Chapter 3960: The Human Sovereign's Path
Five days later, the Woodkill World Lord dragged over a soul. This was a third-level Great Dao cultivator not particularly strong or weak, the kind of existence common in the Jianmu Great Spirit Domain. Woodkill had knocked him out and brought him as a sample for Lin Moyu to examine.
"Lin Dao Friend, please take a look."
He activated the cultivator's soul, making it quickly turn transparent. Deep within, a soul mark slowly emerged. The soul mark was deeply hidden even when revealed, it was still faint and unclear. Lin Moyu observed it quietly; the mark resembled a divine rune, but it was not the same.
He frowned slightly he had seen something similar before. On the Redstone Emperor's true body, the claw marks contained similar runes. The difference was that the runes on the Redstone Emperor were much more complex, while the soul mark was much simpler.
Lin Moyu couldn't determine the soul mark's exact purpose, so he memorized it and asked, "Are all soul marks the same?"
Woodkill replied honestly, "Exactly the same, no difference at all. When I discovered the soul mark, I compared it with many others, including other World Lords. Lin Dao Friend, did you find anything?"
Lin Moyu shook his head. "Nothing. It seems only the Human Sovereign understands the soul mark. That's enough for now I have things to do. When I'm done, I'll visit you in the Jianmu Great Spirit Domain."
Woodkill breathed a sigh of relief. "I'll prepare as many materials as I can."
Lin Moyu said, "I won't take advantage. I'll give you some Great Dao Soul Refining Pills in return."
Woodkill looked delighted and bowed deeply. "Thank you, Lin Dao Friend."
With that, he dragged the soul away and vanished into the void.
After Woodkill left, Lin Moyu signaled Little Python to continue the journey, but he fell into deep thought. The soul mark gave him some clues it wasn't from this world, but likely came from the same place as the runes in the Redstone Emperor's body. He didn't believe the Human Sovereign created it; it must have been acquired elsewhere.
The Human Sovereign achieved eternity relatively late, unlike the ancient Redstone Emperor, so he shouldn't have had access to the soul mark naturally. The only place he could have gotten it was the world beyond that gate.
Lin Moyu's eyes flashed with understanding. "It all makes sense. The Human Sovereign first opened the gate, learned the soul mark technique from the world beyond, then trapped the Jianmu Emperor, impersonated him, and unified the Jianmu Great Spirit Domain to distribute soul pearls. Through the soul pearls, the soul mark spread throughout the domain, planting it in the souls of most cultivators who reached the Great Dao realm."
"The exact purpose of the soul mark is unclear, but the Human Sovereign's actions must be related to his final step."
At the eternal level, power and fame lose their appeal the only thing that matters is taking that final step. Every eternal being works toward it, even at the cost of falling into dormancy. The Human Sovereign is no different; everything he does is for that last step.
But what exactly is that last step?
Lin Moyu had broken through to the Dao Lord realm countless times, entering that mysterious level, but each time only for two seconds. He could sense its marvels, but couldn't stay long enough to truly see it. What he needed to see, he had already glimpsed in those brief entries; the rest could only be understood by fully stepping in.
As for the Human Sovereign's actions, Lin Moyu had no opinion and didn't want to interfere. He wouldn't make an enemy of the Human Sovereign, at least not for now, since their interests didn't conflict. As long as the Human Sovereign left him alone, he wouldn't get involved. Even if one day the Human Sovereign decided to slaughter the entire Jianmu Great Spirit Domain, it would have nothing to do with him.
Years passed, and Lin Moyu collected more and more Great Dao origin aura. Desolate beasts kept coming, delivering new bottles for him. Occasionally, a Great Dao Desolate Beast King would also show up, bringing even better bottles from across billions of miles.
Lin Moyu's control over the Daos steadily improved. At first, he could only fuse a hundred Daos; by the time he reached the Tianzhou Great Spirit Domain, he could fuse over three hundred. The droplets formed from three hundred Daos looked the same, but the origin aura they emitted was much denser and their internal power much stronger. The increase in power was geometric: tripling the number of Daos more than doubled the power of the origin aura.
Still, Lin Moyu wasn't satisfied. Compared to the countless Daos out there, three hundred was just a fraction he wanted to fuse them all.
Great Dao origin aura is the foundation of all Daos. If he could gather enough, it would not only open the gate but also greatly benefit the Great World.
A Great Spirit Domain appeared in view after more than a hundred years, he finally arrived at the Tianyu Great Spirit Domain.
Little Python murmured, "Master, something's off about this domain."
Lin Moyu replied, "That's expected. The worlds here aren't strong, and few cultivators enter the Soul Void, so there are lots of void beasts."
Little Python asked, "Why is that?"
Lin Moyu explained, "Because of a certain Dao. In the real world, this Dao changed how worlds evolve here, they combine cultivation and technology. Little Python didn't understand 'technology,' but it didn't matter whatever Master said was right.
A world's size in the Soul Void is determined by its cultivators the more and stronger they are, the stronger the world, and its will can even gain intelligence. But under the influence of the Physical Dao, cultivators in the Tianyu Great Spirit Domain follow a path that combines cultivation and technology. While powerful, this path is off course and doesn't strengthen the world as much as pure cultivation would.
So Lin Moyu concluded that these people hadn't entered the Soul Void, nor strengthened their worlds.
Little Python flew into the domain, sensing the marks of time ancient and desolate, unchanged for countless years.
"It really does seem like there are no cultivators here," Little Python said.
"That's right," Lin Moyu replied. "Those who stray from the path can't enter the Soul Void."
He took out the Soul Refining Furnace and began refining pills. Instantly, the aura of the Soul Void Pill and the furnace drew the attention of nearby void beasts. The local Small Spirit Domain King sensed it too and sent its minions.
The once-peaceful Great Spirit Domain now faced an uninvited guest one brimming with killing intent.
Countless soul flames appeared in view. Lin Moyu chuckled, "Here come the materials!"
Little Python roared in excitement void beasts were its food, and things like "cannibalism" didn't matter at all!
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