540: Extreme danger warning, the universe is destroyed? (5k words)

The last time he entered this place, he didn't understand these circumstances, but this time, Lin Yang found it a bit strange.

Logically speaking, this Time-Space Turbulence Zone should have accumulated a lot of special resources over the years.

But now, only the one that just appeared before him was there.

"Host, special resources appearing in the Time-Space Turbulence Zone will be re- Caught in spacetime turbulence (re-engulfed by the Time-Space Turbulence) if not collected within a certain period. They might reappear in other turbulence zones, or they might be consumed in the Endless Spacetime. They won't accumulate indefinitely," the System explained.

Lin Yang's eyes flashed: "It's that peculiar? It can even dissipate on its own?"

After a pause, he pressed on:

"How long is this 'certain period'?"

"Answering Host, this period is not fixed. Sometimes it's a few years, sometimes decades, and it's also possible for them to disappear in an instant if not collected immediately after appearing."

"Alright, in that case, my luck isn't too bad. I just came in for over a decade and already encountered one."

While speaking, Lin Yang used the power of "Boundary Wall" to successfully retrieve the transparent leaf, then immediately retreated back into the Bi Yuan Stone Cave passage.

After he used the power of "Boundary Wall" to collect the transparent leaf, the storm became even more violent.

"What a pity, just a little bit more, and I would have successfully broken through."

After retreating to the passage, Lin Yang couldn't help but sigh.

Just a tiny bit.

Only that tiny bit!

"Host, failing to break through in one go this time might not necessarily be a bad thing," the System suddenly said.

"Hmm? What do you mean by that...?" Lin Yang frowned.

"Host, the power you needed for this breakthrough was much more than estimated. Even if you had broken through just now, the remaining power and time would not have been enough for you to directly complete the accumulation of power at the first level and reach the second level."

"Now that you haven't broken through, next time you might be able to reach the second level of the Universe Breaking Realm in one go."

The System comforted him.

Lin Yang pouted: "Even if I can't reach the second level in one go, I can still continue to absorb the power of heaven and earth here and work towards breaking through to the second level."

"Host, it's different. According to the data in the System's comparison database, in most cases, at the moment of breakthrough, one's self will undergo some temporary special changes. The power that can be absorbed at that instant will be far greater than usual."

The System explained again:

"Therefore, it's possible to achieve continuous small-level leaps at the moment of breakthrough."

"And if you fail to achieve continuous small-level leaps during the breakthrough, then you will need a large amount of time to complete the accumulation from the first level to the second level."

"In other words, if you had completed the leap during this breakthrough, it would have saved you a lot of time."

"So the System just said that your failure to break through in one go this time might not necessarily be a bad thing."

"..."

Lin Yang was silent for a moment.

This broken System now understood more about cultivation advancement than he did.

Then, he couldn't help but ask: "Have you unlocked any new database recently?"

Previously, the System said it didn't understand these things and didn't mention any database.

These two times, however, it claimed to have drawn conclusions by comparing relevant data in its database. He suspected the System must have unlocked a new information module.

And it was an information database module related to his own cultivation.

"Host, as your strength increases and you meet certain hidden conditions, the System will unlock some new information module."

The System, however, spoke ambiguously.

"So, you did unlock a new information module?"

Lin Yang became interested and pressed on:

"Is it an information data module about realm levels and cultivation? Do you have any information above the Ancestor level?"

"Answering Host, unfortunately, the System has not yet unlocked the relevant information module. It's just that the original database has unlocked some new big data information as you met the conditions."

"I apologize that I cannot currently provide you with information about other realms."

The System replied apologetically.

"...Alright."

Lin Yang sighed, feeling a bit happy for nothing.

He had really thought the System had unlocked more databases just now.

"Host, although the System has not yet unlocked the relevant database, the option to unlock it in advance has appeared. You can unlock it in advance by spending national treasure value."

