The rift closed silently behind them, revealing the entirety of the Ancient Plain of Dead Remains beneath their feet. This place was unlike any ordinary wasteland; it was more like a world's remains, repeatedly crushed by time and death.
The world was shrouded in a somber, oppressive gray. The sky hung low, thick, dark clouds layered like solidified shrouds, occasionally flashing with a pale, cold light through the gaps, but there was no thunder, as if even the heavens had lost the right to proclaim their anger. The earth undulated like the spine of a giant beast, crisscrossed with cracks, the depths of which were piled high with weathered bones beyond recognition.
Some were as massive as mountain ruins, others as fine as grains of sand, half-hidden, half-revealed by dark red dust. In the distance, ancient, broken stone pillars lay askew in the ground, their shafts engraved with long-extinct runes and sacrificial marks, like tombstones left by a civilization whose history had been completely erased. A faint, decaying scent filled the air, but it wasn't pungent.
Rather, it is a kind of "dead silence" that instinctively alerts the soul. Even when the wind blows, it only brings a low whimper, as if the entire ancient plain is mourning countless buried eras.
Qin Yu hovered in mid-air, Chaos True Aspect senses, like an invisible tide, slowly spreading across the desolate land, but he detected no obvious energy anomalies or fluctuations in the sacrificial array. He frowned slightly, turned to look at Jin Hanyan, and asked with a hint of doubt, "Is there anything special about this place? What exactly are those eight Devil Beast here for?"
Jin Hanyan was also observing her surroundings. The Silent Void · Dao of Chaos flowed around her, but only returned a near-blank echo of cause and effect. She gently shook her head, her brow furrowing slightly. "This Ancient Plain of Dead Remains a desolate and uninhabited ancient plain. Legend has it that only the remains of ancient warriors who died in battle and the echoes of their resentment remain. It has neither resources nor cultivation value, so basically no cultivator is willing to step into it."
She paused, her gaze sweeping over the massive skeletons buried by sand in the distance. "If the eight Devil Beast really came here intentionally, then what they're looking for is probably not what's visible on the surface."
Qin Yu paused for a moment, his gaze falling on the area deep within the ancient plain, shrouded in dark clouds, where even the space itself seemed heavier. He gently waved his hand, tearing open the low-dimensional air currents ahead, his tone regaining its usual calm and decisiveness. "Let's go, let's continue following them in. The places that seem empty most often hold the most real things."
The two figures then sped deeper into the Ancient Plain of Dead Remains, the bones and dust beneath their feet swirling in the invisible air currents without making a sound, as if this land had long been accustomed to being trodden by powerful figures, merely coldly recording the approaching trajectory of fate once again.
As the two continued their advance deeper into the Ancient Plain of Dead Remains, an extremely unnatural silence suddenly swept across the world. It wasn't the disappearance of sound, but a void that swallowed even the "possibility of echo," as if the ancient plains had held their breath for an instant. Immediately afterward, the anomaly erupted without warning.
Within a few dozen feet of Qin Yu and Jin Hanyan, countless dark shadows suddenly and silently appeared on the withered, skeletal branches of the ancient trees. At first, there were only one or two, seemingly "growing" from the shadows of the bark, then ten, a hundred, a thousand... as if the deathly aura of the entire Ancient Plain of Dead Remains had been awakened by some force, coalescing along these withered branches. It was an existence that inspired instinctive repulsion— the Soul-Devouring Yin Crow.
Their appearance is not the pure black of ordinary crows, but a dark gray that is almost withered. Their feathers are not smooth, but rather like layers of ashes that have been repeatedly burned and reborn in the cold. The edges of each feather have an eerie translucent texture, and you can vaguely see the fragmented soul shadows flowing within them, like imprisoned remnants of souls struggling within the feathers.
Their eyes are not pupils, but two dark, empty holes, with a faint, pale light of cause and effect occasionally flashing in their depths, as if they are constantly chewing and dissecting some unseen logic of Fate Soul. Most unsettling are their beaks, long and curved, covered with dark patterns resembling cracks in Fate Soul. When they open and close gently, the surrounding lines of cause and effect tremble and contract involuntarily, as if a corner has been gnawed away.
Jin Hanyan's gaze sharpened, and the Silent Void · Dao of Chaos within her body trembled slightly. Her tone suddenly became grave. "Qin Yu, be careful. These are Soul-Devouring Yin Crow from the Ancient Plain of Dead Remains, which devour the Cause and Effect Logic Fate Soul essence of cultivators. They don't feed on flesh and blood, but specifically gnaw at a cultivator's karma and Fate Soul foundation. Once surrounded, even the 'reason' for attacking will be torn to shreds by them."
