Just as everyone was discussing, the Eternal Silence Supreme elder of the Grand Inception Clan suddenly looked up, staring intently at the twelve-sided suspended array platform. His pale face suddenly surged with Ultimate excitement, and his body trembled slightly.
He raised his finger and traced the array patterns in the air, his gaze sweeping rapidly across the twelve directions before finally settling firmly on the central Gray-Gold Barrier. Suddenly enlightened, he shouted, "I understand! I finally understand!"
The noisy platform fell silent instantly, and all eyes turned to the old man.
The old man's chest heaved violently, the fog that had been pressing down on his heart dissipating completely. His voice, hoarse yet utterly resolute, resonated throughout the entire arena. "Fellow Daoists, we were all previously in Parallel Illusion Realms! Seemingly each occupying our own secret realm, training and fighting alone, we had never truly escaped this Myriad-Age Twelve-Direction Grand Formation!"
The words caused an uproar, and everyone was shocked.
The old man slowly turned around, his gaze sweeping over the Shangguan Lineage, the Profound Heaven Clan, and all the remaining forces. His words were clear and heavy. "We all believed that the mountains, rivers, starry seas, ferocious beasts, and ancient relics we saw were our own secret realms."
Little did they know that each of the twelve great formations gave rise to countless Parallel Illusion Realms, separated and invisible to one another. Each person endured their own pressure, underwent their own trials, and fought their own death battles, yet all belonged to the same celestial formation system!
He bent down, raised his finger, and lightly touched the depths of the array platform beneath his feet. As the patterns flowed, a hazy, ancient rat-shaped outline slowly emerged, with twelve star-shaped spots on its back faintly discernible. "Please examine the origin of this array! The trial authority corresponding to this array platform is none other than the Rat-Order Beast Sovereign!"
The middle-aged man from the Profound Heaven Clan suddenly lowered his gaze and stared intently. The moment he saw the pattern clearly, his expression changed drastically, and his heart trembled. Shangguan Wan'er's eyes flashed with a cold light, and she whispered that chilling name, "Gongpiluo Huang."
Upon hearing the voice, the elder of the Grand Inception Clan turned his head, nodded solemnly, and said, "It seems that Fellow Daoist Shangguan and his group have encountered the beast Huang that governs this area."
Shangguan Wan'er nodded gently, her brows and eyes heavy with the weight of battle. "After entering the secret realm, my Shangguan Lineage fell into the illusion of the Blue-Gray Mountain Plain, where we were besieged by billions of divine beasts. In our Endless situation, we faced the Gongpiluo Huang directly. This beast wields the ancient Beginningless power of eternity, its authority transcending all comprehension and terrifying beyond measure. My clan suffered heavy casualties and fought a bloody battle to survive."
Upon hearing this, the old man's expression grew even more complicated, and a deep sorrow welled up in his eyes. He slowly sighed, "So that's how it is. As you all know, it wasn't just your team that faced Gongpiluo Huang."
Within this single area, countless Parallel Illusion Realms exist, capable of accommodating several or even dozens of teams simultaneously for trials. In the adjacent illusionary realm, hundreds of cultivators from various races have encountered this beast, Huang.
He paused slightly, his tone heavy as a falling stone. "Unfortunately, none of those hundred-odd people survived the trial; not a single one survived. Even the remnants of their Fate Souls were completely erased and vanished from the world."
Everyone in the room gasped in unison, a chill running down their spines.
The middle-aged man from the Profound Heaven Clan frowned, clenched his fists, and asked in a deep voice, "So, each of the twelve directions corresponds to a Zodiac Beast Sovereigns, and each direction generates countless Parallel Illusion Realms. Cultivators from various races randomly enter these illusions for trials, and their success, failure, life, or death depends entirely on their own strength and chance. The illusions are separated and they are unaware of each other?"
"That's exactly right." The elder of the Grand Inception Clan nodded emphatically, pointing to the remaining eleven array platforms. "The twelve zodiac signs, the Twelve Authorities, the Twelve Main Formations —each main array is divided into countless Parallel Illusion Realms. Those who fail are annihilated and return to nothingness, never to return. Those who succeed break free from the shackles of the illusions, and only then can they see the true full picture of this ancient heavenly array, step onto the array platform, and obtain the qualification to enter!"
