Guiding Rebirth, All Things Return to Silence. "Beneath this blade, there is no life, no death, only... the path home."

A purple thousand-year spirit ring hovered above the swamp, emitting an eerie and alluring glow.

Qian Anci sat cross-legged with the Scythe of Death resting horizontally across his knees, gray-white death energy swirling around his body like a thin mist.

He closed his eyes and slowly released the strand of spirit power tethered to the spirit ring.

"Anci."

Qian Renxue's golden eyes narrowed, her slender fingers tightening involuntarily against the hem of her dress.

She wanted to step forward, but was held back by the broad, firm palm of Golden Crocodile Douluo.

"Young Miss, do not be impulsive," Golden Crocodile Douluo said in a deep voice. "If you interrupt him now, the young master will surely suffer a backlash."

Azure Luan Douluo stood with his hands behind his back atop a piece of rotting wood, his azure robes fluttering without wind, his gaze fixed intently on that circle of purple spirit ring.

His spirit power had already quietly spread out; if the situation turned dire, he would forcibly terminate this reckless attempt, even at the cost of damaging Qian Anci's foundation.

"A thousand-year first ring..." he murmured softly. "Since ancient times, no one has ever achieved this."

The spirit ring descended slowly.

The moment it touched the top of Qian Anci's head, violent energy surged into his sea of consciousness like a bursting dam!

Qian Anci's body remained seated, showing no signs of abnormality on the surface.

But in the depths of his spirit, where no one could see, a battle of life and death had already erupted.

The gray-white Underworld Wasteland trembled violently, and the leaden clouds in the sky churned as if boiling.

The dying will of the Death Scythe Dragon Lizard manifested as a colossal phantom that blotted out the sky, dark red spirit fire dancing wildly in its eye sockets as it lunged toward the tiny figure in the center of the wasteland!

That was the final obsession of a thousand-year spirit beast.

Resentment, fury, fear, madness...

All sorts of negative emotions coalesced into a tangible tide, attempting to completely submerge Qian Anci's consciousness and replace it!

"The boundaries of your soul are dissolving."

Within the sea of spirit, Castorice's voice remained gentle, yet carried a hint of gravity.

"If you are swallowed by its obsession..."

"You will no longer be Anci, but another Death Scythe Dragon Lizard."

Qian Anci's consciousness stumbled backward across the spiritual wasteland, every step feeling as if he were treading on the tips of blades.

The beast's roar threatened to shatter his spirit, and the dark red spirit fire fell like raindrops, scorching every corner of his soul.

Pain.

Not the pain of the flesh, but a deeper, tearing sensation that felt as if his very "self" were being stripped from existence.

His memories began to blur.

He could barely remember who he was, could not recall that gray-white wasteland, could not remember...

"Anci."

A gentle voice pierced through the chaos, flowing in like the waters of the River Styx.

"Remember my name."

"Remember with whom your soul once forged a contract."

Qian Anci shuddered violently.

He raised his head and, amidst the churning gray mist, saw that pale purple figure.

Castorice stood quietly atop the bone dragon's head, her eyes gentle yet distant, as if she had seen through life and death, yet had never seen through him.

"Castorice..."

He called out softly across the spiritual wasteland, his voice hoarse but firm.

"I am here."

She smiled faintly, raised her slender hand, and tapped lightly toward the lunging phantom of the giant beast.

There was no earth-shattering power.

Only a single gray-white petal drifted from her fingertips.

The petal landed on the beast's brow, and the dark red spirit fire trembled violently, emitting a shrill, unwilling wail.

"The ferry of the Underworld is never about plunder."

Castorice's voice rang out like a dirge.

"It is... about returning to peace."

The petal bloomed.

Gray-white light spread like a tide, gently enveloping the beast's obsession and slowly dissolving it.

It was not destruction, but soothing.

It was not conquest, but acceptance.

The will of the Death Scythe Dragon Lizard gradually subsided within that radiance, transforming into the purest spiritual energy that merged into the depths of Qian Anci's soul.

In a corner invisible to all, the outline of a second spirit ring was slowly taking shape—gray-white and lusterless, entwining with the purple spirit ring like twin flowers of the Other Shore.

Outside.

Qian Anci's body remained seated, his plain white robes unstained by a speck of dust.

Yet his complexion was as pale as paper, his forehead covered in fine beads of sweat, as if he had just endured a long and harrowing nightmare.

"This is..."

Golden Crocodile Douluo furrowed his brows. He could not sense any sign of spirit power rampaging within Qian Anci, yet he felt an inexplicable palpitation in his heart.

It was as if some ancient existence was guarding this child's soul in a way he could not comprehend.

