Lin Fan went into seclusion. Drawing on the experience of his previous attempts, he worked through deductions and tested his insights, all manner of scenes flashing through his eyes.
He sat there for many days, like a sculpture, silent and still.
Until one day, myriad rules descended into the valley, kindling a raging blaze that burned half the sky red.
"This time, fire is just fire, nothing more than nourishment on my path of growth."
Lin Fan murmured to himself. Dao fire tempered his golden body, no longer transforming into other living creatures. It burned his true self directly, engulfing even his primordial spirit.
In the void, two rivers, one green and one black, joined head to tail, stirring up violent turbulence. Faintly, light from the primordial beginning blossomed, eternal and undying.
It was like the creation of heaven and earth. Countless runes became waterfalls, all crashing onto the "ring" before bursting into sparks, a sight that shook the world.
Viewed from afar, it also resembled great stars shining in the universe, forming ranks and moving in their orbits. The sound of the Great Dao thundered, actually evolving into a world.
This spectacle was the most terrifying of all, like a mustard seed containing Mount Sumeru, holding all things in the world and recreating heaven and earth.
Lin Fan sat cross-legged within it, struck by rules at every moment and subjected to the scorching flames, his entire body charred black.
"Pfft!"
In an instant, his body swayed, blood spilling from his mouth and nose, but this was only the beginning.
Points of starlight appeared across the heavens. One great star after another fell from beyond this realm, each formed from a symbol of the Great Dao, crashing toward the earth.
Then the scene changed again. All manner of savage birds