On the spacious platform deep inside the grotto, the faint pillar of light continued to rise slowly, like an invisible vein extending from the ground to the dome. The light was not intense, but it made the entire space extremely clear.
Six cultivators at the Realm Breaking Realm stood at the edge of the platform, their minds tense, their eyes fixed on the faintly visible pillar of light in the center.
Just then, soft footsteps came from the direction of the cave entrance. Shangguan Xuanchen and Shangguan Lingxiao slowly entered.
The two remained calm, as if the cave's restrictions and the Annihilation of the two cultivators at the Realm Breaking Realm were merely insignificant interludes.
The six people turned around simultaneously, staring at them with icy gazes, their eyes filled with a mixture of anger and fear, but none of them dared to utter a sound.
Shangguan Lingxiao looked around, his gaze sweeping between the broken patterns on the dome and the nine stone pillars, finally settling on the pillar of light.
"You," he said calmly, "Move closer to that pillar of light." The six people were slightly taken aback, instinctively freezing in place.
Shangguan Xuanchen's gaze turned cold, and his voice suddenly exploded. "Hurry up! Didn't you understand?"
The oppressive aura of the Mystic Void Realm · Supreme was like a cold blade sweeping across, causing the six people to tremble. They dared not hesitate any longer and could only slowly step forward, approaching the pillar of light.
The moment I stepped onto the circular platform, the atmosphere of the entire space subtly changed.
The beam of light did not intensify, but it seemed to "respond" to their approach, as a very subtle "ethereal fluctuation" began to appear in the air.
The fluctuations were silent and invisible, yet they made people instinctively hold their breath. The center of the pillar of light, which had Emptiness, now exhibited an indescribable "manifestation."
It's not that objects appear; rather, "something that Does Not Exist" is gently reflected.
At the very center of the beam of light, a faint, ethereal point slowly coalesced; that point was neither light nor darkness.
Like a glimmer of inspiration before the dawn of chaos, or like a wisp of embers remaining after the end of all things.
It did not emit light, yet it gave the surrounding space an Ultimate clear appearance.
It has no form, yet it seems to contain the possibility of all forms.
The group tried to use their divine senses to investigate, but found they could not lock onto the target.
Trying to gaze intently, I found that my vision would lose focus the moment I got close.
That point of "emptiness and clarity" does not belong to any dimension.
It Does Not Exist between heaven and earth; it only appears in the center of the "realm" when the "realm" of the Mystic Void Realm unfolds.
At this moment, with the unintentional release of the Mystic Void fluctuations by Shangguan Xuanchen, that point of emptiness was reflected.
It's like a drop of dew, suspended between nothingness and existence.
The pupils of all six people contracted sharply. Three of them cried out in alarm almost simultaneously.
"It's the Primordial Limitless Pearl!" "It really is the Primordial Limitless Pearl!" "I never expected... it would be such a treasure!"
The others whispered in shock, "It really is the Primordial Limitless Pearl... the legendary Primordial Limitless Pearl..."
Shangguan Xuanchen's breath hitched slightly, his gaze fixed on that clear, empty point, his voice trembling with barely suppressed emotion. "Senior brother... it really is the Primordial Limitless Pearl."
Shangguan Lingxiao did not answer; he simply stared quietly at that point of "emptiness and clarity," which was not a bead.
Rather, it is the manifestation of "self-awareness of nothingness," which is neither innate nor acquired.
It is when "nothingness" reaches its Ultimate Annihilation that one accidentally sees the wisp of self-awareness that has condensed within oneself.
The Mystic Void Realm is a mirror of nothingness.
The Primordial Limitless Pearl is the dew that condenses on that mirror.
With it, Mystic Void Realm gains the authority of "Void Illumination Establishes Truth".
The True Annihilation Realm can devour nothingness, but it cannot engulf pure nothingness.
The Mystic Void Realm is inherently a passive form of emptiness.
But this bead grants nothingness the power of active reflection.
True Annihilation Realm descends, the Mystic Void Realm can use this pearl to define annihilation within themselves.
The Ultimate power that "swallows everything" is reflected as a phenomenon that can be understood and defined.
Engulfment is destruction, reflection is transcendence, Primordial Limitless Pearl is the cornerstone that allows "nothingness" to transcend "annihilation".
Inside the grotto, the air seemed to freeze, and that point of emptiness floated silently, untouchable and unattainable.
Only by truly unfolding the Mystic Void Realm can it be reflected.
The six cultivators at the Realm Breaking Realm were breathing heavily, their eyes filled with greed and desire, while Shangguan Lingxiao and Shangguan Xuanchen's gazes grew increasingly deep.
Above the circular platform, a faint, ethereal "clear light" floats silently in the center of the pillar of light, as if it were the only answer in the universe.
