Liang Chen's law of the Void Storm consisted of the law of lightning, time, wind, and void. Water played a large part in his body cultivation, which was the basis of this law, but he didn't have that law so while a bit of water would inevitably show up in the domain, he wouldn't have any control over it.
The howling wind proved that his law of wind successfully became a part of the domain, the transparent ripple that kept slowing down Shen Fei's illusory tornado also showed that the law of time had properly emerged in the domain. Lightning was already present so it was already part of the domain, the only law missing being the grand law of the void. Liang Chen poured his law of the void into the domain, which immediately moved to do what it was made for, it altered the surrounding world into one that would better suit its creator.
The earth beneath Liang Chen's feet was the first to change, all colour draining from it as the sand morphed into strangely white earth, the air turning heavy and dry. Soft strands of grey grass started to sprout from the earth, small black worms wriggling to the surface, dancing with joy amongst the grass. Liang Chen had never seen earth or grass like this before, but the taste of the air was familiar, as were the black worms. The taste belonged to the void, and the worms were almost identical to some of the Void Born he had seen when he first entered the void.
His domain was forcibly altering the world to a state that suited him, but the void part that it tried to create was unfamiliar to him. And the reason was simple, this was different from when he opened gates to the void in the past, this was his domain trying to form an entirely new void, one that hadn't suffered under the Void King.
But the void was the antithesis of all creation, how could its presence ever be tolerated? Opening a temporary gate was one thing, but Liang Chen was currently in the process of turning a portion of the world into a new void, an act that may never be reversible. And that was an act that crossed the line.
A heavy pressure instantly bore down on Liang Chen, crushing down on him with such might that he was forced to his knees, he'd end up flat on his stomach if he didn't catch himself with his hands. Both his and Shen Fei's domains were instantly shattered, every illusion present ground to dust so that only Liang Chen and Shen Fei remained, both doing their best to not fall flat thanks to the unexpected situation. And then the clouds started to gather.
Brilliant crimson clouds appeared out of nowhere and grouped together, covering the entire sky in a sinister display. And from within those crimson clouds, Liang Chen heard the familiar rumble of thunder, incandescent arcs of pure white lightning occasionally flashing out. Each arc was so thick and long that it resembled a dragon, and each one brought with it an aura that instilled instinctual fear into every living being that felt it. Even Liang Chen and Shen Fei felt their hearts pounding as this lightning flashed over them, but it took everything they had to not fall down flat, there was no way they could move out of the way.
This was unlike any heavenly tribulation Liang Chen had ever experienced before, nor had he ever read or heard about anything like this before. Especially that white lightning, it was so awe-inspiring and beautifully pure that Liang Chen nearly found himself transfixed. Never before had he seen such perfect lightning, it felt as if it had absorbed all creation yet still maintained its unblemished purity.
But the strange scene took an even stranger turn while Liang Chen and Shen Fei were gazing at the crimson sky. The air just beneath the clouds started to twist and turn in front of their eyes, a somewhat aged transparent face that stretched out for several tens of kilometres appearing there. The face eased the pressure that Liang Chen was feeling, its deep eyes turning to the clouds as it spoke with some anger.
"You may be a dragon, but even a dragon shouldn't just step on the snake that's resting in its own burrow. This is my place, and the rules here are to be enforced by me. You don't need to scurry about and worry that I won't follow your rules, scram!"
The crimson clouds rumbled and trembled for a few seconds, the eyebrows of the transparent face shifting around a bit as it seemed to quietly communicate with the clouds. A final flash of white lightning split the entire sky, the bolt so thick that its arcs covered the entire sky like a spiderweb. Liang Chen could sense it instinctually, that was a warning to him, a threat.
But the clouds dissipated without taking further action, the previous pressure vanishing completely so that Liang Chen and Shen Fei could stand up. And with the clouds vanishing, the transparent face turned its gaze downward, scowling slightly at Shen Fei and Liang Chen.
"Little brat, why are you out here sticking your nose into such troublesome things? That old fogey under Erebus is still expecting a lot from your clowning so don't forget your purpose. And you, little shit, don't go around flaunting that abysmal thing. Using it here and there, even opening a few gates, all of that's fine within a certain limit. But if you try to use it to change the structure of the world, there is no way the Sphere Consciousness will accept that. Even I will only accept it this once since I'm magnanimous, try to do it again and I will strike you down before these crimson clouds even have a chance to show up again."
Shen Fei looked a bit awkward thanks to the scolding and could only nod his head. Liang Chen didn't know what the face meant with the things it told Shen Fei, but the same was true for Shen Fei, he had no idea what it meant when it talked to Liang Chen. But there was one thing both of them could figure out relatively quickly, the Sphere Consciousness.
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Liang Chen had already heard previously that even multiverses were born with a consciousness, it was this consciousness that determined the rules of that multiverse, it also determined who could take control of what universe. This multiverse's consciousness had already been killed by the Bloodwind emperor, but since even a multiverse could have a consciousness, who was to say that a Sphere of Existence couldn't?
