The Hidden Spirit Pearl concealed Lin Moyu's group as Xiaopeng streaked through the void at astonishing speed. Squinting, with a teasing tone, he said, "The North Pole Supreme is probably livid."
Lin Moyu said, "I'd guess he's itching to kill me right now."
"When I'm a bit stronger, he won't be able to catch me," Xiaopeng said.
"If you return to your peak, you shouldn't be any weaker than he is," Lin replied.
"Of course," Xiaopeng said with a touch of pride. Back then, the Golden-Winged Roc feared no so-called Supremes. In those days the cultivation system hadn't solidified; some top beings weren't inferior to what we now call Supremes. Today the system is set and the world's laws are strong; the number of Supremes is capped at nine. It looks like the world got "weaker," unable to bear more top powerhouses—but in Lin's view, it actually became stronger. The reason for the cap is the Dao: it hoards too many resources, squeezing the number of Supremes. Beyond Supremes there are pre-Supremes, and the heavens place no cap on them.
Thinking about that cap, Lin suddenly realized something he'd overlooked. If the Calamity Supreme didn't die, then to fool the Dao he must have abandoned his Supreme seat. In his grand layout, that seat is reserved for Lin. Having shed the seat, he may already have surpassed Supreme.
"Break to build," Lin thought. The Calamity Supreme had clearly planned all his exits before laying the scheme. He must have discovered something in the deepest Ancient Wilderness that spurred this series of moves.
So—is becoming a Supreme really the right path? On the surface it seems the only one. Yet this shows it isn't. To "break to build," you must first have something to break—become a Supreme, then discard the seat and rebuild. That's the road the Calamity Supreme took, and it seems to have worked. Lin's own foundation far exceeds his; perhaps Lin can build without breaking—surpass Supreme directly atop the Supreme foundation. He also has unique edges: a personal storage world and Heaven's Primordial Qi. With these, he can walk a path no one else has, just as he did in the Great World and on the Origin Continent—a road untrodden.
"The heavens limit Supremes to nine. Besides the Dao hogging resources, there must be other reasons. Once I become a Supreme, that secret might unravel." This is a hidden of the world's rules; only a matching realm can reveal it.
On the way out Xiaopeng had flown for decades; on the way back he needed under ten years—several times faster. They slipped into the battlefield without a ripple, passed straight through the Upper Domain army's garrison, and walked into the cross-domain array without anyone noticing.
"Master, are we heading to the Upper Domain?" Xiaopeng asked.
"No. The Lower Domain," Lin said.
"Isn't the Upper Domain easier?"
"Because it's easier, I'm saving it for last."
Xiaopeng asked no more. If Lin had decided, he instinctively trusted it. Lin had a feeling that once all the arrays were refined, something…unpleasant might happen. The arrays look like they'll be his—so the Calamity Supreme says—but will they really? Even with refinement, Lin can't be 100% sure he's seen through every layer of the layout. If the Calamity Supreme's array-craft is even higher than Lin assumes, there might be hidden backhands in the cores. Ever since spotting anomalies in him, Lin has acted with extra caution.
The cross-domain array suddenly pulsed, puzzling the Upper Domain experts—no one could find the cause.
A few days later, Lin had returned to the Central Domain. He flew out of Linbei City into the Wangbei Realm, then dropped the Pearl's veil. From Wangbei he'd teleport to Alliance HQ, then to the Lower Domain—there's no other way; only the HQ can open that route.
Familiar Chaos aura washed over him, and he immediately felt the change. If you live inside the Chaos every day, you might miss the subtle shifts; leave for a while and come back, and it's obvious. Little Tree and the others felt it too.
"That thing's influence has grown," Little Tree said.
"I just looked at the people in Wangbei," Lin said. "There's battle-will simmering in their eyes."
"They've lost their absolute calm," Little Tree said. "Whatever's coming from the deepest Ancient Wilderness, its first effect is to erase that calm—shake the Dao-heart—make people impetuous and irritable. The change is silent, subconscious, and spares no realm. Strong Dao-hearts shift slower; weak ones shift faster." Lin had been little affected because his soul was very pure; now there's also a Primordial-Qi cuirass around his Soul World, so he's effectively immune. However high that thing's tier, it isn't higher than Heaven's Primordial Qi. Lin could still judge everything with perfect cool.
Though Wangbei was under lockdown, his status as a Central Alliance Grand Elder let him use the teleport to HQ. There he pinged Mu Tianze to meet.
"Elder Lin—what did you need?" Mu's manner was even warmer than before; after watching Lin speak to the Blue-Robe Supreme as an equal, he'd realized their relationship wasn't ordinary.
"Any anomalies in the Chaos Ancient Wilderness lately?" Lin asked.
