Above the entrance to the first level of the Nine Nether Prison Abyss, shattered rock walls continue to fall, the nine layers of the abyss overlapping each other, like nine layers of inverted purgatory unfolding in the void.
Qin Yu atop the broken black rock, his robes torn by the gale, his chest heaving violently. His aura Severed Thought Realm · Middle Stage was not yet fully stable, while Source-Suppressing Stillnessless Venerable opposite him had truly lost patience.
His eyes, as blue as star cores, suddenly darkened. He slowly raised his palm, but his fingertips did not form any seals or gather any visible energy. However, at the same moment, the light above the Nine Nether Prison Abyss distorted, as if space had been cut open by an invisible blade, and a faint sound like the shattering of the heavens and earth's skeleton could be heard in the air.
"Breaking the Silent Silence - The Calamity of the Uncertain Wind"
Without the howling of wind or the prelude of thunder, in the next instant, the entire abyss began to lose its meaning of "stillness".
That was no ordinary wind, but a "Wind of Realm Breaking" that transcended direction and speed. It emerged from the void Unborn, directly attacking the essential state of the "Domain of Unborn Existence and Nonexistence," regarding all existences based on "Silent Void" as dust waiting to be destroyed.
Where the wind passed, there was no explosion, no tremor, only the collapse of the "support" itself—as if the "nothingness" upon which heaven and earth depended for their existence was forcibly torn apart.
The aura of Silent Origin surrounding Qin Yu was touched by the wind tribulation immediately. The projection of the Void Divine Tree behind him suddenly trembled, and cracks appeared in the usually calm and still lake of his mind deep in his sea of consciousness.
All defensive and fundamental structures derived from "Silent Void" developed fine, indeterminate cracks under the sweeping force of the wind calamity. These cracks were not shattered, but rather lost their "definition," transforming into blank traces that could not even be described as "Does Not Exist."
There was no way to retreat. The path back to the undefined was directly severed, and the possibility of returning to chaos was prematurely denied.
Qin Yu's gaze darkened, and his right hand suddenly formed a hand seal. "Heavenly Cause Judgment Sequence - Six Severances Seal - Fate Cause Sealing Mirror - Logic Abyss Core!"
Suddenly, six ring seals unfolded in the void, and the light of Fate-Cause transformed into layers of sealing mirrors, forcibly locking the Realm Breaking power brought by the wind tribulation into the core of the causal abyss. At the same time, he gripped the Silent Origin Stainless Sword with his left hand, and the sword suddenly shone with pure white light, and the five sword intents overlapped in an instant.
"The Causeless Disillusionment Sword!" "The Historyless Void Severance Sword!"
The two sword intents overlapped and slashed out, attempting to build a double barrier with "severing cause and effect" and "severing time and space" to directly confront the Wind of Realm Breaking that went straight to the essence.
At this moment, heaven and earth seemed to be dragged into a silent cosmic storm. Black cracks spread in space, and the first barrier of the Nine Nether Prison Abyss was torn open with transparent wounds. The distant mountains turned into ashes, but no smoke rose, because even the concept of "ashes" was rejected by the wind tribulation.
Within three breaths, spiderweb-like cracks appeared on the Fate Cause Sealing Mirror, the Logic Abyss Core trembled violently, the Six Severances Seal collapsed one after another, and the light of the Silent Origin Stainless Sword was forcibly suppressed by the wind tribulation. Qin Yu felt as if an entire world had struck his chest.
The next instant, he was thrown a hundred meters away.
His body tumbled in mid-air, his bones cracking softly, and blood left a dark red trail in the air before crashing heavily into the broken black rock, instantly creating a giant crater in the ground.
The aftershocks of the calamity were still churning. Qin Yu slowly stood up, supporting himself on the hilt of his sword. His chest heaved violently, blood kept spilling from the corner of his mouth, and a tearing pain came from the depths of his Fate Soul. The source of his Silent Origin was almost scattered by the shock.
