Chapter 365

A sword light containing the artistic conception of the "Sword of Law" shot toward the second giant at a speed beyond perception. As soon as that sword light entered the decomposition field, it began to melt, but Cang Xuan didn't care at all, and he slashed out another sword, then a third, a fourth...

The sword lights came in an endless stream, like an everlasting sword river, continuously pouring into the decomposition field. Although each sword light was eventually melted, their presence forced the second giant to keep maintaining the field, leaving it no spare attention.

Yu Liuli closed her eyes and played the zither.

The zither notes were intermittent, shattered by law interference, yet she continued to play. Those broken notes were like torn brocade; though they formed no melody, they still contained some ineffable power. They drifted toward the third giant, disturbing its perception and disrupting its judgment.

The third giant's azure eyes flickered slightly, obviously trying to lock onto the source of interference, but Yu Liuli's zither sound was too elusive and too uncanny; each time it was about to lock on, a new note would interrupt it.

And Wang Ping had already moved.

He employed the Azure Phoenix Illusory Step, turning his whole body into a faint phantom, weaving through the gaps of the three fields. The Chaos Domain unfolded to its fullest, like a thin protective membrane enveloping him. When the three fields touched the Chaos Domain, they were no longer absolute suppression; instead, the Chaos Domain's inclusivity "diluted" part of their power.

But this was far from enough.

He clearly felt that his speed was still greatly weakened, his energy slowly dissipating, his perception of law severely disturbed. If he were an ordinary late Nascent Soul cultivator, he would probably be unable to move a step now. But he was no ordinary late Nascent Soul—his Chaos Nascent Soul, his Established Tree Seed, his Mysterious Dark True Soul were all operating at full force at this moment, providing him with continuous support.

Ten breaths.

He had crossed half the distance; only fifty zhang remained to the first giant.

But the three giants seemed to sense his intention. The first giant's azure eyes turned slightly, and part of its spatial sealing field began to converge on him; the second giant's decomposition field likewise split off a portion, trying to melt the Chaos Domain around his body; the third giant's law interference went all out against him, attempting to disrupt the operation of law within his body.

Pressure, suddenly tripled.

Wang Ping let out a muffled groan, a trickle of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth. But he did not stop; instead, he increased his speed.

Twenty breaths.

Distance to the first giant: thirty zhang.

His Chaos Domain began to show cracks; the pressure from the three fields had already exceeded the limit the Chaos Domain could bear. Yet he persisted, his Chaos Nascent Soul frantically turning, the Established Tree Seed glowing with intense azure light, the Mysterious Dark True Soul exuding biting cold, all his forces squeezed to the extreme.

Twenty-five breaths.

Distance to the first giant: ten zhang.

He could already see the fine cracks in the giant's joints and sense the energy fluctuations flowing within those cracks. That energy perfectly matched the rune array on the platform, forming a stable closed loop.

That's the spot!

He flipped his right hand, and the Chaos Tribulation Sword appeared in his grasp.

This sword must not be too strong, or the decomposition field would melt it prematurely; nor too weak, or it could not break the giant's defense. It had to be just right, and he had to find that sliver of life within the gaps of the three fields.

He closed his eyes, and the Chaos Domain sensed with all its might.

The operating rhythms of the three fields appeared in his mind one by one—the ripple frequency of the spatial sealing field, the melting speed of the energy decomposition field, the fluctuation cycle of the law interference field. The three intertwined like a vast net covering the entire platform.

But any net has holes.

Found it.

He opened his eyes, and the Chaos Tribulation Sword slowly slashed out.

This sword bore no earth-shaking aura, no dazzling blade light—only an extremely fine, faint sword trace, silently tracing the void.

It slipped through the gap in the spatial sealing field, avoided the range of the energy decomposition field, bypassed the fluctuation of the law interference field, and struck with unerring precision upon the crack in the first giant's left knee joint.

