In the great calamity, rules were in chaos and living beings were plunged into misery—and part of the root of all this lay in himself.
His own strength, the appearance of the Language-God Heaven-and-Earth, had stirred the Heaven-and-Earth Calamity ahead of time. His personal share of responsibility was actually very small; the Heaven-and-Earth Calamity was bound to arrive sooner or later—at most a matter of a few years earlier or later.
The real key within the Heaven-and-Earth Calamity was that thing which flew out from the deepest part of the Primewild. Even if he became the Calamity-Bearer, he still could not compare to that thing. Without him, the calamity would still continue; without that thing, the calamity would not exist at all.
He had been to the deepest parts of the Chaotic Primewild, but had never entered the very core region. Back then he had sensed danger, so he hadn't gone in.
At first, all the Great Venerables and quasi–Great Venerables in the Chaotic Primewild only knew that chaos was coming, but not until much later did they learn that the Heaven-and-Earth Calamity had descended. They had no idea that thing existed. Only Dao, the Calamity Venerable, the Primal Chaos Desolation Dragon, could know of it.
Of course, you also had to add himself and the Hongmeng Stone.
Where that thing was, and in what state it existed—no one had ever clearly seen it. Even the Hongmeng Stone could only faintly glimpse it.
Normally, when the calamity reached its very peak, that thing would reveal itself and set off the final struggle for it. But earlier, he had forcibly divined the location of that thing through the Nine Heavens Fate Art; only in that moment did he truly understand what that thing was for.
If that thing were obtained by someone else, they would have a chance to break through and become a Supreme Being—but the greater possibility was that they would fail, just like in the previous great calamity.
Back then, that strange flower was obtained by the Heaven-Shrouding Beast, yet it only managed to break through to Great Venerable and never became a Supreme Being. Because that strange flower was actually the opportunity belonging to the Calamity-Bearer.
Only if the Calamity-Bearer of that era obtained that strange flower could they achieve a one-hundred-percent breakthrough to become a Supreme Being.
Who was the Calamity-Bearer of that time?
No one knew.
The situation in this cycle of the great calamity was the same. He was the Calamity-Bearer. That thing, which was still currently hidden, had been prepared for him.
If others obtained that thing, it would only increase their probability of becoming a Supreme Being. But if he obtained that thing, he would definitely become a Supreme Being.
This was the benefit belonging to the Calamity-Bearer.
At the same time, he himself was another opportunity within this great calamity. Others, if they killed him, would likewise have a chance to become a Supreme Being.
Lin Moyu gradually sorted out the rules underlying this entire great calamity.
He and that thing were both other people's chances. But neither of them could one hundred percent guarantee someone would become a Supreme Being. Only if he himself obtained that thing would he be guaranteed to become a Supreme Being.
This rule was quite fair. After all, the Calamity-Bearer had to face the attacks of countless beings; if the Calamity-Bearer's strength were even slightly lacking, there would be no way to survive. With such danger, giving a bit more benefit was only natural.
"What is Lin Daoist thinking about?"
Liquor Venerable's voice came over.
Lin Moyu had just now been thinking a little too deeply and couldn't help but smile. "I just sorted out one matter."
Liquor Venerable smiled. "In this Heaven-and-Earth, I fear there's very little that Lin Daoist can't sort out, no?"
Lin Moyu said, "No one dares claim to know everything. Just like this great calamity—who could possibly know it all?"
Liquor Venerable shook his head. "No, others might not know, but Lin Daoist must be clear about it."
For some unknown reason, he inexplicably trusted that Lin Moyu knew everything about this Heaven-and-Earth. He didn't know where this trust came from; that thought simply arose naturally in his heart.
Lin Moyu didn't explain. "Senior, once you return this time, it's best not to come out again. When the time comes, I'll set up a grand array for your sect. So long as you don't leave the array, it should be enough to guarantee safety."
Liquor Venerable was very clear about Lin Moyu's attainments in formations. Since Lin Moyu said it could ensure safety, then there definitely wouldn't be a problem.
