60: Chapter 60 First Encounter and End

Lin Wan's Divine Thought transmission broke the silence within the barrier.

Han Lingtian and Liao Chen opened their eyes almost simultaneously, a flash of bright light in their eyes, and with a slight movement of their figures, they appeared outside the quiet room where Lin Wan was located.

The three exchanged a look; there was no need for words, as they all saw solemnity and Killing Intent in each other's eyes.

Lin Wan briefly informed them of the situation he had detected, especially mentioning the emblem suspected to be related to "the end".

"The minions of the end have actually tracked us to this place?" Han Lingtian gripped his heavy sword, Killing Intent sharp between his brows. "They've come at the right time! Just the right time to test the few sword moves I've newly comprehended!"

"Amitabha. It seems that my Buddhist sect and this evil of 'the end' are destined to have this encounter. Since they have come, we shall remain calm; we must use thunderous means to purify the evil and serve as a warning to others." Liao Chen put his hands together, Buddhist light faintly appearing in his eyes; amidst the compassion, there was also the intent of a Vajra's angry glare.

"No rush." Lin Wan waved his hand, his gaze piercing through the barrier, landing on the pitch-black flying boat that was still lurking and probing nearby like a hunting predator. "They seem to be only probing and have not attacked immediately. Moreover, this is the Five Elements Barrier, protected by a boundary membrane; they cannot easily enter. We might as well observe first to see what they truly intend and who they are. Know yourself and know your enemy, then act."

With his current cultivation at the Peak of the Late Stage of Nascent Soul, combined with partial control of the Five Elements Barrier, and the help of Han Lingtian and Liao Chen, he naturally did not fear the opponent.

However, striking rashly and exposing his own strength and the reality of the barrier was not a wise move.

It was better to control movement with stillness, observe in secret, and if he could discover the opponent's background or purpose, it would be even more advantageous.

"Fellow Daoist Lin's words are reasonable." Liao Chen nodded.

Han Lingtian also suppressed his Battle Intent: "Very well, let's see what tricks these guys hiding their heads and showing their tails can play."

Lin Wan communicated with the core of the Five Elements Barrier with his mind, the Chaos Five Elements Wheel turning slightly, and an invisible, more restrained force field quietly covered the area outside the boundary membrane, completely masking the three's auras and the subtle fluctuations inside the barrier.

This made it so that when the probing fluctuations swept past, they could only perceive a "normal," calm boundary membrane energy, failing to discover any abnormalities.

At the same time, he also used the power of his Five Elements Guixu Dao Seed to simulate the chaotic and miscellaneous "Ruins Destruction" aura outside the boundary membrane, interfering with and "disguising" the information fed back by the probing fluctuations to a certain extent, making it difficult for the other party to accurately judge the barrier's defensive strength and internal situation.

After doing this, the three waited quietly like the most patient hunters.

That pitch-black flying boat did not seem to notice anything unusual.

It stayed and probed for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn at a distance of a hundred miles from the boundary membrane, the probing fluctuations becoming dense and deep, as if building some kind of three-dimensional model or analyzing the Laws of energy flow.

A moment later, a light flashed slightly on the front of the flying boat where the probing fluctuations were emitted, and the probing stopped.

The flying boat hovered silently in place for a moment, as if "thinking" or "reporting."

Immediately after, an inconspicuous cabin door on the side of the flying boat slid open silently.

A figure drifted slowly out from the cabin door.

The moment they saw this figure, the gazes of Lin Wan and the others tightened slightly.

It was not a human, nor was it an ordinary Yao Beast or Essence Spirit.

It was about eight feet tall, with a slender build, shrouded in a peculiar tight-fitting "garment" that seemed to be made of some kind of flowing, dark gray metallic liquid.

On the surface of the garment, there were faint, twisted, inward-rotating dark vortex patterns flowing slowly, originating from the same source as the emblem on the flying boat.

Its head was completely wrapped in a streamlined helmet made of the same material; on the front of the helmet, there were no eyes, ears, mouth, or nose, only two slightly recessed, dark red-glowing, compound eye-like crystals.

Its limb proportions were slightly strange, with arms long enough to reach past its knees, slender fingers, and small, mechanical-like protrusions at the joints.