But his gaze grew even colder. He didn't retreat, nor did he adjust his breathing.
Amidst the excruciating pain, he forced himself to lift the sword. With a gentle lift of the Silent Origin Stainless Sword, the world suddenly fell silent for a moment.
"The No-Thought Absolute Silence Sword." The sword's edge traced an almost invisible arc.
In an instant, the Nine Nether Prison Abyss transformed into an endless chaotic lotus sea. Hundreds of millions of gray-white lotus petals bloomed from the void, only to wither away in the next instant. The lotus sea covered the heavens and the earth, and a star-like projection of the sea of consciousness appeared around Source-Suppressing Stillnessless Venerable Zun, only to quickly disintegrate into absolute whiteness.
This sword strike did not sever the physical body, nor the laws, but rather the "origin of conception."
Transcending consciousness and logic, negating even the initial conception of "the budding of existence." All the enemy's thoughts, ideas, and predictions are erased in "absolute Timelessness," and even the intention of "I want to resist" should be rejected in advance.
Heaven and earth lost their sound, and light and shadow faded into paleness.
In that instant, Source-Suppressing Stillnessless Venerable's figure seemed to be pulled into a deep, uncharted Silent Origin.
However, amidst the white light, a faint blue glow suddenly appeared.
Source-Suppressing Stillnessless Venerable stood rooted to the spot, not even the hem of his robes fluttering. A faint golden-black ripple appeared around him; this ripple was not defensive, but rather a higher-level form of "static form."
"Absolutely No Definition Silent Origin?" He slowly raised his eyes, his tone indifferent. "What you've severed is thought, conception, and budding idea."
With a slight flick of his fingertips, the white sea seemed to be wiped away by an invisible giant hand.
"But my true self no longer exists based on 'thought'."
The Sea of Silent Origin collapsed instantly, and the sword intent vanished silently three inches in front of him, like a bubble that had been denied in advance.
Source-Suppressing Stillnessless Venerable coldly stared at Qin Yu, who was covered in blood, without a trace of emotion in his eyes.
"Hmph, is that all?" His tone was calm, yet carried a chilling air of looking down upon everything. "Just Severed Thought Realm · Middle Stage."
The void trembled once more.
The rock strata of the first level of the Nine Nether Prison Abyss continued to collapse amidst the aftershocks, with rubble falling into the dark purgatory below, turning into silent dust.
Qin Yu knelt on one knee on the broken rock ridge, the Silent Origin Stainless Sword planted in the ground to support his body. Blood slid down the sword and evaporated into wisps of pale red mist in the void.
His eyes were already bloodshot.
Opposite him, Source-Suppressing Stillnessless Venerable stood in the void, his robes fluttering without wind, and a Wind of Realm Breaking slowly swirling around him, like an untouchable, transparent divine domain. He did not continue to attack, but coldly looked down at Qin Yu, as if looking at a struggling ant.
Qin Yu's sea of consciousness trembled violently. The mind of someone at the Severed Thought Realm · Middle Stage should be constantly calm and clear, but under the absolute suppression of the realm, even that calmness began to show subtle ripples.
Broken.
He sighed inwardly. The difference in their cultivation levels was more than just one dimension.
Realm Breaking Realm · Supreme.
It wasn't simply a difference in strength, but a gap in "levels of existence." The opponent had already reached the realm of "Boundary Collapse," where all tangible rules and intangible laws could be seen as things that could be broken.
No matter how powerful one's supernatural abilities are, when they fall on him, it's like lightly scratching a shell of a higher dimension. They can't hurt him at all.
Qin Yu understood this completely the moment the No-Thought Absolute Silence Sword was so easily neutralized.
Source-Suppressing Stillnessless Venerable's gaze gradually turned cold, and his killing intent began to truly solidify.
Qin Yu slowly stood up, but his gaze remained calm.
Since we can't hurt him, then we won't. -- As long as... we can distract him for even a moment.
