As the ancient tower at the center of the formation fully emerged, a vow from a thousand years ago still echoed in the void:
"The future of the Soul Realm will be protected by our sect with our lives."
All the disciples of the Nether Firmament Underworld Sect were deeply moved.
Ming Yuan knelt down first, followed closely by Ming Ye. The elders of the Underworld Sect bowed their heads in unison, performing the most solemn ancient ritual of the Soul Clan towards the solitary figure in the center of the sacrificial array.
"Our sect welcomes the future master of the Soul Realm."
At this moment, Qin Yu did not respond.
His eyes were closed, his consciousness still sinking into the depths of the ancient tower that had appeared.
Because he heard more voices.
Soul Tower Abyss: Sealed Soul
Deep within that ancient tower, a faint but still pulsating remnant soul resides.
It does not belong to Qin Yu, nor to the Nether Firmament Underworld Sect, but to an "Nameless soul messenger" who sealed this tower with his life a thousand years ago.
"You've arrived... The Soul Seal is no longer in the world, yet the Soul-Guiding Tower has awakened."
The remnant soul spoke slowly, its voice carrying an almost indescribable sense of vicissitude:
"If you wish to know what this tower holds, you must first break the [three prohibitions]."
"What are the three prohibitions?" Qin Yu asked thoughtfully.
The remnant soul sighed softly:
First Restriction: Soul Master's Oath of Destruction -- The three Soul Masters who suppressed this tower all destroyed their own Soul Wheels, solely to guard the tower;
Second Restriction: Not recorded by any realm – This tower has never been included in the soul register of any Realm Master, and is not recorded by the Heavenly Dao;
The Third Restriction: Tracing the Cause Severance fate—anyone who wishes to understand the origin will be forced to confront the causes of their past life.
"If you step into the heart of the tower, your Fate Soul source will be traced back three thousand years, revealing the true origin of your soul's cause."
These words made Qin Yu's pupils narrow slightly.
His Azure Ring trembled slightly—yet no one noticed.
Tracing the Cause Severance fate... Did I truly originate from this world?
Qin Yu didn't speak, but at that moment, deep within the Azure Ring, a blurry "Sixth Style Light Pattern" began to ripple faintly.
It seems to be responding to this will to "reverse the soul and pursue the cause".
The Sect Master of the Nether Firmament Underworld Sect Appears - Grand Venerable Mingxu
Almost at the same time that the ancient tower fully awoke, a heavy, night-like aura pressed down from the sky above the main peak of the Underworld Sect.
Then, a black soul robe billowed out, and an old man with a dignified face and black hair and beard arrived, stepping through the air.
The Grand Venerable Mingxu – Sect Master of the Nether Firmament Underworld Sect Silent Source Realm!
He has finally woken up.
Mingxu looked at the ancient tower and Qin Yu, his expression complex. "The Soul Seal and life contract established ten thousand years ago has finally manifested today."
All the elders knelt and bowed. "Welcome, Sect Master!"
Mingxu sighed softly:
"Qin Yu, from this moment on, you will be recorded in our sect's Soul Pillar and will enjoy the respect due to a main hall elder."
Qin Yu remained silent for a moment, then nodded and accepted.
He wasn't after power; he simply knew that in the time to come, the Nether Firmament Underworld Sect would be his final place of reflection and preparation before facing the storm.
Just as Mingxu announced this, the entire Ancient Soul Tower suddenly began to tremble on its own.
Four soul patterns surged on the tower's body, like four chains about to be unsealed.
Mingxu's gaze sharpened:
"That's... the Four-Soul Sealing Chains?"
Ming Yuan gasped, "Could it be that... a creature with four souls is sealed within the Soul Tower?"
Ming Ye glanced at Qin Yu quietly, "Perhaps... this tower is not only a sacrificial array, but also a sealed prison." The Black-Gold Three-Soul Tower has officially opened.
At this moment, within the Azure Ring, the patterns of the Fourth Form Eternally Sever the Heavenly Balance, seemed to be unstable... but it had already awakened.
Black Gold Three Souls Formation Tower!
The tower is divided into three levels, each sealing one of three types of rebellious souls:
The first level: "Collapsing Fate Soul" - seeking rebirth by destroying the source.
