447: Chapter 382: Chaotic Anomaly, Accelerated Erosion of the Ruins

The "Suppress" character on the Bronze Giant Hall flared with intense light.

A cyan-gold beam of light shot out from the hall gate, piercing deep into the Chaos Star Domain and pushing away the Chaos energy within a radius of five thousand kilometers. Ten Guixu Projection cannons on the plaza were primed and ready, their muzzles aimed at the deepest part of the gray-white mist. After the civilization stele was fully awakened, the light inside the hall was brighter than ever; the civilization fragments on the reliefs began to flow, as if they had come alive.

Lin Zhou stood on the high platform, watching all this, a sense of unprecedented stability surging in his heart. Two years had passed. Five hundred ruins had all been awakened, the river of civilization level had reached 500%, the Heavenly Pillar height had broken through one million kilometers, and his Divine Power Rank was LV1500. He possessed the power to resist the Guixu—or at least, he thought he did.

But, just as he was about to give the Order to reinforce the "Suppress" defense, an anomaly occurred.

The entire Bronze Giant Hall shook violently.

It wasn't an earthquake, but an oscillation at the level of rules—more intense than any previous time. The crystals on the hall roof flickered crazily, the reliefs on the ground began to crack, and the "Suppress" character on the hall gate emitted a piercing buzzing sound, as if warning of something.

[Bronze Giant Hall · Emergency Warning]

Guixu energy fluctuation detected: Abnormally increased.

Fluctuation source: Edge of the Chaos Star Domain (approx. 30,000 kilometers away).

Fluctuation intensity: SSS+ (Far exceeding previous levels).

Guixu Projection generation rate: One per second (originally one per minute).

Chaos energy concentration: Surging.

Lin Zhou's pupils contracted sharply.

He rushed out of the hall gate, stood on the plaza, and looked toward the edge of the Chaos Star Domain.

There, the gray-white mist was churning—not a normal churning, but boiling. In the mist, countless Guixu Projections were rapidly generating. They were no longer appearing one by one, but emerging in droves, like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.

[Guixu Projection · Explosive Generation]

Generation rate: One per second.

Current quantity: Approximately one hundred (and continuously increasing).

Rank range: LV500 - LV700.

Behavior: Moving toward the direction of "Suppress".

"Captain!" Qin Qing rushed over, her face pale. "Guixu Projections are surging!"

"I see it." Lin Zhou gritted his teeth. "Wen Yuan, Guixu energy cannons, charge!"

"Yes!"

Ten Guixu energy cannons charged simultaneously, the runes on the cannons lighting up with blinding radiance.

[Guixu energy cannon · Charging]

Charging progress: 10%... 20%... 30%...

Estimated completion: Thirty seconds.

Thirty seconds later, the ten cannons fired simultaneously.

Ten cyan-gold beams of light shot toward the edge of the Chaos Star Domain, striking that boiling mist.

Boom—!!!

Wherever the light beams passed, Guixu Projections were annihilated, and the gray-white mist was pushed away. But deep in the mist, more Guixu Projections were generating, endless and infinite.

[Guixu energy cannon · First round salvo]

Guixu Projections killed: Approximately one hundred.

Mist clearance range: One thousand kilometers in diameter.

Effect: Temporarily contained, but not eradicated.

"Captain, they can't be killed off!" Wen Yuan shouted. "The generation rate is too fast!"

Lin Zhou did not speak. His gaze went past the mist, looking further away.

There, at the edge of the Chaos Star Domain, a more terrifying change was occurring.

The gray-white mist was no longer just churning, but—disappearing. Not pushed away, not purified, but thoroughly and irreversibly disappearing. After the mist vanished, what was revealed was not the clear Void Realm, but a piece of absolute, all-consuming darkness.

That was the main body of the Guixu.

[Guixu Erosion · Acceleration]

Erosion range: Edge of the Chaos Star Domain, diameter approximately one thousand kilometers.

Erosion speed: Ten kilometers per hour (originally one kilometer per hour).

Erosion effect: In the eroded area, Chaos energy, rules, space, time... all existence turns into "Nothing".

Estimated complete erosion of Chaos Star Domain: Approximately thirty days.

"The Guixu is accelerating its erosion." Xu floated to Lin Zhou's side, runes flickering all over its body, its voice trembling. "Master, if the erosion speed remains constant, in thirty days, the entire Chaos Star Domain will be swallowed by the Guixu. Including 'Suppress'."

Lin Zhou's heart sank.

Thirty days.

Only thirty days.

"Is there any way to slow it down?" he asked.

