God Domain

Fuxi

When my consciousness returned back to the prison island in chaos, Fuxi was standing in front studying me with the intensity of a scholar examining an ancient manuscript. I had been careful ~ chosen this secluded mountain spot far from prying eyes, layered protective shields around my body, erected concealing arrays before venturing to the other shore. Yet somehow, he had found me.

"Your soul burns with such strength," Fuxi murmured, his voice carrying genuine puzzlement. "Yet you possess only the aura of the fifth shore. How is this possible?"

The half lie came easily to my lips. "I discovered soul crystals in the second heaven temples. Pure soul power ~ a rare opportunity I couldn't pass up."

His expression shifted, understanding dawning in his ancient eyes. "That would explain the anomaly."

"You should rejoin the others," he said after a moment's contemplation. "They're preparing to depart soon."

I sensed there was more he wished to say, but the conversation ended there. As I walked away and reached beyond his vision, he voiced his opinion to the void, though I doubt he intended for me to hear: "Just as Ji predicted ~ this girl cannot be perceived through normal means."

....

When Luo Zheng was taken to the tombstone Xu left for Fuxi's comprehension, their conversation had turned to Chi Tao just out of curiosity. Luo Zheng had mentioned my achievements in the God Domain, noting how little was known about my origins or how it is accomplished, but on the whole appears to be friendly to Nine Li, and having mutated bloodline of Nuwa out of nowhere.

Ji's spirit had interjected with disturbing news ~ the individual's presence made fate itself impossible to calculate, a discovery he'd made only recently.

Later, Fuxi had sought out. Unable to divine location through his usual methods, he'd searched manually until he found the person in deep cultivation. There he had witnessed the violet radiance of the soul overflowing, true meanings radiating from the form like heat from a forge. For days, he'd sat before the cultivating figure, using the eight trigrams to unravel cosmic fate, to pierce the ethereal barrier he sensed around. But like the tombstone's mysteries, my energy remained beyond his comprehension.

" May be another million years, I might have successfully found out." That was his thought.

He believed person to be an avatar of some chaos ancient god, or perhaps a powerful being from the other shore. That explained his cautious demeanor ~ not every ancient god possessed Xu's diplomatic nature or Ji's neglect.

Even if he is powerful enough to counter people like them, why provoke people, if they don't want to reveal themselves and calculations were outside your own. The complete aloofness seeing him upfront and not getting bothered by it means that individual doesn't necessary fear anything or lack awareness. Besides she has some nuwa's bloodline, it is possible she could cooperate in the end, as she could in turn end up in Li mountain when entering mother world.

His ultimate goal is to become the hero in time of need to fulfill Dao of End. Now there is some individuals like Luo Zheng and Tao worth considering as opponents or allies in the end.

The Tower's Shadow

Returning to Torrent Tower, I discovered couple of weeks remained before our actual departure. The time perception of Fuxi is really concerning.

The landscape had shifted dramatically in my absence. Xuanyuan clan members had launched desperate attacks against those left behind when the exiles departed to battle. Now the exiles had claimed their revenge, and with the Xuanyuan leadership decimated in previous assaults, resistance had crumbled like autumn leaves.

The Nuwa race, Chi You's people, and other allied clans received an unexpected gift ~ the option to escape and eventually return to the mother world. The exiles transported these refugees to their inner world.

Each refugee exile leaders however swore an oath of eternal secrecy regarding the God Domain and no connections to Xuanyuan Clan, bound by an other shore artifact that would instantly destroy the yang souls of any who violated their vow.

Those sheltered within the inner world remained ignorant of the God Domain's true nature, and would likely remain so. They'd been promised return to the mother world, not revelation of God Domain. In their minds, the mother world existed trillions upon trillions of miles away, lost in the chaos of the unknown. It would take centuries or millennia and that's normal until their liberation.

After all preparations were done, each of them start to employ great teleportation technique to reach Gods Domain held up in the sky.

