The Light of Stainlessness did not fade after the first bubble dissipated; instead, it slowly closed in from all directions like an invisible white curtain, smoothing the boundaries of heaven and earth so clean it was unsettling. The light beneath Qin Yu's feet had no texture, no temperature, as if it had washed away the concept of "touch." He only took half a step forward, and all his sense of direction instantly collapsed. Front, back, left, and right seemed to be kneaded into a ball, and distance and proximity ceased to exist. The entire space became an endless cage with no visible walls, yet he kept hitting them everywhere. And in this Ultimate tranquility, faint concentric dark patterns rose from the void.
Like a cosmic skeleton emerging in the Light of Stainlessness, every dark pattern converges towards the same invisible point, as if no matter where you go, you will eventually be taken away by that point, becoming a grain of ash, a void, a segment of "nothingness" that can no longer be called. The Formless Return to Stillness Trial descends without warning at this moment. A strange transparency first appears on the edge of Qin Yu's robe, like a picture with its colors wiped away fading from the cuff.
The fabric's texture disappeared first, then its color was drained away, and finally even the "outline of the cuffs" began to soften into blurry mist. The moment he raised his hand, his fingertips dragged out a faint afterimage that was almost invisible. That was not speed, but rather the "definition of existence" being gradually revoked by the Light of Stainlessness. His cultivation no longer circulated through his meridians, but was instead drawn into billions of tiny golden-white flakes that silently dissipated from his body.
Like stardust being quietly crushed in water, a soft sound of being hollowed out comes from the depths of the soul. Fog rises at the edges of memory, and many images become damp and curled like old film. Even the three words "Who am I" are worn soft. The most terrifying thing is that the more you try to grasp yourself and prove that you still exist, the faster you are stripped away, because "proving existence" is itself a form of obsession, which is the filth that this array is meant to crush.
Qin Yu almost instinctively tried to condense his own coordinates with his will, but he stopped himself just as the thought was about to take shape. His gaze became even colder and calmer. Instead of fighting against the Stainless, he traced the causal skeleton of the path that had been stripped from him. This was not an ordinary trapping formation. It had no formation flags, no formation eyes, and no boundaries. It regarded the Stainless Realm's origin as the cage itself.
Using "obsession and form" as the trigger key, the first layer of illusion extracted the "filth" from his heart and made it concrete. The second layer immediately used the Light of Stainlessness to reverse and impose a judgment: anyone marked with filth can have their existence revoked. Revocation is not killing, but removing you from the logic of "being allowed to be you" and sending you to the Return-to-Silence Point where the concentric dark patterns converge. Qin Yu saw the dark patterns responding to his breath, like the rise and fall of a giant beast's chest. Every time his thoughts stirred slightly, the dark patterns tightened a little, and the pull of the Return-to-Silence Point became stronger, as if forcing him to send himself in.
He stopped feeding it the "struggle" and instead suppressed his mind to an almost absolute stillness, so that the thought of "I am breaking the formation" dared not even surface. Then he raised his hand, and the moment the Silent Origin Stainless Sword appeared in his palm, the sword was not dazzling, but it seemed to cut a very thin edge of shadow around the Stainless light, as if this sword could naturally make "the erased things" reappear.
Qin Yu did not slash outwards. Instead, he moved the tip of his sword extremely slowly along the transparent edge of his robe. There was no metallic clang as the sword moved, only a chilling silence, as if the scene had been cut off. The arc of the sword seemed to cut an invisible dividing line around him—not for protection, but to sever the mapping channel between the "array reflection and the definition of the original body." This allowed the Light of Stainlessness to shine upon him, but it could not use what was reflected as the basis for "judging whether he could be put into Nirvana."
At the same time, a ray of causal light deep within Qin Yu's sea of consciousness suddenly straightened. He directly used the "Three Forms of Fate Construction: Time Flow Reversal," but he was not reversing battlefield time, but rather "the starting point where his definition was revoked." In that instant, the trend of the sleeve becoming transparent and spreading was forcibly pushed back to the previous moment. The scattered golden-white debris was stretched into thin, long threads of light and suspended in mid-air, like bundles of arrows being pulled back onto a bowstring. Even the convergence of the concentric dark patterns in the space experienced a very slight pause.
