The Silverlight Rabbit clan—sixteen clansfolk at the Perfect Realm level—began, per Lin Moyu's instructions, to compress the power of the first, the Five-World Domain.
Compressing domain-force is also a way of fortifying it. The Five-World Domain had already reached a perfected state; its domain-force could rise no further in the usual way. But it could be compressed—for example, compressing what had been "one hundred" down to "fifty." That creates headroom to pour in new power; once that new power is added and likewise compressed and fused, the domain grows far stronger.
Normally, this is something done after reaching the Perfect Realm: a typical cultivator first fuses a domain to attain the Perfect Realm, gaining absolute control; only then do they compress the domain-force and continue to raise it, in tandem with their own power. How many times it can be compressed generally matches how many times one sublimated when stepping into the Chaos Realm—a limit set by world-rules. The sublimation at the instant you achieve the Chaos Realm is your foundation, and the foundation fixes your ultimate ceiling.
Lin Moyu, however, was going the other way around: before advancing to Chaos Realm – Perfect Realm, he was compressing his domains' power, then using those post-compression domains to step into the Perfect Realm. No one had ever done this. Call it audacious; to him, "no one has done it" only meant "no one has tried it." Since he'd thought of it, he would do it.
The sixteen top experts of the Silverlight Rabbits worked as one. In just one month, they finished compressing the Five-World Domain. Its power was suddenly half-empty again—ready to accept new force—while the portion that had been compressed became denser and stronger.
The Rabbit elders cast their bloodline secret arts; the materials Lin Moyu had prepared flowed into the Five-World Domain, transforming into new domain-force. The already-compressed force acted as a primer, so the incoming force auto-compressed and blended with the old. The process was smooth, with no mishaps. After two more months, the Five-World Domain's domain-force was full again—but different: it now shone brightest among the Nine Domains, its power twice that of the others. Stronger domain-force meant stronger Daos within, and all beings' innate gifts rose with it.
If Lin Moyu now used the Five-World Domain to achieve Chaos Realm – Perfect Realm, his realm upon entry would surpass that of most Perfect-Realm cultivators. But this was only the beginning.
The Five-World success boosted the Rabbits' confidence. They immediately turned to compress the Great Thousand World. With experience, they moved faster and smoother.
Standing beside Lin Moyu, the Primal Chaos Gem murmured, "Master, you're testing the bottom line of world-rules."
"I know," Lin Moyu said. "But this isn't a forbidden zone; it's testable." His grasp of the rules was new-minted and deep; he knew what he was doing. By rule, compression should happen after the Perfect Realm—but this sort of rule can be bent if you have the means. For example, he could use the Cause-Seeking Ring to force the result, thereby nudging the rules' bottom line.
"One or two, fine," the Gem said. "But you have nine domains. Heaven-and-earth may rage."
"Heaven-and-earth have no will—only rules," Lin Moyu smiled. "When the time comes, I'll change the rules."
"Even with the Cause-Seeking Ring, you may not fully waive the price."
"What's left," Lin Moyu said, "I'll solve with my fists. I'm the calamity-bearer—it'll give me some face. Besides, I have you. If I falter, you step in."
The Gem was speechless. Then, "Master, you said ten domains, but we have only nine. Where's the last?"
"I considered stealing another," Lin Moyu said, "but once I understood certain rules, I dropped it. Nine is the limit of number, and the limit the world permits. If I truly fused ten, I'd be breaking the bottom line and draw Heaven's Punishment. It might not kill me, but it could wreck the domains—unacceptable. To push the bottom line, I must first complete domain fusion. So, I thought of another way—which requires you."
"Spare me the fluff," the Gem said. "Let's be direct."
Lin Moyu laughed. "I'll use the Domain Gem to create avatars for each of the Nine Domains."
The Gem pondered. "The Domain Gem can create domain avatars, but they're not strong and not true domains—far off the real thing."
"That's the point," Lin Moyu said. "Since they're not true domains, they won't trigger the bottom line."
The Gem suddenly saw it. "You're not thinking of just one avatar, are you?"
Lin Moyu grinned. "Nine is the limit, so each domain will make nine avatars. That's not too much, is it?"
"Too much?" The Gem nearly swore. "That's absurd." He choked it back. "Go on—then what?"
"If I'm right," Lin Moyu said, "each avatar the Domain Gem makes drains some power from the original, weakening it."
"That's correct."
"But if I use Heaven's First Qi as the foundation, the Gem can form avatars without drawing from the originals."
"That we can do," the Gem said. "Still, each avatar will only be about thirty percent of the original's power—and there'll be no living beings inside."
"Then we'll have the Soul Gem and Elemental Gem simulate populations. Not truly alive—just approximate."
"…Possible," the Gem conceded. "Continue."
"I have nine domains, and each has undergone at least one compression, making them twice a normal perfected domain. Based on those, avatars at thirty percent won't be much weaker than an ordinary imperfect domain. When we finish, we'll have nine compressed perfected domains plus eighty-one domain avatars about equal to normal ones. Crucially, the avatars won't be recognized by heaven-and-earth as real domains, but they're functionally domains, with domain-force. That means I've fooled heaven-and-earth."
The Gem was out of words. Beyond bold—outrageous. At last he gave a thumbs-up. "Master, your idea is perverse."
