Deep in the lake, the light vanished rapidly. The deeper one went, the heavier the water pressure became. Qin Yu's figure, like a straight white line falling, tore through layers of water.
The lake above gradually transformed into a blur of light and shadow. Below, darkness grew ever deeper. The colossal body of the Void-Shattering Nether Kun swam ahead.
Its tail flaps, each flap creating whirlpools and torrents in the water. The lakebed rock walls continue to crumble.
Stones tumbled and rolled. The buried ruins of the ancient palace slowly surfaced in the water only to be swept away again. Qin Yu gave chase.
He did not use the Great Luo Heavenly Chapter. His internal energy circulated, and the Silent Origin Stainless Sword hummed softly in his hand.
The sword's edge sliced through the water. The water pressure automatically diverted around him. Each time the Void-Shattering Nether Kun attempted to accelerate,
Qin Yu then used his Limit movement technique to close the distance. The two figures darted through the deep water at high speed. The lake bottom was getting deeper and deeper.
The darkness gradually thickened, as if water was no longer water, but some kind of compressed spatial residue.
Suddenly, the Void-Shattering Nether Kun stopped abruptly. Its enormous body tumbled in the water, and its deep blue vertical pupils locked onto Qin Yu.
Less than a hundred feet away, the lakebed was completely dark.
The next instant, its pupils suddenly lit up. Supernatural power, "Eyes of Void Drowning" mental attack / conceptual drowning. The moment it stared into its eyes.
The "rules of reality" you rely on will be stripped away. The opponent will forget how to mobilize their primordial divine power. Body cultivators will forget how to exert force.
Mortals forget how to breathe. This isn't an illusion, but rather "the forgetting of rules." You've been thrown into a cognitive vacuum, drowning in the ruins of a void of rules.
The moment their eyes met, color vanished, sound vanished, temperature vanished. The entire world was reduced to black and white. Qin Yu felt his body sink, and the surrounding lake water turned into a void abyss.
He began to sink. He kept sinking. Transparent chains floated around him. Regular chains. They were very close.
He couldn't touch it, couldn't borrow its power. He suddenly realized he had forgotten how to circulate divine power.
Forget the sword technique. Even for a moment, forget how to breathe. Consciousness is as if it has been emptied out. The bottom of the lake is no longer the bottom of the lake.
Instead, it was a lightless abyss. He sank. He continued to sink. His deep blue eyes watched from afar. The next moment...
Qin Yu was jolted, a chill running down his spine. "Damn it—" He was startled by this sudden deprivation and felt a chill run through him.
That wasn't an illusion. It was the instant the rules were stripped away. If he hesitated even a moment longer—he would truly drown in "oblivion."
Qin Yu's eyes turned cold. He forcibly stabilized his consciousness. He didn't think about "how to circulate his true energy".
It was simply gripping the sword tightly—muscle memory, an instinct. "I'm still here," he whispered.
The Silent Origin Stainless Sword was suddenly swung out. "No-Thought Absolute Silence Sword!" The blade sliced through the black and white world.
It wasn't aimed at the fish, but at that "interface that strips away the rules." The sword light exploded in the deep water.
A long rift was torn open in the darkness at the bottom of the lake. The chains of the Drowning Void suddenly trembled. Qin Yu took another step. "Causeless Disillusionment Sword!"
The second sword followed immediately. The sword intent Void-Shattering Nether Kun. The dark blue light vibrated violently, and the lake water regained its color.
The sound returned. The water pressure became real again. The Void-Shattering Nether Kun suddenly retreated.
The blue light in its eyes dimmed slightly. It hadn't expected that Qin Yu would be able to break through the Eyes of Void Drowning with his "instinct for existence" the instant the rules were stripped away.
Qin Yu's chest heaved. The lake water churned. He steadied himself.
The sword hummed softly in the deep water. His eyes were cold and piercing. "You can't escape." Deeper still in the lake...