Through multiple spatial jumps, we approached the God Domain's vicinity. Luo Zheng's consciousness reconnected with the domain's will, opening a shimmering portal. Ming Wei and the allied exiles detached the red band, keeping pace with the God Domain as it began its gradual ascent. After countless eras, the exiles finally entered a world of brilliant colors, sending people into the God Domain for the first time in living memory.

Momentarily enjoying the world with beautiful skies and and curse free lands, they gradually grouped together and began to plan for the future.

Their next objective involved meeting with the Nine Li princess and Saint Luo Xiao, who came at the notice from Luo Zheng. But I had no interest in such reunions. The risk was too great ~ Lingshu might be present, and her perception could penetrate my current female form. Not in a reasonable way but intuition of female sense. I can feel it too, sometimes it is more powerful than divine sense.

I sent a brief true qi transmission to Ming Wei announcing my departure. Before she could respond, I had already phased out, my perception shielded from detection.

Echoes of Change

The Han clan grounds.

I materialized before Han Liu Su in my original form. Recognition flickered in her eyes, followed by embarrassment.

"You've returned. I realize I never learned your name, my lord. Who are you?"

"Names matter little. I've been absent from the God Domain for years. Tell me what has transpired, both here and beyond."

Her expression grew thoughtful. "After your departure, Han Jiuyi left our clan to visit the Luo Clan saint. With Han Quindi gone, she was our most capable leader. The Purple Palace now serves as our clan's heart under her guidance.

We received support from Luo Clan too for some reason. The floating islands have been relocated from the Time Sea to the edge ~ all except the Luo Clan's island, now renamed Nine Li Island.

The competitions in jade hall that once determined clan survival have ceased, replaced by just as a training session and ranking tournaments for the next saint sealing ceremony. The loss of Dongfang ChunJun, Han Quindi, and now the imprisoned Mu Haiji has reshuffled the power structure considerably. Many new saints have risen to prominence. I also heard Han Jiuyi was informed regarding some reincarnation plan of Nine Li by the Luo Clan saint's wife."

The implications were quiet expected. Moreover, Han Jiuyi had likely met Li Lingshu, and they'd probably shared information about my current identity.

Add Luo Yan to that mix in the coming days ~ if she remained silent, well and good. Otherwise, facing her while knowing I'd flirted with her after secretly being intimate with her aunt would prove... awkward. With the Xuanyuan clan's threat neutralized, immediate danger had passed, but so had any means of returning to the mother world. How to get there?

If Luo Zheng managed to enter the thistle stream vortex and visit his grandfather in the coming weeks, answers might emerge. For now, my journey here was essentially complete.

" You haven't met Saint's son or went with your Aunt?" I asked in return.

" No..should I?" 

".....My gratitude for the information. Accept this gift in return."

Before she could react, I touched my finger to her forehead, channeling some basic knowledge of divine fire control techniques gleaned from Feng Ge's memories, along with insights derived from my own merger with the flames.

Urban Interlude

Teleporting to the city beyond, I ignored the former no-fly zones. Discovery would trigger the ten or hundred rule slates, but I am not that easily perceivable to the ruler tablets. I'd cross that bridge when necessary. A restaurant drew my attention, and I ordered an extravagant array of God Domain delicacies.

My youthful appearance and lavish order prompted the staff to demand payment upfront ~ clearly, they didn't recognize me as belonging to any mainland clan. I simply duplicated God Martial Coins from their own registry, copying them back to complete the transaction.

As I settled to eat, the restaurant's ecosystem revealed itself. Certified God Martial artists labored in the kitchen and as staff while others pursued their ambitions outside, desperately seeking recognition from officials. Under the rule slates' influence, everyone functioned like mortals competing for advancement.

The scope staggered me ~ how many true gods and certified artists lived within this tiny reality, unaware they inhabited a cosmic vessel? Within that population, how many trillions of weaker beings existed in the unreal universes of each true Gods?