Five cultivators at the Realm Breaking Realm stared intently at it, their breathing rapid.
One of them stood at the very front, his gaze almost swallowed by that single point of emptiness, his mind churning violently—
"This is truly the Primordial Limitless Pearl... Such a supreme treasure... If it were obtained by a cultivator in the Mystic Void Realm, even True Annihilation Realm could suppress it... Although I am only at the Realm Breaking Realm · Supreme, I am only one step away from the Mystic Void Realm... If I obtain this pearl first... perhaps..."
His Adam's apple bobbed. "Now that the Shangguans have locked our Fate Soul in place, we'll just be puppets even if we go out... We might as well take a gamble."
Once a thought arises, it is difficult to suppress.
He slowly raised his hand, his movements extremely careful, as if he only wanted to "sense" that point of emptiness and clarity.
The others were unaware that Shangguan Xuanchen's brows twitched slightly, while Shangguan Lingxiao's gaze had turned completely cold.
Just as the fingertip of the cultivator at the Realm Breaking Realm was about to touch the center of the pillar of light, the space suddenly fell silent. There was no explosion, no warning.
Shangguan Lingxiao simply thrust his spear forward slightly, unleashing the ultimate technique: Severing Causes - Annihilation Return to the Ruins.
The spear tip did not unleash destructive power; it merely touched the cultivator's back lightly. At the moment of contact, there was no blood and no sound.
Where the spear tip touched, a faint, ethereal ripple appeared, spreading rapidly yet silently.
The cultivator froze, not even having time to turn around.
From the point of contact with the gun tip, his body, like a stroke erased by an eraser, gradually turned into fine, shimmering dust.
It wasn't an explosion, nor a collapse, but rather a "cancellation." The light and dust collapsed inward, compressing into an extremely small, extremely black singularity.
The next instant, the singularity vanished as if it had never existed, leaving only a slight ripple in the air.
The pupils of the other five men contracted sharply; their memories of their companion were rapidly fading.
I can't recall his name, I can't remember his face, it's as if he Does Not Exist. In the cave, only five people remain.
Shangguan Lingxiao slowly holstered his gun, his voice as cold as the sound of ice cracking.
"If anyone dares to have any more wicked thoughts," "I will eliminate them on the spot." The five people stood stiffly, not daring to even breathe heavily.
Shangguan Xuanchen snorted coldly, his oppressive aura once again covering the entire area, while Shangguan Lingxiao's gaze had already fallen back on that point of "emptiness".
The Primordial Limitless Pearl still exists; it is invisible and intangible, but he did not attempt to use brute force.
His aura of the True Annihilation Realm · Supreme was slightly restrained, and then a wisp of extremely subtle "Mystic Void Reflection" unfolded from his palm.
Instead of unfolding the complete Mystic Void Realm, it uses the "annihilation" of the True Annihilation Realm to envelop that wisp of "emptiness," and then uses emptiness to reflect the pearl's body.
It was an extremely ingenious method, using "annihilation" to create boundaries, and then using "emptiness" to reveal its form.
At the center of the pillar of light, that single point of light trembled slightly, then seemed to be "folded".
It didn't fly in, it didn't move; instead, it was directly "converged" at the spatial level.
The next instant, it disappeared, but not vanished; instead, it was reflected into the storage crystal core in Shangguan Lingxiao's palm.
Calm returned to the center of the grotto, the pillar of light slowly dimmed, and the starlight on the nine stone pillars extinguished one by one.
The treasure was now in his possession. Shangguan Lingxiao turned around and glanced at the five people.
"Now." He said indifferently, "I want you to come with me to kill two people. One of them is merely at the Severed Thought Realm · Supreme."
"More than enough for you." He paused slightly, his gaze deepening.
"As for the other one—" "You only need to help me restrain her," Shangguan Xuanchen coldly reprimanded from the side.
"Did you all understand?" "If you understood, then follow along." The five lowered their heads, not daring to utter a single word of hesitation.
Shangguan Lingxiao turned and left the cave. The cave passage became even more secluded, and the five cultivators at the Realm Breaking Realm had nowhere to retreat.
The sky deep within the Thoughtless Burial Domain displayed an eerie gray-white hue, as if countless eras of dust had accumulated in the high sky into an eternal twilight. An almost stagnant silence permeated the heavens and earth, and beneath this deathly stillness, a colossal, almost overwhelming, ancient ruined palace stretched across the edge of the wasteland.
Its outline appears as if torn apart and forcibly pieced together by time; the crumbling palace walls rise thousands of feet high, the stone pillars are tilted and broken, as if they once supported an entire sky, but are now half-buried among ashes and gravel; the dome has long since collapsed, leaving only twisted beams extending upwards like skeletons.
