The atmosphere within the ancient castle had barely stabilized when Hua Yuening stepped through the palace gates. Without pausing, her figure flashed like a cold light, disappearing into the deeper passage. Several Hua Lineage elders behind her had just landed and were still struggling to catch their breath when she stopped. Her robes fluttered slightly, and the surrounding space was instantly compressed into a silent domain by her Fate Soul. Without turning her head, her voice fell coldly—"Go and search for the treasures yourselves. Contact us immediately with any problems using your Soul Sound Talisman."
Before she finished speaking, she took another step, and the space beneath her feet collapsed. She transformed into an extremely thin beam of light and shadow, plunging into the depths of the ancient castle. Her aura was completely concealed, leaving only a faint trail that flashed by in the passage.
The elders of the Hua Lineage exchanged glances, then instantly dispersed, each rushing in a different direction, rapidly tearing the energy within the hall into dozens of streams.
In the other passage, Chi Ninghua had already led the Chi Lineage members in. The moment she landed, she did not move forward, but stood still, closed her eyes for a moment, and her Fate Soul spread out. The entire structure of the passage quickly took shape in her sea of consciousness. When she opened her eyes again, the direction was already locked.
She turned to face the dozens of elders behind her, her voice steady yet carrying an undeniable air of authority, "Elders, you will each form a team of three to search for the treasure. If you encounter any problems, please use the Soul Sound Talisman to transmit your message immediately."
She paused for a moment, her gaze turning deeper, her breath tightening slightly. "I'll keep a close eye on Hua Yuening."
The elders were slightly taken aback, and one of them immediately clasped his hands in a fist salute and replied, "Yes, you must also be careful."
Chi Ninghua didn't speak again. She took a step forward, and her figure disappeared from the spot. The next moment, she appeared in another spatial passage. She no longer concealed her speed. Her Fate Soul locked onto the trace of Hua Yuening's aura and chased after her.
Inside the castle, the other cultivators had also completely dispersed, and the space behind the palace doors was quickly occupied. Some rushed towards the core of the main hall, some entered the side halls to search for opportunities, some broke through the side wall passages to go deep into the lower levels, and some tried to climb the upper structure to compete for higher-level resources.
Different auras constantly intertwined and collided in the space, and the fluctuations of Fate Soul overlapped layer by layer. Some people were repelled as soon as they touched the restriction, while others had already begun to engage in close combat with other cultivators. Supernatural powers exploded continuously in the narrow passage.
No one stopped; everyone had only one goal—the ultimate treasure.
Deep within the ancient castle, in a dark passageway, the light was suppressed to an extremely low level. Only intermittent ancient patterns faintly flowed across the walls, making the entire space silent and oppressive. In the depths of this shadow, an exceptionally complex magic circle floated in mid-air. At the center of the magic circle was a blooming golden lotus platform, its petals unfolding layer by layer, each petal engraved with different Dao patterns. Light slowly flowed across them, and a crimson crystal core floated atop the lotus platform.
The crystal core seemed to contain some kind of primordial power, its slight vibrations driving the entire magic array to operate. Around the lotus platform, a massive golden ring slowly rotated, with dozens of orbs of light suspended above it. Each orb contained different patterns—some like stars, some like runes, some like living beings—connected by intricate rays of light, forming an extremely precise overall structure.
Beneath the ring, an invisible mirror slowly rose, its surface constantly displaying various fragments: birth, destruction, broken causal chains, and future trajectories yet to occur. The entire magic array showed no extra fluctuations, yet with each subtle operation, it caused extremely slight displacements in the surrounding space.
Before the magic array, Shangguan Lingxiao stood cross-legged, his aura fully unleashed. The overwhelming power of his True Annihilation Realm · Supreme Fate Soul was released without reservation. His hands continuously changed hand seals, and strands of causal energy extended from his fingertips, attempting to connect with the orbs of light within the magic array.
His voice was deep, "Cause and effect converge—open." As soon as he finished speaking, countless rays of light, as fine as hair, rapidly seeped into the structure of the magic array, attempting to deduce the overall operating logic by tracing the connection points. However, in the next instant, the lotus platform at the center of the magic array trembled slightly.
All the causal lines that were touched broke simultaneously, and the recoil force rebounded along the connection. Shangguan Lingxiao's arm trembled, and blood seeped from his fingertips. His gaze darkened, but he did not stop.
He flipped his palm, and the power of his sea of consciousness suddenly expanded outward. A highly condensed strand of soul consciousness directly rushed into the invisible mirror. "Soul Consciousness Tracing the Source—Lock." The images within the mirror rapidly changed, with the past and future constantly overlapping. He attempted to use his soul consciousness to lock onto a "stable point" and thus reverse-engineer the structure.