And from the looks of it, Liang Chen trying to form a domain with the law of the void went against the bottom line of this Sphere of Existence, resulting in swift retaliation. It was a bit of a disappointment that his domains seemed to be forbidden from incorporating his law of the void, but he would have no way of resisting the earlier retaliation so it was a fact he could only accept for now. He quickly put those thoughts to the back of his mind after accepting them, cupping his fists as he looked at the transparent face.
"Many thanks for saving us, Senior, I promise that I'm not foolish enough to try it again after knowing what it'll bring about. But if you don't mind me asking, would you mind telling me who you are? Are you perhaps someone working for Senior Nine Star?"
In truth, Liang Chen already had a guess as to what exactly this transparent face was, especially since he knew that this universe was ruled by the Nine Star Demon God. But he still wanted to hear it from the face itself, he wanted confirmation so that he knew that he was right. And his guess was quickly proven correct, the face scoffing at him.
"You don't need to drag in Azatoth's name into this, I'm not going to smite you just because you ask about me. I am indeed what you're guessing, I'm the consciousness born in this universe to take over after the will of the multiverse was killed. I may not have the splendour of the multiverse will, but other than Azatoth, I'm still the boss here."
The consciousness of the multiverse had been killed, but since a multiverse could form a consciousness then so too could definitely the various universe located within. After all, they still needed to set down certain rules and decide on who got to take them over. Of course, from what Liang Chen had seen over time, it seemed like these new consciousnesses didn't really bother with the whole setting down rules part. And with his guess confirmed, Liang Chen couldn't help but gaze somewhat intently at the transparent face.
"Since you're the consciousness of this universe, can I assume that this means that you're able to see everything going on inside this universe? Maybe you're even capable of appearing wherever you want whenever you want? With that sort of ability, I'm guessing that you can help others just like you helped us here, no?"
This was a question Liang Chen most definitely wanted an answer to. He originally thought that the heavens were indifferent, which was why they allowed so many atrocious things to happen all the time. He then learned about the death of the multiverse's will and chalked everything up to the heavens being dead rather than just indifferent.
But since this universe had birthed a new consciousness, one that even called itself the boss just beneath Azatoth, who should be the Nine Star Demon God, then the other universes should most definitely also have the chance to birth consciousnesses. And if that was the case, why did they just allow all atrocious acts to go almost unpunished?
This consciousness should most definitely have the ability to save those that died in the suicide attacks that the Tranquil Lake launched on Liang Chen, but it hadn't. Men, women, children, it had allowed them all to die without even showing itself. Only when its dignity as a ruler was being poked and prodded did it bother to show itself. The transparent face looked at Liang Chen with a neutral expression for a few seconds, eventually shaking slightly as it made a sound similar to a clicking tongue.
"You're exactly as Old Suns said, so ferociously determined that you won't hesitate to question anyone. But that's the thing about you, the reason you won't ever work or be accepted. You were born from death and pain, moulded by them, they shaped your path ever since you stepped on it. So in turn, the only solution you know is pain and death, it's all you know. You try to do what you think is right, but all you spread is exactly what you sought to destroy, you sad sad child. But sometimes, the best solution is to simply do nothing and allow things to take its course. We won't make a move against you, we've already learned why its bad to become overly involved with others. But normal people won't be the same, continue as you are and you will be killed for it before long."hat counted as an answer, its gaze landing on Shen Fei again as it gave him another reminder.
"Little Brat, don't forget your role as a clown, the old fogey is expecting a lot of entertainment from you."
The face dissipated after leaving behind the reminder, leaving only Liang Chen, Shen Fei, and Yumao in the area. They could guess that Moonset city was probably experiencing a fair bit of chaos right now, but there wasn't really anything either of them could do about it so they tossed the thoughts to the back of their mind. Liang Chen's expression was a bit dark as he kept his gaze on the sky, the heavens being indifferent were much worse than them being dead.
One involved being unable to make a choice, the other involved consciously choosing to not make a choice. And of the two, one of them was a lot easier to accept than the other. But no matter how angry it might make him, he knew that the current him wasn't worth mentioning in the face of something as grand as a universe's consciousness. As such, he turned his gaze onto Shen Fei.
"Your role as a clown?"
From the way the universe will spoke, the old fogey it mentioned was probably another universe's consciousness. And more likely than not, it was the will of the universe where Shen Fei came from. And with Shen Fei having received his authority directly from the core of the universe, it seemed like he had some ties with it. Shen Fei simply shrugged his shoulders, it wasn't a topic he was unwilling to talk about.
"A universe only gives birth to things it needs. Most beings are only born so that the universe has souls to fill it, but others are born because the universe desires something. In my case, I was born and granted my Authority because the will of my universe wanted some entertainment, it wanted a toy that could make it laugh. But looking at what that will said, you seem to be born because your universe needed a weapon? What's the personality of your universe's will like, are you a weapon born out of necessity or one out of twisted enjoyment?"
Shen Fei spoke about it very casually, but it just sounded sad when it reached Liang Chen's ears. To be born just because someone higher wanted a bit of entertainment? Didn't that mean that you would just be tossed aside the moment you stopped being fun? Liang Chen picked up the spear he dropped when he was forced to his knees, shaking his head as he readied himself.
"My life is my own. Everything I do is by my own choice, not by some higher will that tried to decide my life for me. Come, let's finish our duel, I want to move on."