The white-haired old man stood at the center of the formation, emitting no aura, yet he completely stilled the entire Great Dao Formation Domain. All the flowing trajectories of the Great Dao stopped the moment he appeared, as if even the act of "operation" itself had been suppressed. Qin Yu stood not far away, his gaze calm, but he did not take another step forward.
The old man spoke slowly, his voice not loud, yet it penetrated deep into the Fate Soul. "This formation will not test your ability to break it."
As the words fell, the surrounding Dao trajectory trembled slightly, but did not resume its flow. "I won't test the depth of your comprehension."
Qin Yu's eyes flickered slightly, but he did not respond. The old man's gaze fell on him, his tone calm yet carrying an irresistible pressure.
"The question posed by this formation is—the severing of the Dao." "Not the severing of the Dao of others, not the severing of the Dao of all things." "But—the severing of your Dao."
The space in the main hall distorted slightly at that moment, and the core of Qin Yu's Core of the Fate Soul trembled gently. All the newly established Dao trajectories in his sea of consciousness began to show fine cracks after he uttered those words.
The old man continued, "The methods you practice, the principles you comprehend, the foundation you establish."
"All of this is your 'reliance'." "But the ultimate Dao does not allow reliance." "If you want to enter the true core—" The old man raised his hand, pointing to the primordial source at the center of the formation.
"Then you must personally destroy the very foundation of your own Great Dao, inch by inch." The entire space suddenly fell silent.
Qin Yu did not respond immediately. He looked at the source of the light, then back at himself.
Within his sea of consciousness, the Silent Origin Stainless Sword, the Core of the Fate Soul, all the Dao principles and the cultivation trajectory were clearly presented at this moment.
He was silent for a moment. Then he spoke. "If one severs their own path—what's left?"
The old man looked at him without answering. Qin Yu's gaze remained fixed on him as he continued, "Wudao to follow, how can one establish oneself?"
The old man then slowly spoke, "The very idea of establishing oneself is an obstacle. If you still ask 'how,' you haven't even entered the door yet."
Qin Yu exhaled softly, his eyes showing no emotion, but rather a clearer focus.
He asked again, "After all of that is cut off—will there still be 'me'?"
The old man's gaze was profound: "Your attachment to 'me' cannot be severed." "If you were to truly sever it, even the person who asked this question—would not exist."
At this moment, their conversation was no longer just words, but a collision of two opposing principles.
Qin Yu didn't press further. He nodded slowly. "This junior understands half of it."
The old man offered no comment, but simply raised his hand. "Understanding half of it is enough to enter the game."
The Great Dao Array Domain trembled violently in the next instant.
An enormous halo of light unfolded behind the old man, and the layers of Dao trajectories began to rotate again, no longer scattered, but all converging in the same direction.
Then, a being formed directly from the origin of the Great Dao slowly stepped out from the center of the formation.
That creature had no flesh and blood.
The entire body is composed of countless Dao runes, each of which operates independently yet is completely unified. At the chest is a core light source that is constantly collapsing and reconstructing, and behind it float several ring-shaped light wheels. As they slowly rotate, the trajectory of the Dao is rearranged accordingly.
With one step, the space of the main hall collapsed by one layer. With the second step, all the Dao principles within Qin Yu's body vibrated simultaneously, and the Core of the Fate Soul fluctuated violently.
The creature looked up, its gaze falling on Qin Yu, devoid of emotion or killing intent.
Only the word "judgment" rang out again. "This is the Shadow of the Great Dao."
"Your path lies within it." "To slay it is to slay yourself." "If you cannot slay it—then remain in this formation."
Qin Yu slowly gripped the Silent Origin Stainless Sword.
The longsword remained sheathed, not drawn even slightly, yet Qin Yu's aura suddenly tightened and solidified. The essence of this battle lay directly with himself, representing the Ultimate dismantling and tempering of his fundamental nature.
When the third step of the Shadow of the Great Dao descended, the entire array domain completely lost its original spatial structure. The main hall no longer had boundaries. The ground, dome, and array patterns collapsed into countless layers of transparent, overlapping Dao sequence flows at the same moment. All concepts of "position" were extracted, and only endless trajectories were constantly being generated and annihilated.
Qin Yu stood silently within the array domain, the Silent Origin Stainless Sword in his hand quietly sheathed. His eyes were empty, completely isolating him from the surrounding world, and he took a step forward. This step broke free from the earth's constraints, directly stepping into the layers of illusory Great Dao, landing on the core origin that was constantly collapsing and reconstructing.
