System Possession, One Sword Shocks the Gods

269: Echoes of Order, the Return of the Tri-Core SystemCold, hard.

Ye Chen fell onto a cracked floor paved with some unknown white jade.

He endured the dual agony in his Divine Soul and Physical Body, struggling to kneel halfway up to check on Qing Lin’s condition first.

Seeing that she had only fainted from exhaustion and her aura, though weak, was stable, he breathed a small sigh of relief before looking up to survey his surroundings.

This was a massive palace, incredibly magnificent yet equally dilapidated.

The dome had largely collapsed, revealing the twisted, chaotic, and colorful Void Realm outside; clearly, this place was not a normal world.

Most of the dozens of coiled Dragon stone pillars, thick enough for several people to embrace, were broken and toppled, with only a few standing stubbornly to support this precarious space.

The palace was filled with an ancient, solemn, yet faintly sorrowful aura.

Unlike the ruins of Yu, which were filled with the Concept of Chaos and return to silence, everything here, from the surviving murals to the patterns on the ground, exuded a sense of strict order.

The faint, calming sandalwood scent seemed to be caused by the dispersion of some pure Law of order.

His gaze finally fixed on the deepest part of the palace, upon the golden throne perched high atop nine tiers of jade steps.

The throne was also dilapidated, with one armrest missing and the backrest covered in shocking cracks.

Yet, sitting upright on that broken throne was a blurred humanoid phantom composed of pure and warm golden light.

The phantom’s features were unclear, but one could vaguely discern that it wore a crown and robes, its posture dignified and upright.

It sat there quietly, as if it had been waiting here for ages, with a pair of golden eyes, seemingly composed of pure Law, silently watching the uninvited guest who had just broken in.

There was no hostility, no pressure, only a profound, timeless calm, and a trace of... faint scrutiny.

Ye Chen’s mind shook violently! He could feel that the source core of silence within his chaos and silence sword, as well as the demon seal in his chest that balanced Chaos and the abyss, were resonating with... a subtle, barely perceptible repulsion at this moment?

return to silence represented the end, Chaos encompassed everything but leaned towards ’disorder,’ and the abyss was the ultimate of Chaos and destruction.

And this golden phantom before him represented the exact opposite: absolute order!

Could this... be the place mentioned in Senior Yu’s recording, where the order origin core that sank into the Chaotic Sea of Time and Space with the ’Hall of Ten Thousand Laws’ was located?!

Was this golden phantom the guardian spirit of the order origin core? Or, like Yu, was it the remnant thought of some ancient powerhouse who had mastered order and fallen here?

Ye Chen took a deep breath, suppressing the discomfort and churning Qi and blood in his body, slowly stood up straight, cupped his hands in a salute to the golden phantom on the throne, and said in a hoarse but respectful voice:

’Junior Ye Chen, pursued by the abyss, accidentally intruded here and disturbed Senior’s slumber. I hope for your forgiveness.’

The golden phantom made no movement, but within its dual pupils, light flowed slightly, and a peaceful, vast voice, as if capable of judging all rules in the world, resonated directly in Ye Chen’s heart:

’Successor of Chaos... wielder of return to silence... and... balancer of the abyss...’

’Your body gathers the extremes of contradiction and treads the path of taboo... Interesting.’

The voice paused, seemingly carefully sensing Ye Chen’s state.

’The balance within your body is as fragile as a stack of eggs, yet the ’variable’ it contains is something unseen in the ages...’

’You came here for ’order’?’

Ye Chen felt a jolt in his heart; this remnant shadow’s insight far exceeded his imagination. He admitted frankly: ’Yes. Junior is guided by the Legacy of the first walker ’Yu’ and needs to gather the three source cores of return to silence, creation, and order to redefine the Laws of the Ancient Path and confront the Abyssal Lord ’Void Abyss’.’

’Yu... so it was him...’ The golden phantom’s voice seemed to carry a trace of reminiscence and melancholy. ’In that battle back then, the ten thousand Laws collapsed, and order ceased to exist... My master ’Hao’ and Fellow Daoists like Yu all fought until they perished... I am also only left with this remnant thought, attached to the source core, guarding the last remains of this palace, drifting in the Chaotic Sea of Time and Space...’

Its gaze refocused on Ye Chen: ’Gathering the three source cores and redefining the Laws... easier said than done. Even if Yu were resurrected and Hao were to return, success would not be guaranteed. By what right do you think you can do it?’

