The soul was growing stronger too quickly.
With just the first strengthening it had already broken through the Great Supreme realm.
Under normal circumstances growing stronger was a good thing, but for Lin Moyu it was not.
His soul had successfully broken through the Great Supreme realm, but his body had not.
The two were now on completely different levels.
After the soul became stronger, its capacity to endure increased dramatically, and it now needed half a second to die.
Yet rebirth had a requirement on the time of death.
Once it exceeded one second, the special ability of rebirth could not be activated.
At the same time, rebirth required both soul and body to die together in order to function.
If either one remained alive for more than one second, then Lin Moyu's great work of courting death would be declared a failure.
I hope the body breaks through quickly as well.
Hongmeng Gem prayed inwardly.
If the body could also successfully break through the Great Supreme realm, then even if it did not reach the level of a Supreme, at least it would not be a complete failure.
Lin Moyu was aware of the change in his soul, but he could do nothing about it.
The soul growing stronger was not under his control.
One could only say that the soul after virtual and solid fusion was somewhat beyond imagination.
Now he could only take one step at a time.
Rebirth continued.
Every hundred times, it strengthened by one percent on the original basis.
The body had clearly already reached the Great Supreme limit, but even after repeated strengthening it still did not break through.
Lin Moyu could feel that his body was storing power, preparing for a breakthrough.
However, compared to the ever strengthening soul, the gap between the two grew larger and larger.
After several dozen rounds of strengthening, the soul's strength almost doubled again, and the time it could endure the attack was about to exceed one second.
Once it exceeded one second, this great work of courting death would also be declared over.
If the body still had not broken through by then, he could only wait for next time.
As for when and where he could again find such a suitable environment, it was impossible to say.
Lin Moyu could not help feeling a bit anxious.
It was not only Lin Moyu who was anxious; Hongmeng Gem was also somewhat anxious.
But no matter how anxious they were, it was useless.
External power could not be used to change this.
The Balance Gem could balance body and soul, but that would also affect the power that was continually destroying body and soul, and in the end it would completely ruin the great work of courting death.
It depends on luck.
Just as Lin Moyu had this thought, body and soul were reborn again in the purple light and, at the same time, grew a little stronger.
Facing the terrifying power falling from above, the body was shattered in an instant, while the soul, as if already accustomed to it, held on for a full second before collapsing, after which rebirth began again.
Lin Moyu's heart sank.
His great work of courting death had failed.
Because the soul remained alive too long, the continuity of rebirth was cut off, and the strengthening effect disappeared.
The count had to start over from the beginning.
At this moment the body was still at the peak of the Great Supreme realm.
The accumulated power had not erupted to allow the body to break through.
"Master…"
Hongmeng Gem was just about to offer a few words of comfort when Lin Moyu, who had just been reborn in the purple light, suddenly rushed into the gap and entered the space passage.
Hongmeng Gem froze for a moment, then realized what Lin Moyu was about to do.
Without thinking he exploded with powerful strength.
The Balance Gem fully activated and did its utmost to balance both ends of the passage, keeping it stable.
At the same time, he transformed a clone and followed Lin Moyu inside.
Entering the space passage, Lin Moyu quickly located the connection with the Life-Forbidden Zone.
Threads of power from the Life-Forbidden Zone were fusing with the powers of the two Heavens-and-Earth, then flowing along the space passage toward each of them.
Where the three powers converged and fused, a vortex had formed, similar to a Primordial Beginning vortex, but far more terrifying.
The power inside the vortex was enough to destroy the soul in an instant, but still weaker than the true Life-Forbidden Zone.
If I am careful, I should be able to continue courting death inside the vortex.
Lin Moyu was not willing to give up.
The soul had already broken through, but the body had not.
If he gave up this time, he did not know when he might again find such a suitable place.
However, the situation inside the vortex was unclear and there was no guarantee that it was free of deadly danger.
After all, it was tied to the Life-Forbidden Zone; if something went wrong, he might truly die.
This is my opportunity.
With that thought in mind, Lin Moyu made his decision.
