461: The final shadow of silence, an analysis of its origin.

Above the canopy of the Myriad Laws Realm, that giant black shadow became increasingly solid.

It was no longer that loose ink-colored mist from before, but had transformed into a domain of Chaos spanning tens of thousands of miles. Inky waves surged at its edges, and everywhere it passed, even the purest Law runes were devoured without a trace. The void cracked inch by inch under the erosion of the black shadow, revealing a deathly silent nothingness beneath. The shattered fragments of Law didn't even have time to dissipate before they were swept up by the black shadow and turned into its own nourishment.

As the three-day deadline approached, the expansion speed of the black shadow suddenly accelerated. The law grass at the edge of the Myriad Laws Realm had already withered away, and even the ground began to take on a grey, defeated hue, showing faint signs of turning into nothingness. The myriad laws battle body sat cross-legged before the myriad laws stele, the golden light on its reincarnation armor dimming slightly, and the blade of the guardian sword buzzed incessantly, clearly under immense pressure.

"We can't wait any longer!" Lu Chen suddenly opened his eyes, and the golden light of the eternal dao fruit poured down from above his head like two golden suns, illuminating the dim Myriad Laws Realm. "The power of this black shadow is constantly increasing. If we wait for it to fully condense, the Twelve Realms will be in danger!"

Yu Lan and the others were already prepared, and they nodded one after another upon hearing this. Ling Xu was the first to leap up, with the hongmeng samsara talismans fluttering like snowflakes. In an instant, he set up a grand array covering the edge of the Myriad Laws Realm—the Twelve Realms Joint Defense Array. The array's foundation was refined from the Twelve Realms Origin tokens, and Law runes from the Twelve Realms were interwoven upon the array patterns. The energy of the Great Cycle was injected into the array core. As soon as it was formed, it erupted with a brilliant golden light, firmly blocking the expansion of the black shadow.

"Buzz—"

The black shadow crashed into the light barrier of the joint defense array, producing a deafening roar. The light barrier trembled violently, and countless fine cracks spread out. Ling Xu's face instantly turned pale, and he hurriedly circulated the Talisman power of the Perfection stage to connect his Dao Heart with the array core, barely managing to stabilize the formation.

"Such strong corrosiveness!" Ling Xu cried out in alarm, looking at the places on the light barrier that had been touched by the black shadow, where even the Law runes were melting. "The power of this black shadow is even more terrifying than we imagined!"

Seeing this, a flash of determination crossed Green Bud's eyes. She waved her hand, and the reincarnation spirit plant wings behind her Spirit Plant Myriad Laws Body unfolded. A streak of emerald spiritual light soared into the sky, which was the life force originating from the heaven-opening tree of the Chaos Realm. This life force was the source of all things, containing the vigorous aura of the creation of heaven and earth. Ordinary evil spirits would collapse upon contact, so Green Bud wanted to use this to test the black shadow's Origins.

The emerald spiritual light was like a surging river, crashing fiercely into the black shadow.

But the expected purification scene did not occur. On the contrary, as soon as that life force touched the black shadow, it made a sizzling sound, melting rapidly like snow meeting fire. A strange swallowing sound even came from within the black shadow, and the originally surging waves became even more turbulent, causing the light barrier of the joint defense array to sink in several more inches from the shock.

"This... how is this possible?" Green Bud retreated several steps in shock, her face full of disbelief. "The life force of the heaven-opening tree was actually devoured by it?"

Chaos Child's expression became increasingly solemn. He stared fixedly at the black shadow, a flash of realization and a hint of horror in his eyes: "I know! The aura of this black shadow... is of the same Origin as the nothingness before the beginning of Chaos! It is not some evil spirit, but the Power of Annihilation from before the birth of the Universe, the ultimate manifestation of all Laws returning to silence! It can devour all Laws and energy, and it is completely contrary to the Great Cycle of our twelve realms spirit web!"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's hearts sank.

The Power of Annihilation from before the birth of the Universe was an existence that even the Chaos power that opened heaven and earth had to avoid. No wonder it could easily devour life force, and no wonder it could corrode the Law runes of the myriad laws stele.

"Devouring everything? Then I'll have to try it!" Li Dao roared, leaping onto the shoulder of the myriad laws battle body. He gripped the hilt of the battle body's guardian sword with both hands, injecting all of his own Perfection stage Grandmist Body Refining power, as well as the battle body's Twelve Realms Law power, into the sword. In an instant, the guardian sword erupted with ten thousand feet of golden light, and an invincible sharpness condensed on the blade, slashing fiercely towards the black shadow.

"Slash!"