The two massive, long-shattered gates at the palace entrance still bear ancient divine runes, their patterns blurred by the erosion of time, yet they still exude an oppressive aura that commands respect, as if it were not a simple palace, but the remnants of a buried era. The space surrounding the ruins seems to have a faint sense of collapse.
It was as if the heavens and earth had been forcibly compressed here by some force, and then fell into a long slumber after destruction.
High above, the void trembled slightly. Ju Wanning suspended, her aura at the True Annihilation Realm · Peak like a still, deep-sea undercurrent, gentle on the outside yet concealing a terrifying sharpness. Beside her, Ju Anran's Mystic Void Realm · Supreme, subtly unfolded.
A void aura rippled around him, and behind him stood ten Ju Lineage at the pinnacle of the Severed Thought Realm · Supreme, their expressions solemn. Their gazes were also fixed on the magnificent, chilling ruins of the ancient palace.
Ju Anran gazed at the outline of the ancient palace below, which almost covered half of the wasteland, her voice filled with undisguised shock. "Senior Sister, could this be the secondary hall of the Thoughtless Burial Domain? Its scale is enormous, almost comparable to the legendary ruins of the main hall."
Ju Wanning's gaze narrowed slightly. Her True Annihilation Realm perception extended downwards, but was blocked by an ancient and dilapidated boundary as she approached the outer perimeter of the ancient hall. She pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "I can't say for sure either, but judging from the scale and the remaining patterns on the foundation, it's most likely the legendary secondary hall. When the Thoughtless Burial Domain split, the main hall and the secondary hall fell into the void together. The ruins here bear some resemblance to those described in ancient texts."
A glint of eager anticipation flashed in Ju Anran's eyes. He took half a step forward, his Mystic Void Realm aura spreading out like a mirror for a moment before receding. His tone carried a restrained excitement. "Let's go, Senior Sister. Regardless of whether it's a secondary hall or not, let's take the disciples down to explore first. Such a large ancient hall must contain many treasures and remnants of inheritance."
Ju Wanning nodded, her gaze shifting to the ten disciples behind her. Her voice, though calm, carried an unyielding authority. "Everyone, before you go down, activate your logic-based magical treasures and divine artifacts to a semi-activated state, forming a defensive sequence to guard against surprise attacks from demonic beasts and unknown creatures. The Thoughtless Burial Domain is never just a simple land of ruins."
The ten disciples of the Severed Thought Realm · Supreme responded in unison, the radiance of their divine weapons and logic-based magical treasures flickering in the void, forming an interwoven protective net.
Then, Ju Wanning descended first, her aura of the True Annihilation Realm · Peak forming a stable annihilation trajectory beneath her feet, leading everyone slowly down toward the ruined ancient palace. In a dozen or so breaths, their figures gradually merged into the gray twilight, finally disappearing into the shadows of the crumbling walls surrounding the ancient palace.
Shortly after they entered the ancient hall, ripples appeared once more in the distant void, and a group of five people arrived, dressed in magnificent robes embroidered with flowing star patterns and golden inscriptions. Their auras fluctuated between the Realm Breaking Realm and the Mystic Void Realm.
Clearly, they were powerful figures from a sect with considerable resources. After hovering for a moment and exchanging a few words, they were also drawn to the magnificent ruins. Without hesitation, they descended and their figures quickly disappeared into the broken stone gate outside the hall.
As the aura of this magnificent group completely faded, a thin crack reappeared in the gray-white sky. Shangguan Lingxiao and Shangguan Xuanchen, leading the five Realm Breaking Realm cultivators, stepped out from the void. Shangguan Xuanchen's sharp gaze swept ahead, and he whispered, "Senior brother, look, those people up ahead."
Shangguan Lingxiao snorted coldly, his gaze casually sweeping over the trampled path in the void. His tone was indifferent and arrogant. "That's just an unknown Rogue Cultivator from the Skeleton Star Sea closest to the Last Light Mountain Range. It's nothing to worry about. The true opportunities of the Thoughtless Burial Domain have never belonged to such forces."
After saying this, he strode forward, his figure already moving towards the ancient temple.
Shangguan Xuanchen followed, then turned to the five Realm Breaking Realm cultivators behind him and said coldly, "When we go down, follow my senior brother's instructions completely. Don't have any illusions about escaping. You know best the consequences of the pill's backlash."
The five men had grim expressions but dared not say a word. They could only follow Shangguan and the other man down the mountain with suppressed resentment and forbearance. Their figures in the void were gradually swallowed by the gray twilight, and the ruined ancient palace, after the successive arrivals of various forces, seemed to be about to face a real storm.