Hongmeng Gem's clone had caught up.
Seeing Lin Moyu's hesitation, he did not try to dissuade him.
Instead he said,
"Although it is very dangerous in there, as long as you are careful, it should not be a problem.
"I believe in Master."
"I will be fine," Lin Moyu said, nodding.
It sounded like he was also saying it to himself.
When he finished speaking, he flew into the vortex.
Inside the vortex, the three powers constantly fused together.
Before they fused, each still retained its original nature, in particular the power of annihilation from the Life-Forbidden Zone, which was extremely fierce and tyrannical, far beyond the power of Heaven-and-Earth.
Even after fusion, its nature weakened and became much gentler than in its primal state, yet it was still capable of killing a Great Supreme in an instant, or even killing a Supreme.
After entering the vortex, Lin Moyu used the soul-eye to locate that thread of power from the Life-Forbidden Zone, and once he had determined its flow, he began to touch it boldly.
He had always been daring.
Once he decided what he wanted to do, he would do it boldly.
His body turned to ash in an instant, while his soul managed only half a second before dying.
Even after breaking through the Great Supreme realm, the soul, faced with even a single thread of power from the Life-Forbidden Zone, was still as fragile as tofu.
Lin Moyu was not alarmed but delighted.
This was exactly the effect he wanted.
The power of annihilation from the Life-Forbidden Zone entered only in traces and was then weakened by the rules of the Heavens-and-Earth, its destructive power reduced by ninety-nine percent, leaving perhaps only one percent.
Even this single percent of the power of annihilation was enough to kill a Great Supreme instantly and even kill a Supreme.
Lin Moyu had once entered the Life-Forbidden Zone with his body and had experienced its power of annihilation deeply.
He knew exactly how terrifying that power was.
It was simply the nightmare of all living beings.
Even now, with only one percent remaining, Supremes would still have to avoid it.
Compared to the power of annihilation here, the power in the former Primordial Beginning vortex was nothing at all, practically gentle to the extreme.
The great work of courting death began anew.
Lin Moyu continually endured the impact of the power of annihilation, dying and being reborn over and over.
After several hundred rebirths, soul and body grew stronger again.
After breaking through the Great Supreme realm, the soul seemed to have no more bottlenecks and advanced smoothly upward.
By contrast, the body remained stuck at the Great Supreme realm, constantly accumulating strength and struggling to break through.
Feeling the different treatment of soul and body, Lin Moyu gradually gained understanding.
No wonder Supremes were so hard to achieve.
They had not comprehended virtual and solid as one, so breaking through the Great Supreme realm became incomparably difficult.
They could only rely on opportunity and the power of Heaven-and-Earth to break through.
Virtual and solid as one is the correct path.
Once the path is correct, bottlenecks do not exist.
Now my soul has already set foot on the correct path, and my Heaven-and-Earth also has no problem.
Only the body remains.
Once I find the body's virtual aspect and complete virtual and solid fusion, I will certainly surpass the Supremes and step over the Life-Forbidden Zone.
Through comparing the changes of soul and body, Lin Moyu confirmed that his path was completely correct.
His previous understanding of the Life-Forbidden Zone had been far too superficial.
For this place to become the barrier that blocked all living beings, it could not possibly be that simple.
He believed that over countless years there must have been others who realized this as well, but they could not do it, while he had the chance.
Unknowingly, the number of rebirths exceeded three thousand again.
The soul strength doubled again, and the body finally accumulated enough power to shatter its bottleneck and truly break through.
A vast aura rose.
The body finally surpassed the Great Supreme realm and once more reached the same level as the soul.
Although there was still a great difference in strength, at least the level was equivalent.
From the moment of this breakthrough, Lin Moyu's path toward the Supreme realm had been opened.
Moreover, unlike other Supremes, he did not need the recognition of Heaven-and-Earth.
He was who he was.
As long as he continued to grow stronger, he could, by pure body and soul alone, possess battle strength equivalent to other Supremes.
Even now, Lin Moyu's actual combat power was already not weaker than that of Calamity Great Supreme and the others.
