Chi Ninghua sat quietly in the afterglow of the array domain. The aura of the Eternal Silence Realm Initial Stage had completely sunk into her body. The cracked traces of her Fate Soul had all returned to their original state. Her temperament became extremely calm, like a deep lake that had experienced countless tribulations. Even her gaze carried an indescribable peace.
She slowly rose and looked at Qin Yu. The coldness in her eyes had softened considerably, and her voice became gentler. "Fellow Daoist Qin, thank you for saving me." Qin Yu put away the array patterns. His face was still somewhat pale; he had exhausted himself helping her refine the Origin-Returning Annihilation Pill. However, his expression remained calm. He simply cupped his hands slightly and said, "Senior, there's no need to be so polite. I am practically Senior Chi Tongyue's disciple, so it was only right that I helped you."
Upon hearing the name Chi Tongyue, Chi Ninghua's admiration deepened. She nodded slightly and then took out a Soul Sound Talisman from her sleeve. The talisman was pale blue, with ancient patterns unique to the Chi Lineage flowing slowly on its surface. She handed it to Qin Yu, her tone serious. "Young Master Qin, this is my Soul Sound Talisman. I'm going to kill that little bitch Hua Yuening now."
"This ancient castle is fraught with danger. If you encounter any emergency, immediately send me a message, and I will come to your aid." Qin Yu accepted the gift with both hands, solemnly taking it, and whispered, "Thank you, senior."
Chi Ninghua glanced at him, her gaze carrying a mixture of seriousness and goodwill. "Yes, be careful." With that, she turned and stepped out, her figure disappearing without a sound, merging into the space before her in a few steps, leaving the secret chamber silently and Wuhen.
Qin Yu paused for a moment, confirming that Chi Ninghua's aura had completely dissipated before slowly stepping out of the secret chamber. The outer Still Realm Court Domain remained chilling; beneath the jade floor, Dao patterns flowed silently. Xiao Yue hovered in mid-air, her long, star-blue hair swaying gently, the crescent-shaped silver ornament on her forehead emitting a soft glow, and the star core badge on her chest flickering slowly. Seeing Qin Yu emerge, her sapphire-like eyes brightened slightly. "Has she left?"
Qin Yu nodded. "Yes, she went to hunt down Hua Yuening. Why, is there no movement outside?" Xiao Yue gently shook her head, the star map and circular patterns on her skirt swirling slightly with her movement. "Hmm, I don't know where that Divine Huang went; I haven't seen it come over."
Qin Yu gazed into the distance, a thoughtful look flashing in his eyes, before slowly saying, "Then let's go too. There must be other treasures of inheritance inside this castle." Xiao Yue nodded, her figure transforming into a faint starlight as she returned to his side. The two left the Still Realm Court Domain one after the other, heading deeper into the castle.
Meanwhile, in another extremely deep passage of the ancient castle, Xuanling Divine Huang's massive body froze in place, his tattered crystal wings trembling slightly, and a deep fear appeared in his originally furious and crazed eyes.
It stared intently at the silent shadow not far ahead. The shadow had no fixed shape, like a strange entity formed by the entanglement of ancient tree roots, chaotic mist, decaying Dao patterns, and dark golden demonic flames. Its outline sometimes shrank and sometimes expanded, and each change caused fine cracks to seep from the stone walls on both sides of the passage.
That was the Chaos Treasure Demon Demonic Spirit, nurtured by the Dao Source Ancient Tree. It made no sound, just hung there quietly. But wherever it was, space, Dao principles, and origins all bowed and retreated inch by inch. Even the Chaos Source Beast Xuanling Divine Huang Dihuang felt a kind of suppression from a deeper source at this moment.
In the deep passage, the shadow formed by the ancient tree roots, chaotic mist and dark golden demonic flames hung there silently. The surrounding space slowly receded around it, as if all laws were making way for it. It was silent, yet it carried an irresistible "primordial suppression". And in that instant, it slowly turned around.
This turn, though extremely slow, seemed to stretch out the entire passageway.
