522: The past

However, if everything was truly as Lin Tianwei suspected, those Cosmic Beasts who cultivated the Star Refining Art were merely food, food that would spontaneously cultivate and become even more delicious.

Just like the Mech Clan of the past, they seemed to be individual lives, possessing the ability to grow independently.

But in the eyes of the Mechanical God-King, they were nothing more than food that was gradually becoming more delicious.

As long as the Mechanical God-King had a need, he could instantly devour all the data they possessed, turning it all into his own energy.

It was precisely after sacrificing billions of the Mech Clan that the Mechanical God-King was able to defy the heavens and become a god with a vast ocean of data, securing his place among the God-Kings.

The Star Devouring Behemoth was no different.

His act of freely distributing the cultivation method for the Star Refining Art in the two universes, while seemingly generous and benevolent, was in fact the most malicious act.

Free things are always the most expensive! Lin Tianwei realized this the moment he discovered the Star Refining Art.

However, even he hadn't anticipated such a terrifying conspiracy hidden behind the Star Refining Art.

Just like the Blue Star creatures once infected by the Star Devouring Beast Avatar, all Cosmic Beasts who cultivated the Star Refining Art were food for the Star Devouring Behemoth.

If he wished, he could devour these Cosmic Beasts at any time through his Talent: Star Devourer (Mythical), digesting them into his own sustenance.

Just like the cyber souls in Lin Tianwei's Cyber Ranch, once the Star Devouring Behemoth devoured enough Cosmic Beasts, his strength would undergo a qualitative leap, potentially even reaching the Legendary Eternal Dominator realm.

However, as a God-King, even a God-King from the opposing faction would not stand by and watch the Star Devouring Behemoth devour so much.

Therefore, the other party had always hidden cautiously, awaiting an opportunity that even a God-King could not stop him from taking.

And now, at the moment when the two universes were about to decline, this opportunity was about to be seized by the Star Devouring Behemoth.

Even the most life-preserving God-King would not be stingy with his power in the face of such a major issue as the survival of the universe; he would exert his full strength to secure a glimmer of hope for his universe.

Even if they harbored any unusual thoughts, the moment they were recognized by the universe, they had already completely lost the chance to resist it.

A dying universe would forcefully interfere with the consciousness of these God-Kings, making them sacrifice themselves for their universe without hesitation.

Thus, this epoch-making God-King war was destined to have casualties.

Once the casualties among the God-Kings reached a certain level, there would be no existence left to stop the already powerful Star Devouring Behemoth.

As for stopping this matter in advance?

Not to mention that Lin Tianwei had no evidence to prove the Star Devouring Behemoth's conspiracy,

the current dire situation between the two universes alone would not allow the God-Kings to act against the Star Devouring Behemoth before the war began.

This was a conspiracy that the Star Devouring Behemoth had plotted for countless years, and it had now reached an irreversible point.

Unless there was a more powerful force, a force stronger than the Star Devouring Behemoth, to forcibly suppress him.

Otherwise, the Star Devouring Behemoth's sacrifice of all Cosmic Beasts in the two universes to achieve the Eternal Dominator realm was an unchangeable fact.

As for why Day Tiger was able to discern the Star Devouring Behemoth's conspiracy, the reason was unknown, but this point was not important at all; Lin Tianwei only needed to know that the Star Devouring Behemoth's conspiracy truly existed.

Day Tiger was merely a part of confirming his suspicions.

At this thought, even Lin Tianwei's expression became solemn.

Just as Day Tiger had said, his time was indeed running out.

If he couldn't condense his Body of Talents before the final battle fully erupted and gain the ability to play a pivotal role, he might only be able to watch the other party's schemes succeed.

sand of time, he needed a large amount of sand of time to escape his current predicament.

Day Tiger seemed to have anticipated this situation and prepared a large amount of sand of time for Lin Tianwei in advance.

Thinking this, Lin Tianwei directly said, "The so-called secret you speak of is no secret to me."

"Although I won this battle, you only need to hand over all the sand of time, and you can leave."

"After all, I don't lack your strength."

Lin Tianwei still had enough benevolence towards him.

Especially for himself, who had already prepared such a grand gift in advance, Lin Tianwei was extremely generous.