After my meal, the store owner's demeanor shifted. Smugness replaced servility as he demanded additional payment, his true god level aura pressing against me. Most of his customers were Certified Martial Artists. And those who don't know certain rules of operation as when to hide their wealth were often targeted.

May be it's that when leading tigers gone - the main families of Saints removed their connections , bunch of other cats came in - the local families try to fill in the gap by extorting others.

"Repeat that again," I said quietly looking at his eyes. My other shore level aura descended like a mountain, paralyzing him instantly. He collapsed, terror replacing arrogance.

"Saint! My deepest apologies, lord! Here ~ please take your money back, esteemed one. The meal is complimentary."

I addressed the stunned customers. "You heard him clearly. Today, everyone eats free. Isn't that correct?" I pressed on him more.

"Yes," he stammered as I withdrew the pressure.

I teleported away from the unfolding drama, seeking the deep, secluded places of the abyssal lands. Li Lingshu undoubtedly sensed my presence ~ the entire abyssal realm was essentially part of her, accessible with a thought. I didn't mind her awareness.

Meditation and Revelation

The following few months passed in deep meditation as my soul achieved complete understanding of the strength equalizing fusion ability and its enforcement mechanisms. Xu's truth power of confinement is very complex, but this is relatively simple ~ strength equalizing was merely a fragment of a much larger picture. However, condensing it now would violate truth itself, bringing backlash and alerting Xu to my activities. That process would wait until I left this reality.

Despite being a bloodline ability, comprehension came naturally. From it, knowledge of primary characteristics for yet-unobtained merging dao flaws began emerging. From my understanding of the story, these were blood essence divine dao and saint fire divine dao. The arc light gem energy was already analyzed and a direction of fixing flaws were revealed in LoHP, it just need some time and knowledge to come up with all sorts of combinations under the heaven for the perfect fixes.

The flaws revealed themselves automatically through the LoHP, my accumulated knowledge finally sufficient to reach this threshold. From Feng Ge's copied memories came a crucial image ~ the second part of untranslated Sanskrit her father, the Taiyi Emperor, had sent to Taiyi Mountain's True Meaning Sword Pavilion. This treasure could be borrowed for a day at the cost of millions of divine crystals, now I have it free.

Thinking of Feng Ge stirred some emotions. I'd felt a little attracted to her before, may be her royal grace or due to similar fire, but my current state made honesty impossible. Absorbing others' knowledge had become instinctual ~ I felt no violation, perhaps a false sense of superiority. The creation energy's convenience lay in copying concepts rather than entire memories. I focused on techniques, true meanings, and related knowledge.

But that specific memory of Feng Ge's Sanskrit image proved invaluable. I transcribed the complete second half of the eternal sword's true meaning, extending far beyond what even the Taiyi Emperor's clone had achieved. Testing my comprehension, I attempted to enter the other shore with the complete eternal sword true meaning. Success ~ but someone awaited me there.

"Finally!! , you've emerged. I've been waiting here for months."

The statement caught me off-guard. Given the time flow differential, at least six months had passed since my previous entry.

"What do you need, and who are you?"

"Fear not ~ I serve as attendant for Princess Feng Ge. She currently resides in the sixth heaven and requests another meeting with you."

"You've sat here six months just for me? Man, your life must be extraordinarily difficult."

"As a disciple of Oneness Palace, I possessed fair talent. Spending half a year in the sea of true meaning poses no great hardship ~ reaching each heaven typically requires much longer. According to the princess, this provides me an opportunity for tempering."

Yeah right. I produced a small soul crystal. "Consider this compensation for your patience. I'm entangled in numerous matters outside and require time before I can travel again. I was merely testing this new true meaning."

"Please come soon. My gratitude for the gift ~ I'll remain here awaiting your return."

"Farewell."

I activated the disillusionment rune, returning to my reality. Inside the abyssal lands, I returned to senses. 

