System Possession, One Sword Shocks the Gods

258: Inscriptions left at the bottom of the pool, a path ahead in chaos.At Ye Chen’s chest, the tiny vortex in the center of that dark grey mark rotated slowly. The ”hunger” it emitted was not directed at flesh and life force, but was a thirst for pure energy; whether it was Chaos Qi or the Abyss’s Devilish Qi, both seemed capable of becoming its food.

This eerie suction was initially weak, yet it caused Qing Lin, who was standing close by, to change expression abruptly.

She felt the life energy flowing through her body become slightly unstable, faintly threatening to flow toward that vortex!

”Conceal your Qi! Isolate your own energy fluctuations!” Qing Lin immediately whispered, reminding the Green Vine Guards maintaining the Formation nearby.

Upon hearing this, everyone hurriedly complied, restraining their own energy to the extreme.

That eerie suction lost its target and circled Ye Chen’s body for a moment before gradually settling down. However, the vortex did not disappear; it continued to rotate slowly, like a sleeping glutton, ready to awaken again at any moment.

In this tug-of-war where he was beset by trouble both internally and externally, Ye Chen’s consciousness sank once again into a strange realm.

He felt as if he had returned to the bottom of the Pool of Origin, but the surroundings were no longer a raging torrent of information; instead, there was absolute silence and darkness.

Only ahead, a faint light was flickering.

He ”swam” toward that faint light.

As he drew closer, the light gradually magnified, revealing its true form—it was not the radiance of the pool water itself, but a broken stone tablet half-buried in the Chaos-colored mud at the bottom of the pool.

The stone tablet was made of an unknown material, its entire body presenting a dark, dull luster that had endured through the ages without wearing away, its surface covered in the marks of temporal erosion.

On that broken tablet face were inscribed some extremely ancient, twisted runes.

These runes were not any kind of writing existing in the world today, yet they naturally conveyed a sense of desolation, tragedy, and contained boundless profound mystery.

Ye Chen’s gaze fell upon those runes, and his Chaos Origin resonated strongly with them.

There was no need to learn or understand; the meaning of those runes flowed directly into the depths of his consciousness like a clear spring:

”Latecomer... seeing these inscriptions, surely you have already inherited the Dao of Chaos, and have also suffered the calamity of the Abyss...”

”My name is ’Yu’, one of the first-generation walkers, and here... in this land of the end, I leave this broken inscription...”

”Chaos is not the final path, and Wuji is not the limit... The Dao is above Chaos, the path lies between existence and non-existence...”

”The Abyss... is not pure evil, but the ’end’ of imbalance... To break this deadlock, it is not about annihilation, but... balance...”

”We... have failed... We sealed the demons with our own bodies, transforming into this pool water to delay its spread... Yet, the Seal will eventually come to an end...”

”Latecomer... seek the ’key’... gather the ’fragments’... redefine... order...”

”Remember... Chaos... can contain all things... and can also... reduce them to... nothingness...”

”The path ahead... is difficult... only by holding to one’s original heart... can one...”

The information stopped abruptly here.

The subsequent inscriptions seemed to have been forcibly erased by some immense power, leaving only a smooth, broken edge.

Ye Chen’s spirit was shaken violently, as if struck by a thunderbolt!

The first-generation Chaos Walker ”Yu”! Sealing demons with his own body, transforming into the Pool of Origin to delay the Abyss’s spread! Chaos is not the final path; the Dao lies between existence and non-existence! The Abyss is the ”end” of imbalance; breaking the deadlock requires ”balance”! And there were those ”key” and ”fragments” mentioned once again!

This passage of broken inscription contained too vast an amount of information, almost overturning his previous understanding of Chaos and the Abyss!

He had always thought that the Dao of Chaos was supreme, and the Abyss was an enemy that needed to be completely eradicated.

But this inscription pointed out that there were paths above Chaos, and the Abyss was not purely evil, but a manifestation of some ”ultimate” rule imbalance?

To truly solve the calamity of the Abyss, it was not a matter of simple annihilation, but a need to seek a kind of... balance?

This vaguely coincided with what he had done earlier in the desperate situation, when he was forced to use Chaos to contain and temporarily ”Seal” the demon seal!

Could it be... that he had inadvertently stepped onto the correct path guided by this first-generation Chaos Walker named ”Yu”? Even if it was only the most superficial and dangerous beginning?

