bioinnovel Chapter 398 Old Domain Laws
Chapter 398 Old Domain Laws
The gold patterns on the Nantianmen city wall shone brightly in the golden light of Mars.
The draft agreement crystallized, along with the core fragments of Mount Sumeru and the fragments of Buddhist laws, each slowly rotated on its own, their rotation rhythms perfectly synchronized, forming a faint three-colored ripple of laws on the surface of the city bricks.
When the ripples spread to the edge of the stack, they were automatically captured by the broken mirror in Yang Jian's hand, forming three parallel, law-like waveforms on the mirror surface.
The first dark purple hue is the frequency of the third branch of causal law left by Eros inside the crystal.
The second layer of dark gold is the real-time fluctuation of the Pangu's protective will barrier on the outer side of the membrane.
The third grayish-white line is the law-based positioning signal released by the second branch quantum collider when it stops at a very far distance outside the membrane wall.
Yang Jian pieced the broken mirror back together and looked down at the third gray-white wave pattern on the mirror surface.
The waveform is extremely stable, so stable that there are almost no fluctuations.
The detector did indeed remain at the distance specified in the agreement; it neither approached nor activated.
He turned the shattered mirror toward Su Fan.
"The detectors have stopped. The binding clauses of the draft agreement are in effect, and the second branch has at least for now complied with the ceasefire agreement reached during the voting period."
"But there is a fourth waveform on the mirror surface, which was previously covered by the gray-white waveform. Just now, when the core fragment of Mount Sumeru adjusted its perception sensitivity, it separated it from the noise of the laws."
Yang Jian lightly ran his finger along the edge of the mirror.
A very faint silver-white waveform appeared on the mirror surface. The frequency of the waveform was so low that it was almost invisible to the naked eye.
It is hidden deep beneath the gray-white waveform, jumping only once every so often, with each jump being extremely weak.
So faint that even the core fragments of Mount Sumeru took a long time to separate it from the lawful noise of the detector's positioning signal.
"This waveform is the law communication frequency inside the second branch detector."
"While the detector is sending a positioning signal to the inside of the membrane wall, it is also sending an encrypted causal message in another direction."
"The content of the message cannot be mirrored, but the direction of the message is not the origin."
"It points to a dense area of laws that is not marked on the Hongjun Star Orbit Map, extremely far outside the membrane wall."
"This dense area is not in any of Hongjun's deductions, nor on Luo Hou's distribution map, nor in the infographic we just saw."
Yang Jian turned the shattered mirror towards Yuanshi Tianzun.
Laozi sat cross-legged with his back straight, his whisk resting across his knees.
He took the whisk off his lap, and the whisk strands drew an arc in the air, within which a real-time projection of the star chart of the laws of the entire primordial realm appeared.
The projection marks the locations of all known dense areas of laws on the outer side of the membrane wall, but the area Yang Jian mentioned is empty on the projection.
It's not that there are no markings; they are deliberately hidden by some extremely ancient law structure. The traces of the hiding are so deep that even the Dao Heart can only barely sense a very faint boundary of the law.
"The area corresponding to the direction of this waveform message is not on Hongjun's stone slab, not in Luo Hou's memory, nor in any law archives disclosed to the third branch by the origin of the extraterrestrial gods."
"But Eros should know what that is. When he saw that silvery-white wave on the mirror just now, the frequency of his core laws jumped."
The Primordial Celestial Venerable withdrew his whisk.
Su Fan turned to look at Eros.
Eros stood at the edge of the non-core area of the city wall, and the semi-transparent dark purple law membrane around him trembled very slightly when Yang Jian spoke.
The vibration was so small that it was invisible to the naked eye, but the heart's vascular network detected it.
Xu walked over from the edge of the Guixu Crack, his right hand pressed against the pale gold line on his chest.
"His core of the law pulsed faster for a fleeting moment. The acceleration lasted only a very short time, and then he brought the frequency back down on his own. He was tense."
Su Fan took the Pangu Axe off his waist and walked up to Eros.
Eros was two heads taller than him, and when he looked down at him, the two purple-gold orbs in his eye sockets contracted slightly.
