Above the Black Sea in the Void Obliteration Domain.
The sea was as still as an eternal night, without waves or wind, only the distant sky was covered by an indescribable darkness.
To the naked eye, the Black Sea appears as nothing more than an abyss that swallows light; but to the Fate Soul, one would discover that a certain boundary above it has been forcibly folded.
Cause and effect cease to flow here, and the laws of the universe are disordered here, as if a fragment of space forcibly carved out from the Source of Epochless is suspended above the fifth dimension.
The fifth dimension. It is a vast, isolated space.
There were no stars, no sun or moon, only countless crisscrossing array patterns floating in the void. These array patterns were not carved, but formed from Annihilation Structure rune bones, like ten thousand chains tightly binding the entire space. Each array pattern was slowly rotating, interlocking with each other to form an extremely vast ritual field.
At the center of the area stands a high-hanging altar.
The altar was forged from the black stone of Annihilation, its surface covered with cracks from which flowed a dark red light, like a suppressed sea of blood churning within the stone. Eleven pillars with annihilation patterns were planted around the altar, each pillar covered with densely packed Fate Soul, which moved and intertwined like living things.
On the altar, Ling Liangyan was locked in the center of the formation.
She wore a pale white robe, the hem of which was already soaked with bloodstains, her hair was disheveled, yet she remained as pure and aloof as snow. Her life force was extremely weak, the energy of the Silent Void · Dao of Chaos was forcibly suppressed by the array patterns, leaving only a thin wisp of Fate Soul light flickering between her brows.
She had not fainted. Her eyes were slightly closed, and there was a very faint trace of blood at the corner of her lips, as if she was resisting some kind of invasion with her last bit of willpower.
Eleven figures slowly circled around the altar.
The one at the very front was tall and slender, draped in a black robe that draped down into the air, as if he were one with the darkness.
His face was obscured by darkness, only a cold and pale outline could be vaguely seen, his long hair flowed like cold snow, and a pale golden Annihilation seal floated on his forehead, slowly rotating.
His eyes were as deep as an abyss, devoid of emotion or fluctuation, as if no trace of cause and effect in the world could be left in them.
Thought Severance Devouring Emperor.
His aura wasn't outwardly emitted, yet it made the entire space feel heavy and oppressive, as if even the very Fate Soul were falling silent before him.
Behind him, ten other celestial demons stood in order.
One of them was a celestial demon, covered in cracked armor, with three pairs of withered bone wings on its back, and dark gold chains of cause and effect wrapped between the wing bones;
There was a statue resembling an old monk withered by a withered tree, its arms hanging down to the ground, while jet-black liquid of Annihilation dripped continuously from its fingertips;
There was also a figure as thin as a shadow, with no facial features.
Only a single blood-red vertical pupil slowly opened and closed on its forehead; and there was also a demon spirit covered entirely in crimson-gold scales.
He held a curved bone blade in both hands, the blade covered with "Severing Thoughts" talismans.
Each of them possessed an aura ranging from the Severed Thought Realm · Initial Stage.
The ten people stood in a circle, their hands forming different Annihilating Structure Seal.
As the Thought Severance Devouring Emperor slowly raised his hand, the entire altar suddenly trembled.
The Annihilation Pattern Pillar simultaneously glowed with a dark red light, and eleven rays of light shot out from the top of the pillar, converging above Ling Liangyan and intertwining to form a rotating Fate Soul Wheel. Countless fragmented causal runes appeared on the wheel, as if they were reassembling some ancient thing.
The voice of the Thought Severance Devouring Emperor was extremely low, yet it echoed throughout the entire space. "The Strings of Silence... the Sound of the Unjudged..."
"Using the Silent Void · Dao of Chaos as a medium, reweave the skeleton of the split core." He pointed with his fingertip.
A thin beam of black light, as thin as a hair, shot out from between his brows and landed directly on Ling Liangyan's chest.
The black light did not harm her physical body, but instead penetrated directly into the depths of her Fate Soul. Ling Liangyan's body trembled suddenly.
The light of her Fate Soul between her brows flickered violently, and a wisp of extremely subtle "Sound of the Unjudged" was forcibly extracted, condensing into a nearly transparent string-like shadow in the void.
The string's shadow was extremely thin, yet it contained an aura of utter Annihilation. The ten demon spirits chanted in unison.
That was not human speech, but an ancient, Obliteration Construct True Sound. The sound waves did not propagate through the air, but directly vibrated the source of cause and effect. As the chanting began, the black stone beneath the altar began to crack, and a broken, Annihilation core slowly emerged.
