After I rested for a month and enjoyed my time with Ning, I figured out how to make use of different world powers efficiently.
Rule Domain
Basically, adding an absolute rule to my creation shield like absolute space time and immeasurability are just single instances of application of the granted conceptual ability.
How it could be useful is, it can project or essentially recreate the world law of my inner world. It wasn't as simple as commanding the shield to function under chaos world principles and expecting compliance. No, the process demanded intimate knowledge of my inner world's governing laws, that I could apply as same rules to the creation shield around me.
Then I found out that the externally channeled potential of divine daos start working and remained stable outside for a long time without dissipating or exploding. But the true meanings doesn't function in full strength for some reason.
Gradually through careful experimentation and countless hours of spending in LoHP space, the pattern emerged with startling clarity. I figured out that the world laws governing both Tiny World and my ring world were nothing more than diverging branches of my inner universe's ruleset ~ lower-tier expressions of the nearly one hundred thousand laws that comprised the foundation of unreal worlds.
The shield outside projects world laws of land of beginning life so their law structure is quite high and allows usage of high level energy. To make up for soul force techniques, I just need to scale up the rule structure of shield by making it inclusive of these minor derivative laws to the most powerful one I can project.
The laws of two realities aren't exactly the same; If they were, I only needed high level laws. But no. They don't perfectly merge even if one is of lower essence. The relationship between different realities' laws fascinated me. They functioned a lot in mathematical correlations. In simple terms, they resembled just as how lines drawn upon a two-dimensional plane ~ some with different slopes, others with varying constants, yet all following the essential equation of a straight line rather than the curved complexity of circles.
The Library of Heaven's Path, with its boundless analytical capabilities, calculated the precise gradient of tolerance required for perfect simultaneous adaptation of dual law systems.
This methodology would serve me well in future world traversals, but for now, it granted me seamless access to techniques of both heavenly energy and divine daos within my established parameters. My absolute control over the law field had returned in full.
Within the law field, I can exist unsealed of my power. Anyway after testing it, I found I can cultivate heavenly fate without a problem within tiny world under my new rule field.
Soul Ocean
My soul had already undergone a qualitative metamorphosis, evolving into a violet yang soul befitting a Paramita ~ almost indistinguishable from physical existence itself. While soul possessed inherent transformative capability, the power typically distributed itself throughout the spiritual matrix.
The cultivation of boundless spirit ascension sutra, a part of Boundless divine transformation of energy spirit and body cultivation technique was created before I venture to Apotheosis world. Through countless years of refinement, it had evolved through multiple revisions, incorporating principles from both worlds into a harmonious synthesis.
That is the reason why despite halting my fate soul cultivation at the fifth level, the soul core ~ containing the soul ocean ( analogous to the divine sea essence found in dantian cultivation ) ~ had scaled qualitatively upward. Similarly, my inner fate souls is also near 10000 times more condensed than when I just left this world. Essentially now even though I could form fate souls with a thought, I need greater soul essence to condense full strength of rest of the fate souls I need, and due to my God realm soul, inherent soul power is there to condense.
Three Energy Centers
My body had become a confluence of three major energy centers, each serving distinct yet interconnected purposes. The Sovereign Energy Axis Sutra governed both body refining and Qi cultivation energy centers. The body refining center had migrated to the nine stars within my internal world and the Tao pillars embedded throughout my physical form, while the Qi cultivation center resided within the divine spark and the overall energy matrix of my internal world.
The third energy center ~ the soul core, known in the Tales of Demons and Gods world as the soul ocean ~ operated with the Boundless Spirit Ascension Sutra. Both these sutras formed integral components of my original technique, their fate souls condensed within the soul cores like nine stars in internal world.
Years of chaos Qi essence cultivation had increased my body's main energy channels thousandfold in both durability and complexity. Yet the channels connecting these primary pathways to the soul ocean remained underdeveloped, starved by years of minimal soul force circulation. I had maintained just enough flow to prevent my body's adaptive mechanisms from deeming them irrelevant and redirecting their convergence toward the dantian ~ a consequence of my prolonged focus on essence and energy cultivation at the expense of soul development.
The Refinement Process
The power of heaven and soul force is mild comparable to channeling chaos Qi.
Within my carefully maintained field, I deliberately cultivated heavenly energy drawn from my ring world, setting in motion the intricate process of body adaptation that had served me so well throughout my cultivation journey.
