However, whether these Saint-level beings who had regained the memories of their previous lives would return to the Necropolis of the Undead after dying again remained an unknown.
Of course, from Locke's current perspective, it was far more likely that their souls would simply dissipate completely, never receiving a second chance to enter the Necropolis of the Undead.
After all...
A sliver of hope was, in the end, only a sliver.
Moreover, when beings within the Necropolis of the Undead were slain, their souls vanished completely without leaving behind even the slightest trace.
Why should a Saint-level being who had already left the Necropolis of the Undead be granted another opportunity after dying again?
"Rumble..."
After Linley and the others left the Chief Sovereign Palace, Locke merely willed it.
The great doors of the palace slowly rumbled shut.
Seated upon his divine throne, Locke closed his eyes.
Linley's most important transformation had already been completed.
From this point onward, the only events truly worthy of Locke's attention were the moment Linley fused the four disparate Laws of Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire under the pressure of Orloff's Transcending Reincarnation, and the attack itself.
"Transcending Reincarnation..."
Locke stroked his chin thoughtfully.
He remembered that Transcending Reincarnation was a technique Orloff had created after studying the Destruction Chief Sovereign's observations of the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns' fused innate divine ability, Chaotic Space-Time.
It could rightly be called the strongest technique in the magical universe.
It was powerful enough to rupture even the universe's cosmic membrane.
Considering that Orloff, with his strength at the time, had unleashed power comparable to an ordinary strike from an Overgod, it was easy to imagine just how terrifying this move truly was.
Even Locke himself had never created such a technique.
"Perhaps..."
"I should challenge myself as well."
"Let's see whether I can create Transcending Reincarnation..."
"...or perhaps a technique equal to—or even stronger than—it."
"Certainly, with Mirror Flower, Water Moon, as long as I witness Orloff's Transcending Reincarnation once and Linley's fusion of the four Laws once..."
"...I can perfectly reproduce both."
"But once I enter the Hongmeng Space..."
"...the path beyond that can only be explored by myself."
"There will no longer be anyone whose achievements I can simply replicate."
"Within the Hongmeng Space..."
"Only extraordinary comprehension can open entirely new paths of cultivation."
"Continuously comprehending and creating increasingly powerful ultimate techniques is itself a method of tempering one's comprehension."
"There should still be several tens of thousands of years before Linley becomes a Hongmeng Controller."
"During that time..."
"I'll see whether I can create a technique comparable to—or surpassing—Transcending Reincarnation."
"Perhaps..."
"I may even succeed in fusing the Profound Mysteries of the four Laws of Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire."
Having found a new goal, Locke immersed himself in cultivation once more.
Of course...
To ensure that he wouldn't miss the moment Linley fused the four disparate Laws or the instant Orloff unleashed Transcending Reincarnation, Locke still left his Water divine clone outside to keep watch over Linley.
His original body and Fate Chief Sovereign divine clone, however, entered the Elemental Planes.
Flying to the highest reaches of the Elemental Plane, Locke raised his right hand like a blade.
Then...
He casually slashed downward.
Rip!
The barrier of the Elemental Plane split apart.
However...
What Locke had cut through wasn't merely the barrier of the Elemental Plane.
He had sliced directly through the magical universe's cosmic barrier itself.
Thus...
Looking through the opening, one didn't see the brilliant colors of spatial turbulence.
Instead...
Only endless grayness lay beyond.
An enormous quantity of Hongmeng energy surged through the opening into the Elemental Plane, dissolving everything in its path.
Only two things could resist Hongmeng energy's terrifying power of dissolution.
The magical universe's cosmic barrier.
And the magical universe's natural Laws.
As for the Hongmeng energy that drifted farther away...
The universe's natural Laws decomposed it into the four elemental essences of Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire.
No...
There was something else as well.
Locke himself.
Standing directly before the opening in the magical universe, the very first thing the incoming Hongmeng energy encountered was Locke.
Yet...
Between Locke and the Hongmeng energy lay an invisible force, preventing even the slightest trace of Hongmeng energy from touching him.
That invisible barrier was Locke's greatest masterpiece to date—
The Space-Time Barrier.
Although Locke still hadn't advanced far enough in his fusion of the Laws of Space and Time to create an entire universe...
Constructing a Space-Time Barrier that isolated himself from Hongmeng energy was already well within his abilities.
If one observed carefully...
One could even notice a faint black line separating Locke from the Hongmeng energy.
That black line consisted of fragments of space-time left behind as the Hongmeng energy continuously dissolved Locke's Space-Time Barrier.
