A Higher Level of the Way

"Is this... a ghostly maze?"

Shi Yan instinctively blurted out a phrase from his mortal memories.

Wasn't this exactly like a ghostly maze? He'd been walking along, only to suddenly find himself back where he started.

But for Shi Yan, who had become a True God by following the Path of Time and Space, getting caught in a ghostly maze was simply absurd.

Especially when he hadn't noticed anything unusual.

"The space in this Divine Temple is definitely abnormal."

Shi Yan's expression turned grave, and he flew swiftly toward the sculptures again.

Just as he'd expected, moments later, Shi Yan found himself back where he'd started once more.

Next, Shi Yan tried heading in the opposite direction from the statues, and then in other directions, but every time, he was abruptly transported back to where he'd started without noticing a thing.

"Every time, I'm sent back after advancing about one hundredth of a light-year."

After trying again and again, Shi Yan gradually began to notice a pattern.

"The key must still be those three statues." Shi Yan looked straight ahead, then left a Divine Power Avatar where he stood before flying toward the statues.

"One hundredth of a light-year... One hundredth of a light-year..."

Shi Yan gauged the distance, finally stopping less than a kilometer short of the one-hundredth-light-year mark.

"Here should do. Let's see how the space in these two places differs."

Shi Yan sat cross-legged and, together with his Divine Power Avatar, studied the differences between the spaces in the two places.

But as time passed, Shi Yan's brow gradually furrowed into a deep crease.

Ten days later, Shi Yan suddenly opened his eyes, a thoughtful look on his face. "The two spaces are no different at all. Both are incredibly condensed and incredibly stable..."

In his perception, the space at the edge of this "ghostly maze" and the place where he'd arrived had completely identical fluctuations—none at all, as still as a pool of stagnant water.

And yet Shi Yan had undeniably been moved back by some inexplicable force.

The undeniable facts proved that something strange had to be happening with the space around him. It couldn't possibly be completely still.

"There's only one explanation... My level is too low, and the spatial fluctuations exist on a level that's too high for me to reach." Shi Yan let out a long breath and accepted the truth.

With sufficient comprehension, even the little World Lord Level fellows in the Primal Universe who had gained recognition from the origin of the Space Law could perform a technique like "Space Lockdown."

But there was no doubt that World Lords and Immortals only froze the outermost layer of space. Beings at the Universe Venerable level could completely ignore the Space Lockdown cast by World Lords and Immortals.

Likewise, Universe Masters could ignore the Space Lockdown cast by Universe Venerables.

As for Shi Yan, there was probably no one in the entire Universe Ocean capable of casting a Space Lockdown that could stop him from teleporting. Only the sheer turbulence in space caused by combat or domains could hinder his teleportation.

But there was always a higher mountain. In a super Mechanical Flow Treasure like the Universe Boat, there were plenty of situations that could completely cut him off from sensing spatial fluctuations.

This Divine Temple was clearly one of them.

"If I can't sense the spatial fluctuations, then the only way to break free of this inexplicable teleportation is to force my way through—to Break Law with Force. But..." Shi Yan looked around and gave a self-deprecating smile. He wasn't so arrogant as to think he could try to Break Law with Force in the Universe Boat Core Region.

Judging by the extraordinary nature of this Divine Temple alone, Shi Yan felt that even a Void True God would have to follow its rules obediently.

"Then there's only one way: improve my level... Once my level rises, I'll naturally be able to sense the deeper spatial fluctuations." Shi Yan drew a deep breath.

As it happened, he'd gained a vague insight into space when he'd been forcibly transported into the Divine Temple earlier. He might as well take this opportunity to cultivate here.

So many True Gods in history had been trapped in the Universe Boat Core Region, some until the end of their lifespans. Shi Yan didn't expect to be lucky enough to leave anytime soon.

As he thought this over, Shi Yan closed his eyes again and began to organize his insights into space, following the direction he'd glimpsed earlier.

"Hahaha... The little fellow has some sense after all. He didn't try to Break Law with Force."

Just as Shi Yan began immersing himself in his Law Comprehension, a mysterious being clad in a green robe was watching a strange bronze octahedron intently in the Universe Boat Core Region.

The Green-Robed Being looked about the same size as an ordinary person, but the hood covering his head seemed unusually large.

The octahedron before the mysterious being stood about three meters tall. On the face of the regular tetrahedron that made up its upper half, an image was now reflected: Shi Yan, cultivating cross-legged.

Around the Green-Robed Being stood a vast expanse of exquisite silver buildings—palaces, pavilions, temples, and more. Seen from afar, they resembled an immense City of Metal. The structures had been built in different styles, yet together they formed an eerily harmonious whole.

The Green-Robed Being sat cross-legged atop the roof of a palace.

"I wonder how many Reincarnation Eras have passed. At last, another little fellow who follows the Path of Time and Space has come here... Is this your good fortune, or your misfortune?"

The Green-Robed Being's voice was hoarse. He stared fixedly at Shi Yan's image in the octahedron, then let out a strange laugh after a long pause. "It should count as good fortune. If 'I' hadn't desperately altered the restrictions on this Maze Lock before dying, a mere little fellow at the True God level would've been killed the moment he entered."