Su Fan did not raise the axe, but simply touched the axe blade to the ground, with the thin golden line on his left palm pointing directly at the center of Eros's core.
"The second branch's detectors are sending encrypted messages to a law-dense area that isn't in any archives. That area isn't in the information the originator released to the third branch. You know what that is."
Eros remained silent for a long time.
The translucent law membrane surrounding him silently thickened, returning from translucent to its previous extremely thick dark purple color.
This is the Law Symbiotic Entity actively increasing the thickness of its defense layer, representing an extremely cautious attitude within the behavioral system of the extraterrestrial gods.
He raised his right hand from his side, palm facing up, and the crystal of law reappeared in his palm.
The runes on the surface of the crystal stopped flowing this time and all stopped at the very center of the crystal, forming an extremely dark purple-gold spot of light.
The light spot contains a very ancient memory of a law.
"The direction of that silvery-white wave-like message is the origin of the first branch of the gatekeepers. It's not the current location of the seal where the black-robed man's branch is, but an even earlier origin. The common ancestral origin of all three branches."
"That place is called the Old Domain within the First Branch. All three branches split off from the Old Domain. The First Branch remained in the Old Domain, while the Second and Third Branches migrated to the deeper parts of the Void to establish new origins."
"When the second branch migrated, it took most of the law archives of the old domain with it, and the third branch took samples of all the remnants of the life laws of the old domain."
"The first group of those who remained behind later became gatekeepers, responsible for guarding the seal at the bottom of the well. This history was voluntarily sealed away by the first branch after the establishment of the three-branch alliance."
"The reason for sealing it is that the original source of the law of cause and effect still remains inside the old domain, and the source has an extremely strong instinct to devour external laws."
"The instinct to devour. Just like the causal cage that the black-robed man opened outside the South Heavenly Gate back then," Su Fan said.
"It is older and more primitive than the causal cage. The cage is just a miniature version of the original law structure of the old domain. If the true original law of the old domain can be awakened, it will cause the entire void outside the membrane to become causal."
"After causation, the void will become part of the old domain, and all the fragments of laws sealed in the void will be absorbed by the old domain."
"The encrypted message sent by the second branch detector to the old domain should contain the membrane wall law structure data collected by the second branch detector."
"They are assessing whether the density of the laws in the membrane wall has decreased to a level where it can be absorbed by the original source of the laws of the old domain."
Eros stopped there.
He closed the crystal in his palm again, and the crystal disappeared into the core of the law inside his palm.
The two purplish-gold orbs in his eye sockets dimmed slightly for a moment after the crystal entered, then brightened again, even brighter than before.
His voice remained perfectly calm and steady when he spoke, but the intervals between each word were slightly longer than before.
"The second branch ostensibly complies with the draft agreement, with the detector remaining extremely far outside the membrane wall, neither approaching nor activating."
"But they used location signals to cover up an encrypted message that was sending rule evaluation data to the old domain."
"If the assessment results indicate that the membrane can be swallowed, the second branch will bypass the three-branch alliance and unilaterally activate the original source of the old domain law."
"Once the Old Domain is activated, the first branch gatekeeper, as the one who remains, will be forcibly recalled to the Old Domain by the source of the Old Domain's laws."
"The Black-Robed Men's allies will awaken from their seal ahead of schedule and launch an attack on the membrane wall from the old domain. The Third Branch's vote in the council will be completely invalid."
Su Fan pulled the Pangu Axe off the city bricks, and the golden light on the axe blade flickered slightly as he finished speaking.
The thin golden thread in his left palm activated automatically after sensing the change in the core frequency of Eros. The will of all beings surged from the thread and poured into the axe handle, condensing into an extremely bright golden beam at the tip of the axe blade.
He pointed the axe blade toward the membrane wall.
"If the origin of the Old Domain's laws is activated, from where will it impact the membrane? Is the Old Domain located in the direction of that silver-white wave-shaped transmission?"
