The Cross-Domain Grand Array was refined in utter silence; even Huo Chenzi, sitting inside the formation, didn't notice the array had changed masters. Lin Moyu was thoroughly practiced at this by now; for him, it was trivial.
At this point, eight of the twelve grand arrays in the Chaos Ancient Wilds had been refined. Left were the Cross-Domain Array between the Central Domain and the North Pole, plus the three arrays of the North Pole, Upper Domain, and Lower Domain. The Upper and Lower Domain arrays wouldn't be difficult—the Upper, Middle, and Lower Domains get along fairly well, and they're predominantly human with frequent dealings between them. The North Pole's Supreme has his own agenda and doesn't get along with the Calamity Supreme; last time Lin went there, he got nothing for his trouble. Fortunately, with the Hidden Spirit Pearl now in hand, returning there would no longer be a problem—unless the North Pole's Supreme personally sat guard at the array. A mere avatar wouldn't be able to perceive Lin at all; as for the two pre-Supremes, they could be ignored.
When the Cross-Domain Array pulsed, Huo Chenzi opened his eyes—only to find… nothing. No one came; no one left. Why had the array activated on its own?
"Hell's going on? Don't tell me this array is malfunctioning," he muttered.
Deep in his pupils, a spark flared into faint red filaments. Without realizing it, he no longer wished to ponder; the thing coming from the deepest Ancient Wilderness had begun to influence the entire Chaos. Creatures across the Chaos were subtly changing—more irritable, quick to fight over a word. The influence spared no one; only those with stronger dao-hearts changed more slowly, while the weak of heart shifted violently. This was just the beginning; it would only grow more obvious.
As the "ghost" Huo had just cursed, Lin Moyu transmitted directly from the array's core back to the Central—Lin'nan City in the Leaf Domain. The city was on high alert. When the array triggered, several Perfection experts focused their attention on it, but nobody walked out. Strange. No one went, no one came. Was the array transmitting air?
Shrouded by the Hidden Spirit Pearl, Lin left Lin'nan as soon as he arrived and headed for the Wangnan World. Only when he approached Wangnan did he dismiss the Pearl and use his Central Domain God Alliance Grand Elder credentials to enter. The local teleportation array was closed, but as a Grand Elder he could still use it. He checked in with the Alliance branch in Wangnan to get the current situation, then used the array to jump to Alliance Headquarters, and from there transferred to the Wangbei World.
For some reason, an urgency gnawed at him. He felt a great upheaval was coming to the Chaos; he needed to hurry—refine the remaining arrays and raise his realm, all while firming his foundation. At the same time, Silverlight Rabbit had to accelerate the cultivation of the Realm-Domain. These tasks had to proceed in parallel—none could be skipped.
Even if the Calamity Supreme had laid deeper plans and Lin was merely a chess piece, he had no choice. Knowing he was a piece, he still had to fight on the board; one day he would step off the board and strike down the player.
"If I'm right, then yes—I'm a piece. But which of the Chaos's Supremes isn't a piece?" He gave a cold, silent laugh. "To treat the entire Chaos Ancient Wilds as a board—Calamity Supreme, you really are something."
He reviewed the latest intel: the North Pole was at war, not with the Central but with the Upper Domain Alliance. The fighting was fierce. The Upper Domain cultivators weren't great duelists—individually weaker than the North Pole's—but they coordinated well. After hard fighting, they'd pushed the line into the North Pole itself; the Cross-Domain Array was a huge factor. The North Pole had no such array; counterattacking was much harder.
To Lin, this was all small potatoes. Let things escalate, and it would end as a clash of Supremes. When Supremes lower themselves to act, everything prior is swept aside; the victor among Supremes decides the victor among regions. Historically, Supremes had never truly fought to the death—at most, symbolic exchanges. A few pre-Supremes had fought to the death, and even their aftershocks slew countless beings. If it were full Supremes, the result would be far worse. Thus top-tier powers generally avoided true life-and-death combat.
But this time felt different. The thing from the deepest Ancient Wilderness might make the unprecedented real.
The North Pole had moved; the East Pole was itching. At this rate, the East would soon act too. The East's September Supreme and her brother, the Nine Suns pre-Supreme, had old grudges with the Calamity Supreme and with the blue-robed elder's faction; they wouldn't sit idle—they were just waiting for a chance. The West hadn't moved and was on guard; the Central was likewise wary of the West.
Lin transmitted into Alliance Headquarters. Stepping off the array, he immediately saw Mu Tianze—clearly waiting. It was almost a repeat of last time. Mu Tianze's aura was steadier; he was even closer to the pre-Supreme threshold—just a little more and he'd break through.
"Alliance Master Mu, waiting for me again?" Lin greeted.
Mu smiled. "Indeed—waiting for Elder Lin."
"What's the matter this time?"
"You went to the North Pole before—how did you come back from the South?" Mu asked.
Lin had used Alliance teleporters; the Hidden Spirit Pearl could hide his aura, but identity tokens log travel, and Mu could see precisely when and where he sent from and to.
"There was a mishap in the North," Lin said. "I fell into a time-space tunnel and came out in the South, then got delayed there before returning."
"By that count, Elder Lin, you spent decades in the South. Discover anything?" Mu asked.
"How do you mean?" Lin frowned slightly.
"In the past few decades of fighting the South, we noticed something odd: someone is collecting the blood and soul-shards from battlefields."
So that's it. "I know about that. A few from the North Pole are doing it," Lin said.
Mu's brows rose. "Why would they?"
"Alliance Master Mu, have you heard of an ancient, mysterious place in the North that many long to enter?"
