284: A deal with the consciousness of the universe

After Ice Master Ning Shuang finished Attaining the Dao and slightly stabilized her cultivation, she immediately came before Lin Chen to sincerely thank him for his help.

"Lin Fellow Daoist, thank you for your help."

Lin Chen was somewhat confused at this moment; did he even contribute any effort?

"Ning Shuang Fellow Daoist, I am also confused right now. I did nothing, so how did I help you?"

At this moment, Old Deng spoke up at the right time to answer Lin Chen's confusion.

"Kid, I didn't expect you to have such a good relationship with the Cosmic Consciousness, to the point where it would open a back door for this child, Ning Shuang."

"?????? "

A good relationship?

Lin—Evil of All Living Beings, Void Abomination, Enemy of the Dao, Authority Plunderer, Power-Usurping Mirror, Chen—with a whole pile of titles that clearly didn't sound like a good person, there was no way he could have a friendly relationship with the Cosmic Consciousness.

That the Cosmic Consciousness allowed him to live was simply a testament to its broad-mindedness and capacity to tolerate everything.

"Hahaha, the Cosmic Consciousness is also seeking transcendence. The difficulty of its transcendence is far greater than that of us concrete beings. It values your potential, and this time, it is merely expressing goodwill."

Old Deng sensed Lin Chen's confusion and explained it again; the previous explanation had just been teasing.

The surrounding Foundation Level experts were not surprised to hear Old Deng say this, evidently aware of some inside information.

Only then did Lin Chen understand why the Eye of Heavenly Punishment, possessed by the Cosmic Consciousness, had looked at him.

As for the Human Race Main Gods and Half-Step Foundation Level experts who had come to observe the ceremony, they looked at Lin Chen with eager eyes, wishing that they were the ones Attaining the Dao today; if it were them, they would surely have Attained the Dao easily as well, right?

Since Ice Master Ning Shuang Attained the Dao easily, did that mean they could also bask in Lin Chen's glory and have the Cosmic Consciousness open a back door for them to easily Attain the Dao to the Foundation Level?

With Ice Master Ning Shuang as a precedent, perhaps they could also benefit from Lin Chen's light; as fellow members of the Human Race, this special treatment should truly exist.

"Don't even think about it. The Cosmic Consciousness will not open a back door for you. This time, it was just showing sincerity. Do not harbor any wishful thinking. All of you, Cultivate honestly. If anyone harbors wishful thinking, don't blame me for being impolite."

Seeing this group of Foundation Level seeds becoming restless, Old Deng immediately spoke up to warn them, not daring to let them harbor any wishful thinking.

Attaining the Dao to the Foundation Level is truly dangerous.

The test of the Cosmic Consciousness is the direct cause of nine out of ten people failing and perishing while Attaining the Dao. Don't look at Ice Master Ning Shuang's ease; that was because she caught a good time and had good luck.

Old Deng did not know exactly how much Face Lin Chen had with the Cosmic Consciousness, so he would not let the Human Race Foundation Level seeds gamble.

Only when they have a one hundred percent chance of Attaining the Dao to the Foundation Level can these seeds apply to Attain the Dao. Under the supervision of Seniors like them, even if problems arise, they can be remedied.

It is not about recklessly trying to Attain the Dao, only to end up not dying but losing their future.

The group of Human Race Main Gods and Half-Step Foundation Level experts had all been taught by Old Deng to varying degrees, so now that he was warning them, they could only listen.

At the same time, the wishful thinking in their hearts dissipated; after all, the members of the Human Race who could Cultivate to their current Realm were not just showpieces with poor Heart-Nature.

Having fought their way out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, being tempted by a momentary beauty was nothing; as long as they didn't sink into it and become unable to extricate themselves, they could all be saved.

"Lin Fellow Daoist, that entity wants to see you."

"See me? How?"

At this moment, Ice Master Ning Shuang continued, speaking of a message the Cosmic Consciousness had left for her when her Soul was entrusted to it.

"As long as you are willing to meet, Fellow Daoist, you will naturally see that entity."

Lin Chen turned his head to look at Old Deng, asking for his opinion.

After seeing Old Deng nod, Lin Chen agreed to the invitation to meet.

Since Old Deng felt there was no problem, Lin Chen also felt there was no problem.

Living in This Universe, even if the Cosmic Consciousness wasn't omniscient and omnipotent, if it really wanted to see Lin Chen, there was no need to send someone to pass a message.

Now that the Cosmic Consciousness was inviting him, Lin Chen, through Ice Master Ning Shuang, it was giving him, Lin Chen, Face.

The next moment, Lin Chen entered a pure white space.

"Please forgive the presumptuous invitation."

