The deepest part of the Dragon Palace, the Sea Eye restricted zone.
This was no longer the splendor of crystal palaces, but a world ruled by endless darkness and crushing water pressure.
The enormous Sea Eye rotated slowly and terrifyingly like the throat of a primordial beast, devouring all light and sound.
At the center of that absolute darkness and dead silence was a faint, constantly twisting, shifting glow.
Like a wound clinging to the Sea Eye's barrier—it was the Chasm of Guixu, sealed by the Dragon Race for generations.
At this moment, led by the Turtle Prime Minister, several Dragon Race core members, including Ao Guang, stood gathered before that dim light.
They had all revealed part of their true dragon forms, their massive dragon bodies winding through the darkness like mountain ranges.
Yet their dragon eyes held none of their former majesty, leaving only the madness of a desperate gamble and fear that had seeped into their bones.
"Your Majesty, esteemed princes, begin!"
The Turtle Prime Minister's voice sounded exceptionally shrill within the absolute silence as he held an ancient Dragon Pattern Array Disk in his hands.
Nine Dragon Pearls emitting dim blood-red light were embedded within it—each containing a portion of the origin blood essence left behind by previous Dragon Kings before their deaths.
Ao Guang lowered his dragon head and released a dragon roar suppressing endless agony and resolve.
He was the first to force out a drop of Heart Blood Essence, brilliant as a ruby and yet containing immense dragon might and the origin of life.
It fell into the center of the array disk. The other Dragon Race princes followed, each forcing out their own blood essence.
As nine drops of Dragon King blood essence fell into the array disk, the Dragon Pattern Array Disk suddenly erupted with dazzling blood-red light.
An ancient, desolate aura carrying the Dragon Race's final pride and despair spread outward, temporarily dispersing the surrounding darkness.
"With the blood of our race, we sacrifice ten thousand ages of hatred! Draw forth the Power of Annihilation and cleanse the humiliation of all directions!"
The Turtle Prime Minister rasped out the ancient, ominous incantation and violently thrust the array disk toward the Chasm of Guixu!
The instant the array disk touched the dim glow, there was no earth-shattering boom, only a teeth-grinding rrrip, as though cloth were being slowly torn apart.
The dim glow twisted and expanded violently. The ancient chains of Runes personally laid down by the Ancestral Dragon upon the seal gave groans of unbearable strain, flickering uncertainly.
An indescribable "aura," surpassing every known energy attribute of the Primordial Era, seeped silently from the tiny gap that had been forcibly torn open, like ink spreading through clear water.
It was invisible, immaterial, colorless, and odorless. It gave off no energy fluctuations and stirred no ripples in the laws.
It was like the purest form of "nothingness," the opposite of existence, the end of Order.
Wherever it passed, even darkness itself seemed to be "erased," becoming a deeper, more heart-palpitating void.
This was—the Aura of Annihilation!
"Quick! Guide it! Send it toward Myriad Dao Academy!"
Blood seeped from all seven of the Turtle Prime Minister's orifices. Maintaining the array disk and incantation inflicted tremendous backlash upon him, yet he still screamed madly.
Ao Guang and the other Dragon Race princes pushed their bloodline power to the limit. Through the connection between the nine drops of blood essence and the array disk, they carefully guided it as though handling an invisible venomous serpent.
They led that faint yet deadly strand of Aura of Annihilation out of the Sea Eye, merged it into the vast waters of the East Sea, and sent it flowing soundlessly toward Myriad Dao Academy.
After completing all this, every dragon collapsed as though drained dry, their auras weakened to the extreme. The array disk's glow dimmed as well, its surface covered in cracks.
As they watched the direction in which the Aura of Annihilation vanished, there was no joy in their eyes at the success of their scheme—only deeper fear and the numbness that came before destruction.
They did not know what specific consequences this strand of aura would bring. They only knew that they had personally opened a crack in Pandora's box.
Silent Erosion, Changes Within the Academy
Several days later, Myriad Dao Academy.
At first, everything was normal. Morning bells and evening drums sounded as recitations rang out clearly, while the Aura of Literary Splendor continued to rise into the heavens, peaceful and orderly.
But gradually, extremely subtle, nearly imperceptible changes began to appear.
It began with several Registered Disciples of shallow cultivation, who inexplicably felt restless during meditation. Their Literary Qi occasionally became sluggish as it circulated, as though something invisible were interfering with their comprehension of Dao principles.
They merely assumed something had gone wrong with their cultivation and did not investigate further.
Soon afterward, the edges of the leaves on certain exotic flowers and spiritual herbs nourished by Literary Qi began to show faint signs of withering, as though time had accelerated their decay.
Though slight, it was utterly incompatible with their original state of flourishing vitality.
Elder Teng, who tended the Medicine Garden, was the first to notice. His Literary Heart of Benevolent Resilience was especially sensitive to changes in vitality, and he sensed a faint force somewhat similar to the Source of Filth in Black Tooth Marsh.
Yet it was more fundamental, more "empty," and it was silently eroding the Academy's environment.
