The successor to the Upper Chapter's Duandong River should be the 192nd generation inheritor; this has been modified.

"Aaaah—" Luo Feng gripped the rocks with both hands, his entire body trembling. He involuntarily threw his head back, and it was as if a brand had been forcefully seared onto his brow. A black-and-white intertwined mark finally appeared there before completely sinking away, becoming impossible to observe again.

Luo Feng’s body trembled uncontrollably. He opened his eyes and looked at Duandong River, who stood beside him. "This—this was far too painful."

"This is the mark of all the Duandong Rivers who came before me," Duandong River explained. "It was created by the Third Generation Ancestor. Every generation can inherit it. Once inherited, one can easily synchronize with the entire inheritance space! Only those who possess this mark can truly have the inheritance space recognize them as master... Only those who control the inheritance space can receive the true legacy of my Duandong River lineage."

Luo Feng nodded.

The more specialized a supreme treasure is, the more troublesome it is to bond with. One only needed to look at the Star Tower or the white wings as examples. Yet, this 'Inheritance Space' was the treasure used by the Duandong River lineage for succession, infinitely more precious than a minor universe, and countless times more valuable than a supreme treasure. How complex must the process of bonding be? Only those with the inheritance mark could even attempt it.

"Though I have perished, I left behind a virtual consciousness," Duandong River looked at Luo Feng. "A consciousness virtually created using my true thoughts, memories, and personality as a template. Only by doing this could I wait patiently for a successor to accept the inheritance. My ability to leave behind a virtual consciousness... is itself one of the methods of the inheritance space."

Duandong River smiled. "The Inheritance Space has numerous functions; it is a treasure created specifically for succession by the Third Generation Ancestor. You will come to know them—later."

"My virtual consciousness controls this Inheritance Space; you cannot bond with it yet."

"I must willingly relinquish control before you can begin the bonding process."

"Before you bond with it..., there is one thing you must do," Duandong River looked at Luo Feng.

Luo Feng replied respectfully, "Teacher, please instruct me."

"Take an oath," Duandong River stated solemnly. "Swear that you will follow me and learn!"

Luo Feng nodded and listened intently.

Duandong River spoke slowly and solemnly: "I, in the name of the new Duandong River, swear, with the inheritance mark as witness... I, Duandong *Luo Feng, shall never divulge the core inheritance of the Duandong River lineage. If I violate this oath, may my soul be annihilated."

"Is this necessary?" Luo Feng looked at Duandong River.

"It is necessary," Duandong River nodded gravely. "Otherwise, if you perish, I will simply choose another inheritor."

Luo Feng nodded and stated directly: "I, in the name of the new Duandong River, swear, with the inheritance mark as witness... I, Duandong *Luo Feng, shall never divulge the core inheritance of the Duandong River lineage. If I violate this oath, may my soul be annihilated."

The voice echoed, resounding by his ears, resounding in his mind. The mark on his brow lit up, and waves of sound pierced deep into his soul. "‘If I violate this oath, may my soul be annihilated.’"

"May my soul be annihilated..."

"May my soul be annihilated..."

The voices continuously resonated within his soul.

Luo Feng frowned and looked at Duandong River beside him with confusion. Duandong River gave a slight nod. "This inheritance mark will never fade. I know you are a Universe Venerable; you can be resurrected after death. But even after resurrection, you will still carry this mark, forever... Should you break your vow, the inheritance mark will annihilate your soul. Even if you are resurrected, you will be annihilated again... constant resurrection, annihilation, resurrection, annihilation."

A chill ran through Luo Feng’s heart.

"Of course, as long as you do not spread the core inheritance," Duandong River nodded. "Very well. Before you bond with this Inheritance Space, I will tell you about the most crucial information, treasures, and so on."

"Follow me." Duandong River pointed into the void, and a spatial gate immediately appeared there.

Duandong River and Luo Feng entered the spatial gate, one after the other.

All around them was endless lake water, with a small island at the center. On the island was a simple wooden hut, and before the hut was a pond.

Duandong River landed near the pond.

"This independent space is arguably the most important among the many spaces within the Inheritance Space," Duandong River said, pointing above the pond. "Do you see it? The three black pebbles floating above the water's surface."

Luo Feng also looked over.

The pond was not large, yet three crystal-clear, smooth black pebbles hovered above it, constantly drifting.

"These are called Stones of Memory, also known as Stones of Inheritance," Duandong River explained. "They can store vast amounts of memory and information. Storing the entire memory of even a single supreme expert is extremely easy."

"These three pebbles... are the very foundation of my Duandong River lineage!" Duandong River stated solemnly.

"The foundation?" Luo Feng’s heart stirred.

"Now look inside the pond," Duandong River waved his hand, and whoosh—all the lake water in the pond instantly flew upward, revealing tens of thousands of black pebbles at the bottom of the pond. At a glance, there seemed to be over ten thousand.

"Now look at the endless ocean," Duandong River waved his hand again.

Rumble~ ~

The endless ocean surrounding the small island roared, and the seawater began to levitate as if heaven and earth were inverted. All the water floated up into the sky, leaving the space below empty, revealing trenches, underwater canyons, and more... And with just a glance, even with Luo Feng's vision, he could occasionally spot some black pebbles.

"They are all Stones of Memory," Duandong River stated directly.

