# Chapter 46: Thinking Nothing
Upon hearing this, the Nature Mentor was indeed shocked for a moment, but soon, recalling how Joshua had cleared the residual power of the Plenty Evil God deep within the Central Black Forest, she immediately understood what Joshua meant by "eating."
Focusing her gaze, the Nature Mentor quickly noticed that the layer of silver barrier, which grew and spread like a living thing, was indeed continuously capturing the surrounding chaotic energy, forcibly devouring and transforming it into normal material particles.
That was Joshua's "Light of Order."
Not long ago, it was this seemingly ordinary silver radiance—with its world-class chaotic purification ability—that had completely cleansed the power of the Plenty Evil God, the source of the Black Forest's black tide that had plagued the entire continent for centuries.
But now, the silver light that had once swept through chaotic forces like a hot knife through butter, theoretically capable of purifying an entire world's chaotic remnants in just a few days, seemed somewhat inadequate.
One could see that the vast Steel Force enveloped the black star river, like a smaller Dyson sphere, completely obscuring the distorted light. But no matter how hard Joshua tried, nearly thirty percent of the area was always breached by the Decay Evil God's power, releasing surging chaotic fluctuations.
If Joshua were at full capacity, enveloping something the size of a planet's core would be nothing—give him a few planets as resource reserves, and he could even create a Dyson ring surrounding a star. But likewise, if he hadn't severely wounded the Decay Evil God by burning his own mass, the opponent wouldn't have been weakened to this extent.
Yet even so, even though the Plenty Evil God had been far more powerful than the Decay Evil God when it existed, the still-"existing" Decay Evil God now possessed power that the already-vanished Plenty Evil God's remnants lacked.
The Nature Mentor rapidly approached the spreading silver radiance. She could see that the seemingly smooth barrier was covered in cracks, with black chaotic mist occasionally spewing forth. Although Steel Force could forcibly suppress and assimilate chaotic energy to a certain extent, conversely, chaotic energy could also erode and corrode Steel Force. In areas where chaotic fluctuations held the advantage, Joshua's power would be weakened by the opponent into harmless ordinary material clouds, which would then transform into new chaotic energy.
This was the cycle of order and chaos. For both sides, the other was a clinging, bone-penetrating poison. Only by truly mastering the secret of the order-chaos transformation could one unilaterally purify and hold supreme authority.
"How should I assist you?"
The deep green flame-like humanoid descended onto the silver barrier. She didn't speak aloud but communicated directly with Joshua through her mind. At the same time, she couldn't help adding, "Why bother, Joshua? Since you've already broken the momentum of the Decay Evil God's world-eroding advance, just maintain the suppression. Our reinforcements will arrive soon. There's no need to insist on fighting alone."
"Moreover, during the previous chaotic eruption, you clearly could have dodged—why did you have to confront the evil god head-on with your fundamental power?"
Even the Nature Mentor could see how dangerous Joshua's current situation was. Although it seemed the warrior now held the advantage and even declared he would devour the evil god, in reality, both sides were locked in a stalemate, each using their fundamental power to consume and annihilate the other's. For the Mycroft side, which originally had a method of sealing without injury, this was clearly a disadvantage.
But a deep, indistinct voice directly entered Galannod's ears.
"Why should I dodge?"
The voice was calm, even carrying a hint of amusement: "This is the only safe opportunity—with my probability of death below forty percent—to experience the power of a true, living evil god. It's a once-in-a-lifetime chance, one that may only come once with such safety."
One could see that at the point of confrontation between Steel Force and chaotic energy, all sorts of strange phenomena appeared. The decay fluctuation could even lower the frequency of electromagnetic waves, shift the color spectrum downward, and directly interfere with the energy-level transitions of electrons, causing all things to approach absolute zero while gradually decaying toward primitive, basic structures. This phenomenon manifested in the observable universe as the silver radiance being split into seven colors, with the red among them rapidly expanding, and the luster of the light growing increasingly dim.
