Swallowing the Stars, Hu Yanbo's Pre-Godhood

Chapter 257 Determining the Result and Tracing the Cause

Hu Yanbo carefully comprehended these newly named branches of profound meaning, and he had only one feeling in his mind—they were incredibly powerful, and extremely abnormal!

This ability to directly define the result and then let the power of the Great Dao spontaneously weave and guide the cause has a potential that is almost like a dimensional reduction attack in actual combat, planning, and even cultivation assistance.

What stirred his heart even more was how similar the underlying logic of the "causal reasoning" he now possessed was to the "advance payment system" he had relied on for countless years!

"Systemic advance payment means first obtaining the result (ability), and then fulfilling the cause (repayment conditions)."

"My approach of tracing causes back to their effects" can also be done by first assuming an effect, and then influencing and weaving together the causes.

"Although its scope and power are limited by my own level of understanding and comprehension, and it is far from being as omnipotent as the system, the principle is the same!"

An idea emerged uncontrollably: since the principles are the same, can I now, like the system, make a certain amount of advance payment to myself?

With a thought racing through his mind, Hu Yanbo immediately began to try it.

"Target: The Great Dao of Destruction, a branch of the 'Heaven-Splitting Lineage,' its many mysteries, instantly mastered to the peak of the Chaos Realm!"

This was not a target chosen arbitrarily.

Although Hu Yanbo did not major in the Great Dao of Destruction, he had witnessed it and had some understanding of it.

The Heaven-Splitting lineage is a branch of the Great Dao of Destruction that emphasizes pure destructive power, making it the most suitable test subject.

"Fixed Fruit" - This assumes that in the next instant, one's comprehension of the "Heaven-Splitting Lineage" branch will reach the complete level of the peak of the Chaos Realm.

"Tracing the cause"—the power of the Great Dao begins to spontaneously trace and weave the "cause" required to achieve this "effect".

In an instant, Hu Yanbo felt as if his consciousness had been forcibly pulled into a world of laws filled with endless destruction and sharp cutting!

Countless fragments, insights, and even deeper operational rules about the profound meaning of "Splitting the Heavens" were instantly activated, connected, and integrated, as if they had been stored deep in his memory long ago!

In just one breath, his understanding of the "Heaven-Splitting Lineage" of the Great Dao of Destruction leaped from a rudimentary understanding to the perfection of the Chaos Realm!

He was just one step away from fully comprehending the entire Heaven-Splitting Lineage and achieving the God-King level through it.

At the same time, a clear sense of cost also emerged in his mind.

"Repayment conditions—" Hu Yanbo immediately understood.

"We need to confront the fundamental Dao of Destruction directly," or kill enough powerful beings to accelerate the repayment process through their destructive origin—"

This feeling was so similar to when he used the system panel to pre-draw on cause and effect and the branches of the Great Way of Life!

Moreover, he could see that the number of times he could pre-draw funds on the system panel in his mind had not decreased as a result.

"Indeed! The essence of 'determining the result by tracing the cause' is to mobilize the power of the Great Dao to weave 'cause and effect' to achieve the goal. I myself am part of this chain of cause and effect!" Hu Yanbo understood perfectly.

"The system directly bestows the result from a higher-level existence," while I, within the framework of "cause and effect," set the "result" myself and pay the corresponding price (the cost of weaving cause and effect and subsequent repayment) to achieve it!

However, this ability is not without limitations and costs.

Hu Yanbo could clearly feel that at this moment, when he had preemptively drawn upon and mastered the "Heaven-Splitting Lineage" branch, his ability to "determine the cause and effect" was significantly weakened.

It seems that some of the computing power and permissions were used to maintain the realization of this new result and to trace its subsequent causes.

"It's just been weakened, not rendered unusable."

"Moreover, as I truly digest these 'pre-exploited' gains and repay the corresponding costs," this weakening should gradually dissipate, and may even be strengthened by a deeper understanding of how 'cause and effect' work.

Since that's the case—

Hu Yanbo's eyes narrowed.

"Fixed Fruit—This assumes that one has fully comprehended the profound mysteries of the remaining five major branches of the Great Dao of Destruction (Sky Rift, Annihilation...) to the peak of the Chaos Realm!"

boom!

A torrent of information and insights into laws, several times stronger than before, assaulted his consciousness!

The vast and profound mysteries of the other five branches of the Great Dao of Destruction instantly took shape in his mind!

The ability to "reverse cause and effect" was also suddenly suppressed to the point where it could only maintain its most basic function.

But the results are remarkable.

In a short period of time, his understanding of the entire Dao of Destruction has leaped from a complete novice to the pinnacle of the Chaos Realm!

Correspondingly, the feeling of "repayment" becomes clearer and heavier.

