Chapter 1184: Heavenly Barrier Realm

The gray‑robed man's body suddenly stiffened, the red glint in his eye sockets flickered rapidly, and he let out a mournful scream:

"No! The Sovereign… has… sensed…."

The black crystal at the tip of the white‑bone staff in his hand suddenly burst forth a blinding light!

Boom!

The gray‑robed man's body swelled like an inflating balloon, and the terrifying energy instantly went out of control!

He is about to self‑detonate!

Han Wuxian's gaze turned cold, his reaction as swift as lightning; a single finger flicked instantly, striking the black crystal dead on!

Return to Ruin·Silence Extinction!

Snap!

The crystal instantly turned to void, and together with the raging death aura it contained and the soul core about to explode, it was all erased!

The gray‑robed man's swollen body deflated like a punctured balloon, the red glint in his eyes completely extinguished, and he fell limply to the ground, becoming a genuine skeletal corpse.

Han Wuxian stood where he was, his expression solemn.

The deeper he went, the more the surroundings turned into desolate ruin; the remaining building ruins grew scarcer, replaced by jagged rocks and bottomless chasms. The Silence Extinction death aura in the air thickened to near‑tangible substance, constantly trying to corrode his protective sword aura, yet the core of the source star blocked it steadily, even silently converting and absorbing it for his own use.

The melancholy pulse in his heart, born from the core of the source star, grew ever more evident, as if guiding his path while also mourning the loss of this land.

In front of him rose a massive ring of mountains, the center of which sank into a vast basin. Within the basin, the concentration of death aura peaked, even forming a rolling gray‑black mist, and faintly came the sour‑tinged sound of chewing and the clatter of dragging chains.

Han Wuxian gathered all his breath, slipped silently to the edge of the ringed mountains, and looked down.

The sight inside the basin made his gaze suddenly freeze!

In the basin's center stood an immense black altar! Its design was primitive and fierce, bearing about seventy‑to‑eighty percent similarity to the phantom he had previously "seen" through the core of the source star, yet far more shattered, scarred by countless blade cuts and energy impacts. The altar's surface was etched with twisted, constantly writhing Eternal Darkness runes, continuously drawing Silence Extinction death aura from deep within the earth and converging it at the altar's apex.

Surrounding the altar, countless—thousands—skeleton puppets and various grotesque, death‑aura‑corrupted monsters were packed tightly! They roamed aimlessly like the most loyal guards, sealing the entire basin shut.

What startled Han Wuxian even more was that directly above the altar floated three massive black crystals, slowly rotating! These crystals resembled the one he had previously shattered, but a hundred times larger, their surfaces bearing countless phantom faces of agony, emitting terrifying soul fluctuations and Silence Extinction energy. They were like three evil eyes, watching the whole basin and continuously feeding power into the altar.

The light at the altar's apex flickered, seemingly struggling to sustain some operation. Faintly, a razor‑thin, highly unstable gray line could be seen shooting from the apex toward the dim yellow sky, vanishing into void, as if attempting to link with a far‑distant Existence.

Eternal Darkness indeed had a setup here! They were trying to force open a passage to the Tianyuan Realm! Or rather, to reinforce the star‑gate passage that Han Wuxian had temporarily stabilized!

They must be stopped!

But the guardian forces before him were too massive; a head‑on charge would be unwise. Han Wuxian scanned the scene, seeking an opening.

At that moment, from the opposite edge of the basin, a sudden commotion and the roar of violent energy collisions erupted!

Rumble!

A dazzling, vibrant emerald light burst forth, as if splashing a vivid hue onto a dull canvas, instantly purifying a swath of death aura and turning dozens of skeleton puppets into ash!

"Demon! You shall not succeed!" a clear, angry woman's voice rang out.

Han Wuxian followed the voice and saw a woman clad in tattered green battle armor, wielding a jade spear whose light had dimmed yet remained sharp, fighting while retreating. She bore wounds, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth, her breath a bit erratic, but her gaze was as sharp as an eagle's, filled with unyielding fighting spirit. Her elemental attribute clashed with the death aura here, brimming with the breath of life and nature.

Her appearance instantly drew the attention of all the basin's monsters and the three black crystals!

"Another fish that slipped through the net!"

"Capture her! Offer her to the Sovereign!"

"Her life essence… is a great tonic!"

Chaos's roar rose from the monster horde, and more puppets and corrupted beasts surged toward her like a tide. The three black crystals subtly shifted direction, casting three shafts of oppressive gray light!

Her pressure surged, the spear twirled like a dragon, its emerald radiance continuously blossoming, purifying the approaching death aura; each tip of the spear precisely extinguished a puppet's soul fire. Clearly she was immensely powerful, at least a late‑stage Transformative Spirit, but the sheer number of foes and endless death aura soon left her stretched thin, in dire straits.

Han Wuxian's eyes flashed with surprise. He hadn't expected that in this dead, exiled wasteland, beyond the slaves and monsters, there would be other beings still lucid and vibrant! Moreover, their power seemed specifically to counter Silence Extinction death aura?

This is an opportunity!

Just as the green‑armored woman was about to be struck by a black crystal's light pillar—

Snort!

A faint, gray‑white sword flash arrived from behind, striking precisely atop the dim light pillar!

There was no earth‑shaking explosion; the pillar, capable of grievously injuring a Transformative Spirit cultivator, met its nemesis and instantly crumbled and vanished, as if it had never existed!

Immediately, a gray figure slipped onto the battlefield like a wraith, blocking the green‑armored woman.

Han Wuxian acted!

He did not employ large‑scale lethal sword techniques; instead, he condensed Return to Ruin sword intent at his fingertips, his form like smoke as he weaved through the monster horde. Each point of his finger extinguished a puppet's core soul fire; each sweep of his sleeves silently devoured a swath of death‑aura attack.

His movements were fluid as clouds, exuding a detached calm; wherever he passed, monsters fell silently in clusters, turning to dust. Even the suppressive light pillars from the three black crystals could not approach within three feet of him!

The green‑armored woman's pressure eased as she stared at the suddenly‑appearing gray‑clad man whose aura was unfathomable, watching his bizarre method of erasing demons with a wave of his hand, her beautiful eyes filled with shock and vigilance.

"Who are you?" she tightened her grip on the spear, remaining on guard. This place was strange; the suddenly‑appearing aid might not be friendly