Consuming Earths, Devouring Skies

Divine Duality Realm. After contemplating its origins and source, this was the name he settled on. As a sub-realm that connects two universes in unison, this felt more than appropriate.

He didn’t add the ’sub’ because, in its own right, it was a true realm and likely the first of its kind within the Heavenly and Non Universes.

He tapped out and an odd space, nearly distorted as it seemed to border on nothingness and all things within the heavens, forming a unique duality. This space was a pacified rift was the first portal he established between the heavenly universe and his new realm.

"Seems like there’s truly issues to overcome, I may have to learn how to establish formations." The limitations weren’t too extreme, but the issue of connectivity left him slightly frustrated . The Non Universe may seem to be stagnant, but it was like an ever-flowing river. Because it was connected to both universes, the sub-realm was constantly moving which made it difficult to locate.

Inversely, the Heavenly Universe was incomparably stable. If a sub-realm was produced within, it would stay there for all of time until it collapses or was destroyed. An example was the Asura Phantom Realm, it was created near the Xiantu Realm and was still at its exact location to this day.

Unfortunately, the sub-realm was still influenced by the Non Universe’s continuous movements.

The very reason he created a sun infused with his False Grand Dao energy was so that he could locate it, establishing a connection with some effort. Nevertheless, the difficulty in opening a portal and connecting with it would continue to grow as he got further away from it. This was the core reason why he needed to establish a formation, to lessen the stress and strain on locating and stabilizing its movements.

It did have its benefits, however. Because it was created between two universes, he could access it from any location within both universes, theoretically, at least. He wasn’t sure if there was a distance limit, but he felt confident that, with his strength, it should be possible.

The next step was creating talismans for his disciples, ones capable of independently establishing a portal themselves.

"I’ll find some spare time to delve into formations later." Deciding this, he motioned for the two to enter.

-----

Twelve years later.

The Graceful Sword Realm underwent massive upheavals. Firstly, the Realmlord had failed her breakthrough due to insufficient resources, unable to continue; she had to abandon her efforts and relegated back to the first-floor of the Heavenly Genesis Realm. This news wasn’t widespread, but what was widespread was a piece of unsettling news: "The Realmlord’s Palace was ROBBED!"

While her losses individually could be hidden well, the losses of the entire realm after Yan Zaizen’s thorough ’claiming’ left a visible mark that all could see. Even the heavenly drops powering the realm’s formations was ’claimed,’ leaving them unable to activate it or any of their other formations. When this news spread, many were curious as to what was happening, and many even speculated outlandish things.

However, all these were rumors.

Secondly, the twin guardians, Ella and Emma, were no longer heavenly cultivators! This news spread like a contagious disease, unable to be hidden or prevented as they handled every single issue within the realm directly.

Thirdly, the male insurgency started to garner more and more support after their miraculous survival. With the weakening of the Realmlord’s Palace, many suspected that they had angered an expert, some even suspected that the male insurgency had been involved. This allowed them to become known more, and the ideological seed that they had planted were growing like crops in the minds of men everywhere.

There were even some top-tier forces who had the intent to supersede the current regime, creating a very unstable and complex internal situation within the realm.

The actions of the Realmlord’s Palace didn’t pacify the situation either, as they demanded the increase in tribute to make up for their losses towards all the top-tier forces. This action caused many forces to feel disgruntled, their eyes suffused with hatred and mocking at the Realmlord’s Palace. Many were even calculating their own strength and the weakness of the palace, intending to make a move!

The situation grew unstable by the day, and nothing helped. This was because of heavenly drops and heavenly formations that required them. It would take a first-floor Heavenly Genesis expert a century to create a single drop, yet they only had their Realmlord and thus no other resources. Since the Realmlord had used all the heavenly drops available for her breakthrough, they had nothing to power their heavenly formations.

With that, the other groups simply needed to figure out a way to handle the Realmlord’s profound cultivation base and attack! As the thought was formed, the world started to grow restless!

While all this took place, Yan Zaizen was within his Palace within the Divine Duality Realm’s personal chaotic space; his eyes focused on the book in his hand. This book was titled: ’Advanced Formation Tactics, Vol.XI - Heavenly Formation Connectivity."

Yan Zaizen had obtained a set of formation books along the way somehow, and he’d been delving into it for the past few hundred years. In the outside world, only twelve years passed, but Yan Zaizen was far too used to the time discrepancies.

"Formations are truly profound..." As he learned more, he realized how complex formations were. If it wasn’t for his enhanced cognitive functions due to his regalia refined brain, he wasn’t sure the original him would be capable of understanding a single thing written about formations.

"Yes, they are," Pinaka proudly said.

Pinaka gained a majority of her strength from formations, and her physical body was mostly a bundle of overly complex formations. If anyone understood the difficult and profoundness of formations, it would be True Spirits who relied heavily on it.

However, Yan Zaizen didn’t find the pride in Pinaka’s tone something to be excited about. The True Spirit Path was a deeply flawed Path. It had to rely on formations and other existences to grow, limiting it to only being able to create artificial intelligence and nothing more. Yan Zaizen realized that, by itself, it could never reach the heavens in terms of strength.