With his strength improved, his confidence in this Chaos Ancient Wilds tribulation grew as well.
Lin Moyu now had at least more than ninety percent confidence in pushing Lin Muhan onto the throne of Supreme.
As for the others, those who should be suppressed would be suppressed, and those who should be killed would be killed.
He had never shown mercy to enemies.
Finally, he has broken through.
Hongmeng Gem let out a long breath.
Lin Moyu had finally completed his breakthrough and firmly seized this opportunity, wasting nothing.
After dying another thousand or so times, the strengthened soul's endurance exceeded one second again and rebirth was interrupted.
Lin Moyu did not continue.
Although he could continue courting death by going deeper into the vortex, that would be too dangerous.
At this distance he was only half a step away from the Life-Forbidden Zone, and a single misstep could mean dying for good.
After one more rebirth, Lin Moyu withdrew from the vortex.
Golden light flowed within body and soul, and his vast aura spread out naturally.
The power that had been suppressed in the vortex now fully burst forth.
The passage shook violently.
"The passage is about to collapse. Master, leave quickly," Hongmeng Gem shouted.
Lin Moyu swiftly left the passage and returned to the Heaven-and-Earth.
The space passage shattered and turned to dust, and in the next instant the Heaven-and-Earth also began to quake violently.
Lin Moyu already knew why.
He had broken through the Great Supreme realm.
Although he had not yet truly become a Supreme, he had already surpassed the limits of this Heaven-and-Earth.
Existences above the Great Supreme realm were not permitted to set foot in other Heavens-and-Earth.
At best this would summon a backlash of Heaven-and-Earth power; at worst it would directly cause the Heaven-and-Earth to collapse.
Now he had two choices.
Either leave immediately, or find a way to refine the Heaven-and-Earth before it collapsed, as the former Sovereign Xuntun had done.
Find a suitable Heaven-and-Earth and refine it with thunderous means.
Yet he could only refine one; the other Heaven-and-Earth remnant that was connected would have to be abandoned.
Moreover, refining it was of no use to him.
The Language-God Heaven-and-Earth had not yet been refined.
Even if he refined this Heaven-and-Earth for himself, it would not bring any benefit to the Language-God Heaven-and-Earth.
Refinement by himself and refinement by the World-Burning Fire led to completely different results.
"Master, the Heaven-and-Earth core is over there," Hongmeng Gem said, pointing.
Lin Moyu did not move.
"Refining this Heaven-and-Earth is useless to me.
"Besides, I do not want to give up the other Heaven-and-Earth."
The Wings of Heaven-and-Earth unfurled with a rustling sound.
The Wings of Heaven-and-Earth turned into radiant clouds that spanned ten thousand miles of void, forming a vast pair of wings that covered the Heaven-and-Earth.
"Nine Heavens Fate Technique, subdue."
The Heaven-and-Earth hummed, and all the shattered rules seemed to be summoned and converged toward Lin Moyu, submitting beneath the wings.
He used the Nine Heavens Fate Technique to forcibly alter the rules, reconsolidating the broken rules.
The rules condensed, making the Heaven-and-Earth stronger and capable of containing greater power.
Using the Wings of Heaven-and-Earth as his authority, he compelled the rules to submit.
In this way, the Heaven-and-Earth would no longer reject Lin Moyu, and the shaking gradually subsided.
A ray of radiance appeared out of nowhere within the Heaven-and-Earth and fell onto Lin Moyu.
Lin Moyu's eyes flickered slightly, as if he had understood something.
"So that is how it is."
"Master, what did you see?" Hongmeng Gem asked curiously.
"After the soul broke through, although my realm did not change, my techniques improved a great deal.
"Now when I use the Nine Heavens Fate Technique, it is much easier than before.
"The Wings of Heaven-and-Earth almost cover half of this Heaven-and-Earth remnant, and this Heaven-and-Earth will not reject me," Lin Moyu said.
"Master truly is powerful.
"This technique could only belong to you," Hongmeng Gem flattered.
