Golden light flickered twice, and of the seven besieging Candle Dragon, six were dead.
Candle Dragon froze. His remaining opponent froze. Neither had seen what happened. To Candle Dragon, it was, "Why did my enemies just die?" To the survivor, "Why did my comrades just die?"
Xiaopeng drew in his golden radiance and hovered not far away. Lin Moyu smiled lightly. "I left one for you."
Seeing Lin Moyu, Candle Dragon snapped out of it. He loosed a draconic roar, thrilled. "Good!" Power surged through him as he launched a ferocious assault on the last foe—attacks like rain, pure offense with no guard. By the time the opponent reacted, he had no strength to fight back.
Lin Moyu noticed a pair of golden treasures on Candle Dragon's claws, wreathed in golden flame—no weak items. They were clearly supremacies, stronger than top-grade Chaos-realm gear. With them, Candle Dragon could strut sideways through Chaos-realm minor attainment.
"Seems the Green-Robe Elder treats him decently," Lin Moyu thought.
In moments, Candle Dragon ripped his opponent to shreds, then took human form and flew over. Before he could speak, an angry shout came from afar: "Die!"
A bank of gray cloud bloomed in the void and exploded; a tide of attacks surged like a tsunami.
Candle Dragon's face changed. "Chaos-realm major attainment—careful!"
Lin Moyu didn't care. "Xiaopeng, I'm chatting with Candle Dragon. Don't let anyone interrupt."
"On it." Xiaopeng shot out as a streak of gold. In an instant, gold flooded the sky, forcibly swallowing every attack—and even surging back upstream.
Candle Dragon gaped. "That strong?"
"Don't worry about him," Lin Moyu said, smiling. "Just a Chaos-realm major attainment. He'll be done in a few moves. So—how'd you end up here?"
"My Lord sent me," Candle Dragon said. "He said I've spent too many years as a rules steward; breaking through by cultivation alone is too slow. I needed live combat to break through. The Antarctic happened to erupt into war, so I came."
"Not afraid you'll die here?" Lin Moyu asked.
"My Lord gave me life-saving means. I shouldn't die." The Green-Robe Elder did protect his own; having taken Candle Dragon as a subordinate, he wouldn't throw him away lightly.
Lin Moyu chuckled. "I can see you're about to touch Chaos-realm major attainment. Your pace is quick—looks like that elder gave you plenty of benefits."
Candle Dragon's expression turned awkward; the corner of his mouth twitched as if he wanted to speak but didn't. "My Lord" was precisely the one Lin Moyu kept calling "the Green-Robe Elder." For a dignified Great Venerable to be called that—downright disrespectful. Yet from Lin Moyu's mouth, it sounded… natural. Candle Dragon could only offer an embarrassed smile; agreeing felt wrong, disagreeing felt wrong. After a while he managed, "You've advanced even faster. And that one—"
"He's a different breed. Ignore him. I've got questions." Lin Moyu went straight to it; with Candle Dragon, formalities were unnecessary. "You know I have several wives. In these years with the Green-Robe Elder, have you seen them?"
Candle Dragon thought. "I've met some people while following my Lord, but not your wives."
"What about the Green-Robe Elder's Dao-partner? Have you seen her?"
"No—but I've heard," Candle Dragon said.
"Tell me everything you know."
Not seeing his own wives was expected; Lin Moyu had long suspected they were with the Green-Robe Elder's Dao-partner. Who was she—also a Great Venerable? He didn't know. Maybe Candle Dragon could fill in a few blanks.
Candle Dragon hesitated. "I shouldn't speak of my Lord's affairs."
"It's fine. He won't do anything to you. If he does blame you, say I forced you." Lin Moyu added blandly, "If needed, we stage it: I beat you half to death, you 'have' to talk, then I heal you."
Candle Dragon was stunned. You can do that? The message was clear: you'll talk today, one way or another. A glance at Xiaopeng slaughtering not far off settled it—he'd talk. And if he would, he wouldn't hold back; he didn't know that much anyway.
