Su Qingyuan's figure flashed in the afterglow of the fire patterns, instantly closing in on Qin Yu's side. Her aura had not yet fully calmed, and the flame within her Fate Soul was still slightly trembling, but she no longer cared about her own exhaustion; her gaze immediately fell upon Qin Yu.
Her eyes held undisguised tension and concern. She reached out, almost instinctively wanting to check his vital energy, but stopped before touching him. Her voice was low but urgent, "Young Master Qin, are you... injured?"
Qin Yu turned his head to look at her, a faint smile on his lips. His breathing was steady, and the flame within his Fate Soul burned Anran without any disturbance. "It's alright. He thought that by hiding above the fifth dimension, he could avoid all prying eyes." His tone was extremely calm, as if the life-or-death confrontation just now was merely a speck of dust that he had casually brushed aside.
He raised his hand, and the Mystic Void Non-Stillness Seal, which was floating in the void, slowly vibrated. The regular patterns on the seal glowed slightly, and then it was pulled by a gentle yet irresistible force, gently falling into Qin Yu's palm.
Qin Yu didn't linger; he slowly handed the seal to Su Qingyuan with unhurried movements and without the slightest hesitation. "Miss Su, please keep this seal."
Su Qingyuan was startled. Almost instinctively, she raised her hands to catch the Mystic Void Non-Stillness Seal. The moment her palms touched it, the Daoist aura within the seal gently vibrated, resonating subtly with her Fate Soul. A complex emotion flashed in her eyes.
Then a gentle smile appeared on her face. "Then I'll accept it," she said softly, her tone no longer polite. "I know you said you didn't want to join those Lineage."
Qin Yu did not respond, but simply smiled faintly. At that moment, the lingering warmth of the Realm of Fire completely dissipated, and the entire space trembled slightly.
The scorching flames and ashes slowly receded, replaced by an extremely clear yet dreamlike sky. Countless tiny points of light emerged from the depths of the void, initially scattered, then rapidly increasing in number, eventually transforming into thousands upon thousands of light beads, suspended between heaven and earth.
That is -- the Dreamplay Beads.
Each bead is about the size of a longan, its surface crystal clear and almost Does Not Exist. Only when light passes through it can a very fine ring of refraction be seen around its edge. Deep within that absolutely transparent core, a tiny seven-colored light core is slowly rotating.
Its colors constantly change, from fiery to warm, from deep to bright, as if encompassing all possible colors of the myriad worlds.
Qin Yu's gaze fell upon it, and within the light core, a blurry image instantly appeared: the shattered bones of the star sea flashed by.
Su Qingyuan's gaze was also drawn to it. She stared for a moment, but a different scene appeared in her eyes, as if a memory from the past had been gently unveiled. She was slightly taken aback, but quickly regained her composure.
Those Dreamplay Beads slowly rotated, emitting a faint, ethereal aura in the air, as if anyone with the slightest wavering of their mind would be drawn into them.
In the center of that sea of light, a jade box floated silently.
The jade box is rectangular, crafted entirely from a pale blue, warm, and lustrous ancient jade. The jade is as delicate as solidified fat, with a faint, flowing luster on its surface, like ripples spreading slowly across water. The four corners of the box are carved with extremely ancient patterns.
The patterns were not runes, but rather a narrative structure that had not yet been fully deciphered, with each stroke seemingly recording some unfinished cause and effect.
The lid of the box was slightly ajar, and a wisp of extremely profound Daoist aura escaped from the crack.
The aura wasn't oppressive, yet it instinctively evoked a sense of awe and reverence for something "untouchable."
Su Qingyuan withdrew her gaze, looked at Qin Yu, and said seriously, "Young Master Qin, now that I have accepted this Mystic Void Non-Stillness Seal, these opportunities should naturally belong to you."
Qin Yu gently shook his head, his gaze falling on the cluster of Dreamplay Beads, and said in a gentle tone, "We'll each take half of these Dreamplay Beads."
He paused, his gaze shifting to the jade box. "As for the jade box, it's yours." Su Qingyuan immediately shook her head, a hint of stubbornness in her brows. "No, that's not fair to you."
Qin Yu smiled. The smile was light, yet it carried an undeniable composure. He raised his hand, and the jade box, guided by a gentle force, slowly flew into his palm.
Without pausing, he handed the jade box to Su Qingyuan. "Take it."
His tone was flat, yet carried a subtle seriousness. "In the future, I will need to rely on you in many ways."
