The Sea of Touch remained still for a long time. The Touch Emanation Beast stopped in front of Qin Yu. The enormous outline, barely pieced together from countless contact surfaces, did not continue to approach. The tentacles slowly opened and closed, and the billions of tendons between the tentacles were connected to each other. The incomplete question of the Primordial Ancestor on the chest was still flowing silently. With each slight opening and closing of the Touch Abyss projection behind him, a layer of the Sea of Touch in the distance would thin.
Qin Yu remained motionless; the invisible touch that had just reached the deepest part of "I" still lingered throughout his entire being. He did not try to determine which part belonged to him, nor did he chase after the sensations that continued to differentiate along his body, Fate Soul, and thoughts. He simply focused his gaze on the faceless scalp of the Touch Emanation Beast.
Just then, the crack that supposedly ran from the top of his skull to the base of his neck slowly opened, without any sound coming from it. Qin Yu, however, felt a string of words directly "hit" him.
Each word appeared as a touch. First, it touched the Fate Soul. Then, it touched the thoughts. Finally, it landed on the deepest boundary of existence between "Qin Yu" and Wanyan.
"If you touch me, you pass." The Sea of Touch gently sank. The crack opened and closed again. "If I touch you, you will have never existed." A pause. The entire Body-Facultyless Emanation Domain remained unchanged.
The last sentence followed. "There is no third possibility." A slight tremor flashed across Qin Yu's eyes for a moment. Soon, that ripple subsided; he had expected this all along.
The fourth Evolution-Devouring Beast, has revealed the truly cruel side of the second half of the trial. The first three trials involved breaking through attachments, comprehending roots, and slaying the Emanation Guardian, with each step leading to completion. But with the last three trials, there is no turning back for either the Emanation Guardian or the newcomers.
The Tongueless Root is thus. The No-Body Faculty is also thus; therefore, the final Intentless Root will most likely not leave a third outcome. Sever the root's evolution. Pass. Defeat. Completely erased from the Wanyan.
No remains. No trace of Fate Soul. No record of its existence. Not even the fact that it was "defeated here" will remain. Qin Yu's five fingers tightened slightly as he gripped the "Silent Origin Stainless Sword," his expression unchanged.
Since they had already come this far—then they continued. The Touch Emanation Beast raised its hand, but at this moment, Qin Yu felt no killing intent, no pressure, and no gathering of Source Power. The five "fingers" extending from the pure boundary didn't even actually point at Qin Yu.
The first touches the void. The second touches the Sea of Touch. The third touches the skin of the body itself. The fourth touches the Touch Abyss within the body. The fifth—stops between Qin Yu and the world.
He didn't touch Qin Yu, but Qin Yu's pupils suddenly contracted. Because at that moment, he clearly felt—his boundary had been touched, the divine power—"Wanyan Return to Stillness Touch"—unfolded.
This is the annihilation form left by the last touch mark before the Great Ancestor entered the Silent Form Realm. It does not need to touch the touch of the newcomer. Cold, heat, softness, hardness, pain, itching, roughness, smoothness, lightness, heaviness, coarseness, fineness—these are all merely the results produced after the "touch" has occurred.
It transcends all outcomes, directly touching the fundamental premise, the boundary, between Qin Yu and the world—the line where "Qin Yu ends here, Wanyan begin there."
Thump. For the first time, Qin Yu's chest was unharmed. His Fate Soul was not cracked. His origin was not damaged. His cause and effect were not disturbed, but the edges of his body suddenly became clearer.
Qin Yu's expression changed slightly. This was definitely not a good thing; the Touch Emanation Beast was making "Qin Yu" increasingly clear.
Where is Qin Yu? Where is not Qin Yu? What belongs to Qin Yu? What does not belong to Qin Yu? Where does Qin Yu 'Qin Yu Fate Soul end? Where does Qin Yu's foundation begin? Where does Qin Yu's will connect with the outside world? What does Qin Yu's name ultimately point to?
These boundaries, which originally did not need to be constantly confirmed, began to appear layer by layer under the "Wanyan Return to Stillness Touch," and with each clearer layer, the Touch Emanation Beast was one layer closer to him.
