The entrance to the torn cave in the center of the ruins was still slowly emitting dark air currents. Gravel and dust fell along the edge, and were bounced off in mid-air by the remaining array patterns, as if they were isolated by an invisible membrane. Nine cultivators at the Realm Breaking Realm surrounded the entrance, their eyes burning with almost radiant heat.
"It's open! It's a cave!" "There's a real treasure! That fluctuation just now was definitely not a mistake!"
"Lord Shangguan is truly amazing! If it weren't for your breaking of the formation, we wouldn't have had this opportunity!"
Excitement and greed mingled in the air. Just moments ago they were on the brink of life and death, but now they seemed to be favored by fate. The profound aura of the treasure deep within the cave was like an invisible hand guiding their consciousness.
Shangguan Lingxiao stood to the side of the entrance, his expression indifferent, his eyes deep. He slowly looked at Shangguan Xuanchen, a very subtle look flashing in his eyes.
Shangguan Xuanchen understood almost instantly, a perfectly measured gentle smile appearing on his face. He raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet. "Everyone, please be quiet."
The nine people immediately fell silent.
"The formation is now broken, and the seal is open," Shangguan Xuanchen said calmly. "Everyone, please go in. Our Shangguan Lineage has always been fair and just; whoever finds the treasure first will own it. Besides, you all found these ruins first."
He deliberately emphasized the words "fairness and justice" very firmly.
Upon hearing this, the last trace of doubt in the hearts of the nine cultivators at the Realm Breaking Realm was dispelled. They clasped their hands in a fist salute, their tone becoming even more respectful. "Lord Shangguan is benevolent!"
"Let's go, everyone." "The Shangguan Lineage truly lives up to its prestigious reputation."
Without further hesitation, the nine figures rushed towards the cave entrance almost simultaneously.
The cave is deep and long, with the outermost layer being a downward-sloping stone staircase. The surface of the staircase appears ordinary, but it actually faintly glows with a dark silver luster, which is the afterglow of the remaining array patterns, only to be concealed by the impact of breaking the array just now.
The moment the nine people stepped across the threshold, a very low and deep echo suddenly came from the depths of the cave, like something that had been sleeping opening its eyes.
The first step was taken—nothing happened.
The second step was taken—the air momentarily paused.
Step 3 --
Suddenly, an extremely fine black rune appeared on the stone surface beneath the feet of the Realm Breaking Realm at the very front of the stone steps. The rune did not emit light, but rather appeared as a "void" embedded in reality. Immediately afterward, countless identical runes appeared simultaneously on the entire surface of the stone steps, interlocking to form a "Stillness Severing Net Formation" that covered the entire entrance passage.
Shangguan Lingxiao and Shangguan Xuanchen stood on the outside, their lips curving into a faint smile almost simultaneously.
The next instant, the interior space of the cave suddenly "shrank." It wasn't a collapse, but a conceptual compression.
The two Realm Breaking Realm cultivators at the forefront didn't even have time to react. They felt the surrounding light suddenly become extremely thin, as if it had been sucked away. Just as their protective divine power was about to erupt, they discovered that their laws and Fate Soul had been "severed" from reality in an instant, and black runes spread from their feet to their entire bodies.
Like countless tiny cracks crawling all over the body.
"What—" One of them had barely uttered two words when his voice was cut off.
His body wasn't torn apart, exploded, or splattered with blood. Instead, it became transparent.
Starting from the ankles, flesh, bones, laws, and soul were slowly erased as if by an invisible eraser. The body disappeared piece by piece. The disappearing parts did not turn into ashes, but were completely "gone," leaving no gaps even in space.
Another person attempted to unleash Realm God, but the boundary was immediately flattened by the rune network array as soon as it unfolded. The person was frozen in place, and then, like the others, the boundary began to disintegrate outward from the chest. The person's expression froze in terror, and in an instant, the person completely disappeared.
Both were instantly Annihilation; not even the remnants of their souls dissipated.
The black runes inside the cave slowly dimmed, as if nothing had happened.
The remaining seven cultivators at the Realm Breaking Realm suddenly stopped, their faces turning deathly pale, cold sweat trickling down their foreheads.
Shangguan Lingxiao and Shangguan Xuanchen on the outside stood quietly in place, their expressions calm to the point of being almost indifferent.
Deep within the cave, the aura emanating from that precious treasure continued to breathe slowly.
At the entrance, the air began to flow again, as if the two lives just moments before had been nothing more than dust casually wiped away by this ruin.
