354: Chapter 354 The Envoy from the Desolate Realm! The Ten-Thousand-Year Promise Arrives Ahead of Schedule

As the teleportation light dissipated, Lin Chen stood on that familiar small planet in the Ninth Dimension.

Before him was the small cabin he had built with his own hands. The rocking chair in front of the house was still there, the wildflowers nearby were still in bloom, and the small birds in the distance were still hopping between branches—everything was exactly as it had been when he left.

It was as if ten thousand years of time had never passed.

Lin Chen stood in place, looking at the half-open wooden door, and remained silent for three seconds.

Then, he pushed the door open.

Inside the house, Su Qingyu was sitting by the window, holding a cup of tea. Sunlight spilled over her through the window, outlining her silhouette with a gentle clarity.

She looked up and saw him.

Three seconds later, she smiled.

That smile was exactly the same as it had been ten thousand years ago.

“You're back?”

Lin Chen nodded.

“I'm back.”

There were no more words.

Ten thousand years of waiting, ten thousand years of longing, ten thousand years of loneliness—all of it vanished into thin air with that exchange of “You're back” and “I'm back.”

Lin Chen walked over and sat down beside her.

Su Qingyu handed him a cup of tea.

He took it and took a sip.

It was Ice Spring Brew, a specialty of the Icebound Star Domain, with a taste that hadn't changed in ten thousand years.

“How are things over at the Reincarnation Mutual Aid Society?” Lin Chen asked.

Su Qingyu leaned against his shoulder.

“Pretty good. Those little youngsters have all grown up.”

Lin Chen nodded.

The two of them just sat there, not speaking.

Outside the window, the sunlight gradually slanted westward, stretching their shadows very, very long.

The warmth lasted for less than fifteen minutes.

The next second, the mark between Lin Chen's eyebrows suddenly became searingly hot, as if it were about to explode.

It wasn't an ordinary heat; it was a scorching intensity that felt like it would burn through his soul. Eerie blue light surged frantically from the mark, instantly illuminating the entire room.

Su Qingyu sat up abruptly.

“Lin Chen?!”

Lin Chen raised his hand, signaling her not to panic.

He closed his eyes, sensing the information transmitted within that light.

Three seconds later, he opened his eyes.

His expression was more solemn than ever before.

“Source has sent word—the Envoy of the Absolute Domain has arrived early.”

Su Qingyu's pupils contracted slightly.

“Early? Wasn't it supposed to be in ten thousand years?”

Lin Chen stood up and walked to the window.

“It changed its mind.”

He opened the system and pulled up the real-time footage sent by Source.

In the footage was a star domain that was collapsing. Lin Chen recognized it—it was the border of the Cultivation Alliance, only thirty million light-years away from the Ninth Dimension.

In the center of the star domain floated a massive black sphere.

That sphere was larger than a star, pitch-black all over, allowing no light to escape. It hung there quietly, as the surrounding stars were sucked in one by one, unable to even let out a scream.

On the surface of the black sphere, a face slowly emerged.

That face had no features, only a mouth.

The mouth opened, emitting a low voice:

“Lin Chen.”

“I know you are here.”

“Come out and face me.”

“Otherwise—I will continue to eat.”

As the voice fell, another star was sucked into the sphere.

Lin Chen stared at that face and remained silent for three seconds.

Then, he smiled.

That smile made Su Qingyu's heart tighten—she was all too familiar with it; every time Lin Chen was about to do something big, he would smile like that.

“You stay here,” Lin Chen said.

Su Qingyu shook her head.

“I'm going with you.”

Lin Chen looked at her.

“You cannot go.”

“Why?”

“Because that is the Absolute Domain. Its existence is as ancient as Source. Its power is a hundred times stronger than the Void Entity. If you go, you might not come back.”

Su Qingyu fell silent.

Three seconds later, she looked up.

“Then what about you?”

Lin Chen smiled.

“Me? When have I ever not come back?”

Su Qingyu looked at him, her eyes slightly red.

But she knew she couldn't stop him.

“Come back alive.”

Lin Chen nodded.

“I will.”

He turned and stepped into the teleportation array.

The light flared up.

He disappeared from the Ninth Dimension.

At the border of the Cultivation Alliance.

Lin Chen stepped out from the teleportation array, standing at the edge of that collapsing star domain.

Thirty million miles ahead was that massive black sphere. The surrounding void had already been devoured completely, leaving only scattered fragments floating about.

Lin Chen looked at the featureless face and spoke:

“I'm here.”

The face turned toward him.

The mouth opened, letting out a low chuckle.

“Lin Chen. It really is you.”

Lin Chen raised an eyebrow.

“You know me?”

The face—the Envoy of the Absolute Domain—said:

“I don't. But Source mentioned you.”

