The aftershocks of the core explosion had not yet dissipated, and the sky of Eternal Silence Return to the Ruins was still churning and rolling as if broken, with space rising and falling layer by layer like a charred scroll.
Qin Yu and the Forbidden Demonic Phoenix were only a hundred feet apart. Both figures were panting.
Qin Yu's Fate Soul within his chest cavity was still reeling from the shock, and fine cracks appeared at the edge of his sea of consciousness. The luster of the Silent Beginning Ring Master Soul Diagram dimmed for a moment. The Forbidden Demonic Phoenix was in an even more sorry state, with the two great origins of Annihilation and Stellar tearing at each other within its body. Black and red flames and crimson and gold flames clashed and intertwined. Its aura sometimes surged and sometimes plummeted, like a dark star on the verge of exploding.
But Qin Yu was more composed. He slowly raised his hand. The Silent Origin Stainless Sword was once again suspended in his palm. There was no flame or light on the blade, only a cold desolation that was almost like "the judgment is complete." He took a deep breath. "It's time to end this." He no longer waited. He forcefully suppressed the remaining vibrations with his Fate Soul frequency, and the Silent Beginning Ring Master Soul Diagram was fully unfolded, and the ring condensed again.
It wasn't expansion, it was contraction. He reversed the flow, converging the core of destruction and compressing the previously out-of-control, collapsing force back slightly.
Space began to collapse inward. The cracks were forcibly stitched together. The destructive storm was reversed and pulled back into the Demonic Phoenix's origin.
This is a gamble with his life. If the suppression fails, he and the Demonic Phoenix will perish together. If the suppression succeeds, the Demonic Phoenix will have no chance of turning the tide.
The Forbidden Demonic Phoenix sensed it. Its pupils suddenly turned pure black, filled with rage. "Trying to suppress me?" It no longer used its flames.
It stopped flapping its wings. It simply fell silent. The next instant, the world fell into an eerie silence. There was no sound.
There was no light. Qin Yu suddenly sensed something indescribable approaching.
The Demonic Phoenix did not speak, but in a deeper dimension, it "wrote" a few words: "The Life-Seizing Mantra."
It wasn't sound, it wasn't information, but the concept of "end" itself, forcibly engraved into the core of Qin Yu's existence.
A noise that was incomprehensible, unrememberable, and impossible to capture suddenly resounded deep within Qin Yu's sea of consciousness.
It wasn't just heard; it was etched into the depths of the Fate Soul. Subtle gibberish appeared, and the foundation of the Great Dao began to shift slightly.
At the most microscopic level, the particles begin to "lose meaning," like the words in a book being slowly erased by an eraser.
Qin Yu's figure flickered for a moment. It wasn't movement; it was a redefinition of "existence."
Termination. Becomes the sole attribute. Absolute instant death. Ignores defense. Ignores regeneration. Ignores all follow-up moves.
It was not an attack. It was a result. Yet, in that very instant, the Silent Beginning Ring Master Soul Diagram spontaneously vibrated deep within the sea of consciousness, and the ring lit up once more.
The lingering echoes of "Boundless Return to the Abyss, Annihilation Other Shore" have not yet dissipated. The attribute of "End," which has been inscribed, is reflected as soon as it is written.
The ring did not retaliate. It merely confirmed whether "the end" itself had the right to exist.
The next moment, the two forces collided. There was no explosion, no roar, only an extremely piercing, silent vibration.
Qin Yu's blood surged in reverse. His Fate Soul Nucleus trembled violently. The cracks at the edge of his sea of consciousness suddenly widened.
He forcibly stabilized himself, his sword pointing directly at the Demonic Phoenix. The moment of finality was forcibly postponed, but at a price—pfft—a mouthful of blood suddenly spurted out.
The blood mist evaporated in mid-air. Qin Yu swayed slightly, his robes stained red, and his aura weakened.
He was still there. "What a Life-Seizing Mantra..." He wiped the blood from his lips, his gaze even colder than before.
The Forbidden Demonic Phoenix was also retreating. Its aura was also fluctuating violently. Its previous attack had failed to finish off Qin Yu; instead, it had intensified the conflict within its very being.
The space around Eternal Silence Return to the Ruins began to distort once more. The Forbidden Demonic Phoenix's chest heaved violently.
The origins of black, red, and dark gold clashed wildly within its body, while the power of annihilation and the power of stars tore each other apart. Its aura rose higher and higher, only to plummet into an abyss-like trough in the next instant.
It stared intently at Qin Yu, a human at the Stainless Realm · Initial Stage, someone who was originally nothing more than an ant in its eyes.
It was forced to burn out its two fundamental sources, unleash its true power, and even suffer severe injuries.
Humiliation. Rage. Loss of control. "You mere human... how dare you push me to this point!"
Its voice was no longer calm, but echoed with a hoarse sound that seemed to tear through space. The next instant, it suddenly spread its arms wide.
