Transmigrating Into a Fantasy World: Signing in During Pregnancy, Reaching the Summit with My Childhood Sweetheart

179: Chapter 179: Echoes in the Empty Valley and the True Seal of AnnihilationInside the grotto, Nangong Xuan stared at the newly born, faint point of light within the phantom star key in his palm. It resonated subtly with his Sword Intent, and his gaze flickered with uncertainty.

“A star key... with a Nirvana attribute?” he whispered to himself, the speculation being too startling. The three known star keys—Sharp Metal, Living Soul, and Phantom—though different in attribute, all had an essence of power leaning toward ’construction,’ ’empowerment,’ or ’concealment.’ They were diametrically opposed to ’Nirvana,’ which represented termination and extinction.

Su Muxue also felt that peculiar resonance. Supporting her weakened body, she looked at the star key. “This fluctuation... is so strange. It’s hollow and deathly still, yet it seems to contain a kind of... ultimate purity. Brother Xuan, it and your Sword Intent...”

“Yes,” Nangong Xuan nodded with a grave expression. “The resonance is strong. But this feeling... isn’t entirely identical. My Nirvana is the destination of all things, a part of the cycle of the Great Dao; within Nirvana, there remains a sliver of transcendence. But the feeling from this star key is more absolute, more... hollow, as if even the concept of ’Nirvana’ itself is to be ultimately annihilated.”

This difference made him wary. Having a common source of power was certainly an Opportunity, but if their essences conflicted, blind contact might risk a backlash. Moreover, they were not far from the sword grudge domain; whether this sudden induction was a blessing or a curse remained unknown.

However, the induction of the phantom star key could not be faked, and that sliver of resonance truly existed. More importantly, if he could truly obtain a star key so perfectly aligned with his own Dao path, his strength would surely undergo a qualitative leap, giving him greater confidence in facing subsequent crises and healing his wife and child.

Risk and Opportunity coexisted.

Nangong Xuan looked at Su Muxue, then at the still-dim chaos star core in her arms, his gaze gradually turning firm.

“I must go investigate,” he said deeply. “Stay here. I have set up a Sword Intent Restriction. As long as an existence from the depths of that Domain doesn’t personally arrive, you should be safe for a short time. I will return as soon as possible.”

Su Muxue knew the stakes well and understood that this was the current hope for breaking the deadlock. Though worried, she did not dissuade him, only gripping his hand tightly. “Be careful in everything. If it’s impossible, retreat immediately, and we will deliberate further.”

Nangong Xuan nodded heavily, reinforced the grotto’s Restriction once more, and with a flash of his body, he was out of the grotto.

Following the weak guidance of the phantom star key, he delved deeper into the valley. The further he went, the sparser the surrounding vegetation became until finally, only jagged gray-black rocks remained. The air was filled with a faint Death Qi, originating from the same source as the sword grudge domain but even more pure and condensed.

This place seemed to be a forbidden zone for life; even the wind appeared stagnant.

Finally, at the very end of the valley, before a black stone wall as smooth as a mirror, the induction of the phantom star key reached its peak. The point of light representing ’Nirvana’ no longer flickered but pointed steadily at the center of the wall.

Nangong Xuan focused his gaze and saw that the center of the stone wall was not naturally formed but embedded with a palm-sized, highly irregular dark gray fragment. The fragment’s material was neither metal nor jade, and its surface had no luster, as if it could swallow all light. Looking closely, it seemed to be engraved with countless extremely fine, constantly appearing and vanishing tiny runes. They bore some resemblance to the ancient runes he had caught a glimpse of on the chaos star core, yet they were more fragmented, and their aura was more restrained and deathly still.

It sat there quietly, as if it had been there since time immemorial. All the surrounding Death Qi seemed to revolve slowly around it as its Core.

Was this the source of the induction? A fragment? Rather than a complete star key?

Nangong Xuan cautiously extended his Divine Thought to touch the dark gray fragment.

Buzz!

The moment his Divine Thought made contact, the fragment jolted violently! An indescribable, absolute will of nothingness and deathly silence, like a bursting flood, surged through his Divine Thought and slammed into Nangong Xuan’s Sea of Consciousness!

This wasn’t an attack; it was more like a direct ’assimilation’!

This will sought to utterly annihilate all his emotions, thoughts, memories, and even his perception of ’self,’ turning him into the same absolute ’nothingness’ as itself!

Nangong Xuan let out a muffled groan as his Sea of Consciousness shook violently, as if he had been instantly cast into the Core of an eternal ice prison where even his thoughts were being frozen and shattered! His Nirvana Sword Intent erupted autonomously to protect his Sea of Consciousness, but it retreated steadily before this more pure and ultimate ’nothingness,’ even showing signs of being inversely assimilated and swallowed!

The ’Nirvana’ of this fragment had an essential difference in level compared to his ’Nirvana’!

At the critical moment, Nangong Xuan bit the tip of his tongue hard. The sharp pain stimulated his Divine Soul, forcing him to maintain a final sliver of clarity. In a moment of inspiration, he no longer used his own Sword Intent to resist or mimic it, but instead plunged his consciousness into the object that had been resting quietly in his robes—the phantom star key!

Since this object could sense the fragment, perhaps there was some connection between the two?

