The Remnant Souls Guarding the Box in the Ancient Hall
Chen Yong stood outside the blank circular area in the very center of the Dark Ruins Return Hall, his right hand still gripping the gray-black spear, while his left hand slowly rose, signaling the five people behind him to stop.
After several life-or-death battles outside the Nine Nether Cold Pool, he would no longer rush forward just because the treasure box was within reach. The gray-blue ancient box still floated quietly in the center of the hall, with four silver-black ancient rings slowly rotating around it. Three ancient runes intersected along different paths, each rune exuding an obscure aura accumulated over many years.
Chen Yong first probed ahead with his Fate Soul, but did not sense any obvious killing intent. Then he took his first step. The moment his foot landed on the outermost edge of the seventh concentric circle, the four silver-black ancient rings that were slowly rotating in the hall suddenly stopped at the same time.
A deep, resonant primal sound spread throughout the main hall.
Four ancient rings hung at the four corners of the treasure box, no longer rotating. The first layer of runes, which had been circling the treasure box, was the first to change, one after another breaking free from their trajectory and unfolding in mid-air into dozens of extremely fine gray-silver lines.
These long lines did not attack Chen Yong, but instead swept across the six people's brows, chests, and the depths of their Fate Soul from different directions. Chen Yong could clearly feel that each ancient line paused for a very short moment in the deepest part of his Fate Soul before quickly moving away.
The five cultivators behind them were undergoing the same changes. The woman with the silver-gray short sword frowned slightly and gripped her sword with increasing force. The man who was manipulating the ancient mirror slowly lowered the four broken mirrors, afraid that the fluctuations of his divine weapon would disturb the ancient patterns.
In just a few breaths, all the gray-silver long runes passed by the six people in turn. The runes in front of five of them gradually dimmed. Only when they passed Chen Yong did the ancient runes that were about to leave turn back again, and finally stay a few feet away from him.
The second layer of runes then began to change.
This time, the runes did not approach his physical body, but instead entered his Fate Soul directly. Chen Yong briefly saw various images of his cultivation journey so far: mountains and rivers, battlefields, injuries, enlightenment, his identity as a steward, and the inheritance of the Annihilation God Clan. All of these appeared for only a moment before being swept away by the ancient runes. The atmosphere in the hall grew increasingly heavy, and his five companions gradually noticed the difference. The runes surrounding them had all receded, while the runes surrounding Chen Yong were increasing in number.
A True Annihilation Realm · Initial Stage cultivator lowered his voice and said, "Senior Brother Chen... they seem to only recognize you." Chen Yong did not respond. He took another step forward, the four silver-black ancient rings remained still, and the third layer of runes suddenly lit up.
This time, all the ancient runes converged on Chen Yong's brow. Dozens of light streaks overlapped, forming a silent, rotating gray-silver outline around his Fate Soul, before slowly dissipating without leaving any damage.
Chen Yong finally understood. This ancient hall was selecting people. All six of them entered this place and passed through the outer hall, but from the very beginning, only one person was truly qualified to approach the central ancient box. "You stay here."
Chen Yong's voice was calm and steady. The woman holding the sword raised an eyebrow. "Senior brother, be careful." Chen Yong nodded and continued forward. One zhang, five zhang, ten zhang. When there were less than twenty zhang left to reach the ancient box, a very clear vibration suddenly came from the depths of his sea of consciousness.
The Primordial Mirror had previously been re-absorbed into his Fate Soul, reappeared without warning, causing Chen Yong to stop in his tracks.
A three-inch square bronze mirror slowly materialized from in front of his brow, hovering half a zhang away to his right. The four warp and weft patterns on the mirror's surface, which had been completely dimmed, lit up again. Then, the dark blue True Annihilation remnant that had previously been left in the lower right corner, belonging to the Nine Nether Dark Ruins Demon Dragon, also changed.
At first, it was just a thin ray of light, but then the dragon's head, spine, and tail gradually became clear. The remaining mark did not regenerate into a demonic dragon; instead, it slowly rose from the mirror's surface as a ray of dark blue light.
The light shone straight at the ancient box. Chen Yong's gaze suddenly darkened, and the five people behind him also saw it.
The Primordial Mirror left behind this True Annihilation Remnant after the Demon Dragon's Annihilation, and previously used this remnant to reflect the ancient palace at the bottom of the pool. Now that it has truly arrived before the ancient box, this remnant is once again guiding it on its own, and the relationship between them is now crystal clear.
The Nine Nether Dark Ruins Demon Dragon and the Dark Ruins Return Hall were never just coincidentally adjacent; it guards this place. More precisely—it is most likely guarding this ancient box.