The Principle-Extinguishing Origin and the primordial principle of stars no longer suppress or merge, but ignite simultaneously.
Boom—The heavens and earth did not explode. Instead, they were "ignited." A transparent flame rose around the Forbidden Demonic Phoenix.
The flame had no temperature, no light, and not even a form, yet it burned. (From "The Great Void Dao Burning")
It doesn't burn matter. It doesn't burn energy. It burns "principle".
Flames swept through the space. Cracks began to appear in the Eternal Silence Return to the Ruins rock layers, but not physically; instead, the regular patterns engraved on them began to curl, char, and peel off.
A floating boundary stone in the distance suddenly lost its "hardness" and turned into a meaningless pool of gray fluid.
A spatial rift was swept by flames, and the "rift" attribute was burned away, causing the rift to heal itself.
Logic was burning. Concepts were turning to ash. The flames spread throughout Qin Yu.
Sword-path patterns emerged on the Silent Origin Stainless Sword, and those definitions of "sword path" began to curl and char under the reflection of the flames.
At the edge of his sea of consciousness, a portion of the runes on the Silent Beginning Ring Master Soul Diagram dimmed slightly, as if they had been burned.
The Demonic Phoenix sneered. "Your principles, your sword, your judgments, your logic—all will become my fuel."
Flames spread. The ground beneath Qin Yu's feet began to "lose its meaning." Even the concept of "gravity" began to waver.
In distant space, the law of contradiction fails. Light passes through objects but no longer reflects.
The Eternal Silence Return to the Ruins resembled a Daoist scripture being burned. Yet Qin Yu's gaze remained calm.
He knew this was burning the "Dao". Therefore, the opponent's next move would inevitably be burning the "Heart".
As expected, the Demonic Phoenix closed its eyes and its thoughts suddenly erupted, spreading out an invisible wave.
There was no light, no sound, yet it suddenly enveloped the battlefield on a level of consciousness.
"Since you wield the sword as your path, then I will sever your heart." It unleashed its second divine power.
A torrent of pure thoughts surged straight into Qin Yu's sea of consciousness.
This is not an attack on the soul, but rather a distortion of the very foundation of the cultivation method, causing instantaneous chaos in all cultivation systems, mental drives, and conscious control.
Under the impact of this thought, any cultivator will have their "mind returned to zero".
The cultivation method became disordered, consciousness collapsed, and one became an empty shell devoid of thought. However...
Just as that torrent of thoughts was about to invade Qin Yu's sea of consciousness, an invisible light, like a star crystal, quietly appeared.
The Silent Origin Heart-Annihilating Key was not summoned; it was already present in the core of Qin Yu's Fate Soul Nucleus.
A torrent of thoughts collided with that invisible star crystal key. In an instant.
A very faint "locking" sound. Click—the thought of Annihilation Heart arises. The Demonic Phoenix's mental attack is reversed and locked.
The torrent was negated at its very foundation before it could even unfold.
It's not about defeating, but rather that the act of "the birth of a thought" is attributed to primordial stillness.
Its mental cultivation foundation instantly vanished. The Demonic Phoenix abruptly opened its eyes. Its mental powers had failed.
Not only did it fail, but the backlash even caused its own consciousness to go blank for a moment.
Qin Yu slowly raised his eyes. "You burned with passion." "I'll lock your heart in mine." He took a step forward.
The transparent flames spread to the edge of his robes, but could not penetrate any further.
Because the source of "the desire to mold truth" has been blocked.
For the first time, genuine shock appeared in the Demonic Phoenix's eyes.
Its Great Void Dao Burning is still burning.
However, it discovered that Qin Yu's Dao was not entirely dependent on a single concept.
His sword is more than just a sword. His judgment is more than just logic. His existence is not something that can be destroyed by a single path.
Flames swirled around him, but could not find the "core definition" to burn.
The atmosphere on the battlefield suddenly tightened. The Demonic Phoenix's rage surged once more. The two primal flames rose to their Limit. Space began to completely lose its order.
The battle is about to enter a true world-destroying collapse phase. Within the Eternal Silence Return to the Ruins, the transparent flames of the Great Void Dao Burning still burn.
The flames had no heat, yet they caused the laws of heaven and earth to emit a silent lament. Qin Yu amidst the sea of fire, his Silent Origin Stainless Sword lowered, his gaze as cold as ice.
He didn't flinch. Instead, he closed his eyes, letting the flames scorch "reason," burn "definitions," and incinerate "logic."
Therefore, it must have a prerequisite: that the goal "adheres to a certain definite principle".
Qin Yu's lips slowly curled into a smile. "You're wrong." He suddenly opened his eyes. The next moment, he didn't resist the Great Void Dao Burning, but instead took the initiative to guide it.