Under the influence of such power, even memory and information were no exception. Ordinary people's memories would gradually fade and be forgotten. But while fighting against such power, Joshua still showed no fear: "Even those outsiders of unknown origin know to take this opportunity to probe the evil god's power. Galannod, don't be too timid. Adventure itself is part of progress. Come help me temporarily seal the gaps. I'll try to concentrate power and penetrate deep into the evil god's core to see if there's a chance to disperse it directly. Only then will we have an opportunity to devour it."
"So this is why you've always been alone. With habits like this, you've survived only because the Sage is watching over you... or maybe that's actually the case?"
The Nature Mentor had nothing to say and could only sigh: "Seal the gaps? Fine, I'll try."
With that, the deep green flame-like humanoid took root on the silver continent like a tree.
Green patterns began to spread rapidly from Galannod's landing point across the entire planetary barrier.
Like the veins of a leaf or the roots of a banyan tree, after Joshua granted the Nature Mentor permission, Galannod could mobilize a portion of Steel Force for her own use as a resource to resist chaos. But as a legendary figure—an elven powerhouse whose age might exceed the history of the Radcliffe Family—would Galannod really do that?
Of course not.
Accompanied by a sound like something shattering at the edge of the world barrier, a gentle yet lively, life-filled powerful aura broke through the barrier and entered the sealed world. Immediately, countless green specks appeared in the black void, like falling leaves. As these leaves drifted, they continuously decomposed, rapidly and decisively annihilating the surrounding chaotic fluctuations.
The Nature Mentor's companion, the legendary magical beast "Fluffy," arrived at the battlefield. It quickly found its partner's location, let out a joyful cry, and then its tens-of-kilometers-long body began to split inch by inch, transforming into an endless swarm of strange insects with leaves for wings, flying toward the depths of the chaotic mist where the silver continent lay.
Each leaf-insect was about a meter long, resembling bees in overall form, but their bodies and wings were entirely composed of wood and leaves. They were both a group and individuals. The collective life's mind controlled them, directing their limbs, and then they unhesitatingly charged toward the thousands upon thousands of cracks on the silver continent that spewed chaotic fluctuations.
Meanwhile, the giant tree formed by the Nature Mentor had already grown. It took root at the equator of the silver continent, spinning rapidly in accordance with Joshua's rotation. The giant tree was lush with branches and leaves, continuously scattering leaves to expand the natural domain. The vast deep-green halo spread rapidly across every part of the continent following the planet's rotation. Once the leaf-insects entered the range of this halo, they immediately became invigorated, receiving heavy reinforcement.
"Go, Fluffy." The Nature Mentor's voice came from within the giant tree: "Devour those chaotic mists!"
The next instant, the collective creature, receiving its command, transformed into a sky-covering swarm of insects, emitting a perfectly uniform buzzing sound as they vibrated their wings and charged toward the countless cracks. They seemed unafraid of the evil god's power, plunging headlong into the chaotic mist.
Immediately, countless leaf-insects fell like rain, destroyed by the chaotic power. But at the same time, as the dead insects decomposed, large amounts of chaotic energy were neutralized. Moreover, in death, a portion of the swarm also gnawed at some chaotic energy, using it as raw material to create a new generation of leaf-insects.
One could see that the vast majority of the first-generation leaf-insects were killed by the Decay Evil God's power, decaying into drifting dust. But a small portion survived because they had assimilated some chaotic energy into natural force.
Then, these surviving leaf-insects, supported by the Nature Mentor, rapidly reproduced and split, giving birth to the next generation with even greater resistance to chaos.
They continued buzzing happily, rushing toward each crack to seal it. This time, the chaotic power needed more time to kill them.
The Nature Mentor could hear the joyful mental cry of the legendary collective creature, Fluffy. The dead insects were equivalent to losing most of its body, but with the help of its partner, these lost bodies could rapidly recover. The two sides' powers complemented each other, achieving a synergy greater than the sum of their parts.
Soon, the small Dyson sphere that Joshua alone couldn't fully seal began to expand again. With the spread of green radiance across the silver continent, only about ten percent of the surface area remained as openings for the Decay Evil God to exchange information and matter with the outside world.
But precisely because of this, the chaotic power spewing from these gaps was several times more concentrated and destructive than before. Even the leaf-insects, combined with waves of Steel Force, tried to block it, but the extremely dense chaotic energy would erode them in reverse, rendering their efforts futile.