The condensed soul power and heavenly energy began their patient work, refining the veins that interconnected the major channels of my true God body and the soul core energy center. This process created what were known in this realm as spiritual roots ~ channels whose existence became perceptible only upon reaching the peak of earthen fate.
My recent practice of channeling heavenly fate soul force through these pathways had been born of necessity rather than choice. Years of stagnant soul force cultivation had created a bottleneck that required adaptive evolution to realign the soul conduits that originally formed in response to TDG world rules, with my transformed soul power. The initial experience proved suffocating ~ like attempting to channel the fury of an entire dam through a narrow twelve-inch pipe.
Gradually, adaptation began its inexorable work. Within a week, the spiritual roots underwent multiple transformations, both conceptual and physical, permitting smoother circulation of heavenly energy and soul force. This breakthrough unlocked abilities I had thought lost forever ~ the demon beast spirit techniques that had once been second nature.
Memories flooded back like a tide. Dark void form, vector control, psychic abilities, elemental manipulation, space-time portals ~ all tantalizingly within reach. Yet my body's extreme conditioning to different world principles over countless years created resistance to full transformation. Perhaps, as my cultivation progressed further, complete merger would become possible.
Unleashing Full Extend of Power
My heavenly fate realm aura now flowed freely, no longer constrained by the limitations that had once forced me to rely solely on paramita soul power. I don't need to appear as unreadable or extremely powerful to the people at Draconic ruins realm. I still kept the discipleship soul imprint from master Ming Fei, although I am pretty sure just in realm level we are both same.
Demon Lord
The following fortnight passed peacefully. Nie Li advanced to Legend Rank 5, his companions steadily catching up.
Then, like a discordant note shattering a perfect symphony of peaceful life, my divine sense erupted in warning. The Demon Lord had emerged from the Netherworld ~ and he wasn't alone. Three of his strongest subordinates accompanied him followed by fifty other legend rank. They were heading straight for Glory City.
The approach itself deviated from story. May be due to Nie Li's increased cultivation level or some information received from recent changes in Glory city may have triggered it.
Estimated arrival: one day.
I sent a qi message to Ye Ziyun. She notified her father and others to prepare for a battle. Next day as I watched the sunset painting the sky in varying colours slowly receded to the darkness of the night, he has already arrived outside the city in concealment. His crew remained behind, methodically setting up summoning arrays while he waited for the optimal moment to strike.
The people inside Glory City had prepared as best they could, but they remained unaware that his presence already lurked outside the City Lord's mansion. Concealed by powerful techniques, he waited for some predetermined signal before ascending into the sky, his focus locked intently on the mansion below, clearly planning some decisive action.
Ye Ziyun and Xiao Ning'er noticed the intrusion first, but only Ye Mo appeared before the intruder, and the confrontation escalated rapidly when the Demon Lord demanded possession of a demon spirit soul stored by the family ~ a treasure they would not willingly surrender. Soon, Nie Li, Lu Piao, Duan Jian, and Ye Ziyun had joined the battle. The Demon Lord had achieved a breakthrough to the Heavenly Fate Realm, though only at the 1-star level.
The people involved with him is also having one star heavenly fate. So the tide of the battle began to turn quickly, even with his supreme body, due to exceptional cultivation techniques of both ladies. However, his companions struck at the city's vulnerable points, targeting innocent civilians near the walls while summoning abyssal demons through their prepared arrays. Xiao Ning and Yu Yan went to meet them after observing for a while.
Two of those summoned creatures possessed strength comparable to peak legend rank warriors. The sacrifice that powered their manifestation had been the blood essence of many legend rank beings from the nether realm ~ likely gathered through assassinations or direct killings ~ which explained the fearsome power these summoned entities wielded.
So as the strength of glory city diluted as if some fate is in working, he caught the city lord just like in the story and due to the reaction speed of heavenly fate, Ye Ziyun or others including Nie Li with his ThunderGod meterorite sword can only express their fury through curse words and the anguish written across their faces.
Ye Zhong had already lost a hand in the vicious exchange. "You won't leave here alive if you kill him," Nie Li swore through gritted teeth, his anger palpable in every word. "I will make sure of that."
Ye Ziyun felt her heart grow heavy, the weight of her inability crushing her spirit despite her newfound strength. She looked around remembering me, to find none. I only heard her muttering.
Xiao Ning'er had already dealt with all of his companions using her thunder law and heavenly fate power, and was preparing to engage the two rampaging abyssal lava creatures when she witnessed the Spiritual Goddess Yu Yan effortlessly vaporize both monsters with casual dismissal.