The second level: "Memory-Severing Soul" - to sever ties with the past life and resist karma.
The third level: "Void-Questioning Soul" - peering beyond the realm and breaking through the secrets of heaven!
For a thousand years, no one has been able to trigger the tower's slumbering nature.
But today--
As Qin Yu stepped into the deepest part of the Soul-Sealing Forbidden Tower and offered a drop of soul blood containing the aura of the Azure Ring, the entire Soul Refining Pool trembled, and the Three-Soul Tower Stele suddenly shook!
Anomalies first appear, the Soul Tower responds, and the Azure Ring faintly resonates.
"Boom--!!!"
The sea of blood souls in the center of the Sealing Soul Tower suddenly exploded, and three phantom Soul Tower with black and gold luster rose slowly from the bottom of the pool, standing in the sky as if three ancient soul temples had descended upon the world!
Nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine soul locks shattered with a crash, and an ancient stele emerged from the ground, inscribed with densely packed soul-binding characters, which only Qin Yu could understand.
"This tower is the tower of the three souls: 'Destruction of Fate, Severance of Memory, and Questioning of the Void,' and it cannot be opened by anyone but the master of the rebellious soul."
Everyone was shocked. Ming Yuan whispered, "Countless trial participants throughout the ages of Youqiong have stopped here... He actually activated the array tower?"
The Grand Venerable Mingxu's gaze also darkened in an instant. "This is... the legendary Three-Soul Realm-Breaking Array Formation..."
Qian Ruishan's face paled, but her eyes shone with a bright, shocked light. She knew that at this moment—
Qin Yu is the one who has stepped into the core of the Netherworld.
Soul Array Activated - Array Core Affects Millennia-Old Seal
Qin Yu sat cross-legged in front of the tower, his soul consciousness drawing together with the core of the Three-Soul Tower formation.
"Your Soul Seal... does not belong to this world."
A faint whisper emanated from a shattered tower soul, seemingly piercing through an abyss of millennia.
At this moment, the Azure Ring, Silent Origin, and Tribulationless Chapter stirred slightly, without being released outwards, yet it resonated with the Tower Soul in a virtual confrontation—no one could perceive this dialogue except himself.
Qin Yu closed his eyes slightly, formed a hand seal with his right hand, and used the Soul-Breath Origin-Tracing Art to reverse his own soul consciousness into the core of the array tower, activating the root of the ancient array!
In an instant, the sky darkened, and the sea of blood solidified into an array.
The array tower rotates, revealing a sealed scroll from a thousand years ago.
A woman from the Netherworld, whose name was erased, sacrificed herself to suppress the tower, her tears forming an array. Her figure was remarkably similar to... Qian Ruishan!
The cause of the millennium-old seal and soul array has emerged.
The array diagram manifested, sealing off the illusions and appearing before the eyes of all the elders and disciples:
A thousand years ago, the Nether Firmament Underworld Sect experienced an internal strife known as the "Soul Tribulation," during which the Three Souls Tower was nearly seized by an extraterrestrial soul force. The sect sacrificed the blood of its sect leader, using "blood, bone, and life" as a catalyst to seal the Three-Soul Tower...
And that clanswoman was actually a fragment of Qian Ruishan's soul from her previous life!
She herself felt a familiar call, unlike anything she had ever heard before, surging from the depths of her consciousness—
"Reincarnation is predetermined, the blood pact remains unbroken... Do you... still remember me...?"
At that moment, Qian Ruishan whispered, "I have never forgotten you."
This call resonated deep within the tower, causing a powerful fluctuation in the Second Soul!
The Three-Soul Tower stands tall, shaking the heavens and the sect.
The Three-Soul Array Tower took shape atop the array.
Nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine soul patterns appeared at its bottom and were forcibly sealed.
The tower's spire shot into the sky, transforming into three streams of soul power that poured directly into the depths of Qin Yu's brow. He seemed to fall into a deathly coma.
Ming Yuan was shocked. "He's forcibly carrying on the will of the Tower Soul Master! That's the power left behind by the Silent Origin Soul Master!"
Ming Ye's expression was grim. "Don't disturb him! If he pulls through, the Soul Master's position in Youqiong will be completely rewritten!"
Mingxu looked at Qin Yu, a thought flashing through his mind: The secrets hidden within this young man... no longer belong to this era...