"This should be enough."
The Nature Mentor was also shocked by Joshua's sudden display of skill. She hadn't expected that the massive legendary magical beast was essentially a collective life form that could disperse at will... and the combination of the Nature Mentor and Fluffy had such terrifying effects.
Just think about it: if the leaf-insects' target of erosion weren't the chaotic power from the evil god—the mortal enemy of all life—but normal organic matter, soil, and minerals in the material world, then with the swarm's devouring and reproduction speed, turning a living world into a barren wasteland, or even completely devouring an entire world, probably wouldn't be difficult.
If the swarm reached a certain number, eating worlds would probably be only slightly slower than his own body directly consuming planets. In terms of war potential, it might even surpass him.
"I'm going to attempt to penetrate deep into the evil god's main body."
While the Nature Mentor and Fluffy jointly suppressed the Decay Evil God, Joshua wasn't idle. At the magnetic poles of the silver planet he had transformed into, he condensed a forty-kilometer-long spike, like a nail. The spike's surface was inscribed with various runes, and rings of powerful electromagnetic arcs flickered across its surface. The warrior planned to use his own power to simulate the strong magnetic field of a pulsar, accelerating this Steel Force spike to directly penetrate deep into the chaotic star river.
To this day, the Mycroft people of the Era of Falling Stars still didn't know how to kill or seal an evil god.
Perhaps some could analyze the essence of an evil god, some could purify chaos, but no one knew whether their methods would still be effective when the target shifted from sealed chaotic power to a true evil god. They didn't know the internal structure of an evil god, nor what secrets lay in the deepest depths of chaos.
After fighting the Decay Evil God, Joshua knew that pure physical attacks couldn't kill an evil god—unless his attack's energy level could reach that of a black hole, annihilating all information. Besides physical attacks, there must be other ways to harm an evil god, but he didn't know them yet.
So Joshua decided to try, to be the first to eat the crab. The Steel Force spike carried the hope of exploring this secret.
If it didn't work, he could always detonate the spike, scattering the Decay Evil God's core structure. The warrior never suffered losses—one unit of mass for one unit of destructive power.
Soon, the next instant, as space and light around the spike rippled like water, strong gravitational disturbances and electromagnetic wave anomalies even caused severe distortion in the light's spectrum and path. After a series of chaotic space-time fluctuations, the forty-kilometer-long Steel Force spike began to spin wildly, then accelerated through one electromagnetic node after another, flying forward.
And then.
It turned into a point of light, dragging a deep red halo, and disappeared into the dark star river at the bottom of the silver continent, almost completely sealed within the warrior's body.
At this moment, the Nature Mentor was still spreading her roots, sealing the gaps in Joshua's Steel Force barrier.
At this moment, the leaf-insect swarm was still tirelessly charging at the chaotic fluctuations, undergoing one adaptive evolution after another.
At this moment, in the Aklafa Hub, Priest was chatting with Su Er, and the two had just arrived in the hall with the clergy to check if the elves of the Watcher Tribe had any serious injuries.
Time seemed frozen at this moment, frozen at this very instant.
But in this seemingly frozen time, a mournful wail could be heard, as if from a distant place, its source unknown.
"Waaaaaah—"
The next instant, the frozen time shattered. Immediately, whether it was Joshua or the Nature Mentor, the defense platforms of the Aklafa Hub or the legendary beast Fluffy, all beings resisting the chaotic fluctuations felt the pressure on them lighten. The originally imposing chaotic fluctuations, which had maintained their resistance even under the suppression of several legendary figures, suddenly fell silent.
"Did it succeed?!"
The Nature Mentor was both surprised and delighted: "Joshua, did you find the evil god's core hub? Does it really have such a thing?!"
"Gurgle gurgle..." Fluffy also made a shocked sound.
But their response was the warrior's serious denial.
"No."
A solemn, low voice seemed to come from deep within the continent. Joshua spoke gravely: "The Steel Force spike felt nothing before it self-destructed. I don't even know where it struck, or what structure its explosion destroyed, to make the Decay Evil God suddenly become like this."
And at the same time.
Inside the silver continent's seal.
The black star river that the Decay Evil God had transformed into was still spinning rapidly, with countless points of light flickering along its spiral arms.