Its feet were anti-jointed, as if more suitable for jumping or climbing.

The overall appearance gave a feeling of being cold, precise, non-human, yet containing some kind of eerie vitality.

Most importantly, the aura radiating from its body was extremely strange.

There was no spiritual energy fluctuation of an ordinary Cultivator, nor was there the Demonic Qi of a Yao Beast, but rather an extremely obscure, pure, yet cold, deathly, and slightly "the end"-eroding "energy" fluctuation.

This energy seemed capable of devouring the surrounding light and vitality, making the space around it appear dimmer than elsewhere.

"What... is this thing?" Han Lingtian frowned; he had never seen such a form of "living being."

"Not human, not beast, not ghost, not demon... It looks more like a... 'tool' or 'Puppet' created specifically for some purpose?" Liao Chen used his Buddhist Divine Ability to sense it, but it was difficult to see through its essence.

Lin Wan's gaze was sharp; his perception with the Five Elements Guixu Dao Seed was keener than the other two.

He could feel that within this biological body, there was an extremely complex energy circuit, similar to a combination of "Formation" and "runes," which was source-aligned with that flying boat, driving its actions.

And at its core, there seemed to be a tiny, constantly rotating black crystal emitting the aura of "the end," like a "power source" or "control core."

Was it a product of "the end" erosion and transformation? Or an "Apostle" created by the "the end" faction using some technology to carry out missions?

Just as the three were observing, the "Apostle" had drifted to about ten zhang away from the boundary membrane and hovered there motionlessly.

It raised its slender, dark gray metal-covered right hand, and a tiny hole opened in the center of its palm, shooting out a beam of dark blue light, only as thick as a hair, which tapped gently on the chaotic five-colored boundary membrane.

The moment the beam touched the boundary membrane, it did not trigger an attack or repulsion.

The boundary membrane rippled with an extremely subtle wave, while the dark blue light beam, like the most precise probe, began to perform more microscopic and in-depth "analysis" and "infiltration" near the contact point.

It seemed to want to find a "weak point" of the boundary membrane, or analyze its energy composition to find a way to "crack" or "infiltrate" it.

"Hmph, trying to crack the Five Elements Barrier's boundary membrane? Wishful thinking!" Han Lingtian snorted coldly.

Although he did not know exactly how strong this boundary membrane was, it had been able to withstand the erosion of "the end" for eons without breaking, so its defensive power must be beyond imagination.

Sure enough, the dark blue light beam probed for a while, and the boundary membrane had no other reaction besides slight ripples.

The Five Elements Returning to Ruins power contained within it was mysterious and unfathomable; how could it be easily analyzed by such probing means?

The "Apostle" seemed to realize this as well and withdrew the beam.

Its dark red compound eyes flashed with more frequent light, as if it was quickly calculating and analyzing something.

A few breaths later, it made an unexpected move.

It did not continue to try to crack the boundary membrane, nor did it return to the flying boat, but slowly raised its arms, palms facing each other, and brought them together in front of its chest.

Between its palms, the dark gray metallic liquid began to squirm and deform, eventually condensing into a weird crystal only the size of a fingernail, deep black, with a miniature vortex rotating inside.

Once the crystal formed, the "Apostle" did not hesitate and pushed it gently.

The black crystal flew out slowly, and the moment it touched the boundary membrane, it was not bounced away or annihilated, but instead, like a water droplet entering the sea, it silently merged into the chaotic five-colored light curtain and disappeared!

No, not merged, but... "devoured"? Or rather, it actively "lurked" inside?

Lin Wan's expression changed slightly.

He could feel that after the black crystal entered the boundary membrane, it did not immediately cause any damage, but like the tiniest parasite, it attached itself to an energy flow node somewhere inside the boundary membrane.

It began to emit a very weak fluctuation with the intent of "the end" erosion and "assimilation" at an extremely slow and secretive speed, attempting to... pollute and assimilate that small piece of boundary membrane energy?

Was this crystal a "seed" specifically designed to "pollute" and "infiltrate" energy defenses?

"Not good! It's trying to pollute the boundary membrane!" Lin Wan shouted in a low voice and stopped waiting.

The opponent's goal was clear: not to probe, but to invade!

