The spatial rift slowly closed, and Qin Yu stepped out from the void. The world beneath his feet had completely changed. This was the forbidden territory at the deepest part of the Eternal Nonexistence Limitless Domain — the God-Defying Heavenly Abyss.
It was late at night, and the entire world was devoid of moonlight, except for a grayish-white crescent moon suspended deep in the sky. The crescent moon had no warmth whatsoever, and the light it cast was as cold as frost formed from the bones of countless ages, illuminating the entire world in a ghastly white light.
Looking around, the land was ravaged, with dilapidated tombstones leaning haphazardly on the dark brown soil. Each tombstone was covered in cracks, and ancient characters that were no longer legible were engraved on its surface. Time seemed to have stood still here, untouched by wind or rain, yet exuding an indescribable decay.
Outside the cemetery, countless ancient trees, long since dead, stand in all directions.
The tree trunks were as black as charcoal, and twisted branches stretched high into the night sky, like countless withered hands trying to tear the entire firmament apart. Occasionally, grayish-white mist would slowly rise from the tree roots, drifting back and forth among the trees, like countless wandering souls, silently passing through the world.
Further away, ancient castles stand nestled among the broken cliffs.
The towering spires pierced the night sky, most of the buildings had long since collapsed, leaving only ruins still standing. The city walls were covered with charred marks, as if they had survived an unimaginable battle, and still retained a strong aura of death.
Deep within the mountains, thick, gray-black smoke rose continuously, obscuring the entire night sky and the true appearance of the mountains. An extremely eerie atmosphere permeated the air. It was neither the stench of blood nor decay.
It was a cold, deathly stillness that even the Fate Soul would instinctively reject, as if true life had never been born here, and the entire world was immersed in a night that would never end.
Occasionally, a low and eerie hiss came from the depths of the distant ruins. As soon as the sound rang out, the entire mountain forest returned to a deathly silence, as if time itself had stopped flowing. Qin Yu stood slowly atop the cliff, the night wind blowing his robes, his gaze slowly sweeping across the entire God-Defying Heavenly Abyss.
His brows furrowed slightly. "This place..." "is even more bizarre than the map describes." In his sea of consciousness, Xiao Yue also spoke softly. "Little Qinzi." "The aura of the Great Dao here is extremely chaotic, and in many places even my Fate Soul's perception is suppressed." Qin Yu did not respond. He simply slowly raised his right hand.
A streak of light flashed, and the newly purchased map of the God-Defying Heavenly Abyss slowly unfurled, hovering in the night sky. The entire map was several meters in size.
Countless mountains, forbidden areas, canyons, ancient cities, and spatial rifts were drawn in great detail, with each route even marked with its level of danger and special instructions.
Qin Yu slowly scanned the entire map with his divine sense. After a moment, his gaze suddenly stopped on an area in the far northwest corner of the map. There, an area was circled with extremely conspicuous dark red Dao patterns, and in the center of the area, four powerful ancient characters were clearly marked: -- Ancient God Clan.
Around the words "Ancient God Clan," dozens of special notes are densely packed. The God-Burying Bone Forest, the Myriad Souls Forbidden River, the Deadly Severed Abyss, and the Dao-Devouring Black Swamp are four natural forbidden areas that surround the entire ancestral land of the Ancient God Clan, forming a natural barrier.
Along the edge of the map is a line of tiny ancient characters that reads, "The ancestral land of the Ancient God Clan is hidden deep within the God-Defying Heavenly Abyss year-round. Ordinary cultivators who mistakenly enter will almost certainly die. Its outer perimeter is sealed off by Fate Soul restrictions and ancient arrays. Those who are not of the bloodline of the Ancient God Clan must not enter lightly."
Qin Yu's gaze deepened, slowly settling on the dark red, eerie domain. He then raised his head, following the guidance of the ancient scroll map, and looked towards the end of the night. In the depths of the distant sky, an extremely dense darkness silently occupied the universe.
The darkness remained still and Silent Void, like an ancient beast that had lain dormant for countless ages, silently overlooking all living beings and quietly awaiting all those who dared to trespass upon it.
As the night deepened, a streak of gray-white light pierced the darkness from the depths of the God-Defying Heavenly Abyss. Qin Yu concealed all his Fate Soul fluctuations, without disturbing any living beings. He seemed to blend into the night, swiftly traversing between the mountains and ruins.
Along the way, the mountains and rivers became increasingly desolate, and the aura of the Great Dao between heaven and earth grew colder and colder. After half an hour, Qin Yu slowly stopped. Ahead, an ancient city so vast that its boundaries could not be seen stood silently between heaven and earth. Qin Yu raised his head and slowly looked at it.
The entire ancestral land of the Ancient God Clan was entirely forged from pitch-black ancient stone, with towering spires piercing the night sky like black divine spears that had slumbered for countless years.
The city wall is thousands of feet high, covered with countless cracks left by the ages. Between those cracks flow dark red ancient patterns, like solidified rivers of blood, slowly exuding a cold aura of the Great Dao.
