CHAPTER 120 — A World Prepares and a World Grows
(Mixing both Option A: Alliance War Planning & Option B: Inner World Development)
Cloudsky Sect had never felt like this before.
Not even during tribulations.
Not during the demonic raids.
Not during the sect-destroying calamities of ages past.
The air hummed.
Not with fear—
but with tension.
A shift in the world's axis.
A sense that something irreversible had begun.
And at the heart of it…
stood Lin Xuan.
---
1. The War Table — Plans for the Impossible
The great council chamber was transformed.
Where once gentle incense and scholarly scrolls decorated the room, now a massive shimmering formation projected the entire northern continent in the air.
Cities. Rivers. Forests. Mountain ranges.
All mapped with frightening precision.
But that wasn't what shocked the gathered leaders.
It was the dark blotches.
Abyssal infestations.
Cultist strongholds.
Corrupted beast territories.
Recently destroyed sects.
The Flower Pavilion Sect Master narrowed her eyes.
"You've been tracking them this closely?"
Cloudsky's Sect Master folded his arms. "Not us."
He inclined his head toward Lin.
"Him."
Several leaders stiffened.
A Heavenly Sword Valley elder muttered:
"Impossible… unless he has access to a spatial divination artifact of ancient grade…"
The hermit Saint coughed sharply.
"No. This child sees the world through the laws of his own."
A quiet shock rippled through the chamber.
Danfeng rubbed his temples.
"If you think this is shocking, you should see how easily this brat brews Celestial-grade pills—"
"Danfeng," Cloudsky's Sect Master cut in, "focus."
Lin stepped forward.
The projected map expanded around him.
"We have three immediate goals," Lin said. "All vital. All urgent."
He pointed.
Goal One — Defend the Surviving Sects
"Eight orthodox sects remain. Four are severely weakened."
The map highlighted:
Heavenly Sword Valley — strained
Thundercloud Palace — partial losses
Floral Immortal Hall — injured
Red Phoenix Gate — guarding refugees
Sword Valley's Sect Master exhaled sharply.
"You're suggesting we form defensive nodes?"
Lin nodded.
"I'll station Saint Shengyuan in the east, Bai in the west, and set up temporary teleport anchors."
Murmurs spread.
"You can do that?"
Danfeng groaned. "He has a universe, remember?"
One elder fainted quietly in the back.
---
Goal Two — Destroy Abyssal Nodes
Lin dragged his finger across the map.
A dozen red points flared.
"These are abyssal anchors. If left alone, they will expand until they birth full abyssal nest worlds."
"What? Nest worlds?! Impossible at this stage—"
The hermit Saint's voice cut through the noise.
"It is possible when the World-Eater stirs."
Silence.
Even the whisper of wind beyond the hall seemed to halt.
Cloudsky's Sect Master spoke grimly:
"So you felt it too."
The old hermit nodded. "Yes."
Lin's voice remained calm.
"I can destroy the smaller nodes myself. But three are anchored too deeply."
He pointed at three pulsing crimson zones.
"The Abyssal Ancestor sent generals. I barely killed one. The others will require coordinated strikes."
Sword Valley's Sect Master grit his teeth.
"Fine. We'll commit forces."
---
Goal Three — Prepare for the Abyssal Ancestor
Lin looked at the map, but his gaze seemed to pierce beyond it.
"We must prepare not for a battle… but for a war against a realm."
Quiet terror filled the hall.
Lin continued.
"The Ancestor is trying to reach Demigod. If he devours my inner world, he will succeed."
Thundercloud Palace's leader shivered.
"So this is why he wants you."
Lin nodded.
"My world is young. Valuable. To him… it's the perfect cultivation treasure."
Flower Pavilion's Sect Master smirked.
"It would be more accurate to say—he covets a prize he can never have."
She leaned forward.
"Because we won't let him."
A flicker of appreciation touched Lin's eyes.
---
2. Back in the Inner World — A Universe Awakens
When the war council concluded, the alliance leaders dispersed to mobilize their sects.
Lin, however, walked alone to a quiet courtyard.
He closed his eyes.
And entered his inner universe once more.
---
Time Dilation — Exponential Growth
Before, his world ran at 100:1 time ratio.