By the end, the Green-Robed Being's voice had grown quieter and quieter, until it could barely be heard. He fell silent and simply gazed at the bronze octahedron, the "Maze Lock."

Meanwhile, Shi Yan, cultivating elsewhere, had no idea that a mysterious being was watching him.

At that moment, Shi Yan had discovered another pleasant surprise.

The space in this Divine Temple was incredibly condensed, and its spatial fluctuations had stopped. But for that very reason, the space in the Divine Temple had condensed into a unified whole—or at least, that was how it appeared from Shi Yan's perspective.

As it happened, the direction of insight he'd gained when forcibly transported here was "space as one." By comprehending space from the perspective of the whole, he could merge his body with the void.

Thus, the Divine Temple became an ideal place for Shi Yan to cultivate. Comprehending the void as a whole here was like adding wings to a tiger.

Shi Yan immersed himself in the mysteries of the surrounding space. It was as if the standard answer had been placed before him, and all he had to do was work out the steps in between.

It was still difficult, but comparing the two sides as he went made his cultivation twice as effective.

The days of cultivation passed without notice. For most experts at the True God level, each improvement in their level of comprehension took "trillions of eras." If they took the wrong path, it wasn't unheard of for progress to be measured in Reincarnation Eras.

Shi Yan had the aid of a fortuitous opportunity, but accumulating Law Comprehension still took time.

In the blink of an eye, more than eighty thousand eras passed—more than eight hundred million years.

Not long after he began cultivating, Shi Yan had also arranged for a Ten Thousand Times Time Acceleration for his Divine Power Avatar in his Miniature Universe.

Though it was nowhere near as effective as the Black-Veined Stone Pillar Space, it was the best he could manage under the circumstances. After all, a mere Divine Power Avatar without a Supreme Treasure to protect him had no chance of entering the Black-Veined Stone Pillar Space.

That meant Shi Yan had actually cultivated for more than eight billion eras.

Over those eight billion eras, Shi Yan gradually touched the threshold of a higher level of the Space Path.

In the empty Divine Temple, Shi Yan now floated in midair, his form appearing and disappearing, seeming both real and unreal.

It looked somewhat like the protective technique he'd used before, when he'd slipped into other timelines, but the two were completely different. The technique Shi Yan was using now was Voidification: his Divine Body merged with space, becoming intangible and impervious to force.

If his opponent was even a little weaker, their attacks would probably fail to touch Shi Yan at all.

Ninth Order. That was Shi Yan's current level in the Space Path.

If other True Gods heard this, their eyes would turn red with envy. After becoming a True God, he'd cultivated for only a little over eighty thousand eras—or eight hundred million eras with time acceleration—and had already reached the Ninth Order. Even the Original Ancestor had been no better in his day.

In fact, if Shi Yan had broken through via the Path of Time and Space, and his comprehension of the Time Path weren't now somewhat lacking, his level might have advanced even further.

"What a pity. My lagging progress in the Time Path is actually interfering with my comprehension of the Space Law." Shi Yan opened his eyes, unwilling to accept it.

In Shi Yan's eyes, the Divine Temple was no longer a dangerous place. It was an excellent cultivation ground. But he'd now advanced to the Ninth Order in the Space Path, while his progress in the Time Path still remained at the Eighth Order.

Since his birth, Shi Yan's cultivation in the Paths of Time and Space had never been so far apart. Only now did he realize how important the balance between time and space was when breaking through via the Path of Time and Space.

"Perhaps I'm destined to advance only the Space Path to the Ninth Order here." Shi Yan landed on the ground and gave a helpless smile.

Reaching the Ninth Order in the Time Path wasn't something he could accomplish in a short time. So far, he hadn't found anything in this Divine Temple that could greatly help him cultivate the Time Path, either.

Since that was the case, Shi Yan decided not to stay here any longer. He hadn't forgotten that this was the Universe Boat Core Region.

"I can sense the spatial fluctuations again now."

Shi Yan pointed his index finger at the void, and ripples spread through space.

If another expert had been there, they would have sensed the previously stagnant space grow slightly more active.

That was the difference comprehension made. Even if he tried to break through by force, a True God couldn't possibly shake this spatial lockdown.

But with comprehension, he could achieve the effect of moving a thousand pounds with four ounces.

Shi Yan tapped the air nine times in succession, and the spatial fluctuations grew increasingly active.

"That should do it. Now I should be able to detect any teleportation technique."

Shi Yan sensed the spatial fluctuations briefly, then accelerated to his limit and sped toward the three statues.

He hadn't gone far when he sensed a subtle spatial fluctuation enveloping him, trying to teleport him away.

With a thought, Shi Yan's form immediately turned indistinct. The fluctuation was subtle, but it was nowhere near as intricate or overbearing as the spatial fluctuation that had first transported him to this Divine Temple.

The fluctuation swept through the spot where Shi Yan stood, but it didn't touch him at all.

"Hahaha... Just as I thought."

Shi Yan laughed freely and continued toward the statues.