In Lin Moyu's perception, the Language-God Heaven-and-Earth was only a hair's breadth away from becoming an eight-wheel Heaven-and-Earth.
Now that an eight-wheel Heaven-and-Earth was replaying, the Language-God Heaven-and-Earth was devouring with full force and could barely keep up with its rate of evolution.
From this alone one could see how different the Language-God Heaven-and-Earth had become.
It was not the first time it had devoured an eight-wheel Heaven-and-Earth.
Back then Lin Moyu had needed to use soul particles to help it absorb.
Now, just by relying on itself, it could absorb eighty to ninety percent; only the tiny remainder did Lin Moyu take in with his soul.
From this it was clear that the Language-God Heaven-and-Earth had already grown far stronger.
Lin Moyu could feel it constantly growing.
From a six-wheel to a seven-wheel Heaven-and-Earth required a metamorphosis, a change in essence.
But from a seven-wheel to an eight-wheel Heaven-and-Earth, it only needed accumulation of power, not a qualitative change.
So there would be no problem with its advancement.
Lin Moyu used the Nine Heavens Fate Technique to manipulate the rules of Heaven-and-Earth and help the Language-God Heaven-and-Earth devour and absorb more efficiently.
For him the entire process was also a form of comprehension.
Through mutual contact with the rules of Heaven-and-Earth, he could understand Heaven-and-Earth even better.
I have a feeling I could refine this Heaven-and-Earth right now.
He was not yet a true Supreme, but he already had a soul that was not weaker than a Supreme's, and it was a soul with virtual and solid fused as one, its essence even stronger than that of a true Supreme.
Moreover, the Language-God Heaven-and-Earth already belonged to him.
With the aid of the Nine Heavens Fate Technique, Lin Moyu had complete confidence that he could refine the Language-God Heaven-and-Earth right now.
However, doing so would have no meaning and no benefit.
Refining the Language-God Heaven-and-Earth would not allow him to prove his Dao yet.
He had not reached the peak, and his foundation was still lacking.
The Language-God Heaven-and-Earth likewise had not reached its peak.
If he refined it now, it would cause the Language-God Heaven-and-Earth to become fixed to a certain extent.
That would not be good for either himself or the Language-God Heaven-and-Earth.
However, this was not something that could be delayed forever.
According to his plan, he needed to refine the Language-God Heaven-and-Earth before it faced its first Heaven-and-Earth life-and-death tribulation.
Before refining it, he himself still had to become a Supreme, and the Language-God Heaven-and-Earth had to become a nine-wheel Heaven-and-Earth.
In that way he would not only be able to prove his Dao before the first great tribulation, he would also become the Supreme of a nine-wheel Heaven-and-Earth, becoming an existence never seen before.
The body's virtual aspect.
Before becoming a Supreme he had to first find the body's virtual aspect and complete the fusion of virtual and solid in the body.
Only then could his foundation be considered solid.
By his reckoning, there were only a little more than eight hundred years left before the Language-God Heaven-and-Earth's first Heaven-and-Earth life-and-death tribulation.
Time was already short, and there were still many things he had to do.
As for the Chaos Ancient Wilds, Lin Moyu no longer took it to heart.
No matter what schemes and layouts those people had, in the face of absolute power it was all pointless.
With his current strength he was more than enough to crush Calamity Great Supreme's so-called layout, the forbearance of Chaotic Wild Dragon, and Dao's tyrannical dominance.
In the end they would all fail.
The Language-God Heaven-and-Earth continued to grow stronger.
When the first eight-wheel Heaven-and-Earth had been absorbed, it hit its advancement bottleneck.
Heaven-burst Earth-rend.
Dozens of years later the second eight-wheel Heaven-and-Earth began to replay.
As soon as the Language-God Heaven-and-Earth started absorbing, it began to advance.
The advancement process was extremely smooth.
The Language-God Heaven-and-Earth advanced to an eight-wheel Heaven-and-Earth.
Its Heaven-and-Earth power increased greatly, and its absorption speed rose accordingly.
It no longer needed Lin Moyu to worry about it and was able to absorb all the Heaven-and-Earth power and Primordial Beginning Qi produced by the evolution of the eight-wheel Heaven-and-Earth.
