The Aura of Annihilation was like an invisible pall, continuously shrouding Myriad Dao Academy. After several days, its corrosive effects had become increasingly apparent, no longer confined to minor details.
Within the Scripture Repository, the words in some foundational treatises manifested through divine sense flickered dimly. Disciples now had to expend far more mental energy than before to grasp their true meaning.
At times, there was even a sense of discordant principles that could not reconcile with one another, as though the logical foundations supporting those truths were being loosened by some force.
On the Literary Practice Field, when disciples practiced Tongue-and-Sword, the intangible blades of intent formed more slowly and had lost some of their sharpness.
Moreover, they were more easily stirred by the omnipresent intent of annihilation and scattered before taking shape.
Even circulating the most basic Literary Fire Body Tempering Chapter had become somewhat sluggish. As Literary Qi flowed through their bodies, it felt as though it bore an invisible burden.
The Academy's overall efficiency in learning and cultivation had clearly declined. An intangible restlessness and pressure had replaced its former tranquility and harmony.
Even Xuanjizi, Elder Teng, and the other Core Disciples felt powerless when they tried to resist or analyze the Aura of Annihilation with the power of their own Literary Palaces.
Their principles and Order seemed to lose their immediate effectiveness before this pure "end" and "nothingness."
"Senior Brother, this cannot continue for long."
Jin Li's voice was heavy. Even the golden stone luster on his body had dimmed somewhat. "The disciples are unsettled, and their cultivation has been obstructed. If we cannot find a solution soon, the Academy's fortunes may decline."
Elder Teng was deeply worried. "This aura is strange. It is unlike anything from the Primordial Era. It erodes the foundations of principles and dismantles Order itself.
"We use Order against disorder, existence against nothingness. It is like fighting fire with water, yet this blaze originates beyond the rules, and the water itself is instead evaporated..."
Even Yun Xi, who excelled most at protection, felt helpless now. Her Literary Brilliance Barrier could block impacts of energy.
Yet it could hardly defend against this intent of "dissolution," which permeated every inch of space and struck directly at the essence of existence.
An atmosphere of despair silently spread like a plague. Some Registered Disciples with weaker resolve had even begun to consider leaving.
Xuanji pondered bitterly, tracing the source in search of an answer.
Faced with this predicament, Xuanjizi, as the First Disciple, bore the greatest pressure.
He forcibly suppressed the anxiety in his heart and pondered countermeasures day and night without rest. Again and again, he recalled the profound teachings of the Confucian Dao imparted by his teacher, especially the concepts of "Investigating Things to Attain Knowledge" and "Unity of Knowledge and Action."
"Investigating things... requires understanding their essence. This aura is neither spirit nor baleful energy, neither yin nor yang. Its nature is 'stillness,' and its intent is 'annihilation'..." Xuanjizi sat motionless in the Stillness Chamber.
Within his Sea of Consciousness, the light of the Platform of Seeking Literary Palace flowed as it continuously deduced, "It does not actively attack. Rather, it is like a... 'base color' of existence, a 'destination' all laws must eventually face?
"No, that is not right. If it truly is the ultimate destination, why does it erode only our Literary Dao so noticeably?
"Is it because our Literary Dao places the greatest emphasis on the principles of 'Order' and 'existence,' making it fundamentally opposed to this aura?"
He had grasped the crucial point! The Aura of Annihilation did not attack indiscriminately. It seemed more "sensitive" toward highly ordered, principle-based forms of existence, and its corrosion was faster and more effective against them.
This instead proved that the path pursued by the Literary Dao pointed directly toward the Order and principles at the core of heaven and earth!
"Since they are opposites, then there must be a principle of mutual generation and restraint!" A flash of realization appeared in Xuanjizi's eyes. "The power of our Literary Dao originates in the heart, manifests in principles, and takes form through Order.
"This aura seeks to destroy Order. What should we do? It is not a matter of meeting it head-on with stronger Order. Perhaps... we must comprehend the cycle of birth and destruction within 'Order'? Only by knowing its destruction can one know its birth?"
He recalled their journey to Black Tooth Marsh. They had not forcibly destroyed the Source of Filth. Instead, they had continuously cleansed and guided it with Literary Radiance Dao Charm until it finally returned to Order.
"Perhaps... resistance is not the only path. We could understand it, contain it, even... guide it back into the Order of our Dao?"
A bold thought emerged in Xuanjizi's heart. This was not compromise, but the search for a higher level of harmony and unity after deeply understanding the opposing side.
That would require extraordinary wisdom and absolute confidence in one's own principles.
Yun Su's transformation, destruction followed by renewal.
