Chapter 1306: Crisis Temporarily Averted

Wanshi Mountain Ruins, the Order Light flickers like breathing, washing away the lingering resentment and despair of the ancient great war. Around the crystal, various great powers have already set up seals, observing and probing openly or covertly, trying to comprehend the mystery of the "Source of Order", or merely to feel the tragic grandeur and resolve born from Han Wuxian's martyrdom, hoping to achieve a breakthrough in mindset.

On this day, the crystal's radiance suddenly condensed, no longer a gentle illumination, but turned into an extremely compact, hair‑fine strand of light that instantly pierced the void, pointing toward the entrance of the Demon Abyss! The strand quivered, emitting a faint yet soul‑directed hum, a warning within the hum, and also a strange, as‑if‑meeting‑a‑kindred‑spirit tremor.

"The Source of Order is shifting!" a white‑bearded elder who had been waiting here suddenly opened his eyes, a sharp light exploding from his pupils, "It is warning! Deep within the Demon Abyss, a massive variable related to it is occurring!"

Almost simultaneously, within the Demon Abyss, the Eternal Dark Prison.

The chain of the Demon Abyss coiled around the "Chaos Core", a segment about a foot long, its internal glimmer dimmed ever so slightly, replaced by a barely perceptible, restrained dark red. This dark red is not the light of the Chaos Core itself, but a foreign hue manifested after the chain's material was infiltrated and transformed by some force from within!

It's done!

Yan Buji's long‑dormant will core suddenly pulsed.

After a prolonged infiltration and corrosion that would drive ordinary cultivators mad, he finally succeeded, without provoking the Demon Abyss's laws to backfire, in completely "Assimilating" the first segment of the chain!

This segment of chain is no longer merely a restraining instrument, but has become part of his body, his outward "tentacle" and "vein"! Through it, Yan Buji can not only draw the Demon Abyss's primal source more efficiently and covertly, but his perception also follows this "anomalous vein", silently probing deeper layers of the Abyss's energy network!

"So that's it… the Demon Abyss is not a solid slab; its energy veins also have primary and secondary nodes, junctions, a core… the Heavenly Demon King does not fully control every ounce of energy, He is more like a 'consciousness' occupying the main node, driving the entire Demon Abyss…"

A new insight surged in his mind, and a bolder, crazier plan quickly took shape.

No longer satisfied with passive absorption and slow replacement, he will… graft!

He will locate, within the Demon Abyss's energy network, those relatively minor, less‑watched strands that the Heavenly Demon King cannot constantly monitor, and silently attach his already‑Assimilated chain "anomalous vein" to them like grafted branches!

Once successful, he will no longer "steal" the Abyss's power, but directly "share" its primal cycle! As long as the Abyss does not wither, his power growth will be nearly infinite! Then, this Eternal Dark Prison will cease to be a cage for him, becoming the optimal cultivation chamber and power source!

The risk is undoubtedly huge. The energy disturbance caused by the grafting process is far more noticeable than internal assimilation, easily detectable. Yet the reward is enough to drive one mad.

Yan Buji's will condenses to the extreme, manipulating that Assimilated chain "anomalous vein" like the most agile venomous snake, carefully probing the surrounding energy network's "gaps".

Simultaneously, the Nine Heavens Five Realms, Wanshi Mountain Ruins.

The warning strand of Order Light that had coalesced did not dissipate; instead it grew denser, even beginning to subtly warp the surrounding scenery, as if trying to "comb" the void into a particular structure. An indescribable "correction" force began, centered on the crystal, slowly spreading.

Some nearby cultivators with crooked hearts or practicing demonic arts suddenly felt their internal mana stagnate, their heart‑demons restless, as if their very existence repelled this area increasingly shrouded by "Order".

"The Source of Order… it is actively purifying this region! It is countering the Abyss's influence!" a broadly knowledgeable great power exclaimed, "Has Han Wuxian's will not fully vanished? Or is this crystal itself a kind of… key to responding to the Abyss's changes?"

