69: Souls forged in the desolate sea, the starlight never dies.

Cold.

Deathly silence.

The Concepts of time and space completely dissolve here.

Chen Feng's consciousness drifted in absolute nothingness, like dust sinking into a cosmic ice tomb. There was no light, no sound, and no sense of touch—only an eternal, Soul-freezing Chaos grayness. This grayness was not a color, but "nothingness" itself, the ultimate destination of rules and matter, and the most primordial "void" inside the Hall of Fate Wheel.

His body was suspended in this Chaos Void Realm, like a specimen pinned in amber. Inside his Dantian, the newly formed Universe Ruin Vortex had become the only source of light—dark, deep, and slowly rotating. It emitted a guixu will that swallowed all things, barely managing to maintain a weak, dark Domain around him that only just enveloped his body. It was this Domain that isolated the assimilation power of the external Chaos grayness, preventing him from instantly becoming part of the nothingness.

However, this guixu Domain was like a candle in the wind, appearing incredibly small and fragile within the boundless Chaos emptiness. Every rotation of the vortex brought a tearing pain from deep within his dao foundation. Even more terrifying was the trauma to his Divine Soul. Forcibly bearing the memory fragments of the myriad ancient stardust was like pressing the weight of an entire sea of stars into a fragile glass container. His Sea of Consciousness was already shattered, and the phantom of the primal disk had completely disintegrated, leaving only countless fragments carrying the weight of time and the secrets of the stardust. They hung like sharp ice shards above the ruins of his consciousness; every faint ripple of awareness brought a bone-scraping, ash-grinding pain. His self-awareness was like a spark in a gale, flickering uncertainly amidst the infinite heaviness and silence, liable to be extinguished at any moment.

"Guixu... the end... slumber..." A seductive whisper, seemingly originating from the Chaos emptiness itself, hovered at the edge of his consciousness. Giving up resistance and merging into this eternal silence seemed to be the only release.

But at the very moment his consciousness was about to completely sink—

"Roar—!!!"

A roar filled with tyranny, greed, and endless malice pierced through his collapsing consciousness like a red-hot steel needle!

The tribulation imprint!

The imprint on his chest throbbed frantically, its dark red patterns appearing particularly hideous and glaring under the weak light of the dark guixu Domain, like living toxic vines! At this moment, when Chen Feng's consciousness was at its weakest and his dao foundation was sluggish due to environmental suppression, the tribulation remnant soul's will, with its 20% revival degree, finally tore through the last trace of suppression from the Ancient Whale's power and launched a long-premeditated fatal erosion!

"Your shell! Your dao foundation! They shall eventually become my nourishment! Path of Slaughter and Guixu... shall be one!" The will of the tribulation remnant soul transformed into billions of dark red needles, carrying the Slaughter Dao Origin power that could sever Karma and extinguish Reincarnation, and stabbed fiercely at Chen Feng's crack-riddled Divine Soul barrier!

Even more sinister was a strand of Slaughter Dao filth, refined to the extreme, which acted like a maggot on a bone. Following the connection to the dao foundation, it was violently injected into the slowly rotating Universe Ruin Vortex within his Dantian! It did not directly oppose the guixu power but instead acted like ink dropped into clear water, frantically polluting, twisting, and attempting to drag Chen Feng's newborn guixu dao foundation into the abyss of destruction of the Path of Slaughter!

"Ugh, aaaaaah—!" Chen Feng's body convulsed violently in the Void Realm! The pain originating from the deepest part of his Soul far exceeded any physical torture! Within the ruins of his consciousness, that faint spark of self-awareness was like being thrown into a Hell oil vat, twisting and wailing frantically under the piercing of the Slaughter Dao needles and the heavy pressure of the myriad ancient stardust! The guixu vortex in his Dantian vibrated violently, and ominous dark red blood veins began to appear on its dark spiral arms! The tribulation remnant soul intended to take advantage of his weakness to kill him, completely polluting his newly formed guixu dao foundation and refining it into a cornerstone for the revival of the Path of Slaughter!