The System then immediately followed up with that statement.

Lin Yang instantly rolled his eyes: "I knew it!"

He was really too lazy to complain about this dog System's obsession with charging fees anymore!

"You saw that I killed many people from the Mingye Clan and Lingyou Clan, and now have a large amount of national treasure value, so you're trying to find ways to make me spend it, right?"

Lin Yang looked like he saw through everything:

"I'm telling you, don't even think about it! No way!"

Yes, that's right.

His current national treasure value balance had reached an astonishing 260 billion!

Over 50 billion of that was obtained from eliminating members of the two clans in the Ten Thousand Realms Universe.

The remaining over 210 billion was all obtained from killing members of the Mingye Clan and Lingyou Clan in the Ten Thousand Universes this time!

The members of the two clans in the Ten Thousand Universes were several times more numerous than those in the Ten Thousand Realms Universe.

However, after over a hundred years of war, too many people had died.

So, after annihilating the two clans, excluding those clansmen who escaped into the ruins, he obtained about 210 billion national treasure value.

This did not include the national treasure value from the final settlement reward for completing the mission.

It was purely the national treasure value from killing members of the two clans.

Once the mission was completely finished, there would be another mission settlement reward, but that would have to wait until he eliminated those guys in the ruins.

Over 200 billion!

This was a huge sum of money.

An absolute huge sum of money!

He had never been as wealthy as he was now.

All the national treasure value he had accumulated before did not amount to as much as this single time.

Therefore, naturally, Lin Yang had already known that this dog System would definitely set its sights on his national treasure value.

Now, as expected, this dog System began to entice him to spend with new information modules.

However... if it were other information modules, perhaps he might not have been able to resist the temptation.

But for cultivation realm information, he would pass.

Although the records within the Human Alliance were incomplete and had gaps, by piecing them together, one could still understand a little.

Moreover, when his strength reached that level, he would naturally understand more.

There was no need to spend an extra sum of national treasure value to unlock this information module in advance.

Therefore, he didn't even ask how much national treasure value it would cost to unlock the module, and simply ignored this dog System.

And the System, seeing that Lin Yang was completely uninterested, suddenly switched to another database to entice him:

"Host, you can also unlock the information database for special resources in the Time-Space Turbulence Zone in advance. The special resources appearing in the Time-Space Turbulence Zone are categorized by type and have different functions and effects."

"If you can clearly know the detailed information of each special resource, you can maximize its utilization, avoiding waste. The System believes you currently need this information."

To this, Lin Yang merely chuckled: "Heh..."

Need?

He needed nothing!

These special resources indeed had different categories.

But it was still the same old saying.

With so many years of accumulation, the Human Alliance naturally had records of the effects and uses of these special resources.

It might not be comprehensive, but for him, it was completely sufficient.

There was no need to waste national treasure value to unlock the special resource database.

The System fell silent.

Lin Yang, on the other hand, chuckled:

"System, have you ever heard a saying from my hometown?"

"What saying?" the System responded.

"This money, when there's little, you spend it, and it's fine, there isn't much anyway."

Lin Yang spoke leisurely:

"But when the amount reaches a certain level, looking at that long string of balance gives you a special sense of accomplishment. You just want the amount to keep increasing, and you won't easily spend it."

"Do you understand?"

"..." The System was silent.

Clearly, it didn't understand.

"You can take your time to understand."

Lin Yang stopped talking to the System and began to examine the transparent leaf in his hand.

The leaf was as thin as a cicada's wing, silvery-white throughout, almost transparent.

Holding it in his hand gave no special sensation, but when he touched it with spiritual power, he could feel a very unique power contained within the leaf.

"This power doesn't feel much different from spiritual power," Lin Yang sensed carefully, once again feeling a bit puzzled.

The power contained within the transparent leaf, in essence, felt not much different from the spiritual power it gave him, only with a faint, indescribable something added.

Or rather, an aura.