That was the projection of the remnant core of the Annihilation Realm-Breaking Pearl. The Thought Severance Devouring Emperor lowered his gaze slightly.
"Silent Profundity Self-Proving Cause," he whispered. "A cultivation seed that can truly rival the Void Evolution Causality-Replenishing Marrow."
As he finished speaking, a black vortex slowly condensed in his palm.
Within the vortex, countless fragments of Fate Soul could be vaguely seen churning.
Ling Liangyan's body trembled violently, and her Silent Void · Dao of Chaos began to be forcibly pulled, aligning with the shadow of the remnant core.
A faint golden string pattern appeared on her forehead, like a string about to break.
However, just as the String Shadow was about to completely embed itself into the remnant core...
The entire space trembled slightly. A very thin causal line, outside the Black Sea, was gently touched by a powerful fluctuation of Fate Soul.
Thought Severance Devouring Emperor raised his gaze instantly. He remained calm.
He simply smiled faintly. "Finally found it."
He said softly. On the altar, Ling Liangyan's breathing was almost imperceptible.
And the zither's shadow continues to slowly align. Above the Black Sea, the wind has not yet risen, but cause and effect have already begun to stir.
Within that forbidden zone of the super-five dimensions above the Black Sea, the altar array patterns were completely aligned, Annihilation Structure runes interlocked, forming a slowly rotating dark red wheel. The Thought Severance Devouring Emperor stood at the head of the array, his black robes cascading down like night. His abyss-like eyes rested silently on Ling Liangyan, without a trace of emotion.
"First, retrieve the Silent Profundity Self-Proving Cause Seed." His voice was low and slow, yet it seemed to echo within the very essence of the void. "Do not panic; resurrecting the Sovereign is our mission."
The ten celestial demons bowed their heads simultaneously, and the Obliteration Construct True Sound suddenly changed tone.
The projection of the Annihilation remnant core beneath the altar suddenly trembled violently, and an extremely profound "end-of-the-world intent" surged from its cracks. The intent was not violent, but it carried a heavy weight that could collapse one's mind, as if the end of eternity was pressing down.
Ling Liangyan's body was locked in the center of the formation.
The pale gold string between her brows was almost broken, and the energy of the Silent Void · Dao of Chaos was forcibly torn apart. Her Fate Soul appeared translucent on the altar, like a candle flame about to be extinguished.
The Thought Severance Devouring Emperor slowly raised his hand.
In his palm, an extremely thin black line appeared. It was not power, but a "causal probe". It did not pierce the flesh, but slowly probed into the depths of Liangyan's sea of consciousness along the lines of her Fate Soul.
The next instant, all the light above the altar was suddenly sucked away. Time seemed to stand still.
Deep within Ling Liangyan's body, an extremely subtle crack slowly emerged.
The crack did not belong to the physical body, nor to the soul, but was a "transparent crack" embedded in the very core of her Dao foundation. If it weren't for the Thought Severance Devouring Emperor using the remnant core of Annihilation as a medium, no one would have been able to see it.
That is -- the Silent Profundity Self-Proving Cause Seed.
A Cause Seed, existing between reality and illusion, slowly materialized within the crack.
It was shaped like an extremely small lotus embryo, its color transparent like shattered light. Within three feet of it, cause and effect ceased, and time and space did not flow. The array patterns on the altar even slightly retreated when they approached it.
For the first time, a flicker of emotion crossed the eyes of the Thought Severance Devouring Emperor. "As expected." He closed his five fingers.
The ten celestial demons simultaneously formed different Annihilating Structure Seal, and the eleven array-patterned light pillars suddenly compressed, transforming into countless extremely fine black-gold threads that coiled around the Cause Seed.
The Cause Seed relationship surrounding the seed began to crumble.
The altar stone surface exploded inch by inch, and dark red flames shot into the sky. Ling Liangyan's body trembled violently, and her Fate Soul light and shadow were forcibly pulled out of her sea of consciousness and suspended in mid-air.
"Silent Profundity Self-Proving Cause," the demon spirits murmured in unison, as if a string deep within the universe had been forcibly snapped.
Ling Liangyan suddenly opened her eyes.
In that instant, her pupils reflected the inverted array wheel hanging above the entire altar. The eleven layers of Annihilation Structure rune array pressed down like blood-red star rings, each rune drawing away from the Dao foundation meridians within her body. Her breathing suddenly became erratic, her chest heaving violently, yet she could not utter a complete sound.