Mu nodded. "I've heard whispers—knowledge for Supremes and pre-Supremes only. I know a little due to my position."
"Those few in the North are using flesh and souls as a sacrifice to open it," Lin said.
Mu was visibly startled. "So that's why they're harvesting blood and souls… What's inside?"
Lin only smiled and shook his head; he certainly wouldn't reveal he'd been inside.
Just then, cyan light flashed and someone stepped out. Mu Tianze immediately bowed. "Tianze greets Master."
The newcomer was the blue-robed elder—the Central's Boyang Supreme—and, unexpectedly, Mu Tianze's master.
Lin offered a casual salute. "Senior, long time no see." He'd received much from Boyang, but Boyang had also done plenty to annoy him. Calling him "senior" was already polite.
Boyang didn't mind Lin's tone, chuckling, "Long time no see, little friend Lin."
Lin shook his head. "I can say that. You can't." He didn't believe Boyang hadn't kept tabs on him; in fact, ever since their first meeting in the small world, Boyang had been watching.
Unruffled, Boyang turned to Mu. "Tianze, I've matters to discuss with little friend Lin. Do you have more questions?"
"None, Master," Mu said, and withdrew.
Only after Mu left did Lin say blandly, "So the Alliance Master is your disciple."
"Nothing strange about that," Boyang said. "The Grand Elders of the Alliance all know. Otherwise, with so many peers of similar cultivation, why would Tianze be Deputy Alliance Master? A Supreme's disciple—no one disputes that seat."
"Let's be direct," Lin said. "Why'd you come find me?"
With a wave, Boyang dropped a formation over them and released heavy pressure, sealing the void into an isolated space.
"So cautious? Is there someone in the Chaos who can eavesdrop on you?" Lin quipped.
"Remember I once said 'walls have ears'?" Boyang smiled. He had indeed said that on the Origin Continent.
"I am curious who has that kind of reach," Lin said.
"The East's sibling pair—Nine Suns and September," Boyang said. "Nine Suns, the pre-Supreme, can listen across the Chaos; September Supreme can observe most of the Chaos. Together, there's little that escapes them."
"Impressive. But if they probed you, you'd notice," Lin said.
"Naturally. But if they only probe you, I won't notice—and you may not either."
Probe me without me noticing? Lin disagreed inwardly—his soul-sense rivaled a Supreme's. If someone spied on him, he'd know. Still, he let it pass. "So—what do you want?"
"I came to ask: what exactly is that place in the North?" Boyang said.
"So you know my movements like the back of your hand," Lin said, a touch dry.
"Don't misunderstand—I didn't tail you," Boyang said.
"Then how did you know?"
Boyang spoke four words: "Ice-Jade Cushion."
Lin had long known the Ice-Jade Cushion wasn't ordinary. He'd once owned it, but took it only as a powerful treasure—he hadn't realized it was the key to that place. Had he known, he'd have gone long ago. When Lin refined the Cushion and it turned to ice crystal, Boyang sensed it; from then on, he occasionally sensed Lin's position. When Lin suddenly vanished in the North—precisely at that mysterious site—Boyang knew Lin had entered.
"It's nothing much," Lin said. "There are things inside, but none of it is useful to us—and we can't take any of it anyway. In short, there are no benefits."
Boyang seemed skeptical, but he didn't think Lin would lie. "What is inside?"
"It touches on the secret of world genesis—and a passage to another world's remnants," Lin said.
Boyang's breathing grew rough; he knew the weight of those words. At his level, he was nearly at the limit. To go further, one pursued the secret of world genesis. Understand it, and there might be another realm beyond; cultivation becomes less important than comprehension. Every Supreme knew the secret was likely in the deepest Ancient Wilderness, but none wished to go—too risky. To think the North's mystery also hid it!
Before his excitement lasted two breaths, Lin doused him with cold water. "Don't overthink it. That 'secret' is only the surface. Even if you looked, you wouldn't comprehend what you want. What you need is the process of genesis; from that, you can glean the secret."
"If you really want to know what it's like in there, I can tell you—but I'll need compensation," Lin added.
Boyang held Lin's gaze for a moment, then murmured, "Alright."
Lin didn't specify terms; he trusted Boyang knew what he wanted. He described the inside of the World's Wall. Boyang listened carefully, fearful of missing anything. As Lin had said, when he finished, Boyang knew that it is so, but not why so. Knowing the result wasn't much use; he needed the process: to see how the World's Wall exudes heaven-and-earth origin treasure, how that merges with Heaven's Primordial Qi, how life begins to gestate—that is the secret of world genesis. Observing that process might allow one to grasp it and seek a higher realm. Told secondhand, it did little for him.
After a few breaths of thought, Boyang asked, "By your account, the secret of world genesis can no longer be explored?"
The Wall no longer exudes origin treasures; Heaven's Primordial Qi is gone from the world—naturally the secret is hard to probe. But it wasn't absolute. Lin knew of a way, but wouldn't say; anything involving the Calamity Supreme was still off-limits. He merely smiled. "Perhaps, in the deepest Ancient Wilderness, there's still a chance."
Boyang paused, then gave a wry smile. "So the North's old fellow tossed and toiled for years, and in the end it comes to this. If he really gets in there… I wonder how he'll feel. Likely spit three mouthfuls of blood."
"If he truly goes in, he'll probably die," Lin said, shaking his head. "There's a time-space tunnel inside that leads to a world's remnant. If he charges in recklessly, he may not return."
"Then it depends on his luck," Boyang sighed.
Lin's brows twitched—there was more to that tone. So Boyang wasn't unfamiliar with world remnants? Supremes shouldn't know about them… Strange.
Keeping a straight face, Lin said, "Your turn."