Deep within the Hua Lineage, night had completely fallen. Compared to the hustle and bustle Returning Light Heavenly City, this place was almost deathly quiet. Layer upon layer of ancient palaces stretched out along the deep veins of the earth towards the heart of the ancestral land, and the source lamps hanging from the eaves cast a faint glow, enveloping the vast buildings in the heavy night.
Occasionally, the figures of patrolling clansmen would flit across the Sky Corridor Bridge, disappearing into the deep darkness in an instant. In the center of the ancestral land, inside the main hall that had been sealed off for many years, Hua Yin sat alone in a high position, with Pre-Nonbeing him, nor any attendants.
He usually kept his eyes slightly closed, his expression Steady as a Mountain. But when the pull deep within his Fate Soul, which was closely connected to his own origin, suddenly trembled violently without warning, he abruptly raised his eyes, his gaze sharp and breaking through the silence.
Something happened to Hua An; this strange movement that haunts her is unusually mysterious.
In ordinary deaths, the connection between the Soul Thrall and the master is severed abruptly and cleanly. But at this moment, Hua An's Fate Soul seemed to be forcibly torn and peeled away from its source by an invisible hand, slowly being extracted and dissolved layer by layer. Even the primordial restrictions that Hua Yin had personally planted in his soul were gone.
It was also violently shaken and injured in this rough tug-of-war. Hua Yin sat upright without moving, his clothes calm, but dark clouds gathered between his brows, and the five fingers on the sides of the chair slowly tightened with the anger surging in his heart.
Crack. A fine crack was actually pinched into the hard, jade-like rosewood armrest, and a raging fire had already ignited in the deepest part of his Fate Soul.
"Who exactly is it?" Hua Yin's eyes flashed with a cold light, chilling to the bone. "How dare they use such a vicious method to extract Hua An's Fate Soul essence?"
In a split second, a figure flashed through his mind, but he immediately dismissed it. "Could it be that kid surnamed Qin... Impossible." He slowly narrowed his eyes, his gaze deep and unfathomable. "That boy has vanished for two whole years without a trace. Even if he really did return, he wouldn't specifically target Hua An; his actions are utterly chaotic."
The more impossible it was to deduce, the stronger his anger and fear became. As the Soul Thrall he had personally cultivated, Hua An held many secrets of the clan and knew countless core secrets.
Instead of annihilating Hua An's soul, the newcomer expended considerable effort to extract the essence of her Fate Soul through a soul-extraction technique. Their intention was obvious: they wanted to extract secrets and uncover hidden information from Hua An. Such ruthless and patient methods were not the work of an ordinary enemy.
How many secrets did they obtain from Hua An? And how much of the Hua Lineage's wealth did they glimpse?
Hua Yin's mind was heavy, and the gloom in his eyes grew thicker as he dared not think too deeply. The next moment, he suddenly stood up, his wide black robe billowing as he rose and fell, creating a faint rustling sound. He had no intention of staying in the hall to deduce the divination or trace the cause. He strode straight to the hall door and struck out with a palm, shaking open the two heavy and ancient hall doors.
Boom--
A biting night wind, carrying the chill from the depths of the ancestral land, rushed into the hall. Hua Yin, his face grim, stepped out, his figure disappearing into the deep, winding corridor and vanishing into the darkness of the night.
Unbeknownst to anyone, moments after he left, a cataclysmic event, far more significant and terrifying than the extraction of Hua An's Fate Soul, was about to unfold without warning.
In the stillness of the night, the vast and boundless Eternal Nonexistence Limitless Domain trembled slightly for a moment. There was no earth-shattering roar or shockwave, no overwhelming force sweeping across the land; it was silent, formless, and intangible.
In that instant, the five great multidimensional universes of the end times seemed to be gently touched by a wisp of ancient Dao trace originating from the primordial era. Countless ancient Dao rhythms, dormant deep within the star sea, the labyrinth, the ancient continent, the Dharma realm, and the desolate ancient tombs, all rippled slightly.
The long river of cause and effect, which spans the vast celestial realms, experienced a fleeting pause; many powerful beings who had been in seclusion for cultivation suddenly opened their eyes at the same moment and looked into the depths of the void.
In the First Multidimensional Universe, in the Skeleton Star Sea, in the Returning Light Heavenly City, deep within the Hua Lineage, a buzzing sound rang out.
The night sky above the ancestral land rippled gently like water. A figure in white appeared out of thin air, thousands of feet high in the sky. There was no sound of her disappearing into the void, nor any overwhelming power emanating from her. Yet, the moment she appeared, the Daoist energy flowing through the entire Hua Lineage land fell silent, and all sounds ceased.