"This breakthrough is of crucial importance to me.
"I have realized many things, especially in my understanding of Heaven-and-Earth, which has completely surpassed the past.
"Those Supremes all walk the same path and all seek to refine Heaven-and-Earth because they have already reached the limit of Heaven-and-Earth.
"And some of them can see it," Lin Moyu said.
"It? What is it?" Hongmeng Gem asked, puzzled.
Lin Moyu shook his head.
"It cannot be spoken of and cannot be described.
"Only those Supremes, after refining a Heaven-and-Earth and comprehending the Primordial Beginning Technique, can see it.
"It is the endpoint pointed to by the rules of Heaven-and-Earth.
"Those Supremes will realize that this is the endpoint, but the endpoint cannot be expressed in words and cannot be told to others.
"They can only know it themselves and then try to find a way to reach it.
"It is just that none of them have succeeded," Lin Moyu said.
"I think I understand a little.
"To reach the endpoint, must one step across the Life-Forbidden Zone?" Hongmeng Gem asked.
Lin Moyu nodded.
"Yes.
"I should not have known these things, but I possess the Nine Heavens Fate Technique.
"By using the Nine Heavens Fate Technique and the Wings of Heaven-and-Earth to command the rules, it is equivalent to having refined a Heaven-and-Earth, so I can know these things."
Hongmeng Gem did not press further.
Since it could not be spoken of, he would not ask.
He searched his memories.
"I remember now.
"No wonder those few most powerful ones, when they stepped into the Life-Forbidden Zone, seemed to have their eyes locked on something.
"At the time I thought it was strange.
"They did not seem to be wandering aimlessly, but had a target.
"Now that Master has said this, the puzzle is finally solved.
"Those powerful Supremes all had an unspeakable goal.
"This was information given by Heaven-and-Earth.
"Heaven-and-Earth told them where the true endpoint lies, so they tried every possible means to move toward that endpoint," Hongmeng Gem said.
"If one obtained that thing, what would happen?" he asked, curious.
"I do not know.
"You can only know after you obtain it," Lin Moyu said, shaking his head.
"Then Master…"
Hongmeng Gem asked cautiously.
"I will naturally go to claim that thing, but not now.
"I am not qualified yet," Lin Moyu said calmly.
"I understand.
"I meant that in the future Master will certainly obtain that thing," Hongmeng Gem said.
"I will do my best, but whether I succeed will still depend on fate.
"For now, I will first deal with these two Heavens-and-Earth.
"These two Heavens-and-Earth have already been linked as one.
"Refining either one will cause the other to collapse directly.
"If I want to obtain both Heavens-and-Earth, I must refine them together," Lin Moyu said.
As he spoke, a soul clone appeared beside him, and at the same time a cluster of World-Burning Fire appeared in the clone's hand.
The soul clone swept his gaze across the firmament, quickly locking onto a gap, then turned into a stream of light and rushed in.
"I will refine both Heavens-and-Earth at the same time and waste none of them," Lin Moyu said.
He used the soul clone to go to the other Heaven-and-Earth and search for its Heaven-and-Earth core, and together with his main body would refine both Heavens-and-Earth at the same time.
Only in this way could he harvest both Heaven-and-Earth shells.
With his current strength, even an eight-wheel Heaven-and-Earth posed no real threat to him.
Moreover, the two Heavens-and-Earth, under the impact of the Life-Forbidden Zone's power, had no rule lifeforms.
As long as he could withstand the blows of the chaotic power, there would be no danger.
"Do you not need me to look for the Heaven-and-Earth core anymore?" Hongmeng Gem asked.
"The rules will guide me," Lin Moyu said.
With his soul having broken through the Great Supreme realm to reach the Supreme level and fused virtual and solid as one, Lin Moyu's soul was stronger than that of most Supremes.
He was already on equal footing with the rules.
If he used the Nine Heavens Fate Technique, even the rules of Heaven-and-Earth had to give way.
Under such circumstances, he could completely command the rules and let them guide him to the Heaven-and-Earth core.