Su Qingyuan was stunned. She looked into Qin Yu's eyes, which were clear and unwavering, devoid of any probing or calculation, only filled with pure trust.
She sighed softly, then finally reached out and took the jade box, a helpless smile playing on her lips. "Alright, I'll accept it." She tilted her head slightly. "But you must take all the opportunities on the next page."
Qin Yu did not refute. At that moment, the space trembled again, a new barrier slowly unfolded, and the light between heaven and earth began to sink.
The color changed from clear to heavy, and huge, earthy yellow pages emerged from nothingness. The pages were as heavy as mountains, and each page was covered with dense narrative traces. Some pages contained complete life stories, some only had incomplete paragraphs, and some were even just an unfinished beginning line.
As the pages turned, each turn brought forth a deep, resonant tremor of cause and effect, as if countless destinies were being rewritten.
In the distance, a huge page of a book slowly unfolds, its page blank, yet it subtly exudes a sense of oppressive pressure, as if "not yet written."
That was the fifth layer of the Earth Realm. Qin Yu gazed at the barrier for a long time before Destiny Narrative Pages, his voice calm and even.
But it carried an unwavering determination. "Miss Su." Su Qingyuan glanced at him sideways.
Qin Yu's gaze remained fixed on the barrier ahead. "You take the Mystic Void Non-Stillness Seal and go back first." Su Qingyuan frowned. "What do you mean?"
Qin Yu's tone remained unchanged, "We've been here for almost a month." He slowly withdrew his gaze and looked at her, "The last page holds immense uncertainty."
"Even if we succeed, time may have already passed. It wouldn't be worth it." He paused. "You should leave."
Su Qingyuan's expression changed instantly. "And what about you?" Qin Yu smiled gently, "Now that I'm here, I'm determined to see it through to the end."
Su Qingyuan shook her head, her tone clearly displeased, "Then let's go together." Qin Yu also shook his head, saying nothing more but raising his hand.
An image unfolded in the void, and Shen Qingchen's figure appeared. "He is my friend." "Shen Qingchen."
Qin Yu's voice lowered, "He should have already left this place. After you leave, please tell him for me."
"Let him go back to his Lineage first." "Try to get him into the Chi Lineage." "I'll go find him after I get out." Su Qingyuan remained silent.
After a long silence, she sighed. "You..." She didn't finish her sentence, only nodded. "Okay."
Her voice softened, "Okay, I understand. After I get out, I'll join the Chi Lineage too." She looked at Qin Yu.
Her gaze was resolute. "But you absolutely must come out." Qin Yu nodded, saying nothing more. Su Qingyuan gave him a deep look.
The next instant, she turned around and the void was torn apart. Her figure stepped into the rift and disappeared. Qin Yu stood in place, his gaze lingering on the direction she disappeared in for a moment.
He then turned and stepped into the Earth Realm Barrier. At this moment, the central square of the Stele Forest Imperial City was teeming with people. Tens of thousands of cultivators surrounded the area, their auras surging like ocean waves. The entire world was covered by Ultimate tense sense of oppression. The four Xuan Mystic Void Seal Platform in the center of the square stood silently. Three of them were occupied by radiance, but the last one remained empty. That empty space was like an invisible crack, pressing on everyone's hearts.
More than a hundred cultivators had already emerged. Some were in disarray, some had dimmed souls, and some were covered in wounds, sitting cross-legged on the edge of the square, trying to recover their Fate Soul essence. Each of them carried the residual aura of the abyss, but their gazes were always involuntarily drawn to the last seal platform, their eyes filled with resentment, fear, or numbness.
Time is slipping away, and the last stick of incense is about to burn out.
The murmurs at the edge of the square gradually turned from clamor to a low, urgent murmur, like the pressure of wind building up in your ears.
"There's less than an incense stick's worth left..." "The third and fourth seals haven't even moved yet..."
"Tens of thousands entered, and only this many have emerged. This year's Abyss Martial Competition is practically a bone-sifting ordeal..."
"Shen Qingchen and Feng Qingyuan had already broken free of the seal; their Fate Soul force remained stable, while the others couldn't even stand..."
"The last two Mystic Void Non-Stillness Seal are still inside... If no one else comes out, only three people will succeed this year..."
The sound grew lower and lower, as if the air itself was being squeezed.
In a seat in the center of the plaza, Shen Qingchen gripped the edge of the chair tightly, his knuckles white. His gaze was fixed on the entrance to the light array leading to the abyss, his breathing rapid yet he suppressed the sound.
