No matter how lively things were outside, Chen Qing felt better than ever. Ever since his instincts broke free of their restraints, he had felt as if he'd returned to the womb, greedily absorbing every bit of nourishment. More and more roots sprouted, his body grew larger, and leaves and stems appeared. At last, a blue-green flower bud emerged.
The bud kept growing. Every breakthrough sent a huge wave surging through the Origin Ocean. The jade-green lotus leaves beat against the waves, ringing out with a clear sound like bells and drums. Year after year, the bud grew larger, and an inscrutable aura began to emanate from it, shifting unpredictably. The Primal Universe Will grew joyful. When the bud gave off a faint fragrance, that will became even more lively, as if it had suddenly awakened.
"Dong!"
When the ninth sound rang out, everyone—from the strongest beings to ordinary Planetary Level warriors—awaited the next change. Then, a scene suddenly appeared in their minds: in a boundless, illusory sea grew a strange plant, its entire body blue-green. At its crown, a jade-green flower bud slowly unfurled, layer by layer, as if time and space were evolving, life cycling through reincarnation, and the Dao arising and passing away.
As the flower bloomed, Chen Qing's consciousness began to return. Memories from both his lives flashed through his mind, and his thoughts grew clear. Thoughts arose and faded, until at last they returned to the void. In that moment, Chen Qing's will surged to a new height. His heart was still as water; he emptied his mind and dispelled delusions. The mysteries of the Origin Land began to emerge in his heart, radiating outward without end. He seemed to see lowly slaves, mighty beings who could reshape the world with a wave of their hands, and proud Special Lifeforms—
Then the entire universe was imprinted in his heart. The lotus swayed gently, bringing a trace of peace to all beings and brushing away a wisp of their savagery. Then the consciousness beside him startled him awake. It was filled with joy and curiosity, pure yet majestic, though he could also sense a trace of weakness.
"All right, you two little fellows, stop staring each other down!" A calm voice suddenly sounded in Chen Qing's heart. "I never expected a flawed seed to sprout so quickly. I underestimated your Dao. It's a pity it's so incomplete."
He knows I'm here!
Chen Qing's heart skipped a beat, and the lotus began to contract. No, only one person could know this clearly: the master of this place, Yuan.
Then there was nothing to worry about. If there'd been a problem, he wouldn't have waited until now. Besides, Yuan might not even think much of him. "You're not bad, and the Dao you contain is formidable. Why would I look down on you?"
Seeing the Green Lotus's petals begin to unfold again, Yuan's teasing voice rang out. "Though it's very incomplete, it's still somewhat useful to me. And it helped me nurture an unexpected result!"
Yuan's voice carried a wealth of information, and Chen Qing soon understood. The Primal Universe Will had originally been something like a composite consciousness. With the Green Lotus's help, it had developed intelligence, much like a World Beast, though it represented life. This was an enormous opportunity, but for the beings of the Primal Universe, it could be a tragedy. Even the Supreme Rule was caught off guard. After all, just because destruction could be nurtured didn't mean life had to sacrifice itself for someone else.
Though Yuan didn't care, he couldn't let his cultivation pool be ruined. "You two are born together, like twin lotuses. Use your Jade Lotus Root to seal the Primal Universe Will. First, that'll give her time to grow and build her foundation. Second, her instincts can remain behind to complete this cycle's task. When it's over, she can go to the Source Continent. Any objections?"
Chen Qing nodded repeatedly. His source had already become a lotus, and that was his foundation. All that remained was the lingering Dao aura. The Green Lotus could be refined into a treasure; as long as his source remained, it wouldn't suffer much damage, and it could still grow countless illusory roots as before.
The Green Lotus shook, paused, then drew its petals tight before suddenly spreading them wide. It broke off from the base of the lotus pod, and with a gentle sweep of its petals, pushed away the remaining parts. After all, it owed its growth to the Primal Universe Will.
"You're quite willing to part with it. Keeping the lotus stem as a weapon for self-defense would be good, too. I'll refine the lotus leaves for you. Keep them to protect yourself."
While Yuan worked on refining the items, Chen Qing carefully communicated with the Primal Universe Will, occasionally drawing the Supreme Rule into the conversation as well.
Unfortunately, before long—and without even seeing Yuan move—Chen Qing found himself back in the secret realm. Only then did he have time to take a close look at his body. The lotus pod alone spanned twelve light-years; with the flower fully spread, it measured a full thirty-six light-years across. And this was only its infancy. To strengthen his source, Creation had nine layers, corresponding to the Infinite Divine Body. It was also a treasure-refinement method: after incorporating the Green Lotus, he could use his source to develop innate restrictions. But that probably wouldn't be possible in the Three Thousand Dimensions.
Then there was his main body. This time, the Primal Universe had directly raised it to perfection, but the reward had come from Yuan as a return gift.
"Chaos Evolution."
This wasn't an ordinary Innate Secret Technique. It was like how a Universe Master's God Kingdom evolved into a Mini-Universe upon breaking through to True God. Power gathered in his hands; the more he poured in, the higher the quality of the divine power and the more complete the evolution. Though it was difficult to control, it contained the path of Chaos Law. Yuan had no choice but to give it to him. The Green Lotus had been absorbing a little too fiercely, and Yuan didn't want it to keep ravaging the Primal Universe. It was better for Chen Qing to head to the Chaos Sea and absorb energy there. It wasn't as if he lacked the ability—the Green Lotus's roots couldn't be stopped even by the Three Thousand Dimensions.
Finally, there was the Cyan Jade Armor. As expected of something Yuan had crafted: in such a short time, it had reached the Peak God King Treasure level. It shared the same origin as Chen Qing, too. Now his main body no longer had to worry about its safety. Let's see who still thinks my cheat is too weak!
After the upheaval, the Primal Universe returned to peace, as if nothing had happened. Those still traveling were the only exception. Everyone else felt an inexplicable emptiness in their hearts. At the Giant Axe Meeting, everyone woke and fell silent, then looked toward Palace Master Biluo. "He didn't come online!"
Palace Master Biluo's usually unchanging expression showed a trace of irritation. Not only had he failed to come online, he'd even dragged his disciple offline. What sort of person had she run into? He was already King-Rank. What would it cost him to spare a sliver of his consciousness?
He'd left everyone waiting here. Did he have nothing better to do? If it weren't pointless, the palace master might even have considered cutting off a couple of taels of flesh!
In truth, nobody in the entire Primal Universe was idle. Some were investigating, others were in seclusion, and even ordinary people were discussing it. The six peak races, countless minor races, and solitary cultivators were all involved. Even Mountain Sitting Guest was getting restless. Everyone knew the opportunity lay in the Primal Universe. Who wouldn't want to investigate? It might be hidden in some corner. Even among the twenty humans, at least twelve wanted to go explore. What if they found something?
Besides, Chen Qing looked like no more than a World Lord. He didn't seem capable of something like this. It seemed more like someone had used him to complete some sort of ritual.
"His comprehension is good. Perhaps he gained something from it."
Giant Axe glanced around and came up with a plausible excuse. Quite a few people nodded, while Palace Master Biluo clenched her fist. "Chaos—"
Hearing Giant Axe Founder call out, Chaos City Lord looked over in confusion. "We need to put on a convincing show. The matter with the Virtual Universe isn't far off, after all. Be careful not to draw their suspicion."
"Rest assured, Giant Axe Founder. We've made preparations, too. No one else knows about Chen Qing's situation, so we should be able to keep it hidden."
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