It's time to make some final changes in internal world, I have been postponing for a while.

Unrest in Innerworld.

Since there was no evil spirit or evil counterpart in my inner world stealing my talent, my inner world existed in a state of natural duality. Violence and goodness intertwined across every region, neither wholly consuming the other. No singular dark entity emerged to unite the scattered peoples against a common threat, no grand adversary to catalyze their growth through shared struggle. The absence of such focused evil meant that development came slowly, volatile ~ and sometimes, catastrophically.

My involvement in their affairs came only when necessity demanded it. Across the vast expanse of my internal realm, I had stationed chosen representatives ~ faith beings with divine sight, martial artists who could sense the battle across continents, and ordinary humans blessed with extraordinary perception. They served as my eyes and ears, reaching out through specialized communication channels when events spiraled beyond their control, when millions faced death, or when the collective will of entire civilizations required my direct intervention.

Today, twelve voices had pierced the veil between dimensions.

"Great Creator," their synchronized plea echoed in my consciousness, "the Great Perfection Gods wage war. One hundred thousand souls have already fallen."

The urgency in their combined message pulled me from my contemplation. When I materialized within the inner realm, the devastation spread before me like a festering wound across the landscape. Two figures, each radiating the immense power of Great Perfection True Gods, clashed in the space above what had once been thriving cities. Their battle had already claimed not just lives, but entire communities ~ proud sects that had stood for hundreds of millennia now lay in smoldering ruins.

I moved between them in the space of a heartbeat, my presence alone sufficient to freeze their conflict mid-strike. But nevertheless sealed their movement and sensed the destruction.

I surveyed the aftermath. Two magnificent cities reduced to rubble, ancient sects obliterated, and the screams of the dying still echoing across the spiritual plane. But death, in my realm, need not be permanent. I am omnipotent within my internal world. Drawing upon the principles I had studied from the Jade Seal of the God Domain, I reached back through the threads of time itself. One hour ~ I tore through the fabric of recent history, unraveling the chaos that had consumed so many innocent lives.

Reality shimmered. The dead drew breath once more. Buildings reformed from ash and dust. The weight of a hundred thousand souls settled back into their proper places in the grand tapestry of existence. 

"Duan Ze. Canji Jiu Yun." My voice carried the authority of absolute as I addressed the two combatants. "You stand among the hundred beings who have achieved Great Perfection True God status within my realm. Yet here you are, locked in battle like common beasts. Why? Why did you allow 102,347 lives to be extinguished in service of your conflict?"

The restriction I had placed upon Great Perfection cultivation had been lifted when I reached the Paramita layer ~ a decision that now seemed to carry unforeseen consequences.

"Creator!" Both figures immediately prostrated themselves, their earlier fury replaced by reverence and something that might have been shame. Around us, other major figures began to materialize ~ powerful beings drawn by the disturbance and my sudden appearance. Each offered the same gesture of submission, heads bowed low in acknowledgment of my authority.

They had noticed the temporal restoration, the impossible return of the dead. Yet in their eyes, I could see something else lurking beneath the respect.

"Forgive us, Lord," Duan Ze spoke first, his voice carrying the weight of desperate hope. "This... this was the only method we could devise to summon your attention. You have been absent from us for millions of years. You don't respond to our pleas. We have grown stagnant, trapped in our current state of existence. We beseech you ~ release us to the outside world. Grant us the freedom to explore beyond these boundaries."

"I have been in a predicament recently unable to continue this grand cultivation, that's why your pleas weren't heard. And what makes you believe you possess the strength to survive beyond this realm?" I asked, though I already knew their reasoning.

Canji Jiu Yun stepped forward, his expression earnest. "Creator, we too have nurtured True Gods within our own internal worlds. We have released them into our domains, and many stand among those gathered here. We understand the principles of creation, of cultivation beyond our current limits. Have mercy upon us ~ allow us to test ourselves against the greater cosmos."