“It said you were very interesting, daring to refuse it and even daring to send me an invitation.”

“So, I came to see.”

Lin Chen nodded.

“You've seen. Are you satisfied?”

The Envoy of the Absolute Domain was silent for a second.

Then it said:

“Satisfied.”

“You are more interesting than I imagined.”

It slowly drifted out from the black sphere, morphing into a blurry humanoid form.

The humanoid form had no physical substance, only a silhouette, as if composed of pure darkness. It floated before Lin Chen, less than thirty feet away.

“Lin Chen, I give you two choices.”

“One, join me. Become my successor and help me devour all universes. In return, you can keep everything you wish to preserve—your woman, your friends, your civilization.”

“Two, refuse me. Then I will devour you, devour everything you care about, and devour everything you protect.”

“Choose.”

Lin Chen looked at it and remained silent for three seconds.

Then, he smiled.

That smile made the Envoy of the Absolute Domain pause slightly—it had seen countless people make their choices before it: fear, despair, anger, pleading. But this was the first time it had seen a smile like Lin Chen's.

“Join you?” Lin Chen said.

The Envoy of the Absolute Domain nodded.

“Yes. Join me.”

Lin Chen shook his head.

“Not interested.”

The Envoy of the Absolute Domain was stunned.

“Not interested? Do you know the consequences of refusing me?”

Lin Chen nodded.

“I know. You'll devour me, devour everything I care about, and devour all that I protect.”

The Envoy of the Absolute Domain fell silent.

Then it asked:

“And yet you still refuse?”

Lin Chen smiled.

“Because I have a better proposal.”

He activated the ninth layer of the Capital Law—Causality Securitization.

A golden light surged from his palm, condensing in the void into a massive contract.

The title of the contract was:

「Absolute Domain Coexistence Agreement」

【Party A: Absolute Domain】

【Party B: Lin Chen (Representing all civilizations of the All Heavens and Myriad Realms)】

【Agreement Content:】

1. Party A shall cease devouring behavior and switch to an 'orderly absorption' mode. It may absorb a fixed amount of waste energy and dying civilizations annually, but must not proactively attack living entities.

2. Party B shall provide Party A with a certain amount of 'existence energy' annually as the cost for Party A to maintain its existence.

3. Party A shall become the 'Sweeper' of the All Heavens and Myriad Realms, responsible for cleaning up cosmic junk and regions on the brink of collapse.

4. Party B shall establish an 'Absolute Domain Fund' for Party A to use for its future development needs.

5. Both parties shall establish a regular communication mechanism to jointly maintain cosmic balance.

The Envoy of the Absolute Domain looked at that contract and fell completely silent.

For a long, long time.

So long that the surrounding void began to collapse again.

Then it asked:

“What makes you think I would agree to this?”

Lin Chen pointed at the contract.

“Because of this.”

He enlarged the final clause of the contract:

「If Party A refuses this agreement, Party B will initiate the 'Absolute Domain Shorting Plan'. Specific measures include:」

1. Issuing 'Absolute Domain Risk Bonds' to raise funds for opposing Party A.

2. Establishing an 'Absolute Domain Hedge Fund' to allow all civilizations to share the risk collectively.

3. Packaging Party A's existence itself into 'Absolute Domain Securities' to be traded publicly on the Myriad Worlds Exchange. For every civilization Party A devours, the security price will drop by a point. The stronger Party A becomes, the less valuable the securities will be.

Looking at those terms, the Envoy of the Absolute Domain showed a human-like expression for the first time—was that... shock?

“You... you want to turn me into a stock?”

Lin Chen nodded.

“Correct. If you don't sign the agreement, I'll turn you into a stock and let all civilizations short you together.”

“The more you devour, the more those shorting you will earn.”

“In the end, you will be devoured by yourself.”

The Envoy of the Absolute Domain fell silent.

For a long, long time.

So long that the surrounding void stopped collapsing.

Then it laughed.

In that laughter, there was relief, and also admiration.

“Lin Chen, you are the craziest person I have ever met.”

Lin Chen shrugged.

“You'll get used to it.”

The Envoy of the Absolute Domain looked at him for a long time without speaking.

Then it reached out a hand—if that mass of darkness could be called a hand—and pressed its mark onto the contract.

The contract took effect.

Golden light illuminated the entire void.

The figure of the Envoy of the Absolute Domain slowly dissipated; before vanishing, it said:

“In ten thousand years, I will return.”

“At that time, I hope the execution of the agreement goes smoothly.”

Lin Chen nodded.

“It will.”

The black sphere slowly shrank, finally turning into a beam of light and disappearing into the void.

The stars that had been devoured began to slowly recover.

Lin Chen stood in place, watching the direction in which the light had disappeared.

Three seconds later, he smiled.

“Ten thousand years? Surely it won't arrive early this time, right?”