The Dao Shadows Arrive · A Rift in the Book Sea

Qin Yu was in a side hall of the Annihilation Ancient Divine Palace. The hall was towering, and the walls around it were engraved with ancient annihilation patterns, exuding a desolate divine aura. Suddenly, his sea of consciousness trembled violently again, as if struck by a heavy hammer. Countless deep, bell-like Dao chants resounded in his ears. These were not sounds, but the Dao Flame Will of the Dao Shadow Soldier vibrated through the space.

A phantom image of Azure Ring suddenly appeared in his mind, her radiance condensing into raindrops as it fell, her tone unusually grave and urgent:

"Qin Yu... the Dao Shadow Soldier have begun their slaughter! Their very existence is enough to tear apart all narrative and order here!"

Qin Yu's pupils constricted sharply, his heart raced instantly, and his blood and qi surged so intensely that they seemed about to burst through his flesh. The oppressive aura emanated from across the layers of palaces, as if the entire Annihilation Ancient Divine Palace was covered by a golden-blue Dao Flame. He knew that if these legions were to unleash their full power, not only him, but even all the powerful individuals who had entered the Annihilation Ancient Divine Palace combined would likely be reduced to mere flames that would be annihilated in an instant.

Azure Ring's voice came again, carrying a hint of urgent coldness:

"We must regroup immediately! No matter how cautious you are, you can't possibly take them down alone. If Hong Xiuxiang, the three elders of the Dawn Cloud First Hall, and those hundred female disciples are hunted down one by one by the Dao Shadow Soldier, there will be no way to escape."

Qin Yu took a deep breath, his eyes flashing with a cold light, and his mind made a decision in an instant.

"Yes! We must find them immediately."

Before he could finish speaking, the ground beneath his feet shattered with a deafening roar, and a beam of Annihilation instantly lifted his figure, tearing through the palace like lightning and transforming into a streak of black light that rushed toward the direction of the Hall of Dream Colors.

Along the way, countless palaces trembled, the runes on the domes shattered, and the oppressive force of the azure-gold Dao Flame surged like a tidal wave. Qin Yu felt as if the four corners of heaven and earth were burning, and the entire palace domain was as if it were being swallowed by a sea of golden flames. The deep chanting of the Dao echoed in his ears, the earth-shaking sound of twelve Dao Shadow Soldier stepping into the palace in perfect unison.

The Hall of Dream Colors, where Hong Xiuxiang resided, was already in sight. Outside the palace, the three elders of the Dawn Cloud First Hall, who were protecting hundreds of female disciples, all changed their expressions, sensing this terrifying intrusion. The elders' divine senses trembled like a tidal wave, and unprecedented fear and horror appeared in their eyes.

Just then, a black light suddenly tore through the void, and Qin Yu's figure rushed out, landing heavily in front of Hong Xiuxiang and the others. His expression was cold, and his gaze was fixed on the distant, roaring golden flames in the sky.

"Quickly, gather everyone!" Qin Yu commanded in a low voice, his tone filled with unprecedented pressure and decisiveness. "A mysterious force has entered the palace!"

Upon hearing this, the three elders of the Dawn Cloud First Hall's expressions changed drastically, and their innate Innate Martial Soul instantly appeared, radiating intense light. All the female disciples also huddled together in fear.

Seeing Qin Yu's expression, Hong Xiuxiang was startled. Unusually, she didn't ask any questions, but immediately ordered her disciples to gather together and form a battle formation. She knew that if even Qin Yu was so serious, then the crisis before them must have exceeded their imagination.

Qin Yu before the crowd, his robes fluttering, a faint Azure Ring halo appearing behind him, shimmering with a silent light. At that moment, the shock and sense of crisis in his heart coalesced into a cold, resolute vow—

If Dao Shadow Soldier truly comes to this hall, he will surely use his own Fate Soul to protect this group of people.

The dome of the Annihilation Ancient Divine Palace trembled violently at that moment.

Deep within the void, twelve golden-blue flames simultaneously emerged, like twelve eternal, inextinguishable divine suns, illuminating the entire palace domain. They slowly coalesced into human forms, their ethereal and translucent figures seemingly woven from energy and Dao patterns. As they descended, countless ancient runes appeared on the stone walls of the entire palace, only to crack and peel away in an instant, as if even "existence" itself could not withstand their arrival.

"Boom--"

A figure wielding a blade casually swung it, the long blade composed of invisible streams of light slicing through the sky, creating ripples of golden and blue. A corner of the palace in the distance vanished with a roar; the buildings, walls, and pillars did not collapse, but were directly transformed into particles in the ripples and silently absorbed, as if they had never existed.

Azure Ring's voice suddenly rang out in Qin Yu's mind, carrying an unprecedented solemnity:

"Qin Yu... those are Dao Shadow Soldier. Each one of them is Supreme killing weapon evolved from the will of the Source Dao Supreme Return Emperor!"

Qin Yu's pupils contracted sharply, and a storm of emotions surged within him.

