Lin Moyu simultaneously controlled the Balance Gem and the Nine-Heavens Fate Technique, letting the Language-God Heaven-and-Earth, in an extremely stable state, absorb the newborn Heaven-and-Earth's power and its Primordial-Heaven Qi.
The essence of a seven-wheel Heaven-and-Earth far surpassed that of a six-wheel Heaven-and-Earth; it was a Heaven-and-Earth of an entirely different tier.
After undergoing the baptism of Heaven-Burst Earth-Rend, breaking then being reborn, and re-evolving, the Heaven-and-Earth power it produced was still incomparably mighty.
If not interfered with by outside forces, it was highly likely to evolve into a brand new Heaven-and-Earth—and with a high probability, still a seven-wheel Heaven-and-Earth.
Because of this, all kinds of thoughts flooded Lin Moyu's mind; many ideas surfaced like sudden inspirations.
Why did his technique possess such an ability?
This kind of ability could no longer be described as merely "powerful."
To let a Heaven-and-Earth be reborn, to break and then be reborn like nirvana—
this ability should not belong to a mere cultivator.
If a cultivator possessed such an ability, then he should no longer be called a cultivator, but a Creator—
a being who opens up Heaven and Earth and creates all things. That kind of existence should be the one to wield such power.
All things are derived from the evolution of Heaven-and-Earth.
And the first step is to become a Nascent Heaven-and-Earth.
To become a Nascent Heaven-and-Earth, one must obtain Heaven-and-Earth origin treasures from the Heaven-and-Earth Wall.
Heaven-and-Earth origin treasures exist only within the Heaven-and-Earth Wall.
In that case, the origin of all things lies in the Heaven-and-Earth Wall.
But where did the Heaven-and-Earth Wall itself come from?
The Heaven-and-Earth origin treasures within it—
did they appear through natural evolution, or were they created by someone?
If they were man-made, then that "someone" would be the Creator.
If such a Creator really existed, then he definitely would not allow others to possess abilities identical to his own.
That's human nature.
Although his Heaven-and-Earth explosion was not "creating from nothing," it truly allowed a dead Heaven-and-Earth to be reborn.
That already touched upon the authority of a Creator.
If he could go one step further, he might actually be able to create from nothing.
Lin Moyu played out deductions and hypotheses in his mind.
Of course, all of these assumptions were built on the premise that a Creator existed—half of it was Lin Moyu's own imagination, not reality.
"Creator" was also a term Lin Moyu invented himself.
But Lin Moyu believed that everything has an origin.
The Life-Forbidden Zone, the Heaven-and-Earth Wall, the Calamity Scepter, the World-Burning Fire, the System—
all of these things that surpassed Heavens-and-Earth should have a common source.
"Maybe only when I step past the Life-Forbidden Zone will I be able to find that source.
"I want to see whether my guess is correct, and whether there truly is a Creator."
Lin Moyu put away his tangled thoughts.
He didn't know how long he had been thinking.
The Language-God Heaven-and-Earth was still greedily absorbing.
The Language-God Heaven-and-Earth expanded once again, the Heaven-and-Earth growing much larger.
Lin Moyu took out all of the rule crystals and offered them to the Language-God Heaven-and-Earth, enhancing its internal rules to adapt to the changes in the Heaven-and-Earth.
The entire Language-God Heaven-and-Earth was becoming vast and weighty.
Although it still hadn't evolved a complete rule system—only scattered, unstructured rules—
even so, Lin Moyu could clearly sense a difference.
This difference was relative to the Chaotic Primewild, and also relative to those Heavens-and-Earth he had seen before.
Lin Moyu knew very clearly that the essence of the Language-God Heaven-and-Earth was undergoing a marvelous transformation.
It was accumulating strength as though waiting for a qualitative change.
His heart understood:
when that qualitative change completed, that would be the moment the Language-God Heaven-and-Earth advanced into a seven-wheel Heaven-and-Earth.
For that, he still needed more Heaven-and-Earth power and Primordial-Heaven Qi.