”Using the body as a furnace, taking the Abyss into Chaos... balance...” Ye Chen’s consciousness repeatedly chewed on these words.

He looked inward at himself, watching the dark grey mark on his chest that maintained a delicate balance, and watching the demon seal energy knots in his chaos minor world that were wrapped in Chaos air currents and undergoing mutation.

He understood that his previous actions, though dangerous, were not entirely wrong.

This might truly be a viable path—a path that even the first-generation Chaos Walker had not been able to fully traverse, or rather, did not have time to traverse!

But how difficult this balance was! It was like walking a tightrope over a bottomless abyss; the slightest mistake would lead to eternal damnation.

The ”hunger” coming from the center of the mark was the manifestation of this highly unstable balance; it required continuous energy to maintain this fragile state of coexistence.

”key... fragments... redefine order...” Ye Chen recalled the end of the inscription and the whispers he had heard earlier in the pool water.

What exactly were these ”key” and ”fragments”? Where were they? And how could they redefine order?

Countless questions flooded his mind, but he knew this was not the time to delve into them.

The urgent priority was to stabilize his own state and thoroughly control this dangerous balance he had initially established.

His consciousness returned, and he slowly opened his eyes.

What came into view was Qing Lin’s stunningly beautiful face, filled with worry and scrutiny.

”Fellow Daoist Ye Chen, how do you feel?” Seeing him wake up, Qing Lin hurriedly asked, while vigilantly watching the mark on his chest.

Ye Chen tried to move his fingers, and a strong sense of weakness washed over him, but the intense, conflicting pain within his body had indeed lessened significantly.

Feeling the eerie balance of the mark on his chest and the faint suction coming from the central vortex, he smiled bitterly and said:

”For now... I won’t die. But the situation... is somewhat complex.”

He briefly informed Qing Lin about the situation within his body and his attempt at ”balance,” but omitted the specific content regarding the first-generation Chaos Walker’s inscription, claiming it was merely his own realization.

After listening, Qing Lin was silent for a long time, her emerald eyes filled with disbelief.

Using the body as a furnace to forcibly contain and balance the power of the Abyss? This was simply an unheard-of, insane act!

”Fellow Daoist, this method of yours... is unprecedented and extremely dangerous,” Qing Lin said gravely.

”This balance seems stable, but in reality, it is like walking on thin ice. This mark on your chest... it seems to require continuous energy to maintain?”

Ye Chen nodded. ”That’s right. It is now like a newborn, greedy beast, needing to devour energy to maintain its own existence. Whether it is Chaos Qi or... Devilish Qi.”

As soon as these words were spoken, Elder Mu Huan and the others around who heard them all changed color.

It needs to devour Devilish Qi? Wouldn’t that mean actively approaching the lands of the Abyss? How is this any different from drinking poison to quench thirst?

Qing Lin was silent for a moment, a flash of determination in her eyes.

”Regardless, Fellow Daoist has ended up in this state to protect the Forest Realm and prevent the Abyssal Lord’s arrival. My Wood Spirit Clan will never sit idly by. The Pool of Origin has a profound foundation and may be able to provide some pure energy to help Fellow Daoist temporarily stabilize this balance. But as for a long-term plan...”

She did not continue, but everyone understood.

For a long-term plan, either Ye Chen finds a way to completely resolve or even master this balance, or... this balance will eventually collapse, dragging him into a deeper abyss.

Ye Chen struggled to sit up and bowed solemnly to Qing Lin and the Wood Spirit Clan.

”Thank you, High Priestess, and thank you, Fellow Daoists, for your protection. Ye Chen will keep this Karma in mind. Although the path ahead is dangerous, since I have already stepped onto it, I will not turn back.”

His gaze once again turned toward the depths of the Valley of Buried Soldiers, in the direction of the collapsed throne ruins, his eyes sharp and firm.

The path that the first-generation walker ”Yu” could not traverse, he has come to walk.

The threat of the Abyssal Lord is imminent, the balance within his body is fraught with crises, and the path ahead is shrouded in mist.

But his Dao Heart has no regrets; he only moves forward with his sword.

Next, he needs power, he needs information, and he needs to find those so-called ”key” and ”fragments”!

And all of this might perhaps be found by seeking clues from this Valley of Buried Soldiers and the ancient Legacy of the Wood Spirit Clan.