Chapter 1262: with translation of chapter title

This process is exactly his newly comprehended Returning to Void Dao, transforming the harm of termination into the foundation of continuation, guiding disorder to order!

He did it extremely slowly, extremely carefully, striving not to draw the attention of the possible existing Existence on the other side of the hole, while constantly monitoring the reaction of the brow imprint. Fortunately, his actions were essentially "purifying the environment", "eliminating hidden dangers", and even "stabilizing the ley lines", fully conforming to the core logic of the Heavenly Dao order's maintenance of "stability" and "balance"; the brow imprint not only did not stop it, but instead sent a faint fluctuation, almost like an "approval".

Time passed day by day.

The yin-corrosive death qi in the depths of the mine pit became distinctly thin and peaceful, and the force that stirs people's negative emotions also greatly weakened. The disciples of the Black Evil Sect stationed there quickly noticed the anomaly; the "yin evil" they absorbed while cultivating became gentle yet "powerless", no longer able to bring the previous feeling of rapid improvement, and they immediately fell into panic, yet could not find the cause at all.

Along the banks of the Sinking Sand River, some keen high-level cultivators faintly felt that the ground beneath their feet seemed a bit more "solid" than before; although spiritual qi had not increased, that faint, unsettling "sense of decline" seemed to have lessened slightly.

Han Wuxian ignored external disturbances, fully immersing himself in this special "purification" experiment. His mastery of Returning to Void Power became ever more exquisite, and he also gained a deeper understanding of the dialectical relationship between "termination" and "rebirth", "pollution" and "purification".

That day, when the energy leaking from the hole had been completely "tamed" and could no longer cause erosion to the surroundings, Han Wuxian slowly concluded his practice.

He glanced at the hole that still existed but no longer emitted malice, and did not choose to close it; leaving it, perhaps he might still have use for it in the future, or leave it for the cultivators of this realm to handle themselves, which is also a form of tempering.

He quietly left the mine pit, as if he had never appeared.

Several days later, the Black Evil Sect fell into internal turmoil due to the inexplicable failure of the spiritual land, and its aggressive posture toward Qinglin Prefecture also eased somewhat. Liu Qing fortunately completed the mission, returning to Qinglin Prefecture with doubt and a hint of relief. The Yellow Sands Market remained bustling, no one knowing that a potential crisis had quietly dissipated into nothingness.

Han Wuxian returned to his crude stone hut, his expression calm.

The effect of this "touchstone" was better than he had expected; he not only verified the feasibility of the new Dao, but also faintly felt that in repeated instances of this "guiding Returning to Void" that conforms to the heaven-earth benign cycle, the Heavenly Dao Forbidden Seal on his brow, that icy shackle, seemed…… to have loosened a bit.

Although minuscule, it was an unprecedented positive signal!

"Looks like this path is correct." He gazed out the window at the dim-yellow sky, his eyes seeming to pierce the clouds and see that invisible network of order.

"Putting the Dao into practice through action, merging the Dao with order…… perhaps, no need for a hundred years……"

Purifying the yin-corrosive death qi in the Black Evil Sect's mine pit was, for Han Wuxian, like completing an exquisite micro-carving. The gain was not an increase in power, but rather a firmer belief in his own path and a deeper understanding of the operating logic of the Heavenly Dao order. That faint, barely perceptible loosening of the brow shackle was even like a firefly in the night, pointing the way forward.

However, he deeply knew this was still far from enough. The Sinking Sand River to him was like a shallow beach, unable to accommodate a diving dragon. He needed a broader expanse of heaven and earth, more intense "wind and rain", to further forge his "Returning to Void Blade".

He once again turned his gaze toward the tumultuous flow of external information. The violent anomaly of the South Sea Returning to Void Eye, the exploration progress of the Extreme North Seal, the rumors of demonic traces in the Extreme West…… these places all contain huge risks and also harbor endless opportunities.

