Chapter 4783: Formations Above Heaven and Earth
"This game of chess is strange."
"If it were formed from ordinary universal laws, they could not hide from my eyes, but the rules within this chess… seem to exist and not exist at the same time…"
From the moment Lin Moyu began arranging formations, he sensed that something was wrong.
The Chess of All Beings seemed to possess its own independent set of rules that were not universal laws.
Its level was higher than that of universal laws, to the extent that even the Nine Heavens Fate Technique could not manipulate it.
Even if he tried to observe these rules, it was difficult to see them clearly.
That single point alone made Lin Moyu realize that this Chess of All Beings was anything but simple.
Within the chessboard, his personal strength was restricted and he could not easily enter the field himself.
This was not only true for him but also for the Heaven Cleave Emperor and the Seeking Knowledge True Lord.
He had originally thought that this rule had been set down by those two, but now he understood that these rules came from the chessboard itself.
"This Chess of All Beings is somewhat eerie.
I will have to ask about it carefully later."
Lin Moyu did not think further on it.
No matter how much he speculated, it would be better to simply ask later.
Right now he was inside the board, so naturally he should focus on playing the game.
"Seven, six, three."
His strength was restricted, and the formations were behaving oddly.
The formations he usually used could still be arranged, but their power was drastically reduced, to less than one percent of normal.
The rules were unclear, and there was no time for him to slowly comprehend them.
The Wings of Heaven and Earth spread out with a swish, rainbow light spilling forth and illuminating an entire region.
Since he could not clearly see the rules, he would stop trying to see them.
He would simply issue commands instead.
"Order!"
The Wings of Heaven and Earth trembled, and wherever the rainbow light reached, it commanded the rules.
Yet immediately afterward, a powerful backlash rose up.
The rainbow light of the Wings of Heaven and Earth was violently compressed and forced to shrink back into the wings.
"The Wings of Heaven and Earth have been suppressed.
The rules here really are above those of Heaven and Earth."
Even within a Nine Cycle universe, the Wings of Heaven and Earth could still command the rules.
Different universal tiers only affected the scope of its command, and it had never once been suppressed.
Who would have thought that the rules inside this Chess of All Beings could actually suppress the Wings of Heaven and Earth?
This alone showed that the rules of the board surpassed those of the universes.
"Could these be the rules of a Hongmeng universe?
Or something else entirely?"
With the Wings of Heaven and Earth rendered ineffective, Lin Moyu did not idle.
He continued to direct his troops while also observing and studying the rules within the board.
The rules were faint and indistinct, impossible to see clearly, and could only be vaguely sensed.
His cultivation realm was firmly suppressed, leaving no chance at resistance.
Formations were also restricted, but unlike his realm and strength, they were merely weakened rather than entirely locked.
This meant that using formations inside the chessboard was permitted.
If that was the case, then as long as a formation was powerful enough, even after being weakened it could still exert immense effect.
How then could a sufficiently powerful formation be constructed?
Given Lin Moyu's current understanding of formations, they could be divided into two kinds: those beneath Heaven and Earth, and those above Heaven and Earth.
Formations beneath Heaven and Earth were those that relied on universal laws.
Such formations, once removed from their universe or moved into a strange one, would be restricted or rendered ineffective.
The other type were formations above Heaven and Earth, which no longer relied on universal laws but became laws in and of themselves.
In a flash of inspiration, Lin Moyu realized that the Chess of All Beings was also self contained in its rules.
The board itself was the law and was detached from all universes, existing as an independent whole.
"Now this makes a bit more sense."
Lin Moyu began to understand.
If he wanted his formations to exert sufficient power, they had to become independent, free from dependence on any existing rules in other words, formations outside Heaven and Earth, just as he had previously imagined.
"Time to try."
Casting aside distracting thoughts, he began to draw runes.
A sea of runes was drawn out and then vanished in turn, as Lin Moyu continued to experiment.
As long as a rune was suppressed by the board, it failed to meet his requirements.
To construct a formation outside Heaven and Earth, the runes used to arrange it would first have to detach from the universes.