All of this had been within expectations.
"We are only one step away from the final advancement.
"But it seems becoming a nine-wheel Heaven-and-Earth will not be easy," Lin Moyu said calmly.
"I have never entered a nine-wheel Heaven-and-Earth, only seen one from the outside, but I roughly know that a nine-wheel Heaven-and-Earth is not ordinary," Hongmeng Gem said.
"In theory a nine-wheel Heaven-and-Earth is only stronger than an eight-wheel Heaven-and-Earth in terms of power, but I have always felt that a nine-wheel Heaven-and-Earth has something extra."
"I have had a similar feeling," Lin Moyu said.
"I was not certain before, but after hearing you say this it seems it really is so.
"Tell me in detail what you know about nine-wheel Heavens-and-Earth.
"Do not be afraid of being wrong; just say it."
Whether right or wrong, what Hongmeng Gem had seen and heard could all serve as reference.
"At that time there were not that many Heavens-and-Earth above seven wheels, especially nine wheels.
"Over countless years I have only seen nine nine-wheel Heavens-and-Earth in total," Hongmeng Gem said.
"There are countless Heavens-and-Earth inside the Life-Forbidden Zone, especially those below seven wheels, as many as the stars in the sky.
"There are far fewer Heavens-and-Earth above seven wheels.
"I did not carefully count them, but seven-wheel Heavens-and-Earth should number in the thousands, and eight-wheel Heavens-and-Earth were even fewer, but still not less than a hundred.
"Only for nine-wheel Heavens-and-Earth did I carefully count, and there were nine in total."
"Nine is a very interesting number," Lin Moyu said evenly.
"The utmost of Heaven-and-Earth is nine.
"This applies not only within Heaven-and-Earth, but seems to apply outside Heaven-and-Earth as well."
Suddenly a thought stirred in his heart.
"These nine nine-wheel Heavens-and-Earth, did they exist at the same time?" he asked.
Hongmeng Gem thought for a moment, then shook his head.
"No.
"They did not exist simultaneously.
"Several of them appeared very early and later turned into Heaven-and-Earth remnants.
"The nine I mentioned are the total over time, nine altogether."
"Nine over time in total," Lin Moyu murmured under his breath, as if realizing something.
"Master, what did you think of?" Hongmeng Gem asked.
Lin Moyu did not answer, but instead asked,
"In the various Heavens-and-Earth, how many powerhouses are there at the same level as Great Supremes?"
Hongmeng Gem had never considered this question.
Now that Lin Moyu asked and he thought about it, he suddenly exclaimed,
"Nine.
"In any Heaven-and-Earth, regardless of its strength, there are at most nine powerhouses at a level similar to Great Supremes."
"There are no exceptions?" Lin Moyu asked.
Hongmeng Gem shook his head.
"Either fewer than nine, or exactly nine, but never more than nine.
"A single Heaven-and-Earth, no matter how strong, can only have nine Great Supremes existing at the same time.
"Only when one Great Supreme falls does the position of Great Supreme become vacant and allow another to rise."
"In that case, if we extend this outside Heaven-and-Earth, are there corresponding rules?
"Outside Heaven-and-Earth can only hold nine nine-wheel Heavens-and-Earth.
"Even if one of them turns into a Heaven-and-Earth remnant, it still occupies the position of a nine-wheel Heaven-and-Earth.
"Or to put it another way, from the moment the first Heaven-and-Earth evolved until the great destruction fully erupts, there can only be nine nine-wheel Heavens-and-Earth inside Heaven-and-Earth," Lin Moyu said.
"There is also another possibility.
"Nine-wheel Heavens-and-Earth may be the counters for the great destruction."
To confirm his conjecture, Lin Moyu continued asking,
"Does the remnant of the first nine-wheel Heaven-and-Earth still exist?"
"It does," Hongmeng Gem said after thinking.
"At least before I entered the Chaos Ancient Wilds, it still existed."
"Then what was the situation when the last nine-wheel Heaven-and-Earth was born?" Lin Moyu asked.
"Let me think," Hongmeng Gem said, searching his memories.
After a while he spoke.
"At that time it had just welcomed its ninth great tribulation.
"It had no Supreme, so after the tribulation it could only head toward destruction."
