Beyond the Sea of Tastelessness, ancient, lingering shadows, sealed for millennia, emerged one after another from the body of the Evolution-Devouring Beast. These were the last remnants of countless Wanyan Ones it had devoured, leaving behind only a faint trace of their existence in the world.
The first afterimage, proving the Dao with absolute brute force, unleashed a punch that shattered all things in the heavens and countless worlds simultaneously. Before the punch's force had even subsided, the Evolution-Devouring Beast opened its mouth and swallowed it all.
Then, he unleashed it again, and that supreme brute force returned to its original source, striking back in the same way, even more perfectly aligned with its own path and more purely Ultimate than when the original body had unleashed it. In the end, the afterimage of that ancient powerhouse was pierced through by the absolute power he had sought to prove throughout his life, completely dissipating and returning to nothingness.
The second afterimage, defying the Dao to prove itself, defying fate, life and death, cause and effect, going against the heavens and living contrary to the Dao, was devoured by the Yan Beast, Evolution-Devouring Beast then spat it all back.
That rebellious origin traces back its entire life, reversing all choices, all obsessions, and all beginnings, even its initial aspiration to attain enlightenment is completely swallowed up and reduced to zero.
The third afterimage, through devouring, proved the Dao. Throughout its life, Evolution-Devouring Beast did not compete with it for devouring, but only devoured its "origin of the Dao Devouring". In the end, even the Dao of "devouring" in this world was completely consumed and ceased to exist.
The fourth afterimage, proving the Dao through evolution, is endlessly regenerating and multiplying. The more it evolves, the more abundant and complex Evolution-Devouring Beast devours it. All kinds of evolution and endless vitality are ultimately consumed as food in its belly.
The fifth afterimage proves the Dao through nothingness, returning to nothingness and abandoning everything. The Evolution-Devouring Beast can still be devoured, and even "nothingness" is the Dao, which is fully absorbed. The sixth afterimage proves the Dao through emptiness, merging the body with the void and uniting the nature with all the heavens.
The boundless sky and limitless void were still regarded as a law, which it devoured. Qin Yu's eyes turned completely cold as he saw the most terrifying truth beneath that ancient saying.
It says that it cannot swallow "emptiness" itself, but if people take emptiness as the way, use emptiness to prove their mind, and use emptiness to establish themselves, then they are forcibly defining the boundless emptiness, establishing an attachment, and making it a doctrine.
Once one attains enlightenment, there are traces to follow; once one becomes attached, one can be devoured. Even emptiness, once it is borne by humanity and held by the human heart, is no longer pure and unobstructed emptiness, and will eventually become food for the Evolution-Devouring Beast.
The gigantic maw remained suspended in mid-air, endlessly swallowing everything in its path. Qin Yu's physical body was unharmed, and his very essence remained intact. However, the very foundation upon which he stood and practiced the Dao was being stripped away and devoured, strand by strand and inch by inch. The "Wanyan Return-to-Stillness Devouring to Silence" technique never required close combat or magical clashes.
It transcends all paths, assimilating the very essence of its opponents. The stronger Qin Yu becomes, the stronger it becomes; the more profound Qin Yu's Dao is, the more thoroughly it embodies Qin Yu's power. By annihilating the impasse, it devours the Dao of Annihilation.
If it breaks the deadlock with cause and effect, it will devour the Way of cause and effect; if it breaks the deadlock with nothingness, it will devour the Way of nothingness; if it breaks the deadlock with self-realized emptiness, it will devour the Way of emptiness. All counterattacks that rely on the rhythm of the Way will, in the end, feed the powerful enemy and destroy themselves.
Dao Devouring, Devouring the Execution, Devouring Me—the first realm of slaughter, endless and unsolvable. The cold sword marks on the surface of the Evolution-Devouring Beast's body became increasingly dense and clear. For the first time, the "Silent Origin Stainless Sword" in Qin Yu's hand emitted a deep, suppressed, and long sword cry.
With a whoosh, the giant maw that pierced the heavens and earth suddenly closed, and Qin Yu's mind was filled with alarm, his whole body chilled to the bone.
The giant beast's chest suddenly swelled, and all the Daoist essence, sword intent, obsession, and inherent nature it had just absorbed surged and rushed upwards against the current.
Qin Yu's Silent Origin Sword Intent rose against the tide along the Eternal Dragon Bone. His indomitable will, undefeated killing intent, and fundamental principles all converged deep within the giant maw, poised to unleash their power.
The next instant, the giant maw opened again! Second Realm - Dao Spitting! Boom!!! The first sword intent slashed down, aiming straight for Qin Yu's brow! Qin Yu's pupils shrank sharply.
This is not imitation, not replication, not simulation of a phantom; this is the pure, Silent Origin Sword intent that was just swallowed from his Dao foundation. But now, the Dao essence has changed hands and is completely under the control of the Evolution-Devouring Beast.
Clang! Qin Yu instantly parried with his sword. The two swords, originating from the same source and sharing the same root, collided violently in the void!