In the past, he had been able to arrange formations in different universes because he could quickly grasp their rules, and the runes he had created could adapt to varying rules across different universes.
However, his runes had not yet surpassed Heaven and Earth.
Now his aim was to ignore the universal laws entirely and allow the formation to become its own universe.
He kept trying, with his soul power being consumed in great quantity, while the little tree continuously replenished it for him.
The thing he feared least was the consumption of soul power.
As long as it was not exhausted in a single instant, the little tree would always be able to make up the difference.
He continually adjusted the runes in fine detail, making them adapt to the rules of the Chess of All Beings while simultaneously pushing them to surpass Heaven and Earth, raising their level ever higher.
In this process, Lin Moyu's comprehension of formations rose once again.
His talent for formation runes seemed to have no end.
As long as there was a clear goal, he could continuously improve.
The chessboard continued to evolve.
The Heaven Cleave True Lord's and the Seeking Knowledge True Lord's factions rapidly grew, conquering cities and lands, seizing resources, and strengthening themselves.
Lin Moyu's forces had passed the opening stage of the game.
He did not exercise too much direct control, allowing them to develop mostly on their own.
Their growth rate was not fast and was far inferior to those of Heaven Cleave and Seeking Knowledge.
Soon, his faction encountered nearby forces, and fierce battles erupted one after another.
Lin Moyu's forces were pushed back repeatedly, managing only to defend and seldom attack.
Unable to secure resources, their development stagnated.
Yet Lin Moyu paid it no mind and continued to refine his runes.
Ultimately, this was only a game, and victory or defeat had no effect on tangible benefits.
If he could comprehend the mysteries of the runes from this, that would be the true gain.
His forces were suppressed, his territory occupied, and his resources dwindled away until his side was left only defending and never attacking, but Lin Moyu remained completely unbothered.
He continued to create runes, and after countless trials, finally saw progress.
At some point, a trace of violet light appeared within his runes.
The violet light resembled a law, and the rune carried law within itself, causing the suppression from the Chess of All Beings to decrease significantly.
"Done."
Joy stirred in Lin Moyu's heart.
After innumerable fine adjustments, his runes had finally found the right direction and begun to transcend Heaven and Earth.
Although this was only the beginning, as long as the path was correct, the rest would no longer be difficult.
Snapping back to awareness, Lin Moyu finally noticed that his forces had been reduced to less than one third.
His territory was under siege from multiple nearby factions and had also shrunk to one third of its original size.
His resources were on the verge of being completely exhausted, and he was about to be eliminated.
Although elimination did not truly matter, Lin Moyu did not wish to exit like this.
With a shift of thought, a great number of runes laced with violet light shot out and formed a grand formation.
Because the runes used to arrange the formation were now less suppressed, the completed formation was likewise far less restricted.
Within the formation, rules arose of themselves, completely able to change the formation's function according to Lin Moyu's will.
To kill or to trap all was up to him.
The board's suppression of formations was also greatly weakened, allowing their power to reach well over half of their full potential.
The formation solidified, blocking attacks for his troops and buying them a chance to breathe.
But that alone was not enough.
From the moment Lin Moyu started moving, he had never intended to stop.
Formation after formation was put in place kill formations, trapping formations, maze formations, all sorts of formations in endless variety.
He used them in place of troops, expanding his territory and striking down enemies.
Within the Chess of All Beings, Lin Moyu should originally have been only a commander, directing his forces to develop.
Now, however, he had become something more like a game master.
Using formations as his pieces, he took control of the entire situation.
Under the bombardment of those formations, the opposing forces were swiftly routed.
Lin Moyu's territory continued to grow, and the resources he gained increased without end.
The earlier losses were quickly made up, and soon he far surpassed his previous peak, pushing further outward from there.
Lin Moyu opened paths with his formations, turning them into keen blades that carved out new lands for him.
He did not need resources or soldiers.
As long as his soul power did not run dry, the formations would never stop.
His territory grew ever larger.
In the blink of an eye, he had seized an entire corner of the board and continued to expand outward.
At last, he ran into the territory of the Seeking Knowledge True Lord.