In this state, all Heavens-and-Earth apart from his own would reject him and might even collapse because of his presence.
Unfortunately for them, Lin Moyu's Nine Heavens Fate Technique was too powerful.
He forcibly altered the rules, compelling them to recognize his existence.
Even if this recognition was only temporary, it was enough for him to do many things.
In other words, Lin Moyu had now become a Supreme who could walk freely among Heaven-and-Earth remnants, surpassing all the exploration teams of the past.
He had become a transcendent existence.
If it were someone else, that might not matter.
But Lin Moyu possessed the World-Burning Fire and the last Heaven-and-Earth after the embers, the only newborn Heaven-and-Earth that had not yet undergone its Heaven-and-Earth life-and-death tribulation and had not yet fully taken shape.
Back then, the Po Cang Emperor had believed that the Chaos Ancient Wilds Heaven-and-Earth was the last one, the only hope remaining after the great destruction.
They never imagined that the true final Heaven-and-Earth would be Lin Moyu's Language-God Heaven-and-Earth.
The existence of the Chaos Ancient Wilds was more like it existed for Lin Moyu's sake.
"Let us go."
Lin Moyu headed toward the Heaven-and-Earth core.
The rules of Heaven-and-Earth pointed out the direction and fixed the location for him, more accurately than Hongmeng Gem.
"I feel like I am about to be unemployed," Hongmeng Gem muttered.
"Not at all.
"You are still very useful," Lin Moyu said with a smile.
"Of course I am. I can still smash people," Hongmeng Gem said.
"Not just smash people.
"I feel like the significance of your existence is different.
"In time you will certainly have an amazing use," Lin Moyu said.
"Really? How come I do not know?" Hongmeng Gem asked, puzzled.
"You will know in the future," Lin Moyu replied.
He leisurely flew toward the Heaven-and-Earth core.
He was in no rush.
This time he needed to refine the Heavens-and-Earth together with the soul clone.
At this moment the soul clone had just arrived in the other Heaven-and-Earth and was using the Nine Heavens Fate Technique to let the rules guide him to the core.
Main body and clone coordinated, simultaneously employing the Nine Heavens Fate Technique and using the rules of Heaven-and-Earth as a guide to find the cores.
Two eight-story pagodas spun in the void.
The last remaining power of Heaven-and-Earth gushed out from them into the Heaven-and-Earth to barely keep it from collapsing entirely.
Main body and clone both stared at their respective pagodas.
After watching for a while with a single mind, he said quietly,
"These two pagodas may seem equivalent, but there are slight differences.
"The speed of refinement will also differ.
"If we want to gain the greatest benefit, we must take care in controlling it.
"Hongmeng, get ready. I will still need you to act in the final step."
Hongmeng Gem knew what Lin Moyu wanted him to do.
He hummed.
"Rest assured, Master. I have been ready for a long time."
With a sweep of his hand, main body and soul clone simultaneously released the World-Burning Fire, dropping it onto the Heaven-and-Earth cores at the same moment.
Refinement began.
After several refinement battles, the World-Burning Fire had already grown much stronger.
Even refining two eight-wheel Heaven-and-Earth cores at the same time, its speed was still not slow.
Large quantities of rule crystals flew out of the fire, and Lin Moyu collected them all.
He precisely controlled the intensity of the World-Burning Fire so that the refinement speeds of the two cores stayed consistent.
The two Heavens-and-Earth shook without cease.
Heaven-and-Earth rumbled, thunder of destruction rolling out, and the worlds crumbled.
The gaps shattered one after another, and the connections between the Heavens-and-Earth gradually shrank and disappeared, replaced by the Life-Forbidden Zone's power of annihilation.
Without the harmonizing of the two sets of Heaven-and-Earth rules, the power of annihilation from the Life-Forbidden Zone rushed in frenziedly, turning everything it touched to nothing.
In little time, the Heavens-and-Earth would collapse completely.
Hongmeng Gem focused his full attention, watching every change, waiting for the moment to act.
The moment could not come early or late.