The moment his Divine Thought poured into the phantom star key, this star key, which had always performed averagely, suddenly erupted with unprecedented light! The incredibly complex spatial Dao patterns within it flashed wildly, and a peculiar power, somewhere between illusory and real, surged out. It did not oppose the nothingness will of the fragment but acted like a precise ’interface’ or ’buffer,’ instantly bridging Nangong Xuan’s Sea of Consciousness and the fragment’s will!

Through the transformation of the phantom star key, the absolute ’annihilation’ attribute of the rampaging nothingness will was greatly weakened, turning instead into a relatively gentle, vast stream of Nirvana True Intent information.

Though still cold and deathly still, it no longer carried that terrifying forced assimilation; it was more like a rigorous ’test’ or an ’acknowledgment ritual.’

Nangong Xuan’s pressure suddenly lightened. He immediately seized this once-in-a-lifetime Opportunity, fully circulating his Nirvana Sword Intent. Like a sponge soaking up water, he frantically comprehended, absorbed, and digested this higher-level Nirvana True Intent transformed by the phantom star key.

In his Sea of Consciousness, it was as if Universes were being born and destroyed, and stars were returning to dust. His understanding of ’termination,’ ’extinction,’ and ’nothingness’ improved and transformed at an unprecedented speed!

He knew not how much time had passed; perhaps it was just an instant, perhaps ten thousand years.

When the last bit of the information stream was painstakingly digested and absorbed by Nangong Xuan, the dark gray fragment stopped vibrating, and the tiny runes appearing and vanishing on its surface gradually faded. It no longer emitted that terrifying will of assimilation, instead conveying a faint, cold ripple of ’recognition.’

Simultaneously, a piece of fragmented information flowed into Nangong Xuan’s heart through the phantom star key.

This object was not a complete ’Nirvana Star Key’ but a Core fragment of it—the Nirvana True Seal. It was an Innate Dao pattern fragment born alongside the Reincarnation of the Universe’s Nirvana, and what it contained was the ultimate power of ’returning to zero.’ The complete Nirvana Star Key had long since shattered in some unimaginable ancient era, its pieces scattered across the myriad worlds.

This Nirvana True Seal fragment had somehow ended up here. The power it emitted combined with the resentment and Death Qi of countless fallen Sword Cultivators over the years, gradually forming the terrifying sword grudge domain on the periphery. It was both the Core of the Domain and, to some extent, bound here by the Domain.

Nangong Xuan’s Nirvana Sword Intent, along with the ’bridge’ provided by the phantom star key, had barely managed to gain its shallowest level of recognition.

Nangong Xuan slowly opened his eyes, which were deep as if a scene of a stellar abyss’s Nirvana had flashed through them. He bowed solemnly toward the Nirvana True Seal fragment.

He reached out his hand, and this time, without any hindrance, he gently took the fragment off the stone wall. The fragment was ice-cold to the touch and incredibly heavy, as if he were holding a piece of starry sky on the verge of Nirvana.

The moment the fragment left the wall—

Rumble... The entire valley, and even the massive sword grudge domain in the distance, began to shake slightly! The Death Qi shrouding the valley began to slowly dissipate, and while the distant Domain still existed, it seemed to have lost its Core cohesion, becoming less stable and aggressive.

Nangong Xuan had no time to examine these changes in detail; his entire mind was immersed in the preliminary comprehension of the Nirvana True Seal fragment and the startling transformation of his own Sword Intent.

He felt that with just a thought, and without needing to use Sword Essence, he could trigger a sliver of true Nirvana Law power, its might far exceeding his previous ’Nirvana Returning to Void’!

He did not dare linger. Suppressing his excitement, he immediately returned to the grotto with the fragment.

As soon as he entered the grotto, Su Muxue looked at him with pleasant surprise. “Brother Xuan, you’re back! The ground was shaking just now; are you alright? Eh? You...” She keenly felt that Nangong Xuan’s aura had become even more unfathomable, and his restrained Sword Intent caused her Divine Soul to feel a strange tremor.

“I’m fine, I’ve had some gains.” Nangong Xuan stepped forward quickly and briefly informed her about the Nirvana True Seal fragment.

Then, his gaze fell upon the star Core in Su Muxue’s arms, and a thought occurred to him. This chaos star core could transform all kinds of energy; he wondered about this ultimate Nirvana power... He cautiously guided a tiny sliver of the Nirvana aura from the Nirvana True Seal, which had been preliminarily assimilated by his own Sword Intent, toward the star Core.

A strange scene occurred!

The previously dormant star Core showed no rejection toward this sliver of Nirvana aura. Instead, the faint light at its Core jumped slightly, conveying a sense of... ’comfort’? It was as if this ultimate deathly power was also a rare ’nutrient’ for it.

It began to actively and slowly absorb this sliver of Nirvana aura. After being transformed by the Core’s Chaos light, the energy it fed back actually carried a tiny hint of Nirvana characteristics, more effectively nourishing Su Muxue’s damaged Divine Soul and Meridians!

Su Muxue’s whole body jolted as she felt a cool and hollow power flow through her Sea of Consciousness. The sharp pain of her split Divine Soul was smoothed over by more than half! The effect was several times better than the previous Chaos energy!

“This... this Nirvana power can actually nourish the Divine Soul?” She looked at Nangong Xuan in disbelief.

Nangong Xuan was also both surprised and delighted. Watching the star Core’s luster recover at a significantly faster rate under the nourishment of the Nirvana aura, and seeing Su Muxue’s complexion rapidly improve, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.

Could it be... that at the end of Nirvana, there is new life?