However, the others Hall of Dream Colors were completely unaware of the truth.

The three elders of the Dawn Cloud First Hall were deathly pale, desperately suppressing their trembling consciousness. They were utterly horrified, yet could only offer a forced explanation:

"What... what is this being? How can its mere aura nearly shatter our souls?!"

The hundred female disciples huddled together, their eyes filled with fear, their bodies trembling. They couldn't even look directly at the golden-blue figures, feeling as if their very Fate Soul were being dragged along by some invisible force, teetering on the brink of collapse.

Hong Xiuxiang bit her lip and whispered to Qin Yu, "What... are they?"

Qin Yu remained silent for a moment, his eyes unfathomable, his voice low and deep:

"Whatever it is, it must Annihilation."

Only he and Azure Ring understood that those twelve Dao Shadow Soldier represented a fear even older than the entire Annihilation Ancient Divine Palace.

The moment the twelve Dao Shadow Soldier stepped into the depths of the palace, the entire Annihilation Ancient Divine Palace seemed to fall into an invisible cosmic collapse.

They did not speak, nor did they utter a word, nor even leave a trace of "existence." Yet, simply by standing there, they caused the textures of space to peel away layer by layer, like paper being slowly burned by a flame, leaving behind an unwritten blank space.

Qin Yu and Hong Xiuxiang stood nearby, truly facing Dao Shadow Soldier.

At that moment, Qin Yu clearly sensed an aura of paradox that defied common sense—

The oppressive power of the Annihilation Dawn Realm 'Supreme is not the normal power of the Annihilation Dawn Realm.

This is the existence of the "non-propositionalist".

They cannot be conceptualized, nor can they be logically recognized; any attempt to define them will be annihilated before it even takes shape.

This is the fear of the "illogical".

The laws of cause and effect of heaven and earth were completely ineffective before them. Time was like a false curtain that was easily torn apart, and even Qin Yu's consciousness almost fell into a dead silence.

This is the Ultimate aura that is "unconcealable, unwritten, and unpredictable."

It was as if the entire Source of Epochless should have ended here, and the narrative itself ceased to hold true in their presence.

Hong Xiuxiang's face was deathly pale, her breathing rapid. Her Soul Sea felt as if it had been torn apart by a giant hand, and every wisp of her soul was crying. Even though she forcibly activated her Innate Martial Soul [Spirit Brocade Book Realm], she found that the pages of the book were automatically crumbling one by one—not because they were attacked, but because they could not bear the existence of the other party.

"This... this is not the Annihilation Dawn Realm at all..." Her voice trembled, and she could hardly focus her gaze on the twelve Dao Shadow Soldier, as if looking directly at them would plunge her into endless emptiness.

A cold glint flashed in Qin Yu's eyes, and his fists clenched tightly.

"The Annihilation Dawn Realm · Supreme? No—this is the aura of the 'End of the Source of Epochless'."

Azure Ring responded in a low, cold voice within her sea of consciousness:

"That's right... They no longer belong to the category of 'realms'. They are a forbidden legion born from the shadow projection of the Black Gold Ring by the Source Dao Supreme Return Emperor. On the surface, they are the pinnacle of Annihilation Dawn, Supreme in reality, they are the blank zone after Annihilation Dawn — the Ultimate transition."

Qin Yu felt as if his heart was being gripped tightly, each beat feeling like a struggle against the heavens, barely managing to stay conscious.

He realized a cruel truth:

If it weren't for the fact that the Dao Shadow Soldier hadn't locked onto them, they and Hong Xiuxiang would have had absolutely no chance of survival.

The palace roared, and twelve Dao Shadow Soldier stood guard, their golden and azure Dao Flame illuminating the entire space, like the final judges of heaven and earth.

At this moment, the three elders of the Dawn Cloud First Hall could no longer remain silent. Their backs straightened, and their eyes showed no fear, only a cold and resolute determination.

"Disciples, form the formation!" one of the elders, with snow-white hair, shouted sternly.

In an instant, all one hundred female disciples knelt down, using their sea of consciousness as ink and their soul consciousness as paper.

Boom--!

Countless Innate Martial Soul unfolded simultaneously in the void.

At that moment, it was as if the dome of the palace was shattered by billions of sacred books—

Scrolls fluttered, pages turned, and light shone like the sea; thousands of scrolls transformed into an inverted galaxy, illuminating the deathly silent palace.

Each disciple possesses cultivation at the highest level, from the Only Book Realm to the Severed Observation Realm. Their souls are the book, and their brushes are the spirit. Their Innate Martial Soul intertwine, forming a magnificent and boundless "Spiritual Sea of Books."

The three elders stood in the center of the sea of books, their expressions solemn.

The first elder was surrounded by the "Heavenly Music Severing Book" --

It is a scroll formed from billions of musical notes; each page turned is a heavenly melody, capable of discerning the enemy's vital energy.

She raised her hand and waved it, the music booming like a great bell, causing the air to collapse layer by layer.

