One after another, the long rivers dried up. Each collapse represented a predetermined end. Qin Yu's gaze never wavered as he stood quietly, observing all possible fates that awaited him.
Suddenly, all the rivers trembled, and an ancient sound spread from all directions, without origin or direction, reaching the deepest part of consciousness.
"All things have an end." "The Great Way has an end." "Your path ends here—" "Is it this gate?" As the last word fell, thousands of rivers pressed down on Qin Yu. It was not the water impacting him, but rather each river forcibly pouring its respective "end point" into his Fate Soul.
Eternity, fall, madness, Annihilation, loss of self, utter isolation—all these fates descended simultaneously, and the world before Qin Yu shattered with a deafening roar. The first true trial had begun.
He saw himself already dead, then in the next instant he saw himself transformed into an eternal being, and in the next instant he saw himself sitting alone in the boundless darkness after the annihilation of all the heavens. The images flowed endlessly, each scene terrifyingly real, so real that his Fate Soul instinctively took them as the predetermined future.
If one's Dao heart even slightly deviates, if one develops an obsession with any of the possible ends, one will be directly dragged into that long river. Qin Yu at the center of the end of all Daos, his expression remaining calm, but the first layer of restrictions did not let him go. Boom—
All possible endings began to overlap. Qin Yu simultaneously experienced the excruciating pain of his Fate Soul shattering at the moment of his fall, endured the boundless loneliness brought by eternity, felt the chaos of his self-collapse during his madness, and also tasted the emptiness of the path ahead being cut off after the Great Dao stagnated.
This is no illusion. The First Restriction forces his Fate Soul to personally experience every possible ending, once, ten times, a hundred times, ten thousand times.
Time had lost its meaning here; every ending had been fully deduced to its final conclusion. Qin Yu could not discern how many years he had experienced—perhaps only a breath, or perhaps countless eons had already passed.
Until one day, he saw a river that was completely different from all the others. This river did not reveal any external ending, and at its end, he was alone.
There were no heavens, no great Dao, no powerful enemies, and no external evidence to prove one's identity. Even memories were slowly fading away. First faded were all past experiences, then one's name, and then one's cultivation, Fate Soul, and identity. All external evidence that could answer "Who are you?" was stripped away.
In the end, only one question remained, "Who are you?" The ancient voice resounded once more, and all the surrounding rivers fell silent. The true torture of the first layer of restrictions was finally revealed.
Ultimate, it's never about asking how high one's spiritual practice can reach. It's about asking: when all paths have come to an end, when all outcomes have occurred, when identity, power, memories, and ties have all reached their conclusion, what remains?
Qin Yu slowly closed his eyes. He neither pursued the past nor looked to the future. Deep within his Fate Soul, only a simple thought remained: I have no complicated meaning, no other possessions, only this one thought.
The instant that thought was completely settled, the Dao intent of "Return to Origin and Sever Retracing" trembled slightly in Qin Yu's sea of consciousness. He had not drawn his sword, nor had he activated it, but this sword technique resonated deeply with his current Dao heart.
"Return to Origin and Sever Retracing" can sever the right to exist, preventing the target from ever having the chance to be born. However, this sword technique has its own foundation—"I am who I am." As long as this foundation remains unshaken, the sword technique can be established.
Qin Yu suddenly realized that the first layer of restrictions was never about defeating these outcomes. The outcomes were predetermined and could not be defeated. What truly needed to be proven was that no matter which ending one fell into, one could still maintain one's Dao heart in harmony.
Qin Yu opened his eyes, and countless rivers were reflected in his pupils. He spoke, his voice reverberating through the rivers. "My Dao is not defined by any particular outcome." As his words fell, the first river trembled violently. "Becoming a god is the outcome."
The second river trembled. "Fall, that's the result." The third. "Madness, that's the result." The fourth. "Annihilation, that's also the result." Qin Yu took a step forward, even though Wudao beneath his feet, he still stepped forward.
"Eternity or annihilation or the end or the last." All endings can only answer the question, "Where did I ultimately end up?" "I cannot answer—" "Who am I?"
Boom!!! Ten thousand rivers surged violently at the same time. The original thought of "I am who I am" deep within Qin Yu 'Fate Soul became incredibly clear and distinct at this moment.
He never placed his Ultimate hopes on any particular realm, on immortality, on victory or defeat, or on transcending everything. As long as he remained self-consistent, any endpoint was merely a result that had already occurred and could never become the source that defined him.
The ancient voices fell silent. Qin Yu continued to stride forward, and as his second step landed, all the interrupted rivers suddenly began to collapse. Crack—the River of Eternity shattered. The River of Fallen Souls shattered. The River of Madness shattered.
Then, all the paths shattered simultaneously, crackling and splintering—countless destinies crumbled before him. Each shattered river transformed into a tiny golden speck of light, converging behind Qin Yu.
Ten points, a hundred points, ten thousand points. Countless golden lights intertwined to form a huge circle. In the middle of the circle, the word "End" slowly emerged.
The ancient, forbidden voice resounded for the third time, echoing in consciousness: "All laws have an end." "The Great Way has an end." "Where your path ends—" The voice paused, and this time, it no longer inquired, "Is this the gate?" but solemnly declared:
"In the end, you cannot be determined." Boom!!! The entire world of the End of Ten Thousand Paths collapsed with a roar. Qin Yu's consciousness suddenly returned to reality, and the underground space reappeared before his eyes. The ancient box was still floating in front of him, but it was completely different. All the golden patterns on the outermost layer of the box surface lit up.