A pale, waning moon hung high in the sky, its light casting a pale and eerie glow over the entire city. Within the city, countless dark palaces were interconnected.
Spire-topped buildings stand tall, and ancient castles are built among the rocks, resembling countless ancient beasts lurking in the night when viewed from afar. The streets crisscross. Dark red flames burn silently on both sides of the road. These are not ordinary flames, but a gray-red soul flame without any temperature, illuminating only a few feet underfoot. The further one looks, the deeper the darkness becomes.
The entire ancestral land of the Ancient God Clan was utterly silent, save for the occasional Ancient God Clan cultivators patrolling the area, their long black robes billowing as they moved slowly through the air. A sense of oppressive and eerie stillness permeated the air, and even the great Dao flowing between heaven and earth seemed to slow down here. Qin Yu stood quietly atop a distant mountain peak.
Gazing at the vast ancestral land of the Ancient God Clan before him, Xiao Yue slowly narrowed her eyes within her sea of consciousness. She too took a deep breath. "Little Qinzi," she said, "There are so many Fate Soul- binding restrictions here." "The entire ancestral land is surrounded by at least hundreds of ancient magic arrays." Qin Yu remained silent.
He calmly observed the entire city. After a moment, he gently waved his right hand, and a grayish-white light slowly flowed around him. His appearance began to change little by little. His originally handsome face gradually became ordinary, and his figure became slightly taller. Even the aura of his Fate Soul changed accordingly.
In less than a few breaths, the person standing in the same spot was now a completely different young cultivator. If one were not familiar with Qin Yu, one would never recognize his true identity. Then, Qin Yu raised his right hand again, and the storage crystal core flashed slightly, from which a dark and ancient identity token slowly flew out.
The token was engraved with three powerful ancient characters: Ancient God Clan. On the edge of the token was also engraved a Fate Soul mark unique to the disciples of the Ancient God Clan. This was the identity token that he had casually put away after killing the disciples of the Ancient God Clan. Qin Yu glanced down at it, and then slowly hung the token on his waist.
The Fate Soul fluctuations emanating from him were now remarkably similar to those of ordinary Ancient God Clan cultivators. Xiao Yue looked at Qin Yu's current appearance and couldn't help but chuckle softly. "He's quite convincing." Qin Yu calmly gazed at the black ancient city.
His voice was deep. "Tonight is the night of their destruction." His gaze slowly swept across the entire ancestral land of the Ancient God Clan, a cold glint gradually appearing in his eyes. "First, we'll be silent..." "We'll wipe out half of them first." As soon as he finished speaking, Qin Yu moved, his entire body silently blending into the night, slowly stealthily heading towards the ancestral land of the Ancient God Clan.
The night was as dark as ink. Before the mountain gate of the ancestral land of the Ancient God Clan, two pitch-black stone statues, each tens of feet tall, stood silently. On the city walls on both sides, dozens of patrolling disciples looked back and forth, their tokens occasionally emitting a faint glow, making the entire mountain gate appear and disappear.
Qin Yu walked steadily toward the mountain gate. Just as he was less than a hundred feet away from the gate, a patrolling disciple on the city wall suddenly sharpened his gaze, took a step forward, and his voice suddenly boomed in the night sky.
"Who?!" "How dare you trespass on the territory of my Ancient God Clan in the dead of night!" "Get out of here!" With this angry shout, more than ten patrolling disciples looked over at the same time. Qin Yu showed no panic on his face. Instead, he immediately put on a fawning smile and quickly took off the Ancient God Clan token from his waist and held it high.
"Senior brother! Senior brother!" "We're on the same side, we're on the same side." "I went out for a few drinks tonight, so I came back late." The patrolling disciple's gaze fell on the token, and he scanned it carefully with his divine sense. After confirming that the token was correct, his expression softened.
"Oh?" "So it's one of us." He leaped down from the city wall, walked up to Qin Yu, looked him up and down, and couldn't help but laugh and scold, "You've got some nerve, kid." "The elder just ordered yesterday that martial law be in effect within the clan, and no disciple is allowed to go out without permission." "And you, sneaking out for a drink."
Qin Yu scratched his head, looking embarrassed. "Hehe." "Senior brother, please don't tell the deacon." "I definitely won't dare to do it again next time." As he spoke, he quietly took out a storage bag and casually stuffed it into the disciple's hand. "Senior brother, please do me a favor." "Open the door."
The patrolling disciple subconsciously weighed the storage bag in his hand. A quick scan with his divine sense revealed a hundred Supreme Transformation Source Crystal inside. His smile deepened instantly. "Hahahaha!" "We're all brothers." "No need for formalities." "Come, come, open the door." Rumble--
The heavy, pitch-black city gate slowly opened, and Qin Yu smiled slightly, gently clasping his hands in thanks. "Thank you, Senior Brother." Then, with a composed expression, he stepped into the ancestral land of the Ancient God Clan.