The stalemate between the purple-gold pillar of light and the gray mist lasted for seven days. The cultivators of the heavens took turns guarding it, the energy reserves of the Star Patrollers were more than half depleted, and the light of the Memory Core gradually dimmed due to the continuous resistance. However, the expansion speed of the blank area was ultimately stopped in the Star Domain outside the All-Heavens Hub.
Just when everyone thought they could finally catch their breath, something unexpected happened.
Suddenly, a rift spanning the starry sky appeared in the center of that absolute emptiness. There was no surge of energy or fluctuation of laws within the rift, only a soul-freezing "deathly silence"—purer than the light mist of the Emissary of Returning to Silence, and deeper than absolute emptiness.
"That is..." The Star Patrollers leader's crystalline head flickered violently, its electronic voice filled with unprecedented terror, "The true form of the Lord of Return to Stillness... It has personally descended!"
Xiao Yan looked up, his heart clenching suddenly. Three figures slowly emerged from the gap, resembling humanoid forms, yet composed of countless shattered fragments of starlight. Inky light flowed between the fragments, and with each breath, the surrounding stars accelerated their "blankening."
They did not release their oppressive power, yet the laws of the heavens began to collapse visibly—the Buddha light in the Ten Thousand Buddhas Realm suddenly dimmed, the sword intent in the Sword Domain lost its sharpness, the energy core of the Mechanical Clan became disordered, and even the Power of Order in the Seed of Creation showed slight stagnation.
"The unbalanced universe should return to the singularity." The figure in the middle spoke, the voice not entering the sea of consciousness, but resounding directly at the level of "existence," and wherever it passed, the memories of the cultivators began to be thrown into chaos.
"Who I am..."
"Where am I...?"
What are we protecting?
Panic spread like wildfire, and the purple-gold pillar of light dimmed by thirty percent in an instant. The Emissary of Returning to Silence seized the opportunity and frantically attacked the pillar of light. Strands of gray light mist broke through the defenses and landed on the Star Patrollers flagship, leaving large blank areas on the ship's surface.
"Guard your mind!" Xiao Yan roared, unleashing the power of the Seed of Creation to its limit. Silver light poured into the Memory Core, forcibly stabilizing the collapsing stream of memories. "Think about the memories you've entered into the core! Think about your parents' faces, your friends' smiles, think about those moments that made you feel 'it's so good to be alive!'"
His voice, carrying the Power of Order, pierced through the interference of the Lord of Return to Stillness's will and reached the ears of every cultivator. Some people's confused eyes gradually cleared, and they remembered those warm fragments in the Memory Core, and remembered why they were standing here.
"For our homeland!" The Blazing Sun Realm Lord's ideology erupted with blazing light, rushing into the group of Emissary of Returning to Silence and purifying a large area of light mist at the cost of burning himself.
"For the Memory Star People!" Qing He's reforged longsword slashed through the sky. Although there were still blanks on the blade, it carried the resolute determination of "never forgetting," cleaving a Emissary of Returning to Silence who was close to the core in two—although the opponent quickly reassembled, it slowed down the attack.
But the power of the Lord of Return to Stillness was too terrifying. The figure on the left raised his hand and gently grasped the Memory Core. The purple-gold light on the surface of the core instantly distorted, and countless memory images scattered like shattered glass, swallowed by the dark mist.
"Ah--!" A Yao cried out in pain. She was connected to the Samsara Flower King in the Memory Core and was now enduring the excruciating pain of her memories being erased. The fragments of memory on the petals disappeared at a speed visible to the naked eye.
" A Yao!" Xiao Yan's eyes were bloodshot, and the gray-gold law power on the Heaven Burning Sword surged, slashing towards the Lord of Return to Stillness on the left. The sword light pierced through the dark mist and landed on the opponent, but only stirred up a ripple, without even shaking the fragments.
"A futile resistance." The Lord of Return to Stillness looked at him indifferently. "Your very existence is the greatest imbalance in the universe. The Seed of Creation attempted to maintain the balance between 'existence' and 'non-existence,' but it failed to realize that the balance itself is a flaw that needs to be corrected."
With a flick of his finger, a dark mist of light ignored spatial distance and instantly appeared before Xiao Yan. Within the mist, countless scenes of parallel universes emerged—these universes, lacking Seed of Creation, ultimately returned to the singularity under the "correction" of the Lord of Return to Stillness. The scenes were calm and cold, as if that was the ultimate destiny of the universe.
"Do you see it? This is the true destination." The Lord of Return to Stillness's voice was seductive. "Give up resistance, let everything return to nothingness, and there will be no more pain, no more imbalance."
Xiao Yan's sea of consciousness trembled violently. The images were too real, causing him to waver slightly—perhaps the Lord of Return to Stillness was right? Balance was indeed fragile, protection was indeed exhausting, and returning to nothingness seemed to truly be a form of liberation...
Just then, a dazzling golden light suddenly erupted from the Memory Core. It was a "fragment of primordial memory" left behind by the Memory Star People, which now merged with the "survival memories" of countless living beings, transforming into a humanoid phantom—the leader of the Memory Star People, conveying its final thoughts to Xiao Yan:
"Existence may be painful, balance may be fragile, but 'birth' itself is the universe's bravest attempt. Don't let the attempt become oblivion."
The phantom vanished, but the golden light merged into Xiao Yan's body. He suddenly awoke, and the three Seed of Creation within the Heart of the Flame Realm simultaneously erupted with unprecedented brilliance. The Power of Balance intertwined, resonating with the golden light of the Memory Core, forming a pillar of light that pierced through heaven and earth, forcefully forcing back the inky mist.
"I understand." Xiao Yan's voice resounded through the starry sky, carrying an unwavering determination. "Your so-called 'correction' is nothing but cowardice born of fear of 'change'! The meaning of the universe has never been about returning to nothingness, but about finding balance in imbalance and creating new existence amidst change!"
He raised the Heaven Burning Sword, its blade no longer only imbued with the gray-gold power of laws, but also infused with the golden light of the Memory Core and the purple light of the primordial memory. The three powers intertwined, forming an unprecedented "sword aura of existence."
"This sword is for all living beings who have ever existed!"
The sword light tore through the sky, ignoring the dark mist of the Lord of Return to Stillness, and slashed straight at the figure in the middle. This time, for the first time, a "fluctuation" appeared on the other's face—not fear, but a hint of surprise.
"An interesting imbalance..."
The Lord of Return to Stillness slowly raised his hand, and a shield condensed from the inky mist. The moment the sword light collided with the shield, the entire universe seemed to fall silent. There was no explosion, no impact, only the silent clash of two extreme forces.
On one side is the will to "exist": memory, emotion, birth, and continuation.
On one hand is the law of " Return to Silence ": nothingness, oblivion, end, and return.
The outcome of this contest will determine the fate of All Heavens and Myriad Realms, and even more star systems.