Xuanjizi comprehended the conceptual realm of The Unchanging Change and created the method of Yi Li Ding Ji, like lighting the first bonfire amid spreading toxic miasma. Though it could not disperse all the gloom,
it pointed out a direction for the entire Academy and injected them with renewed resolve. Hope was rekindled, replacing the previous despair and anxiety.
The Academy cultivated deeply, and a hundred flowers bloomed.
Under Xuanjizi's leadership and selfless instruction, the Academy's Core Disciples began to study this newly born principle of "Yi" in depth.
Combining it with the traits of their own Literary Hearts, they tried to integrate it into their cultivation and divine abilities, creating a flourishing diversity of approaches.
Elder Teng was no longer satisfied with merely slowing the withering of plants. With their profound understanding of life and their Benevolent Resilience Literary Heart, they began deducing the mysteries of the Cycle of Wither and Flourish.
They marked out a small experimental plot in the Medicine Garden. Rather than forcibly isolating the Aura of Annihilation, they guided their own Literary Qi to simulate the natural principles of seasonal cycles and the alternation of life and death, enveloping the corroded spirit plants.
At first, the spirit plants withered faster. Yet at the very instant their vitality was about to be completely severed, a purer, tougher new shoot stubbornly sprouted from the ruined roots.
The vitality it contained was even more refined than before!
Though the success rate was low and it consumed an enormous amount of mental energy, this was undoubtedly a perilous path of incorporating annihilation into the cycle of life—breaking first, then rebuilding.
Yun Xi's path of guardianship also changed.
Her Guardian Bastion Literary Palace was no longer merely a sturdy barrier. It evolved into inner and outer layers, with the outer layer flowing like water.
It constantly underwent "void-real" transformations with the invading Aura of Annihilation, guiding and dispersing part of its corrosive power.
The inner layer, meanwhile, grew ever more solid, protecting the core from harm. She called this method the Void-Real Symbiosis Shield. Though it could not eradicate the threat, it greatly improved the defense's resilience and endurance.
Jin Li tried to incorporate the principle of "Yi" into his fierce Tongue-and-Sword technique.
He no longer pursued ultimate sharpness. Instead, he gave his blades of intent a hint of the meaning behind Flow of Metal and Stone when attacking.
After striking a target, they could not only inflict damage but also briefly disrupt the structural stability of the opponent's power. It was exceptionally effective against enemies dependent on specific forms of energy or laws.
Mingxin devoted most of her effort to deduction. Relying on her Wisdom Light Literary Heart and combining it with the principle of "Yi,"
she began trying to construct a simple model that could more accurately predict the flow and changing patterns of the Aura of Annihilation.
Though progress was slow, it laid the foundation for possible proactive responses in the future.
Even Huiming, who had come from the west, was deeply shaken after encountering the conceptual realm of The Unchanging Change, his eyes gleaming with wonder.
It seemed to resonate strangely with certain wondrous Western arts he knew. He cultivated with even greater diligence, and his sense of belonging to the Academy deepened imperceptibly.
As for Xuanjizi himself, while consolidating Yi Li Ding Ji, he began contemplating a deeper question: the Aura of Annihilation was inexhaustible—where was its source?
Merely defending and containing it passively was not a long-term solution. Could they find its origin and solve the problem at its root?
Several times, he attempted to trace the flow of the Aura of Annihilation with his newly comprehended "Yi"-principle Literary Qi.
He sensed that it seemed to possess an extremely faint yet intrinsically connected pull toward some direction in the depths of the East Sea.
This filled him with doubts, and he turned his gaze once more toward that deep sea ruled by the Dragon Palace.
Cracks in the Dragon Palace, spreading panic.
Just as the Academy united as one and pressed forward through hardship, unprecedented fractures began appearing within the East Sea Dragon Palace due to their failed plan and fear of the unknown.
The consequences of Ao Guang and the Turtle Prime Minister forcibly invoking the Aura of Annihilation began to emerge.
Several Dragon Race princes who had participated in the ritual suffered varying degrees of regression in cultivation due to excessive depletion and the backlash of the Aura of Annihilation's strange power.