But just as his soul was about to lock on, a crack suddenly appeared on the mirror. The crack did not spread, but it directly shattered his soul into several pieces. The backlash of his soul instantly impacted his sea of consciousness. His brow trembled slightly, and his breathing became briefly disordered, but he still managed to stabilize himself.
He no longer relied on a single method; his spiritual energy erupted, and the primal power within him transformed into an extremely condensed stream of light. "Spiritual Energy Reconstruction—Break the Formation!" The spiritual energy surged directly into the golden ring, attempting to forcefully suppress the entire formation's operational structure at the energy level.
However, when those orbs of light lit up at the same time, all energy paths changed direction in an instant. The spiritual energy was forcibly diverted into completely disordered paths, unable to form an effective impact. Instead, it formed a chaotic vortex inside and collapsed directly the next moment.
A chill crept into Shangguan Lingxiao's eyes. He abruptly clasped his hands together, and the entire spatial dimension began to slightly distort. The structure within the passage was compressed, folded, and reorganized—"Dimensional Folding—Peeling Away."
He attempted to detach the magic circle from the current spatial layer, depriving it of its foundation, but the golden ring trembled slightly, and the spatial structure instantly restored itself, smoothing out all the folds as if they had never happened.
His aura surged once more, unleashing his final divine power. His gaze fixed intently on the central lotus platform, he murmured, "Narrative broken—End." At this moment, he used himself as an anchor point, attempting to sever the magic array's logical position within the "narrative of existence," rendering it an isolated structure unable to function any further.
However, the moment that thought crossed his mind, the crimson crystal core flickered slightly, and the entire structure of the magic array simultaneously came into harmony. An extremely pure suppressive force emanated from the core, and all of Shangguan Lingxiao's techniques were simultaneously sealed off. He was forced back several steps, the ground beneath his feet cracked, and his aura fluctuated violently.
He slowly came to a stop, his chest rising and falling slightly, his gaze still fixed on the magic array. After a moment, he made no further move, and the entire passage returned to silence. Only the magic array continued to operate slowly, as if it had never been affected in any way.
Within the dimly lit passage, the golden lotus platform array continued its slow operation, the connecting lines between the light sphere and the ring constantly rearranging, causing subtle spatial tremors. Just as Shangguan Lingxiao was about to take another step forward, the space behind him suddenly cracked silently, and seven figures stepped out from the rift, their auras synchronized and oppressive. The moment they landed, the temperature of the entire passage plummeted. One of them crossed his arms over his chest.
Their gazes swept over Shangguan Lingxiao's retreating figure, a mocking tone in their voice, "Oh, isn't this Shangguan Lingxiao from the Shangguan Lineage? We didn't see him outside earlier." Another person turned to the side, a smirk playing on their lips, "Sigh, the Shangguan Lineage is one of the Lineage after all; it's only natural for them to get involved."
Another person slowly stepped forward, his gaze falling on the magic array. "The Shangguan Lineage is quite audacious, sending only him here." The group chatted amongst themselves, their voices echoing through the passage, filled with undisguised contempt and probing.
Shangguan Lingxiao didn't turn around immediately. He stood still, his aura slowly compressing, his Fate Soul condensing into a single line within his body. The next moment, he slowly turned around, his gaze cold and sharp, a faint sneer appearing on his lips. "Ignorant fools, do you dare to steal what my Shangguan Lineage has set its sights on? If you know what's good for you, get lost."
As his voice fell, a faint oppressive force appeared in the space, and the stone walls of the passage trembled slightly.
The leader of the seven stepped forward, his aura fully unleashed. The fluctuations of the True Annihilation Realm · Peak instantly filled the entire space. He stared directly at Shangguan Lingxiao, "What a joke! Are you the only one here? Do you think the seven of us are no match for you alone?"
Another person pointed to the golden magic array, "Today, the seven of us will have a good taste of the Shangguan Lineage's unique skills."
The air seemed to freeze completely. Shangguan Lingxiao's gaze darkened slightly. He said no more, slowly raising his right hand. A thin crack appeared in the space, and a long, dark gold blade emerged from it.
The blade was covered with fine lines, as if countless causal traces were engraved on it. Before the blade was even drawn, the surrounding space had already slightly shifted. He gripped the hilt and slowly pulled it out. The sound of metal scraping against metal was deep and piercing, as if the entire passage had been torn apart by this sound.
His aura was released completely at this moment, and the pressure of the True Annihilation Realm · Supreme power directly pressed down on the seven people. However, a faint trace of gloom flashed in his eyes. "Damn it, why did I run into these people at this time..." The thought flashed by, and he gripped his long blade tightly, his Fate Soul already operating at its Limit. "Seven True Annihilation Realm · Peak experts working together... this is indeed troublesome."
One of the seven men suddenly took a step forward, the space beneath his feet instantly shattering. He coldly ordered, "Brothers, attack together and annihilate him!"
