The Fourth Multidimensional Universe, the Void Dharma Realm, beside the Three Lives Stone.
It was a realm forgotten by time, where the sky was still, the rivers flowed stagnant, and a massive, gray-white ancient stone stood silently in the center of the void. Countless blurry human figures faintly appeared on its surface, like remnants of fate that had been recorded and then erased.
In the distance, a faint, almost invisible, ethereal river slowly flows across the landscape. The water is still, yet it suddenly folds at certain angles, as if time itself has lost its direction.
Five figures sat cross-legged on a broken stone platform beside the Three Lives Stone, their auras calm and steady as they regulated their breathing. Only extremely subtle fluctuations of Fate Soul rippled slowly in the air. One of them, dressed in white with his hair tied up, had a cold and stern expression; it was Ye Wuhen.
Suddenly, a barely audible "crack" came from the depths of the void. It was not a sound, but a strange tactile sensation of being forcibly pushed aside.
A very thin distortion suddenly appeared in the space above the Three Lives Stone. The distortion did not spread, but it was like an invisible blade that pierced into this world, gently prying up the originally flat space. A circle of transparent ripples slowly unfolded from that point. Wherever the ripples passed, even the afterimage of fate on the Three Lives Stone appeared blurred and overlapped for a moment.
Ye Wuhen suddenly opened his eyes, his pupils contracted sharply, and he stood up instantly. His voice was low but urgent, "Retreat--!"
The other four people stood up almost at the same time, and the five figures retreated backward as if by instinct. The space beneath their feet was punctuated by brief afterimages as they retreated to a distance of ten feet, all staring at the distorted center.
The space there began to "crystallize".
A thin yet extremely stable barrier slowly took shape. It had no runes, no aura, yet it completely isolated the inside from the outside, as if two completely different levels of existence had been forcibly separated.
A hint of seriousness flashed in Ye Wuhen's eyes, "This fluctuation... doesn't seem to be from an ordinary spatial passage; it's very likely... the descent of a supreme divine beast."
Suddenly, an outline appeared within the barrier. There was no light or shadow; the outline seemed to slowly walk in from "outside of existence."
First step, the void gently collapsed; second step, the boundaries between the inside and outside of the barrier briefly overlapped; third step...
The figure stepped completely out of the barrier, which silently crumbled behind him.
Qin Yu stood still, his robes unmoved, and he did not emit any external aura. Yet, at that moment, the space beside the Three Lives Stone seemed to instinctively shrink back slightly by an inch, as if it were making way for a space that "should belong to him."
Ye Wuhen froze on the spot, his wariness still lingering, but he completely froze the moment he saw that face. The next moment, his pupils dilated sharply, and his voice broke through the suppression as he shouted, "Brother Qin Yu!!!"
Qin Yu raised his head slightly, his gaze falling on the five people. A familiar, relaxed smile flashed in his eyes, and he smiled, "Brother Ye, long time no see."
In that instant, the tense atmosphere seemed to be severed from its source.
Ye Wuhen strode forward, followed by the other four. The five of them arrived in front of Qin Yu, their breathing not yet fully steady, but they already showed undisguised joy.
"Oh my, it really is you!" Ye Wuhen looked Qin Yu up and down, as if confirming something, or perhaps suppressing the shock in his heart. "Brother Qin, how long has it been? Almost half a year, right? Didn't you go to participate in that Lineage selection competition? How come... you're coming out of a place like this?"
Qin Yu stood there, his expression calm, but a faint smile played on his lips. He waved his hand gently. "I went, I did go, but I wasn't selected. Hahaha."
He spoke casually, as if it were nothing out of the ordinary, his gaze sweeping over the distant, empty river. "Later, I lingered in the Endless Abyss for a while, and only just emerged. I never expected to meet Brother Ye and the others so soon after. It truly is fate."
Ye Wuhen was taken aback for a moment after hearing this, then couldn't help but laugh out loud, "Hahaha, you're really good at talking about 'staying a while longer'. We've heard that people who go in there don't necessarily come out."
He patted Qin Yu on the shoulder, his tone noticeably lighter, "But anyway, it's good that you're out. We've just finished a training exercise and were planning to return to our sect to rest."
He turned and pointed to the area where the void folded in the distance, his tone warm, "Brother Qin, come on, come on, come back to the sect with me. This time we absolutely have to have a proper get-together. Last time we parted in such a hurry, we can't let you go again this time."
