In the center of the Heaven-Burning Flame Domain, the ancient gray-white sealing array fell silent for a brief moment after the five Realm Breaking Realm · Supreme were eliminated.
Immediately afterwards, the array patterns lit up. At the same time, the nine rings emitted a deep hum. It wasn't a vibration, but a "thought movement." The absolute blank space at the center of the array suddenly expanded outward.
Like a silent ripple, the gray-white light spread to the outer edge. The next instant, the ground beneath the feet of dozens of cultivators on the outer edge suddenly lost its weight.
Before they could react, their bodies were lifted up as if by some invisible hand.
"What's going on?!" "My Fate Soul —I can't move!" Exclamations arose. Grayish-white runes appeared around those who were locked on.
The runes weren't an attack, but rather a form of "mind stripping." Their shadows disappeared first, followed by their voices.
Then, the physical body gradually became transparent, as if it had been dragged into another dimension.
A cultivator at the Severed Thought Realm · Supreme desperately unleashed their divine power, tearing through the air with annihilating radiance. However, the moment the divine power left their body, it was swallowed up by the array patterns.
Before even a ripple could be stirred, several miniature vortexes suddenly split open in the blank space at the center of the formation. The chosen cultivators were pulled into the vortexes instantly, as if by invisible ropes.
There were no screams, no bloodshed. They simply vanished, as if transported to another dimension.
"The formation has begun its selection!" "The Thought Realm Trial!" "Back off!!" The crowd erupted in chaos. Some cultivators attempted to distance themselves from the formation.
However, the grayish-white light swept across again, and more than ten more people were locked onto. Their expressions changed from fear to blankness.
Then it went to blankness. Then it was swallowed up. Outside the Heaven-Burning Flame Domain, fire and wind raged. The rhythm of the formation's operation became more and more stable. It was no longer violent.
Instead, her movements were calm, precise, and as if she were making a selection. The two Lineage acted immediately, Ju Wanning hand seals.
The True Annihilation Realm · Peak unfolded. A gray-gold array disc appeared in her palm.
As the array disc rotated, hundreds of deduction lines extended to the outer edge of the sealing array. "Tracing the origin with thought."
She whispered. Ju Anran closed her eyes and sensed the power of the Mystic Void Realm · Supreme.
The spatial structure was dissected layer by layer by his divine sense. "The core of the formation is not a single structure." "Each of the nine layers of sealing is independent."
"The core of the formation... is hidden at the 'Return of Mind Waves' node." On the other side, Shangguan Lingxiao's gaze was like lightning, True Annihilation Realm · Supreme was unleashed.
A black-gold rune array rose from the ground. Ten disciples at the Severed Thought Realm · Supreme immediately formed a formation to assist in the deduction.
"Lock the breakpoint of the formation's loop."
Shangguan Xuanchen used the Mystic Void Realm · Supreme to tear open several micro-space rifts, attempting to peek into the internal structure of the formation.
However, each time one peered inside, a grayish-white void was reflected within the crack, as if the interior of the formation Does Not Exist.
Qin Yu slowly retreated to the edge of the crowd, his aura concealed. He did not participate in the deduction, but simply observed the trajectory of the formation's operation.
The commonality of those who were devoured. The rhythm of the gray-white light waves. He closed his eyes for a moment. In his sea of consciousness.
Xiao Yue said softly, "It's not random." Qin Yu nodded. "It's a selection based on mental intensity. The more chaotic your thoughts, the easier it is to be selected."
His gaze slowly swept across the nine layers of the array's sealing barrier. The seventh layer, however, had the faintest radiance, yet its fluctuations were the most stable. There...
The grayish-white light flowed and swirled, occasionally pausing for a fleeting, extremely subtle moment, almost imperceptible.
Qin Yu's gaze sharpened slightly. "Found it." At the same moment Ju Wanning suddenly opened her eyes. "The Seventh Ring."
She whispered. Ju Anran's pupils contracted. "The key to the formation is at the seventh ring's return node."
Their gazes locked onto the same spot almost simultaneously. Qin Yu stood in the crowd, and his eyes briefly met Ju Wanning's.
A moment of silence. Neither of them moved. The formation continued to devour the cultivators on the periphery. Panic gripped the crowd. The two major Lineage were poised to strike.
Qin Yu merely watched coldly; he made no rash move.
Because he knew who would move first and be locked onto by the formation. The flames of the Heaven-Burning Flame Domain surged, and the gray-white array patterns slowly rotated.
In the center of the Heaven-Burning Flame Domain, the operation frequency of the gray-white ancient sealing array suddenly accelerated. The nine rings rotated and intertwined, and gray-white light waves spread outwards in concentric circles.