Elder White Brow suddenly understood, all the doubts weighing on his mind dispelled. The boundless beast tide of the Blue-Gray Mountain Plains, the Beginningless Endless power of Gongpiluo Huang ...
All the seemingly independent battles in desperate situations were actually illusory trials within the twelve-directional grand formation. The collapse of heaven and earth and the return of all things to nothingness were not the destruction of the secret realm, but rather the end of the illusion and the manifestation of the true realm.
But as he looked down at the cracked bronze staff in his hand, and then at the dim and damaged Nine Mysteries Primordial Origin-Suppressing Bell beside him, he was filled with mixed emotions. The illusion was false, but the battle was real, and the casualties were certain.
The fallen elders, deacons, and clansmen will not return; the shattered foundations, Fate Souls, and divine weapons are difficult to restore; all the blood and tears sacrificed are truly imprinted on the Dao Path of the remaining people.
The elder of the Grand Inception Clan, seeing through everyone's thoughts, added in a deep voice, "Please do not mistake this illusion for reality. This parallel world derived from the Primordial Heaven Formation can bear real Fate Souls, origins, and flesh. Once a trial participant perishes within, they will be utterly annihilated, with no possibility of resurrection. Only by enduring the trial and breaking free from the illusion can one stand on the twelve array platforms and obtain the final qualification to step into the central barrier."
Shangguan Wan'er raised her eyes and gazed into the distance, following the twelve dark golden bridges to the central Gray-Gold Barrier. The confusion in her eyes finally faded, replaced by a clear understanding. The group had risked their lives to escape the illusory abyss, but they had only reached the first true realm of the Primordial Heaven Formation. The true core of the secret realm lay within the central barrier, after the Twelve Zodiac Trials had concluded.
At this moment, the remaining eleven suspended array platforms lit up with primordial radiance one after another, and spatial rifts opened and closed erratically, with more surviving cultivators appearing one after another. Some escaped death and rejoiced wildly, some witnessed the carnage and knelt down to sigh, and some stood silently, covered in wounds.
The ancient patterns on the twelve array platforms illuminated in sync, and the radiance flowed along the light bridge toward the central barrier. The interlaced primordial patterns on the surface of the barrier unfolded layer by layer, shining brightly. The originally hazy core airspace gradually revealed a vast and boundless ancient aura.
"The Twelve Zodiac Trials have concluded. All those who stood atop the twelve platforms are victors." The elder of the Grand Inception Clan gazed intently at the central barrier, his eyes gleaming with anticipation. "The core barrier holds the Ultimate secrets of the secret realm; only by crossing the bridge and entering the arena can one glimpse its true form!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the middle-aged man from the Profound Heaven Clan turned around and gave the order to organize his clansmen. He took the lead and stepped onto the dark golden bridge, steadily moving towards the central barrier. The elder of the Grand Inception Clan also led his clansmen to follow closely behind, and the other clans set off one after another.
On the twelve bridges of light, countless wounded cultivators walked forward one after another. Having undergone the trials of blood and fire, their eyes were all fixed on the mysterious barrier in the center, filled with awe and anticipation.
Shangguan Wan'er slowly turned around, her gaze gently sweeping over the remaining members of her clan behind her. Pale and weary faces came into view, countless familiar figures already gone forever. This time, tens of thousands of members of the Shangguan Lineage rushed to the secret realm, enduring the siege of billions of beast tides, the erosion of the Beginningless Ancient Rhyme, and the Ancient-Bloodline Taboo. Through layers of bloody battles and desperate situations, only a few survivors remain.
Elder White Brow slowly walked to her side, his body weathered and his eyes filled with deep weariness. He whispered, "Wan'er, let's count the number of clansmen first."
