The underground airspace was completely silent. In Qin Yu's palm, the End Return to the Ruins Ancient Box Void hung in the void. There was no sudden booming sound as it popped open; only an eternal silence enveloped the surroundings. On the surface of the box, the three characters "Zhong, Gui, Xu" lit up in turn, and profound Dao patterns flowed slowly along the body of the box before extinguishing in Reverse Order —Xu first lost its brilliance, then Gui, and finally the radiance of the character Zhong completely sank into the box.
The moment the three characters Annihilation, fine cracks spread from the surface of the ancient box, crawling across the entire box like a spider web. The cracks crisscrossed, yet not a single piece of debris fell or broke off. The thousands of lines extended all the way, eventually converging in the center of the lid, forming a gap as thin as a hair.
Within the crevice, there was no light, no darkness, no flow of Source Power, and no sound. There Does Not Exist extension of space, Does Not Exist the passage of time.
Qin Yu released a wisp of his divine sense to gently probe in, and the only perception it returned was. "Nothingness." It was not emptiness, not darkness, nor deathly stillness. It was a more primordial state than emptiness, darkness, and stillness, a state of pure nothingness before the birth of all concepts.
The lid slowly rose, hovering quietly three inches above the box, then stopped rising. Inside the box was boundless nothingness. In an instant, this nothingness began to surge. Like a drop of ink falling into endless clear water, or like an ancient, dormant seed, in absolute nothingness, giving rise to the desire to sprout.
A subtle ripple spread across the void. This was not Source Power, nor solidified laws, nor entangled cause and effect, but "existence" itself, tentatively being born.
The fluctuations gradually intensified, and from the void, the first wisp of "existence" arose from nothingness. Existence gave rise to two, two gave rise to three, and then countless others emerged. The chaotic energy slowly surged, Yin and Yang had not yet been separated, the Five Elements had not yet taken shape, and time and space were like tangled and chaotic hemp threads, intertwined and entangled with each other.
A nascent chaotic universe slowly took shape within the box. However, it was not yet a complete and stable world; rather, it was like a cosmic embryo suspended Between Being and Nonbeing, hovering at the moment when nothingness transformed into chaos. It had neither completely transformed into a real state nor returned to utter nothingness.
End Return to the Ruins Ancient Box is the container that holds this transformation. The three previous restrictions were the three shackles that locked this fundamental evolution. With the shackles broken, the transformation begins, and all things within the box are being born, yet they are not yet fully formed.
Qin Yu's gaze was calm. With a thought, he sent a wisp of his divine sense toward the opening of the box. The instant his divine sense touched the rim of the box, three strange phenomena appeared simultaneously.
The first three figures slowly rose from within the box: the Shadow of the End, the Shadow of Return to One, and the Shadow of Void. They were even more solid and clear than when the seal was broken. The three figures showed no intention of attacking; they simply stood quietly at the entrance of the box and uttered a single sentence in turn.
The Shadow of the End: "Before the abyss takes shape, those who enter perish." The Shadow of Return to One: "Before the abyss divides into paths, those who enter become one." The Shadow of Void: "Before the abyss becomes an abyss, those who enter become nothing."
The three Daoist phrases blended together, their meaning becoming clear. This Dao Abyss is still turbulent and unstable; if one rashly steps into it now, one will not perish, but rather one's own existence will be swallowed up by the still-unformed origin, transforming into a part of the taking shape of the Dao Abyss.
Only by reaching the realm of the Tao Dao Nonexistence Realm —the Tao that is not the Tao, nothingness that is nothingness, a realm that transcends all realms, beyond words and thoughts, Beginningless Endless, Nameless Formless, the ultimate Tao that returns to the ineffable source—can one be qualified to enter it.
The second extraordinary phenomenon was the slow emergence of layers of Daoist inscriptions from the opening of the box, the strokes flowing alternately with the three layers of restrictions. The End Restriction said, "The abyss is not yet complete, those who enter will perish." The Return to One Restriction said, "The abyss is not yet unified, those who enter will scatter." The Void Restriction said, "The abyss has not yet reached its source, those who enter will vanish."
Beneath the three lines of inscription, the ancient box's own will slowly manifested, and a line of ancient characters quietly unfolded. "The triple restrictions are broken, the abyss gate opens. However, the abyss needs nurturing; one cannot enter immediately. Only after the three shadows have vanished, the inscription has disappeared, and the box's opening has settled can one enter the abyss."
Qin Yu's mind stirred slightly, and he tried raising his right hand, slowly extending it towards the opening of the box. The moment his fingertips approached the rim, a strange change occurred. His fingers did not break, nor did they disappear directly; the unique presence of his fingertips was being gradually withdrawn.
The physical form remained there, but his own consciousness gradually forgot what shape the finger should have been, what its function was, or what its color was. Even the concept of "hand" was slowly blurring and teetering on the brink of collapse. Qin Yu promptly withdrew his arm and slightly composed himself.
The third anomaly was the ancient box's breathing. The box slowly expanded and then slowly contracted, the rhythm long and slow, almost imperceptible. With each expansion and contraction, the chaotic cosmic embryo inside the box solidified a little more.
Qin Yu carefully observed with his primordial divine sense and instantly understood its mysteries: the flow of time inside and outside the box was completely separated. One breath inside the box could be equivalent to a month in the outside world; one day inside the box could be equivalent to a hundred years in the outside world.
The End Return to the Ruins Ancient Box is using itself as a furnace, the residual Daoist essence of the Three Forbidden Zones as fuel, and nothingness as raw material to slowly refine the Dao Abyss. Before the refinement is complete, the opening of the box is a forbidden zone, and no one may enter without permission.