"Although this aura is unique and hard to describe, it's not a tangible power, so it shouldn't be able to enhance oneself."

Lin Yang murmured.

Before this, he had always thought that the special resources in the Time-Space Turbulence Zone contained powers different from spiritual energy, which was why they allowed ancestors of the third level to continue advancing.

But now, personally experiencing the power contained within this transparent leaf, Lin Yang became thoroughly confused.

The power that truly allows an ancestor's strength to continue increasing must be that power which, in essence, is no different from spiritual energy, and not that special aura.

So… “The power in the leaf is no different from spiritual energy. The key to breaking the limitations should be this special aura…”

Lin Yang repeatedly sensed the aura, but he truly found it difficult to discern what it actually was.

And on this point, there was no record in the Human Alliance's archives.

“It seems I'll have to ask Ziyun and the others after I get out.”

Lin Yang murmured, then put away the transparent leaf.

He could, of course, absorb the power contained within this transparent leaf at this moment.

These special resources were not limited to only being used by third-level ancestors.

But absorbing them now would truly be a waste.

After all, before reaching the third level, one could naturally improve within the Universe, so no one would be extravagant enough to use these special resources for self-improvement in advance.

Afterward, Lin Yang estimated the time it would take for the Time-Space Turbulence Zone storm to subside, then began to wander around the Bi Yuan Stone Cave again.

The storm in the Turbulence Zone would take at least several years to calm down.

Lin Yang began to observe the cave murals one by one.

It was quite miraculous that this cave would grant a resource to those who entered.

But even with his current strength, he still couldn't perceive the miraculous mystery of the cave.

It could only be said that everything in this cave was at least the work of a powerful being above an ancestor.

Last time, on the last sword mural in the cave passage, he saw some scenes.

A scene of a sword pointing to the sky, with golden blood dripping.

But this time, he no longer saw anything different on this sword mural.

“Was it a one-time scene? Or perhaps, each person can only see it once?”

Lin Yang muttered, carefully observing each mural.

Suddenly.

While observing the third-to-last mural, the mural before him began to tremble again.

A distorted water curtain appeared before Lin Yang's eyes, and the water curtain rippled outwards, transforming into another scene.

In a dark space, there was a strange, heart-palpitating roar.

The sound did not resemble that of humans.

Even though it was just a scene, not something actually happening around him, Lin Yang felt his eardrums ache instantly, even bleeding.

But he couldn't bother to wipe it away at the moment.

He saw a long sword suddenly appear in the dark void.

The long sword, with dazzling light, pierced through the darkness, accurately striking the source of the sound.

With a “hum,” the roar instantly vanished.

The long sword soared into the sky again.

This time, Lin Yang saw a corpse on the long sword.

The long sword had pierced through a monster covered in black fur.

And carrying the monster's corpse, it pierced through the void again and disappeared into the sky.

The reason he called it a monster was because, although he couldn't see it clearly, Lin Yang could feel that it was something different from normal living beings.

It wasn't another species different from humans, but something completely unlike normal living beings.

The word 'monster' was a concept that naturally arose in his mind the moment he saw that thing covered in black fur.

Afterward, the water curtain shattered, and the space before him returned to normal.

“Long sword, monster…”

Lin Yang pondered, looking at the last sword mural:

“Is there any connection between these two?”

“Is it the same sword?”

“Are these murals a record of the same person slaying those terrifying monsters?”

His gaze swept over the other murals in front, then settled again on the last sword mural.

There were still many murals in front that he didn't understand, but recalling the scene of the trapped sword he saw last time, Lin Yang couldn't help but speculate:

“Could it be that the powerful being recorded in this mural ultimately failed?”

“If so, did he record these things to warn others, or to convey some information?”

“But whether it's a warning or to convey information, if it's so disjointed, how can future generations accurately grasp the meaning he wants to express?”

