95: Extreme cold and deathly silence
Cold! Absolute cold!
It was not the low temperature of ordinary ice, but a kind of 'Dead Silence' chill that pierced straight through the Soul, froze vitality, and annihilated everything!
The instant that dark light shone and the woman's voice resonated, Ye Chen felt his thoughts, spiritual power, and even his life activities being forcibly solidified in an instant!
A layer of dark mysterious ice, as deep as the night sky and flickering with eerie starlight, spread instantly from the dark red crystal, completely freezing him along with the entire altar and the space for dozens of zhang around it!
He maintained his posture of rushing forward to swing his sword, sealed within the transparent dark mysterious ice, his pupils constricted, a trace of astonishment still lingering on his face.
The guixu sword was only an inch away from the crystal, and the Chaos sword radiance flickering at the tip of the sword was also frozen, like an insect trapped in amber.
Time seemed to stand still at this moment.
Below the altar, the three heavily injured elders of the Dark Hall also looked in horror at the suddenly appearing dark mysterious ice, and the blurry, dark light within the ice that made their Souls tremble. Their faces were filled with awe and fear, and they prostrated themselves on the ground one after another, shivering and not daring to look up.
"It... it is the will of Lady 'Nether Prison Profound Maiden'!" the leading elder said with a trembling voice, filled with incomparable piety. "Lady Profound Maiden has awakened!"
Nether Prison Profound Maiden! An existence with an extremely transcendent status within the Dark Hall. Legend says she is one of the most capable assistants under the Moon-Erosion Demon Venerable, wielding the power of the "Extreme Prison Mysterious Ice," and her might is not even weaker than some of the weaker Tiangang Realm experts!
A wisp of her will had actually attached itself to the core crystal of this Blood Nightmare Altar!
"Ant... to think you could force this Venerable one to appear..." In that dark light, the blurry figure of the woman seemed to turn slightly. Those eyes, which seemed to be made of ten-thousand-year mysterious ice, looked through the thick ice and landed on Ye Chen, carrying a trace of scrutiny and... surprise.
She could feel that within the body of this frozen youth, there was an Origin of power that made even her feel a little palpitating.
That broken sword was emitting an aura on the same level as hers, or perhaps even more ancient and profound.
"An interesting toy... I will take it back to the Nether Prison to study slowly..." The will of the Nether Prison Profound Maiden whispered coldly. The dark mysterious ice began to slowly contract, actually intending to drag Ye Chen, along with the altar fragments, into some unknown space!
Crisis! An unprecedented crisis!
Ye Chen's consciousness had not been completely extinguished.
The instant that power of extreme cold and dead silence invaded, the chaos primordial fetus in his Sea of Consciousness autonomously erupted with intense light of Chaos, like a warm mother, desperately guarding his last bit of Soul core and life spark.
The ancient sword phantasm deep within his Soul also emitted a constant light, resisting the chill that was freezing his Divine Soul.
But even so, his situation was dire to the extreme.
His body was completely frozen, his spiritual power stagnant, unable to move a single inch.
The dark mysterious ice was not only freezing his Physical Body, but also slowly eroding and wearing away his vitality and Sword Intent!
If not for the protection of the chaos primordial fetus and the ancient sword phantasm, he would have likely perished, body and Soul, long ago!
"I cannot just sit here and wait for death!" Ye Chen's Soul screamed.
He tried to communicate with the guixu sword, but the sword spirit seemed to be affected by the power of extreme cold as well, its reaction becoming extremely weak.
He tried to circulate the 'Myriad Realms Sword Canon,' but his Meridians felt as if they had been cast with dark iron, and his Protective Aura could not flow at all.
What should he do?!
In this moment of despair, his mind involuntarily sank entirely into his Sea of Consciousness, sinking into the interior of that chaos primordial fetus which was constantly emitting warm light of Chaos.
Here, he seemed to have broken free from the constraints of his Physical Body, observing and feeling the mysteries of this chaos primordial fetus in a state of pure consciousness.
Inside the primordial fetus, it was not just a mass of Chaos; rather, it was as if countless "strings" were vibrating and countless "principles" were intertwining.
It encompassed "Life" and "Death," "Motion" and "Stillness," "Heat" and "Cold"... all opposing Concepts reached a certain dynamic balance and unity here.
"Extreme cold... dead silence..." Ye Chen's consciousness captured the power of the Nether Prison mysterious ice that was constantly invading from the outside. This power represented an extreme form of "Stillness" and "End."
And the essence of the chaos primordial fetus was "Chaos," "Undifferentiated," and the "Source" that contained all possibilities.
"The Guixu Sword Intent is the end, but also the starting point... The Dao of Chaos encompasses all things and evolves all living beings..."
A realization flashed through Ye Chen's mind like lightning!
Why did he have to resist this extreme cold and dead silence? Why couldn't he... encompass it? Understand it? Or even... master it?
