The sea didn't seem deep, only a few hundred meters. The seabed wasn't dark; instead it glowed with a faint eerie green, even a bit unsettling. A kind of green plant, similar to seaweed, carpeted the seabed, gently swaying with the currents.
Xunzhi True Monarch's half soul lay above the seabed. His soul was already overgrown with seaweed, which also meant he had been here for a very, very long time.
When Lin Moyu saw his soul, his heart trembled slightly. So it could become like this…
He immediately noticed that the seaweed before his eyes was anything but ordinary. The seaweed didn't just grow on the surface of Xunzhi True Monarch's soul; it also pierced into the interior of the soul.
The reason Xunzhi True Monarch's soul could not return to his own Heaven-and-Earth as normal was precisely these seaweeds.
The seaweed spread in sheets like a single entity: one part was connected to the seabed itself, another part was connected to his soul, completely trapping this half of Xunzhi True Monarch's soul here, ultimately forming the soul bridge.
Moreover, this half of his soul, which was trapped here, for some reason maintained a faint, neither-close-nor-distant connection with the other half of his soul in his original Heaven-and-Earth, causing Xunzhi True Monarch's soul to fall into a strange state.
He had lost control over this half of his soul, yet this half still truly existed.
Even if he wanted to self-destruct, this half soul would not "agree," so he couldn't even self-destruct.
Precisely because of this, Xunzhi True Monarch sank into despair and helplessness. He hoped he could just die; even death would be better than this half-dead, half-alive state.
Lin Moyu, with a bit of caution in his heart, carefully observed the seaweed. Instinctively he felt that this seaweed was unusual—if he wasn't careful, he might also be trapped.
The Hongmeng Stone said, "This seaweed releases a peculiar substance that can numb the soul. That half of Xunzhi True Monarch's soul was numbed in this way. Moreover, this seaweed has already sunk deeply into his soul; the two sides have become one and cannot be separated."
What he described was not much different from what Lin Moyu saw; that was basically the situation.
Lin Moyu asked, "Can you tell what origin this seaweed has?"
If possible, Lin Moyu did not want to let Xunzhi True Monarch die like this. If he could figure out the seaweed's origin, there might still be a way to save him.
The Hongmeng Stone said, "This seaweed comes from the power of Heaven-and-Earth. If I'm not mistaken, this Heaven-and-Earth is a world of water. In the past, everything here was covered by ocean."
"No way."
By instinct, Lin Moyu found it hard to believe the Hongmeng Stone.
How large was a Heaven-and-Earth? Just within it, there were countless boundary-domains, and in every boundary-domain there were innumerable worlds and continents.
If an entire Heaven-and-Earth was covered by ocean, how much water, how much sea would that be?
The Hongmeng Stone said, "Master, you're thinking about it wrong. The scale of a Heaven-and-Earth is often opposite to its tier. Generally speaking, the lower the tier of a Heaven-and-Earth, the larger its scale. Conversely, the higher its tier, the smaller it is.
"It's like your Language-God Heaven-and-Earth—I see that it's much smaller than the Chaotic Primewild, but in essence the Language-God Heaven-and-Earth surpasses the Chaotic Primewild.
"This place is a seven-wheel Heaven-and-Earth. Even before it collapsed, it was smaller than other Heavens-and-Earth, and after collapsing, even more so."
Lin Moyu was surprised. "There's such a rule?"
The Hongmeng Stone said, "It's not absolutely correct, but most of the time it's like this. True exceptions are rare. Those few nine-wheel Heavens-and-Earth—each one's scale is not even as large as a single boundary-domain in the Chaotic Primewild.
"Because they're too small, the base number of living beings is insufficient, so the probability of a Supreme Being emerging is extremely low—almost to the point of none."
Lin Moyu asked, "So this seaweed is formed from the power of Heaven-and-Earth, which means… I can't get rid of it?"
The Hongmeng Stone nodded. "That's right. What you see on the surface is just seaweed; inside it's actually remnant power of Heaven-and-Earth. And this seaweed has already sunk deep into Xunzhi True Monarch's soul; the two can be considered a single entity. If Master refines this portion of seaweed, it would be equivalent to refining Xunzhi True Monarch's soul."
According to what the Hongmeng Stone said, it all came down to one sentence:
This half of Xunzhi True Monarch's soul could not be saved.
Either it continued being trapped here, or it would be refined and destroyed. There was no third possibility.
Xunzhi True Monarch had already asked him, wanting him to help bring release.
Lin Moyu pondered slightly and already knew what he would do. It was just that now was not the time—he hadn't finished his own business.
With a thought, a strange rune flew out and fell onto the seabed, leaving a mark.
With this mark, Lin Moyu wouldn't worry about getting lost; he could find this place anytime.
"Let's find where the Heaven-and-Earth core is."
The purpose of this trip was to refine and absorb the Heaven-and-Earth, so he had to find the Heaven-and-Earth core. No matter what tier a Heaven-and-Earth was, it always had a core; that never changed.
