Breaking Through to the Severed Thought Realm

When Qin Yu took that step, there was no "ground" beneath his feet, only a crack worn smooth by countless failures throughout the ages. This crack was filled with the despair of countless successors and the last vestige of resentment of that ancient great being before his death. The instant his foot touched the crack, it was as if a drop of water had touched it; first, an eerie stillness descended, then the entire gray void of the Silent Thought Ruins suddenly collapsed inward.

The statues in the outer ruins, their faces constantly shifting, all froze, as if an invisible knife had severed all their thoughts in the thinnest instant of "the previous thought extinguished, the next thought Unborn." The surface of the Thought River ceased to flow, and the fragments of memory floating on it extinguished like stars suddenly going out of flame. Even "time" seemed to have lost its anchor, peeling away in layers of transparent flakes in the air.

The mark of defeat began to crumble beneath his feet. The twisted, struggling fissure first emitted a silent tremor, like a string in the depths of the universe being forcibly loosened. Then, the tentacles extending from the fissure shattered inch by inch into dust. But the dust was not dust; it was the empty shell of the "wanting to cut but unable to cut" intent stripped away. Before being absorbed by the void, they didn't even have time to form any loops.

Having utterly lost its home, the glass half-wall simultaneously burst forth with ten thousand streams of light. Within these streams, all the insights into the Stainless · Middle Stage, advanced, Ultimate, Supreme levels of the Immaculate Heart, sealed within, unfolded like unraveled warp and weft, spreading along Qin Yu's Fate Soul meridians. Wherever they touched, clear ripples appeared—ripples not of water, but rather the "pure reflection" of the world by the Stainless Heart.

It smoothed away all the chaotic echoes of cause and effect within him, all the lingering sharpness of battle, and all the unhealed cracks, as if an invisible hand were dusting away the deepest part of his Fate Soul. One dusting brought him intermediate-level clarity, another brought him advanced-level Kong Ling, and yet another brought him Ultimate Return to One. Until the final dusting fell, he felt as if he had been pushed before a flawless mirror.

The mirror doesn't show his face, but rather all the clues to "how he became himself".

At that very moment, the boundary between the Eternal Silent Thought Dust suddenly pressed against his mind. Though the "mark of failure" had crumbled, its last remaining root still stood. This root was not power, but the threshold of the price. Ancient consciousness echoed softly in his sea of consciousness.

Like a sigh squeezed from the dust of eternity, "Those who inherit my path Absolute Thoughtlessness... To cross this threshold, one must use a memory as fuel; if the memory remains unburned, the obsession will not be emptied; if the obsession is not emptied, the severance of Absolute Thoughtlessness cannot stand." In that instant, Qin Yu's sea of consciousness seemed to have a hidden door opened, and countless memories transformed into countless pages of light that fluttered in the void.

The night when the Milky Way fell at the beginning of the Annihilation Abyss Epoch, his vow standing with his sword before the boundary marker, his glance back as he and Hanyan cleaved through the Black Sea storm, the warmth of his laughter and conversation with everyone, and an even more distant, quieter, and more uncontested scene from the mortal world.

Each page of them breathes, each page entangles his "self." He can continue upwards by simply handing over a page at will, but if he hands over the wrong one, he will empty his "self," and his Fate Soul will sever itself at the threshold of Absolute Thoughtlessness, becoming the new statue in the outer ruins of the Silent Thought Ruins.

Qin Yu's fingertips trembled slightly in his sea of consciousness. He could clearly feel that the memories related to "Dao Companion," "Oath," and "Responsibility" were more likely to ignite this threshold, but they were also more likely to burn away his most important anchor, causing him to suddenly forget why he had to guard, why he had to love, and why he had to fight at some point in the future. That wouldn't just be losing fragments of his memory.