"The location of the old domain is the endpoint of that silver-white waveform transmission. It is extremely far from the outer side of the membrane wall, but if the origin of the laws of the old domain is activated, the origin will erode in the opposite direction along the law communication channel laid by the second branch detector, rushing from the old domain to the outer side of the membrane wall in a very short time."
"The flow of laws within the channel is faster than that of the messenger channel because the channel itself is paved with fragments of laws remaining from the original source of the old domain laws. The source moves within its own channel with almost no resistance. From activation to reaching the outside of the membrane wall, it only takes less than the time it takes to eat a meal."
"In less than the time it takes to eat a meal."
Nezha slammed his fire-tipped spear to the ground.
"As long as the second branch detector sends a signal, the old domain can rush outside the membrane wall in less than the time it takes to eat a meal. The detector is currently positioned at a certain distance outside the membrane wall. The signal can be sent out at any time."
"The signal hasn't been sent out yet. If the origin of the laws of the old domain is to be activated, a living law symbiote is needed as a catalyst. The catalyst must be within the old domain."
"Although the second branch detector has laid out channels, its essence is an aggregate of inanimate laws, not a living symbiote. It cannot activate the old domain. Only the first branch gatekeeper can activate the old domain."
"The gatekeeper of the first branch is still asleep in the origin and has not received any recall instructions. The encrypted messages from the second branch are evaluation data, not activation instructions. As long as there is no living catalyst in the old domain, no matter how many encrypted messages there are, they will not trigger the activation process."
Sun Wukong squatted on the top of the wall, his golden cudgel resting on his knees.
The monkey's eyes reflected the frequency fluctuations of the core of the Eros Law. He slammed his stick against the city bricks and stood up.
"The first branch gatekeepers are still sleeping at the origin. But the beacon they left on the outer side of the membrane has already been activated once by the core fragments of Mount Sumeru."
"After the beacon was activated, did their seal loosen? If the beacon transmitted the signals of the laws of the old domain back to the first branch of the origin, will the gatekeeper wake up prematurely?"
"The signal transmitted back to the origin after the beacon was activated only contained preliminary assessment data on the structural changes of the Primordial Laws. The signals of the Old Domain Laws were not included in the beacon signal."
"The beacon is an old-type detector that the first branch installed on the outside of the membrane wall before the old domain was withdrawn. Its law-sensing frequency band is extremely narrow, and it only responds to the frequency of causal laws."
"The frequency of the original laws of the old domain is not within the beacon's perception frequency band. Beacon activation does not equate to the gatekeeper waking up ahead of time."
Eros paused for a moment.
The two purplish-gold orbs in his eye sockets contracted very slightly after he finished speaking, and then expanded again.
The reaction was extremely short, but the Ruins captured it.
Xu removed his right hand from the pale gold line on his chest and walked to Eros.
"You just said 'not equal to'. But after you said those three words, the core frequency of the law accelerated. What is the reason for the acceleration?"
Eros looked down at the pale gold line on the chest of the Ruins.
After a long silence, he spoke again.
"Beacon activation itself will not awaken the Gatekeeper. However, once the beacon is activated, the fragments of the old domain laws remaining inside the beacon will be activated simultaneously."
"That fragment is the core energy source of the beacon, sealed deep within its outer shell for 30,000 years. Once activated, the core fragment will continuously emit an extremely weak law resonance signal towards the old domain."
"The signal is extremely weak, so weak that no detector can detect it. But the fundamental laws within the old domain can sense this signal. If the fundamental laws continue to sense the signal, they will begin to condense within the old domain on their own, forming an extremely primordial vortex of laws."
"The vortex itself is not aggressive, but once it takes shape, it will generate a law-based traction force. This force will be transmitted in the opposite direction along the law-based communication channel laid by the second branch detector, forcibly pulling the nearest living law-based symbiote into the old domain."
"If the gatekeepers of the first branch happen to be awake at that time, they will be pulled in and become the catalyst for activating the old domain."
"When will the gatekeeper of the first branch wake up?" Su Fan asked.
"According to the sealing cycle marked on the Hongjun Stone Tablet, the slumber period of the first branch gatekeeper is synchronized with the sealing cycle of Rahu's physical body. The gatekeeper will not wake up before Rahu's remains awaken."