The newcomer was none other than Hua Jingyi, the Supreme Elder of the Hua Lineage, a supreme expert who had ascended to the Void Emanation Realm.
She stood silently in mid-air, with thousands of palaces below shrouded in night. Her moon-white Daoist robe was pure and otherworldly, the fabric seemingly imbued with the lingering mountain mist, gently swaying in the evening breeze and shimmering with a soft, matte sheen.
The robe was devoid of elaborate brocade or luxurious embroidery; only the hem and the edges of the wide sleeves were subtly woven with faint gray Daoist patterns. When she stood still, these patterns blended seamlessly with the robe. As the wind passed, the ancient Daoist patterns flowed slowly along the edges of the sleeves, revealing a faint yet profound primordial spiritual light. She stood with her eyes lowered, her gaze never looking down at the Hua Lineage land below. From the moment she appeared, she gazed into the far distance of the void.
That gaze pierced through the vast Skeleton Star Sea, crossed the boundaries of the First Multidimensional Universe, and finally settled steadily on the fifth multidimensional universe— the Primordial Grave —the most mysterious and ancient of the Fifth Multidimensional Universe in the Eternal Nonexistence Limitless Domain.
After a moment of silence, a subtle ripple appeared in the space beside Hua Jingyi, and another figure quietly appeared. It was Hua Nongrui, the head of the Hua Family Lineage, who held the fate of the family in her hands and possessed the cultivation of the Wuji Realm.
After Hua Nongrui appeared, without uttering a word or asking for any reason, she first bowed respectfully to Hua Jingyi high in the sky, her eyes filled with heartfelt respect and reverence. "Greetings, Elder Grandmother."
Hua Jingyi continued to gaze into the distant void for a long time before speaking softly, her voice light and calm, yet carrying a weight that seemed to have transcended time. "Rui'er."
"It seems that the Eternal Nonexistence Limitless Domain is destined to be swept by another storm, ushering in a bloody storm that will engulf the heavens."
Hua Nongrui's heart sank. For a Supreme Elder of the Void Emanation Realm to break through his seclusion in the dead of night and declare that chaos was imminent, the inexplicable tremor that had just swept across the entire Eternal Nonexistence Limitless Domain was no ordinary disturbance. Following Hua Jingyi's gaze towards the Primordial Grave, her expression grew even more solemn and respectful. "I humbly request the Supreme Elder's guidance."
Hua Jingyi remained silent for a moment, her eyes clear as water. Having witnessed countless years of rise and fall, the karmic consequences of the mortal world, and the turmoil of the heavens, nothing could stir a ripple in her heart anymore; only a serene clarity remained, a profound understanding of the world's affairs. "So be it," she sighed softly. "The three elders of the Chi Lineage, Shangguan Lineage, and Ju Lineage must have sensed the disturbance and awakened by now."
Hua Nongrui frowned slightly, already having some guesses in her mind.
Hua Jingyi slowly withdrew her gaze from the distance and looked at the clansmen before her. Her voice was calm, yet every word carried immense weight. "Rui'er, this sudden change in the world may indicate the appearance of an unparalleled opportunity."
She paused briefly, then revealed a shocking secret. "A Primordial Origin Supreme Treasure may soon be born into the world."
Hua Nongrui's gaze suddenly sharpened, her mind reeling. The Primordial Treasure was a supreme divine object that transcended all other magical artifacts and contained the origin of an era. It was a rare find, appearing only once every ten thousand years, and its appearance would inevitably ignite a fierce battle among all the heavens.
Before she could calm herself, Hua Jingyi's gaze returned to the distant Primordial Grave, her voice gaining a touch of melancholy and desolation. "Or perhaps... the Gate of the Epoch Barrier, sealed for countless ages and isolated for eternity, has finally opened in the world."
A night breeze brushed against the white robes, a faint gray Dao mark flashing across the sleeves before vanishing into silence. "Tomorrow, summon all Eternal Silence Realm Initial Stage cultivators of the clan to the Clan Head Hall to receive orders."
Suppressing the turmoil in her heart, Hua Nongrui didn't press for further questions. She bowed respectfully and replied in a deep voice, "Disciple obeys."
Just as Hua Jingyi said, it was not only the Hua Lineage that awoke that night.