"Clang—"

A soft sound, like striking a cracked bell.

That crack instantly widened. A strand of starlike light spilled from it, then faded and dissipated. The giant's massive body trembled slightly, and the runic patterns on its left leg dimmed by thirty percent.

The spatial sealing field hesitated slightly.

It's this hesitation!

Wang Ping flashed, the Azure Phoenix Illusion Step pushed to its limit, instantly appearing before the second giant. The same sword, equally precise, struck the crack in its right elbow joint.

The second giant likewise trembled. The disintegration field hesitated slightly.

The third giant was farthest away. But at this moment, those two hesitations had not yet recovered, and the perfect coordination of the three fields produced a brief opening.

Wang Ping drew a deep breath, his Chaos Nascent Soul operating at full capacity, and the Yin Extinction Cold Surge instantly poured into the Chaos Tribulation Sword.

The sword's body glowed with an azure light.

That strike was not a pure physical attack, nor a pure energy attack, but a fusion of chaos power, Yin Extinction, and the Sever-Heaven sword intent—a strike of law.

It struck the core of the third giant's chest.

There, it was the hub of energy transmission, the nexus where the three fields converged. It was most tightly protected, shrouded by the strongest field. Yet at this moment, that protection and that field revealed minuscule gaps.

The sword light entered the gap.

The third giant shuddered violently. Its azure eyes suddenly dimmed. The runic patterns on its chest, like a frozen river, ceased flowing.

The Law Interference Field collapsed.

Immediately afterward, the second and first giants trembled together. Those two fields, having lost the coordination of the third field, were like a triangle missing its support point, instantly losing balance.

The Spatial Sealing loosened.

The Energy Disintegration became chaotic.

"Now!" the Tianyuan Elder shouted sharply, flicked his horsetail whisk, and the hundreds of runes he had long prepared shot out simultaneously, pelting the three giants like a downpour. Those runes were not attacks, but... a seal.

Madame Mystic Fox likewise acted, silver light flaring into a vast light net that covered the entire platform. That net was not a seal, but... sense sharing.

"Brother Cang! Fairy Jade! Senior Mountain Mover!" Wang Ping's voice rang in everyone's ears: "All-out attack! The joints! Those hesitation points!"

Cangxuan snorted coldly, his sword light swelling. This time it was no longer a feint but a genuine full-force strike. A sword light containing the true intent of the 'Law Sword' struck the crack in the second giant's right knee joint.

Yuliuli plucked repeatedly with both hands, zither notes surging like a tide. This time it was no longer broken noise, but the Luoxian clan's secret art of 'Soul Spirit Impact' striking the dim core of the third giant's chest.

The Mountain-Moving Ancestor roared, finally breaking free of the last bond of the spatial sealing. He, like a true mountain, threw his whole body at the first giant. That impact could shatter a minor planet, directly sending the giant stumbling backward, the crack in its left knee joint expanding again.

Wang Ping drew a deep breath, the Chaos Tribulation Sword slashed repeatedly.

One sword, two swords, three swords...

Each strike hit a joint's crack; each strike was precisely accurate; each strike was just right.

After thirty breaths, the three giants simultaneously ceased movement.

Their azure eyes dimmed completely. The runic patterns on their bodies ceased flowing. Their massive forms, like three silent statues, stood still in the center of the platform.

The force field completely dissipated.

Moving Mountain Old Ancestor plopped onto the ground, panting heavily, sweat pouring like rain: "I, Lao Shi, am exhausted! This thing is more tiring than fighting a Nascent Soul Grand Completion!"

Cang Xuan sheathed his sword, his breath slightly disordered, yet still as stern as ever: "These three puppets are very strong."

Yu Liuli gently stroked the guqin, its notes lingering, as if calming her mind: "If it weren't for Brother Wang finding the weakness, today… the odds would be grim."