"It seems my guess is right.
"These nine-wheel Heavens-and-Earth are more like counters for the great destruction," Lin Moyu said quietly.
"What counters?" Hongmeng Gem asked, not understanding.
"The great destruction of Heaven-and-Earth will arrive after the ninth nine-wheel Heaven-and-Earth has gone through all its great tribulations.
"If nine-wheel Heavens-and-Earth are not counters, then what are they?" Lin Moyu explained.
"Then what about Master's Language-God Heaven-and-Earth?" Hongmeng Gem asked.
"More or less the same, also a counter," Lin Moyu said, stretching lazily.
No longer the Heaven-and-Earth enemy, and with his understanding of the rules, he knew that everything had a beginning and an end, nothing existed without cause or reason.
The evolution of Heaven-and-Earth was so, the great tribulations of Heaven-and-Earth were so, and the great destruction likewise.
Rules and bindings were strict and applied to everything without exception.
When the ninth nine-wheel Heaven-and-Earth welcomed its ninth great tribulation, the great destruction would begin.
When the great destruction wiped out all Heavens-and-Earth, killing countless living beings, and Heaven-and-Earth remnants turned to wasteland, a new Heaven-and-Earth would be born from the wasteland.
The great destruction was the rules, and the new Heaven-and-Earth was also the rules.
This was the last trace of life, the last chance granted by that entire great destruction.
If this new Heaven-and-Earth born from the wasteland could not meet certain conditions, then it would eventually completely collapse, and all Heaven-and-Earth remnants would be entirely erased.
The great destruction would then be declared over.
Next would be a new beginning, a great cycle.
To break the great cycle, someone had to step across the Life-Forbidden Zone and enter a level no one had ever reached, obtaining that treasure pointed to by the rules of Heaven-and-Earth.
This was extremely difficult.
At least before his appearance, no one had been able to do it.
If his Language-God Heaven-and-Earth could become a nine-wheel Heaven-and-Earth, it would be the first step in breaking the rules.
The tenth nine-wheel Heaven-and-Earth would be born in the wasteland and would help him take that step, crossing the Life-Forbidden Zone and reaching that level no one had ever attained.
Lin Moyu realized that his understanding of the rules had gone deeper, no longer confined within Heaven-and-Earth, and had begun to truly touch what lay beyond.
The wider the vision, the broader the future could be.
If one always followed in the footsteps of predecessors, in the end one could only reach the same heights as those predecessors.
Only by stepping out of their shadow and walking one's own path could one hope to reach a new peak.
Lin Moyu knew very clearly that he had always done just that.
His consciousness returned and the scattered thoughts were withdrawn.
"Thank you," Lin Moyu said sincerely.
"This time I have understood many things."
"I am glad to have been able to help Master," Hongmeng Gem said with a smile.
Although he did not understand much himself, he knew Lin Moyu must have comprehended many things, because Lin Moyu's gaze was no longer the same as before.
He was looking much farther.
The Language-God Heaven-and-Earth was still devouring and absorbing.
It had now entered the proper track and no longer needed Lin Moyu's intervention.
Nothing unexpected would happen.
He went to take a look at the little tree.
With the Language-God Heaven-and-Earth's advancement to eight wheels, the greatest change was in the little tree.
The little tree was now several times larger than before.
Originally it had six branches, and each branch had six leaves, thirty six leaves in total.
This time the number of branches had increased a hundredfold.
There were now six hundred branches growing out from the massive trunk in all directions, and each branch was incredibly thick.
Each branch bore six hundred leaves.
With the trunk growing larger and the branches and leaves increasing, its roots had naturally become even more lush and vast.
The little tree radiated a powerful aura that seemed to surpass Heaven-and-Earth and come from another level.
The little tree had never belonged to a Heaven-and-Earth in the first place; otherwise it could not have entered the Life-Forbidden Zone and absorbed and transformed the power from it.
Even so, Lin Moyu still felt something was lacking.
The little tree had once been the Chaos Ancestral Tree and was now the Hongmeng Spirit Tree, but at present it was not complete.
It was only a single Hongmeng Spirit Tree leaf.
He had not yet been able to completely transform the little tree from the Chaos Ancestral Tree into the Hongmeng Spirit Tree.
