Yan Zaizen casually sauntered through the Border Expanse. With his current cultivation base, his comprehension of space, he could easily travel where he wished and leave when he wished. As he did, a smile as big as a crescent moon stayed frozen on his face.
"How did you do that? He didn't even do anything as you took everything…" Pinaka's inquired curiously. From her perspective, Yan Zaizen had erected his Mystic Realm of Isolation, strolled calmly to take every single regalia, and even pulled out the contents of Eitan Gal's heavenly dimension with sheer ease. As for Eitan, he stayed there frozen. Yan Zaizen did say a few words here and there, but besides that, nothing.
"Haha," incomparably happy, he felt satisfied with himself. "Well, its pretty complex to explain, hehe." Snickering, his face was the picture of excitement. "I created an independent space, no, it would be better to say, I independently created a second chaotic space which I inverted? That old man simply existed in that space, while I, existed in standard space. It was as if he was in chaotic space, and he was in chaotic space. I simply moved unhindered while he went through a different time flow. Before, I didn't affect your time flow, so we simply existed in different spaces."
"OH!" Pinaka finally understood. Yan Zaizen's Mystic Realm produced an independent space with similarities to chaotic space. The flow of time could be manipulated at will while all those within this realm existed in that different space. It was profound, but she immediately saw the flaws.
"It's an independent space, a pseudo-realm, layered atop the existing space. In that case, your aura, location, and actions can still be seen. Furthermore, you won't be able to interact with the other, and they wouldn't be able to interact with you."
Yan Zaizen's eyes flashed, but he kept his smile. "Indeed. If I entered their space, I would be subjected to that time flow. It would be no different than normal. It has very little combat potential, for now at least." The flaws in his art, how could he not know of it?
Furthermore, manipulating time in any manner was draining, and if he wished to actively manipulate the flow of time around heavenly cultivators? Forget it. Their natural heavenly aura would fiercely resist, to even slow them down slightly would expend too much heavenly might.
He wasn't willing.
However, in standard space, their natural heavenly aura couldn't affect the time flow! Therefore, all he needed was to create a space with a consistent time flow throughout. It was combining the two aspects of chaotic space and standard space into one, establishing a unique realm with its own unique laws. It seamlessly bypassed the consumption issue. Moreover, he felt that the Mystic Realm of Isolation could be further refined.
This type of realm space also isolated all other layers of space. Therefore, to spatial cultivators, this was an absolute nightmare to deal with.
However, there was one thing that bothered Pinaka, "How did you take the contents of his heavenly dimension?" This was a heaven-defying feat and shouldn't be possible! At least, it shouldn't be possible while it retained ownership.
"Oh, that? I won't be trying to do that anytime soon…" his expression slightly grimaced with a trace of caution. To take the contents within a heavenly dimension, he had to segregate the two, heavenly dimension from heavenly shrine. He only isolated it for a split second, but it consumed more than forty percent of his reserves! FORTY PERCENT!
To add to the disaster, there was a moment in that split second where the heavenly dimension nearly collapsed! He was almost certain that if it wasn't a spatial-attributed heavenly shrine, the dimension would've collapsed and he would've suffered an unimaginable backlash.
He didn't know how this would affect the owner, but he knew that it would be frightening for him. It was like cutting the wires of a bomb with a thousand similar colored wires, he got lucky this once.
"Forget it, let's go." Deciding to no longer waste time, he stepped forward. A ripple surged in space, and he entered the spatial void.
-----
Several hours later, in the spot Yan Zaizen vanished from, a shadow flickered into existence. This shadow became an incomparably stable figure garbed in a grey-robe. On his face was a mask that fit perfectly to the contours of his face, which was delicate and sharp, with two eyes that contained silver irises. Underneath this mask was undeniably a handsome face of the ages.
The figure's aura was indeterminate, and his means of movement seemed tied to chaos itself. His physique was slim and elegant yet oddly seemed to contain an unimaginably explosive energy. It was the only defining feature that was clear.
Beneath the mask, the voice muttered a few words. These words were indiscernible and seemed to contain mystical magic. Numerous motes of dark-grey light appeared from nothing. These motes of light, if looked closely within, seemed to contain scenes of the ages. All the events in the last century were depicted clearly.
One of these motes of light revealed a young man. This man's stance was upright, unconsciously exuding the stability of a king, and his eyes contained deep excitement. Over time, his expression shifted until it became neutral whereupon he entered the spatial void.
The figure grabbed this particular mote of light. As it landed in his hand, it assimilated into his palm. A couple of seconds later, the figure's hand took the form of a claw.
Rip!
With a gentle yet ferociously swift swipe, a spatial rift appeared. A sound lingered that seemed to become a new mote of dark-grey light. The motes vanished slowly, but the scene played once more. At the end, the sound resonated before it vanished.
"At last."
-----
"It's truly a distance away," Yan Zaizen muttered softly as he exited the spatial void. The Milky Way Realm soon arrived in his sights. "It's truly so easy to travel through the spatial void, even if you consider chaotic spaces time flow changes, spatial void travel is by far faster." He couldn't help but marvel at this ability.
