Qin Yu stood still, his robes fluttering in the chaotic air currents of the Return to the Ruins, but he suddenly smiled softly.
The smile was extremely faint, devoid of sarcasm or fighting spirit, as if watching a play whose ending was already predetermined.
He said nothing, but simply looked up at the sky, waiting quietly to see what kind of trump card the Thought Severance Devouring Emperor had bestowed that made the Logic-Extinguishing Divine Phoenix so confidently arrogant.
The void suddenly sank. It didn't collapse or explode, but rather it sank.
It was as if some extremely heavy entity was forcibly dragged out from the "unreachable depths," and even the devouring will of the Return to the Ruins itself was briefly slowed down at this moment.
The next instant, a bolt of purplish-purple lightning descended vertically from the void above. The lightning did not explode, but was forcibly gathered and compressed by an invisible container. All the destructive power was repeatedly refined during its descent, transforming into a pure and viscous flow of annihilation energy.
Where the lightning struck, a purple ancient cauldron slowly materialized.
It didn't "descend" out of thin air, but rather seemed to have been "lifted back into reality" from a forgotten era. The cauldron was enormous and heavy, its entire body composed of three colors: deep purple, dark gloom, and thunderous glow.
Its surface resembles a translucent star crystal, or a piece of destroyed glass that has been melted and refined countless times. Inside the cauldron is not a physical object, but a surging purple energy sea, where lightning is constantly generated, shattered, and regenerated, like a prison universe of Lightning Prison.
Each time lightning exploded, fine cracks appeared in the surrounding space, only to be forcibly "annihilated and reset" in the next instant, as if the cauldron itself possessed the authority to negate the damage to reality.
The handles of the cauldron resemble the horns of an ancient beast, with cold, hard, and ferocious lines. The cauldron's legs stand upright in the air, with nothing supporting it below, yet they cause the entire Return to the Ruins space to twist as if bearing a heavy load.
Purple crystal fragments drifted slowly down around the cauldron; they were not dust, but rather fragments of space that had been crushed.
When the purple lightning completely returned to the cauldron, the entire Eternal Silence Return to the Ruins fell into an eerie low hum.
The Nine-Winged Divine Phoenix stood before the shadow of the cauldron, its arrogance no longer concealed. It laughed loudly, its laughter intertwining with the thunder within the cauldron, creating a resonance that chilled the soul.
"Qin Yu," he said, opening his arms as if welcoming a predetermined end.
"Did you see it clearly? This is the Thought Severance Devouring Emperor!" "The Purple Annihilation Cauldron!"
As his words fell, the energy sea inside the Purple Annihilation Cauldron suddenly churned. The lightning no longer merely flickered, but began to rotate in an orderly fashion, forming layers of annihilation vortices that collapsed inward.
Return to the Ruins's devouring will was forcibly drawn in, resonating with the Final Destruction Lightning Sea within the cauldron, as if it would be drawn into it at any moment, becoming nourishment for this magical treasure.
The Nine-Winged Divine Phoenix's gaze was cold and manic as it stared directly at Qin Yu: "Before it, all supernatural powers will be suppressed and refined, and all existence will be melted into the substance of annihilation. I'd like to see how long you can stand!"
However, just as this earth-shattering pressure was fully unleashed...
An extremely untimely laugh rang out softly. "Pfft."
Azure Ring had somehow gotten onto Qin Yu's right shoulder, her legs swinging back and forth, her small body swaying as if she were watching a rather interesting play.
She squinted at the imposing purple cauldron, then at the smug-looking Nine-Winged Divine Phoenix, and a smirk crookedly appeared on her lips as she burst out laughing.
"Hahahaha... I thought it was some kind of rare treasure."
She raised her small hand and casually pointed at the Purple Annihilation Cauldron, her tone light and indifferent, yet carrying undisguised contempt.
That's it?
Azure Ring tilted her head, her eyes crinkling into shallow blue arcs with laughter. "Little chick, do you dare to make a bet with me?"
Upon hearing this, the Nine-Winged Divine Phoenix's gaze lingered for a moment on Azure Ring's petite figure before shifting back to the ancient purple cauldron floating in the void, its eyes filled with undisguised contempt and coldness.
A mocking smile played on his lips, his voice low and cold. "Hmph, a bet? Fine." He slowly raised his chin, as if looking down at two prey already trapped in a deadly game. "Anyway, you'll both eventually Annihilation, so I'm not in a hurry to send you on your way. If it ends too quickly, it'll certainly take away some of the fun. Tell me, how do you want to bet?"
