584 Fate II

"I understand what you've said, senior, but wouldn't that mean the number of lifeless beings that can be fused with is fixed and limited? After all, there are only so many rules governing lifeless beings," Lin Hui said.

"That's enough. There aren't actually many core rules. If you're talking about derived rules, there are quite a few, but they're too weak. What's the point of merging them?" Chongli shook his head. "What the Celestial Venerables like to merge most are actually numbers, like zero, which represents nothingness. That was taken a long time ago. Then 1, 2, 3, and so on were all taken. Don't even think about it. The more basic and original the part, the more its position has already been taken. So the number of Celestial Venerables is also limited. If others don't fall, you can't rise either."

In many positions, even if someone else has fallen, there's not a sliver of a chance they can be resurrected; you simply can't take their place.

"May I ask what you've fused with...?" Lin Hui asked cautiously.

"Imitation." Chongli sighed, "Of all things, every act of imitation can be connected to me. Therefore, I can absolutely simulate anything, except for the advanced calamities of the Source Disaster."

"Imitation, isn't that very powerful? Civilizations often start by imitating others?" Lin Hui asked in surprise.

"It is strong, but compared to others, it is still far inferior. Have you ever heard of the Tao giving birth to one, one giving birth to two, two giving birth to three, and three giving birth to all things? These three most basic positions, these three numbers, create the strongest level of Heavenly Venerable... Compared to that..." Chongli sighed again.

This is his eternal pain.

He downed another glass of wine and let out a long sigh.

"Here's a piece of advice: when it's time to merge, don't merge immediately after finding a spot. Wait, observe, test more, and don't be impulsive."

Lin Hui nodded.

Acquiring the Original Object Projection gave him a ticket to becoming an entry-level Celestial Venerable quite early.

This is the fundamental reason why the Blood Seal identification yielded such a high success rate for Celestial Venerables. However, becoming a Celestial Venerable requires more than just meeting this one criterion.

He then consulted the late-stage of the Thought Endures Eternally, asking how to access fragmented flashes of information that could connect to the realm he had inscribed.

"The essence of engraving is imperceptible to outsiders; it's a mysterious feeling, just as no two objects in the world are the same. Your rubbings are unique. No matter how well others imitate what you write, they can never be exactly the same as you, because the spirit and essence contained within are completely different. This is the essential difference in engraving. Therefore, all the information and things you create and disseminate will naturally carry a trace of your engraved aura."

"What Thought Endures Eternally) needs to do is to filter out other interfering factors and retain only the subtle essence of your imprint. Then, actively spread it widely," Chongli explained carefully.

Lin Hui's Supreme Omniscience Seal had become a regular occurrence, and he immediately understood its core meaning. His mind was filled with light, and countless insights flowed forth.

"What if I choose to integrate the most fundamental change, space?" Lin Hui asked again.

"The Lord of Change is Yi the Celestial Venerable, you're too late. The Lord of Space is Pan, you can forget about it too," Chongli said speechlessly.

"Senior, how do I determine whether a spot is occupied or not?" Lin Hui asked sincerely.

"When you merge, extend your imprint inwards. Those with doors will be occupied, and those without doors should hurry up and rush in. First come, first served. Otherwise, you can only wait until the Great Annihilation has ended and they have been forgotten before you can enter," Chongli said.

"I see..." Lin Hui then asked some more questions about integrating the details.

Both of them possessed extremely terrifying spiritual powers. Although they seemed to be exchanging a great deal of information, their interaction actually lasted less than half a minute before ending.

"Don't forget to use your heart," Chongli reminded Lin Hui before he left.

"I will definitely remember."

Upon returning to Clear Jade Mountain, Lin Hui immediately began absorbing the Original Object Projection.

This thing was like jelly; with a little force, it automatically and suddenly sucked into Lin Hui's forehead and disappeared.

Then, following the method taught by Chongli, he began to test each empty space one by one.

The so-called test is actually very simple: it involves actively proposing new discoveries. If a discovery is not claimed, the imprint will automatically generate a desire to integrate into it.

If it's occupied, none of this will happen.

Back at Clear Jade Mountain, Lin Hui once again immersed himself in a long period of arduous training and testing.

Testing the available space and cultivating to the next level both require an extremely long time.

Approximately 20,000 years later...

Su Yaping sent word that someone had encountered a fusion monster resembling Liu Xuezhen on the edge of the Drought Disaster- stricken area.

Xia Si and Wu Anning rushed over to check and found that it was indeed Liu Xuezhen. She had lost her senses for many years and had completely forgotten everything about herself.

Subsequent investigations revealed that his daughter had deliberately stolen business, causing the Clear Jade Mountain martial arts techniques to become increasingly worthless outside the area.

Despite the rebellion, Lin Hui still instructed Xia Si to give him a dignified ending.

Clear Jade Mountain took action, killing Liu Xuezhen thousands of times and sending her deep into the Drought Disaster, where she disappeared completely. She would only be mobilized when the Drought Disaster spread to other areas on a large scale.

After Liu Xuezhen's death, her daughter Liu Chengyuan also succumbed to the same fate within a few hundred years, dying in several acts of revenge and transforming into a monstrous monster, losing her sense of self.

Lin Hui was in seclusion, lost in his contemplation, and had long forgotten about time.

In the blink of an eye, countless hours had passed. His Thought Endures Eternally, and he was finally close to breaking through. The name of the Yang God was deeply ingrained in people's hearts, and now it spread throughout the surrounding Black Domain for hundreds of millions of light-years. It could be said that no one was unaware of him.

Within a small world at the foot of Clear Jade Mountain.

