The moment the evil dragon vanished, the heavens and earth remained undisturbed, without any collapse or aftershocks. It was as if that existence, which had existed for millennia, was merely a flawed chapter forcibly continued, gently erased by Qin Yu's sword, leaving no echo before returning to Annihilation. And at the very spot where that last wisp of origin completely dissipated, a faint yet undeniable light suddenly appeared in the center of the lotus pond.
The light wasn't blinding, yet it spread across the heavens and earth the instant it appeared. The black water receded, the remains fell silent, and the previously shattered and torn space and laws were gently smoothed and healed layer by layer as if by an invisible hand. It was as if some higher, primordial order had quietly descended, bringing this world back into its gentle and irreversible orbit. Then, the center of the pool slowly rose...
A colossal, natal lotus, ten thousand feet in size, emerged from the depths. Its petals unfolded layer by layer, each petal seemingly carrying a world yet to be fully manifested, upon which flowed countless glimmers of light. These points of light were not pure radiance, but rather unformed causes and effects, unnamed Fate Soul, the primordial forms before all possibilities were Order Adjudication. Countless rays of light descended from the lotus's heart, as gentle and vast as the breath of the Great Dao.
Enveloping the entire world in an indescribable tranquility, a figure sat serenely within the heart of the lotus. Her presence did not steal the light of heaven and earth, yet all light revolved around her. Her black hair cascaded down like a waterfall, with subtle, flowing light within it, like the primordial flow of a galaxy before its formation. Her skin was neither jade nor snow, yet it was purer than anything else, closer to the origin of all things, seemingly formed from light yet without form, seemingly ethereal yet existing in its own right.
Her eyes were slightly lowered, her gaze calm yet seemingly reflecting the cycle of birth and Annihilation of all worlds. That tranquility was not emptiness, but absolute Anran after everything has returned to its origin. She wore a long, flowing gown, the robe appearing to be woven from rosy light and the flow of non-existence.
As her skirt swayed gently, countless lotus shadows appeared and disappeared, each flickering like a world quietly born and then vanishing before her very eyes. She sat there, serene within her natal lotus.
Unlike a living being, she seemed more like a gentle manifestation of the Great Dao itself. Then, she slowly opened her eyes. In that instant, the entire lotus pond seemed to tremble slightly. Her gaze fell upon Qin Yu, without scrutiny or wariness, only a profound sense of peace and gratitude.
Her voice was soft, yet carried a profound truth that transcended cause and effect as she slowly spoke, "Thank you, young master, for vanquishing this monstrous creature. This evil dragon had seized the lotus pond, devouring the Fate Soul of countless cultivators and eroding all life and the Dao Source here. I was originally a spirit formed from the Great Dao of this pond, but I was also forced by it to retreat into my natal divine lotus."
"It has survived until now only by clinging to its last remaining source. If it weren't for your intervention today, young master, it would probably have been devoured even its last vestige of existence."
Qin Yu in the void, the Silent Origin Stainless Sword already sheathed. He gazed at the woman seated within her natal lotus, his gaze slightly fixed, yet without the slightest hint of aggression. He spoke slowly, his voice calm and deep. "May I ask, young lady... is the master of this lotus pond still...?"
Upon hearing this, the woman slightly raised her eyes. Her gaze was like water, yet it did not reflect all things, but rather the stillness before all things took shape. She smiled gently, a smile that did not belong to emotion, but rather seemed like a law responding to being correctly recognized. Her voice was soft.
Yet it seemed to echo from a deeper source, "What you asked, young master, is close to the essence, but not yet to the source." She slightly raised her hand, her fingertip touching the void, and the underlying principles of the entire lotus pond vaguely appeared, countless unnamed rules flowing, dissipating, and regenerating in the air.
She slowly said, "This place is not an ordinary pool, but rather a fragment of a 'pre-formed Xuan Kong Domain' that fell from the Mystic Void. Its essence is not a collection of water and soil, but an 'embryo of existence' that has not yet completed its Order Adjudication. The lotus that grows within it is not a living being, but a shadow born from the 'self-gaze of the rules'."
Her gaze shifted slightly to the now tranquil world, her voice deepening. "I am named Yu Funing. I am neither the spirit of this pool nor an immortal from the lotus, but rather—a 'self-awareness' formed from all the 'undefined paths' of this place during the long process of Annihilation and rebirth."
I was not born from this place, but rather, after this place underwent countless comprehensions of the Great Dao, absorption, and reconstruction, it finally became aware of its own existence for a fleeting moment, and thus, 'I' came into being.
