As the teleportation array activated, the moment Mo Wuji, Lan Xiaobu, and Ju Mang were swept away by the teleportation patterns, Mo Wuji and Lan Xiaobu sensed something was wrong.
The array had been tampered with, what was meant to be a directed teleport had become a chaotic, ruleless one.
Such erratic teleportation often sent one into the void’s misaligned spaces. Even with Mo Wuji and Lan Xiaobu’s cultivation, being teleported into a high-level cosmic void misalignment was likely fatal.
Almost as soon as they detected the issue, Mo Wuji instantly extended his Mortal Domain.
With his strength, his domain was nearly an independent space governed by mortal rules.
“Crack!” Just as Mo Wuji’s Mortal Domain enveloped the trio, it was swiftly torn apart by the void misalignment, confirming they’d been teleported into such a space. At that moment, Lan Xiaobu extended his Longevity Domain, promptly shielding their space again.
Both Mo Wuji and Lan Xiaobu cultivated their own Great Dao, their domains akin to independent rule-bound worlds. Alone, in such a tearing void misalignment, one couldn’t continuously reinforce their domain fast enough and would eventually be shredded.
Together, alternating their domain spaces, they sustained minor injuries initially but managed to withstand the void misalignment.
As they grew accustomed to the misaligned space, they handled it with increasing ease.
Some trapped in such spaces via teleportation might remain for centuries or millennia without escaping. In reality, no one could survive that long, they’d be ground to dust. But with luck, one might escape in an instant.
Mo Wuji and Lan Xiaobu’s luck held, their combined domain spaces endured half a month, finally breaking free to land in the void.
“Impressive, without you two, I’d be dead,” Ju Mang exclaimed the moment they escaped.
In such high-level void misalignment, even his own world would be torn apart. The principle domains Mo Wuji and Lan Xiaobu conjured weren’t necessarily weaker than his world, yet for half a month, they’d tirelessly rebuilt countless such rule spaces amidst constant destruction.
Lan Xiaobu felt lingering fear, not just Ju Mang, they too nearly perished. In void misalignment, if their rule-bound worlds failed to hold for even a breath, their bodies would shatter, survival nearly impossible in such a place.
Only together could they escape, alone, neither could have.
Mo Wuji exhaled, extending his divine sense, then said, “We’re likely no longer in the Great Universe.”
Lan Xiaobu didn’t need him to say it, he knew the void misalignment had swept them far beyond the Great Universe, perhaps across countless cosmic planes.
Ju Mang said bitterly, “Ling Zhuzhen, a Dao Ancestor, dared to sabotage the teleportation array against us.”
Mo Wuji shook his head, “It’s probably not Ling Zhuzhen, more likely Yang Tian. Ling Zhuzhen gains nothing by…” He paused, reconsidering, with someone like Ling Zhuzhen, who could be sure?
Lan Xiaobu added, “There’s a seventy percent chance it wasn’t Ling Zhuzhen, but he’s not free of suspicion. Everyone in the Great Universe knows only Weiju World has a teleportation array to Great Desolation World among the ten worlds. Ling Zhuzhen set up this array, likely in secret. If so, Yang Tian might have discovered it and tampered with it to trap anyone using it. The second possibility is Ling Zhuzhen sabotaged the array himself, deliberately sending us to a void misalignment to perish.”
“Regardless, our priority is returning to the Great Universe,” Mo Wuji said.
Lan Xiaobu nodded, “If Ling Zhuzhen did this, there’s no need to save the Great Universe. With Dao Ancestors like Dilan and Ling Zhuzhen, it deserves to fall to the Tianmeng. We’ll take our people and find a new…” He stopped, turning to Mo Wuji, “Wuji, we’ve both been in chaos, though the chaos we experienced was partially tainted by cosmic rules, we know what true chaos is. Could we find pure, untainted chaos and derive a new Great Universe world?”
Mo Wuji, pondering if they could find a place like the Great Universe, was struck by Lan Xiaobu’s words. Indeed, the Great Universe, a high-level cosmos, was undeniably derived from chaos.
Though its ten worlds were vast, they occupied less than a millionth of its expanse, much of it chaos or inaccessible regions.
Though Mo Wuji cultivated mortal principles, he knew his mortal universe wouldn’t suit all, as some Daos clashed with it. Similarly, Lan Xiaobu’s Longevity Universe wasn’t universally compatible.
Moreover, Mo Wuji didn’t want others living in his derived mortal world under his control.
Neither his nor Lan Xiaobu’s derived universes were ideal for developing a vast world. But together, using their Great Dao principles, they might derive a new world rivaling the Great Universe.
The key was deriving a new vast world in pure chaos with their principles, one that, once perfected, would be uncontrolled by anyone, unlike the Great Universe, now under Tianmeng sway.
“It might work, but it must be absolute chaos, not the chaos zones in the Great Universe,” Mo Wuji said after considering.
Ju Mang said doubtfully, “Many chaos zones in the Great Universe are pure, absolute chaos, I’ve benefited greatly from them. But they’re often deadly, if your Dao can’t sustain you, you’re annihilated.”
Lan Xiaobu replied, “I used to think like you, but after reaching the seventh step, I realised no chaos zone in the Great Universe, even the Central World’s Withered Life Chaos Zone, is truly pure. Pure chaos exists only at the cosmos’ genesis, not between living worlds. Untainted by external rules, even an eighth-step cultivator would likely perish there.”
Before, Lan Xiaobu thought Great Universe chaos zones were true chaos, sensing their aura in his principles. Now he understood, if they were truly chaotic, he couldn’t have so easily built his survival domain there.
Mo Wuji nodded, “Right, Great Universe chaos is influenced by its cosmic rules, surviving there isn’t too hard. Not just seventh-step, even fifth or fourth-step cultivators can endure. It’s great for cultivation but not for building a true vast universe.”
“I think the Great Universe is fine, can’t we just eliminate the Tianmeng and return?” Ju Mang’s tone lacked confidence. He couldn’t do it himself but believed Lan Xiaobu and Mo Wuji could, together surpassing Dao Ancestor Yang Tian.
He’d only been Creation Realm when entering the Great Universe, yet reached the seventh step quickly, he was loath to abandon such a place.
Lan Xiaobu said, “I thought so too, but not anymore.”
“Why?” Ju Mang blurted.
“Because of the Cosmic Tree,” Mo Wuji answered. Lan Xiaobu nodded, “Exactly, the Cosmic Tree likely favors the Tianmeng. Whether forgotten principles or other rules woven into the Great Universe, it defies the tree’s purpose, which is to stabilise a realm. In its principles, all Great Universe cultivators are equal. Yet it helps the Tianmeng build rules to crush humanity, it’s gone astray.”
Whether Ling Zhuzhen tampered with the array or not, without Lan Xiaobu and Mo Wuji saving him, Jicheng World would likely have fallen to the Tianmeng, even collapsed, all because the Cosmic Tree enabled Tianmeng principles in the Great Universe.
