What had happened to Lin Moyu overturned the Primordial Gem's understanding. Its arrogance came from believing it knew everything—what had happened before, the most fundamental laws of heaven and earth. But the personal heaven-and-earth Lin Moyu possessed shattered that pride.
Lin Moyu said, "So is there any way to turn my heaven-and-earth into a living world?"
"No," the Primordial Gem denied flatly. "There's no way."
Lin Moyu sighed. "If even you can't do it, then I guess there really isn't a way. I used to think the Calamity Scepter could do anything."
The Primordial Gem suddenly frowned, as if insulted. "What do you mean I can't? You can't. If you were a Paragon, of course you could break the Wall of Heaven and Earth."
"But if I've already become a Paragon, why would I need those world-spirit materials? Wouldn't I already have my own heaven-and-earth?" Lin Moyu replied.
The gem was momentarily speechless—those were its own words thrown back at it.
"So it really can't be done," Lin went on. "All I can do is look at those materials and drool—treasures in sight but out of reach. And to think I was so confident before, assuming with you around there was nothing I couldn't smash." He waved it off. "Forget it. Guess this trip was for nothing."
He stared at the spirit materials behind the Wall of Heaven and Earth, looking both desirous and disappointed—disappointed not only at failing to get them, but also in the scepter itself. The Primordial Gem glanced at his expression and felt as if it had lost face. Abruptly it said, "If you actually managed to get your hands on some world-spirit materials, it wouldn't be utterly impossible."
Joy stirred in Lin's heart, but he kept a calm face. "Even if there's a chance, it must be very difficult."
"It is difficult, but worth a try," the gem said. "First, go to the Ancient Wilds and find an Ancient Wild Corrosion Spirit. The chaos and the Wilds are two sides of one heaven-and-earth—yin and yang; chaos is yang, the Wilds are yin. The Corrosion Spirit is this heaven-and-earth's ultimate power of decay. It can't break the Wall, but it can soften it.
"Once the Wall is softened, I can try to open a tiny hole. You'll send Primordial Breath through it. If you're lucky, your Primordial Breath will resonate with the Wall, and it will of its own accord send some world-spirit materials into your heaven-and-earth.
"That's the only approach left to try. All other heavens have perished; only this one remains. After delivering the last batch of materials long ago, the Wall sealed itself. It's fallen dormant and won't send anything out again. Whether you can wake it depends on your luck.
"But Corrosion Spirits are hard to find, and the process is dangerous. Be careful."
"What does the Ancient Wild Corrosion Spirit look like?" Lin asked.
The Primordial Gem then described it in detail. The Corrosion Spirit has no fixed form; its true name is simply "Corrosion Spirit." It is called the Ancient Wild Corrosion Spirit only because, in this heaven-and-earth, it was born in the Ancient Wilds; in other heavens it would have had other names. It is akin to a heaven-and-earth spirit material—the ultimate corrosive power within a heaven-and-earth. It can corrode anything within heaven and earth, including artifacts and souls. Unlike the Heaven-Earth Medusa (the dissolving water-mother), which dissolves by breaking down structure and even contains a faint power of life that can nurture beings, the Corrosion Spirit is pure death—no life possible. Even a Great Venerable of heaven and earth might fall if touched by it. As long as one hasn't transcended this heaven-and-earth, one cannot withstand it. Yet even such a terrifying thing can only soften the Wall, and only together with the Calamity Scepter could it open a pinhole.
Now that he had a method, Lin decided to go to the Ancient Wilds to seek a Corrosion Spirit. As long as it existed within this heaven-and-earth, he believed he could find it—because he had the Causality-Seeking Ring.
"Since you're my master, I'll help you one more time," the Primordial Gem said loftily. It flared with light, and the Realm Gem began to shine as well. The Primordial Gem drove the Realm Gem's power to condense two seals. One flew into Lin's hand; the other landed upon the Wall of Heaven and Earth.
"With this seal, no matter where you are, you can open a passage to come here. But you get only one use—don't waste it. Also, when you leave from here, you'll be teleported to some corner of heaven and earth—where exactly depends on your luck. Good luck to you."
Even facing its own master, the gem did as it pleased; having spoken, it withdrew. Lin didn't mind. As long as it remained in his hands and more or less listened, that was enough.
He took one last look at the countless mouth-watering world-spirit materials behind the Wall. He was reluctant to leave, but he knew he had no way to take them. Only by following the Primordial Gem's plan did he stand a sliver of a chance to turn his heaven-and-earth into a living world. He vaguely sensed that once it did, he would gain tremendous benefits. At the very least, when facing "Dao," even if he were outmatched, he could escape—greatly improving his safety. Prepare the retreat before the battle; once the fight starts there will be no worries—just as he had done in the past, sending his wives into his storage world before combat so that even if he fell, they would be fine.
Lin flew toward the exit—a space-time passage of unknown destination. As he neared it, Little Tree suddenly said, "Master, wait."
Lin halted. "What is it?"
"I can sense many traces of space-time passages here," Little Tree replied.
Lin understood at once. "There used to be many heavens, and these must be traces left by the mighty ones from those heavens."
He didn't know exactly how many heavens there had been; the Primordial Gem had only said "many." In some of those heavens, Paragons had appeared; they came here and left space-time passages behind. Those Paragons had surely coveted the Wall of Heaven and Earth—but none had succeeded.