Too early and they would not gain the greatest benefit; too late and Lin Moyu would die.
Lin Moyu trusted him, so he could not let Lin Moyu down.
More than ten days later, refinement neared its end.
The Heavens-and-Earth had already collapsed by ninety nine percent; only the core regions remained intact.
Where his gaze reached, he could see the Life-Forbidden Zone, and the power of annihilation was continually invading, trying to swallow the Heavens-and-Earth.
Only one passage still connected the two Heavens-and-Earth, and this passage seemed about to break at any moment.
Hongmeng Gem now looked more serious than ever.
The time was almost upon them.
The refinement of the Heaven-and-Earth cores had reached the final stage, and there was only the last bit left.
The space passage constructed by the little tree emerged.
This was Lin Moyu's only way back.
The only passage between the two Heavens-and-Earth began to crack.
"Now," Hongmeng Gem barked.
The Calamity Scepter erupted with terrifying power.
The Element Gem, Balance Gem, Domain Gem, and Soul Gem all shone with radiant light at the same time.
The tiny figure transformed from Hongmeng Gem personally gripped the Calamity Scepter and smashed it toward the last passage between the two Heavens-and-Earth.
A vast force swept out.
Heaven-and-Earth shattered, and the Calamity Scepter, following this space passage, forcibly smashed out a new path, one that linked the two Heavens-and-Earth into a temporary passage.
The Element Gem gathered the remaining rules of the two Heavens-and-Earth and poured them all into the passage.
The Domain Gem erupted in light that rushed into the passage, which instantly became stable.
The rules were fixed and turned into a temporary Domain, even more stable than a space passage.
The Soul Gem's earthy light also rushed into the passage and directly constructed a soul passage.
Finally, the light of the Balance Gem covered both Heavens-and-Earth and even affected the Life-Forbidden Zone beyond them.
It balanced the rules of Heaven-and-Earth with the power of annihilation from the Life-Forbidden Zone, making the Heavens-and-Earth stronger and the power of annihilation weaker.
The speed at which the Life-Forbidden Zone devoured the Heavens-and-Earth was abruptly reduced.
The four gems each performed their duty.
They not only reconnected the two Heavens-and-Earth, which had been on the verge of dispersing, but also temporarily stabilized them.
Even without Heaven-and-Earth cores, they could still exist for a brief moment, buying enough time for Lin Moyu.
By the time Hongmeng Gem had completed all this, the refining of the Heaven-and-Earth cores had just finished.
His soul, carrying the shell of one Heaven-and-Earth core, plunged into the passage and rushed back.
The main body likewise put away the Heaven-and-Earth core, and once the soul returned to its place, he dove headfirst into the space passage constructed by the little tree and returned to the Language-God Heaven-and-Earth.
The whole process went smoothly.
Not long after he left, the Heavens-and-Earth completely collapsed and were devoured by the Life-Forbidden Zone.
"Master, I did a pretty good job, did I not?" Hongmeng Gem said happily.
"Very impressive. Your timing was extremely precise," Lin Moyu praised.
Hongmeng Gem was very pleased.
"Looks like I am still somewhat useful."
"Of course. You have always been very useful."
The Calamity Scepter had always been Lin Moyu's greatest trump card and had never once been useless.
Back in the Language-God Heaven-and-Earth, Lin Moyu chose a piece of empty void where no living beings resided and took out one of the Heaven-and-Earth core shells.
"Heaven-burst Earth-rend."
With a light tap of his finger, the shell bearing the last traces of that eight-wheel Heaven-and-Earth shattered, and a bright cluster of light appeared, surging with vigorous life.
Heaven-and-Earth began to replay itself.
Power of life cascaded down, speeding up the replay of Heaven-and-Earth.
A vast amount of Heaven-and-Earth power was reborn, and Primordial Beginning Qi gushed forth like a fountain.
"Nine Heavens Fate Technique."
As Lin Moyu moved his will, the rules of the Language-God Heaven-and-Earth began to change, and the Language-God Heaven-and-Earth began devouring with all its might.