In Lin Chen's eyes, the Cosmic Consciousness appeared as a humanoid Incarnation—a tall human with an androgynous Face, impossible to distinguish as male or female.

"It is this Junior's honor to be invited by Senior."

"No need to be reserved; you may address me as Xiao."

"Senior Xiao, may I ask if you have any instructions for inviting this Junior here?"

Facing the unfathomably powerful Cosmic Consciousness, Lin Chen was still somewhat afraid, so he was quite eager to know the purpose of the meeting.

"Xiao" knew this was Lin Chen's nature and spoke straight to the point.

"That old fellow of your race told you that I value your potential, so we need to chat and determine if you truly have the potential and are truly capable of transcendence."

Lin Chen was noncommittal, waiting for "Xiao" to continue.

"In the Universe, there are many beings with the potential for transcendence. Qin Huang of your race, Immortal Emperor Chongshan of the Immortal Race, the Heavenly Venerable of the Yisha God Race, and so on, are all objects of my attention. They should be in the Rift Land right now, competing for the Opportunity of transcendence."

"In my view, your possibility of transcendence far exceeds those I mentioned, so I would like to ask for your help. In the future, after you transcend, please assist me and let me catch a glimpse of the threshold of transcendence."

"Xiao's" words were also very straightforward.

Its purpose was very clear: if individual beings could transcend, then it, a being born from the Universe with self-awareness, could also transcend.

The difficulty of transcendence is great, but it is not impossible.

Therefore, it had been planning for transcendence. As long as the beings born in the Universe were not truly working against it, it would approach them to conduct transactions.

"Senior Xiao, what can I obtain?"

"I will give your Human Race thirteen quotas for Attaining the Dao without a test, provide two portions of Dao Fall Power that can allow your Dao Oblivion Clone to grow to the Half-Step Foundation Level, one Void Abomination Core, one secondary Source of Malice second only to the Source of Evil, one Opportunity to roam the Rule Deep Sea, and one hundred portions of Half-Supreme Treasure Level Karma Materials."

"These are just early investments, a few resources to shorten your growth time. When you reach the Peak of the Foundation Level, I will guide you to the Rift Land to compete for the few remaining Opportunities of transcendence in this Void Realm."

"Xiao" was very generous as soon as it spoke.

"Senior Xiao, you are paying so much just to get a guarantee from me?"

"Yes. After all, I cannot conclude a contract with an unknown transcendent existence; I can only pin my hopes on your character after you transcend, hoping you will be willing to give me a hand."

The Cosmic Consciousness, "Xiao," was quite frank.

There was nothing in this that Lin Chen could not understand; everything was explained clearly.

"Senior Xiao, I accept this transaction."

"I, Lin Chen, am not a person who breaks contracts. Today you help me, and in the future, I will help you. It is a very fair transaction."

"Good, I believe you."

In accordance with the principle of not using those you suspect and not suspecting those you use, the Cosmic Consciousness immediately delivered the promised resources to Lin Chen.

The thirteen quotas for Attaining the Dao without a test were thirteen things similar to Grandmist Purple Qi—essentially a credential. With this credential, one could allow the Eye of Heavenly Punishment to waive the test.

The Cosmic Consciousness was, after all, subject to some of its own limitations; every countless number of years, it could only break the rules once to produce one quota for Attaining the Dao.

To invest in Lin Chen, it could be said that it had taken out most of the quotas for Attaining the Dao that it had accumulated over the past countless years and given them to Lin Chen.

Two portions of Dao Fall Power represented the remains of two Dao Rhyme Level worlds after their collapse; for the Cosmic Consciousness, these were also precious items.

One Void Abomination Core belonged to the Cosmic Consciousness's collection, a trophy from the process of confronting the Void Realm.

One secondary Source of Malice was akin to cutting flesh from the Cosmic Consciousness itself, equivalent to handing over a portion of its power to Lin Chen.

Even though this portion of power was not much, the Cosmic Consciousness's willingness to share power with Lin Chen meant that it was also a trustworthy entity that followed the rules well.

One Opportunity to roam the Rule Deep Sea was equivalent to letting Lin Chen view the underlying source code of the Great Universe at will; there was no harm in it, but if Lin Chen had any bad intentions, it would make the Cosmic Consciousness uncomfortable for a long time.

One hundred portions of Half-Supreme Treasure Level Karma Materials were, conversely, the items of the lowest value—a bonus that could solve the problem of Materials needed for Lin Chen to forge the Karma Divine Kingdom when he broke through to the Upper God Realm.

The transaction between the two sides concluded, and the Cosmic Consciousness could not manifest for long, so it left first.

Lin Chen also returned to the place of observation, back among the Human Race Foundation Level experts; time had not moved, as if everything that had just happened had taken place in a fantasy.