Deep within a vast snow-capped mountain range.

Like a colossal palace embedded in ice and snow, pure white, solid, and magnificent.

At the massive entrance, which is a kilometer high, stands a square stone tablet with white background and black characters.

The inscription on the stone tablet reads: Tomb of our ancestor Wu Anning.

Everyone from Clear Jade Mountain was present. Standing in front of the tombstone, gazing at the words on it, their souls seemed to sense the corpse lying inside, and their expressions were inexplicably somber.

"She was defeated in a one-on-one battle by a powerful Fusionist from the Desolation Disaster," Su Yaping said in a deep voice. "Most of her soul was devoured, rendering her completely unable to recover. Even if her soul were saved now, it would probably only be able to mutate..."

One and a half million years have passed since Lin Hui returned to Clear Jade Mountain.

The number of people remained the same; Lin Hui did not recruit any more disciples, and the core members remained the same.

One and a half million years is enough time to change far too many things.

Xia Si and Lin Yuexiu remained by Lin Hui's side as before, while Su Yaping visibly aged considerably. He had failed three times in his attempts to break through to the Colloidal Dissociation, damaging his soul considerably. Now, he could only enter a state of peaceful retirement, and it was estimated that he would live for another few million years before passing away peacefully.

"Teacher, with your great powers, can't you even revive my junior sister?" Yun Xiazi asked in a deep voice, with a hint of hope.

"She was devoured and robbed by the Source Disaster, and her soul has already been corrupted. Even if I were to take her back, it would be too late," Lin Hui said calmly.

In fact, long before Wu Anning established his family and his descendants multiplied, he had already foreseen countless possibilities for the future, and this was just one of them.

Wu Anning fought to avenge his family, but was gradually drawn into a vortex of conflict. In the end, while chasing his enemy, he fell into a trap and was attacked by the enemy in his dying moments. The powerful Source Disaster monster that was drawn out devoured both of them.

Now that their enemy is gone, Clear Jade Mountain has no way to retaliate.

In reality, it was the Wu Family members who initially relied on their strength to seize other people's secret treasures, which then triggered a series of chain reactions.

When a family grows large and has many members, there are bound to be some who cannot be controlled, which can lead to disaster and bring misfortune upon the whole family. This is only to be expected.

"Junior Sister Wu always says that having family means having something to care about, and even if you're in the sect, you're not as lonely as us lonely people. But now, is this the price of not being lonely?" Yun Xiazi sighed.

Su Yaping, who was also part of a family, had a slight change in expression, but ultimately remained silent.

"Let's go." Lin Hui turned around, his eyes seemingly constantly gathering and scattering countless colorful starlight.

Each and every glimmer of starlight was a future he saw.

He had felt sadness over this scene many years ago.

"Yaping, some things must be cut off. Acting impulsively, with arrogance and anger, will bring similar consequences."

Lin Hui transmitted his voice separately.

Su Yaping trembled slightly and nodded.

He still changes lovers every year, living a life of indulgence and unbridled pleasure. He has fathered countless illegitimate children. How can one not be moved by Wu Anning's tragic end?

With Wu Anning gone, the courtyard on Clear Jade Mountain felt even more deserted.

Su Yaping listened to advice and for the next few thousand years, she restrained herself, severed ties with her family, and devoted herself to cultivating martial arts and sword techniques to improve her cultivation.

Unfortunately... his aptitude had reached its limit in the materialization stage, and he had failed to break through three times before. No matter how much he recuperated, he could not hide his increasingly aged soul.

Nine hundred thousand years later...

Unable to resist, he attempted to break through to a new realm once more. However, he was troubled by numerous karmic consequences, suffered a qi deviation, and failed again.

It was all thanks to Lin Hui's intervention that the situation was reversed and he was rescued.

From then on, Su Yaping's personality changed drastically again, and she resumed indulging in a life of pleasure and debauchery.

He not only enjoyed himself, but also devoted all his remaining energy to helping Lin Hui expand the printing and advertising business.

He also took the initiative to negotiate with the surrounding Source Disaster fusion forces, using his surplus cognitive crystals to trade and spread Lin Hui's imprint.

Many of the Fusionist, having no hope of breaking through, indulged in sensual pleasures all day long, which suited him perfectly. Regardless of whether it was Black Disaster, Drought Disaster, Cold Disaster, or Light Disaster, there were large numbers of Fusionist became loyal fans of Lin Hui's engraving products.

By this point, Lin Hui had actually completed the second step of Thought Endures Eternally, integrating the engraving into his own techniques and symbols.

His absorption of the Original Object Projection has also come to an end.

And the inanimate fusion point it chose... was... Propagation.

This is also the fundamental reason why many Fusionist are willing to believe in him, because believing in him truly works...

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In the vast emptiness.

Lin Hui strolled around, sensing the constant turmoil of numerous Fusionist strongholds surrounding him. In the past, these Fusionist would never have allowed him to appear near their territory.

But now, he lets it run its course, and sometimes even fuels it.

All of this is because these forces are all followers of him, the Lord of Propagation.

Does this mean that Fusionist cannot reproduce? Does it mean that Fusionist cannot have sexual intercourse?

In reality, the Fusionist far surpassed the Resistance Faction and Neutrality in their pursuit of pleasure.

They were the ones who spent their long years doing nothing but playing.

Their understanding is also a natural blue ocean; in the realm of imprinting and dissemination, no one can compete with Lin Hui.

Furthermore, with all other positions already occupied, there were simply no other options when merging the Original Object Projection.

So... out of desperation, he unexpectedly discovered this blue sea, and decided to make a tough decision...