Although this pollution speed was extremely slow, and with the vast energy of the Five Elements Barrier, this bit of pollution might take hundreds of years to take effect, its existence could absolutely not be tolerated.

"Attack!"

Before the words fell, Lin Wan's figure had already disappeared from the spot.

The next instant, he appeared inside the barrier, at a barrier "node" closest to the position of the boundary membrane where the "Apostle" was located.

This was part of the barrier's defensive Formation and could launch attacks outward.

He pressed his hands out into the void, Chaos Infant Essence surged, directly triggering a small external attack Restriction — "Geng Metal Space-Splitting Blade"!

"Hum—!"

Outside the boundary membrane, in the Void Realm a hundred zhang away from the "Apostle," over a hundred sharp light blades, several zhang long, dark gold in color, with spatial cutting ripples flowing along the edges, suddenly condensed.

Like a swarm of bees that had received an order, they instantly locked onto the target and shot towards the "Apostle" with a screech that tore through space!

Each light blade contained terrifying power sufficient to threaten an Early Stage Nascent Soul.

Facing this sudden attack, the "Apostle" did not seem surprised, nor did it make any movement to dodge or defend.

It just turned its streamlined helmet slightly, and its dark red compound eyes calmly "looked" in the direction from which the light blades were coming.

The moment the light blades were about to reach it—

The flowing dark gray metal garment on the "Apostle's" body suddenly lit up!

Countless fine, dark vortex patterns, originating from the same source as the emblem, instantly became clear and bright, as if they had come alive, flowing at high speed on its body surface, forming a thin layer of pitch-black light film that seemed capable of devouring all energy and matter, constantly rotating inward!

"Chi chi chi—!"

Over a hundred Geng Metal Space-Splitting Blades slashed fiercely onto that layer of pitch-black light film.

There was no clash of metal, no energy explosion.

All the light blades, the moment they touched the pitch-black light film, seemed to fall into an invisible quagmire, their speed dropped sharply, the sharp blade edges dimmed and twisted rapidly, and finally, they seemed to be swallowed, decomposed, and annihilated by the rotating darkness, disappearing without a sound!

Not even a trace of energy ripple was splashed up.

That pitch-black light film just rippled slightly, then returned to calm.

"What?!" Inside the Five Elements Barrier, Han Lingtian and Liao Chen both saw this and their pupils contracted.

What kind of defense was that? It could so easily, almost like "erasing," neutralize an attack capable of threatening a Nascent Soul Cultivator?

A trace of surprise also flashed in Lin Wan's eyes.

This Apostle's defensive method was extremely bizarre; it seemed to be able to "devour" and "annihilate" attack energy. In terms of effect, it was somewhat similar to the power of Five Elements Returning to Ruins, but its essence was completely different, leaning more towards pure "destruction" and "the end."

"It has some tricks. Then... let's try this."

He moved his mind again. This time, he directly invoked a higher level of attack authority from the Five Elements Barrier—a combination of the "Li Fire Burning Heaven Formation" and the "Mystic Ice Sealing Domain," a double strangulation!

"Boom—!"

Outside the boundary membrane, the space around the Apostle suddenly turned crimson!

Endless, dark red "Burning Heaven Li Fire," with a temperature high enough to instantly vaporize refined gold, emerged out of thin air and turned into a sea of fire, completely engulfing the Apostle!

Meanwhile, within the sea of fire, countless strands of dark blue "Mystic Ice Absolute Cold Qi," capable of freezing the mana of a Nascent Soul Cultivator, condensed into dense ice cones and ice blades. Carrying a bone-chilling cold, they shot toward the Apostle in the center of the fire sea from all directions, indiscriminately strangling it!

Ice and fire combined, their energy properties were diametrically opposed yet complementary; their combined power was far from a simple addition.

However, the Apostle, located at the center of this double lethal attack, still did not make much of a move.

It merely raised its arms slightly, and the layer of pitch-black light film on its body suddenly became deeper and more solid, and its rotation speed also suddenly increased!

"Weng weng weng—!"

A low humming sound, as if space were being twisted and devoured, rang out.

The crimson Burning Heaven Li Fire, upon approaching the pitch-black light film, was like being extinguished by an invisible hand, quickly dimming and dissipating.

