216: Skeletal Inscriptions, the True Understanding of Nirvana

Inside the Desperate Land, there was no rotation of the sun and moon, only eternal gray decay and dead silence.

Medusa sat cross-legged at the entrance of the beast bone cave; the protective shield formed by Seven-Colored Dou Qi was already thin as paper, but she had no choice but to continuously consume her already scant recovered power to maintain it.

The ubiquitous gray flow of decay outside, like a persistent disease, was constantly eroding her vitality and protective Dou Qi.

Her exquisite face carried unconcealable exhaustion; her internal injuries had slightly improved under the influence of Medicinal Pill and regulated breathing through cultivation, but she was far from being able to move freely.

Most of her gaze fell upon the man lying quietly deep inside the cave, whose aura was almost integrated with the surrounding dead silent environment.

Li Ao was still in that strange Nirvana state.

The cracks on his body surface had neither worsened nor improved, like solidified porcelain cracks.

His breathing was imperceptible, and the intervals between heartbeats were long enough to cause panic, but that faint flame of vitality was stubbornly maintained, as if he had truly reached a strange symbiosis with the 'End' Dao rhythm of this desperate land.

Medusa knew this was only a temporary measure.

Li Ao's injuries were too severe, his Foundation was almost completely destroyed; this Nirvana state was more like a deep self-Seal, delaying the arrival of final death.

If a method to truly repair his Physical Body and Soul could not be found, once this fragile balance was broken, or if external interference was too great, the outcome would still be unchangeable.

"I must find a way out, or... the Opportunity that might exist here."

Medusa's gaze was firm; she could not sit and wait for death.

After her own condition stabilized slightly, allowing her to barely support short periods of activity, she cautiously began exploring the area near the cave.

She dared not stray far, ensuring she could retreat to the cave at any time to look after Li Ao.

This skeletal wilderness was vast and boundless, filled with Death Qi.

Apart from the enormous, unknown beast bones and the vague architectural ruins in the distance, there seemed to be nothing else.

She tried approaching some smaller skeletons and found that these bones, having endured endless years, had long been completely eroded by the decay aura of this place, turning to ash with a light touch, holding no value whatsoever.

However, just as she was investigating beneath a massive wing bone, shaped like that of a bird, half-buried in the gray soil about a hundred zhang away from the cave, she keenly sensed something unusual.

That wing bone was different from the other skeletons; it was neither pale nor gray, but exhibited a dull gold color.

Although its luster was dim and it was covered in cracks, it had not completely decayed.

What was even stranger was that at the base of this dull gold wing bone, close to the main trunk of the skeleton, she discovered some extremely ancient, strange patterns and symbols that were not carved by blades or swords, but rather seemed to have been forcefully 'branded' by some powerful existence using its own will or finger strength.

These patterns were complex and mysterious, completely different from any script or Formation she knew, but when she focused on them, she could feel a faint but extremely pure... Nirvana Dao rhythm emanating from the patterns!

This feeling was somewhat similar to Li Ao's Way of Blade Silence, yet it was older and purer, pointing directly to the Origin of the end of all things!

Medusa's heart stirred, and she immediately carefully cleared away the gray soil covering it.

More patterns were revealed; they interconnected, vaguely forming an incomplete picture, accompanied by several special symbols that were even older, like traces of the Great Dao.

Although she did not understand their meaning, her powerful Soul perception made her realize that this was definitely not an ordinary item.

This was likely the insight left behind countless years ago by a powerful existence that had also ventured into or lived in this place, or... it was a fragment of some Legacy!

She immediately committed this discovery to memory and attempted to imprint these patterns and symbols using her Soul Power.

However, these patterns seemed to contain a unique will.

The moment her Soul Power made contact, she felt a needle-like stinging pain, as if they were resisting her comprehension.

Medusa furrowed her delicate brows and did not try to forcefully decipher them.

She knew deeply that such relics involving the Origin of the Great Dao could not be easily comprehended, and forcing understanding might even lead to backlash.

But this was a clue, a clue that might contain the means to heal Li Ao, or allow them to understand the secrets of this desperate land!

She expanded her search radius and found similar dull gold coloration and scattered strange patterns on several nearby, relatively intact, massive skeletons with unique forms.

These patterns seemed independent yet subtly connected, like pieces of a puzzle.

“The masters of these skeletons must have been extraordinary existences in life.

The 'relics' they left behind might record some secret technique or insight related to 'Nirvana' and 'End'..." Medusa mused, "Li Ao cultivates the Nirvana Blade Dao and possesses that mysterious star core; these might be useful to him!"

She returned to the cave, looked at the still silent Li Ao, and made a decision.

In the time that followed, Medusa cautiously recovered from her injuries while using the cave as her center, gradually exploring farther areas under the premise of safety, searching for and memorizing the strange patterns scattered across different skeletons.

This process was not easy.

The Desperate Land was not absolutely safe; she had encountered gray "Vicious Spirits" condensed from pure decay Qi, which launched silent attacks and fought fearlessly.

She had also narrowly avoided stepping into "Nirvana Quagmires" that looked calm but could actually devour Dou Qi and vitality.

On several occasions, she had no choice but to temporarily change their hiding spot, bringing Li Ao with her.

But her gains were also immense.

She found a total of seven relatively clear dull gold relics and forcefully memorized all the patterns and symbols on them.

Although she couldn't understand them, she could feel that when she tried to piece together these seven incomplete patterns in her mind, they vaguely outlined the prototype of a complex, incomplete imprint, seemingly composed of countless runes of termination, radiating a heart-stopping Nirvana True Intent.

She collectively referred to these seven relics as — the fragments of the Nirvana True Understanding.

On this day, as Medusa was repeatedly visualizing the seven fragments in her mind, trying to find a clue, she suddenly felt something and abruptly looked toward Li Ao.

She saw that Li Ao, who had been silent as death, whose Physical Body had undergone no change since entering Nirvana, trembled almost imperceptibly at this moment.

Between his eyebrows, an extremely faint point of dull gold light flickered once, like a sleeping star.

At the same time, Medusa clearly sensed that the silent ruin within Li Ao, and the nirvana star core deep inside, seemed to have produced an extremely subtle resonance with the fragments of the Nirvana True Understanding she was visualizing in her mind, a resonance that crossed the boundaries of matter and Soul Realm!

"It's working?!"

Medusa's heart shook, and her beautiful eyes burst forth with light of surprise and joy.

Could it be that these ancient relics she couldn't understand were actually the key to waking Li Ao, or even helping him repair his Dao injuries?

She immediately focused her mind, no longer trying to "understand" the patterns, but instead cast aside distracting thoughts, purely using her Soul as a guide to slowly and carefully transmit the complete Dao rhythm of the seven fragments of the Nirvana True Understanding she had memorized toward Li Ao...