Ye Chen was silent for a moment, then raised his head, his gaze as firm as a rock: ’Junior does not know if I can do it. But the abyss is rampaging, the ten thousand worlds are weeping blood, and the sparks of hope are on the verge of extinction. Even if this path leads to certain death, someone must walk it. Since I have inherited Chaos, wield return to silence, and have taken the abyss into this body, there is no turning back. I can only hold my sword and move forward, cutting out a glimmer of survival from this desperate situation!’

His voice was not loud, but it carried an unquestionable determination and sense of responsibility. The demon seal in his chest seemed to sense his will and warmed slightly, and within its dark gray luster, a trace of unyielding golden light (derived from the undying Battle Intent absorbed earlier?) faintly emerged.

The golden phantom watched him quietly, its dual pupils swirling with Laws, as if deducing endless possibilities. The palace was silent, save for the occasional wailing sound from the chaotic currents of the Void Realm outside.

After a long while, the golden phantom slowly raised a hand made of light, pointing at Ye Chen, then at the sword in his hand, and finally at the demon seal on his chest.

’Chaos is the root, encompassing all Laws, this is the ’Body’.’

’return to silence is the end, defining boundaries, this is the ’Utility’.’

’The abyss is the rebellion, tempering the Dao Heart, this is the ’Calamity’.’

’However, without order, there is Chaos; without rules, there is collapse. To unify the three and redefine the Laws, it cannot be done without ’order’.’

’order is not a shackle, but a framework, a cornerstone. It makes Chaos evolve in an orderly manner, makes return to silence follow the Laws, and keeps the abyss confined in a cage...’

As it spoke, a golden point of light, pure to the extreme and containing endless meaning of rules and balance, slowly rose from the depths of the broken throne and hovered above the phantom’s palm.

Although the point of light was small, it seemed to be the core of the entire palace, and even some grander system of rules! It was—the order origin core!

’Your Dao Heart is commendable in its perseverance. Your state, though perilous, is also extraordinary. Perhaps there really is a glimmer of opportunity to inherit this ’order’...’

The golden phantom’s voice became solemn. ’However, the power of order is no small matter. Merging it into your body may break the fragile balance within you, triggering unpredictable changes. Are you... willing to bear it?’

Ye Chen looked at that golden source core, able to feel the immense power within it, which was completely different from his own power yet seemingly complementary. He knew this might be his only chance, but also a great danger.

He did not hesitate in the slightest and nodded heavily: ’Junior... is willing!’

’Good.’

The golden phantom said no more. The order origin core turned into a stream of light, not shooting towards Ye Chen, but first merging into its own phantom. The next moment, the entire golden phantom suddenly burst into brilliant light, turning into a warm golden torrent containing countless rule runes, pouring into Ye Chen like a sudden enlightenment!

This time, it was no longer a test, but... a Legacy!

Ye Chen opened his mind and body, letting the torrent of order pour into him.

In an instant, he felt as if his chaos minor world had been fitted with an invisible, yet incredibly solid framework!

The Chaos Qi, which had been flowing somewhat wantonly, began to operate according to some profound Laws; the five-leaf Chaos sapling swayed gently, and on its leaves, besides the Chaos Dao patterns and return to silence Dao patterns, fine, golden chains of order began to emerge; even the demon seal in his chest, the rotation of its central vortex, seemed to be incorporated into a grander circulatory system, becoming increasingly stable and deep!

The three completely different Origin powers, with the intervention of the power of order, began to attempt a more complex, more difficult... Fusion!

His aura began to climb once again! His Realm of Late Stage Law Realm was rapidly consolidated and steadily advanced towards the Peak!

But at the same time, intense pain struck again; it was the inevitable process brought about by the reshaping of rules and the integration of Origins!

And just as Ye Chen was fully accepting the Legacy of order, and his own power was undergoing earth-shattering changes—

Deep within the distant Thousand Illusions Maze, the Abyssal Lord ’Void Abyss,’ whose anger had just subsided, suddenly opened its scarlet eyes again, flashing with a trace of uncertainty!

It felt that in that chaotic remnant of time and space it had ignored, a pure power that it extremely loathed, representing ’restraint’ and ’rules,’ was... awakening! And, it had established a connection with the aura of that ’bug’ that should have been annihilated!

’order... source core?! How is that possible?!’

This time, its voice, for the first time, carried a trace of genuine... gravity!