Dead silence.
A stillness deeper than the frozen depths of an abyss, a deathly silence more profound than nothingness, enveloped Xie Chen's entire world.
He hovered in the frigid air, his star-like eyes staring blankly at the void where Su Nian had vanished. Nothing remained there—no bloodstains, no remnant soul, not even a ripple of annihilated energy—only absolute nothingness. The "cleaners" of the Main God Space carried out the most thorough "erasure," allowing no accidents and leaving no trace.
His outstretched hand remained frozen in mid-air, his fingertips touching only the biting cold and the resolute yet sorrowful eyes she had looked at him when she finally lunged at him, eyes that seemed to be branded deep within his soul.
"read……"
A broken, almost inaudible murmur escaped his parched lips, only to be swallowed by the icy silence. There was no response, and there would never be one.
He won.
They regained memories sealed for millennia, dispelled the erosion of darkness, and understood the whole truth.
What is the cost?
Her existence was completely erased from his life, from this world...
A despair colder than the chill of an icy abyss, deeper than the annihilation of stars, instantly coiled around his heart and tightened around his soul like a poisonous vine. The starlight surrounding him dimmed at a visible speed, as if it might follow her at any moment and completely merge into this eternal darkness.
Revenge? Like that lofty supreme god?
What's the point of revenge if she's gone? A thousand years of struggle, and this is the end?
He slowly closed his eyes, letting his body fall from the levitation, crashing heavily onto the hard, black frozen earth, scattering tiny ice crystals. He lay there, motionless, like a shell devoid of all life and hope. The faint tear stain between his brows resembled a final tombstone.
Time loses its meaning in this desolate place.
It may be a moment, or it may be ten thousand years.
Xie Chen lay on the edge of the icy abyss, his consciousness adrift in endless darkness and despair. He had given up all resistance, abandoned the power he had just regained, and even relinquished the meaning of "existence" itself. The coldness of his body was nothing compared to the chill in his heart.
However, just as his consciousness was about to completely succumb and be swallowed up by the darkness of his self-imposed exile—
A faint, almost nonexistent chill, seemingly from the very beginning of the universe, pure to the extreme, like starlight piercing through endless barriers, quietly touched the deepest part of his soul, the mark of the Ice Soul that originated and coexisted with Su Nian…
It didn't come from the outside, but from within himself! It originated from the indelible mark that he and she etched into the core of each other's souls when their souls merged thousands of years ago!
That chill carried a familiar rhythm that sent shivers down his spine, like the beating of a heart—weak, yet tenacious and persistent…beating!
Buzz—!
Xie Chen suddenly opened his eyes! The deathly darkness in his star-like eyes was instantly dispelled, replaced by disbelief, as if he had discovered a new universe, filled with shock and ecstasy!
He's not dead!
No, she didn't die! Or rather, her "existence" wasn't completely annihilated!
The Supreme God's "cleaner" can erase matter, energy, and even ordinary souls, but... it cannot completely erase the symbiotic imprint originating from the Supreme Law and the soul's very essence! Especially in this "Silent Ice Abyss"—the place where part of his essence fell and was sealed ten thousand years ago, a place that shares the same origin as the power of the Ice Soul and can, to some extent, interfere with or even weaken the Supreme God's rules!
That pulsating chill was proof! It was the core essence of Su Nian's soul, conveying its final message to him through the symbiotic imprint!
She is still "there"! In a way he cannot comprehend, an extremely faint presence on some level!
Hope, like a flame ignited at absolute zero, spreads like wildfire in an instant!
Xie Chen suddenly sat up from the ground, all his dejection and despair swept away! He sat cross-legged and quickly formed ancient and complicated hand seals in front of his chest—the original magic seals belonging to the Star Immortal Lord!
He no longer suppressed the newly awakened and still unstable stellar power within his body. Instead, he actively guided it, like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea, surging wildly towards the symbiotic imprint deep within his soul that sensed Su Nian's presence!
"In the name of my stars, ignite my immortal soul!"
"Tracing back to the source, I feel the connection!"
"Speak! Respond to me!"
He roared, and a dazzling starlight erupted from his body! The light was no longer gentle, but carried a domineering and resolute force that tore through the void and traced back to the origin! The entire Silent Ice Abyss trembled slightly under this sudden burst of power, and the black ice walls at the edges cracked under the strain!
The tear-like mark between his brows lit up again, but this time, it was no longer dark gold; instead, it transformed into a starlight-like mark that matched the color of his eyes!
Under his full urging, the faint symbiotic imprint deep within his soul pulsed and became increasingly clear! He seemed to "see" that in that indescribable dimensional rift between existence and nothingness, a nearly extinguished, ghostly blue soul flame was stubbornly maintaining its last vestige of "existence" thanks to the extreme indestructibility of the Ice Soul's origin and some kind of... final protection from the Ice Core Fragment (did she, at the last moment, also merge the Ice Core Fragment's final primordial power into herself?).
But her condition was extremely poor, like a candle flickering in the wind, and she could disappear completely into the cracks of those rules at any moment!
He must bring her back! He must forcibly reclaim her existence from the "erasure" rules of the Main God Space!
But this means he will be directly challenging the rules of the Supreme God! He will completely expose himself, drawing a more direct and terrifying blow from the Supreme God's realm!
There was no hesitation in Xie Chen's eyes.
