Chapter 437: Shanhai Realm Upheaval

“This is the residual primordial essence condensed after an alien universe was destroyed by a Cosmic God.”

A tiny speck of light, no larger than a needle tip, appeared before Lin Qing’s eyes; though seemingly minuscule, it contained primordial essence a thousand times greater than the entire Shanhai Realm!

The deep voice said: “Once you become the Cosmic Lord of a small universe, you may use this alien primordial essence to cause your controlled small universe to evolve within a short time to its ultimate limit—a diameter of 380 billion light-years.”

Lin Qing nodded slightly, accepted the alien primordial essence, and asked: “May I ask, do you know of an alien universe called Xingyuan?”

“Of course I know.”

The deep voice said: “It was created by Tian Shi, the Cosmic God, and has drifted through endless chaos for countless eons, having devoured perhaps hundreds of main universes.”

Lin Qing couldn’t help asking: “Main universes are the cradles that give birth to Cosmic Gods. Why doesn’t the Cosmic God intervene against Xingyuan’s destruction?”

“Why would a Cosmic God care?” the deep voice said. “To the supreme Cosmic Gods, infinite chaos constantly witnesses the birth and death of countless beings. This is like a mortal seeing an ant nest destroyed—how could they possibly care?”

Lin Qing fell silent in astonishment.

“For endless chaos, the destruction of a few hundred main universes over such an immense span of time is nothing,” the deep voice said.

Lin Qing took a deep breath and finally understood.

To his own main universe, Xingyuan was a cataclysmic disaster, a threat of total annihilation—but to Cosmic Gods and endless chaos, it meant nothing at all.

“What about the Cosmic Tree?” Lin Qing asked again.

“The Cosmic Tree?” the deep voice said. “That was created by Mu Zu, the Primordial Cosmic God.”

It paused, then added: “Both the Cosmic Lords of these two alien universes have come to me before. It seems… your home main universe has been invaded by both?”

“Yes.”

Lin Qing nodded: “Can you determine their strength?”

The deep voice said: “They are merely ordinary Alien Universe Cosmic Lords. Their physical bodies, souls, and mental wills are merely bolstered by alien primordial essence, barely touching the upper limit of endless chaos. But their mastery of single-spacetime rules remains far too low—they can only rival you, the strongest Cosmic Lord, because they wield partial authority of the main universe.”

Lin Qing pondered silently.

Aside from the Cosmic Tree and Xingyuan, all other civilizations’ Cosmic Lords were merely ordinary small-universe Cosmic Lords—even half-god-level civilizations were merely capable of producing more Cosmic Lords within ordinary small universes.

Only the Three World Gods and the Three Primordial Ancestors were Alien Universe Cosmic Lords.

Could the foundational attributes of Alien Universe Cosmic Lords truly reach the upper limit of endless chaos?

But their mastery of cosmic principles was abysmally poor.

The strongest Cosmic Lords not only had all foundational attributes reaching the upper limit of endless chaos, but also mastered the ultimate chaos rules—their divine arts and secret techniques were all rooted in the profundity of ultimate chaos rules, infinitely more mysterious.

Yet even the Three World Gods and Three Primordial Ancestors compensated for this with partial authority of the main universe.

In essence, the Three World Gods and Three Primordial Ancestors possessed combat power on par with the strongest Cosmic Lords!

“But…”

Lin Qing suddenly said: “I once achieved the status of strongest Cosmic Lord in a future timeline and fought one of the Xingyuan Primordial Ancestors. I was aided by the primordial essence of my home universe, while he drew upon Xingyuan’s power. Originally, I held a slight advantage—but then he paid some price and suddenly unleashed power far exceeding mine.”

“Paid a price? Sudden surge?” The deep voice sounded puzzled. “The ultimate technique of an Alien Universe Cosmic Lord is to draw upon the alien universe’s power—what other technique could there be?”

“I don’t know.”

Lin Qing said: “Moreover, I sense that within Xingyuan, there is some threat far surpassing even the Xingyuan Primordial Ancestors—but I don’t know what exactly it is.”