Buzz - The golden light traveled rapidly along the surface of the ancient box. Among the nine broken arcs, the outermost three stopped rotating first, and then, the word "End" rose from the surface of the box, hanging three inches above the ancient box. It stagnated briefly for a breath, and then clicked.
The first cracking sound rang out. The ancient box, which had originally been a seamless structure, cracked for the first time with a hair-thin fissure— the First Restriction was broken. The moment the fissure appeared, a deep, heavy vibration emanated from inside the ancient box.
As if some ancient, dormant entity was awakened, the golden patterns on the outer layer extinguished one by one, but did not dissipate. They all detached from the box surface, transforming into countless fine golden threads that circled the ancient box once before converging into Qin Yu's brow.
Qin Yu 'Fate Soul trembled slightly. The golden threads did not give rise to new supernatural powers, nor did they alter his Dao foundation; they only left an extremely clear mark: Ultimate Forbidden Recognition.
The mutation of the ancient box is still continuing. The word "End" that originally resided on the outer layer slowly dimmed, and finally sank into the lid of the box. The remaining two ancient words, "Gui" and "Xu", continued to slowly rotate around the dark silver ancient seal in the center.
A strange aura slowly seeped out from the hair-thin crack in the box. Qin Yu sensed it for only a moment, and his gaze suddenly froze.
This aura bears the imprint of countless converging paths, colliding and merging with each other, ultimately returning to the same core. This is the aura of the second layer of restriction—"Return to One".
At the same time, the dark silver ancient seal in the center of the box lid also underwent a transformation. Of the nine broken arcs surrounding it, the outermost three had closed, transforming into a complete ring; the middle three slowly lit up, while the innermost three remained silent.
The end has been proven. The return is about to begin. The void remains, still asleep.
Qin Yu gazed at the "End Return to the Ruins Ancient Box" before him, not immediately venturing deeper. He slowly raised his hand, his fingertips touching the newly formed crack. Still cold, still silent, yet the ancient box now showed signs of being able to be opened.
The first layer – "Ultimate Forbidden Zone: The End of All Paths" – has been completely broken. After "Ultimate Forbidden Zone: The End of All Paths" was completely broken, subtle changes have occurred in the aura within the underground space.
The "End Return to the Ruins Ancient Box" still hung in front of Qin Yu, the hair-thin seam of the box not widening further. The three outermost broken arcs closed into a complete circle, and the character "final" sank completely into the depths of the box lid, leaving only the characters "return" and "ruin," which slowly reversed around the central dark silver ancient seal.
Qin Yu did not rush to make progress. He sat cross-legged for a long time, completely calming the fluctuations in his Fate Soul caused by experiencing countless finalities. The Nine-Wheel True Evolution Dharma Wheel also returned to stability and stillness.
The First Restriction tests the end, the "fruit" of the end of all laws. The Dao rhythm of the Second Restriction is completely different. In the wisp of aura that just seeped out from the crack of the box, he clearly sensed countless completely different, even contradictory, Dao rhythms, forcibly pulled together in one place, without leaving any room for the conflict of the origin.
Qin Yu weighed all his methods against his will in his mind.
"The Book of Fate Law: The Realm Severing Origin Brush" can read the Source Language propositions and the boundaries of concepts, and is good at dismantling external legal principles; "Heavenly Cause Judgment Sequence: The Six Severances Seal" specializes in the sealing and reconstruction of cause and effect, naming, trajectory, and source cause; "Void Source: Dream Stillness" can complete large-scale annihilation from the level of existence and concept;
The two forms already revealed by the "Silent Origin Stainless Sword" directly point to the foundation of conception and the origin of cause and effect; the "Supreme Eternal Stillness Seal" can reach the realm before beginning, and control the shaping and End and Beginning Everlasting; the "Return to Origin and Sever Retracing to the Past", which has just completed its Ultimate transformation, can directly sever all qualifications for existence.
The core of the Second Restriction is not about resisting external enemies or breaking formations; its sole requirement is "the Return to One of all self."
If one forcibly severs the conflicting "selves" by using "Return to Origin and Sever Retracing" or erases inner distractions by using "Void Source and Dream Stillness," it may seem that one can instantly leave only a single thought in Fate Soul, but in reality, it completely violates the fundamental truth of the Second Restriction —to accommodate all differences and then become one.
Qin Yu abandoned all methods of forceful attack. He only allowed the "Silent Beginning - Ring Master Soul Diagram" to lie dormant in the deepest part of his Fate Soul. The Nine-Wheel True Evolution Dharma Wheel did not engage in killing or display their sharpness, but were only used to stabilize his true self and observe the changing situation.
Then, he slowly raised his hand, his fingertips landing steadily on the second ancient character—"Return." A whoosh! The ancient box trembled violently. The three broken arcs in the middle layer suddenly froze, their reversal halted instantly! The next instant, the character "Return" sank sharply, completely disappearing into the texture of the box lid. The world before Qin Yu was instantly swallowed up by the boundless torrent of chaos...