Relying solely on the Primordial-Heaven Qi generated by the Language-God Heaven-and-Earth itself was not enough to bring about a qualitative change.
Moreover, ordinary Heavens-and-Earth wouldn't help much.
What he needed, ideally, were Heavens-and-Earth of seven wheels and above.
Only high-tier power could drive the transformation of the Language-God Heaven-and-Earth.
Otherwise, it would be nothing but quantitative change; the quantity required to ignite a qualitative change would be unimaginably vast.
Now, to find other Heavens-and-Earth, there were only two ways:
One was to go into the Chaotic Primewild and search.
At this stage of the Great Calamity, some Heaven-and-Earth remnants that had connected with the Chaotic Primewild would gradually surface.
But Heavens-and-Earth are huge, while spatial channels are so tiny—
who knew which corner they would appear in? Luck would be needed.
The second method was more practical.
Lin Moyu looked toward the little tree.
At this moment, the little tree had grown another new branch, with three emerald leaves hanging from it.
Every single leaf could bear a Heaven-and-Earth.
Now that the little tree had six leaves, in theory it could bear six Heavens-and-Earth.
Of course, the little tree hadn't yet grown to that stage, but that didn't stop it from searching for Heavens-and-Earth and establishing spatial channels with them.
The little tree was searching diligently.
Lin Moyu did not disturb it.
He continued letting the Language-God Heaven-and-Earth devour power while constantly watching its changes, and at the same time, he split his attention to examine the soul crystal given by Xunzhi True Lord.
Within the soul crystal were Xunzhi True Lord's understanding and insights into the Dao of Fate.
For someone cultivating the Dao of Fate, this soul crystal was an unparalleled supreme treasure—there was no second like it.
But to Lin Moyu, it could only serve as a reference.
He did not cultivate the Dao of Fate.
Even if he did, he wouldn't completely copy Xunzhi True Lord's Dao.
Walking the path others had already trod—
that was not what he wanted.
He didn't even know when it started, but his path had long since become different from everyone else's.
All the paths of the predecessors had failed; that proved they were all wrong.
Only by walking his own path might there still be a chance.
Xunzhi True Lord's comprehension of the Dao of Fate was already extremely deep.
Through studying his Dao, Lin Moyu's understanding of Heavens-and-Earth deepened yet again.
Heaven-and-Earth are made up of countless components.
Every Dao, every rule, every living being within the Heaven-and-Earth, every blade of grass, every tree—
all of them are components of the Heaven-and-Earth.
Each of these components has its own fate, and these fates intertwine and influence each other, producing different outcomes that ultimately affect the entire Heaven-and-Earth.
The Heaven-and-Earth is like a giant net.
Every blade of grass, every tree, every living being within it—no matter how strong or weak—is a strand of the web.
If only a few strands go wrong, the enormous web is unharmed.
But once many strands fail, the web begins to tear.
Thus, Heaven-and-Earth can determine the fate of all things, and the fates of all things within Heaven-and-Earth can, in turn, influence the Heaven-and-Earth.
To keep the entire Heaven-and-Earth running in balanced, orderly fashion, there must be a complete, intricate, and stable rule system.
Even Xunzhi True Lord, who could see through the fates of all things in Heaven-and-Earth, would find it hard to change fate.
Tug on one thread and the whole body moves—
it would trigger chain reactions beyond imagination.
Xunzhi True Lord was able to tease these threads apart, seeking ways to alter fate from within the most complex interweavings.
In this regard, Xunzhi True Lord had walked extremely far, reaching the peak.
If he had taken one more step, perhaps he would really have opened a path of his own.
But unfortunately, he still didn't break through.
Xunzhi True Lord himself knew he had reached the end of that path, but he refused to give up and continued to struggle.
His efforts were focused on elevating his Heaven-and-Earth—
and in the end, he still failed.
Through Xunzhi True Lord's insights, Lin Moyu's understanding of Heavens-and-Earth deepened yet another layer, further firming his own convictions.
The path he walked was not wrong.
