A sword strike severs the absence of smell
And in his hand lay a sword, specifically designed to sever the very origin of heaven and earth, the root of all distinctions, the "Silent Origin Stainless Sword." First move—"No-Thought Absolute Silence Sword!" Clang—!!!
The clear, resonant sword cry shattered the ancient silence, shaking the entire Nose Root Emanation Domain for the first time. A longsword without a physical form appeared, and a pure, formless, and untainted Ultimate sword intent pierced straight out from between two fingers, pointing directly at the true form of the giant beast.
At the same time, the six qi whiskers of the Smell-Derivation Beast simultaneously attacked, locking down all directions. The first whisker stirred up all the past qi, suppressing eternity; the second whisker stirred the present qi, sealing off the present world; the third whisker dragged away all the future opportunities, shackled the path ahead.
The last three streams of energy pierced straight through his Fate Soul, traces of existence, and foundation of his true self, delivering a fatal blow. Qin Yu took a step forward! Boom!!! The void beneath his feet suddenly collapsed and shattered layer by layer.
Blood still lingered at the corner of his mouth, and his face remained deathly pale, yet the sword intent in his eyes was incomparably sharp and extremely fierce, with six deadly auras designed to seal off all escape routes and lock away all life.
Qin Yu neither dodged nor evaded, meeting the attack head-on. He pointed his right hand and slashed down! "No Thoughts—" His sword intent surged and spread out with a thunderous roar. Swoosh—!!! The first strand of qi that traversed heaven and earth was severed in response.
Without a powerful burst of air or a ripple of aftershock, the very essence of its design—the very thing that allowed it to track, restrain, and ultimately kill Qin Yu— was completely severed by a single sword strike. The entire giant wisp of energy instantly transformed into countless, ownerless, transparent remnants of energy, vanishing into the void. The second, the third!
Clang--!!! The sword intent swept across the heavens and earth, and the remaining three strands of qi broke apart inch by inch and completely disintegrated. The ancient true form of the Smell-Derivation Beast was violently thrown back for the first time, and its power collapsed.
The twelve-layered air rings expanded to their Ultimate and trembled wildly. Billions of gathered air currents condensed into a boundless giant screen, which crashed down on Qin Yu. Qin Yu's robes fluttered as he faced the overwhelming suppressing air and strode straight up.
The bloodstain at the corner of his mouth was stretched into a crimson line by the violent wind, dazzling and chilling. He did not seek any flaws or opportunities for survival. The "No-Thought Absolute Silence Sword" never cuts at qi, form, or trace.
It severed the very foundation of the universe's concept of "every scent has an object, every scent has a distinction." Qin Yu drew his fingers again, the sound fading as the sword arrived. "Absolute Silence!" Clang—!!!
The entire Nose Root Emanation Domain suddenly became bright and clear, and the Great Dao roared. A slender sword mark that spanned countless ages extended Pre-Nonbeing from in front of Qin Yu, thousands of feet, tens of thousands of feet, millions of feet, and finally straight through the entire supreme true body of the Smell-Derivation Beast.
Time seemed to freeze for a moment, an eternal Ji Ran, Smell-Derivation Beast, which had been piercing through both the living and the dead and spanned countless ages, suddenly cracked open. Crack!
The first crack spread out, followed by the simultaneous collapse of the twelve layers of rotating energy rings, the cracks spreading outwards. Crack! Crack! Crack! The six remaining energy strands shattered inch by inch and were completely annihilated.
The transparent cavity in his chest, which contained the starry sea and breathed in and out of everything, split in two from the center and collapsed completely. On his back, the sac that sealed countless worlds and ancient civilizations exploded one after another and returned to nothing.
Boom!!! The residual breaths of billions of beings soared into the sky, condensing into an ancient and overwhelming torrent that covered the entire Emanation Domain. The supreme true body of the Smell-Derivation Beast, which traversed the void, slowly disintegrated and collapsed layer by layer in the center of the surging torrent.
Qin Yu stood calmly before him, his right hand still poised to strike, as steady as a rock. This sword strike was executed with Ultimate and meticulous control, aimed only at severing the last remaining thought of the Smell-Derivation Beast —the opposition and separation between the Scented and the Scented.
Without harming the very source of the nose, without destroying the foundation of the Emanation Domain, and without disturbing the eternal legacy left by the Great Ancestor, rumble rumble rumble--!!! The true form of the supreme behemoth completely collapsed and disintegrated.
The majestic beast head shattered into a sky full of flowing winds, the twelve layers of qi rings scattered into Dao patterns all over the ground, the six qi whiskers were annihilated into nothingness, and that breathless nasal gap that pierced through existence and non-existence completely disappeared.
With a final contraction and rise of its chest, the colossal beast exhaled its last breath. This breath was devoid of killing, restraint, probing, or pursuit. It merely brushed lightly past Qin Yu's side before dissipating leisurely, returning to the Wanyan, utterly Smell-Derivation Beast, never to reappear in the world.
Qin Yu slowly withdrew his right hand, his posture as upright as ever. Blood still lingered at the corner of his mouth. He raised his hand to wipe it away gently, glanced down at the bright red blood on his fingertips, and then looked up again at the Space Silence sky and earth in front of him.
