The Firmament Realm, an indescribable void dimension somewhere.
Here is the headquarters of Shadow Tower.
A magnificent building named "Hall of No Light" is quietly suspended in eternal darkness.
There is no Stars, no light, not even the concept of up, down, left, and right.
The entire palace seems to be made of the purest shadows and the deepest silence. Once any light comes close, it will be completely swallowed by its strange material, leaving no trace of A Trace.
Inside the palace.
Sea of Returning Souls.
This is the core place where Shadow Tower stores the life cards of all members.
Billions of light spots with uncertain brightness and darkness are like an upside-down galaxy, flowing slowly in the darkness. Each light spot represents a member of Shadow Tower.
If the light spot is bright, your life will be safe.
If the light spot is dim, you will be seriously injured.
When the light point is extinguished, the body will die and the path to death will disappear.
An old man with a stooped figure who blends in with the shadows is the guardian of this Sea of Returning Souls. He has been sitting here for three million years and has witnessed the lighting up and extinguishing of countless light spots.
His heart has long been as calm as this space.
suddenly.
The guardian's eyelids, which had remained unchanged for thousands of years, twitched slightly.
He slowly raised his head and cast his turbid eyes on the top of Sea of Returning Souls.
There, there were hundreds of exceptionally bright light groups suspended there, each one like a small Taiyang, exuding a terrifying aura that would make real Immortal Capital feel palpitated.
They represent Shadow Tower's highest combat power - Half-Step Quasi-Immortal Emperor, who is also the elder of the organization.
Just now, he felt A Trace's extremely unusual throbbing.
It doesn't come from one light group, but... three.
He squinted his eyes, trying to see more clearly.
But those three light clusters were still bright, their aura was stable, and they showed no signs of weakening.
"Is it an illusion..."
The guardian whispered to himself, shook his head, and prepared to close his eyes again.
However.
The next moment his thoughts changed.
A sudden change happened without any warning!
Sea of Returning Souls Top.
The three "little Taiyang" representing Shadow One, Shadow Two, and Shadow Three have bright lights that have not experienced any dimming or flickering process.
It was as if they were wiped out instantly from the source of existence by an invisible hand.
Poof.
Poof.
Poof.
Three soft sounds, as light as dust settling.
Those three light groups were directly, completely, and cleanly... annihilated in the guardian's wide-open pupils.
It's not bursting, it's not extinguishing.
It is annihilation.
It turned into the purest nothingness, not even A Trace dust was left behind.
It's as if they have never existed in this Sea of Returning Souls.
The guardian's rickety body suddenly straightened up, and no sound came out of his open mouth.
The extreme shock caused his long-dead heart to beat crazily.
At the same time.
The deepest part of Hall of No Light.
In a more majestic and darker Throne Great Hall.
Twelve figures shrouded in shadows sat in two rows. They were the decision-makers of Shadow Tower, the twelve senior elders.
At the end of the Great Hall, a taller and more blurry figure sits on Throne, which is carved from a single piece of "Eternal Night Divine Iron".
He is the original poster of Shadow Tower.
Inside the hall, it was as dead silent as ever.
Until a sharp siren broke the eternal silence, suddenly resounding throughout the Great Hall!
Buzz--!
In the center of the Great Hall, a bloody light curtain unfolded out of thin air.
Above the light curtain, three lines of cold text burned everyone's eyeballs:
[Elder 'Shadow One', the life card is annihilated.]
[Elder 'Shadow Two', the life card is annihilated.]
[Elder 'Shadow Three', the life card is annihilated.]
Dead silence.
A kind of deathly silence that was more terrifying than the empty space outside the temple fell instantly.
The twelve elders who usually hold the power of life and death for billions of living beings all trembled when they saw these three lines of words.
Their gazes towards the light curtain were full of disbelief.
"No way!"
An elder roared, breaking the dead silence. His voice became sharp due to the violent fluctuations in emotion.
"Shadow One, Shadow Two, Shadow Three, join forces to perform a mission! The target is just the person in charge of a newly rising force, how could it be possible..."
"Annihilation! You see clearly, it is annihilation!"
Another elder's voice was trembling, "It's not that it was extinguished! This means that they couldn't even escape A Trace True Spirit. They were completely wiped out from the root in an instant!"