"However, the law resonance signal emitted by the beacon core fragment after activation will accelerate the formation of the law vortex in the old domain. The law attraction force generated after the vortex is formed will in turn accelerate the awakening of the gatekeeper."
"The original synchronized sealing cycle has been broken by this cycle. How soon the gatekeeper will awaken depends on the speed at which the vortex forms."
"Where has the vortex forming speed reached now?"
Xu closed his eyes and focused all his perception of his heart's pulsation network on the changes in the core frequency of the Eros Law.
Eros's core frequency was continuously fine-tuned during the conversation, and each fine-tuning transmitted extremely weak law data to the Void Synchronization.
These data were not sent by Eros on his own initiative, but rather were core frequency fluctuations that he instinctively released as a Law Symbiotic when answering questions.
After receiving all these fluctuations, Xu translated them into specific information in his chest cavity and opened his eyes.
"The vortex of laws within the old domain has just begun to condense. The condensation speed is extremely slow, but the signal is being continuously emitted after the beacon core fragment was activated, so the condensation will not stop."
"Based on the current rate of condensation, it will still take some time for the vortex to take shape. Once it takes shape, the traction force will be released, and the gatekeeper of the first branch will be awakened ahead of schedule."
"If you are pulled into the Old Domain after being awakened, the Old Domain will be activated. After activation, the origin of the laws of the Old Domain will rush to the outside of the membrane wall in less than the time it takes to eat a meal."
"That means we still have some time. During this time, we need to retrieve the beacon core fragment and stop the vortex of the old domain's laws from coalescing."
"Or cut off the encrypted communication channel of the second branch detector, so that the traction force has no channel to be transmitted after the vortex is formed."
Su Fan slung the Pangu Axe over his shoulder.
"The core fragment of the beacon is embedded deep within the beacon's outer shell. The beacon hangs extremely far outside the membrane wall, and the density of the laws within the shell is so high that even embers of flint cannot penetrate it."
"To extract the core fragment, the outer shell must be blasted open by the aftershocks of the Great Calamity. However, the aftershocks will activate the self-destruct program of the laws inside the beacon, causing the core fragment to shatter on its own before it can be extracted."
"After the fragments shatter, the vortex of the old domain's laws won't stop; instead, it will absorb the fragments and accelerate their condensation. Taking the fragments is not a viable option."
"Severing the encrypted communication channel of the second branch detector is feasible. The detector itself is a causal aggregate and has no resistance to the will of all living beings."
"Use the Pangu Axe to split open the detector's outer shell, pour the will of all living beings into the core of the laws inside the detector, and forcibly erase the encrypted communication frequency from within the core."
"After being erased, the detector will lose all its law-based functions and become an extremely ordinary law-based remnant suspended in the void. The remnant will not pose any threat to the membrane wall."
"The endpoint of encrypted communication is the origin of the Old Domain Laws, and the starting point is the detector core. Erasing the starting point will naturally cause the communication channel to disappear. After the channel disappears, even if the Old Domain Laws vortex takes shape, the traction force will have no path to be transmitted."
"The gatekeeper of the first branch will not be pulled into the old domain prematurely, and the old domain activation process will automatically terminate. This is currently the only feasible solution that will not trigger a backlash from the laws."
"The detector is positioned far outside the membrane wall. The draft agreement stipulates that the detector is not allowed to approach the membrane wall during the voting period, but the agreement does not stipulate that we cannot take the initiative to attack."
Xu removed his right hand from his chest.
"Then let's take the initiative. While the second branch is still pretending to abide by the agreement, let's knock out their detectors first."
Nezha slung his Fire-Tipped Spear over his shoulder, and the Wind-Fire Wheels were rekindled.
Su Fan nodded, walked to the center of the city wall, picked up the draft agreement crystal next to the core fragment of Mount Sumeru, and placed it in Eros's hand.
"The draft agreement remains in effect. However, the second branch bypassed the agreement by using encrypted communication. Our action of knocking down the detector was a defensive counterattack and did not violate the terms of the agreement."
