Chapter 1265: Imposing

He relied on resonance with the silence of heaven and earth, and the keen perception of energy flow by his "Heart Mirror", to avoid several seemingly calm but actually internally treacherous "Silence Extinction traps"—natural formations that can freeze and annihilate even space and time, absolute death zones.

After traveling about a hundred li, the scene before him changed abruptly.

No longer the monotonous mountains and stillness, ahead appeared a vast Beilin composed of countless gray‑white stone tablets.

These stone tablets varied in height and shape, yet all exuded a desolate, ancient aura of ages. They stood silently there, smooth‑surfaced, bearing no characters or patterns, but seemed to engrave countless forgotten histories and extinct civilizations. A deeper, more mournful "Silence" spread from this Beilin than from the surroundings.

Han Wuxian stopped at the edge of the Beilin. Under the reflection of the "Heart Mirror", he sensed that the Beilin itself was a massive seal or recording device? Each tablet seemed to suppress or bear a segment of a past that had completely "Returned to Silence".

And the source of last night's sigh and gray light seemed to lie at the very center of this Beilin.

He took a deep breath and stepped into the Beilin.

Upon entering, the surrounding silence seemed to gain weight, pressing on his heart. Countless chaotic and vague thought fragments, like dying candles in the wind, tried to pierce his sea of consciousness—echoes of the stone tablets, remnants of bygone time. There were the brilliance and decline of civilizations, the unwillingness and stillness of the strong, the sighs of love, hatred, and grudges finally turned to void…

Han Wuxian tightly guarded his spirit platform, the "Heart Mirror" shining and circulating, smoothing and isolating these stray thoughts. He was like a passerby walking through a historical tomb, observing calmly, yet not buried by it.

He noticed that the nearer he came to the center, the more primitive the tablets' material became, and the purer and older the emanating Silence grew. Some tablets even began to show extremely faint natural patterns, condensed from pure Silence Extinction intent, as if markings of the Dao.

Finally, he arrived at the very center of the Beilin.

Here was a modest circular clearing; at its center, instead of a tablet, stood an ancient Gu Jing.

The well's rim was built of the same gray‑white stone, smooth as a mirror, bottomless. Above the rim floated a slowly rotating gray vortex. The vortex seemed ordinary, yet emitted an aura that made Han Wuxian's soul tremble—it was a "Void" sense older and more fundamental than the extinction of stars! As if it were the source of all "Silence", the destination of all "Ends"!

The gray light that dispelled the eerie blue mist last night originated from this Gu Jing, from this vortex!

Beside the Gu Jing, an elderly man sat cross‑legged.

He wore a gray robe, his features plain, hair and beard white, thin and gaunt, as if he had merged completely with the surrounding stone tablets, the Gu Jing, and the Silence of this world. He closed his eyes, his breath absent, looking less a living person and more a statue that had existed since antiquity.

Yet Han Wuxian knew he was the presence that had sighed last night.

He approached to ten zhang in front of the elder, stopped, and respectfully performed a bow.

"Junior Han Wuxian, thank you, senior, for your assistance last night."

The elder gave no response, not even a flicker of his eyelash, as if truly just a statue.

Han Wuxian was unsurprised and did not press. He stood quietly, also releasing his body and mind, allowing his Returning to Void Power to naturally communicate with the elder's and the Gu Jing vortex's originating Silence.

This was a silent dialogue, resonating with the essence of the Dao.

Time passed bit by bit.

After an unknown length of time, the statue‑like elder finally, extremely slowly, opened his eyes.

His pupils were not cloudy but an absolute gray darkness, devoid of any light or emotion, only endless emptiness and void. Under his gaze, Han Wuxian felt his "Existence" as if being examined, parsed, as if the next moment would be assimilated by the "Nothing" in that gaze.

"Returning to Void… walking…" The elder's voice was dry and hoarse, as if speaking for the first time in billions of years, each word bearing dust of ages. "You… are not of this realm… a complete 'End'…"

Han Wuxian's spirit jolted! The elder's single glance saw through the peculiarity of his Dao technique, even pointing out that he was not a complete "End" embodiment under this realm's heavenly rules!

