Chapter 4290: Talk About It Once You've Become a Supreme
From the Catastrophic Scepter came the sound of grinding stone, as the positions of its five gemstones began to change.
Originally, the five gems were arranged in a ring, forming a circle.
Now their formation shifted the Soul, Elemental, Balance, and Domain gemstones moved to the four cardinal positions up, down, left, right while the fifth gemstone came to rest in the very center. It seemed to become the ruler among gemstones, with the others existing around it.
Once the gems had rearranged, the radiance of the Catastrophic Scepter diminished. Aside from the positional change, the weapon appeared otherwise the same.
Lin Moyu tried to probe the Scepter's core space. It was still sealed, and with the central gem back in place, that independent space had grown even more solid and unyielding.
The barrier was so firm that even with all his current strength, he felt he could not get in.
He knew he could not open that space until he became a Heaven‑Earth Supreme. Until then, the power sealed within would not return to him.
Thanks to the Scepter's transcendent level, this also meant that "the Dao" could not pry into him.
But there was a downside if danger came, he could no longer unleash his peak strength to meet it. His survivability had lessened.
He didn't dwell. Worrying over what couldn't be changed was useless.
Turning his focus to the fifth gemstone that center gem in the ruling position he noted it emitted a dull gray aura, its appearance unremarkable.
But when his soul force touched it, his expression suddenly changed.
The Ring of Seeking Cause appeared in his hand he activated Effect Without Cause.
"Sever the karmic ties of former dust!"
With a low shout, the backlash poured in his soul and body shattered at once.
Purple light flashed and, in that light, Lin Moyu revived only to shatter again immediately.
All around, massive and ancient karma surged toward him. The Seeking Cause Ring drank it in, even as it turned part of it into backlash that hit him full force.
Over and over Lin Moyu died, and was reborn. A ceaseless cycle.
The Catastrophic Supreme had warned him: the Ferry and the Fifth Gemstone carried vast, ancient karma. Accept them, and that karma would come with them.
The Ring could prevent it, but using it meant bearing the backlash. Even with his chaotified soul and body, such ancient and immense karmic force could crush him to powder.
The Ring was a Chaos Extreme Treasure, same tier as the Ferry itself its power was unimaginable.
The Supreme had not exaggerated. Lin Moyu had felt the tide of karma surging at him through the long river of time shackles, disasters, not his to take on. He could only cut them away, and that meant enduring the massive backlash.
One wave after another. Death after death, resurrection after resurrection. Once begun, there was no turning back.
In a blink, he had died more than five thousand times.
Had this been before reaching Chaos Realm, he'd be gone for good long since.
Luckily, after his ascension, the World Tree had evolved into the Chaos Ancestral Tree his store of "New Life" resurrections had grown hugely.
Even if he died two or three hundred times now, he could keep going.
His expression calm, he felt the karmic tides at the threshold of life and death.
The massive cause threads were being fully absorbed by the Ring none left upon him.
He sent a thought to Little Tree: absorb chaos qi quickly, refine it into more New Life counts.
He was sure that before his lives ran out, the ancient karma would be exhausted.
Long accustomed to the rhythm of death and birth, he even had the mind to reflect in between.
"The Catastrophic Supreme must have known I possessed the Chaos Ancestral Tree must have known it would transform upon reaching Chaos Realm.
"If so, then that tree must also be one of his pieces.
"My techniques, Chaos Seed, even Little Tree all within his design."
It felt like all his struggle thus far had never stepped outside the net the Supreme had cast.
"Do all Supremes plan to this degree?" he murmured inwardly. This arrangement, spanning countless years, its sole purpose to raise someone fit to stand against the Dao.
The Supreme himself had held no certainty; he had sought only a sliver of chance.
Death and rebirth continued. The Chaos Ancestral Tree's resurrection count dwindled rapidly; the pace of refining chaos qi couldn't keep up.
Still, Lin Moyu wasn't flustered. He believed the backlash would end before his count hit zero.
And with this experience, in the future he'd never have to fear karma again.
As long as he had enough New Life, no matter how heavy the cause, he could bear it even if it meant dying more times.
After dying five hundred more times, with less than thirty lives left, the backlash finally ceased.
The Ferry and the Gem's ancient karma karma tied to the Dao was gone.
Now, the two were clean even the Dao couldn't trace him through cause and effect.
"At last… now I can see what gem this actually is."
He exhaled. Calm though he seemed, if he'd had to die much more, he might not have made it.
Not fearing death didn't mean seeking it.
Once again, he extended his soul force to the gem. Gray light flickered on it and he made a small sound of surprise.
No information came. His soul force sank into it like into cotton nothing.
"Must I refine it?"
He pushed harder, the gem drinking in his strength, but still no change.
Days passed as he poured more and more into it. At last, the gray light flared slightly and a surge of power cut his soul force clean off.
"Rejected…"
Startled, he felt it clearly there was a will that had severed his contact.
It was like a brat telling him, I'm full, stop feeding me.
And that brat looked down on him thought his soul force wasn't tasty enough.
Lin Moyu could only smile wryly. After eating so much of his power, it still disdained him.
At the same time, he understood the Catastrophic Scepter had a spirit.
Of course such a treasure beyond chaos would surely have one.
This spirit had been hiding in the Fifth Gem all along only now revealing itself.
Lin Moyu tried again to send his soul force in, to speak with it but the presence inside ignored him completely.
Again and again, he patiently pressed in. Weaving his soul into rune‑forms for more force, he "knocked" without stopping.
Finally, the brat inside got annoyed at the noise and shouted, "Don't bother! You're not qualified to talk to me yet!"
The tone was that of an immature child a being who did not know how many eons old, yet mentally undeveloped.
"When will I be qualified?" Lin Moyu asked.
"When you've become a Supreme then we'll talk," came the reply.
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