Planting the "fruit" went smoothly; the Causality-Seeking Ring's backlash wasn't severe, and Lin Moyu shrugged it off with ease. With the ring's help, Little Tree's search for the array also went without a hitch—within half an hour he had locked onto the target space. Only a heaven-defying tool like the Causality-Seeking Ring could precisely fix the array's location among tens of thousands of independent spaces.
Tree roots pierced space and raised a spacetime corridor. This time the transit was short; in a blink they'd reached the destination. The space wasn't large. A tiny point floated in the void—Lin recognized at a glance that it was the array laid down by the Calamity Supreme.
He traced a chaos rune to activate the formation and stepped into its core. The statue inside turned around; a deep voice sounded: "You're here. Then I'll go."
Lin chuckled. "Senior, you truly have both skill and daring."
The statue paused. The Calamity Supreme's voice came again: "What did you say?"
Lin said, "I said, to be able to find a suitable independent space inside the Space God-Mountain—this junior is impressed."
The Calamity Supreme replied lowly, "It was a last resort. There's no need to admire me. Your finding this place shows your understanding of space and arrays is in no way beneath mine."
Lin smiled. "You posed the problem; I merely solved it. The difficulty isn't comparable."
"Anything else?" asked the Calamity Supreme.
Lin shook his head. "Nothing. Safe travels, and may all go smoothly."
The statue turned back. A spacetime passage opened and he left at once. After he was gone, Lin gave a soft snort. "Bold indeed."
Chaoszi and Little Tree clearly didn't understand what Lin meant, but they didn't ask.
Lin began refining the array. This formation sat within the Space God-Mountain, very close to the true body, and could draw on its power endlessly. Spatial power belongs to the third tier; compared to several earlier arrays it was a tier lower. But Lin knew the Mountain's power was anything but ordinary. He guessed the Calamity Supreme knew as much too—hence choosing this spot so carefully.
Refining went smoothly; in just a few days it was done. Lin put the array away, had Little Tree build a new spacetime corridor, and left the Space God-Mountain. He moved in a hurry—didn't want to linger.
No sooner had he exited than surging shockwaves came head-on. Little Tree reacted instantly—these were only aftershocks—and slid past them with spacetime power. Lin had already activated the Hidden Spirit Pearl; no one noticed his presence.
Blades flashed through the void; boundless sword-will filled the air. The aura was very similar to Lin Mohan's—it came from her legacy.
The Lower Domain's battles were still raging, and the number and scale of battlefields had grown again. Watching for a while, Lin found that nearly every sword-user here was inheriting Lin Mohan's sword intent—unfortunately, they were all on the wrong path. The intent was polluted, an imitation rather than the real thing.
The Lower-Domain humans were blocking the behemoths, keeping them from entering the Space God-Mountain. Little Tree had said before that even if the beasts got inside, they'd be trapped and die off in one independent space after another. But now Lin knew Little Tree's take wasn't correct. If these beasts entered, it would be bad. The Lower Domain's Supreme and the Calamity Supreme were on the same side, so per the Calamity Supreme's instructions he was guarding the Mountain to keep the beasts away.
This conclusion wasn't yet proven; it wouldn't be hard to verify—just ask the Lower Domain's Supreme. Lin was also curious: why was Lin Mohan's legacy here? To his knowledge, his elder sister wasn't someone who casually left inheritances.
With a thought, he sent legions of undead servitors out to strike.
The Space God-Mountain had sliced this region into tens of thousands of independent spaces. Lower-Domain cultivators were racing among those spaces to intercept the beasts. But the beasts vastly outnumbered them; at this rate there would be trouble sooner or later. In several spaces, behemoths had already broken through, with no defenders present, and were closing on the Mountain. Lin's first orders were to intercept those beasts. The undead swarmed in, cutting them down. Some beasts were very strong; even if the servitors couldn't kill them outright, they could pin them, keeping them from breaking free and entering the Mountain.
Lin directed the war like a supreme commander, continually dispatching undead to reinforce different spaces and butcher the beasts.
