Chapter 1189 542: Hive Mother_2

At this moment, the ancient book is surrounded by countless dark red flesh tendrils, with the mother hive exerting its full effort to infiltrate it with its own corrupt will, attempting to digest and assimilate it. However, the surface of the ancient book is always rippling with a weak yet indomitable halo. That halo is pure, vast, filled with order and reason, like an insurmountable natural barrier, stubbornly resisting the erosion of the rust force.

Each pulsation of the mother hive dims the halo slightly. Each flicker of the halo purifies the rusted flesh that approaches into nothingness.

This is a silent yet extremely perilous tug-of-war.

The guidance of Fire leads inevitably to this object! The divine court's Dao Collection Hall, with billions of volumes and scrolls, has its true core—the source and ultimate summary of all Dao and logic—in such an apparently ordinary ancient book!

"The Divine Court Doctrine General Outline..." Xu Ran's heart instantly conjures these words. He can almost be certain that this book contains the essence of wisdom accumulated by a glorious civilization! Its value might even surpass that of the immortal Fire!

At the moment Xu Ran's gaze penetrates the mother hive and locks onto the ancient book.

Roar——!!!

An invisible roar, enough to shatter the Divine Soul, explodes within the Dao Collection Hall!

The mother hive is enraged!

It perceives the external probing, an intention filled with "plunder," a covetousness for its ultimate delicacy about to arrive!

Boom rumble rumble!

The entire Dao Collection Hall, covered by a rust fungus blanket, seems like a slumbering ancient behemoth, completely awakening. On the walls, the dome, and the ground, the thick, crust-like dark red fungus blanket suddenly bursts open. The tendrils of flesh composed of billions upon billions of rust insects, like demonic hands extending from the depths of Hell's Abyss, spread across the sky, assaulting the Pioneer from all directions!

Where these tendrils pass, the Space Law is corroded, emitting a "sizzle" of lament, showing a pathological rusty hue. This is no longer a simple physical attack but a "Dao" pollution—an eerie law to completely rust away the Pioneer, a Divine Gold creation, from its conceptual root!

"Not good!" Cang Shi's expression changes dramatically, "The Fire Guardian can't hold on!"

Right outside the Pioneer, the pale golden light screen formed by the Power of Fire begins to flash violently under the frantic whipping and corrosion of countless rust tendrils. The light dims visibly, and fine cracks appear on the surface, as if ready to shatter at any moment.

"Form the Array! Defend!" Xu Ran's voice is calm as Profound Ice for ten thousand years, without a trace of panic, echoing through the chaotic bridge, like a stabilizing force.

"As commanded!"

Zhen Shan roars, the first to rush out of the bridge, standing on the bow deck. Behind him, a hundred generals file out, swiftly standing in predetermined positions.

"Reincarnation Battle Array, rise!"

Buzz!

With Zhen Shan at its core, the aura of the hundred generals instantly connects as one. Behind them, their thrones forged by Fire appear simultaneously, no longer mere peril or punishment, but unified into dark gold military judiciary thrones!

A hundred thrones resonate, eliciting a grand, mighty, iron-blooded and unfeeling will. Golden law chains eject from the battle array, like Heaven and Earth Net, precisely entangling the attacking rust tendrils.

Sizzle sizzle sizzle!

The collision of golden military law chains and dark red rust tendrils erupts an ear-piercing dissolving sound. Military judiciary will, symbolizing order and rule, is the nemesis of this chaos and corruption force. For a time, it indeed manages to fend off the fiercest wave of attacks.

"Master, there are too many of these things, endless to kill! The battle array consumes tremendously!" Zhen Shan's voice comes through Divine Thought, filled with gravity. He can sense that with each breath they've held off, their Divine Power is wildly consuming, even more terrifyingly, the rust will is attempting to reverse-corrupt their thrones along the law chains!

Inside the bridge, Cang Shi presses hands onto the control array. Behind him, the heavenly stone divine Dao phenomenon fully displays, as the blue firmament and the immortal rock seem to merge wholly with the entire Pioneer.

"Power of Ruins, suppress!"

Grey chaos energy, through the array, continuously injects into every corner of the ark, struggling against the pervasive rust law. He raises the defense of the Pioneer to its utmost, the entire ship as if transformed into an eternally enduring Divine Stone, unmoved by wind and rain.

Yet, everyone knows this is merely a temporary measure. Like a leaf boat caught in a stormy sea, passively defending, they'll eventually be overwhelmed.

Must break the stalemate!

Everyone's gaze gathers on the man standing atop the highest point of the bridge, his black hair moving without wind.

Xu Ran's eyes are terrifyingly calm. He does not look at the apocalyptic scene outside, his eyes—the Guixu Eyes flowing with chaos gas—remain fixedly locked on the ancient book at the mother hive's core.

He knows that's the only hope and the ultimate goal of this expedition.

Direct confrontation is unwise. Utilizing one's strengths to attack the enemy's weaknesses is the best strategy.

"The true essence of Gui Xu is conclusion, is the final destination of all things..." Xu Ran mutters to himself, his voice seeming misplaced in this world, with a detachment transcending time and space, "Decay and corruption are also a form of 'existence.' All existence must meet its doomsday."

At this moment, his will elevates to an unprecedented height. He no longer uses the Power of Ruins merely as an energy but transforms into the executor of the Gui Xu concept!

"I grant you... conclusion!"

Boom!

An intangible will radiates from Xu Ran, expanding abruptly.

This will has no devastating energy fluctuations but makes the furious mother hive feel, for the first time, a hint of instinctual... fear!

Xu Ran reaches out a finger toward the mother hive's direction, lightly pointing.

"Gui Xu... Dao Guide!"

In an instant, before the Pioneer, that chaotic space filled with rust tendrils suddenly appears a "path."

It is a path made of ultimate grey, not forcibly dispelling nearby tendrils but making all rusted substances it touches, whether energy or entity, instantly lose all "activity," accelerating billions of times through its entire course from "existence" to "extinction," directly decomposing, annihilating, and transforming into the purest void.

Gui Xu is not destruction, but letting everything return to its rightful conclusion.

This "Nirvana Path" leading to the mother hive's core is forcibly created by Xu Ran!

"Now is the time!"

Xu Ran's eyes blast with Divine Light, he does not leave the bridge as he needs to command the center, challenging the mother hive's entire will. But he has a better method!

"Fire, resonate!"

His Divine Thought boldly triggers the immense Fire totem at the Pioneer's bow!

Buzz——!

That totem seems to be infused with infinite fuel, instantly bursting out a gold-red light brighter than a billion stars. This light is no longer gentle guardianship, but filled with unrivaled dominion and command intent!

A beam formed of ultimate Fire essence and Power of Ruins, half gold-red, half grey-dark, follows that "Nirvana Path," like a creation divine spear piercing through eternity, accurately shooting toward the mother hive's core!

This beam's goal isn't to attack, but to... usher!

Inside the mother hive, sensing the kindred and benevolent Fire aura's instant, the ancient book heavily suppressed and its light increasingly dim, as if hearing a long-lost reunion call from a kin, trembles fiercely!

Boom!

On the ancient book, the mysterious seal abruptly shines, a vast and boundless "reason" and "order" bursts forth from the book!