The deathly silence of Greenwood City was torn by the shrill cry of a crow. The bird circled over what was once the market square, its crimson eyes fixed on the only standing figure below—Lin Mo.
It was no ordinary bird; black mist coiled between its feathers, a low-level demonic creature drawn by the thick death energy of this place. It scented the fresh blood and flesh, but more intensely, it detected a strange, intoxicating "fragrance" that made its demonic soul tremble with instinctive fear and greed—the resonance of something transcending this world's laws emanating from Lin Mo.
Lin Mo paid no heed to the tiny observer. He was looking inward, contemplating the majestic presence of the Lex Universae within his consciousness. The successive activations of his Judgment authority, especially the Law-power invoked to erase the Golden Core demonic cultivator, Daoist Blood Soul, were now causing subtle feedback within the Tome's phantom form.
It wasn't damage, but more like a... warning.
At the very edges of the Lexicon, a wisp of pale gray energy, finer than a hair, coiled almost imperceptibly. It grated slowly against the foundational Laws permeating this world, a friction, a cancellation. This was the natural rejection of an "anomaly" by this world, the inevitable "attrition" from the contact of two different rule systems.
"Higher the level of power used, stronger the Law-rejection." Lin Mo understood instantly. In his current state, judging Golden Core cultivators was manageable. But directly employing core authorities like [Concept Alteration] against higher-tier existences would likely provoke a geometric increase in Law-based backlash. The Lex Universae needed time, needed information, to gradually analyze, adapt to, and potentially overwrite this world's underlying logic.
He opened his eyes, his gaze falling upon the black crow still circling high above. The creature was wreathed in a faint aura of bloodlust; it had clearly fed on living beings. Its sin was minor, but it was marked.
"Discordant."
Lin Mo did not initiate a Judgment against it. He simply willed it, stirring the most basic "Order" in the surrounding area. The circling crow suddenly slammed into an invisible wall. With a sharp squawk, its demonic aura instantly collapsed. It plummeted straight down, hitting the charred ground with a sickening thud. After a few twitches, it lay still.
Not an execution, merely letting its own inherent "Disorder" (demonic energy) crash against stabilized "Order," resulting in natural collapse. The method with the lowest cost.
As the crow fell, a sharply indrawn breath, desperately suppressed but still audible, came from behind a half-collapsed wall in the distance.
Lin Mo didn't need to turn his head. His perception on the level of Law already fed him the information: a youth in moon-white daoist robes, mid Qi Refining cultivation, an ancient compass hanging from his waist vibrating wildly. The youth's face was deathly pale, his eyes filled with unspeakable terror and... a near-frantic thirst for knowledge.
A disciple of the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion? Lin Mo retrieved the relevant information from his host's fragmented memories. A sect known for deducing celestial secrets and gathering intelligence, its disciples often traveled the world, observing stars and ley lines, recording strange occurrences. They sought "Truth," but sometimes got burned for peeking too deep.
The youth, Zhao Yan, felt his heart hammering, threatening to burst from his chest. Sent by his master to investigate the anomaly at Greenwood City, he had felt the suffocating stillness and the residual terrifying energy fluctuations from afar. When he tried to use his sect's treasure, the "Star-Calming Compass," to probe the source of the only life force in the city, the needle went completely haywire, pointing directly at the figure in blue robes who stood like an unfathomable abyss!
What terrified him even more was witnessing the "Soul-Corrupting Crow," a creature comparable to an early Foundation Establishment cultivator, fall and die merely because the other party willed it! It was as if the world itself had rejected the crow. What kind of power was this? Words becoming Law? Or... Law Rejection?
Zhao Yan knew he should flee immediately. His sect's teachings repeatedly warned against peering into the unknowable and provoking the unnameable. But a desire stemming from the very core of his Dao heart—a craving for the ultimate "Truth"—nailed his feet to the ground. Trembling, he stepped out from his hiding place.
"This junior... Zhao Yan, outer disciple of the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion," his voice was hoarse as he bowed deeply, almost pressing his face into the dirt. "Pays respects to the Elder! I... I have boldly disturbed you. I beg for your forgiveness!"
Lin Mo looked at him indifferently, offering no response. That gaze made Zhao Yan feel as if he were standing naked in a frozen wasteland, all his thoughts exposed.
"E-Elder," Zhao Yan forced down his terror, mustering the greatest courage of his life, "This junior... witnessed your divine might, cleansing the evil... my heart... yearns for it. This junior is presumptuous... the power you wielded just now... did it... did it touch upon the fundamental 'Rules' and 'Laws' of heaven and earth?"
The Star-Calming Compass at his waist vibrated even more violently, the needle emitting a strained hum.
Lin Mo's gaze finally shifted from Zhao Yan to the compass.
"Those who spy upon the Rules, are ultimately consumed by them." His voice was placid, yet carried a chill that pierced the soul. "Your tool, your Dao, all fall under the scrutiny of the 'Rules.' The karma of this place has become a vortex. With your Qi Refining cultivation, touch it and perish."
Zhao Yan shuddered, his face ashen. How could he not know? But having it stated so bluntly made the shadow of death feel like a hand around his throat.
Lin Mo stopped looking at him and turned to leave. A mere Qi Refining ant was no different from dust to him.
"Elder, please wait!" Seeing him depart, Zhao Yan, in his desperation, blurted out, "This junior is willing to offer all the intelligence I possess! The distribution of powers in this realm, information on the strong, even... even the locations of many places festering with filth and towering sin! I only ask... to be allowed to follow you, to witness the power of Law!"
He prostrated himself on the ground, his voice trembling with excitement and fear. This was a gamble, with his life as the stake, for a chance to glimpse a higher "Reality"!
Lin Mo's steps halted almost imperceptibly.
Intelligence. This was precisely what the Lex Universae needed now—necessary to parse this world's rules and locate the sources of "Sin." This Heavenly Secrets disciple might save him considerable effort in searching.
He remained silent for a moment. To Zhao Yan, the silence felt like an eternity.
"Acceptable."
The single word was like a pardon, causing Zhao Yan to nearly collapse in relief.
"Keep up." Lin Mo strode forward, his pace still measured, but his figure was already dozens of zhang away. "Recount the places you know to be the most deeply mired in sin."
"Yes! Yes! This junior obeys!" Ecstatic, Zhao Yan scrambled to his feet, desperately channeling his spiritual power to give chase, hurriedly saying, "To answer you, Elder, thirty thousand li east of here lies the 'Black Mire Swamp.' Evil cultivators within use living souls to refine magical instruments. Their leader is an old monster at the Nascent Soul stage! Fifty thousand li north, the 'Dark Abyss Cave' is occupied by a group of poison-path cultivators who often kidnap mortals for drug testing..."
One behind the other, the two figures gradually vanished from the edge of Greenwood City's ruins.
On Lin Mo's path of Judgment, he had gained a willing follower, a witness, and a source of information.
But the warning of the Lex Universae and the deeper rejection of the world had only just begun.