"Three top Half-Step Quasi-Immortal Emperor! Working together, even the real Quasi-Immortal Emperor is capable of dealing with one or two! How could they die at the same time without even being able to send a distress message back!?"
"Where is that 'Primordial Ruined Temple'...?"
Panic, like a plague, spreads in the hearts of these old monsters who have lived for endless years.
They are not afraid of death, but they are afraid of the unknown.
This strange situation in which three of their top combat forces evaporated instantly without even knowing what happened was completely beyond their understanding.
"That's enough."
At this moment, a calm but majestic voice came from above Throne.
The voice was not loud, but it was like a heavy hammer, hitting every elder's heart hard.
The noise stopped suddenly.
All eyes were focused on that vague and tall figure.
Shadow Tower original poster.
He still maintained that posture, motionless, as if Divine Mountain had remained forever.
No one can see his expression clearly.
But all the elders can feel that an extremely cold will is slowly awakening.
"The host..."
An elder spoke with difficulty, "This matter... is too strange. I will request you to use 'Heaven-Watching Mirror' to trace back to Karma to find out the truth!"
"No need."
The host's voice sounded again, with unquestionable determination.
"Any retracement is a provocation to that existence."
"Since the other party can 'annihilate' three Half-Step Quasi-Immortal Emperor together with their Karma in an instant, it means that he can also follow the prying eyes of 'Heaven-Watching Mirror' and obliterate us behind the mirror."
These words made all the elders' hearts sink to the bottom.
What the host meant is very clear.
The enemy's strength has exceeded the scope of what they can test.
Any act of snooping is tantamount to suicide.
Above Throne, the original poster slowly raised a finger.
Everyone held their breath.
They knew that the host was about to issue the highest order.
"Give me orders."
The host's voice echoed in the dead silence of the Great Hall, and every word was filled with a biting chill.
"First, from now on, 'Primordial Ruined Temple' and its associated forces 'Temple' will be listed as the highest-level 'Eternal Taboo' list of Shadow Tower."
Eternal Taboo!
Upon hearing these four words, the pupils of the twelve elders suddenly shrank!
Shadow Tower's assassination list is all-encompassing, from mortals to Immortal Emperor, all with prices.
But there is also a "taboo list" that is never open to the public.
No matter how high the bid is for someone on the list, we will never accept an order.
And "Eternal Taboo" is the highest and most terrifying level in this list!
It means that not only cannot they accept orders, but all members of Shadow Tower must unconditionally avoid all people, things, and things related to the target! Once encountered, they must flee immediately without any contact!
The last time a new name was included in "Eternal Taboo" was tens of millions of years ago, after a Immortal Emperor massacred a branch of Shadow Tower!
And today, just because of the failure of a mission, a little-known "Primordial Ruined Temple" must be included in this level?
"Second."
The host ignored the elders' shock and continued to speak in his cold tone.
"Abolish all agreements signed with the Treasure-Gathering Immortal Pavilion, and list 'Treasure-Gathering Immortal Pavilion' as 'undesirable'. All members will sever all ties with it immediately."
This is going to be... a complete cut!
For a mission, not only did I give up revenge, I also gave up the big fish Treasure-Gathering Immortal Pavilion!
"Third."
The host's voice became increasingly chilly.
"Completely destroy all information on this mission, including the client, target information, mission process... from all files, leaving no scraps behind."
"For the public, let's just say that Shadow One, Shadow Two, and Shadow Three died unexpectedly while exploring a forbidden area."
"This matter ends here. No one is allowed to discuss or investigate anymore."
"Those who disobey the order..."
The host paused and spat out the last two words.
"... Kill."
Cold murderous intent instantly filled the entire Great Hall.
The twelve elders were as silent as a cicada, lowered their heads in unison, and respectfully said, "Follow... the order of the host!"
Even though they were filled with confusion and unwillingness, at this moment, they did not dare to disobey in the slightest.
The original poster's will, in Shadow Tower, is absolute heaven.
The bloody light curtain slowly dissipated.
Great Hall, return to deathly silence.
A long time.
The figures of the twelve elders quietly blended into the shadows and disappeared.
In the empty Great Hall, only the lonely figure on Throne is left.
He slowly raised his head, his gaze seemed to penetrate the barrier of Hall of No Light and cast it in an endless and distant direction.
That is... the direction of "Hongxing Ruined Temple".
In the darkness, a very soft whisper sounded faintly.
"Temple..."
"... is that you?"