Qin Yu did not hesitate any longer.
He raised his right hand, his five fingers slowly closing together. His palm did not touch the silver mist, but a nearly invisible "evolutionary Threshold" formed between them. At that instant, the Illusion Evolution Limitless Mirror finally confirmed a certain answer. The silver mist surged suddenly, and countless layers of Membrane of Void Evolution inside unfolded simultaneously, misaligning, overlapping, and splitting again, as if billions of invisible mirrors were lit up at the same time.
The next moment, "Illusory Abyss Evolution Breath" flowed out on its own.
It wasn't an explosion of energy, but a silent spread. The silvery-white mist surged upwards along Qin Yu's arm, seeping directly into his very being, as if not entering his flesh and blood, but embedding itself into the boundaries of his "self." Qin Yu's vision jolted violently; the entire world above him was dramatically re-reflected—the sky seemed folded into countless layers of mirrors by an invisible hand, the sea of clouds copied, stretched, and reflected, transforming into thousands upon thousands of intersecting arcs of the celestial dome; the earth was no longer a single plane, but rather flipped outwards like shattered glass, each surface reflecting a slightly different version of the world.
The distant temple complex trembled and split into many parts, with the same temple existing simultaneously in dozens of locations, overlapping each other in a semi-transparent form. Golden, silver, and dark gray lights flickered constantly, as if the world was being forced to witness "what would have happened if different choices had been made."
A gigantic ring-shaped reflection appeared in the sky, nested layer upon layer, slowly rotating like a planetary orbit. With each rotation, it dragged a long streak of light through space. Reflected in those streaks of light were not others, but countless silhouettes of Qin Yu himself—some with a sharp, blade-like aura, some as silent as an abyss, and some already standing outside a higher world, observing coldly.
The Illusory Abyss Evolution Breath circulated within him for an extremely short time, yet its density was astonishing. Qin Yu clearly felt that his existence had been "copied" countless times, only to be forcibly restrained in the next instant, with all possibilities being compressed back into a single core. The world above then emitted a deep and magnificent tremor, as if unable to withstand this level of evolutionary interference. The mirrored sky shattered and receded layer by layer, the sea of clouds returned to its place, the cracks in the earth gradually closed, and the overlapping phantoms of the temples dissipated one by one in the burst of light.
When everything stabilized again, the Illusion Evolution Limitless Mirror was no longer suspended in the air.
The wisp of silver mist transformed into an extremely thin and invisible Void Evolution shadow, hovering quietly behind Qin Yu, maintaining a subtle resonance with his presence. It no longer actively expanded, but rather resembled a deep structure ready to unfold at any moment, quietly awaiting the next opportunity to reflect.
Qin Yu slowly exhaled, his gaze clearing. He knew—the recognition of him as master was complete; the mirror had accepted him, and the price and consequences were written into his future. He knew it was time to leave this unknown world and return to the Void Obliteration Domain.
He did not linger.
Qin Yu turned and headed towards the entrance to the unknown world. The world above his feet rippled slightly as he walked, but no longer reflected multiple images, leaving only a single, clear reflection. In the distance, the outline of the entrance that once led to this place was reappearing in the void, like a path of departure remarked by the world.
The temple, statues, and mirrored sky were gradually left behind. Qin Yu's figure flew through the misty light, as if this unknown world had already completed its mission.
Qin Yu was a hundred miles away from the entrance to the unknown world when an unnatural "empty sound" appeared in front of him. It was not an energy fluctuation, but a deeper sense of loss, as if something had happened here before, but had been erased from cause and effect, history and narrative, leaving only unhealable scars.
He stopped in mid-air, his brows furrowing almost imperceptibly.
Within a hundred miles ahead, the space exhibited an unusual "cleanliness." It wasn't tranquility, but rather a blankness after being forcibly emptied. Qin Yu's perception spread out inch by inch, touching the broken traces remaining in the air—the aftershocks of powerful beings being directly Annihilation. Their soul structures were shattered, their existence deleted, and even the fact that they "once existed" was brutally severed, leaving only some Logic Fragments that hadn't completely cooled, slowly dissipating in the void.
A flicker of wariness crossed his mind. "The entrance... was there a great battle?"
Qin Yu did not accelerate; instead, he slowed down, stepping on the most stable points in space with each step. The closer he got, the clearer the lingering aftereffects of the erasure became, as if countless severed lifelines flashed past his perception, disappearing completely into Emptiness before they could unfold or leave any information.
When the distance was reduced to tens of miles, the area where the entrance was located finally came into complete view.