He only needs half a breath. He doesn't need to win. He only needs to live.
Qin Yu's mind suddenly sank, and the Realm of Absolute Thoughtlessness deep within his sea of consciousness began to operate rapidly. He no longer thought about "how to defeat" or "how to fight back," but instead focused all his energy on one thing.
What is the most important thing to Source-Suppressing Stillnessless Venerable at this moment?
It wasn't him. It wasn't this battle. Through tracing the causal remnants throughout the Nine Nether Prison Abyss, Qin Yu thoroughly understood the causal remnants of the ninth level.
The Myriad Thoughts Form-Forging Cauldron has been destroyed, Thought Severance Devouring Emperor has been erased, but the origin of that cauldron is still connected to the lingering aftershocks of the Heart of Dao Burial.
Not long after Source-Suppressing Stillnessless Venerable was resurrected, his Dao heart was not yet completely stable, and the power of burying the Dao and the Wind of Realm Breaking were still balancing each other within his body.
As long as that slight imbalance is disturbed, as long as his very essence is disrupted for even a moment.
Qin Yu could escape. He suddenly raised his hand, but neither swung his sword nor formed any hand seals.
Instead, she slowly closed her eyes. The next instant—"Three Forms of Fate Construction — Time Flow Reversal."
The space on the first level of the Nine Nether Prison Abyss suddenly trembled.
Time did not truly flow backward, but was forcibly torn open with an extremely fine slit. In that slit, the afterimage of the Myriad Thoughts Form-Forging Cauldron collapsing deep within the ninth level, and the instant when the Thought Severance Devouring Emperor was erased, vaguely appeared.
Qin Yu did not attempt to reenact the event. He simply projected the causal afterimage of the "moment of the cauldron's destruction" before the eyes of Source-Suppressing Stillnessless Venerable.
In that instant, Source-Suppressing Stillnessless Venerable's pupils contracted slightly.
That wasn't fear. It was an extremely instinctive, primal fluctuation.
Because that cauldron was supposed to be the key to awakening the Heart of Dao Burial.
Qin Yu's voice echoed in the void, deep and calm. "Do you think it's all over?"
"Was that cauldron really completely destroyed?" He wasn't lying.
He didn't say it for sure; he just threw out a "questionable" answer.
The mind at the Severed Thought Realm · Middle Stage is completely still and constantly illuminating at this moment, without any emotional fluctuations.
As long as Source-Suppressing Stillnessless Venerable harbors even the slightest thought of "needing confirmation," even if it's only for half a breath.
He could leave. Above the Nine Nether Prison Abyss, the atmosphere suddenly froze.
For the first time, Source-Suppressing Stillnessless Venerable's gaze truly fell upon Qin Yu, no longer looking down, but scrutinizing him.
That half-breath would determine life or death. The void of the first level of the Nine Nether Prison Abyss seemed to be suddenly gripped by an invisible giant hand.
The wisp of doubt that Qin Yu threw out only stirred a very brief ripple in Source-Suppressing Stillnessless Venerable's eyes; the next instant, that ripple turned into utter indifference.
"Ridiculous." Source-Suppressing Stillnessless Venerable's voice was deep and rumbling like the abyss. "A mere remnant of the Reverse Tracing technique dares to try and disturb the true self?"
He didn't even make any extra movements. He simply slowly raised his left hand. In an instant, the spatial structure of the Nine Nether Prison Abyss began to collapse.
Rock strata, air, light, gravity, and all existing order simultaneously bent inward, as if the entire world were being pressed into a transparent crystal. Space was no longer extended, but folded into layers of mirrors, and Qin Yu's figure was infinitely split in countless distorted spatial fissures.
Source-Suppressing Stillnessless Venerable clenched his five fingers slightly. "Realm Breaking - Forbidden Domain Seal."
A ring of dark golden ripples spread out from him, and wherever it passed, time stopped, sound was extracted, and even the concept of "movement" was compressed into a still painting.
