Chapter 1204: Stillness

Han Wuxian's black fragment in his palm is scorching unusually now, clearly pointing toward the depths of the gray mist. Yet he keenly senses that the terrifying aura at the mist's deepest part, belonging to the Great Vehicle Stage and like a sleeping ferocious beast, is oddly steady now, even… bearing a hint of strange Silence, as if its master is in a special condition, unable to attend to anything else.

"Yan Buji seems not to be in a 'state'." Han Wuxian whispered to the three beside him, "Or rather, he cannot act easily for the time being. This is a good opportunity for us to investigate."

Xiao Ran heard this, a flash of disappointment crossed his eyes, but more was caution: "Even so, this ghostly ruin could never be completely undefended."

Wang Tie surveyed the strange gray mist, brow furrowed: "This mist… is not naturally formed; it contains extremely strong resentment, death energy, and a… artificially forged evil toxin! Inhaling it for long periods, I fear even those below the Fusion Stage would find it hard to resist."

Qinglin gripped his spear tightly, the emerald vitality flowing at the tip: "My power might temporarily cleanse a small area."

"No need to waste effort on cleansing," Han Wuxian's gaze swept the mist's edge, "We go straight in. Stay close to me, don't leave my three‑zhang radius."

His mind shifted, the Chaotic Returning‑Root Qi flowed naturally, forming around the four a gray force field about three zhang in diameter, nearly transparent. At the field's edge, the gray mist that tried to approach was like meeting an invisible barrier, silently erased and repelled, unable to intrude a fraction.

The four moved like a traveling purification bubble, slowly sailing into that deathly gray mist.

Upon entering the gray mist, sight and spirit‑awareness were heavily restricted. All around was chaos, only the faint "zzzz" sound from the force field's edge touching the mist could be heard. Beneath their feet lay a soft, damp, moss‑covered, bone‑strewn strange ground, and the air was thick with rot and sulfur.

They proceeded cautiously along the direction indicated by the black fragment.

They hadn't gone far when a rustling, spine‑tingling sound suddenly came from the gray mist ahead, as if innumerable tiny feet were crawling!

"Careful!" Qinglin barked low, pointing his spear to the left.

In the dense fog on the left, dozens of monsters the size of calves, entirely gray‑black, spider‑like yet bearing snarling human faces, burst out! Their eight compound eyes glowed with blood‑thirsty red, they spewed corrosive gray webs from their mouths, and lunged at lightning speed!

"They're 'Grudge‑Soul Spiders'!" Wang Tie exclaimed, "Forged from cultivators' lingering souls mixed with this place's evil qi and demonic essence, they fear no death, and their webs are extremely poisonous!"

These Grudge‑Soul Spiders' strength ranged roughly from mid to late Nascent Soul stage, were numerous, and their attacks carried a piercing shriek that disturbed the spirit.

However, the moment they neared Han Wuxian's Returning‑Root force field, the terrifying gray webs and spewed toxin melted rapidly like snow under sun, and together with their snarling bodies, upon colliding with the field, they were swiftly corroded and shattered by the ever‑present Silence Extinction power, turning into wisps of blue smoke that vanished!

There was no need for Han Wuxian to act; merely maintaining the force field as they moved caused these seemingly ferocious monsters to fly into the flame like moths, meeting their own demise.

The four kept moving, continuing deeper.

The deeper they went, the stranger and stronger the monsters became. There were "Stitched Beasts" cobbled together from countless severed limbs, "Mist Demons" that could unleash deadly Illusion Art, and even cultivators turned into "Corpse Puppets" retaining some of their former combat instincts, controlled by the gray mist, some of whom were at the Early Refinement Void stage.

Yet these obstacles, before Han Wuxian's Chaotic Returning‑Root Qi, still appeared frail. Where the force field passed, all things returned to Silence. Xiao Ran and Qinglin occasionally acted only to clear the path more quickly.

Han Wuxian's expression remained solemn. These monsters were merely peripheral expendables; the real danger was likely still ahead. Moreover, he sensed that as they went deeper, the artificially forged evil intent within the gray mist grew stronger, as if a pair of eyes in the mist's depths coldly watched them.

Finally, after clearing several waves of monsters, a relatively open area appeared ahead. There stood a few massive, broken stone pillars etched with twisted runes, seeming to be the ruins of an ancient plaza.

And in the plaza's center, it was not empty.

An elder clad in a dark purple robe, his face gaunt like a skull, wielding a white‑bone staff, stood there quietly. He emitted no outward powerful aura, yet merged perfectly with the surrounding gray mist, as if he were part of the mist itself.

He lifted his hollow eye sockets, gazed at the four of Han Wuxian, and emitted a hoarse voice like sandpaper rubbing:

"Intruders… halt. This is a sacred realm, not a place for you to come."

As his words rang out, the gray mist around the plaza roiled violently, coalescing into four gray‑mist giants three zhang tall, clad in heavy armor, wielding massive axes! Each giant's energy ripple reached the Late Refinement Void level! Worse, they were not solid; they were formed of pure gray‑mist death‑qi, making ordinary attacks ineffective!

At the same time, the elder in the purple robe tapped his white‑bone staff lightly.

Buzz!

An invisible, powerful soul‑shock wave rippled outward like water ripples, ignoring physical defenses and striking directly into the four's sea of consciousness! This attack was exceptionally vile, targeting the Yuan‑Spirit!

Wang Tie and Qinglin's faces turned ashen instantly, a muffled hum escaping, clearly affected. Xiao Ran also suffered a severe soul shock; his sword intent spontaneously shielded his body, barely holding off the blow.

Only Han Wuxian, whose core of the Source Star in his sea of consciousness glowed faintly, dispelled that soul shock into nothingness.

"Pretending to be divine, playing tricks."

Han Wuxian snorted coldly, took a step forward, voluntarily shedding the force field's protection, confronting the purple‑robed elder and the four gray‑mist giants.

"Brother Xiao, Qinglin, guard Brother Wang. These puppets are mine to handle."

He could see that the purple‑robed elder was the key; though his cultivation had not reached the Great Vehicle Stage, it was already a complete Refinement Void, and his technique was bizarre, capable of controlling the local gray mist, truly the gatekeeper here. Without dealing with him, deeper progress would be impossible.

The four gray‑mist giants let out silent roars, brandishing their massive axes with space‑rending force, slashing at Han Wuxian from four directions simultaneously!

The purple‑robed elder raised his white‑bone staff, muttering incantations; denser gray mist surged from behind him, forming countless twisted Grudge‑Soul Chains that coiled toward Han Wuxian, while the plaza's ground runes flared, creating an evil domain that suppressed spiritual power!

Facing this overwhelming onslaught, Han Wuxian's gaze remained calm, and he slowly raised his right hand.

"Gray mist… is also mist."

"Since it is mist, it can… disperse."

He spread his five fingers, palm upward, and gave a gentle clasp.

"Clouds disperse!"

There was no earth‑shaking explosion, only an invisible, formless surge, yet seeming to contain the ultimate principle of Heaven and Earth—the Silence Extinction Dao rhythm—centered on him, suddenly expanding outward!