Chapter 435: Primordial Realm

In the blink of an eye, three hundred and eighty thousand years passed.

Aside from the six hundred plus ultimate beings who had just broken through in the Shanhai Realm, all five of Lin Qing's avatars had fully broken through.

"The Three Divine Realms—now, the Present Divine Realm shall be refined by the Black Flame Avatar…"

Lin Qing's main body immediately relinquished control of the Present Divine Realm, entrusting its refinement to the Black Flame Avatar.

After all, the Black Flame Avatar already embodied both Present and Future cosmic rules; whether refining the Present Divine Realm or the Future Divine Realm, it could convert the divine realm's primordial essence into another form.

Thus, the Black Flame Avatar had become a High Divine Realm Lord.

Coupled with the Pillar-Level Cosmic Treasure and the mental will that touched the limit of Infinite Chaos, he could rightly be called the strongest beneath the Ancestral God of the Realm, more than sufficient to guard the Shanhai Realm under normal circumstances.

What of the Past Divine Realm?

To the Ancestral God of the Realm, Lin Qing was a practitioner of both Present and Future rules, ignorant of the Past rule, and thus naturally incapable of refining the Past Divine Realm.

Therefore, the Past Divine Realm could be entrusted to someone worthy of trust.

…

Inside the majestic divine palace at the center of the Shanhai Realm universe.

Lin Qing sat upon the dais, glancing at the hundreds of ultimate beings below, his gaze settling on Qi Lingxiao in the front row, as he smiled and said, "Director Qi, this Past Divine Realm remains vacant—let you refine it."

Qi Lingxiao nodded slightly and asked, "Shall I swear an Oath of True Self upon the Oath Stone?"

"No need," Lin Qing laughed. "I trust Director Qi. Why waste an Oath Stone of True Self?"

"Haha, then alright," Qi Lingxiao laughed as well.

Yet he understood within his heart.

Lin Qing trusted him not merely because he had fought alongside Lin Qing since Earth's earliest days, but crucially because of his strength.

Even as a Divine Realm Lord, he was merely an ordinary one.

And what was Lin Qing's strength?

The strongest beneath the Ancestral God of the Realm!

A single thought could annihilate the vast majority of Divine Realm Lords—even the two peak beings, the Immortal Lord and the Tian Du Divine Lord, admitted they were no match for Lin Qing!

The constant civil wars among other Level-Three civilizations arose because the three Divine Realm Lords were evenly matched in power.

But the Shanhai Realm possessed a being as terrifying as Lin Qing—throughout the entire Shanhai Realm, no one could overturn the order.

As long as Lin Qing wished, he could replace any Divine Realm Lord at any time.

Trust, unshaken by betrayal, was the foundation.

"All of you."

Lin Qing swept his gaze across the hundreds of ultimate beings below and said, "When the Shanhai Realm one day evolves into a Semi-Divine Civilization and more Divine Realms are born, you too shall have the chance to become Divine Realm Lords—please devote yourselves wholeheartedly to the Shanhai Realm."

The hundreds of ultimate beings immediately replied in unison: "Yes, Speaker."

The Shanhai Realm's high council still followed the old parliamentary system, and Lin Qing was naturally the sole Speaker.

Council members were currently divided into three ranks: ordinary ultimate beings and dual-rule Eternal Beings were Third-Rank Councilors; dual-rule ultimate beings and ordinary Divine Realm Lords were Second-Rank Councilors; High Divine Realm Lords were First-Rank Councilors.

However, Qi Lingxiao, as a special Divine Realm Lord of immense value to the entire civilization, was also designated a First-Rank Councilor.

Currently, nearly all Shanhai Realm councilors were Third-Rank Councilors, with only two Second-Rank Councilors and one First-Rank Councilor.

The two Second-Rank Councilors were naturally both dual-rule ultimate beings.

Dual-rule ultimate beings were exceedingly rare, as they were destined to one day become High Divine Realm Lords.

That Guang Wang had trained two such dual-rule ultimate beings was already inconceivable.

"Next, our Shanhai Realm's goal is to become a Semi-Divine Civilization."

