Chapter 900

Ding Huan felt his flesh and blood being torn apart strand by strand by the laws of the calamity, blood mist already engulfing the space around him—he could not claim to have no regrets.

He had been captivated by the mysteries of the barrier, wholly absorbed in comprehending its structure and how it was artificially arranged, only to forget he was searching for the laws of the calamity.

Now this was good—he hadn't cultivated the barrier, yet because he had comprehended its structure, the barrier had been opened by him.

Opening the chaotic barrier caused the laws of the calamity to directly envelop him.

If not for his body still having a few tricks left, he would have been reduced to dust by now.

Puff! Puff! Puff!

Streams of blood mist splattered out, and Ding Huan felt a profound sense of desolation.

He had never imagined he would die here.

Even though the Great Universe Art Zhou Tian was still active, and the Nirvana Decree refining his body was spinning wildly.

But Ding Huan knew it was too late.

He was now trapped within the laws of the calamity; by the time he comprehended and fused these laws, he would have been reborn a hundred times over.

Ding Huan did not choose to enter his own world.

He knew that with this terrifying force of calamity laws tearing and crushing, if he entered his own world, his world would be torn apart the next instant.

Even if he hid within his own world, he could not escape.

His Great Dao world was different from others'—his Great Dao world was formed from his own comprehension of billions of laws, crystallizing into a chaotic law-sea.

Then, centered on this chaotic law-sea, he formed wave after wave of law-star rivers, constituting the core of his Great Dao.

All these laws further constructed layer upon layer of Great Dao principles, and these Great Dao principles formed the cosmic rules of his Great Dao world.

In other words, his Great Dao world was not merely a starland—it was a universe.

It was just that his world-universe was still very immature.

One day, his universe would become as vast and boundless as the outside world.

If all this were destroyed, Ding Huan could not even be sure that, even if he survived, he could ever rebuild a universe so perfectly aligned with his heart and his Great Dao.

Besides, his universe contained a Life Tree…

The moment Ding Huan thought of the Life Tree, waves of vital energy surged rapidly into his body.

Even as his flesh and bones continued to be torn apart by the laws of the calamity, this vital energy kept pouring in without end.

Ding Huan was astonished—he sensed the vital energy nourishing him was composed of the Life Tree and the Vitality Law Star River together.

With the Vitality Law Star River assisting, the Life Tree, though continuously pouring out vital energy,

did not wither and shrink as before, but instead rejuvenated his body with vigorous vitality.

Indeed, preparation yields reward.

This time, what saved him was not only the Life Tree he had planted, but also the Vitality Law Star River.

Ding Huan frantically activated the Great Universe Art and the Nirvana Decree.

Unfortunately, his body had already collapsed; the Great Universe Art still had far to go to comprehend the laws of the calamity in such a short time.

He needed a body.

Though his recovery ability was astonishing, and even more formidable with the Life Tree's aid,

the laws of the calamity came endlessly—he simply could not recover before his body was destroyed again.

He must rely on external objects, or he could not restore his body.

Ding Huan took a deep breath.

His world held many fine things, many capable of restoring his body: the Life Tree was one, the Nine Heavens Opening Bamboo was another, the Cosmic Essence yet another.

The Nine-Colored Void Lotus and the Mist Jade Immortal Fruit were not counted among them.

The Life Tree was the foundation of Ding Huan's survival—he could not use it.

The Nine Heavens Opening Bamboo was an elite treasure.

But Ding Huan felt it would interfere with his Great Dao—he would not use it either.

Yet he still had two Seven-Realm Flowers.

One was the one he obtained in the Mortal World.

The other was guarded by Emperor Hou Hen, said to have been cultivated by a man named Luo.

Ding Huan's divine sense settled upon his world—both Seven-Realm Flowers bore six stars, each star swirling with Dao rhythm.

Clearly, they were just one Dao star away from full maturity.

Ding Huan knew how difficult Seven-Realm Flowers were to cultivate: they grew three feet tall, bore only seven stars, and appeared only in realms with the lowest cosmic rules.

His own Seven-Realm Flower had been obtained in the Mortal World.

After acquiring a Seven-Realm Flower, it must be nurtured with Yin Veins, Yang Veins, Dark Veins, Light Veins, Star Veins, Dao Veins, and one rumored vein above the Dao Vein—the Chaotic Vein.

After he had attained the Eternal Life realm,

his Great Dao world condensed a new universe from his own Dao rules.

Hence, all Seven-Realm Flowers in his universe had bloomed six petals—the one that hadn't bloomed was likely because it hadn't been nurtured with a Chaotic Vein.

Ding Huan's divine sense curled, sending his own Seven-Realm Flower into the Chaotic Law Sea.

He would use the Seven-Realm Flower—but never anyone else's.

Even if, at his current realm, Luo could not tamper with the Seven-Realm Flower, he still had no intention of using Luo's cultivated one.

Ding Huan possessed a Chaotic Divine Vein.

But Ding Huan believed the Chaotic Divine Vein was certainly not the Chaotic Vein needed to cultivate Seven-Realm Flowers—it was vastly inferior.

His Chaotic Law Sea was composed of infinite, boundless Chaotic Laws.