"In that case, I will thank you very much."
Liquor Venerable did not decline; he only offered wine in gratitude.
Lin Moyu said, "Our chance to meet can be called fate; there's no need for Senior to be so polite."
After about a month, Liquor Venerable's flying boat halted in the void. Not far ahead was a continent, transformed from a broken boundary-domain. This was where the Tang-God Sect was located.
The ancestor of the Tang-God Sect bore the name Tang Shen. When he founded the sect, he directly named it the Tang-God Sect.
The Tang-God Sect was also a sect power that had killed its way out from within a boundary-domain. Now it had existed in the chaos for countless years, having gone through battle after battle and taken part in many great wars between Extremity Domains. Its lineage had never been severed, lasting down to the present day.
Previously, the strongest person within the sect had been at peak Chaotic Realm. Now that Liquor Venerable had appeared, with a quasi–Great Venerable sitting in town, barring any accidents the Tang-God Sect could be passed down forever, generation after generation.
Liquor Venerable drove the flying boat into the Tang-God Sect.
He headed straight to the rear of the Tang-God Sect without alarming anyone. His status within the Tang-God Sect was transcendent; there was a large area here that belonged to him alone. Without his permission, no one could enter.
Between the mountains and forests lay a clear lake, with several meditation rooms by its side.
Liquor Venerable arranged for Lin Moyu to stay here. No one in the entire Tang-God Sect knew they had arrived. After all, Lin Moyu was now the enemy of Heaven-and-Earth. Liquor Venerable could rely on his Dao-heart to resist the influence of Heaven-and-Earth's rules, but others could not. Most people, upon seeing Lin Moyu, would probably attack and kill him on sight—and the outcome of that was obvious.
Liquor Venerable handed this entire region over to Lin Moyu, and only then departed.
Lin Moyu quickly set up a grand array that shrouded the mountains and forest; without his permission, no one would be able to enter.
After finishing the array, Lin Moyu did not enter the house, but instead sat in meditation by the lake, his mind sinking into the Language-God Heaven-and-Earth.
What he was going to do next was extremely important—it concerned the path he would walk from here on out. He could not be interrupted during the process; he could not split his focus. And Lin Moyu also did not know how long it would last.
This was why he had come here with Liquor Venerable. If he had stayed outside, Heaven-and-Earth's rules could come looking for him at any time, which would be very troublesome.
Within the Language-God Heaven-and-Earth, Lin Moyu activated the Nine Heavens Fate Art. In an instant, he saw the rules of Heaven-and-Earth.
Unlike the Chaotic Primewild, the rules of the Language-God Heaven-and-Earth were still very young and not yet tight or strict—in fact, one could even say they were somewhat loose. After all, this was a newborn Heaven-and-Earth, still in ongoing evolution, unlike the Chaotic Primewild which had long since fully formed countless years ago.
Not only were the rules of the Language-God Heaven-and-Earth loose; there were not even any Daos yet.
Heaven-and-Earth was currently nurturing some illusory, formless beings. These beings would in the end become a part of the Daos.
Only after Heaven-and-Earth passed its first Heaven-and-Earth Life-and-Death Tribulation would it begin to give birth to large numbers of beings with physical bodies. Those beings would go through a long passage of time and at the same time evolve one Dao after another.
When the second great tribulation arrived, countless of them would die, turning after death into one Dao after another, helping Heaven-and-Earth to further improve.
Rules were the bones; Daos were the flesh.
Only by then would Heaven-and-Earth be considered truly complete.
Lin Moyu calculated the entire process by which a Heaven-and-Earth formed and then became perfected.
What he had to do now was to move one step ahead of the Heaven-and-Earth Calamity and enhance the essence of Heaven-and-Earth first—ignoring bones and flesh and strengthening the soul of Heaven-and-Earth, changing Heaven-and-Earth from the level of its essence.
No one had ever done such a thing. He would be the first throughout ancient and modern times.
"This is my path."
