Deep within the Nether Firmament Underworld Sect, eerie light flickered, and ghostly souls rose. A Soul Abyss Gate, leading to the Sect Master's Secret Hall, quietly opened. The pitch-black staircase resembled a path to the Nine Nether abyss, each step casting a shadow, all imbued with the power of a soul.
Qin Yu, Qian Ruishan, Zhou Yu, Yao Wanqing, led by Ming Yuan and Ming Ye, slowly entered the sect master's secret hall.
--
This place is called "Nether Fate Hall".
The entire hall is without bricks or tiles, but is surrounded by ninety-nine ancient soul statues forming a semicircle around the central soul altar. Each statue is a supreme being left behind in the ten thousand years of history of the Nether Firmament Underworld Sect. Some of their faces are blurred, but they still release a heart-palpitating pressure.
On the Soul Altar, a figure in a wide robe and tall spirit sat quietly.
He didn't open his eyes, but the soul energy throughout the entire Nether Fate Hall was gently swirling around him, as if on a pilgrimage.
Ming Yuan stepped forward and reported in a low voice, "Sect Master, the four have completed their trials. There are unusual tremors in the Nether Blood Soul Refining Pool, and ancient soul-sealing echoes are appearing in the cracks at the core of the formation. They have been temporarily suppressed."
The person seated high on the Soul Altar finally slowly opened his eyes.
Two beams of soul light, as deep as an abyss, as bright as stars.
The Sect Master of the Nether Firmament Underworld Sect, the Grand Venerable Mingxu, has appeared.
His gaze swept over the four people like a shooting star, finally settling between Qin Yu and Qian Ruishan. His expression was as still as a deep Silent Abyss, revealing neither joy nor anger, but the temperature in the entire hall seemed to drop instantly.
"The soul array from a thousand years ago... has finally been slightly activated in your hands."
The voice wasn't loud, but it resonated like an ancient, timeless bell in everyone's ears.
Qian Ruishan was startled and was about to speak when the Grand Venerable Mingxu raised his hand to stop her.
"Qian Ruishan." He called her name for the first time.
"Your Second Soul will awaken the buried lifeline within our sect's forbidden seal in the future... You are not only a dual-soul being, but the unawakened soul within you is connected to the 'Stele of the Silent Realm'."
"And you," he turned his gaze to Qin Yu, a subtle, complex emotion flickering in his eyes.
"I cannot see through the Soul Seal within you."
"That is a source beyond chaos that even I cannot fathom."
Upon hearing this, Ming Yuan and the others in the Nether Fate Hall were all horrified.
The Grand Venerable Mingxu closed his eyes and murmured in a deep voice:
"You might be... the 'child of a departed soul' recorded in the Heavenly Abyss Fallen Seal from a thousand years ago."
Or rather --
"You will open a page in the history of my Nether Firmament Underworld Sect, a history that was sealed, covered up, and forgotten by everyone... but should not have disappeared."
--
All four were visibly shaken.
Yao Wanqing and Zhou Yu exchanged a glance, neither knowing the meaning of "a child left behind outside the soul." Qin Yu, under the watchful gaze of the Grand Venerable Mingxu, felt a slight Azure Ring in his heart, yet remained as still as a mirror, revealing not a trace of soul energy.
He knew that Mingxu had not yet discerned the true nature of the ring seal, but he had already touched upon the "external cause" to which the Azure Ring was connected.
You may withdraw for now.
The Grand Venerable Mingxu parted his lips slightly, "From today onwards, we enter the next stage: the Trial of the Wheel-Breaking Prison-Rending Realm, which will begin in three days."
As for you, Qin Yu.
Your existence has destined you to be extraordinary.
"My Nether Firmament Underworld Sect will not mistreat you, but we dare not control you either."
"If one day you reach that position, I hope you will remember that you once heard these words from me in the Nether Fate Hall."
--
The main hall was silent.
Mingxu said no more, closed his eyes, and returned to meditation. The four of them, led by Ming Yuan, left the Nether Fate Hall.
