Lan Xiaobu summoned the Seven Realms Stone, and without a void coordinate, it sped through the void at its fastest pace. For the trio, finding a life-bearing planet was enough for now.
They hadn’t expected to find one quickly, having crossed countless planes in the misaligned space, unsure where they were. Fortunately, the void’s rules confirmed they were still in a high-level cosmic plane.
A year later, the Seven Realms Stone still hadn’t found a life-bearing planet. Lan Xiaobu set up a control array for the stone and began secluded cultivation.
Not only Lan Xiaobu, but Ju Mang and Mo Wuji also entered seclusion. Ju Mang, with two Nine-Pattern Cosmic Dao Fruits, aimed to break through to the eighth step of the Great Dao.
As Mo Wuji and Lan Xiaobu had said, advancing to the eighth step in the void held more potential than in the Great Universe, which now bore the faint shadow of the Tianmeng Clan.
Ju Mang trusted their words, having witnessed their strength firsthand.
Time passed in their seclusion, and ten years flew by. The Seven Realms Stone crossed countless planes and voids but found no life-bearing planets, not even many void meteorites or abandoned planets.
This void seemed an untouched wasteland, with only the Seven Realms Stone moving forward, nothing else stirring.
Though in seclusion, Lan Xiaobu wasn’t cultivating, he was studying how to derive a world from chaos. Both he and Mo Wuji followed their own Great Dao, but no matter how they deduced, a world derived from their principles as the chaos origin would bear their marks.
Worse, though their Longevity and Mortal principles complemented each other, would the derived world’s principles stem from Longevity or Mortal principles as the origin, then branch into countless cosmic rules?
Ideally, their principles would fuse into a new origin principle, but Lan Xiaobu dismissed this as unrealistic.
One day, while deducing new world principles, Lan Xiaobu received an alert from the Seven Realms Stone’s monitoring array, a new domain was detected.
He rushed out of seclusion, his divine sense revealing a vast, boundless domain, reminiscent of when he first saw the Great Universe.
Had they returned? His heart leapt, but he soon realised this wasn’t the Great Universe. Though the cosmic rules here were advanced, it lacked life’s aura despite its vastness.
“Found a life-bearing domain?” Mo Wuji, sensing the Seven Realms Stone slow, emerged from seclusion.
Lan Xiaobu shook his head, “Not likely a life-bearing continent. I thought we’d returned to the Great Universe, but my divine sense shows this domain has little life aura, yet it’s immense. Regardless, let’s enter and see.”
The Seven Realms Stone rushed into the domain. Though protective arrays existed outside, they were ineffective, unsupported by cosmic principles or vital energy.
In moments, the Seven Realms Stone landed.
Stepping out, Lan Xiaobu and Mo Wuji were stunned by the scene.
What was this? Ruined? Desolate?
Words failed to describe it. Before them stretched endless despair.
The term “despair” might not suit a domain, yet that was the feeling it evoked, despair.
No people, no life, no grass, not even the soil held vitality, yet the sense of despair was palpable.
It was as if all cultivators here watched everything fade into oblivion, powerless to stop it.
Distant mountains looked like heaps of ash burned countless times, without foundation. The sea, too, lacked even sorrow, devoid of presence.
Yet this world was vast, clearly once a colossal existence.
After a long silence, Mo Wuji murmured, “I have a feeling this is the vast world we imagined.”
Lan Xiaobu nodded, reality confirming their vision of a vast world derived from chaos, though they hadn’t begun deriving it.
This world was surely derived by a powerhouse, likely using their own Great Dao principles.
“Could someone have used their Great Dao principles to derive this world from chaos?” Mo Wuji mused, half to himself, half to Lan Xiaobu.
Lan Xiaobu sighed, “I sensed our idea had flaws, but I was still seeking solutions. Now, seeing this, I’m certain a cultivator of their own Great Dao derived this vast world from chaos, perhaps not one, but two or three…”
He trailed off, disheartened, sensing the creators’ Daos were tied to all things.
Mo Wuji said slowly, “If we found true chaos and derived a vast world with our principles, in time, it would become like this, but I don’t know why…”
“I don’t either,” Lan Xiaobu replied, and they fell silent.
“Let’s leave and find the Great Universe,” Mo Wuji said, his mood heavy. In ten years, he hadn’t cultivated, only studied how to derive a true vast world. This reality showed that even together, finding true chaos, they couldn’t create a lasting vast world like the Great Universe.
The Seven Realms Stone sped through the void again, but neither Lan Xiaobu nor Mo Wuji felt like retreating to seclusion. They sat silently on the stone, watching the void recede.
After an unknown time, Mo Wuji said, “Xiaobu, how did the Great Universe form?”
Lan Xiaobu paused, then said, “With chaos zones everywhere, could true chaos, over countless years, have derived a rule-bound space…?”
His eyes lit up, it was plausible. In the Withered Life Chaos Zone, Mo Wuji found a chaos rule plasma pool. If, over time, it wasn’t obliterated but extended, wouldn’t it form a new world?
“Exactly,” Mo Wuji said excitedly, “The chaos rule plasma pool I found there could be the foundation for a vast world. In chaos, it might form a world or be annihilated back into chaos. If we find such a self-derived space in chaos, could it become a new Great Universe?”
“Absolutely,” Lan Xiaobu said, thrilled, “But the Cosmic Tree is hard to find.”
The Great Universe’s existence relied on the Cosmic Tree’s support.
Mo Wuji smiled, “Xiaobu, think differently, did the Great Universe form with a Cosmic Tree? Perhaps it was a coincidence, or the tree was artificially placed later, integrating to influence cosmic rules. The latter’s more likely.”
Many worlds, even mid-level ones, lacked a realm-sustaining tree.
As Lan Xiaobu was about to speak, the Seven Realms Stone shook. They saw it surrounded by several massive flying treasures, unnoticed until now, absorbed in thoughts of vast worlds.
Seeing them, Mo Wuji and Lan Xiaobu weren’t alarmed but pleased. Lan Xiaobu didn’t flee but opened the stone’s restrictions.