Xu closed its eyes to sense, then shook its head. "No. The Guixu's erosion is irreversible. All we can do is—evacuate."

"Evacuate?" Wang Meng's eyes widened. "Evacuate to where?"

"The new Universe." Xu said. "The entrance to the new Universe is in the deepest part of the Chaos Star Domain. As long as we enter the new Universe, we can escape the Guixu."

"But, The Transcendent said the new Universe hasn't fully formed yet..." Qin Qing said.

"We can't worry about that." Lin Zhou interrupted her. "Whether it's formed or not, it's better than being swallowed by the Guixu."

He turned and looked at everyone.

"Brothers, the Guixu is accelerating its erosion. In thirty days, the entire Chaos Star Domain will be swallowed. We must enter the new Universe within thirty days."

"Everyone, pack up supplies immediately and prepare to evacuate."

"Yes!"

Everyone dispersed, busy with their own tasks.

Lin Zhou stood on the high platform, looking at the "Suppress" character on the hall gate.

The light of the character dimmed slightly under the erosion of the Guixu.

"Suppress, how much longer can you hold on?"

The "Suppress" character did not answer, just continued to shine.

Lin Zhou was silent.

He walked down from the high platform and came to the civilization stele.

80% of the technology in the stele had already been organized. Among them, there was one technology he had never dared to use—the Guixu energy shield.

[Guixu energy shield · Technical data]

Principle: Use Guixu energy as the energy source to create a shield to resist Guixu erosion.

Shield strength: Can resist Guixu erosion speed of ten kilometers per hour.

Coverage: Ten thousand kilometers in diameter.

Consumption: 10,000 Guixu energy per minute (approx. 100,000 Divine Power).

Side effect: The shield itself will be polluted by Guixu energy; the longer it is used, the more serious the pollution.

"Wen Yuan, can the Guixu energy shield be built?"

Wen Yuan calculated quickly: "Yes. But it takes time. At least seven days. Moreover, the shield can only last for one month. After one month, the shield will be polluted by Guixu energy and lose its effect."

"Seven days... one month..." Lin Zhou calculated.

It would take thirty days for the Guixu to erode to "Suppress". Building the shield would take seven days, and the shield could last for one month. In total, thirty-seven days, which was seven days more than thirty days.

"Enough." Lin Zhou said. "Build it."

Wen Yuan led the rune craftsmen of the Research Hall Camp and began to set up the Guixu energy shield around the giant hall.

[Guixu energy shield · Under construction]

Coverage: Ten thousand kilometers in diameter.

Construction progress: 1%... 2%... 3%...

Estimated completion: Seven days.

Materials consumed: chaos crystal × 100,000, essence of order × 10,000 units, Void Divinity × 10 strands.

Seven days felt like seven years.

Lin Zhou stood on the high platform every day, watching the gray-white mist in the distance. The mist was receding, and the darkness was approaching. The erosion speed of the Guixu was faster than expected—not ten kilometers per hour, but twelve kilometers per hour.

[Guixu erosion · Latest data]

Erosion speed: Twelve kilometers per hour (originally ten kilometers).

Remaining time: Approximately twenty-five days.

Shield construction progress: 50%... 60%... 70%...

The seventh day.

The shield was completed.

A cyan-gold light barrier rose from around the giant hall, covering an area ten thousand kilometers in diameter. Countless Guixu runes circulated on the light barrier, blocking the Guixu's erosion outside.

[Guixu energy shield · Activated]

Coverage: Ten thousand kilometers in diameter.

Shield strength: Can resist Guixu erosion speed of fifteen kilometers per hour.

Current erosion speed: Twelve kilometers per hour.

Shield status: Stable.

Estimated duration: Thirty days.

"Thirty days." Lin Zhou said. "Enough."

He turned and looked at everyone.

"Brothers, the shield can last for thirty days. Within thirty days, we must enter the new Universe."

"Everyone, prepare to set off."

The team advanced toward the entrance of the new Universe.

The entrance to the new Universe was in the deepest part of the Chaos Star Domain, about ten thousand kilometers away from "Suppress".

Under the protection of the shield, the team moved quickly. However, the closer they got to the entrance, the more severe the Guixu erosion became. The light of the shield dimmed slightly, and consumption increased.

[Shield · Status (Five days later)]

Distance traveled: Five thousand kilometers.

Remaining distance: Five thousand kilometers.

Shield integrity: 90%.

Estimated arrival: Five days.

The fifth day.

The team arrived at the entrance of the new Universe.

The light gate was still there.

But it was much dimmer than before. The light of the new Universe in the gate was no longer bright, but slightly yellow, as if it were withering.

