As Locke continued making his moves...
The embryonic universe he had created within the Hongmeng Space grew larger and larger.
When the size of Locke's embryonic universe reached one hundred times that of the Magic Universe...
A realization suddenly arose within his heart.
His universe...
Had already reached the limit of its growth.
"So this is it..."
"In the Hongmeng Universe, the upper limit of a Primary Universe is one hundred times the size of a secondary universe's subsidiary universe."
Merged with his universe, Locke could sense that somewhere beyond perception, an invisible force was suppressing the continued growth of the universe he had created.
However...
Locke could also clearly feel that the universe he had created was still merely an embryonic universe.
It had not yet reached its own true limit.
Both the universes created by Hongmeng and Linley were founded by using Hongmeng aura to evolve the Five Elements, establishing the foundation of the universe before further evolving space and time.
But Locke's universe was different.
The very foundation of his universe was his own Laws of Space-Time.
Because of this...
The innate stability of Locke's universe was already superior to that of the Primary Universe created by Hongmeng.
"Should I gamble?"
This thought arose in Locke's mind.
The Hongmeng Universe also had its limits.
There could only ever be four Primary Universes.
Now that the universe Locke had created had already reached the upper limit of a Primary Universe within the Hongmeng Universe...
If it continued expanding...
It would inevitably begin encroaching upon the space occupied by the other universes.
At that point...
Locke had no idea how the Hongmeng Space would react to a universe that exceeded the limit of a Primary Universe.
As Locke hesitated...
He could sense that under the influence of that mysterious force, the rate at which his universe absorbed Hongmeng aura had already begun slowing down.
It probably wouldn't be long before this universe stopped growing altogether.
"I'll gamble!"
Sensing the changes in his universe...
Locke steeled his heart.
He once again formed his hand into a blade and continued slashing at the Hongmeng aura outside his universe.
After all...
As Locke saw it...
He had already entered the Hongmeng Space.
Even if the universe he was creating were destroyed...
He would still obtain a place upon the Hongmeng Golden List.
Once he became a Hongmeng Controller...
He would possess perfect control over Hongmeng energy.
At that time...
He could simply use a Hongmeng Controller's mastery over Hongmeng energy to evolve the Five Elements and create another universe.
As for this one...
Let him see the true limits of the Hongmeng Space!
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Invisible waves continuously erupted from Locke's hand, instantly crushing all the Hongmeng aura surrounding his universe.
At the same time...
He directed his universe to absorb the shattered Hongmeng aura at the greatest possible speed.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh...
For a time...
Countless streams of Hongmeng aura formed an enormous vortex centered around Locke's universe.
The endless Hongmeng energy spun as it was devoured by Locke's universe...
Becoming nourishment for its growth.
The size of Locke's universe surpassed the upper limit of a Primary Universe...
And continued expanding at astonishing speed.
"Hm?"
As the universe rapidly expanded...
Merged with it, Locke could clearly feel that his current Laws of Space-Time were no longer sufficient to support such an enormous universe.
Now...
There were two choices before him.
The first...
Was to dilute the Laws of Space-Time, lowering the universe's overall strength in order to preserve its stability.
The second...
Was to continuously perfect the Laws within the universe as it grew, strengthening the universe itself so that it could continue expanding while remaining stable.
For Locke...
The first option was completely unacceptable.
Within the Hongmeng Space...
The creator of a universe shared an extremely intimate connection with that universe.
Once a universe was successfully completed...
Its creator would receive the Mysterious Yellow Energy born at the beginning of the universe's creation.
The quantity of Mysterious Yellow Energy was closely related to the strength of the universe.
The stronger the universe created...
The more Mysterious Yellow Energy it would produce.
And Mysterious Yellow Energy...
Was an energy even more powerful than Hongmeng energy.
Using it...
One could cultivate an even more powerful Mysterious Yellow Body and Mysterious Yellow Soul, surpassing even the Hongmeng Body.
These two...
Were the strongest physique and soul attainable within the Hongmeng Space.
Only those who simultaneously cultivated both a Mysterious Yellow Body and a Mysterious Yellow Soul could truly be considered the strongest.
Within the Hongmeng Space...
Only the four Primary Hongmeng Controllers had managed to achieve both.
The universes created by Secondary Hongmeng Controllers were only as large as the subsidiary universes attached to a Primary Universe.
As a result...
Secondary Hongmeng Controllers could cultivate only a Mysterious Yellow Body...
Or a Mysterious Yellow Soul.
Likewise...
Because the amount of Mysterious Yellow Energy differed by a factor of one hundred...
The Mysterious Yellow Body or Mysterious Yellow Soul of a Secondary Hongmeng Controller was vastly inferior to that of a Primary Hongmeng Controller.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
After crushing all the Hongmeng aura surrounding his universe into energy suitable for absorption...