The Guixu Sword Intent could even swallow and refine the World-Extinguishing Demon Light of the Moon-Erosion Demon Venerable, so could it not deal with this mere "Extreme Prison Mysterious Ice"?!
That was it! His previous thinking had fallen into a misunderstanding; he had only thought of breaking force with force, forgetting the most essential characteristic of Guixu—encompassing and evolving!
"I am Guixu, and all Laws shall be used by me!"
Ye Chen's consciousness emitted a firm Dao sound! He no longer tried to dispel the intent of extreme cold and dead silence that had invaded his Sea of Consciousness; instead, he actively let go of his defenses, guiding those wisps of cold will to merge into the chaos primordial fetus!
At first, the power of extreme cold was like a wild horse off its leash, charging rampantly within the primordial fetus, attempting to freeze and destroy everything.
But how vast was the chaos primordial fetus, and how powerful was its capacity for inclusion! Those wisps of extreme cold power, like water droplets merging into the ocean, were quickly enveloped, decomposed, and assimilated by the endless stream of Chaos Qi within the primordial fetus!
Ye Chen carefully perceived this process, perceiving the Law of "Stillness" contained within the "Extreme Cold," and the true meaning of "End" contained within the "Dead Silence."
He discovered that although the power of this Nether Prison mysterious ice was extreme, it was also a manifestation of the Laws of Heaven and Earth, an extreme evolution of the Law of "Water" and the Law of "Darkness" under certain conditions.
And Guixu, encompasses all Laws!
Gradually, the power of extreme cold and dead silence introduced into the primordial fetus no longer possessed destructiveness; instead, it transformed into a unique "nutrient," nourishing the primordial fetus and giving Ye Chen a deeper understanding of the dialectical relationship between "Stillness" and "Motion," and "Life" and "Death."
The chaos primordial fetus in his Sea of Consciousness seemed to have its light more restrained, and faintly, there was a trace of ice-blue flowing light within it, appearing more mysterious and profound.
At the same time, the dark mysterious ice sealing him from the outside seemed to produce a trace of an extremely subtle and unstable fluctuation.
The will of the Nether Prison Profound Maiden let out a soft "Oh," clearly having sensed the anomaly.
"To think... you could keep your consciousness from being extinguished in my mysterious ice, and even stir the power of the mysterious ice?" Her voice carried a trace of genuine surprise and... interest.
And just at the moment when her mind was slightly distracted—
"Crack!"
An extremely subtle, yet crystal-clear cracking sound rang out from inside the thick dark mysterious ice!
Only to see that in the solidified pupils of the frozen Ye Chen, a point of light interwoven with Chaos and ice-blue suddenly shone!
The earth fiend gang core within his body, which had been nearly stagnant, at this moment, rotated wildly in reverse at a speed that exceeded its limits! It was not driving the Protective Aura, but rather... triggering silence!
Guixu Sword Intent—Extinction Retrospection!
Using his own extinction as a trigger, he traced back to the source of power!
"Hum—!!"
The guixu sword let out a passionate sword cry as it broke free from its shackles! On the sword body, the dark red patterns and the light of Chaos merged in an unprecedented way, and a terrifying Sword Intent containing the contradiction of extreme "Stillness" and "Motion," "Life" and "Death," erupted with a boom!
"Break!"
Ye Chen's consciousness merged with the Sword Intent, emitting a heaven-shaking roar!
"Rumble—!!!"
The dark mysterious ice that had sealed him began to crack inch by inch from the inside! The power of extreme cold and dead silence, which was enough to freeze a Peak Earth Fiend Realm expert, encountered its nemesis under the impact of this Sword Intent containing the true meaning of Chaos inclusion and Extinction Retrospection, and rapidly disintegrated and melted away!
The dark mysterious ice exploded! Countless fragments mixed with chaotic energy shot out in all directions!
Ye Chen's figure reappeared! He was surrounded by a stream of air interwoven with Chaos and ice-blue, holding the radiant guixu sword. His eyes were as cold as ten-thousand-year mysterious ice, yet as deep as the Guixu of the Universe!
Not only did he break out of the seal, but in the desperate situation, he had turned misfortune into a blessing, initially comprehending a trace of the true meaning of the Law of "Extreme Prison Mysterious Ice," and integrating it into his own guixu sword Dao!
His aura, although slightly weak due to the huge consumption of breaking the seal, had a Sword Intent that had become even more unfathomable and terrifying!
He looked up, his gaze piercing through the flying ice shards, locking firmly onto the dark light above the altar ruins—which appeared somewhat dim due to the shattering of the mysterious ice—and the blurry female figure within it.
"Nether Prison Profound Maiden?" A cold arc curled at the corner of Ye Chen's mouth. "Your mysterious ice tastes not bad. Now... it is my turn."
Before the words had finished falling, his figure erupted, and the guixu sword, carrying the newly comprehended sword qi that fused the Concepts of extreme cold, dead silence, and Chaos Guixu, slashed ferociously toward that ball of dark light!
Strike while she is vulnerable!