[Fulcrum of the Present World: Sacrificial Temple of the Absolute Beginning]
A mere handful of words, but for some reason, strung together, Ji Jue could barely make sense of them.
There was simultaneously too much information and far too little, to the point that the moment he began to ponder it, his brain overloaded and felt entirely inadequate...
This was not the first time he had seen the prefix "Fulcrum of the Present World." He had already encountered it back at the Ring of Taiyi's guild headquarters—Tianshu.
If back then he could dismiss it as mere praise or a descriptive modifier, now it seemed the meaning of "fulcrum" was likely far more exaggerated and crucial than he had imagined.
For its importance in the Celestial Rail's assessment to match Tianshu was already enough to put Ji Jue on full alert. Not to mention the entity attached to the end: the Sacrificial Temple of the Absolute Beginning.
With such a badass name, its value and pedigree would certainly be top-notch.
He prepared himself for any possible mishap.
Only after repeatedly checking every preparation did he screw up his courage and decide to set off.
After all, anyone could figure out—even thinking with their heels—that there was no way it would let him waltz right in with ease, right?
Then Ji Jue discovered: there really was good reason why normal people did not think with their heels!
Because he was in.
Plain and simple, completely effortless, and outrageously fast.
He had barely sat down on the Doomsday Express, tapped the navigation, and confirmed departure.
And that was it.
The Myriad Phenomena Engine shuddered slightly, spiritus coursed through, and the fuel reserves plunged sharply. Then he saw the platform scenery outside the window shift faintly before settling back to normal.
The train departed, left the station, and arrived.
Total time elapsed: less than a second.
Before anyone would have even had time to peddle boxed meals or hawk snacks and knick-knacks, a notification popped up on the panel: [Fulcrum of the Present World: Sacrificial Temple of the Absolute Beginning. Arrived.]
Ji Jue had not even processed it before feeling a wave of regret and disappointment radiating from the Doomsday Express.
It was as though the train had not been out on the tracks in forever, only to reach its destination the second it left the driveway.
Left wanting more.
He could only stroke the control panel, patiently consoling it, "It's okay, little train, you did great. A few seconds is already plenty long."
For some reason, though, his comfort only seemed to make the Doomsday Express sadder...
The platform outside remained largely unchanged from before departure—still an extension and manifestation of the Doomsday Express's domain. However, compared to the previous platform, it possessed less rustic simplicity and more flamboyant extravagance, tinged with the dilapidation and desolation of centuries without maintenance.
It was blanketed in dust.
As a station recorded within the Celestial Rail, its domain was far larger than the express's platform, but it remained an enclosed space, obscuring the view inside and out.
After confirming that the train could operate at any moment and double-checking all his preparations, Ji Jue hoisted his pack onto his shoulders and walked step by step toward the gates.
With a flash of light, he found himself standing in an unnamed hall halfway up the mountain of the sacrificial temple.
When he looked back over his shoulder, the station's entrance had already turned into an ornate, crack-covered relief carving.
And by the time his vision swam and regret hit him—
It was too late.
"Holy shit—the Eternal Empire?!"
Just look at this outrageously lavish, extravagant decor, the architectural style completely distinct from modern aesthetics, and the omnipresent hymns and panegyrics. Where else under the heavens could this be?
When the fleeting glimpses from Quicksilver's past records leaped before his eyes, Ji Jue felt a shudder run through his entire body. Then, an indescribable hatred and fury welled up from his soul!
It did not stem from him, but rather from the force that had silently assisted and supported him all along—Matrix: Non-Offensive?!
At this moment, Non-Offensive stirred, surged, and raged!
Innumerable silver traceries spread across his hands, instantly cloaking his soul. Then, from within the dazzling silver radiance, a wisp of darkness and blood manifested alongside a killing intent hidden away for centuries—as if it had long been etched into the matrix's deepest stratum.
Kill what the eyes see, kill what the ears hear, kill what the nose smells, kill what the tongue tastes, kill with the body itself!
Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!
Kill every fucking thing!
Even separated by four or five hundred years, crossing such a vast stretch of time, the moment it sensed the power of the Eternal Empire and the lingering scent of the Heavenly Pillar hanging almost tangibly in the air, bone-deep malice and loathing burst forth.
Eternity must end, the reign must be severed, and the shackles must be shattered—
The Emperor must die!
