The Annihilation Wasteland Encirclement · A Game of Empty Words

Deep in the Annihilation Wasteland Border, under the deathly silent night sky, the sound of the wind seemed to be twisted into a low vortex by some force. In that instant, the original flow of spiritual energy between heaven and earth suddenly froze, and an indefinable pillar of Annihilation light pierced straight into the sky, illuminating the entire void.

Tens of thousands of miles away, Liu Yuan, who was meditating and regulating his Liu Yuan a few miles away from the ancient pagoda ruins, suddenly opened his eyes. His abyss-like eyes now reflected an unusual light.

"This aura..." he murmured softly, his voice so deep it almost blended into the wind.

That was not an ordinary energy fluctuation, but an extremely pure "existential disturbance" that transcended causal logic. Even as someone at the Severed Observation Realm · Supreme, he felt a subtle tremor rise from the depths of his consciousness in an instant.

Liu Yuan slowly rose to his feet, his long robe billowing without wind, his black hair undulating like an undercurrent.

Just then, several dark figures appeared from the void rift—they were several masked cultivators wearing gray-black cloaks, their auras were cold, and the light in their eyes resembled flowing runes; they were clearly from the same faction.

One of them spoke in a hoarse voice, "Lord Liu Yuan, the direction is fifty thousand miles southeast. It seems someone has triggered the forbidden domain fluctuations of 'Undefined Annihilation Light'."

The other person's eyes flashed with a strange light, and his tone carried a barely perceptible sense of apprehension. "That aura... it's not something that cultivators from any of the temples in the Void Obliteration Domain could release. It's probably some kind of ancient relic that has been awakened."

Liu Yuan did not answer, but instead looked up and gazed at the purplish-gold band of light in the distance that had not yet completely dissipated. The light was not dazzling, but it stirred a long-lost sense of awe in him.

"That mountain..." he murmured, his voice like a thunderous whisper.

"Walk."

With a flick of his sleeve, the void shattered like a mirror, and he vanished into the night with a single step.

The other masked cultivators immediately followed, transforming into several streaks of pitch-black light that streaked through the air towards the depths of the Annihilation Wasteland Border.

The mountain range—the hidden cave where Qin Yu was located—was still shrouded in a faint layer of chaotic light, as if the world was holding its breath.

Annihilation wind blew by, and in the distance, an ancient whisper echoed faintly, as if even heaven and earth were foreseeing an unavoidable encounter that was about to take place.

The Annihilation Wasteland night was as black as ink, and the depths of the mountains were shrouded in a thin mist. A near-frozen stillness permeated the world. Liu Yuan and several cultivators who had reached the Only Book Realm · Supreme slowly landed outside the cave where Qin Yu was. The rock walls beneath their feet had long been eroded into gray by the aura of Annihilation. Even the wind seemed to have been swallowed up, leaving only a low resonance echoing in the valley.

Several people stood on the cliff, their clothes fluttering slightly, silent. Only Book Realm · Supreme quietly spread their divine senses, searching for any aura.

"Strange... The fluctuations were clearly strongest here, but now Emptiness here." One of the black-robed cultivators frowned, slightly raised his palm, and his spiritual energy transformed into silver lines that intertwined in the air, but were instantly torn apart by an invisible force.

The other person frowned. "Even the sea of consciousness detection is disrupted; this space seems to have been rewritten... its logic is abnormally stable."

Liu Yuan didn't speak; he simply gazed silently at the entrance to the cave. It was an extremely ordinary cave entrance—the rock walls were broken, covered in dust, and the wind whistled through it, without even a trace of energy fluctuation. However, it was precisely because of this "ordinariness" that an extreme unease rose in his heart.

He slowly raised his hand, a wisp of deep purple soul light gathering at his fingertips, and flicked it gently.

The beam of soul light transformed into a thin thread of energy, silently touching the cave entrance.

--"Bang!"

A muffled thud suddenly resounded, as if something deep within the void had been disturbed. The air around the cave entrance abruptly collapsed, and a faint ripple spread out from within the mountain, swirling with pale blue-white light patterns.

"As expected, there is a barrier."

Liu Yuan's pupils contracted slightly. He stretched out his palm, and spiritual energy erupted from it, pouring down like a surging sea of stars, slowly spreading along the cave entrance. As the power permeated, the once calm cave walls suddenly flashed with countless mysterious runes.

Those runes were not ordinary spirit arrays, but were composed of complex "logic chains"—each line seemed to be telling a story of existence, and it seemed that even the slightest touch would trigger an unknown backlash.

"This is no ordinary defensive formation," an Only Book Realm · Supreme voice. "It's... a 'Fate-Construct System Barrier,' which even our consciousness cannot penetrate."

"Fate-Construct Barrier?" Liu Yuan narrowed his eyes, his tone carrying a rare hint of solemnity. " In the Void Obliteration Domain, there are no more than ten people capable of setting up such a structure."

He remained silent for a moment, then reached out and pressed his hand on the light patterns of the barrier. In an instant, the surrounding void seemed to be compressed by some force, the wind stopped, and time seemed to lose its meaning.

