Xunzhi Heaven-and-Earth had once been a five-cycle heaven-and-earth. Later, through Xunzhi True Lord's Heaven-Transcending Art, it was forcibly elevated to six cycles. However, many problems arose within it; compared to those heavens-and-earth that were innately six-cycle, it was much weaker.
While the World-Burning Fire refined that heaven-and-earth, Lin Moyu likewise sensed the changes within it. Xunzhi Heaven-and-Earth held great reference value. When a heaven-and-earth collapsed, all of its flaws and problems would be exposed. Lin Moyu could clearly see these shortcomings and ensure they would not occur in his own case. At the same time, there were traces of the Heaven-Transcending Art within Xunzhi Heaven-and-Earth, allowing Lin Moyu to further study that art and correct many of its issues. This was an excellent chance for insight—a rare opportunity.
The World-Burning Fire was not burning quickly. Lin Moyu ordered it to burn more slowly, buying himself more time. As the heaven-and-earth crumbled bit by bit, Lin Moyu's comprehension deepened continuously throughout the process. He fused the Heaven-Transcending Art with the Primordial-Heaven Art, gradually forming a system of arts that belonged entirely to himself and perfectly matched Yushen Heaven-and-Earth.
Everything progressed in an orderly fashion, the process going very smoothly. Unknowingly, Lin Moyu found himself standing at a higher vantage point. It was as if he was no longer merely a cultivator within a heaven-and-earth; he had become its manipulator.
This differed from an ordinary supreme powerhouse. Even if a supreme powerhouse refined a heaven-and-earth, they still could not truly transcend it. At most, they became a special existence that could live and die together with that heaven-and-earth: if the heaven-and-earth lived, they lived; if it perished, they perished, and vice versa. The Po-Cang Emperor was one such example. Thus, what the Po-Cang Emperor had always pursued was a state truly transcendent above heaven-and-earth—where if he died, his heaven-and-earth died, but if his heaven-and-earth died, he would remain unharmed.
Unconsciously, Lin Moyu had one foot stepping into this level. He was the master of Yushen Heaven-and-Earth; even though he had not yet become a supreme powerhouse and had not truly refined Yushen Heaven-and-Earth, his identity as its master would not change. Previously he could roughly alter certain rules within Yushen Heaven-and-Earth and freely draw upon the Primordial-Heaven Qi within it. Once the Primordial-Heaven Art was perfected, he would be able to precisely control every rule within Yushen Heaven-and-Earth. By then, even those supreme powerhouses might not command their own heavens-and-earth to such a degree.
Lin Moyu controlled Yushen Heaven-and-Earth, yet also stood transcendent above it. His existence was very special, and Lin Moyu himself was aware of this. Thus, he stood at a higher place, beginning by overlooking Yushen Heaven-and-Earth, then gradually overlooking other heavens-and-earth, and even the Life-Forbidden Zone.
A month later, the fusion of the Primordial-Heaven Art and the Heaven-Transcending Art had gone extremely smoothly. Lin Moyu had created an entirely new secret art. "I originally thought I would need to observe hundreds of heavens-and-earth before I could create this art. I never expected that Xunzhi True Lord's set of Heaven-Transcending Arts, together with that journey through the seven-cycle heaven-and-earth to comprehend the rules, would allow me to successfully create it so quickly. This art can manipulate Yushen Heaven-and-Earth, pushing it further, changing its essence to reach nine cycles. In that case, let this art be called the Nine-Heavens Fate Art. May Yushen Heaven-and-Earth attain the state of a nine-cycle heaven-and-earth."
Lin Moyu named the secret art he had created the Nine-Heavens Fate Art. The Nine-Heavens Fate Art was the grand culmination of the Primordial-Heaven Art and the Heaven-Transcending Art. Not only could it perfectly manipulate and strengthen Yushen Heaven-and-Earth, it could also, within a certain range, control portions of the rules of other heavens-and-earth. This set of arts was extremely domineering and forceful—one could call it perfect.