And with Non-Offensive's agitation, the entire silent Border Realm seemed to shudder faintly. Power surged within the sacrificial temple, and the Shadow of the Tower churned within the vortex.
The Shadow of the Tower, once cleaved by the Edge of Revolution, reacted instinctively. Innumerable black threads extended from the void out of thin air, thousands upon thousands coalescing into a terrifying tide that swept forward in a vast deluge!
And within the great hall, ancient bronze statues snapped open their eyes—pitch-black and crimson—and lunged forward brandishing fractured weapons!
Before Ji Jue even had time to react, they had dropped to their knees before him.
Prostrating completely.
"?"
Ji Jue stood dazed, looking around blankly, only to see the roaring black deluge screech to an abrupt halt before vanishing without a trace at an even more absurd speed than it had appeared.
It completely ignored Non-Offensive's malice and provocation.
Turned a blind eye, turned a deaf ear.
Slipped right away!
Amid the dead silence, Ji Jue took in his surroundings, and finally, looked down in confusion. All he saw was a faint glow emanating from his wrist and a subtle warmth in his breast pocket.
The wristwatch carrying Celestial Rail authority, and the Mirror of Contained Forms?!
At this moment, a wisp of faint light rose from both, crisscrossing through the air to sketch out two completely different, intricate emblems.
As though verifying credentials.
One was shaped like an open hand plucking countless threads to restore order from chaos, labeled underneath in an ancient tongue: [Imperial Sovereign's Hand].
Instantly, verification passed.
As the light shifted, the emblem and script transformed into a new form: [Passage to All Quarters, Taboos Dispelled].
The other resembled crisscrossed sword blades and scrap iron encircling a majestic crown. Beneath the emblem, the title displayed was: [Swordsmith Hanxiang]!
Following verification, the shifting light manifested one final line of fresh characters, revealing his authority:
—[Wearing Sword and Shoes into the Hall, Granted Audience Without Announcing Name]!
In the end, the two streams of light converged and descended onto Ji Jue.
Instantly, the malice of the entire world and the omnipresent suffocation vanished without a trace, replaced by an unprecedented sense of comfort and ease.
It felt just like coming home—utterly carefree and unconstrained.
"Uhhhh..."
Ji Jue tentatively reached out and tapped the stone carving and bronze statue in front of him. No reaction. He tapped again. Still nothing.
They were just inanimate objects. Stripped of the blessing from the Law of Tianyuan within the temple, they held no divine or mystical properties whatsoever.
Ji Jue cautiously awakened Non-Offensive and waved his hand. This time, no matter how strongly Non-Offensive's aura manifested, the sacrificial temple showed not the slightest reaction.
It did not care in the least. It checked status, not individuals—even if the one bearing the authority was a Mohist rebel, it treated him as completely invisible.
Even as he repeatedly tested the waters at the doorstep, it displayed not a shred of impatience.
"So I'm one of their own now?"
Ji Jue scratched his head and looked down at the gold-inlaid floor tiles beneath his feet. After a long moment, he asked tentatively, "Then I... won't hold back, alright?"
The sacrificial temple did not reply.
Ji Jue took that as tacit agreement.
He immediately and deftly pried one loose, his hands moving with lightning speed.
Throughout the entire process, countless black threads and the surrounding stone and bronze statues twitched and did sit-ups continuously like they were having epileptic seizures, yet stubbornly made no move to stop him.
At that, Ji Jue's expression grew increasingly nuanced.
Clutching the tile, he turned on his heel without hesitation.
Three minutes later, Ji Jue reemerged from the station with his sleeves rolled up, a sack slung over his shoulder, pushing a handcart, and clad in a set of work overalls.
Then, chest puffed out, he set off, huffing and puffing with gusto!
The Imperial Cemetery shopping spree—wasn't this just getting started?!
"Aaaagh! Master, Master, save—save me! Saaaave—aaaaagh!"
In the dead silence, only shrill, agonizing screams echoed endlessly.
Yet there was no answer.
Everyone silently shifted away without uttering a single word. Even the leading guru of Wulou Temple wore an ashen expression, his hand rising several times only to freeze in midair.
He could not even grant his own disciple a swift end.
In the ruined corridor, everyone stared at the shadows drifting back and forth not far away, chilled to the bone. No matter how meticulously they observed every taboo, oversights were inevitable.
Not only did those shadows riot the instant they caught the scent of outsiders, but the reliefs on the walls and the omnipresent stone carvings and bronze statues could also spring an unpleasant surprise on them at any moment.