"Junior's Dao indeed originates from an anomaly, called 'Returning to Void'." Han Wuxian calmly admitted, "However, what I seek is not wanton termination, but to guide all things to their places, each to its own Silence."

The elder's gray pupils remained unmoving, simply watching him, as if judging the truth of his words.

"Last night's 'Devour Silence' demon spirit… was the vanguard that seeped from the Xu Jie… coveting the 'Silence' of this land…" the elder said haltingly, yet the information was massive!

"You merge with this 'Silence', and for it, you are both a great supplement and also… a great enemy…"

Han Wuxian instantly understood! That eerie blue mist, named "Devour Silence" demon spirit, came from a place called "Xu Jie"! They feed on the world's fundamental "Silence". And because he has merged with the Silence of Ten Thousand Silences Mountain, to them he is both a delicious food and an obstacle to be removed!

"Xu Jie… where is it? Why does it seek to corrupt this realm?" Han Wuxian asked.

The elder fell silent for a moment, seeming to organize ancient language.

"Xu Jie… the shadow where All Realms return to Silence… the opposite of all 'Movement'… it wishes to devour all 'Stillness', making All Realms… return to an eternal 'noisy death of silence'…"

"This well… is my guarded 'Silent Eye', maintaining this world's… final piece of 'True Silence'…"

Han Wuxian's heart surged like a massive wave! He never imagined that Ten Thousand Silences Mountain was entangled in such a grand cosmic conflict! The balance of 'Movement' and 'Silence', the clash of 'Life' and 'Silence'! This Gu Jing turned out to be the key node sustaining the world's source of "Silence"! And this elder was its guardian!

"Senior, your guarding here is immeasurably meritorious," Han Wuxian said sincerely.

The elder slowly shook his head, a faint trace of fatigue flashing in his gray eyes.

"I… lack the strength… the 'Devour Silence' demon spirits grow more frequent… the 'Silent Eye' also gradually… dims…"

His gaze fell again on Han Wuxian; within that absolute void seemed an ineffable nuance added.

"Your 'Returning to Void'… is unique… contains a hint… of extracting 'Silence' from 'Movement', of hiding 'Beginning' within 'End'…"

"Perhaps… you could help me… reinforce this eye… even… explore the secret of Xu Jie…"

Han Wuxian was stunned.

He did not expect this ancient being to ask for his aid! Moreover, to involve him in strengthening the world‑origin "Silent Eye"!

The danger was undeniable; he had personally experienced the terror of the "Devour Silence" demon spirits, and Xu Jie was even deeper. Yet the opportunity was equally huge! Participating in such a level of guardianship, touching the world's fundamental law, would undoubtedly elevate his understanding of Returning to Void, of Heaven and Earth, of order, to an unprecedented height!

Moreover, this aligned perfectly with his principle of "guiding Returning to Void, safeguarding benign cycles"!

He looked at the Gu Jing that seemed able to devour everything, then at the elder's bottomless gray eyes, and instantly made a decision.

He bowed again, his voice firm:

"Protecting this tranquility also matches my path. If senior does not abandon, I am willing to lend my meager strength."

Upon hearing this, the elder's eternally unchanged stone‑like face seemed to loosen ever so slightly. He said nothing, only slowly raised a withered finger, pointed gently at the gray vortex above the well's rim.

A pure, extremely refined gray light, containing endless Silence Extinction and true protective intent, shot from his fingertip into the vortex.

Simultaneously, a torrent of rule information on how to use his Returning to Void power to trigger the 'Silent Eye' force, constructing defense and purifying the 'Devour Silence' contamination, surged like a flood directly into Han Wuxian's "Heart Mirror"!

The information was vast and profound, far beyond any inheritance he had previously encountered!

Han Wuxian immediately sat cross‑legged, closed his eyes, focused, and exerted all effort to digest and comprehend.