Locke sat cross-legged within the universe...
And began filling the universe he had created with Laws.
If one followed Hongmeng's method of creating universes...
Those Hongmeng energies would naturally evolve into the various Laws needed by the universe, strengthening its spatial stability.
However...
That was something only a Hongmeng Controller, with absolute mastery over Hongmeng energy, could accomplish.
Locke had not yet left his soul imprint upon the Hongmeng Golden List.
He was still not a Hongmeng Controller.
Naturally...
He did not possess a Hongmeng Controller's complete dominion over Hongmeng energy.
Therefore...
The vast amount of Hongmeng aura absorbed by the universe Locke had created merely served as the energy driving its expansion.
As for the Laws within the universe...
Those had to be supplied by Locke himself.
"Right now..."
"The universe I've created uses the Laws of Space-Time as its foundation."
"Back in the Magic Universe, because I only possessed affinity for the Edict of Fate and the Water Laws..."
"Even though I had used Mirror Flower, Water Moon to record the other nine Laws within the Magic Universe, I could only use them through illusions while inside that universe."
"But now..."
"I myself am the universe."
"The earth, wind, water, fire, light, darkness, lightning, life, death, destruction, and fate Laws of the Magic Universe..."
"Along with space-time and reincarnation..."
"All fourteen Laws can now be turned from illusion into reality and implanted into this universe as its governing Laws."
"However..."
"Eleven of those Laws are ultimately still Laws belonging to a subsidiary universe."
"They are sufficient to support a subsidiary universe..."
"But they cannot support a Primary Universe."
"Not to mention..."
"The universe I've created is even larger than a Primary Universe..."
"Hongmeng's Primary Universe uses Hongmeng energy to evolve the Five Elements."
"The subsidiary universes use Hongmeng energy to evolve the Four Cardinal Elements—earth, wind, water, and fire."
"Although both originate from the same Hongmeng energy..."
"The strength of a universe created through the Five Elements exceeds that of one created through the Four Cardinal Elements by over one hundredfold."
"Chaos..."
"The Two Forms..."
"The Three Powers..."
"The Four Symbols..."
"The Five Elements..."
"The Six Harmonies..."
"The Seven Stars..."
"The Eight Trigrams..."
"The Nine Palaces..."
"Within the Hongmeng Space..."
"Hongmeng energy can be regarded as the power of Chaos."
"In terms of the hierarchy of energy..."
"The primordial power of Chaos is unquestionably the strongest."
"But when it comes to maintaining the stability of a universe..."
"The opposite is true."
"The energy must be downgraded."
"The universe I've created is even larger than a Primary Universe."
"The Five Elements alone cannot support a universe of this magnitude."
"My understanding of the Six Harmonies, Seven Stars, and Nine Palaces isn't particularly deep."
"But I do possess some understanding of the Eight Trigrams."
"In that case..."
"The universe I've created shall use the Innate Eight Trigrams as its most fundamental Laws."
Having made his decision...
Locke no longer hesitated.
With a single thought...
A vast quantity of Hongmeng energy was transformed under Locke's control into the two primordial forces of Heaven and Earth.
Afterward...
The power of Heaven evolved into the three forces of Fire, Thunder, and Wind.
The power of Earth evolved into the three forces of Water, Mountain, and Marsh.
Then...
Heaven and Earth began revolving together...
Commanding the six powers as they gradually evolved all things beneath heaven.
This perfectly corresponded to the principle that...
One gives birth to Two.
Two gives birth to Three.
Three gives birth to all things.
More and more Hongmeng energy...
Was transformed by Locke into the origins of the Eight Trigrams.
Then...
The essence of the Eight Trigrams radiated outward, rapidly spreading throughout the universe Locke had created.
Buzz...
When the power of the Eight Trigrams permeated the entire universe...
Locke could clearly sense the joy transmitted by his universe.
With the appearance of these eight Laws...
Locke's Laws of Space-Time immediately received an enormous enhancement.
The spatial stability of the universe he had created instantly increased by a tremendous margin.
Having established the foundation of his universe...
Locke then began filling it with the other Laws he had mastered.
Life...
Death...
Destruction...
Fate...
Reincarnation...
Light...
Darkness...
As Locke continuously used the abilities of Mirror Flower, Water Moon to implant more Laws into the universe...
His universe gradually became more complete.
The first thing to appear...
Was the alternation of light and darkness.
The cycling of the sun and moon.
Next...
The power of Heaven gathered together...
Giving birth to the Thirty-Three Heavens.
The power of Earth condensed...
Giving birth to the Eighteen Hells.