Now, after absorbing abyssal qi and stabilizing under the World Tree:
→ 500:1
One day outside
= Five hundred days inside.
Mu, Wen, Bai, and Shengyuan were already inside training.
Five hundred days of cultivation.
Five hundred days of forging.
Five hundred days of alchemy.
Five hundred days of life.
For every day Lin walked the outside world.
The disparity was terrifying.
But the potential… limitless.
---
Human World — Shengyuan Ascends Again
Lin descended into the Human World's largest mountain range.
There, atop the world tree's roots, Saint Shengyuan sat cross-legged, body wreathed in golden flame and law runes.
He opened his eyes as Lin approached.
"Peak Soul Transformation," Shengyuan said with a respectful incline. "One more full cycle of world energy, and I will touch Void Transformation again."
Lin nodded.
"You'll need it before the Ancestor sends another general."
Shengyuan smiled faintly.
"And I will answer that need."
---
Beast World — Bai's Ancestral Shell
Lin traveled next to the nest where Bai's ancestral shell pulsed like a dormant god-beast.
Inside, Bai's draconic soul slept, coiling around a core of lightning and primordial qi.
Cracks of golden light pulsed along the shell.
It was evolving.
Becoming a Dragon Sub-Realm.
Lin placed his palm gently on the shell.
"Grow faster," he whispered. "We'll need you soon."
The shell vibrated, as if in promise.
---
Heavenly World — The World Tree Matures
Lin ascended the floating Heavenly Continent.
The world tree dominated the skyline.
Its roots now spanned all three worlds.
Its branches reached toward the sun-stars.
Its leaves glowed with runes of law.
At the center of its trunk—
embedded like a seed of fate—
was the Vine-Heart Sapling, now grown into a beating, luminous core.
> Thrum… thrum… thrum…
Each pulse released a wave of qi that reshaped the lands below.
Grass grew in seconds.
Mountains stabilized.
Rivers adjusted their flow.
The world was becoming self-sustaining.
Alive.
And then—
Lin noticed something.
A tiny mote of white light drifting through the air.
"…Life?"
More motes drifted upwards.
Then dozens.
Then hundreds.
At the base of the world tree, small creatures—
primal, instinctive—
were beginning to form.
The world was birthing life on its own.
Lin inhaled sharply.
"So this… this is what creation feels like."
---
3. On the Mountain Peak — A Warning from Shenlong Bai
When Lin exited his universe, the sky above Cloudsky had turned late sunset.
At the summit, Bai waited for him—
in full dragon form.
Brilliant white scales.
Crimson-gold eyes.
Lightning dancing across his horns.
He lowered his massive head.
"Master," Bai rumbled, voice like a storm rolling through a canyon. "I can feel it."
Lin's brows drew together.
"What?"
Bai's wings unfurled.
And his roar cracked the sky.
---
THE DRAGON ROAR THAT SHOOK THE CONTINENT
The resonance blasted across the heavens.
Clouds split apart.
Mountains trembled.
Disciples across Cloudsky dropped to their knees in awe.
The roar was not for enemies.
It was an answer.
A challenge.
A warning.
Seconds later—
A deeper, older, infinitely more powerful roar answered.
It came from the far western horizon.
A roar ancient enough to make forests bow.
Mountains weep.
Seas churn.
Lin's chest tightened.
"That… is not abyssal."
Bai's body lowered into a defensive stance.
"No. That is a true ancient dragon. One that should have died with the end of the Primordial Era."
The ancient roar echoed again.
This time clearer:
A call.
A claim.
A demand.
Cloudsky Sect shook to its foundations as disciples screamed and pointed westward—
A colossal silhouette appeared in the sky.
A dragon so vast its wingspan eclipsed the sun.
A dragon whose aura matched—
The Abyssal Ancestor.
The sect master shot into the sky, pale.
"An ancient sovereign-class dragon?! WHY IS IT SEEKING US?!"
Bai's voice trembled—not with fear, but with recognition.
"Because," he whispered,
"…it seeks ME."
Lin's grip tightened around his spear.
He looked at the incoming titan.
Then at Bai.
Then at the sky.
"Good," Lin said quietly.
He stepped forward, spear igniting with tribulation lightning.
"Let it come."