Survival for All: I can deconstruct projections and synthesize everything.

Deep within the headquarters of the Dark Corruption Order, in a palace heavily sealed off by numerous restrictions.

An aged figure slowly opened his eyes.

Those eyes were an eerie gray, and the pupils seemed to hold the passage of endless time.

His face was so aged that it was almost unrecognizable; his skin was like dried tree bark, covered with deep and shallow wrinkles.

He wore a tattered gray robe embroidered with countless fine runes, which had faded over countless years.

But now, they are lighting up again.

One after another, one after another, from dim to bright, from lifeless to vibrant.

The rays of light converged, forming a gray halo around him.

The halo slowly rotated, radiating a suffocating pressure.

Ninth level.

Moreover, it is an even more ancient and profound ninth-order level than the Misty Concealment.

He is the high priest of the Dark Eclipse Order, an ancient being who has existed since the founding of the Dark Eclipse Order.

His duty is to protect the Dark Eclipse Order and ensure that its lineage is not broken during the slumber of the Mist God.

For millions of years, he has never made a move.

On the one hand, the God of Mist only trusted that messenger; on the other hand, there was no one else worthy of his attention.

But today, he had no choice but to take action.

His consciousness extended beyond the palace, sweeping across the entire star field.

He saw the shattered barriers, the destroyed buildings, and the believers lying in pools of blood.

He saw Yama, Void, and the Other Shore tightly bound by seven-colored chains, unable to move.

He saw the Eternal Alliance's billions of troops surrounding the Dark Erosion Order's headquarters.

He also saw the young figure—suspended in the void, with a complete miniature universe behind him, surrounded by a faint seven-colored light.

The culprit who destroyed all the branches of the Dark Erosion Order.

The executioner who killed seven eighth-level cult leaders.

That... madman who's waiting for him to appear.

A flash of anger crossed the high priest's eyes.

That anger was not rage, not fury, but a deep anger as profound as the ocean—the heartache of millions of years of hard work being destroyed in an instant, the grief and indignation of countless believers dying tragically before one's eyes, and the shame of the Dark Erosion Order's glory being trampled upon.

"Lin Xiao..."

He uttered the name softly, his voice hoarse and low, like the rubbing of rotten wood.

"You deserve to die."

As soon as he finished speaking, his figure disappeared into the palace.

-

In the void, Lin Xiao's brows twitched slightly.

The Omniscient Rule detected an extremely subtle spatial fluctuation—a fluctuation originating from the deepest part of the Dark Erosion Order, from the palace sealed off by numerous restrictions.

Then, an old figure appeared out of thin air in front of him.

The figure appeared without warning, without any fluctuations in spatial rules or traces of temporal rules, as if he had always been there, but no one had been able to see him before.

High Priest.

Lin Xiao looked at the figure, and the Omniscient Rule was fully activated to capture every trace of his aura.

Then, his pupils contracted slightly.

This high priest is stronger than the Hidden Mist.

It's not just a little stronger, it's much stronger.

If the Hidden Mist is a river, then this High Priest is an ocean.

His power of rules is unfathomable, his aura is perfectly integrated, and his connection with the misty world is closer and deeper than that of the Misty Concealer.

Moreover, there was something about him that made Lin Xiao uneasy—the sedimentation of time, the foundation accumulated over countless years.

This high priest has been immersed in the ninth level for at least hundreds of millions of years.

The high priest's gaze swept across the entire battlefield.

He looked at the shattered barriers, the collapsed buildings, and the cultists lying in pools of blood.

He looked at the three Yama beings bound by the seven-colored chains, and saw the despair and fear in their eyes.

His face grew increasingly gloomy.

"Lin Xiao." His voice was hoarse and deep, each word seemingly carrying the scent of millions of years of decay, "You are very good."

"Since the founding of the Dark Eclipse Order, no one has ever dared to be so presumptuous."

"You destroyed over ninety of my branch sects, killed seven of my leaders, and slaughtered countless of my followers—"

"Today, I will make you pay the price."

The high priest ignored the order from the god of mist to capture Lin Xiao alive.

This is one of the reasons why he was not as trusted as the messenger.

As soon as he finished speaking, he raised his right hand.

That hand was as withered as a dry branch, but the moment he raised it, the entire void trembled.

The gray power of the rules condensed in his palm, transforming into a huge gray pillar of light.

Wherever the beam of light passed, the void collapsed and decayed.

That corrupting power was more than a hundred times stronger than the decaying rules of twilight; even the rules themselves were withering away.

Lin Xiao's pupils contracted slightly.

He could sense that the power of this attack far exceeded any of Mist Shadow's previous attacks.

Without hesitation, he unleashed the full power of the miniature universe behind him, and a seven-colored barrier condensed in front of him.

boom--!

The gray beam of light slammed into the rainbow barrier.

The entire void trembled violently, and dozens of stars around it were shattered into dust.

Those members of both sides still fighting, whether they were remnants of the Dark Corruption Order or warriors of the Eternal Alliance, were all thrown away by the shockwave.

Lin Xiao's body jolted violently, and a trickle of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

But his barrier held up.

The high priest frowned slightly.

"A miniature universe? No wonder His Majesty wanted to capture you alive!" he said softly, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes. "No wonder you dared to be so presumptuous."

"But do you think a tiny, miniature universe can stop me?"

He raised his right hand again, this time with even more force.

Gray light surged wildly around him, transforming into countless beams of light that bombarded Lin Xiao from all directions.

Each of those beams of light was enough to destroy a galaxy, and when they converged, even the void itself seemed to groan.

Lin Xiao gritted his teeth, and his miniature universe was running at full power.

A seven-colored barrier condensed around him, enveloping his entire body.

The beams of light slammed into the barrier, shattering into countless points of light. The barrier trembled violently, and cracks appeared continuously. However, Lin Xiao desperately activated the rules of the Myriad Manifestations True Self, repairing those cracks time and time again.

He's on defense.

Pure defense.

Because he knew that with his current strength, it was almost impossible to defeat this high priest head-on.

The gap between the eighth and ninth orders cannot be bridged by a single miniature universe.

But he doesn't need to defeat the high priest.

All he needs to do is stall him.

All we need to do is keep him from being distracted by supporting the Dark Erosion Order.

All we need to do is wait until the battle below is completely over, and until all members of the Dark Eclipse Order have been wiped out—

Then, he can go all out.

The high priest seemed to see through his thoughts, and the anger in his eyes grew stronger.

"Trying to hold me back?" he said coldly. "Wishful thinking."

His attacks became increasingly fierce and frenzied.

The gray beams of light poured down like a torrential rain, each carrying a devastating force.

Lin Xiao's miniature universe trembled under those attacks, cracks multiplied, and the repair process became increasingly slow.