Mu thought. "The North, South, and East Poles have all started fighting; the West is only defending—seems unwilling to act. Beyond that, nothing in the Chaos. In the Wilderness, yes—some creatures have entered the Scar and clashed with its denizens. That's rare."
Creatures in the Wilderness were taking the brunt of the influence; Lin knew that. "Has the Blue-Robe mentioned that chaos is about to break out?" he asked.
"He has. The extreme domains are already a mess," Mu said.
"That isn't 'chaos,'" Lin said.
Mu's face changed. "You mean it will get worse?"
"Have a careful look at our cultivators," Lin said. "Aren't they more quarrelsome? More prone to fight?"
Mu fell silent, replaying recent events—voices, tempers, every dispute inside the Alliance. After a moment he said, low, "Arguments have increased. People differ more, and now they come to blows at the slightest slight. I didn't think much of it, but… yes, there's a problem."
"Next the Wilderness creatures will cross the Scar into the Chaos," Lin said. "Then it won't be domain-versus-domain—it'll be Wilderness versus Chaos."
Mu was visibly startled. The Scar doesn't just divide the domains; it divides Chaos from the Wilderness. Wilderness beings almost never cross it; Chaos folk are the ones who cross, chasing fortune. The Wilderness is vast—perhaps larger than the Chaos—and teeming with species; most have no ruler, many lack intellect. The Scar keeps them back, so they're no threat—unless they all surge at once. If they do, war is inevitable—and could last for years.
Mu took it seriously: if true, the implications were enormous. "Do you know why?" he asked.
"The reason is simple, but it's inconvenient to say," Lin replied. "The Supremes all know. Ask them if you must."
"My master hasn't mentioned it," Mu frowned.
"Maybe the Supremes have other considerations—or maybe I'm not entirely right. Either way, the influence is unavoidable. Make preparations—you might reduce the losses."
Mu nodded. "Thank you for the warning, Dao-friend. I'll see to it."
"I've another favor," Lin smiled. "I'm going to the Lower Domain. I need intel."
Mu had it ready: a jade slip. "Upper and Lower Domain notes are here. Master said you might go and told me to prepare ahead."
Lin skimmed it. The Upper info was detailed; the Lower's was sparse, even vague.
"The Lower Domain is… enigmatic," Mu said. "I've never gone. They welcome few outsiders. Those who've gone returned quickly. The environment itself is unfriendly to most: 'the Dao-paths are perilous, the environment extreme, hard to cultivate; its treasures carry a hidden malice and can't be used.' Those lines alone deter most."
Why go to the Lower Domain if there's no cultivation value or profit? Most won't.
"It's the 'perilous Dao-paths' I don't yet understand," Lin said. The rest made sense. "I'll head out first."
"I'll see you off," Mu said, leading him to a great array at HQ. Two channels ran within, one to the Upper, one to the Lower. Mu personally opened the Lower route and watched Lin step in, his face grave. He'd taken Lin's warning to heart; he had to prepare in case Wilderness creatures really poured in. Between the Central and Lower there's no Scar, only a spatial barrier. Without it, the two are virtually one. In Little Tree and Chaoszi's era, "extreme domains" weren't a concept; Chaos was one whole, and there was no Scar. The Scar appeared later—after both had already fallen, so they didn't know how.
As the passage pierced the barrier, Lin felt it clearly: there were artificial traces on that barrier.
"Did someone split off the Upper, Central, and Lower?" he wondered. Who could manage that? Not even a Supreme?
"I sense something familiar on the barrier," Chaoszi murmured. "Fat Tree—do you?"
"Mm. It's the hide of a Skyscreen Beast," Little Tree said, then explained. Back then there was a colossus called the Skyscreen Beast. Its body could change at will—round, square, flat—commanding space itself. Unfurled, its range was beyond reckoning; once it spread completely and wrapped three peers at its level, layering space upon space to trap and kill them. In that age of countless powerhouses, it was absolute apex—even Little Tree wouldn't claim victory against it. When Little Tree and Chaoszi fell, the Skyscreen Beast still lived. Now it seems it died in the end—and its hide was made into this spatial barrier, dividing Central from Lower.
Their talk turned wistful. Lin's mind, though, went another way: if one after another mighty fell, and the Dao only appeared very late—what was the Dao's body? He'd asked before; Little Tree and Chaoszi knew only that it was, not what it was. When it appeared, it slew legions in a flash; the two were killed before they even saw it clearly, not even knowing what method felled them. Hence their deep fear.
"Even the Skyscreen Beast got killed… that thing really is terrifying," Chaoszi sighed.
Little Tree kept quiet—he preferred not to speak of the Dao.
Soon they reached the end. Lin flew out of the channel, took one look at the Lower Domain, and couldn't help his surprise.
"So this is what it's like!"