A violent shout echoed through heaven and earth, and the golden sword glow was like a giant axe that split Chaos, hacking fiercely into the core of the black shadow.

The moment the sword glow collided with the black shadow, the void of the Myriad Laws Realm trembled violently, and countless Law runes shook wildly. Everyone stared fixedly at that sword glow, their eyes full of expectation, but in the next moment, everyone's expressions turned grim.

That invincible sword glow actually grew dim at a visible rate under the erosion of the black shadow. The blade of the guardian sword was even enveloped by the black shadow, emitting a piercing hiss. When Li Dao struggled to pull the sword out, a deep notch had been corroded into the blade, and the originally brilliant golden light had become dull and lusterless.

"Such strong corrosiveness!" Li Dao gasped, looking at the notch on the blade with lingering fear. "The power of this black shadow can actually damage the guardian sword of the myriad laws battle body!"

Lu Chen's gaze remained locked on the black shadow. He slowly raised his hand, and the golden light of the eternal dao fruit turned into a fine thread of light, silently probing into the black shadow. This light thread contained eternal Dao rhymes and was of the same Origin as the myriad laws stele, capable of analyzing all Laws in the world.

The moment the light thread touched the black shadow, Lu Chen's expression changed slightly, then returned to calm. He could clearly feel that the interior of the black shadow was a domain of pure annihilation, without any Laws or energy, only a force of ultimate silence origin that could devour everything. This Origin Power was the core of the black shadow and the root of its continuous expansion.

"So that's how it is, the ultimate silence origin..." Lu Chen slowly withdrew his hand, a flash of understanding in his eyes. "The essence of this black shadow is the manifestation of the ultimate silence origin. It lives by devouring Laws and energy; the more it devours, the stronger its power becomes. To completely destroy it, we must first analyze its Origin and find a way to counter it."

Just as Lu Chen finished speaking, the myriad laws stele suddenly emitted a clear chime. A golden light shot out from the stele, transforming into an ancient Jade Slip that slowly landed in Lu Chen's hand.

Lu Chen took the Jade Slip and scanned it with his Divine Sense, a hint of joy appearing on his face. Recorded on this Jade Slip was the "Ultimate Silence Origin Analysis Technique," which detailed the characteristics of the ultimate silence origin, the principles of its devouring, and how to use the Law power of the Twelve Realms to analyze and suppress it.

"Heaven is helping me!" Lu Chen gripped the Jade Slip, his voice powerful and resonant. "With this 'Ultimate Silence Origin Analysis Technique,' we will be able to find a way to counter the Ultimate Silence Black Shadow!"

Hearing this, everyone's spirits were lifted. Ling Xu hurriedly stepped forward to study the contents of the Jade Slip with Lu Chen, while Green Bud began to research how to use spirit plant power to combat the corrosion of the ultimate silence origin, and Li Dao polished the damaged guardian sword nearby, preparing for the next attack.

While everyone was busy, no one noticed that a faint black mist was dissipating from the edge of the black shadow, silently drifting towards the Twelve Realms.

This black mist was the ultimate silence mist emanating from the ultimate silence origin.

Although its corrosiveness was not as terrifying as the black shadow's main body, it was still not to be underestimated. When it drifted to the dao heart tree at the edge of the Myriad Laws Realm, those originally snow-white leaves actually turned yellow at a visible rate, then quickly withered and turned to ash.

But strangely, when the ultimate silence mist drifted in front of a Guardian Cultivator, the guardian mark on the center of his forehead suddenly lit up with a white light. Wherever the white light passed, the ultimate silence mist dissipated instantly like it had met its nemesis, turning into nothingness.

The Cultivator was slightly stunned, looking down at the guardian mark on his forehead, his eyes full of confusion.

And this scene happened to be glimpsed by Lu Chen, who was contemplating the Jade Slip.

Lu Chen's gaze suddenly sharpened, and a thought flashed through his mind: "The guardian mark... the ultimate silence mist... Could it be that the power of the guardian mark can counter the ultimate silence mist?"

He didn't say anything, but deeply committed this scene to memory.

Above the canopy of the Myriad Laws Realm, the black shadow was still surging, and the light barrier of the joint defense array was still trembling.

But in Lu Chen's heart, a glimmer of hope had already been ignited.

Although the ultimate silence origin was terrifying, it was not invincible. As long as they found its weakness and united the beliefs of all Guardians, they would surely be able to overcome this catastrophe and protect the peace of the Twelve Realms.

And that Jade Slip recording the analysis method, along with the discovery of the guardian mark countering the ultimate silence mist, were the keys to breaking the situation.

A game concerning the survival of the Twelve Realms had only just begun.