"You stay at the South Heavenly Gate and continue to abide by the previously agreed rules during your stay. Yang Jian will use the broken mirror to monitor the detector's real-time location, while the Great Sage and I will go and destroy it."
"Xu stayed behind in Guixu to monitor the condensation speed of the Old Domain Law Vortex. Once the condensation accelerated, he immediately sent a message."
Eros took the crystal, looked down at the three law clauses inside, and pressed the crystal into the very center of his chest core.
"The actions of the second branch have indeed violated the spirit of the draft agreement. The third branch will not stop it. However, the core fragment of the second branch's law is sealed inside the detector's outer shell. After the fragment is erased, the second branch will receive a self-destruct signal at the Origin Monitoring Station."
"The second branch will then file a complaint with the three-branch joint council against you for actively attacking the detector. The third branch will defend you in the joint council, but the defense requires evidence."
"When you knock down the detector, you must use the broken mirror to record the entire process of the detector sending encrypted messages to the old domain as evidence of the rules."
Yang Jian took the broken half of the mirror off his waist and handed it to Su Fan.
"This fragment of the broken mirror still has enough remnants of the law for a few more uses. The mirror surface can synchronously record the encrypted communication frequency inside the detector, and the recorded data is direct evidence that the second branch bypasses the protocol to send law evaluation data to the old domain."
Su Fan took the broken mirror and tucked it into his waistband.
He hoisted the Pangu Axe onto his shoulder, turned around, and walked towards the membrane wall.
Sun Wukong, carrying his golden cudgel, followed behind him. The two of them stepped on fragments of Kunlun mother rock floating in the void, passed through the narrow opening in the membrane wall that was not yet fully healed, and entered the extremely dark void outside the membrane wall.
The dark golden barrier in the void behind him was extremely bright, with the light of the laws from the eight fragments and the three fragments flowing steadily on the surface of the barrier.
Su Fan took the broken mirror out of his waist. The gray-white wave on the mirror surface was extremely stable, so stable that there was almost no fluctuation.
The detector did indeed stop at the distance specified in the agreement, seemingly adhering to the rules perfectly.
However, the silver-white waveform below the gray-white waveform was still pulsating at an extremely slow frequency, and the encrypted message was still being sent continuously.
"Those bastards in the second branch are pretty good at pretending. The detector is stuck there without moving, secretly sending law evaluation data to the old domain. If it weren't for the core fragment of Mount Sumeru setting the perception sensitivity high enough, this silver-white waveform could have been covered by the gray-white waveform forever."
Sun Wukong slammed his golden cudgel into the void, and the aftershocks of the great calamity on the cudgel exploded into a circle of extremely bright white electric arcs.
The electric arc split into countless extremely fine branches in the void, each branch precisely pointing to the weak points of the laws around the detector's location.
"The frequency of encrypted communications is increasing. The detector may have sensed our approach, and it's racing against time to send out the last batch of assessment data."
Su Fan stared at the frequency of the silver-white wave on the mirror, tucked the broken mirror back into his waistband, and added another layer to the thickness of the golden law membrane beneath his feet in the void.
He sped up and flew toward the probe.
The probe hovers in the far reaches of the void.
It is not large, much smaller than a cocoon, only the size of a fist, and is a perfectly regular sphere, with a very thick gray-white slurry film covering its surface.
The detector's core, which is sealed inside the membrane, has an extremely bright silver-white spot in its very center that is jumping at an extremely fast frequency.
That is the signal source that sends encrypted messages to the old domain.
Each pulse of the signal source creates a faint, silvery-white ripple on the membrane surface. As the ripple spreads into the void, it is covered by the detector's own law camouflage layer. After being covered, it completely overlaps with the gray-white waveform of the detector's positioning signal, making it extremely difficult to distinguish from the outside.
Su Fan took the Pangu Axe off his waist, gripped it with both hands, and the will of all living beings surged from the golden threads in his palms, flowing along the axe handle and into the axe blade. The golden light on the axe blade cleaved a bright rift of law in the void.
The fissure extends from the tip of the axe blade to the front of the detector, forming a straight vacuum band of laws in the void.