There was no collision, no roar; he was completely enveloped within it.
In the instant consciousness sinks, all senses shatter and disintegrate. All concrete images vanish before the eyes, and all appearances of the world dissipate, leaving only the essence of all things penetrating the sea of consciousness. This world is stripped of its boundaries and limits, and the distinction between light and darkness is eliminated, leaving only the eternal flow of the Great Dao's origin.
The myriad laws and their trajectories break free from the constraints of form, revealing their fundamental nature as the very essence of existence. The reasons for the evolution of time, the foundation of space, and the source of the continuity of cause and effect—all these profound mysteries need no deliberation or comprehension; they are all transformed into their inherent nature, completely imprinted on the mind and spirit.
Qin Yu's existence was deconstructed layer by layer at this moment, his complete cultivation form completely dissolved, turning into countless scattered fragments of Daoist essence. Each fragment reflected his past cultivation journey and the traces of his Dao Path.
The Shadow of the Great Dao did not make a move, but began to gather.
Those trajectories belonging to Qin Yu were extracted one by one, returning to a larger structure, as if from the very beginning, everything about him was just a part of the Great Dao, only temporarily separated and then returning to its place. As these trajectories were pulled away, his consciousness began to thin, he could no longer clearly perceive his own existence, and even the awareness of "I am here" was gradually becoming blurred.
At that very moment, Qin Yu made his move.
Without a body, without a sword form, a pure intent to "sever" erupted from the deepest recesses of his consciousness. It wasn't an outward attack, but a self-inflicted cut. The first sword strike landed directly on the most stable trajectory within his own Fate Soul, the foundation upon which he maintained his continuity.
Once severed, the connection between the previous thought and the next thought will no longer be continuous. When the sword fell, the trajectory was broken in response, a gap appeared in his sea of consciousness, and his consciousness jumped. He couldn't even confirm whether the sword strike had actually happened.
Then things spiraled out of control.
The speed at which the Shadow of the Great Dao converged suddenly increased. The severed trajectories did not dissipate but were reabsorbed, which in turn strengthened the overall structure. Qin Yu's remaining Dao principles began to vibrate violently. If the cutting continued, he would be unable to maintain his most basic form of existence.
At that moment, an extremely subtle yet irresistible pressure descended from the outside.
The white-haired old man did not make a move, but he concentrated the immense pressure of the entire array on Qin Yu's remaining Dao principles. The parts that had already cracked were forcibly magnified, and his Core of the Fate Soul began to become unstable, as if it would completely collapse at any moment.
Without words, without hints, the oppression itself is the answer—merely cutting off a part is far from enough.
Qin Yu's consciousness forcefully coalesced amidst the violent tremors. He did not retreat, nor did he attempt to rebuild himself. Instead, he attacked once more.
The second sword strike came crashing down, its blade stripping away the tangible Dao Path, shattering the deepest obsession in one's heart, and severing the ingrained desire to become stronger.
The moment his mind shattered, all the autonomous power within his body froze. The Core of the Fate Soul lost its self-sufficiency, and the cultivation structure of the Mystic Void Realm loosened layer by layer.
His existence has completely lost its driving Source Power, and its foundation of self-sufficiency has been eroded. At this moment, he has shed his proactive spirit of seeking knowledge and cultivation, transforming into a wisp of worldly illusion that is slowly dissipating.
The Shadow of the Great Dao pressed down completely at this moment.
All the trajectories were simultaneously retrieved, and everything remaining about Qin Yu began to be dragged into a larger structure. He had already stood on the true edge; one more step and he would be completely reduced to Nameless.
In that instant, his consciousness sank.
He stopped observing, stopped thinking, stopped trying to maintain anything, and stopped trying to break the deadlock. He abandoned all judgment and withdrew all thoughts to the deepest recesses of his mind, where only the last untouched root remained.
--That was not something gained through cultivation, nor was it a construct of cognition; rather, it was the initial "starting point of existence." The third sword slowly rose.
This sword strike has no direction or target; it neither points to the Shadow of the Great Dao nor to any specific trajectory of itself. It simply falls from that initial starting point.
The moment the sword intent descended, there was no booming sound, no shattering or trembling. The entire ever-flowing origin of the Great Dao suddenly froze for a moment, and the supreme logic of its deep-seated operation was profoundly touched at this moment.