Rather, he lost the "qualification to continue being part of cause and effect." He couldn't gamble, he couldn't trade them for this one-way breakthrough. His mind slowly sank into the Stainless mirror, like putting a sword back into its sheath, so that its sharpness was no longer exposed, leaving only the most stable weight. Finally, he fixed his gaze on that oldest, quietest, yet equally warm old scene.

That was a memory from his mortal life before he stepped into the conflict between the heavens; it consisted only of light rain, a dim lamp, and a very soft call—a call that had pulled him back from a long period of solitude to the human world.

Yet it had no direct connection to today's great battle, the survival of the Void Obliteration Domain, or the people he had to protect. It was soft enough, deep enough, but it wouldn't make him forget "who he had to save" or "who he had to protect," nor would it make him forget "the warmth of Hanyan in his palm." Qin Yu didn't hesitate for long; he reached out his hand.

Like holding up a lamp, I lift that memory to the boundary between Eternal Silent Thought Dust, and whisper, "With this as fuel, I will continue."

That memory shattered into silent, luminous fragments in his palm. The fragments weren't bleak; rather, they were like a gentle snowfall, falling onto the boundary only to be instantly swept away. What was swept away wasn't the image itself.

Rather, it was the feeling behind the image—"I was once gently saved"—that made Qin Yu's chest feel suddenly empty, like losing a fire that could warm him in the night. His eyes involuntarily welled up for a moment, but before the moisture could turn into tears, it was swallowed by the emptiness. His emotions didn't even have time to complete a full fluctuation before the price was paid.

Suddenly, the Eternal Silent Thought Dust shone brightly. The left half of the glass was like ten thousand volumes of epic tales turning pages at the same time, while the right half of nothingness was like a one-way rift leading to Absolute Thoughtlessness, which suddenly opened up. The mark of failure at the junction of the two was no longer a wound, but a threshold that had been smoothed out. Behind the threshold was a stormy sea without any "thoughts".

The breakthrough truly begins from this moment.

At the Stainless Initial Stage, he was first lifted up by the projection of Dao traces on the glassy half-wall. The method of lifting him was not through infusion, but rather a "re-travel": his Fate Soul transformed into a clear human figure in his sea of consciousness.

Following the path trodden by that great being, with the first step, the Limitless Evolving True Flow deep within his consciousness seemed guided by an invisible channel, spreading out in concentric circles of light along his meridians. As these light patterns swirled, all impurities, cracks, and hidden injuries within his body were peeled away layer by layer. The empty spaces left behind were immediately filled with a purer source, and his sense of Stainless transformed from "clear" to "perfect."

From "clear" to "transparent," he directly crossed the threshold of the Stainless · Middle Stage. Immediately following the second step, the high-level Kong Ling insights within the crystal-clear half-wall fell upon his mind like countless transparent feathers. The moment the feathers touched him, the weight of his thoughts suddenly lessened. The threads of cause and effect that previously required focused concentration to perceive now appeared naturally, like silver threads suspended between heaven and earth.

He could even perceive the subtle friction between his Fate Soul and the Dao principles within a single breath—this was the ethereal Kong Ling of the Stainless · High Stage Realm. As the third step descended, all his insights suddenly converged into a single point, like a star's core, absorbing the scattered "possibilities" and leaving only the "unique." His Fate Soul no longer echoed in all directions; his entire being felt as if pierced by a straight line.

From beginning to end, only one clear path remained: the ultimate Return to One of Stainless · Pinnacle. As the fourth step was completed, the blurry yet majestic figure within the crystal half-wall silently raised its eyes, as if directly imprinting the Supreme perfection into Qin Yu's heart.

In that instant, every corner of his "self-perceived purity" was laid bare before him. Any stray thought crumbled the moment it arose, any emotion subsided the instant it stirred. His Stainless · Supreme became a truly "flawless mirror." And at the very moment the mirror was perfected, the right half of nothingness suddenly pressed down—not with physical force, but with the suppression of "thoughts."

