Solanky immediately realised that the sphere contained the accumulated knowledge, insights, and comprehension of the pocket world's creator's avatar regarding the primal formation.
Outside the pocket world, Solanky's main body watched with eyes gleaming with excitement. Although he was currently incapable of comprehending the primal formation itself, he could study the engravings and intricate drawings preserved within the sphere. Even if he could not decipher their deepest mysteries, observing them would undoubtedly broaden his understanding of world formations and help him improve his own mastery.
Meanwhile, within the throne room beneath the Golden Ring Continent, the creator's avatar finally spoke.
"My name is Opman. The avatar you see before you possesses strength comparable to that of a being who has taken half a step into the Above Peak-Turn, or Narrator, level. As for my true body, it has already reached that level."
Opman paused briefly before continuing.
"From the memories inherited from my true body, I learned that I am not the only avatar he left behind. There is another, possessing strength comparable to mine. However, unlike me, that avatar embodies my alter ego, a far more sinister and wicked aspect of my existence.
"Over the countless years it has existed, it has slaughtered and consumed the souls of more than a billion beings from this pocket world. It has also devoured over a million beings from the outside world, including those you call guarding ancestors.
"That avatar possesses a particularly terrifying ability. It can forcibly extract the souls and spirits of its victims from their physical bodies. Even true peak-turn beings, whose spiritual and physical bodies have long since merged into one, are not immune to this ability. In its presence, even their supposedly inseparable bodies and souls can be forcibly divided.
"My true body left that avatar behind for a specific purpose. It exists to deal with powerful ancestors and guarding ancestors who might invade this world and attempt to circumvent the formations and restrictions protecting it.
"Although the restrictions surrounding this pocket world are powerful, surpassing ordinary world formations by an entire tier, they remain inferior to a genuine primal formation in both complexity and functionality.
"My true body deliberately weakened the formation's overall complexity and left certain aspects of its functions incomplete. This was done to allow a being born within this world to eventually take control of its authority, inherit the creator's legacy, and continue what he began.
"Consequently, whenever a being at the true peak-turn level enters this world with their true body, the spatial laws automatically activate. The intruder is transported directly to my alter ego, which then deals with the threat.
"Those who perish at its hands leave behind their treasures and corpses. These accumulate beneath the continents of the lower realm, where they serve as an auxiliary energy reserve for the pocket world. After all, this world can only absorb minute quantities of energy from the outside world, which you know as the draft world. Without an alternative source of energy, maintaining its existence would eventually become a problem."
Solanky was thoroughly shaken by this revelation.
The guarding ancestors of the Beyond Realm, beings whose might commanded respect throughout his world, were essentially helpless against the remnant avatars Opman had left behind. The moment one of those ancestors attempted to descend into this pocket world with their true body, they would be transported before the sinister alter ego and subjected to its merciless judgment.
Even the most powerful beings of the Beyond Realm could become nothing more than prey.
After recovering from his initial shock, Solanky turned his attention to Opman's avatar.
"Why is the cultivation system within this pocket world different from the one outside, particularly at the levels beneath the true peak-turn? Furthermore, why does this world have three major realms? And what would happen if a powerful Narrator discovered its existence?"
Opman's avatar slowly rose from the throne.
He took a single step forward.
In that instant, Solanky's avatar within the throne room lost consciousness.
Opman paid no attention to the unconscious figure. Instead, he formed a series of intricate hand seals before abruptly slamming his palm against the space where Solanky's avatar stood.
The surrounding space trembled.
High above, countless stars shifted from their original positions, moving in accordance with an invisible force. One after another, they rapidly converged, their immense bodies fusing together until they formed a colossal star.
Opman stepped forward and entered the newly formed star.
"Come here," he said calmly. "The laws and restrictions are considerably more relaxed in this place."
His voice faded into silence.
For a brief moment, nothing happened, making it seem as though he had merely been speaking to himself. Then Opman raised his hand and pointed toward the heavens.
A portal appeared.
The instant it materialised, a figure plunged out of it.
It was Black God Solanky, who had been in the upper spiritual realm moments earlier.
He fell through the portal and landed before Opman's avatar.
Black God Solanky was startled, but he quickly understood that the sudden transportation was no ordinary spatial displacement.
During his descent, he had felt the surrounding space and time distort before freezing entirely. His body had been pulled through the upper spiritual realm, then the lower spiritual realm, before finally descending into the mortal realm.
His destination was the River of Gods on the Golden Ring Continent.
Yet the journey had occurred so mysteriously that no being beneath Opman's avatar level could perceive his passage through the three realms.
Black God Solanky steadied himself and raised his head.
The moment his gaze fell upon Opman's remnant avatar, his world heart shuddered involuntarily.
He had encountered countless powerful beings throughout his existence, but something about the figure standing before him stirred an instinctive sense of reverence and apprehension.
Suppressing his emotions, he asked, "How is this possible? Why aren't the laws attacking me? My cultivation is far beyond the level permitted within this realm. By all rights, the moment I entered, the laws should have suppressed or expelled me."
Opman's avatar smiled faintly.
"Because I am the law of this pocket world, while my sinister other self is its executioner."