It may require a longer period of time to confront the source of destruction, or it may require the slaying of more and stronger beings of evil.

Hu Yanbo let out a long breath, suppressing the destructive intent churning in his mind.

"Too much 'advance' has indeed placed a heavy burden on me." Hu Yanbo calmly assessed his own condition.

The ability to "deduce cause from effect" has been significantly suppressed for the time being, requiring time to recover and digest. However, this deal was "very worthwhile."

He could not only clearly perceive all the mysteries of the six branches of the Great Dao of Destruction at the Chaos Realm level.

More importantly, he personally practiced and verified the feasibility of the "Cause and Effect Path - Tracing the Cause to Determine the Effect" branch!

Although currently limited by his realm and depth of understanding of the Great Dao, the "fruits" he can draw upon in advance have an upper limit and require paying a corresponding price, this undoubtedly opens a completely new door for him.

"My chances of becoming the 'Story King' of the Infinite Chaos Space are getting bigger and bigger."

As Hu Yanbo pondered, his consciousness naturally drifted to the depths of his mind, to the egg that still floated quietly, shrouded in endless mysteries.

Now, he has fully comprehended the secret patterns flowing on the surface of the egg, which represent the basic framework of the "Great Dao of Cause and Effect".

"True advance payment" has a level and scope that far surpasses my current understanding of cause and effect. Hu Yanbo was well aware of this.

The panel can directly bypass the arrangement of "Yuan" and bestow upon "Lieyuan Technique", allowing him to pre-draw various abilities that surpass his current Dao realm.

"The surface runes are already the Great Dao of Cause and Effect," so what is inside—what is it?" Hu Yanbo tried to concentrate his early God Emperor will to the extreme and probe into the egg's interior.

However, it was as if his will had struck an insurmountable barrier.

"I can't see through it." Hu Yanbo withdrew his will, showing little frustration.

"It seems my current mental will is insufficient to uncover the deeper secrets of this egg."

The early stage of the God Emperor's will was already at the top level of the Origin Continent, enough to make him stand out from the vast majority of God Kings.

Even when faced with what may be the "egg" that is the source of the "path of cause and effect," one can still only observe its appearance.

"It requires an even stronger will—the mid-stage of the God Emperor realm? Or even higher?" Hu Yanbo secretly estimated.

Breaking through the barriers of will is no easier than reaching the realm of the Great Dao; opportunity, accumulation, and enlightenment are all indispensable.

"Perhaps I should use this last chance from the panel to break through my willpower bottleneck?" Hu Yanbo pondered.

As this thought became clear, the silent panel subtly shifted its light, and words appeared:

[Pre-funded project: Mid-stage God Emperor's Will.]

Repayment conditions (completing any one of them is sufficient):

[1. Comprehend the complete path of integration.]

[2. Obtain the Great Dream Source Seed.]

[3. Reach the level of a mid-stage God Emperor on any major path.]

4. Obtain 20 million Chaos Origin Crystals.

Hu Yanbo's gaze swept over these conditions, and his brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.

difficult.

too difficult.

The first principle is to fully comprehend and integrate the Dao.

He hasn't even begun to combine the two great principles of cause and effect and life, let alone achieve a complete fusion.

The second one is "The Great Dream Source Seed".

Just by its name, you can tell that it is something that cannot be produced on the continent of origin.

The third path is to become a mid-stage God Emperor who has attained enlightenment on a certain Great Dao.

This means that reaching the mid-stage of the God Emperor realm on a major path is no easier than breaking through to the mid-stage of the God Emperor realm in terms of willpower, and may even be more difficult.

The fourth item is 20 million Hunyuan Crystals. This is the hard currency of the Hunyuan Space, and it is almost never circulated on the Origin Continent.

Let alone 20 million, even 2,000 would be enough to make many god-kings fight to the death.

This condition seems straightforward, but in reality, it is almost impossible to fulfill on the Origin Continent.

"None of these repayment conditions can be easily met within the Origin Continent," Hu Yanbo quickly assessed.

"Paying in advance means taking on a huge debt that is almost impossible to repay in the short term."

More importantly, Hu Yanbo was assessing the actual benefits brought about by the breakthrough in willpower.

"The supreme rules of the Origin Continent have an upper limit on the power of the mind and will."

"Even if I possess the will of a mid-stage God Emperor, the actual strength of my will that I can exert within this Origin World will not be significantly greater than my current, near-maximum early-stage God Emperor will."

Hu Yanbo's will, nurtured by centuries of arduous cultivation and the "Great Dao of Cause and Effect," is now far stronger than when he first entered the God Emperor realm, and is very close to the ceiling allowed by the rules of the Origin Continent.

Going a step further, the essence is an improvement, but within this cage, the space for further expansion is actually limited.

