Just then, Gongpiluo Huang's left eye slowly opened a crack, revealing an even deeper corner of that unfathomable and indescribable abyss.
A faint gray-white ancient charm quietly emanated from its eyes, passing through the countless beast shadows and the torrent of origin, and slowly seeping into the damaged area in the southeast direction of the Shangguan Lineage's grand formation, which had not yet been fully repaired.
The deacons who were maintaining the array patterns suddenly felt a chill in their palms. Then, they discovered that the primal connection between themselves and the array patterns was becoming blurred. Although their Fate Soul were still circulating and their palms were still pressed on the array eye, the primal radiance that should have flowed out from their palms seemed to have lost its original source and quickly dimmed.
"Elder Wan'er! There's a problem with the southeast formation again!" A deacon suddenly looked up, his voice filled with obvious fear.
Shangguan Wan'er turned her head and her pupils suddenly contracted. She saw that the hundreds of array patterns that had been reconnected in the southeast direction were now showing grayish-white marks emerging from the deepest part of the array. Instead of eroding outwards along the array patterns, these marks appeared directly at the points where the origins converged, and then extended into the depths of the cultivator's Fate Soul that maintained the array patterns.
Just as a True Annihilation Realm · Supreme Deacon attempted to sever his connection with the array's core, a thin gray-white line suddenly appeared between his brows. His eyes widened abruptly, and he let out a very short scream before his entire body began to rapidly dissipate from between his brows.
"Elder, save me--!" The voice abruptly stopped. The deacon, along with his Innate Martial Soul, Dao foundation, and Fate Soul, vanished Wuhen.
The two deacons beside him changed their expressions and immediately retreated. However, before one of them could take a second step, his entire right arm had already lost its shape, and grayish-white marks spread rapidly along his shoulder.
The other person hurriedly reached out and grabbed his robe, trying to pull him out of the formation. However, his own palm also turned grayish-white at the same time. The two looked at each other in horror. As soon as they opened their mouths, their figures disappeared one after another, and the dozens of primordial light chains that they had been maintaining broke at the same time.
Crack! Crack! Crack--! A large area of array patterns in the southeast direction suddenly collapsed.
"Get back! Don't continue those array patterns! Get back now!!" Shangguan Wan'er shouted fiercely, her figure suddenly rushing towards the southeast array position. The deep purple Fate Soul light wheel spread out thousands of feet behind her, protecting the disciples nearby who had not yet been corrupted.
But as soon as she reached the edge of the formation, she saw a Shangguan Lineage of the Shangguan family, who was in charge of guarding the place, suddenly spit out a mouthful of blood. The elder's cultivation had reached the Eternal Silence Realm · High Stage, and behind him floated an ancient bronze cauldron. At this moment, large gray-white cracks appeared on the surface of the cauldron, and the original connection between the cauldron and its master's Fate Soul was disappearing inch by inch.
"Wan'er... my Fate Soul..." The elder's voice was hoarse as he pressed his hands tightly against his chest, his eyes filled with disbelief and terror.
Shangguan Wan'er suddenly reached out, wanting to sever the connection between him and the array patterns with her own Eternal Silence Origin. But just as she was about to touch him, the bronze cauldron behind the elder suddenly vanished silently. Then, the elder's robes, arms, shoulders, neck, and face also lost their form one after another. The entire person quickly faded away before Shangguan Wan'er's eyes, leaving not even a last trace of his Fate Soul.
Shangguan Wan'er's outstretched hand froze in mid-air. Her eyes widened suddenly, and all color drained from her face.
"Shangguan Chengyue!!!" she cried out the elder's name, her voice filled with uncontrollable grief and indignation for the first time, but all that answered her was the disintegrating light of the southeast formation.
Further away, another elder guarding the flank was also eroded by the Beginningless Ancient Rhyme. The Fate Soul of the mountains and rivers floating behind him suddenly lost its source, and the originally clear mountains and rivers quickly turned into gray and white phantoms.
The elder desperately urged his own Eternal Silence Origin, trying to protect the last bit of foundation deep within his Fate Soul. Veins bulged on his forehead, and his eyes were bloodshot, but he still couldn't stop the ancient aura from penetrating deeper. He suddenly turned to look at Shangguan Wan'er, his lips trembling as if he wanted to say something. The next moment, he and his Fate Soul disappeared together.
Immediately afterwards, several more deacons were touched by the Beginningless Ancient Rhyme. Some suddenly lost both hands while maintaining the array patterns, and then their entire physical body disappeared Wuhen; some had just activated their protective divine power when their Fate Soul essence began to disintegrate from the very point where it was initially condensed; and one deacon desperately pushed dozens of disciples away from the array position, but he himself was completely swallowed up by the gray-white ancient aura, without even leaving a scream.
