166: AFK (away from keyboard) reading the *Mahaparinirvana Sutra*

The instant the System's cold notification tone fell, a vast enlightenment, indescribable and seemingly transcending all Laws of this world, violently cleaved into his mind like the first ray of divine light at the dawn of creation!

That was... the Great Liberation Sutra!

A truly ultimate Cultivation Technique!

It surpassed the [Realm Lord] (God Emperor), pointing directly beyond the legendary Dominator, towards the ultimate realm that even the End Dominator yearned for...

— [Transcendence]!

However, before Lin Ye could recover from this immense surprise, which was enough to drive all the heavens and myriad realms mad, the System's cold and ruthless notification tone sounded again, like a sudden blow to the head!

[Ding!]

[Detected a [Transcendence-level] Cultivation Technique, the Great Liberation Sutra...]

[This Cultivation Technique is the sole method leading to "Transcendence," deduced by the ancient lineage of Chaos God-Demon using the accumulated wisdom of billions of sentient beings!]

[Do you wish to... add it to the AFK list?]

"Yes!" Lin Ye did not hesitate!

[Command confirmed!]

[Warning! AFK Cultivating this method requires consuming... massive amounts of origin crystal!]

[Detected that the host's current origin crystal reserve is insufficient.]

[AFK task... cannot be initiated!]

"origin crystal..."

Lin Ye slowly exhaled a mouthful of stale Qi.

His pitch-black eyes pierced through the shattered ruins of the divine palace, penetrated the boundless Chaos void filled with endless savagery and tearing sensations, and once again gazed remotely toward the towering divine hall that stood at the edge of the continent, seemingly merged with the entire Universe and galaxy...

"Myriad Gods Hall..."

He finally understood.

Why did the End Dominator set up such a cruel "cage"? Why did it "harvest" every ten thousand years, extracting the Origin power of all [Realm Lords]?

So, it... needed it too!

It also needed this purest origin crystal to nourish its already decaying immortal Physical Body! To maintain its precarious... false rule!

Lin Ye slowly stood up, his black and white divine robe flapping loudly in the Chaos gale!

In his pitch-black eyes, half divine and half demonic, two clusters of towering flames ignited, capable of dragging all the gods and buddhas of the heavens into the abyss!

"Then let's... see!"

"Who exactly..."

"— is 'harvesting' whom!!!"

...Three days later.

Above the Sea of Fallen Demons, an area perpetually shrouded in pitch-black demonic mist in the Center of the Myriad Realms Divine Domain.

This was the territory of the Dominator-level expert, the Black Mist Dominator, under the Myriad Gods Hall! It was also one of the "ranches" he was responsible for "harvesting"!

Above the sea surface, black mist surged and vengeful spirits roared!

A towering bone mountain, ten thousand zhang high, composed of the skeletons of billions of sentient beings, rose out of the sea and pierced the clouds! At the peak of the bone mountain, a magnificent demonic hall, crafted from unknown black divine metal, stood silently.

Inside the demonic hall, the Black Mist Dominator, who should have been high above, holding the power of life and death over hundreds of millions of miles, was now kneeling respectfully on the ground like the most lowly slave!

Floating before him was a vague, majestic figure, condensed purely from the power of "World Origin"!

"M-Master!" The Black Mist Dominator's voice was filled with uncontrollable fear and trembling, "The A-Ascension Platform... is out of control!"

"Ascenders Lin Ye and Su Qingyue from the lower plane, 'Tiannan Realm,' numbered 77493... defected on the spot!"

"Trash!"

The majestic figure did not even bother to open his eyes, merely letting out a cold snort filled with endless indifference and coldness from his nostrils!

"Boom!"

It was only a cold snort!

The Black Mist Dominator's terrifying demonic Physical Body, which had already reached the early stage of Dominator, suddenly trembled as if struck head-on by an ancient divine mountain! With a "poof," he spat out a large mouthful of pitch-black demonic blood!

"Two mere ants who just crawled out of their 'eggshells' were actually able to... slip away right under your nose?!" The majestic voice was filled with unquestionable killing intent, "What use is this old man having you for?!"