"I haven't seen the Mistress, but I overheard a chat while my Lord was playing chess. The Mistress is working on something big—very important and very secret. I don't know what. In idle talk, they mentioned she has several disciples—all female. If I'm not mistaken, that's your wives."
"Other than that, I met someone—your elder sister."
Lin Mohan had once been a Grand Sword Venerable; among Quasi–Great Venerables she was top-tier, not inferior to a Great Venerable, and she was allied with the Great Venerable of Calamity's group—so of course she'd know the Green-Robe Elder.
"What realm is the Mistress?" Lin Moyu asked.
"Don't know," Candle Dragon said, shaking his head. "But she should be very strong. When my Lord speaks of her, there's a hint of respect."
"Respect?" Lin Moyu snorted. "Sounds more like he's afraid of his wife."
Startled, Candle Dragon shook his head rapidly. "I don't know anything. I didn't hear anything." Some things Lin Moyu could say; he could not.
"Did my sister and the Green-Robe Elder talk?" Lin Moyu pressed.
"A lot—but I didn't hear it. Your sister sealed the space with sword intent. If I'd dared move, I'd be dead. Ten thousand swords aimed at me, tips touching my skin—one slip and I'd be a hedgehog." Just recalling it made Candle Dragon sniffle. He wasn't trying to eavesdrop; if they didn't want him to hear, they could've sent him away. Instead, a forest of blades at his throat—pure agony. Very much Lin Mohan's style.
"Don't worry," Lin Moyu said. "She's reasonable. Behave and she won't cut you down for nothing. Anything else?"
Candle Dragon shook his head. "That's about it. I haven't been with my Lord that long. He's busy—always on the move—only occasionally free to play chess with friends."
"The chess partner—white robes?" Lin Moyu asked.
"No. The one in white is Bai Zhong, Great Venerable of the Upper Domain. He drinks tea; his chess is so-so. The one who loves chess is a black-robed Great Venerable. I don't know him, but his killing intent was heavy—scary. Just watching them play felt like dying; I didn't dare look."
A black-robed Great Venerable—new intel. There were eight Great Venerables in the Chaos. Three Poles plus Four Domains would make seven if each had one. If the Green-Robe Elder's Dao-partner was also a Great Venerable, that made eight. As for the heavy-killing black robe, Lin Moyu hazarded it was the Lower Domain's Great Venerable. Upper, Middle, and Lower Domains were allies; the Upper Domain's Great Venerable Bai Zhong wore white; those of the Lower Domain were battle-fierce—heavy killing intent fit. It all lined up.
Seemingly trivial, Candle Dragon's bits were crucial for Lin Moyu. He now had a thread on his wives—the likely disciples of the Green-Robe Elder's Dao-partner. He'd heard that Dao-partner once; she was domineering. In the Chaos, domineering needed backing—she was likely no weaker than a Great Venerable. That would put four Great Venerables on the Green-Robe Elder's side—half of them. The other four likely hailed from the Four Extremes; they might not be allies, but hardly all enemies—some probably neutral. And among Quasi–Great Venerables, the elder's faction surely wasn't lacking either. By that reckoning, the Great Venerable of Calamity's camp held the advantage—hence his arrangements could proceed.
Power decides everything.
The key point in Candle Dragon's tale: the Dao-partner was doing something very important. He didn't know what. She had once said her grand formation still lacked people. A formation needing people meant it mattered. Hopefully it wasn't dangerous. If anything happened to Lin Moyu's wives…
Without noticing, killing intent rose off Lin Moyu—cold enough to chill the marrow.
"What did you think of?" Candle Dragon asked.
Lin Moyu reined it in instantly. "Nothing. This battle's basically over. Where are you headed?"
"I'm with the Central Domain Divine Alliance now. This was a tiny skirmish in the big war. I'll return to base and wait for the next action. You?"
Thanks to Xiaopeng, the fight ended early. Most Antarctic powerhouses had been cut down; many from the Alliance had no opponents left. Xiaopeng was a tiger dropped among two flocks of rams—one flock his friends. The outcome was foregone.
