Swallowing the Stars, Hu Yanbo's Pre-Godhood

Chapter 180 Marching Forward!

Just as Hu Yanbo was about to contact the Mountain-Sitting Guest, an ancient communication token that had just appeared in his hand vibrated slightly, and the Mountain-Sitting Guest's unique, calm voice came through: "Wanxiang, your divine power avatar, which you placed within my miniature universe's Time Palace, suddenly dissipated on its own? Did something go wrong with your cultivation, or did something else happen?"

As the creator of a miniature universe, the Mountain Dweller possesses supreme perception over all time, space, and existence within that universe.

Therefore, he immediately noticed when Hu Yanbo's avatar suddenly disappeared.

"Senior is overthinking it," Hu Yanbo replied through the token, his tone relaxed. "It's just that I feel my cultivation has come to a temporary end. I have already comprehended the true secret technique that Senior carved, and now I can unleash the power of the strongest fusion secret technique."

"Therefore, there is little need to continue in seclusion, so I will dissipate my incarnation."

There was a brief silence on the other end of the communication token.

"It seems I was overthinking it." After a moment, the voice of the Mountain Hermit rang out again.

"Now that you've emerged from seclusion, Vientiane, what are your plans for the future?"

"I was just about to ask you for your guidance, senior. I intend to venture into the Cosmic Sea, firstly to hone my skills, and secondly to search for the most powerful treasures available," Hu Yanbo said.

"However, I just learned from the founder of the Giant Axe that there seems to be quite a bit of gossip circulating in the Cosmic Sea, especially among those 'Desperate Madmen' nearing the end of their first reincarnation era. They are all secretly gathering information about me and seem rather restless."

"Therefore, I would like to ask my senior for a way to perfectly change my life force and disguise my identity, so that I won't be chased by a bunch of powerful people as soon as I go out."

Hu Yanbo wasn't too surprised that he had suddenly become "fragrant" and "Tang Monk's flesh" in the eyes of many desperate people in the universe; on the contrary, he felt it was reasonable.

Put yourself in their shoes: if you were one of the strongest beings in the universe who had lived for nearly three lifetimes, whose lifespan was nearing its end, and who had no hope of transcending, and suddenly heard that such an anomaly had emerged in the primordial universe.

Its rise is illogical, seemingly favored by the primordial cosmic will, and it may be hiding a shocking secret or even an extraordinary opportunity—wouldn't you be tempted?

Would you like to "look into" this?

If you were to take a bite and actually gain a sliver of hope to transcend the cycle of reincarnation, that would be an incredible stroke of luck!

Even without it, the cost of dealing with a mere "Universe Master" is bearable.

After all, they don't live in the original universe.

On the other side of the communication token, the Mountain Guest remained silent for a moment.

"Those old fogies in the Cosmic Sea, nearing their end, certainly have ample motive to be interested in you." Confined to their current realm for endless years, and seeing the end of reincarnation drawing ever closer, they've already resorted to any means necessary.

"Any slight abnormality, any possible hope, will be magnified, speculated upon, and even verified at any cost. Your abnormality is so obvious that it's inevitable you'll be targeted."

"I prepared two identities for my disciples in my early years, as you may already know!"

The two identities he created through his avatars were able to deceive not only the strongest beings in the universe but also the original will of the universe.

One is known as the "Lord of Blood Cloud Palace," and the other is known as the "Lord of Northern Prison." Both of them have significant grudges against the major races of the primordial universe.

"The Blood Cloud Palace Master was previously under my control, so he had not yet made enemies with your human race."

"As for the Lord of the Northern Prison, he was given to my traitorous disciple, Emperor Yan. After leaving the human race, he used this identity to harbor considerable hatred towards the human race."

"If you need them, I can give you both of these identities, and the secrets they hold that can alter the very essence of your soul."

"Or, if you feel that these two identities are too intertwined and not secure enough, I will also annihilate the soul of a universe lord and create a new identity tailored for you."

To create a rare and unique treasure like the Blood Cloud Pearl, one must first kill a universe lord with their soul and then preserve their divine body.

"There's no need to trouble you with a completely new identity, senior. Creating an identity out of thin air, one with no background yet possessing formidable strength, would be too deliberate and easily arouse suspicion," Hu Yanbo said after a moment's thought.

Let's choose the Blood Cloud Palace Master.

In the original work, "Lord of Blood Cloud Palace" was an identity prepared for Luo Feng by the Mountain-Sitting Guest, so that he could fight against powerful enemies without any worries.

"But for now!" Hu Yanbo thought calmly.

Luo Feng's future trajectory is certainly not fixed, after all, the primordial universe has already undergone tremendous changes.

