The world is shrouded in darkness; the winds of the realm tear at souls and bones.
Qin Yu and Zhou Yu stepped into the place marked on the mission scroll—"Forbidden Abyss," a chasm located outside the myriad domains of the northern boundary of Qiongcang Heavenly City, one of the oldest "Forbidden Source Remnants" in the Lingqiong Great World.
According to fragments of the boundary records, this place was originally the site of the destruction of the "Realm Soul Heavenly Tower," and no one had set foot here for hundreds of millions of years.
But now, lured by the prospect of over a thousand Realm Merit Points, they have come here.
The moment you step inside, all is silent—there is no Spiritual Qi, no source of energy, no life force, only billowing black mist, as if whispering, as if roaring.
"This place... is so desolate that even time itself seems to have stopped flowing." Zhou Yu frowned, forming Realm Artifact- Grade talisman in his palm. "Even soul consciousness can't extend here, as if it's been swallowed up by something..."
Qin Yu remained silent. He gazed at the dark figure lying at the bottom of the abyss—it was a corpse.
Standing a hundred feet tall with nine wings spread across the sky, his soul and bones shattered, yet his eyes still held resentment and the power of a roar.
"The guardian spirit of the Boundary Tower... a mutilated corpse?"
"Have we stumbled into the tomb of the former master of the Boundary Tower?"
Just as he was about to deduce the truth, a chill suddenly ran through his body!
Click--
The ground cracked open, and a claw bone burst forth from the earth, as black as night, its cracks like a curse.
"Roar!!!"
A roar ripped through the silence--
The entire Forbidden Trace Rift Abyss trembled, mountains collapsed, and the boundary soil crumbled.
A figure radiating a ghostly light slowly rose from the black mist!
That is--
[Forbidden Demon Lord of the Realms - Nightmare Bone Lord]
Soul Power Level: Severed Phenomena Realm Fifth Stage - Causal Attribution Consciousness
Realm Energy: Realm Devouring, Cause Splitting, Soul Transformation
This demon was a "fallen lord" from tens of thousands of years ago in the Spirit Firmament. He once ruled the Soul Rend Tower and was killed by all races for the crime of seizing realms, but he was not completely destroyed.
He once devoured countless realms and burned millions of spirits, making him one of the first "Soul Rebellion Masters" in the Spirit Firmament.
"Isn't he dead...? Why does his soul flame still remain?" Zhou Yu shouted.
Qin Yu's expression hardened slightly, Pursuit of the Unseen automatically leaped into his hand.
The Nightmare Bone Lord has fully recovered, and a pair of soul wings suddenly exploded, transforming into sky-covering bone blades!
"Soul Realm Collapse Abyss - Myriad Rifts and Chaotic Fall!!"
--boom!!
The void shattered. The realm was no longer a stable space, but fragments torn apart by "force"!
Zhou Yu felt as if the world had lost its color!
His armor was torn apart, and his body flew hundreds of feet away, filling the sky with blood mist!
"Ughhh!!"
Qin Yu did not retreat, Pursuit of the Unseen and piercing the void.
"Pursuit of the Unseen, Realm Breaking Boundaries!!"
The spear's light swept diagonally, shattering several layers of illusory cracks, yet it was still consumed by the soul flames, leaving burn marks on its body.
"It's... soul erosion!"
This is the Nightmare Bone Lord's killing move; it doesn't harm the physical body, but only destroys the soul!
"Zhou Yu! Flee! I'll hold them off—"
"I'm not leaving!!!"
Zhou Yu roared, and the "Moon-Slaying Lone Rainbow" materialized in his palm, unleashing a sword rainbow that cleaved the heavens and split the earth!
The Nightmare Bone Lord looked at Zhou Yu, black flames appearing in his pupils.
"Soul Rend: Reverse Radiance Eye!!"
A beam of black light shot out from the pupil, turning all souls and consciousness into ashes wherever it went!
Zhou Yu's soul bone shattered, and his seven soul marks were severely injured, leaving him on the verge of death!