"Get... out!" His remaining will let out a desperate roar, like the final struggle of a trapped beast. He desperately drove the guixu vortex, attempting to swallow and purify the invading Slaughter Dao filth! However, that Slaughter Dao Origin was extremely refined and cunning, clinging like a maggot on a bone and deadlocking with the guixu power. The rotation of the guixu vortex became even more sluggish, its solidity plunging from 39% to 35%, and the darkness at its core seemed to be shrouded in a filthy, blood-colored shadow. The tribulation remnant soul's malevolent laughter echoed in his consciousness, and its revival progress steadily rose during the erosion, approaching 21%!

Besieged from within and without! His Divine Soul was on the verge of disintegration, and his dao foundation was being frantically polluted! Under the dual crushing of the infinite Chaos emptiness and the Slaughter Dao erosion, his consciousness was like grains of sand being repeatedly ground by a millstone!

Just as Chen Feng felt his consciousness was about to be completely torn apart and his dao foundation totally defiled—

Buzz...

An extremely faint yet incredibly pure speck of starlight lit up without warning within the ruins of his shattered consciousness.

That starlight did not come from the outside world but originated from the deepest part of his Soul, the core area carrying the fragments of the myriad ancient stardust! A memory fragment that had been forcibly "precipitated" and enveloped by the guixu Concept was suddenly activated by the stimulus of the Punishment Calamity's Slaughter Dao power frantically eroding Chen Feng's Origin!

In the fragment, there was no grand birth or death of stars, nor any ancient whispers of will; there was only a brief and clear image:

The core of the terrifying Annihilation Vortex in the outer light wheel of the Hall of Fate Wheel!

A faint yet incomparably pure speck of starlight, like a lonely lamp struggling in a world-ending storm, was deathly protective of a small star vortex core fragment that had not yet been polluted or annihilated!

Reflected in that starlight was Su Wanzhao's final, resolute, and sorrowful face, along with the last thought she had silently transmitted—

"Live... on..."

This image was like the first ray of sunlight at dawn, instantly piercing through the endless darkness and sinking within Chen Feng's consciousness! That pure starlight, that protective will, and that silent entrustment carried a warmth and power that transcended life, death, time, and space, violently crashing into his nearly extinguished spark of self-awareness!

"Last Light—!!!"

A cry of sorrow and a shout originating from the deepest part of his Soul exploded like a world-creating thunderclap within the ruins of Chen Feng's shattered consciousness!

Under the impact of this protective will, his nearly dissipated spark of self-awareness was like being injected with the most powerful stimulant, suddenly erupting with unprecedented light! That light was not scorching, but carried a protective obsession and the heaviness of guixu!

"I cannot... die here!"

"My dao foundation... shall not... be defiled!"

His remaining will condensed frantically! It was no longer passive resistance, but an active counterattack!

Within the ruins of his Sea of Consciousness, those floating, sharp memory fragments of the myriad ancient stardust were actually no longer merely a burden under the forced drive of this protective will and self-obsession; they transformed into the heaviest of weapons! His thoughts turned into invisible hands, grabbing a memory fragment carrying the scene of an ancient star's extinction and swinging it like a world-splitting giant axe, fiercely hacking at a strand of Slaughter Dao needle will that had invaded his consciousness!

Boom!

The Slaughter Dao needle collided with the star extinction fragment! Annihilation at the level of rules erupted within his consciousness! The tribulation remnant soul let out a pained groan! The heaviness and mysteries contained within this myriad ancient stardust fragment far exceeded the destructive power of the Slaughter Dao needle!

Simultaneously, within his Dantian!

Chen Feng's thoughts frantically drove the Universe Ruin Vortex! At the core of that dark vortex, which was entangled by Slaughter Dao filth and rotating sluggishly, the Concept that encompassed the end of all things was completely ignited! A more pure and domineering guixu will, originating from his protective obsession, erupted with a roar!

"Guixu! It is not the destruction of your Path of Slaughter! It is the... destination of... the end of all things! Filth... shall... sink!" His thoughts were like a blade!

Buzz—!

