bioinnovel Chapter 386 The Prototype of the Law of Chaos
Chapter 386 The Prototype of the Law of Chaos
After Nezha finished speaking, he shouldered his gun and walked towards the South Heavenly Gate.
The flames of the Wind and Fire Wheels burned two very shallow scorch marks on the city bricks. After taking a few steps, it turned back to look at Su Fan.
"In which direction is the Pool of Laws located deep within the Chaos?"
Su Fan took the broken mirror from Yang Jian's hand; the coordinates of the seal on the left leg marked on the mirror had been locked.
He slung the Pangu Axe over his shoulder, walked to Nezha's right, and the chaotic original light on the axe blade cleaved a bright pointing line in the golden light of Mars, the end of the line pointing directly to a very distant location deep within the chaotic gray mist.
"Directly below the Tai Sui crack, there is a layer deeper than the bottomless pool of law. The left leg is sealed at the bottom of that pool, unlike the seal on the torso."
"The torso is held down by the Jade Tablet of Creation barrier, while the left leg only has fragments of the Wedge of Creation. Most of the fragments were shattered outside the Tai Sui Crack, and the remaining pieces are about to fall out of the wedge hole."
Sun Wukong stuffed the fragments of the Jade Tablet of Creation back into his robes and slammed his golden cudgel on the ground.
"I'll go first. There's no need to climb the steps of Zixiao Palace; the fragments of the Jade Tablet of Creation can directly open the barrier."
"But Hongjun left a question inside the barrier. The second half of the line he carved on the dome of the main hall was worn away by the laws of time. After the axe handle recognized its master, the jade tablet fragments completed the first half. I have to go in again to read the second half."
"The second half of the sentence describes the critical value of the collapse of the singularity of the chaotic laws. Luo Hou said that the critical point is approaching, but how much time is left depends on the value calculated by Hongjun."
Su Fan looked at him: "You stayed in Zixiao Palace for a year last time, how long will it take you to get in this time?"
"This time we don't need to climb the steps; we can go straight into the main hall. Counting the primordial era, it should only take a few days at most."
Sun Wukong hoisted the golden cudgel onto his shoulder, somersaulted out of the South Heavenly Gate, his golden armor leaving an arc in the air before disappearing in an instant into the direction of the void layer above Guixu.
Nezha watched the monkey disappear, then slung the gun barrel over his shoulder.
"The Great Sage is so impatient; he just leaves whenever he wants. Last time he was imprisoned in Zixiao Palace for a year, and this time he still dares to go alone."
"If he doesn't go alone, who will? There's only one fragment of the Jade Tablet of Creation, enough to open the barrier once."
Su Fan tucked the shattered mirror back into his waistband, turned around, and strode towards the direction of the chaotic gray mist.
Nezha, carrying a gun, followed on his right. The two of them stepped on fragments of Kunlun mother rock floating in the void, and sped toward the chaotic depths directly below the Tai Sui crack.
The stalactites along the edge of the gray fog belt are denser than last time.
So densely packed was a stalagmite hanging upside down every two steps, and the fragments of law dripping from the tips of the stalagmites left countless extremely thin, dark purple trails in the gray mist.
Su Fan walked ahead, carrying the Pangu Axe on his right shoulder. The chaotic primordial light on the axe blade cut a path through the gray mist.
The stalactites on both sides of the passage were forced to tilt to the sides by the light, and the tips of the tilted stalactites collided, scattering fragments everywhere.
Nezha followed behind, the flames of his Wind Fire Wheels being suppressed in the gray mist until only a thin ring of flame remained around his feet.
He pressed the Pure Yang Talisman on his chest at the Tanzhong acupoint, and the warm current of the talisman spread along the meridians to his limbs.
"The Law stalactites here are at least 30% denser than last time. After the seal on my left leg loosened, all the Law fragments around the pool were activated."