"Rules? Erasure?"
His voice was cold and majestic, carrying the arrogance of an immortal lord and disdain for the supreme god.
"To dare touch my wife is to be an enemy of all the stars in the heavens!"
His hand seals changed again, and all the power of the stars was no longer just a sensation, but transformed into countless fine, rune-shimmering chains of starlight. Following the guidance of the symbiotic imprint, they ruthlessly pierced through the barrier of reality and probed into the chaotic dimensional rift. Like the gentlest yet most resolute hand, they carefully wrapped around that faint, ghostly blue flame, trying to drag it back from the edge of nothingness, little by little!
This process was extremely perilous! The dimensional rifts were filled with chaotic spacetime turbulence and the annihilating power of the remaining rules of the main god. The starlight chains were constantly eroded and broken, and Xie Chen's soul also suffered a huge backlash. Pale golden blood (the blood of an immortal lord's origin) spilled from the corner of his mouth, but his eyes remained firm as he continuously condensed new chains, strengthening the connection with Su Nian's spark of soul fire!
This is a tug-of-war with death and the rules! It's a high-stakes gamble against the odds!
Just as Su Nian's soul fire was being pulled back into the real world, and the eerie blue light gradually coalesced at the edge of the icy abyss, revealing an extremely faint and weak outline—
Mutation and regeneration!
Above the Ice Abyss, the dark sky, shattered by Xie Chen's power, was torn apart as if by an invisible giant hand! A silver spear, thicker and more solid than the previous "Scavenger" pillar of light, with countless cold data runes faintly visible flowing within it, descended with a devastating aura!
This time, it wasn't targeting Su Nian's remaining soul flame, but rather... Xie Chen, who was focused on his work and couldn't afford to be distracted!
The second wave of attacks from the Main God Space came so quickly! So deadly!
Xie Chen suddenly looked up at the destructive spear of light, a fierce glint in his eyes! He couldn't dodge now, nor could he afford to be distracted by defense, otherwise all his efforts would be in vain, and Su Nian would be completely annihilated!
At the critical moment!
The faint outline of Su Nian's soul, about to be pulled back to reality, seemed to sense Xie Chen's desperate situation and suddenly erupted with a final wave of consciousness! It was not power, but a piece of information, a piece of information that resonated with the origin of her soul, with the ice core fragments, and with this silent ice abyss!
"The Ice Abyss... is not a dead end... but... the place where we... once... dissolved... and were reborn..."
With the transmission of this consciousness, the entire Silent Ice Abyss came to life!
Rumble—!!!
At the bottom of the icy abyss, in the endless darkness, countless points of eerie blue light suddenly shone! It was as if stars that had slumbered for millennia had suddenly awakened! Streams of boundless, pure, and unparalleled Yin icy power, mixed with the eternal, unyielding will of star annihilation, soared into the sky like sleeping dragons!
These forces did not attack the silver spear, but instead surged wildly towards Xie Chen and the outline of Su Nian's soul that he was trying so hard to salvage, like rivers flowing into the sea!
Xie Chen instantly understood!
This place is not only a sealed land, but also the place where, ten thousand years ago, he and she faced the Supreme God and ultimately chose "disintegration" (a high-level secret technique that combines self-destruction and reincarnation) in an attempt to preserve a glimmer of hope for their future "Nirvana"! These ancient, dormant powers are the manifestations of their original essence that dissipated when they disintegrated!
"I see!"
Xie Chen let out a long roar, no longer resisting, but instead actively accepting the ancient primordial power that belonged to the two of them!
The power of the stars and the power of the Yin ice merged perfectly within his body! His aura surged and transformed at an incredible speed! The starlight tear mark between his brows completely condensed, transforming into an ancient divine emblem that exuded endless majesty and seemed to be constructed from stars and ice crystals!
He maintained the pull on Su Nian's soul with one hand, and raised the other hand, gently pointing at the silver spear that crashed down!
There was no loud noise, no explosion.
The silver spear of light, powerful enough to destroy the world, melted and disintegrated silently when it touched the faint light at his fingertips, which contained the essence of eternity and the spirit of new life. It was like ice and snow meeting the sun, turning into the purest basic particles and disappearing into nothingness!
With a single finger, he annihilated the God of War's attack!
Xie Chen slowly withdrew his fingers. In his arms, Su Nian's faint soul outline finally stabilized completely under the nourishment of the surging primal power. Although she was still unconscious and extremely fragile, her "existence" had been solidified and was no longer in a state of nothingness.
He looked down at her, who was as fragile as glass in his arms, then looked up at the crack in the sky that had been torn apart by his power and was slowly healing. His gaze pierced through the endless void, as if he were staring at the cold data core.
In those star-like eyes, there was no longer any confusion or sorrow, only an awe-inspiring majesty that looked down upon the heavens and... the flames of war.
"The game is only just beginning."
(End of Chapter 71)
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Next Chapter Preview: Su Nian's soul has temporarily stabilized, and Xie Chen's strength has surged after merging with the Origin! However, the threat from the Main God Space has not been eliminated; on the contrary, it has escalated due to his complete awakening! What kind of situation will Su Nian face after his awakening? How will the two utilize the Nirvana secrets of the "Silent Ice Abyss"? Will the horn for a counterattack against the Main God Space sound? The grudges from ten thousand years ago are about to face their final reckoning!
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