At this point, the complete body of the Smell-Derivation Beast stood upright and fully manifested from the depths of the air wall; it had no four legs to tread the ground, nor sharp claws to support the sky.
The lower body is constructed from four massive vortexes that pierce through the heavens and earth. Each vortex is deeply rooted in the Emanation Domain the domain, like four invisible pillars supporting the entire world. The vortexes rotate endlessly, and countless traces of the past, present, and future will briefly appear and flow within them, eventually being swept into the depths of the origin and Return to Emanation.
On its back, countless giant transparent "breath sacs" floated in the void. Each breath sac was like an independent floating small world, sealing a complete spectrum of existence and a complete cycle of time.
Some seal away the entire essence of a world from its primordial beginning to its complete annihilation; some carry the lingering charm of an ancient race that flourished for millennia before its decline and demise; some contain all the traces of an ancient powerhouse's existence, from their initial enlightenment and traversal of countless ages to their final moments of silence.
There is also a completely empty breath pouch, clear and transparent, without a trace of spirit or charm.
Qin Yu instantly understood that this was a future existence that had not yet been born or realized. If any new things were to appear in the future, their original essence would automatically reside within it and remain for eternity.
On both sides of the body, six long, thin tendrils of energy that stretch across the endless void slowly unfold and spread throughout the entire area. These tendrils have no substance or form, and wherever they pass, all the silent and hidden traces of existence will immediately appear and have nowhere to hide.
The first breath must sweep across the past, and countless dusty old traces suddenly appear in the world; the second breath must sweep across the present space, and countless auras of the present world light up together.
The third stream of energy must touch upon future possibilities. Countless energy traces immediately split and multiply, giving rise to all sorts of forms. The remaining three streams of energy must explore into a more distant dimension of the Great Dao, transcending the order of time and crossing reincarnation, to touch those original possibilities that have not yet been named or formed.
The most awe-inspiring part of the entire true form is the central chest cavity. Pre-Nonbeing, only a giant transparent cavity large enough to contain the entire starry sea, suspended in the air and connecting the inside and outside.
With each inhale, countless breaths surge into it. Once inside this cavity, all distinctions are stripped away, and all forms and substances return to nothingness. The fragrance of flowers fades, the stench of blood vanishes, the life force is stripped of vitality, and the decaying energy erases decay.
Aside from the most primordial and fundamental imprint of the Great Dao—that it "once existed"—there are no other differences among the myriad forms of energy.
When the next breath arrives, this pure "traces of existence" will re-differentiate into myriad forms and generate countless energies, allowing all things in heaven and earth to once again possess form, color, smell, life, death, and time.
Qin Yu stood in front of the giant beast, his robes fluttering gently in the invisible wind. Compared to this ancient beast that spanned heaven and earth and controlled the birth and death of all things, his figure was as small as a speck of dust in the void.
The Smell-Derivation Beast neither lowered its head, nor approached, nor made a move. The slit in the center of its head, which seemed to pierce through nothingness, slowly turned its direction, facing Qin Yu directly. The six long whiskers that stretched across the void simultaneously stopped, Ji Ran still.
The twelve overlapping air rings unfold and open one by one. They have no eyes, yet they do not need to see. The perception at this moment is more thorough than sight, more profound than hearing, and more primal than touch.
Qin Yu had been thoroughly detected.
The physical body, the origin of the Fate Soul, the myriad paths of the past, the present true state, the countless possibilities of the future, the accumulation of a lifetime of experience, all illusory obsessions, and even that wisp deepest within the heart—the true "self" that no longer needs the testimonies of heaven and earth, nor self-affirmation.
The Smell-Derivation Beast gently, and all the billions of traces of energy belonging to Qin Yu in the entire Nose Root Emanation Domain trembled and flowed together, rushing towards the silent cavity in his chest.
But just as the myriad traces of energy were about to Return to One, the shackles of the Great Dao suddenly snapped.
The past energy Non-Self my root, the present energy Non-Self my foundation, and the future energy Non-Self source. Qin Yu has never concealed any traces, never severed any aura, never denied the past, and never abandoned the future.
He simply stripped away all the "evidence" of any aura, no longer allowing any trace of his spirit to carry the obsession of confirming himself or anchoring his existence.