The dark blue Mystic Ice Absolute Cold Qi, upon touching the light film, also met its nemesis, melting and disintegrating, turning into the most primitive cold Qi, and was subsequently devoured and annihilated.

That seemingly thin layer of pitch-black light film was like a miniature black hole capable of devouring all energy. No matter how violently the ice and fire attacked, it remained unmoved, devouring and annihilating all attack energy. Its own light even became deeper and more condensed because it had devoured the energy!

"What... what the hell is this thing?!" Han Lingtian couldn't help but curse. Such a bizarre defense was simply unheard of.

"Amitabha... This thing's defense seems capable of devouring, converting, and annihilating all external energy attacks. Ordinary Spells and Divine Abilities are likely unable to harm it in the slightest." Liao Chen frowned, also feeling that it was troublesome.

Lin Wan's gaze was solemn. He could see that the Apostle's defense was not a simple energy shield, but contained a higher-level Law of "ending" and "negation" regarding "energy" itself. It was of the same lineage as the essence of "the end" that erodes all things. Ordinary Divine Abilities and Spells that relied on energy bombardment had little effect on it, unless the energy level far exceeded its "devouring" limit, or... it was forcibly broken by a more essential, more "unreasonable" power.

"Since energy attacks are ineffective, then... let's try physical and Law attacks."

Lin Wan no longer used the barrier's long-range Restrictions. With a thought, his figure disappeared again.

In the next instant, he appeared outside the barrier, in front of the boundary membrane, no more than thirty meters away from the Apostle.

"Junior Brother Lin!" "Fellow Daoist Lin!"

Han Lingtian and Liao Chen were startled and wanted to follow, but were stopped by Lin Wan's Divine Thought: "Stay inside the barrier to prevent any unforeseen circumstances. I will deal with this thing."

The Apostle seemed not to have expected anyone to come out directly from the barrier. Its dark red compound eyes flashed with light, and for the first time, it truly focused its "gaze" on Lin Wan. Especially when it saw the Chaos Dao Seed mark faintly circulating between his eyebrows, the light in its compound eyes seemed to jump violently, transmitting a colder, more "interested" fluctuation.

"Five... Elements... Dao Seed... Inheritor..." A harsh, cold, emotionless thought was transmitted directly into Lin Wan's mind, "Capture... priority... increased..."

Before the thought finished, the Apostle moved.

Its figure, like a ghost, instantly disappeared from its original spot, leaving behind only a faint afterimage. Its speed was so fast that it far exceeded that of an ordinary Nascent Soul Cultivator! Almost at the same time it disappeared, it appeared on Lin Wan's left side. Its slender, dark-gray metal-covered arm, like the sharpest rapier, carried a cold, dead, and silent aura that tore through space and devoured vitality, stabbing directly at Lin Wan's temple! At the fingertips, the dark gray metal instantly extended and sharpened, turning into three spikes flickering with a dark metallic luster!

"So fast!"

Lin Wan felt a jolt in his heart. His Chaos Infant Essence activated spontaneously. Instead of retreating, he advanced. He brought his right hand together into a sword finger, Chaos radiance condensed at his fingertip, and he pointed it directly at the incoming spikes!

"Five Elements Returning to Ruins—Breaking Law!"

The fingertip and the spikes collided at the most critical moment.

"Ding—!"

An extremely crisp sound, like the clash of two divine weapons, rang out! The sound was not loud, but it contained terrifying energy fluctuations, instantly causing fine ripples in the surrounding space.

Lin Wan's figure swayed slightly. The power transmitted from his fingertip was cold, dead, silent, and full of corrosiveness, almost freezing and devouring his Chaos Infant Essence. However, the point of Chaos radiance at his fingertip also contained the power of extinction and assimilation of Five Elements Returning to Ruins, frantically clashing and annihilating with the power of "the end" on the spikes.

The spikes were shaken slightly backward, and a tiny, almost invisible crack appeared at their tips! Meanwhile, the Chaos radiance at Lin Wan's fingertip also dimmed slightly.

"Physical attacks combined with the corrosive power of 'the end'... truly troublesome." Lin Wan assessed internally. This Apostle's Physical Body strength was far beyond imagination, close to a Body Cultivator of the same rank, and its attacks carried the corrosion of "the end," making them hard to defend against.

