Chapter 1275: Incorporation

Aaa!!!

A sound, like a silent roar of pain and anger from the end of All Realms, thundered on the law layer!

That massive dark will, like ice thrown onto a branding iron, began to melt and collapse violently! It was not destroyed, but forcibly "Returned to Silence", its ferocious Devour attribute rapidly stripped and purified, reverting to the most primal, disorderly Silence Extinction energy, which was then slowly absorbed and assimilated by Han Wuxian's "Return to Ruins Seal".

The external impact abruptly ceased.

Above Wanji Mountain, the boiling dark power receded like a tide, and the violent shaking of the law barrier quickly subsided. The Gu Jing vortex stabilized; though it consumed enormously, there was no longer any risk of collapse.

Sitting cross‑legged, Han Wuxian snapped his eyes open, his face as pale as paper, a strand of fresh blood spilling from his mouth corner, his spirit feeling waves of weakness. That moment had nearly drained all his mental power, and his Dao Foundation also suffered a considerable shock.

Yet bright light flickered in his eyes.

He succeeded. Not only had he repelled an unprecedented foe, but at the brink of death he gained a revolutionary insight into his own Dao. The Return to Ruins he walks may not end in a single destruction or conclusion, but perhaps… become the "background" that bears all "Being" and "Non‑being"…

He turned his head toward the old man beside the Gu Jing.

At some point, the old man had already opened his eyes. In them, the murk and deathly silence were gone, replaced by an indescribable complexity—shock, relief, and a dawning realization of something inconceivable.

He stared at Han Wuxian, his cracked lips quivering slightly, and finally uttered two words:

Variable…

Then he closed his eyes again, his breath merging once more with the mountain stone, though the lingering, disease‑like fatigue seemed eased by a fraction.

Han Wuxian understood that the crisis was only temporarily averted. He had absorbed and refined part of the core will's essence, forging a deeper karmic link. Xu Jie would never be content to give up. And the "Variable" spoken by the old man seemed to point toward a far‑deeper destiny.

He sat cross‑legged, regulating his breath, his gaze already fixed on the distance.

Starfall Valley, the endless Sea Eye… He must accelerate his cultivation to uncover more secrets. The Silence Extinction calamity of this world is far from over. And he himself has already become a pivotal, unpredictable…

Variable.

Wanji Mountain returned to deathly silence, with only the Gu Jing vortex turning slowly, emitting a quieter, more profound Silent Power than before. Han Wuxian sat cross‑legged, regulating his breath, his nearly dried‑up spirit and Dao Foundation like a parched riverbed, greedily drawing the surrounding pure Silence Extinction energy, especially the strand of primordial Silence Extinction that originated from a Xu Jie predator and was forcibly refined by him with the Return to Ruins Seal.

This strand of origin, though within the realm of Silence Extinction, bore the Xu Jie predator's unique void and Devour traits, exceedingly domineering and untamable. Had Han Wuxian's Dao Foundation not already contained a prototype of the "Absolute Background" and had he not grasped the principles of "Inclusion" and "Reflection" at the crucial moment, it likely would have back‑fired.

At this moment, under his guidance, this primal force is being slowly wrapped, ground, and assimilated by his own Return to Ruins Dao Rhythm. The process is perilous and slow, like dancing on a knife edge, yet with each strand refined his comprehension of Silence Extinction deepens, and his insight into the Xu Jie's pure Devour nature becomes ever clearer.

"Plunder and filling, fear and emptiness… is that the underlying hue of the Xu Jie?" Han Wuxian thought inwardly at the struggling dark origin, his heart‑mirror reflecting its essence, "And my path should be the foundation that bears fear and dispels emptiness…"

Time drifted in silence. After an unknown span, Han Wuxian's aura finally steadied, his complexion regained a rosy hue, his eyes opened and closed with a restrained brilliance, deep as a abyss. His cultivation had not risen markedly, but his Dao Foundation grew firmer, his spirit more condensed, and his command of Silence Extinction power now carried a sense of lifting weight as if light, encompassing all things.

He rose and looked again at the old man beside the Gu Jing. The old man kept his eyes closed, like an ancient stone, yet Han Wuxian could sense the flickering life‑flame within him, akin to a candle in the wind, had steadied just a bit due to the crisis's resolution—though only marginally. The long guardianship had already drained almost all his vitality.

"Senior," Han Wuxian said respectfully, "the crisis is temporarily eased, but the root remains. I, your junior, intend to head to Starfall Valley to seek other ways to strengthen this eye or counter the Xu Jie."

The old man was silent for a moment, then his dry voice rose slowly, seeming this time to carry a barely perceptible… caution?

"Starfall Valley… Silence Extinction… differs…"

"The silence there… stems from material collapse… the stars' fall… lingering echoes unending…"

"Its core… may hold 'Star Core Silence'… with the 'Silent Eye'… could complement… or perhaps… clash…"

"Be cautious… provoking the lingering echoes… may frighten awake… the dormant thought…"

The old man's warning made Han Wuxian's gaze sharpen. The Silence Extinction of Starfall Valley embodies the ultimate demise of matter and energy, distinct from the concept‑ and law‑oriented Silent Eye. Should he locate the core 'Star Core Silence', it might greatly supplement the Silent Eye's material‑level Silence Extinction essence, rendering it more complete. Yet if their attributes clash or it awakens some dormant echo‑will, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"I will remember," Han Wuxian bowed. The old man could offer little guidance; the road ahead he must forge himself.

He no longer lingered, bade farewell to the old man, his figure merging into the Silence Extinction mist as he left Wanji Mountain.

This time heading to Starfall Valley, Han Wuxian no longer moved stealthily as before. His confidence in his own Dao was stronger, and his speed much greater. Traversing the vast lands, mountains and rivers rushed beneath his feet, and he could more clearly sense the rhythm of 'Life' and 'Death' flowing through heaven and earth. In areas rich with spiritual energy, 'Life' thrummed; in ancient battlefields or sites where great powers fell, a dense 'Dead Silence' permeated, these scents appearing in his perception with minute detail, even allowing him to faintly 'hear' the lingering echoes of ages.

Days later, that familiar massive valley shrouded by chaotic laws and star debris appeared at the edge of his sight.

Compared with his previous visit, Starfall Valley seemed to have undergone subtle changes. The perpetual, raging energy storm surrounding the valley appeared slightly weakened, yet the ultimate Silence Extinction essence deep within, which causes stars to fall, seemed even more profound and restrained. From afar, the valley no longer only harbored violent energy turbulence; occasionally, some zones displayed a strange, glass‑like solidified calm, but beneath that calm lay an even more terrifying force of material collapse.

Han Wuxian gathered his breath, slowly descending to the valley mouth. He did not rush in, but sat cross‑legged, sinking his mind into the 'Heart Mirror', cautiously extending toward the valley to perceive the pervasive Starry Silence Power.

Unlike the empty tranquility of the Silent Eye, and unlike the devouring void of the Xu Jie, this Silence Extinction is filled with tragedy, finality, and unwillingness. It is the process whereby a massive star, having completed its life cycle, can no longer sustain its own gravity, collapses inward, disintegrates, and releases all its energy and matter—a grand funeral on a cosmic scale.

"Matter returns to Ruins, energy dissipates, laws crumble… the end of all tangible substance…" Han Wuxian contemplated in detail.

He attempted to draw a strand of the valley's Starry Silence Power into himself.