Their dragon bodies also bore dim blotches that were difficult to heal, as if time itself had decayed them, while their dragon scales lost their luster. An air of decline and rot filled the Dragon Palace's entire upper echelon.
Even more frighteningly, despite their strict lockdown of information,
the intelligence that "Myriad Dao Academy seemed to have found a way to counter that mysterious power" still spread quietly through the Dragon Race's upper ranks like a plague.
Panic spread uncontrollably.
"It's over... Even the Aura of Annihilation can do nothing to them... Does our Dragon Race... have any hope left?"
"We never should have listened to the Turtle Prime Minister and taken such a dangerous gamble! Not only did we fail to take revenge, we may have brought even more terrifying consequences upon ourselves!"
"If Sage Wanhua traces the source of this aura... won't our Dragon Palace follow in the Water Army's footsteps and be wiped out completely?!"
Doubts, complaints, and even secret accusations against the Dragon King and Turtle Prime Minister's decisions began spreading among the Dragon Race princes and powerful generals.
The Dragon Palace's ruling class, once as solid as iron, now showed clear and visible cracks.
The Seventh Prince, Ao Xin, was even more anxious day and night. He knew he was the fuse that had ignited the entire conflict, and he feared that in his despair, his father would hand him over to quell the Sage's wrath.
That day, a Dragon Race prince known for his blunt and upright temperament finally spoke out during the council. "Your Majesty! Turtle Prime Minister!
"Now that things have come to this, are we still going to sit and wait for death?
"If Myriad Dao Academy can truly neutralize the Aura of Annihilation, their next step will certainly be to trace its source! We must make plans early!"
"Plans? What plans are left?" another prince sneered. "Seek peace? With what? Shall we offer ourselves up as materials for their artifact forging again?"
The hall immediately descended into chaos, the arguments unending.
The Turtle Prime Minister's face was ashen, and he remained silent. Looking at the divided clan below and listening to the arguments filled with despair and panic, Ao Guang felt another surge of blood rise in his throat. His dragon body swayed slightly.
The Dragon Race he had been so proud of had actually reached the brink of such disintegration under his rule!
"Enough!" Ao Guang slammed his dragon throne, his voice hoarse and weary. "This matter... will be discussed later! All of you, leave!"
He weakly dismissed the dragons, then slumped alone upon the cold dragon throne, staring at the empty hall.
For the first time, deep regret appeared in his eyes. Perhaps... from the very beginning, he should never have provoked Myriad Dao Academy...
Eyes in the dark, a new shadow.
Yet the Dragon Palace's disaster could not conceal itself from every watchful gaze.
While the East Sea was thrown into treacherous turmoil by the Dragon Palace's internal strife and the Aura of Annihilation, no one noticed that deep within a desolate sea far from both the Academy and the Dragon Palace,
a hazy black mist, seemingly formed from countless negative emotions and Twisted Shadows, was silently observing everything.
Within the black mist, two points of scarlet light flickered uncertainly like a demon's eyes.
"The scent of annihilation... Though faint, it is indeed that intoxicating Power of Termination..."
A hoarse voice filled with greed whispered from within the black mist. "Those Dragon Race fools were actually able to invoke such power... Though they failed, they have provided an excellent coordinate..."
"Myriad Dao Academy... Literary Dao... Order... They are precisely the most delicious food for us Formless Heavenly Demons...
"Especially when that Order is corroded by annihilation and reveals a flaw..." another sharp voice continued, carrying chilling malice.
"Wait... Wait patiently... When the Academy becomes most deeply entangled with annihilation and the Dragon Palace,
"that will be the moment for us to descend and feast... The Primordial Era needs more chaos and... despair!"
The black mist slowly sank into the deeper seabed and vanished, as if it had never appeared.
Yet a malice colder and purer than the Dragon Race's hatred had already scattered silently through the winds of the East Sea like spores.
While Xuanjizi and the Academy disciples worked to resist annihilation and stabilize their internal situation, they still did not know that an even greater crisis, born beyond this realm and aimed at the mind and Order,
had already opened scarlet eyes in the darkness, coveting this Pure Land of Literary Radiance where dawn had only just appeared.
Before their internal troubles had been settled, external threats arrived once more. The fate of Myriad Dao Academy was being swept into an even more turbulent undercurrent.
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