Azure Ring gently swung her legs, hovering beside Qin Yu's right shoulder, deliberately feigning deep thought. Her small hand supported her chin, her brows slightly furrowed. After a moment, she raised her head, her tone light and almost casual. "It's simple. I bet your cauldron is fake."
The moment those words were spoken, the surging sea of lightning within the Purple Annihilation Cauldron seemed to pause for a moment, and a low rumble of purple lightning exploded at the mouth of the cauldron.
"The real Purple Annihilation Cauldron," Azure Ring narrowed her eyes, smiling like a little fox who had seen through a trick, "Is not in this form at all. That Thought Severance Devouring Emperor tricked you, bringing out a fake thing and expecting you to risk your life for him, tsk tsk, how pathetic."
"Presumptuous!"
The Nine-Winged Divine Phoenix suddenly erupted in fury, its aura surging outwards like a storm, the Annihilation Starflame around it churning violently. It took a step forward, its spear resounding, the tip pointing directly at Azure Ring, its eyes blazing with killing intent. "My lord would never lie to me! This cauldron is a peerless magic treasure, one in ten thousand, containing Final Destruction Lightning Sea. How could your despicable tricks possibly slander it!"
Azure Ring, however, remained completely unfazed. Instead, she laughed even harder, spreading her hands and speaking with the ease of suggesting a trivial game, "That's perfect. Since you're convinced it's the real cauldron, our bet is even simpler."
She tilted her head, looking at the Nine-Winged Divine Phoenix, "We'll stand here, not moving an inch. You just need to activate that cauldron and attack us. If it's a real cauldron, it will definitely Annihilation us in an instant, right?"
She paused, a sly glint in her eyes. "But what if it's fake...? That means the annihilation logic you're using is completely untenable. This cauldron will only crumble in your hands, reverting to its original form, becoming a pile of scrap metal."
"Bullshit!" the Nine-Winged Divine Phoenix roared, its voice echoing through the Return to the Ruins.
Azure Ring, however, didn't seem to care. She smiled sweetly and continued, her voice soft yet sharp. "Don't rush. I already said we won't move. We'll just stand here and let you hit us. If we're alright, and that fake cauldron really turns back into scrap metal—" She raised her small hand, pointed at Qin Yu, then at herself, "Then you'll form a soul bond with my Little Qinzi and follow us forever, how about that?"
She blinked, as if presenting an perfectly fair condition. "Conversely, if this cauldron were real, we would definitely be Annihilation on the spot. You wouldn't lose out. Think about it carefully."
At this moment, the Nine-Winged Divine Phoenix's rage actually faltered for a moment.
He stared intently at Azure Ring, then at the Purple Annihilation Cauldron. The Annihilation Starflame within his chest churned, yet several unsettling thoughts involuntarily flashed through his mind—was this cauldron... truly without any problems? In that instant when his suspicions were exposed...
Why is there a slight, almost imperceptible sense of unease? And why are these two so composed, even going so far as to suggest "standing still"?
What shook him even more was the thought he almost never wanted to touch: would the Thought Severance Devouring Emperor really deceive him?
No, that's impossible.
That being was so revered and unfathomable, how could he possibly be fooled with a fake? Yet, the smile of the Azure Ring before him gave him a chilling feeling of being seen through, as if she had known the ending all along.
The Nine-Winged Divine Phoenix's gaze shifted back and forth between Qin Yu's calm expression and the surging sea of lightning within the Purple Annihilation Cauldron, its grip on the spear tightening unconsciously.
A slight cracking sound came from his knuckles. At this moment, the devouring will of Return to the Ruins roared softly, as if urging him to make a choice, or as if waiting for an experiment destined to tear apart the truth.
The air suddenly became tense and dangerous.
Azure Ring crossed her arms, hovering beside Qin Yu's right shoulder, her tone filled with undisguised mockery and impatience. "What's wrong, you high and mighty Divine Phoenix? You've been thinking about such a simple bet for so long, are you scared?"
The Nine-Winged Divine Phoenix's pupils suddenly contracted. In the next instant, the hesitation in his eyes was completely crushed, leaving only the cold flames and arrogance ignited by the provocation. He chuckled coldly, his voice like shattered star iron scraping against the void. "Fine, let's gamble."
The moment he finished speaking, he suddenly spread his arms wide, and the Annihilation Starflame around him surged outwards like a ignited sea of stars. The Purple Annihilation Cauldron, which was suspended in mid-air, emitted a deafening hum.
The dense purple lightning patterns on the cauldron lit up simultaneously, as if countless ancient annihilation seals were being awakened at the same time. The entire Eternal Silence Return to the Ruins sky suddenly darkened at this moment, and all the light was forcibly pulled, twisted, and torn apart, leaving only a rolling purple-black sea of lightning forming in the void.
