183: Battlefield Relics, Fragments of Laws
The deathly silence of the Heavens Battlefield was a heavy thing, accumulated over countless ages and soaked in the blood and obsession of countless powerhouses. Ye Chen suppressed his aura, moving like a shadow through massive wreckage and collapsed mountains, stealthily heading toward the canyon permeated with Death Qi. The fluctuations of the chaos monitoring compass and the resonance of the ancestral talisman served as a lighthouse in the dark, guiding his way.
The closer he got to the canyon, the more concentrated the Death Qi and a strange, sharp intent in the air became. This Death Qi wasn't just simple coldness; it carried a regulatory charm of severing life and ending all things. It was somewhat similar to the 'Extinction' in the Guixu Sword Intent, yet even more extreme and overbearing. Neatly sliced corpses and weapons were visible everywhere, their cross-sections smooth as mirrors, as if severed instantly by some supreme Sharp Weapon, remaining uncorrupted through the ages.
Ye Chen raised his alertness to the maximum. The power that caused these scars was of an extremely high level, far beyond what he could contend with now. Even the residual charm made his skin sting.
He carefully slipped into the canyon. The light inside was dim, and the steep rock walls on both sides were covered with crisscrossing deep marks—be they from swords, sabers, or spears, it was hard to tell—each leaving behind a heart-palpitating sharp Qi. More corpses piled up at the bottom of the canyon, most of them incomplete. In the center stood a strange, ten-zhang-tall stone tablet, pitch-black and smooth as a mirror.
The tablet was made of an unknown material, neither metal nor jade, emitting a faint black light. It stood there silently, seemingly the source of the canyon's Death Qi and sharp intent. The intense longing from the chaos ancestral talisman originated from this very stone tablet!
Ye Chen stopped a hundred zhang away from the tablet, not daring to approach rashly. He could feel the space around the tablet faintly distorting, with terrifying residual Law power forming an invisible force field. To barge in would likely mean being torn to shreds by those residual sharp Laws.
He tried to extend a thread of Divine Sense, like a tentacle, toward the stone tablet with extreme caution.
The moment his Divine Sense touched that invisible force field, an ultimate sharp charm that seemed capable of severing Karma and splitting space-time rushed at him! Ye Chen let out a muffled groan as that thread of Divine Sense was instantly ground to dust! A sharp pain followed, causing his face to turn slightly pale.
What terrifying residual Laws!
He took a deep breath and circulated the Chaos Myriad Transformation Art to soothe the tremors in his Divine Soul. It seemed that approaching by force or probing with Divine Sense wouldn't work.
His gaze fell on the mirror-like surface of the stone tablet. That surface didn't perfectly reflect the surroundings; instead, it rippled slightly like water, seemingly containing countless extremely fine runes flowing and cycling through birth and death.
“Observe... Understand...” Ye Chen realized in his heart. This stone tablet might not be a mere inanimate object, but a Legacy or a trial. It needed to be 'understood' rather than taken by force.
He stopped trying to approach and instead sat cross-legged at the edge of the force field. His eyes fixed on the mirror-like surface of the tablet, his mind completely sinking into it as he tried to perceive and decipher the flowing runes and the Law charms contained within.
At first, the runes were chaotic, moving so fast they were impossible to catch. The sharp charm was like billions of steel needles, constantly stinging his Divine Soul. However, relying on the chaos ancestral talisman to guard his mind and his tenacious will that far exceeded those of the same rank, he forced himself to endure. Like a patient craftsman, he began to peel away and analyze them bit by bit.
Time flowed silently in this dead canyon.
One day, two days... Ye Chen became like a stone statue, with only the occasional flash of Chaos light in his eyes showing the arduous perception he was undergoing. Blood occasionally seeped from the corner of his mouth—a sign of excessive Divine Soul consumption and backlash from the Law charms—but he never gave up.
Gradually, the runes that were originally chaotic began to become orderly in his 'eyes.' They weren't flowing randomly; they were expounding a supreme Law of 'cutting,' 'separating,' and 'ending'! This Law went beyond simple material cutting, involving 'severance' at the levels of energy, rules, and even concepts!
He seemed to see an invisible line crossing the Void Realm, causing stars to crumble, the Great Dao to snap, and Karma to be split in two! This was an extremely aggressive Law, pursuing absolute 'division' and 'severance'!
This had points in common with his Dao of Chaos, but also essential differences. Chaos encompasses all things, evolving through birth and death, while this Law of 'Severance' forcibly placed a full stop within that cycle. it was the manifestation of ultimate 'Extinction'.
“Perhaps... Chaos isn't just about inclusion and evolution. 'Severance' and 'Extinction' are also facets of Chaos... the inevitability of all things returning to Guixu...” Ye Chen had an epiphany. He tried to guide a sliver of that 'Severance' Law charm and merge it into his own Guixu Sword Intent.