So long as he followed it to the end, he had every chance of surpassing his predecessors and reaching that unknown realm.
After several decades of evolution, the seven-wheel Heaven-and-Earth finally exhausted all of its power, and the Language-God Heaven-and-Earth was completely sated.
At this point, the Language-God Heaven-and-Earth was several times more powerful than before, just a hair's breadth away from undergoing qualitative change.
The little tree sent news:
"Master, I found a Heaven-and-Earth. I've already established a spatial channel."
After searching for several decades, it had finally located a Heaven-and-Earth.
This efficiency exceeded even Lin Moyu's expectations.
After all, the Life-Forbidden Zone was so vast, while Heaven-and-Earth remnants were so tiny—
and he wanted powerful Heaven-and-Earth remnants on top of that.
It was no different from searching for a needle in a haystack.
And the little tree was still in its juvenile stage, still very weak.
Even so, as the Language-God Heaven-and-Earth grew stronger, the little tree benefited in turn; it would rapidly grow stronger, and once it did, it could, in turn, nourish the Heaven-and-Earth and change its essence.
The two complemented each other—a win-win situation.
Lin Moyu came before the little tree and looked at one of its leaves.
There were six leaves in total; five of them were a charming emerald green, while one had become transparent.
Inside that transparent leaf, a tiny vortex had appeared—that vortex was a spatial channel, linking to another Heaven-and-Earth.
"Master, this Heaven-and-Earth is one I found. It's relatively strong, but I'm not sure how many wheels it has," the little tree said.
"It's fine," Lin Moyu replied. "Even if it isn't a seven-wheel Heaven-and-Earth, it'll still be very useful."
"Then Master should go," the little tree said. "I'll keep searching for other Heavens-and-Earth."
"You've worked hard," Lin Moyu said sincerely. He knew finding Heavens-and-Earth was no easy matter; the little tree had already given its all.
The little tree swayed gently. "This is what I'm meant to do."
Lin Moyu stepped onto the leaf.
Each of the little tree's leaves was like a continent.
Standing upon it, Lin Moyu was like a speck of dust.
Only by touching the little tree could one truly sense its power—
a power not of raw strength, but of level.
As a Hongmeng Spirit Tree, the little tree's level was unimaginably high, far beyond what it had been as a Chaotic Ancestral Tree.
Lin Moyu could feel the power flowing within the little tree—
a power that transcended Heaven-and-Earth rules themselves, bearing a faint resemblance to that of the Calamity Scepter.
The foundation had been laid. So long as the little tree continued to grow, it would inevitably transcend Heavens-and-Earth, surpassing all Supremes—
even the former Po-Cang Emperor would be inferior to the little tree.
And the root of all this lay in that Hongmeng Spirit Leaf.
The little tree opened the channel for Lin Moyu, who stepped in and headed for the Heaven-and-Earth remnant.
In Tang-God Sect, after dealing with all his affairs, Wine Venerable went in search of Lin Moyu, only to be blocked by the formation.
Through the formation, he could vaguely see Lin Moyu sitting quietly by the lakeside.
He knew Lin Moyu was in seclusion cultivating, so he did not disturb him.
A faint red light flashed in Wine Venerable's eyes.
In his sight, Lin Moyu's entire body glowed red.
As long as he looked at Lin Moyu, killing intent arose uncontrollably in his heart, along with an irrepressible greed.
The Heaven-and-Earth rules constantly whispered to him:
As long as you kill Lin Moyu, you can achieve the Dao.
As a cultivator, it was hard to resist the temptation of achieving the Dao—
even more so when the Great Calamity was also affecting his mind, altering his thinking to some extent.
During the decades of Lin Moyu's seclusion, the influence of the Calamity had grown stronger.
Even someone with Wine Venerable's Dao-heart had begun to falter.
He watched from outside the formation for a long time before finally turning away.
He forcibly suppressed the agitation in his heart; the only thing he could do was not look.
"More and more troublesome…" Wine Venerable sighed softly.
He faintly sensed that something bad was going to happen.
