137: The Ultimate Secret, the Truth of the Universe

When Lin Tian returned to the Long Family headquarters, bearing glorious battle achievements that would make even True Gods take notice, he was welcomed as a hero.

At the airport, all the members of the Long Family looked at him with the most fervent and respectful gazes.

And the most striking was the former First Sequence, Dragon Battle.

He did not stay in his palace but personally waited at the airport. When Lin Tian walked off the gangway, he pushed through the crowd and stepped forward. In his golden eyes, filled with endless Dragon might, all traces of unwillingness and competition had vanished, replaced by the purest, heartfelt admiration.

He bowed solemnly to Lin Tian, this 'younger brother' who was nearly ten years his junior.

"I, Dragon Battle, am completely convinced."

"From today onwards, you are the Long Family's sole and undisputed... Alpha."

This bow represented the complete surrender of the old king to the new king.

It also signified that Lin Tian's supreme prestige and status within the Long Family had finally, completely, settled... After handling all the returning administrative affairs, Lin Tian did not linger for a moment.

He carried a series of questions about the deepest layers of this world, questions that would perplex any Advanced Divine-Grade expert, and ventured alone into the deepest part of the Long Family's Forbidden Ground.

He wanted to meet the Third Old Ancestor.

He wanted to know the true Origin of the so-called Heavenly Demon King? What was the 'Entropy Silence' Law that did not belong to this dimension? And why did he call himself... a fruit of the world tree?

Deep within the Forbidden Ground, in that Small World perpetually shrouded in Chaos Qi, seemingly independent of time and space.

The Third Old Ancestor's blurry projection was already waiting there, as if he had long anticipated his arrival.

"You've come." The Third Old Ancestor's voice carried a hint of relief, and also an unprecedented solemnity.

"Old Ancestor, I need answers." Lin Tian got straight to the point, laying out all his questions.

The Third Old Ancestor listened quietly, without interruption.

It wasn't until Lin Tian finished speaking that he let out a long sigh. That sigh seemed to span eons, filled with endless vicissitudes and heaviness.

"Child, you have grown to this point; it is time for you to know some things."

"This world you see, this Universe you perceive... is not the whole picture."

The Third Old Ancestor spoke slowly, and every word he uttered next was like the most terrifying cosmic storm, fiercely overturning Lin Tian's already unshakeable worldview!

"This Universe we inhabit, in the eyes of truly ancient existences, has a name: 'The Primordial Land.'"

"It's like a gigantic 'newbie village' carefully protected. An invisible 'world barrier' made of supreme Laws separates us from the vaster and crueler true Universe outside."

"And beyond that 'world barrier' is a 'Sea of Realms,' composed of countless more Advanced and powerful Universe civilizations, a truly... infinite Universe."

"There, myriad races stand, and True Gods and Devils run rampant. Demigods are merely slightly stronger soldiers. True Gods are barely qualified to establish a Divine Kingdom of their own. Above them, there are even more ancient and unspeakable terrifying existences."

The Third Old Ancestor looked at Lin Tian's eyes, which, though shocked, remained calm, and continued to reveal even more subversive truths.

"The Heavenly Demon King you slew, the so-called 'Ancient Abomination,' he is not a being of our Universe."

"He was merely a scout dispatched by a terrifying civilization called the 'Entropy Demon Race' from the Sea of Realms, a race that lives by devouring and ending other Universes. He was sent tens of thousands of years ago to investigate the reality of our 'Primordial Land.'"

Scout?!

A terrifying existence whose power surpassed that of a Demigod and almost brought the entire Earth to ruin was merely... a scout?!

For the first time, a truly monstrous wave surged in Lin Tian's heart!

"That 'Entropy Silence' Law is a tyrannical Law unique to the 'Entropy Demon Race,' capable of accelerating the Universe towards 'heat death,' thus facilitating their devouring. And you..."

The Third Old Ancestor's gaze became incredibly complex, filled with relief, pride, and a deep worry.

"...The reason he called you a fruit of the world tree is because the Origin of your Pangu Body does not originate from our Universe, but shares the same source as the legendary World Tree that supports the entire Sea of Realms and serves as the starting point of all realms!"

"To them, your body is a supreme divine medicine, a 'Dao Fruit' that can allow them to Breakthrough their own shackles and glimpse higher levels! It is their... most coveted food!"

After revealing this cosmic truth, which was enough to make anyone despair, Lin Tian fell silent.

After a long pause, he slowly opened his mouth and asked the question he cared about most, and yet dared not think about.

"Then... my father, he..."

The Third Old Ancestor's projection became somewhat ethereal at this moment, as if lost in distant memories.

"Your father, Lin Zhan..."

His voice carried a deep respect and... sorrow.

"...He was a 'Guardian' of the old era, like me. He was also the most promising Prodigy of our era, capable of leading Earth out of the 'Primordial Land' and establishing a foothold in the 'Sea of Realms.'"

"Sixteen years ago, the 'Entropy Demon Race' launched its second large-scale probe, even more terrifying than the previous Heavenly Demon King. To prevent their full-scale invasion, to prevent the coordinates of our 'Primordial Land' from being completely exposed to those hungry 'predators'..."

"Your father made a decision."

"He proactively broke the 'world barrier,' using himself as bait, and drew all the enemies to the other side of the 'Sea of Realms.'"

"He, alone, a single city, ventured by himself into that perilous, true... main battlefield!"

Boom—!!!

Lin Tian's mind went blank!

He finally understood.

He understood why his father, whom he had never met, had disappeared.

He understood the incredibly heavy... destiny he carried!

The Third Old Ancestor looked at Lin Tian's eyes, which had instantly become incredibly complex, and slowly, from his ethereal form, took out an ancient, lifelike Dragon-shaped jade pendant carved entirely from an unknown warm jade.

Upon the jade pendant, a vast starry sky seemed to be contained. Lin Tian could feel an incredibly faint, yet incredibly intimate, call from the deepest part of his Bloodline.

"This is... the token your father left behind back then."

The Third Old Ancestor placed the jade pendant into Lin Tian's hand.

"It can receive faint signals from your father from the other side of the 'Sea of Realms.' Although communication is impossible, as long as it glows, it means... he is still alive."

"Child, do you understand now?"

"Your true enemies have never been these ants on Earth. Your battlefield has never been this small 'Primordial Land.'"

"If you want to know all the truth, if you want to fight alongside your father..."

The Third Old Ancestor looked at him, his aged eyes filled with endless anticipation.

"...You need to become stronger! Strong enough to break the 'world barrier,' strong enough to traverse the 'Sea of Realms,' strong enough... to make all the myriad races of the heavens tremble at your name!"

Lin Tian tightly gripped the warm, Dragon-shaped jade pendant in his hand, which seemed to still carry his father's body temperature.

He raised his head, his pure golden eyes seemingly piercing through the Forbidden Ground's obstruction, through the atmosphere, and gazing towards that deep, boundless, unknown, and challenging... sea of stars.