She gently raised her hand, and in her palm, an incomplete lotus shadow appeared. The lotus shadow Non-Existence nor nonexistent, but merely trembled slightly between the two. She calmly said, "The world calls me the Lotus Fairy, but that's merely a name imposed upon me. The true path I have established is the 'Unnamed Beginning of Mystic Void.' I belong neither to the ranks of living beings Bugui outside the Great Dao. I am merely... the echo before that thought has settled."
Qin Yu listened quietly without asking any questions. Instead, a faint sense of understanding appeared in his eyes, as if the path she spoke of resonated with his own path on some level.
Seeing that he remained silent, Yu Funing suddenly smiled gently, her smile like ripples just beginning to spread on the water. She slowly raised her finger and gently touched the entire lotus pond with her fingertip.
In the next instant, the world suddenly changed.
Suddenly, an extremely pure light emanated from the bottom of the lotus pond, which had been dry, dilapidated, and filled with corpses. The light was not dazzling, but it seemed to have flowed from the beginning of all things. The black water receded, the silt disappeared, and all the remaining death energy was silently swallowed up at this moment. Even the traces of "former decay" were quietly erased in the cause and effect.
Then the water returned. Not flowing in from the outside, but "appearing" from the void. One drop, two drops.
In the blink of an eye, the entire lotus pond was filled again, the water surface Ultimate clear, reflecting neither the sky nor the earth, as if the water itself was refusing to be the vessel for anything.
And on this very surface of the water, the first lotus flower slowly bloomed, followed by the second, the third, and in an instant, ten thousand lotus flowers bloomed together.
At that moment, the world lost its color.
Each lotus flower is no longer a simple form, but rather like an unfinished world. Within each petal flows the original form of the Great Dao. The rules are undefined, the cause and effect are not established, and the narrative Unborn, yet it already possesses the rudiments of all "possibilities".
The fragrance of lotus is silent, yet it penetrates directly into Fate Soul.
That fragrance is not a scent, but an "echo of existence after purification." Anyone who touches it will feel their foundation being gently cleansed in an instant, as if all impurities have been quietly stripped away at this moment.
The rosy light rose from among the myriad lotuses, layer upon layer, like unborn realms intertwined. Countless blurry Realm Wheel even appeared in the void, endless projections of this lotus pond in its "unfinished state".
The wind rises but does not disturb the flowers, the light moves but does not startle the water. At this moment, the entire world is completely transformed into a true lotus pond paradise.
It belongs neither to the mortal world nor to the heavens, but exists as a "primordial beauty" that predates all existence.
Yu Funing sat quietly in the lotus heart, her gaze gentle as she looked at everything. She said softly, "This pool was originally like this... it was just twisted by that evil dragon for too long, and now, it has finally returned to its original state."
As her voice fell, Wanlian trembled slightly, as if the whole world was responding to that one word, "Return."
Qin Yu amidst the myriad lotuses, Qin Yu slowly withdrew his gaze from the pool of pristine, clear water. His numerous deductions had already coalesced into a clear path. He nodded slightly, his tone calm and composed. "So that's how it is."
Yu Funing sat upright on the lotus, her gaze gentle yet unfathomable. Looking at Qin Yu, her voice, like a clear spring flowing into the invisible realm, responded with utmost sincerity, "Young Master's slaying of the evil dragon is tantamount to re-establishing the foundation of this world. This favor cannot be repaid in a short time. Although I am not a mortal, I understand the law of cause and effect. If Young Master has any needs, I am willing to use my own path to assist you with all my might."
Upon hearing this, Qin Yu's gaze flickered slightly, as if he had been pondering this for a long time. He slowly raised his hand, and his palm trembled slightly in the air. A deep and silent mark slowly emerged. The mark was not a physical entity, but rather composed of layers of superimposed "nothingness." Its shape resembled a square seal, yet it maintained an indestructible and stable structure amidst constant changes. There were no patterns on the surface of the seal.
Yet, faint traces of space being compressed to its Limit could be seen, time seemed to stand still at its edge, and cause and effect constantly collapsed and reconstructed within it. It was an absolute anomaly—"existence that could still maintain its form even after being stripped away." It did not exude pressure, yet it caused all the surrounding laws to subconsciously retreat.
It seemed even the very origin of heaven and earth were avoiding its touch. Qin Yu's gaze fell upon the seal, his voice low and clear. "There is indeed something I need to ask the fairy... This object is called the Mystic Void Non-Stillness Seal. I entered this Endless Abyss precisely to find it."