Qin Yu roared--
"Silent Origin - Wheel-Breaking Seal!!!"
With a single palm strike, ten layers of gray seals overlapped, resembling a rotating altar that suddenly appeared!
The Seal Wheel crashed down, crushing the left half of the Nightmare Bone Lord's Wing!
At that moment, Zhou Yu collapsed to the ground, his life extinguished.
Suddenly—a flash of blue light.
A cyan light vein was not visible to the outside world, but rather subtly emanated from the depths of Zhou Yu's Soul Sea.
That is the lingering charm of the ring seal, not manifest, but only sensed.
The sword essence of Moon-Slaying Lone Rainbow merged with his soul, opening a rift between life and death!
Boom!!!
His consciousness shattered, and a blood moon suddenly appeared!
"I am immortal!"
"I still have an unfinished path to follow, my brother, into the world!!!"
Zhou Yu leaped up from the ground, his entire soul and bones reshaping!
True Soul Realm, Second Stage, Breakthrough!
His eyes blazed, and he slashed horizontally with his sword!
"Moon-Slaying Lone Rainbow - First Form: Severing Stars and Falling Dragons!!!"
The world instantly darkened!
That sword strike was like cleaving through billions of stars, its rainbow streaking from hell to the heavens, tearing open the Abyss of Souls!
The Nightmare Bone Lord roared in fury, and his Soul Wings snapped again!
Qin Yu seized the opportunity and leaped up!
"Silent Origin - Wheel-Breaking Seal - Soul Palace World-Covering!!"
Beneath the gray wheel tracks, the land was overturned, fragments of earth rose into the sky, and a gray light shone brightly!
Final--
Sweep away the Pursuit of the Unseen!
The sword rainbow slashed down!
Gray Mark Suppresses Soul!
--BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!
The entire Forbidden Trace Rift Abyss was completely annihilated by the overlapping of the Triple Heaven Technique!
Amidst its wails, the Nightmare Bone Lord was torn to shreds!
The soul runes collapsed, the boundary seal shattered, and the quest scroll turned to ashes.
At that moment, the world fell silent.
The shattered Soul Realm space slowly closed, gray light fell like snow across the mountain abyss, and the soul energy was heavy, as if mourning the complete demise of its former master Nightmare Bone Lord.
Zhou Yu knelt on the ground, his long sword embedded in the scorched earth. He was breathing heavily, his chest heaving violently, and there was still blood at the corner of his mouth.
He slowly raised his head and looked at Qin Yu, who was still standing above the broken boundary of the sky. His robes were tattered and colorful, yet they still burned with a blue light.
"Is this... the true Spirit Firmament Great Realm?"
Even the Nightmare Bone Lord, who is like the Grim Reaper... cannot stop our swords and spears.
"This is just the beginning of crossing the boundary," Qin Yu murmured.
Suddenly, the sky trembled, and a faint ripple that seemed to span billions of miles of void swept across their sea of consciousness.
It was a wisp of azure light, like starlight piercing through the world, leaving no trace, appearing only for Qin Yu.
--"Azure Ring's Thoughts":
[As you first step into this realm, the Soul Stele will stir. Your mark is already etched upon this world.]
Although the Azure Ring had not yet appeared, it had already quietly imprinted the name "Qin Yu" into the most ancient battle spirit assessment in the Spirit Firmament Realm through the laws of dimensions.
And in this battle, the mission was not only accomplished.
For him, it was to truly leave his mark in the Spirit Firmament Great Realm.
In the distance, a boundary soul probe quietly appeared, and an observer dressed in a silver-blue soul robe stood atop the floating boundary tower, his brows furrowed.
"The soul of the Nightmare Bone Lord was actually killed? But... there is no sign of life within the boundary wave."
"Who?"
His gaze was fixed on the shattered void.
The next instant, the figure disappeared into the sky.
Just then, deep within the soul domain where the Nightmare Bone Lord had turned to ashes, an ancient and broken bone imprint slowly rose, gleaming with a purple-gold light, and floated in the air.