When I stepped outside the palace, it was already late at night.
But everyone's hearts were surging even more intensely than during the day.
--
Meanwhile, a thousand miles away, in the Heavenly Soul Stele Forest of the Nether Firmament Underworld Sect.
A figure stood silently deep within the array of steles, clad in a dark gold soul robe, his aura deep and serene, gazing towards the direction of the Nether Blood Soul Refining Pool.
Ming Ye walked in slowly, his voice low:
"Brother Ming Zhen, are you... finally going to make your move?"
The figure turned around, and his features bore a striking resemblance to Ming Ye's, about six-tenths.
It was none other than Ming Ye's elder brother, Ming Zhen.
He chuckled softly and said, "I once thought I would never be interested in anyone again."
"But there's something about that boy... that even I can't explain."
"And that girl..."
Ming Zhen's gaze swept over the direction where Qian Ruishan had once stood during the Soul Refining Ceremony, and he murmured softly:
"Her Second Soul has not yet awakened. But if it fully awakens..."
Perhaps even 'Above the Silent Origin' should look back.
• The Riven Prison Opens • The Land of Soul Judgment
The Wheel-Breaking Prison-Rending Realm is located in a sealed Rending Domain within the deepest layer of the Nether Firmament Underworld Sect. Legend has it that it is a fragmented realm left behind after the collapse of the "Soul Contract Dao" a thousand years ago. This place does not accept the laws of heaven and earth, nor does it bear the fate of the nine realms, and is known as the "Soul Contract Judgment Remnant Realm".
Only the Nether Firmament Underworld Sect possesses the key to open this realm, and each opening requires a Netherworld Soul Sacrifice as a trigger to awaken the "Echo of Judgment" within that desolate soul realm.
--
[Before Breaking Out of Prison]
Three days later, Qin Yu and his group arrived at the deepest part of the sect's territory as ordered.
Here, no mountains, rocks, or soil remain; everything surges and churns in the void. Soul winds cascade like black waterfalls across the sky, while the ground churns and grinds against each other like ten-thousand-foot-long, split wheels. The entire space seems to have been torn apart and forcibly pieced back together by an invisible giant hand.
Under the personal supervision of Ming Yuan, Ming Ye, the seven Soul Sealing Elders of the sect, and three Soul Refining Priests chanted the ancient incantation together.
"The Riven Prison opens, the Soul Law reverses, the Soul Stele vanishes, only the Contract remains as the guide—"
Strands of black and gold soul patterns condensed from the void, transforming into a shattered altar. As it shattered and spun, soul energy exploded.
"Wheel-Breaking Prison-Rending Realm —Open!"
Boom!!
It was as if the entire Nether Firmament Underworld Sect was shaken, all Soul Silence silent, and a huge crack appeared in the abyss below the earth, seemingly leading to another realm of death.
Qin Yu, Qian Ruishan, Zhou Yu, Yao Wanqing stepped in one after another.
--
[Soul Contract Judgment - Within the Riven Prison]
When the four of them landed, they found themselves in a shattered realm.
This place is like a deathly ruin, with the sky a crack of darkness, the ground covered with soul-binding inscriptions and arrays of withered bones, and ancient remnant souls floating in the void, some of which even retain the appearance of the "soul binders" of yesteryear.
Suddenly, a deep bell rang in my ears.
That was a will, not a sound.
"If there is a soul, how can we bind ourselves?"
Qin Yu and the other three instantly felt their souls tighten as an ancient "Soul Contract Will" rushed towards them, as if judging their soul's allegiance.
Yao Wanqing looked pained, Zhou Yu forcibly stabilized her soul breath, while Qian Ruishan's expression was complicated, and her soul breath trembled slightly.
Qin Yu, however, merely twitched his brow but showed no reaction whatsoever.
The "Soul Contract Will" was secretly devoured and annihilated by Azure Ring the moment it came into contact with him, without any ripples.
And no one noticed.
--
"This is... the Ancient Soul Stele." Qian Ruishan whispered, gazing at a broken stele in the distance.
