Chapter 757: Will Resonance

Darkness.

Viscous, icy darkness that seemed to freeze the soul.

Zhu Yue (Zhu Yuanzhang)'s consciousness sank into it, as if plunging into a bottomless abyss.

But that faint, stubborn warmth remained at the position of the heart, like the last lighthouse in a storm.

No…

Not just warmth.

There was also a strange "feeling".

It seemed as if countless tiny golden "characters" or "symbols" were flowing along the trail of that warmth, trying to merge into his blood, imprint on his bones, and weave into every corner of his life.

But they were too fragmented.

Shattered and disjointed, hard to connect.

Like a torn ancient text mixed with impurities, leaving only scattered phrases, difficult to decipher, and even harder to take effect.

Moreover, something cold and filthy pursued relentlessly, constantly eroding and polluting these golden fragments.

Consuming them.

Making them dimmer.

"What is this?"

In the chaotic consciousness, the transmigrator Zhu Yue's thoughts labored to function.

"Energy infusion? Life code? Gene lock unlock? Or… some kind of "system patch"?"

He could not be certain.

But he could feel that these golden fragments bore him no malice.

They wanted to "repair" him, to "strengthen" him.

And the cold, filthy things behind them sought to destroy all of this.

"Enemy… you won't even allow this?"

A cold anger welled up from the depths of his soul.

On what grounds?

On what grounds must I, time and again, be schemed against, besieged, and even the slightest chance to grow stronger be taken away?

On what grounds must this land, this civilization, inevitably follow the script you set toward decline?

I refuse to accept it!

I come from another world, not to walk the dead end you have arranged for me!

I will survive!

I will lead this newborn Great Ming to carve a bloody path!

Will to survive.

Desire to explore.

Moreover, the supreme will of the founding emperor, the guardian of civilization's spark, erupted at this moment!

The consciousness sunk in the darkness suddenly "opened its eyes"!

Not with the fleshly eyes.

But with the innate, twice‑tempered "divine sense" that lurks in the void.

He "looked" toward the source of that warmth.

He "looked" toward the faint golden "thread" extending from the endless void, already tattered and on the verge of snapping.

One end of the thread is linked to those golden fragments that are constantly being polluted and dissipating.

The other end…

Is the far side of the light curtain.

Is the one that once sent warnings, and also sent "congratulations"…

Friend!

"Is it you?"

His will, like an invisible tendril, actively and tentatively reached out to touch that faint golden thread.

Hum!

The thread jerked violently!

As if a drowning man had seized the last straw, it instantly straightened, transmitting a weak yet clear surge of mixed "joy" and "anxiety".

Joy at his response.

Anxiety over the collapsing channel, and the relentless cold contamination.

"The channel is about to break… I can't get it through…"

Fragments of vague information came through.

Zhu Yue (Zhu Yuanzhang)'s will became utterly calm and resolute.

He no longer tried to "understand" what those golden fragments were.

He only knew that this was "aid" sent at great cost by the "friend".

It could be the key to resisting dark energy and continuing civilization.

It is… time!

"It won't break."

His will, like the hardest bronze, grasped back along that thread!

Not passive reception.

But it was an active link!

He poured his vast, unyielding, vow-to-open-up-the-future survival will, along the thin thread, without reservation, into the past!

This is not energy.

This is a more fundamental 'belief' and 'anchor' than energy!

"I am here!"

"I caught it!"

"Send the thing...... over!!!"

Boom——!!!

It was as if two stars collided on the soul level!

Zhu Yue's will, and a weak yet tenacious existence at the other end of the thread (Chen Wen's residual consciousness), produced an unprecedented resonance in the center of the collapsing passage!

That was no longer a one-way transmission.

But a two-way confirmation and reinforcement!

Zhu Yue's will, like a suddenly descended majestic mountain, forcefully suppressed the turbulent, collapsing passage at its center!

The icy filth eroding the passage, struck by this pure, fervent will brimming with the aura of a humanitarian torrent, let out a silent shriek, melting and dispersing like snow meeting boiling water!

The shattered passage, supported by this internal-external cooperation and two-way resonance, miraculously ceased its collapse.

Even......

It stabilized slightly.

"It's now!"

At the far end of the passage, a sigh of relief and determination seemed to be heard.

The final batch, also the most core, a small handful of golden fragments, along this temporarily stabilized passage, like weary birds returning to their nests, crossed the last heavenly chasm, all sinking into Zhu Yue's (Zhu Yuanzhang's) heart, merging into that warm light mass.

The next moment.

The connecting thread, having fulfilled its final mission, quietly dissipated into the void like burnt-out firewood.

The erosion of the icy filth also lost its target with the disappearance of the link, and slowly retreated.

