Duan Donghe said with solemnity, “When you were weaker, you could rely on burying your head in cultivation to break through. But as strength grows, every supreme expert must undergo countless battles and slaughters to be forged. For instance, to become a True God—what you call the strongest beings in the universe—one must also experience endless fighting and, after numerous gains, finally break through.”
“From the True God stage onward, every step up is incredibly difficult!”
“The strong are those who constantly tread the line between life and death yet remain standing,” Duan Donghe stated.
Luo Feng nodded upon hearing this.
He admired these words.
In fact, in his view, even to become a Universe Master, one absolutely required breakthrough through combat tempering—like Seat of Mountain Guest, like Chaos City Master, both of whom had previously pushed him to venture out and temper himself for a breakthrough.
Universe Masters, Universe Supreme Experts (True Gods), and so on...
All required moving forward amidst life and death.
“There are many talented people, and many with perseverance,” Duan Donghe spoke softly. “Perhaps they can achieve small successes. But who among those truly standing at the absolute peak hasn’t relied on a heap of fortuitous encounters? A powerful being alone, relying solely on themselves, could never reach that pinnacle. The three most crucial ultimate techniques of my Duan Donghe lineage... are designed to minimize your probability of perishing during countless life-or-death battles.”
“Of course, even so, it doesn’t mean you cannot die. Every inheritor of the Duan Donghe lineage has long since perished; even the Third Generation Ancestor died…” Duan Donghe shook his head. “So, you must by no means be careless.”
Luo Feng nodded, then smiled: “This current era is far inferior to that civilization; that’s fortunate.”
“It’s not that simple,” Duan Donghe lightly shook his head.
“Not that simple?” Luo Feng was startled. “What do you mean?”
“First, carefully examine the three ultimate techniques you have received,” Duan Donghe directed.
Luo Feng immediately began to observe closely, because the informational volume of each of the three ultimate techniques was unimaginably vast. The memory transmission alone took so long. The memory transmission merely stuffed the knowledge into Luo Feng’s memory; to truly absorb it, Luo Feng had to slowly read through it himself.
Even with Luo Feng’s reading speed, studying just Annihilation took more than ten days before his expression suddenly changed.
“You found something?” Duan Donghe asked with a half-smile.
“What—what’s missing?” Luo Feng looked at Duan Donghe in astonishment. “Annihilation was left by the Third Generation Ancestor. According to the initial introduction of the entire ultimate technique, it should be immense, supposed to have nine volumes. But why are there only the simplest first three volumes? I clearly sense the remaining six volumes within my memory, but I just can’t read them. Why is that?”
It was a strange feeling.
It was like vividly remembering something, yet absolutely being unable to recall it. This entire ultimate technique, Annihilation, was in his memory, yet the latter six volumes simply refused to surface, even though he sensed they were right there in his memory.
This sense of ‘forgetting’ was something that only happened when he was much younger and extremely weak. Since becoming a supreme expert, every experience, every memory accumulated throughout his life, could be easily flipped through without the slightest lapse.
“Because these first three volumes represent the limit achievable at the True God stage,” Duan Donghe explained.
“The limit of the True God stage?” Luo Feng vaguely grasped something.
“The three ultimate techniques have more content…” Duan Donghe gestured towards the black pebbles at the bottom of the pond. “And those too!” He then pointed to the black pebbles scattered throughout the endless ocean.
“All the information, even if transmitted into your memory, means you can only observe up to the peak of the True God stage. Information pertaining to higher realms and many other layers cannot be viewed at all,” Duan Donghe stated plainly.
“How can this be?” Luo Feng wondered.
He didn't really care that much.
It didn’t matter if he couldn't see it.
After all, the information within countless inheritance stones contained detailed records spanning from ordinary Undying beings up to the peak of the Universe Supreme Expert level, which was already more than enough for him, considering he was currently only a Universe Venerable.
But the knowledge was clearly stored in his mind—who was silently preventing him from accessing his own memories?
“Because…”
Duan Donghe’s gaze drifted into the distance, and he sighed softly, “It is the Will of the Original Universe!”
“The Will of the Original Universe?” Luo Feng froze for a moment.
“It is!” Duan Donghe nodded with a wistful sigh.
“The Original Universe is the most colossal celestial body in the entire Sea of Universe. Such a vast celestial body absorbs terrifying amounts of chaotic energy every moment. Compared to it, the Universe Boat is simply…” Duan Donghe shook his head.
Luo Feng nodded.
Though the Universe Boat was enormous, compared to the Original Universe, it was like a palm-sized paper boat next to a sun!
“If you live within the Original Universe, as one of its components, it’s fine,” Duan Donghe nodded. “But if you are no longer a component of the Original Universe, and the entire Original Universe no longer protects you… that spells trouble.”
“In the Sea of Universe, who is the most powerful?”
“Not any faction, but the Will of the Original Universe!” Duan Donghe asserted. “You are weak, but you should be able to sense it. When you fight a True God, it can assist you. No matter where you are in the Sea of Universe, it can help you.”