The stele was covered with five major soul characters: "Contract," "Soul," "Master," "Slave," and "Rebellion." Although the soul characters were all broken, they still had residual power that shook the sea of consciousness.
Just as the crowd was getting closer, suddenly!
Qian Ruishan's Soul Sea trembled violently, and a soul pattern she had never seen before appeared between her eyebrows!
Boom!!
The entire Soul Judgment Monument trembled violently, and all the remnant souls instantly knelt before her. The soul pattern suddenly formed a phantom image of a "Remnant Wheel Soul Seal"!
Ming Ye and Ming Yuan were utterly shocked within the sect's surveillance Realm Mirror.
"She... actually activated the Severed Realm Soul-Judging Wheel?"
"This is a Soul-Binding Ring that even the previous sect leader couldn't awaken!"
At this moment, Qian Ruishan closed her eyes slightly, and her Second Soul will—the "Soul of the Returning Wheel"—slowly awakened.
It was a woman's ethereal figure, with silky silver hair and moon-like eyes, hovering behind Qian Ruishan, gently extending her hand—
"You've come this far."
"Next time, when the tragedy of the Soul Contract rises again, I will awaken completely."
The next instant, a beam of soul light from the Riven Prison shot into the sky!
[The Soul of the Returning Wheel - First Appearance!]
But at that very moment, a very faint sigh echoed from the edge of the ruins.
Qin Yu glanced to the side and saw a figure standing silently for ten thousand years in the distant array of steles.
The figure was expressionless, wearing a tattered Soul Contract Robe, but had a pair of pale golden eyes staring at him.
"You... shouldn't have come."
"You are an outsider."
This world rejects you.
Buzz!!
A surge of soul-binding power erupted suddenly, and the figure drew a [Contract Master Remnant Soul Blade], forcefully slashing at Qin Yu!
--
[Battle has broken out!]
Zhou Yu shouted angrily, "Watch out! That's the remnant spirit of the seventh generation Soul Slave, the guardian of the Soul Contract Soul Stele!"
Qin Yu did not retreat. He slightly raised his right hand, and without drawing his Ring Spear, he activated the first move of the "Silent Origin: Tribulationless Chapter" within his body.
[Silent Origin: Wheel-Breaking Seal]!
In an instant, heaven and earth fell silent, and the enemy's spirit remained like a shadow.
The remnant soul slave's attack seemed to have lost its target, and was silently neutralized by Qin Yu.
The remnant soul seemed to realize something, and stood frozen in place. After a moment, its body automatically turned to ashes and dissipated in front of the monument.
Qian Ruishan was startled. "You're immune to the will of the Soul Contract?"
Qin Yu smiled, but did not answer.
At that moment, a slight thought stirred within him, and a faint hum came from the depths of the Azure Ring.
The Fifth Form of the Silent Origin: The Tribulationless Chapter, the Silent Origin: The Unborn Silent Cause —Quietly Brewing.
The Black Abyss of the Wheel-Breaking Prison-Rending Realm slowly closed, and the soul light that carried the remnants of the Soul Judgment gradually dissipated.
Ming Yuan and Ming Ye slowly withdrew their gazes from the surveillance array mirror, their expressions still far from calm.
Ming Ye said softly, "The Second Soul within her is not simply the Soul of the Returning Wheel... That wisp of will seems to have been recorded in the 'Book of the Soul Hall' deepest within the sect."
Ming Yuan's eyes were solemn. "Once she fully awakens, I'm afraid... it will touch upon a secret from a thousand years ago within our Nether Firmament Underworld Sect."
Meanwhile, within the Riven Prison Realm, the four of them slowly returned to the Nether Firmament Underworld Sect's main realm via the Soul Path behind the Rift Wheel Stele.
Zhou Yu was the first to step out of the boundary, his aura fluctuating slightly, which was due to the rebound of his suppressed soul power in the Soul Contract Land.
Yao Wanqing followed closely behind, her expression calm, but a sharper, cold glint appeared in her eyes.