Just as Xuanjizi was bitterly considering a solution, something unexpected occurred within the Academy.
Yun Su, the Cloud Spirit who had always been relatively quiet and followed a rather unique path of cultivation, experienced the Aura of Annihilation entirely differently from the other disciples due to her inherently ever-changing nature.
When that intent of "dissolution" acted upon her shifting body of cloud qi, it did not bring intense erosion. Instead, it felt like an... ultimate "stillness" and "emptiness."
Under the pressure of that peculiar "stillness" and "emptiness," Yun Su's Illusion-Reality Literary Heart began operating at an unprecedented speed.
She felt as though all her external forms and distractions had been stripped away, leaving her face-to-face with the most fundamental core of her being.
Within her residence, her form would sometimes completely disperse into formless qi, then suddenly gather again, no longer taking her usual form of clouds and rosy mist.
Instead, she became a strange orb of light that constantly flickered in and out, with countless minute principle-runes within it appearing and vanishing without end!
Under the pressure of annihilation, she had actually begun spontaneously exploring another possibility for her own existence!
She was attempting a dangerous fusion and transformation between the principle of her own "change" and the intent of annihilation's "nothingness"!
The process was full of uncertainty. At times, her aura was so faint that it was almost impossible to sense; at others, it erupted into chaotic and powerful fluctuations, filling the nearby disciples with concern.
However, after several crises in which she had nearly collapsed, Yun Su's flickering orb of light abruptly stabilized at a certain moment.
It transformed into a clear, translucent radiance like glazed crystal, as though it could reflect all things while seeming to contain nothing at all!
Within the light, her form gathered once more. She remained ethereal, but her eyes were clearer and more resolute than ever.
Her Illusion-Reality Literary Palace, tempered by annihilation, had formed into the peculiar state of Between Existence and Non-existence. Neither real nor unreal, it could evolve all phenomena and also return to silent nothingness.
Her use of Each Word a Pearl had also undergone a transformation. The words she wrote could actually imitate a trace of annihilation's intent for a brief moment.
Though far inferior to that primordial aura, it was enough to cause an opponent's divine abilities to freeze and collapse for an instant!
In the depths of desperation, Yun Su had relied on her unique gifts and profound understanding of principles to forge a perilous path: incorporating the intent of annihilation into her own Literary Dao and making it her own!
Though this path had only just begun, its power remained limited, and it was filled with the unknown, it was undoubtedly a ray of dawn piercing the darkness!
Hope was kindled, and the road ahead held promise.
Yun Su's successful transformation greatly encouraged the Academy's disciples.
It proved that this strange Aura of Annihilation was not absolutely impossible to resist. The key lay in how one understood it and combined it with one's own Dao!
When Xuanjizi heard of this, his spirits soared. Yun Su's example confirmed his conjecture—the answer to resisting the end was not firmer existence.
It was understanding the end, transcending the end, and finding eternal principles within the cycle of birth and destruction.
He immediately gathered the Core Disciples and shared his thoughts along with Yun Su's example.
"Fellow disciples!" Xuanjizi's gaze blazed, and his voice regained its former steadiness and strength. "The Aura of Annihilation is both a crisis and a trial!
"What it tests is our faith in our own principles, and whether we can still uphold the meaning of 'existence' in the face of 'nothingness'!
"Junior Sister Yun Su has already shown us a direction—understand it, transcend it, even... master it!"
He no longer emphasized how to disperse the Aura of Annihilation. Instead, he guided everyone to consider how they might further temper their Literary Hearts in this confrontation between "existence" and "nothingness."
They would deepen their understanding of principles and perhaps even develop new branches and applications of the Confucian Dao.
For a time, the Academy's pessimistic atmosphere was swept away. The disciples reignited their fighting spirit and began to face matters with a more proactive and exploratory attitude.
They faced this ubiquitous "Whetstone." Within the Hall of Discussing the Dao, debates over "Order and chaos," "existence and nothingness," and "the cycle of birth and destruction" once again became fervent.
In this unprecedented crisis, Myriad Dao Academy not only did not sink into ruin, but under Xuanjizi's guidance and Yun Su's example, began a profound reflection upon and tempering of its own Dao Lineage.
Literary Radiance might have been temporarily obscured by dust, but their Dao Hearts shone with an even more dazzling brilliance beneath the pressure of despair.
True transformation was quietly taking shape amid pain and struggle.
And the Dragon Palace hidden deep beneath the Sea Eye still did not know that the power of destruction it had brought forth was becoming the finest catalyst for its opponents to break through their bottlenecks and temper their Dao Hearts.
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