That space no longer possessed the original form of the "entrance," as if it had been repeatedly crushed and corrected by some force. The void presented a flat state after layers of collapse, like a piece of ironed paper, but with charred cracks remaining at the edges. Extremely thin fragments of light floated all around, not energy, but the echoes of existence after Annihilation —fragments of logic that once belonged to the powerful beings of the Silent Mystery Realm and the Void Emanation Realm, which had not yet completely dissipated and were still irreversibly suspended in the air.
In the very center of this deathly silence, a figure stood quietly.
He stood with his back to the entrance, as if he had been waiting there for a long time. His figure was not tall, but he gave off an undeniable sense of oppression. There was no aura leaking out from his body, and even his aura was deliberately concealed, like an absolute blank that had been smoothed out. However, it was precisely this state of "nothingness" that allowed Qin Yu to recognize the powerful figure the moment he saw him. Stainless Realm · Middle Stage.
It was the same person who had previously pursued him.
At this moment, in the right hand of that mysterious being, lay a divine sword that caused even space itself to slightly tremble. The sword was long and ancient, its entire body displaying an almost distorted dark color, as if it were not composed of matter, but rather condensed from the concepts of "negation" and "judgment." Wherever the sword's edge pointed, even light dared not approach, and the void was cleaved into a thin yet absolute dividing line, as if silently declaring—any target chosen by this sword would not even be qualified to be remembered.
Qin Yu hovered in the distance, his gaze meeting that figure across the void.
There was no extra sound in the air, only the lingering echoes of the deleted logic, slowly dissipating between the two like dust that had not yet settled. Qin Yu could clearly sense that the other party had noticed his arrival, but did not turn around or make a move immediately, as if this reunion required no preparation.
The entrance to an unknown world floated silently behind them, like a door that had been sealed away again.
Qin Yu hovered in mid-air, his gaze never leaving the figure standing in the center of the entrance, but his mind had already completed several deductions in a very short time.
"What about those two Chaos Realm female demon spirits beside it..." This thought flashed through his mind, then was suppressed, but it didn't disappear. "Could it be... that they've been lying in ambush nearby all along?" His gaze swept over the completely cleared void around the entrance. It was too clean, abnormally clean. All the powerful beings who tried to leave were directly Annihilation in the same area, even the traces of their struggles were erased. This was not a spur-of-the-moment hunt, but a blockade that had been set up in advance.
Qin Yu's gaze gradually turned cold.
"So that's how it is... This son of a bitch never intended to let anyone leave this unknown world from the very beginning." He could almost picture the scene—the entrance was forcibly occupied, all those who tried to break through were immediately cut off and deleted, cause and effect were severed, history was erased, and over time, only these residual logics floating in the air remained, creating the illusion for later generations that "this place was always this dangerous."
He forced himself to calm down completely and began to dissect the situation one by one.
First, the fact that the two female demon spirits at the Chaos Realm did not appear is the biggest abnormality in itself. They are very likely already integrated into the surrounding causal dark side, or even lurking in the entrance structure itself. Once the battle breaks out, they will cut off the retreat route at the most critical moment and form an encirclement.
Secondly, the divine sword in the hands of that Stainless Realm · Middle Stage being is by no means a simple weapon of slaughter. The mere "negation" emanating from its blade was enough to make space instinctively avoid it, indicating that it possesses the ability to directly judge the existence and naming layers. Once locked on head-on, even Void Emanation Realm · Supreme could be wiped out with a single sword strike.
Third, and most cruelly, Does Not Exist any shortcuts to leaving the unknown world. The entrance is completely under control, and as long as that figure is still standing there, any possibility of escape, detour, or stealth will be nipped in the bud.
There is only one path left. Annihilation erases it.
The moment this thought settled in Qin Yu's mind, he didn't hesitate any longer. The space to his right shoulder trembled slightly, and a familiar azure flame quietly appeared. Azure Ring sat cross-legged on his shoulder, her small figure swaying in the wind, her azure flame-like hair fluttering gently. Her tone was as relaxed as ever, yet it carried a subtle sharpness.
"Oh, isn't this the one who's been obsessed with you all this time?" She squinted at the figure in the center of the entrance. "Looks like it really intends to erase the word 'exit' from the world right here."
Qin Yu spoke in a low, steady voice. "Azure Ring, those beings at the Stainless Realm have completely blocked the exit, and those two female demon spirits at the Chaos Realm haven't shown themselves yet. They're very likely hiding in the shadows, ready to attack at any moment. Do you have any ideas?"
Azure Ring tilted her head, her gaze sweeping over the divine sword that made the space tremble, then seemingly drifting over the Emptiness void around her, a cryptic smile slowly curving her lips.
"Well... there are ways." She gently shook the thin lock on her ankle, and the cracked bell emitted a very soft "clang—" "It just depends on which layer of skin you're willing to peel off first."
The air before the entrance grew increasingly stagnant, as if the entire space was holding its breath, awaiting the first truly meaningful collision.