Within the Riven Prison, she sensed the unusual movement of her own "Heavenly Soul Reverse Pattern." Although she did not fully realize it, that Soul Seal that defied the world had quietly been etched into the depths of her soul.
The moment Qian Ruishan stepped out, several elders from the back mountain of the Nether Firmament Underworld Sect all looked up.
All eyes were fixed on her, and an ancient Soul Tower within the Netherworld Soul Array trembled slightly.
"She triggered the vibrations of the Soul Stele?"
"That's a mark left from the 'Soul Return Calamity' three thousand years ago, and it still echoes?"
--
The last one to walk out was Qin Yu.
His steps were steady, and his expression was normal, but a slight tremor came from the depths of his soul between his brows.
That was the reaction of the Azure Ring Silent Origin Seal.
It is unknown when, but the "Silent Origin: Tribulationless Chapter," which had been dormant in the Riven Prison Realm for a long time, began to operate on its own.
The previously dormant chapters, now with the fourth move [Eternally Sever the Heavenly Balance] completely etched into the sea of consciousness, and at the very bottom of the deeper Soul Realm...
The soul pattern of the fifth form is gradually emerging.
It wasn't initiated by him, but rather—
The power of this realm actively nourishes the fifth form of Silent Origin.
"Could it be that this Nether Firmament Underworld Sect... is related to some kind of deep-seated, unknown power of the Ring Seal?" Qin Yu's heart stirred slightly, but he did not delve into it.
He knew—he still couldn't reveal himself.
This Silent Origin No Tribulation exists because of the power of the Ring Seal. Now, the third form of the Azure Ring, Silent Origin Wheel Prison, has awakened. In the entire Spirit Firmament Great Realm, no one has ever been able to glimpse even a trace of it.
--
[Return to the clan]
After the trial concluded, the sect elders gathered at the [Myriad Souls Return Hall], and Qin Yu and his group reported on their trial experiences in turn.
Ming Yuan appeared calm, but his heart was surging. He noticed more than just the unusual movements of Qian Ruishan, Zhou Yu, and Yao Wanqing; he was even more concerned about—
Qin Yu never reacted when faced with soul pressure, soul contract judgment, or the pressure of the Soul Stele.
That wasn't resistance; it was utter disregard.
"Unless his soul exists... in another dimension."
As a being at the peak of the fifth level of the Order Creation Realm, this was not the first time that Ming Yuan had harbored such doubts.
What he didn't know was that this "doubt" was destined to remain unanswered.
--The ring seal remains unbroken, and no one has been able to decipher even the slightest detail.
Ming Ye looked at Qian Ruishan and suddenly said, "The Second Soul within you... may be more than just the secret blood of the Underworld Sect."
Qian Ruishan raised her eyes, her expression calm and composed. "I know, and I also want to know its real name."
She glanced at Qin Yu beside her.
"I also believe that one day, we will be able to uncover the true origin of that Fate Soul together."
--
As night fell, the starlight above the Nether Firmament Underworld Sect rippled faintly.
Qin Yu stood alone on the "Nether Cloud Stone Platform," the Azure Ring resonating softly within his body. The third ring of the Ring Seal was secretly operating, refining the remnants of the Soul Contract's power.
Suddenly, his gaze fell on a Soul Tower floating in the distance, which was in the direction of the Nether Firmament Underworld Sect's "Remnant Stele Soul Repository".
Beneath the stele, a figure slowly opened its eyes.
The man, clad in a black and gold battle robe, stood proudly, an aura belonging to the "Silent Source Realm" sweeping through the void.
Ming Ye's elder brother -- Ming Zhen.
His gaze swept over Qin Yu, then fell on Qian Ruishan, and he murmured to himself:
"Interesting... The blood spirit within her doesn't resemble the pure lineage of the Underworld Sect; it's more like... the Other Shore Blood Soul."
"And he... I couldn't even detect his soul aura... He's not the Soul of the Nether Firmament, and even..."
Ming Zhen's eyes flickered slightly. "Who exactly is he?"
--