When Liu Yuan's fingers touched the light patterns, a golden-purple flash burst forth from the depths of the barrier, carrying a chilling spiritual aura. For a moment, even his soul sensed a brief stagnation.

He slightly raised his head, his gaze deep. "Interesting..."

"It seems the person who set up this barrier doesn't want anyone to get close."

The several experts at the Only Book Realm · Supreme exchanged glances, a chill running through their hearts.

That kind of power that could make even "Liu Yuan" feel oppressed was no ordinary thing.

The night wind picked up again, carrying a faint smell of dust and blood, brushing past the patterns of light at the cave entrance. The undulating barriers, like an invisible eye, silently watched them.

Liu Yuan whispered, "Step back—don't touch it again."

He stared at the light screen, his gaze gradually darkening. With a flick of his sleeve, ripples spread through the void beneath his feet.

"The people inside are probably stronger than any of us."

As soon as he finished speaking, the wind fell silent again. The entire mountain range fell into a deathly stillness, as if even heaven and earth were holding their breath.

The cave was as silent as an abyss, with only the newly fused Silent Origin Stainless Sword still hovering before Qin Yu. The sword gleamed with a faint, chaotic, glassy light, with stars and lotus petals intertwining and disappearing within its blade, as if the breath of the entire universe resonated with it. Every wisp of sword light that flowed stirred the pulse of the mountain, as if the rhythm of heaven and earth had been rewritten by this sword.

Qin Yu slowly opened his eyes. A cold light flickered in his eyes, mixed with an extremely calm sense of power. He stretched out his finger and gently stroked the sword. His fingertip touched the "Flow of the Undefined," and the sword emitted a low hum, as if resonating with its master's will.

With a thought, his spiritual energy spread throughout the entire cave, gliding across the rock walls like a thin mist, penetrating layers of barriers, and lingering at the edge of the outer void.

At that moment, he saw it.

Outside the cave entrance, four figures stood in the cold wind. The one at the front was dressed in black like mist, his aura unfathomable. His eyes seemed to contain the overlap of the abyss and the starry sea, as he silently gazed at the barrier at the cave entrance. Behind him stood three experts of the Only Book Realm · Supreme, whose auras were strong and whose souls were stable. They were wary, and their bodies faintly emitted suppressed tremors.

Qin Yu smiled slightly and whispered, "Liu Yuan... you really are persistent."

The voice was extremely low, yet it carried a mocking tone that pierced the silence. He slowly withdrew his divine sense, his gaze returning to the Silent Origin Stainless Sword, his eyes growing cold.

"It seems... he's already got his eye on me."

He slowly stood up, his robes fluttering slightly, moving even without wind. The light and shadow in the cave flowed with his aura, reflecting faint purple-gold lotus patterns, and even the void trembled slightly.

Qin Yu's expression was calm, but his tone was chilling. "Heh... Treat me like prey? Then he'd better watch out—if he really steps into this barrier, he'll be throwing himself into oblivion."

He raised his hand, his fingertip lightly touching the surface, and a faint wisp of light flowed from his sea of consciousness, merging into the barrier on the cave wall. The previously dormant runes instantly came to life, rippling across the space surrounding the cave entrance, like the open eyes of an abyss, silently watching the outside world.

Qin Yu slowly closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and completely concealed his aura, merging himself with the world inside the cave.

Despite the prevailing rumors, Liu Yuan's gaze remained icy.

Liu Yuan stared silently at the barrier for a long time, the slight pain from the backlash still lingering on his fingertips. His gaze sharpened, and he turned around, saying coldly, "Let's go. We'll observe secretly first and see who this powerful figure is."

The three Only Book Realm · Supreme behind him immediately clasped their fists in response, and their four figures transformed into streams of annihilating purple light, disappearing into the boundless night mist.

They didn't go far, but instead set up a sensing platform several miles away in the sky, attempting to capture the energy pulse within the cave using "soul frequency resonance." Liu Yuan stood quietly in the center of the platform, his eyes lowered, and murmured, "If this is truly a powerful figure unrecorded in the Void Obliteration Domain... then this person must be investigated thoroughly."

Meanwhile, inside the cave, Qin Yu sensed the external spiritual pressure gradually dissipating. He exhaled softly and lightly tapped the Silent Origin Stainless Sword with his fingertips. The sword's sound echoed softly, like the heartbeat of an abyss.

Silence returned—but that silence was not calm, but rather the calm before the storm.

Three days later, the night at the Annihilation Wasteland Border was still as thick as ink. The rocks outside the cave had long been polished smooth as a mirror by the night wind, with a few streaks of ethereal light flowing by occasionally, like stars twinkling in the abyss.

Qin Yu slowly retracted the last barrier rune, and with a flick of his finger, the annihilation array on the cave wall receded like a tide, leaving only a faint, lonely glow. That light reflected on his face, revealing a composure and sharpness that came after three days of silence.

He stepped out.

