Chapter 453: Integrating New Genes

“This is terrifying.”

Caroline looked at the sky and the desolate land, ravaged by just one sword strike, which still filled her with lingering fear.

Upon reaching godhood, deities must exercise restraint. Worlds cannot withstand their destructive power. Moreover, the descent of a god into the mortal realm consumes immense energy, making it impossible to casually expend strength. Otherwise, they would not reside in the void for extended periods, seldom descending.

Though this sword strike was restrained and did not directly target other areas, its aftershocks still shattered numerous large regions, demonstrating its terrifying power.

She reached out, seemingly grasping something out of thin air, and exclaimed in surprise, “The Great Joy Emperor truly is an incredibly resilient monster with terrifying resolve; he hasn't truly died yet... I've captured his remnant soul.”

Xu Zhi looked at her palm.

The Great Joy Emperor, that guy is really tenacious. He actually managed to secretly cling to life?

“This trip has been very fruitful. We've acquired ten geniuses of godhood, who will transmigrate to our world, and we've also captured a Great Joy Emperor... Since he's considered dead in the eyes of others, he's mine now. Anyway, a remnant soul will eventually dissipate, so it won't affect the great current of history.” Caroline smiled, a hint of coldness flashing as she gently squeezed. That wisp of soul instantly dissipated with a scream, absorbed into her brain. She commented, “The cultivation method he pioneered is also very interesting. I can now access his memories, obtain certain elements from them, and complete the lineage of my inner universe, allowing the gods within to cultivate.”

Xu Zhi nodded and smiled, “You want Hailan Dong to cultivate this method?”

“Yes,” Caroline replied earnestly. “Hailan Dong is a powerful talent. Although this woman is a pervert who stole her husband's body and is obsessed with love, lacking grand ambitions unlike us who pursue ideals and dreams, she was still able to compete with me back then, secretly assisting her husband and leading the Sea Race to rise and contend against my Ishdal people. She remains one of the most astonishing individuals in the world—perfect in wisdom, talent, ability, judgment, and all other aspects... She's also the strongest fighter, much better than me. As you know, fighting is not my forte...”

Xu Zhi considered for a moment, then said, “Hailan Dong is indeed your strongest enforcer. She must have become a god by now. If she cultivates the Great Joy Emperor's method, her combat power would likely be terrifying.”

“At some point, I need to obtain Du Xue's cultivation method too. It seems formidable, and if others practice it, it would add another terrifying combat force. As I am now, I'm just a living target with empty realms; I need to cultivate a group of powerful summoned enforcer gods.” Caroline pressed her temples in distress. “But my universe lacks a talent who can perfectly cultivate this Corpse Sword Immortal method... Individuals who can open up new eras are the most precious treasures.”

Xu Zhi was speechless.

Was Caroline already thinking from the perspective of a Creator God, from her own unique standpoint?

A Creator God needs talent to develop an era?

He found it interesting, like one link in a chain leading to the next!

“If she found out again, she'd probably break down...” Xu Zhi covered his forehead. The world was a circle, with circles beyond it; no one truly knew if the world they lived in was real or fake.

“What are you thinking about now?” Caroline suddenly asked.

“Just some other things, quite interesting and coincidental,” Xu Zhi replied. “If I have time, I'll visit your world and see how the parallel universe where the Ishdal people are still alive has developed.”

“We Ishdal people are still researching science and spatial online gaming technology, dedicated to expanding worlds and rules. After all, it's not easy to be a Creator God and perfect a real universe.” Caroline couldn't help but chuckle. “Our world has already become a game within a brain's main frame.”

The two continued to drink their milk tea, watching from afar the dramatic changes and struggles of this era.

Caroline herself remained a scientist; she was a special high-ranking deity without direct combat power, but she had a world within her where she could summon the gods living inside. She presumably intended to have some of these gods inherit this cultivation method to enhance their combat abilities. It seemed that secretly learning the essence of each era was an innate instinct for these top-tier powerful beings.

“The Path to Godhood, ‘Eternal Death,’ appears to be a summoning and farming type. Its potential combat power could be terrifying. Cultivating some gods who practice the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Technique? Or various heaven-defying methods? Bringing them out for group fights also seems to have great potential.”