Qin Yu looked at him, nodded slightly, his expression calm and natural, "Alright, since Brother Ye is so kind, then I'll take my leave."
Ye Wuhen laughed heartily, "What trouble? Your coming to our sect is a win for us."
After he finished speaking, he turned around and took a step, his figure transforming into a streak of light and rushing into the distance. The other four followed closely behind. Qin Yu stood still and gently lifted his foot. In the next instant, his figure was already walking alongside them. The figures quickly disappeared into the Void Dharma Realm. The Three Lives Stone returned to its original silence, as if nothing had ever happened.
The long river of the Void Dharma Realm flowed slowly and displaced beneath their feet. Space seemed to be constantly folded and unfolded by an invisible hand. Qin Yu and Ye Wuhen walked side by side, with the other four disciples following closely behind. Their figures left faint trails in the void, as if each step was taken on a different time layer.
Ye Wuhen turned to look at Qin Yu, his smile barely concealed. "Brother Qin, these four are disciples of my sect. I brought them out today for some training, and they've certainly broadened their horizons." He then gently raised his hand, gesturing, "Come, all of you, come here and greet Senior Qin."
The four men immediately became solemn, stepped forward in unison, bowed respectfully, and said in unison, "Greetings, Senior Qin."
Qin Yu waved his hand slightly, his expression gentle and his smile faint, "No need to be so formal. We're all like-minded people; just call me Brother Qin."
The four were slightly taken aback, exchanged glances, their expressions a mixture of awe and indescribable excitement. The aura of someone who had emerged from the Endless Abyss, even though Qin Yu had deliberately concealed it, still made their hearts tighten slightly.
Ye Wuhen couldn't help but look Qin Yu up and down, clicking his tongue in amazement, "Brother Qin, you... it's only been a short time, and your aura has already stabilized to this level. The Mystic Void Realm Initial Stage... this is not a threshold that ordinary people can cross. You're just too outrageous."
Qin Yu chuckled softly, his gaze sweeping across the layers of folded void in the distance. "It was just a bit of luck; I went a little deeper into the Endless Abyss and managed to reach that step by chance."
Ye Wuhen shook his head, laughing even louder. "If anyone else heard your 'luck,' they'd probably be so angry they'd vomit blood." He suddenly patted his chest. "But speaking of which, I really owe a lot to you for my cultivation reaching the Realm Breaking Realm · Supreme."
Qin Yu glanced sideways, "Oh?"
Ye Wuhen's expression immediately brightened with pride, a hint of youthful arrogance in his eyes. "Those hundred million+ God-Level Resonance Crystal you gave me back then, I took them to the auction and made a killing, bidding on a Primal Divine Fruit. The moment I swallowed that thing, my Fate Soul was stabilized to the Ultimate, and I instantly reached the Supreme!"
He couldn't help but laugh as he said this, "My status in the sect has been rising rapidly; I'm now the Grand Elder of the Boundless Realm Divine Sect!"
His tone carried a hint of exaggerated boasting, but without a trace of hypocrisy; on the contrary, it sounded exceptionally sincere.
After listening, Qin Yu nodded slightly, his tone calm yet sincere, "That is indeed something to congratulate you on, Brother Ye."
Ye Wuhen laughed heartily and waved his hand, "We're all brothers, all brothers, hahaha." He suddenly turned his gaze to the front, his tone filled with anticipation, "We'll be there soon. I'll take you to see the sect leader in a bit. If I don't introduce him to someone like that, I'd be doing a disservice to my status as the Grand Elder."
Qin Yu did not refuse, but simply smiled and said, "Okay." As soon as he finished speaking, the void in front of him suddenly stopped folding.
The world seemed to be gently "frozen," and the outline of a sect so vast it almost filled the entire field of vision slowly emerged from the depths of nothingness.
At that moment, space was no longer displaced, time seemed to return to its original order, and the entire world seemed to be rewritten by a grand will.
Before them stood a colossal bridge spanning a void rift.
The bridge was made of an unknown golden material, and each stone slab emitted a soft yet heavy luster. People came and went on the bridge, and groups of cultivators either flew through the air or walked on it, their robes fluttering and their auras intertwined. From a distance, it looked like a lifeline that ran through the heavens and the earth.
At the end of the bridge stood a magnificent temple, almost unreal.
