Yuan Zhanxiao took a deep breath, slowly extending his right hand towards the ancient wooden box. The entire space was silent. Just as his fingertips were less than half an inch from the box, a soft hum sounded.
On the surface of the wooden box, an extremely subtle blood-red Dao pattern suddenly lit up. Immediately afterwards, one ancient rune after another spread rapidly from the four corners of the box. In the blink of an eye, the entire ancient box was completely covered by dense dark red patterns.
The next instant, a Fate Soul erupted from within the wooden box, causing the space to tremble violently. Around the stone platform, countless Dao principles instantly transformed into chains and spiraled upwards. An aged and chilling voice slowly echoed throughout the secret chamber, "Without the master's permission..." "Anyone who approaches—" "Die."
As the last word "death" fell, a thick cloud of black mist suddenly churned and condensed above the ancient box. In just a few breaths, a figure shrouded in black armor slowly stepped out.
He was clad in jet-black armor, his face long since eroded by time, his features indistinguishable except for two eerie green soul flames burning in his eyes and a dark red Fate Soul mark embedded in his chest.
Holding a cracked black battle blade, he was only a Soul Thrall, yet the aura he exuded had reached the Eternal Silence Realm · Middle Stage. The moment he appeared, his emotionless eyes locked onto Yuan Zhanxiao Yuan Zhanxiao, who was startled by this sudden change and took two steps back.
"Soul Thrall? Or a Soul Thrall whose consciousness has been taken away??" His pupils contracted. "Yuan Cangming actually secretly left a Soul Thrall to guard this box?" Yuan Xuangu also frowned slightly. "It seems he's even wary of us." However, Yuan Zhanxiao quickly regained his composure, a cold smile appearing on his lips.
He slowly moved his wrist. "A mere Eternal Silence Realm · Middle Stage Soul Thrall." "You think you can stop this clan leader?" "Dream on." As soon as he finished speaking, Yuan Zhanxiao took a step forward. Boom! The ultimate Fate Soul origin of the Eternal Silence Realm Peak suddenly erupted, and the entire secret chamber shook violently. The Soul Thrall didn't waste any words.
His figure vanished suddenly, and the next moment, the black battle blade had already sliced through space and slashed down from above Yuan Zhanxiao's head. Before the blade even arrived, the dark blade intent had already transformed into hundreds of black afterimages, completely sealing off Yuan Zhanxiao from all directions. Yuan Zhanxiao snorted coldly, his right fist clenched tightly, and the Dao principles flowed on his fist, showing no sign of retreat.
He charged forward with a deafening roar—fist and blade collided, the violent impact instantly sweeping across the surroundings. The black blade light shattered inch by inch, and Soul Thrall's body was sent flying backward. However, before he even landed, he suddenly formed hand seals, and countless black chains shot out from the void, coiling towards Yuan Zhanxiao like venomous pythons.
Yuan Zhanxiao's eyes turned cold, and he stomped his foot, instantly soaring into the sky. He clasped his hands together in mid-air, and a vast palm print descended from the sky. "Shatter!" Boom--The chains that filled the sky shattered in response, turning into countless black soul lights that scattered in all directions. The Soul Thrall roared and his Fate Soul essence burned wildly.
He transformed into a streak of black light and charged forward again. But just as the two were about to collide, Yuan Zhanxiao suddenly flashed and appeared directly behind Soul Thrall. His five fingers, like hooks, gripped the back of Soul Thrall's neck and then pressed down hard. Bang!
The Soul Thrall's entire body was slammed heavily into the ground, the stone slab shattering with a deafening roar, cracks spreading wildly. Before the Soul Thrall could even struggle to his feet, Yuan Zhanxiao's right palm had already slammed heavily onto his Fate Soul Nucleus. "It's over." Boom--
With a burst of palm force, the dark red Fate Soul mark on the Soul Thrall's chest instantly cracked. The next moment, crack—the entire Fate Soul Nucleus shattered. The Soul Thrall's body stiffened abruptly, the soul fire in his eyes quickly extinguished, and his entire body began to transform into countless gray-white soul lights, slowly dissipating into the world. In just a few breaths, this Soul Thrall, who had guarded the ancient box for countless years, was gone.