The seven cultivators at the Realm Breaking Realm inside the cave entrance instinctively retreated in shock after their two companions were instantly wiped out. Their boots scraped against the stone steps with a rapid crackling sound. They turned around almost simultaneously, intending to rush out of the passage leading to death. However, as they stepped back onto the threshold, their bodies suddenly froze.
Outside the cave, Shangguan Lingxiao and Shangguan Xuanchen were already standing firmly at the exit.
The two did not use any supernatural powers or release any pressure; their cold gaze alone was like an invisible wall, completely sealing off all escape routes.
Shangguan Xuanchen's expression had long since lost its previous gentleness. A faint sneer played on his lips as his gaze swept over the seven men like a knife. His voice was icy. "What are you doing? You think you can get a treasure without paying a price? You're too naive."
The seven people paused. The moment the word "Go in" was uttered, the air inside the cave seemed to instantly cool down.
"Anyone who dares to come out, I'll kill them on sight." One of the Realm Breaking Realm cultivators' pupils constricted, and he shouted angrily, "You? What do you want?"
Shangguan Xuanchen sneered, his tone filled with undisguised contempt. "What do you want? We Annihilation the beings from another world, and we broke the sealing formation of this cave. What do you think we want? Anyone who dares to take another step—will Annihilation instantly."
The seven people were completely stunned, their chests heaving violently.
The three cultivators at the Realm Breaking Realm stared intently at Shangguan and his companion, their eyes blazing with fury. The aura of laws within their bodies stirred restlessly, as if they might suddenly rebel at any moment.
Shangguan Xuanchen remained calm, as if suddenly remembering something. He raised his hand and gently patted his forehead, his tone carrying a hint of apology. "Oh, right. There's one more thing I forgot to tell you."
He spoke slowly, but his voice was like ice water poured into the Soul Sea.
"The pill I just gave each of you actually... has a small drawback."
A sudden chill ran through the seven men. "That drawback is called— Deadly Shackle."
Shangguan Xuanchen's gaze was icy, his speech slow yet sharp. "Each pill can only maintain the stability of the Soul Seal for three months. If it is not taken within this period, the slave imprint will detonate your own Realm Breaking power, collapsing backward from the origin of your Fate Soul. Your own rules will backfire, causing your soul to be scattered and completely erased, leaving not even a remnant soul."
The air seemed to have been sucked out instantly.
"This cause and effect is irreversible, unbreakable, and irreplaceable; only by continuously consuming it can one survive."
A cruel smile curved his lips, "As the Dan language says—'Use the power of a shattered realm to mend the soul, use the cause of a slave seal to imprison the heart. A momentary extension of life, a lifetime of slavery; severing the realm cannot sever the lock on the soul.' Sorry, I forgot to tell you."
The cave was deathly silent.
"If you don't believe me," Shangguan Xuanchen added calmly, "I can activate the logic of your Fate Soul and find out with a simple investigation."
The seven men turned deathly pale. They exchanged glances and almost simultaneously closed their eyes to activate their Fate Soul essence.
Deep within the Soul Sea, the foundation of the realm, which had been repaired and solidified by the elixir, now revealed an extremely subtle dark purple slave mark under the careful probing of divine sense. This slave mark was deeply buried in the deepest part of the Fate Soul, closely connected to the Realm Breaking Origin, and normally appeared to Does Not Exist.
But when they probed with logic, the slave seal suddenly lit up with a very thin circle of dim light.
The light wasn't strong, but it carried a deadly "attraction." One of them tried to forcibly peel it off. The next instant, the slave seal trembled slightly.
A tearing pain immediately shot through the depths of his Fate Soul, as if someone were gripping his Realm Breaking from within, twisting the power of the rules in reverse. He let out a muffled groan, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, and a violent surge of energy erupted in his Soul Sea.
The slave mark manifests for the first time.
That wasn't a complete explosion, but a warning.
The seven people opened their eyes simultaneously, their pupils filled with shock and despair. "It's true..." "We... have been implanted with the logic of slavery."
Despair swept in like a cold wave.
One of the cultivators, a cultivator at the Realm Breaking Realm, had bloodshot eyes. He suddenly looked up, glaring fiercely at the two Shangguans, his voice almost hoarse. "You are truly despicable and shameless! Only your Shangguan Lineage would resort to such underhanded tactics!"
"We risked our lives to slaughter the Epoch Being for you, and yet you—"
"Damn it! If I had known this would happen, I would have preferred to die at the hands of that creature!"