The air outside the cave was completely different from that inside—it carried the aura of an ancient, desolate region, and the sound of the wind seemed to carry the sighs of countless souls. Qin Yu's clothes fluttered slightly, and he stepped lightly on the stone surface. Behind him, the sword of the Silent Origin Stainless Sword resonated softly, and its radiance flowed like the breathing of a galaxy.

He stood before the cliff, gazing into the depths of the Annihilation Wasteland. Within that endless black mist, a gigantic wheel-like shadow seemed to slowly rotate, like a forgotten heart of the world.

Qin Yu murmured softly, "It's time to leave."

As soon as he finished speaking, the air beneath his feet trembled slightly, the wind whipped up dust and sand, his cloak fluttered in the wind, chaos and light intertwined, and layers of light emerged between Annihilation and rebirth.

He took a step forward, his entire being transforming into a ray of light, heading towards the Lord of Annihilation Wasteland along the pulse lines of the void.

However, the instant he left, a barely perceptible wisp of spiritual energy suddenly flickered behind a distant rock.

A sudden sandstorm swept through the Annihilation Wasteland.

Liu Yuan's Spiritual Sense was originally resting quietly in the rock wall hundreds of feet away. But the moment Qin Yu stepped out of the cave and slightly released his aura, that almost imperceptible fluctuation of the Silent Origin spread out like ripples.

"It has appeared." Liu Yuan murmured, his pupils suddenly contracting, and his aura suddenly soaring.

With a deep sigh, the void suddenly shattered into four annihilation cracks. Three cultivators at the Only Book Realm · Supreme simultaneously appeared, standing in four directions, completely blocking Qin Yu's path. In the sky, dark clouds surged, and four beams of spiritual light descended like annihilation chains, weaving an invisible prison array.

Qin Yu paused, then looked up.

Before him Liu Yuan, his black robes fluttering, his aura as solid as iron in the abyss, his cold eyes like two silent blades in the night.

"As expected, you are here." Liu Yuan spoke slowly, his voice deep and resonant, as if it came from the deepest abyss.

"Was it you who caused that strange phenomenon in the cave just now?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the surrounding wind stopped. The three experts at the Only Book Realm · Supreme simultaneously activated their soul senses, locking onto Qin Yu's aura. Layers of spiritual pressure waves rose between heaven and earth, and the void was compressed, faintly emitting a low hum.

Qin Yu raised his head slightly, without a trace of fear in his eyes. The Silent Origin Stainless Sword appeared behind him, and a wisp of silent white light slid down the blade, as if even light had been stripped of its temperature by extreme cold.

The wind stopped. Dust and sand hung suspended in mid-air, and all was quiet.

At this moment, the Annihilation Wasteland land seemed to be split into two worlds.

Liu Yuan stepped forward slowly, his footsteps amplified in the silent air, as if each step was striking the rhythm of heaven and earth. His gaze was like an unsheathed sword, cold and sharp, yet restrained and steady.

"Your Excellency," Liu Yuan's voice was deep and carried an undeniable air of authority, "Three days ago, a strange phenomenon of 'Silent Origin' appeared in that cave, even shaking the consciousness flow of the Abyss of No Thought. That fluctuation... is seven-tenths similar to your current aura."

He paused slightly, a sharp, probing glint appearing in his eyes.

"May I ask who you are? From which palace do you come?"

Qin Yu remained calm and replied indifferently, "I am merely a wandering cultivator who happened to enter a mountain cave to avoid a calamity. That strange phenomenon has nothing to do with the so-called 'Silent Origin' you mentioned; I was simply here in seclusion to recuperate."

Liu Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly, seemingly scrutinizing every word Qin Yu spoke.

"Wandering cultivators?" he repeated in a low voice, a hint of almost imperceptible doubt in his tone, "In the Void Obliteration Domain, there are probably only a handful of 'wandering cultivators' capable of triggering that level of phenomenon."

Qin Yu smiled faintly, a slight upturn to his lips. "Brother, you flatter me. The Annihilation Wasteland is full of illusory phenomena; I was just unlucky enough to stumble upon one."

Liu Yuan stared at him, remaining silent for a long time.

His gaze was like an ancient lake—calm, yet capable of completely immersing one in it. Qin Yu remained unfazed; the aura of the Silent Origin Stainless Sword had long since been completely concealed, and his spiritual energy was as still as stagnant water, so much so that even Spiritual Sense could not detect the slightest fluctuation.

Finally, Liu Yuan snorted coldly, seemingly putting aside his doubts for the time being, but still not completely trusting him.

However, at this moment, a cultivator at the Only Book Realm · Supreme standing beside him spoke coldly, his tone carrying a contemptuous smile.

"My lord, why waste words with him? How could an Only Book Realm · Intermediate Stage possibly affect the Void Obliteration Domain? If you truly wish to know what treasures he obtained in the cave, simply Annihilation him."

His words were like a cold knife slicing through the air, carrying naked murderous intent and greed.

The wind stirred again, whipping up the fine sand from the ground, which swirled slowly between the two sides.

Qin Yu raised his eyes, his gaze unfathomable, as if in an instant, the silence of the entire world was absorbed by his eyes.