The moment the words fell, the seven figures vanished simultaneously, and in the next instant, they approached Shangguan Lingxiao from different angles. Seven True Annihilation Auras erupted simultaneously in the passage, tearing the space into several segments, and the battle began with a roar.
Seven figures approached simultaneously within the passage. Before the first wave of impact even landed, the stone steps beneath Shangguan Lingxiao's feet shattered completely. The entire space was directly divided into several distorted fractures by the seven streams of True Annihilation energy. The first to attack crossed his hands, and rotating black-gold halos appeared on his ten fingers. He uttered a low shout, "Primordial Burial Realm Wheel," and the halos instantly expanded.
The rotating wheel-like domain, layer upon layer, pressed down on Shangguan Lingxiao. Within the domain, space was constantly compressed and reorganized; anything caught within was broken down into countless minute structures and forcibly reassembled. The second person immediately followed, raising their hand and pressing down with the "Myriad Phenomena Return to Stillness Seal." The instant the palm strike landed, countless runes surged from the void, directly sealing off Shangguan Lingxiao's aura and locking his movements in place.
The third person stepped forward, and with a flick of his long sleeves, a spear condensed from pure spiritual energy pierced through the air—the "Source Extremity Soul Rend Spear." The spearhead tore through the structure of the soul's layers. The fourth person's figure suddenly Narrative Shadow Severing Chapter, and in the next instant, he appeared behind Shangguan Lingxiao. With a palm strike, he forcibly severed Shangguan Lingxiao's "current existence fragment," causing a momentary break in his movements.
The fifth person's eyes blazed with a greyish-white light. "Dimensional Domain Collapse!" A distorted ripple spread out, compressing the entire spatial dimension into an extremely thin layer. The sixth person chanted softly, "Causal Rewriting - Reversal of Fate!" Countless causal threads appeared from the void, directly binding Shangguan Lingxiao and prematurely distorting the consequences of his every action.
The seventh person made the final move, clasping his hands together and suddenly pulling them open, unleashing the "Chaos Essence-Devouring Realm." A Dark Realm domain instantly expanded, engulfing the entire passage and forcing all attacks into an inescapable, enclosed space.
The seven divine powers overlapped completely in an instant, causing the entire passage to explode. Space collapsed layer by layer, and the area outside the magic array was torn to shreds. Shangguan Lingxiao gripped his sword and slashed horizontally, unleashing a dark golden blade light that attempted to cleave through the approaching wheel domain. However, the blade light was instantly disintegrated by the rotating structure the moment it entered, and his body jolted violently.
The next moment, the "Myriad Phenomena Return to Stillness Seal" pressed down, and his aura suddenly froze, causing his movements to pause briefly. In that instant, the Source Extremity Soul Rend Spear had already pierced his chest. He forcibly turned his body, and the spearhead grazed his shoulder, piercing through and taking away a large piece of flesh. The intense tearing sensation directly impacted his sea of consciousness. He groaned, and before he could regain his footing, the Narrative Shadow Severing Chapter behind him had already fallen. His entire movement suddenly broke apart, as if he had been forcibly cut in time for a moment, and he lost his balance.
The Dimensional Domain Collapse followed, space was compressed, and his body was forcibly pressed into an extremely narrow dimension. His bones cracked, his Fate Soul trembled violently, and the causal threads that had been coiling around him completely blocked all his attack paths.
The blade he unleashed lost its meaning halfway through its trajectory, being reversed into an invalid path. The next moment, the Chaos Essence-Devouring Realm completely closed, darkness enveloped everything, and seven attacks erupted simultaneously from within.
A deafening boom reverberated throughout the realm. Shangguan Lingxiao was blasted away head-on, his body crashing into the stone wall at the end of the passage. The wall shattered instantly, and he coughed up blood, his aura rapidly declining. The long blade in his hand vibrated incessantly. He forced himself to his feet, took another step forward, and swept his blade horizontally.
He tried to tear a path to survival, but the seven men's attacks did not stop at all. The Wheel Domain pressed down again, the Spirit Spear pierced through again, and the Shadow of the Narrative was severed again. Every move he made was blocked in advance, and every step he took back was suppressed even more deeply.
He retreated step by step, forced from the center of the passage to a corner. His robes were torn, his wounds were open, and blood dripped from his arms to the ground. His breathing was clearly erratic.
His sword light began to become unstable, and his sea of Fate Soul trembled violently. Faced with the combined attack of seven people, he was completely suppressed, and every attempt to counterattack was directly pushed back by the stronger, overlapping offensive.
The seven men gave him no chance to catch his breath, their attacks accelerating until the entire space spiraled out of control. Shangguan Lingxiao was forced to retreat, each step leaving cracks in the ground. His breathing grew heavier, and his hand gripping the knife began to tremble slightly. At this moment, the situation completely tilted in their favor.