"I need to establish a location suitable for myself, something that will awe the world with a single glance." The moment he accepted his two disciples and brought them away, he felt plagued by this. As someone with a sovereign's dao, how could he accept a cave as his base?
"The only issue is...this is the 17th Heaven and this realm isn't suitable to establish a base." Yan Zaizen's brows were furrowed in contemplation by this conundrum. "Should I make it a mobile palace?" After some thought, he threw the idea away.
If he created a palace and made it mobile, his disciples would always need to travel with him or be aware of his location to get access to it.
"Oh!" A thought struck him like lightning. The moment this thought seeded in his mind, it grew to astonishing levels. He smirked slightly, his eyes effusing might and arrogance.
"I can do it."
He tapped to the west with his finger. A small ripple surged outward like water, this ripple may have been small, but it continued to ripple endlessly. His eyes brightened at this.
He turned to the east and tapped out with his finger. Another identical ripple surged outward, it too seemed endless and everlasting. Those bright eyes became increasingly brighter.
He tapped to the south and the north, then with the tip of his right leg, he tapped downwards with his toes. With one last tap, the one upwards, he didn't use his finger but clenched his hand into a fist and punched upwards. The ripple created from this was massive, this massive spatial ripple seemed to encapsulate all the other smaller endlessly rippling waves.
It continued until the ripple became the size of a small moon. When it reached this point, two figures on the planet turned their gazes upwards. Their eyes seemed to contain two graceful and sharp swords, completely unsheathed and at the ready.
Yan Zaizen's actions couldn't be hidden, nor did he wish it to be. However, only those who had heavenly sense could locate and perceive the disturbances produced by his actions.
The ripples surged and then they vanished suddenly, as if it was all an illusion. Yan Zaizen smiled with a domineering light within his eyes, "If I can think of it, I can do it." It was as if he was declaring to the heavens that his thoughts meant reality.
He didn't move but suddenly vanished from sight. Shortly after his departure, two beautifully dressed figures appeared. One was wearing red while the other was wearing blue. Their gazes swept here and there but they were cautious. In their sharp gazes was even a bit of confusion.
While they contemplated and investigated, Yan Zaizen was in the Non Universe - the Vast Expanse. Normally, entering the Non Universe from the heavens should be incomparably difficult, the only reason Yan Zaizen could enter it before was due to the inter-heavenly spatial formation.
If the Vast Expanse was a sea, then the formation was a tunnel from one island to the other. While the formation was inactive, the tunnel wasn't established but the entrances and sea remained. He pried open the locked entrance and entered the sea.
It was quite similar to normal spatial formations and chaotic space. The only difference was the destinations, one was within the same heaven while the other was between two different heavens.
Yan Zaizen had forcefully done something that should've been, theoretically, impossible by heavenly limitations. However, Yan Zaizen's dao wasn't imposed by heavenly limitations but by his will. It was quite easy to replicate the feat with the help of Mimicry, Spatial Laws, the black hole's devouring force, and his dao amplification.
It may have seem simple, a few taps and a punch, but the intricacies was beyond profound and nearly indescribable by mortal means.
"A universe without the heavens? Ha! Then, I'll just add a bit of my own." Yan Zaizen's voice was beyond arrogant and if the heavenly gods were to hear his words, they would be utterly shocked. They, those who resided over the heavens, would be shocked!
Yan Zaizen tapped out, but there was a faint resistance. He coldly snorted, this snort contained a fierce force. Immediately, a black hole emerged from his glabella.
"At the beginning, I didn't understand what essence meant...now I feel it a little." Essence was law. This was clear by the Essence Path which enabled one to use the heavenly law. There may even be two Essence Paths, the one that depicts energy and the other that depicts laws.
However, he came to understand a pertinent fact. The heavenly laws weren't the only laws of the universe, it also wasn't even the only universe. If the heavens are below the Earths and the Skies, then what was it?
When he arrived to a piece of Earth at the 7th Heaven, he understood a little. The Earths below contained the beginning of life in its simplicity, and above contained greater existences. It's possible it even contained true gods.
In that case, perhaps the heavens were created by these existences? The heavens were obviously not the laws of the omniverse, however the Dao Path and Herculean Path that Ezekiel and he cultivated was. After all, only these paths worked in another universe.