"My coming to the Antarctic was an accident," Lin Moyu said. "I've got business. Is your base far from the Cross-Domain Grand Formation?"
"Far. Its location is strictly secret. We came by treasure; once we arrived, we moved far from it."
"Safer that way," Lin Moyu nodded. "In that case, I'll handle my errands first."
"Be careful," Candle Dragon warned. "Some old things in the Antarctic have awakened. If you go deep, you might meet them."
"No matter," Lin Moyu said. "So long as a Great Venerable doesn't act, I'll be fine."
"One more thing—the Antarctic's Great Venerable and my Lord don't get along. If he moves against you—"
"I'll shout for help," Lin Moyu grinned. "We'll see if anyone comes."
Candle Dragon snorted. "Terrible joke."
Lin Moyu beckoned; Xiaopeng zipped under his feet. "Let's go."
Golden light lanced away. Candle Dragon looked around: severed bodies everywhere—mostly Chaos-realm minor attainment, some half-step Chaos-realm, a few Chaos-realm major attainment—and none had withstood Xiaopeng, dying on the spot.
"Clean the field. We move!" Candle Dragon barked.
A trail of gold drew a fine line through the Antarctic void. The Antarctic's space wasn't like the East's heat, nor the West's chill, nor the Arctic's deep freeze. Of the Four Extremes, the Antarctic was the most balanced. Near the East it ran warmer—fire-aligned daos; nearer the West, a bit colder—water-aligned. Where Lin Moyu now was, near the Central Domain, all daos were present and balanced—much like the Central Domain itself.
On the surface that was the Antarctic's character. Probe deeper, and you'd find the true Antarctic lay at its far south, near the Ancient Wilds—a primeval region untouched by the other Extremes, preserving all its own traits. In Lin Moyu's view, the Antarctic had gathered its essence there; it was also where the most original Antarctic beings dwelled. Those fighting Candle Dragon earlier weren't the primal breed; they were more or less influenced by the other Extremes—cannon fodder in the eyes of true Antarcticans.
The true Antarcticans fell into two classes. One: the insect tribes—a vast family of insectoid beings, ranked above beasts in the Antarctic. Two: the ruling caste—like humans in the Central Domain—who called themselves Spirit-Insect People. They are a special race born of human bloodlines mixed with various insect lines: half-human, half-insect. Like humans with innate dao-bodies, they cultivate astonishingly fast with very high ceilings, unbound by bloodline caps. Thanks to their insect blood, unlike ordinary humans they aren't born weak—many are powerful at birth, saving thousands or tens of thousands of years. Crucially, Spirit-Insect People are highly intelligent; depending on bloodline, they can command certain insect races. With Spirit-Insect People at the center, they rally swarms and become the Antarctic's greatest force—the true rulers.
And that was exactly where Lin Moyu was headed: the far south, near the Ancient Wilds. By his sensing, the Great Venerable of Calamity had placed a formation there. He'd seen Mu Tianze's notes before; they recorded an "Insect Stele" in the Antarctic—the origin of the insect races, containing wondrous power that can breed them. Lin Moyu guessed the Calamity Venerable's grand array sat beside that stele. Every formation needed to siphon special power; the stele fit the bill. But the stele was weighty, and the Antarctic had a Great Venerable—why allow the Calamity Venerable's array to draw from it? No matter how strong, an array is still an array. Over the years the Antarctic Venerable should've been able to crack or smash it. Yet it remained. Why? Puzzles aplenty—he'd have to see for himself.
There were no teleport arrays in the Antarctic. Flying end-to-end, even at Xiaopeng's speed, would take at least a thousand years. But the Antarctic had wormholes—functionally similar to teleportation. Wormholes were made from the corpses of space-worms: sever the head and tail, place them far apart, and after a while a wormhole forms between them, letting travelers cross vast distances. That's how Antarcticans move fast—no worse than arrays.
Little Tree soon found a wormhole. With the heading roughly fixed, Xiaopeng accelerated toward it.