Tian Yan Venerable slowly approached the three giants, his duster swaying gently, as streams of detection runes flew out and sank into the giants' bodies. After a moment, he opened his eyes, his eyes full of shock.

Unbelievable…… too unbelievable……

Xuan Hu Madam stepped forward: "How?"

Tian Yan Venerable pointed to the rune patterns on the giants' chests, his voice trembling slightly: "These runes…… these patterns…… they share the same origin as the rune arrays of the Law Corridor! They are not invaders, but…… guardians! They are the original guardians of this Law Corridor!"

Everyone stared.

Wang Ping frowned: "Does the Venerable mean that these three giants are originally the corridor guardians left by the Myriad Phenomena Stargazers?"

"Exactly!" Tian Yan Venerable exclaimed, his beard trembling: "Look at these runes——they perfectly connect with the rune arrays on the platform, and they inherit the ancient runes on the shell of the Realm-Shattering Shuttle! This is the unique rune system of the ancient Myriad Phenomena Stargazers! They are not newcomers, but natives!"

Cang Xuan said coldly: "But those three force fields clearly share the same origin as the Silver-robed Puppet's 'Power of Order'."

Tian Yan Venerable nodded, his expression turning grave: "This is the strangest part. These native guardians were somehow altered—or rather, 'infected.' Part of their runes has been replaced with those rigid 'Order Runes.' It is these replaced runes that cause them to emit force fields to attack us."

Wang Ping stared silently at the three giants, a complex emotion welling up in his heart that was hard to put into words.

These giants were originally the guardians of this corridor, tasked with protecting the ancient relic. They have stood here for untold hundreds of thousands of years, witnessing the passage of time, awaiting possible visitors.

But now they have become enemies who attack visitors.

"It is the Silver Radiance Council." He spoke slowly, "or rather, the Pure World Court."

Everyone looked at him.

Wang Ping continued: "The Power of Order of the Silver-robed Puppets shares the same origin as the force fields of these giants after their alteration. And within the core of the Silver-robed Puppets, the term 'Pure World Court' was deciphered. If I am not mistaken, this Pure World Court has existed since ancient times. They discovered the Law Corridor, altered the guardians here, and sought to incorporate this relic into their 'Order'."

Xuan Hu Madam's eyes flickered: "Little friend, do you mean that what we seek may have already been taken ahead of us by the Pure World Court?"

Wang Ping shook his head: "Not necessarily. Remodeling the guards takes time and energy. If they had already succeeded, why bother with this effort? It's more likely they are 'strategizing' the corridor, and these three giants are merely the first line of defense."

Tianyuan Shangren nodded: "Junior friend, you make sense. Deep in the corridor, there must be more secrets. Perhaps the records of the 'Myriad Phenomena Star Observer' we seek, as well as clues about the 'Primordial Chaos Source' and the 'Purified World Court,' are still there."

The Mountain-Moving Old Ancestor clambered to his feet, patted the dust off his body (though there wasn't any dust), and said: "What are we waiting for? Let's keep going! This old stone has rested enough!"

Everyone exchanged a smile; although weary, their eyes all gleamed.

Wang Ping turned and gazed toward the far end of the platform. There, a wide passage stretched into the distance; along its sides, faintly visible were more Walls of Law, and… even deeper unknown.

He drew a deep breath and stepped forward.

Behind him, the five others followed closely.

Six figures gradually faded into the depths of the passage.

On the platform, the three giants' wreckage stood silently, their azure eyes completely dimmed, the runic patterns on their bodies ceased to flow. They still retained their final poses—some raised their right arms, some leaned slightly forward, some had a sword slash split across their chests.

Like three silent tombstones, they bore witness to this brief yet fierce battle, and also to this six‑person squad as it ventured deeper into the unknown.

And at the center of the platform, in a corner overlooked by everyone, a faint glimmer of light flickered faintly. It was a signal emitted simultaneously by the core fragments in the chests of the three giants at their final moment.

