In the Eternal Sacred Realm, within the grand ancient city of ‘Xishan City,’ countless cultivators thrived. This was also the place where the Chaos Realm overlord, ‘Ancestor Xishan,’ had established his sect. Countless cultivators dreamed of becoming his disciples, and even those who couldn’t join were willing to reside here under his protection.
Inside a tavern.
Dongbo Xueying, clad in thick white robes, sat alone at a corner table laden with the tavern’s renowned delicacies and fine wine. Though he ate, his brows remained furrowed, prompting a nearby attendant to ask, “Does the food and wine not suit your taste?”
“Leave me,” Dongbo Xueying commanded.
The attendant withdrew without another word.
Dongbo Xueying’s frown deepened. “How should I track them? How do I uncover the hidden Annihilation Fiends?”
The three Sacred Realms were fully supporting him, and vast amounts of intelligence had been delivered to him. Yet, sifting through the overwhelming data, Dongbo Xueying realized the daunting task of locating the concealed Annihilation Fiends. The Cosmic Deities wielded immense power, their forces formidable and widespread, yet not once had they managed to capture an infiltrating Annihilation Fiend.
Not once!
Now, reviewing the intelligence, Dongbo Xueying understood why.
“Too cautious, and far too powerful,” he mused.
The intelligence suggested only nine confirmed cases where Chaos Realm overlords had been slain by hidden Annihilation Fiends—averaging just one per trillion years over the vast epochs. Their killings primarily targeted weaker factions, such as small domains ruled by Unity Realm cultivators.
Such factions were as numerous as hairs on an ox, and their destruction by ‘Devouring Fiends’ was commonplace, making the Annihilation Fiends’ actions inconspicuous.
Over a hundred confirmed cases involved small factions being devoured and annihilated by Annihilation Fiends. Given the boundless expanse of the Chaos Void, the destruction of minor factions was routine, and undiscovered cases likely numbered in the thousands.
In contrast, attacks on Chaos Realm overlords were rare—likely just those nine instances.
The fall of a Chaos Realm overlord was a monumental event, shaking the world and drawing the attention of Cosmic Deities, making concealment impossible. The destruction of small factions, however, was unremarkable.
“Targeting Chaos Realm overlords once every trillion years is too infrequent. Investigating smaller factions is more practical,” Dongbo Xueying reasoned. “Moreover, Chaos Realm strongholds are heavily guarded. The slightest misstep by an Annihilation Fiend could expose them. They’re more likely to lurk in remote areas.”
“Hmm…”
“Annihilation Fiends seem capable of sensing a cultivator’s strength, even detecting the concealed auras of Cosmic Deities.”
“Given that, the most straightforward method may be the only way.”
After much deliberation, Dongbo Xueying settled on his strategy, leveraging his strengths.
His defensive prowess, treasures, and ultra-long-range teleportation ensured some measure of safety during his hunt. But without a methodical approach, searching the endless Chaos Void for Annihilation Fiends skilled in concealment would be like fishing for a needle in the ocean.
—
With his plan set, Dongbo Xueying finally relaxed, savoring the meal before him. After finishing and paying, he stepped out of the tavern.
As he walked the broad streets, a faint smile touched his lips.
A vast illusory world instantly enveloped the sprawling city, spanning millions of miles. Every beast, every cultivator—even Ancestor Xishan himself—fell into the illusion. Though Ancestor Xishan, a seventh-level expert of the Star Pagoda, retained a sliver of awareness, recognizing his own identity, he remained trapped, unable to break free.
The entire city was submerged in the illusory realm.
Only one remained awake.
Dongbo Xueying, clad in white, shook his head as he strolled. “Every soul in Xishan City has succumbed. According to intelligence, infiltrating Annihilation Fiends should be immensely powerful—they shouldn’t fall so easily. And even if they did, they’d react to mentions of the ‘Labyrinth Corridor’ or ‘Annihilation Fiends.'”
His conclusion: Xishan City harbored no Annihilation Fiends.
“Next stop.”
He stepped forward, the void distorting before him as he vanished.
The illusion dissipated, and the city’s inhabitants awoke. Most remembered nothing, their memories of the illusion erased. Only Ancestor Xishan retained fragments of the experience.
“An illusion? I was trapped for a full breath?” Ancestor Xishan shuddered, scanning the city uneasily but daring not to investigate further. Whoever could ensnare him so effortlessly could kill him just as easily.
—
Elsewhere in the Eastern Lin Sacred Realm, within a vast nation teeming with cultivators, another illusion descended, engulfing the entire land.
A white-robed figure emerged from the illusion. “No Annihilation Fiends here either. But there are several members of the Sacred Cult.”
Soon, a report was dispatched, and the Eastern Lin Sacred Realm would dispatch experts to handle the matter.
—
This was Dongbo Xueying’s strategy.
A seemingly crude method—random, sweeping investigations across the three Sacred Realms and the Chaos Void, deploying vast illusions wherever he went. He believed powerful Annihilation Fiends could resist his illusions, and within the illusions, he embedded subtle cues about Annihilation Fiends to provoke reactions.
Yet, failure after failure ensued.
The infiltrators were few, and the realms vast. Even with his illusions spanning entire cities, Dongbo Xueying found no trace of Annihilation Fiends.
Instead, his relentless efforts uncovered numerous members and even hidden outposts of the Sacred Cult and the Mother Cult, inflicting losses upon them.
“What’s happening?”
“Why are we being exposed again?”
The two cults were baffled.
But Dongbo Xueying’s illusions left no traces among weaker factions, whose Unity Realm leaders couldn’t retain memories of the experience. The cults remained clueless.
Time flowed on.
Dongbo Xueying’s hunt spanned the realms, and before he knew it, over two billion years had passed.
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