The dark sea of consciousness returned to calm.

No, it was not completely calm.

At the heart, that warm light mass had already grown.

Although those golden fragments remained incomplete, they no longer drifted chaotically, but began to slowly and firmly rotate, piece together, and fuse around a certain core.

A surge of unprecedented vitality, like spring returning to the earth, burst from the heart and flowed to the limbs.

The icy, stiff body began to warm up.

The heavy, sluggish thoughts became clear again.

The darkness receded like a tide.

Wuying Hall.

Zhu Yue (Zhu Yuanzhang) flung open his eyes!

He remained seated behind the imperial desk, his hands still holding the desk in a supportive posture.

Candles flickered inside the hall, and the night outside was deep.

It seemed as if all that lengthy, heart-pounding ordeal just now was merely a momentary dizziness and illusion.

But he knew it was not.

Bodily sensation does not lie.

That deep marrow-deep fatigue had vanished.

In its place was an indescribable 'lightness' and 'vitality,' as if shedding a thousand-pound burden and as if growing ten years younger.

The heart beat steadily and powerfully, each throb bringing abundant strength.

His vision seemed clearer; even the candlewicks were distinctly visible.

He could hear the faint rustle of armor plates from patrolling guards farther down the palace walls.

He could even feel that some kind of invisible 'clock' within his body had been slowed.

Lifespan......

was extended.

Although he didn't know by how much.

But it indeed happened.

He slowly raised his hand and clenched his fist.

His knuckles were strong, and the sound of blood rushing through the vessels under his skin seemed to carry a stronger rhythm.

"Will resonance……"

He softly repeated this word that naturally surfaced in his mind at the final moment of the link.

It was not something he actively knew.

But rather, the link, that resonance itself, left him an 'imprint'.

He stood up, walked to the window, and pushed it open.

The biting night wind blew in his face, yet he felt only refreshed and clear-headed.

Looking to the northeast, that was the Qing state, the source of dark energy, the direction from which those invisible enemies' gazes came.

"I……caught it."

He spoke softly to the boundless night.

This 'time', I will not waste.

Your 'script'……

A cold fire ignited in his eyes.

I will tear it to shreds with my own hands.

Outside the hall, the dew grew deeper and heavier.

But in the heart of the Hongwu Emperor, a fiercer flame had already been ignited.

That is the fire of survival.

It is the fire of civilization's continuation.

It is also……

The fire of counterattack.

At the other end of the passage.

The secret cavern for practicing the Dharma finally returned to complete tranquility.

Chen Wen, supported by Yue Fei, slowly sat upright.

His complexion remained as pale as paper, his breath faint, but deep in his eyes, the thread of light that had scattered due to damaged consciousness was gradually recondensing.

He…… caught it.

Chen Wen's lips curled into an extremely faint yet utterly genuine arc.

Not only did he catch it.

He even turned it around…… helping us stabilize the passage.

Upon hearing this, Public Sun Sheng and the others all trembled violently.

My lord, are you saying…… Zhu Yuanzhang actively responded to the link?

Even, he sent willpower back in reverse?

Chen Wen nodded, each tiny movement seeming to consume enormous energy.

His will…… is strong.

Much stronger than we estimated.

With this will, the less-than-thirty-percent 'Immortal Code' might perhaps…… exert an effect beyond expectations.

Everyone fell silent, their hearts shaken beyond words.

In such a passive and perilous situation, the other side actually managed to accomplish such an unimaginable active resonance.

This is no longer merely perseverance.

This is a terrifying 'possibility' capable of shaking fate.

The passage has completely dissipated.

Zhang Cheng reported the final monitoring results.

The link traces have been completely erased; the Iron Crow Army should be unable to track.

Our cost: the lord's consciousness injured, requiring long recuperation; the ancestral pulse ritual implements moderately damaged, repair will take time; the nation's fortune diminished beyond recovery.

Result: the core 'Immortal Code' has been delivered to Zhu Yuanzhang, completeness about twenty-seven percent.

Chen Wen closed his eyes and slowly regulated his breath.

Twenty-seven percent…… is enough.

At least, we have bought him…… time to breathe and grow.

Next……

He opened his eyes, gazing at the cavern's vault, as if he could see through the rock to the turbulent mysteries beyond the invisible light curtain.

The stage is now his.

We…… also need time to recover our vital energy.

Prepare to face the day when the light curtain becomes completely unstable.

The secret cavern for practicing the Dharma finally returned to complete tranquility.

Only the faint glow of the ritual remnants remained, illuminating the weary yet hopeful faces of all.

The first bestowal of life across the light curtain.

At a grim cost, and through an unbelievable resonance of will, it was barely completed.

The bell of the new era has already tolled in the distance.