One must know that sand of time was not some street stall item; it was said that it could only be salvaged from the River of Time, a supreme treasure of heaven and earth no less valuable than the heart of the heavenly sea.

For an ordinary Cosmic Beast to obtain even a little of such a supreme treasure of heaven and earth was incredibly difficult.

The effort Day Tiger must have put in to possess such a large stock was imaginable.

However, it was precisely when faced with Lin Tianwei's great mercy that Day Tiger let out a bitter laugh, saying:

"I understand you mean well, but the world is vast, yet there is no place for me, Day Tiger."

"The moment I was forced to cultivate the Star Refining Art, I had no turning back; death is the best destination for me."

"And to die by your hand, to return to the Origin, is the best way for me to die."

"In fact, even if you hadn't fully matured yet and had lost this fair battle, I would have ultimately chosen to complete you."

"After all, I don't want to become food for Blue Star's enemy, to become sustenance for him to grow stronger."

"However, your ultimate victory still brings me immense comfort; at least it proves that I didn't misjudge you, that you possess potential that this universe cannot even contain!"

Pausing, Day Tiger continued, "Don't try to persuade me; there's no need at all."

"I have lived for billions of years, countless billions of times longer than you."

"In such a situation, I've already lived enough, so what is there for you to regret?"

"Moreover, your growth time is still too short; even if you have gained immense power, your foundation is still somewhat lacking."

"And this deficiency can be precisely compensated by my billions of years of experience, making your path to God-King twice as effective."

"Keep going, keep striving, and truly achieve God-King status as soon as possible; you might be the key to resolving all of this."

"If, in the future, when you face those old friends, you can mention Day Tiger's name, then I will have died a worthwhile death."

What Lin Tianwei disliked most was this kind of sentimental atmosphere. Since Day Tiger had chosen to go to his death generously, there was no need for Lin Tianwei to continue being overly emotional.

However, unlike Day Tiger's thoughts, Lin Tianwei did not use his Talent: Star Devourer (Mythical) on him.

Since Lin Tianwei already knew the secret of this Talent, there was naturally no need to use it to devour Day Tiger.

Talent: Avatar (Mythical)!

Following the connection between the main body and the Avatar, the next moment, Day Tiger's body began to fly uncontrollably towards Lin Tianwei's location.

The two Day Tigers were like two completely merging bubbles, quickly fusing together.

Lin Tianwei also began to formally receive the terrifying treasure this Avatar of Day Tiger had prepared for him.

As Lin Tianwei absorbed Day Tiger, the next moment, he was no longer himself, but transformed into the body tissue that was stored in the spaceship, sent into space by Lin Tianwei as a backup plan.

Although it was just a mass of body tissue, under the terrifying Talent Lin Tianwei possessed at the time, given the opportunity, this tissue could quickly grow into a new Lin Tianwei.

And soon, Lin Tianwei found this opportunity, because the spaceship he was on had bad luck and encountered rare space currents.

Under the effect of the space currents, this spaceship, which embodied all of Blue Star humanity's cutting-edge technology, was simply vulnerable and instantly disintegrated.

It was this encounter that allowed Lin Tianwei to break his shackles and gain a chance at rebirth.

He began to frantically absorb the scattered energy around him, constantly growing, and soon transformed into the appearance of a young tiger.

However, before Lin Tianwei could observe the world through the young tiger's perspective for long, he encountered an even more terrifying temporal turbulence.

It was through this temporal turbulence that Lin Tianwei arrived at a magical place, the River of Time, formed by the Law of Time.

It was only by crossing the River of Time that Lin Tianwei was able to accomplish the super feat of instantly traversing billions of years.

Unfortunately, although the River of Time possessed infinite power, it was not something an ordinary Cosmic Beast could withstand.

Lin Tianwei quickly suffered the backlash of the River of Time, on the verge of death and annihilation.

However, just as Lin Tianwei was about to be completely swallowed by the River of Time, the next moment, he was actually fished out.

The one who saved Lin Tianwei was a Cosmic Beast named Chaos.

He claimed to be the spirit of the River of Time, born from the Law of Time, and naturally possessed the ability to control the Law of Time.

