Schemes Hidden in the Ruins, No Zheng in the Northern Wasteland

After the smoke cleared, the central war zone of the Shattered Luminary Wasteland Belt revealed an almost cruel silence.

On the shattered earth, the lingering embers of energy, not yet completely extinguished, flickered slowly like dark red sparks between the cracks. The air was thick with the stench of blood, the scorching heat, and the chilling aftermath of the collapsed laws. Countless remains of demonic spirits and divine beasts lay scattered across the wasteland; some were utterly annihilated, leaving only remnants of their rules; others still retained their forms, but had long since lost all life. The cultivators of the Void Obliteration Domain had also paid a heavy price. Many were either meditating to heal their wounds or helping each other clean up the battlefield. Their robes were torn, their auras disordered, yet not a single one retreated or wailed. Victory was heavy, but ultimately it belonged to them.

When Qin Yu and Wan He descended from the void, this was the scene they witnessed. There was no boisterous cheering, only a weary yet resolute silence that only appears after a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood. They had won their first battle, but they had also almost exhausted all the strength they could muster.

They soon arrived at the battle zone of the Chaos First Palace. Qian Mu and Ling Feng were standing on a relatively intact rock platform, directing their disciples to form ranks and count casualties. Thousands of disciples at the Silent Mystery Realm stood in formation. Although everyone's aura was unstable, their formation was not disordered, and their eyes still retained the sharpness of the battle.

Upon seeing Qin Yu appear, the two elders turned around simultaneously, their expressions clearly relaxed.

"Young Master Qin, you're back." Qian Mu spoke first, his voice hoarse from the long battle.

Qin Yu nodded, his gaze quickly sweeping over the entire group, and then asked, "Elders, how is the battle going? How are the disciples of my hall doing?"

Qian Mu revealed a sincere expression of gratitude. "Thanks to Young Master's earlier Annihilation of those four calamity beasts, which completely disrupted the core of the beast army's momentum, the battle situation was able to reverse so quickly. Among my disciples, only about a hundred suffered minor injuries, and the rest are unharmed."

Ling Feng added from the side, "We have finished cleaning up the battlefield and are preparing to gather our disciples to return to the temple to report back."

Upon hearing this, Qin Yu finally felt a weight lifted from his heart and said softly, "That's good. This battle was difficult; thank you both for your hard work."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "The two elders should lead the disciples back to the temple first. I still need to go to the north. The patriarch of the Silent Nothingness Divine Hall, along with Jin Hanyan, have already gone to the northern front to wipe out the last Calamity Beast and its horde of demonic spirits. I'll go and see if I can still be of help."

Ling Feng's expression changed, and he blurted out, "Senior Feng Muheng has personally come out of seclusion?"

Qian Mu nodded, his eyes filled with a hint of reminiscence and respect. "Back then, he and my ancestor fought side by side in the Void of the Great Abyss, Annihilation evil spirits and making indelible contributions to the entire Void Obliteration Domain. That battle is still talked about by many older cultivators to this day."

Upon hearing this, Qin Yu suddenly understood, finally piecing together the previously scattered information. "So... the ancestor of the Silent Nothingness Divine Hall is named Feng Muheng."

The name gently settled in his mind, carrying a weight that spanned the ages.

Just as Qin Yu was pondering, Qian Mu and Ling Feng had completed their final arrangements. Thousands of disciples at the Silent Mystery Realm were arrayed, their auras unified, ready to escape at any moment.

"Young Master Qin," Qian Mu said, clasping his hands in greeting, "Then we shall return to the temple to report."

Qin Yu snapped out of his reverie and replied just as solemnly, "Very well. May both elders have a safe journey. Please report back to the Palace Master on my behalf."

Qian Mu and Ling Feng nodded simultaneously, and then, at a command, the disciples of the Chaos First Palace transformed into streaks of light and shadow, disappearing into the void in distinct formations. In just a few breaths, only the shattered battlefield and the gradually dissipating energy fluctuations remained in this area.

Qin Yu stood there, watching them leave, then turned his gaze towards the northern front. There, the final calamity was not yet over, and the real aftershocks might have only just begun.

