267: Bewildering Souls, Lingering Echoes of a Ruined Palace

The Thousand Illusions Maze lived up to its name.

The gray-white mist was so thick it could not be dispersed, devouring not only light but also sound, Divine Sense, and even the Life Qi of living beings. Ye Chen and Qing Lin were trapped within, as if imprisoned in a boundless cage of Chaos. Having lost most of their five senses, they could only rely on their most instinctive spiritual perception and faint sensing of energy fluctuations to discern their direction.

Even more terrifying was the eerie soul-devouring power contained within this mist. It was not a violent attack, but rather like a frog being boiled in lukewarm water—silently infiltrating and eroding the intruder's Divine Soul. If one stayed too long, they would experience all sorts of illusions. Those with weak willpower might even lose themselves, their Divine Souls assimilated by the mist to become a part of this eternal fog.

"Keep your mind steady, do not be swayed by the illusions!" Qing Lin's voice rang in Ye Chen's ear, carrying a hint of undisguised exhaustion and gravity. The emerald light of life surrounding her appeared exceptionally faint in this gray-white mist, like a candle in the wind, requiring her to exert all her strength to barely resist the pervasive soul-devouring power and erosion of life.

Ye Chen's condition was slightly better, though still not optimistic. The demon seal on his chest had a unique resistance to the Abyssal aura and could even faintly absorb the inert energy contained within the mist—which shared the same Origin as the Abyss—to replenish his own consumption. The chaos and silence sword in his hand also emitted a dim halo, silently "returning to silence" a small patch of the encroaching mist.

But all of this was merely a drop in the bucket. He could clearly feel the furious will of the Abyssal Lord from the depths of the maze, like an invisible tide, washing over this area wave after wave. Although the mist greatly interfered with the Lord's precise lock-on, the feeling of oppression, as if being pursued by a prehistoric beast, constantly reminded them that the crisis was far from over.

"This way!" Ye Chen whispered, pulling Qing Lin as he struggled to change directions in the mist. He relied on the intermittent yet persistent weak signal from the "broken thought" fragment regarding something in the depths of the maze, as well as his chaotic spiritual perception to avoid dangerous areas.

They dared not stay in one place for more than three breaths. The mist behind them would always surge violently shortly after they left, transmitting heart-wrenching Law fluctuations—clearly the Lord's power searching the area like a plow clearing a field.

"This can't go on, our power is being consumed too quickly." Qing Lin's breathing was rapid, and her face grew paler. She not only had to resist the erosion of the mist but also constantly maintain a life barrier to protect them both, consuming a huge amount of energy.

Ye Chen was silent; he knew this well. The wisp of Abyssal Origin he had just swallowed was long exhausted, and now he was holding on solely through the slow absorption of the demon seal and source core, as well as his own foundation. If not for his Breakthrough to the Late Stage of the Law Realm, he would likely have been exhausted long ago.

They had to find a place where they could catch their breath, or perhaps even use its power to contend with the Lord!

His gaze was fixed on the direction sensed by the "broken thought" fragment. Although the signal was weak, it carried an indescribable sense of antiquity and resilience, as if it had not been worn away by the passage of eons. Could it be another source core fragment? Or perhaps another backup plan left by Senior Yu?

Just as both of them were mentally and physically exhausted, almost reaching their limits—

The mist ahead suddenly became a bit thinner.

Through the thinning mist, the outline of a ruined palace could be faintly seen!

The palace was built of unknown material, presenting a dark cyan-gray color that resembled the mist, making it hard to discover unless one was very close. Most of the palace had collapsed, leaving only a few huge, cracked stone pillars and some broken walls standing stubbornly, exuding an aura of ancient antiquity.

And most striking was that in the center of these ruins stood a relatively intact stone monument, about ten zhang high. The style of the monument was ancient and simple, extremely similar to the monuments at the bottom of the Pool of Origin and the Gate of Bones, but taller, and the runes carved upon it were more complex and profound.

Furthermore, this stone monument was emitting an extremely faint yet purely clear light of Chaos!

This clear light acted like an invisible shield, repelling the surrounding gray-white mist and forming a safe area with a diameter of about a hundred zhang!

"That is... the aura of Chaos? So pure!" A glimmer of surprise erupted in Qing Lin's beautiful eyes. In this maze filled with the Abyss and deathly silence, feeling such a pure aura of Chaos was like finding a spring in a desert!

Ye Chen was even more shocked! The "broken thought" fragment in his hand transmitted an unprecedentedly strong resonance and... a sense of attachment? It was as if a wanderer had returned home and met their closest kin!