That was the "Soul Bone Origin" he had refined by devouring the soul of the Realm Master in his past life, and it was known as:
[Soul-Annihilating Bone Gate Tower]
--The triple seal contains a remnant of a half-step Realm God- level divine soul vein, which is extremely suitable for soul cultivators to refine.
Qin Yu glanced at it, said nothing, turned around and put it in his hand, but handed it to Zhou Yu without hesitation.
"You saved me once, and I will return this to you."
Zhou Yu froze, her face stiff for a few breaths, before she gripped the purple bone tightly.
At that moment, there was no gratitude in his eyes, only a deep fighting spirit.
I will become stronger and won't hold you back.
"You're not holding us back, you're with me... defying the heavens and defying the limits." Qin Yu replied softly.
As the last wisp of gray soul storm subsided into Annihilation, a crystalline seal emerged at the core of the forbidden land.
The seal is made entirely of an unknown ancient soul crystal, inscribed with the Spirit Firmament Secret Script. The central mark slowly rotates, emitting a soft silver light.
That is the [Realm Taboo Seal Core] – a unique token that can only be obtained by completing the "Realm Taboo Writ" quest.
Zhou Yu watched in shock as the seal core slowly fell into Qin Yu's palm.
"This is... proof of the boundary restriction?"
"Yes. It doesn't belong to the Boundary Merit System, nor is it under the jurisdiction of the Mission Hall. Instead, it's an independent mission core directly assigned by the Spirit Firmament Surveillance Tower." Qin Yu's eyes were calm. "With it, you have everything."
Subsequently, the seal core spontaneously emitted a silver light, transforming into a vortex of light gate in the void.
The two stepped inside, their bodies trembled, and in the next instant, they found themselves inside a sealed space within the Thousand Realms Sect's main hall.
[Jie Dian·Mibang Hall].
This is a place only those who have completed forbidden-level missions can appear in.
"The boundary verification has been completed."
"Realm Taboo Writ Quest - Confirmed Complete."
"Mission Level: Silent Abyss Level 17 - Forbidden - Lost File"
"Mission completers: Qin Yu (Initial Yuan Realm, Level 4), Zhou Yu (True Soul Realm Second Stage)."
"Each Realm Merit Points will be increased by 1200."
An observer clad in a silver soul robe gazed intently at Qin Yu and Zhou Yu, his expression complex as he added in a low voice:
"This task has been untouched for thousands of years... and you actually—did it."
There were no cheers, no shock, not even praise.
Yes, there was only an inexplicable silence.
It seemed that none of the higher-ups in the Mission Hall could believe it.
When Qin Yu and Zhou Yu returned to the outer sect passage and landed at the foot of the familiar Soul Tower steps, the outer sect disciples were discussing among themselves.
"I heard that a mission abandoned thousands of years ago has been taken on again today!"
"Really? Even Realm Soul Realm would perish in that kind of mission—"
"They're back! Look! They're back!!"
Call!
All eyes turned to him.
No one dared to step forward, and no one dared to shout.
All anyone could see were two young figures stepping on the rubble, their robes stained with blood, their expressions calm, yet possessing an unyielding sharpness.
Those are... boundary-steppers who have just emerged from the Death Abyss!
Night fell.
The two walked up the mountain path, one in front of the other.
Looking at the [Soul-Annihilating Bone Gate Tower] in his hand, Zhou Yu's expression no longer showed any naivety, but rather a truly grounded fighting spirit.
Qin Yu didn't turn around, leaving only one sentence:
"Zhou Yu, I might be able to move faster than you from here on out."
"But don't stop. If you're willing to chase after me, I'm willing to fight alongside you in the battle against the Heavenly Realm."
"Okay." Zhou Yu nodded slowly.
A gentle breeze caressed my face.
The Azure Ring has fallen silent, Pursuit of the Unseen has returned to its sheath.
But after that day, a name was quietly etched into the minds of the entire Thousand Realms Sect, the entire Soul Stele, and even the Spirit Firmament Dome—
Qin Yu.