547: Chapter 482: Within the Withered Realm, Witnessing the Realm of Ruins' Erosion

After the guixu energy core of the Withered Star Realm was purified, the gray-white mist did not completely disperse; it merely thinned from its previous density. Lin Zhou did not evacuate immediately. Standing before the purified golden core, he sensed a faint resonance of civilization deep within the star realm—it was not his river of civilization, but a more ancient spark, one on the verge of extinguishing. The aura of that spark resembled the legacy of The Transcendent, yet it was far weaker and more ancient.

"Captain, there is something else deep within the star realm." Su Yueyao's lunar essence captured a beam of light on the verge of severing within her perception; the silvery-white moonlight was like a firefly in the dark night amidst the gray-white mist. "It resonates with the rule structure of the Temple of Civilization, but it is very weak. It is about to extinguish."

Lin Zhou was silent for a moment. The Withered Star Realm had already been more than half eroded by Guixu, and the edges of the star realm were constantly collapsing. The gray-white mist writhed like a living creature, devouring everything it touched. According to Li Mo's calculations, this star realm would completely disappear within thirty days. However, that faint resonance of civilization was located at the core of the star realm, so he decided to go and see.

"Wang Meng, Qin Qing, Iron Face, you stay at the stronghold, take inventory of the supplies, and take all the usable essence of order crystals. Golden Scale, you stay to protect them. Yue Yao, come with me to the depths."

Wang Meng was somewhat reluctant, but he obeyed the order. Lin Zhou unfurled his river of civilization, enveloping himself and Su Yueyao. The water level of the river of civilization had dropped to three percent after the previous battle, and its cyan-gold light was like a solitary lamp in the gray-white mist. The two flew toward the depths of the star realm. The deeper they went, the higher the concentration of guixu energy became, rising from five hundred times that of the outside world to eight hundred, then one thousand times. The consumption of the river of civilization increased, and Lin Zhou's godhead integrity was also slowly decreasing.

[Withered Star Realm · Depth Data] - guixu energy concentration: 1000 times that of the outside world - river of civilization consumption: 20,000 Divine Power per minute - Lin Zhou's godhead integrity: 9% → 8% - Su Yueyao's lunar essence consumption: 5,000 Divine Power per minute

After flying about three million kilometers, they reached the core area of the star realm. The scene here was completely different from the periphery—it was not gray-white mist and collapsing land, but a patch of "blankness." The blankness was not black, nor was it white; it was a pure "nothingness." In that area, there was no space, no time, no rules, and not even the concept of "non-existence"—because "non-existence" is also a form of existence. There was nothing there.

The reality of Guixu erosion was presented before Lin Zhou so clearly for the first time. It was not destruction, but "erasure." Things devoured by Guixu were not destroyed; they were completely deleted from the underlying layer of existence, as if they had never existed at all. He saw half a city floating at the edge of the blankness—not ruins left after a city was destroyed, but fragments of a city that had been "cut." The houses on the streets were neatly truncated, the cross-sections smooth as mirrors; at the cross-section, there were no bricks, no structures, only pure blankness. There were still pedestrians on the street—no, they were "afterimages" of pedestrians. Their lower bodies had disappeared; they were not cut off, but erased. Their upper bodies still maintained their postures from when they were alive; some were walking, some were talking, some were smiling. Their eyes were hollow, but the arc of their mouths remained.

[Guixu Erosion · Reality Record] - Erosion method: Existence erasure (non-physical destruction) - Erosion target: All existence within the star realm (matter, energy, rules, memories) - Erosion result: Erasure of things from the conceptual level, no residue - Erosion speed: Approximately one meter per second (accelerating)

Lin Zhou stopped at the edge of the blankness. The moment his river of civilization touched the blank area, the cyan-gold light at the edge began to blur, as if being slowly wiped away by an invisible eraser. He retracted the river of civilization, not daring to get closer. Su Yueyao's lunar essence stopped before the blank area. The silvery-white moonlight shone toward the blankness, and the moment the moonlight touched the boundary, it "disappeared"—it was not absorbed, but as if it had never existed. Her face turned pale.

"Captain, this thing... is far more terrifying than guixu energy. guixu energy at least still exists and can be purified. This blankness even denies the very concept of 'existence' itself."

"This is the essence of Guixu. The Sea of Nothingness is such an existence. All things return to nothingness, not by being destroyed, but by being forgotten."

Lin Zhou shrank the river of civilization to its minimum, covering only his and Su Yueyao's bodies. He cautiously flew along the edge of the blankness, searching for the source of that resonance of civilization. After flying about one hundred thousand kilometers, he saw a "thing" at the edge of an area about to be devoured by the blankness.

It was not a building, not a life form, but a fragment of a "concept"—the last wisp of consciousness left behind by a person who no longer existed. It was the phantom of a woman wearing a white lab coat; she had delicate features, wore glasses, and looked like a scholar. Her body was already translucent, her lower body had disappeared, and her upper body still maintained her posture from when she was alive. She was sitting on a similarly translucent chair with a translucent table in front of her, and on the table lay a translucent notebook. She was writing, writing the last character.

Lin Zhou stopped in his tracks. His Fire of Civilization sensed it—this phantom was not a product of Guixu, but a "victim" of Guixu. She was an erased existence, but before completely disappearing, she had used her final will to leave behind this wisp of consciousness.