Once Xunzhi Heaven-and-Earth had been completely refined, Lin Moyu followed the route by which he had come and returned. This time, space was not in chaos, and he smoothly made it back to the Heaven-and-Earth Wall.
The Heaven-and-Earth Wall was quiet and empty, with only an invisible wall standing there from ancient times till now, unbroken by anyone.
"Brother Lin, you've returned." Wine Venerable's voice came from nearby. He was drinking not far away, seemingly waiting for Lin Moyu. However, Lin Moyu sensed that he was somewhat on guard, more like standing watch and protecting him. Gold Supreme, North-Extremity Supreme and the other two were close by as well.
"I've returned. Have you all gained anything?" Lin Moyu asked with a smile.
"Comprehension." Wine Venerable laughed. "Some. That heaven-and-earth was dangerous, but danger also brings opportunity. This old man has gained a bit of understanding of the power of heaven-and-earth."
"Congratulations, Senior. Any harvest is good." Lin Moyu replied.
Wine Venerable waved his hand. "In truth, as long as one can come back alive, that is the greatest gain."
Wine Venerable was indifferent by nature. Especially after settling old scores with North-Extremity Supreme, he had let go of his last shred of obsession, and his Dao heart had become even firmer.
Gold Supreme asked in his hoarse, low voice, "Brother Lin, you were gone for quite some time. I imagine your harvest should be considerable."
"There was indeed some gain," Lin Moyu said. "As Senior Wine said, being able to return alive is the greatest harvest. Everything else is relatively unimportant."
Gold Supreme pressed further. "Brother Lin, do you know why this passage vanished?"
"This heaven-and-earth was already nothing but remnants, liable to fully collapse at any time," Lin Moyu said. "Our entry this time became the trigger for its collapse. Now it has completely collapsed and turned to dust."
"Oh." Gold Supreme made a noncommittal sound and did not continue asking, but his eyes clearly showed that he did not fully believe Lin Moyu's explanation.
Lin Moyu didn't care whether he believed it or not. In any case, these fellows had all sworn oaths not to make a move against him. "With this matter settled, I'll take my leave. Until we meet again."
He flew toward the gate. Wine Venerable also bid farewell and departed together with Lin Moyu. The two of them passed through the gate smoothly and returned to the North Extremity.
"The aura of the Great Calamity has grown thicker. I can feel the power of heaven-and-earth influencing this old man's mind. Begone!" Wine Venerable exclaimed. A strange aura radiated from him, dispersing the influence of the Great Calamity.
Light flashed in Lin Moyu's eyes, sun and moon and stars appearing within as he gazed toward the heavens. It was as if the entire heaven-and-earth was contained in his gaze.
Wine Venerable was suddenly startled. He felt as though Lin Moyu had left the heaven-and-earth and become a terrifying, lofty existence above it. He even felt an impulse to bow his head and submit. He could not understand what had happened to Lin Moyu; he even had the illusion that the Lin Moyu before him was no longer Lin Moyu, but had been possessed by some ancient existence.
Lin Moyu was using the Nine-Heavens Fate Art to forcibly survey the heavens-and-earth of the Chaotic Ancient Wilds, observing the changes of the Great Calamity. Even if the rules of heaven-and-earth tried to block him, it was useless. Lin Moyu used an extremely domineering method to forcibly pull the rules of heaven-and-earth over and make them serve him.
The Great Calamity had grown more severe. It had begun to affect Half-Supremes. The rules within heavens-and-earth had fallen into complete chaos. Chaotic rules would make everything fall into disorder; some weaker cultivators with low strength would go mad because of it. During a Great Calamity, many things would become extreme: those who once could not cultivate might suddenly become geniuses, while those whom the world saw as geniuses might fall and never advance again. In a heaven-and-earth without a supreme powerhouse, this was what happened when the Great Calamity arrived.
"This is…" Lin Moyu suddenly saw something, and then his vision was blocked again. The heaven-and-earth reacted quickly; vast clouds formed out of nowhere, thunder rolling across the cosmos. At the same time, the rules of heaven-and-earth severed Lin Moyu's vision.