Unfortunately, for Chaos, the River of Time, a place where no living creature could survive, was simply too lonely, so he quickly became good friends with Lin Tianwei.

However, just as Lin Tianwei thought he would stay on the banks of the River of Time for a lifetime,

the River of Time suddenly surged with large waves, completely engulfing Lin Tianwei.

When Lin Tianwei fully awakened, he found himself in another realm, a world with countless ferocious Cosmic Beasts.

Who could imagine how dangerous such a realm was for an ordinary Cosmic Beast like Lin Tianwei?

Coupled with the loss of the Talent Extraction System's protection, even the simple goal of just surviving was incredibly difficult for Lin Tianwei.

Especially without cultivation techniques, Lin Tianwei was constrained everywhere and found it difficult to improve his strength.

It was in this helpless situation that Lin Tianwei finally chose to accept the free gift and cultivated the Star Refining Art, which was spread by someone intentionally.

It was only after cultivating the Star Refining Art that Lin Tianwei finally gained some strength, managed to survive, and eventually carved out a place for himself, becoming a powerful Universe Master.

It was also during the process of becoming a Universe Master that Lin Tianwei met many like-minded friends, the most famous of whom was the Heavensea God-King, a renowned God-King in the Origin Universe.

Unfortunately, even with the Heavensea God-King's unreserved teaching, Lin Tianwei ultimately failed to achieve God-King status.

That seemingly imminent final step was like an insurmountable chasm, always just out of reach.

It was as if the Origin Universe inherently rejected Lin Tianwei, and the laws inherently rejected Lin Tianwei.

It was in this situation that Lin Tianwei realized the importance of sacrificing Origin Planets to the Origin Universe, and the importance of one's origin.

One's origin might still be changed through continuous transformation and effort later on, allowing oneself to evolve into a spirit representing a certain law, but sacrificing Origin Planets was simply impossible for Lin Tianwei to do.

His Origin Planet was in the future, in the infinitely distant future; how could he possibly succeed in sacrificing it?

Since conventional methods could not allow Lin Tianwei to advance to the God-King realm, he could only find another path, seeking other ways to break through.

Talent was the answer in Lin Tianwei's eyes.

He began to build his power, developing a force called the Day Tiger Merchant Guild, and while doing business with Talent scrolls, he also began to hunt Cosmic Beasts with powerful Talents.

Hunting the powerful Talents they possessed was the answer in Lin Tianwei's heart.

Facts proved that Lin Tianwei's choice was not wrong, or rather, the Talent Extraction System had already given Lin Tianwei the most correct answer.

Under the accumulation of countless powerful Talents, Lin Tianwei already possessed the ability to evolve into a law spirit.

Although he could not gain the recognition of the Origin Universe by sacrificing Origin Planets, after becoming a law spirit, Lin Tianwei's strength would also multiply, at least achieving the level of a pseudo-God-King like the Mechanical God-King.

However, it was precisely when Lin Tianwei tried to evolve himself into a law spirit that he sensed an abnormality in his body, an abnormality brought about by cultivating the Star Refining Art.

Unbeknownst to him, the Star Refining Art had already changed Lin Tianwei's body nature, merging with his body and consciousness.

It was this fusion that bound Lin Tianwei's body and consciousness, making it impossible for him to evolve into a law spirit.

Unless he had the determination to abandon everything and cultivate again, he simply could not evolve into a law spirit or make any breakthrough beyond Universe Master.

The peak of Universe Master, a distant goal that Cosmic Beasts considered unattainable, ultimately became the shackles that bound Lin Tianwei.

The cost of abandoning everything and recultivating was simply too great for Lin Tianwei; he could only prepare while inquiring about the Star Refining Art.

His intuition, however, told Lin Tianwei that the Star Refining Art had a big problem, an even bigger problem than he had imagined.

Otherwise, it would be difficult to explain this characteristic of the Star Refining Art, this characteristic that could bind the cultivator's body and consciousness.

It was by relying on this intuition that Lin Tianwei, unwilling to be tricked, began to investigate, investigating the origin of the Star Refining Art and the mastermind behind this entire conspiracy. (End of this chapter)