Looking into their faces, I saw the pure expectation burning in their eyes, the desperate hunger for advancement. Yet beneath that surface devotion, their hearts screamed different words ~ frustration, anger, the bitter resentment of those who felt themselves caged by their own creator.

I sighed. "Have you truly not noticed the fundamental difference between this world and the realms you have created within yourselves?"

Confusion flickered across their features.

"Your bodies, your internal worlds ~ everything you have built and become ~ exists as constructs of True Essence. After becoming True Gods, your bodies only took a step further but not enough to match the fundamental energy make up of this world. But this realm of mine operates on a completely different foundation. Here, Chaos Qi forms the building blocks of existence. It is a fundamentally higher form of essence, more refined and powerful than anything you have experienced. The True Essence that fuels your cultivation comes from the World Tree I have personally nurtured across countless ages. Beyond the barriers of this realm lies pure, undiluted Chaos ~ raw corruption force that would consume you in an instant."

I snapped my fingers, and the fabric of space responded to my will. In the span of a breath, myself and approximately twenty of the True Gods of various races who had gathered found ourselves transported beyond the realm barrier, floating in the space between dimensions.

"Does any among you wish to test your conviction?" I gestured toward the swirling barrier that separated my Sanskrit Domain from the realm of pure Creation Energy. "This is the boundary of our world. I need only withdraw the protective shield and create an opening. Step forward if you believe yourself ready. Fair warning...you could die"

Excitement blazed in several pairs of eyes. The hunger for advancement, for escape from what they perceived as imprisonment, drove them forward without hesitation. Multiple figures surged toward the barrier as I created the promised opening.

The first to cross the threshold made it exactly ten steps into the space between Sanskrit Domain and Creation Energy before the concentrated Chaos Qi began its work. His body, so carefully cultivated over millennia, started to dissolve like salt in water. The True Essence that comprised his very being proved utterly inadequate against the raw forces that existed beyond our protective boundaries.

Within moments, he was completely gone ~ not dead, but entirely unmade.

The others who had followed managed to retreat in horror, their forms already showing signs of dissolution where the Chaos Qi had touched them.

"Brother!" One of the remaining True Gods flew toward me, rage overcoming his earlier reverence. "Why didn't you save him? You could have prevented his destruction!"

Perhaps this was the first time one of my internal beings had dared to express genuine anger toward me. But before he could reach me, before his fury could find its target, his form collapsed into a fine mist of blood. I am outside world's influence, so I used true meaning of eternal sword.

"And that," I said calmly to the shocked observers, "addresses your second concern. You and I are different. I am a higher being entirely. When I existed at your current level of cultivation, I was already a thousand times more powerful than any of you have become. Do not mistake your growth for equality, and do not presume to play the role of villain in my presence. I am not known for my forgiveness in such matters."

The remaining True Gods recoiled, the lesson written clearly in their companion's destruction.

"Creator," one of them ventured, voice trembling with newfound understanding, "is there truly no other path for us?"

I considered their question carefully. "There is indeed. But it will be so far into the future. Perhaps, after advancing several more levels, your tolerance for higher energies might increase sufficiently. But abandon any thoughts of leaving this world permanently. Beyond the Chaos realm lies yet another barrier, composed of even more refined energies. And beyond that, another still. The layers of existence stretch infinitely outward, each more demanding than the last."

I enveloped them within a protective shield and began the return journey to our realm. "Live your lives with contentment and peace within the boundaries I have provided. There is no shame in finding fulfillment without grand ambitions of cosmic conquest. You can choose to die and even reborn multiple times, I don't care if your are tired or bored. I will be setting such an arrangement here.."

As we materialized back within the inner world, I continued, "Regardless, I will soon be departing to explore other realities ~ dimensions where concepts like cultivation may not even exist. Many years will pass before my return, perhaps millions by your reckoning. During my absence, I will be implementing certain... modifications to the structure of this world. You may return to your territories now."