Crowds gathered outside the little courtyard. Lin Moyu hadn't bothered to hide his return; the master of the Origin Continent, the master of the domain, had reappeared after many years. Naturally, word spread and people came. Some faces were familiar, others new; many simply wanted to see the living legend. They kept to the rules—waiting quietly beyond the courtyard, not making a sound. They all knew there was no hiding their presence from Lin Moyu.
His projection appeared in midair, gaze sweeping the crowd. "Do you all have business with me?" His tone was even, with no pressure released; he seemed like an ordinary man. Yet everyone touched by that gaze felt their souls tremble, an urge to kneel and bow welling up from the heart. On the Origin Continent the strongest were Lords of the Dao, and the gulf between them and Lin Moyu was immeasurable—beyond heaven and earth. If he willed it, his eyes alone could kill them.
At last a middle-aged man stepped forward and saluted respectfully. "Junior Hao Zhuguang greets the Domain Lord."
Hao Zhuguang? Lin Moyu noticed a resemblance to Venerable Hao. A quick calculation told him who this was: Venerable Hao's son. So, after all these years, Venerable Hao had taken a wife and had a child—unexpected. Venerable Hao had once done Lin Moyu a kindness, one he hadn't forgotten. Lin Moyu lifted a finger; the Power of Life wrapped a wisp of Heaven's First Qi and sent it into the young man's body. Hao Zhuguang shuddered, delight lighting his face—he knew he'd just received something extraordinary. At the same time Lin Moyu's voice sounded in his ear: "This is a chance granted by me. Its benefits you'll learn in time. Do not speak of it."
Hao Zhuguang forced himself to remain calm and said nothing; with such an admonition, he would not tell a soul.
Then Lin Moyu's voice rolled across Yudao City: "I've returned today to handle private matters. Since you've come, it's fate. I'll grant you all a chance."
Crack—clear thunder pealed. A fine rain fell from the sky. The rain carried the power of the domain, tinged with the source of the Great Dao. Everyone bathed in it as their cultivation rose; some broke through on the spot, some long-standing injuries healed in the rain; cries of joy and wild dancing broke out. The crowd was lost in this great fortune, blissful and grateful—until they came to and found Lin Moyu gone. A grand array now covered the courtyard; Little Mist and the others within had already departed.
Lin Moyu left the Origin Continent, giving it one last sweep of his gaze. He didn't see Antares—who knew where that fellow had gone? By now he likely had a wife, perhaps children. Still, Lin Moyu could tell Antares was safe—that was enough.
He visited the Three Ancestors and the Beast Emperor. Their fusion with the world was ongoing; it would be slow—one hundred thousand years if quick, a million if not. No rushing it. Lin Moyu could accelerate the process, but that would be forcing the sprout, harming their future. The Five-World Domain was fully under his control; there was no danger to the Three Ancestors and the rest, so there was no need to race against time.
Next, he took the four women through the domain barrier to the outside. An invisible power wrapped them; the forces beyond the domain could not harm them. Gazing from afar at the domain, Xiao Mei sighed, "So this is the domain we live in."
Xiao Wu added, "The Origin Continent is just a corner of the domain, and we're tiny motes within that corner. We're so small."
Indeed: Chaos, domain, Origin Continent, Great World, Small World—one layer wrapped in another. They were merely beings within a world; calling themselves motes of dust was almost praise.
"Billions of lives—who isn't dust before heaven and earth?" Lin Moyu said. "But what of dust? When we will it, we can kick up a storm that blankets the sky and earth. Don't overestimate yourselves, but don't belittle yourselves either. We live within heaven and earth, yet our Dao-heart must rise above them."
He didn't know whether they could understand; it wasn't something he could help with—they'd have to grasp it themselves. Little Mist's eyes spun, as if searching for the Origin Continent's position, but above the domain lay myriad worlds—impossible to pick out.
"Teacher, what do you want us to do?" Xiao Yue asked.
"You know that beyond the domain is the Chaos," Lin Moyu said. "But this place is not the Chaos." They'd heard of the Chaos and thought stepping outside the domain meant entering it; yet here was something else.
"If it's not the Chaos, what is it?" Xiao Mei asked curiously.
"You could consider it my private territory," Lin Moyu said. "It's similar to the Chaos, but it isn't. Many lives are gestating here. I want you to adapt to this environment and its laws, and to find those nascent beings—leave your soul imprints in them. Don't worry—they're still very weak. Once marked, they'll become your helpers in the future. And their power will become a boost for your next step upward."
Xiao Mei still didn't quite understand. Why were lives gestating here? How would those lives become their aid? If this wasn't the Chaos but Lin Moyu's private realm, what set it apart? If they advanced further—breaking past the domain—shouldn't they enter the Chaos and become Transcendents? If they didn't enter the Chaos, could they still transcend?
"Once, your path would've been like everyone else's—Lord of the Dao, Eternal, Transcendent, Chaos Realm," Lin Moyu said. "But now there's a small change. You'll walk a road no one has walked. I don't know its end; it may be harder than before, but it will certainly go farther. Don't ask why. Do it. Experience this new heaven and earth yourselves."
With a sweep of his hand, he carried them farther. The Great Thousand World, the Lingmiao Domain, and other domains came into view. Then they saw strands of Heaven's First Qi—thin threads drifting through the void. Their eyes brightened; they didn't know what those threads were, but they knew they were precious.