The Hongmeng Stone had already started searching long ago. The moment Lin Moyu asked, he immediately pointed in a direction.
"Over there. But there's something strange about that place. Master, you need to be careful."
Given that this was a seven-wheel Heaven-and-Earth, and with Xunzhi True Monarch's situation right before them, how could Lin Moyu possibly let his guard down? Who knew what dangers existed here?
Flying in the direction the Hongmeng Stone pointed, he asked at the same time, "What's strange about it?"
The Hongmeng Stone said, "This is a seven-wheel Heaven-and-Earth. When the Great Annihilation arrived, it was shattered as well, but the remnant of Heaven-and-Earth left behind is more complete than Heavens-and-Earth below seven wheels. A sufficiently complete remnant can have Heaven-and-Earth power that nurtures living beings.
"Those seaweeds are a kind of special lifeform. If stronger beings are nurtured, they might pose a threat to Master."
Lin Moyu said, "You mean there may be living beings near the Heaven-and-Earth core?"
The Hongmeng Stone said, "I can't be sure. Just now, when I looked over, the power there was rich and strong, with a large amount of Primordial-Heaven Qi and a sense of vitality. I guess there are living beings."
"I understand."
Lin Moyu focused all his attention. The Undying Eye had already opened, and at the same time, a large number of Undying Spirit Soldiers flew out, scattering in all directions.
Ever since the Technique Domain had formed, techniques no longer depended on the rules of Heaven-and-Earth. So even in another Heaven-and-Earth, Lin Moyu could still use all his techniques.
The Undying Dao was somewhat affected here, its power suppressed by more than half. The combat strength of the Undying Spirit Soldiers was also affected, less than half of what it was in the Chaotic Primewild.
But this limitation didn't matter. Lin Moyu never planned to let them fight anyway. Their greatest use now was scouting.
Seven-wheel Heavens-and-Earth were not large; in just half a day, Lin Moyu drew near the location of the core.
Along the way, he hadn't discovered any living beings, but he did feel the change in the sea.
The seawater was growing viscous; the closer he got to the Heaven-and-Earth core, the more so. The color of the water deepened as well; now it was a deep blue, and if he went any further, it might turn black.
When he was still a million li from the core, Lin Moyu stopped. Ahead, the seawater was thick like a swamp. At the same time, the Undying Eye saw a clump of soul flame silently drifting in the swamp-like water.
"So there is a living being."
Lin Moyu was considering whether to detour around it when suddenly, immense force surged at him from all directions. His body tightened as the power in the seawater turned into a cage, and then a heavy blow slammed into him, blasting him away like a cannonball.
The attack had come too suddenly. The instant Lin Moyu saw the soul flame, the attack arrived simultaneously.
He spun uncontrollably backward and crashed hard onto the seabed. The seabed was softer than he'd imagined; at the moment of impact, a warning surged from his soul, and Lin Moyu felt as if countless hands were grabbing him tightly and spreading into his body.
Seaweed.
The seaweed invaded his body in an instant—not just his flesh, but also his soul-world.
His soul-world was protected by Primordial-Heaven Qi, so it blocked the seaweed, but from the look of it, not for long.
Lin Moyu wanted to leave his body, but it was as though he couldn't control himself. His strength dropped drastically. The seaweed possessed a very strange power; it could suppress both flesh and soul.
That was how Xunzhi True Monarch's half soul had ended up trapped here.
A spark of flame suddenly flared, lighting up the seabed.
Countless seaweeds were burned to ash in an instant.
The World-Searing Fire refined Heaven-and-Earth; the seaweed couldn't block it at all.
Lin Moyu recovered, flew up from the seabed, and once more looked ahead. In the distance, he saw that cluster of soul flame again.
Bang.
With another loud crash, Lin Moyu was blasted away again, and the same scene replayed.
He crashed headlong into the seabed once more. This time, protected by the World-Searing Fire, the seaweed failed to affect him.
"What's going on?"
Lin Moyu didn't understand. He couldn't see what had just happened; the attacks came so suddenly he couldn't even react.
The Hongmeng Stone said, "It should be a rule lifeform.
"When a Heaven-and-Earth's tier reaches seven wheels and above, its rules grow extremely powerful and give birth to an entirely new form of life. Such lifeforms are called rule lifeforms.
"They are evolved from rules themselves and are themselves a kind of Heaven-and-Earth rule. These beings are very peculiar; they don't possess much intelligence and only act according to certain rules.
"From the moment they're born, their rules are set and almost never change."
The Hongmeng Stone explained at length to Lin Moyu, telling him everything he knew about rule lifeforms.
Rule lifeforms were unique to Heavens-and-Earth of seven wheels and above, so even Xunzhi True Monarch and the Po-Cang Emperor would not know such things existed. Only the Hongmeng Stone had seen some rule lifeforms back when it was in the Life-Forbidden Zone.