Perhaps we wouldn't even need to go through such trials.

Moreover, I still remember that Luo Feng didn't seem to have used the identity of Blood Cloud Palace Master very often.

It wasn't very helpful.

"Alright!" the mountain dweller transmitted his voice. "Give me your coordinates, and I'll come find you right away."

Soon after, the Mountain Guest quietly descended upon Huyan Bo's palace in the Glory Secret Realm.

Without much small talk, he handed Huyan Bo a dark red bead that exuded a strong aura of blood and slaughter—the Blood Cloud Bead—and a black token engraved with ferocious cloud patterns—the Blood Cloud Token.

Hu Yanbo accepted the token and, through the Blood Cloud Token, informed the special beings under the Blood Cloud Palace Master in the Ancient Chin Secret Realm to travel to the human territory and join the Easy Travel Merchant Guild.

He himself, disguised as the Blood Cloud Palace Master, ventured alone into a remote region of the primordial universe and found the infamous Toya Black Hole.

Passing through that powerful devouring force, one arrives at the cosmic sea.

What unfolded before my eyes was a scene completely different from the primordial universe—vast, magnificent, and also incredibly dangerous and desolate.

An endless stream of chaotic energy, like a gray mist, swirled and filled every inch of space.

These air currents may seem thin, but each strand contains unimaginable power. The mere pressure emanating from them is enough to cause the bodies of ordinary immortal gods to collapse and their souls to be annihilated!

This is the source of the universe's origin, the most primitive and violent form of energy.

Hu Yanbo floated in the chaotic airflow and looked back.

Behind them lay the vast, indescribable primordial universe, radiating boundless life and the aura of creation!

It stands quietly in the center of chaos, like the cradle of billions of races, the source of life.

Even across an endless distance, even as the master of the universe, looking at that vast and boundless outline, one can still feel one's own insignificance and a sense of awe stemming from the instinct of life.

"The primordial universe is essentially the fundamental path of life under the supreme rules!" This thought flashed through Hu Yanbo's mind.

It gives birth to all living beings, and its laws of evolution represent the ultimate in life and creation. The supreme rule, on the other hand, is the ironclad law that governs and constrains everything.

"Then what is the essence of my system?" A deeper question emerged.

"Shouldn't it transcend the so-called fundamental principle of cause and effect under the supreme rules?"

Hu Yanbo had no clear concept of the so-called "Great Way".

The creatures of the cosmic ocean and the primordial universe are mostly still using and comprehending the elements of metal, wood, water, fire, earth, wind, thunder, and time.

The ten fundamental laws of space, light, and even their fusion.

The "higher-level source of laws" is shrouded in mystery, let alone anything else.

But not understanding doesn't mean you can't try.

After the mountain dwellers approached, Hu Yanbo attempted to use the system to pre-draw the legacy of the so-called "Lieyuan Technique" left by the Yuan Dynasty.

The system's feedback, as expected, did not "disappoint" him.

Advance payment is possible!

What shocked, surprised, and even horrified Hu Yanbo even more was that the repayment conditions given by the system were unusually simple!

[Project Available for Advance Payment: The Art of Rank and Element]

[Repayment Condition: Elevate one's own will to the level of a "True God of the Void".]

The requirement of only willpower makes learning the "Art of Counting Elements" seem so simple.

It is important to understand that the essence of cultivating the "Art of Array Origins" is that it places high demands on the soul, but not so much on the will.

Throughout the history of the Origin Continent, there have been extraordinary geniuses whose will defied the heavens and reached the level of an eternal true god during the stage of the Lord of the Universe!

But they still couldn't master the "Art of Rank"!

What is the reason?

It is precisely because the "Art of Array Origins" has certain unique and extremely demanding requirements on the soul of the cultivator!

Strong willpower is only one of the foundations, and may not even be the most crucial factor.

But what about the conditions provided by the system?

All it takes is for one's will to reach the "limit of the Void True God"!

Not a word was mentioned regarding the requirements of the essence of the soul!

Therefore, Hu Yanbo speculated that perhaps because the system was bound to him, his soul essence had been silently transformed and optimized by the system.

Therefore, the important conditions of "Lieyuan Shu" can be ignored.

Regardless of the circumstances, it demonstrates that the system's essence and level absolutely surpass this Fangyuan world!

"Now that I can transcend the Origin World, I can go to the Origin Continent with peace of mind," Hu Yanbo thought to himself.

However, that's all for the future. No matter how grand the blueprint, we still need to be down-to-earth and take it one step at a time.

At present —

Hu Yanbo composed himself and turned his gaze to the chaotic void before him, which was called the "nearshore area of ​​the cosmic sea".

