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Ancestor's expression was complex: "You all wish to know why I was suppressed, correct?"

Luo Feng and the City Lord of Chaos listened intently.

"Back then, I rose rapidly," Ancestor spoke slowly. "Neither the First Cycle Era nor the Second Cycle Era had an opponent capable of matching me. Traversing the Sea of Universe, I was undeniably invincible."

"However, I remained vigilant against the two Great Sacred Lands. Though I claimed invincibility, I wasn't arrogant enough to declare myself a match for the Ancestors of those two Sacred Lands."

Ancestor continued, "I wondered why the Ancestors of the two Great Sacred Lands never emerged. Even if they had transcended reincarnation and were truly and inconsolably invincible, they shouldn't confine themselves entirely within their Sacred Land Universes. Unless... they couldn't leave!"

Ancestor stated, "At that time, I suspected that forcing the reincarnation cycle was a conspiracy!"

"A conspiracy?" Luo Feng and the City Lord of Chaos were startled.

"At the time, I speculated everything was a plot by the Will of the Origin," Ancestor said. "But after I was suppressed, I gained access to the Supreme Rules. Only then did I realize how profoundly mistaken I had been. Everything in the entire Sea of Universe operates according to the Supreme Rules! The Will of the Origin only controls what is inside the Original Universe; it absolutely lacks the power to forcibly command anyone to undergo reincarnation. It doesn't have that authority..."

The City Lord of Chaos frowned. "But Teacher, once one reaches the Void Level, isn't it mandatory to attempt reincarnation within a very short timeframe?"

"Correct," Ancestor affirmed. "This is a restriction imposed by the Supreme Rules."

"Only the Supreme Rules possess the authority to issue forceful commands to True Gods and even beings of higher levels," Ancestor explained. "Having been suppressed for so long, I’ve finally understood. The Will of the Origin could never have forcefully compelled anyone to go anywhere. If it could, there would have been no need for it to employ so many stratagems to force the Lord of Yuan Ao and King Zhen Jia to their deaths in certain locations across the Three Great Forbidden Zones."

Luo Feng nodded as he listened.

He had discussed matters with his teacher, Sitting Mountain Guest; evidently, the Will of the Origin was not something to fear, as it couldn't truly harm a True God—unless one violated certain Supreme Rules.

"I was suppressed," Ancestor stated, "because I violated the Supreme Rules. That is the only reason the Will of the Origin could suppress me. Otherwise, it couldn't have."

"How did you violate them?" Luo Feng and the City Lord were both curious.

Ancestor chuckled. "I was cautious of the Will of the Origin, suspecting it was the puppet master behind everything... so I exhausted every means to investigate, searching for clues. Gradually, I discovered that the inherent intelligence of the Will of the Origin was not high—it only possessed the most basic level of awareness. It must be a fragile will nurtured from the very essence of the Original Universe."

"Fragile?" Luo Feng and the City Lord exchanged a look of surprise.

"Yes," Ancestor confirmed with a nod. "The Will of the Origin itself is very fragile; it only wields its boundless might by borrowing from the source of the Original Universe."

"I had no desire to undergo reincarnation then, fearing perpetual bondage," Ancestor continued. "So I devised a plan... to extinguish the Will of the Origin and have my own will become the true Will of the Original Universe."

"What?"

Luo Feng and the City Lord were utterly shocked.

Body possession?

Wasn't this precisely body possession?

Luo Feng, through his past encounters, had also realized that the Will of the Origin possessed no intrinsic power; it required subordinates even to kill the Lord of Yuan Ao, and many of its actions were channeled through the Ancestor God Sect. Luo Feng himself had once entertained the idea of seizing control of the Original Universe, though it remained only a fleeting thought, as he couldn't devise a feasible method.

"It was for this purpose that I created the technique known as the 'Virtual Universe'," Ancestor smiled. "My Virtual Universe and the true universe were like two sides of the same coin... perfectly aligned."

"Since I myself am a life form born within the Original Universe, the Original Universe would not naturally resist me."

"When my will, utilizing the 'Virtual Universe' secret technique, spread throughout the entire Original Universe... that's when the final confrontation with the Will of the Origin began," Ancestor narrated.

Luo Feng and the City Lord were completely dumbfounded.

The initial purpose behind the creation of the Virtual Universe was actually to seize control!

"But I was wrong," Ancestor sighed. "At the time, I was like a frog in a well, calculating matters based on my own flawed assumptions. But in reality, I was catastrophically mistaken... My attempt to seize control of the Original Universe fundamentally violated the Supreme Rules! Thus, the Supreme Rules punished me, leading to my defeat in that struggle and my subsequent suppression."

"The punishment from the Supreme Rules also granted me access to them, allowing me to faintly grasp many things."

Luo Feng and the City Lord beside him fell silent.

Truly formidable.

This Ancestor had genuinely gone head-to-head with the Will of the Origin, suspecting it was the ultimate culprit, seeing through its weakness, and deploying the 'Virtual Universe' technique. He had come astonishingly close to succeeding in seizing control of the Original Universe.

"No wonder the Will of the Origin wouldn't release him then," the City Lord of Chaos lamented. "It only permitted his release after Luo Feng solved the catastrophe of the World Beasts, earning immense merit, which the Supreme Rules then allowed."

Luo Feng’s mind stirred.

The World Beast faction and the Original Universe faction—one representing destruction, the other representing life. They were absolute opposites.

Whichever side won seemed to be treated favorably by the Supreme Rules.