"It's not just activation. As the seal on the left leg loosens, the law-based slurry inside the pool is seeping out. The stalactite-like fragments are formed from the condensed slurry. The denser the fragments, the closer the left leg is to breaking free from the seal."
Su Fan held the shattered mirror up to his eyes.
The real-time image of the left leg seal on the mirror was only a very blurry outline due to the interference of the laws, but the few fragments of the Wedge of Creation that were falling off the edge of the outline were clearly visible.
There were seven fragments in total, each of which was slowly moving outwards. The movement was not fast, but the direction was the same, all moving towards a very dark area deep in the slurry pool.
That area is right below the left ankle joint.
"The left leg is moving. It's not breaking free of the seal, but using the natural patterns of the ankle joint to push the fragment outwards. Once it's pushed to a certain point, the fragment falls off, and the seal is broken."
Su Fan handed the broken mirror to Nezha.
Nezha took the broken mirror and glanced at it. The law patterns on the left ankle joint of the mirror were flowing rapidly. The law liquid gushing out from the depths of the patterns wrapped around the fragments and squeezed them out little by little.
"This guy is smarter than his right arm. His right arm only knows how to smash, while his left leg is using a water-grinding technique to push the fragments out one by one. At this rate, at most half a day, all seven fragments will fall off."
Nezha returned the broken mirror to Su Fan.
"Half a day is enough for us to get to the edge of the lava pool. Once we get there, it'll be the same routine as cutting off the left arm."
"Before the fragments completely fall off, and before the sealing power of the Wedge of Creation has a little bit of residue left, we will make our move when the remaining seal suppresses the activity of the law in the left leg to the lowest level."
Su Fan kept moving, shifting the Pangu Axe from his right shoulder to his left, freeing his right hand to put the broken mirror back on his waist.
The two passed through the gray fog and entered the chaotic depths directly below the Tai Sui rift.
The stalactites here are denser than those at the edge of the gray fog zone, so dense that there is one every other step.
The fragments dripping from the tip of the stalagmite were no longer liquid, but had condensed into extremely fine law-based ice crystals, with a faint dark purple halo flowing across their surface.
Nezha's Wind Fire Wheels stomped on the ice crystals, producing an extremely piercing sound of friction caused by the laws of nature. With each step, the ice crystals shattered into powder, which drifted into the gray mist and was squeezed into nothingness by the pressure of the laws.
"This place is colder than the surface of the slurry pool."
Nezha looked down at the Wind Fire Wheels beneath his feet.
The flames, suppressed by the low temperature of the ice crystals, had shrunk to just a very thin line, the color of which had changed from crimson to a very pale orange.
"The Law Pool sealed in the left leg is just ahead. The Law Stalactites around the pool have been shattered by the Law Shockwave generated by the loosening of the seal, and a layer of debris floats on the surface of the pool."
Su Fan stopped and put the Pangu Axe down from his shoulder, holding it with both hands.
The chaotic primary light on the axe blade cleaved through the last layer of gray mist, revealing the complete outline of the pool of liquid.
The pool was not large, much smaller than the bottomless law pool, and its surface was an extremely dark purplish-black.
All the law stalactites that were suspended above the pool had broken off. The broken stalactite fragments floated on the surface of the pool, mixing with the law slurry to form a very thick law mud.
There was a very obvious vortex in the very center of the mud, and the left leg was located deep inside the vortex.
The ankle of the left leg emerged from the center of the vortex, the surface of the ankle bone was engraved with the patterns of the Demon Ancestor's Law, and deep within the patterns were seven fragments of the Wedge of Creation that were slowly falling outward.
Each fragment was only the size of a fingernail, with a faint, clear light flowing across its surface, originating from the same source as the runes on the Jade Tablet of Creation that Hongjun had carved on the stone slab.
Nezha slammed his fire-tipped spear against the edge of the pool.