The angry shouts echoed at the cave entrance. Shangguan Lingxiao's expression remained unchanged, his gaze calm to the point of being cold.
Shangguan Xuanchen shook his head slightly, his tone calm. "Anger won't solve anything." The dark aura deep within the cave slowly surged once more.
The seven finally realized that they were not only trapped in the cave, but also locked deep within their Fate Soul.
At the cave entrance, the seven cultivators at the Realm Breaking Realm were still immersed in despair at having their Fate Soul locked by the slave seal, while Shangguan Xuanchen's gaze had completely lost its pretense.
His eyes were as cold as two icy nails, and his voice suddenly lowered but was sharp. "Hurry up and get in."
The air suddenly tensed. "I'll give you three seconds." He slowly raised three fingers.
"One." The voice wasn't loud, but it seemed to strike directly at the seven Fate Soul.
"Follow our instructions, and I will administer the life-sustaining pills on time." (II.)
A slight ripple of Xuan Mystic Void power emanated from Shangguan Xuanchen's body, and a wisp of transparent locking intent silently spread to the cave threshold, as if sealing off the last possibility of resistance in advance.
"Those who disobey—kill them outright." "Three." The moment the words fell, the air in the cave seemed to suddenly drop.
The seven men were pale-faced, exchanging glances, but had no other choice. They knew that retreating meant death, and resisting also meant death; only by continuing deeper could they perhaps fight for a sliver of hope.
In silence, the seven gritted their teeth and turned around, continuing step by step into the depths of the cave.
Inside the cave, the stone steps are no longer simple, but a gradually widening passageway. The walls are made of dark blue-green rock with extremely fine ancient textures on the surface, as if eroded by time and reshaped by some force. A heavy sense of oppression permeates the air, and the deeper you go, the more it feels like stepping into a forgotten era.
As the seven people stepped into the center of the passageway, the ground suddenly trembled slightly.
The second layer of restriction—Awakening. There was no dazzling light, no booming explosion, but rather the "spatial proportions" of the entire passageway suddenly changed.
The ground beneath their feet didn't appear to move, but each step felt like walking on a bottomless void. The walls in front of them began to recede slowly, while the exit behind them disappeared at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye. The air became viscous like water, and breathing became heavy.
The seven people simultaneously unleashed their protective divine power.
At that moment, one of the cultivators at the Realm Breaking Realm suddenly turned around, his eyes bloodshot, and laughed maniacally, "Since we're going to die—let's die together!"
His Realm Breaking Origin suddenly ignited, and his Fate Soul Nucleus began to expand violently, clearly indicating that he was about to perish together with everything.
However, the ban was faster than him.
Suddenly, countless fine black lines appeared on the walls on both sides of the passageway. These lines, like split pupils, instantly locked onto his location. Before the primal fire he had just ignited could fully erupt, his spatial proportions were suddenly "flattened".
Yes, flattened.
His body began to visually compress into a two-dimensional sheet, flesh, laws, and soul all squeezed into a plane from which there was no escape.
His roar turned into a silent distortion, and then the "thin sheet" vanished like ashes blown away by the wind.
There was no explosion, no impact. The mutual destruction didn't even have time to actually happen before the remaining six people were completely frozen in place.
The spatial proportions in the cave passage slowly returned to normal, as if the cultivator had never existed.
They dared not have any more thoughts of resistance, and could only grit their teeth and continue forward. After walking for an unknown amount of time, the passage suddenly opened up.
A very spacious underground space appeared ahead.
It was a massive grotto, naturally formed yet clearly altered by human hands. Its dome soared hundreds of feet high, like an inverted sky. The rock walls were a blend of deep blue and dark gold, covered with ancient patterns—not formations, but rather marks left by some civilization.
The central area is a spacious circular platform surrounded by nine broken stone pillars. Faint starlight floats atop the pillars, like the remnants of nine stars that have lost their orbits.
A heavy pulse emanated from beneath the ground. That pulse wasn't sound, but rather the "breathing" of something.
The air was filled with an aura of supreme treasure so intense it was almost visible. The six people were only standing at the edge when their Fate Soul involuntarily resonated with it.
In the very center of the circular platform, a faint beam of light slowly rose from a crack in the ground. Inside the beam of light, there seemed to be some object that had not yet fully manifested. The light was not dazzling, but it made the shadows of the entire grotto recede.
The six cultivators at the Realm Breaking Realm felt a tightness in their throats.
They knew the true treasure lay within that pillar of light. And they had already stepped into a dead end.