"These are called Heaven's First Qi, one of the fundamental powers of heaven and earth—stronger than origin power," Lin Moyu said. "But your realm is too low to absorb it directly. If I help you take it in, the effect would be decent, but it would dull your comprehension of this heaven and earth. Find the nascent beings and leave your soul imprints—those beings, born of this heaven and earth, can absorb Heaven's First Qi. You'll absorb it through them, and use that to attune yourselves to this realm. Understand?"
He spoke some of his understanding of heaven and earth, but the four clearly didn't follow—it was too high a level. They were Lords of the Dao within a domain; if he'd spoken of Dao-principles, they might have tried to grasp it, but he was speaking of a higher tier—of heaven-and-earth itself.
"That's fine," he said. "Just remember my words; in time you'll understand." They nodded. Lin Moyu then drew four runes and imprinted them into their souls. Unlike Chaos Runes, these could exist eternally in this realm without time's erosion. With them, the four could move freely in the storage space, unaffected by Heaven's First Qi. Once they found nascent beings and left imprints, they could use those beings as conduits to take in Heaven's First Qi. Such innate lives could absorb it naturally; making them a relay posed no problem. The more beings they marked, the more Heaven's First Qi they could draw—how many they found would be up to their luck.
The four were fortunate; Lin Moyu believed they'd soon gather a band of little followers. In this heaven and earth, they could become Supremes—or even surpass them. So long as Lin Moyu did not die and this heaven and earth did not crumble, they would be safe.
"Likely even the Calamity Supreme never imagined I'd possess a heaven and earth like this," he mused. "If not beyond the Chaos Ancient Wilds, then at least on par with it—and stronger than Chaos-child's inner world." The realm was still evolving: its borders expanding, its nature changing, its power and the Heaven's First Qi growing, resources and materials coalescing. Many materials had birthed will; though not natural lives, they were among the earliest beings—innate materials as their bodies, incredibly strong. The process felt similar to the beginning of the Chaos Ancient Wilds—like a necessary course of cosmic evolution.
The four quickly learned how to move here. In a newly forming heaven and earth, every inch brims with power; their movements were clearly more labored than in a domain. Lin Moyu told them only to seek nascent beings—not how. They decided to split up, agreeing to reunite here in ten years, and flew off to the four directions to search. With gestation just beginning, it would be a long while before beings were born; the four were safe here. Lin Moyu even set a rule for them: if they faced danger, the realm's power would teleport them back. As master of the storage space, he held absolute authority.
After settling their matter, a faint bellow sounded in his soul—the Little Ox he'd swatted who-knows-how-far away was sending a weak signal from beyond the domain. "Ah, I really did forget you," Lin Moyu murmured. Over the years Little Ox had stayed with the four women—if not meritorious, then at least toiling faithfully. Back in the Great World he'd fought beside Lin Moyu as well—some credit there too.
"Come on over, then." With a thought, rules surged within the Five-World Domain, shaping a great hand that plucked Little Ox away. Dropped into the storage space, Little Ox stared dumbly, bewildered—until he saw Lin Moyu, and at once steadied, fawning to the extreme. "Master, you didn't throw your Little Ox away after all!"
"Do you want to be thrown away?" Lin Moyu asked.
Little Ox shook his head hard. "Following Master is my honor. Everything I am is thanks to Master. I have only one wish in this life: to follow Master and be a well-behaved ox. Master points, I go."
"I hear you've… 'befriended' quite a few cows on the Origin Continent—enough to spawn a whole race?" Lin Moyu said dryly.
Little Ox chuckled. "Not that many… all thanks to Master, of course." He'd hardly been idle—courting cows of every kind; his descendants were countless, now a distinct race. He even had a totem there—many called him the Ox Ancestor. And of course he waved Lin Moyu's banner; as the mount of Lin Moyu, he was shown face everywhere.
"If I told you to cut ties with all those calves and grand-calves, would you?" Lin Moyu asked.
"Whatever Master says," Little Ox answered without a blink. "If Master wants beef, I'll butcher them myself, roast them, and serve them up." Bottomless, this one—but loyal.
"In that case, here's your chance," Lin Moyu said. "This heaven and earth is gestating many lives. Go plant soul imprints in them." He repeated what he'd told the four women—whether Little Ox understood or not—and pressed a rune into his soul, then punted him away. Little Ox wailed as he flew a trillion miles, vanishing into the vast void.
Lin Moyu was protective; he regarded Little Mist and the others as his own children and kin, and didn't wish them to face danger—so he brought them here, where safety was assured. So long as he lived, they'd be fine; even if he died, as long as their realms were high enough and this heaven and earth endured, they would still be safe. If he could raise them into the strongest of this realm before he faced the Dao, then even in the face of mishaps he needn't worry. He had another thought as well: before confronting the Dao in the end, it'd be best to bring his wives here. A feeling kept telling him there was no place safer than this. However powerful the Dao, It could not reach into this realm. In the Chaos Ancient Wilds, if the Dao desired to probe, his wives might not be safe. But that was for later; before he became a Supreme, he couldn't yet do it. Azure Robe and White Robe surely had their own plans—raising his wives for another purpose.
He set the thoughts aside. The nine domain-worlds were assembled; the Silverlight Rabbits would soon have sixteen clansfolk at Chaos Realm Perfection. Time would do the polishing; he only needed to provide enough materials.
With a sweep of intent across the domain, he saw familiar figures—Gu Hanjing, Lu Fengyao, the Lord of Life Shengxin, the Lord of Fate, and others. Everyone had their own destiny; he shouldn't interfere. Last, he saw Lilian—living well in her world, seeming to have regained something of the former Demon Emperor's bearing.