"There are still seven fragments left, four of which have fallen off. The last seven are all located on the shallow line on the outside of the ankle joint. It's the same location as the self-healing layer you scraped off when you cut off your left arm. Regardless of whether it's the left or right side of Rahu's limbs, the law lines on the outside of the joints are always the thinnest."
"About 30% of the seal remains, and the activity of the laws in the left leg is suppressed to below 50%. Now, make your move."
Su Fan switched the Pangu Axe to his backhand, blade facing upwards, and leaped off the edge of the pool. He stepped onto a floating stalactite fragment on the surface and charged towards his ankle in the center of the whirlpool.
Nezha followed closely behind, the flames of his Wind Fire Wheels exploding into two extremely bright tongues of fire on the surface of the mud. The flames enveloped his body and pushed him from the left side to behind his ankle.
He handed the Fire-Tipped Spear to his left hand, and with his right hand he took out the Stone Core from his waist. The silver-white crystal on the surface of the core suddenly brightened a bit the instant it approached the seal on his left leg.
"The core has sensed the prototype of the chaotic life law within the left leg. The prototype is sealed inside the shinbone above the ankle joint."
"Hongjun sealed it in the same location as the fragment of the Heaven-Opening Axe. The fragment is on the outside of the shinbone, and the original is on the inside of the shinbone, separated by an extremely thin membrane of laws. The original cannot be obtained unless the fragment is removed."
Nezha stuffed the core into his bosom, gripped the gun with both hands, and aimed the gun tip at the seven detached fragments on the outside of his ankle.
"Take the fragment first, then the original. The fragment still has a little sealing power left. Smash it with the back of the Pangu Axe. The sealing power will bounce back briefly, and the impact of the bounce will crack the shallow line on the outside of the ankle joint. After it cracks, the law membrane wall on the outside of the tibia will be exposed."
Su Fan rushed to the front of the ankle joint, reversed the Pangu Axe so that the back of the axe faced outward, and smashed it down hard into the center of the seven fragments on the outside of the ankle joint.
The back of the axe struck the fragments.
The remnants of the Creation Wedge seal inside the fragment rebounded violently from the impact of the axe back, and the resulting shockwave of law exploded outwards along the shallow lines on the outside of the ankle joint.
The shallow crack opened up with a very deep gash in the shockwave, and a large amount of black law liquid gushed out from inside the gash. The liquid exploded on the surface of the pool into a dense cloud of dark purple water.
After the splash subsided, the lateral wall of the tibia was exposed.
The membrane wall is a very pale grayish-white color, completely homologous to the self-healing layer at the fracture site of the left shoulder joint, but thinner and more transparent. Two things sealed inside the tibia can be seen through the membrane wall.
On the outside is a tiny axe-shaped point of light, and on the inside is a dark, deep purple sphere.
"The fragment is on the left, the original is on the right. The membrane is too thin to be cut directly. If it's broken, the fragment and the original will be washed away by the slurry."
Nezha aimed the tip of his spear at the edge of the membrane wall.
"No need to cut. The membrane is a fleshy sprout formed by the mutual erosion of the sealing runes and the demonic runes, and it shares the same origin as the self-healing layer. Use the will of all living beings to wrap the axe blade and melt away the membrane."
Su Fan pressed the axe-shaped mark on his left palm onto the blade of the Pangu Axe.
The will of all beings surged from the axe-shaped mark, flowing along the axe blade into the interior of the membrane.
The membrane wall began to dissolve on its own the instant it came into contact with the will of all living beings. The dissolution was extremely fast. In just a few breaths, the membrane wall on the outside of the tibia turned into a pool of very light grayish-white liquid, which was diluted into nothingness by the law liquid on the surface of the pool.
Fragments and prototypes are exposed to the slurry of the slurry pool law.
The fragments activated themselves the moment they came into contact with the slurry, transforming into an extremely bright axe-shaped beam of light that shot out from inside the shinbone. The beam pierced through the surface of the slurry pool and struck the chaotic gray mist above, where it exploded into a blinding white light.