For the first time, the ancient, Ji Ran, towering slit of the Smell-Derivation Beast's nostrils suddenly stopped and froze in front of a living being.
His breath stopped for a moment. Qin Yu stood in the center of the billions of self-aura traces, his expression Anran and his mind clear. He slowly raised his eyes and looked directly at the fully manifested third Emanation Guardian, the true form of the Smell-Derivation Beast.
The Smell-Derivation Beast paused its breathing for only a moment. The next instant, the boundless nasal slit that ran through the center of its head and connected the airy and the airless slowly expanded. The twelve layers of translucent air rings neither exhaled any air nor continued to collect the traces of existence scattered in the Nose Root Emanation Domain. This was the first time it had actively let go of all external auras and was no longer bound by appearances.
The six long, horizontal tendrils of energy that stretched across the sky and earth suddenly came to Ji Ran standstill, and the vast, boundless energy Nose Root Emanation Domain abruptly subsided and returned to tranquility.
Qin Yu stood amidst countless traces of his own aura, surrounded by the marks of the past, present, and future. His gaze remained fixed on the colossal beast ahead, clearly discerning the changes in its laws.
Previously, the Smell-Derivation Beast had always followed his fundamental obsession with "my existence," and all the myriad traces of energy would eventually have to wait for Qin Yu to independently recognize one of them as the foundation of his true self before they could lock the cause and effect and condense into a chain of shackles.
But just now, Qin Yu completely withdrew his desire for verification, allowing the myriad traces of energy to continue freely, no longer allowing any one of the energy streams to bear the weight of defining himself, thus forcefully severing this closed loop of obsession.
Therefore, the Smell-Derivation Beast changed its method. Since the external energy of heaven and earth could not prove Qin Yu's origin, it would let Qin Yu smell his own heart and personally verify his own innate qualities. Whoosh—without wind or air flowing, Qin Yu's chest suddenly sank, and his Dao heart trembled inexplicably.
The first wisp of primordial energy slowly rose from the depths of his physical body. This wisp of energy was the essence of his physical body that he had never truly smelled in his entire life of cultivation.
It is neither fragrant nor foul, neither pure nor impure, and does not conform to the myriad appearances of the mundane world.
The lingering vitality of flesh and blood growing year after year, the weighty sedimentation of bones bearing the weight of countless ages, the traces of healing from countless wounds in the body, and even the subtle traces of the Dao in every breath exchanged with heaven and earth throughout a lifetime, are all contained in this wisp of Qi, which unfolds and fully manifests in a single day.
It was so real, so authentic, that Qin Yu couldn't deny or refute it. This body was indeed his. In the next instant, this pure physical energy condensed into a semi-transparent human figure in front of Qin Yu, its appearance and posture exactly the same as his.
Formless and without substance, without real flesh and blood, yet it preserves the complete lifeblood of this body from its birth to the present, encompassing all its growth, existence, and transformations.
The Smell-Derivation Beast remained silent, yet its invisible Daoist aura was already directly perceived by Qin Yu's nose. "Is this you?" Qin Yu remained silent, offering neither answer nor defense. A second wisp of aura appeared in response.
A soft hum resonated in the depths of the Fate Soul, its profound Daoist aura far surpassing that of the physical body. The Fate Soul marks etched on the Nine-Wheel True Evolution Dharma Wheel, the Fate Soul's foundation forged through a path of defying the heavens, and the deep imprints left from each fundamental transformation all Return to One and coalesced into a unique, never-before-seen soul aura.
The second semi-transparent phantom of Qin Yu took a step and materialized, standing behind the physical aura. The physical aura testified to "this body is me." The Fate Soul aura, however, pointed directly to the core, showing even greater resolve.
"This Fate Soul is the true self." The twelve layers of Qi rings of the Smell-Derivation Beast slowly rotated, its Dao power rising layer by layer, and the third wisp of Qi suddenly filled the entire domain.
This time, the aura did not originate from Qin Yu's body, but rather from the ancient accumulation of the entire Nose Root Emanation Domain.