This area is close to the primordial universe, with relatively mild chaotic air currents and fewer dangers. It is also a region where many universe masters who enter the cosmic sea for the first time familiarize themselves with the environment.

The most eye-catching feature is the thirty-nine natural wormholes of varying sizes scattered and slowly rotating in the void ahead!

These wormholes are naturally formed spatial channels in the cosmic sea, like fixed routes connecting relatively distant regions of the cosmic sea.

Using them can significantly shorten travel time and avoid many known dangerous areas.

Hu Yanbo hovered in front of the wormhole cluster, his scarlet eyes scanning each wormhole entrance.

Based on the intelligence at hand, he already knew the routes to these wormholes like the back of his hand.

"Wormhole No. 7 —" His gaze was fixed on the entrance of a wormhole to his left front, which was about hundreds of millions of kilometers in diameter, with colorful light inside and relatively stable spatial fluctuations.

"According to the information, the location after exiting through this No. 7 natural wormhole will be the closest to the outer area of ​​the 'Spaceship,' one of the three forbidden zones!"

Hu Yanbo's first target is the Black Patterned Stone Pillar in the inner domain of the "Cosmic Ship". Near the True God area of ​​the Black Patterned Stone Pillar, it will only take ten thousand years to repay the True God's will that he has pre-borrowed.

Of course, there are other places in the three forbidden zones where one can repay one's will, but based on the information available, only the Black-Patterned Stone Pillar offers the best value for money.

Inside the wormhole, Hu Yanbo felt the surrounding light and shadow rushing backward, the space being compressed and stretched layer by layer, and a huge pulling force carrying him towards the unknown distance.

A moment later, he burst out from the other end of the wormhole.

Then, with a thought, his figure vanished from the spot and appeared ten thousand light-years away!

The Lord of the Universe can teleport up to 10,000 light-years in a single instant!

Furthermore, the stronger one's will, the higher the frequency of teleportation.

With Hu Yanbo's current divine will, he can perform high-frequency teleportation across countless light levels with almost no difficulty.

Once, twice, ten times, a hundred times —

The crimson figure flickered continuously in the endless chaotic void, appearing each time from tens of thousands of light-years away.

The area along the way was not entirely deserted.

Occasionally, Hu Yanbo could see enormous, dilapidated shadows floating in the chaotic air currents in the distance.

It was a dilapidated miniature universe.

Some have long lost all their luster, like hollowed-out gray giant eggs, their surfaces covered with cracks, utterly lifeless.

Some still retain a faint glow, and the collapsed star continent can be vaguely seen inside, exuding a desolate aura of time and end.

Even worse, only huge fragments, whose original form was unrecognizable, remained, drifting slowly in the chaotic air currents.

collapse----

When the strongest being in the universe falls, its smaller universe loses its core support, gradually ceases to function, its internal life forms become extinct, its laws collapse, and it ultimately decays, disintegrates, and returns to chaos.

This is a cruel but inevitable cycle.

In fact, the number of small universes with masters (in this cycle of reincarnation and the previous two cycles) existing in the cosmic sea is limited, while the vast majority are dilapidated small universes like these floating in endless chaos.

Like silent tombstones, they record the final resting place of the strongest beings in the universe who once dominated the world, and also warn those who come after them of the cruelty and ruthlessness of the cycle of reincarnation.

"According to intelligence, there are currently 18,020 small universes recorded in the Cosmic Sea." Hu Yanbo said indifferently as he teleported, looking at these graveyards of civilizations.

Even though the teleportation frequency is extremely high, each time spanning tens of thousands of light-years, the scale of the cosmic ocean is simply too vast.

It took nearly seven days of continuous travel to get from the exit of Wormhole No. 7 to the area recognized by the Spaceship as close to it!

Finally, after who knows how many teleportations, Hu Yanbo stopped.

He hovered in the chaotic void, his scarlet gaze piercing through the thinned chaotic air currents and looking towards the infinitely distant future.

At first, it was just a barely perceptible black dot, slightly darker than the surrounding chaotic background.

As he continued to teleport forward, the black dot rapidly magnified in his field of vision.

From the size of a sesame seed, to the size of a fist, and then to a barely visible outline —

Finally, when Hu Yanbo stopped again, standing on the edge of a void where the chaotic air currents were almost emptied and the space itself seemed exceptionally stable, the breathtaking scene was displayed before his eyes without reservation.

No, we can't use what's in front of us.

Because the object was so enormous that even across a distance of hundreds of millions of light-years, it filled every direction of the field of vision, with no top in sight, no bottom in sight, and no boundaries in sight!

It resembled an endless metal wall stretching across the chaos, or a piece of metal suspended in the endless void.

A shattered supercontinent!

"It's huge!"

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