523: Chapter 458: Night Owl's Plot, Opening the Gate with Vanguard Blood Sacrifice
After the Marshal was sent to the New Universe Core Area Medical Center, the ten vanguard legions rested and reorganized at the Iron Wall Fortress for three days. Li Mo worked day and night to analyze the structural diagram within Night Owl's godhead core. The design of the reverse device was seventy percent complete, but it still lacked a key parameter—the "activation frequency" of the Gate of Guixu's energy core. Without this parameter, the reverse device could not resonate with the Guixu Rift, and forcing it to start would cause a spatial collapse, swallowing the entire Seventh War Zone.
“Captain, there is no activation frequency in Night Owl's structural diagram.” Li Mo's voice carried fatigue. “Perhaps he didn't know it himself, or perhaps he hid it on purpose.”
Lin Zhou stood before the Wall of Heroes, looking in the direction of the collapsed bronze gate. “Night Owl wouldn't hide it. He is in a greater rush to kill the Lord of Nothingness than we are. If he didn't know, it means the activation frequency is not on the energy core, but somewhere else.”
“Where?”
Lin Zhou fell silent. His Fire of Civilization flickered slightly in his palm, reflecting the outline of the Gate of Guixu within the flames. The runes on the doorframe surfaced in his memory—they were not random, but followed a pattern. Every single rune flashed at a fixed frequency, and the flashing frequency of all the runes pointed to the same source—the Lord of Nothingness's lair.
“In the Lord of Nothingness's lair.” Lin Zhou turned around. “The activation frequency of the energy core is determined by the beating of the Lord of Nothingness's heart. Although the Lord of Nothingness is dead, its heart is still there. As long as the heart does not stop beating, the Guixu Rift will not fully close.”
Li Mo pulled up the detection data from deep within the Guixu Rift. “Captain, there is indeed a weak energy source inside the Lord of Nothingness's lair, and its fluctuation frequency matches the flashing frequency of the runes on the Gate of Guixu. We previously thought it was wreckage, but now it seems to be its heart.”
“The heart is still beating?”
“Yes. But the frequency is slowing down. After the Lord of Nothingness's death, the heart lost conscious control and is slowly failing. It is expected to stop completely in seven days.”
“Seven days...” Lin Zhou pondered. “Night Owl knew about this. He gave us the structural diagram before he died, but deliberately omitted the heart. Why?”
“Perhaps he didn't want us to take the risk.” Qin Qing walked over. “There are still remnants of Guixu energy deep within the lair, with a concentration a thousand times that of the outside. Anyone who enters will have their godhead contaminated.”
“Perhaps. But he knew I would definitely go.”
Lin Zhou walked down the city wall and began to gather his troops. Wang Meng, Qin Qing, Su Yueyao, Lei Zhan, Iron Face, and one hundred Civilization Sword Cultivators. The Dragon Vein Golden Scale accompanied them.
“Captain, are we going to the Lord of Nothingness's lair?” Wang Meng asked.
“To retrieve the heart. Only when the heart stops beating can the Gate of Guixu be completely closed.”
“But the Lord of Nothingness's heart is at the deepest part of the rift, where the Guixu energy concentration is a thousand times higher...” Su Yueyao frowned.
“That's why we can't bring too many people. A hundred people is enough.”
At dawn the next day, the squad set out. The water level of the river of civilization was only thirty percent, and Lin Zhou's godhead integrity was only forty percent, but he had no time to wait for a full recovery. The width of the rift was slowly expanding, and five more spatial Anchor Points had been destroyed. Seven days was the final deadline.
[Exploration Team · Data]
- Number of People: 100
- Average Godhead Rank: LV550
- Equipment: Civilization Armor · Enhanced Version, Spark of Justice, Spatial Origin Stone
- river of civilization Water Level: 30%
- Lin Zhou's godhead integrity: 40%
- Objective: Lord of Nothingness's Heart
The team passed through the collapsed bronze gate and entered the Void Realm behind the Gate of Guixu. This place was once the lair of the Lord of Nothingness, with a diameter of about ten thousand kilometers, surrounded on all sides by grayish-white Guixu energy walls. Countless distorted runes flowed across the walls, and within the runes, painful human faces could be faintly seen—these were the Souls of the captives sacrificed by the Void Sect, sealed within the energy walls to serve as the lair's energy source.
[Lord of Nothingness's Lair · Environmental Data]
- Diameter: About 10,000 kilometers
- Guixu Energy Concentration: 1,000 times that of the outside
- Rule Stability: 0
- Visibility: Less than ten meters
- river of civilization Consumption: 100,000 Divine Power per minute
The team advanced toward the center of the lair. The closer they got to the center, the higher the concentration of Guixu energy. The consumption of the river of civilization soared from 100,000 Divine Power per minute to 200,000, and Lin Zhou's Divine Power reserves depleted at a visible rate. His godhead integrity was also declining, and his memories began to slip away again.
“Captain, your memories...” Su Yueyao's lunar glow enveloped him.
“It's fine. The heart is just ahead.”
At the center of the lair, a massive dark-red heart floated. Measuring about one hundred kilometers in diameter, its surface was covered with dark-red patterns, contracting and expanding as it beat slowly. With each contraction, grayish-white mist surged from the patterns. At the center of the heart was a ball of grayish-white flame—the remnant will of the Lord of Nothingness.