The entire sect seemed to be composed of countless layers of floating palaces stacked on top of each other, with golden light blending with the sky. Dozens of towering towers pierced the clouds, each tower like a pillar supporting the world. Complex Dao patterns flowed on the towers, so intricate they were breathtaking, like star maps or unfinished laws.
The main hall at the very center stands majestically, with a huge halo hanging above the dome. The halo is not just light, but seems to be composed of the overlapping boundaries of countless worlds, nested layer upon layer, slowly rotating. Each rotation creates a subtle ripple in the surrounding space, as if even the rules of the universe are breathing along with it.
The clouds and mist flowed between the palaces, but did not obscure their outlines. Instead, they seemed to be tamed, slowly swirling around the entire sect. In the distance, between the rock walls and the void rift, more hidden palaces and array domains could be vaguely seen, like a city truly built "above the rules".
Ye Wuhen stopped at the bridgehead, raised his hand, and said with a hint of pride, "Brother Qin, we've arrived."
He turned to look at Qin Yu, his smile now more serious. "This is the Boundless Realm Divine Sect." The four disciples couldn't help but straighten up, their eyes filled with awe and a sense of belonging.
Qin Yu stood before the bridge, his gaze fixed quietly on the colossal divine sect. The Supreme Eternal Stillness Seal deep within his sea of consciousness stirred slightly before returning to silence. He spoke no words, but simply took a step and stepped onto the long bridge that spanned the void.
Qin Yu stepped onto the long bridge spanning the void, golden light flowing beneath his feet. Every stone on the bridge surface seemed to breathe subtly, as if the entire bridge was not an inanimate object, but some slumbering being slowly awakening. In the distance, the Boundless Realm Divine Sect grew ever larger in his vision.
Layer upon layer of palaces and towers seemed to grow from the depths of the sky. As the halos swirled, even the air seemed to take on a weighty, reconstructed quality. His gaze swept over the suspended palaces, and a rare, genuine admiration appeared on his face. "Brother Ye, I never imagined your sect would possess such grandeur. This scale is no longer just that of a sect; it's more like a self-contained temple."
Ye Wuhen laughed heartily upon hearing this, his steps unwavering. With a flick of his sleeve, an invisible ripple seemed to spread across the bridge beneath his feet. He turned to look at Qin Yu, his brows furrowed with undisguised delight and pride. "Brother Qin, you also deserve some credit for this."
He pointed to the ever-expanding cluster of palaces in the distance, saying, "I didn't hold back at all those more than one hundred million God-Level Resonance Crystal you gave me. I poured them all in. I rebuilt the array domain, expanded the main hall, reshaped the protective barrier, and rearranged the cores of those ancient arrays. I replaced everything in one go."
He couldn't help but laugh as he said this, his tone becoming even more hearty, "You don't know, back then, those old guys in the sect were all dumbfounded. They were still hesitant about whether to expand, but this batch of resources completely wiped away their concerns. In just a few months, the entire Boundless Realm Divine Sect expanded more than tenfold."
"We've even incorporated several surrounding Void Realms." He patted his chest, his tone carrying a hint of exaggeration, half-serious and half-joking. "Now, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that this place is one of the top sects and powers in the Void Dharma Realm."
Qin Yu listened, his gaze sweeping once more over the magnificent scene, his mind remaining as calm as ever. He nodded slightly, "To be able to convert resources to this extent, Brother Ye's methods are indeed remarkable."
Ye Wuhen at those words, was about to say something more when he suddenly stopped, as if remembering something, and turned to look at the four disciples behind him. His expression instantly regained some of its authority. "Alright, you lot." The four immediately stopped and bowed in unison. "Present!"
Ye Wuhen waved his hand, his tone leaving no room for argument, "You all go back first, sort out what you've gained from today's training, hand over the resources that should be handed over, and put them into the warehouse that should be put into the warehouse. I'll take Senior Qin to see the sect leader; you don't need to come along for this."
The four men's expressions turned solemn, and they immediately bowed again, their voices in unison and respectful, "Yes, Elder!"
One of them couldn't help but glance at Qin Yu again, his eyes filled with obvious respect and a hint of undisguised shock. "Senior Ye, this junior takes his leave."
The other three echoed in unison, "Farewell, Senior Ye." Qin Yu nodded gently, his expression warm. "Go then."
The four then turned around, their figures transforming into streaks of light, and swept into the depths of the sect along different directions along the side of the bridge, quickly disappearing into the layers of palaces and arrays.