Refracted light, reforged soul: the calamity of the Annihilation Abyss

In the torrent of the Light Returns to the Origin Realm, heaven and earth stood still. Time ceased to flow, and even the echo of breath froze into fragments. All colors were smoothed out, leaving only a deathly gray silence. Li Huncang's figure almost became a phantom in the stream of light. His body was peeled away, regressed, and torn apart inch by inch by the layers of time, and blood mist and Spiritual Sense extended in space into one after another phantom of "his past self".

However, in that silent space and time, a deep hum suddenly resounded—the sound of a soul burning in reverse.

"Epoch Whale... do you think I, Li Huncang, am just a mortal cultivator?"

The sound of blood cracking escaped his throat, and two dark red flames burst forth from the depths of his eyes. Then, he bit his tongue hard, spraying a burst of blood light so intense it almost tore his soul apart into the void.

"--Offering the blood of the Annihilation Abyss, sacrificing the Guan Yao, heed my summons... Annihilation Prison Rift Mastiff, surrender!"

The blood-red light twisted and spread in the air, and was instantly absorbed by the time flow of the Light Returns to the Origin Realm, forming a reversed vortex. That vortex was not a simple spatial rift, but a "crack of existence" that transcended dimensions, each inch of which was composed of countless reflected stars and reverse-flowing rivers of light.

"Roar----"

A roar, deeper and more ancient than that of the Light-Folding Epoch Whale, exploded from the abyss of time and space.

The heavens and earth trembled, the light refraction structure of the entire Radiant Abyss Illusory Domain was torn apart, and a violent energy stream intertwined with crimson and silver-white soared into the sky. Blood and light intertwined, chaos and rules entangled, forming an incomparably enormous monster.

It was a colossal mastiff covered in jet-black, cracked armor, its body a thousand feet long, its bones seemingly forged from star cores and ghostly iron, with crimson, molten lava flowing down its back. When its four paws trod, even space and time shattered like glass. With each breath, the howls of billions of souls surged from its body. Its eyes had no pupils, only two eternally burning "Reverse Time Flames," capable of melting light and devouring time.

It raised its head and roared, its sound waves transforming into undulating cracks that spread outwards layer by layer, crushing all the folded light mirrors.

The Light-Folding Epoch Whale sensed this aura, its giant eyes slightly opening, and the sea of rainbow light suddenly dimmed—it was a power from the "ancient and purer Abyss of Annihilation Abyss."

Li Huncang laughed wildly, his aura bordering on madness. His flesh and blood were disintegrating, and his soul was being drawn into burning lines. He stretched out his arms and roared to the sky, "Hahahaha-- Annihilation Prison Rift Mastiff, tear that beast of light to shreds! Devour its core, and the Light-Folding Origin Crystal will be mine!!"

The Annihilation Prison Rift Mastiff opened its massive jaws, its three layers of fangs gleaming with crimson light, and a primordial annihilation storm erupted from its body. It was a destructive storm composed of "anti-time particle flow," which turned space to ashes and completely devoured light wherever it went.

Boom--!

The heavens and earth shattered with a deafening roar. The Light-Folding Epoch Whale raised its colossal body, its roar shaking the heavens. The light barrier around it was swallowed up, and billions of light blades shattered in reverse, breaking into countless stardust that illuminated the entire end of the illusionary realm.

Amidst the trembling and intertwining light and shadow, the world transforms into an indescribable apocalyptic panorama—light and darkness, time and annihilation overlapping into a wildly surging cosmic tide.

Li Huncang's body had already disintegrated in the violent energy flow, leaving only his eyes, burned to ashes, still flickering with obsession and greed:

"This... is the power I've been searching for..."

The roars of the Annihilation Prison Rift Mastiff and the Light-Folding Epoch Whale converged at the same moment.

The heavens trembled, the strata of the Annihilation Abyss Epoch began to collapse, and the boundary between light and darkness became completely blurred.

At the Annihilation Abyss Deep Domain, the two primordial forces of Light Refraction and Annihilation Prison clashed between heaven and earth, like two stars that could not coexist and were about to meet their fate of mutual destruction.

The Light-Folding Epoch Whale slowly rose from the chaotic sea, its massive body transforming into countless layers of refractive interfaces. Its scales, like flowing mirrors, distorted all light into a self-circulating orbit. Nine interlocking halos shimmered deep within its pupils, like nine cosmic folds rearranging the order of the world.