The vacuum zone tore open the detector's built-in law-camouflage layer from the middle, revealing the rapidly pulsating silver-white waveform signal source below.
Sun Wukong attacked at the same instant.
The golden cudgel became thinner and sharper, its tip precisely piercing the law-based rift in the detector's outer shell, cleaved open by Pangu's axe. The aftershocks of the calamity poured in from the tip, exploding into a ring of extremely bright white electric arcs inside the detector's outer shell.
The electric arc tore the causal law slurry membrane inside the shell from the inside out, and a large amount of gray-white law slurry gushed out from the crack. The slurry was evaporated into nothingness by the aftershocks of the kalpa in the void.
After the outer shell cracked, the core of the detector's laws was exposed.
The silver-white dot at the very center of the core was still jumping rapidly, and the encrypted communication had not stopped.
Su Fan aimed the blade of the Pangu Axe at the silvery-white light spot, and the will of all living beings shot out from the tip of the axe blade, striking the surface of the light spot.
The light spot suddenly accelerated and pulsated the moment it came into contact with the will of all living beings. After accelerating to its limit, it began to vibrate violently. The vibration lasted for a moment and then it exploded on its own.
After the explosion, fragments of laws within the light spot scattered throughout the void. Each fragment was enveloped by the golden light from the blade of Pangu's Axe, and the encrypted communication frequency within the fragments was forcibly erased by the will of the Dao of All Beings.
After being wiped away, the fragments turned into ordinary gray-white law remnants, which slowly drifted away in the void.
After the encrypted communication stopped, the silver-white waveform on the mirror surface disappeared completely, leaving only the gray-white waveform still jumping.
The detector's automatic positioning signal is still in operation.
However, there was no longer any encrypted communication hidden underneath the positioning signal.
"The encrypted communication has been erased. The transmission channel of the old domain's vortex of laws has been severed."
Su Fan retrieved the Pangu Axe and took the shattered mirror from his waist.
The silver-white waveform on the mirror surface has completely disappeared, while the gray-white waveform is still jumping steadily, but the amplitude of the jump has begun to slowly decrease.
After the detector's core encryption frequency was erased, the positioning signal gradually became inactive.
Once the positioning signal completely stopped, the detector became an ordinary remnant of the law, suspended in the void.
Sun Wukong retrieved his golden cudgel, and the aftershocks of the great calamity danced on the cudgel for a moment before extinguishing themselves.
He hoisted the stick onto his shoulder and looked down at the gray-white fragments of law scattered in the void after the detector's outer shell shattered.
The fragments drifted slowly in the void, their directions extremely chaotic.
However, one of the fragments drifted in a completely different direction from the others; it drifted in the opposite direction, heading towards the old domain.
It floated at an extremely slow speed, so slow that it was almost impossible to see it moving.
But it is in motion, and with each movement it leaves an extremely subtle trace of the laws in the void.
"That fragment is problematic. It's not the core fragment of the detector's laws; it's another encrypted beacon sealed inside the detector's outer shell by the second branch."
"The beacon's frequency of law is different from the previous silver-white waveform. It is completely covered by the gray-white waveform of the detector core, so much so that even the core fragments of Mount Sumeru could not be detected."
"That beacon is continuously emitting extremely weak pulses of law towards the old domain. The pulse frequency is extremely low, but it is exactly the same as the condensation frequency of the law vortex in the old domain. It is using pulses to remotely accelerate the formation of the law vortex in the old domain."
Ruins' voice came from the shattered mirror, speaking very quickly.
He placed his right hand on the pale gold line on his chest, and the network of his heart pulses transmitted the abnormal laws sensed by the larva deep within the Ruins' foundation into the shattered mirror.
Su Fan stepped on the golden law membrane and chased after them.
He rushed to the front of the fragment, and the blade of Pangu's axe struck the very center of the fragment.
However, the axe blade did not cleave through the fragment. The law structure on the surface of the fragment deformed itself the moment it came into contact with the will of all living beings, turning from a solid fragment into a viscous liquid of law.
The slurry coated the axe blade and spread along it towards the handle.