Then Annihilation completely. Yuan Zhanxiao clapped his hands lightly. "Hmph. Even if Yuan Cangming himself descended, I wouldn't deign to do it. A mere Soul Thrall who has completely lost consciousness dares to obstruct me."
Having said that, he slowly bent down, picked up the ancient wooden box with both hands, turned around and came to Qin Yu, bowing respectfully. "Master." "The ancient box has been retrieved." Qin Yu nodded gently. "Hmm." "Not bad." He extended his right hand and slowly took the wooden box, then gently flicked it with his fingers.
Click—The wooden box slowly opened. There were no earth-shattering phenomena or soaring divine light. The first thing that came into view was a grayish-white pill lying quietly in the center. The pill continuously and slowly contracted and expanded, its center resembling a bottomless abyss, while a faint grayish-white ember swirled around its perimeter.
Even through the ancient box, the faint, mournful cry of the Great Dao could still be heard—it was the Return to the Ruins Tribulation Descent Pill. However, Qin Yu's gaze did not linger for long. Because beneath the pill, a yellowed ancient scroll lay quietly. Qin Yu slowly took out the scroll and gently unfurled it.
The words that greeted their eyes on the first page caused Yuan Xuangu and Yuan Zhanxiao's expressions to change drastically at the same time. Below the "Hua Lineage Transaction Records," lines of text neatly recorded all the exchanges between the two parties over the past million years, including the time, place, and resources of each transaction, and even the names of the participants were all clearly recorded.
The details about the Return to the Ruins Tribulation Descent Pill were Ultimate detailed. The more Yuan Zhanxiao read, the more his face darkened, his fists clenched tightly, veins bulging on his forehead. Finally, he could no longer suppress his anger and roared, "Damn it!" "That old bastard Yuan Cangming!" "He actually colluded so deeply with the Hua Lineage behind the backs of the entire Ancient God Clan!"
His voice trembled slightly with anger. "For mere profit!" "He dared to gamble with the entire Ancient God Clan's foundation spanning millions of eras!" "He even refined such a forbidden pill that could destroy the Great Dao for the Hua Lineage!" Yuan Xuangu slowly closed his eyes.
He let out a long sigh, his face filled with complex emotions and sorrow. "A reputation spanning millions of epochs..." "In the end, it was all ruined by him." The entire secret chamber fell into a heavy silence once again. Only Qin Yu remained calm, slowly flipping through the top-secret manuscript that recorded all the secret transactions between the Hua Lineage and Yuan Cangming over the years.
Qin Yu slowly placed the grayish-white Return to the Ruins Tribulation Descent Pill back into the ancient box. His gaze lingered on the pill for a moment. The poison pill lay there quietly, its grayish-white embers slowly swirling. There was no leakage of spiritual power, yet it sent a strange chill down one's very spine.
Qin Yu raised his right hand, and a palm-sized, dark blue storage bag slowly appeared. With a gentle flick of his finger, the Return to the Ruins Tribulation Descent Pill transformed into a gray-white stream of light and slowly flew into the storage bag. Then, he raised his hand and set up dozens of layers of Fate Soul seals and origin restrictions, completely isolating the entire storage bag.
After finishing all this, Qin Yu slowly put away the storage bag, then his gaze fell on Yuan Xuangu and Yuan Zhanxiao. His voice remained calm. "Alright." "Next, you two have only one primary task." Yuan Xuangu and Yuan Zhanxiao immediately bowed. "Please give your orders, Master."
Qin Yu slowly said, "Rebuild the Annihilation God Clan. I want to see a new clan that is even more glorious and powerful than the Ancient God Clan. Recruit talented people from all over the world. Anyone with a righteous character and a firm Dao heart can be brought into the clan."
At this point, Qin Yu's gaze sharpened slightly. "However," he continued, "from now on, the minimum requirement for my Annihilation God Clan to accept disciples will be 'the True Annihilation Realm · Initial Stage.'" Yuan Xuangu and Yuan Zhanxiao's expressions simultaneously changed. Qin Yu continued, "As for those newly recruited disciples, and those with greater talent and potential, they will receive focused training. Resources will not be spared. In the future, I want the Annihilation God Clan to become a truly top-tier force capable of standing firmly in the Eternal Nonexistence Limitless Domain, possessing sufficient strength to rival the Lineage."