Of course, for him with an Imperial Law of Spacetime, his ability to traverse the spatial void and establish tunnels surpassed the vast majority of all in existence. Not only was his travels more stable requiring a far less expenditure in energy, but also quicker in terms of determining the route and proper movements within.
Welcoming his exit was a white-robed figure with white hair and a grand beard of snow white. He seemed to be the picture of purity. With an upright and mystical posture, he gave off the feeling as if the whole world was in his hands.
"Eloah," Yan Zaizen greeted. It wasn't respectful but it wasn't disrespectful either.
Eloah smiled at Yan Zaizen's return, his eyes that seemed to contain life's mysteries gleamed slightly. "It seems you obtained Xiha's last gift." Seeing Yan Zaizen reach the sixth-floor of the Heavenly Genesis Realm in such a remarkably short time felt mind-boggling, even for him.
Yan Zaizen slightly pouted at the mention of Xiha, only after remembering that he was going to bury Xiha's ancestors on his planet did he feel comfortable. "He only left a few heavenly crystals and random materials. I thought it would be greater."
Eloah warily smiled. Yan Zaizen was obviously still peeved at Xiha's habits of half-explaining things and forcefully imposing his plans on others. "Your harvests still seems bountiful."
"Hehe, bountiful indeed." Yan Zaizen's eyes flickered with laughter, it was oddly mischievous and carried a hint of child-like triumph. "Regardless, I'll be taking my leave." Yan Zaizen enjoyed talking to Eloah, he was rather neutral and seemed to be unwilling to judge others. The fact he was visibly happy for Yan Zaizen's increasing in cultivation already put him in his good books.
"Oh? It hasn't even been seven days." Eloah was quite shocked at Yan Zaizen's insistence on returning home. He should already know that the inter-heavenly spatial formation would collapse if he forced it.
"Seven days…" Although the time was inconsequential, Yan Zaizen truly realized that he barely lived in the normal flow of time. He was already five thousand years old, and despite staying years in chaotic space, it was merely a few days.
"It's fine. I have no intent on being forceful. I will, however, no longer be subjected to someone else's plans in my destination or location. I shall go where I wish, when I wish." As he recalled his journey from day one, how he was taken by Han Genji against his will, he felt incredibly nostalgic.
"Have I truly reached such a power?" He silently thought. He had been snatched and carried away from his home, sent to the Basilisk Forest against his desire without knowing a thing about it, sabotaged to entering chaotic space where he exited in a new country, sent to the other side of the heaven due to a sub-realm collapse, pulled every which way by Zhou Xiuhei, and brought to an entirely foreign environment, no, an entirely different heaven by Xiha.
As he recalled such things, it made him feel incredibly stifled but also...happy. Han Genji, an Origin Core Realm cultivator, changed his life and showed him kindness no one outside of five people had ever shown. The Basilisk Forest allowed him to grow as a person and face conflict. With that, he developed his Nascent Dao.
Entering Grux may have been painful, but he met Tao, Bai Lufeng, and his woman, Pinaka. "Hehe, my woman." He chuckled childishly thinking about that imperialistic beauty in his soul. That beauty was all his.
Not only that, his Dao grew even further and he became a person who understood the darkness of the world and how weakness can bring one's end. The world was cruel, but that didn't mean you had to deal with it.
The sub-realm collapse allowed him to understand his soul bloodline, something he hasn't had much opportunity to use, but also for Pinaka...it was a defining moment where she realized her feelings for him. Zhou Xiuhei brief interactions truly made him feel kinship and familial love. This was something he hadn't felt in a long while.
He may on the surface call him Grandpa Xiu for revenge, but with each saying, it felt truer. As for entering this heaven? He was capable of scamming an entire race, stealing twelve space-based conceptual regalias, and obtained an extraordinary amount of wealth and personal power as a result.
If he had stayed in the 27th Heaven, it was incredibly unlikely that his cultivation base would be remotely close to this. After all, even Zhou Xiuhei was poorer than the Lycan Race, far, far poorer.
Recalling all these things left him with an odd feeling in his heart. Perhaps, sometimes, following the flow of events was the best decision one could make.
Eloah calmly looked at Yan Zaizen, then nodded as if he understood. "Give me some time, I have something I wish to prepare for you before your departure."
"?" Yan Zaizen was startled, but the look in Eloah's eyes seemed to convey a thousand things, and only good intent existed. His intuition felt that waiting for a while may also be the best choice, so he nodded in response.
"You can rest within the realm, wherever you wish." Eloah smiled, satisfied with Yan Zaizen's acceptance with a lack of questioning. He shimmered out of sight. Yan Zaizen couldn't even find his aura.
"Where did he go?" Waiting a few seconds, he looked downwards towards the sun and the nine(eight?) planets rotating around it. His eyes honed onto the third planet from the sun, the one with no cultivators but many, many lives.
"I guess I'll see what that's about." An itch of curiosity emerged in his heart. Eloah, if he was the protector of this realm, then why was he protecting it and who was he? Why did this realm have no cultivators? These questions continued to resound until they were particularly loud.
With a step, he arrived at the edge of the blue planet. It was mostly water but had dense landforms. It wasn't particularly large, but it was undeniably one thing…
"Beautiful!"