In just a few breaths, several more elders and deacons of the Shangguan Lineage were killed on the spot, along with the array eyes they were guarding. Large gaps appeared in the entire defensive array, the outer light screen collapsed one after another, and the ancient bell, the wheel of destiny, and the map of mountains and rivers, which were originally suspended in the sky, began to lose their original connection. Thousands of disciples were forced to shrink towards the center at the same time, and the entire array shook violently, on the verge of complete collapse at any moment.
"Elder Wan'er! If this continues, the great formation will not be able to hold!" Elder White Brow's face was covered in blood, and his bronze staff was cracked in several places. His voice was so hoarse that it was almost unrecognizable.
Shangguan Wan'er whirled around, her gaze sweeping over the terrified faces. Her chest heaved violently, her eyes a mixture of grief and fear. Then, she gritted her teeth, forcibly suppressing the churning emotions deep within her Fate Soul, and shouted fiercely at the remaining elders, "Follow me! Join forces and isolate Gongpiluo Huang's divine sense outside the formation. We absolutely cannot allow those divine beast supreme beings to continue to be controlled, otherwise the formation will collapse sooner or later! We will all be completely annihilated!!"
Elder White Brow and several other elders immediately moved closer to her. They stood around the main array eye, forming hand seals simultaneously, and the essence of the Eternal Silence Realm rapidly converged along the array patterns beneath their feet.
The deep purple Fate Soul halo behind Shangguan Wan'er slowly rose, and an ancient Shangguan Lineage seal appeared in the center of the halo. The Innate Martial Soul of several elders also manifested. The bronze ancient bell, the giant seal of mountains and rivers, the black cyan life wheel and a silver-white sword soul that spanned the sky intertwined to form a thick Fate Soul barrier.
"Everyone, guard your own Fate Soul and do not use your divine sense to directly trace back to Gongpiluo Huang!" Shangguan Wan'er reminded in a deep voice, her eyes fixed on the divine beast supreme beings charging wildly outside the formation.
Several elders nodded in unison, and then simultaneously activated their source energy. The Fate Soul barrier rapidly expanded outward, enveloping the center of the entire formation. Strands of deep purple Daoist energy flowed along the surface of the barrier, attempting to block Gongpiluo Huang's divine sense from spreading deeper into the beast horde.
But at that moment, Shangguan Wan'er suddenly noticed an extremely strange change. The scarlet light in the eyes of those divine beast supreme beings was gradually swallowing up their original pupil color.
Initially, some of the divine beasts would instinctively avoid fatal attacks when charging, and would roar angrily after being injured. However, as Gongpiluo Huang's divine sense continued to deepen, their movements became increasingly simplistic, and even their painful reactions when severely injured were rapidly diminishing.
One of the True Annihilation Realm · Advanced Stage, whose heads had been severed by the sword light, still dragged its broken body and continued to charge towards the array wall. Another ancient dragon, whose chest had been blasted open by the giant seal, did not retreat. Instead, it directly burned its remaining Fate Soul essence and, with its dying body, frantically crashed into the defense.
A flicker of horror flashed across Shangguan Wan'er's eyes. "They... are losing their own will!"
Elder White Brow followed her gaze, his expression changing drastically. "Gongpiluo Huang's divine sense has suppressed their original Fate Soul; even their instinct to seek advantage and avoid harm is disappearing!"
Another elder, pale-faced and speaking urgently, exclaimed, "If we allow them to continue their assault, even if all these divine beast supreme beings perish, they will still be enough to shatter the Shangguan Lineage's grand formation!"
Shangguan Wan'er did not answer. She looked at the increasingly dense crimson beast eyes outside the formation, and then glanced at the young disciples behind her who were covered in blood but still desperately maintaining the formation patterns. Finally, a resolute look appeared in her eyes.
"Elders, guard the main array's core for me!" Elder White Brow suddenly turned around. "Wan'er, what are you doing?!"
Shangguan Wan'er slowly raised her hands, her deep purple robe billowing without wind. The Fate Soul essence of the Eternal Silence Realm · Supreme within her body began to surge outward at an unprecedented speed. The deep purple Fate Soul halo that was originally floating behind her suddenly expanded, and dense ancient Dao patterns appeared on the rim. Twelve silver-white halos unfolded along the wheel in sequence, and then slowly rose towards the sky.
"These divine beasts have lost their own will. Continuing to besiege them will only lead to the needless deaths of our people!" Her voice was low and firm, a resolute glint appearing deep in her eyes. "I will use my own Fate Soul essence to activate the Shangguan Lineage's clan-protecting divine power to cut off this wave of their attack!"
"Wan'er! No!" Elder White Brow's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly stepped forward. "Your Fate Soul has already been affected by the Beginningless Ancient Rhyme. If you forcefully activate this kind of divine power now, it will surely damage your foundation!"
Shangguan Wan'er didn't turn around. She simply closed her eyes briefly, then reopened them, her eyes now devoid of hesitation. "If the great formation breaks, what will become of the tens of thousands of clansmen?" As soon as she finished speaking, she clasped her hands together abruptly.