Just as the Three-Soul Tower was suppressing Qin Yu's soul to its fullest extent, Azure Ring gently turned within his body.
Silently.
But the entire Three-Soul Tower trembled instantly—as if bowing its head to some higher-level being!
No one saw it, and no one perceived it.
But the indescribable "Azure Ring" hidden in time and space subtly loosened the seal of the Three-Soul Tower, foreshadowing—
In the future, Qin Yu will become the one to break the Ultimate seal on these three towers!
At that moment, Qian Ruishan, who was standing at a distance, suddenly had a jolt of surprise.
As she gazed at the phantom rising from Qin Yu's Soul Sea, she felt as if her "Second Soul" was responding, echoing, or awakening!
A fragment of celestial music echoed in her mind:
"You... you've finally arrived."
Her eyes reddened slightly, but she forced herself to suppress it and murmured to herself:
"I know all of this has to do with you... Qin Yu..."
At the same time, inside the sect's elder platform, Grand Venerable Mingxu slowly rose and said in a deep voice:
"Activating the 'Black Gold Three Souls Formation Tower'... is tantamount to initiating the Battle of the Netherworld Soul Master."
"From this day forward, no one in the sect will be allowed to question his qualifications."
"This child is not only the chosen one of the Netherworld... perhaps, the chosen one of the Spirit Firmament."
Ming Ye chuckled softly, adding, "He's also my sister's destined one."
Ming Youqiong is the younger sister of Ming Ye and Ming Zhen.
The main hall of the Nether Firmament Underworld Sect was dark and solemn. Millennium Soul Lamps were arranged in all directions, and ninety-nine ancient Soul Fire Banners swayed gently, emitting a barely perceptible pulse at the core of the array.
Qin Yu, Qian Ruishan, Yao Wanqing, Zhou Yu, Ming Ye, and Ming Kong have been summoned to the hall.
The cultivation progress of the true disciple of the Ming Kong Nether Firmament Underworld Sect is currently stable at the Realm Consciousness Realm First Stage Perfection.
Qin Yu's current cultivation level is at the peak of the True Soul Realm Fifth Stage Perfection, Supreme awakening.
Qian Ruishan's cultivation Realm Consciousness Realm Second Stage Perfection, and she broke through during the recent sect-protecting battle.
Yao Wanqing also broke through to the True Soul Realm Fifth Stage Perfection during the sect protection battle.
Zhou Yu's current cultivation level has reached the True Soul Realm Fourth Stage Perfection in a battle with the sect protectors. (Image)
Ming Ye's current cultivation level has advanced to the Realm Consciousness Realm First Stage, a breakthrough achieved during the sect-protecting battle.
The one seated on the high throne was none other than the Sect Master of the Nether Firmament Underworld Sect — the Grand Venerable Mingxu.
His gaze was like a candle, fixed on Qin Yu, whose breath still lingered in the heart of the tower. His eyes held both contemplation and a long-suppressed anticipation.
"This activation of the Black Gold Three Souls Formation Tower... has completely shattered all of our sect's long-held understanding of 'main soul inheritance' over the past ten thousand years."
Mingxu lightly raised his finger, and a gray-white soul diagram suddenly appeared in the void. It was a sacrificial pattern that manifested on its own at the bottom of the Three-Soul Array Tower, full of ancient charm and the aura of time.
"As the Three-Soul Tower were activated, the core of the array that had been sealed in the Spirit Firmament Great Realm a thousand years ago also began to weaken."
He abruptly changed the subject, and an ancient scroll appeared behind him, revealing a projection of an extremely deep, desolate, and ancient soul domain.
The Silent Sorrow Ancient Soul Forest!
Mingxu's voice lowered:
"The 'Silent Sorrow Ancient Soul Forest,' a relic that appears only once every thousand years, has now appeared. In the past, it was usually the geniuses below the Realm Lord Realm of our sect who would enter the formation on their own to seek their destiny and explore the souls."
But this time... is different.
"Deep within the ancient forest, fragments of [the Silent Origin Relic] have appeared; these are the true legacies that were scattered here after the Annihilation of the previous era."
"That is, all the chosen ones of the Spirit Firmament Great Realm will go there, including the Wind Extinction God Clan, the Realm Bone Ridge, and the Crimson Abyss Divine Clan."
