The arrival of the Time Condensation Clan brought a completely new "rhythm" to the Co-Prosperity Zone. When they spoke, each syllable was like a stretched thread, slow yet precise; when they moved, their figures often left faint silver afterimages, as if time had left its mark on them. Even the most impatient Destruction Clan cultivators had to slow down their speech when communicating with them, and over time, even the wind in the Co-Prosperity Zone seemed to blow more gently.
On this day, the elder of the Time Condensation Clan —an old man clad in heavy silver armor and moving as slowly as an ancient tree—invited Qing He and Meng Xing to the Symbiosis Grass. He extended his silver-gray palm, holding a semi-transparent " Time Crystal " in his hand. Within the crystal was sealed a flowing band of light, which, upon closer inspection, resembled a miniature "river of time."
"This is... a gift." The elder's voice seemed to come from a distant time and space, each word spaced with a breath-like pause, "It records... the Time Key of the Slow Universe."
Qing He took the Time Crystal, and the moment her fingertips touched it, a cool "stagnation" spread along her arm. Her thoughts seemed to be stretched into a smooth line, and those chaotic thoughts that were usually scattered became clear and orderly at this moment.
" Time Key?" Meng Xing leaned closer curiously, dark red energy flowing between his fingertips, yet he dared not touch it easily. "Is it used to control time?"
"No... it's... understanding." The elder of the Time Condensation Clan slowly shook his head, the patterns on his silver armor lighting up with the movement. "The time of the Slow Universe... is not... a river, but... a lake."
Looking at the band of light in the Time Crystal, Qing He suddenly understood something. "You mean, time in the Slow Universe doesn't flow in one direction, but is like a lake, where you can freely 'wander', looking back at the past and also looking forward to the future?"
The elder nodded slowly, a hint of approval flashing in his eyes. "Balance... requires... seeing the 'whole picture.' Dynamic balance... if one doesn't know... the causes of the past and the effects of the future, how can one talk about... balance?"
Time Crystal suddenly emitted a pale silver light, enveloping the surrounding scene. The images before Qing He and Meng Xing's eyes began to distort—on the streets of the Co-Prosperity Zone, the figures of cultivators became blurred, sometimes overlapping, sometimes separating. They saw the moment three months ago when Meng Xing almost suffered a backlash while trying to stabilize the energy turbulence; they saw a month later when the new member of the Flowing Colors Clan would manifest the seventh color on the Resonance Platform; they even saw a year later when the seeds of the Symbiosis Grass would drift to the edge of the Destruction Universe, where they would take root and grow.
"This is... a 'reflection' of time?" Meng Xing stared in shock at his future self in the image, sparring with a cultivator from the Time Condensation Clan. His movements were slowed down by half, yet he precisely dodged every attack from his opponent.
"It's... a fragment of possibility," the elder explained. "Not... destined, but... a direction."
Qing He's gaze fell on a blurry corner of the scene—there was a faint black rift there, deeper than any rift in the Critical Star Domain, and the surrounding laws were being "swallowed". Her heart tightened, and just as she was about to take a closer look, the light of the Time Crystal gradually dissipated, and the surrounding scene returned to normal.
"That fissure..." Qing He pressed, "What is it?"
The elder's silver armor dimmed slightly, and his tone became more solemn than ever before. "Time... also has... flaws. Those are... traces of the ' Shadows of Nothingness '."
" Shadows of Nothingness?" Meng Xing frowned. "I've never seen it on the star map before."
"They... have no... physical form." The elder's voice was even lower. "They feed on... the 'gaps' of the laws. The Slow Universe... lost... a third of its galaxies because of them."
Qing He felt a chill run down her spine. She recalled the future scene within the Time Crystal, where the roots of the Symbiosis Grass around the rift seemed to be withering. It seemed that this " Shadows of Nothingness " was not only a threat to the Slow Universe, but would also eventually affect the Co-Prosperity Zone.
"How do we fight them?" she asked in a low voice.
The elder looked at the Symbiosis Grass, the silver armor's light reflecting off the grass's gray-gold aura. "Symbiosis... is the only... weapon. A single law... will be... devoured. Only a 'net' woven from multiple laws... can... trap them."
Just then, the rainbow silhouette of the Flowing Colors Clan drifted over, just in time to hear the last sentence. "'The Net'? Like the Resonance Platform of our four laws?"
"Not enough." The elder shook his head. "We need... more. The heavens... the destruction... the flowing colors... the Slow Universe... and... the embers of Return to Silence."
" Return to Silence?" Meng Xing was taken aback. "Hasn't the Law of Return to Silence already been integrated with the Law of Balance?"
"Embers... hidden... in the folds of time." The elder pointed to the Time Crystal, "Lord Qing He... your Power of Chaos... can... touch it."
Qing He looked down at the Time Crystal in her palm. The light bands in the crystal flowed again. This time, she could clearly see that in the gaps between those future scenes, there were specks of gray-black "embers" floating. They were not as violent as the Power of Return to Quiescence, but they carried a sense of "annihilation" that penetrated to the bone.
"These embers..." she murmured thoughtfully, "Are they 'seeds' left behind after the Law of Return to Quiescence was balanced?"
"Yes... and also... the key." The elder nodded. " The Shadows of Nothingness... fears most... the power of rebirth after 'annihilation.' The Embers of Return to Quiescence... can ignite... new laws within them."
Suddenly, the Flowing Colors Clan spun around excitedly. "I know! Just as Fire Energy burn away weeds, embers can 'burn' away the gaps in the Shadows of Nothingness! We can use the Resonance Platform to weave the four laws and the Embers of Return to Quiescence into a 'great net'!"
Meng Xing understood. " The Time Key of the Slow Universe locates the position of the Shadows of Nothingness, the Law of Balance of the heavens stabilizes the framework of the net, the Law of Resilience of destruction forms the net's threads, the Law of Possibility of flowing colors forms the net's mesh, and the Embers of Return to Quiescence serve as 'bait'... This plan is feasible!"
Qing He gazed at the deep crack in the Time Crystal, then at the four-colored flowers blooming on the Symbiosis Grass, a determined light flashing in her eyes. "Then let's begin preparations. Elder, please use the Time Key to track the movements of the Shadows of Nothingness; Flowing Colors Clan, you are responsible for deducing the structure of the 'Net'; Meng Xing, you lead the Destruction Cultivators to forge the 'skeleton' of the Web of Laws; I will go to search for the traces of the Embers of Embers of Return to Quiescence."
The elder of the Time Condensation Clan nodded slowly, the patterns on her silver armor lighting up as if in response to her decision. The leaves of the Symbiosis Grass rustled, and the four colors of light—gray-gold, dark red, rainbow, and pale silver—intertwined once more. This time, there was a faint hint of gray-black in the light, like the first ray of light before dawn, foreshadowing a new contest that was about to unfold in the folds of time.
Qing He knew that this time, they would no longer be fighting individually— the Web of Laws of the Co-Prosperity Zone would weave a "protective shield" that transcends the past and the future in the river of time.