An even more ancient aura is slowly awakening in the abyss at the bottom of the lake.
The Void-Shattering Nether Kun hovered in the darkness, its abdominal wound still slowly oozing a ghostly green light. Its pair of dark blue vertical pupils stared intently at Qin Yu.
Its gaze no longer held only ferocity, but an extreme resentment. The next instant, it abruptly ceased its attack.
With a sudden flick of its tail fin, its massive body turned deeper into the depths, no longer engaging in direct combat.
Instead, it swam at top speed towards the darkest part of the lake, tearing the water into huge whirlpools.
Qin Yu stood in the deep water, his gaze slightly somber. "It seems to be drawing me down..." Deeper stillness enveloped the lakebed.
There was no light. There was no breath. Even the ripples of the water seemed unusually calm.
"I have no idea what's at the bottom of this lake." "It might not be wise to rush in." A thought flashed through Qin Yu's mind.
He slightly turned his sword, preparing to turn and head towards the water above. Just as he changed direction...
The lakebed suddenly trembled. It wasn't a water tremor, nor a spatial tremor, but a violent impact at the level of Fate Soul.
An indescribable ripple erupted from the deepest part of the lake. The water froze instantly, as if time had been forcibly stopped.
The next instant, an invisible shockwave swept out from the darkness, compressing the water into a vacuum.
The rocks shattered under the pressure of the deep water. The entire lakebed looked as if it had been struck by an invisible giant hand.
Qin Yu's pupils contracted sharply. Without time to think, the Silent Origin Stainless Sword instantly appeared in front of him.
"No-Thought Absolute Silence Sword!" The sword light exploded, cleaving a white line through the darkness. The impact of the Fate Soul slammed into the sword's edge.
Boom! The water pressure exploded, creating a huge cavity in the deep water. Qin Yu was blasted back a hundred feet.
Large sections of the lakebed collapsed, sending boulders flying like meteors. He managed to keep his feet firmly planted in the air.
His chest heaved with qi and blood. That fluctuation was extremely ancient and extremely heavy, far deeper than the Void-Shattering Nether Kun.
Immediately afterwards, a roar echoed from the depths of the lake. The sound was distorted, yet familiar. "It's the cry of that strange fish..."
But the scream was no longer violent; instead, it was a agonizing, tearing cry. The next instant, the sound abruptly stopped.
The atmosphere deep within the lake suddenly contracted, as if something had instantly swallowed everything.
Qin Yu's heart skipped a beat. "This is bad." "There must be something forbidden at the bottom of the lake." "That strange fish has been Annihilation." He didn't linger any longer.
He spun around and shot straight upwards. The water split open beside him, and his figure, like a white streak of light, pierced through layers of deep water.
However, just as he was about to approach the lake, his divine sense suddenly detected something unusual: dozens of auras on the lake shore.
The formations were densely packed, varying in strength, but all were at or above the Realm Breaking Realm. Qin Yu suddenly stopped.
Suspended underwater, their divine senses slowly extended. Above the lake's surface, under the cover of night, dozens of cultivators stood suspended in mid-air.
Their auras clashed. They were wary of each other. Two of the figures were extremely familiar to them.
Shangguan Lingxiao, True Annihilation Realm · Supreme; Shangguan Xuanchen, Mystic Void Realm · Supreme. The two hovered above the lake shore.
His gaze was icy. Clearly, the dilapidated palace by the lake had attracted the attention of various forces.
Qin Yu's expression calmed down. "Damn it." "We can't just go out now." "If we show ourselves..."
"They'll surely think I've found a priceless treasure at the bottom of the lake." "Trouble will ensue."
The lake water flowed slowly around him. A complex atmosphere permeated the surface of the lake. The situation was delicate.
Qin Yu slowly suppressed his aura. "Never mind." "Let's check the lake first."
In the depths of the water, darkness still surges, and the forbidden aura emanating from the lakebed has not yet completely dissipated.