Between the Thirty-Three Heavens and the Eighteen Hells...
Countless stars of every size appeared.
Under the influence of the Edicts of Life...
Some of those stars gradually evolved into worlds suitable for living beings.
Meanwhile...
The Edicts of Life, Fate, Destruction, and Death spread throughout every corner of Locke's universe under the governance of the Edict of Reincarnation.
Within Locke's universe...
All things possessed life, death, and reincarnation.
Naturally...
As living beings cultivated...
The stronger they became, the longer their lifespans would naturally be.
The Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations...
Were the trials Locke established for the living beings within his universe.
Whenever a living being's lifespan reached a certain threshold...
It would inevitably face its own Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations.
If it survived...
It would continue living for another period of time.
If it failed...
Then unfortunately...
It would have to pass through reincarnation.
Only after completely overcoming the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations...
Could one obtain the qualification for true immortality.
Even so...
Even a Divine King-level expert would not find it easy to completely overcome the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations established by Locke.
Anyone capable of completely overcoming them...
Would be, at the very least, an invincible Divine King.
This was a lesson Locke had drawn from Hongmeng's experience in creating universes.
He had no desire for the living beings within his own universe to become like those in the subsidiary universes...
Where reaching the Saint-level granted eternal life...
Only for the number of immortal beings to eventually grow so vast that a Planar War had to be held every trillion years to reduce the population.
...
"What an enormous universe!"
Standing outside Locke's universe...
Hongmeng stared at it in astonishment.
As a lifeform born within the Hongmeng Space...
Hongmeng possessed an extremely thorough understanding of his companion treasure, the Hongmeng Golden List.
And precisely because of that...
He was so shocked.
That Locke would create a universe...
Hongmeng had already known from the moment Locke began fusing the Laws of Space-Time and creating embryonic universes within the Magic Universe.
In Hongmeng's opinion...
The embryonic universes Locke had created were all far too crude.
Naturally...
Hongmeng also understood the reason.
Locke was not a Hongmeng Controller.
He did not possess absolute authority over Hongmeng energy.
He could not freely transform Hongmeng energy into other Laws according to his own will.
Therefore...
The difficulty Locke faced in creating a universe was more than one hundred times greater than the difficulty Hongmeng himself had faced.
Even so...
Locke had actually succeeded in creating one.
Moreover...
The upper limit of this universe had clearly surpassed the limit of a Primary Universe within the Hongmeng Universe.
At the same time...
The Laws Locke had chosen to stabilize his universe caused Hongmeng's eyes to shine brightly.
As a Hongmeng Controller...
And the creator of the Hongmeng Universe...
Hongmeng naturally possessed complete mastery over every Law within it.
Yet...
In terms of the application of Laws...
Locke's universe was clearly superior to Hongmeng's own.
Especially Locke's method of perfecting the universe—
One gives birth to Two.
Two gives birth to Three.
Three gives birth to all things.
It provided Hongmeng with countless new inspirations.
As the strongest being within the Hongmeng Space...
With Hongmeng's insight...
He could naturally see that Locke's creation of the universe was already complete.
Its primary framework had already been perfected.
It was fully capable of maintaining the stability of this vast universe.
All that remained...
Was for the universe to absorb sufficient Hongmeng energy and complete its internal evolution.
Once that happened...
The universe would truly be complete.
At that time...
Locke would use the Mysterious Yellow Energy born at the creation of the universe to advance to Hongmeng's current level.
No...
More accurately...
Locke might even become someone who surpassed Hongmeng.
Because...
The universe Locke had created this time was significantly larger than even the Primary Universe created by Hongmeng.
Once its evolution was fully completed...
Its final size might reach twice that of a normal Primary Universe.
Naturally...
Through his connection with the universe...
Locke had also become aware of this.
"Then..."
"I'll simply remain here and wait for Hongmeng to come find me."
Now that he had already done everything he could...
Locke had no intention of leaving the universe he had created.
On one hand...
He had a vague feeling that once his universe fully took shape...
It would still have to undergo one final trial from the Hongmeng Space.
If it succeeded...
Everything would proceed smoothly, and the universe would finally become complete.
If it failed...
Everything he had done thus far would be reduced to nothing.
On the other hand...
Although the Hongmeng aura outside the universe could no longer harm Locke's Space-Time Body...
The massive tides of Hongmeng aura within the Hongmeng Space were still beyond his ability to completely resist.
If...
Like when he had first entered the Hongmeng Space...
He were once again swept away by a vortex of Hongmeng aura to some distant corner of the Hongmeng Space...
Then if he failed to return to his universe before its evolution was complete...
This attempt at creating a universe would likewise end in failure.
(End of Chapter)
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