Qin Yu did not retreat even a step. He slowly opened his palm, and the Silent Origin Stainless Sword appeared from nothingness. The sword was quietly suspended, but it caused extremely subtle ripples of collapse in the surrounding space, as if the deathly intent of the entire ancient plain was instinctively avoiding the existence of this sword.
His tone was calm, yet carried an undeniable sharpness. "It's alright. If they dare to come any closer, we'll Annihilation them."
Before the words were even finished, the anomaly spiraled completely out of control. The branches of the withered trees in the distance began to tremble violently, and countless Soul-Devouring Yin Crow emerged from the branches, cracks in the ground, and even the shadows in the air, their numbers increasing at a visible rate. They were no longer just perching, but began to slowly unfold their tattered wings, closing in on the two of them like a dark cloud covering the sky.
Thousands upon thousands of crows circled in the air, yet there was almost no sound of flapping their wings, only a low, fragmented "gnawing" echo, as if countless invisible things were being simultaneously bitten apart. The sky was completely covered by the dark shadows of their feathers, and the skeletons and dust on the ground lost their outlines in their shadows. Qin Yu and Jin Hanyan seemed to be surrounded by a vortex composed of the remnants of death and cause and effect.
The flock of Soul-Devouring Yin Crow formed a slowly shrinking black dome in mid-air, and all the empty gazes simultaneously locked onto the two of them. At that moment, even the premonition of "what will happen next" was shattered into pieces.
The swarm of crows was completely formed in an instant.
The sky seemed to collapse under a curtain woven of death, as thousands upon thousands of Soul-Devouring Yin Crow swooped down simultaneously. They spread their ash-like wings, and the causal cracks at the tips of their beaks gleamed with a cold white light. Their devouring was not aimed at flesh and blood, but directly at the "cause of Fate Soul" and the "thread of existence."
The invisible threads of cause and effect in the air were snapped off in large pieces, producing a subtle yet chilling cracking sound, as if the narrative of the entire world was being dismantled and devoured.
Qin Yu took a step forward, his Innate Martial Soul awakening within him with a roar. The outline of his Chaos True Aspect unfolded behind him, instantly throwing the balance of light and shadow in the world. He raised his hand, Silent Origin Stainless Sword transformed into a cold ray of light piercing through the heavens and earth. The instant the sword's edge fell, space seemed to be torn apart by an invisible giant hand. Wherever the sword light passed, the Soul-Devouring Yin Crow were not shattered, but rather "defined canceled"—
The feathers turned into Nameless dust, and the soul shadow was wiped out into a silent void before it could even shriek. With the first sword strike, it was as if a star field had been cleared out in mid-air, and thousands of dark crows evaporated in the light, leaving behind a brief vacuum.
Almost simultaneously Jin Hanyan unleashed the Silent Void · Dao of Chaos. The Dao image of her Innate Martial Soul appeared behind her, chaos and Silent Void intertwining to form a deep, dark radiance. With a light tap of her fingertips, the space in front of her suddenly collapsed into a spinning vortex of Silent Void. All the crows that rushed into it lost their "object of attack" the moment they made contact.
Cause and effect mismatched, the logic of her Fate Soul backfired, as if she were being hollowed out from within by an invisible hand. Pieces of black shadows collapsed in the vortex, turning into a silent, falling gray rain. With another wave of her sleeve, the Silent Void Dao Pattern swept across, erasing the existence of rows of dark crows. The sky seemed to have been sliced open by her with a dark blade.
However, the speed of the killing was quickly overwhelmed by the sheer number of people.
More Soul-Devouring Yin Crow surged from every shadow in the Ancient Plain of Dead Remains; withered trees, rubble, cracks in the ground, and even the air itself were "incubating" new shadows. The airspace that had just been cleared was instantly filled again, and the echoes of gnawing piled up one after another, like an endless storm.
With each flap of its wings, new causal threads are severed; with each dive, the pressure on its Fate Soul multiplies.
Qin Yu's gaze darkened as he quickly assessed the situation. He shouted, "Hanyan, let's go! With such a massive number, we'll wear them down to death!"
Without hesitation, Jin Hanyan instantly adjusted her position, her gaze locking onto the weakest gap in the causal chain to her right front. "Alright, let's fight our way out from here!"
The two erupted almost simultaneously. Qin Yu swept his sword horizontally, the sword light transforming into a fan-shaped raging tide, forcibly tearing a rift in the flock of crows ahead; Jin Hanyan followed closely behind, her Silent Void · Dao of Chaos spreading out into a dark passage, stabilizing the rift into a "bloody path" for advance.
