In the Reincarnation Great Realm, countless insect swarms, whose weakest members are still Reincarnation Lifeforms, traverse the Streamer Star Sea. Wherever they pass, all matter is contaminated and corrupted by the swarm. Countless lives within the universes haven't even reacted before they are contaminated and corrupted by the swarm, losing all self-awareness. It's strange to say, but before life is contaminated and corrupted, if the swarm detects it, they will relentlessly pursue it. However, once contaminated and corrupted, although the swarm still feeds on weaker lifeforms, when faced with the choice between contaminating and corrupting self-aware life and simply feeding on weaker life, even if food is right in front of them, the swarm will prioritize contaminating and corrupting self-aware life. It's as if destroying the self-awareness of all life is an instinct etched into the swarm's very being.
Soon, tens of thousands of years passed, and Yuanshi Tianwang and the others still hadn't fought their way through the tunnel connecting the World Crystal Wall. However, the last universe in the Reincarnation Great Realm had already been contaminated and corrupted by the swarm. Although these universes hadn't been destroyed, and even space-time hadn't collapsed, they had triggered the bottom line of Space-Time Reincarnation.
As Space-Time Reincarnation enveloped the entire Reincarnation Great Realm, everything began to flow backward in time. Although it was the same Space-Time Reincarnation, Blue Star's Space-Time Reincarnation couldn't restore the self-awareness of life in parallel worlds. However, the Reincarnation Great Realm's Space-Time Reincarnation could. This doesn't mean the Reincarnation Great Realm's power is stronger than the power of pollution and corruption; it simply means the amount of pollution and corruption power controlled by the insect swarm is far inferior to the immense power that corrupts the Vast Wasteland. If the Reincarnation Great Realm hadn't gone through a hundred thousand reincarnation epochs and been heavily exploited by the Will of Reincarnation along the way, the Reincarnation Great Realm at its peak could probably have easily expelled the insect swarm with its immune system. Even now, the swarm's ability to enter relies on the Will of Reincarnation.
As Space-Time Reincarnation reversed all universes to their initial state, the lives within the universes were also freed from pollution and corruption. However, the insect swarm was not expelled from the Reincarnation Great Realm but was sent into a new universe born out of thin air in the void. This new universe became very peculiar, enveloped by an extremely powerful Karma Reincarnation force. The swarm being trapped was the cause, and the swarm being unable to leave was the effect. No matter how the swarm tried to leave this universe, it was firmly trapped within the new universe by Karma Reincarnation, unable to escape. Under the threat of the swarm, the Reincarnation Great Realm activated its third-tier immune system.
Immediately after, the second-tier immune system also activated, and endlessly generated End Disaster Beasts charged into the new universe. The war between the End Disaster Beasts and the insect swarm was confined within the tiny new universe. This was not the result the Will of Reincarnation wanted to see. Yuanshi Tianwang, Pangu, and Yinglong, as the swarm they originally faced had been transferred by the Reincarnation Great Realm to the new universe, easily returned to the Reincarnation Great Realm, protecting the only intact Haotian Shangdi.
Immediately afterward, without any pause, Yuanshi Tianwang, Pangu, and Yinglong began to create worlds, opening up the heavens and shaping the earth. Moreover, the materials they used to create these worlds were all fragments of the World Crystal Wall. After the three worlds were born, Yuanshi Tianwang and the other two transformed into all things, merging into the worlds they had opened. Due to tens of thousands of years of fighting with the insect swarm, their self-awareness had already been contaminated and corrupted. At this point, their transformation into all things also led to the three worlds being contaminated and corrupted.
Haotian Shangdi, the only one not contaminated and corrupted, began to conquer universes with countless avatars of irresistible power. As one universe after another was conquered, the Heavenly Court, which ruled the Reincarnation Great Realm, was born in just tens of thousands of years. The Heavenly Court Expeditionary Force, composed of elite extraordinary lifeforms from various universes, began to campaign against the three worlds opened by Yuanshi Tianwang and the others. However, tens of thousands of years later, these three worlds were already teeming with countless contaminated and corrupted lifeforms. No matter how many Heavenly Court Expeditionary Forces entered them, no one could return alive.
Rosen observed from outside the World Crystal Wall for a hundred thousand years and roughly understood what the Will of Reincarnation was doing. Life adapts to the environment; even in the most severe environments, life gradually adapts. The pollution and corruption of the insect swarm were too powerful; life in ordinary universes was contaminated and corrupted before it could even adapt. Therefore, Yuanshi Tianwang and the other two sacrificed themselves, transforming into all things with their already contaminated and corrupted bodies.
The contaminated and corrupted life born from their bodies was far weaker than the insect swarm, and their ability to pollute and corrupt was significantly weakened. At this point, Haotian Shangdi would continuously send in the Heavenly Court Expeditionary Force, forcing them to confront and adapt to the pollution and corruption. Those three worlds were the containers for gu-raising, and those Heavenly Court Expeditionary Forces were the selected gu-worms. Once life capable of adapting to low-level pollution and corruption was born from them, these lifeforms would be sent to the new universe where the insect swarm was trapped. If they could even withstand the insect swarm's pollution and corruption, then the lifeforms that the Will of Reincarnation needed, capable of adapting to pollution and corruption, would be initially born. However, judging from the frequency of the Heavenly Court Expeditionary Force's suicidal missions, the success rate of even the first stage of gu-raising was infinitely close to zero.