The number of cultivators locked on increased. The Severed Thought Realm · Initial Stage instantly became transparent. The Severed Thought Realm · Middle Stage cultivators struggled desperately. The Severed Thought Realm · Advanced Stage cultivators gritted their teeth and unleashed their divine powers.
Without exception, when the grayish-white light touched their Fate Soul, their thoughts ceased, their bodies vanished, and they turned into nothingness—no blood, no remains.
It was as if the heavens and earth had "retracted" them. Panic gripped the crowd. Ju Wanning's eyes remained calm as ice. "The formation's attack is expanding."
She said slowly, "I already know how to break this formation." Ju Anran was slightly taken aback. "Senior Sister, how do we break the formation?"
Ju Wanning's gaze swept over the Shangguan Lineage. "The risk is extremely high." "Moreover—" "Shangguan Lingxiao must have also discovered the location of the array's core."
"He's also waiting for his chance." A silent standoff ensued between the two families' stewards. Just then, a ruthless glint flashed in Shangguan Xuanchen's eyes. "We can't wait any longer!"
He took a sudden step forward, unleashing the aura of the Mystic Void Realm · Supreme. Space tore apart beneath his feet, Severed Thought Realm · Supreme followed closely behind.
He flipped his palms, and a black-gold Realm Splitting seal suddenly took shape. Divine power - Space-Rending Realm-Severing Seal.
This seal uses the power of Mystic Void to tear apart the spatial structure, forcibly dissecting the surface structure of the formation.
The black-gold palm print transformed into a hundred-foot-long blade of light, directly slamming towards the seventh ring boundary node. "Come back!" Shangguan Lingxiao roared, his voice shaking the air.
Shangguan Xuanchen suddenly regained his senses and forcibly withdrew his power. The Realm Splitting Seal collapsed in mid-air. However, the formation had already sensed the attack.
A gray-white light suddenly converged. The seventh ring of light suddenly lit up, and an invisible wind swept out, directly locking onto Shangguan Xuanchen.
His expression changed drastically. In that instant of crisis, he instinctively grabbed a disciple at the Severed Thought Realm · Supreme beside him and flung him forward.
A gray-white wind swept by. The disciple's expression was terrified. Before he could even scream, his body became transparent and his Fate Soul was annihilated.
Completely vanished. The surrounding cultivators, witnessing this, paled drastically. "Despicable!" "A dignified Shangguan Lineage the Shangguan family, using a disciple as a shield?"
"Ha, the airs of an aristocratic family?" "This is the Shangguan Lineage's consistent style." Sneers and sarcasm rose and fell.
Shangguan Xuanchen's face was grim. "Shut up!" he roared. "Senior brother, think of something quickly!" Shangguan Lingxiao's gaze was icy.
He quickly deduced the fluctuations of the formation. A moment later, a voice transmission entered Shangguan Xuanchen's ears.
"I know the location of the array's core. Someone must block it." "Only then will we have a chance to break the array." (The surrounding cultivators at the Severed Thought Realm · Initial Stage...)
"Just throw a few in." Shangguan Xuanchen's lips curled slightly. "Okay." "Watch me." He suddenly formed a hand seal.
The divine power arose once more. The Realm-Binding Heaven and Earth Hand transformed the power of the Mystic Void into a hundred-foot-long black-gold giant hand. The giant hand was not for attack.
Instead, it was a forced arrest and spatial locking. Before several Severed Thought Realm · Initial Stage could react, their bodies were already imprisoned by the power of space.
"What are you doing?!" "Let me go!" They struggled frantically. However, the restraints of the Mystic Void Realm · Supreme were not something that the Severed Thought Realm could break.
With a sudden flick of the black and gold giant hand, several people were forcibly thrown towards the seventh ring of the array's core. The gray-white light instantly engulfed them.
Before they could even utter a cry of agony, they were instantly Annihilation, reduced to nothingness. Yet, at the very moment they struck the core of the formation...
The gray-white light stream of the seventh ring paused slightly. An extremely fine crack appeared in the blank area at the center of the array.
Like a gentle tap on ice, lasting only a moment, but enough keen observers to notice that the core of the formation had loosened.
The crowd erupted in uproar. "As expected, they're using human lives to fill the gaps!" "The Shangguan Lineage really knows how to do things!" "Utterly shameless!" Shangguan Xuanchen sneered.
"The weak should pave the way for the strong." Shangguan Lingxiao's gaze was deep. "Not enough."
The formation is still operating, but the seventh ring is no longer stable. (The text abruptly shifts to a seemingly unrelated topic: the edge of the crowd.)
Qin Yu's gaze turned slightly cold. He looked at the loosened node, making no move, but simply waiting quietly. The real opportunity to break the formation had not yet arrived.
In the center of the Heaven-Burning Flame Domain, the gray-white sealing array trembled violently. The light flow of the seventh ring was disordered, and the array patterns flickered on the ground.