Rule lifeforms acted according to certain rules, which made them both very reasonable and very unreasonable. One couldn't understand them with ordinary thinking.
Lin Moyu finally understood the soul flame he had seen: it was a rule lifeform.
The rule it followed was to attack any living being that saw it. As long as someone looked at it, it would attack them.
Because it was a rule, the attack also followed that rule—inescapable and impossible to dodge.
Once he grasped the rule, Lin Moyu went over again, this time choosing not to look at it.
Sure enough, he was no longer attacked.
"How interesting."
It was Lin Moyu's first encounter with a rule lifeform, and he realized there were still many things in Heaven-and-Earth he did not understand.
The Hongmeng Stone said, "This rule lifeform isn't very strong. Some rule lifeforms have extremely strange rules. Master must be careful."
Lin Moyu didn't look at the rule lifeform. He casually flicked a cluster of World-Searing Fire at it.
With a scream that came from the soul, the rule lifeform was burned to ash by the World-Searing Fire.
It wasn't truly powerful; it just had a special form of existence. Once you knew its rule, it was easy to deal with.
When a Heaven-and-Earth collapsed, all living beings within it died, and the rules shrank back into the Heaven-and-Earth core. Not only did they not weaken, they formed even stronger rules around the core. After countless years of further evolution, those rules birthed new rule lifeforms.
Lin Moyu realized that in Heavens-and-Earth of seven wheels and above, there were no Supreme Beings—but that didn't mean there were no entities beyond Great Venerables. The biggest trouble he would face was precisely rule lifeforms.
He continued toward the Heaven-and-Earth core and soon saw another clump of soul flame—another rule lifeform.
When he saw it, Lin Moyu was already prepared to withstand an attack. But contrary to his expectations, no attack came.
That clump of soul flame instantly grew stronger. Originally just a tiny flame, it suddenly became a towering pillar of fire, radiating a terrifying aura that shocked Lin Moyu.
Outside the flame, a giant formed from condensed seawater appeared, its whole body covered with a dark-blue sheen.
Lin Moyu felt that the other party had already surpassed Great Venerable—extremely powerful.
Seven-wheel Heavens-and-Earth had no Supreme Beings, but that didn't mean there were no existences beyond Great Venerables. These beings were on the same tier as Dao in the Chaotic Primewild, but stronger than Dao, because they came from a seven-wheel Heaven-and-Earth.
Rule lifeforms, especially, followed the rules of Heaven-and-Earth and could control its power, making them even stronger.
Yet Lin Moyu felt no fear—on the contrary, he was excited.
This was his first time facing an existence beyond Great Venerable head-on.
"Let's see if you can kill me in one blow."
With a low shout, Lin Moyu's body exploded into gigantism as well, transforming into a giant.
The other roared and charged over, its massive palm tearing through the seawater in a downward slap.
Lin Moyu didn't hold back; he met fist with palm.
The two giants brawled on the seabed, kicking up towering waves.
Two beings even stronger than a Great Venerable, fighting without any techniques at all—just fists and palms, a wild, primitive way of battle.
In raw strength, Lin Moyu was slightly inferior, but only by a hair; for the moment, they were evenly matched.
This kind of blow-for-blow, flesh-on-flesh battle made Lin Moyu feel invigorated.
Every punch of his was enough to blast apart a quasi–Great Venerable, more effective than any technique. He poured all the techniques he had ever comprehended into his fists, and used the death-power of the Undying Dao as the carrier.
Every punch carried a surging Dao, with a terrifying corrosive force.
The power of death wrapped in deathly aura spread throughout the undersea world. Within a range of tens of millions of li, the seaweed was rapidly withering.
The corrosive effect of the power of death on all things still worked here. Not just on "things"—even the rules of Heaven-and-Earth could be corroded by the power of death.
With each clash, the death-power seeped in further; the aura of the rule lifeform was clearly weakening.
Lin Moyu gradually gained the upper hand, yet disappointment flashed in his eyes.
The other still couldn't kill him—not to mention killing him in one blow; even if he stood still and let the thing hit him, it would be hard to kill him.
This rule lifeform, whatever rule it was using, was actually less troublesome than that previous clump of soul flame.
Punch after punch, he smashed its body apart, not even letting it take shape.
The soul flame flickered wildly as the rule lifeform let out a roar, an ear-piercing sound that stabbed straight into the soul.
Lin Moyu's body froze, locked in place, unable to move.
"The rule's been triggered."
Lin Moyu suddenly realized he had touched the other's rule.
While he was immobilized, the other did not attack, but continued to scream. Its shattered body rebuilt itself under the sound. In the blink of an eye, it had restored itself to peak condition.
As it recovered, Lin Moyu also regained the ability to move, and the battle began anew.
When Lin Moyu shattered its body a second time, the scream rang out again, and he was once more unable to move.
At that moment, the other recovered yet again, and the third round of battle began.