Above the lake, as night deepened, a dilapidated temple slowly emerged from the lakebed.
The ruins rise from the water, black stone pillars are wrapped with corroded inscriptions, and the palace dome is incomplete, yet it still exudes an ancient and heavy aura.
The lake water flowed along the stone steps. A desolate atmosphere, like that after a period of Annihilation, filled the air. Dozens of figures stood suspended in mid-air.
Breaths mingled. Some gazed with fervor, others with solemn expressions.
A cultivator in a green robe suddenly spoke up, "Could this be the second palace of the Thoughtless Burial Domain?"
As the words fell, everyone's expression subtly changed.
Another person said in a deep voice, "Judging from its scale and the remaining life lines, it should be it."
Someone else lowered their voice. "Rumor has it that the legendary 'Thoughtless Realm Breaking Dust' is hidden in the main hall of the Thoughtless Burial Domain."
"If the secondary hall manifests here, it must be related to the main hall."
"Perhaps by following the clues in this secondary hall, we can find the true main hall of the Thoughtless Burial Domain."
Upon hearing this, the air seemed to heat up a notch. "Then what are we waiting for?" "Whoever finds it first—will seize the greatest opportunity!"
Before the words were even finished, more than ten figures had already transformed into streaks of light, with a series of whooshing sounds echoing through the air.
The cultivators rushed towards the dilapidated temple like raindrops. Some landed directly on the broken stone steps.
Some people rushed in through the broken dome, while others forced their way in through cracks in the side halls. Chaos erupted on the lake's surface.
Not far away, Shangguan Xuanchen frowned slightly. "Senior brother, they've all rushed in."
Shangguan Lingxiao remained calm, his gaze fixed on the temple. "Don't panic. Let them scout ahead for us."
His voice was low and deep. "If this is truly the secondary hall of the Thoughtless Burial Domain..."
"Do you think we'd let you in so easily?" The Thoughtless Burial Domain spans several eras.
"There must be restrictions, formations, or even terrifying creatures inside."
"Rushing in rashly would only be suicide," Shangguan Xuanchen said thoughtfully.
"Does Senior Brother mean we should wait here?" Shangguan Lingxiao smiled faintly.
"Yes." "Wait." "If any living beings appear, we'll evacuate immediately."
"If not..." His gaze turned slightly cold. "Wait until they've cleared the danger for us."
"Let's go in and grab the treasure right there." Wouldn't that save us the time of searching?
Admiration flashed in Shangguan Xuanchen's eyes. "As expected of my senior brother." "Resourceful and wise."
Shangguan Lingxiao simply stood with his hands behind his back, quietly watching the temple. Deep in his eyes, a calculating look was hidden.
Beneath the lake's surface, Qin Yu floated silently, his divine sense taking in everything on the lake's surface. "Damn it..."
"What are they still standing there for?" "Why aren't they rushing in?" Time ticked by.
The auras of the cultivators who rushed into the temple gradually dispersed, and occasional fluctuations in the array could be heard.
However, there was no real chaos. Shangguan Lingxiao and his companion remained suspended in place, motionless.
Qin Yu's brows furrowed. "These two old foxes." "They really know how to keep their composure." The forbidden aura at the bottom of the lake was still churning in the shadows.
An ominous undercurrent emanated from the depths. He could sense that the death of the Void-Shattering Nether Kun was by no means the end.
The longer this drags on, the more dangerous it becomes. "They're pursuing us."
"There are stronger figures behind us." "This is truly..." Qin Yu let out a soft sigh.
His eyes turned cold. "Forget it." "Rather than be killed by that thing at the bottom of the lake, we can't go out and fight them head-on."
As soon as he finished speaking, Qin Yu's body suddenly sank. The lake water split open again, and he transformed into a dark light.
Heading towards the deepest part of the lake, the layers of deep water pressed down, and darkness once again swallowed the light.
And deeper still, something ancient seems to have opened its eyes.