Bang!!! The Sea of Tastelessness beneath his feet suddenly exploded, creating a crater tens of thousands of feet deep, and the space trembled violently. Qin Yu's figure slid backward uncontrollably for hundreds of feet, the long sword in his hand trembling and buzzing incessantly.
The offensive continued unabated, the killing relentless, and the second attack arrived in an instant. This time, it was his resolute resolve that was unleashed.
That unwavering will to persevere through all difficulties and adversity, once absorbed, transformed into an even more domineering and resolute force of Return to Emanation, suppressing everything against the tide.
Qin Yu retreated a step, and it pressed forward a step. Qin Yu fought back with all his might, and it crushed and devoured him inch by inch with Qin Yu's own "unyielding spirit." This was his own way, which backfired on him, and there was no way to break it.
The third, the fourth, the fifth! Boom! Boom! Boom!!!
The Sea of Tastelessness collapsed and cracked one after another, and the airspace was riddled with holes. Qin Yu gripped his sword and parried continuously. His robes were torn in several places by the violent spatial turbulence. With each step back, huge spatial dents were pressed into the ground beneath his feet.
The most deadly danger was never the overwhelming force of his attack, but rather that the more seriously he drew his sword, the more he activated his Daoist principles, and the more he struggled to break the deadlock, the more the Evolution-Devouring Beast would devour, accumulate, and spit out more ferociously.
He was engaged in a life-or-death struggle with his own Dao, and this contest was utterly unequal from the very beginning. The Evolution-Devouring Beast could endlessly devour and accumulate. Qin Yu, however, could not destroy his own Dao foundation or abandon his own Dao. Once his Dao was extinguished, he would perish Return to Emanation.
Suddenly, all the backlash ceased.
Qin Yu barely managed to steady his turbulent body. Before he could relax, an even greater crisis enveloped him. The incomplete and twisted ancient question of the Primordial Ancestor on the back of the Evolution-Devouring Beast suddenly trembled violently.
"If everything is silent, can you..." The half-broken word "Yan" slowly flows along the cracks and squirms heavily. The bottomless hole in the chest of the giant beast that has always been dissatisfied and never filled is completely opened for the first time, swallowing the ultimate Daoism of all eternity and sweeping across the entire territory.
Qin Yu's expression changed drastically, his entire body turning icy cold. The traces of his past, present, and future, his Dao traces from three lifetimes, all moved in unison. It was not that his memories dissipated, nor that his visions were annihilated.
All the traces of Qin Yu's past are being slowly swallowed up and completely erased. His current true body and sword essence are gradually fading and becoming indistinct.
Countless branches of future destiny, yet to be realized and yet to unfold, snapped and vanished at the edge of this tasteless world.
The Third Realm – Return to Emanation! Rumble – The entire Fourth Emanation Domain suddenly sank, and the power of heaven and earth fell into a deep Annihilation. Qin Yu stood alone in the center of the void, personally experiencing the supreme abyss of the annihilation of his three lifetimes.
The past is swallowed, the present is swallowed, the future is swallowed, obsessions are swallowed, letting go is swallowed, awareness is swallowed, and even thoughts are swallowed. There is a path to follow, yet it is all swallowed.
Wudao or thought, if even a slight attachment to "breaking the deadlock with the Wudao" arises, it will still be swallowed up. For the first time, Qin Yu's state of mind was stirred up by a monstrous wave, generating Ultimate fluctuations. This had already transcended ordinary life-and-death duels.
The Ultimate terror of "Wanyan Return-to-Stillness Devouring" lies in the fact that it will ultimately leave no trace of cause and effect for "Qin Yu's defeat and death." It will devour this battle, devour this past, and devour all proof of existence.
The Evolution Name will be annihilated, possibly extinct. The temple will be unrecorded, the ancestral land will be untraceable, and even the three fragments of the root essence that were already in hand will completely lose their holders, returning to the world, adrift and without a home. In the end, there will be no trace left in the world, enough to prove that Qin Yu once visited this place and fought this beast.
The Evolution-Devouring Beast thud, a path to the future behind Qin Yu silently snapped. It took a second step. With a thud, another possible destiny Return to Emanation. With the third step, the colossal maw that pierced through Qin Yu's head and chest slowly opened once more.
The countless fragments around it writhed and churned, the myriad Evolution Name on its body flowing and turning. It neither charged, nor pounced, nor roared, nor made a move. It simply stood quietly between heaven and earth, using the way of Qin Yu to devour the people of Qin Yu.
Dao Devouring, Dao Spitting, Return to Emanation Origin—the three supreme realms—fully unfolded and took shape. Holding the Silent Origin Longsword, Qin Yu stood in the center of the Sea of Tastelessness, which was dissolving step by step and returning to nothingness inch by inch, finally facing this almost unsolvable Ultimate predicament.
As long as he dares to use any principle of law, any wisp of Dao rhythm, or any obsession to break the deadlock, that principle will become the next mouthful of food for the Evolution-Devouring Beast to devour him, endlessly cycling and devouring until he is completely Return to Emanation.