"The Radiance Returns to the Universe-- "

The sound of the Epoch Whale resounded throughout heaven and earth.

With a deafening roar, the Light-Folding Epoch Whale erupted with billions of streams of light, each ray containing a complete fragment of cosmic time. The streams of light transformed into a spiraling cascade of stars, which then swept back towards the Annihilation Prison Rift Mastiff Hound. It was a pure energy stream that stripped away even "existence" and "observation," and wherever it went, mountains, seas, the void, and laws all crumbled away.

"Roar--!!"

The roar of the Annihilation Prison Rift Mastiff was like the howl of Endless Abyss; its crimson-black armor shone with the light of hellish lava. Annihilation storms spewed from between its massive fangs, like a black tide formed from the condensation of billions of souls. The streams of annihilation collided with the Radiant Return Starfall—

Boom--!!!

At that moment, the Annihilation Abyss Deep Domain collapsed, and all of time was shattered. Light and darkness transformed into two intertwined, dragon-shaped streams of energy, tumbling, entwining, and exploding in space and time. The entire space was like a torn canvas, revealing the colorless void behind it. Particles of light were sucked into the cracks, and all things emitted heart-wrenching cries.

"Retreat! Retreat outside the Realm Splitting!!"

"The power of light... will devour the entire Epoch Realm!"

"That beast, the Annihilation Prison Rift Mastiff, has gone mad! It's even tearing itself apart!"

The twelve cultivators at the Only Book Realm screamed in terror. Their bodies were being torn apart by the violent energy flow, and their Spiritual Sense was losing focus amidst the shockwaves. Some covered their faces and roared, while others trembled as if their souls were leaving their bodies.

"Hahahaha--" The remnant soul of Li Huncang flickered in the stream of light, like the still-burning soul flames resisting dissipation, "What's there to be afraid of? This is the opportunity! The Light-Folding Origin Crystal is hidden at the core of their collision!"

"Master Li has gone mad!"

"That's the annihilation field at the core of the Annihilation Prison—going in means certain death!"

"He... he actually wants to steal the treasure?"

Li Huncang's soul shadow twisted in the air, his remaining upper body torn apart by the fragments of time, yet he still grinned.

"Death? Haha... How could someone who achieves eternity fear death? The Heavenly Sha Alliance wants power!"

He extended his half-ethereal hand, and his soul blood condensed into a strange rune, accompanied by his hoarse whisper:

"Using my soul as a guide, I lock onto the core of refraction... and reshape my destiny!"

Instantly, his soul was drawn towards the boundary between the light reflection and the annihilation storm. It was an indescribable realm—light particles and annihilation reflected each other, time and space canceled each other out, and even existence and nothingness were chaotically alternating.

"Master Li! Don't go!!" A cultivator roared and chased after him, but was instantly torn apart by the refraction of light as he got close, his body disintegrating into countless fragments of the past and future in an instant.

He's gone!

Even the soul was refracted into dust--

"Aaaaaah!! Retreat! The annihilation is spreading!"

Another cultivator clutched his head, his eyes filled with blood and tears, laughing hysterically, "Haha... This is the fate of the Heavenly Sha Alliance! What we've been chasing is nothing but someone else's doom!"

"Shut up! Protect Hall Master Li!" the leader roared, forcibly suppressing his fear as he formed hand seals and arranged a formation in the void.

"Annihilation Abyss Blood Formation - Activate!"

The twelve people desperately burned their souls, their spiritual energy weaving into a ring of light in an attempt to block the aftershocks of the energy. But the intensity of the fluctuations exceeded all imagination—

Rumble--

Particles of light tore apart the shadows of the annihilation flow, while ripples of darkness swallowed the traces of light. The moment the twelve formed the array, the array's light was crushed by the two forces, and their souls were instantly reversed.

"I saw... my own future..."

"Haha... that's what we look like... when time has abandoned us..."

"Annihilation... devour us--"

Their laughter was chaotic and desperate, but in the end it turned into silent dust.

The Light-Folding Epoch Whale roared, Annihilation Prison Rift Mastiff howled. The power of the two forbidden behemoths continued to spread, and the skeleton of heaven and earth began to crumble. The deep structure of the entire Annihilation Abyss Epoch was shattered in that instant, and the spiritual light transformed into countless dimensional rifts, from which fragments of the world forgotten by time fell.

At the heart of that destruction, a faint light flickered. It was Light-Folding Origin Crystal.

It floats in the deepest part where annihilation and brilliance meet, like the last pulse of order in the world, shimmering with a calm breath.