Then, Qin Yu slowly raised his right hand, and in his palm, a Soul Sound Token Token, entirely silver-white and engraved with ring-shaped Dao seals, slowly condensed. The token lacked any dazzling brilliance, yet it emitted an extremely stable Fate Soul fluctuation. Qin Yu handed the token to Yuan Xuangu. "This is Soul Sound Token Token I personally crafted. From now on, if anything happens, you can directly contact me using this token. If the Hua Lineage, the Shangguan Lineage, or any other forces secretly come to investigate, notify me immediately."
Yuan Xuangu respectfully accepted the token with both hands as if holding a supreme treasure. He bowed slowly, "Your subordinate will obey your master's orders." Qin Yu nodded slightly. Then he added, "In addition, in a few days, I will bring someone else with me. At that time, you two will get to know him." Yuan Xuangu and Yuan Zhanxiao did not ask any further questions.
At the same time, he clasped his hands in a fist salute. "Yes, sir." Qin Yu didn't linger and stepped out of the ancient hall. Soon, the figure in Qingyi completely disappeared from their sight.
... It wasn't until Qin Yu had been gone for a long time that the invisible oppressive feeling in the entire hall slowly dissipated. Yuan Zhanxiao let out a long breath, as if a great ancient Divine Mountain had been lifted off his shoulders. The tension in his eyes finally disappeared, his brows gradually relaxed, and he turned to look at Yuan Xuangu.
He gave a bitter laugh. "Supreme Elder," he said, "If you hadn't stopped me at the last minute, I'm afraid..." "My fate would have been no different from Yuan Cangming's." Yuan Xuangu gazed in the direction Qin Yu had left, a faint smile appearing on his face. "I told you long ago," he said, "That Master, with only the Eternal Silence Realm Initial Stage, could single-handedly annihilate the entire Ancient God Clan. Such a person is far from simple."
He slowly put away the Soul Sound Token Token, his voice calm yet filled with determination. "Now it seems," "my Fate Soul intuition was not wrong," "following my master" "may be the greatest opportunity of our lives." Yuan Zhanxiao nodded emphatically, his eyes more resolute than ever before. "Rest assured, Supreme Elder," "From this day forward," "I, Yuan Zhanxiao, am willing to give everything" "to help my master rebuild the Annihilation God Clan."
Yuan Xuangu nodded slightly. "If that's the case," he said, "Then let's begin." The two turned around at the same time, looking at the ancestral land that was already in ruins. The new Annihilation God Clan would also truly begin its rebirth today. At the same time, a streak of azure light streaked across the sky on the other side. In just a moment, Qin Yu had returned to the Heavenly Ruins Floating City, and night slowly fell.
The entire floating city was brightly lit, and the streets were still bustling with activity, as if everything that had happened to the Ancient God Clan had nothing to do with this place. Qin Yu did not linger. He went straight back to his luxurious room, the door closed gently, and the room returned to silence. Qin Yu slowly sat on the bed and then...
With a gentle flick of his right hand, the ancient wooden box reappeared in his palm. He slowly opened the box again, and this time, the Return to the Ruins Tribulation Descent Pill and the top-secret manuscript were no longer inside. The entire box was empty. However, Qin Yu did not put it away; his gaze slowly fell on the bottom of the box.
A moment later, he extended his right index finger and gently tapped the bottom of the box. Thump... thump... two extremely faint echoes slowly emanated. Qin Yu's eyes narrowed slightly. "As expected." "There's a hidden compartment." He gently pushed along the edge of the bottom of the box with his right hand. Click—an extremely hidden compartment slowly popped open, and the next moment...
Hidden in the deepest compartment, a dark blue Soul Sound Talisman lay quietly inside. Its surface was engraved with an extremely complex ancient divine rune, and even after many years, it still emitted a faint fluctuation of Fate Soul. Next to the Soul Sound Talisman Soul Sound Talisman, a yellowed ancient map lay quietly folded.
The map paper was extremely old, its edges already slightly curled, yet it remained intact. Qin Yu slowly extended his right hand and picked up the Soul Sound Talisman and the map simultaneously. His gaze slowly fell upon both of them, and a thoughtful glint slowly appeared in his eyes.