Shangguan Wan'er nodded silently and gestured for the surviving stewards to organize the team and take inventory. The scattered clansmen quickly regrouped and arranged themselves, with the seriously wounded protected in the center of the formation, and those who still had fighting strength lined up around the perimeter to guard them. The elders and stewards all returned to their positions, and the broken treasures were suspended on the formation, silently protecting this surviving team that had survived the calamity.
A moment later, a pale-faced and weak-breathing steward quickly stepped forward, clasped his hands, and reported in a deep voice, "Reporting to the elders and Senior Sister Wan'er, the headcount is complete. Apart from the two elders, there are thirteen elders, nine stewards, and a full one thousand Lineage disciples remaining."
Shangguan Wan'er's body trembled almost imperceptibly, and her heart suddenly ached with a deep sorrow. Elder White Brow slowly closed his eyes, his aged and wrinkled face becoming even more somber, filled with grief. Tens of thousands of elite clans rushed to the secret realm, full of expectations and braving dangers, but now that the bloody battle has ended, only a thousand have survived.
Those elders who exhausted their life force to protect the great formation, the deacons who fought to the death to stop the beast tide, and the disciples who perished in the illusion to protect their fellow disciples, all now lie in eternal rest in that illusory yet tragically desolate Blue-Gray Mountain Plain.
Shangguan Wan'er lowered her eyes for a long time, her fingertips clenching slightly as she suppressed her overwhelming grief. When she raised her eyes again, only determination and resolve remained in her clear, cold eyes. Her hoarse voice landed steadily, reaching the ears of every member of her clan. "Our survival today is all thanks to our comrades who risked their lives for us. Their sacrifice was not in vain. The trials are not over, and the road ahead is long. We must carry on, bearing the burden and moving forward, living up to the expectations of the departed and our clan!"
She pointed ahead at the dark golden bridge that stretched across the void, her gaze fixed on the vast barrier in the center. "Everyone, form ranks and follow me into the barrier!" The Elder White Brow suddenly opened his eyes, gripped his cracked staff tightly, and declared with a resolute and solemn expression, "Let's go!"
Thirteen elders guarded the front and rear of the formation, protecting the flanks; nine deacons coordinated the formation and comforted the wounded; and a thousand disciples stood steadily in formation, focused and united. The Nine Mysteries Primordial Origin-Suppressing Bell and the Purple Firmament Primordial Life-Protecting Ring silently floated above the formation.
Although its radiance was dim and it was badly damaged, wisps of primordial Daoist energy still lingered, protecting this blood-soaked and surviving team. More than a thousand Shangguan Lineage survivors walked slowly towards the core of the secret realm, stepping on the heavy and ancient dark golden light bridge.
Across the twelve bridges of light, surviving teams from various races moved steadily forward in an endless stream. Countless figures, having endured blood and fire, slowly approached the central Gray-Gold Barrier. The primordial patterns on the barrier's surface grew increasingly bright, with layers of shimmering light flowing around it, concealing countless ancient secrets and awaiting the arrival of victors from all walks of life to explore them.
Shangguan Wan'er and Elder White Brow walked side by side at the head of the group, their eyes reflecting the weariness and sorrow of surviving a bloody battle, as well as the vigilance and fortitude to face the unknown. The road ahead was long and the secret realm was deep. Within the core barrier, who knew what ancient opportunities or supreme dangers awaited them?
A moment later, the Shangguan Lineage's procession reached the outer edge of the barrier. Shangguan Wan'er raised her palm, condensing a wisp of purple-white primordial energy pattern, Elder White Brow held his staff, poised for action. The two exchanged a glance and nodded, then stepped forward together, leading all the remaining clansmen resolutely into the layers of flowing Gray-Gold Barrier. Buzz—
Enveloped in a soft, vast gray-gold radiance, the figures of the Shangguan Lineage members disappeared one by one into the depths of the barrier, completely dissolving into the boundless, ancient Daoist aura.
Behind them, twelve ancient array platforms still floated silently in the void, their primordial patterns flowing endlessly. Twelve bridges of light connected all directions, continuously drawing survivors from various races into the array. The entire Eternal Twelve Directional Heavenly Array was silent and vast, silently bearing countless trials of life and death, quietly awaiting the other participants who would pass.