Returning to the main battle, she and Yu Yan converged with the others, forming a circle around the Demon Lord. The sight of two more powerful beings joining the fray left the demon lord struggling to believe how dramatically Glory City's power structure had risen in recent years.
This time, possessing negotiation leverage, he refrained from killing the hostage immediately. Instead, he demanded the spirit soul bead in exchange for the City Lord's life. Even facing certain death, he refused to accept failure ~ he needed that spirit soul bead desperately. At the demand of letting Ye Zhong go first, he refused to budge. However, it became increasingly clear that his energy reserves were depleting rapidly, and without external reinforcement, he would be unable to withstand another coordinated assault.
Seeing the standstill, I decided to fasten things up. A sword strike from me standing blocks away cut off two of his hands precisely holding Ye Zhong as prisoner. Having the chance, Yu Yan's attack reached him before he could properly respond. Even though the divine fire engulfed both him and his hostage who just got out, the law energy targeted only the Demon Lord, burning away his powerful supreme body while the City Lord fell safely to the ground. After all, how could a first heavenly fate realm cultivator hope to negate the power of someone at the fourth heavenly fate soul level?
Attacks came one after another, systematically destroying him until only his fate soul armor remained intact. The defenders were about to deliver the killing blow to his fate soul when I decided to interfere to stop.
The intervention
Considering this individual possessed a reincarnated soul and represented part of some greater arrangement orchestrated by fate ~ besides being a disciple to some Draconic Ruins Land sect enforcer ~ I couldn't bring myself to care about their complete victory. From several blocks away, I simply snapped my fingers.
My rule domain enveloped the area ethereally within a seven-mile radius, and he fell well within its influence. The true meaning of goodwill and malice began emanating from my position in all directions, driving away any semblance of killing intent. Both parties found themselves compelled to cease hostilities, unable to bring themselves to use force or harm others.
Everyone involved felt the fundamental rules of the world suddenly shift, some esoteric aura beyond their understanding dissipating their murderous intentions like morning mist before the sun. They watched helplessly as the Demon Lord flew away in peace. Though some tried to follow him, they found themselves unable to summon the will to cause him harm, and simply stood there watching as he slowly disappeared into the distance.
Next my gaze fell to Ye Zhong. The City Lord's chest began glowing with the restorative power of life divine dao, regenerating his severed limbs with miraculous efficiency.
A voice reached their ears, carrying across the battlefield with crystal clarity: "If you kill him, his master in the Draconic Ruins has every right to seek vengeance. So let him depart. For he has already failed in his mission."
Some recognized my voice immediately. Others did not. Ye Ziyun rushed to comfort her father while the remaining defenders dispersed to assess the extent of damage throughout the city. Although nearly fifty legend rank attackers had participated in the assault, somehow not a single commoner had perished. Every participant on ground had sustained injuries, but none proved fatal.
I was training how to be low key in helping these random people on ground. I just made some coincidences arise in fighting and they all missed their targets someway or the other.
As the Demon Lord disappeared beyond the city's boundaries, Lu Piao broke the tense silence with a casual observation that drew several sideways glances: "What the hell just happened?"
Though his comment seemed abrupt, everyone present harbored similar questions.
Xiao Ning'er approached me first, and gradually the others recognized my voice and came seeking explanations. "That's precisely the reason I mentioned," I replied calmly.
"You can spare his fate soul ~ otherwise his master might arrive next, and each of your own masters will conveniently pretend to see nothing. Even if you all refuse to accept their behavior, it would be remarkably easy for them to conduct yet another trial. Thousands of cultivators eagerly await an early second chance at such opportunities. You can settle matters with him once you reach the Draconic Lands."
"As for why I didn't intervene from the beginning..." I gestured toward the assembled group. "Can't you see for yourselves? There's a fourth fate soul realm cultivator, two first fate soul practitioners, two demigods, and nearly six or seven legend ranks present. Why would my interference be necessary ?"
Yu Yan was rather transparent during these days observing the humans and had to be re-introduced to the group as the spiritual goddess of man kind and some origin.
Nie Li was doubtful of so many coincidences happening around me, that he was forced to look at this in a new light, maybe afterall he wasn't the only one to be reincarnated? Well looking around him, being the one with cheat like knowledge about future and techniques, he couldn't figure out the techniques Ye Ziyun, Xiao Ning, Yu Yan, and even me, is using.
