231: Ancient Road Secrets, Law Threshold

The crisis at the Seventh Outpost had been resolved. The withered flesh blanket of the World-Devouring Mother Nest and the remains of the predators slowly dissipated amidst the turbulence of space and time, leaving behind only the scarred Bedrock fortress and the exhausted yet exhilarated survivors who had narrowly escaped death.

Ye Chen sat cross-legged atop the fortress, his body undulating with Chaos energy like the tides, continuously absorbing and refining the immense energy left behind by the core of the World-Devouring Mother Nest, consolidating the insights gained from the life-and-death struggle that had touched upon the Origin of the rules.

The pressure and confrontation brought by that trace of the "Terminus Devouring" rule, though a brush with death, had acted like the hardest whetstone, polishing his Chaos will and Dao Foundation, making them purer and more resilient.

The Bedrock Giants, filled with immense awe, spontaneously formed a protective circle around him, deliberately softening even their breathing.

Commander Rock Mountain directed his clansmen to clear the battlefield and repair the damaged fortress defenses, his gaze toward Ye Chen filled with gratitude and a burning intensity, as if looking at a light of hope.

Under the treatment of the giant priest, the aura of the Watcher Xi had stabilized significantly, and a trace of color had returned to her pale face.

She leaned against a large rock, her sapphire-like eyes never leaving Ye Chen, harboring complex and indescribable emotions—gratification at the appearance of a fellow traveler, anticipation for the continuation of an ancient mission, and, even more so, deep anxiety about the uncertain path ahead.

Several hours later, the surging aura around Ye Chen slowly subsided, eventually retracting into his body, as if he had merged with the surrounding Void Realm, becoming unfathomable.

He opened his eyes, a flash of Chaos radiance passing through them, becoming more gentle and restrained, yet possessing an awe-inspiring majesty that commanded respect.

"Lord Ye Chen, you are awake!" Seeing this, Rock Mountain hurriedly stepped forward, his massive body leaning slightly, his posture extremely respectful. "All the Bedrock clansmen of the Seventh Outpost thank you for saving our lives! If not for your timely appearance to defeat the World-Devouring Mother Nest, we... would have all become nourishment for the Void Realm."

Ye Chen nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over the giants busy with repairs below, before finally falling on Xi. "It was just a small effort. Your Excellency Watcher, how are you feeling?"

Xi struggled to stand and salute, but was held up by a gentle force from Ye Chen.

"Thank you for your concern, Lord Chaos Walker, Xi is no longer in serious condition." Her voice was still weak, yet much clearer. "You single-handedly slew the World-Devouring Mother Nest and resolved the crisis at the outpost. This grace... the myriad races of the Ancient Path shall all remember it."

"No need for formalities." Ye Chen raised his hand to stop her, his tone calm. "Since I have stepped onto this path, I will naturally do my utmost. Now that the crisis is temporarily resolved, I need to know more about this Ancient Path, about the 'Terminus Abyss', and about other Chaos Walkers."

Xi and Rock Mountain exchanged a glance, both seeing the gravity in each other's eyes. Rock Mountain said in a deep voice, "Lord, this is not the place for conversation. Please follow me to the core of the fortress."

Guided by Rock Mountain, Ye Chen and Xi arrived at a relatively intact stone hall deep within the fortress.

In the center of the stone hall stood an ancient altar composed of countless tiny rock runes, emitting faint spatial fluctuations, seemingly some kind of communication or recording device.

The three took their seats (Ye Chen and Xi sat on stone stools, while Rock Mountain sat cross-legged on the ground).

Xi took a deep breath and began to speak slowly, her voice carrying the vicissitudes of time, as she recounted a secret buried in the passage of time:

"The Ancient Path of Origin was not formed naturally... It was forcibly carved out on the 'Wall of Origin' at the end of the previous Universe era by many supreme civilizations that refused to perish, pooling their remaining strength... It is the final line of defense and the path of hope."

"It traverses countless remains of worlds on the verge of 'Terminus', connecting some 'Seed' worlds that are still resisting... Its purpose is to find a way to counter the 'Terminus Abyss', and... to welcome potential new successors of the 'Origin Authority'."

"And the 'Terminus Abyss' is not a specific entity or place... It is more like a kind of ultimate rule cancer spreading through all Universes and all space-time! It is a collection of concepts such as 'Silence', 'Extinction', and 'Void', possessing the instinct to devour all 'Existence' and return all things to absolute 'Nothing'."

"The 'Void' creations we see, such as the World-Devouring Mother Nest and the Annihilation Legion, are merely tools and lackeys manifested by the erosion of the Abyss rules upon the real world."

Ye Chen listened quietly, many of his doubts resolved. So, the Ancient Path was a product of civilizations saving themselves, and the Terminus Abyss was actually a "disease" at the level of the Universe's rules.

"Then the chaos ancestral talisman, and other Authorities..." Ye Chen asked.