Qin Yu gazed silently at the churning chaos within the box, his mind already clear. Although the ancient box was open, the Dao Abyss was not yet mature. Stepping in now was not a once-in-a-millennium opportunity, but rather an eternal calamity. Only by waiting patiently, waiting for the ancient box to breathe and refine, waiting for the three shadows to dissipate, for the inscriptions to fade, for the box's opening to stabilize, and for himself to ascend to the Dao Nonexistence Realm, could he step into this Dao Abyss.
Qin Yu did not immediately put away the "End Return to the Ruins Ancient Box". The three shadows still hung quietly at the mouth of the box: the Shadow of the End was calm and solemn, like the Ultimate end of all Return Path; the Shadow of Return to One was surrounded by the return of all laws and the return of all paths; the Shadow of Void was ethereal and uncertain, and could never form a fixed outline.
The three lines of Dao inscriptions stretch across the void, each word ancient and profound. The ancient box maintains an Ultimate slow expansion and contraction. With each long breath, the still-unformed Dao Abyss within the box solidifies a portion of its origin and stabilizes a portion of its order.
Qin Yu stared silently for a moment, then raised his hand and gently lifted the lid of the box, which was suspended three inches above the box. He did not activate any suppression spells, nor did he have any obsession with forceful attacks. He simply used the purest essence of his Fate Soul to try to slowly bring the floating lid back into place.
The lid slowly sank, two inches, one inch, half an inch, and just as it was about to fit perfectly against the box—hum—a gentle yet timeless barrier of origin rose leisurely from the three-inch gap.
Qin Yu's palm paused slightly, the pulling force completely stalled, and the lid of the box stopped firmly, unable to fall any further. No matter how he adjusted the power of his Fate Soul and changed the method of pulling, it could only stay at this position and could not be completely closed. This power was neither offensive nor repulsive, and did not harm his Fate Soul, but simply adhered to an insurmountable Source Realm.
Qin Yu's gaze narrowed slightly. He immediately released his palm force and withdrew the pull. In the next instant, the lid floated up on its own. One inch, two inches, three inches. It landed precisely back in its initial suspended position, without the slightest error. Qin Yu did not attempt to force the lid closed a second time.
He had already seen through the essence: this was not because the ancient box had gone out of control, nor because the spirit of the artifact was incomplete or its functions were damaged after the seal was broken. This three-inch gap in the air was a necessary form for the ancient box to nurture the Dao Abyss, and it was the inherent pattern of the source's operation. It was indispensable and could not be changed in the slightest.
Once the mind was made up, an almost invisible ripple of primordial energy spread out between the three-inch gap between the lid and the body of the box. The three figures simultaneously raised their heads slightly, remaining silent.
Around the opening of the box, a boundary mark, so faint as to be Ultimate, slowly took shape. There was no light curtain, no barriers, and no restrictions manifesting; it was by no means any tangible formation in the world, yet it completely severed the inner and outer worlds.
Qin Yu suspended his divine sense outside the boundary mark and observed it carefully, instantly deciphering three layers of mystery.
The first layer is isolation.
The moment the boundary mark took shape, all the Dao Abyss aura within the box vanished completely. The primordial fluctuations such as the transformation of existence and non-existence, the generation of chaos, and the disorder of spacetime, which could previously be sensed, were now completely gone. Divine sense could no longer glimpse it, and external forces could no longer interfere in the slightest. The inner essence did not leak out, and external techniques did not invade inward, firmly sealing the entire process of the Dao Abyss's gestation within the ancient box.
The second level is called Yangyuan.
Qin Yu quickly realized that this three-inch gap was not a simple opening and closing gap, but a breathing channel through which Dao Abyss could survive, refine, and grow. Whoosh—the box slowly expanded, the three-inch gap slightly widened, and it pulled the primordial void at the bottom of the box to draw in endless primordial raw materials.
The box slowly contracted, the gaps closing in and solidifying, pressing all the initial "existence" that had just emerged from nothingness into the depths of the Dao Abyss, where it settled and solidified.
With each breath, each expansion and contraction, the cycle repeats endlessly, life goes on without end.
He fully realized that forcibly sealing the lid and closing the gaps would sever the flow of the Dao Abyss's origin, cutting off the foundation for its gestation and growth. Therefore, the lid must not be closed, and absolutely must not be closed.
The third level is the recognition of the master. As soon as this thought arises, the invisible boundary mark resonates subtly with his Fate Soul origin, responding with unparalleled clarity: the three-inch Dao Abyss, the only master for all eternity.
Only Qin Yu, who has broken through all three restrictions and attained the same origin, can approach, observe, grasp, and control. Apart from all other beings in the world, as long as they dare to step into this three-inch domain, the three shadows will manifest and control them on their own, without Qin Yu needing to exert any divine power or issue any decree.
The Shadow of the End severs all the final outcomes of the intruder, severing its existence; the Shadow of Return to One disrupts the intruder's myriad pathways, destroying its Return to One; the Shadow of Void erases the intruder's evidence of existence as it approaches, eliminating its traces.
Triple protection, naturally formed and flawless, allowed Qin Yu to completely understand the true nature of the End Return to the Ruins Ancient Box.
It requires no external sealing or post-natal formations. It is itself the most stable source vessel throughout the ages. Although the triple restrictions were broken, its Daoist essence did not dissipate. Instead, it transformed into a protective order that best suited the Dao Abyss, isolating the inside from the outside, nourishing the source, and rejecting all spirits.
His only task was to protect the box and prevent it from falling into the wrong hands. With this thought in mind, Qin Yu no longer insisted on closing the lid. His gaze swept over the three figures standing silently, and then he slowly raised his right hand.