Lin Moyu gave a low shout, and the Nine Heavens Fate Art was unleashed.
The entire Language-God Heaven-and-Earth began to quake.
He himself was the master of the Language-God Heaven-and-Earth, so the rules of Heaven-and-Earth had no rejection toward him.
With the help of the Nine Heavens Fate Art, Lin Moyu saw all the rules within the Language-God Heaven-and-Earth. These rules were very young, still constantly being perfected and evolving.
Lin Moyu did not touch them. Rules were the bones; they did not need him to change them.
What he wanted to change was the soul of Heaven-and-Earth—the essence of Heaven-and-Earth. If the essence grew stronger, the bones and flesh would naturally grow stronger as well; if they needed to be altered later, it would not be too late to change them then.
To enhance the essence of Heaven-and-Earth, he had to completely seize control of Heaven-and-Earth.
The Nine Heavens Fate Art was precisely this kind of art—a technique created specifically for the Language-God Heaven-and-Earth, unique in all existence.
"Merge."
A low shout rang across the entire Heaven-and-Earth.
The Nine Heavens Fate Art, carrying Lin Moyu's will, merged into the Language-God Heaven-and-Earth.
Lin Moyu's soul power was rapidly consumed; countless thoughts spread out, and through the Nine Heavens Fate Art, seeped into every corner of the Language-God Heaven-and-Earth.
Not just into every corner of the Language-God Heaven-and-Earth; even on top of each individual rule there appeared a mark belonging to Lin Moyu.
He indeed was the master of the Language-God Heaven-and-Earth. However, he was not yet a Supreme Being and had never refined a Heaven-and-Earth, so he could not yet achieve minute and detailed control over it. Normally, this was something he would have to wait until after becoming a Supreme Being to accomplish.
But now, using the Nine Heavens Fate Art in another, even more profound way, he refined the Heaven-and-Earth from its very roots.
The process was extremely smooth, without the slightest obstruction.
In every part of the Language-God Heaven-and-Earth, Lin Moyu left his aura.
The entire Heaven-and-Earth became clear and transparent in his sight, with no secrets. With just a single thought, he could know anything happening in any corner of Heaven-and-Earth—even the past and future of each inch of space, replaying whatever had happened there, no matter how many years ago.
Time and space within the Language-God Heaven-and-Earth were no longer secrets to Lin Moyu.
He saw the little tree.
The little tree was currently thriving, growing with every moment, though its growth speed was so slow as to be nearly negligible. Previously, Lin Moyu had needed to wait half a day to notice some change in the little tree.
But now, he could clearly see how the little tree grew—even how the power within it flowed.
The little tree was evolving and transforming, moving toward some unknown direction. The Hongmeng Spirit Leaf had allowed the little tree to break first and then rebuild, bringing miraculous changes; in the end, no one could say what it would become.
Next, Lin Moyu looked to the deepest part of Heaven-and-Earth.
At the very beginning, when the storage space was transforming into Heaven-and-Earth, he seemed to have seen a great gate. At that time, the gate had opened and countless Primordial-Heaven Qi flew out from within; the storage space underwent a qualitative change and expanded rapidly.
After that, he had never seen that gate again. It was as if that gate had never existed, and he could find no source for the Primordial-Heaven Qi. But the Primordial-Heaven Qi had kept increasing; there had to be a source.
Lin Moyu had always blamed this on the fact that he hadn't refined the Heaven-and-Earth, and thus could not see its full picture.
This time, with the help of the Nine Heavens Fate Art, he refined the Language-God Heaven-and-Earth in another way and finally saw it clearly.
In the deepest part of the Language-God Heaven-and-Earth, in an extremely inconspicuous place, Lin Moyu saw the source of the Primordial-Heaven Qi.
It was not a gate, but a tiny point—
This tiny point was like a spring of Heaven-and-Earth, Primordial-Heaven Qi bubbling out of it continuously like spring water.
"Found it at last."
Lin Moyu whispered softly.
He had finally seen the source. The Language-God Heaven-and-Earth had begun its evolution from this point.