After the white light dissipated, the fragments hovered above the pool of liquid, their surfaces flowing with chaotic law patterns that were completely identical to those on the blade of Pangu's axe.
Su Fan flicked the Pangu Axe upwards, and the chaotic original light on the axe blade resonated with the law patterns on the surface of the fragments. The fragments automatically flew towards him, hovering around the axe and slowly rotating.
"We've got the fragment. The original is still inside the shinbone. It's been sealed for 30,000 years, and its law activity has dropped to a minimum, so it won't come out on its own. We need to activate it using the resonance frequency of the stone core."
Su Fan put the fragments into his pocket and turned to look at Nezha.
Nezha took the stone core out of his bosom, holding it in his left hand and gripping the gun in his right.
The silvery-white crystal on the surface of the core suddenly increased in brightness as it approached the deep purple sphere inside the shinbone.
He aligned the core with the light sphere, and the core's resonant frequency was transmitted along the slurry into the tibia, enveloping the sealing membrane on the surface of the light sphere.
The membrane began to shatter under the continuous excitation of the resonant frequency, and after the shattering, the prototype of the chaotic life law inside the light sphere was exposed.
The prototype is very small, only the size of a fingernail, and is a perfectly regular sphere. Its surface is covered with extremely complex patterns formed by the interweaving of the laws of chaos and the laws of life.
At the very center of the network of patterns, a bright, dark purple dot was pulsating, its frequency perfectly synchronized with the heartbeat of the Eastern Emperor within Xu's chest cavity.
Guided by the resonant frequency, the ball of light slowly emerged from inside the tibia and, upon reaching the surface of the slurry pool, automatically flew towards the core in Nezha's hand, hovering directly above it and rotating slowly.
"The prototype is in hand. It takes the kernel as the mother structure. The heart network of the Ruins and the resonant frequency of the kernel are of the same origin, and the prototype takes the heartbeat of the kernel as the heartbeat of the Ruins."
Nezha put the prototype and the core into his bosom and stuck them together with the Pure Yang Talisman.
The prototype jumped slightly the moment it came into contact with the warm current of the Pure Yang Talisman, then stabilized and slowly rotated, hovering directly above the core.
Su Fan slung the Pangu Axe over his shoulder and turned to walk toward the edge of the pool.
After taking a few steps, he suddenly stopped and looked down into the depths of the pool.
The left leg began to disintegrate from the inside after the fragments and prototype were removed, and the disintegration was extremely rapid.
The liquid flowing from the laceration on the outside of the ankle joint was no longer black law fluid, but grayish-white law powder.
The powder slowly sinks in the slurry, and when it reaches the bottom of the slurry pool, it solidifies on its own into an extremely hard sedimentary layer.
The entire left leg shattered layer by layer, starting from the ankle, down to the shinbone, down to the knee, and down to the groin.
The powder produced by the breakage all sank to the bottom of the slurry pool, forming a very thick layer of grayish-white sediment at the bottom.
"His left leg is also shattered. Of Rahu's twelve physical bodies, his right arm is shattered, his left arm is broken, and both his left and right legs are crippled. His torso is pressed under the Zixiao Palace, and his head is sealed under the ruins of Buzhou Mountain. The remaining six parts are still sleeping in various parts of the chaos. Once we get the original form from the torso, the three original forms of the Chaos Life Law will be complete."
Nezha slung his fire-tipped spear over his shoulder.
"The Great Sage is already in the Purple Cloud Palace regarding the torso. He has fragments of the Jade Tablet of Creation, so opening the barrier won't be a problem. The problem is that the seal on the torso is different from the seal on the left leg."
"The torso is suppressed by the Jade Tablet of Creation barrier, and the sealing strength is three times that of the left leg. Moreover, the prototype of the Chaotic Life Law sealed inside the torso is the largest of the three prototypes."