Compared to the defensive strength of a universe's cosmic membrane...
Locke's current Space-Time Barrier was still noticeably inferior.
Thus...
Although it could block Hongmeng energy...
It was also constantly being dissolved by it.
Fortunately...
Because Locke continuously sustained and regenerated the barrier, it could steadily withstand Hongmeng energy's corrosive power.
With a thought...
The Space-Time Barrier surrounding Locke suddenly expanded, enveloping every strand of Hongmeng energy pouring into the magical universe.
At the same time...
It sealed the opening Locke had previously carved through the universe's cosmic membrane.
Naturally...
Locke understood that merely resisting Hongmeng energy was only the first step.
As more and more Hongmeng energy accumulated within the Space-Time Barrier...
The conflict between the Hongmeng energy and the barrier became increasingly violent.
Once Locke judged that enough Hongmeng energy had gathered...
He suddenly extended his hand and chopped downward toward the enormous mass before him.
Boom!
That hand strike resembled the opening of heaven and earth itself.
The Hongmeng energy contained within the Space-Time Barrier was cleanly split into two halves.
In an instant...
The severed Hongmeng energy evolved into Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire.
The concepts of Space and Time also came into existence.
The newly formed space-time was immediately absorbed by Locke's own Space-Time power, strengthening the Space-Time Barrier even further.
Meanwhile...
Within the barrier, the four elemental essences gradually evolved under Locke's control into the Four Divine Beasts—
Azure Dragon.
White Tiger.
Vermilion Bird.
Black Tortoise.
For a time...
The roars of dragons and tigers echoed throughout the miniature universe Locke had created.
Each divine beast displayed its own unique divine might.
Occasionally...
Two would merge together.
Then three.
Then all four.
Each fusion further amplified the power of their fused innate divine abilities.
Yet...
This seemed to be their absolute limit.
"A thousandfold amplification..."
"...appears to be the upper limit permitted for techniques within the magical universe."
Watching the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns evolve within his miniature universe, Locke felt that he had finally touched upon a fragment of the mysteries underlying a universe itself.
Within the Coiling Dragon Universe...
Those who underwent two- or three-element soul mutations could fuse divine power, increasing their strength tenfold or even a hundredfold.
However...
Once someone achieved a four-element soul mutation...
Not only did fused divine power provide a thousandfold increase in strength...
It also granted Will, surpassing even that of a Paragon.
It seemed...
Whenever anything capable of surpassing that "thousandfold" threshold appeared...
It was automatically transformed into a form permitted by the universe's natural Laws.
Clearly...
This was a form of self-protection built into the universe itself.
"Self-protection..."
Locke murmured softly, deep in thought.
The magical universe was merely one of the four subsidiary universes Hongmeng had created to stabilize the primary universe.
The other three subsidiary universes were:
The Mechanical Universe.
The Biological Universe.
And the Immortal-Demon Universe.
Locke knew nothing about the self-protection mechanisms of those three universes.
However...
He understood the magical universe's self-protection mechanism extremely well.
The Four Overgods.
The Four Overgods were the incarnations of the magical universe's Supreme Edicts.
That statement was correct.
As for the claim that the Four Overgods were also incarnations of Hongmeng...
That wasn't entirely wrong.
But neither was it truly accurate.
As the creator of the magical universe, Hongmeng naturally possessed the ability to project his consciousness into the magical universe through the Overgods.
That was simply a privilege of being the universe's creator.
It didn't mean the Four Overgods themselves were Hongmeng's incarnations.
Given Hongmeng's personality...
There was no way he would permanently devote his consciousness to a single universe.
Furthermore...
With Locke's current strength, he could already sense the Supreme Edicts governing the magical universe.
At present...
His fusion of the Laws of Space and Time was only a single step away from complete perfection.
Thus...
Even among Celestial Exalts, very few could compare with him.
The magical universe's Supreme Edicts merely possessed strength comparable to an Invincible Godking.
They posed absolutely no threat to Locke.
If Hongmeng's consciousness had truly descended into the Supreme Edicts and manifested through the Overgods...
Locke would certainly have sensed Hongmeng's will.
Indeed...
Even if Hongmeng projected only a portion of his consciousness into an Overgod, the resulting Godking-level Overgod still couldn't physically threaten a Celestial Exalt like Locke.
However...
Both the magical universe and the Hongmeng Universe possessed methods of directly attacking an opponent's soul.