Azure Luan Douluo's expression was equally grave. His spirit power perception told him that Qian Anci's vital signs were stable, but his mental fluctuations were terrifyingly violent.

"Absorption on a spiritual level..." he murmured under his breath, "Such a method is unheard of."

Qian Renxue stood quietly to the side, the emotions in her golden eyes complex and unreadable.

She watched the seated figure, recalling the confrontation between that scythe and her Angel during the awakening, and wondered what he was contemplating.

She pressed her lips together, ultimately remaining silent.

Only the knuckles of her hand, which was tightly gripping her skirt, had turned slightly white.

Finally, the Scythe of Death resting across his knees moved without wind, emitting a low, resonant hum.

Qian Anci slowly opened his eyes.

The moment they opened, a flash of pale purple flickered through his pupils before they returned to their original pitch-black, deep as an abyss.

That thousand-year purple spirit ring now hovered quietly behind him, pulsing rhythmically with his breath.

Inside that spirit ring, a deeper, pale purple halo was faintly visible—the spirit ring condensed by his second martial soul.

Though inconspicuous, it exuded an aura of the Underworld that made the soul tremble.

However, because that pale purple halo was masked by death energy, to others, it appeared to be nothing more than the refraction of the spirit ring's light.

"He succeeded..."

Azure Luan Douluo whispered to himself, his eyes filled with shock.

Qian Anci slowly stood up.

He raised his right hand, and the Scythe of Death coalesced in his palm.

Unlike before, the blade now bore not only gray-white death energy but also a trace of dark red patterns.

That was the final killing intent of the Death Scythe Dragon Lizard, now thoroughly tamed by the origin of the Underworld and transformed into a part of the blade.

"First Spirit Skill—"

He spoke softly, his voice hoarse yet carrying a calm born of having walked through life and death.

"Guidance of the Underworld Path."

The blade swept through the void.

There was no earth-shattering momentum, only a thin line of gray-white mixed with dark red that silently slashed toward a night crow flapping its wings nearby.

The night crow did not even have time to let out a cry before it froze in mid-air the moment it touched the thin line.

The gray-white death energy receded like a tide; the night crow's body remained intact, its feathers still glossy.

Yet those eyes had lost all vitality, turning into two gray-white stone beads.

Deep within those hollow sockets, a faint dark red light could be seen flickering like embers—the remnants of a soul forcibly guided, struggling one last time before the gates of the Underworld.

"Guiding the departed, all things return to silence."

Qian Anci retracted his martial soul, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.

"Under this blade, there is no life or death, only... the journey home."

Qian Renxue stared blankly at the suspended dead crow, complex emotions surging in her golden eyes.

This younger brother of hers seemed to have embarked on a path entirely different from her own from the moment he awakened.

A path that was lonelier, more dangerous, and yet... more heart-stopping.

"Young Master, congratulations."

Azure Luan Douluo stepped forward and looked at him deeply. "I have lived for many years, yet this is the first time I have seen someone use a thousand-year spirit ring as their starting point. With such spirit, you will surely achieve great things in the future."

Golden Crocodile Douluo also grinned, patting Qian Anci heavily on the shoulder:

"Good lad, you've got guts! My first spirit ring was only a hundred years old, but you started with a thousand. The road ahead will be far more spectacular than it was for us old bones!"

Qian Anci bowed respectfully, though his gaze drifted involuntarily toward the depths of the Star Dou Great Forest.

Within that core forbidden zone shrouded in mist, it seemed as if some ancient existence had blinked ever so slightly at that very moment.

Core area of the Star Dou Great Forest, Lake of Life.

The surface of the lake was like a mirror, reflecting the firmament.

Deep within the lake, a silver figure slowly opened her eyes.

Her eyes were pure silver, as if containing myriad stars, or as if they had seen through the ages.

"Strange..."

A clear, cold voice echoed at the bottom of the lake, carrying a trace of imperceptible doubt.

"Just now..."

"It felt like the aura of 'that world'..."

She slightly raised her head, her silver hair gently floating in the lake water. Her gaze seemed to pierce through layers of space, falling in a certain direction outside the forest.

But there, apart from the auras of two Super Douluo, there was nothing.

"An illusion..."

Within her silver eyes, the ripples gradually subsided.

She closed her eyes again, and the lake bottom returned to silence.

However, before falling back into slumber, a faint wisp of consciousness quietly transmitted towards a certain spot in the forest.

"Di Tian."

"Your subordinate is here." In the darkness, a deep voice responded.

"Go check the perimeter."

"If there's anything unusual..."

"Bring it back."

"...Understood."