Clearly, the Supreme Rules treated both sides equally. If the World Beasts had ultimately triumphed, it would have meant the annihilation of everything. With the Original Universe faction victorious, Luo Feng, as the meritorious hero, was judged to have made a massive contribution.

"Still, it feels unfair," Luo Feng mused privately. "When the World Beast Kings reached the Void Level, they weren't forced to attempt reincarnation. But we True Gods must attempt it once we reach the Void Level."

"That makes sense too."

"The World Beast Kings are equivalent to the Original Universe; they are the tier-one beings of the highest status."

"We life forms nurtured by the Original Universe are, relatively speaking, of lower status and subject to greater constraints."

In this Sea of Universe, the highest status belonged to the Original Universe and the World Beast Kings. Even Luo Feng, a monstrous anomaly who reached a life level of one hundred thousand times, though worshiped by billions of life forms, was still slightly subordinate to the Original Universe and the World Beast Kings. This realization actually brought Luo Feng a strange sense of satisfaction, given that he had enslaved a World Beast King.

After the World Beast Calamity passed, the entire Sea of Universe returned to tranquility.

The small universes of the First and Second Cycle Eras were entirely annihilated. Although Corpse Master had defected to the World Beast side, Morosa had not died. Logically, Corpse Master's small universe should have remained. However, to prevent the news of the World Beast King's existence from leaking and causing suspicion, Morosa, upon becoming a King and before moving against the Purple Moon Sacred Land, issued an order with a single thought: Corpse Master died, and that small universe was destroyed.

Time passed quickly amidst the peaceful years.

Tens of thousands of epochs slipped by in the blink of an eye.

"Once every epoch, the membrane wall of the Jin World turns white," said a newly ascended Universe Master of the Demon Race, 'Master of Stars,' piloting a palace toward the Jin World.

Usually, a very long time passed before a powerful expert visited the Jin World.

"Hmm?" Master of Stars stared in astonishment at the void in the distance.

"Did I take a wrong turn?"

Master of Stars doubted if he had arrived at the correct location, carefully cross-referencing the Sea of Universe map and checking surrounding landmarks.

"No, this is precisely where the 'Jin World' should be. That colossal entity has vanished? The Jin World is gone?" Master of Stars was utterly shocked.

Boom!

Like a storm, the news rapidly spread throughout the entire Original Universe. Within half a day of learning the Jin World had vanished, Luo Feng was the first to arrive after Master of Stars.

"Why isn't it here?" Luo Feng, clad in silver armor, scrutinized the distance amidst the flowing chaos energy. A long time ago, the massive corpse, suspected to be that of the God King of Jin, used to hang suspended right there.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Luo Feng immediately began searching via teleportation. Luo Feng wasn't the only one; experts from all races were searching. Yet, no matter how hard they looked, they could not locate the Jin World. Evidently, the Jin World had quietly departed during the past tens of thousands of epochs. Since no powerful beings had visited for a long time, no one noticed until Master of Stars prepared to venture out for refinement and made the discovery.

"My God Power Avatar is still inside the Jin World," Luo Feng murmured, standing in the void, a frown creasing his brow.

Deep within the boundless expanse of the Sea of Universe, a colossal entity was flying at an incredibly terrifying speed.

Inside it, on an island within a lake in the barracks of the Eastern Army within the Jin World, Luo Feng's God Power Avatar was present. Nearly an epoch ago, his main body learned the Jin World had disappeared. Only then did this avatar realize he was no longer in that sector of the Sea of Universe but had arrived in an unfamiliar territory.

"Where exactly has the Jin World gone?" Waiting for nearly an epoch, he finally witnessed the moment the universe membrane turned white.

Piloting a spaceship, Luo Feng’s God Power Avatar shot instantly out of the universe membrane. He was profoundly curious about the depths of the Sea of Universe. He wanted to leave the Jin World, to exit that massive entity and see the outside—where exactly was this place?

Boom!

He shot straight toward the exterior of the Jin World's small universe.

"This is—" Luo Feng’s God Power Avatar looked outside from within the ship, only to be instantly swept by an endless torrent of flames. The True God-level mechanical warship was annihilated in an instant, and so was Luo Feng’s God Power Avatar.

In the Galaxy Sacred Land of the Original Universe.

Luo Feng was currently instructing his son, Luo Hai. "I told you, I cannot help you. If you don't experience it yourself, no one can help you! Yes, perhaps your comprehension is lacking, but there is always a sliver of hope in this Sea of Universe... Huh?"

"Father?" Luo Hai asked cautiously.

Luo Feng frowned, turning his head to gaze into the endless void, as if piercing through unimaginable distances, murmuring, "Instant annihilation? Fortunately, I exchanged nearly all my military merits for supplies during the fight against the World Beasts."

Although he didn't know where the Jin World had gone, it was clear that the Jin World was still intact, and the countless lives within it were still safe.

"The Jin World came because of the World Beast Calamity," Luo Feng thought to himself. "The World Beast Calamity, the Origin... these were all the slivers of hope for the Original Universe faction. Now that the World Beast Calamity is over, the Jin World has quietly departed."

Luo Feng could understand.

The Jin World contained fragments of the Ancient Civilization; after all, the descendants of those ancient civilization powerhouses resided there. If the Jin World had remained indefinitely, beings from future reincarnation cycles would have easily inherited the Ancient Civilization's legacy—clearly, such favors would not be granted.

"I wonder when I will see the Jin World again," Luo Feng thought silently.

Fanqie continues writing the third update. (To be continued)