Chapter 388: Causeless, Effectless

“Calm… calm…”

Lin Qing took a deep breath, calming his turbulent heart-mind: “I must at least achieve the Ultimate through the dual-spacetime rules; only then, when Chief Qi also achieves the Ultimate, or when I cultivate a pillar-level cosmic treasure, can the Shanhai Realm transform into a small universe…”

Even if the Ultimate position descended immediately, he would not break through now.

He could afford to miss this Ultimate position—wait until he deduced the method of universe creation through dual-spacetime rules, then wait for the next one.

He did not want to see the Shanhai Realm descend into the same endless civil war as the Liewang Realm.

So he preferred to master two spacetime rules himself, plus either a pillar-level cosmic treasure or cultivating Chief Qi into an Ultimate being—Chief Qi’s transcendence would be the gateway to the past rule.

If all else failed, he could cultivate an Ultimate being like his master, but he must obtain a True Self Oath Stone.

Of course—

The most perfect, ideal outcome was still for him alone to master all three spacetime rules, enabling him to transform the Shanhai Realm into a small universe by himself!

But that was far too idealistic; across infinite chaos and infinite eons, only Prince Su had succeeded.

Without the Nine-Mind Sage, he truly had no confidence at all.

“Still… the Ultimate position won’t descend within the next thirty-eight million years.”

Lin Qing pondered inwardly, his pupils reflecting countless future lines: “Otherwise… I should have been able to observe the future line of my own ascension to the Ultimate.”

Though he could only observe the futures of Eternal beings, the Ultimate exceeded his future-observation limit.

But at the very instant of achieving the Ultimate, that fleeting moment of life-layer transformation, it still lay within observation range—technically observable.

Therefore, the Ultimate position definitely would not descend within thirty-eight million years.

As for the future line he had previously encountered, that version of himself, whose homeland had been destroyed by Yu Gong, sought only revenge against Yu Gong and pursued mastery of three spacetime rules—he never once considered achieving the Ultimate.

"Hmm... if I get the chance to turn the Nine-Mind Sage into a manifestation, I’ll strive to master all three spacetime laws..."

Lin Qing made his decision inwardly.

Immediately afterward, he left behind a manifestation and departed the Cosmic Heart Hall.

“Little brother, you’re out so soon?” Second Brother Xianhuang exclaimed. “In such a short time, you could at most have memorized the future-universe model, right?”

“Brother, I’m primarily seeking mastery of dual-spacetime rules. Understanding just one spacetime rule is useless,” Lin Qing shook his head. “I’ll come back only after I’ve mastered two.”

“Hmm, that’s true.”

Second Brother nodded slightly. “But the path of dual-spacetime rules is indeed difficult. I tried it myself back then, but I simply lacked the talent. Don’t rush during your cultivation.”

“Understood.” Lin Qing smiled and nodded.

After leaving the Cosmic Heart Hall, he returned to the Treasure Hall.

The Treasure Hall housed countless treasures, including countless artifacts imbued with time-rule abilities.

Lin Qing did a rough count and was startled.

The Treasure Hall held no fewer than tens of millions of artifacts imbued with the various abilities of the present rule!!

“That’s way too many!”

Lin Qing marveled. “Artifacts with time-acceleration ability outnumber all others—over twenty million—while time-reversal artifacts are the rarest, yet still over a million.”

But upon reflection, this was perfectly normal.

Among the three spacetime rules, the present rule was most common, so its related artifacts were most numerous, unlike the rare artifacts with future-rule abilities.

Moreover, this was the Treasure Hall with the most treasures in the Tian Guang Divine Kingdom, gathering nearly half the treasures of the Liewang Realm—such quantity was unsurprising.

“The Divine Sovereign’s position observes the full spectrum of rules, and with these artifacts’ subtle details…”

Lin Qing nodded inwardly. “Even without the Nine-Mind Sage, if I seal my memory of the future rule and reincarnate to cultivate the present rule, with these conditions, I could master the present rule with enough time.”

But after reincarnation, he’d have to re-cultivate everything—too troublesome, too wasteful.

Most importantly…

He would regress to a weak state; even with a Divine Sovereign manifestation, he might still be crippled by enemies.

Even with prior arrangements, absolute safety couldn’t be guaranteed.

So, the best option was still to have the Nine-Mind Sage.

“Continue cultivating time acceleration.”

Lin Qing casually summoned a batch of artifacts imbued with time-acceleration ability and began deep contemplation.

During his last descent into the future, he had read the future version of himself’s insights into time acceleration.

But the future rule and present rule interfered with each other, making cultivation extremely difficult—even the simplest subtleties of time acceleration remained stuck at the final bottleneck.

There was no way: spacetime rules were too complex and variable—he couldn’t see the whole picture, couldn’t perceive the true spacetime rules, couldn’t discern the ultimate direction, so he had to rely on his own contemplation and fusion.

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

On this day—

“Disciple, come to me.”

Suddenly, Guang Wang’s voice echoed within the Treasure Hall.

Lin Qing opened his eyes, his heart stirring: “Could it be that Master and Wu Yin Divine Lord have reached a result?”

He immediately left the Treasure Hall and hurried toward the Tian Guang Divine Palace.

…

“Here is the transmission of the ‘Causeless, Effectless’ technique.”

In the study, Guang Wang smiled and handed Lin Qing a pure white leaf and a storage treasure. “Wu Yin Divine Lord himself knows he got the better end of the deal—he couldn’t pretend for more than two hundred years. I added a piece of chaotic treasure for cultivating ‘Causeless, Effectless’—enough to carry you to the final layer.”

Lin Qing’s eyes lit up; he immediately took the technique transmission and the cultivation treasure. “Thank you, Master.”

“This treasure for cultivating cause-and-effect techniques is extremely rare. If I had to search for it slowly for you, it would be a hassle,” Guang Wang said casually. “Wu Yin Divine Lord excels in cause-and-effect—he has many such treasures.”

“Thankfully Master intervened; otherwise, I wouldn’t have had the standing to bargain with Wu Yin Divine Lord,” Lin Qing shook his head.

“Minor matter. Just focus on your cultivation.”

Guang Wang smiled and added, “Also, I’ve negotiated with Luo Shenjun on your behalf. But she’s trapped in a perilous region deep in chaos—she’ll emerge in five or six hundred years, then come to the Liewang Realm to find you. When you meet her, take her to your homeland, the Void Sea.”

“Understood,” Lin Qing nodded.

“As for the Void Divine Clan, I’ve already seen the future,” Guang Wang said. “In roughly twenty-eight million years, a discarded third-generation Void Divine Clan bloodline will appear; when the new third-generation slot opens, the selection will begin.”

“Twenty-eight million years…” Lin Qing nodded slightly.

The future version of himself had failed to secure the Void Divine Clan’s third-generation bloodline.

There was no way: when the selection began, his power hadn’t yet reached Eternal Peak, and he wasn’t even Guang Wang’s direct disciple—failure was inevitable.

But now was different.

“Any confidence?” Guang Wang asked.

“With my current strength, I’d estimate a five- to six-in-ten chance,” Lin Qing said. “Several competitors have also cultivated the terrifying transmissions of the Boundary Gods.”

“Five to six in ten? That’s already excellent,” Guang Wang nodded slightly. “For someone like Marquis Cangye or Marquis Yantian entering the selection, the odds are barely one or two in ten.”

He sighed. “Pity—the selection involves three Boundary Gods of the Void Divine Clan. Even I cannot observe the outcome for you.”