The pause was only momentary, and the suction of the Return-to-Silence Point immediately intensified, like a silent tsunami rolling in from beneath his feet. Qin Yu suddenly felt a terrifying downward sensation on the smooth surface beneath his feet, as if he were being dragged into the depths of some "zero." This was the second level of the second trial: the Form Dissolution and Return to Void Tribulation —once you try to stand firm and prove your existence, the fall will accelerate.
Qin Yu deliberately refused to prove anything. He removed the idea of "standing firm" from his mind, allowing his figure to appear in a state of Nameless Formless for a moment, like a shadow with its edges erased. Yet, in this "near -Stainless" gap, the Realm Severing Origin Brush of the Book of Fate Law, "Heavenly Cause Judgment Sequence · Six Severances Seal · Master Book Seal Severance · Naming Reconstruction," was suddenly activated. Although the brush did not manifest, the oppressive feeling of "the writing authority being extracted" was like an invisible hand pressing on the throat of heaven and earth. The next moment, an almost invisible ruling pattern appeared in the Light of Stainlessness surrounding Qin Yu. That pattern was the naming hook that the formation had placed on him: This person can be returned to oblivion.
Qin Yu didn't engage in a direct confrontation; instead, he directly "renamed" it—transforming the weight of this ruling into an even colder judgment: This person is not among those destined for Nirvana. The words weren't written in the air, but rather forcibly pulled from the Stainless light like a brand, only to be covered in reverse. The instant the covering occurred, the pull of the Return-to-Silence Point became noticeably unbalanced, like a gear suddenly losing a tooth. The concentric dark patterns of the entire array trembled violently in the distance, emitting a muffled sound that only the divine soul could hear, as if some "rule that should have been established" had been rewritten on the spot.
In that tremor, the true cage structure of the formation finally became fully revealed. The surrounding Light of Stainlessness was no longer just a white curtain, but layers of ring-shaped light walls overlapping and converging in the far distance. All the light walls converged to the same point, which was like the pupil of the world, indifferent and emotionless. The four characters "Primordial Stain Return to Stillness Formation" were not engraved on any stone tablet. It was the self-signature of this cage. As the overlapping light walls appeared, the four characters took shape in Qin Yu's eyes, as if heaven and earth themselves had uttered the name - Primordial Stain Return to Stillness Formation.
The moment Qin Yu recognized the formation's name, his gaze turned utterly cold. Without giving the formation time to reconnect, he immediately used "Three Forms of Fate Construction Cause and Effect Deconstruction: Causal Deconstruction" to precisely dismantle the connection points along the chain of "Bubble Touch → Mark Generation → Definition Cancellation → Return to Silence Traction," dismantling them so finely that each link lost its reason for being valid, as if breaking a steel cable into countless fibers that were not subject to any force. Then, the arc of the Silent Origin Stainless Sword in his hand converged into a single line, its sword aura neither wild nor explosive, yet carrying a chilling intent that seemed to cut history into blankness.
Qin Yu used the "Silent Origin Stainless Sword - Historyless Void Severance Sword" to strike a very thin "Void Absolute" around himself. It was not to kill the enemy, but to sever the "historical recognition of his existence by the formation," depriving the formation of the basis for "who you are, where you come from, and whether you can be returned to silence." In an instant, his sleeves became transparent, retreating into the depths of the fabric as if frost had been brushed away, and the scattered golden-white shavings were swept back into his body.
As the light filaments flowed back, it was like thousands of meteors flying backwards and returning to their sheaths. The mist of memory was torn open by a cold clarity. Name, origin, and will became sharp as blades again. The terrifying feeling of falling underfoot suddenly disappeared. The pull of the Return-to-Silence Point receded like the tide into the deep sea. The concentric dark patterns faded. The cage was still there, but it could no longer bite Qin Yu with "You must prove your existence".