After a brief silence, the deep voice spoke again: “I think I understand now.”

“What?” Lin Qing asked immediately.

“That Xingyuan likely already has a Sovereign—just as an ordinary small universe has a Cosmic Lord, Xingyuan probably has a Xingyuan Sovereign.”

The deep voice said: “Ordinary small universes possess few mystical abilities; their Cosmic Lords gain little beyond absolute life-and-death authority. But alien universes are different—they hold partial authority of Cosmic Gods!”

“Though becoming an Alien Universe Sovereign is immensely difficult, once achieved, one gains that portion of authority and experiences a massive surge in power.”

“Thus, beneath Cosmic Gods, the strongest beings in endless chaos are these Alien Universe Sovereigns.”

The deep voice said: “Only with a Sovereign could Xingyuan channel more power, causing its Cosmic Lords’ strength to suddenly surge. As for the price… the Xingyuan Cosmic Lords likely couldn’t withstand such immense power, resulting in damage to their internal universes.”

Lin Qing drew a deep breath.

Xingyuan Sovereign?

Xingyuan had a master?

“Xingyuan seems stronger than the Cosmic Tree.”

Lin Qing suddenly said: “If Xingyuan can devour main universes, why hasn’t it devoured the Cosmic Tree?”

“Because Xingyuan dares not,” the deep voice said. “The Cosmic Tree was created by Mu Zu, the Primordial Cosmic God. Even if Mu Zu ignores it, Xingyuan’s consciousness knows this well—it dares to devour only unclaimed main universes, never daring to touch the taboo of a Cosmic God.”

Lin Qing understood.

He mused: “But if Xingyuan is stronger than the Cosmic Tree, why isn’t the Xingyuan Primordial Ancestor stronger than the Three World Gods?”

“You misunderstand.”

The deep voice said: “The greatest advantage of Alien Universe Cosmic Lords over ordinary Cosmic Lords lies in the more profound structure of their divine realms and the superior ‘quality’ of their divine realm’s primordial essence.”

“No matter how vast the cosmic essence, a Cosmic Lord can only absorb and wield so much—anything beyond that is useless.”

“Even if you’re the strongest Cosmic Lord of an ordinary small universe, you still cannot harness all the power within that small universe.”

“The same applies: even if Xingyuan is stronger than the Cosmic Tree, the power of their respective Cosmic Lords—or even their Alien Universe Sovereigns—may be roughly equal.”

The deep voice patiently explained: “Only Cosmic Gods can effortlessly command the full power of an entire universe, for they themselves possess supreme power transcending all.”

Lin Qing slowly nodded, gaining deeper insight into the enemies he faced.

“What level of power might the Xingyuan Sovereign possess?” Lin Qing asked.

“Hard to say.”

The deep voice said: “Some Alien Universe Sovereigns gain recognition from their universe—perhaps because the Cosmic God who created it designated them. They may merely cultivate single-spacetime rules; even with partial Cosmic God authority, their power might only slightly exceed that of the Three Primordial Ancestors.”

Lin Qing nodded slightly.

The Three World Gods and Three Primordial Ancestors themselves were Alien Universe Cosmic Lords; their immense power stemmed primarily from the fragmented Cosmic God authority of the main universe.

Alien Universe Sovereigns also possess partial Cosmic God authority.

Thus, the power gap between them is naturally small.

“But Alien Universe Sovereigns are more likely to have cultivated dual-spacetime rules.”

The deep voice said: “If that’s the case, you’re in trouble. Such beings, who earned Xingyuan’s recognition through sheer strength, are unquestionably among the pinnacle of existence beneath Cosmic Gods.”

“If such a being targets you, you’ll have no chance to ascend to Cosmic Godhood by leveraging the main universe,” the deep voice sighed.

Lin Qing frowned slightly.

He understood—

Normally, a Cosmic Lord who mastered ultimate chaos rules could ascend directly, using the boundless power of the main universe to attempt becoming a Cosmic God.