After a moment, he finally couldn't help but mutter under his breath, "Brother Qin, what are you doing in there... If you don't come out soon, it'll be too late..." A hint of anxiety flashed in his eyes, which he then forcibly suppressed, but the worry in his eyes was unmistakable.
On the other side of the high platform, Feng Qingyuan remained calm, his long hair moving slightly, his aura as still as deep water. He was also staring at the entrance of the light array, a hint of sharpness hidden deep in his eyes. It was not anxiety, but a kind of anticipation for the unknown.
From a higher seat, Hua Jingmeng stood with his hands behind his back, his robes fluttering in the wind. His gaze, sharp as a knife, fell on the center of the plaza. His expression was gloomy, and a faint chill played at the corners of his mouth. "It seems that kid is dead inside. But why hasn't anyone come to collect their reward from me?" he said in a low voice, his tone gentle yet unwavering.
He turned his head and looked at a disciple of the Hua Lineage beside him, "Go into the crowd and find out if those people made a move. Whether they killed Qin Yu or not!" The disciple immediately clasped his hands in a fist salute, "Yes." He then quickly disappeared into the crowd.
Not far away, Chi Boqian, the patriarch of the Chi Family Lineage, stood with his hands behind his back, his aura Steady as a Mountain. His gaze slowly swept over the three seal platforms, finally stopping at the empty space. His voice was low and deep, "This year's contestants are ruthless. I didn't expect that time would be so short, and only two people have won the Mystic Void Non-Stillness Seal." He didn't say much, but his tone revealed a calmness that came from seeing through life and death.
A moment later, the Hua Lineage disciple returned from the crowd and reported in a low voice, "Steward, they all said... they didn't see Qin Yu."
A hint of doubt flashed in Hua Jingmeng's eyes, and his brows furrowed slightly. "Didn't see it?" He repeated in a low voice, his gaze returning to the entrance of the abyss, his thoughts racing. "Were they obliterated by the beings within the abyss... or is there another variable..." He tapped his finger lightly, then snorted coldly, "Enough, time is running out."
The incense stick in the square was reduced to a single stick, its flame flickering as if it might go out at any moment.
The host from the Chi Lineage had already taken the stage. With a wave of his long sleeves, his aura spread out, suppressing the noise of the entire square. He slowly opened his mouth, his voice steady and grand, "The time limit is approaching—" Before his words had even finished, boom—a pillar of light suddenly shot into the sky from the center of the square, tearing through space, and everyone's gaze froze in the same instant.
The next moment—a figure slowly stepped out from the light, her long hair flowing like a waterfall, her aura clear yet unfathomable, a pale golden mark silently floating in her hand.
The third Mystic Void Non-Stillness Seal, and the entire plaza instantly exploded. "It's out!!!" "The third seal!!!"
"She actually appeared at the last minute!!!" "It's a female cultivator!!!" "That's... someone from the Profound Heaven Clan... Su Qingyuan!!!"
"That was too close! One more step and we would have been completely out of time!!!" The shouts rose like the sea, wave after wave.
The atmosphere in the entire square was completely boiling at this moment. Even the heavily injured cultivators forced themselves to sit up, their eyes fixed on that figure.
Su Qingyuan landed steadily, her aura fluctuating but extremely stable. She raised her eyes, looked at the platform, and asked clearly, "Senior, am I considered to be past the allotted time?"
The host from the Chi Lineage shifted his gaze slightly, then nodded, "Not too late." He raised his hand, gesturing, "Please place the seal on the third table."
Without hesitation, Su Qingyuan gently released the Mystic Void Non-Stillness Seal in her hand. The seal flew out and landed steadily on the third seal platform. The three seals resonated at the same time, and the pale golden light intertwined to form a stable light array.
She turned around, her expression returning to calm. From the high platform, the host's voice rang out again, echoing throughout the entire square. "The Stele Forest Imperial City Grand Martial Competition has now concluded."
"The winners of the seal—" "First place: Shen Qingchen." "Second place: Feng Qingyuan." "Third place: Su Qingyuan." "Please, the three of you, come to the stage."
The sound faded and the entire venue erupted once again. Deep within the crowd, Shen Qingchen had already stood up, his gaze sweeping across the sea of people, fixed intently on Su Qingyuan.
With only one question in his mind, Qin Yu was nowhere to be seen.