The second elder unfolded the "Mirror Flower Dream Volume" behind him.

As the scroll unfolds, countless dreams simultaneously arise within its pages, blurring the lines between reality and illusion, trapping enemies in an endless realm of fantasy.

The pages of the dream book cascaded down, forming a thousand mirror images that surged forward like a tide.

The third elder unleashed the "Soul-Severing Canon of Law" --

The book is like a piece of black iron, its pages flowing with flames that extinguish each other, and each turn of the page can burn away the cause and effect of the soul.

The sea of black flames swept through, instantly turning the air into scorched ashes.

Under their guidance, the hundred female disciples jointly unleashed their respective Innate Martial Soul.

The "Sea of Books Sealing Array" suddenly took shape!

The vast and boundless scrolls of spiritual texts converged into a suspended sea of light, with runes intertwined and magic arrays slowly rotating like a galaxy.

In this magnificent scene, the pages of the Book of Heaven and Earth turned, and countless characters transformed into light, rushing towards the twelve Dao Shadow Soldier like shooting stars.

A thunderous roar seemed to tear the entire palace apart.

Hong Xiuxiang stood beside Qin Yu, her eyes complex yet resolute, and murmured softly:

"This is the trump card of our Dawn Cloud First Hall — the Book Sea Seal Formation."

Her voice trembled slightly, because she knew in her heart:

Even with such a formidable force, they might not be able to withstand "them"...

The oppressive silence of heaven and earth was torn apart by the roar of the sea of books.

Countless spirit books floated in the air, runes cascaded like waterfalls, and their radiance illuminated every corner of the hall.

At that moment, the grandeur of the Dawn Cloud First Hall seemed to truly encompass eternity, suppressing all enemies within the seal of words and Dao scrolls.

However, the Dao Shadow Soldier did not back down.

The twelve figures took a step forward simultaneously.

Boom--!

With just one step, the void shattered as if struck by an invisible great bell.

The golden-blue "Dao Flame" burned fiercely on their faceless heads, illuminating every rune.

Countless Dao patterns surged like a tide, as if the script of heaven and earth was being turned over in their hands.

They didn't shout, they didn't roar.

They simply raised their weapons in unison.

Origin-Returning Blade.

It was an invisible blade of light, its edge flowing like liquid gold in the air, each flash accompanied by a deep "Daoist chant," as if the universe were whispering scriptures in one's ear.

In an instant, the twelve Dao Shadow Soldier simultaneously swung down.

--boom!!!!

The invisible streams of light slashed and intertwined, transforming into twelve golden-blue ripples that overlapped to form a destructive torrent.

The moment the torrent swept across the void, the air was shattered, the light was torn into fragments, and heaven and earth seemed to be forced to "reverse" back to their initial state.

The ripples struck the Book Sea · Sealing Formation.

Click click click--!!

The sea of light in the ocean of books suddenly trembled violently, and billions of pages were shaken and scattered.

The once neatly flowing rune array instantly developed its first crack.

The crack, like an inky river of light, stretched across the void and spread along the array of books. The pages burned and shattered, and the points of light turned into ashes and scattered.

The three elders were simultaneously forced back, blood trickling from their mouths.

Their martial spirits were shaken and became unstable.

The notes of "Heavenly Music Severing Book" instantly went out of tune, turning into a painful scream;

The illusory dreamscape in "The Mirror Flower Dream Volume" shatters, and the mirror images collapse one after another;

The black flames of the "Soul-Severing Canon of Law" were suppressed, and the firelight dimmed instantly.

The hundred female disciples screamed in unison, their minds trembled, their book-like martial spirits crumbled, and dozens of them instantly coughed up blood, their bodies swaying precariously.

"This... is impossible!!"

A female disciple's pupils constricted sharply as the pages of the book before her shattered in the cracks, as if her soul were being torn apart along with them.

The entire hall trembled violently from the impact.

The Book Sea · Sealing Formation, originally the most powerful protective array in the Dawn Cloud First Hall, was already on the verge of collapse after only the "first strike" from the twelve Dao Shadow Soldier.

At that moment, even the colors of heaven and earth began to peel away.

The golden-blue ripples continued to spread, as if trying to erase all narratives, existence, and even the observer's thoughts.

Qin Yu and Hong Xiuxiang's faces were rendered deathly pale by the golden-blue light.

Hong Xiuxiang trembled slightly, gripping the spirit pen tightly in her hand, and for the first time, genuine fear appeared in her eyes.

"... How could this be... Their power, which is clearly only at the Annihilation Dawn Realm · Supreme, is... it's far more than that..."

Qin Yu remained silent.

He simply stared at the twelve Dao Shadow Soldier, his gaze incredibly deep.

Because in their hearts, both he and Azure Ring already understood:

This is no ordinary enemy. This is the shadow legion of the "Source Dao Supreme Return Emperor"—

Their power is simply beyond the comprehension of the Annihilation Dawn Realm!