The countless mountains and rivers he traversed, the life-and-death ordeals he endured, every choice he made, and all the entanglements and connections he formed—all the traces of time bearing the name "Qin Yu's Experience"—were stripped away and rose from the depths of the vast, imposing barrier.
All the past experiences, though never captured in a picture, have transformed into the essence of our being: a choice, a breath; a life-or-death situation, a rhythm; an encounter, a destiny; a parting, a trace.
Countless strands of life experiences intertwined and Return to One, ultimately coalescing into the third illusory image of Qin Yu. "All these experiences have shaped you into who you are today."
The fourth layer of questioning followed immediately, leaving no room for respite. The name "Qin Yu" for the first time, within the silent Nose Root Emanation Domain, exuded its own unique aura and quality.
A name is originally an empty name, devoid of energy and substance. Yet, throughout countless ages, countless beings have defined and remembered it with these two words. Countless causes, memories, perceptions, and traces of existence have all been attached to it, accumulating and settling day after day, ultimately giving birth to a name with its own unique original reputation.
The fourth illusory figure stepped out from the aura of its name, without a physical body, without Fate Soul foundation, and without any proven history. It was utterly empty, with only the two words of its name remaining. "As long as Qin Yu exists, my true self exists."
As long as the name in this world still points to him, could that name be his Ultimate Origin? Qin Yu's gaze was calm, and he still did not answer. The massive head of the Smell-Derivation Beast slowly lowered for the first time, looking down at the tiny figure in front of it.
The final layer, finally descending upon the world, this time, without any overflowing aura rising, the Nose Root Emanation Domain instantly fell into Ultimate Space Silence, all energy dormant, and the Daoist rhyme subsided.
Then, an Ultimate profound Daoist aura, transcending the physical body, Fate Soul, experiences, and name, slowly awakened and rose from the very core of Qin Yu's being. "I am who I am."
Boom--!!!
The entire Nose Root Emanation Domain trembled violently, with myriad energies roaring and the Great Dao resonating. This was not a sound, nor a word, but a fundamental conviction rooted in the heart of the Dao, unchanging since ancient times. When this thought completely condensed and manifested in the world, all the previous four layers of energy retreated to the sides and yielded on their own.
The physical body can be replaced, transformed, and destroyed; the Fate Soul can evolve, improve, and be reshaped; experiences can accumulate, be sealed away, or be forgotten; names can be changed, be annihilated, or be forgotten.
But no matter how much Qin Yu saw through the myriad illusions and heard the countless echoes, what he never let go of or wavered about was this one eternal principle.
The fifth layer of primordial energy had not yet condensed into human form. It was merely a tiny speck of light in a small space, extremely small, yet incomparably heavy, pressing down on all the surrounding billions of energy traces, causing them to bend and bow their heads.
At this moment, the Smell-Derivation Beast finally activated the third Emanation Guardian's Orthodox God: "Smell the Self." This power encompassed the energy of the physical body, the energy of the Fate Soul, the energy of experience, the energy of the name, and the energy of the true self.
Five layers of primordial energy, five layers of self-definition, all manifested in the world, layer upon layer. It did not make a choice for Qin Yu, nor did it forcibly define his true self. And this is precisely the most terrifying aspect of this divine power.
It merely allowed Qin Yu to fully experience himself, revealing all five distinct layers of his own Dao traces, before returning the Ultimate question to him, "Of these five Dao traces, which one is the true you?"
The moment the question landed, the six whiskers of the Smell-Derivation Beast, which stretched across the heavens and earth, suddenly moved. The first whisker swept across the past. Boom! All the lingering energy of Qin Yu's past years was forcibly pulled out from the depths of the energy wall and spread across the sky.
The second aura enveloped the current airspace, and all the aura and Dao traces belonging to Qin Yu at this moment spread out with a roar, leaving nowhere to hide. The third aura pierced into the infinite future, and countless possible aura traces that had not yet landed suddenly erupted from the void, sprouting endlessly.
The fourth and fifth strands of energy swept past the layers of Fate Soul and name respectively, locking the traces of the origin. The sixth strand of energy went straight to the most core glimmer of self in the center of the void. Qin Yu's eyes suddenly narrowed, his Dao heart tightened, and in the next instant, billions of energy traces surged and the entire domain churned...