The smoke of battle had not yet completely dissipated in the heart of the Shattered Luminary Wasteland Belt, and the lingering aftershocks of the rules of heaven and earth still echoed softly, like an undercurrent that had not yet subsided. Qin Yu stood on the edge of the fractured earth, his gaze passing over the shattered battlefield and landing on the distant north, which was still shrouded in chaotic energy.

He turned to look at Wan He beside him, his tone low but extremely clear. "Wan He, now only one of the nine calamity beasts remains. The Thought Severance Devouring Emperor has essentially lost an arm, but he still has eight Devil Beasts from the unknown world under his command, as well as three Three Nether Yin Puppets beside him. The combat power of those Devil Beasts and puppets is no less than that of these few calamities. You return to the Chaos First Palace to oversee things. If they detour and attack the temple, you can immediately join the battle to intercept them. I can also sense your condition in time through causality and logical echoes."

Wan He listened quietly, the light of the Return to the Ruins still lingering in her eyes, but her breathing had already stabilized. She didn't say much, only nodded slightly, her voice crisp and firm. "Yes, alright, young master. Then you must be careful yourself."

As soon as she finished speaking, her figure swayed slightly in place, as if the void had been gently sliced open by an invisible sword, and ripples spread out from the Return to the Ruins layer by layer. In the next instant, Wan He had transformed into a silent dark light and fled towards the Chaos First Palace, leaving only a trace of lingering emptiness in the world.

Qin Yu watched her leave, then his gaze shifted to the north of the Shattered Luminary Wasteland Belt. There, the sky seemed to be pressed down by some ancient and heavy force, with the layers of time and space faintly visible, twisting and turning, indicating that the final, truly significant calamity was not yet over.

He didn't linger. Cause and effect, logic, vibrated beneath his feet, and his figure merged into the void as he sped toward the northern front.

Just as Qin Yu's figure completely disappeared from the battlefield's sight, in a still-uncleared ruin area in the center of the Shattered Luminary Wasteland Belt, several deeply hidden auras quietly emerged. Several powerful figures from the Asura Immortal Hall and the core members of the Nine Alliances Gang exchanged glances. Their eyes did not show the ease of victory, but rather an undisguised calculation and coldness.

No one spoke.

It was just a subtle exchange of glances, as if some tacit understanding that had long been reached was reaffirmed in that instant. Then, these auras quickly subsided, merging back into the chaotic remnants of the battlefield, as if they had never existed.

However, in this land that has just experienced a bloody battle, some things have begun to quietly deviate from their original course.

The landscape of the northern part of the Shattered Luminary Wasteland Belt is completely different from the battlefield to the south, where blood, fire, and roars still echo.

The moment Qin Yu stepped out of the void, beneath his feet lay a desolate wasteland that had been completely overturned and then forcibly smoothed over. The fractured ley lines, as if pressed back into place by an invisible giant hand, were still trembling slightly, and the lingering warmth of the rules drifted in the air, yet no demonic spirits or divine beasts could be found. There were no roars, no blood-soaked demonic aura, and no oppressive feeling unique to calamities; only densely packed figures of cultivators occupied the entire northern battlefield.

Cultivators from various temples in the Void Obliteration Domain were scattered throughout the wasteland, some forming formations for vigilance, others sealing spatial nodes with hand seals. The disciples and elders of the Silent Nothingness Divine Hall had formed several solid lines of defense, with temple runes slowly flowing in mid-air, sealing off all suspicious spatial circuits.

This scene caused Qin Yu's heart to sink the moment he stepped onto the battlefield.

No, it's too clean.

Even with the Stainless Realm · Supreme the Glazed Dao-Extinguishing Zheng, it would be impossible for it to retreat without leaving any trace of demonic energy, let alone leave the entire northern battlefield so clean. This place doesn't seem to have experienced a fierce battle; it's more like it was deliberately "cleared out."

Just as his gaze swept quickly across the entire wasteland, trying to capture even the slightest trace of abnormal logic, two familiar auras came into his perception from afar.