Chen Yong slowly raised his head, his gaze returning to the slowly rotating runes around the ancient box. Upon closer inspection, he suddenly noticed that the curving trajectories of a very small number of the runes were extremely similar to the True Annihilation Patterns that had once appeared deep within the Nine Nether Dark Ruins Demon Dragon's Reverse Scale.
Over the long years, that demonic dragon may have maintained some kind of secret connection with this ancient temple: it resided in the icy pool, its True Annihilation essence obscuring the entire bottom of the pool.
No cultivator outside could truly perceive the existence of the ancient palace; when it was alive, the ancient palace remained hidden; when it Annihilation, the pool parted, and the ancient palace appeared in the world. And the last trace of its origin remaining in the Primordial Mirror had now become the most direct guiding trace for the ancient box.
Just as Chen Yong was thinking this, a very slight tremor suddenly came from all around the main hall. With a rustling sound, wisps of gray-white mist began to seep out from the cracks in the ancient patterns on the dark blue walls between the thirty-six giant pillars, which were originally Emptiness.
Chen Yong stopped abruptly, and the five divine weapons behind him simultaneously rose, releasing more and more gray-white mist.
At first, it was just a blurry outline on the wall, but then a second, a third, and a fourth appeared in succession. In just a few breaths, hundreds of ancient figures had appeared on the four walls of the main hall.
The figures were not completely detached from the wall; half of their bodies remained fused with the ancient temple wall. Some wore tattered robes and gripped a broad, massive sword in both hands.
Someone was wearing ancient armor covered in cracks, with a long halberd slung over their shoulder;
Some wielded double blades, some carried ancient bows, and others carried only a faded, broken seal. Many of the remnant souls' divine weapons were unrecognizable even to Chen Yong. Some weapons had no fixed form, only slowly changing in the remnant souls' hands; others were just a sharp outline, their true forms long since vanished with the passage of time.
Most of their faces were mutilated; some had only half a face, some had empty eyes, and some had a deep crack between their brows. There were also dozens of remnant souls whose features were completely indistinguishable, leaving only a grayish-white outline faded by time.
But all the remnant souls had one thing in common: they all looked at Chen Yong. The hall was originally extremely quiet, but now hundreds of gazes fell on it at the same time. The pressure did not come from cultivation, but from the heavy lingering thoughts left by countless ancient lives that had long since vanished.
Chen Yong's grip on the gun tightened slowly. He didn't retreat, but the five men behind him instinctively moved closer to each other. The man with the heavy black ruler whispered, "These people... are they all people who entered this place? Or are they the remnant souls guarding this ancient box???"
No one answered. The remnant souls on the wall did not attack. They simply held their respective divine weapons and silently watched the center. However, Chen Yong soon realized that the remnant souls were not actually looking at him.
Their gazes finally fell on the Primordial Mirror. The next moment, the bronze fragment floating beside Chen Yong suddenly rose on its own, and a brighter bronze light than before shot out from the center of the mirror.
Four ancient meridians unfolded simultaneously, and the wisp of True Annihilation remnant belonging to the Nine Nether Dark Ruins Demon Dragon finally detached completely from the mirror, the dark blue light rapidly expanding in mid-air. The dragon's head took shape first, followed by the neck bones, body, claws, and tail.
In just a few breaths, a phantom image of Nine Nether Dark Ruins Demon Dragon, a thousand feet long, appeared directly above the Dark Ruins Return Hall. It was not as ferocious as the previous physical demonic dragon, nor did it possess the terrifying pressure of the True Annihilation Realm · Supreme. It was merely an extremely ancient and extremely calm primordial phantom.
The enormous dragon slowly circled the dome of the main hall, and hundreds of remnant souls on the walls raised their heads at the same time. Finally, the phantom of the Nine Nether Dark Ruins Demon Dragon arrived directly above the ancient box, its head lowered, and its dark blue eyes fixed on the gray-blue box that had been floating for countless years.
The next instant—"A long dragon roar—!" A long dragon roar resounded throughout the ancient hall. This roar was not filled with rage or killing intent, but rather carried the desolation left behind after a long wait had finally come to an end.
After the dragon's roar subsided, the illusory image of the Nine Nether Dark Ruins Demon Dragon did not linger. Its head was the first to transform into a stream of dark blue light, followed by its neck, body, and tail, which disintegrated one segment at a time. The entire thousand-foot-long illusory image eventually transformed into a straight beam of dark light, which fell directly into the ancient box.
The moment the eerie light entered the box—buzz!!! The three layers of runes around the ancient box vibrated simultaneously.