"It is a relic left by Senior Yu!" Ye Chen understood instantly, his spirit boosted. "Hurry, go in!"

Without hesitation, the two used their last bit of strength and rushed into the area covered by the clear light of the stone monument.

Once inside, the pervasive oppression and soul-devouring power suddenly disappeared! The air was filled with a refreshing and pure aura of Chaos, which, though thin, flowed endlessly from the central stone monument.

"Hum..."

The chaos and silence sword in his hand emitted a pleasant hum, autonomously absorbing the surrounding clear Chaos Qi, and the luster on the blade became a bit brighter. The demon seal on Ye Chen's chest also calmed down; the reverse-rotating vortex slowly returned to normal, beginning to absorb the clear Chaos Qi and the trace amounts of Abyssal Qi leaking in from the mist at a gentle speed, maintaining a stable balance.

"We're saved... temporarily..." Qing Lin collapsed to the ground, panting heavily, and quickly took out a Medicinal Pill to consume, seizing the time to recover. This ruin seemed to be the only safe point in the eye of the storm.

Ye Chen walked quickly to the front of the central stone monument. He still could not fully read the runes on the monument, but relying on the resonance between the homologous aura of Chaos and the "broken thought" fragment, he could vaguely perceive some of the information contained within.

This was not a Cultivation Technique Legacy, but a... message, or rather, a memory image inscribed with Divine Thought!

He placed his palm on the stone monument, closed his eyes, and focused, driving his Chaos Origin to communicate with it.

In an instant, the scene before his eyes changed.

He seemed to see, countless years ago, the first Walker, "Yu," standing alone before this palace, which had not yet been completely devoured by the mist. At that time, his aura was vast like the sea, far stronger than Ye Chen was now, but his brows were filled with exhaustion and determination.

"Latecomers... if you can reach this place and see my recorded image, it proves that you have obtained the 'broken thought', found the 'return to silence', and embarked on that... path of balance..."

Yu's phantom spoke slowly, his voice carrying the vicissitudes of eons.

"This place is one of the 'Chaos nodes' I constructed back then, maintained by the remaining Spiritual Veins of the Ancient Path and my own Origin, which can temporarily evade the perception of the Abyss... However, it cannot hold on for much longer..."

In the image, Yu looked up toward the depths of the maze, his gaze seemingly piercing through layers of space to see the terrifying existence that was sleeping.

"The Lord 'Void Abyss'... is the source of this Abyssal erosion, its power already approaching the level of transcending the Laws of this realm... It cannot be defeated by force..."

"To defeat it, there is only one way... collect the three 'source core fragments'—return to silence, creation, and order... use Chaos as a guide to redefine the Laws of the Ancient Path, and... banish or... Seal it..."

"I exhausted my life's strength, yet I only managed to find and protect 'return to silence'... 'creation' was lost in the 'Forbidden Zone of Life', and 'order' sank with the 'Hall of Ten Thousand Laws' into the 'Chaotic Sea of Time and Space'..."

Yu's phantom became dimmer, his tone filled with endless regret.

"I am beyond saving... I can only use this remaining body to transform into the Pool of Origin, delaying its spread, and leave this node, waiting for a later opportunity..."

"Remember... for the three cores to gather, you must use a complete heart of chaos to activate them... The strange balance in your body may be able to... but it is also extremely dangerous..."

"The road ahead... depends on you alone..."

The recorded image ended abruptly here. Yu's phantom dissipated completely, leaving only the stone monument still emitting a faint clear light.

Ye Chen slowly withdrew his palm, his heart surging with waves. The amount of information was huge! Not only did he confirm the names of the other two source core fragments as "creation" and "order," as well as their possible lost locations (Forbidden Zone of Life, Chaotic Sea of Time and Space), but more importantly, he knew the only way to defeat the Abyssal Lord—collect the three source cores and use the heart of chaos to activate them to redefine the Laws of the Ancient Path!

And the balance of Chaos and Abyss within his body seemed to be the key to activating the source cores, but it also came with great risks.

Hope and pressure doubled simultaneously.

Just at this moment—

"BOOM!!!"

The entire Chaos node ruin shook violently! The clear light of the stone monument swayed intensely, the gray-white mist outside surged crazily, and a Will of the Lord, more clear and furious than before, finally... locked onto this area like a viper that had discovered its prey!

"Found you... insects!"

"How dare you... desecrate... the Saint's relic!!"

Clearly, Ye Chen and Qing Lin's intrusion into this Chaos node left behind by Yu had completely enraged the Abyssal Lord known as "Void Abyss"!

Safety was only temporary.

A greater crisis had already descended!