At the edge of the Salt Desert, the colossal bronze gate, obscured by layers upon layers of countless souls and skeletons, shattered with a deafening roar.
It wasn't pushed away by an external force, nor pried open by a tremendous force, but rather it shattered and exploded directly from the very foundation of its existing structure.
The bronze door panel, silent for hundreds of epochs, was torn into dozens of massive fragments with a deafening roar. Each fragment bore the indelible marks of time, decaying yet still bearing the marks of age. They tumbled and twisted in mid-air before being violently hurled in all directions by an invisible force.
It crashed onto the Salt Desert, stirring up a sky full of white soul dust. The dust exploded in the air, turning into billions of tiny, mournful ripples that spread layer by layer along the ground.
The space behind the door was fully revealed. It was not an ordinary inner world, but a reincarnation fault abandoned by the Heavenly Dao and eliminated by the cycle of reincarnation.
The earth beneath their feet was no longer Salt Desert, but a soul sedimentary layer formed by the compression, tearing, and forced solidification of countless remnant souls. The surface was covered with extremely bizarre cracks, layers of time shells that had been forcibly peeled away overlapping and intertwining.
Fragments of scenes from various eras are faintly visible: some people kneel for a long time without getting up, some struggle frantically, some decay into dust in front of the door... All the scenes are forcibly nailed to a certain moment, becoming dead and silent fragments of history that no longer flow or change.
There was no wind in the air, but the lingering warmth of "unfinished reincarnation" flowed slowly, and in the deepest part, a light suddenly shone.
Extremely dazzling, yet unstable, the light was like a star core that had not yet fully formed, flickering in the darkness. Each flicker caused the structure of the entire space to tremble slightly, as if some "primordial thing" was trying to break free from its slumber.
The light shone and dimmed, then shone and dimmed again, each flash stronger than the last, and in that instant of illumination, darkness descended.
Tens of thousands of eyes opened simultaneously, without form or outline.
Only pairs of pupils shrouded in red smoke, densely packed and layered, appeared in the deepest part of the abyss. They made no sound, yet at the same time, they all locked onto that light.
The red mist flowed slowly in their eyes, condensing, spreading, and condensing again. That "gaze" itself had formed a force that oppressed reality.
Light flickered, eyes stared, and the world behind the door fell into a deathly silence on the verge of exploding.
The Hua Family Lineage's territory, a multi-dimensional temple complex, floats silently in layers of void.
The temple as a whole presents a form that is both Ultimate exquisite and oppressive. The main hall soars into the sky, and its entire body is cast from an ancient material interwoven with black and gold. The surface of the hall is covered with countless intricate primordial patterns. These patterns are not engraved, but rather flow slowly and continuously.
It was as if the very laws of life were flowing across the walls of the palace, each turn causing a slight shift in the rules of the entire space.
Above the main hall, a huge halo, half real and half illusory, floats. The halo does not emit light, but it gathers all the light in the surrounding area into its interior, creating an extreme visual contrast in the entire temple area—light and dark are redistributed, and even the concept of "spatial distance" is redefined.
The surrounding side halls were layered one on top of another, as if they were embedded in the main hall by a precisely constructed mechanical structure. Each side hall was connected by energy chains as thin as hair. These chains swayed gently in the void, yet firmly locked the spatial stability of the entire clan territory.
Outside the hall, countless figures stood silently guarding, their auras calm and composed, without any extra fluctuations. The entire Hua Family Lineage territory was devoid of commotion, only a serene stillness under absolute order.
The space inside the main hall was so vast that it seemed to have no boundaries. Above the dome of the hall, countless slowly rotating rune structures were suspended. These runes were not decorations, but were recording and deducing the changes in the entire Eternal Nonexistence Limitless Domain in real time. Each rune that lit up or went out represented the generation or dissipation of a certain cause and effect.
At the very center sits the head of the Hua Family Lineage, Hua Nongrui, in a high position.
She was slender, yet she was like the core node of the entire hall, with all the spatial structures revolving around her. Her aura was not outward, yet it made it difficult for people to even look up at her.
Hua Yanyang had already taken his seat on the left. His expression had returned to calm. He tapped the armrest lightly with his fingertips, his eyes slightly lowered, as if he were thinking about something.