The monk who had triggered the taboo just now had merely glanced back by accident while passing down the corridor, looking at a peeling oil painting of the Emperor's imperial portrait on the wall.
And then he froze in place.
No one knew what he had actually seen, but by the time he realized he ought to bow and pay homage, it was already too late.
His body had already begun to dissolve rapidly. First to go was his face, slumping downward like soft mud, followed by his limbs and torso. Yet strangely, after his initial terror, what followed was a hysterical euphoria and excitement. He flailed his melting limbs, dancing and reveling with boundless joy: "I... I—ha, haha, hahahahaha! I see it! I... I am—"
*Splat!*
The mud-like body burst apart with a wet pop, turning into vivid oil paint that left a garish stain across the floor.
Yet amidst those multicolored stains, an afterimage slowly took shape, squirming and gradually rising before dissolving into the crack-ridden portrait.
Never to be seen again.
Only that joyful laughter—like an auditory hallucination—echoed through the murky corridor, raising goosebumps on everyone's skin.
"Duke Wuyou, what is the meaning of this?"
In the crowd, an emaciated, corpse-like woman twitched. "Didn't you say that with the waist tablets, we wouldn't need to worry about being attacked by these things?"
At this moment, the battered waist tablets hanging on each person still flickered with a faint light, but they brought not the slightest sense of security.
This had been a treasure Duke Wuyou gritted his teeth to part with after losing member after member of the expedition.
Yet other than alleviating a sliver of the Tianyuan pressure here, it was completely fucking useless!
"Do any of you hold an imperial office or noble title? The waist tablets serve merely as passes to walk the imperial palace; they cannot protect against acts of presumption!"
Duke Wuyou retorted coldly, his expression grim. "The Emperor's majesty extends across the four seas, ruling the world, his magnificent person gathering the glory of myriad phenomena. The Eternal Monarch is virtually the embodiment of Tianyuan itself! Lowly creatures who rashly behold the heavenly countenance without paying homage will naturally be assimilated, just as rotting grass and fireflies meet the sun and moon!
"I informed you of the rules long ago. Did you think I was exaggerating?"
The emaciated woman's expression shifted slightly, but under the cold glares of Duke Wuyou's numerous subordinates, she kept her mouth shut after all.
For the rest of the trek, no one dared to speak.
Only Duke Wuyou walked ahead with a heavy expression, leading everyone through the labyrinthine pathways of the sacrificial temple, drawing closer step by step toward the mountainside.
Yet as they traversed the paths, everyone felt the ground beneath them suddenly shudder. Innumerable scalp-numbing scraping sounds erupted from the masonry and walls.
As though an earthquake were striking.
At the very summit of the Border Realm's highest peak, the sacrificial temple quaked!
A majestic tolling of bells burst forth from nothingness, and a pitch-black tide rippled outward along the sound waves, sweeping in all directions and echoing endlessly throughout the Border Realm.
Darkness swam before everyone's eyes, and their backs bowed involuntarily.
"Kneel!"
Under Duke Wuyou's barked command, they abandoned all pretenses and dropped to their knees on the long avenue, offering audience rites to the sacrificial temple atop the mountains alongside all the shrieking shadows.
Within the ranks, just behind Shehri, a White Stag corruptant from the Wolf Den unconsciously frowned. His bowing motion was half a beat too slow, and under the rhythmic surge of the Shadow of the Tower, both his legs were instantly crushed to pulp.
Gritting his teeth, he did not even dare to utter a scream.
And this was merely a minor aftershock of the Law of Tianyuan punishing the irreverent...
The entire Border Realm seemed to abruptly plunge into a tempest. Wave after wave of tremors surged from the abyss below, churning the sea of clouds into ceaseless turmoil.
A spine-chilling roar arose from the bottom of the abyss, shrill and venomous, like the dying scream and curse of an ancient monstrosity.
For thousands of years, it remained etched into the fabric of the past, echoing without cease.
Yet they dared not even look. Gritting their teeth, they could only silently endure the crushing weight of the tolling bells wave upon wave, praying under the faint shelter of their waist tablets that the bizarre anomaly would end as quickly as possible.
"Holy crap..."
At the edge of a precipice within the sacrificial temple, Ji Jue poked his head out, staring dumbstruck at the colossal shadow lurking in the abyss.
"What an enormous snake!"
Chapter 443