Thought Severance Devouring Emperor's five fingers slightly closed.
The black causal probe suddenly split into countless fine, hair-like dark lines, spreading along the outline of her Fate Soul, like a living net, completely enveloping the deepest part of her consciousness.
"Lock in the outer shell of the Fate Soul." He spoke coldly. Ten demon spirits cast spells simultaneously.
Eleven reverse spiral patterns suddenly appeared on the altar's stone surface, their lines like sharp blades, directly embedding themselves into the meridians of her flesh. Ling Liangyan's body arched violently, her spine bones making a cracking sound, and several bloody patterns burst open at her shoulder blades and collarbone, the blood flowing along the array grooves and converging into the crack in the center of the altar.
She opened her mouth, but only spat out a mouthful of blood mist mixed with fragments of soul light. "Stabilize her consciousness," a demon spirit whispered.
Another demon raised his hand and pressed a jet-black talisman heavily against her brow. The talisman was not a seal, but rather a forceful attempt to maintain her last shred of consciousness, allowing her to retain her senses amidst Ultimate pain and preventing her from fainting.
Ling Liangyan gripped the edge of the altar tightly with her fingertips, her knuckles turning white inch by inch. Her Fate Soul manifested in mid-air, being pulled out inch by inch by the black and gold threads, like light and shadow being peeled away alive.
"Begin peeling away the core cracks," the Thought Severance Devouring Emperor said calmly. The black-gold threads suddenly tightened.
The transparent, fissure-colored Cause Seed trembled slightly deep within her Dao foundation, emitting silent fluctuations as if in resistance. Space-time stagnated within three feet of the Cause Seed, but the altar formation forcibly compressed that stagnant area into a single point.
Compression. And more compression. Finally, a low, tearing moan escaped Ling Liangyan's throat.
The sound wasn't sharp, but it was like shattered ice collapsing in the deep sea.
The Silent Void · Dao of Chaos energy within her body began to flow backward, her meridians shattered inch by inch, and blood mist evaporated into crimson smoke above the formation.
The first crack appeared on the outline of her Fate Soul, followed by a second, a third...
Black and gold threads pierced the core of the crack. It was as if someone had reached out from the deepest part of her being and forcibly tore out that "possibility itself".
Her eyes were wide open. Tears mixed with blood trickled down her cheeks, evaporating into white steam in mid-air as they were absorbed by the array patterns.
"Increase the suppression of divine power." The Thought Severance Devouring Emperor's tone remained calm.
The ten celestial demons simultaneously emitted deep, true voices.
The projection of the Annihilation remnant core beneath the altar suddenly magnified, bursting forth with blinding final light from its cracks. That light, like a sharp blade, cut into the depths of her consciousness along the causal probe.
The transparent Cause Seed was completely disrupted in the next instant.
A visible "crack" appeared in front of her chest, as if space itself had been peeled open.
The black and gold threads pierced through the crack, Cause Seed pulling out the lotus-shaped seed that existed between reality and illusion.
The instant she was pulled out, her Fate Soul seemed to lose its fulcrum. Her soul shadow in mid-air suddenly shattered into countless fragments, scattering light debris everywhere.
Ling Liangyan's body trembled violently, then suddenly froze. Her lips parted slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but no sound came out.
The black and gold threads finally extracted the Cause Seed completely. The Cause Seed hovered in the center of the altar.
Her Fate Soul shattered completely at that moment. The light and shadow vanished. The blood mist subsided.
Her body, having lost all support, slowly slumped down, the last glimmer of clarity in her eyes turning to utter darkness. On the altar, only Annihilation and death remained.
Ling Liangyan's Fate Soul has been completely shattered.
Her body, like a jade statue that has lost its support, slowly slumped down, all her vital energy returning to nothingness. Her sea of consciousness was completely Space Silence, her soul Consciousnessless, and her Fate Soul no longer existed.
The Silent Profundity Self-Proving Cause Seed was suspended in the center of the altar.
It remained transparent, yet clearer than before, like a speck of dust Unborn nor extinguished.
The Thought Severance Devouring Emperor slowly raised his hand, taking the Cause Seed into his palm. His gaze was calm. "The strings are ready."
The ten celestial demons bowed their heads in unison. The projection of the Annihilation remnant core beneath the altar trembled slightly, as if sensing something missing approaching.
Above the Black Sea, there is no wind, but the cause and effect have been severed.