But at the same time, a new question arose.
What lay beyond this spring?
He tried to probe it, but his consciousness could not enter the spring. This spring which ceaselessly gushed out Primordial-Heaven Qi had an invisible power: it allowed things out, but nothing in.
Lin Moyu could faintly sense that the Primordial-Heaven Qi within the spring was unbelievably dense, but he could not see anything more specific.
After several attempts, Lin Moyu could only give up. He knew that now was not the time. Even if he had refined the Language-God Heaven-and-Earth and truly mastered it, his own strength was still insufficient to support his ideas.
After observing a while longer, Lin Moyu left this place. Before departing, he left a strand of consciousness here; if anything special happened here, he would sense it.
He had a rough guess: this spring spewing Primordial-Heaven Qi should resemble, in some way, the deepest region of the Primewild in the Chaotic Primewild.
Primordial-Heaven Qi could not appear forever; eventually the spring would dry up. When that time came, something here might change.
The Nine Heavens Fate Art had now completely merged into the Language-God Heaven-and-Earth, and he had successfully refined it. The entire process had gone very smoothly, without any accidents—everything within his expectations.
"Now comes the main part. Whether my idea works or not depends on this next step."
Lin Moyu took out a husk of a Heaven-and-Earth core. This was the core of the Xunzhi Heaven-and-Earth; the power and rules within had already been devoured by the World-Searing Fire, leaving only the shell. The remaining power was extremely little, only enough to keep the core shell from collapsing.
The shell could be regarded as the corpse of the Xunzhi Heaven-and-Earth.
To others, this thing was utterly useless—not even fit for refining into artifacts.
But to Lin Moyu, this thing was extremely important: it was key to elevating the essence of the Language-God Heaven-and-Earth.
He held the shell on his palm. In his palm, a soft light surged as the art was suddenly activated—Heaven-Burst Earth-Rend.
With a low shout, the shell burst forth with astonishing light and then, with a bang, turned to vapour and dust.
Immediately after, a ball of light appeared in Lin Moyu's palm. This clump of light contained boundless vitality, and it grew ever stronger.
This time, Lin Moyu used the power of life, merged with Heaven-Burst Earth-Rend. It was no longer destruction, but rebirth—Creation itself, the opening of Heaven-and-Earth.
Using the Heaven-and-Earth core as raw material, and using the power of life to drive the art, he reopened a Heaven-and-Earth that had already collapsed and been destroyed.
The art succeeded without any accidents. The power of life flowed into it unceasingly and was magnified ten thousandfold.
The ball of light in his palm grew brighter and brighter, the vitality within it ever more intense.
Lin Moyu tossed it out and let it evolve on its own.
Under his feet, the Undying Dao automatically manifested, and the power of life turned into streams of water rushing into the ball of light.
The evolution of the ball of light was extremely fast; with the power of life constantly pouring in, the vitality within the light grew stronger and stronger, then was magnified ten thousandfold in a way Lin Moyu could not quite understand.
Very soon, the vitality within the light reached its limit and no longer accepted new life force.
The entire ball of light was like a balloon blown to its extreme, as if it might burst at any time.
At that moment, inspiration flashed through Lin Moyu—
"It should be detonated now."
With a thought, the power of life connected to the ball of light quickly transformed into the power of death. The transformation between life and death lay within a single thought for Lin Moyu.
The ball of light, originally full of vitality, suddenly gained a thread of death.
Life and death collided, triggering a chain reaction. The ball of light instantly went unstable, expanding rapidly, then beginning to shrink just as quickly.
Lin Moyu could feel that the power within the ball was undergoing some special qualitative change, alternating between life and death again and again.
The ball of light grew smaller and smaller, eventually shrinking to a size tens of thousands of times smaller than a strand of hair.
Even with Lin Moyu's eyesight he could no longer see it; only by sensing the rules could he tell it still existed.
This went on for a hundred breaths.
Then, with a thunderous boom that shook all of Heaven-and-Earth…