Black God Solanky fell silent.
Suddenly, several fragments of his past experiences came together in his mind.
When he had reached the Infinite Source God level, he had been capable of manifesting his comprehension of individual laws as separate bodies within his modified Infinite Source World. The laws of fire, earth, air, metal, water, wood, light, darkness, and countless others could each be embodied as distinct manifestations of his understanding.
Those manifestations represented different aspects of his own existence.
Although the comparison was far from perfect, it provided him with a reference point for understanding Opman's situation.
This avatar was not merely a remnant of a soul.
It was a manifestation of the laws themselves.
More precisely, it was a law remnant left behind by Opman's true body, entrusted with the authority to govern the pocket world.
Black God Solanky remained silent as he carefully considered this revelation.
After a while, he asked another question.
"Can you leave this pocket world?"
Opman's avatar turned its gaze toward him.
"No. Despite my strength, I cannot leave this world. The moment I cross its boundaries, I will dissipate into nothingness. My true body only permitted our existence within this pocket world, and that restriction applies even to my sinister alter ego.
"Furthermore, only a being born within this world can fully inherit the laws contained within my avatar and assume complete control of the authority I represent."
Black God Solanky felt a wave of secret relief wash over him.
If the alter ego responsible for executing intruders could freely leave the pocket world, the consequences would be disastrous. The entire Beyond Realm, along with its neighboring realms, could face an existential crisis.
Against a being of that caliber, the combined forces of all the guarding ancestors might be the only thing capable of resisting it. Even then, he was far from certain they would prevail.
After contemplating the matter, Black God Solanky asked, "How powerful is an Above Peak-Turn being compared with a guarding ancestor who has reached the late peak-life of the ninth turn?"
Opman's expression remained composed.
"This is not something you need to concern yourself with at your current level, but since you have asked, I will give you an answer.
"Even ten calamitous lifeforms at the late peak-life of the ninth turn would be incapable of withstanding an attack from an Above Peak-Turn being. This would remain true even if they combined their energies to construct a protective barrier whose defensive power matched that of an Above Peak-Turn treasure. Such a barrier might prevent their immediate annihilation, but it would not spare them from suffering severe injuries.
"And that comparison concerns a being who has only recently entered the Above Peak-Turn level.
"Ancient beings who have spent countless years at that level are an entirely different matter. Such an existence could slaughter a hundred guarding ancestors with a single breath.
"The difference between them is as vast as heaven and earth.
"This is also why you do not encounter beings of that level within the life and treasure areas of the draft realm. Those regions contain nothing capable of attracting their interest or helping them advance further. For beings who have already reached such heights, the resources and opportunities available there are simply inadequate."
Black God Solanky absorbed these words before examining his surroundings.
He had originally assumed that the colossal star Opman had created was merely another manifestation of the pocket world. However, as he observed it more carefully, he began to sense a distinction between this place and the domains or world domains created by beings beneath the Narrator level.
Opman seemed to understand his thoughts.
"You have noticed the difference, haven't you?" he asked.
"Yes," Black God Solanky replied. "This place is fundamentally different from the domains and world domains created by beings beneath the Narrator level."
"That is correct," Opman said.
He raised his hand, and the surrounding space rippled faintly.
"Within the world of a Narrator-level being, the laws and concepts beneath that level cease to exist in their ordinary forms. Their authority is fundamentally different from anything you have encountered. However, let us not concern ourselves with matters too distant from your present cultivation.
"Once you reach the ninth turn, you will gradually begin to comprehend these mysteries for yourself.
"For now, I will explain more about this pocket world, particularly why its cultivation system differs from the general cultivation system you know."
Black God Solanky immediately focused his attention on Opman.
"What you see before you," Opman continued, "is nowhere near the actual world belonging to my true body. This pocket world is a subsidiary world created from the reflection of my true body's actual world.
"As you already know, my true body has surpassed the Peak-Turn level and entered the Above Peak-Turn realm. Beings who reach such heights possess abilities that are beyond the comprehension of ordinary cultivators.
"Among those abilities is the capacity to establish connections between worlds and the lives that exist within them.
"Every being living within this pocket world is, in essence, a deceased being who has undergone reincarnation, originating from those who perished within the actual world of my true body.
"Their lives, their existence, and the cultivation system they follow are all connected to that greater world in ways they cannot comprehend.
"Yet the inhabitants of this pocket world know nothing about the truth. Even the powerful beings of the outside world believe this place to be an independent world, completely separate from any greater existence.
"They do not realised that the world they see is merely a reflection of something far greater."
Black God Solanky was stunned.
The revelation was almost impossible for him to comprehend.
A world containing countless beings, generations of cultivators, and an entire cultivation system had been established through a connection to another world. More astonishingly, the lives of its inhabitants were linked to beings who had already perished in that greater reality.
Such control over the fate of countless beings across millions of generations was far beyond anything he could understand at his current level.
For the first time since entering this mysterious pocket world, Black God Solanky realised just how insignificant his present comprehension truly was.
The mysteries of the world extended far beyond cultivation, strength, and the laws he had spent countless years attempting to master.
And Opman's true body had already reached a level where such mysteries were merely part of its existence.