127: Chaotic Forbidden Zone and "Rule" Vacuum

Rushing into that valley of twisted light and shadow felt like plunging into thick glue.

The surrounding scenery was bizarre; the ground beneath their feet was sometimes as hard as iron and sometimes as soft as cotton, and they even occasionally felt like they were stepping into thin air. Light lost its direction here, sometimes as blinding as noon and sometimes as dim as dusk. Colors also became strange—green rocks, purple leaves—as if a palette had been overturned.

The most uncomfortable part was the chaos of perception. Extending Mental Energy was like a clay ox entering the sea; the feedback was fragmented, making it difficult to piece together a complete image of the environment. Even their sense of direction became blurred, as front, back, left, and right seemed to be constantly shifting.

"Stay close to me! Don't get separated!" Ying's voice came through, carrying a hint of exhaustion but remaining exceptionally firm. She seemed to have some understanding of this environment, leading everyone through the chaos with difficulty, relying on some special intuition.

Wen Youyi endured the mental discomfort and carefully observed his surroundings. The star core fragment in his arms was unusually active here, emitting a faint but steady starlight, as if a fish had returned to familiar waters.

"The rules here... are so chaotic!" Senior Brother Zhang's face turned pale. He tried to sense the surrounding energy flow but found it to be like a tangled mess, impossible to understand. "It's as if many different rule fragments are mixed together, clashing with each other yet barely maintaining a balance."

"Exactly." Ying nodded, confirming his suspicion. "This is an ancient battlefield ruin. It's said that beings transcending this realm once fought fiercely here, shattering some of the world's rules and forming this 'Rule Ruin.' The power of the 'spirit net' is also greatly weakened and interfered with here, so those 'Scavengers' and 'Hounds' don't dare to venture deep inside."

Wen Youyi's heart stirred. rule fragments? Rule Ruin? Wasn't this a natural place to study "Broken Line" and "world bubble"?

He tried to channel a trace of Star Core Power, and this time, it felt exceptionally smooth! Here, the power of the star core seemed to be under minimal restraint, like a wild horse breaking free from its reins!

He could even vaguely sense that within this chaotic space, there were some extremely subtle "pores" of the same origin as the star core, as if leading to some unknown, even more vast location.

"This place... might be the key to our understanding of the true 'Broken Line' technique!" Wen Youyi suppressed his excitement and said to Ying.

Ying glanced at him, a flicker of complexity in her eyes. "You're right. This place has always been regarded by us 'Purifiers' as a potential land of hope. But it's also extremely dangerous. Rule conflicts could trigger energy storms at any time, or exile someone into unknown spatial fragments. We've only operated on the outskirts before and didn't dare to go deep."

She pointed to an area ahead that was even more distorted, appearing as if countless mirrors had been shattered and haphazardly pieced back together. "That is the 'Cave of Ten Thousand Mirrors,' one of the most dangerous areas in this Forbidden Ground. It is said that those who enter never return. We can only travel along the relatively safe edges and exit from the other side."

Having temporarily escaped their pursuers, everyone's tense nerves relaxed slightly, but in such a dangerous place, no one dared to be careless.

Zhao Iron Pillar was responsible for being on guard. Although his perception was limited, he could still detect some potential dangers based on his beast-like intuition. Senior Brother Zhang endured the discomfort and began to record the unique energy environment and distribution of rule fragments here; these were all extremely precious research materials.

Meanwhile, Wen Youyi followed Ying forward while fully sensing the chaotic rules and the active reaction of the star core. He felt his understanding and control of Star Core Power rapidly improving in this special environment. Many parts of the "source code" deciphered from the ancient jade piece that were previously difficult to understand were now being cross-referenced with the perceived rule fragments, gradually becoming clear.

He even began to try whether he could use Star Core Power to "smooth out" or "guide" the chaotic rule fragments around him on a small scale, creating a temporary, relatively stable "safety bubble."

This process was extremely difficult, like trying to build a sand dike in a torrent. He failed again and again, but he never tired of it. Each failure deepened his understanding of the rules and the star core.

Ying looked at Wen Youyi, who was immersed in research, and a glimmer of hope flashed in her eyes. Perhaps this "variable" with the star core and peculiar thinking could truly find that legendary path of the "Broken Line" here.

However, good luck always seemed to be short-lived.

Just as they had been traveling along the edge of the Forbidden Ground for about an hour, a sudden disturbance occurred in the dangerous area ahead known as the "Cave of Ten Thousand Mirrors"!

Countless shattered "mirror surfaces" began to flash and rotate frantically, and a powerful and chaotic suction force emanated from within, pulling at everything around it!

"Not good! It's a Rule Tide! Steady yourselves quickly!" Ying's face changed drastically as she shouted urgently!

Everyone felt an irresistible force acting on their bodies, trying to pull them toward that deadly cave!

(End of Chapter)