"The fragments lead to a transcendent-level beast guarding the area, its source identified as Immortal Antiquity species— the Nine Nether Flame Bone Dragon, the Soul Rend Thunder Viper, and an unnamed [Nether Soul Dream Taotie]."
Qian Ruishan's eyes narrowed. "Three-headed transcendence?"
Mingxu did not deny it; instead, his tone became even more forceful:
"That's not all."
"After the 'Silent Sorrow Ancient Soul Forest' opened, our sect's main formation detected a hidden soul shadow fluctuation. Upon investigation, it was confirmed..."
He pointed his finger into the void, and a mysterious soul mark appeared. The Soul Seal was extremely complex and its origin was untraceable. It even had a trace of the characteristics of an "extraterrestrial soul".
Ming Kong voice:
"Is it... the Epoch Immortal Clan?"
Mingxu nodded, his expression solemn:
"The [Epoch Immortal Clan], who were supposedly banished by the sealed realm but never completely annihilated, seem to be using the remnants of the ancient formation to lurk deep within the ancient forest, specifically hunting down our Spirit Firmament Trial participants."
"Once locked on... the soul is annihilated."
Therefore, this time, not only have all the major clans sent their most outstanding talents, but they have also dispatched powerful experts at the Realm Lord Realm to accompany them.
"Now, besides you few, I have arranged for five elders from the Inner Hall— Ming Er Ming Yin, Ming Zhi Ming Luo, and Ming Tong— to accompany you."
"They are all Realm Lord Realm experts, with Elder Ming Tong already at the Silent Source Realm First Stage Perfection. Therefore, this may be an unparalleled opportunity for you, but the threat you face is also extremely dangerous."
Qin Yu remained silent throughout, listening quietly to Mingxu's account.
When Mingxu turned his gaze to him, his tone softened:
"You are the inheritor of the Three-Soul Tower, and you have also activated my sect leader's Soul Seal."
"You will lead our sect in this trial, along with Ruishan, Zhou Yu, Wanqing, Ming Ye, and Ming Kong. You six will be the main characters."
"This journey is a trial; it is also ordained by destiny."
"The elders will be led by Ming Tong." "Entering the ancient forest requires utmost caution. In case of danger, strictly follow Elder Ming Tong's instructions without fail."
Outside the hall, the bell tolled nine times, signaling the start of the Nether Firmament Underworld Sect's millennium-old war chariot!
A "Nether Soul Heavenly Boat," forged from soul bones and engraved with thirty-six array Dao patterns, slowly rose from the main peak. Its battle flag fluttered, and soul thunder trembled in the sky. All the disciples of the Nether Sky Sect looked at it. It was a giant ship that seemed to be forged from the realm of the dead. Its entire body was made of Sunken Soul Nether Iron. The ship was hundreds of feet high and more than a thousand feet long. It was as black as ink, but it reflected a ghostly blue halo in the dark, like fallen stars and ashes, or like the tears of ten thousand souls.
The Nether Soul Heavenly Boat has no oars or sails; the entire ship floats in the air, surrounded by twelve Soul-Slaying Lock Pillars. Each pillar is engraved with "Netherworld Soul Patterns," with soul flames flickering and faintly visible Netherworld runes leaping about.
The bow of the ship is shaped like a crescent moon, with giant soul beast totems carved on both sides. One side is the Three-Eyed Soul-Devouring Zheng, and the other side is the Nine-Tailed Bone Serpent Spirit. Their eyes are empty, as if they were alive. Whenever the ship starts, it can emit the long roar of ancient war spirits.
Above the stern, three layers of Netherworld Soul Array floated, enveloping the interior space of the celestial vessel like a ghostly soul curtain, which could both conceal its presence and resist the invasion of the Soul Storm.
As the entire celestial vessel sailed, there was not a single sound of it breaking through the air. Only the low hum of the array spirits, like bells and drums, echoed in the consciousness of every passenger, causing their souls to tremble and inspiring awe.
Legend has it that this ship was forged by the Supreme Ancestor of the Nether Firmament Underworld Sect using the soul bones of a thousand worlds and a hundred deaths. It contains an ancient Netherworld Soul Spirit, and only the sect's true disciples and chosen Soul Master can bear its true power.