Lin Moyu withdrew the Nine-Heavens Fate Art. It was not that he feared heavenly punishment; he had simply seen enough and didn't need to keep watching. With the Nine-Heavens Fate Art withdrawn, Lin Moyu returned from outside heaven-and-earth. Heavenly punishment, however, did not disappear, and Lin Moyu had no intention of indulging it—he simply punched a few times, shattering the clouds and dispersing the heavenly punishment. His domineering forcefulness was fully revealed in that moment.
Wine Venerable did not know what had just happened to Lin Moyu and naturally did not ask more. He only said calmly, "Brother Lin, where are you headed next?"
"I'm going to find a place to go into seclusion for a while," Lin Moyu answered. "The Heaven-and-Earth Great Calamity has fully erupted. I estimate that in another few hundred years it will reach its peak. At that time, it will be an opportunity for some. Before that, I need to stay away from the Great Calamity and away from others' eyes."
"Have you found a place, Brother Lin?" Wine Venerable continued.
Lin Moyu shook his head. "Not yet." In truth, for him it was the same wherever he went into seclusion; as long as he hid inside the Calamity-Ferrying Ark, it would be hard for others to disturb him.
"For this Great Calamity, I must also return to my sect to sit in town," Wine Venerable said. "If Brother Lin does not mind, you can return with me. Though my sect is not large, it can still provide Brother Lin with a quiet secret chamber for seclusion."
Lin Moyu smiled. "I'm the public enemy of all heavens-and-earth. Senior Wine, if you bring me back to your sect, isn't that leading a wolf into the house?"
Wine Venerable shook his head. "You jest, Brother Lin. You and I both know what's really going on. Those youngsters in the sect won't even see you. Brother Lin can rest assured."
"In that case, I'll trouble you, Senior." Lin Moyu no longer stood on ceremony. Wine Venerable's sect was in the Central Domain, and Lin Moyu just happened to be heading back there. He had previously agreed to refine formations for Heavenly-Calamity Supreme; only one formation remained, located in the Upper Domain. To get to the Upper Domain, he would naturally pass through the Central Domain, so he planned to return there first. But he did not wish to go to the Central Domain Divine Alliance. With his current status, if he appeared openly, great upheaval was inevitable. After all, not everyone possessed a Dao heart like Wine Venerable's, able to reduce the influence of the Heaven-and-Earth Great Calamity to the minimum.
Wine Venerable took out a cyan gourd. A mass of cyan mist sprayed from the gourd, space shattered, and a special spatial passage formed.
"This gourd is called the Spatial Gourd," Wine Venerable said. "Using it can save us quite a lot of time."
As he spoke, he took out a flying boat and invited Lin Moyu to board. The flying boat rushed into the spatial passage and departed.
Not long after the two of them left, Gold Supreme also flew out from the gate. Once he left that gate, there was no way back; aside from Lin Moyu, no one would ever open that gate again.
Gold Supreme glanced around and murmured slowly, "Great Calamity, Great Calamity… If I cannot succeed, then I'll drag all of you to be buried with this old man." His voice was low, filled with chilling killing intent; as he spoke each word, space itself shattered.
After Gold Supreme left, North-Extremity Supreme and the other two also flew out. All three looked rather grim. They had never imagined that the place they had schemed and struggled for countless years to enter would turn out to be like that. While it was not entirely fruitless, the gains were meagre—and they had been forced to swear heart-oaths never to strike at Lin Moyu again. In this Great Calamity, their path forward had been cut off. But that was how things went: wrong choices led to wrong outcomes.
Wine Venerable took Lin Moyu and traversed the spatial passages again and again. Each time the Spatial Gourd opened a spatial passage, they could travel billions of li. With the power of a Half-Supreme driving the Spatial Gourd, their speed was extremely fast. At this pace, it would take less than a month to return to the Central Domain—much faster than Little Peng's current speed. However, once Little Peng recovered its former peak and the glory of the Golden-Winged Roc, its speed would surpass theirs again; by then, crossing between the Extremity Regions would take no more than ten days.
