Chapter 328 - 327: What the Fissure Revealed (2)

Bai Qingyue looked toward the surrounding mountains.

"If the spatial structure is connected, could the same be true of the ancient laws?"

Lin Yuan’s expression became thoughtful.

"That is what I intend to find out."

He looked down at the place where the rain had washed away the remaining venom.

"Xie Luo’s spatial technique forced the surrounding laws to react. My Dao Fruit allowed me to perceive the reaction, but I did not fully understand its source."

He turned toward the distant peaks.

"If the ancient realm possesses a unified structure, then the laws we perceive in each region may be expressions of the same underlying foundation."

Ku Ming slowly exhaled.

"That would explain why certain regions contain unusually complete laws, while others are filled with distortions."

"It would also explain why the Sacred Grounds can support the formation of Dao Fruits," Lin Yuan added.

He looked at his right hand.

"The ancient laws are not merely remnants scattered through the realm. They may be preserved by the underlying structure, which continues to circulate even after the Dongtian was damaged."

Bai Qingyue’s eyes brightened.

"Then the Sacred Grounds are not simply a place where cultivation proceeds more quickly."

Lin Yuan smiled faintly.

"That is what I suspect."

He looked toward the ancient mountains once more.

"But we should not draw conclusions before examining more evidence."

Ku Ming nodded.

"Indeed. The history of the Sacred Grounds is complicated, and the surviving records are incomplete. Even the monks who remained in the Nine Provinces after the world split do not possess a complete account of what happened."

He glanced at Xie Luo’s corpse, a faint shadow of weariness crossing his otherwise serene features.

"Still, this battle has given us an opportunity. The Demon King’s spatial techniques have revealed a portion of the realm’s structure, and your Dao Fruit has allowed you to perceive the reaction more clearly."

Lin Yuan’s expression became serious.

"Then we should not waste the opportunity."

He turned toward the place where Xie Luo had emerged.

"Master Ku, can you help me examine the remaining spatial traces?"

Ku Ming immediately nodded.

"Of course."

Bai Qingyue looked at the two men.

"I will assist as well."

Lin Yuan glanced at her.

"You should first make sure that the venom has not contaminated your meridians."

Bai Qingyue gave him a look.

"I remained outside the main battlefield, and your rain prevented most of the venom from reaching me. I am perfectly fine."

She paused.

"Besides, you cannot expect me to sit quietly while the two of you examine something this interesting."

Lin Yuan smiled.

"I suppose I cannot."

The three of them approached the damaged spatial fissure, the air around it humming faintly with lingering, unstable energy.

Although Ku Ming had stabilized the passage, its edges still flickered faintly. The spatial structure had been damaged by the battle, and traces of Xie Luo’s energy remained embedded within the surrounding laws.

Lin Yuan stopped several paces away.

He did not immediately reach out.

Instead, he allowed the Dao Fruit to circulate.

Silver-blue rain spread through his spiritual perception, revealing the faint flow of energy around the fissure. Golden-purple thunder illuminated the points where the spatial structure had been forced into alignment.

Then the principle of Three Rebirths connected the changes.

Lin Yuan’s expression gradually became more serious.

The fissure was not simply a hole in space.

It was the remnant of a relationship between two locations.

When Xie Luo had opened the passage, he had imposed a set of coordinates upon the surrounding laws. Those coordinates had linked the clearing to another region of the Sacred Grounds, allowing him to travel between them without crossing the visible distance.

But the ancient realm had not accepted the connection without resistance.

Its own spatial structure had attempted to preserve the existing relationships between the two locations.

The resulting conflict had created the distortion Lin Yuan now perceived.

He slowly raised his hand.

A thin thread of silver-blue rain extended from his fingertips and touched the edge of the fissure.

The spatial laws trembled.

Ku Ming immediately released a stream of golden Buddhist light to stabilize the surrounding area.

"Be careful, Benefactor Lin. The structure is still unstable."

Lin Yuan nodded.

"I know."

He adjusted the flow of his spiritual energy.

The rain spread more slowly, following the faint connections left behind by Xie Luo’s technique. He did not attempt to force the spatial structure into a new arrangement.

Instead, he observed.

The more he examined it, the more clearly he could distinguish the foreign coordinates from the ancient laws surrounding them.

The difference was striking.

Xie Luo’s spatial technique was precise, but its precision came from an imposed arrangement. He selected coordinates, established relationships, and forced the surrounding space to obey the structure he had created.

The ancient realm worked differently.

Its spatial connections appeared to be part of a much larger system.

The individual regions were not simply linked by passages. Their laws circulated through a common foundation, allowing the realm to preserve a degree of stability even when its visible structure had been damaged.

Lin Yuan’s thoughts moved rapidly.

If the Sacred Grounds had once been a complete Dongtian, then the ancient cultivators might have refined the realm’s structure over countless generations.

The spatial pockets could have served different purposes, yet their foundations remained connected.

That would explain why some regions possessed unusual temporal dilation.

It would also explain why the laws became unstable when a cultivator attempted to force a foreign structure into the realm.

The Sacred Grounds were not merely a collection of isolated secret realms.

They were fragments of a world that had once functioned as a whole.

And even now, beneath the damage, the remnants of that structure continued to operate, quietly, patiently, as though waiting for someone capable of finally understanding it.

Lin Yuan withdrew his hand.

His eyes were bright.

"I understand a little more."

Ku Ming watched him carefully, his own curiosity plainly outweighing his usual monastic restraint.

"What have you discovered?"