Lin Moyu chuckled. "Just bold, not perverse."
"It's perverse," the Gem muttered. "Nine pre-compressed domains already scrape the bottom line; now you'll cheat the heavens and fuse eighty-one avatars—each founded on Heaven's First Qi, which is unusual to begin with. I can't even imagine how strong you'd be if this works."
"My derivation says my realm will reach top-tier Perfect Realm, while my combat power will exceed the usual Perfect Realm. Perhaps still short of a Calamity Supreme, but stronger than a common Quasi–Calamity Supreme."
"That's just your realm," the Gem said. "Add your body and soul, and even Calamity Supremes won't be your match."
"Perhaps," Lin Moyu said. "I have another thought: my arts might sublimate again. Those eighty-one avatars will be washed by the Ancient Wilds' rules and acclimate to them. After I fuse them, their power will not only boost me, it may push my arts to break their limits. It's only my deduction—no guarantee."
The Gem froze. He knew Lin Moyu's arts. If they sublimated again… The picture of countless beyond-Chaos Undead Thralls flooding forth was… vivid.
Every art has a limit. The Origin Secret Art from the Origin Bird is unstoppable inside a domain, but in the Ancient Wilds its limit shows: Chaos Realm – Perfect Realm—because the art is born of Origin Bird blood, and the Origin Bird is itself a Perfect Realm lifeform. Hence it's rare; its blood yields secrets, and many experts hunt it on sight.
Likewise, Lin Moyu's other arts have limits. He could now clearly feel that his Undead Thralls also cap at the Perfect Realm; even if he becomes a Calamity Supreme, he can't summon a Calamity-tier thrall. Yes, trillions of Perfect-Realm thugs are terrifying; with a ruthless heart he could sweep the Ancient Wilds. But against Calamity Supremes—and beings above—they're not enough; a Calamity Supreme going for the kill could erase boundless thralls in an instant.
This planned over-the-line breakthrough might be the best chance for his arts to sublimate again. And amid the Great Calamity, as the calamity-bearer, the heavens target him even as they open doors—which is why he had to seize this chance and push everything to the extreme. He didn't expect every art to sublimate; if Endless Summons rose, that would be enough. The rest would be left to fate.
The Silverlight Rabbits worked hard, compressing domain after domain. Fortunately, Lin Moyu's materials were more than ample. After several years, all Nine Domains completed one compression each, now radiating oppressive domain-force—far stronger than before. In Yushen Heaven & Earth, the Nine Domains hung like nine blazing stars, propping up a special pocket of space. A pity the Nine were not part of Yushen by nature; even as Yushen's master, Lin Moyu couldn't forcibly merge them into his world. To use them for his Perfect Realm step, he would still need to return to the Ancient Wilds.
After one round, he tested a second compression—but it failed. The domains' power now exceeded what the Rabbits' bloodline arts could handle. The only way would be if one of them became a Calamity Supreme, evolving the bloodline secret—but that was out of reach. It wasn't that they lacked strength; their bloodline technique had reached its limit.
He could, in theory, force-compress personally while they guided new domain-force in—but the failure risk was high. In failure, the light result would be wounded domains, mass casualties, and recurring disasters; the heavy result, outright collapse with no survivors. Lin Moyu would not bear that outcome. He abandoned the idea.
Time for the Domain Gem to work.
He poked the dozing Primal Chaos Gem.
"Oh," the Gem blinked, rubbing his eyes. "Little Yuyu, time to work."
The Domain Gem obediently burst into light—hazy at first, then world-flooding—and soon its glow covered all Nine Domains. It wasn't copying them one by one, but all nine at once.
At once Lin Moyu felt his soul-power plummet: the Domain Gem was burning his soul to duplicate the domains. Fortunately, Little Tree reacted quickly, channeling him more, but not fast enough to keep up.
"Can we do them one by one?" Lin Moyu asked.
"All at once is best," said the Gem. "That way, the avatars' power starts balanced. One by one is doable, and you could use the Balance Gem after, but it's not as good as controlling it at the source."
Sound reasoning; Lin Moyu couldn't refute it.
With his true body currently keeping his wives company, he said softly, "I need to step out for a while."
Ning Yiyi asked, "Something urgent?"
He nodded. "It's time." After five centuries together, they knew he had much to do. They didn't hold him back—only urged caution. After a round of embraces, Lin Moyu departed.
In Yushen Heaven & Earth he'd opened a separate living space for them, full of teleport arrays to every corner. He also taught them how to use Heaven's First Qi to leave imprints on gestating beings, letting those beings draw in Heaven's First Qi—just as Little Mist and the others did. While he'd been around, they hadn't wanted to go anywhere; now that he was busy, they set off as instructed to seek nascent life and refine Heaven's First Qi.
At the edge of the domains, his true body arrived; a clone flowed in and merged. Soul-power plunged again; even with Little Tree going all-out, replenishment lagged. Lin Moyu moved a thought, summoned vast Heaven's First Qi, and fed it into the Domain Gem, substituting for part of the soul drain. When his soul-power hit empty, he detonated himself and completed a rebirth, using that method to refill his soul.
Watching, the Primal Chaos Gem muttered under his breath, "Master is too outrageous…"