[White-Robed Leader · Vera] - Identity: Former Chief Scientist of the Military Department, already "killed in action" - Godhead Rank in life: LV4500 (great divine power initial stage) - Research field: guixu energy, Sea of Nothingness, end of the Universe - Current status: Erased by Guixu, only the last wisp of consciousness remains - State: Disappearing (will completely dissipate in about ten minutes)

Lin Zhou walked up to her. She did not look up and was still writing. The text in the notebook was also disappearing—every time she wrote a character, the preceding characters faded a little. But she kept writing, as if as long as she kept writing, she could hold onto her own existence.

"Professor Vera." Lin Zhou's voice was very soft. She looked up. Her eyes were gray-white, without pupils, but Lin Zhou could feel that she was "looking" at him. "Who... are you?" Her voice was weak, like a candle in the wind. "Lin Zhou. Legion Commander of the Civilization Guardian Legion."

"Civilization Guardian Legion... I have heard of you. You are the one who uses the Fire of Civilization to fight against Guixu." The corners of her mouth lifted slightly. "You are younger than I imagined." "Professor, why are you here? Weren't you... killed in action during the experiment three hundred years ago?"

Vera smiled. The smile was bitter and weary. "Killed in action? No, I did not die. I walked into Guixu voluntarily. Not to seek death, but to study it. I wanted to find a way to stop Guixu. I researched for thirty years and finally discovered the essence of Guixu—it is not an entity, but a 'process.' The end of the Universe is not being destroyed, but being forgotten. When all civilizations are forgotten, Guixu will descend."

She held up the notebook; the last page was not yet finished. "I have written my thirty years of research in this notebook. But Guixu is devouring it; for every character I write, one disappears. I am almost unable to hold on."

Lin Zhou looked at the fading notebook. "Professor, can I help you?" "You cannot. Guixu's erasure is irreversible. But you can take my memories—the part in my consciousness. Before it is erased, I still remember it." Vera raised her hand and pushed a gray-white speck of light toward Lin Zhou.

Lin Zhou reached out and took it. The speck of light merged into his godhead, and a massive amount of information flooded into his consciousness—the essence of Guixu, the operational laws of the Sea of Nothingness, the structure of the Gate of Guixu, and all the results of Vera's thirty years of research.

[Obtained · Vera's Memory Fragments] - Content: Essence of Guixu, laws of the Sea of Nothingness, structure of the Gate of Guixu, thirty years of research results - Status: Partially erased (about 70% complete) - Value: Can significantly improve efficiency in fighting against Guixu

After Lin Zhou finished absorbing the memory fragments, Vera's phantom became even more transparent. She looked down at the almost disappeared notebook and sighed. "There is one more secret I haven't told anyone. Guixu is not for destroying civilizations, but for 'harvesting' them. When a civilization develops to a certain level, Guixu will descend and harvest all of the civilization's achievements—technology, art, philosophy—as 'seeds' for the New Universe. Guixu itself has no consciousness; it is a program, the ultimate program of the Universe. It will not refrain from harvesting you just because you do not resist."

Lin Zhou's pupils contracted sharply. "Harvest... seeds?" "Yes. The Transcendent also knows this secret, but he did not tell you because he did not want you to despair." Vera looked at him, and a flash of clarity suddenly crossed her gray-white eyes. "Lin Zhou, you still have a chance. The essence of the Fire of Civilization is 'existence,' while the essence of Guixu is 'forgetting.' As long as you make the Fire of Civilization bright enough, and let everyone remember civilization, Guixu will not be able to harvest it. Because memory is existence."

Her body began to dissipate, starting from the head, bit by bit turning into gray-white specks of light. "Lin Zhou... remember... the Fire of Civilization... must not extinguish..." Her phantom completely dissipated. Lin Zhou stood there, silent for a long time. Su Yueyao walked over and held his hand. Her hand was ice-cold, but there was the warmth of lunar essence in her palm.

"Captain, Guixu is not an enemy; it is a program. The ultimate program of the Universe." "Programs can be rewritten." Lin Zhou turned around and took Su Yueyao to fly toward the edge of the star realm. The erosion of Guixu was still continuing, and the Withered Star Realm was about to disappear. But he had taken away Vera's memory fragments, taken away the truth of Guixu, and taken away the hope of the Fire of Civilization.

"Captain, what are you thinking about?" Su Yueyao asked. "Thinking about how to rewrite the program of a Universe." "Can it be rewritten?" "It can. The essence of the Fire of Civilization is existence, and memory is a part of existence. As long as we make the Fire of Civilization bright enough, and let everyone remember civilization, Guixu will not be able to harvest it."

Lin Zhou accelerated toward the direction of the teleportation array. The Gate of Guixu would descend in half a year, and the Sea of Nothingness would flood into the New Universe. But now he knew the essence of Guixu—it was not an enemy; it was a program. Programs can be rewritten, overwritten, and surpassed. The Fire of Civilization is that transcendent force. Half a year later, the Gate of Guixu would descend again. He would walk into that gate and use the river of civilization to seal the Sea of Nothingness. But not to fight, but to surpass. Let the Fire of Civilization burn within Guixu, and turn Guixu's "forgetting" into "remembering." The Way of Civilization, passing the torch from generation to generation.