What he did not see was that the Lin Moyu sitting quietly by the lake was merely a soul avatar—
one that Lin Moyu had deliberately left behind to deceive the Heaven-and-Earth.
His true body had long since departed.
—
This spatial channel was unlike any he had traveled through before.
The passage was filled with a special power—a power that came from the little tree, possessing an extremely high level, making the channel extraordinarily stable.
The channel itself was semi-transparent; he could see part of the outside world.
Beyond the channel lay boundless void.
Even through the channel, he could sense unimaginable danger in that void.
Vaguely, Lin Moyu saw layer after layer of ripples in the void, like ripples on water, spreading outward in circles without end.
Each ripple carried an unimaginably terrifying ruinous power, capable of instantly killing any living being.
"The Life-Forbidden Zone…"
Lin Moyu's heart trembled slightly—what he was seeing was the Life-Forbidden Zone.
He took out the Calamity Scepter and summoned the Hongmeng Stone.
"Outside—is that the Life-Forbidden Zone?"
The Hongmeng Stone glanced out and nodded. "Yes."
It had spent countless years in the Life-Forbidden Zone and was extremely familiar with it; one glance was enough.
Then the Hongmeng Stone said, "This spatial channel is quite interesting."
"Never seen one like it before?" Lin Moyu asked.
"That's right, never," the Hongmeng Stone replied. "In the past, all spatial channels connected to the Heaven-and-Earth Wall. All Supremes had to use the Heaven-and-Earth Wall as a relay to reach other Heavens-and-Earth.
"I've never seen anything like this—one that can skip the Heaven-and-Earth Wall altogether."
"That's strange," Lin Moyu said. "Didn't we have spatial channels that went directly to other Heavens-and-Earth before?"
"That's different," the Hongmeng Stone answered. "That's because those Heavens-and-Earth collided and naturally formed spatial channels.
"I'm talking about actively constructed spatial channels that directly reach other Heavens-and-Earth. I've never seen that before.
"That tree is very unusual—it should be a supreme treasure."
The little tree is a supreme treasure? Lin Moyu did not see it that way. His tone dropped slightly.
"The little tree isn't a treasure. It's my companion, my comrade-in-arms, a brother who lives and dies with me."
The Hongmeng Stone was taken aback.
It had never considered things from that angle and instinctively asked, "Then what about me?"
"You as well, of course," Lin Moyu replied. "I've survived many deadly situations thanks to you. You and the little tree are the same—you've accompanied my growth and shared life and death with me."
The Hongmeng Stone giggled, clearly in a very good mood.
Lin Moyu went back to the earlier topic. "According to what you said, when I went from Xunzhi True Lord's Heaven-and-Earth to that seven-wheel Heaven-and-Earth, it seems I didn't go through the Heaven-and-Earth Wall either."
"We actually did go through it," the Hongmeng Stone said. "Back then, Xunzhi True Lord should have found that seven-wheel Heaven-and-Earth from within the Heaven-and-Earth Wall.
"Later, when that Heaven-and-Earth collapsed, its connection to the Wall was severed. Normally, Xunzhi True Lord should have returned, but at that exact time, half of his soul got trapped and became a soul-bridge.
"That was a special case, so it doesn't count."
"All right, it doesn't count then," Lin Moyu conceded. He agreed with what the Hongmeng Stone said.
"The little tree can search for Heaven-and-Earth remnants within the Life-Forbidden Zone and establish spatial channels with them. My plan should be able to proceed smoothly," Lin Moyu said.
"He's very impressive," the Hongmeng Stone replied. "His ability to control space has already surpassed Heavens-and-Earth. Even the Supremes who were best at the spatial Dao back then weren't as good as him in this respect.
"Master, make good use of this ability and you'll definitely be able to realize what you want and step into a higher level."
"I have another idea," Lin Moyu said.
"What idea?" the Hongmeng Stone asked instinctively.
"I want the little tree to set the exit of the spatial channel directly in the Life-Forbidden Zone."
The Hongmeng Stone let out a strangled squawk.
"No! Master, that's courting death—real death!"