"Master, spare my life! Master, please spare my life!" The Black Mist Dominator was Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering with fear, desperately kowtowing, "That... that kid is strange! He... he was actually able to forcibly withstand the divine thunder of 'World Origin' baptism!"

"Oh?"

The majestic figure finally slowly opened his pale golden eyes, which seemed to contain the cycles of the sun, moon, stars, birth, death, and Reincarnation.

"Such a thing happened?"

"Absolutely true! This servant... this servant is willing to guarantee it with his Divine Spark!" The Black Mist Dominator roared, as if grasping the last straw, "However... Master, please rest assured! Although those two ants managed to escape by chance, they absolutely... cannot escape this Sea of Fallen Demons!"

"This servant has already activated the 'Myriad Souls Blood Sacrifice Grand Formation'! It has sealed all space within hundreds of millions of miles! They are... fish in a barrel!"

"Hehehe..." He let out a sinister laugh filled with malice and pleasure, "When this servant captures them alive and refines them into 'Soul Slaves,' he will then... present them to Master, to... to atone for his previous offense!"

"Mm." The majestic figure responded noncommittally, "Remember, what this old man wants are... living captives."

"Especially that boy named Lin Ye... his Physical Body, which can withstand 'Origin Divine Thunder,' might be of great use to Master's grand plan!"

"Yes! Yes! This servant obeys!"

The majestic figure said no more and slowly dissipated into the air.

Only then did the Black Mist Dominator climb up from the cold ground, as if granted a great pardon.

He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and his eyes, which had been filled with fear, were instantly replaced by cold flames filled with endless venom and killing intent!

"Lin Ye..."

His hoarse voice, like a curse from Hell, slowly echoed within the empty demonic hall.

"To dare... make this Dominator lose face so completely... in front of Master!"

"This Dominator will extract your Divine Soul! And roast it with 'Nine Nether Demonic Fire'... for ten thousand years!!!"

...However, he did not know.

Directly beneath his demonic hall, which was filled with endless venom and killing intent!

At the very core of that ten-thousand-zhang high, chilling bone mountain, piled up from the skeletons of billions of sentient beings!

A thin, black and white figure, seemingly merged with the darkness, was sitting cross-legged in silence.

It was none other than Lin Ye!

He had already, without anyone noticing, infiltrated the deepest part of this demonic lair!

"So... that's how it is."

Lin Ye slowly opened his eyes, and a hint of cold mockery flashed in his pitch-black eyes, which were half divine and half demonic.

"Black Mist Dominator... [Dominator] early stage..."

"Responsible for guarding the Sea of Fallen Demons, and submitting ten thousand [Realm Lord] (God Emperor)-level Divine Sparks to the Myriad Gods Hall every thousand years?"

The corner of Lin Ye's mouth slowly curved into an arc filled with endless killing intent.

"A harvester, is he..."

He slowly raised his right hand.

In his palm, the prison suppressing divine spark, which was originally full of mystery and profoundness, actually generated an unprecedented, fierce resonance with the bone throne beneath him, which was piled up from the skeletons of billions of sentient beings!

Streams of Origin power, purified to the extreme and filled with endless death and venomous aura, were uncontrollably and frantically devoured by the myriad realms furnace in his palm, like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea!

[Ding! Detected high-purity "Death Origin"... Melting in progress...] [Congratulations host, you have gained 100,000 origin points!]

[Ding! Detected origin crystal (Fragment) * 1!]

Lin Ye's heart pounded fiercely!

He slowly grasped the origin crystal (Fragment), which was only the size of a fingernail, pitch-black, yet seemed to contain the endless mysteries of death, tightly in his hand!

He knew that the moment for his counterattack had arrived!

He slowly stood up, and two clusters of blazing flames ignited in his pitch-black eyes, powerful enough to completely ignite this entire Sea of Fallen Demons!

"Since you want to 'harvest' the myriad realms..."

"Then today, I, Lin Ye..."

"Will 'harvest' you first!!!"