"It is sealed inside the core of the Demon Ancestor's Law at the deepest part of Rahu's spiritual platform. To retrieve it, the core of the Demon Ancestor's Law must first be separated from the body. During the separation process, the body will briefly awaken."
Su Fan put the Pangu Axe down from his shoulder, the blade touching the ground.
"What happens if you have a brief awakening?" Nezha asked.
"Its torso has no head or limbs, so it won't be awake for long. But during the time it is awake, its core of the Demon Ancestor's Law will instinctively release law shockwaves."
"The shockwave will travel upwards along the barrier of the Jade Tablet of Creation and into the main hall of the Purple Cloud Palace. If the Great Sage is still reading the line of words that Hongjun carved on the dome in the main hall, he will be interrupted by the shockwave."
Su Fan took the shattered mirror from his waist, and the law fluctuations on the mirror surface from the direction of Zixiao Palace were accelerating.
Sun Wukong has arrived at the entrance to the barrier of Zixiao Palace.
On the dome of the main hall of Zixiao Palace, Sun Wukong squatted among the fragments of the Jade Tablet of Creation, with his golden cudgel resting on his lap.
The clear light from the fragments of the Jade Tablet of Creation illuminated the last line of words carved by Hongjun on the dome.
The first half of the sentence has been completed after the axe handle fragment recognized its owner, while the second half, which was worn down by the laws of time, is slowly recovering in the clear light.
The monkey stared at the characters that were repairing themselves, a piece of dry food brought from the South Heavenly Gate dangling from its mouth. It chewed it twice and swallowed it.
"That old codger Hongjun carved words that look like celestial script. The first half says that the countdown begins after the density of the chaotic laws exceeds the carrying capacity of the ancient god's remains. The second half..."
He was speaking when the last worn-out inscription on the dome was restored to its original state in the clear light.
The monkey took the dry food out of its mouth, stared at the words for a long time, and then grinned.
"The second half of the sentence says that the countdown began the day Rahu's first limb was severed. The countdown started the day his right arm was severed outside the crack in the Tai Sui. There is less than a year left."
Sun Wukong took the fragment of the Jade Tablet of Creation from his bosom. After reading the inscription on the dome, the rune on the fragment split into a new branch, with the end of the branch pointing to the location of the torso seal directly below the Purple Cloud Palace.
He took the golden cudgel off his knees, and the cudgel grew thicker as he gripped it with both hands.
"Get the prototype first, then go back and tell them how much of the countdown is left."
He pressed the fragment of the Jade Tablet of Creation onto the floor of the main hall of Zixiao Palace, and the clear light from the fragment cleaved a very narrow crack of law in the ground.
Below the crack is the torso seal that the Jade Tablet of Creation has kept sealed for 30,000 years.
Inside the barrier, Luo Hou's torso floated in an extremely dark liquid of laws. The surface of his torso was covered with patterns of the Demon Ancestor's laws, and deep within these patterns was a fist-sized dark purple sphere of light.
That is the largest of the three prototypes of the Chaos Life Laws.
The dark red dot in the very center of the sphere was still pulsating, but the pulsation was extremely slow, only once every ten breaths.
It is asleep, unlike the original one in the left leg.
The original form in the left leg has awakened, while the one in the torso is still asleep.
Sun Wukong, carrying his golden cudgel, jumped into the crevice and landed directly in front of the torso.
The clear light from the Jade Tablet of Creation's barrier shone on the surface of the torso, making the patterns of the Demon Ancestor's laws extremely bright.
He slammed the golden cudgel to the ground, and white arcs of electricity from the aftermath of the calamity exploded on the cudgel. The arcs spread along the law slurry inside the barrier toward the torso, enveloping the sealing membrane on the surface of the torso.
"I, Old Sun, don't have time to wait for you to wake up naturally. Hongjun sealed your original form inside the core of the Demon Ancestor's Law. To take it out, we must first separate the core from the body."
