Chapter 323 Patching the Crack

“Yes.” Sun Jiuchou’s answer surprised Zhou Jue.

He paused, met Zhou Jue's suddenly brightening gaze, and slowly added, "But you can't do it now."

Zhou Jue's face darkened: "What's the difference between this and saying something completely pointless?"

“The difference is huge.” Sun Jiuchou pushed up his glasses, the lenses reflecting the faint light of the tiny crack. “The other method requires an almost ‘creation-level’ understanding of the laws of space.”

"This area needs to be completely rewritten and overwritten from the most basic rules."

"Just like when a computer system crashes, one solution is to patch it, and another is to reinstall the system."

"I've brought you here to patch things up."

She understood Sun Jiuchou's explanation.

“Patch it up…” she murmured to herself, her gaze returning to the tiny black crack.

"You said, strip away a primordial aura to use as a beacon."

"How exactly do I do it?"

She didn't agree immediately, but she started to learn the details.

"Don't be nervous." Sun Jiuchou seemed to see through her concerns, and his tone remained gentle.

"If it were your strength before you underwent tribulation, I wouldn't have brought you here; the risk is too high."

"But things are different now."

"You have stabilized your Nascent Soul stage. Your primordial spirit and physical body have been tempered by the tribulation of lightning. Your perception of heaven and earth and your control over energy have reached a new level."

"Your potential will also increase as you are promoted."

"Now you have the ability to precisely control the 'amount' when stripping away the original aura, so as not to cause serious injury."

He extended a finger and gently touched the air.

A complex three-dimensional rune composed of spiritual energy appeared before Zhou Jue.

"The method is very simple."

“Sink your mind into your space and find its core essence.”

"Then, imagine gently pulling the finest thread from a garment."

"Don't break it; the other end is still connected to your space."

"Then, put the end of this 'thread' over this crack."

“Use your spatial origin to ‘deceive’ it, to ‘lure’ it.”

"It makes it think that it is merging into a complete, stable, and healthy space."

"This crack itself has no consciousness; it is merely an instinctive phenomenon of spatial collapse. As long as one is deceived by the illusion of 'stitching,' it will stop expanding and, under the guidance of your 'beacon,' even begin to slowly repair itself."

Zhou Jue stared at the complex runes and silently memorized them.

Instead of acting immediately, she asked another question.

"What if...we ignore it? What will happen?"

Sun Jiuchou's smile vanished: "It will continue to grow."

"Right now, it's a hair. Maybe soon it will be a crack in a door, and after a while, it will become an unimaginable black hole."

"It will first devour this ocean, then continue to expand, and finally... the entire planet."

He paused, as if searching for a suitable metaphor.

"This world will be like a piece of cloth from which all the threads have been removed, silently disintegrating from the inside out."

"There will be no earth-shattering explosions, nor any apocalyptic disasters."

"It's possible that one day, you're walking down the street, and the entire street in front of you, along with the people and cars on it, will just disappear into thin air and be erased from existence."

"Then came the cities, then the continent..."

"Until the whole world returns to nothingness."

Sun Jiuchou's tone was calm, but it sent a chill down Zhou Jue's spine.

She glanced at the tiny crack and could no longer regard it as a simple "anomaly".

It was a cancer that was spreading quietly, a cancer powerful enough to devour an entire civilization.

“Okay.” Zhou Jue took a deep breath, his eyes becoming resolute.

"I did it."

"But you have to protect me. If anything goes wrong, you have to pull me out immediately."

"Don't worry." Sun Jiuchou nodded, his gentle smile returning.

"That's natural."

He took a few steps back, formed a hand seal, and a complex and profound array quietly unfolded around him, completely stabilizing the surrounding space and isolating any possible external interference.

Zhou Jue closed his eyes and no longer hesitated.

She completely immersed herself in that familiar world.

The towering old trees swayed without wind, as if cheering her on.

The sea-listening beast on the distant sea surface also let out a low, encouraging cry.

Zhou Jue's mind traveled to the core of the space.

It was a chaotic mass of primordial energy, radiating a soft light.

Following the method taught by Sun Jiuchou, she carefully used her divine sense to condense an invisible hand and probe into that primordial energy.

Then, gently, she picked up a wisp of breath, even more delicate than a strand of hair.

She could feel her entire space tremble slightly as this aura stirred.

It's like a piece of my soul has been ripped out.

Zhou Jue steadied his mind, controlled the wisp of primordial energy, and slowly "extracted" it from the space.

From the outside, a faint, almost imperceptible light shone from between her brows.

The wisp of "thread" carrying the unique aura of her space appeared before the black crack.

It's here!

Zhou Jue held his breath, controlling that wisp of energy, and slowly, slowly, touched the black crack that represented "end" and "nothingness".

There was no sound.

There was no energy collision.

The moment the two made contact, Zhou Jue felt as if a piece of his primordial spirit had been ripped out of thin air!

A sharp pain exploded!

That wisp of primordial energy was nearly half devoured the moment it came into contact with the crack!

"Stay calm! Don't resist, go with the flow!"

Sun Jiuchou's voice, like a resounding bell, echoed in her mind, restoring a sliver of clarity to her consciousness.

She abandoned her instinctive resistance, no longer trying to draw back that wisp of energy, but instead letting the crack greedily devour the origin of her space.

really.

As she gave up resisting, the excruciating pain of being erased began to subside.

The crack, like a hungry baby, ceased its ferocity after tasting its first bite of "food".

It began to follow that "thread," drawing upon the stable and vibrant atmosphere of the space.

Zhou Jue could even sense a wave of near-satisfaction emanating from within the crack.

It got scammed!

Zhou Jue was overjoyed and continued to maintain the output of his original energy.

The process went more smoothly than expected.

Guided by the "beacon," the crack began to stabilize.

It no longer emitted that terrifying suction force that devoured everything, but instead focused all its "appetite" on the wisp of aura provided by Zhou Jue.

Zhou Jue, holding the strongest thread, began an unbelievable "stitching" operation on this tattered "fabric".

Her divine sense, following that wisp of aura, penetrated to the other side of this spatial rift as deeply as ever before.

What's there...?

Just as Zhou Jue's divine sense was trying to see more clearly...

"Alright." Sun Jiuchou's voice brought her back to reality.

Zhou Jue suddenly opened his eyes, panting heavily, his forehead covered in cold sweat.

She immediately severed the connection with that primordial energy.

The black cracks in front of us have disappeared.

In its place lies a space that is slowly repairing itself, but is still somewhat distorted.

It was a success.

Ignoring his exhaustion, Zhou Jue immediately focused his mind on the space and carefully examined it.

fine.

The space only consumed some of its essence; its foundation remained undamaged, and the old tree and the Listening Sea Beast were both unharmed.

She let out a long sigh of relief and slumped to the ground.

“I just…” she looked at Sun Jiuchou, her voice a little hoarse, “I think I saw something on the other side of the crack.”

“That’s normal.” Sun Jiuchou’s expression showed no surprise.

"What lies on the other side of the spatial rift is unknown to anyone; it could be an unknown world, or it could be the chaotic void."

Zhou Jue was still shaken and didn't press the matter further.

She leaped up from the ground, walked to Sun Jiuchou, and extended her hand.

"Alright, now it's time to keep your promise."

"The secret of space, about evolution."