The spread was so fast that Su Fan didn't have time to pull the axe back before the slurry had already coated the end of the axe handle.
Su Fan looked down at his left hand, and the thin golden line on his palm suddenly became hot the moment it touched the liquid.
The slurry contained something extremely ancient, not the law of cause and effect, not the law of chaos, but the most primitive form of the original law of the old domain.
It is using the Pangu Axe as a medium to erode the will of all beings within Su Fan's body.
Sun Wukong held his golden cudgel horizontally in front of Su Fan, and the aftershocks of the great calamity on the cudgel exploded into a circle of extremely bright white electric arcs.
The electric arc struck the surface of the slurry precisely, shaking the slurry off the axe handle.
After being shaken apart, the liquid reformed into fragments in the void and continued to drift towards the old domain.
The speed at which it floated was at least several times faster than before.
It absorbed a trace of the will of all living beings that had been eroded from the Pangu Axe during the brief contact just now, and transformed that will into the fuel of the laws that drive its acceleration.
"We can't catch up. Its law structure underwent an irreversible mutation after absorbing the will of all living beings, and its speed after the mutation far exceeds that of any other extraterrestrial divine creation. Ruins, where is the current speed of the old domain's law vortex condensing?"
Su Fan took the broken mirror out of his waist.
"The condensation speed is accelerating. That beacon is remotely accelerating vortex formation with pulses. At the current rate, vortex formation time will be significantly shortened."
"Once it takes shape, the traction force will be released, and the gatekeeper of the first branch will be awakened ahead of time. After being awakened, it will be pulled into the old domain in less than the time it takes to eat a meal. The time has been brought forward, so we must prepare a countermeasure immediately."
Xu's voice was very steady, but he pronounced each word very clearly.
Su Fan tucked the shattered mirror back into his waistband, shouldered the Pangu Axe, and flew towards the membrane wall.
Sun Wukong followed behind him, and the two passed through the narrow opening in the membrane wall and stood once again on the South Heavenly Gate city wall.
The golden light of Mars shone on the city bricks, and everyone on the city wall was looking at him.
Nezha leaned against a pillar of the city tower, carrying his Fire-Tipped Spear. The brightness of the Law Mark on his left shoulder was extremely stable under the blessing of the Pure Yang Talisman.
Yang Jian pieced the shattered mirrors back together, and the real-time condensation speed of the old domain law vortex on the mirror surface was jumping upwards at a rate visible to the naked eye.
Eros stood at the edge of the non-core area, and the semi-transparent dark purple law membrane around him trembled very slightly when Su Fan returned.
Xu walked over from the edge of the Guixu Crack, his right hand pressed against the pale gold line on his chest.
"The vortex of the Old Domain Laws is rapidly taking shape. Once formed, the traction force will be released, and the first branch gatekeeper will be pulled into the Old Domain ahead of time. Once the Old Domain is activated, the essence of the Old Domain Laws will rush to the outside of the membrane wall in less than the time it takes to eat a meal."
"Whether the membrane wall can withstand the impact of the original laws of the old domain still needs further confirmation. The law density of the original laws of the old domain is extremely high. If it impacts the membrane wall from the outside, the law nodes on the surface of the membrane wall will be deactivated one by one under the impact."
"Once the number of inactivated cells exceeds the tolerance limit, a permanent gap will appear in the membrane wall. The gap is not the small gap like the one at the exit of the messenger channel, but a large-area law-based fault on the entire surface of the membrane wall."
"Once the fault forms, the membrane wall completely fails. After failure, the chaotic law cycle inside the membrane wall will be exposed to the void again, and the countdown to the singularity collapse will restart."
"By then, all previous efforts to repair the cycle of chaotic laws will have been in vain."
"Therefore, we cannot fight outside the membrane. We must intercept it deep within the void before the origin of the Old Domain's laws reaches the membrane. Or, we can interrupt the activation process the instant it is activated inside the Old Domain."
Su Fan stuck the Pangu Axe at his feet.
"The law vortex within the old domain has already taken shape for the most part. At the very center of the vortex's core is a law vacuum zone. The law structure in this vacuum zone is extremely unstable, making it the only location within the vortex that can be disturbed by external forces."