"Senior Brother Xuanji," Elder Teng said as he found Xuanjizi, his aged face grave. "The Academy... seems somewhat wrong.
The vitality of the plants has been damaged, disciples occasionally encounter obstructions in cultivation, and the air... seems to contain a trace of indescribable 'dead silence.'"
Upon hearing this, Xuanjizi immediately became vigilant. He circulated his Literary Qi, spread out his divine sense, and carefully examined the surroundings.
With his cultivation at the middle stage of the Golden Immortal realm, nearing the late stage, and the powerful insight into anomalies granted by his Literary Heart of Seeking, he finally caught that strange aura almost completely fused with heaven and earth.
It was neither evil nor chaotic, but an utterly pure intent of "dissolution" that was silently seeping into the Academy's omnipresent Literary Radiance Dao Charm.
Like dripping water wearing through stone, it was slowly yet steadfastly dismantling the foundation of Order that formed Literary Qi!
"What... is this power?" Xuanjizi's heart shook violently. He had never sensed such a bizarre existence.
It did not attack on its own or provoke conflict. Its mere existence caused everything around it to move toward "termination"!
He immediately ordered tighter monitoring of the Academy's formations and summoned all Core Disciples who had formed their Literary Palaces and possessed keen senses to jointly investigate the origin and nature of this strange force.
However, the Aura of Annihilation originated beyond this world, and its form of existence far surpassed the common sense of the Primordial Era. Even Xuanjizi and the others could only vaguely sense its presence.
They found it difficult to trace its source, much less figure out how to dispel it.
Like a Bone-Attached Sore, it silently spread alongside the Literary Radiance Dao Charm upon which the Academy depended.
When some disciples tried using Literary Qi to dispel it, they discovered that once their Literary Qi came into contact with the Aura of Annihilation, not only could it not purify it.
Instead, like ice and snow beneath the sun, its own structure showed signs of collapsing on its own! This discovery cast a shadow over everyone's hearts.
Literary Splendor Dims, Hearts Begin to Stir
As time passed, the changes became increasingly obvious.
The Literary Radiance Pillar above the Academy, once pure and resplendent, seemed to have dimmed slightly, no longer as dazzling as before.
While cultivating, disciples found the frequency of inner demons quietly increasing. Some Dao principles they had once understood clearly now became vague and difficult to grasp, as though separated by a thin veil.
The "Myriad Dao Academy" plaque personally inscribed by Wanhua also saw the radiance of its great Dao characters withdraw slightly, as though resisting some invisible force of erosion.
The entire Academy seemed to have been covered by an invisible layer of dust. Its vigorous, upward spirit, full of wisdom and vitality, was being suppressed by an unseen force.
A faint anxiety and unease began to spread through the hearts of some disciples.
"Can even a Sage's Dao ground... be eroded?"
"What exactly is this thing? Even Literary Qi cannot dissolve it?"
"Will our cultivation... be affected?"
Doubt and worry quietly grew like weeds.
Xuanjizi, Elder Teng, and the others did everything they could to stabilize morale, strengthen patrols, and try every possible method. They even used Literary Treasures refined by the Dragon Race Water Army.
Yet they discovered that these Literary Treasures were equally limited against the Aura of Annihilation. Even the Dragon Race origin within them seemed more likely to draw the Aura of Annihilation's erosion.
For a time, the situation reached a stalemate.
The Academy was like a healthy, strong person infected with an unknown, slow-acting poison. It was not fatal, yet it continuously weakened its vitality and vigor.
The Sage Watches, Tempering Begins
Within Chaos Space, Wanhua slowly opened his eyes. Naturally, nothing happening outside could escape his perception.
"The Sea of Annihilation... truly lives up to its name."
He murmured softly, with no surprise in his eyes, only a trace of curiosity.
"This aura originates from termination and seeks return to nothingness. It is quite an unprecedented trial for the principles of 'Order' and 'existence' within the Literary Dao."
He did not immediately act to disperse this strand of Aura of Annihilation. To him, although this aura was strange, it was still far from capable of threatening the Academy's foundation.
Instead, he regarded it as a tempering for the disciples, especially core disciples such as Xuanjizi.
Flowers raised in a greenhouse could not withstand wind and rain. A true Dao Lineage needed to forge its most resilient essence through every kind of adversity and unknown challenge.
He wanted to see whether, when faced with a threat beyond conventional understanding, his disciples could rely on their own wisdom and steadfast adherence to Dao principles to find a way to respond.
His gaze turned toward the Sea Eye in the East Sea, and a chill flashed through his eyes.
The Dragon Palace's actions had already crossed his bottom line. However, the time for reckoning had not yet come. Let that desperate madness ferment a little longer.
The greatest crisis Myriad Dao Academy had faced since its founding had arrived silently, striking directly at its foundation.
Literary Splendor was dimmed, and hearts had begun to stir. Under the Sage's deliberate "inaction," could Xuanjizi and the others pierce through the mist with their own strength and find a method to resist this power of "termination"?
And where would the strand of Aura of Annihilation brought forth by the Dragon Palace ultimately lead matters? All the answers lay hidden within the increasingly dense, invisible gloom.
Before you continue