"These three... are the foundation, containing the very essence of the core inheritance!" Duandong River emphasized. "They are the greatest contributions left to my Duandong River lineage by the Third Generation Ancestor."

"And there are a total of 12,002 Stones of Memory in the pond. These also belong to the core inheritance," Duandong River chuckled. "But they represent various schools of thought—some focusing on close combat, others on ranged attacks, treasure refining, mechanics, and so on... Any single technique or cultivation method contained within is enough to drive the entire Universe Sea into a frenzy."

"And in the endless ocean, there are casually scattered over a hundred million Stones of Memory," Duandong River smiled. "Those were continuously collected by the experts of my Duandong River lineage during their travels. They are truly comprehensive. Perhaps ninety percent of the basic techniques and information from my home civilization are recorded here. Of course, only the superficial, basic knowledge is recorded, much like the basic inheritance you initially received."

Luo Feng was intensely moved.

A library!

It was simply a super-library, or rather, it was a 'template' left behind by that ancient civilization. With the over one hundred million Stones of Memory scattered in the endless ocean, it was entirely possible to replicate the low-to-mid-tier powers of that ancient civilization (though only the superficial aspects).

"These 12,002 Stones of Memory," Duandong River pointed to the bottom of the pond, "are the pride of every previous inheritor, the culmination of their efforts! Of course, some also contain invaluable, top-tier cultivation information. Every single Stone of Memory is enough to incite a war."

"And these three... are capable of sparking wars between the supreme powers of my home civilization."

"Remember, the information within these three and the 12,002 stones must never be leaked," Duandong River entrusted him solemnly. "As for those in the endless ocean, you may use them as you wish."

"Yes," Luo Feng responded.

"Try wrapping these three Stones of Memory with your divine power," Duandong River instructed. "Since you have the inheritance mark, these three Stones of Memory will recognize you and transfer all their contained inheritance to you."

Luo Feng held his breath, preparing for the essence of the core inheritance...

The proudest insights of the Third Generation Ancestor, who stood at the pinnacle?

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Three streams of invisible divine power extended, swiftly enveloping the three black pebbles. The moment they made contact, the three pebbles faintly brightened, ancient and complex patterns emerging on their surfaces. Immediately, a torrent of surging information rushed directly into Luo Feng's mind.

A sea of information!

A deluge of transmission...

Even at Luo Feng's absorption rate, the process took over a full day to complete.

Duandong River stood by, watching with a smile, but when Luo Feng opened his eyes, they were filled with shock and disbelief.

Merely three ultimate techniques!

The core of the Duandong River lineage's core, the true essence, consisted of three ultimate techniques!

They were named Sever, East, and River.

Sever, fully named Annihilation Sever, was an extremely unique ultimate technique that could cause all energy in the divine body or physical body to erupt rapidly within a short period! This allowed one's strength to increase by a hundred, a thousand, or even ten thousand times temporarily... Simplified, this technique was somewhat akin to self-destruction, where one made all their power explode instantly.

However, self-destruction released energy in all directions and resulted in the user’s death.

But Annihilation Sever, created by the Third Generation Ancestor as the core inheritance, was completely different. It allowed the expert to control the rate of combustion! For instance, one could choose to burn their entire divine body in three seconds! The resulting power surge was immensely greater than normal, and perhaps the battle would end after just one second, at which point the burning could be immediately halted! Furthermore, during combat, the wielder could precisely control the power to strike the opponent.

Therefore, this was a heaven-defying ultimate technique capable of annihilating enemies across cultivation realms.

East, fully named East Splendor, was an escape technique. Once cast, the user transformed into a streak of light... incredibly fast, even capable of easily piercing through layers of space. It was the Duandong River lineage’s most formidable evasion technique.

River, fully named Undying River, the purpose of this technique was to achieve immortality! For flesh-and-blood beings, once they advanced to Immortal, Universe Venerable, or Universe Master, their divine bodies began to transform into energy. But upon breaking through to become a Universe Supreme Being... they returned to their origin!

All clones merged into one! The divine body became completely flesh and blood again.

True flesh-and-blood life forms, while they could still burn part of their flesh to convert into energy, were fundamentally still flesh and blood. Against Universe Masters or even Universe Supreme Beings, standard soul attacks could render them utterly dead. But with Undying River, once cultivated to a certain level, parts of the body could be completely separated.

For example, a single drop of blood could be hidden away. Even if the main body and all clones were annihilated... this specially refined drop of blood would remain unharmed and could absorb energy over time to regenerate the main body!

This was immortality!

Annihilation Sever provided overwhelming combat power during frontal engagements. East Splendor was unrivaled when needing to flee. Even if escape proved impossible, one could rise again with Undying River!

These three ultimate techniques.

Relying on them, although any single generation of Duandong River was only one individual, nearly all of them had managed to rise and become terrifying figures in their own right.

"Truly worthy of being the ultimate techniques of the Third Generation Ancestor, worthy of being the core of the Duandong River lineage inheritance; this is too heaven-defying."

Luo Feng was astonished. No wonder this was the pinnacle inheritance from that ancient civilization. Those who obtained this legacy were truly favored by heaven, enough to make any other expert intensely jealous. It was no wonder the Dongdi Holy Land and the Purple Moon Holy Land were so covetous; it seemed those two ancestors had also heard whispers of the Duandong River lineage's inheritance.