Knowing that the Will of Reincarnation would not be immediately detrimental to him, Rosen returned to the Reincarnation Epoch Ancient Tree, which was rooted deep within Blue Star's parallel planes. The Will of Reincarnation did not follow him in this time, simply leaning against the World Crystal Wall that Nüwa had repaired, falling into a deep slumber.
An unending flow of cosmic vitality streamed from her body into the World Crystal Wall, working with the World Crystal Wall's self-repairing ability. Gradually, the insect swarm outside was once again completely isolated, though the channel penetrating the World Crystal Wall had not vanished. This was because when the insect swarm burrowed through the World Crystal Wall, they contaminated and corrupted its entire surface. Therefore, the World Crystal Wall's recovery was extremely slow. Additionally, most of the Reincarnation Great Realm's current power was being used to confine the insect swarm in that new universe, making the World Crystal Wall's recovery even more sluggish under these circumstances.
The Nature of Pollution and Evolution
Deep within the Miracle Star Sea, a universe now floated, isolated by the Miracle Star Sea using Space-Time Reincarnation because the entire universe had been contaminated and corrupted. Rosen peeled off the outer layers of Blue Star's contaminated parallel worlds and integrated them all into this universe. Currently, within this universe, tens of millions of Reincarnation Elect were, under the leadership of Nightfall Sovereign and Dark Sun Sovereign, researching the pollution and corruption. While the chances of a breakthrough weren't very high, it was better than doing nothing and passively awaiting death.
Rosen also kept busy, focusing on researching the Eye of Nightfall and the Dark Sun Heavenly Eye. If these two ocular techniques were indeed products of the Will of Reincarnation's research into the pollution and corruption process, then even if the Will of Reincarnation was ultimately dissatisfied with the results, they still held some utility. Otherwise, the Will of Reincarnation wouldn't have schemed against Nightfall Sovereign and Dark Sun Sovereign.
With continuous research, the true nature of pollution and corruption quickly became apparent. Upon hearing "pollution and corruption," the first thought is surely that this force is harmful to life. This statement is correct; otherwise, it wouldn't be called pollution and corruption. However, the true nature of pollution and corruption is actually evolution. After the great existence died, maggots grew on its body and transformed into the insect swarm. The essence of these maggots was actually the great existence's cells. Pollution and corruption caused every cell on its body to evolve into an independent lifeform.
The evolution of life is divided into slow evolution and mutational evolution. Slow evolution is the accumulation of tiny variations and growth over long periods of time, spanning generations. This is the most normal and mainstream way for life to evolve. Mutational evolution, on the other hand, is rapid evolution brought about by intense variation and growth in a short period. The former primarily relies on genetic inheritance across generations, while the latter mainly depends on drastic environmental changes and external interference. The pollution and corruption of the Vast Wasteland is a form of mutational evolution. However, evolution cannot come from nothing, especially when evolving towards a stronger direction; it invariably requires a massive external source to compensate for consumption. When the consumption is insufficient, mutational evolution fails. The "corruption" part of pollution and corruption is essentially the product of failed mutational evolution.
This pollution and corruption has two peculiar aspects. Firstly, it can cause not only life but also matter to undergo mutational evolution. Secondly, the nourishment for this mutational evolution is actually self-consciousness. This is why lifeforms that are contaminated and corrupted lose all self-consciousness.
Knowing the true nature of pollution and corruption isn't difficult; the key is how to resolve it. Rosen compressed the entire immortal will of a Primal Lifeform into a single cell, then allowed this cell to undergo pollution and corruption. The result was that even the entire immortal will of a Primal Lifeform couldn't meet the mutational evolution needs of just one of its cells. This seemed somewhat exaggerated, or perhaps the mutational evolution capability of pollution and corruption was simply impossible to achieve success?
Soon, tens of millions of Reincarnation Elect in the Destiny Network summarized a new perspective: the power of pollution and corruption was impure. The source of the power of pollution and corruption originated from the unspeakable existence in the Vast Wasteland. That mysterious existence laid waste to the Vast Wasteland; its power can only be imagined. The insect swarm born from the great existence's corpse was merely the product of failed mutational evolution after the mysterious existence contaminated the great existence. In the process of the great existence's cells undergoing mutational evolution, the power of pollution and corruption within them was already impure. Furthermore, it's possible that remnants of the great existence's genes were mixed into this power of pollution and corruption.
The Will of Reincarnation's gu-raising likely wasn't just to hope that life could adapt to pollution and corruption. She also aimed to purify the power of pollution and corruption, because only the purest and most powerful source of power could most likely guide the mutational evolution of life cells onto the right track.