Blood energy has its own energy, traces, and rhythm; he can smell it, feel it, and know it, but he no longer needs to rely on this wisp of blood energy to prove that he still exists and that his true self has not been lost. The billions of wisps of energy that collapsed and scattered in the distance slowly sank back down, each wisp merging into the depths of the energy wall, no longer gathering form, no longer manifesting.
No behemoths were resurrected, no supernatural powers were restored, and no shackles remained. In the end, the entire Nasal Nose Root Emanation Domain returned to eternal peace and Ji Ran, as it had always been.
As the last wisp of the existence of the Smell-Derivation Beast completely dissipated, the primordial essence that the Great Ancestor had left in the deepest part of "Smell Stillness" drifted leisurely towards Qin Yu. Qin Yu neither welcomed nor refused, but stood quietly.
The lingering, silent aura stopped before him, still devoid of energy, flavor, breath, and rhythm, leaving only that Ultimate question that had hung over him for millennia. All other energies had vanished into silence; could one still sense it upon smelling it?
Qin Yu did not answer. He simply stood quietly in this Space Silence Emanation Domain, proving the Dao with his body and answering with his existence. He was not attached to Qi, nor did he seek anything when he was without Qi. He could smell without relying on what he smelled to prove himself, and he was not bound by what he was smelled.
At this moment, his very existence was the Ultimate answer to this age-old mystery. The lingering, silent energy left behind by the Great Ancestor gently rippled, then leisurely merged into Qin Yu's Dao Heart and returned to its origin.
Deep within his pupils, "Seeing Stillness Return to Evolution" trembled gently, its Daoist rhyme reviving. Simultaneously, "Hearing Stillness Return to Evolution" from the source of his ears resonated with it. The third root essence settled steadily, embedded between the two sources, forming a trinity, perfectly Return to One eye, one sound, one whiff—the three great Dao sources resonated completely and merged perfectly for the first time.
In a fleeting moment, Qin Yu saw the blurry outline of the Great Ancestor before he ascended to the Silent Form Realm. The light and shadow were extremely brief and fleeting, yet they captured the last glimpse, the last smell, and the last breath of eternity in an indivisible instant.
As light and shadow Annihilation and the strange phenomena returned to nothing, the third source of the trial was completely integrated into Qin Yu's foundation of the Dao of Smell, "Smelling Stillness Return to Evolution." It does not reside in the nose, does not exist in consciousness, and does not attach itself to the body. It is rooted in the Dao of "smell" itself, existing eternally.
From this point onward, all the myriad energies of the world, how they are born and flow, how they settle over time, how they give rise to countless forms, and how they ultimately return to Annihilation, will naturally manifest and freely cycle within this one source.
Qin Yu remained steadfast, unattached, and unconstrained by any method. The ultimate truth of the Nose Faculty Trial had been thoroughly etched into the very essence of his being. He could smell without smelling, and smell without smelling. He could neither prove himself with breath nor conceal himself with breath. The entire Nose Root Emanation Domain began to close in layers and gradually return to stillness.
The boundless energy barrier recedes layer by layer, absorbing all kinds of energy. The mountains formed from the residual energy of all living beings, the long river where the remnants of civilization converge, and the Sea of Qi piled up by the rise and fall of the world all Return to Emanation their origin.
Qin Yu turned around and slowly walked towards the trial exit. Behind him, there was no longer the giant beast of smell, no longer the shackles of myriad qi, and no longer the obsession of the root of the nose. Only the origin of "smell" remained, buried deep in the deepest part of the Emanation Domain, transformed into an eternally Nameless background color, for later generations to comprehend and seek, and no one could completely control or imprison it anymore.
One step, two steps, three steps. With the third step, the boundary of the Nose Root Emanation Domain completely closed, isolating it from eternity. Qin Yu's figure reappeared in the True Evolution Divine Hall. The first Eye Pillar and the second Ear Pillar remained silent as before. The third Nose Pillar also slowly dimmed and returned to calm. "Seeing Stillness Return to Evolution," "Hearing Stillness Return to Evolution," and "Smelling Stillness Return to Evolution," the three Great Dao roots briefly converged and resonated within Qin Yu's body.
Before the temple, the fourth stone pillar slowly awoke, its Daoist aura beginning to emerge, Tongue Pillar. There were no earth-shattering phenomena, no overwhelming Daoist might, no thunderous roar. Only a subtle yet incredibly strange change quietly arose. The bloodstains remaining at the corner of Qin Yu's mouth were still fresh, still warm, and still had a tangible texture.
But when his tongue lightly touched that trace of blood—it was utterly tasteless. Qin Yu paused slightly, his mind scanning the surroundings. Blood had no taste, air had no taste, and even the subtle breath that naturally arose in his mouth had no taste.
The moment the fourth Tongue Pillar awoke, all flavors in the world vanished completely. In the next instant, a deep, colorless void rift slowly opened in the center of the Tongue Pillar. Beyond the rift, there was no sweetness, no bitterness, no sourness, no spiciness, and no saltiness.
Even the relative concept of "tasteless" no longer exists. In that void, the Wanyan Great Dao can no longer generate any possibility or form of "flavor". Qin Yu raised his eyes and quietly looked at the deep mouth. The three origins he obtained from the first three trials—a glimpse, a smell, and a sniff—were all suppressed and silently dormant. The fourth trial— the No Tongue Root Emanation Domain —officially began.