Yu Funing's gaze fell on the seal. There was no surprise, only a calm understanding that "it was just like this." She nodded slightly, and with a slight movement of her fingertips, an invisible barrier suddenly split open above the entire lotus pond. In the next instant, the entire panorama of the Endless Abyss was directly "presented".
That's not a map, but a microcosm of a real space.
Countless realms, layered upon layered, unfolded in her palm like folded dimensions. Every fault, every wasteland, and every spatial rift within the abyss appeared in its most primal form, even areas not yet fully formed.
It also exists within it in a vague yet real outline, a holistic picture directly constructed by "original observation," which cannot be seen by divine sense, nor can it be reached by deduction.
Yu Funing gently raised her hand, and two points of light slowly lit up in this abyss miniature. One was located in the far south, an area covered by endless dark red, as if the earth itself was still slowly burning. The other was located in the easternmost region, where space was distorted like a tide, and layers of boundary walls overlapped each other, as if they might collapse into a complete disorder at any moment.
She spoke slowly, her voice steady and clear. "The seals that you seek, young master, consist of four, each corresponding to the four directions of the Endless Abyss: east, south, west, and north. Each seal is not a simple object, but a condensation of a segment of the 'Mystic Void Origin.' The place where it is located must be protected by an ancient array, and a supreme divine beast may also reside within it."
She pointed to the two points of light, her tone slightly more serious. "The Seal of the Southern Region is sealed within the 'World-Burning Remnant Origin,' its guardian spirit and protective array being the remnant soul of an ancient beast that was not completely dead. The Seal of the Eastern Region, on the other hand, is sealed within the 'Overlapping Realm Fault,' where rules intertwine and are protected by fundamental rules and restrictive arrays. Even cognition will be torn apart layer by layer. If you go there, young master, you must be extremely cautious."
Qin Yu listened quietly, a hint of understanding flashing in his eyes. A thought crossed his mind, "So... the seal I obtained before was the Northern Region Seal." He didn't speak, but he already understood most of it. A faint smile appeared on his lips, and he cupped his hands, saying, "Thank you for your guidance, Fairy. I have learned a great deal."
He turned around, his aura already concealed, and was about to leave when—"Young master, please wait."
Yu Funing's voice rang out again, and Qin Yu paused slightly, turning around to look.
As Yu Funing raised her hand, an ancient scroll suddenly appeared deep within the lotus heart. This scroll was not made of paper or silk, but rather resembled a fragment of history, its form indistinct and ever-changing, sometimes solid, sometimes scattered, as if even its very existence was not yet fully confirmed. The edges of the scroll constantly crumbled and reformed, as if time itself had washed over it without leaving a trace.
Within it, countless lines intersect, not paths, but rather some kind of "unfinished deductive trajectory." Each line leads to the unknown, yet breaks off along the way, as if this image records not an existing world, but "a path that may have existed but was erased."
The most bizarre thing is that when you gaze at it, the content in the picture gradually disappears, as if refusing to be recognized. But when you look away, it quietly returns and floats there silently, as if waiting for someone who can truly "see it".
Yu Funing gently lifted the ancient map and slowly said, "This object was something I obtained by chance in the depths of a lotus pond when I first took human form. I tried to observe it with my own Dao, but I could never touch its origin. It neither belongs to this world Bugui nothingness; it seems to be a fragment of a lost path."
She handed the ancient map to Qin Yu, her tone gentle and sincere. "Young Master, you have restored this realm for me. I have no way to repay you but this map. I see that this object is extraordinary. Perhaps... only you, Young Master, can unravel its mysteries. I hope you can find even greater opportunities and treasures within this map."
Qin Yu's gaze sharpened slightly as he reached out and took the ancient map. The instant his fingertips touched it, a momentary "blank" seemed to flash through his mind, only to vanish in an instant. He didn't ask further, but solemnly cupped his hands in thanks. "Thank you, Fairy. I will accept this map and will not disturb your meditation any longer. Farewell." Yu Funing, "Take care, Young Master."
As soon as he finished speaking, he put the ancient map into the Annihilation Devil Pupil - Final Spirit Core, and then his figure moved, transforming into a stream of light, and went straight into the deeper part of the Endless Abyss.
Yu Funing in the direction he had left, her eyes calm and undisturbed. The next moment, her figure slowly faded away, as if she had never existed, and the entire lotus pond returned to its original tranquility.
The lotus blooms silently on still water, as if nothing has ever been disturbed.