Lin Qing casually tapped his fingertip, and immediately a series of documents floated into view: "For any contribution aiding the Shanhai Realm's growth, you may earn merit according to this list…"

After explaining all the details, he dismissed the assembly of ultimate beings.

With hundreds of ultimate beings helping to absorb chaotic primordial energy, the rate of cosmic primordial transformation would accelerate.

Normally, if a Transcendent Civilization avoided civil war and suffered minimal extra loss of its small universe's primordial energy, it would take several billion years to expand and evolve to its maximum diameter of seventy-two billion light-years.

Beyond that, a Cosmic Lord must be chosen, and the civilization must evolve into a Semi-Divine Civilization, to open more Divine Realms and allow the small universe to continue expanding.

Legend held that the maximum diameter of a Semi-Divine Civilization's universe was three hundred and eighty billion light-years.

Yet the closer one approached this limit, the more astonishing the difficulty of expansion became.

The Primordial Realm universe, after countless eons, had only just surpassed three hundred and sixty billion light-years in diameter—and it had been that size for untold ages; over endless time, its expansion rate had dwindled to near nothing.

"Several billion years is too long…"

After the meeting ended, Lin Qing gazed at the empty palace. "Even with six hundred plus ultimate beings aiding in cosmic primordial transformation, it would still take at least thirty billion years…"

Compared to a universe, individual power was still far too insignificant.

Even with six hundred plus ultimate beings aiding in cosmic primordial transformation, it was negligible compared to the Shanhai Realm's own transformation speed.

What of external aid?

There were indeed many rare treasures rich in chaotic primordial energy, but compared to the terrifying quantity a universe required, they were like a drop in the ocean.

Even if he sold all his treasures and found ways to aid the Shanhai Realm's expansion, the chaotic primordial energy he could provide would likely shorten the timeline by no more than a few million years.

"If the Shanhai Realm wishes to achieve Semi-Divine Civilization status in a short time, perhaps…"

Lin Qing pondered, "the Primordial Realm might help."

This was no mere speculation.

As the largest chaotic wonder in Infinite Chaos, the Primordial Realm had nurtured countless miracles and treasures, even giving birth to unowned small universes.

The Immortal Lord had once obtained a treasure within the Primordial Realm that greatly aided a small universe, enabling it to expand from one hundred and thirty billion light-years in diameter to nearly two hundred billion light-years in an extremely short time!

Such immense growth made the treasure's assistance clear beyond doubt.

If he could obtain a treasure of similar power within the Primordial Realm, perhaps the Shanhai Realm could rapidly evolve into a Semi-Divine Civilization.

Then, as Cosmic Lord, his power within the Shanhai Realm would become even more terrifying.

"Hmm, first I'll go to the Mother River Clan and retrieve my Reverse Entropy Origin."

Lin Qing made up his mind and immediately left the Shanhai Realm, quietly heading toward the Mother River Clan's ancestral lands.

……

……

A vast, mighty river flowed from the depths of the main universe, heading toward infinite chaos.

This was the 'Mother River,' born alongside the main universe.

The farther away from the main universe, the larger the Mother River became; within the infinite chaos, its width reached three hundred eighty billion light-years, and its length stretched beyond countless trillions of light-years, flowing across the surface of the main universe.

Within the Mother River also drifted countless small universes belonging to the Mother River Clan, carried along by its currents.

At this moment, deep within the Mother River, three small universes, each wider than three hundred billion light-years, slowly drifted toward the depths of chaos.

Within the Future Mother Ancestor Universe.

As one of the three sacred sites of the Mother River Clan, this small universe with a diameter of three hundred fifty billion light-years was the domain of the Future Mother, the supreme sacred site in the hearts of the Future Mother Ancestor Faction.

And at this moment—

A boundless illusory universe had completely enveloped the entire Future Mother Ancestor Universe, severing all causal ties with the outside world.

"Lin Qing!"

In the center of the Future Mother Ancestor Universe, the Future Mother, radiant and divine like a goddess of light, glared fiercely at the white-robed man across from her and said coldly: "How dare you enter my universe?"

"And what if I did?" Lin Qing glanced at her indifferently.

The next instant, the boundless illusory universe crashed down with overwhelming force, beginning to suppress the Future Mother's consciousness.