It was a little depressing.

"Master!" A soft voice echoed. It belonged to Amy.

"Yes?" Yan Zaizen had produced a talisman for communication, even through chaotic space, allowing them to communicate with him if they needed it.

"Disciple requires your assistance." The voice wasn’t urgent. In truth, it was rather calm, but Yan Zaizen had long since gotten used to Amy’s personality. As such, he knew it was an urgent matter.

About five years ago, Yan Zaizen had allowed Damian and Amy to craft their own path in the Graceful Sword Realm after his seven years of constant support. In truth, his own understanding of the elements, including wood, had likely grown greater than theirs. Fortunately, this made giving them instructions easier.

The only dissatisfaction he had was towards the Imperial Law of Samsara. Due to his sudden instruction and need to delve into formations, he hadn’t the time to develop his conceptual law.

Keeping the book, he stepped outwards and vanished.

As if he materialized from nothing, he appeared beside Amy. She was dressed in her amber-gold attire, proudly displaying his personal emblem to the world. In twelve years, her cultivation had skyrocketed to the peak-Qi Unification Realm. With Yan Zaizen’s top tier environments, cultivation methods, and resources, it would be hard for her cultivation not to progress.

"Master," Amy calmly bowed and gave greetings. Yan Zaizen warmly smiled, turning his eyes towards the situation.

They were located in a courtyard. This courtyard wasn’t anything too fancy, but it had a unique atmosphere that seemed good for cultivation. There was a clear pond with swimming fishes, an evenly flat ground with both a dirt clearing and lush grass, and paths that led to a cultivation room and resting room. However, there was no life signatures for quite a distance.

"Master, this is the clan grounds of the Aquas Clan, a Mortal Faction with an Origin Core Matriarch." Amy explained, "I was invited here to help ease an issue with Damian."

"Oh?" Yan Zaizen was surprised that there was an issue with Damian. The boy was definitely interesting, but he was rather straightforward. The only issue was likely his one-track mind when he finds something he’s passionate about, such as providing for his father or gardening. When he decides on a path, he treks it to the best of his ability with no regrets.

Amy could tell that Yan Zaizen was intrigued but wasn’t deeply invested, so she continued to explain, "The Aquas Clan’s young miss had met Damian while he was undergoing training. While they met, they had a disagreement. Initially, it didn’t escalate, but the young miss intended to capture and punish Damian for his insolence, using the entire clan’s resources to hunt for him."

As he heard more of the situation, he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. This world had a deeply ingrained concept of gender superiority, and such, it wasn’t uncommon for someone like Damian, who was shredding this belief, to come into conflict with others.

"Damian didn’t take too kindly to this and started to make it his mission to kill everyone in the clan..." As she reached here, Yan Zaizen realized why she was here. Yan Zaizen wasn’t against his disciples killing others. He didn’t even have any guidelines towards how they conduct themselves. It was a simple mantra he taught: "Act as you wish, but do so with your life in mind."

If they wish to be a villain, do so! Wish to become a hero of legend, do so!

Regardless, be sure to understand that your life can be reaped as a consequence.

Nevertheless, Yan Zaizen would avenge them, but he would not directly save them unless it was a situation that far, far exceeded their capabilities. Such as a heavenly cultivator coming to kill Amy, who was at the Qi Unification Realm.

"You’ve called me because of that?" Yan Zaizen furrowed his brows in a little displeasure. He expected it to be more urgent, but he didn’t care for such a little situation. Even if Damian wasn’t in the right here, he wouldn’t interfere with his development or actions easily.

"...Master, the issue is that...Damian ascended to the Origin Core Realm and already slaughtered the entire clan. Now, he’s gotten the attention of the Realmlord’s Palace and Insurgency."

"Oh?!" This took him back a little. Damian was only twenty-three years old this day. A twenty-three-year-old Origin Core Realm cultivator? This was mind-boggling. However, upon thinking about it a little, Yan Zaizen felt it was only right. All the top-tier resources he left them, the requirements for the Origin Core Realm, and how it wasn’t based on not just talent but luck in discovering your origin source.

"It would be more accurate to say...the Realmlord’s Palace and Insurgency has gotten ’his’ attention." Amy clarified, her tone awkward and helpless.

"I see, haha." Yan Zaizen couldn’t help but laugh. Amy didn’t call him because of the Aquas Clan’s demise, but because she was worried that Damian would directly impact her own mission due to his single-mindedness. He didn’t even need to understand the situation further to understand it all. However, the situation remained the same; he would not directly interfere with his disciple’s decisions or choices.

"I’ll inform him not to kill your brother, but all his other choices are his own, so is yours." Leaving these words, he couldn’t help but feel slightly proud of Damian’s talent and actions. He returned to his palace, his eyes effusing deep anticipation. Hearing about his disciple’s success, he felt a sensation within his heart he had never felt before!

"Damian, I have quite a bit of hope for you. Don’t let down master!"