Xuanling Divine Huang's pupils suddenly contracted, and all its remaining instincts went into overdrive. Without even thinking, it spread its wings and tore space apart in front of it. It wanted to escape—no longer to fight, no longer to contend, but to flee from the depths of its being driven away from this being.
Its figure had just stepped into the cracked space when the space closed in the next instant—not because it was blocked, but because "escape" was not allowed to happen.
The Chaos Treasure, the Demonic Spirit Dao Source, didn't make a move; it merely raised its "gaze."
At that moment, Xuanling Divine Huang's existence seemed to be pulled back to its origin. Its body was forcibly dragged out of the spatial rift, its scales trembled violently, its wings shattered, and its entire body was as if it were pressed to the spot by countless invisible hands. It struggled frantically, and the remaining source within its body erupted. The gray-white power once again tried to trigger the True Annihilation fluctuations, but that power was swallowed up in the next instant as soon as it appeared.
The Demonic Spirit took a step forward, transcending the concept of distance; it was already standing before Xuanling Divine Huang. It wasn't a movement, but rather a "repositioning."
The next moment, Xuanling Divine Huang's chest cavity suddenly collapsed. There were no wounds, no shattering, only that "it was no longer there."
A low, broken roar rolled from its throat, but before the hoarse sound could even break through, the flesh and the laws governing its throat were silently erased. Its body dissolved layer by layer from the inside out, its demise without tearing or collapse.
An invisible force of tracing origins slowly enveloped the body, reclaiming its essence, which did not belong to this world, layer by layer. Those parts that were adrift and should not have existed in this world were being extracted and retrieved one by one, slowly returning to the Void Origin.
The scales extinguished one by one, and the wings broke apart into gray-white afterimages as they unfolded.
Its eyes were wide open, fear frozen within them, yet unable to be transmitted, because the "fear" itself was being erased.
The Demonic Spirit raised its hand, then lowered it without touching anything.
From this moment on, the existence of Xuanling Divine Huang began to collapse inward. Its body shrank, compressed, and disappeared. All its origins were swallowed into that shadow little by little. Even the traces of its existence were being cleared away at the same time. The stone walls of the passage returned to flatness, and the space stabilized again, as if there had never been such a Chaos Source Beast Dihuang, standing here.
In the final instant, its outline vanished completely; there was no corpse, no remains, no cause and effect, only that shadow rippled slightly.
Then, silence returned. After a moment, the shadow began to recede, the chaotic mist receded, and the root-like textures shrank back.
The dark golden demonic flames slowly died down, and a figure gradually materialized from within them.
He was an extremely ordinary-looking young man, tall and slender with a handsome face, dressed simply, with calm eyes and no sense of oppression. He stood there, his aura completely blending into the surrounding environment, and even his "presence" seemed faint. If one did not pay special attention, it would be almost impossible to detect his presence.
He looked down at his fingertips and twitched them slightly. The air didn't change, as if everything was normal. He raised his head and looked into the depths of the passage.
Then he turned around and slowly walked in another direction, his steps slow, but he left no trace.
In another secret room of the castle, the atmosphere was chaotic and oppressive.
Hua Yuening sat cross-legged on the ground, her long hair slightly disheveled, and there was still blood at the corner of her mouth. Her sword intent was scattered and not solidified, indicating that her Fate Soul was severely injured. She was forcibly suppressing the chaotic power in her body and trying to stabilize her foundation.
At that very moment, the door to the secret chamber opened silently, and an extremely quiet aura entered. Hua Yuening suddenly opened her eyes, her pupils contracting violently.
"You..." Her voice trembled with disbelief. "How come you weren't Annihilation?" (At the doorway.)
Chi Ninghua stood there quietly, her aura completely concealed, yet she possessed an undeniable stillness that was not oppressive.
But it rendered all the turmoil meaningless. She slowly stepped in, each step as if she were stepping on a Does Not Exist scale.
She looked at Hua Yuening, a cold smile playing on her lips. "Unexpected, aren't you?" Her voice was low, yet clear. "Hua Yuening, you're shocked too?"
Her gaze locked on him completely. The atmosphere in the entire secret room suddenly became still, as if all fluctuations had been prematurely stopped.
"This place today—" she began softly, "Is your tomb."