The Second Multidimensional Universe, the Destruction Labyrinth, the West City · Godfall Imperial City, the Shangguan Lineage. The endless Destruction Labyrinth crisscrosses the void of the deep night, with fragmented spaces intertwined and entangled with each other. In the distance, the afterimages of annihilated and collapsing worlds occasionally float and sink from the depths of the corridor, only to sink into the boundless darkness in an instant.
Above the Godfall Imperial City, in the once Silent Void night sky, several powerful figures appeared one after another. The leader was the Supreme Elder of the Shangguan Lineage, followed closely by the current patriarch, and many of the clan's strongest members, awakened by the tremors of heaven and earth, broke through their seclusion in the ancestral forbidden area and stood suspended in the high sky.
No one made a sound, no one stirred. The robes of the crowd were slowly fluttered by the chaotic void of the Destruction Labyrinth. Thousands of eyes pierced through the layers of remnant void, all looking toward the same distant place— the Fifth Multidimensional Universe, the Primordial Grave.
In the Third Multidimensional Universe, on the Annihilation Continent, in the South City · String Melody Sacred City, the homeland of the Ju Lineage, a deep night shrouded the entire ancient continent. The thousands of pavilions in String Melody Sacred City stood silently. The ancient Dao patterns that ran through the entire city lit up for a moment as the heavens and earth trembled, their spiritual light flowing and awakening the ancient silence.
In the next instant, figures appeared in the sky above the Ju Lineage land. The Supreme Elder, the Clan Chief, and a group of reclusive experts ascended to the sky one after another. Some stood with their hands behind their backs, gazing into the distance with focused concentration; some frowned as they carefully deduced; and some closed their eyes to concentrate on sensing the ancient fluctuations originating from the Primordial Grave.
A moment later, almost simultaneously, everyone opened their eyes, their gazes Return to One solemn, their eyes all falling on the desolate ancient tomb in the Fifth Multidimensional Universe.
The Fourth Multidimensional Universe, the Void Dharma Realm, the North City · Stele Forest Imperial City, the Chi Lineage. Boundless ancient steles stand, stretching to the horizon, each stele bearing the marks of different eras and the passage of time. The entire stele forest is always quiet and silent.
In the instant the Eternal Nonexistence Limitless Domain trembled, thousands upon thousands of ancient steles simultaneously emitted a faint wisp of primordial spiritual light. Buzz—the faint light flashed and vanished in an instant. Above the Chi Lineage land, powerful auras that had been dormant for a long time rose one after another. The Supreme Elder, the Clan Chief, and reclusive powerful figures all appeared, hovering silently above the forest of steles. Everyone clearly sensed that the ancient fluctuations that shook the heavens originated from the distant Primordial Grave.
That night, the entire realm of the Eternal Nonexistence Limitless Domain awoke.
Above the five great multidimensional universes of the end times—the First Multidimensional Skeleton Star Sea, the Second Multidimensional Destruction Labyrinth, the Third Multidimensional Annihilation Continent, the Fourth Multidimensional Void Dharma Realm Primordial Grave —countless powerful beings have appeared one after another.
Some stood atop the ancient city, some emerged from the forbidden Divine Abyss of a thousand-year seclusion, and some sensed and peered across the endless void. These powerful beings from all realms, with different regions, forces, cultivation levels, and identities, all gazed upon Return to One place across the vast void— the Fifth Multidimensional Universe, the Primordial Grave.
More precisely, it is the deepest, most forbidden zone of the Primordial Grave, the source of the Eternal Silence Long River.
This place is the original source of the path to the end of all heavens, the final destination of the Annihilation of all laws. The Eternal Silence Long River flows from the vast emptiness and cuts off its path here. Time comes to a standstill here, and the cycle of birth and death disappears here. Even the Ultimate power of Annihilation of all heavens cannot reach the core depths of this region.
Here, there is neither light nor darkness, neither existence nor non-existence. All the laws governing things that can be identified, named, and distinguished cease at the outer boundary. Deep within the core, only a wisp of primordial silence remains, unpolluted by the power of the end of an era or the force of Annihilation. It is a living Ji Ran, a complete origin containing endless unknown possibilities.
In the center of this ancient and Ji Ran forbidden land, a vast and desolate trace remains quietly. There are no monuments, no words, no carved patterns, no Realm Wheel or outlines; it is perfectly formed by nature, just as mountains and rivers have their own texture, long rivers have their own direction, and stars have their own trajectory.
No one knows its origin, no one knows its age. It transcends the changing of eras, exists outside of birth and death, Bugui existence or nothingness. It has existed quietly here since ancient times. And tonight, this ancient trace that has been silent for countless eras has rippled for the first time.