Within the sea of lightning, billions of purple bolts of annihilation lightning intertwined, shattered, and regenerated. Each bolt of lightning was like a serpent of destruction imbued with a will; thunder was no longer just a sound.
Instead, it directly struck the Fate Soul's vibrations, causing the space beneath the sea of lightning to collapse layer by layer. The surface of the Return to the Ruins was as if it were being crushed by an invisible giant hand. Rock layers, remnants of the world, and fragments of Annihilation Structure were sucked into the sea of lightning and were directly wiped into meaningless dust before they even got close to the core of the cauldron.
"Watch closely." The Nine-Winged Divine Phoenix stood before the sea of lightning, its spear pointing diagonally, its voice cold and arrogant, "This is the Final Destruction Lightning Sea. With the True Cauldron in hand, you don't even need to consider the right to be erased."
The Purple Annihilation Cauldron suddenly tilted, its mouth aimed at Qin Yu and Azure Ring. In the next instant, the entire sea of lightning, like a bursting dam, poured down with a deafening roar.
It was not a simple torrent of energy, but an absolute annihilation formed by the superposition of the three wills of "end," "annihilation," and "denial." Wherever the lightning struck, even the fact that "existence is being attacked" began to become blurred, as if everything was heading towards its end prematurely.
Azure Ring remained lazily perched on Qin Yu's shoulder, swinging her little legs and even letting out a small yawn.
Just as the Final Destruction Lightning Sea was about to completely engulf Qin Yu and Azure Ring, a glimmer of starlight quietly lit up deep within Qin Yu's sea of consciousness.
It was a battle key that floated silently, Star Wancai Key.
There was no exaggerated outburst, no earth-shattering phenomenon; it merely trembled slightly, as if confirming a pre-locked target. Immediately afterwards, an extremely thin, faint, almost imperceptible stream of starlight flowed from the key's body.
The starlight did not spread outwards, but silently covered the Final Destruction Lightning Sea rushing forward.
In that instant, time seemed to be gently held down.
The surging purple lightning suddenly stopped less than ten feet away from Qin Yu, as if all the violent destructive will had been gently supported by an invisible hand.
The lightning stopped rolling, the thunder stopped roaring, and even the suffocating sense of impending doom quietly dissipated at that moment.
Then, an extremely bizarre scene unfolded.
That Final Destruction Lightning Sea, powerful enough to obliterate the existence of the Severed Thought Realm, did not explode, did not backfire, and showed no signs of losing control. Instead, it seemed to have been traced back to a moment that "did not yet exist."
The purple lightning began to fade inch by inch, and the lightning patterns were like old characters that had been erased. From the mouth of the cauldron to the depths of the sea of lightning, everything related to "magical treasures," "divine artifacts," and "the logic of annihilation" was directly dismantled, separated, and pulverized.
It wasn't shattered, but rather its very foundation as a "magical artifact" was negated.
The sea of thunder transformed into countless tiny specks of stardust. The stardust spun gently in the air for a moment before dissipating quietly, as if brushed by a gentle breeze.
The wind wasn't even fierce; it gently brushed against Qin Yu's clothes and stirred his hair, leaving no trace of destruction.
The Nine-Winged Divine Phoenix's previously cold smile froze completely at this moment.
"Impossible... How could this be... This... This..." His voice lost its strength for the first time.
He suddenly turned his head and looked at the Purple Annihilation Cauldron that was still floating in mid-air.
The cauldron is still there. But it is no longer the "Purple Annihilation Cauldron".
The purple light on the cauldron's body completely disappeared, and the thunder patterns peeled off piece by piece like cracked pottery. The original heavy and profound charm was gone, leaving only a large metal cauldron with a mottled surface and dark color.
There were even obvious cracks on the surface of the cauldron. There was no flow of energy in the cracks, only a lifeless emptiness, as if it had never been a mundane vessel that had been unrefined from the beginning.
Scrap metal, truly scrap metal.
The Nine-Winged Divine Phoenix stood frozen in place, its pupils contracting sharply, its hand gripping the gun trembling uncontrollably. Its world seemed to shatter silently at that moment.
It was not a collapse of power, but a complete shattering of beliefs and cognition.
Azure Ring burst out laughing on Qin Yu's shoulder, laughing so hard she almost fell over, patting Qin Yu shoulder with her little hands.
His tone was full of mockery and schadenfreude. "Hahahaha--I told you, Thought Severance Devouring Emperor deceived you, using scrap metal to make you work for him."