[New Universe entrance · Status]

Stability: 70% (Decreasing).

Light in the gate: Dim.

New Universe status: Not fully formed, affected by the acceleration of Guixu erosion.

"Captain, the gate is darkening." Qin Qing said worriedly.

"I know." Lin Zhou said. "But, we can still enter."

He stepped toward the light gate.

However, just at this moment, the light gate shook violently.

From within the gate, a surge of gray-white energy poured out—not Guixu energy, but Chaos energy. Chaos energy was different from Guixu energy; although it was chaotic, it still had "existence". While Guixu energy was pure "nothingness".

[Light gate · Anomaly]

Anomaly type: Backflow of Chaos energy.

Reason: Guixu erosion acceleration caused the new Universe entrance to be unstable.

Danger: Entrants may be polluted by Chaos energy.

"Captain, you can't enter!" Wen Yuan shouted. "Chaos energy is backflowing; if you go in, you will be polluted!"

Lin Zhou stopped.

He looked at the light gate and was silent.

"Then what should we do?"

"Wait." Wen Yuan said. "Wait for the backflow to end."

"How long?"

"I don't know. Maybe a few days, maybe a few months."

Lin Zhou gritted his teeth.

"We don't have a few months. The shield can only last for twenty-five days."

"Then we wait for twenty-five days." Qin Qing said. "After twenty-five days, if we still can't enter, we'll think of another way."

Lin Zhou was silent for a moment, then nodded.

"Okay. We wait."

The team camped in front of the light gate.

Lin Zhou stood in front of the light gate every day, watching the Chaos energy backflow in the gate.

The first day, the backflow weakened.

The second day, the backflow intensified.

The third day, the backflow weakened again.

[Chaos energy backflow · Data]

Backflow intensity: Fluctuating (Strong -> Weak -> Strong).

Estimated end: Unknown.

The tenth day.

The backflow stopped suddenly.

The light gate returned to stability.

"Captain, we can enter!" Wen Yuan said excitedly.

Lin Zhou did not enter immediately.

He walked to the light gate and reached out to touch the gate surface.

The gate surface was cold, but inside the gate, the light of the new Universe was calling.

"Brothers, are you ready?"

"Ready!" everyone replied in unison.

Lin Zhou nodded.

"Enter."

He stepped into the light gate first.

Behind him, Qin Qing, Wang Meng, Tie Xiong, Wen Yuan, Qin Shuang, Xu, Shou, and 1,100 Stone Statue Guardians followed closely.

Inside the light gate was a brilliant light.

It was not sunlight, not starlight, but—light of civilization.

In the light, countless phantoms were floating—that was the prototype of the new Universe, the civilization without Guixu that The Transcendent had spent a lifetime protecting.

Lin Zhou walked in the light, feeling his body becoming lighter, his Divine Power Rank sublimating, and the river of civilization cheering.

[New Universe · Entering]

Adaptation progress: 10%... 20%... 30%...

Effect: Divine Power Rank +100, river of civilization level +50%, Heavenly Pillar height +100,000 kilometers.

Estimated full adaptation: Approximately one hour.

One hour later.

Lin Zhou stood on the land of the new Universe.

Under his feet was green grass. Above his head was the blue sky. In the distance, there were mountains, water, and forests. In the air, there was no Chaos energy, no Guixu aura, only—Order.

[New Universe · Environment data]

Rule stability: 100%.

Chaos energy concentration: 0.

Guixu energy concentration: 0.

Spiritual Qi concentration: Ten times that of the outside world.

Suitable for civilization development: Yes.

"Is this... the new Universe?" Wang Meng looked around, his eyes full of shock.

"Yes." Lin Zhou said. "The civilization without Guixu that The Transcendent protected."

He turned and looked at the light gate.

The light gate was still there, but the light of the new Universe in the gate was brighter than before.

"Captain, are we going back?" Qin Qing asked.

"No." Lin Zhou shook his head. "We stay."

"Stay?"

"Yes." Lin Zhou said. "The new Universe hasn't fully formed yet and needs the nourishment of the Fire of Civilization. We stay, build a home, and develop civilization."

"When the new Universe is stable, we will go back to pick up others."

Qin Qing was silent.

"What about 'Suppress'? What about the Guixu?"

"'Suppress' will hold on." Lin Zhou said. "Someone will go to fight the Guixu."

He looked at the light gate.

In the light gate, the shadow of the old Universe was reflected—the Universe where he was born, grew up, and fought.

"We will not forget it."

He turned and walked toward the depths of the new Universe.

Behind him, the crowd followed.

The wind of the new Universe blew across his cheeks, warm and fresh.