"Chaos, Creation, Space-Time, Power, Soul... and many other Origin Authorities, according to the speculations of ancient 'Prophets', are the cornerstones that constitute 'Existence' itself, and are key to maintaining the balance of the Universe and resisting the erosion of the 'Terminus'." Xi's eyes revealed reminiscence and sadness.

"However, in the great war at the end of the last era, most of these Authorities were shattered and scattered... The great beings who wielded them either died in battle or went missing..."

"A 'Chaos Walker' like yourself is the successor chosen by the Chaos Authority in the new era. As far as I know, before you, at least three Chaos Walkers had appeared on the Ancient Path... 'Rock Venerable', 'Void Emperor', and the 'Blazing Venerable' who went deep into the Abyss rift a hundred years ago and never returned..."

"They all left behind their own Legacy and marks on the Ancient Path, and in the war against the Abyss... paid a huge price."

Three predecessors! Ye Chen's gaze tightened. This was undoubtedly important information.

"How can one find the marks or Legacy they left behind?" Ye Chen asked. Gathering the scattered Authorities and pooling the power of the predecessors was undoubtedly the best way to counter the Abyss.

Xi shook her head, a hint of bitterness appearing on her face: "The Ancient Path is vast, and space-time is chaotic. The marks of our predecessors are scattered everywhere, and most are located in extremely dangerous dead zones or areas heavily sealed by the power of the Abyss... It requires your own chaos ancestral talisman to sense them, and... Opportunity."

"However," she changed the subject, pointing to the stone altar, "This 'Myriad World Stone Altar' is one of the nodes for transmitting information and recording history between the Ancient Path outposts. Perhaps... it might retain some sporadic information about the traces of our predecessors."

Hearing this, Ye Chen walked to the stone altar. With a thought, the chaos ancestral talisman naturally circulated, and a wisp of pure Chaos energy was injected into the altar.

"Hum—"

The rock runes on the altar lit up one by one, emitting a soft light. Streams of blurry, intermittent information, like broken scrolls, surged into Ye Chen's mind.

He saw... a giant (Rock Venerable) whose figure was similar to the Bedrock Giants, yet more towering and forged entirely from Chaos Divine Stone, in a fractured galaxy, using supreme power to forcibly hold back a dead star falling toward a Seed world...

He saw... a figure (Void Emperor) whose form was ethereal, as if merged with the Void Realm, fighting against countless twisted Void phantoms in a multi-layered space-time maze, finally sealing a space-time crack that was constantly leaking Abyss energy...

He also saw... a battlefield (the place where Blazing Venerable last appeared) burning with never-extinguishing Chaos flames. Within the flames, there seemed to be the roars of Dragons and the cries of Phoenixes, and even more, a resolute, tragic will that seemed to want to perish together with the enemy...

The information was fragmented, but it gave Ye Chen a more intuitive understanding of the predecessors' journey, and he also roughly sensed several coordinate locations where there might be a Legacy or mark.

At the same time, during the process of receiving this information, the chaos ancestral talisman in his Qi Sea, especially the two fragments of "Power" and "Origin", resonated wonderfully with the faint aura remaining in the altar that belonged to Rock Venerable and Blazing Venerable, seeming to become more active.

He felt that his application of the Power rule had gained a bit more weight and capacity, and his healing power from the Chaos Origin had gained a bit more heat and unyielding spirit. This was the resonance of a Legacy spanning space and time!

For a long while, Ye Chen slowly withdrew his Divine Sense, and the light of the altar gradually dimmed.

"How was it?" Xi asked with concern.

"I obtained some clues." Ye Chen's gaze was deep. "It seems the road ahead will not be lonely."

He felt that after refining the core of the Mother Nest and receiving the resonance of the predecessors' aura, his cultivation, which had been stagnant at the ninth level of the Tiangang Realm, seemed to have... loosened a bit at the barrier leading to a higher Realm!

The Law Realm! That supreme Realm which stands above the Tiangang Realm and truly begins to wield and define the rules of a world! Its threshold had already faintly appeared before him.

He needed a period of seclusion, needed to thoroughly integrate all his gains, and charge toward that supreme Domain that countless Cultivators dreamed of!

Ye Chen looked at Rock Mountain and Xi: "I need to go into seclusion here for some time to break through the Bottleneck. During this time, I must trouble both of you to act as Protectors, and collect as much information as possible about the depths of the Ancient Path and other Seed worlds."

Hearing this, Rock Mountain and Xi were both invigorated! The stronger Ye Chen's strength, the greater the hope for the Ancient Path's defense line!

"Rest assured, Lord! The Bedrock Outpost will do everything in its power to protect you!" Rock Mountain patted his chest, his voice as firm as bedrock colliding.

Xi also solemnly promised: "I will do my best to organize the information you need from the stone altar and other channels."

Ye Chen nodded and said no more. He found the sturdiest and most secluded stone room deep within the fortress, waved his hand to set up layers of Chaos Restrictions, and sat down cross-legged.

He sank his mind into his Qi Sea, connecting his consciousness with the ancestral talisman and the primal embryo.

This time, he was going into seclusion to break through—to the Law Realm!