"The effort and the reward are not proportional," Hu Yanbo concluded.

"Using up the last precious, higher-level panel advance opportunity to exchange for an outcome that doesn't offer a significant improvement in the current environment and whose repayment conditions are almost impossible?"

This is not worth it.

"The opportunity to pre-draw on the panel must be used in other areas." Hu Yanbo withdrew the idea of ​​using the panel to pre-draw on his will.

"Let's borrow the path of life in advance." He quickly sorted out his thoughts.

Since using the panel to pre-emptively break through the cost-effectiveness of the will in the short term is too low, then use this precious opportunity on the path I have planned before - to master multiple great paths as soon as possible in order to control the source world.

First, become a world-class Hunyuan (Lord of the Origin World). Relying on the status of the Lord of the Origin World and the enhanced essence of the soul, one's will will naturally reach a higher level.

At that time, using a higher-dimensional will to delve into the deeper mysteries of the egg will undoubtedly be far more efficient than it is now.

"It would probably take a very long time to advance and comprehend multiple complete Great Daos," Hu Yanbo assessed the difficulties.

Previously, when he tried to advance his understanding of the "six branches of the Great Dao of Life," the system's repayment conditions, even using the most precious lotus seeds, required him to remain in seclusion for a full thirty centuries!

If one chooses the least efficient path, "comprehending the fundamental principles of life," it will take thousands of years!

This is only the Great Dao of Life, and it's only at the first level of the God King realm (a branch of enlightenment).

To integrate these branches and reach the second level, it will likely require even more terrifying accumulation and time.

Moreover, aside from the Great Dao of Destruction, which he has already grasped to some extent, he has almost no foundation in other Great Daos such as Time, Space, and Matter, and his affinity with them is probably even lower.

The time required to prepay and repay the costs will only be longer.

"Sigh—" Hu Yanbo sighed softly to himself.

This is a road that is destined to be long.

"If Luo Feng takes this path, he'll probably catch up with me, or even surpass me," Hu Yanbo thought to himself.

"But we can only take it one step at a time."

Hu Yanbo's mind raced, and light flowed through the inner panel of his mind.

[Advance payment project: Complete understanding of the six branches of the Great Way of Life.]

Repayment conditions (completing any one of them is sufficient)

[1. A secret technique for creating the second level of the Divine King realm of the Great Dao of Life's Origin.]

[2. Obtained the Great Dao Diagram, and secluded himself to comprehend it for ten epochs.]

[3. Obtain the Lotus Seed, and then retreat into seclusion to comprehend three cycles of enlightenment.]

[4. Comprehend the fundamental principles of life over a hundred centuries.]

"???"

"Ten eras?"

"Three centuries?"

"A century?"

Hu Yanbo clearly remembers the last time he checked the repayment terms for this advance payment project.

The "Great Dao Diagram" requires a hundred epochs to comprehend in seclusion, the "Lotus Heart Seed" requires thirty epochs, and comprehending the "Great Dao of the Origin of Life" requires even more than a thousand epochs!

How come it's shrunk tenfold?

"Has the cost of repaying an advance changed?"

Hu Yanbo's thoughts raced. He first thought of improving his willpower, but then immediately dismissed the idea.

"wrong."

"The conditions for the breakthrough in willpower and the pre-requisite panel have not changed."

"Increased willpower is probably not the main reason."

What is that?

He examined his greatest gain from this century of seclusion—his mastery of several branches of the "Path of Cause and Effect".

A thought flashed through my mind like lightning.

"Is it because my understanding of cause and effect has reached a new level?"

Hu Yanbo attempted to understand the connection: "The underlying logic of the pre-payment system is very likely a manifestation of a higher-dimensional cause-effect principle."

Does a deeper understanding of cause and effect equate to a higher level of compatibility or authority with the system?

"Did the system lower the difficulty level so that it determined I could obtain a specific fruit?"

This seems to be the most reasonable explanation.

Just as when a person masters the basic principles of an advanced tool, their efficiency will significantly improve when using it to complete the same task again, and the "cost" or "conditions" required will also change accordingly.

"It's not just about being able to make advance payments for a lower-spec version," Hu Yanbo suddenly realized.

My deepened understanding of the essence of cause and effect has actually influenced the price the actual pre-payment system sets for me!

This means that the cost of repaying other projects he advances on the panel in the future will likely decrease as his understanding of the "causal path" deepens!

This is undoubtedly a huge positive development!

"So that's how it is—improving my understanding of cause and effect not only allows me to have similar abilities, but also indirectly unlocks a higher cost-effectiveness for the system!" A glint flashed in Hu Yanbo's eyes.

"Now, I don't have to worry about being quickly surpassed by my good disciple Luo Feng."