The rotation speed of the guixu vortex suddenly accelerated! The darkness at its core erupted with terrifying suction! The dark red Slaughter Dao filth entangled on the spiral arms was like dust thrown into a black hole, being forcibly stripped, swallowed, and dragged toward that absolute dark core by this purer guixu will! Guixu power was inherently higher than the Path of Slaughter! It had been polluted before only because Chen Feng's will had sunk and his dao foundation was unstable! Now that his protective will was ignited and the true meaning of guixu was manifest, the Slaughter Dao filth could no longer maintain its foothold!

"No!!" The tribulation remnant soul let out a roar of shock and anger! It felt the Slaughter Dao Origin it had injected being forcibly decomposed and swallowed! This newborn guixu dao foundation was actually using its power as nourishment in reverse!

Chen Feng seized the opportunity to pursue! His thoughts guided more myriad ancient stardust fragments in his Sea of Consciousness, throwing them like stars and smashing them fiercely into the invasion nodes of the tribulation imprint in his consciousness! Every collision was accompanied by the pained roars of the tribulation remnant soul and the tearing pain of Chen Feng's own Divine Soul! This was a tragic consumption where he harmed the enemy at great cost to himself! But his eyes grew brighter and brighter, and his spark of self-awareness became increasingly condensed under the support of his protective obsession!

The dark red light of the tribulation imprint flickered frantically within Chen Feng's body. Under the counterattack of Chen Feng's internal and external pincer movement, the will of the tribulation remnant soul was temporarily suppressed, and its revival progress was forcibly pinned at 20.8%! Its spreading speed plummeted! It was like an enraged venomous snake coiled deep within the imprint, letting out even more spiteful roars, yet temporarily unable to break through the defense of the guixu Domain and the protective will.

However, at the moment Chen Feng exhausted his strength to stabilize his position and his consciousness became slightly clearer—

Buzz!

Ripples rippled without warning in that absolute Chaos grayness of the Void Realm ahead.

An incredibly massive "platform," composed entirely of solidified Chaos gray star Origin, slowly emerged as if growing out of nothingness. Ancient, profound, and suffocating natural Dao Patterns, similar to those on the outer light wheel of the Hall of Fate Wheel, flowed across the platform's surface.

The center of the platform was not empty.

A figure was quietly suspended there.

It was not a physical entity, but more like a contour outlined by highly condensed Chaos gray star Origin. That figure, that posture, and the vaguely discernible fortitude and vicissitudes in the brows...

Chen Feng's pupils suddenly constricted!

**Zhang Shouzhuo!**

Although it was only a phantom outlined by star Origin, that familiar aura and the will imprint of burning himself to protect the star dome ark... Chen Feng would never mistake it!

But the "Zhang Shouzhuo" before him was diametrically different from the old man in his memory who had burned his life to protect them. His "body" was composed of cold Chaos grayness, and in the position of his eyes were two slowly rotating miniature annihilation vortexes that seemed capable of swallowing Souls. A cold, impersonal, and majestic will, carrying the sense of absolute rule scrutiny, radiated from that phantom. It shared the same source as the pressure of the entire Hall of Fate Wheel, yet was more concentrated and specific!

This will locked onto Chen Feng, and a cold voice without emotional fluctuations, sounding like billions of gears meshing, echoed directly in Chen Feng's consciousness:

"Detected... unauthorized... lifeform... carrying... embryonic guixu dao foundation..."

"dao foundation rating: Inferior... Pollution index: High-risk... Associated carrier: Cleared..."

"Executing... core protocol... erase... or... refine..."

Following this cold declaration, the Phantom of Zhang Shouzhuo slowly raised his arm composed of Chaos grayness. Countless ancient Dao Patterns lit up on the arm, and a miniature Chaos gray energy ball, which emitted a purer, more primordial, and more irresistible force than the outer Annihilation Vortex, rapidly condensed in his palm!

The core of that energy ball was absolute "nothingness"! It was the end of rules! The erasure of existence!

**Hall of Fate Wheel... Gatekeeper Will!**

He was not Zhang Shouzhuo himself, but a Rule Executor condensed from the Hall of Fate Wheel's primordial rules, using the residual will imprint of Zhang Shouzhuo after he had burned out as a core template!

The cold killing intent, like a cosmic winter, instantly froze the fighting spirit Chen Feng had just ignited!