"You will briefly regain consciousness during the removal process. Don't panic when you wake up. I'm not here to cut you down; I'm here to take the original body sealed inside you. I'll leave after I'm done."
He made the golden cudgel thinner and sharper, and then pierced the fist-sized dark purple orb of light in the center of his chest with the tip of the cudgel.
The moment the tip of the rod pierced the sphere of light, a muffled roar erupted from inside Rahu's body.
The booming sound spread in all directions along the barrier liquid, making the inner wall of the Creation Jade Tablet barrier vibrate.
The sealing membrane on the surface of the light sphere cracked under the impact of the golden cudgel, revealing a ring of extremely fine spiderweb-like patterns. The patterns spread from the point where the cudgel pierced the light sphere into its depths. For every inch that the pattern spread, the dark red light spot inside the light sphere jumped a beat faster.
The frequency increased from one jump every ten breaths to one jump every five breaths, then from one jump every five breaths to one jump every three breaths, and finally stabilized at one jump every one breath.
The torso awoke.
"Thirty thousand years. The first person to plunge a weapon into my chest was not Hongjun, but you, you monkey."
Rahu's body had no mouth; his voice came directly from the sphere of light in the center of his chest.
His tone was extremely flat, without anger or struggle, only the indifference of someone who had been sealed away for 30,000 years and was finally awakened.
"I didn't want to stab you either. Hongjun sealed the original form inside your core; you can't get it out unless you stab it in."
Sun Wukong gripped his staff with one hand and reached into the crack in the sphere of light with the other, his five fingers gripping the largest dark purple prototype inside the core.
The prototype was extremely hot to the touch, so hot that the monkey hair on the back of his hand instantly curled and turned black.
He didn't let go, but pulled the prototype outwards.
The moment the prototype emerged from the core, its torso shuddered violently, and the shockwave blasted all the law-based liquid inside the barrier apart. The liquid splashed onto the inner wall of the barrier, burning countless extremely deep dark purple pits.
"Take the prototype. I can't stop you. But once you're out there, tell that mortal with the axe."
"The countdown to the collapse of the singularity of the laws of chaos has begun. From the day you severed my right arm, the density of the laws of chaos began to accelerate its contraction towards the singularity."
"Hongjun calculated that the critical value is less than a year away. If the aggregate of chaotic life laws does not take shape within a year, the singularity will collapse. At that time, all the chaotic gray mist on the periphery of the primordial world will be sucked into the singularity, and the primordial world itself will be dragged in by the tide of laws."
Rahu's voice began to weaken after the original form was removed.
"I know. I just finished reading the words Hongjun carved on the dome. There's less than a year left in the countdown. Once we gather all three prototypes, we'll go to the ancient battlefield ruins to activate it."
Sun Wukong stuffed the original form into his bosom, tucked it along with the golden cudgel into his waistband, and turned to walk towards the top of the crack.
"There's one more thing. Next to the core remains of the ancient god deep within the ancient battlefield ruins, there's the last thing that Hongjun left for that mortal."
"It's not a fragment of the Heaven-Opening Axe, nor is it the prototype of a law. It's a letter. Engraved on the rib of the core remains of an ancient god."
"In his letter, Hongjun explained why he didn't kill me directly back then. It wasn't because he couldn't kill me, but because he foresaw that the singularity of the Chaos Law would arrive sooner or later. He kept me alive so that you could extract these three original forms from my body."
Rahu's voice vanished the instant Sun Wukong jumped out of the crack.
Sun Wukong landed back in the main hall of Zixiao Palace and collected the fragments of the Jade Tablet of Creation from the ground.
The crack in the barrier closed automatically behind him.
He took out the original object from his arms and glanced at it. The dark purple light on the surface of the original object pulsated slightly under the clear light of the Purple Cloud Palace, and the frequency of the pulsation was synchronized with the heart network of the Void.
Sun Wukong stuffed the original form back into his arms, shouldered the golden cudgel, and walked towards the exit of Zixiao Palace.