The message was extremely brief, extremely fleeting, vanishing in an instant.

But it did indeed exist.

It passed through the platform's rune array, through the labyrinthine layers of the Law Corridor, through that hazy void, and finally reached an extremely distant, extremely hidden place.

There, a sheet of silver light slowly flowed.

There, countless silver silhouettes hovered silently.

There, lay the 'Purified World Court.'

At the instant the light fell, a silver eye opened silently.

"The Law Corridor……has been invaded."

"The three original guardians have failed."

"Activate……the second‑generation guardians."

"Coordinates……locked."

"Target……six individuals."

"Late Nascent Soul……four, Nascent Soul Perfection……two."

"Among them, one carries……a chaotic aura."

"Interesting."

"Dispatch……the Seventh Sequence, to clean up."

"Bring them back alive, or bring back their corpses."

The silver eye slowly closed.

That expanse of silver space once again fell into eternal silence.

And deep within the Law Corridor, the six were utterly unaware of this.

At the end of the passage lay a space beyond words.

Wang Ping halted his steps, his pupils constricting slightly.

Before him was no longer a narrow corridor, no longer a labyrinth woven of law, but a true 'hall.'

It was so vast as to be suffocating—even with Wang Ping's spiritual sense, he could not probe its boundaries. The ceiling dissolved into endless darkness; beneath his feet lay a kind of translucent crystal floor, and beneath that crystal, countless law lines surged like rivers, emitting a low, distant rumble.

And that rumble was not sound.

It was the tremor of the law itself, the pulse of the Great Dao's operation, resonating directly in the depths of each person's soul.

"This is……" Tianyuan Shangren murmured, his whisk brush slipping from his elbow, yet he remained oblivious, "Is this the……core hall of the Myriad Phenomena Star Observer?"

Madame Xuanhu rarely lowered her fan; silver light flickered in her eyes, yet she could not fathom this hall's myriad aspects. She drew a deep breath, her voice trembling slightly: "I have lived three thousand seven hundred years, and have never seen anything so……so……"

She simply could not find the right word.

Ban Shan Lao Zu opened his mouth wide, and after a while managed to blurt out: "Damn it... how many treasures would this take?"

Cang Xuan didn't speak, but his hand gripping the sword hilt had whitened knuckles.

Yu Liuli's zither sounded on its own, that tone ethereal and profound, yet in this hall it stirred layer upon layer of echo—countless lines of law trembled slightly with the music, as if responding, as if scrutinizing.

Wang Ping stood still, and within his dantian the chaotic infant opened its eyes.

The Jianmu Seed shuddered violently, the chaos nebula pattern on its leaves whirling frenziedly, greedily sucking in all surrounding information. It was a hunger and thirst never before seen—like parched land that had gone dry for a hundred million years, finally awaiting sweet rain.

The Heaven-Overturning Seal and the Chaos Tribulation Sword both emitted a low hum at the same time. That was not a warning, but… a resonance.

This hall shares the same origin as them.

"Be careful." Wang Ping spoke slowly, his voice calm yet carrying an indescribable gravity, "This place… is too 'alive'."

As his words fell, a point of light lit up deep within the hall.

That light was extremely distant and faint, yet it closed the distance instantly at a speed transcending space.

When it finally halted a hundred zhang before everyone, all held their breath.

It was a person.

Or rather, it was the outline of a 'person'.

Its entire body was condensed from pure light, having no substance, no features, only a tall, hazy silhouette. Yet within that silhouette lay an indescribable majesty—as if a deity that had slept through endless ages had finally awakened.

The light-shadow hovered silently, looking down upon the six.

Then it spoke.

The voice did not emanate from the light-shadow but rang directly in the depths of each person's soul. That voice was ancient and vast, carrying an indescribable fatigue, yet also holding the power to pierce through time and space.

"Thirty thousand years have passed… finally, someone has come."

The six all changed color at once.

Thirty thousand years?

