The aura deep within the palace had not yet fully solidified when dozens of figures stepped into the hall one after another. Their auras crisscrossed, and they were all Ultimate at the True Annihilation Realm · Advanced Stage. Their steps slowed instinctively the moment they entered the hall, and their gazes almost simultaneously locked onto the two figures facing each other in front of them— Hua Yuening and Chi Ninghua.
At that moment, no one dared to approach rashly.
The air seemed to be divided by an invisible force, forming a silent forbidden zone where the two stood. Dozens of cultivators retreated to both sides in unison, their feet shifting slightly to form a semicircle, clearing the entire space. They did not leave, nor did they interfere; instead, they deliberately lowered their auras and hid at the edge, like a group of hunters waiting for their chance.
Subtle divine thoughts swirled in the shadows. "It really is them..." "The Hua Lineage and the Chi Lineage have always been at odds; this time they've met, something bad is likely to happen."
"True Annihilation Realm · Peak versus True Annihilation Realm · Peak... a clash of this level would be enough to annihilate us even with the slightest aftershock."
"Don't move yet... Wait until they decide a winner, even if one side is severely injured, we'll still have a chance."
"The treasure hasn't been revealed yet; let's use them to probe the way first... Ideally, both sides should be severely injured."
Those voices didn't actually travel out; they merely swirled within one's thoughts, carrying a mixture of caution and greed. Everyone suppressed their presence, yet couldn't conceal the faint expectation in their eyes.
The atmosphere inside the palace gradually became tense.
As Hua Yuening and Chi Ninghua faced off, their auras had not yet erupted, yet an invisible pressure had already formed, causing the surrounding space to distort slightly.
At that very moment, the entire palace suddenly trembled, without a sound or any warning.
From the depths of space, an extremely cold and ancient aura slowly seeped out.
The aura wasn't violent, but it carried an absolute suppression, as if it had awakened from an ancient slumber and was gradually invading reality.
The next instant, the void cracked open, and a colossal silhouette slowly emerged from the crack.
The first thing to appear is a forepaw, crystal clear, as if formed from countless shattered worlds. Every inch of its scales displays a shimmering luster of interwoven ice blue and silver white, with layers of iridescent light flowing within. These lights are not of a single color, but rather seem to fold within countless dimensions, forming an unstable glow.
Next, the entire body.
It was an extremely large Source Beast, its body seemingly cast from chaotic crystals, with its skeletal structure clearly visible. However, it was not flesh and blood, but rather composed of countless transparent crystal layers stacked together. Within each layer, it seemed to seal a fragment of world memory. Dozens of sharp crystal wings pierced out from its back, unfolding like blades. The surface of the wings reflected eerie streams of light, and with each gentle vibration, even space itself was cut into fine cracks.
Its head was lowered, and its eyes slowly lit up. In those eyes, there was no emotion, only an Ultimate cold scrutiny.
It seemed that everything that existed was merely a structure that could be crushed in its eyes, and a wisp of energy spread from its body.
The entire palace fell silent instantly. Dozens of the True Annihilation Realm experts tensed up at the same time, and some even subconsciously took a step back, their expressions changing slightly.
"Chaos Source Beast... Dihuang... Xuanling Divine Huang." Someone exclaimed in a low voice in their divine sense, but dared not even utter a complete sound.
Hua Yuening and Chi Ninghua turned their heads at the same time, their gazes, for the first time, leaving each other and landing on the Source Beast.
Hua Yuening's gaze lingered on the Chaos Source Beast, Dihuang, for only a moment before she made her judgment within her sea of consciousness. Her Fate Soul trembled slightly, and her mind swiftly sank into her own laws. At that moment, she showed no sign of panic; instead, she calmly incorporated the surrounding situation into her deductions— Xuanling Divine Huang.