The seats on the right were completely Space Silence. The empty seats were not unoccupied, but quietly reserved for someone whose destiny was still in the making, someone whose arrival had not yet truly come.
Below, on both sides, all the elders of the Hua Lineage took their seats in turn, their auras layered upon each other, pressing down on the entire hall like a frozen abyss. No one spoke; everyone waited.
Hua Nongrui spoke slowly, her voice low yet penetrating deep into the Fate Soul, "I have summoned you all here."
Her gaze swept across the room, her tone calm yet carrying an undeniable authority. "It's because—" She paused slightly.
Inside the main hall, all the runes paused simultaneously. "Those loud noises just now..." "The Salt Desert Bronze Gate—has opened."
The moment the words fell, the atmosphere in the entire hall suddenly became heavy, all the elders' gazes changed at the same time, and some people's breathing became slightly sluggish.
Some people's eyes gleamed with a sudden light. Hua Nongrui continued, her voice even colder than before, "The opening of the bronze gate signifies that what lies within is beginning to manifest itself."
She slightly raised her gaze to the slowly rotating runes on the dome. "And before this, the whereabouts of the strange creatures that appeared in the Azure Wood Divine Forest remain unknown."
She gently tapped the armrest of her chair. A very subtle vibration spread outwards. "The two combined." "This situation—is no longer a localized conflict."
Her tone suddenly hardened. "It will affect the entire Eternal Nonexistence Limitless Domain." Inside the hall, the atmosphere became extremely heavy. No one dared to underestimate Hua Nongrui. She slowly stood up. Her movements were slow, but they raised the entire space slightly.
"The treasure within the Bronze Gate—" "My Hua Lineage must seize it." Her gaze swept downwards. "I hereby announce—" "This operation—" "will be personally led by Elder Hua Yuening."
As her voice faded, Hua Yuening slowly rose from her seat, her aura sharp as a blade. "Leading a hundred Mystic Void Realm · Middle Stage deacons—" "We will proceed immediately."
North City · Stele Forest Imperial City, the home of the Chi Family Lineage.
As night fell, the sky was completely occupied by a huge, cold moon. The moon was not a single entity, but rather two overlapping celestial bodies, one primary and one secondary, circling each other yet mutually attracting. Under the pouring moonlight, the entire world was dyed a color of cold white and dark blue, and even the distant mountain ranges were washed by the radiance as if they were solidified ice bones, sharp, silent, and devoid of any life.
The Chi Family Lineage's territory was fully revealed under this moonlight.
That was not a sect in the ordinary sense, but an ancient megacity spanning multiple dimensions. Its overall shape was circular, with layers converging inwards. The outermost layer was a defensive barrier hundreds of feet high, covered with dense, flowing patterns.
Each line was slowly flowing with a pale blue glow. It was not a simple array, but rather a spatial structure embedded within it. Once triggered, the entire area would be directly folded, peeled away, and reconstructed.
At the very center of the city gate, a straight, long bridge spans the void. The bridge surface is as clear as a mirror, yet within it, extremely fine streams of light faintly flow—compressed layers of space. Walking on it, each step involves traversing overlapping nodes of different dimensions.
Below the bridge lies an endless sea of void and mist, where fragments of broken space can be vaguely seen rising and falling amidst the churning fog, like the ruins of an abandoned world.
Crossing the long bridge and entering the city, the palaces advance inward along a circular structure, each layer more exquisite and imposing than the last. The palaces are not simply stacked, but connected by floating platforms and light chains. These light chains, like straightened Fate Soul veins, tremble slowly in the void, stabilizing the entire clan's territory in an absolutely closed yet infinitely expansive structure.
At the very center, the main hall rises straight into the sky.
The palace's structure is an Ultimate cold, silvery-blue, its surface devoid of superfluous carvings, only featuring extremely simple yet profound flowing patterns, each line seemingly inscribing some invisible rule. The palace's roof rises in layers, its peaks piercing the night sky.
In a strange echo with the double moon, when the moonlight falls, the roof of the palace reflects fine rays of light, weaving a huge net of light over the entire clan's land, locking the entire space firmly.
Surrounding the main hall are dozens of secondary halls, each with its own independent spatial fluctuations. Some are hidden in a semi-transparent state, while others switch back and forth between reality and the void, as if they could leave this world at any time and leap into other levels.
