening an inner universe itself requires alignment with Infinite Chaos, waiting for the right opportunity to merge with it. Once you abandon the hard-won inner universe, even an Ultimate Being isn’t certain they can achieve the Ultimate again. So Ultimate Beings prefer slow contemplation rather than abandoning everything to reincarnate."

Lin Qing understood. This explanation had some credibility.

"It’s said that in Infinite Chaos, some sacred sites forbid Ultimate Beings from entering—only Dukes may enter."

Star Refiner Marquis sighed: "Dukes’ power approaches that of Ultimate Beings, and their status is astonishingly high—even higher than some Ultimate Beings. Among our Rank of Kings, there are only a handful of Duke-level figures, each heavily relied upon by the Divine Kingdom’s Lord."

Lin Qing couldn’t help but think of Duke Yu.

Duke Yu’s status was absurdly high—he even dared to confront Emperor Guang directly!

Though this was partly because Duke Yu had the Current World God backing him, if Duke Yu were merely an ordinary Eternal Being, how could he have such confidence?

The fundamental reason lies in the extraordinary nature of Duke-level beings themselves!

"Could it be that Duke Yu can help the Current World God resolve his difficulties because he possesses two spatial-temporal rules?"

This thought flashed through Lin Qing’s mind.

He shook his head slightly, then asked curiously: "Mastering two spatial-temporal rules is already this powerful—what about mastering three?"

"I don’t know." Star Refiner Marquis shook his head.

"You don’t know?" Lin Qing frowned.

"Because I’ve never heard of anyone mastering three spatial-temporal rules." Star Refiner Marquis said: "Perhaps such beings exist, but think about it—how unimaginable that would be. Everyone’s talent has a bias. Mastering one complete spatial-temporal rule is already unimaginably rare; mastering two is an almost inconceivable miracle. A third? The probability would be vanishingly small."

Lin Qing understood his meaning.

Everyone’s talent has a bias: some are naturally adept at the Present Rule, finding it easy to comprehend, but struggle immensely with the Past and Future Rules.

Even with talent, mastering a complete spatial-temporal rule and achieving Eternity is incredibly difficult.

Without talent, how could one master a second?

It was pure fantasy.

"I might as well try..."

Lin Qing thought to himself: "I have no talent to begin with—I rely entirely on the God-Seat and the Entropy Reverser. Maybe it could work?"

"Still," Star Refiner Marquis said, "Dukes almost always master the Present Rule and the Past Rule. The Future Rule is too difficult to even consider as a second—let alone a third."

He saw Lin Qing’s longing. "With your talent, Lin Qing, if you later merely study the Present Rule as a secondary path, you might actually succeed?"

Lin Qing felt a flicker of anticipation and nodded: "I’ll try later."

The Flame-Swallowing Python, now reformed into a crimson serpent coiled around Star Refiner Marquis’s arm, couldn’t help speaking: "Your human kind’s comprehension is truly powerful. These rules—you’re talking about things I simply can’t grasp."

As a Chaos creature, it could naturally wield countless spatial-temporal mysteries, but that was merely innate talent—it had no understanding of the principles.

"Humans should envy you instead," Star Refiner Marquis grumbled. "Geniuses like Lin Qing appear among humans only once in a millennium. Your Chaos creatures? Every single one is born an Eternal Life, with a perfect world naturally gestated within your bodies."

The Flame-Swallowing Python fell silent.

"By the way, Lin Qing."

Star Refiner Marquis turned to Lin Qing and smiled: "Since your power is already exposed, granting you military merit no longer matters. You’ve slain so many high-level Chaos beings and one Eternal Being—you may take as much merit as you wish, and no one will doubt you."

"Not too much," Lin Qing shook his head. "Just give me the three drops of Star Spirit Stone Marrow."

Star Refiner Marquis nodded slightly and produced three small vials, handing them to Lin Qing.

Then he looked at the relics left by Marquis Jueyuan, Marquis Cangliu, and the two Black Robe Saints. "Take these relics as well, Lin Qing."

Lin Qing was startled: "I only killed Marquis Cangliu. The other three were slain by you, my lord—why give me all of it?"

"Without you, Star Refiner Star would be gone." Star Refiner Marquis shook his head. "Without you, I wouldn’t have slain even one."

"Without you, my lord, I couldn’t have slain them either," Lin Qing said.

"Then... how about this."

Star Refiner Marquis hesitated, then said: "I did contribute a bit against Marquis Jueyuan and the two Black Robe Saints. I’ll take one-tenth; you take nine-tenths."

"One-tenth?" Lin Qing frowned.

"Just one-tenth. I won’t take more." Star Refiner Marquis said.

"...Alright."

Seeing Star Refiner Marquis’s firm resolve, Lin Qing reluctantly agreed, shaking his head slightly.

After returning to Tianxing Island to seclude himself, Lin Qing briefly inventoried the relics of Cangliu and the other three. Though each carried little, together they amounted to nearly ten billion points in the Chaos Trading Guild!

It was a small fortune.

"Still not enough to cultivate my Eternal Treasure, but sufficient to push my Mind Traveler avatar to the late stage of maturity—not bad..."

Lin Qing smiled faintly, then glanced at the three small vials beside him. "Most importantly... these three drops of Star Spirit Stone Marrow might finally break my bottleneck to descending into the Future."

He wasted no time and immediately swallowed one drop of Star Spirit Stone Marrow.

Simultaneously, his Mind Traveler avatar adjusted the time flow rate in its region to save time.

If cost and waste of Chaos Crystals were no concern, a thousandfold time flow could be maintained indefinitely—after a thousand years, that would equal a million years.

Of course, the cost would be nearly one Chaos Crystal per year.

Such a reckless expense would make even Eternal Beings wince; a few thousand years of cultivation could wipe out their entire fortune.

Lin Qing didn’t care—it was all windfall anyway.