The Li Huncang and remnant soul transformed into a faint thread of fire, rushing towards the point of light.

"Hahaha--Who says cultivators can't seize divine secrets?!"

The burst of light engulfed everything, and the deepest part of the Annihilation Abyss Return Realm emitted a mournful cry of disintegration.

At the Annihilation boundary of heaven and earth, the final low murmur of the Light-Folding Epoch Whale was like a lament for the fall of a god, while the roar of the Annihilation Prison Rift Mastiff transformed into a tidal wave tearing apart all things. The two forbidden forces intertwined, collapsed, and perished together, forming a "Collapse of the Final Realm" that would make any god tremble.

The sky of the Annihilation Abyss Realm shattered completely, countless spatial rifts fell into nothingness, reflecting the afterimages of endless worlds like falling mirrors. Among those reflected fragments were broken galaxies, burning continents, weeping souls, and time flowing backward. The entire Illusionary Realm was folded into layers upon layers of light curtains and dark currents, as if the world was being infinitely copied, torn apart, and folded back again.

"Retreat! Retreat quickly!!"

The remaining three cultivators at the Only Book Realm struggled frantically between the blazing light and the annihilation flow. Their protective barriers were peeled away layer by layer, and their flesh and blood spun into fragments in the folds of time.

"Hall Master Li... Hall Master Li really did obtain that crystal core...!"

"That's impossible! Even Epoch Whale wouldn't dare get close to that thing!"

"Look—that light is from Light-Folding Origin Crystal!!"

Their voices were torn apart by the energy flow, turning into fragmented soul echoes that reverberated within the Realm Splitting.

At the intersection of light and darkness, a tiny ray of light was slowly gathering—it was the remnant soul of Li Huncang.

His body had long since turned to ashes, leaving only a Spiritual Sense, which, drawn by the refraction of light amidst the destruction, coalesced into a blurry soul. His face was no longer clear; sometimes he appeared as a youth, sometimes as an old man, and sometimes only a wisp of smoke-like smile remained.

"Hahaha... Finally... Finally I got it--"

The remnant soul reached out, its illusory fingertips touching the Light-Folding Origin Crystal suspended at the center of destruction. The crystal core was completely transparent, yet it contained the flow of light from all things, reflecting the infinite universe and spacetime within, as if each crack corresponded to a collapsing era.

The light spread into Li Huncang's soul consciousness, illuminating his phantom image, and the fragments of his soul within his body began to recombine.

"Ah... hahahaha--this power... this feeling... even Annihilation Abyss would bow down to me!"

The energy of the Light-Folding Origin Crystal poured into his soul like a torrent, causing his remnant soul to expand and materialize, forming a semi-transparent figure surrounded by a dual flow of light and darkness. His pupils reappeared, shimmering with an eerie glow that was a mixture of gold and black.

"Master Li... he really succeeded?!"

"That's... the Light-Refraction Origin Energy to reshape his soul--!"

The three remaining cultivators at the Only Book Realm stared at the unbelievable scene, their faces filled with fear.

Li Huncang lowered his head, looking at his hands that had reformed. The spiritual vein patterns on the back of his hands had become unfamiliar, as if they had merged with the forbidden powers of Epoch Whale and Rending Mastiff. He slowly raised his head, his gaze cold yet fervent.

"Epoch Whale, your light has become my soul. Annihilation Prison, your darkness has become my blood. Now I... am no longer Li Huncang."

He reached out and gently clenched his fist, and the void instantly twisted and cracked, the particles of light and darkness under his control, swirling around his palm.

"Hahaha... The Annihilation Abyss Return Realm? The Heavenly Sha Alliance? All of that will become the past. A new order—I will write it."

The three cultivators at the Only Book Realm knelt on the ground, trembling, not daring to raise their heads.

"Master Li... your aura... is even more terrifying than the rulers of the deepest depths of the Annihilation Abyss..."

"Please, please spare our lives... We are willing to follow you to the death!"

"Master Li... the Heavenly Sha Alliance will surely rise to the pinnacle of the Epoch Realm once again!"

Li Huncang slowly turned around, the remaining annihilation currents and radiance merging behind him into a huge folding vortex, like a reborn demon's wings. He raised one hand and pointed to the depths of the void.

"Rebuild? No—I want to rewrite." Starlight turned into dust, the void collapsed into streams of light, and the corpses of Epoch Whale and Rending Mastiff turned into dust of light, which were folded back into the depths of time.