Ju Wanning's cold eyes were like frost as she suddenly took a step forward. "Shangguan Xuanchen!"
Her voice was cold, yet it contained the True Annihilation Realm · Peak expert. "To break the formation—are we really so ruthless in taking lives?"
Huo Feng was subdued by her aura. Shangguan Xuanchen wiped the corner of his mouth and sneered. "Pah!"
"Ju Wanning, what are you pretending to be so high and mighty for?" "You try to break it." "Once we break the formation, your Ju Lineage has no choice but to stay away."
Ju Anran's gaze turned icy. "Despicable scoundrel." Shangguan Xuanchen completely ignored him. His gaze swept across the crowd.
The faces of those Severed Thought Realm · Initial Stage cultivators turned deathly pale. They had already realized they were "materials." "Run!" "He's gone mad!"
Several people turned and fled. However, the oppressive aura of the Mystic Void Realm · Supreme was like a curtain pressing down from the sky, locking the space. Shangguan Xuanchen suddenly grabbed with both hands.
The Realm-Binding Heaven and Earth Hand reappeared. A hundred-foot-long black-gold giant palm descended from the void, shattering the air like glass. Seven or eight cultivators at the Severed Thought Realm · Initial Stage were forcibly imprisoned.
"No--!" Before their screams could even form, they were flung into the center of the formation. The gray-white light instantly engulfed them, their Fate Soul exploded, and they vanished without a sound.
This attack was clearly different. The seventh ring trembled violently, the array patterns burst forth with blinding white light, and the entire array began to shake.
Volcanic lava surged into waves tens of meters high. Spiderweb-like cracks appeared in the sky.
The core of the formation began to loosen. Shangguan Lingxiao's gaze was deep. "One last strike is needed." He slowly raised his hand.
The aura of the True Annihilation Realm · Supreme was fully unleashed. The air was compressed into visible ripples. The volcanic rock walls were directly crushed into dust by the force of the aura.
He formed a hand seal, and an annihilation rune array interwoven with dark gold and gray-white unfolded behind him.
Supernatural Power - Heaven-Annihilating Realm-Seizing Palm. This palm is different from Shangguan Xuanchen's restraint. It is not a grab.
Instead, it involves "absorbing the source." Once a target is locked on, its Fate Soul and source will be forcibly pulled together.
Like stars being swallowed by a black hole, more than a dozen Severed Thought Realm · Middle Stage were instantly locked onto, including Qin Yu.
Shangguan Lingxiao sneered inwardly. "Severed Thought Realm · Middle Stage Origin Explosion—that's enough."
Annihilation palm shadows swept across the sky, pressing down like a black sun. The air burned, space collapsed, and the world seemed to lose its color. The crowd was horrified.
Just as the palm shadow was about to close, Qin Yu suddenly looked up, his pupils turning cold. "Everyone, scatter!" "Shangguan Lingxiao has made his move!"
The sound was deafening. The surrounding cultivators suddenly snapped to attention, and fear erupted. "Scatter!" "Retreat!" The crowd scattered.
The volcanic rock shattered. Figures scattered like streaks of light as they fled. The Heaven-Annihilating Realm-Seizing Palm suddenly closed, tearing space into fragments.
However, the number of targets decreased sharply. In the end, only seven Severed Thought Realm · Middle Stage managed to escape half a step too late and were trapped.
"No--!!" They desperately unleashed their divine powers, annihilating brilliance and lightning erupting simultaneously. However, the True Annihilation Realm · Supreme...
Like a tidal wave crashing down, the seven were forcibly pulled into the array's core. The next instant, the core erupted. Rumble--!!!
An explosion, a mix of gray and dark gold, swept across the heavens and earth. A hundred-foot-long pillar of light burst forth from the center of the formation, and the crater completely collapsed.
The magma surged like a tsunami. Cracks in the sky widened. Array patterns broke apart inch by inch. The nine rings collapsed simultaneously. Grayish-white light shot out like shards of glass.
The runes of Annihilation burned to ashes. The core of the formation shattered with a deafening roar. A shockwave that shook the heavens and earth swept in all directions, sending nearby cultivators flying.
Mountains collapsed. Lava shot skyward. A sea of fire churned into a crimson storm, as if the end of the world had arrived. Finally...
The array patterns completely dimmed. The grayish-white light dissipated. The seal was completely broken.
Only churning flames and billowing dust remained between heaven and earth. Where the formation vanished, a massive rift leading to the depths of the earth slowly appeared.
Like an entrance to another world. The crowd stood frozen. Ju Wanning's gaze was icy. Shangguan Lingxiao slowly withdrew his hand.
Shangguan Xuanchen sneered. "It's broken. The formation is broken..."