Chapter 1224: Ancient Battlefield (Part 2)

“Fragile?” Xu Ran frowned.

In the blink of an eye, obliterating three Daoist Monarchs at their peak, even the legendary forbidden existence “Desolation” had once tread this path. Such power, how could it be described as “fragile”?

“Yes, fragile. A… fragility in essence,” the Tomb Guardian sighed. “What is heaven’s law? It’s not a living being, not a will, it’s a whole set of ‘rules’ that have been in operation for countless eons. It’s the land, it’s the starry sky. And the reversers are like trees attempting to grow in the void, stars sailing in chaos. When your power is insufficient to create your own world, to establish your own ‘reverse logic,’ heaven’s law doesn’t even need to employ so-called judgment and divine punishment to eliminate you.”

The old man’s voice carried a chill that came from the depths of the soul.

“It only needs… to modify the ‘rules.’

“Modify the rules?”

“Correct.” The Tomb Guardian nodded, drawing a line on the dusty ground with his cane. “This is the river of time. Every living being, from birth to death, is a drop in the river with its own trajectory. Heaven’s law is the river itself. When you choose ‘reverse,’ you leap out of the river.”

He pointed to a spot beside the line.

“You stand here, watching the water flow. You’re powerful, capable of creating great waves, even diverting the river. But…”

The old man extended his withered fingers and gently erased a small segment of the line representing the river of time, precisely where Xu Ran’s “point” corresponded.

“Heaven’s law only needs to ‘dig out’ the ‘time period’ where you existed, from the entire river. Then, where do you come from? Your past, your foundations, all traces of your existence will turn into nothingness. An existence without a ‘past,’ how can it talk of a ‘future’? You’ll become a paradox appearing out of nowhere, instantly corrected and completely erased by the world’s causality. This isn’t death; it’s something scarier than the annihilation of the divine soul… ‘zeroing out.’

“Desolation, this is how it was.” The old man’s voice became incomparably low, carrying endless sorrow, “He was already powerful enough to confront heaven’s law head-on, even severed countless chains of order extending from heaven’s law. But ultimately, heaven’s law didn’t fight him any longer; it activated its supreme authority. It modified the past, turning the epoch where ‘Desolation’ was never born into a blank slate. Thus, this peerless-strength warrior, this almost successful reverser, just… disappeared. Soundlessly, as if he never existed.”

“If not for this remnant of my soul anchored to this Godslaying Blade not bound by this world’s causality, probably no one would even remember the name ‘Desolation.'”

Xu Ran listened, speechless for a long time.

A chill rose from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his skull!

This was no longer a confrontation on the level of power; this was a… dimensional crush! It was the absolute control of the creator over the creation!

He finally understood the weight of melancholy and unwillingness carried by that broken sword! It wasn’t the humiliation of repeated defeat, but the eternal solitude of repeated erasure from the roots, unable even to shout!

“Then… senior, you…” Xu Ran looked at the Tomb Guardian.

“Me?” The Tomb Guardian smiled mockingly, “I was originally one of the ‘Dao Soldiers’ under the command of the first swordsman. In that ultimate battle spanning several epochs of chaos, the master was defeated, he sacrificed himself for the Dao, thrusting this sword into the depths of the Sea of Realms, and divided his last bit of power to protect this remnant of my soul. I have already merged with this sword. I am both the Tomb Guardian and… part of this tomb.”

“My existence is not recorded by heaven’s law. Therefore, I can remember everything that’s been erased. My mission is to wait. To wait for the next, like you, who is recognized by ‘it’ to appear.”

Xu Ran took a deep breath, suppressing his inner shock, his gaze becoming resolute again: “Since you, senior, have told me all this, there must be a way to break it.”

He is not someone who easily despairs. Since this path exists, there must be a possibility to walk it!

“There is.” The faint light of hope rekindled in the Tomb Guardian’s eyes, “Heaven’s law is not omniscient and omnipotent, and the rules are not without loopholes. If you want not to be ‘zeroed out,’ you must erect a… ‘anchor’ for yourself after leaping out of the river of time!”

“Anchor?”

“An ‘existential anchor’ not governed by heaven’s law, not bound by this world’s causality!” The Tomb Guardian said word by word, “As long as this ‘anchor’ exists, no matter how heaven’s law modifies the past, or erases traces of your existence, you can redefine yourself from the void through the connection with the ‘anchor,’ and come back! You will become a true ‘existence out of nothing’! Then you will have the right to talk about… creating your own ‘reverse logic’!”

Xu Ran’s heart started to beat violently.

He understood! This was the true core of the Dao of “reverse!”

It’s not just blind destruction and severance, but establishing your own “new order” after the demise!

“Senior, where should I go to find this ‘anchor’?”

“Find?” The Tomb Guardian shook his head, “Such an ‘anchor’ can’t be found. It needs… you to ‘forge’ it yourself!”

With that, he struck the ground heavily with his cane.

“Follow me!”

Rumble!

The entire ancient battlefield began to shake violently. The Soldier Tomb, piled up by countless broken Divine Soldiers, cracked open from the middle, revealing a deep bottomless staircase leading to the depths of the earth.

An aura even more desolate, ancient, and deathly silent than the evil qi of the ancient battlefield came rushing from the end of the staircase.

It was an aura of… ‘termination.’ As if all things would return to that darkness when reaching the end.

“What is this…” Zhen Shan and Cang Shi shivered in the face of this aura, even the Dao bodies of the Daoist Monarchs wavered.

“The Godslaying Blade is the beginning of ‘reverse.’ And below here, buried, is the end of ‘reverse.'”

The Tomb Guardian didn’t explain further, hunching over, became the first to walk down.

Xu Ran didn’t hesitate for a moment and followed closely.

Zhen Shan and Cang Shi exchanged glances, gritting their teeth, and followed as well. They had already gambled everything on Xu Ran, with no retreat at this moment.

The staircase was long, seemingly endless.

It was pitch dark all around, and even reaching out a hand, one couldn’t see one’s fingers. Divine Thought was suppressed to a very small range here as well.

But Xu Ran could “see” clearly the strange, disconcerting scenes floating in the boundless dark void on either side of the staircase.

He saw a splendid civilization where everyone seemed like gods and demons, breathing clouds, waving hands to pluck stars. They revered neither heaven nor earth, only believing in their own power. Ultimately, the entire civilization along with their world was gently erased by an invisible giant hand, turning into meaningless gibberish, slowly dissipating in the darkness.

He saw a giant beast that stood tall and mighty, its body larger than the Milky Way, living by devouring broken cosmos. It tried to challenge heaven’s law, aiming to turn the entire Sea of Realms into its food. In the end, its concept of “existence” was reversed, and its enormous body turned into countless tiny particles, becoming the nourishment for a new world.