The two charged forward side by side, their sword light and the Silent Void Dao intertwining. With each step they took, flocks of dark crows beside them were shattered and annihilated, their ashes and soul shadows scattering like a torrential rain.
The bloody path was forcibly carved out of the sea of crows. Feather shadows crashed against the edges of their defenses, and the pressure of causal erosion continued to accumulate, but Qin Yu's sword always led the way, cutting off everything in its path; Jin Hanyan principles were on the side, smoothing out all the cracks that tried to close.
The two moved faster and faster, almost becoming two streaks of light flowing upstream, piercing through the overwhelming darkness.
However, when they broke through the densest encirclement and sped into the depths of the Ancient Plain of Dead Remains, they looked back and saw that the sky behind them was still covered in gray—the dense swarms of Soul-Devouring Yin Crow, like a moving curtain of night, were gathering and chasing each other again, their low, gnawing cries following relentlessly, like a hunt that would never end.
Neither of them hesitated.
Qin Yu led the way, his Silent Origin Stainless Sword concealing its sharpness but not sheathing itself, its sword intent humming softly around him like an undercurrent; Jin Hanyan followed closely behind, her Silent Void · Dao of Chaos restrained to its Ultimate, retaining only the most basic structure for concealing and stabilizing her Fate Soul.
Two figures hurried across the Ancient Plain of Dead Remains, their feet treading on a barren wasteland of shattered white bones. In the distance, the sky hung low, the dark clouds seeming to be kneaded repeatedly by some force, even the wind carrying the stench of decay. Behind them, the Soul-Devouring Yin Crow continued their pursuit, the black tide surging, their low cries of gnawing at cause and effect like the whispers of death pressed against the back of their heads.
Until—the ground in front of them suddenly collapsed, and the scene in front of them suddenly opened up.
A lake abruptly stretches across the depths of the Ancient Plain of Dead Remains, as if forcibly embedded into this desolate land. The lake's surface originally reflected the last rays of the sky, presenting an incongruous azure blue, its waters excessively still, without even a ripple.
Qin Yu and Jin Hanyan stepped into the edge of the lake almost simultaneously, and at that moment, the flock of Soul-Devouring Yin Crow behind them suddenly went berserk.
There were no neighs, no pursuit.
Thousands upon thousands of crows came to an abrupt halt in mid-air, as if they had struck an invisible barrier. They circled and thrashed about, their wings flapping erratically, before simultaneously emitting short, sharp screechs—not a signal of attack, but of fear.
The next instant, the black tide dissipated, and the flock of crows turned around without hesitation, fleeing madly towards the outer edge of the Ancient Plain of Dead Remains, as if they would be dragged into the abyss by some indescribable being if they were a moment too slow.
The world suddenly fell silent.
Qin Yu paused, his sword intent slightly receding but not dissipating, his gaze sweeping across the surroundings like a blade; Jin Hanyan also stopped at the same time, the Silent Void · Dao of Chaos instinctively trembling for a moment. The two reached a consensus almost without words—that this place could cause such ferocious creatures as the Soul-Devouring Yin Crow, which gnaw on cause and effect, to flee in terror, was definitely more than just "dangerous."
"They haven't given up the pursuit," Qin Yu said in a low voice, "They're just wary of something even more terrifying."
Jin Hanyan nodded, her expression more solemn than ever before. "Moreover, that thing should be right behind us."
The two turned around simultaneously, focusing all their senses on the lake. The moment their gazes settled, the lake water changed.
The lake, which was originally azure and seemed to be the only pure land in the dead zone, was suddenly stirred up as if by an invisible hand. Its color quickly turned from blue to dark, turbid, and turbulent, and then turned completely scarlet within a few breaths.
It wasn't the red of blood, but a dark red mixed with decay, resentment, and ancient malice. Fine bubbles began to rise on the surface of the lake, and each bursting bubble released a pungent stench, as if millions of corpses were being torn apart at the same time.
The air quickly became viscous.
The stench was mixed with an indescribable, sweet, fishy smell, as if it were acting directly on the depths of Fate Soul. The lake was no longer calm, but slowly swelled and undulated, as if some enormous entity was turning over underwater. The scarlet water reflected the figures of the two people, elongating and distorting their reflections, as if even their "images" were being rewritten by the lake water.
Qin Yu's brows slowly furrowed, and the Chaos True Aspect within his body began to operate uncontrollably, emitting a deep resonance; Jin Hanyan's Silent Void · Dao of Chaos also showed a clear "rejection reaction" for the first time, with subtle cracks appearing at the edges of its Dao principles.
This is not just a forbidden zone. This is the "Abyss Land," a place even the Soul-Devouring Yin Crow dare not approach.