Echoes of the Abyss
The afterglow of that glance was like the last breath of wind on the polar ice field, frozen in the dead silence of Jintian Realm.
Xiang Jinyang closed his eyes, forcibly freezing and compressing all the churning emotions that threatened to tear the core of the rules with an almost cruel willpower, sinking them into the abyss at the bottom of his consciousness. His face returned to its usual cold perfection, even more lifeless than before, like a white jade statue completely drained of warmth. Even the silver light of the rules flowing around him became unusually slow and heavy.
An invisible low pressure, more suffocating than any roar, spread out with him as the center.
He Yuan looked at Xiang Jinyang like this, and the inexplicable discomfort in his heart not only did not dissipate, but instead continued to flash like an abnormal warning in the program that could not be ignored.
The words "significant data" seemed to trigger some negative reaction he couldn't understand.
He tried to analyze the root cause of this reaction, but the logic module returned a series of conflicting signals. According to his calculations, efficiently resolving the issue, fixing the bug, and promising to reduce similar disruptions in the future was the optimal solution under the current cooperation model. The other party should have prioritized system stability rather than dwelling on insignificant underlying data loss.
Why?
This "irrationality" that cannot be explained by logic makes him feel irritated, but... he cannot simply delete or ignore it like useless code.
He stared at Xiang Jinyang for a long while, but the other party did not react at all, and was even reluctant to give a trace of fluctuation of rules.
In the end, He Yuan curled his lips and decided to put the issue aside for the time being, leaving it for further analysis. His attention was quickly drawn to another more important matter—the fragmented memories he had "read" from the child while clearing the evil black fire.
The images were chaotic and blurry, filled with fear. But in the fragments of the child's memory before witnessing the arrival of the blackfire, a common location recurred repeatedly: an ancient cave in the mountains behind the village, a taboo. The villagers seemed to have guarded that cave for generations, forbidding anyone to approach.
The initial energy fluctuations of the black fire came from that direction.
"Hey," He Yuan said, breaking the suffocating silence, "That cave in the mountain behind the village is quite interesting. The residual energy readings are very unique, it doesn't seem to be naturally formed."
Xiang Jinyang didn't react at all, as if he didn't hear it at all.
He Yuan frowned and raised his voice. "I'm talking to you. Is there any information about that cave in your Tiandao records? Are there any old 'server accessories' or 'unpublished API interfaces' hidden there?"
He tried to communicate in "terms" that the other party might understand.
Xiang Jinyang remained motionless, not even his eyelashes trembled.
Complete indifference.
It's more infuriating than an angry rebuttal.
He Yuan's inner irritation suddenly surfaced. What he hated most was this "silent mistake" of refusing to communicate!
"Okay, you won't talk, right?" He sneered, his eyes flashing dangerously. "Then I'll see for myself."
Since his partner wouldn't cooperate, he had no choice but to resort to a more direct method of data extraction. He also wanted to test out his newly recovered strength, as well as the techniques he'd "learned" from them on how to more efficiently invoke the Heavenly Dao authority of this world!
He suddenly raised his hand, spread out his five fingers, and pointed at Xiang Jinyang!
This time, it is no longer the previous energy transmission or perception sharing through the interface, but a more brutal and direct one - forced reading!
"Let me see if there is any archive in your 'database'!"
A vast torrent of thoughts, carrying an icy invading will, transformed into countless fine silver code chains, instantly piercing Xiang Jinyang's brow! He wanted to forcibly break through the other party's mental defenses and directly access his memory and knowledge base!
Xiang Jinyang's eyes, which had been closed, suddenly opened!
In those glassy blue eyes, there was no longer dead silence, but a raging rage and cold murderous intent that ignited instantly, enough to burn everything!
"How dare you!"
A fierce roar containing the majesty of heaven and extreme anger, like thunder from the sky, exploded in Jintian Realm!
The suppressed, frozen emotions completely erupted at this moment! Along with this roar, Xiang Jinyang desperately mobilized all the newly recovered Heavenly Power!
Boom——!!!
The entire Jintian Realm shook violently! Countless unrepaired chains of rules shattered once again! Huge cracks appeared on the silver ground! An unprecedentedly brilliant light erupted from Jin Yang's body, like a burning star, crashing fiercely into the invading torrent of silver code!
This isn't a contest of skill; it's a clash of fundamental forces! It's a head-on clash of rules and anomalies!
He Yuan hadn't expected the opponent's reaction to be so fierce and resolute. The power that erupted far exceeded his expectations based on the opponent's state! He groaned, forcibly withstanding the terrifying recoil. The code stream in his eyes refreshed frantically, constantly adjusting his invasion strategy, trying to find loopholes in the opponent's defense.
"Bypassing authorization verification!" "Attempting to simulate the fluctuations of the Heavenly Dao for deceptive access!" "Attacking the core logic checkpoint!"
The space between them completely twisted and annihilated! The silver power of the Heavenly Dao and the icy otherworldly code frantically strangled, devoured, and exploded! The escaping energy turbulence was like a destructive storm, pushing the already broken Jintian Realm further to the brink of collapse!