Deep within the Demon Abyss, the Heavenly Demon King's immense will was immersed in combing the Abyss's primal source and simulating a new round of invasion plans for the Nine Heavens Five Realms. Suddenly, He sensed a faint, almost imperceptible "stagnation" at an extremely tiny tip of the Abyss's energy network. The feeling was as slight as a spider's silk brushing by, fleeting, and if He were not the Abyss's ruler, it would be almost impossible to notice.

"Hmm?"

The Heavenly King's will instantly projected there, like an invisible massive roller, scanning the energy veins of that region back and forth several times.

Everything normal. Energy flow persisted, the Abyss's laws stable, the sealed "Chaos Core" still dead‑silent and dim, the chain's glimmer flickered, the suppressing force operated perfectly.

An illusion? Or an inevitable, negligible ripple in the Abyss's own operation?

The Heavenly Demon King fell silent for a moment. With His caution, even the slightest anomaly warrants attention. His gaze again fell upon the Eternal Dark Prison, upon the dark‑red core wrapped in multiple chains.

This time, His scrutiny was more meticulous, more patient, no longer merely confirming whether it was "well‑behaved", but beginning to deeply investigate its internal state and every thread of energy interaction at the chain‑core junction.

Inside the prison, Yan Buji's will instantly tightened to the limit.

He felt a probe sharper and deeper than any before! The Heavenly Demon King grew suspicious!

The grafting process had just begun, unfinished; if detected now, not only would all prior effort be lost, but the Heavenly Demon King would unleash his fiercest annihilation.

In the critical moment, Yan Buji made an extremely risky decision.

He not only did not stop the subtle grafting attempt, but… actively vibrated that Assimilated chain "anomalous vein"!

A weak yet pure wave, bearing his own "Chaos" and "Infinity" traits, traveled along the chain, reversed back toward the main body of the Demon Abyss chain, and swiftly dissolved into the massive Abyssal energy.

This was like dropping a small stone onto a calm lake.

The Heavenly Demon King's will immediately caught that abnormal fluctuation! The fluctuation… did not originate from the sealed core's interior, but from… the chain itself? Perhaps because the chain had long suppressed the "Chaos Core", some parts naturally absorbed a trace of Chaos, thus producing a minute energy ripple?

That explanation is reasonable.

The Heavenly King's will lingered on that segment of chain for a moment, confirming the chaotic wave was extremely weak, quickly assimilated by the Abyss's primal source, causing no substantive impact on the chain's structure, nor shaking the seal's foundation.

"…Seems the nature of this 'Chaos Core' is more corrosive than expected. No matter, once fully analyzed, these few contaminations can be purified with a flick of the hand." The Heavenly Demon King thought to himself, his vigilance slightly eased. His attention returned to the strategic layout of the Nine Heavens Five Realms. Compared to a prisoner already sealed and slowly being digested, breaking through the Five Realms' defenses and Devouring that newly born "Source of Order" is the top priority.

Within the Eternal Dark Prison, that suffocating scrutinizing gaze finally shifted away again.

Yan Buji's will, in the dead silence, slowly "exhaled". Danger upon danger! He exploited his reading of the Heavenly Demon King's psychology—this old demon, confident in absolute control of the Abyss, would tend to interpret anomalies as understandable, controllable phenomena.

Crisis temporarily resolved.

But Yan Buji knows the time left to him is short. Once the Heavenly Demon King's doubts are planted, they will deepen sooner or later. He must complete the crucial graft before the Heavenly Demon King completely loses patience or discovers the truth, obtaining power enough to self‑protect, even… turn back on him!

He no longer hesitated, manipulating that "anomalous vein" in an even more exquisite, swifter manner, stabbing into a pre‑selected, relatively redundant tiny strand of the Abyss's energy network!