It appears to very high end similar to ones he had read but the aura it gives off is more potent and slightly varied from his memory. Usually one with advantages wins, but in the group he seem to go behind every time. It was difficult to get a good talk with his past life girlfriend, who he tried very much but harbors some alienation just due to the fact that he revealed to be someone from future.
He even revealed her death in protecting him and such, but she seems to have some reservations even though their relations where increasingly getting better for the past few months. She is not revealing why she didn't practice the technique he gave her for something entirely else either.
...
Aftermath
Nie Li's persistent questioning about my techniques met only silence. I refused to elaborate on the methods I had employed, knowing full well that revealing too much would complicate matters further. The timeline had already shifted more drastically than anticipated, and I found myself compelled to warn them about a darker possibility. The demon lord might very well tip off other netherworld entities about Glory City's existence, particularly just when the disciples returned to their sects. Such timing would leave the city's fighting power severely weakened.
My decision to leave him, again sparked anger among the group. Yet faced with no alternative but self-preservation, they began formulating their response plans. Nie Li threw himself into establishing more protective arrays, while the family heads of various noble households dedicated themselves to studying law energy, hoping to breakthrough into the DemiGod Realm.
Xiao Ning'er rushed to comfort a visibly shaken Ye Ziyun and her father as guards returned from their fruitless pursuit. I quietly withdrew to my building with a satisfied yawn, content with the evening's developments.
"Why did you do that?" Xiao Ning approached me later, her voice tinged with sadness. "You could have confined him, or simply chosen not to reveal such a future outcome. Why make them harbor such resentment toward you? Even your own parents seem affected."
I considered her words carefully before responding. "I was merely providing them with a sense of crisis. The attack by the Wugui Family never came because I eliminated Ye Han. However, that doesn't guarantee they won't discover Glory City or its productive grounds in the future."
I paused, allowing the weight of my words to settle. "In this world, he remains within my divine sense regardless of his location. Even if he ventured into the cursed lands of the Black Forest, the marker I placed on his soul allows me to monitor his intentions. Should he attempt to run his mouth about us, I can activate it with my divine sense. He won't die, but those he confides in will." I made a cutting gesture with my hand to emphasize the point. "Or I could simply pay him a personal visit."
My influence operated through carefully structured layers of power. Within seven and a half miles ~ the limit of my protective shield ~ I could reshape reality itself within this divine continent. Beyond that range, my control over fundamental laws gradually diminished, though I retained the ability to manipulate space and time with reduced effectiveness. After seventeen miles, direct control became impossible, but my divine sense extended across vast distances, encompassing planets, stars, and entire planetary systems where my demon spirit abilities remained active. In the smaller universe I had recently departed, I could simultaneously sense over ten thousand realms, a perception that exceeded even the legendary Martial Ancestor's capabilities.
"That's not what I was referring to," Xiao Ning said, her brow furrowed in thought. "You can deal with the demon lord and his master easily, correct? Why remain so intent on keeping him alive?"
Her question was her genuine doubt. "Because he is also a reincarnated soul, just like Nie Li, though he hasn't awakened his true self yet. He will prove useful in the future battle against the Sage Emperor."
"He is?" Xiao Ning's eyes widened in surprise. "Wait, if you're here, why bother with people like him and Nie Li to defeat the Sage Emperor? You told me yourself that you're powerful enough to handle it alone."
I nodded slowly, recognizing her confusion. "Unlike the others here, I am unfated ~ meaning I don't exist within Heaven's predetermined plans. I have already transcended such limitations, which is precisely why I can move between alternate realities even under the space-time seal the Sage Emperor placed."
Seeing her puzzled expression, I continued. "Nie Li's fate is to reverse Heaven and Earth. I removed the temporal pages and destined influences affecting you, leaving your fate turbulent. Unless I remain near, fate will attempt to steer you back toward its original path. That's exactly what's happening with Ye Ziyun. Heaven and Earth has already established plans for anyone attempting to refine it. I could intervene if I chose to, but it's not truly necessary if events proceed according to plan."
"So we could simply follow along with the story as we know it?" she asked. "No grand plan to eliminate enemies prematurely? We could prevent so many deaths."
"Why would you want that? Suppose I became perfectly adapted to my full strength and killed him," I asked as a follow up. "What would you do then?"
"Well, we could explore the world and cultivate peacefully," she said with a hopeful tone.
"I can do that now. But what comes after that?"
"I don't know. Start a family, perhaps?" She looked at me with expectation gleaming in her eyes.