The Chaos Source Beast Dihuang's lineage is born with control over the origins of space and structure. Its supernatural powers far surpass those of humans of the same realm. A direct confrontation would inevitably lead to a war of attrition, and within this ancient castle environment, any delay could cause the situation to spiral out of control.
A chill ran through her heart. Her mind was already formed: there was no need to confront this situation head-on. She only needed to extricate herself and let Chi Ninghua and these cultivators serve as a hindrance.
Without hesitation, the Dao patterns beneath her feet instantly unfolded, and space around her subtly distorted. An extremely refined True Annihilation Realm spatial divine power had taken shape, and the light and shadow around her rapidly converged, as if she were about to detach herself from this layer of reality.
The connection between her Fate Soul and space was compressed to its Ultimate in an instant, and her figure began to blur, as if she would disappear completely from the spot in the next moment.
However, at that very moment, Xuanling Divine Huang's eyes suddenly locked on, showing no anger or pressure.
Only a kind of absolute calm "closure" suddenly revealed its huge wings slowly unfolding.
At that moment, the spatial structure above the entire palace underwent extremely subtle fissures. Countless invisible spatial nodes were rearranged at the same time. On the wings, a miniature spatial crystal condensed at the end of each crystallized feather. Inside those crystals were spatial fragments compressed to their Limit, layer upon layer, nested together.
The next instant, it gently flapped its wings, without a loud noise, but an irresistible wave swept out.
Transparent spatial ripples spread like water, and wherever they passed, everything began to stagnate—dust in the air stopped in place, light was stretched into thin filaments that floated in mid-air, and even the fluctuations of spiritual energy showed a discontinuous pause. The entire area was as if it had been thrown into an invisible piece of glass, completely sealed off.
Hua Yuening's figure had just completed half of its ethereal transformation when, in the next moment, she was suddenly jolted.
Spatial escape failed.
The passage that had been torn open vanished the moment she touched it, as if it had never existed. A shockwave reverberated along her Fate Soul connection point, forcibly pulling her back from the edge of the void to reality. Her aura was slightly disordered, and a hint of coldness flashed in her eyes for the first time.
At the same time, the space in all directions began to converge, and countless ripples intersected within the palace.
A massive, transparent structure, covering the entire area, quietly took shape. It was neither a wall nor a barrier.
Instead, it was a space stripped of its "existence authority," and Xuanling·Void Eternal Imprisonment—completely descended.
The moment the cage was formed, all directions lost their meaning, and distance was infinitely stretched in perception. No matter where you looked, it was like facing an unreachable end. The concept of coordinates completely collapsed, and even the distinction between "here" and "there" began to blur.
Several cultivators who had originally planned to take the opportunity to escape attacked almost simultaneously.
A rift tearing through the void exploded in front of them, and their spatial abilities were immediately activated, allowing them to step halfway in.
The next instant, the rift disappeared, and the entire space seemed to have been smoothed out.
Their bodies were thrown back, their Fate Soul violently shaken, and one of them spat out a mouthful of blood on the spot, flying backward and crashing heavily to the ground, his breathing disordered.
Another person forcibly tore through space again.
This time, the crack had barely appeared when it was filled by an invisible force. The spatial turbulence surged back and blasted directly into his body. His chest collapsed instantly, and he staggered to his knees, his expression one of horror.
With no exit and no path, the entire palace has been completely isolated from its multidimensional structure.
It becomes an absolute island from which there is no escape.
Hua Yuening stood still, her breathing quickly stabilizing. She did not try to escape again, but slowly raised her head to look at the Xuanling Divine Huang suspended in the void, her eyes growing colder.
On the other side, Chi Ninghua also stopped what she was doing, her gaze solemn. Dozens of cultivators were all silent at this moment.
No one dared to make a move. At this moment, they finally understood that this was no longer a question of "whether to fight or not," but rather, whether they could leave alive. Xuanling Divine Huang slowly lowered his head.
His eyes reflected the figures of everyone, as if scrutinizing prey in a cage.