The entire Chi Family Lineage estate was devoid of noise and chaos, only an Ultimate sense of order and oppression.
It was as if everything here, from the architecture to the space, from the light to the atmosphere, was precisely arranged by some higher will, allowing no deviation whatsoever.
Inside the main hall at this moment.
The vast space resembled a self-contained realm, with a slowly rotating star map of Fate Soul suspended above the dome. Each star corresponded to a lineage mark of the Chi Lineage. As the star map rotated, faint threads of cause and effect could be seen intertwining with each other, forming an extremely intricate network.
At the very top, the clan leader, Chi Boqian, sat regally in the main seat.
He stood tall and straight, his aura extremely restrained, as if he were completely integrated with the surrounding space, both present and transcendent. His gaze was peaceful, yet it carried a profound depth that could see through everything. On his left and right sides, there was an equally imposing chair, clearly representing the most central position in the clan, but it was empty at the moment.
Below, on both sides, the elders of the Chi Lineage sat in order, their auras layered upon each other. Some were as calm as an abyss, while others were as sharp as a blade with its edge concealed. No one spoke; they simply waited quietly. The air was filled with an extremely oppressive yet stable atmosphere.
At that very moment, two figures stepped into the hall from outside.
At the forefront, Chi Xiyue walked slowly, her aura completely concealed. The moment she stepped into the main hall, the entire space seemed to tremble slightly, as if it were making way for her.
She stopped in the hall and bowed slightly. "Xiyue greets the clan leader." Her voice was clear and respectful.
Chi Boqian's gaze fell upon her, a hint of gentleness appearing in his previously calm eyes. He slightly raised his hand, "Yue'er, no need for formalities." His tone was gentle, yet it carried an undeniable power. "Come, take a seat."
Chi Xiyue bowed again, "Thank you, Clan Chief." Behind her, Qin Yu also slowly stepped in.
He didn't deliberately suppress his aura, nor did he release it outwards. He stood there quietly like a sword that hadn't yet been drawn from its sheath, exuding an extremely restrained yet undeniable sharpness.
Chi Xiyue shifted her gaze slightly upwards. "Clan leader, this is the person mentioned earlier." Her tone was calm, but she deliberately slowed her pace for a moment. "Alone—he annihilated the entire Realm Breaking Heavenly Sect."
Upon hearing this, the atmosphere within the hall suddenly fluctuated, and dozens of gazes simultaneously fell upon Qin Yu.
That wasn't a simple observation; it was an investigation that directly touched upon the level of the Fate Soul.
Chi Xiyue continued, "His name is Qin Yu, and his cultivation is only at the Mystic Void Realm Initial Stage, but his combat strength is extremely abnormal." She paused slightly, "And—"
Her gaze sharpened slightly. "Take a direct hit from Hua Yanyang." These words silenced the entire hall; even the air seemed to freeze for a moment.
Several elders were visibly shocked, some even letting their aura leak out slightly before quickly suppressing it.
A strike from the Wuji Realm was withstood by the Mystic Void Realm. This was not a simple case of crossing levels, but rather a direct violation of some kind of "rule exception."
At this moment, Chi Boqian's gaze truly fell on Qin Yu.
That glance carried no hint of pressure, yet it was like a scrutiny that pierced through dimensions, an observation originating from the very source, extremely deep and far-reaching.
As if confirming something essential, after a few breaths, he nodded slightly, a hint of approval in his eyes, "Indeed not bad."
He didn't ask any further questions or delve into the details. He simply withdrew his gaze and said calmly, "Yue'er, let him rest in the back seat first."
He slightly raised his hand. "The matter of the Bronze Gate is of greater importance." Chi Xiyue nodded. "Yes." She turned to look at Qin Yu, her tone softening slightly. "Young Master Qin, please."
Qin Yu didn't say much, but slightly clasped his hands in return, saying, "Thank you." Then, he walked to the back seats and slowly sat down.
His figure disappeared into the edge of the hall, but no one regarded him as a "marginal person" anymore, because everyone knew that this person Mystic Void Realm Initial Stage.
It has already been placed in the "must pay attention" category, but in the center of the hall, the real issues are just beginning.