The former identity as Chaos Ancestral Tree still affected it.
To change this, he needed that tree root from the Chaos Ancient Wilds great tribulation.
That tree root was extremely important to the little tree.
By his reckoning, the great tribulation of the Chaos Ancient Wilds was almost at its peak.
It was time to return.
Lin Moyu left the Language-God Heaven-and-Earth and returned to the Chaos Ancient Wilds.
Light flickered around his body and all the rules of Heaven-and-Earth withdrew.
Lin Moyu discovered that he was no longer the Heaven-and-Earth enemy.
Heaven-and-Earth no longer treated him as an enemy, and the rules began to avoid him.
"Even you have started to fear me?" Lin Moyu said with a light laugh.
The reason was that his soul had already broken through the Great Supreme realm.
After the fusion of virtual and solid, it was no weaker than a Supreme's, and in the eyes of Heaven-and-Earth he had already been placed among the Supremes.
Moreover, because Lin Moyu had been born in the Chaos Ancient Wilds, Heaven-and-Earth would not reject him.
Supremes and Heaven-and-Earth were on the same level.
The rules of Heaven-and-Earth would not list an existence on its own level as a Heaven-and-Earth enemy.
If it did, then there would be no one in the entire Heaven-and-Earth capable of dealing with Lin Moyu.
Naming him the Heaven-and-Earth enemy would only make trouble for all the living beings.
With the hostility of Heaven-and-Earth withdrawn, Lin Moyu was no longer the Heaven-and-Earth enemy, but his current identity was still complicated.
He sat upon the Great Supreme throne, was the one destined to meet the tribulation, and was also viewed by Heaven-and-Earth as a Supreme.
These multiple identities were tangled together, and no one could clearly say what was going on.
Lin Moyu used the Nine Heavens Fate Technique to observe the rules of Heaven-and-Earth and to observe this great tribulation.
He even altered some of the rules to hide his own existence.
Without Heaven-and-Earth punishment, the rules of Heaven-and-Earth would not punish an existence on the same level as themselves.
In Lin Moyu's eyes, the rules of Heaven-and-Earth were the very definition of bullying the weak and fearing the strong.
Knowing they could not deal with him, they simply stopped resisting.
"Interesting."
Because he had grown stronger, the one destined to meet the tribulation had changed, and the great tribulation of Heaven-and-Earth was pushed forward again.
At most another fifty years and the great tribulation of Heaven-and-Earth would reach its peak.
At that time the tree root would surface, just like back when they fought over that strange flower.
Because of this tree root, the strongest beings in the entire Heaven-and-Earth would erupt in a battle that shook the world.
But now things were different from back then.
At that time there was no topmost existence.
Although there were differences in strength, everyone still had a chance and could fight to the death.
This time several beings beyond the Great Supreme realm had already appeared.
Even the Great Supremes had only a slim chance.
And now there was also him.
There was still some time, and it would be enough.
Lin Moyu let out a soft laugh.
The Wings of Heaven-and-Earth unfolded with a rustling sound.
Working together with the Nine Heavens Fate Technique, he forcibly altered the nearby rules of Heaven-and-Earth, and countless rules bowed beneath the wings.
Lin Moyu used the rules to hide his aura and existence.
Hiding himself with rules was better than any technique or treasure.
He walked upon the rules, leaving countless runes behind him.
These runes gathered into formations, large and small, densely distributed in the void, merged into the rules and becoming invisible and inaudible.
In the chaos and the ancient wild region, Lin Moyu used formations to lay out an unimaginable great net.
Compared to Calamity Great Supreme's twelve great arrays, his work was far greater.
He did not need to rely on strange powers inside Heaven-and-Earth as Calamity Great Supreme had done.
Lin Moyu directly used the power of the rules of Heaven-and-Earth, and the effect was incomparably stronger than Calamity Great Supreme's arrays.
With this heaven-encompassing net laid down, the entire Heaven-and-Earth was now in his grasp.
With his current strength he was already enough to crush them.
Laying out this great array was only to be more secure and prevent accidents.
Lin Moyu was bold but never arrogant.
He always acted with extreme caution.
Only after having absolute certainty would he act, to ensure nothing could go wrong.
In the blink of an eye, several decades passed.