In fact, through their recent conversation and discussion, Xu Zhi had gained a deeper understanding of the Ancient Lava Land within her, and the structural rules of this cultivation method. A computer with circuit boards, living in memory, might be hard to understand, but it could well be explained as a soul world. It was a soul world where the living data were all souls, as souls were energy flows. The plants and trees within it were also composed of vast energy, capable of gaining sentience and cultivating. Constructed with specially refined and perfected laws, it resembled a real world. She could naturally summon gods in soul form to assist her. Furthermore, due to the authenticity and subtle realism of energy particles, data-stream beings could even marry and have children within it, similar to the birth of new AI intelligent life. This was also akin to ‘ghost children’ on Earth—ghost infants, ethereal offspring born from soul propagation without physical bodies.

Xu Zhi sighed softly, sipping his milk tea, “The Ninth-Order realm is now clear. One hundred quadrillion cells? That's simply a fantasy. Few gods will likely reach that peak. The Ninth Order is an even more terrifying threshold than the Eighth Order... While the Three Pillar Gods possess an innate advantage in computational power in this regard, reaching that realm by leveraging the computational power of all beings ultimately doesn't make them true Ninth-Order beings... An individual Ninth Order is the strongest.”

“The reason the Ninth Order is so powerful is not just due to the qualitative change from energy compression, but also because the Dao methods they wield are so precise, down to every energy particle. These can be called ‘phenomena of laws’ or ‘quantum-level Dao methods’...”

For example, the Great Joy Emperor's spatial mirrors or Subar's enhanced zombie transformation burst—such power only comes from being refined down to the fundamental structural molecules of the universe.

“At this realm, one must research their own unique Dao method.”

Xu Zhi smiled.

Caroline had just mentioned that her Ninth-Order Dao method route was already prepared and undergoing cultivation—a tailor-made Dao method: Eternal Death. This method allowed her to summon deceased individuals, or rather, the beings within her mind. They would no longer be mere soul bodies but would be materialized with flesh and blood, formed through quantum structures and energy transformation, enabling them to descend into this world with real bodies and become living beings! This level of achievement required terrifyingly vast computational power and precision. Only then would it be truly ‘Eternal Death!’ They could live again, return to the main universe, and then, at any time, return to the tomb world where they were interred. Death was not true death, but another form of true immortality!

“If that's the case, then it truly is a parallel universe. The online game world inside her brain, its rare treasures, living beings, and powerful individuals, could all materialize and appear in reality...”

Xu Zhi sighed, finding it terrifying.

No wonder Caroline had designed her world according to realistic rules, not indulging in unrestrained creation of fantastical creatures that defied the material plane. It was to interface two worlds, genuinely aiming to build a parallel universe.

“Ancient Lava Land, a very interesting day and an era of change. It's time to leave.”

With a soft sigh, Xu Zhi activated spatial teleportation and vanished from the spot.

Caroline stared blankly at the spot where he disappeared, then bowed slightly. She turned to look at the ravaged wasteland, at the weeping gods, at the rise and fall of this era—and then she too vanished. “No need to bother with the matters of the main universe. I'll go back and develop my parallel universe!”

In the living room, Xu Zhi opened his eyes.

“The Ancient Lava Land, the multiverse concept, world lines, and the future—it has indeed been thoroughly perfected and is on the right track for development... Caroline, the Goddess of the Multiverse of the Ancient Lava Land.”

He pondered for a long time.

In every world, someone ‘harmonized with the Dao,’ becoming a fundamental rule of that world. Almina establishing the Underworld in the Wizard World, and Medusa becoming a Demon God, were both instances of becoming part of the world's fundamental rules. Dao Changsheng establishing the Heavenly Court in the Desolate Ancient World, and Mengmei becoming the Dragon Vein, were also foundational rules of the world. In the Ancient Wood World, Emperor Qi even directly transformed into a planet. Now, Caroline also harmonized with the Dao, becoming the Goddess of the Parallel Universe for this world, using the Ishdal people's super technology and terrifying computational power to create parallel universes...

Xu Zhi suddenly felt a bit helpless.

He had promised that he would find time soon to visit the parallel universe within Caroline's body, that other Ancient Lava Land, to see how it had developed... But Caroline also expressed great eagerness to visit the universe world within his own body. After all, they were both tomb keepers of civilizations.

But where was there a universe within Xu Zhi's body?

There wasn't.

He did have a Gourmet World in his stomach, where a bunch of players were cooking and causing trouble.

Although he hadn't explicitly agreed to Caroline's request, he felt that the truth would eventually be revealed, especially since his mind was utterly empty of such a universe.

Xu Zhi's brow furrowed slightly, then he calmed down. “Regardless, the system of the Ancient Lava Land is almost complete. It's time to integrate a new gene and begin cultivating this world's system. It's time to integrate the system gene!”