I smiled at her innocence. "And what about people like Nie Li? Wouldn't that make him feel utterly useless? He has lived and died for centuries, and then someone simply completes his life's work for him. He would have no ambition remaining. Countless experts have died millions of times and been reincarnated from the past, only to face death again. Of the six individuals who have been reincarnated to battle the Sage Emperor in the future, the demon lord is one. Our Yu Yan is another."
"Ultimately, freedom is what matters, right? Why concern ourselves with their futile past struggles?"
Her question prompted me to paint a broader picture. "Consider this: there are cultivation levels above the emperor level. The Sage Emperor himself could merely be a subordinate to an even greater power. With my abrupt elimination of him, a greater enemy might emerge, and once again it would fall to me to deal with the threat. People like Nie Li and the others are just beginning to step into heavenly fate soul realm.
Everyone desires to be the hero, but it's far more enjoyable to live within the story, observe the progress, and act only when necessary."
"That does seem reasonable," she admitted. "But haven't we shared some of our secrets ~ the temporal demon spirit book and abilities ~ with Ye Ziyun? Can you truly trust that fate won't compel her to reveal information prematurely? What if she does expose our secrets? She seemed very intent on helping people. Will she continue as we agreed after this incident?"
Her concern touched on something I had deliberately kept hidden. "Well.....There's something I haven't told you. Do you remember the soul seal I gave you? After that, I connected our soul oceans together. However, I've since modified it ~ it's now more of a soul corridor, a two-way connection. I thought you would discover this on your own, but it seems you never attempted to explore it." Seeing her trying to observe her soul realm after my words I continued " With Ye Ziyun, I didn't actually connect our soul oceans directly; the soul seal was mixed in differently. She cannot reveal our secrets to him even if she wanted to."
"That seems rather cruel," Xiao Ning said in a little taken back." I thought we really had a great genuine bond back then".
"Have you forgotten my actions when we first met? I don't trust strangers easily. The only reason I'm helping her is because I know you two share a sisterly connection. Not because of the great chemistry we had. Years ago, I was on with the mentality that every woman is a goal. Now I find chasing after skirts meaningless because one, I have you, and two, I have lived long enough as one."
"Chemistry?..."
" Not important. When she realizes the restriction and comes to question us about it, I'll remove her memory of our involvement in her discoveries. She can help Nie Li or pursue whatever path she chooses ~ I won't interfere. But if she willingly fights against fate, I'm prepared to assist her."
That night went with our peaceful session of seeing the stars.
***
Events unfolded rapidly from that point forward. I observed no record of the demon lord meeting with external contacts or creating trouble for the city. He was busy rebuilding his body in a soul reconstituting chamber, apparently not having time to bother with anything else.
In the aftermath of the attack, Glory City maintained its heightened state of alert. The City Lord ordered the construction of emergency escape routes leading to underground shelters scattered throughout the city. The other defenders, having witnessed the Demon Lord's supreme power and recognizing their own limitations, followed our example and pushed themselves toward rapid improvement.
The final week of our stay passed entirely in this atmosphere of intense preparation. Soon we found ourselves making arrangements to enter the Nether Realm.
The departure date finally arrived. Despite our earlier differences, I said my final goodbyes to my parents, knowing this separation might extend longer.
Shen Xiu joined me on the way. She had been working with scattered sacred family members to unite them and lead a new generation starting fresh. She had established several revenue streams to support their independence and eliminated a few traitors and dark guild members who had remained behind as undercover citizens of Glory City.
I brought her into my ring world for safekeeping, along with the spiritual Goddess Yu Yan who had also chosen to accompany me. Xiao Huo perched on my shoulders, apparently having grown fond of that particular position.
Lu Piao insisted that I create a portal for our journey, having developed a strong preference for convenient travel methods. Indulging his request, I employed the space law abilities inherited from the space-time elk to transport our group, arriving at the experts' domain well ahead of our expected schedule. No direct confrontation with the Demon Lord occurred during this expedition, and eventually, three members of our party received selection for admission to the Divine Feather Sect's prestigious Tian Ling Institute.
The red-skinned Hades race humanoid that had been portrayed in the original story was absent from our group ~ he was chosen elsewhere for reasons unknown to us. This time, the three selected candidates were Lu Piao, Nie Li, and myself. After exchanging final farewells with both Xiao Ning and Ye Ziyun and gifting them somethings I have prepared, I allowed myself to be transported through the space channel to the institute.