The Lower Domain's beasts seemed endless—no matter how many you killed, more poured in. When they died, their blood merged into the earth and swiftly re-coalesced into new behemoths, often no weaker than before. That tied back to the Skyscreen Beast: the Lower Domain was, after all, its inner world. Lin had no great answer for that.
Bang! Several independent spaces suddenly shattered. The cultivators and beasts inside spilled out together; they had fought so fiercely they broke the spaces. Both sides were top-tier Perfection. No sooner had they emerged than they clashed again, hammering the void with successive waves of force. Sword-will churned overhead. Lin stood aside and watched. There were ten behemoths, and only three human cultivators—similar power on both sides, but numbers were crushing the humans.
Lin didn't intervene yet. This clearly wasn't the first time it had happened; the Lower-Domain Alliance must have protocols.
Sure enough, one cultivator's sword intent exploded with a thunderous report that carried far. Within a few breaths someone tore through the sky—One Sword Severing the Dao! A razor sword-will fell, instantly killing two top-tier beasts. The newcomer was also peak Perfection, noticeably stronger than most—just a step from pre-Supreme—and he too wielded Lin Mohan's sword-will, though it wasn't pure.
He arrived and barked orders. "Leave this to me—go reinforce the other fronts."
"Yes, sir!" The three scattered to support other battlefields. This man fought eight beasts alone without fear, savage and relentless—one sword after another. In mere minutes he cut down all eight. As he turned to go—
"Friend, one moment," Lin called.
The man turned, saw Lin, and frowned slightly. This was the Space God-Mountain's vicinity—the Lower Domain's core. How had an outsider come in without his knowing? Then he saw the badge at Lin's waist—the Central Alliance Grand Elder's sigil—and recognized it.
"You're a Grand Elder of the Central Alliance? I don't recall such a person."
He was still polite; status matters among the strong, and face must be given.
Lin bowed slightly. "Newly appointed Grand Elder of the Central Alliance—Lin Moyu. How should I address you?"
He returned the courtesy. "You Leng of the Lower Domain. Elder Lin, why have you come?"
No nonsense; straight to the point.
Lin smiled. "At someone's request. I hope you won't take offense. As to who asked—I'm sure you can ask your Lower-Domain Supreme."
He knew how to play the big banner. He invoked the Lower Domain's Supreme outright—even though he hadn't met him. He knew that Supreme and the Calamity Supreme were working together, and would understand why he'd come.
As expected, You Leng's look changed. He didn't fully believe Lin, but Lin spoke so naturally it felt real. And Lin's status—Grand Elder—wasn't trivial; people in that position don't usually spout nonsense. There was no rule against Central Alliance people being here, either.
Just then Lin flicked a thought; a squad of undead plunged into a certain space where beasts had slipped in and no one had gone to stop them.
You Leng's eyes moved; his demeanor shifted fast. "So those puppets are Elder Lin's. Our thanks for the aid."
"A small effort," Lin said. "You've been holding the beasts off the Mountain—no easy task."
"It's our charge," You Leng said. "It wasn't hard before; this time, for some reason, they've all gone mad."
"Something happened in the deep Ancient Wilds," Lin said. "It's affecting the Chaos. Mindless beasts are the first and worst hit."
"So that's it," You Leng nodded. "No matter—once the Supreme returns, they'll have no chance."
A thought struck Lin: the Lower-Domain Supreme wasn't here; returning would take time—so he must be very far away. Only by going into the Ancient Wilds would he be unable to get back quickly.
And You Leng's "mission to hold back the beasts" lined up with Lin's own conjectures.
"You Leng, your heritage comes from the Great Sword Sovereign," Lin said, "but I think you've gone a bit astray."
You Leng's expression changed. "Why do you say that, Elder Lin?"
"I have some ties with the Great Sword Sovereign," Lin said, "and I know her sword-will well. Hers is pure and incisive—never borrowing from the outside. Yours isn't. If I'm not mistaken, your transmission is incomplete."
You Leng sighed. "An accident long ago produced a traitor in our clan and part of our inheritance was lost. This method may be wrong—but it's all we have."
"I'll ask her to pass it to you again when I see her," Lin said.