Lin Moyu had walked the entire ancient wild region, and an invisible giant net had been completed.
It was time for the true master of the Chaos Ancient Wilds to appear.
The third round of the great tribulation of the Chaos Ancient Wilds finally reached its peak.
The power of the great tribulation was formless and without substance, yet it affected the entire Heaven-and-Earth and endless living beings.
Whether in small worlds or in domains, whether cultivators or mortals, birds and beasts, spirits and monsters, as long as they were living beings, none could escape.
In the world of mortals, war raged on all sides, disasters arose without end, and countless living beings died unnatural deaths.
Some small worlds even directly suffered catastrophe, collapsing for inexplicable reasons under various factors.
The battles between cultivators were even fiercer, and their fights spread to countless mortals.
Causality spread everywhere and blood qi soared to the heavens.
In the domains, great battles and chaos never ceased.
Outside the domains, in the chaos, it was the same.
Among the various races and sects in the chaos, and between the extreme regions, everyone struck out madly, fighting each other without end.
Especially in the past hundred years, the fighting had become more and more intense.
Quasi–Great Supremes taking action had become a daily occurrence.
Moreover, these quasi–Great Supremes did not hold back at all.
The aftershocks alone destroyed countless domains, and immeasurable causality fell upon them, which they simply ignored.
In the span of a hundred years, more than one hundred thousand perfected powerhouses fell.
Even in the prior tens of millions of years, there had never been so many perfected powerhouses dying.
The fall of each perfected powerhouse meant the collapse of a domain, and the number of living beings dying within was beyond counting.
Ten years earlier Lin Moyu had finished laying out his formations.
After that he sat quietly in the void, calmly watching the great tribulation and the great battles happening throughout Heaven-and-Earth.
Through the rules, if he wished to see something, it appeared before his eyes.
Aside from that deepest corner of the Chaos Ancient Wilds, there were no more secrets for him anywhere else.
The hiding place of Calamity Great Supreme, where Chaotic Wild Dragon was concealed, and where Dao was building up power, he saw all of it clearly.
Every clash that happened in Heaven-and-Earth was seen by him.
He had the ability to stop it, but he did not act at all.
This was how the rules of Heaven-and-Earth operated, and Lin Moyu naturally would not interfere.
The great tribulation meant death, but it also meant a new beginning.
The dead did not die for nothing.
Their vitality dispersed back into Heaven-and-Earth, becoming fertile soil and nourishment to nurture new life.
In the second great tribulation, those ancient powerful beings, after they died, turned into Dao and vitality that returned to Heaven-and-Earth.
Now in the third great tribulation, it was the same; only the protagonists had changed, while the essence had not.
All things came from Heaven-and-Earth and finally returned to Heaven-and-Earth.
This was a cycle, a cycle that no one could escape.
Even Supremes, when facing the great destruction, could not escape.
Lin Moyu had seen through everything, and his Dao heart was as calm as an ancient well, as if it had turned to iron and stone.
Yet he felt all of this was perfectly normal.
Would a living person care about the life and death of countless bacteria?
When a basin of molten iron splashes onto the earth, when a volcano erupts, how many bacteria are killed?
Does anyone care?
In the eyes of Heaven-and-Earth, those dead beings were not as good as ants, not even as good as bacteria.
At this moment Lin Moyu was just like this Heaven-and-Earth, viewing things in the same way.
A low voice came from his mouth.
"So this is how a Supreme feels?"
Hongmeng Gem appeared beside him in human form.
"More or less.
"When a Supreme appears in a Heaven-and-Earth, after refining that Heaven-and-Earth they can control the great tribulation, delaying it or even preventing it.
"But there are a few Supremes who, while they do not let the Heaven-and-Earth undergo a great tribulation, like to create man-made great tribulations within some small region.
"They want to observe the great tribulation to further study Heaven-and-Earth.
"This method only has a smaller scope, but in essence it is no different from the Heaven-and-Earth great tribulation.
"Every time, countless living beings must die, and the Supremes feel nothing about it.
"If they did feel something, they would not be qualified to become Supremes."
Supremes did not lack emotions, but they could control their emotions.
Heaven-and-Earth was utterly impartial; nothing was wrong from the standpoint of Heaven-and-Earth.