"If we can use the aftershocks of a great calamity to detonate a law-based shockwave inside the vacuum zone, the shockwave will disrupt the vortex's condensation rhythm. After it's disrupted, the vortex will dissipate on its own, and the pulling force won't be released, preventing the gatekeeper from being awakened prematurely."
Sun Wukong slammed his golden cudgel against the city bricks, and as he finished speaking, a circle of extremely bright white electric arcs exploded from the aftershocks of the great calamity on the cudgel.
"Detonating the vacuum zone requires the condensation frequencies of the aftershocks of the calamity and the vortex of the old domain's laws to be completely synchronized. Only synchronization can trigger resonance, and only resonance can detonate the zone."
"Great Sage, the frequency of your calamity aftershocks overlaps with the condensation frequency of the old domain's law vortex in a very narrow band. Last time, when you suppressed the causal law patterns on the surface of the cocoon, you used the embers of flint to widen it slightly."
"But the expansion that time was only enough to suppress the cocoon shell, not enough to ignite the vortex. It needs to be expanded by at least 30%. Expanding by 30% requires adjusting the frequency of the laws inside the flint ember crystal to be completely synchronized with the aftershocks of the great calamity. The synchronization process takes time, and what we lack most right now is time."
Xu removed his hand from his chest.
"There's enough time. The vortex of the Old Domain's laws swirls in the deepest part of the void. To fly from the Southern Heavenly Gate to the Old Domain, one needs to pass through the entire void outside the membrane wall. The journey itself takes a considerable amount of time."
"On the way, I'll synchronize with Xu, and we'll detonate it just in time for the Old Domain. Su Fan and Nezha will guard the South Heavenly Gate, and Eros, you stay on the city wall and continue being your resident observer."
"Yang Jian used the shattered mirror to monitor the law fluctuations in the direction of the old domain, while Lao Jun used his Dao Heart to stabilize the law environment outside the membrane. Xu and I will go to the old domain and blow it up before the vortex takes shape."
Su Fan glanced at him, took the Pangu Axe off his waist, and handed it to him.
"Take it with you. The origin of the laws of the old domain has an extremely strong instinct to devour foreign laws, and the aftershocks of the Great Calamity are also within its devouring range. If the aftershocks of the Great Calamity are devoured in reverse by the origin of the laws of the old domain during the detonation, use the will of the Dao of All Beings on the Pangu Axe to cut off the devouring channel."
Sun Wukong took the Pangu Axe and tucked it into his waistband.
Xu took out the stone core from his bosom and held it in his left palm. The silvery-white crystal on the surface of the core brightened up a bit when it came into contact with the flint crystal on Sun Wukong's chest.
He shoved the core into Sun Wukong's hand, and the two leaped out of the South Heavenly Gate side by side.
Stepping on fragments of Kunlun mother rock floating in the void, they flew towards the old domain.
The dark gold barrier on the outside of the membrane was extremely bright behind them. Su Fan stood at the edge of the rampart and watched the two disappear into the deepest part of the void. He removed his right hand from the axe handle and turned to look at Eros.
"If the origin of the Old Domain's laws is activated, the first branch's gatekeeper will be forcibly recalled to the Old Domain. During your stay, did you receive any instructions from the origin of the third branch regarding the third branch's stance after the Old Domain's activation?"
Eros remained silent for a moment.
He raised his right hand from his side, palm facing up, and the crystal of law reappeared in his palm.
This time, only one of the law runes inside the crystal lit up; the other two dimmed completely.
The bright line represents Article 3 of the draft agreement, which stipulates the establishment of a law monitoring station both inside and outside the membrane wall.
"The last instruction I received during my stay came from the origin of the third branch. The instruction contained only one sentence: If the old domain is activated, the third branch monitoring station will automatically shut down."
"After the closure, the Third Branch will no longer send any law data to the Origin, nor will it receive any instructions. This is the only neutral stance the Third Branch can take while the Old Domain is active. I will remain at the Southern Heavenly Gate to continue fulfilling my duties as a resident observer."