But now, one could see that the pitch-black, filthy chaotic radiance began to change rapidly. Black turned to gray, the filthy light became ambiguous, and the endless chaotic fluctuations originally spewing from the black star river now emitted a breath similar to primordial Steel Force—something between chaos and order.
Under the combined assault of three legendary figures—Joshua, the Nature Mentor, and Fluffy—the Decay Evil God, pushed to its limit, seemed to decay once more, its chaos transforming into the form that had shocked the Sage and the other nine legendary figures thousands of years ago! The chaotic fluctuation that decayed everything was now nearly absent, leaving only a faint, strange gray radiance—neither chaos nor order—slowly spreading.
But unlike the previous chaotic fluctuations that tended toward material decay, this seemingly harmless gray radiance was completely unaffected by the blockade of Steel Force and natural power. Though it appeared faint, it could directly penetrate the silver continent enveloping the planet's core, transmitting deep into the minds of Joshua, the Nature Mentor, and others. Not only that, this gray fluctuation spread throughout the entire sealed world, into the minds of all living beings.
It couldn't affect matter... but it could affect souls!
Buzz!
A faint buzzing sound arose.
A vortex that had no effect on the material world but stirred up a storm in the spiritual world began to spin!
Immediately, countless colorful points of light began to emerge from every corner of the void.
Those were souls—the souls of all intelligent life living in this world!
Among the countless points of light that emerged were the souls of elves, the souls of dwarves, the souls of dragons, the souls of gnomes and goblins, and naturally, the souls of humans.
Some of these souls belonged to descendants of the Radiant Expeditionary Force buried in this world over long ages. Some belonged to ordinary people living on the sealed planet who had forgotten everything. Among them were warriors, mages, soldiers waiting to return to their homeland, and natives who had grown up and died in this world.
But no matter whose soul it was, one could clearly see that each soul bore traces of filthy corrosion.
That was the mark of the Otherworldly Sickness—the mark of chaotic erosion!
Above the silver continent, nine massive steel warships began to tremble violently, as if something inside was frantically ramming, trying to break through the steel cage. At the same time, Joshua had no time to care about the warships' anomalies. He had already observed the Decay Evil God's transformation and guessed its intention.
"As expected, it had already prepared for escape and encountering strong enemies thousands of years ago... These souls, bearing chaotic marks, are its reserve food! They are its insurance for recovery!"
Joshua watched the countless soul lights seriously, and his heart sank.
He had no soul. Even if the Decay Evil God's soul-targeting decay fluctuation invaded his soul space, it was useless. But besides him, both the Nature Mentor and Fluffy fell silent, clearly struggling with all their might to resist the evil god's call. Even legendary beings found it difficult to withstand this attack, needing to exert themselves fully to remain unaffected.
But now was not the time for analysis.
In the dark void, clusters of brilliant soul lights began to converge, forming a majestic river of starlight, a surging, vast stream of light. Then, guided by the chaotic marks, it flowed like a waterfall of souls through the remaining cracks in the silver continent.
Countless soul lights tainted by chaos flickered, as if nurturing a power capable of corroding everything and devouring all.
Joshua knew that even though he was unaffected by this soul attack, with both sides' powers already locked in stalemate, if the Decay Evil God obtained such a massive power supplement, then before the reinforcements from the Mycroft world could arrive, he, the Nature Mentor, and the others might be finished here, devoured by the evil god's counterattack.
This couldn't continue. He had to do something.
Not for these innocent souls, not for these beings stored as the evil god's reserve food... Well, perhaps there was a little bit of anger.
In any case, the Soulflame King, Joshua van Radcliffe, didn't think about any reasons. He simply, naturally, instinctively used the quality-to-soul conversion technique he had only used a few times, condensing from nothing an immensely vast, bright soul—like a sun.
And then, following the guidance of the chaotic fluctuation, the sun-like soul plunged into the darkness, intercepting the endless stream of light.
A human soul began to confront the evil god's will head-on, contending for the ownership of these thousands upon thousands of souls.
At this very moment.
On one side of the sun-like soul.
A small void crab twitched its claws.
It was awakening.
It had awakened.