One was aloof and reserved, yet always highly vigilant; the other was flamboyant and restless, with an undisguised arrogance.

Qin Yu's gaze sharpened.

Jin Hanyan, Qiu Wenlin.

Almost at the same instant he locked onto the two of them, Jin Hanyan also sensed his arrival. She was slightly taken aback, then her figure transformed into a silent silver blur, as if space itself had been gently folded, and the next moment, she was already standing in front of Qin Yu.

"Young Master Qin." Her voice remained cool, but carried an imperceptible hint of seriousness.

Qin Yu nodded, his gaze not immediately leaving her, but subconsciously scanning the surroundings to confirm there were no lurking threats before asking in a low voice, "Miss Hanyan, was the last Calamity Beast... Annihilation by the Ancestor?"

Jin Hanyan gently shook her head.

"No." Her answer was crisp, yet it caused the air to freeze momentarily. "When the Ancestor and I arrived, only a few dozen demon spirits and divine beasts were left on the battlefield, attempting to escape. They had already been swiftly wiped out by the cultivators of the various palaces. As for the last calamity beast— the Glazed Dao-Extinguishing Zheng —it was completely gone."

Her gaze became extremely serious, and her speech unconsciously slowed down.

"Not only that." "The scene... there was no trace of its existence whatsoever."

These words were like an invisible, cold blade, striking Qin Yu's heart with pinpoint accuracy.

"No trace of cause and effect?" Qin Yu's eyes darkened slightly.

Jin Hanyan nodded. "Yes. The ancestor immediately deduced cause and effect, time, existence, narrative, and residue, but the results were all empty. It was as if the Glazed Dao-Extinguishing Zheng had never appeared here."

She paused, lowering her voice even further. "But all the cultivators and temple disciples present witnessed it firsthand—it didn't flee, but rather took tens of thousands of demon spirits... and simply 'disappeared'."

It wasn't escaping, it wasn't teleporting, it wasn't Realm Breaking; it was disappearing.

Qin Yu's thoughts raced at that moment, flashing through his mind about the past, the Order Adjudication, logical gaps, and the possibility of deletions. Just as he was about to speak, trying to confirm the details further, a voice with a distinctly sarcastic tone suddenly interrupted from behind him.

"Hey--why did you follow me again?"

How can you be so shameless?

His tone was flippant, with a hint of deliberate provocation, as if he weren't in the middle of a battlefield, but rather in the midst of a petty squabble in the marketplace.

Jin Hanyan's brows furrowed instantly, without even turning around.

The next moment, an extremely subtle yet incredibly precise causal fluctuation silently landed on Qiu Wenlin. There was no force, no killing intent, but the energy circuit that had just been condensed within his body suddenly veered off course, causing him to stagger and his face to instantly turn ugly.

Jin Hanyan turned around, her gaze as cold as a frozen lake untouched by sunlight.

"Qiu Wenlin." "Please shut your latrine." The voice wasn't loud, but every word was like a blade.

It was an extremely minor karmic punishment, not even a physical injury, yet it precisely warned him of his limits.

Qiu Wenlin's face turned pale and then red. He opened his mouth, but ultimately didn't dare to say anything more. He glared fiercely at Qin Yu, his eyes filled with resentment, jealousy, and unspeakable embarrassment. Then he snorted coldly and turned to walk towards the array of the Silent Nothingness Divine Hall.

"I said, all of you, get together right now!" "Don't just stand here and embarrass yourselves!"

His voice was low, but it couldn't hide the anger that was being forcibly suppressed.

Jin Hanyan withdrew her gaze, her breathing returning to normal, as if the scene from just moments ago had never occurred. She looked at Qin Yu again, her expression even more serious than before.

"Young Master Qin." "The 'disappearance' of Glazed Dao-Extinguishing Zheng is probably not as simple as a retreat."

Above the wasteland, the wind whispered softly, and the lingering shadows of rules flowed slowly in the depths of the sky. There were no demonic beasts, yet it was more unsettling than any direct confrontation.

A deeper variable is quietly unfolding in the shadows of the Void Obliteration Domain.