“The strength of True Gods is universally suppressed; even their divine power manifestation is completely restrained by it,” Duan Donghe explained.
Luo Feng nodded.
This was indeed true. The Will of the Original Universe was an irresistible behemoth. Yuan Yuan had once clashed with the Origin Will and was permanently suppressed as a result.
“With the entire Original Universe as its backing, the might the Origin Will can exert… is completely beyond your imagination,” Duan Donghe scoffed. “Do you think that’s how the Universe Boat was shattered? This—”
Duan Donghe’s expression suddenly shifted.
“I cannot say more,” Duan Donghe looked at Luo Feng earnestly. “There are things I cannot reveal. You must know that no place in the entire universe… is outside the control of the Original Universe’s Origin Will. Fortunately, it is merely a simple will formed by the operation of grand laws, without desire or ambition. Otherwise, who knows what it would have become.”
“There is only one path to transcendence…” Duan Donghe looked at Luo Feng. “Forge through Samsara!”
“Pass through Samsara, and you will enter a new realm.”
“The information contained in the myriad memory stones of my Duan Donghe lineage—you can currently only view the True God stage. But if you forge through Samsara… you will be able to view everything,” Duan Donghe stated.
Luo Feng nodded slightly.
Though Duan Donghe didn't elaborate, Luo Feng vaguely understood that the matter involving the numerous experts of that civilization aboard the Universe Boat likely had something to do with the ‘Will of the Original Universe,’ and the destruction of the Universe Boat was probably orchestrated by the Will of the Original Universe.
“You are different from me; you are a component of the Original Universe, at least for now,” Duan Donghe smiled. “Therefore, you are protected by it.”
Duan Donghe suddenly waved his hand.
Beneath the suspended endless seawater, the scattered black pebbles from the vast trenches, the great underwater canyons, and the black pebbles near the pond all flew up toward Duan Donghe.
Soon, they were all collected by Duan Donghe.
“Rumble~~~” The endless seawater suspended in the sky crashed down, and the pond water followed suit.
“Follow me,” Duan Donghe pointed forward. Ripples immediately spread out before him, forming a spatial entrance.
Luo Feng obediently followed.
The two entered the spatial entrance one after the other and soon arrived in a new space.
It was a seemingly boundless, vast world, surrounded by endless darkness. Beneath their feet lay a patch of land, only about ten kilometers in diameter.
“This is a time acceleration space,” Duan Donghe gestured toward the endless darkness. “The seemingly endless darkness is actually an illusion. This time acceleration space is small, confined only to the area of this landmass.”
“Because the area is small, the energy consumed for time acceleration is lower,” Duan Donghe chuckled. “I have long since perished; merely controlling it, I can only accelerate time by ten thousand times.”
“As for you, the stronger your divine power, the faster you can manipulate its time acceleration.”
“Only under time acceleration… can the time spent cultivating become truly long.”
Duan Donghe waved his hand.
A black pebble hovered before Luo Feng.
“Originally, after being lonely for endless cycles of Samsara… I had so many things to say, so many instructions, and so much pride regarding my Duan Donghe lineage that I wished to impart to you,” Duan Donghe slowly shook his head. “But when you accepted the three ultimate techniques, I suddenly realized… I am already dead, so what need is there for clinging? Therefore, I recorded everything into this memory stone.”
“This memory stone holds everything I wanted to tell you, along with all the secrets of this entire inheritance space.”
“You have seen it; you now know everything.”
Duan Donghe then looked up at the boundless darkness, squatted down, gently picked up some dirt from the ground, smelled it lightly, and then smiled: “I have long since died. The me now is merely a virtual consciousness.”
“Virtual, merely virtual…”
“I was never alive…”
Whoosh~~~
Duan Donghe disintegrated, shattering into pieces, and then vanished completely.
“Teacher!”
“Duan Donghe!” Luo Feng shouted repeatedly, but only he remained. Luo Feng was somewhat stunned.
This, this...
He was trapped in this place; how was he supposed to leave?
“Boom~~~” Strands of light were born from the endless darkness and rapidly enveloped the area. Luo Feng looked up at the sky; strands of black and white light descended, impossible to evade, and converged directly upon Luo Feng.
The inheritance mark on Luo Feng’s brow automatically manifested.
The black and white intertwined mark spun, and the endless light poured into Luo Feng’s body. Then, everything returned to peace.
A feeling of immense affinity bloomed in his heart. Luo Feng looked around, and with a single thought, a blade of grass instantly sprouted on the land, pushing through the soil, growing lushly, and even beginning to spread outward. In just a moment, the entire ten kilometers of land transformed into a sea of grass.
“Acknowledged master?” Luo Feng was startled.
The inheritance space had recognized a new master.
Although he still felt somewhat unfamiliar with it, he could sense the entirety of the inheritance space.
“Did Duan Donghe voluntarily relinquish control?” Luo Feng looked to his side. Just now, Duan Donghe had been holding the dirt, recalling his previous words, Luo Feng suddenly realized...
That Duan Donghe...
Had probably vanished forever.
Only Luo Feng remained in the Sea of Universe as the 193rd Duan Donghe.