Qin Yu instantly sensed that his escape route had vanished.
Space was locked. Cause and effect were nailed down. Even the thought of "leaving" seemed to be forcibly erased by some higher-dimensional being.
Source-Suppressing Stillnessless Venerable stared coldly at him. "Want to leave?" "Did I give my permission?"
A dark golden chain suddenly descended vertically from the Nine Nether Prison Abyss, piercing the heavens and the earth. The chain was not a physical object, but a manifestation of "spatial fixation." Where the chain fell, everything froze, and even the fluctuations deep within Qin Yu's sea of consciousness were forcibly suppressed.
Qin Yu's chest jolted violently. Blood spilled from the corner of his lips.
He understood that delaying any longer would mean complete suppression.
Without thought, without hesitation, the consciousness of Severed Thought Realm · Middle Stage instantly sank into the deepest depths.
He neither considered the outcome of the battle nor devised a plan for retreat.
Only one thought—to live. "Void Source, Dream Stillness."
Before the sword was drawn, the world fell silent.
In that instant, all color was stripped from Qin Yu's body, and the Nine Nether Prison Abyss transformed into a silent, gray-white domain.
His figure began to blur, like a picture erased by an eraser, its outline disintegrating, reconstructing, burning, and freezing.
The power of the Void Source and the end of the Dream Stillness erupted simultaneously within him. His existence began to voluntarily "withdraw from reality."
The spatial chains tried to entangle it, but found that they were only grasping a fading afterimage.
For the first time Source-Suppressing Stillnessless Venerable's gaze truly darkened. "A forbidden technique?"
One-third of Qin Yu's body had already turned into nothingness, and his Fate Soul began to detach from the anchor point of the timeline, as if falling into a dreamless Consciousnessless void.
However, a price was paid at the same time.
His Fate Soul trembled violently, the power of the Void Source surged uncontrollably within his body, and his internal organs seemed to be torn apart and then pieced back together.
Flesh and blood repeatedly switch between "existence" and "Does Not Exist".
The bones emitted a series of fine cracking sounds. Large areas of his consciousness went blank.
He turned ashen-faced almost instantly.
But he succeeded.
Half of his figure had already sunk into nothingness. At that very moment.
Source-Suppressing Stillnessless Venerable spoke coldly. "Since you wish to escape reality—" "Then I will sever the causal link between your escape and reality."
He stretched his right hand forward. There was no sword. There was no light.
Only a single, invisible fluctuation pierced through space. "Reverse Boundary - Cause Severance."
A causal network covering the heavens and the earth appeared above the Nine Nether Prison Abyss.
That net is not made of light, but woven from "possibilities that have already occurred".
All of Qin Yu's actions, all his choices, and all his life-or-death detours were clearly revealed in that net.
Source-Suppressing Stillnessless Venerable brought two fingers together and gently made a stroke. Snap
A piercing, soul-crushing cracking sound rang out. Qin Yu's "escape from cause and effect" was directly severed.
The Void Source domain instantly twisted violently.
His half-body, which had already merged into nothingness, was suddenly and forcibly dragged back to reality by some force, as if he had been pulled out of the deep sea.
Blood exploded in the air. His body was pulled back to its original position and slammed heavily against the rock wall of the first entrance.
The entire first level of the Nine Nether Prison Abyss trembled violently. Rock layers cracked, space trembled, and fragments of rock fell like a meteor shower.
Qin Yu's body was forcibly dragged back to Source-Suppressing Stillnessless Venerable's presence.
His Void Source domain shattered completely. The power of Dream Stillness rebounded, and cracks appeared in his Fate Soul once again.
Source-Suppressing Stillnessless Venerable took a step forward, and the space automatically parted.
He looked down at Qin Yu, his voice icy cold. "Before me," he said, "You can't even escape."
The air in the Nine Nether Prison Abyss was so heavy it felt suffocating. Qin Yu struggled to lift his head, blood dripping down his chin.
His gaze, however, never dimmed.