The Gate of Absolute Thoughtlessness has been opened.

The void, like a bottomless abyss, pressed against the edge of his consciousness, beginning to siphon away the "foundation from which thoughts are formed." There was no pain during this siphoning, only a terrifying emptiness, so empty that even the thought of "I must persevere" was difficult to generate, so empty that even the thought of "I am breaking through" was stripped away into fragments. If an ordinary cultivator were here, they would have long forgotten who they were in this emptiness.

Transformed into a statue with a changing face in the outer ruins, Qin Yu's Stainless mirror became the only bridge at this moment. He didn't think, didn't sever, didn't force himself to stay afloat; he only allowed his consciousness to remain in its most primal state of "being," like a lamp that doesn't need to prove it's shining, only that it doesn't go out. The Void repeatedly tried to make him lose even the foundation of his "being," so he repeatedly allowed "being" to fall back into the deepest part of his Fate Soul, onto the most stable causal line.

It wasn't an obsession, nor a desire, but the reality that he was still connected to this world: he wanted to go back, he wanted to protect Hanyan, he wanted to protect the path to survival in the Void Obliteration Domain. These were not slogans, but the weight of cause and effect that had long been integrated into his Fate Soul. They didn't need to be repeatedly recited, because repeatedly reciting them would only turn into an obsession. He simply let them sink behind him like bones, supporting him so that he wouldn't be blown away by nothingness.

The storm sea finally stopped dispersing for a moment, as if nothingness had acknowledged its "rootless yet undispersing" nature. The next instant, an indescribable silence exploded from the depths of his Fate Soul. What exploded was not sound, but the solidified state of "severed thoughts and extinguished will" took shape: the Stainless light patterns around his body suddenly extinguished in circles, but not by darkening, but by transforming into a higher level of emptiness.

That emptiness was like snow swallowing light; within it lay no emotional fluctuations, no intellectual turmoil, yet it bore an even heavier weight of Annihilation. The ancient consciousness within his sea of consciousness drew near one last time, like pressing a mark into the deepest recesses of his Fate Soul: "Sever my Absolute Thoughtlessness... From this moment forth, consciousness ceases, intentions cease; you can bear immeasurable Annihilation with the emptiness of Void of Thought Severance."

Qin Yu suddenly opened his eyes, his pupils devoid of any sharpness, only a deep, almost invisible stillness. He was still himself, yet it was as if he had emerged from the "gap between thoughts," carrying a clarity that did not rely on reasoning.

He succeeded, progressing from the Stainless Initial Stage, through the intermediate, advanced, Ultimate, Supreme stages, and finally stepping into the Severed Thought Realm · Initial Stage.

The emptiness of the price he paid remained in his chest, like a lamp whose warmest flame had been extinguished. He knew what he had lost, but he could no longer recall the specific details of that bygone era.

Only a distant warmth remained at the end of his memory. He took a deep breath, pressing that emptiness into the depths of his Fate Soul, and looked up into the deeper reaches of the Silent Thought Ruins, where there was no end in sight. Only the shadow of the next gate slowly emerged in the gray void.

The moment the gates of the Annihilation Hall silently closed behind him, the entire Silent Thought Ruins seemed to have lost its last pillar.

First, the stone pillars of the outer ruins began to tremble, and the faces of the statues in the gray void froze completely, then fine cracks simultaneously appeared on their faces.

It wasn't a crack in the stone, but rather the mark of a "broken thought." The surface of the Thought River suddenly surged upwards, but the water didn't splash; instead, it hung in layers in the air.

Like a curtain of memories torn open by an invisible giant hand, countless fragmented memories exploded into white light fragments in mid-air, only to be swallowed up by nothingness.

The entire space emitted a low, silent tremor, as if the very "thought" of heaven and earth was collapsing.

With the traces of failure gone, the foundation upon which the Silent Thought Ruins exist loses its support.