A trickle of silver blood flowed from the corner of Xiang Jinyang's mouth, but the fire in his eyes burned even more fiercely! It was a kind of madness that had been touched to the bottom line, and would rather die than live in disgrace!
He would never allow it! He would never allow his memories, the secrets of the Heavenly Dao, or even the slightest bit of forbidden information about the "Creator" to be so brutally peeped into!
That is the last bottom line of his existence!
"Get out!" He shouted loudly, and the power burning from his origin surged again!
He Yuan was also truly enraged. The opponent's stubborn resistance and resolute attitude completely aroused his competitive spirit and desire for conquest. A broken "administrator" dared to block his access?
"I want to see how thick your firewall is!"
He no longer held back, mobilizing the maximum strength his body could withstand, even beginning to slightly overdraw his potential! The invading code torrent became even more violent and pervasive!
A dangerous tug-of-war between will and existence unfolds between the two.
Xiang Jinyang's consciousness trembled violently, countless fragments of memory surging from this brutal intrusion, only to be suppressed forcefully. The loneliness of his childhood, the vastness of the rules, the eons of protection, the agony of collapse, the faint warmth of fireflies, the tragic scene within the evil fire... a chaotic interweaving of memories assaulted his sanity.
And He Yuan struggled to capture some fragmented information amidst the fierce resistance of the other party.
It wasn't the secret of the cave he wanted.
But some more personal, more difficult to understand fragments:
In the boundless, icy sea of rules, a hazy silver figure stood alone, solitude lasting aeons... The subtle yet persistent resonance and consumption of rules as he faced the prayers of all living beings... The unspeakable pain and fear in the collapse of his "self"... The rage and sorrow he felt upon witnessing the tragedy of the village just now, so intense it caused a shockwave in the rules... And even... the extremely subtle yet clearly recorded ripple of rules when his fingertips lightly touched the other person's heart not long ago...
These fragmented "data" are messy, contradictory, and full of "irrational" emotional noise, but they constitute an existence that is far more complex and more... "vivid" than He Yuan imagined.
This was a huge deviation from the cold and absolutely rational image of the "world administrator" in his mind.
Why does a tool need to carry so much redundant emotion? Why does a piece of code experience such drastic fluctuations due to the loss of underlying data?
Logic cannot explain it.
Just when he was distracted by these chaotic fragments——
Xiang Jinyang seized the opportunity!
He actually took the initiative to release the defense of a small part of the non-core memory area, as if setting a bait trap!
He Yuan's invasion code instinctively rushed into that area!
At this moment, Xiang Jinyang burned with the power of his origin, transforming into a sharp blade condensed purely by the will of Heaven. It followed the invading code torrent and pierced fiercely into the depths of He Yuan's consciousness!
Treat others the way they have treated you!
He wants to let this virus also taste the feeling of being forcibly spied on!
He Yuan was caught off guard! He never expected that the enemy, despite being at such a disadvantage, would dare to take the risk and launch a reverse invasion!
Buzz——!
His brain felt like it had been pierced by an ice pick! Countless unfamiliar, cold, and vast fragments of information about rules, mixed with Xiang Jinyang's resolute anger and icy will, forcibly poured into his consciousness!
A sharp stinging sensation came!
But what was more intense than the stinging pain was the shock!
Because he also caught something unexpected from the fragments of information that flowed in reverse -
It is not about the mysteries of the way of heaven in this world.
But it’s about Xiang Jinyang himself!
Those fragments revealed a cold and painful soul that was imprisoned by countless absolute rules, with even its own emotions labeled as "wrong" and in need of isolation... A kind of confusion about the meaning of "existence" itself, buried deep under billions of years of loneliness... A kind of silent despair towards the inescapable fate set by the "Creator"... And even... there was an extremely faint, hidden desire for "change" and "difference" that even Xiang Jinyang himself had not noticed?
These fragments, equally contradictory and filled with "noise," allowed He Yuan to glimpse beneath that cold, perfect mask for the first time, something that perhaps even Xiang Jinyang himself had never fully understood...
reality.
The violent impact caused both of them to tremble at the same time!
The link between forced reading and reverse intrusion was suddenly interrupted!
puff--
Xiang Jinyang suddenly spat out a large mouthful of silver blood, his body shook, his face turned as pale as paper, and the light around him instantly dimmed to the extreme, as if it would go out at any time.
He Yuan also staggered back a few steps, covering his stinging forehead, with codes flickering chaotically in his eyes and his breathing becoming slightly rapid.
The territory of Jintian was in a mess, as if it had just ended.
The two of them stared at each other, breathing heavily, across the broken fragments of rules.
One of his eyes was filled with raging rage and determination, as well as a hint of hidden fear of being exposed as weakness.
In one eye was an expression of shock and confusion that had never faded, as well as a dazed subversion that had disrupted all calculations.
In the silence, there was only the sound of each other's heavy breathing.
And the echoes from the other world, echoing deep in their respective consciousnesses...
Cold and real,
Echoes from the abyss.
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