This light-shadow has existed for thirty thousand years?

The Tianyan Venerable drew a deep breath, suppressed the shock in his heart, clasped his hands in salute, and said: "Junior Tianyan of the Spirit Realm, accompanied by five fellow Daoists, have rashly intruded upon your esteemed place; may I ask, senior, who are you…"

The light-shadow trembled slightly, as if smiling.

"Who am I… I myself have forgotten that question." Its voice carried a hint of desolation: "I am merely a remnant, a shadow left here awaiting the 'fated one'. My true form had already dissipated in that cataclysm thirty thousand years ago…"

Everyone fell silent.

Thirty thousand years, cataclysm, dissipation—these words combined point to a horrifying truth.

Wang Ping spoke calmly: "Senior, is the cataclysm you mentioned related to the Pure World Court?"

The light-shadow twitched slightly.

At that instant, the law lines throughout the hall ceased flowing altogether.

An indescribable sense of oppression descended—it was not coercion, not hostility, but a pure, law-level 'stagnation'.

After three breaths, the law lines resumed flowing. The light-shadow's voice grew even deeper.

"Pure World Court… you have already encountered them."

Wang Ping nodded: "Not long ago, on Inkrock Star, we encountered silver-robed puppets. They claimed to come from the Silver Radiance Council, and analysis of the puppets' cores revealed the term 'Pure World Court'."

The light-shadow remained silent for a long time.

After a long while, it spoke again, its voice tinged with an irrepressible fatigue… and perhaps fear?

"Pure World Court… Silver Radiance Council… heh, they've changed many names, but their essence has never changed."

It paused, its light flickering slightly, as if recalling.

"Thirty thousand years ago, we, the Myriad Phenomena Observers, discovered the ultimate secret of the cosmos—the Primordial Chaos Source. It was, at the dawn of chaos, the purest, most primal 'chaotic force' separated from chaos itself. It contains both creative and destructive possibilities, the origin and end of all laws."

The Tianyan Venerable trembled all over: "Primordial Chaos Source… it actually exists?"

The light-shadow ignored him and continued: "We studied it, contemplated it, trying to glimpse the universe's truth from it. But our research attracted the scrutiny of another power—they call themselves the Pure World Court, upholding absolute, eternal, unchangeable 'order'. In their eyes, 'chaos' is the ultimate sin, the root of all turmoil, and must be utterly eradicated."

Wang Ping's heart stirred—this vaguely matched what his master Jiang Mingyuan had once said.

"They have come." The light-shadow's voice grew low, "Bringing their Order Legion, their Law Erasers, and their absolute hatred of chaos. We resisted, we fought, we paid an unimaginable price. But in the end… we still lost."

The hall's law lines trembled slightly with the light-shadow's words, as if echoing that tragic past.

"Our civilization was erased. Our people were 'order-ified'—they were turned into those silver puppets, losing self and consciousness, left only with absolute obedience to order. And our research findings, all records of the Primordial Chaos Source, were sealed by them in the deepest part of this corridor, awaiting… complete annihilation."

Cang Xuan said coldly: "If they wanted to destroy it, why not just destroy it outright?"

The light-shadow gave a bitter smile—though it had no face, that smile was clearly felt in everyone's hearts.

"You think they don't want to? They do, but they can't. This corridor was built by my clan using the Primordial Chaos Source as its foundation, at the cost of our civilization's wisdom. It itself is the ultimate defiance against order. Any order power entering the corridor is eroded, dissolved, and assimilated by chaos. Their dispatched Order Legion was wiped out at the corridor's entrance; their Law Erasers were torn to shreds by countless law lines in the law wilderness; their mightiest Pure World Sovereign, trying to force his way in, had his core eroded by chaos and ultimately… became those 'guardians' you just defeated."

Everyone stared in shock.

Ban Shan Lao Zu glared: "Those three giants—are they the Pure World Court's… boss transformed?"