Locke refused to believe that Hongmeng—the creator of the Hongmeng Universe—lacked soul attacks.
Even if only a tiny fragment of Hongmeng's consciousness descended...
Locke doubted he could survive a single soul attack from it.
After all...
Locke's own soul was still merely an ordinary Primordial Spirit resembling that of a seven- or eight-year-old child.
Hongmeng's soul, however, had long surpassed the Primordial Spirit stage, reaching the even higher realm of the Xuanhuang Spirit.
Separated by two entire realms...
Locke felt that even a mere fragment of Hongmeng's consciousness could effortlessly crush his soul.
From this alone...
It was clear that, under ordinary circumstances, the Supreme Edicts truly served as the universe's self-protection mechanism, the essential system allowing a universe to exist in stable perpetuity.
"This..."
"...is quite an unexpected surprise."
Joy welled up within Locke.
Even he hadn't anticipated that merely acting on a whim and using Transcending Reincarnation as inspiration to temper his comprehension would inadvertently uncover yet another profound mystery concerning the nature of a universe.
Although this realization didn't directly increase his current strength...
One day, when Locke created a universe of his own...
It would allow that universe to become even more complete.
...
While Locke immersed himself in researching his new technique...
Linley and the others, led by Doehring Cowart, arrived before Nanessa.
"Linley."
"This is Lady Nanessa, the one who saved me after my soul began burning."
"At the same time..."
"Lady Nanessa is also a Lightning Paragon."
"It was under her guidance that I eventually became a Deity and, through the workings of the natural Laws, regained a divine body and was resurrected."
"Thank you very much, Lady Nanessa."
Although Linley's current strength greatly surpassed that of an ordinary Paragon...
Faced with the person who had rescued Grandpa Doehring and guided him to become a Deity, Linley still bowed respectfully in gratitude.
At the same time...
Upon learning that Nanessa was a Lightning Paragon, Linley suddenly recalled that brilliant flash of lightning which had crossed the sky after Grandpa Doehring burned his soul and cast the forbidden spell during Linley's greatest life-and-death crisis.
So...
That had been Lady Nanessa.
"There is no need."
Nanessa shook her head and stepped slightly to the side, refusing to accept Linley's bow.
"Protecting Doehring and bringing him safely to the Netherworld were both tasks assigned to me by Lord Locke."
"If you wish to thank someone..."
"Then thank Lord Locke instead."
"Hm?"
Linley was momentarily stunned.
If he remembered correctly...
Back in the Chief Sovereign Palace, when he had mistakenly believed that Chief Sovereign Locke had personally rescued Grandpa Doehring and expressed his gratitude...
Lord Locke had specifically said that someone else had actually saved Grandpa Doehring and that Linley should thank that person when given the opportunity.
Yet now...
Nanessa claimed that rescuing Grandpa Doehring had been Chief Sovereign Locke's order.
Then...
Who exactly had saved Grandpa Doehring?
Although Linley remained puzzled...
He still sincerely thanked Nanessa.
"Lady Nanessa..."
"Regardless of who ordered you to rescue Grandpa Doehring..."
"It was you who personally brought him out of the Yulan Plane and used Soul Pearls to preserve his life."
"For that reason alone..."
"I must thank you."
"Very good."
"No wonder Lord Locke values you so highly."
Nanessa gazed deeply at Linley before nodding with approval.
When Lord Locke had first assigned her the task of protecting Doehring Cowart...
She had originally assumed that Doehring himself was the person Lord Locke truly valued.
However...
After bringing Doehring back and observing Lord Locke's attitude toward him...
Nanessa realized that Doehring Cowart wasn't the one Lord Locke truly cared about.
Only later...
After considering the relationship between Doehring Cowart and Linley...
Did she gradually arrive at her conclusion.
The one Lord Locke truly valued...
Was Linley Baruch.
And looking back over Linley's growth...
He had certainly lived up to Lord Locke's expectations.
In a mere thousand years...
He had already reached the level of a Prefect.
Then, after being sent by Lord Locke into a single Planar Battlefield...
He had even become a newly ascended Paragon.
Back then...
Even she herself hadn't reached the Paragon realm until after more than eight hundred thousand years of cultivation.
Compared to her...
Linley had become a Paragon nearly a thousand times faster.
"Lord Locke... thinks highly of me?"
Linley was dumbfounded.
It was something he had never imagined.
After all...
From the day he was born until now, fewer than two thousand years had passed.
How could someone standing at the absolute pinnacle among all Sovereigns have taken notice of him?
(End of Chapter)
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