[Lord of Nothingness's Heart · Data]
- Diameter: 100 kilometers
- Beating Frequency: Once per minute
- Guixu Energy Concentration: 2,000 times that of the outside
- Flame: Remnant Will of the Lord of Nothingness
- Integrity: 50% (decaying)
Lin Zhou flew in front of the heart, compressing the river of civilization into a thin stream and shooting it into the cracks on the heart's surface. As the flames made contact with the heart, the dark-red patterns began to fade.
[river of civilization · Purifying the Heart]
- Target: Lord of Nothingness's Heart
- Consumption: 200,000 Divine Power per minute
- Purification Speed: 1% integrity per second
- Heart Integrity: 50%... 40%... 30%...
The grayish-white flame inside the heart struggled frantically, and a grayish-white pillar of light shot out from the heart. Lin Zhou blocked with the Shield of Civilization; the shield shattered, and he was forced back. His godhead integrity dropped from forty percent to thirty-five percent, and the water level of the river of civilization dropped from thirty percent to twenty-five percent.
“Wang Meng!” Lin Zhou shouted.
Wang Meng led the hundred Sword Cultivators in a charge, their Flying Swords piercing into the surface of the heart. The Fire of Civilization burned within the sword gashes, and the heart's integrity dropped from thirty percent to twenty percent. Lei Zhan's shield wall blocked the light pillars shot from the heart's counterattack. Qin Qing's Net of Law wrapped around the heart. Iron Face's Fire of Justice performed an existence judgment. Su Yueyao's lunar glow suppressed the grayish-white flame inside the heart. The Dragon Vein Golden Scale's Dragon Breath scorched the heart's surface.
[Team · Besieging the Heart]
- Integrity: 20%... 15%... 10%...
When the heart's integrity dropped to five percent, the grayish-white flame suddenly flared up. It was not an attack, but a summoning. Within the flames, countless phantoms emerged—not Chaos Beasts, nor God-King Level Lords, but humans. The Souls of the captives sacrificed to the Gate of Guixu by the Void Sect, who had been sealed inside the energy walls, were now summoned by the flames. Their eyes were vacant and their bodies transparent as they rushed toward Lin Zhou.
[Sacrificed Souls · Data]
- Quantity: About 10,000
- Form: Phantoms
- Behavior: Attacking Lin Zhou
- Characteristic: Existence Erasure
“Captain, these Souls were killed by the Void Sect.” Su Yueyao's voice trembled.
“I know.” Lin Zhou did not attack, instead turning the river of civilization into a barrier, blocking the path of the Souls. “They are not enemies. They are victims trapped here.”
The Souls crashed into the barrier but did not dissipate. They stopped before the barrier, and a glimmer of clarity seemed to flash through their vacant eyes. The warmth of the Fire of Civilization reminded them of their memories in life—not all of them, but enough to let them know they were once human.
“Let me help you find peace.”
Lin Zhou expanded the river of civilization, enveloping all the Souls. The flames burned within the Souls, stripping away the erosion of the Guixu energy. The bodies of the Souls turned from grayish-white to pale gold, and the pain on their faces vanished, replaced by peace. They bowed to Lin Zhou, then turned into spots of light and merged into the river of civilization.
[river of civilization · Absorbing Souls]
- Absorbed Quantity: About 10,000
- river of civilization Water Level: 25% → 35%
- Lin Zhou's godhead integrity: 35% → 40%
The grayish-white flame inside the heart lost its energy source, and its integrity dropped from five percent to zero percent. The flame went out, and the heart stopped beating. The dark-red patterns faded away, and the heart turned golden.
Lin Zhou flew forward and stored the heart into his divine kingdom. The heart was still there, but it was no longer beating. The width of the Guixu Rift began to shrink.
“Captain, the Guixu Rift is shrinking.” Li Mo's voice came through.
“Now that the heart has stopped, the rift will slowly close. How long will it take to close completely?”
“About seven days.”
“That's enough.”
The team evacuated. Lin Zhou walked at the very back, casting a glance at the empty lair. The grayish-white energy walls were fading, and the Souls within the runes had departed. The Lord of Nothingness was completely dead.
After returning to the fortress, Li Mo inputted the energy frequency from the heart into the reverse device. The device started, and its silver-white light matched the resonant frequency of the Guixu Rift.
[reverse device · Test Successful]
- Effect: Resonates with the Guixu Rift, accelerating the closure
- Estimated Complete Closure: About three days
Three days later, the Guixu Rift closed completely. The spatial Anchor Points lost their effect, the rift disappeared, and the grayish-white mist dispersed.
Lin Zhou stood atop the Wall of Heroes, looking out at the clear Void Realm. The Fire of Civilization burned on the city wall, illuminating the direction of the New Universe.
“Captain, the Guixu Rift is closed.” Qin Qing walked over.
“It is closed. But a hundred years from now, a new rift will appear again.” Lin Zhou looked into the distance. “The Transcendent once said that Guixu is an inevitability of the birth and death of the Universe. We cannot destroy Guixu; we can only delay it.”
“A hundred years from now, there will be a new successor to the Way of Civilization.”
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