Chapter 4730: The Void of the Flesh
When all the rules of a single world evolve into one living being, that rule lifeform becomes immensely powerful, even surpassing other peak powerhouses from worlds of the same cycle.
But when all the rules of a world evolve into countless living beings, that world becomes truly terrifying an oppressive, suffocating terror.
On the surface nothing seems wrong, yet within, endless danger lurks.
This Dark World was just such a place; faced with numberless, invisible, untouchable rule lifeforms, even a peak powerhouse would suffer a terrible headache here.
As for the subordinates of such a powerhouse, any who entered would die.
Lin Moyu thought back to the previous silver white world.
The silver white world only vaporized intruders, and that vaporization was visible and progressed from the outside in; once the root cause was known, it could be defended against.
The Dark World before him, however, invaded everywhere without gaps, silently and without a trace, tainting flesh, corrupting souls, and polluting Daos.
If some unfortunate soul were infected and yet lucky enough to return to his own world, he would carry these rule lifeforms back with him.
They would then multiply in that new world and eventually convert it into another Dark World.
Fortunately, it seemed that no one had ever been that "lucky"; all who entered had remained here.
The rule lifeforms in this Dark World had become a virus a virus capable of killing all beings and annihilating entire worlds.
"Everything has substantial and insubstantial, yin and yang souls are no exception, and neither are worlds," Lin said softly.
"The yin yang and substantial–insubstantial aspects of world rules do not refer to opposing rules, but to opposing worlds."
"A world is born from vitality and will vanish in death; that law is the other side of a world's existence."
"And my body…"
Suddenly a realization stirred within him, and from this Dark World, his thoughts shifted to his own flesh.
His physical body was unimaginably powerful, already at the pinnacle of the Great Venerable realm, stronger than Great Venerables and not weaker than some peak powerhouses.
"If that strength is the 'substance' of the body, then what is the 'void' of the body?"
Previously, he had never been able to figure this out and had planned to try to seek the body's void when he attempted another breakthrough.
Even then, he had no certainty of success; he would need a fair amount of luck.
Now, however, after seeing this Dark World, he thought again of himself.
"Strength belongs to yang, weakness to yin; vitality is yang, decay is yin.
"I have died and been reborn again and again.
"At the moment of death, the body shifts into void; when it is reborn, it returns to substance.
"In this constant interplay of void and substance, the body grows strong between the two."
"So that is it this 'void' of the body has always been there; it only reveals itself each time I die."
"I have been trying to seek the void of the flesh at the time of breakthrough, but I should be seeking it in death itself."
In an instant, Lin comprehended the yin–yang and void–substance of his physical body.
But the moment he understood it, a problem arose.
How was he to search for the void of the body in death, when his consciousness vanished at the very moment he died?
Without awareness, how could he search for anything?
This was not an easy puzzle to solve; it was like a dead knot.
After thinking for a while, Lin saw only one possible way forward: shatter his body while keeping his soul intact.
After he gained understanding, he would then detonate his own soul and complete another rebirth.
However, his flesh was now too powerful; there were very few forces left that could destroy it.
And even if he found such a force, how could he ensure that his soul survived it?
The more he thought about it, the more his head hurt; finding such a perfectly balanced power would be extremely difficult.
Any power strong enough to obliterate his body would almost certainly annihilate his soul as well.
"What are you thinking about, Master?" the Primordial Stone suddenly asked.
Lin had been frozen for a moment in his insight, not moving at all.
He told the stone what was on his mind; for a time, the Primordial Stone could think of nothing either.
"You are right; this will not be easy," it said.
"Your body is too strong there are not many things left that can destroy it."
"Exactly," Lin replied.
"And there is another problem: if I go one step further and let my flesh surpass the Great Venerable realm, it will likely become even harder."
He had previously planned another massive bout of seeking death, but one thing after another had delayed him.
Looking back now, it was just as well he had not gone through with it; if his flesh had advanced further, it would be even harder to solve this problem.
"You are right," the stone said.
"Until this is solved, you cannot go courting death again. But how do we solve it?"
Lin thought of a method.
"I more or less know what to do," he said.
"But it will only be clear after trying it; for now, let us settle things here first, then I will test it when we get back."
The Primordial Stone gave a soft grunt.
"Very well. I have already located the position of the world's core."
By this time, all the light the Elemental Stone had created had already been devoured by the darkness.
The Dark World once again returned to pitch black silence.
But in that brief window, the Primordial Stone had found the world's core and now pointed the way.
Lin shot off in that direction, the Power of Death surging in waves around him, corroding any rule lifeforms that came near.
Screams echoed within his soul without end the death cries of rule lifeforms, chilling to the extreme.
If someone at the Chaos Realm heard them, it would not take long before his Dao heart shattered and his cultivation collapsed.
Lin possessed the Primal Qi of the Beginning, which allowed him to block out these sounds but he chose not to.
Instead, he used them to sharpen his Dao heart.
Even though his heart was already firm enough, a little more polishing could do no harm.
Dao heart, soul, body, rules, and artifacts Lin believed none of these could be lacking.
In each respect, he had to be the strongest.
Only then could he surpass everyone and become the greatest in all ages.
The screams of the rule lifeforms grew even more intense.
The closer he drew to the world's core, the denser those lifeforms became, and the deeper the darkness.
Here, the dark had reached an absolute extreme.
Any light that appeared could not spread at all; even if Lin raised his hand right before his eyes, he could not see the slightest outline.
Only by pressing his glowing palm directly to his eyes could he discern anything at all.
Even his Power of Death was being forced back by the dark rules, able only to flow over the surface of his body.
The sheer number of rule lifeforms was overwhelming; even the Power of Death could not corrode them fast enough.
The pressure kept rising if this went on, his Death Power would be forced inward and the rule lifeforms would invade his body.
Fortunately, he still had the Elemental Stone's defenses, so the situation was not yet truly dangerous.
"There are too many rule lifeforms," he said. "Even with the Elemental Stone, this is not a long term solution."
Their sheer numbers exceeded even Lin's expectations.
"Watch me!"
With a low shout, the Primordial Stone urged the Elemental Stone to erupt in another flood of radiance, seizing a great mass of dark rule lifeforms and inverting their attributes.
Once more, darkness and light clashed, and Lin finally felt some of the pressure lift.
But the number of rules the Elemental Stone could invert at once was limited; it could not hold out for long.
Lin let out a shout and unleashed his Power of Death at full strength.
The Death Power surged forth like a great dragon, joining with the Elemental Stone to force open a path.
He turned himself into a streak of light and raced along behind that draconic torrent.
The Primordial Stone continued driving the Elemental Stone, constantly reversing the world's rules, while Lin likewise kept channeling his Power of Death.
Working in perfect coordination, they carved out a passage by sheer force.
At last, an eight tiered pagoda came into view.
"Thank goodness it is not Ninth Cycle," Lin breathed.