Using this self-comprehended Chaotic Law to cultivate the Seven-Realm Flower should be no worse than the Chaotic Vein he had never seen.

Indeed, as the Seven-Realm Flower landed in the Chaotic Law Sea, the seventh Dao-rhythm-swirling star-blossom appeared, its star containing a single—

The chaotic qi of the Dao.

But the rate at which the star flowers formed was somewhat slow.

Ding Huan felt the tearing of the external cosmic calamity laws, yet he became utterly calm.

He had done all he could; if the cosmic calamity laws still destroyed him, his panic would be meaningless.

His physical body was shattered, flesh and blood nearly obliterated by the cosmic calamity laws—he was more pitiful than a skeleton.

But the vitality provided by the Life Tree and the Vitality Law River was enough to sustain him.

Once he became calm and stopped thinking of gain or loss, Ding Huan suddenly comprehended the essence of the first cosmic calamity law.

This filled Ding Huan with delight; if this continued, he might not even need the Seven Realms Flower to withstand it.

As Ding Huan comprehended the first cosmic calamity law, then the second, the third…

Ding Huan attempted to integrate the comprehended cosmic calamity laws into his Chaotic Law Sea.

Indeed, his Chaotic Law Sea rapidly expanded.

Moreover, the Seven Realms Flower within his Chaotic Law Sea matured at a visibly rapid pace.

Ding Huan did not know whether the cosmic calamity laws were a form of Chaotic Law, but since they could strengthen his Chaotic Law Sea, he knew they were certainly related.

Because he had comprehended the cosmic calamity laws, and with the vitality from the Life Tree and the Vitality Law River, his bones were no longer torn apart by the cosmic calamity laws.

Ding Huan gathered the matured Seven Realms Flower and merged it into the Great Universe Art Zhou Tian.

As the Seven Realms Flower merged, Ding Huan's flesh and blood rapidly condensed; with each Zhou Tian, he felt his physical body perfected one more layer.

At this moment, Ding Huan's spirit was entirely focused elsewhere—his body naturally perfected itself under the Great Universe Art Zhou Tian and the Nirvana Decree.

Ding Huan sensed that as he continuously comprehended the cosmic calamity laws, his Chaotic Law Sea was rapidly expanding and perfecting.

One after another, entirely new Great Dao principles emerged.

Ding Huan's Great Dao surged wildly—he even neglected that his body had long since been perfected.

He merely stood at the center of the endless cosmic calamity laws, letting them churn around him, yet they affected him not at all.

Another law river formed around his Chaotic Law Sea—the Cosmic Calamity Law River.

From the laws of all things, to life, to the Great Dao, to the universe…

Then returning to the origin: life.

The Dao rhythm around Ding Huan grew clearer, the Great Dao aura increasingly thick.

In the end, when the cosmic calamity laws neared Ding Huan's body, they spontaneously dissolved into nothingness.

"My Dao takes the laws of all things as its foundation!"

"My Dao takes my own universe as its principle!"

"My Dao—stands!"

Boom!

It was as if a thunderclap had exploded.

Ding Huan's own universe underwent a cataclysmic transformation—his Chaotic Law Sea fully took shape.

Law rivers filled the entire cosmic sky.

Beyond the cosmic sky, a hazy void condensed, seemingly pointing toward the boundless distance…

Infinite attribute starlands brewed within that still-hazy boundless void; perhaps they were unremarkable now, but perhaps one day, these starlands would become stars.

And Ding Huan's main world starland teemed with vitality—the celestial and terrestrial laws were crystal clear, even surpassing those of the Great Universe.

Crack!

The cosmic calamity barrier surrounding Ding Huan split open automatically; billions of cosmic calamity laws spilled forth, then dissipated into the chaos.

Under the binding of Ding Huan's Great Dao, these cosmic calamity laws could no longer ravage anything.

Ding Huan still stood within the chaos, as if chaos had just been born.

He comprehended countless Great Dao concepts he had never encountered before—his Great Dao entered an entirely new realm.

He sensed the faint existence of the Seven Realms; when his universe was perfected, his Seven Realms would also be perfected.

He comprehended the true essence of the universe—though vague, he now had a concept of it…

Ding Huan knew he had stepped into the Fourth Step.

He also realized that in the Great Universe, he alone was truly a Fourth Step of the Great Dao.

The Fourth Step of the Great Dao required establishing speech—this was the Sage of Established Speech.

All sages who had not established speech were false Fourth Steps.

Moreover, Ding Huan clearly understood another truth.

Every future advancement in the Great Dao required a Great Dao name.

Otherwise, it was a false Great Dao.

If one day he ascended to the Fifth Step of the Great Dao but did not know what the Fifth Step's Dao was, he would still be a false sage.

Ding Huan exhaled deeply.

To understand this truth and enter the true Fourth Step of the Great Dao, he had nearly lost his life.

This was him—if it were someone else, would they have a Life Tree and a Vitality Law River? Would they have the Seven Realms Flower?

Even to attain the Fourth Step, one might only be able to prove the true Sage of Established Speech within another's universe.

Just as in his own universe—if his universe continued to perfect, others within his universe could attain the Dao of the Established Sage—the true Fourth Step of the Great Dao.