"South Sea Returning to Void is a mighty natural force; its connotation of 'termination' is vast and boundless, possibly verifying my Dao, yet possibly assimilating me……"

"The Extreme North Seal involves ancient secrets; forces like the Heavenly Craft Sect have already intervened deeply, the waters are murky and deep, easily dragging one into right and wrong……"

"Demonic traces in the Extreme West…… although Yan Buji has fallen, his Dao's influence runs deep; if there truly are remnants or similar existences, they would be a good target for verifying 'purification' and 'guidance'……"

Han Wuxian sat quietly in the stone hut, his mind sinking into the "Mind Mirror", deducing various possibilities. On the "Mind Mirror", light and shadow flowed, simulating the causal chains that different choices might bring.

Just as he was weighing his options, an extremely faint thread of heaven-earth fluctuation, carrying some kind of rhythm, like a guitar string lightly plucked, passed through layers of obstruction and entered his perception.

This fluctuation was not a tremor of spiritual qi, nor a manifestation of law, but rather like…… the "breath" of heaven and earth itself? A background pulsation formed jointly by the birth and death of all things and the circulation of energy on a larger scale!

If it were not for his having just completed the "nourishment" of the Sinking Sand River's ley lines, his own Returning to Void Dao achieving subtle harmony with the surrounding environment, plus the high sensitivity of the "Mind Mirror" to the law level, it would be absolutely difficult to capture such a subtle fluctuation.

His mind and spirit jolted, and he immediately focused all his attention on this thread of fluctuation.

"Is this…… heaven-earth tide?" An ancient term surfaced in his mind. It is said that in the boundless world of cultivation, there exists a kind of fluctuation surpassing ordinary spiritual qi tides, more grand and essential in its periodicity, affecting the fortunes of realms, the opening and closing of secret realms, and even the activity level of some ancient laws. However, its cycle is long, the fluctuation subtle, imperceptible to those without great fortune or great supernatural powers.

Han Wuxian carefully savored this thread of fluctuation. It carried an implication of all-encompassing "emptiness" and "bearing", as if it were the foundation of the entire world. Upon this foundation, the desires of living beings, the activity of spiritual qi, and even the stillness of Returning to Void are merely ripples on its surface.

"Desire is the driving force, vitality is continuance, Returning to Void is transformation…… then what is the 'meaning' of this 'heaven and earth' itself that bears all?" A new, even grander question rose in his heart.

He faintly felt that if he could comprehend the "meaning of heaven and earth", perhaps he could truly understand why the Heavenly Dao order so strictly delineates the boundaries of "life", "death", "desire", and "termination", and perhaps even find…… a way to dialogue on equal terms with that order, and even…… the key to redefining the position of his own Dao within it!

This thought made his heartbeat quicken slightly.

The plans for the South Sea, Extreme North, and Extreme West remain important, but at this moment, this occasionally sensed heaven-earth tide seems to point toward a more fundamental path, also more suited to his current state——no longer merely focusing on 'termination' itself, but seeking to understand the 'heaven and earth' on which 'termination' depends!

He decided to follow this thread of fluctuation.

In the days that followed, Han Wuxian no longer deliberately gathered concrete information, but instead devoted most of his mind and spirit to capturing, amplifying, and analyzing that faint thread of heaven-earth tide rhythm. He was like the most patient musician, adjusting his own frequency, trying to resonate with the sound of heaven and earth.

The process was more difficult than imagined. That fluctuation was intermittent and vague, and easily disturbed by ordinary spiritual qi flow and living beings' distracting thoughts. He needed utmost tranquility and the most exquisite control of his own breath to occasionally catch that fleeting rhythm.

But in this state akin to "meditation", he also gained an unexpected harvest.

He discovered that his perception of the surrounding environment had become more acute and "three-dimensional". He could "hear" the slow "breath" of the earth beneath his feet, could "see" the flow of spiritual qi particles in the air following some deeper-level rule, and could even faintly feel that in the depths of this seemingly barren Sinking Sand River, the yin energy that he himself had guided to sink down, having been "tamed", was undergoing some kind of interaction and fusion with the ley lines themselves at an extremely slow pace, like water droplets seeping into dry soil; although it could not immediately bring vitality, it was quietly altering the land's "foundation".

"Returning to Void Power transforms harm into foundation, nourishes heaven and earth…… this is an act of following heaven and responding to humanity." He came to a deeper realization in his heart. His previous actions, unintentionally, had covertly aligned with a deeper principle of heaven-earth circulation, and this might also be why the Heavenly Dao Forbidden Seal gave him a slight "approval".