Supremes would turn themselves into Heaven-and-Earth and analyze and understand from the perspective of Heaven-and-Earth, so naturally they would think this way.
Lin Moyu's current state was not much different.
He watched the changes of Heaven-and-Earth and also felt little emotion.
He had not deliberately controlled himself.
This did not mean he was without feeling or righteousness.
On the contrary, he had a deeper understanding of Heaven-and-Earth.
Why could Supremes only be born in a great tribulation?
Because during a great tribulation, endless living beings died and their vitality and power returned to Heaven-and-Earth, only then did Heaven-and-Earth have enough power to support the birth of a Supreme.
Heaven-and-Earth evolving countless living beings consumed limitless power.
Only when these living beings died and their power returned to Heaven-and-Earth could the door to the level of Supreme be opened.
Now the great tribulation was nearing its peak, and more than half the living beings in Heaven-and-Earth were dead or wounded, yet it was still not enough.
Though many had died, they were not strong enough and still could not support the appearance of a Supreme.
Through the rules Lin Moyu saw the power that Heaven-and-Earth was gathering.
It was still a little short before that door to the level of Supreme would truly open.
"When does Master plan to act?" Hongmeng Gem asked.
"No rush. Those fellows will make their move very soon.
"And there are a few interesting ones.
"At present they are actually not in this Heaven-and-Earth," Lin Moyu said.
Hongmeng Gem's heart stirred.
"Master means Fate Venerable and Everlasting Wild Ox?"
Lin Moyu shook his head lightly.
"Not just them.
"There is also Gold Great Supreme."
With Lin Moyu's current abilities, even if Fate Venerable hid in the seams of fate he could still find him.
Yet right now he could not find Fate Venerable, which could only mean that Fate Venerable was not in the Chaos Ancient Wilds.
In the current Chaos Ancient Wilds, the only places that could hide from him were the Heaven-and-Earth remnants connected behind those space passages.
Not only were Fate Venerable and Everlasting Wild Ox gone, Gold Great Supreme was also gone.
Apart from those three, the other Great Supremes were quite well behaved.
In the East Extremity, September Supreme had once again evolved the East Extremity Sea of Fire and hidden herself within the flames.
She wanted to avoid the great tribulation that way.
The Great Supreme of the Arctic also hid himself.
He had sworn an oath of Dao heart that he could not strike at Lin Moyu, so there was no point in coming out.
No matter what opportunities this great tribulation brought, none of it had anything to do with him.
In the West Extremity, Star-Authority Great Supreme had entered the deepest part of the West Extremity Pure Land.
He too wanted to avoid this round of the great tribulation.
These Great Supremes were very smart.
Although they greatly craved higher realms and power, and under the influence of the great tribulation they were also restless, in the end they chose to preserve their lives and not participate.
Of the Four Extremities, only Gold Great Supreme was making moves.
This old fellow who had lived from ancient times until now was not so well behaved.
Lin Moyu had seen some things in Heaven-and-Earth and understood where Gold Great Supreme's confidence came from.
It was a pity.
In the Upper Region, Whitezhong Great Supreme, and in the Middle Region, Boyang Great Supreme and Purple-Star Great Supreme, were all behaving themselves.
Though their strength had faintly surpassed the Great Supreme realm, they understood Lin Moyu's situation.
They held fast to their Dao hearts, resisting the temptation of the great tribulation, hoping to survive it.
Once the great tribulation passed, they would still be Great Supremes, existences above billions and second only to one person.
That was enough.
In the Lower Region, Blackcloud Great Supreme was at that moment beside the Space God-Mountain, setting up a formation.
With just one glance, Lin Moyu knew the purpose of this formation.
He did not interfere, knowing this was the handiwork of Calamity Great Supreme.
Blackcloud Great Supreme was merely Calamity Great Supreme's puppet.
The Great Supremes were still smart, but those less clever quasi–Great Supremes were not.
Several quasi–Great Supremes were already flexing their fists, preparing for the final battle.
"You will also become sacrifices to open the path to Supremes."
As Lin Moyu's voice faded, the great tribulation finally reached its peak.
At the junction of chaos and the ancient wild region, a vast expanse of space suddenly shattered.