194: Sequence 046: Gravekeeper

The Spirit Realm was deathly silent. Its mountains and rivers were permanently stabilized by Mo Yun, and its water veins were nourished by Mo Yu. Though barren and shattered, it had finally escaped the crisis of immediate collapse, falling into a heavy, nearly frozen "stability."

The surviving Human Race settlements, relying on the faint light of the Enlightenment Fire Seed and the sporadically reviving water sources, began their arduous yet tenacious reconstruction, like ants on the edge of a despairing abyss.

In the great war that swept across the world, the [Sword Grave] sequence—which had once served as the final line of defense for the Lei Yan Divine Dynasty, devoured endless enemies, and eventually slumbered alongside billions of sequences—still had its remains scattered across this scarred land.

Those mountain-high sword peaks were broken and collapsed, the sword thorns covering the land had turned into withered iron, and the sword vines winding around the mountains had weathered into dust.

They had lost all luster, their spirituality completely extinguished, no different from the collapsed mountains and rivers or dried-up riverbeds, silently recounting the tragedy of the past and the deathly silence of the present.

They were relics buried alongside the Divine Dynasty under the wrath of the Heavenly Dao.

At the edge of the Universe, inside the magic bottle.

The cold scan of the Mechanical Heavenly Dao routinely swept over the homeland, assessing the status of the "resource points."

Data streams intersected silently within the metallic Dao core.

"Environment stable. Human Race unit survival rate slowly increasing. External threat Rank: Low."

"Detected large quantity of abandoned sequence unit remains (Sword Grave). Material analysis: Still contains low-level spiritual metal and residual weak immortal slaughtering sword Sword Intent. Recovery value: Low. Treatment plan: No treatment required for now; can be dismantled and recycled when resources are abundant in the future."

Just as the scan was about to pass over these worthless remains, an extremely faint but unusually stubborn abnormal fluctuation was captured and amplified by the sensors.

The source of the fluctuation pointed to the densest area of the Sword Grave sequence remains, which was also... the location of the Hall of Valor's projection in the material world—that expanse of ruins which was once the core of the Lei Yan Divine Dynasty and had now completely turned into a massive graveyard.

"Detected abnormal energy fluctuation... frequency analysis... resonance with the Hall of Valor: 93.4%..."

"Fluctuation nature: Non-logical drive, similar to... 'will' Awakening?"

"Deep scan..."

The "gaze" of the Mechanical Heavenly Dao focused there.

In the center of that massive Sword Grave ruin, at the broken edge of the most enormous main sword peak—which was half-buried in the earth, covered in cracks, and had long lost all luster—a tiny, extremely faint, and nearly vanishing dark silver light was pulsing slowly like a heart.

Every pulse caused the surrounding Sword Grave fragments to tremble slightly, emitting an almost inaudible metallic friction sound, like a mournful cry.

That was not an energy resurgence, but rather... a [Group Consciousness Awakening], a rare phenomenon produced by the dual effects of external environmental changes (the stabilization of the earth, the nascent generation of water vapor) and internal strong traction (the condensation of the Hall of Valor, Ink Snow becoming a spirit), based on residual structures, lingering Sword Intent, and the obsessions of battlefield slaughter absorbed over long years!

This awakened consciousness was chaotic and ignorant, filled with instincts intertwined with slaughter and protection, like a newborn baby, yet bearing the iron-blooded coldness of the battlefield.

It instinctively "looked" at the homeland it had once sworn to protect with its life, but which was now completely destroyed.

It "felt" the tragic and heavy nature of the permanently stabilized earth veins beneath the ground (Mo Yun).

It "captured" the faint yet gentle nourishing intent in the air (Mo Yu).

It perceived even more clearly, not far away, the Hall of Valor—formed by the memories of countless comrades and citizens, exuding a sorrowful yet firm aura! And within the hall, the familiar aura (Ink Snow) that existed with the hall, burning itself to maintain all of this!

Protect!

Protect this place!

Protect this land that buried everything!

Protect that hall where countless departed souls rest!

Do not let any existence disturb the eternal sleep of this place!

This pure, stubborn thought became the sole core directive of this newborn group consciousness!

Hum—!

That speck of dark silver light flared brightly for a moment!

With that main sword peak as the core, within a radius of ten thousand miles, all remains of the Sword Grave sequence—whether broken giant swords, shattered thorns, or weathered iron dust—seemed to have received a final summons, all emitting a low and mournful hum in unison!

Then, they began to... disintegrate!

Not destruction, but a final sacrifice!

All the remains turned into the finest metallic quicksand, shimmering with fragments of dark silver immortal slaughtering sword Sword Intent, and like a hundred rivers returning to the sea, they converged toward that main sword peak and merged into it!

The main sword peak's cracked body was repaired, reshaped, and strengthened at a speed visible to the naked eye!

It became more towering, sharper, and its entire body took on a dark, night-like metallic luster, with cold, never-extinguishing dark silver Sword Intent runes flowing across its surface!

It was no longer a dead object, but possessed simple will and the ability to act!

It slowly and heavily pulled itself an inch out of the earth, then adjusted its angle, with its sword tip pointing obliquely toward the sky and its hilt deeply rooted in the ground, like a silent and eternal guard standing before the entrance of the Hall of Valor!

[sequence 046: Tomb Keeper]! Reborn in Nirvana here!

It was not cultivated by the magic bottle, but was a special sequence formed by the spontaneous Awakening and condensation of the remains! Its core directive was only one: Protect the Hall of Valor, protect this final resting place!

The Mechanical Heavenly Dao's scan silently watched all this, data streams flickering rapidly.

"Abnormal phenomenon record: Abandoned sequence unit produced group consciousness Awakening, forming a new ecological unit."

"Unit naming: Tomb Keeper."

"Energy Rank: Low (based on residual Sword Intent and matter). Intelligence Rank: Low (instinct-driven). Loyalty: To Hall of Valor and associated units: Absolute. Threat level: To those approaching the Hall of Valor without permission: High."

"Value assessment: Increases physical defense Rank of the Hall of Valor by +300%. No additional energy supply required, self-sustaining. Complies with the highest Law, hereby approved."

"Serial number: sequence 046."

The cold data was archived. The Mechanical Heavenly Dao recognized this unexpected creation and assigned it an official serial number.

The Tomb Keeper stood silently, like a cold black monument.

It had no eyes, yet it constantly perceived everything around it.

Any existence attempting to approach the Hall of Valor, whether mutated creatures, lost survivors, or potential petty thieves, would draw its silent and fatal strike—that dark silver Sword Intent, though far inferior to the Gun of Annihilation, was enough to annihilate all threats in the Era of Dharma Decline.

Its existence transformed the Hall of Valor from an illusory hall of memories into a tangible, guarded... true Holy Land and Forbidden Ground.

Inside the bottle, in the Hall of Valor.

Ink Snow's Divine Soul, fused with the hall, clearly felt this newborn, cold, yet incomparably firm will to protect.

A warm current swept through her cold data heart.

She did not make a sound, only gently accepted that will to protect, regarding it as a silent companion in this lonely life of guarding the tomb.

From then on, above those barren ruins, a cold sword monument and a sorrowful hall stood beside each other.

One guarding the memories.

One guarding the guardian.

So it was for all eternity.