There were only two ways in: enter through gateways the Wall itself had left, using a key; or, after becoming a Paragon, force the door. Most Paragons did the latter—mighty and proud, they acted their own way. As for the legends within the chaos—that entering here brought great benefits—only Lin knew the truth: there was no benefit. If anything, it was "open your eyes, ogle the materials, then swallow your drool."
Little Tree said, "I'm wondering… could we restore these space-time passages?"
"Restore them?" Lin was startled. It was a bold idea. If those passages could be restored, did that mean they could lead to other heavens? But those heavens no longer existed. Where would the passages go? Would it be dangerous?
"Try first," Lin said. "I'll ask the Primordial Gem."
Little Tree focused on the sudden inspiration. Tens of thousands of roots extended to the vestiges of those ancient passages, probing the information left behind. The remnants were so old their age could not be traced. Little Tree had no certainty and could only search one by one. Each trace represented a being who had transcended heaven and earth—a Paragon. Whether they had already seized their heavens or not, they had come here; that much was certain. They had explored the ultimate secret of heaven and earth. They came with desires—but what they sought was buried in time.
Lin consulted the Primordial Gem again. "There are many ruins of old space-time passages here."
The gem's attitude toward Lin was much improved from before, though it remained proud. "Yes. Quite a few came here back then."
"Where are they now?" Lin pressed.
"Dead," the gem said. "Heavens are gone—how could they still be alive?"
A chill passed through Lin. "But hadn't they already transcended heaven and earth?" In his view, once one transcended heaven and earth, one should not die even if heaven and earth perished; having become independent of it, why would its life or death matter to them?
The gem snorted. "Master, do you even know what 'transcendence' means?"
Lin didn't get angry; he wanted to pry more out of the gem, so he was all patience. "Go on, then."
"Heh. Since Master asks so sincerely, I'll tell you," it said. "All beings are born and raised within heaven and earth. They can never truly transcend it. Even if they become Paragons and turn to govern their heavens—thinking themselves beyond it—when their heaven dies, they learn they were never truly beyond. When heaven and earth are entombed, they die as well.
"The reverse is also true: once they take control of a heaven, they and that heaven become one. If they die, the heaven perishes with them."
Lin understood. It was like Great Perfection experts and their domains: when they die, their domains collapse; and when a domain collapses, most often its master dies too—though there are occasional survivors. But scaled up to the level of heaven and earth, the heavens and those Paragons are bound together—life and death entwined.
"No exceptions?" Lin asked.
"None," the gem said. "There were many Paragons and many heavens—now all gone. Who knows what happened?"
"Why did they die?" Lin probed.
"Seems it was for something," the gem said. "I don't know the details. But men die for wealth and birds for food. That truth holds at every level, no matter how high the realm."
A faint bleakness stirred in Lin's heart. If so many Paragons had perished, what meaning did cultivation hold? They had sought "something." What was it? Something that could truly free them? In the chaos, the former apex beings fell over a flower, over transcending the chaos; after transcending the chaos, they still fell chasing something. It was as if the operating rule of heaven and earth—from small worlds to the present cosmos—had never changed. It seemed to be an iron law. But what if he insisted on breaking it?
The thought took root in Lin's heart—he would try.
Having gleaned enough for now, he shifted back to the point. "One more question—what becomes of a heaven-and-earth after it collapses?"
The Primordial Gem smiled, a little chillingly. "That tree of yours wants to restore the passages, right? What's left after a heaven collapses is naturally heaven-remnants. What form those remnants take—no one can say. Each heaven is different."
Lin admitted frankly, "Is there danger inside?"
"Maybe," the gem said. "You only know by going. Does Master intend to go?"
Lin nodded. "I want to take a look."
"Go then. At worst, you die in there. No big deal," the gem said.
Lin was speechless. No big deal? If he died in another heaven, would the gem be trapped there too?
Reading his thoughts, the gem said, "No need to look at me like that. If you die there, I'll be fine. I can stay anywhere."
With a weapon like this, who's the master here? Lin wanted to curse but swallowed it. The gem had helped him many times; still, he couldn't help feeling aggrieved. Ever since obtaining the Primordial Gem, the Calamity Scepter felt less like his. Headache.
"Which heaven are you from?" Lin asked. In his view, the scepter should have belonged to some Paragon—not from the Ancient Chaos Wasteland, which had no such figure.
"Hee hee—Master, why don't you guess?" the gem chirped.
Guess your head, Lin thought. "I'm afraid you don't even know."
Pop! The gem clapped its tiny hands. "Master guessed right. I truly don't know!"
Lin was even more exasperated; it was telling the truth.
Ignorant of its own origin, yet endlessly haughty—Lin had no idea where the gem's confidence came from. It just kept that cocky, dismissive air.
Since Little Tree was still studying the passages, Lin kept asking. "So what are you actually good for? I know what the other four gems do—the Soul, Balance, and Elemental gems I've used, and while I haven't used the Realm Gem yet, I roughly understand it. But you—the Primordial Gem—most special of the five, the only one with true intelligence—I have no idea what your function is. From the way you can drive the other gems, you should be the scepter's core, like a spirit."
"Heh. I'm immensely useful," the gem said. "But I can't tell you the specifics."
"I don't buy it. More likely—you don't know," Lin said.
The gem's eyes widened. "You may be my master, but I can get mad and flip out!"
For all its bluster, it sounded lacking in confidence—hesitant, embarrassed, unlike before. From its reaction, Lin knew he'd hit the mark: the little thing didn't know its own origin or true purpose.
Thinking a moment, Lin lowered his voice. "As your master, I have a right to know a few things. What is your real ability?"