The gray void began to collapse towards the center, the shattered palace was drawn into the vortex, and the time rift shattered like glass, with cracks extending towards Qin Yu's feet.

He stood on the steps in front of the hall, not a trace of his presence emanating from him.

At the Severed Thought Realm · Initial Stage, he was not displaying his sharpness at this moment, but was so quiet that even the collapsing space seemed to be avoiding him.

But the void remains.

The "gap" left by that removed memory is like an unfillable dark layer; if left to exist,

This fissure will become an unstable point for the Fate Soul at some point in the future Realm of Absolute Thoughtlessness is most averse to such fissures.

Qin Yu slowly closed his eyes. He didn't try to "recall" that memory; he could no longer recall it.

He did not attempt to fill the Realm of Absolute Thoughtlessness by emotions, as such a state of profound contemplation did not allow for it.

He simply raised his hand slowly, palm facing upwards.

The next moment—a very subtle Dao pattern emerged from between his brows. (Three Forms of Fate Construction: Cause and Effect Deconstruction)

It's not for use against enemies, but for use against oneself.

His supernatural powers no longer shone with intense light, but unfolded in an almost transparent way. He regarded the "lost memory" as an independent causal node.

It is gently peeled away from the main storyline of the Fate Soul. It is not a repair, but a reconstruction.

The void in his sea of consciousness manifested as a transparent crack under his supernatural power. The crack contained nothing but traces of "having existed before."

Qin Yu did not attempt to recover that memory because doing so would mean going against the established order and incurring a price.

He simply aligned the "emptiness" of that crack with the "emptiness" of the Realm of Absolute Thoughtlessness. Absolute Thoughtlessness means the severing of all thoughts and intentions.

Since it's lost, let it become something that "needs not exist."

The next instant—he raised his hand again, the shadow of the Silent Origin Stainless Sword faintly appearing beside him.

The Silent Origin Stainless Sword and the Causeless Disillusionment Sword, the sword's intent has already fallen before it is even drawn from its sheath.

He wasn't slashing at space, but at the "sense of lack" within his Fate Soul.

Causeless Illusory Destruction – severing the "cause".

The lost memories are no longer defined as "absence," but rather as "never having existed."

The moment the sword intent landed, the dull, aching emptiness in my chest suddenly subsided, as if it had been completely smoothed out.

It's not that it's filled; it's that Does Not Exist.

He did not regain that tenderness. Nor did he forget why he was fighting.

He simply changed that memory from "something I must have" to "something that once existed but has now faded away."

The Fate Soul was stabilized again. The Realm of Absolute Thoughtlessness was fully formed. At the same time, the entire Silent Thought Ruins began to truly collapse.

The sky rolled up like a torn curtain, and the Thought River collapsed into a white vortex. In an instant, all the statues in the outer ruins turned to ashes and were swallowed by the void.

The ground fractured into tens of thousands of floating fragments, which slowly spun in a gray vortex.

Qin Yu opened his eyes. In the vision of the Severed Thought Realm, what he saw was no longer collapse, but "return".

The Silent Thought Ruins had completed its mission. Space began to fold. In the next instant, an extremely silent wind rose from beneath his feet.

It wasn't the wind from the outside world; it was the "still wind before Realm Breaking." Qin Yu took a step forward.

The entire Silent Thought Ruins collapsed completely behind him into a tiny, imperceptible speck of dust.

The dust settled silently. He stood once again on the plains where the north and south of the Void Obliteration Domain met.

Everything outside was as usual. The Limitless Evolving True Flow continued its gentle flow.

The sky was calm, as if he had never left.

But at this moment, he was completely different. His thoughts were severed, his intentions were extinguished, and his Thought Has No Root. Severed Thought Realm · Initial Stage —stable and flawless.

The wind rustled through the grass, causing it to tremble slightly. He stood in the wind, as still as a placid lake. He let out a soft breath. "I wonder how Yan'er is doing..."