The Apostle, seemingly because its spikes were damaged, had a momentary pause in its movements. Apparently, Lin Wan being able to clash head-on with its attack, and even having the slight upper hand, exceeded its expectations.

"Now is the time!"

Lin Wan seized this fleeting opportunity. The Five Elements Guixu Dao Seed between his eyebrows suddenly burst with silver light! A more vast, more original Chaos Dao rhythm erupted, instantly covering several dozen meters in radius!

"Five Elements Returning to Ruins—Domain, Open!"

A grayish, strange Domain containing scenes of nebulae birth and death, Five Elements rotation, and Guixu extinction instantly expanded with Lin Wan as the center, enveloping the Apostle along with the pitch-black flying boat not far behind it!

Inside the Domain, the Five Elements Laws were twisted, the power of Guixu extinction permeated, and the space became viscous and heavy. The pitch-black light film on the Apostle's body, capable of devouring energy, fluctuated violently the moment it touched the Domain's power, as if it had encountered its true "natural enemy." The effects of devouring and annihilation were greatly reduced, and there were even faint signs of being reverse-decomposed and assimilated by the "Guixu" power of the Chaos Domain!

"Screech—!"

The Apostle seemed for the first time to emit a sharp, piercing hiss similar to a "voice," full of pain and shock. The dark vortex patterns on its body flowed crazily, attempting to strengthen its defense and resist the erosion of the Domain. At the same time, its figure flashed violently again, attempting to escape the range of the Domain.

"Want to leave? It's too late!"

Cold light flashed in Lin Wan's eyes. The guixu sword was already in his hand. The original Chaos-colored light flowed on the sword body, as if it could sever Karma and destroy all Laws.

"Five Elements Returning to Ruins, Sword Slashes Falsehood—Extinguish!"

He took a step forward, his figure merging into the Domain, appearing before the Apostle as if teleporting. The guixu sword in his hand turned into a streak of Chaos light, ignoring the violently fluctuating pitch-black light film on its body, ignoring its bizarre speed, and stabbed with one sword directly at the center of its chest, at the black crystal that emitted the aura of "the end" and served as its core!

This sword strike had no vast Sword Qi, no earth-shattering momentum.

It only had a kind of absolute—Sword Intent of extinction that seemed capable of ending all things and returning all things to Chaos!

"No—!!!"

The Apostle emitted its final, fearful and unwilling thought-roar, attempting to raise its hand to block, attempting to activate some kind of self-destruction or escape method.

However, under the suppression of the Five Elements Returning to Ruins Domain, and before this absolute killing strike of the guixu sword, all resistance appeared so futile.

"Shhh—!"

A slight sound, like piercing through leather.

The Chaos-colored tip of the guixu sword easily pierced through the violently fluctuating pitch-black light film and accurately stabbed into the black crystal in the Apostle's chest.

The power of Guixu extinction contained on the sword tip erupted with a boom.

"Crack... crack..."

The black crystal was instantly covered in spiderweb-like cracks, then shattered with a boom! It turned into countless black, highly corrosive light spots, but before they could spread, they were completely devoured, annihilated, and turned into nothingness by the power of Chaos Guixu in the surrounding Domain.

The moment the crystal shattered, all of the Apostle's movements suddenly stopped. The pitch-black light film and vortex patterns on its body quickly dimmed and disappeared. The light in its dark red compound eyes extinguished. Its slender, dark-gray metal-covered body, as if all support had been drained from it, instantly became stiff and gray, and then, starting from the sword mark on its chest, it disintegrated and crumbled inch by inch, turning into a sky full of dark gray metal powder, which was finally swept away by the power of the Domain and completely disappeared.

The Five Elements Returning to Ruins Domain slowly retracted.

Outside the boundary membrane, peace returned. Only that pitch-black flying boat, having lost its master and still floating quietly, proved everything that had just happened.

Lin Wan sheathed his sword and stood, his breath steady, but there was no joy in his eyes; instead, they were even more solemn.

This Apostle's strength was only around the Middle Stage of Nascent Soul, but its bizarre abilities, precise construction, and the power it represented behind it—a power capable of creating such "tools"—all made him feel unprecedented pressure.

The tentacles of "the end" stretched further than he had imagined, and their methods were more diverse and bizarre.

This was likely just the beginning.