Chapter 1276

Boom!

Like dripping cold water into boiling oil, the moment that strand of external force entered his body, Han Wuxian's whole body shuddered violently! This power was overbearing beyond compare, filled with destructive radiation, tearing gravitational remnants, and the despairing thought of countless beings instantly vanishing when stars fell! It madly surged against his meridians and Dao Foundation, attempting to assimilate him as part of this cosmic funeral!

Han Wuxian immediately circulated the Return to Xu Jie Dao pattern, his mind-mirror high-hanging, clear mirror light enveloping his body, forcibly restraining and organizing that violent Starry Silence Power. At the same time, the wisp of "background" intention he had recently comprehended silently permeated, like an invisible canvas, bearing this violent force, making it no longer so destructive.

Slowly, this power was subdued and refined by him, merging into his own Silence Extinction Dao Foundation. He felt that his Return to Xu Jie power had gained an added weighty, substantial sense belonging to the material world, along with a force of conclusion.

Effective! But the process was extremely perilous; if not for his cultivation realm breakthrough, he would likely have been injured just now.

He stood up, his gaze directed toward the deepest part of the valley, the darkest area where even light seemed to be devoured—the core of the Fallen Star Valley. There, the "Star Core Silence" spoken of by the old man must exist, being the most fundamental manifestation of Starry Silence Power.

He stepped inside, his figure weaving through the chaotic meteorite belt, twisted gravitational field, and raging energy storms. Now he could handle these peripheral dangers with ease; under the illumination of his mind-mirror, he could often anticipate and avoid the most dangerous energy nodes, or activate his own Silence Extinction Dao pattern to smooth small-scale law chaos.

The deeper he went, the stronger the sense of ultimate material extinction became. He even saw floating in the void, enormous stellar remnants, preserving the form of their final moment of disintegration, their surfaces solidified with destructive ripples, exuding a heart-stopping stillness of death.

Suddenly, he stopped his steps.

In the relatively calm void ahead, a stone no larger than a millstone floated, pitch-black as ink. It was inconspicuous, with no energy fluctuations or flowing light, yet Han Wuxian's mind-mirror went berserk with warning; his divine sense sweeping over it felt as if plunged into absolute void, instantly devoured.

The space around that stone exhibited a strange, downward-sagging curvature, as if space itself could not bear its weight and was slowly being eroded away by it.

"Star Core Silence..." Han Wuxian's pupils contracted. This was no ordinary stellar remnant; it was the remnant of a star's core after its death, formed under unimaginable gravitational collapse into its ultimate extreme form—a Silence Extinction singularity! It contained the eternal instant when material existence was compressed to the extreme and reduced to "nothing."

This, precisely, was the goal of his journey!

But how to collect it? The terrifying gravitational field and Silence Extinction nature of the Star Core Silence would likely cause any storage artifact that approached to be instantly shattered and devoured. Using his hand directly? That would be seeking death.

Han Wuxian sighed for a moment, a flash of resolve passing through his eyes. He slowly raised his hand, not to grasp the black stone, but to begin drawing forth his own Return-to-Ruins Dao Foundation, especially the newly refined essence of Silence Extinction that originated from the Xu Jie predator, as well as the "background" connotation he had comprehended.

He intends to use his own body as a vessel, with his own Dao as the conduit, to communicate with and contain this Star Core Silence!

A gray Dao Rhythm coalesced in his palm, no longer in an offensive form, but turning into a continuously rotating vortex that seemed to contain a void starry sky within. The vortex slowly approached the Star Core Silence.

At the instant the two made contact

There was no sound, no burst of light.

Only a tremor, as if the entire valley—and even the surrounding cosmic laws—shivered gently!

The Star Core Silence quivered slightly, and the collapsing spatial ripples around it became momentarily chaotic. It seemed to "sense" that the vortex in Han Wuxian's palm contained not only the material Silence Extinction essence that shares its origin, but also a deeper, more encompassing "background" power, and even a faint scent of familiarity.

This complex Dao Rhythm seemed to temporarily bewilder the pure Silence Extinction singularity.

Seizing the opportunity, Han Wuxian suddenly drove all his spirit and Dao power, causing the palm vortex to abruptly expand, emitting a strong intent of Assimilation and bearing—not a forced capture, but an "invitation".

He invited this Star Core Silence to merge into his Return-to-Ruins Dao, becoming the portion of the grand Silence Extinction tableau that belongs to the end of material existence!

"Hum…"

The Star Core Silence quivered again, its terrifying gravity field narrowing slightly. In the next instant, it transformed into a streak of light, no longer Devour all, but like a weary bird returning to its nest, voluntarily plunging into the gray vortex of Han Wuxian's palm!

The vortex instantly sealed and merged into Han Wuxian's body.

"Puff"

Han Wuxian violently spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, his whole being struck as if by billions of stars, his organs displaced, meridians about to rupture, his Dao Foundation violently shaking! The moment the Star Core Silence entered his body, the burden it brought far exceeded his imagination! He felt his body and spirit as if they were about to be burst and crushed by this ultimate material Silence Extinction force.

He immediately sat cross‑legged, fully circulating the Return-to-Ruins Dao Rhythm and Heart Mirror, like a furnace on the brink of shattering, frantically refining and soothing the terrifying singularity within his body.

And at the very moment the Star Core Silence was taken by Han Wuxian, deep within Starfall Valley's deepest abyss—where even consciousness can Devour—an enormous pair of eyes, forged from the remnants of stellar fire and a will of destruction, slowly… opened!

A terrifying will, far older and more colossal than any prior crisis, filled with the wrath of fallen stars and the resentful yearning of their dormant slumber, like an awakened primeval beast, instantly locked onto the struggling Han Wuxian!

The true taboo of Starfall Valley has been awakened!

The opening of those eyes was not a physical visual phenomenon but a "manifestation" that acted directly upon the laws and the very source of the spirit. Han Wuxian need not even use his eyes; in his spiritual perception, deep within Starfall Valley, a "Void" far deeper and more massive than the Star Core Silence was ignited!

It was not light, but the final imprint left by the instant death of stars, the ultimate resentment and unwillingness formed from the debris of countless fallen stars! This will was boundlessly massive, bearing a crushing authority, as if the entire history of Starfall Valley and the laments of every star that fell there converged here, turning into a cold, deathly, yet wildly ferocious gaze!

"Boom!"

An indescribable terrifying pressure descended! Not physical gravity, but a oppression emanating from the level of Existence. The space around Han Wuxian moaned under the unbearable load, and the Star Core Silence that had just begun to stabilize inside him quivered violently, as if summoned by its mother, seeking to break free from his control and return to the awakened will!