"You really know the Great Sword Sovereign?" You Leng was skeptical.
Lin casually pointed—a sword that splits the heavens.
Pure, incisive sword-will tore open the void. The force behind it wasn't great, but You Leng instantly felt the purity—that was exactly what he sought.
"Elder Lin, you truly are a man of miracles. Then I'll trouble you."
"As I should," Lin said. "Her legacy shouldn't be lost. I'll only plug some gaps by intercepting strays—the main work is still yours."
"Your aid is more than we could ask," You Leng said. "Do what you can; if a few slip past, it's not a big deal."
Lin nodded. "Understood."
Sword cries rang out afar. "They're calling for help—I'll go," You Leng said, turning into sword-light and streaking to support his people.
Lin had the answers he wanted. He kept directing the undead to help stall the beasts. What should have been a grinding attrition fight eased; with his intervention the Lower-Domain Alliance stabilized quickly and more reinforcements arrived.
Seeing the timing was right, Lin recalled his undead, activated the Hidden Spirit Pearl, and bowed out. He pulled away fast; within two days he'd left the core and could no longer feel the Space God-Mountain's aura. Only then did he finally relax. His fists were still clenched; his heart, a little excited. The harvest this time wasn't in cultivation, but in clarity.
From You Leng he learned that the Lower-Domain Alliance was stationed here with the primary task of keeping beasts from entering the Space God-Mountain. The Lower Domain was formed from the Skyscreen Beast's inner world; it contained the blood-and-will remnants of countless powerful beings—chaotic and jumbled. Humans who came here braced themselves against that turmoil, tempered their Dao-hearts, and grew stronger. Those beings who couldn't bear it turned into the strange behemoths. All these beasts shared an instinct: to enter the Space God-Mountain. Normally the instinct wasn't strong; they only charged occasionally. This time, the thing from the deep Ancient Wilds had influenced them, triggering a mass riot—that's why the Lower-Domain humans were thrown into disarray. As for why they were ramming the Mountain—that should be tied to the Calamity Supreme's great array.
When Lin finally loosened up, Chaoszi couldn't help asking, "Master, can you tell us now?"
"I can," Lin said, "but don't be shocked. Some of this is inference; I can't say for sure. Don't ask me 'why' either."
"Don't worry, Master—we'll behave," Chaoszi said.
"My deduction," Lin said, "is that the one you fear most… is the Skyscreen Beast."
"Aah!" Chaoszi squealed. Little Tree couldn't help a gasp too. They stared at Lin—not disbelieving so much as afraid to believe. They wanted to ask why, but Lin had already said: no "whys."
"My inference isn't baseless," Lin went on. "First, the Skyscreen Beast was extremely strong. When you self-detonated, he still hadn't died—and from what you've said, he's very hard to kill. I can't think who could have done it. Second, the Space God-Mountain—the true body—shows no damage. If he were slain, the Mountain wouldn't look like that. His flesh and inner world became the Lower Domain; his hide became the barrier between Lower and Central. It looks like dismemberment—but the true body bears no trace of injury, not even signs of attack. That's abnormal.
"From that, we can infer the Skyscreen Beast didn't die. So where did he go—more precisely, where did his soul go? You know 'the Dao' appeared very late; you died quickly and never really saw it. Isn't it possible that the Skyscreen Beast used his space power to kill you? Don't rush to object—what I see in the Lower Domain's earth shows he could devour beings—not just blood and soul, but certain secret arts as well.
"Following this line: later he obtained that flower. The flower let his soul leave the body and become a new entity. Thus he became the Dao, and the true body underwent a series of changes—that was the price. But something went wrong in the process; the transformation wasn't complete—hence the Lower Domain. That's also why, for countless years, he's never been able to control all of Chaos.
"This time is his chance—he wants to correct the flaw. Since the Space God-Mountain is his true body, he must reclaim it. But certain rules keep him from easily taking it; he has limitations too—leftovers, perhaps, from that ancient accident."
Lin laid out his reasoning. Little Tree and Chaoszi listened closely; their looks grew stranger and stranger. They had to admit: Lin's deduction fit the facts uncomfortably well.