Lin Yang was a bit puzzled. He re-examined the murals from beginning to end again, but he didn't see any more scenes appear from the earlier murals.

Only the scene from the third-to-last mural just now and the scene he saw on the last mural last time; however, the information conveyed by the scenes on these two murals was not coherent at all.

“Last time I came in, I saw a scene once, and this time I came in, I saw it again. Could it be that each time I enter, I can only see information from one of the murals once?”

Afterward, Lin Yang speculated again.

His gaze also turned towards the Time-Space Turbulence Zone a thousand meters away, deciding to exit and re-enter to try again.

The storm in the Turbulence Zone was still raging.

Lin Yang exited and immediately returned to the cave passage.

Then he immediately began to continue observing the murals.

However, this time he observed them repeatedly several times, spending a long time on each mural, but he no longer saw any different scenes on any of them.

In fact, he repeatedly exited and re-entered several times, but still gained nothing.

“How strange…”

Finally, Lin Yang had no choice but to temporarily give up the idea of trying to see coherent information through the murals.

This thing was a bit too random.

Or rather, it might be a bit too dependent on fate.

Immediately, he sat cross-legged a thousand meters away, began to adjust his state, and waited for the storm to end.

At the same time, he was reviewing and organizing his recent gains.

Suddenly, Lin Yang thought of something:

“System, last time I was here, I received many tasks requiring me to remedy and protect the source fire.”

“Many of those tasks I couldn't complete for now, but one of them required me to replenish the source fire's energy within five hundred years.”

“Now, I can replenish it, right?”

Last time was his first time venturing into the Time-Space Turbulence Zone a thousand meters away, accidentally igniting that source fire.

This resulted in a series of tasks that were very difficult for him to complete.

Many of those tasks he still couldn't complete now.

But replenishing the source fire's energy, he could do now.

With over two hundred billion national treasure value, he should certainly be able to replenish it.

Upon hearing this, the System immediately said:

“Yes, Host, you can now fully perform an energy recharge for the source fire. How much national treasure value would you like to use for the recharge?”

“…As soon as I hear it's going to cost national treasure value, why does your voice sound much more excited?”

Lin Yang grinned, then said:

“Let's recharge a hundred billion first, that should be enough, right?”

“Okay, Host, the corresponding national treasure value has been deducted for a source fire recharge.”

The System was very decisive; it didn't even have time to reply to Lin Yang, directly deducting the national treasure value first.

“…You really are… I'm too lazy to even talk about you…”

Lin Yang was truly too lazy to talk.

This damn System, when deducting national treasure value, was as quick as a thirsty strong man seeing a sexy woman lying in bed waiting for him.

It was done in a second.

Pausing, Lin Yang thought of the other tasks and was about to inquire again.

But then he heard the System suddenly emit a piercing alarm.

“Warning!”

“Host, please note, while the System was recharging the source fire, it detected abnormal creatures attacking the Boundary Wall!”

“The System detected that the Boundary Wall of this Universe Zone is under attack. The alert level for this incident has been raised to 'Extreme Danger'!”

“Beep!”

“Beep!”

“Beep!”

Following the System's urgent words, three incredibly piercing warning broadcast sounds almost punctured Lin Yang's eardrums.

Immediately afterward, Lin Yang noticed the intelligent System module's voice disappear, replaced by the underlying task System module taking over the task, a mechanical, emotionless voice coldly sounding:

“The System has detected an Extreme Danger alert: The Boundary Wall is under attack by unknown creatures. Host, please take emergency measures promptly. If the Boundary Wall is destroyed, this Universe Zone will be at risk of annihilation.”

“…”

Lin Yang was stunned for a moment.

What did the System say?

The Boundary Wall was under attack, and the Universe might be annihilated??

What was going on?

“System, what is this…”

Lin Yang couldn't help but ask.

But the emotionless voice of the underlying task module continued to broadcast on its own.

Lin Yang's gaze also became increasingly serious.