The Silent Origin Stainless Sword slashed across the sky. The blade did not slay the Demonic Phoenix, but instead struck at the burning fragments of truth surrounding itself.
He Three Forms of Fate Construction of Cause and Effect Deconstruction: Deconstruction of Cause and Effect. Causal lines suddenly appeared in his eyes, like billions of intersecting threads of light.
The burning logic of the flames of the Great Void Dao Burning is essentially that the "Dao" of the target is used as fuel.
He directly severed the causal link between himself and the "single path." Swordsmanship? Severance. Judgment logic? Severance. Defining the core? Transfer.
In an instant, the flame lost its "fuel," yet it continued to burn. Having lost its target, it began to search for a new "reason."
The Demonic Phoenix stood in the center of the flames. Qin Yu swung his hand back and struck again. The Silent Origin Stainless Sword - Causeless Disillusionment Sword suddenly erupted.
The sword intent was not aimed at the Demonic Phoenix's physical body, but rather at severing the link between the Great Void Dao Burning and the Demonic Phoenix's "Principle-Extinguishing Origin".
Boom! The flames suddenly surged backward. The transparent firelight, like a tsunami flowing backward, rebounded and attacked the core of the Demonic Phoenix's origin.
The very foundation of the annihilation principle and the burning origin of stars began to show charred cracks.
The Demonic Phoenix's pupils constricted sharply. "Damn it—using my fire to burn my very essence?!" it roared, its essence churning violently.
But Qin Yu has rewritten the path of the flames. They no longer burn the outside world, but instead burn their own "destructive logic."
The Principle-Extinguishing Origin began to crumble. The very source of the star trembled and became unbalanced. The Demonic Phoenix finally realized that if the flames were allowed to flow back, it would be incinerated by its own divine power.
It roared suddenly, "Since that's the case, then let's perish together!" It forcefully tore open the core of its primordial energy within its chest cavity.
A core of light, interwoven with dark gold and deep black, was forcibly extracted. It sacrificed a portion of its essence.
The annihilation force and the remaining power of the star were compressed. Space began to collapse. A huge rift tore open in the sky above the Eternal Silence Return to the Ruins.
From within the rift, countless shattered star fragments fell. The Forbidden Demonic Phoenix spread its arms. "World-Destroying Final Form - Starfall Annihilation!"
The origin was compressed into a single point. That point suddenly erupted. It was not light, not fire, but an absolute collapse. All space collapsed towards the center.
The timeline warped, the rules stretched, as if the entire Return to the Ruins were being compressed into a dark core. The ground beneath Qin Yu's feet vanished instantly.
His body was forcibly pulled apart. Blood spilled from the corner of his mouth. This attack was truly world-destroying.
Qin Yu slowly raised his head, his eyes flashing with utter rage for the first time. "Enough! Die!!" Qin Yu roared.
The Silent Origin Stainless Sword emitted a low hum. He held nothing back. His hands simultaneously formed hand seals. With a single thought...
The Heavenly Cause Judgment Sequence, the Six Severances Seal, the Master Book Seal Severance, and the Naming Reconstruction unfolded suddenly.
Countless astrological characters appeared in the void. The Demonic Phoenix's "World-Destroying Final Form" was forcibly renamed.
The phrase "irreversible end" was rewritten as "self-destruction due to imbalance of origin." At the same time, the Silent Ring suddenly appeared on Qin Yu's chest.
Boundless Return to the Abyss, the Annihilation Other Shore rises once more. It is not light, not fire, but an Absolute Ring that transcends all concepts.
The ring took shape. Heaven and earth stood still. The collapsed core, reflected in the ring, lost its "right to exist." The World-Destroying Final Form instantly went silent.
The Demonic Phoenix's pupils dilated violently. "No... impossible... you're just a human..." The ring fell.
The Demonic Phoenix's body began to peel away. The Principle-Extinguishing Origin dissipated. The core of the star shattered. The remnants of its divine soul turned into nothingness.
It wanted to form a second form, but found that the right to be "narrated" had been taken away.
Its existence began to fade. Not because it was destroyed, but because it could no longer exist. The final roar had not yet taken shape.
The Forbidden Demonic Phoenix shattered into countless gray-black stardust. The stardust did not fall, but was completely annihilated within the ring.
Silence returned to heaven and earth. The rift of Eternal Silence Return to the Ruins slowly closed. Darkness descended once more. Qin Yu knelt on one knee, the Silent Origin Stainless Sword planted in the ground to support his body.
His chest heaved violently. His Fate Soul was in disarray. This battle had almost drained him of all his vital energy.
Blood dripped from his fingertips. He slowly exhaled a breath of stale air. "Finally... it's over." In the distance, the lingering winds of the desolate Return to the Ruins murmured.
Qin Yu looked up into the depths. The battle was over. But... Zhou Wanning's whereabouts and the solution to the Void Evolution Causality-Replenishing Marrow were still unresolved.