Qin Yu stood in the center of the Light of Stainlessness, his robes fluttering slightly. A faint grayish-white mark, like a faint scar, reminded him that he had just been one step away from "Nameless Formless." He exhaled softly, his voice unusually clear within the Stainless Light, "The Primordial Stain Return to Stillness Formation... excellent technique." He stood in the center of the Light of Stainlessness, his breathing steady, but his eyes grew colder, for he understood the true terror of this "Primordial Stain Return to Stillness Formation": it didn't need to kill you; it only needed you to begin "proving that you are you," and you would walk towards the Return-to-Silence Point on your own.
The Light of Stainlessness had not yet completely dissipated, and the space still retained the lingering chill of its reshaped state. Qin Yu within it, the hem of his robes drooping gently, as if even the wind dared not make a sound in this area. In this almost absolute stillness, he suddenly heard a voice. The voice did not come from any direction, nor did it resound directly in his sea of consciousness. Rather, it was like a whisper that the entire Gloomy Mist Soul-Entangling Swamp itself exhaled as it "breathed," damp, cold, ancient, and carrying the echoing texture unique to the depths of the swamp.
It was as if countless imprisoned Fate Soul spoke to him in hushed voices at the same moment. The voices had no clear words, yet they clearly conveyed the complete meaning—the third trial was about to begin, more dangerous than the first two, so dangerous that even this forbidden zone itself was unwilling to remain a bystander any longer. It was reminding him that it could even tear open a way out for him, sending him back intact to the outside of the Gloomy Mist Soul-Entangling Swamp, ending everything at this moment. As long as he was willing to give up, as long as he nodded, the third restriction would never be awakened.
In that instant, the surrounding mist seemed to thicken, but it no longer approached him. Instead, it faintly outlined a blurry "blank strip" in the distance, like an escape route deliberately left behind. The space at the end of the passage seemed unusually stable, even carrying a sense of inappropriate security, as if as long as he turned around and took a step, all dangers, formations, return to silence, and separation would no longer be related to him. The Gloomy Mist Soul-Entangling Swamp was not tempting him, but warning him in an almost "kind" way that the third level was not a place for the Silent Mystery Realm · Peak to step into.
Qin Yu stood silently, not responding immediately. The escape route was crystal clear in his eyes. He knew that as long as he left through that passage, everything he had experienced today would not be seen as a failure; it could even be considered a wise choice. But the instant that thought surfaced, his heart was calmer than ever before. What he saw was not an escape route, but something more hidden, more deadly—
If he retreats now, this "natural fear" will be forever imprinted into the depths of his Dao heart by the formation, by heaven and earth, and by himself. It will not manifest immediately, but it will quietly emerge every time he faces a truly unavoidable situation in the future, reminding him: you have retreated before, you have chosen safety instead of facing it head-on, and once such a shadow is left, it can never be completely erased.
He was acutely aware of his position and the weight of reality. He was merely at the Silent Mystery Realm · Peak, while this "Primordial Stain Return to Stillness Formation Stainless Realm. The gap between their realms was real, and so was the danger. The third trial was very likely not a "trial," but a pure purge and erasure. But precisely because of this, he could not retreat. He had been cultivating since the beginning of Silent Origin, and had never relied on luck to survive any tribulation. If he chose to escape here today, no matter how high his cultivation level became in the future, he would never be able to avoid the rift left by this moment.
The whispers of the Gloomy Mist Soul-Entangling Swamp continued, as if patiently awaiting his choice. Qin Yu, however, no longer looked towards the path of retreat. He slowly raised his head, his gaze piercing through the still-visible barrier of Stainless, looking into the depths of the void where the third layer of restrictions had yet to descend. His eyes were calm and resolute, devoid of anger or impulsiveness, only a chilling self-awareness—
He knew what he would face, and he knew why he had to face it. He did not respond to the telepathic message, but gave a clear and unwavering answer in his heart: there was no need to help, nor was there any need to back down.
The surrounding mist churned slightly, as if sighing or confirming. Then, the deliberately left blank passage began to slowly shrink and fade, swallowed back into the gray mist. The Gloomy Mist Soul-Entangling Swamp fell silent, as if it had respected his choice. Qin Yu stood still, the Silent Origin Stainless Sword hanging quietly at his side, his aura completely concealed. He did not move forward, nor did he activate any power. He simply waited quietly for the moment when the third layer of restriction would truly descend, because he knew that some doors, once opened, must be walked through by one's own hands.