Wine Venerable prepared wine and delicacies, eating and drinking along the way while chatting with Lin Moyu. When he spoke of his sect, Lin Moyu could only say, "The world really is small." Wine Venerable's sect turned out to be Tang Divine Sect. In the past, at the West Extremity, Lin Moyu had crossed paths with disciples of Tang Divine Sect and helped them retrieve their supreme treasure, the Dark-God Pearl.
When Lin Moyu asked why Wine Venerable had not gone to the West Extremity himself to retrieve the Dark-God Pearl, Wine Venerable began a long story. It was not that he had never been to the West Extremity, but at that time he had a grudge with a Half-Supreme there. Going in was easy; getting out was hard. Once he went, it would be difficult to return safely. Because of that, he could not act for his sect. Moreover, Tang Divine Sect did not want Wine Venerable to go to the West Extremity. He was the sect's hope and trump card; as long as Wine Venerable remained unharmed, Tang Divine Sect would not face annihilation. Compared to the Dark-God Pearl, Wine Venerable's safety was more important.
For countless years, Wine Venerable had been searching for an opportunity to break through. As long as he could break through to become a Supreme, he would have confidence to go to the West Extremity and retrieve the Dark-God Pearl.
"I didn't expect that before I broke through, the Dark-God Pearl had already been retrieved," Wine Venerable said. "When I received the sect's message, I was quite surprised. That was no easy task. The sect message said someone helped us, but I don't know who that person was. I must properly thank them."
"A trifling matter, not worth mentioning," Lin Moyu said with a smile.
Wine Venerable froze for a moment, then reacted and couldn't help laughing loudly. "The world truly is small."
Lin Moyu smiled. "The world isn't that big, but it isn't that small either. For some people, heavens-and-earth are beyond reach. For others, heavens-and-earth are nothing more than a toy in the palm."
Wine Venerable took a sip of wine and sighed deeply. "Stand in a different place, and naturally you see different things."
"I want to see the scenery from even higher up," Lin Moyu said. "It's just a pity this road is not easy to walk."
Wine Venerable chuckled. "Some roads aren't impassable. Brother Lin will surely be able to walk it. You are the most astonishing existence I have ever seen—there is no second. I fear that even Great-Sword Venerable may not be your equal."
He had absolute confidence in Lin Moyu. Once, he had believed Great-Sword Venerable to be unmatched beneath heaven. Now, he felt Lin Moyu might be even stronger than she had been.
Lin Moyu laughed. "Those are dangerous words. If she hears that, she'll beat me up."
"Ah?" Wine Venerable exclaimed. "You know Great-Sword Venerable?"
"After she disassembled her body and reincarnated, she took the name Lin Mohan," Lin Moyu said.
"Lin Moyu, Lin Mohan…" Wine Venerable couldn't help but laugh. "This world really is small."
The two of them chatted as they went, passing through the North Extremity, across the shattered Desolation Scars, and formally entering the Central Domain. Tang Divine Sect was located in the western part of the Central Domain; in just over ten days, they would arrive.
As Lin Moyu chatted with Wine Venerable, he was also thinking about what he had seen earlier through the Nine-Heavens Fate Art. He had finally seen the object flying out from the deepest part of the Ancient Wilds. The Heaven-and-Earth Great Calamity had arisen because of him, and that object would ultimately become the very center of the Great Calamity.
The nature of that object was the same as that strange flower from the previous cycle of calamity. If one could obtain it, one could at least break through to Supreme; with good fortune, one might even ascend in a single step and become a supreme powerhouse.
"The path to becoming a supreme powerhouse has never been only one," Lin Moyu thought. "Killing me is one path. Proving the Dao by strength is another. Gaining this object might also become a path."
Right now, that object had not yet fully revealed itself. It was traveling through the void, heading toward a specific location. Lin Moyu was very interested in it and wanted to know what it would ultimately prove to be.