Myth Beyond Heaven

A beat of silence.

Then—

The god laughed, a sound like collapsing stars. "A traveler who wields the power of two Divine Beasts. Who suppresses Primordial energies like swatting flies. Who carries... that within his veins."

He tilted his head. "You are no mere traveler."

Yun Lintian's fingers tightened around his spear. He could feel it now—the god's divine sense probing at his secrets, scraping against the edges of the Beyond Heaven Profound Vein.

The God of Darkness' smile widened. "Ah. I see."

He raised one hand—

And the Eternal Darkness Realm shifted.

Space folded, reality twisted, and suddenly Yun Lintian stood alone with the deity in an endless black throne room. Hei Yue and Aunt Liu were gone.

"Let us speak," the god said, settling onto a throne of solidified void. "Properly."

Yun Lintian remained standing. "About what?"

"As for why you're truly here," the god steepled his fingers, "surely, it's not just a passing visit, is it?"

***

Meanwhile

Hei Yue gasped as she materialized outside the Darkness Palace, Aunt Liu still clutching her.

"Where—?"

"The God's Will," Aunt Liu whispered, face pale. "His Majesty has taken that man elsewhere."

Hei Yue struggled to her feet, ignoring her injuries. Her eyes burned with something beyond excitement—recognition.

"That power he used..." She touched her chest where Yun Lintian's fist had struck. "It wasn't just the Divine Beasts. There was something else."

Something that had resonated with her own dual energies in a way nothing ever had.

She grinned, blood still trickling from her lips.

"I need to fight him again."

Aunt Liu looked like she might faint.

***

Within the God's Domain

Yun Lintian faced the deity calmly. "If you wanted to talk, you could have just asked."

The God of Darkness chuckled. "And miss seeing you battle my heir? Never." His amusement faded. "Now. Tell me why a being with such a power walks my realm."

Yun Lintian's eyes narrowed. So the god recognized it.

"No special reason," he said. "I'm just passing through."

"Liar." The god's voice turned dangerous. "That technique you used—suppressing Primordial energies. That is not something learned by chance."

He leaned forward. "Let me guess… You seek my power, don't you?"

Yun Lintian kept his expression neutral, but internally, his mind raced. It seems he's aware of the situation… And perhaps he knows what's going on with the God of Time.

The God of Darkness chuckled, his laughter resonating through the void like distant thunder. "You remain silent? Then let me speak plainly—it's no secret that gathering all Primordial God powers makes one the new Creator."

His fathomless eyes bored into Yun Lintian. "But you... you're different. Your aura doesn't belong here." A skeletal finger pointed. "You've crossed time and space. Why?"

Yun Lintian's grip tightened on his spear. He was ready to fight as long as the God of Darkness tried to pry into his secret.

Instead of answering, he countered: "Are you aware of the threat beyond the Primordial Wall?"

The God of Darkness' brow arched slightly. "Primordial Wall? There is no such thing here. The God Realm is the one and only realm in this universe."

A flicker of surprise crossed Yun Lintian's face before he schooled his expression. So the God of Time hasn't made his move yet in this era.

The deity noticed. "Ah. That reaction tells me everything." He leaned back on his shadow throne. "You come from a future where this 'wall' exists. How... intriguing."

Silence stretched between them.

Then—

The God of Darkness suddenly vanished from his throne and reappeared inches from Yun Lintian, their faces a hair's breadth apart. His whisper carried the weight of collapsing stars:

"Let me see your truth."

A pitch-black hand plunged into Yun Lintian's chest—

And the world shattered.

The God of Darkness' divine sense pierced Yun Lintian's soul like a blade through water—only to slam into an impenetrable barrier.

"Hm?"

The deity's consciousness recoiled slightly. Before him stretched an endless soul ocean, its surface shimmering with countless layers of protective formations—each more complex than the last. Ancient runes pulsed with power, their origins unrecognizable even to a Primordial God.

"You dare block me?" The God of Darkness' voice boomed across the psychic plane. His will surged forward, crushing the first ten barriers like glass—

Then froze.

Before him floated eight colossal figures.

A coiling azure dragon wreathed in spatial storms.

A white tiger whose roar shattered psychic constructs.

A divine phoenix radiating eternal flames.

A golden crow with sunfire wings.

A vermillion bird dancing on crimson lightning.

A black turtle whose shell bore celestial maps.

An ice phoenix freezing the very fabric of soul energy.

A golden qilin trampling reality with each step.

The God of Darkness' divine sense trembled. "Eight Divine Beast souls... coexisting? Impossible!"

Even as a Primordial God, he'd never witnessed such an abomination of natural laws. Divine Beasts were prideful entities—their souls should have torn each other apart in conflict. Yet here they stood, perfectly balanced around a central nexus of power... Yun Lintian's Primordial Soul.

"So that's your secret," the god murmured. His gaze swept past the beasts, probing deeper into Yun Lintian's soul ocean—

And saw him.

A silhouette blacker than void stood at the soul ocean's core. It was Yun Lintian's consciousness.

As the God of Darkness watched, the figure moved.

A hand darker than oblivion lashed out—

CRACK!

The deity's divine sense shattered. Agony unlike any he'd known ripped through his consciousness as pure, undiluted darkness—his own element—tore into him with equal potency.

In the physical realm, the God of Darkness staggered back, a thin trail of black blood leaking from his lips. His eyes burned with something between fury and awe.

"You… how could you possess it?"

The God of Darkness was certain that the figure was the embodiment of darkness, and its power was in no way inferior to his own. He, the God of Darkness, the master of darkness, had actually witnessed something akin to his own power.

There was only one explanation—

Yun Lintian possessed the Primordial God's power, and it was the God of Darkness's power!

Yun Lintian remained silent, but his grip on the White Dragon Spear tightened.

Having experienced numerous battles against powerful enemies, Yun Lintian had constantly fortified his soul to the maximum level to prevent mental attacks from the Primordial Gods. It seemed to work very well against the God of Darkness before him.

The throne room trembled as spatial cracks spiderwebbed outward. The God of Darkness wiped his blood away, chuckling darkly.

"No wonder you aren't afraid at all."