Pinaka was an example of this, immediately going into slumber after losing connection with the heavens. And to further support this, in the piece of Earth from below, she became an actual lifeform no longer constricted by her innate flaws, nearly becoming mortal. This meant there were profound laws in that piece of Earth that existed separately from the heavens.
He had already understood that the ultimate goal of a cultivator was the make an Eternal Law and Path that follows it, to reach the Heavenly Ascension Realm. "I even suspect my Non-Entity body is the body all beings in the world above is born with."
As he pondered this, he realized his mind was drifting off task.
"Firstly," Yan Zaizen spoke as he turned hand into blade and struck out in front of him. A slashing mark infused with his dao emerged. Only the Dao energy accompanied by his own spatial energy were barely usable here, and with this, he sliced open a path to the 17th Heaven.
This path led not to his previous location, but within the core of the planet within the realm.
He spread out his fingers and harshly grasped. A string of spacetime essence emerged from the 17th Heaven and wrapped around his arm. This string was thin but exceptionally powerful.
With his other arm, he grasped at the nothingness. His fingertips erupted in amber-gold light. The nothingness was then drawn into the black hole at his glabella. A strange event occurred, the black hole spiraled and nothingness seemed to be drawn in. It was beyond the description of surreal and felt more like bending reality itself.
He smiled at this, he could feel the essence of the Vast Expanse entering his body. It was different than before, this essence was the pinnacle of purity, untainted by all things.
"If my Non-Entity Physique is as I believe, and the Vast Expanse is as I believe, then there's a law of this universe I can grasp! A law in this universe that I can harness, a law similar to Heavenly Law!" His pupils became a sea of amber-gold lava so brilliant that even a sun the size of a galaxy would seem dim in comparison.
His body started to surge with an unknown force. This unknown force was the pinnacle of pureness and contained a profound power. As Yan Zaizen felt this power, his body started to transform. Herculean markings started to emerge on his body and emanated an extraordinarily oppressive force. This force contained this pure force.
"I was right!" As Yan Zaizen continued to devour nothingness, his body quivered and his everything started to become purer as a result.
"The Non Law!" As he declared this force surging throughout his body, he closed his eyes and focused. His mind was clear as he sensed the profoundities of the Non Universe.
Ninety-Nine minutes passed.
"Haha!" With his eyes still closed, he felt excited. The laws of this world were quite similar to the heavenly law, but far, far more profound. There was no Heavenly Domain, which meant each concept derived from the law was strictly dependant on one's imagination and beliefs that conformed to its traits!
In the heavens, spatial law was divided into two aspects, Infinite Stability and Distortion. All spatial concepts derived from these two traits, this was the limitations of the heavens! No matter your belief or thoughts, if they didn't conform to the concepts around these two laws, your understanding, by heavenly law, was flawed.
"The Non Law, Law of Purity." As he said this, the world shifted briefly. All the nothingness surrounding him emitted a law of purity so potent that existence itself seemed to be purified. If the Non Law was Heavenly Law, then the Law of Purity could be likened to the Law of Spacetime in its entirely, not segregated by a concept.
"Law of Purity, Conceptual Law - Force of Pinnacle Purity." As his thoughts traveled here, he felt a surge in his soul. A pure force emerged in his soul. This force was undefined by shape but was hazy, it seemed to contain nothing, no color, no depth, or even substance. It was an avatar of his law!
"That's all I needed!" Yan Zaizen smirked domineering, his heart beating with fierce excitement. Did he just comprehend the law of an entirely different universe and establish his own concept based on it?
Yes.
Yes he did.
Even if the law itself couldn't be appropriately used outside of the universe, it still answered many questions he had about the heavens and the omniverse! Not to mention, himself!
He grabbed the string of spacetime and his dao-infused fingers and he collided them together. The law of this world accommodated his wishes, suddenly creating a sub-space.
This sub-space was between the Non Universe and the Heavenly Universe, connected by the two laws of two different universes! By all means, this should've been absolutely impossible! Yet, as he who comprehended the laws of two universes, he achieved this impossibility!
"Enter!" He shouted as his heavenly shrine erupted with energy. This energy poured into this sub-space endlessly.
He was creating his own sub-realm!