Chapter 1141: Hoe

"Impossible!" Black Wind Senior's eyes almost popped out! What kind of defense is this? Absolutely not a spirit power shield!

At the moment his mind lost guard!

Han Wuxian moved! He completely disregarded his injuries, taking advantage of the opponent's shocked moment, pouring all the residual strength he had just recovered in his body—including the power of the Star Torch Stone, the power of the Return to the Void Sword Core, the power of the Bronze Fragment, and even burning a wisp of his newly stabilized True Spirit—into his right index finger.

At his fingertip, a point of extreme, seemingly world-ending dim light condensed! No longer grayish, but nearly pure, the Return to the Void Darkness that devours all light!

Silence Extinction·End Finger!

One finger pointed out! Soundless and breathless! Yet its speed reached the extreme, surpassing the limit of Black Wind Senior's divine sense reaction!

Black Wind Senior only felt a chill at his brow, as if touched by the icy depths of the cosmos. All his movements, all his evil arts, all his thoughts, under this finger, instantly froze.

The shock, greed, and disbelief on his face froze. The gray-green light in his pupils rapidly dimmed and vanished.

The next moment, starting from his brow, grayish cracks spread like a spiderweb across his body in an instant!

No scream, no explosion. His body, together with his soul, magic treasures, storage bag, and even the surrounding bloody evil aura, in an instant lost all color and vitality, turning into the most primitive, grayish dust that fluttered down. A breeze blew, and it completely dissipated between heaven and earth, as if it had never existed.

Black Wind Senior's form and spirit were both destroyed, returning to Silence Extinction!

Between heaven and earth, a deathly silence.

The evil aura's pressure over the village vanished suddenly. Sunlight shone down again, but it could not dispel the dazed, blank looks on the villagers' faces.

Han Wuxian stood at the edge of the crater, his body swayed, he could no longer support himself, he dropped to one knee on the ground, violently coughing up large mouthfuls of grayish-white blood, even mixed with fragments of internal organs. Forcibly activating the End Finger nearly reverted his just-stabilized condition back to its original state, or even worse. The cracks on his dantian sword core expanded again, and the light of the Star Torch Stone dimmed considerably.

But he was still alive.

He painfully lifted his head, looking toward the villagers far away who were still immersed in great shock and fear, his voice hoarse like a broken gong:

"The evil cultivator has been eliminated…… In the short term, there should be no problem……"

Before his words finished, his vision went black, he could no longer support himself, he pitched forward and completely lost consciousness.

"Benefactor!"

Zhao Village Chief was the first to react, shouting as he rushed forward. The villagers also awoke as from a dream, looking at the fallen grayish-white figure, the fear in their eyes gradually being replaced by a complex emotion hard to describe, mingling awe, gratitude, and fear.

The calamity of Shilin Village seemed to have passed temporarily. But everyone knew that this heavenly descending, omnipotent "Benefactor," and the secrets he brought, would completely change the fate of this remote small village. And in the distance, how would the fall of the Black Wind Stronghold stir up waves?

In Han Wuxian's coma, the cyan-gray lamp mark on his forehead shone brighter than ever, flickering faintly, as if silently pointing to the next direction.

Darkness. Cold. Consciousness felt like sinking into the depths of ten-thousand-year-old profound ice; each attempt to surface was ruthlessly dragged back by the excruciating pain of the Return to the Void Sword Core shattering and the heavy shackles of world law repulsion.

Han Wuxian floated in boundless pain and void. Flickering fragmented images: a burning Star Corpse Core, the filth-entwined Return to the Void Boundary Stele, Black Wind Senior's frozen shock as he turned to ash, the villagers' fearful yet pleading gazes… Ultimately, it all froze upon a bronze lamp, shattered, emitting a warm azure glow.

The lamp's light grew brighter and hotter, as if it wanted to ignite his icy consciousness completely!

"Ugh!" Han Wuxian gasped a mouthful of air, like a drowning person finally surfacing, he suddenly opened his eyes.

The intense pain receded like a tide, leaving soreness throughout his body and deep bone-deep weakness. He found himself lying on a soil bed covered with clean coarse cloth, with a patched but stiffened quilt over him. The air smelled faintly of herbs and cooking smoke.

Outside the window the sky was faintly light; it was already the next morning.

He with difficulty turned his neck, surveyed the surroundings. It was still Zhao Village Chief's home, but it seemed to have been carefully cleaned, a bit more lively than the previous woodshed. On the small table beside the bed sat a bowl of dark medicinal liquid giving off a faint steam.

Observing his dantian internally, the situation was slightly better than before his coma, but still far from optimistic. The cracks on the Return to the Void Sword Core were barely "glued" together by the cyan-gray energy emanating from the Star Torch Stone, like a broken porcelain mended with gold—appearing whole but actually fragile. The repelling force of world law was like a cold background radiation, constantly eroding the sword core, trying to peel off that "glue" and let the cracks expand again. The Star Torch Stone hovered above the sword core, steadily emitting a warm glow, continuously outputting pure and peaceful stellar power to nourish and harmonize, but slowly. The bronze fragment in his lap also calmed down; only the lamp mark on his brow continued to convey a clear sense of warmth, pointing unmistakably.

"Benefactor! You're awake!" Zhao Village Chief's voice held delight and carefulness as he hurried in from outside, holding a plate of coarse grain cakes. "Thank heavens! You've been unconscious for a whole day! Village Doctor Zhang examined you, saying…… saying your internal injuries are extremely severe, your qi and blood are terribly depleted, but your pulse is strange, so he dared not use medicine recklessly, only prescribing some basic tonics……" He looked at Han Wuxian's still ashen face, his tone full of worry.

Han Wuxian slightly shook his head, indicating it was fine. He lifted the bowl of medicinal liquid, sniffed it—just some mundane tonic herbs, of little use for his current injuries, but better than nothing. He gulped it down; the bitter liquid scraped his throat, bringing a faint warmth.

"Black Wind Stronghold……" Han Wuxian's voice hoarse.

"Don't worry, Benefactor!" Zhao Village Chief hurriedly said, "You yesterday…… after slaying that monster, I immediately sent a quick-footed youth to inquire at a town dozens of li away. The news hasn't spread yet; the town is still as usual. The Black Wind Stronghold's main base is far from here, and it's in a remote place, so the news of the chief's death likely won't be known for a short time." He paused, his worry not lessening, "But paper can't keep fire…… and moreover, the Black Wind Stronghold seems to be merely the outer claw of some greater power……"

Han Wuxian's eyes narrowed slightly. A greater power? In this remote mundane realm, the waters are indeed deep. Given his current condition, he truly ought not provoke strong enemies.

"This item, Benefactor, please look." Zhao Village Chief carefully took out from his bosom something wrapped in oilcloth; upon opening it, it was exactly that grayish-white stone box which had become ordinary after opening the stone box, and inside was a pigeon-egg-sized Star Torch Stone. "This is your property, Benefactor; the village dare not keep it." He hesitated, "Last night I placed the stone box on the hall altar; at deep night, this stone…… actually emitted light on its own, shining onto the inner wall of the box, revealing some…… strange marks."

Han Wuxian's heart stirred, he took the stone box. It felt just as cold and heavy in his hand. He focused his gaze on the inner wall. Sure enough, under the cyan-gray light of the Star Torch Stone, the originally smooth, unmarked inner wall of the stone box now showed several extremely fine lines made of deeper gray, intermittent, and a few blurry odd symbols.