Initially, the two clashed violently. The 'Extinction' in the Guixu Sword Intent and this ultimate 'Severance' repelled each other, nearly causing his Sword Intent to collapse. But under the mediation and governance of the chaos ancestral talisman's supreme essence, these two charms—both belonging to the category of 'Ending' yet with different focuses—began to slowly blend... After an unknown amount of time, when Ye Chen felt he had gained a preliminary grasp of the Law of 'Severance' and could barely merge a sliver of its charm into the Guixu Sword Intent, the long-silent black stone tablet suddenly vibrated gently!
“Buzz!”
On the mirror-like surface of the tablet, the flowing runes suddenly froze, then converged toward the center like a hundred rivers returning to the sea. Finally, they condensed into a streak of black light that was refined to the extreme, thin as a hair, yet emitting an aura capable of severing all things!
The black light shot out with a 'whoosh,' detaching from the stone tablet. As if possessed of spirituality, it instantly crossed the hundred-zhang distance and vanished into Ye Chen's forehead!
Ye Chen’s entire body shook violently!
A vast and pure flood of insights and information regarding the Law of 'Severance' instantly poured into his Sea of Consciousness! Simultaneously, a surge of incredibly pure Origin energy flowed into his limbs and bones, nourishing his Physical Body and heart of chaos!
This wasn't a complete Law Legacy, but a 'Law Fragment'! It was a sliver of Law Origin that this stone tablet had condensed over untold ages!
Though it was only a fragment, its value far exceeded any Cultivation Technique or Heaven And Earth Treasure he had obtained before! This was a gift pointing directly to the Origin of the Great Dao!
Ye Chen immediately operated the Chaos Myriad Transformation Art with all his might to digest this precious Law Fragment. Under the nourishment and supplement of this fragment, his Guixu Sword Intent transformed and ascended at an unprecedented speed! The Sword Intent was no longer just a grey haze of Extinction; it now carried an ultimate sharpness that could cut through anything and was indestructible!
He even felt that his long-stagnant Peak Ninth Level of Disha Realm cultivation, pushed by this Law Fragment and Origin energy, was starting to see its solid Bottleneck loosen! It felt as if with just one more Opportunity, he could break through the shackles in one go and step into the Tiangang Realm!
After a long time, Ye Chen slowly opened his eyes. Two invisible sword lights seemed to flash through his pupils, slicing the air in front of him into fine ripples. Feeling the more condensed and terrifying Sword Intent within him, as well as the loosened cultivation Bottleneck, his heart was filled with joy.
He stood up and bowed solemnly to the black stone tablet, which had returned to its calm state with its light restrained.
“Thank you for the gift, Senior!”
The stone tablet remained silent, as if it had fulfilled its mission.
Ye Chen knew he had obtained the Opportunity of this place and shouldn't stay long. He turned, preparing to leave the canyon.
However, the moment he turned—
“Ssh!”
A faint sound of breaking air, almost blending into the spatial fluctuations, rang out from behind him without warning! A needle-like light, dark purple and thin as a cow's hair, yet emitting a malicious charm that eroded the Divine Soul and corroded Protective Aura, shot toward his temple at a speed exceeding thought!
A sneak attack! And the timing was perfect, occurring at the very moment his mind was most relaxed after obtaining the Opportunity!
The attacker's concealment methods were extremely high; Ye Chen only detected that faint energy fluctuation after the attack was launched! Their cultivation was also at the Peak Ninth Level of Disha Realm, and their technique was sinister and malicious!
Fast! Fierce! Poisonous!
If it were the previous Ye Chen, even if he could react, he would have been caught off guard and might have even been injured. But now—
Ye Chen didn't even look back. The Guixu Sword Intent, which had just integrated a sliver of the Law of 'Severance', operated instinctively, swirling around him.
“Sever.”
He softly uttered a single word.
When that dark purple poison needle was still a foot away from his temple, it seemed to hit an invisible wall containing the charm of absolute 'separation.' Its forward momentum, contained energy, and malicious charm were all forcibly 'severed' and 'separated' in an instant!
The poison needle instantly lost all power, falling onto the rock with a 'ding' like ordinary iron, before being eroded into nothingness by the residual sharp Death Qi.
“Eh?”
A soft sound of surprise came from the shadows at the canyon entrance. A blurred figure in dark purple tight-fitting clothes slowly emerged, wearing a ghost-face mask that only revealed a pair of triangular eyes filled with surprise and greed.
“You actually blocked my 'Soul-Eroding Bone-Piercing Needle'? It seems the Opportunity you obtained here is no small matter...” The Ghost-masked Man's voice was raspy and unpleasant, like a night owl. “Hand over the treasures and Legacy you received, and I shall spare your life!”
Ye Chen slowly turned around, looking calmly at the Ghost-masked Man. He could feel that the other's aura was somewhat out of place with this Heavens Battlefield; he didn't seem to be a native being, but more like an outsider like himself.
“A rat hiding its head and showing its tail thinks it's worthy of coveting my things?” Ye Chen's tone was indifferent as the guixu sword quietly appeared in his hand. The newly comprehended Law of 'Severance' flowed along the blade, making the edges of the guixu sword's grey light faintly show a heart-palpitating black glow.
Just right, I'll use you to test my sword!