Although the Will of Reincarnation's scheme was analyzed, the research on pollution and corruption yielded no further breakthroughs. For a hundred thousand reincarnation epochs, and a hundred thousand space-time reincarnations, the reincarnation lifeforms born in the Reincarnation Great Realm from beginning to end were these current Reincarnation Elect. However, the memories from more distant reincarnation epochs could not be preserved due to the absence of immortal will. Therefore, those who once studied pollution and corruption with the Will of Reincarnation are these current Reincarnation Elect. With no breakthrough in a hundred thousand reincarnation epochs, it was naturally impossible to achieve one overnight now.
After one reincarnation epoch, three hundred billion years, the Heavenly Court Expeditionary Force's suicidal missions finally ceased. During this period, countless internal conflicts erupted within the Heavenly Court, all suppressed by Haotian Shangdi. As universes were destroyed and space-time collapsed, Space-Time Reincarnation activated, commencing a new reincarnation epoch.
Except for Haotian Shangdi and the four gu-raising grounds, everything in the entire Reincarnation Great Realm started anew. Haotian Shangdi once again conquered the Reincarnation Great Realm, established the Heavenly Court, and dispatched the Heavenly Court Expeditionary Force to the gu-raising grounds to die. Then, another three hundred billion years passed without results, and Haotian Shangdi began his conquest for the third reincarnation epoch.
Rosen initially checked on the Heavenly Court in the Reincarnation Great Realm from time to time, but gradually, he grew numb to it. It was at this moment that he truly realized that although he had transcended reincarnation, his temperament was still inferior to that of ordinary reincarnation life. After only a few reincarnation epochs, he had surprisingly begun to grow lax. He even rarely bothered with the research on pollution and corruption anymore, spending every day exploring scenic landscapes with Illyria and Alicia. When he grew tired of the scenery, he even ordered some artistically skilled reincarnation lifeforms to construct universe-level magnificent wonders. His current actions were just like those early wise monarchs in Blue Star's history, beginning to descend into absurd and foolish behavior in their later years.
Rosen knew this wasn't good, but he just didn't want to change; he just wanted to indulge himself and enjoy life. Why research pollution and corruption? He didn't want to end up like the Will of Reincarnation, spending a hundred thousand reincarnation epochs and practically going mad. For a hundred thousand reincarnation epochs, how many years did the Will of Reincarnation live happily and enjoy herself? He was now enjoying himself for a few tens or hundreds of reincarnation epochs. Even if he ultimately died with the Reincarnation Great Realm, it wouldn't be a loss. Perhaps he wouldn't even need that long; he might just get tired of living and not want to continue.
Rosen's path of passive enjoyment continued for several reincarnation epochs, trillions of years.
One day, Rosen, as usual, was enjoying a unique flying song and dance performance from a certain race in a certain universe. However, as he watched, he felt an emptiness inside. Rosen knew what this state meant. Over several reincarnation epochs, he had indulged in every pleasure he could imagine. Now, it was difficult for him to encounter anything new that would stir his heart. Simply put, he was tired and bored of playing, and suddenly felt that work was more important than pleasure.
This was understandable. Nightfall Sovereign and the others were still diligently researching after several reincarnation epochs. They had never considered advising him either, because they had similar experiences themselves. Precisely because they had experienced every pleasure, and precisely because the feeling of being moved grew rarer, they sought transcendence and were willing to pay any price for it.
Over several reincarnation epochs, Rosen's true body's strength hadn't changed much. After fusing with three thousand portions of transcendence resources and transcending, he couldn't fuse more to advance further. The transcendence resources accumulated over these years, besides allowing Death Sovereign and the other four to become independent and transcend one by one, also allowed all of his avatars to transcend reincarnation. If the Will of Reincarnation hadn't stopped him, he would have even wanted to cultivate his pets to transcend reincarnation.
But he couldn't, because transcendence resources don't come into existence out of thin air. The Reincarnation Epoch Ancient Tree and Blue Star, two transcended worlds, were essentially still parasites of the Reincarnation Great Realm. All resources born internally were plundered from the Reincarnation Great Realm. The Will of Reincarnation only cultivated seven transcendences of reincarnation in a hundred thousand reincarnation epochs, largely because she didn't want to excessively exploit the Reincarnation Great Realm.
A New Role
With a thought, Rosen left Blue Star and appeared in the World Crystal Wall's passage. The Will of Reincarnation, who had been dormant for several reincarnation epochs, instantly awakened.
"It seems you've experienced the first transformation of your self-consciousness and temperament," the Will of Reincarnation stated with absolute certainty.
"Does that matter?" Rosen asked cautiously.
"Of course it matters," the Will of Reincarnation said solemnly. "In Blue Star's human society, there's a saying: 'A youth's temperament is unstable.' You have now truly passed your youth. Your self is now stable and won't easily change due to external interference. I hope that starting from the next reincarnation epoch, you will replace Haotian Shangdi in establishing the Heavenly Court and ruling the Reincarnation Great Realm."
Rosen did not refuse, because he knew this would benefit him. The Emperor's Will currently only gathers the immortal wills of all reincarnation life. However, this does not mean that the Emperor's Will's upper limit is reached. The Emperor's Will can still accommodate the wills of the infinite sentient beings across the billions of universes in the Reincarnation Great Realm, thereby becoming even stronger.