Phase One. "Touching the Boundary". The Touch Emanation Beast did not move. The Sea of Touch still existed between Qin Yu and it, but the hand was already "on" Qin Yu's body. It did not touch flesh and blood. It touched the boundary between flesh and blood and non-flesh and blood.
It did not touch the Fate Soul. It touched the boundary between the Fate Soul and the non- Fate Soul, but it did not touch Qin Yu's will. It touched the line between "this is Qin Yu's will" and "this is not Qin Yu's will".
Finally—it touched "me" again. Thump. Qin Yu's mind trembled violently. An extremely dangerous instinct arose within him: I am who I am. This fundamental principle had allowed him to stabilize himself in countless desperate situations.
But the instant it appeared—the five fingers of the Touch Emanation Beast trembled slightly at the same time, and Qin Yu's eyes changed drastically. The boundary of "I"—lit up without light. It was a pure tactile sensation.
Previously, the boundary between Qin Yu and Wanyan was only vaguely defined, but now, with the rise of "I am who I am," that boundary suddenly became solid. I am here. The world is there. I am who I am. Non-Self. The boundary is clearer than ever before, and so is the Touch Emanation Beast.
Thump!!! Five fingers touched down simultaneously, and Qin Yu's body trembled violently. For the first time, he truly understood why this divine power could annihilate all those "with boundaries." The stronger you are, the more stable your "self" is, and the more solid your boundaries are. The easier it is for the Touch Emanation Beast to find you.
The more you emphasize your own inviolability, the more it can penetrate along that inviolable boundary. If someone uses "I" to suppress all the heavens, that incomparably powerful "I" will eventually become the clearest point of contact for the Touch Emanation Beast.
The stronger "I" become, the deeper the impact. Until—I annihilate my own "I" with my own "I". The Body-Facultyless Emanation Domain suddenly changed. Above the Sea of Touch, an ancient afterimage rose.
That was a being that had long since vanished from the Wanyan; the moment its afterimage stood, the surrounding world caved inward, its "self" extremely strong. Self is the root. Self is the Dao. Self is the unshakeable center of all existence.
The Touch Emanation Beast extended only one finger. Upon touching the boundary of that "self," the afterimage did not immediately shatter, but in the next instant—his "self" began to touch itself in return. The more stable it became, the clearer its own boundary became. The clearer it became, the more completely the Touch Emanation Beast touched it.
Finally, the "I" that had once been enough to suppress countless beings closed inward. Touching itself, the afterimage vanished. Not even the "I" remained. A second afterimage rose. Proving the Dao with force. Absolute power expanded into Wanyan. The limit of what force could reach was its boundary.
The Touch Emanation Beast touched it. The stronger the power, the more solid the boundary. Then, its absolute power Touch Return along its own boundary, and bang! The afterimage was shattered by its own force. The force itself also Return to Emanation.
The third path is rebellion, rebellion against fate, rebellion against life and death, rebellion against all predetermined order. The more extreme his rebellion, the clearer the boundary between himself and "following the natural order." The Touch Emanation Beast touched down along that boundary.
Ultimately—Reversal, the fourth path of destruction. Devouring. The wider it devours, the farther the boundary between "belonging to me" and "not belonging to me" expands. The Touch Emanation Beast touches that boundless Realm Devouring.
The boundary retracts. Devour, touch and annihilate, the fifth path. Evolution. Infinite evolution forms countless possibilities, but when that ancient being said, "This is my evolution," infinite evolution found its home. With home comes a boundary, Touch Emanation Beast touches down along the boundary. The myriad worlds that evolved layer by layer Touch Return themselves. In the end, all return to silence.
The sixth path. Nothingness, the afterimage is almost Does Not Exist. The boundary is so subtle that ordinary perception cannot find it, but "I prove the Dao with nothingness" itself has already created a line of distinction between "nothingness" and "non-nothingness". The Touch Emanation Beast only touches that line, and nothingness is annihilated by its own touchlessness.
Qin Yu's gaze grew increasingly somber. This was even more profound than the Evolution-Devouring Beast, "The Wanyan Return-to-Stillness Devouring" swallowing the "Root of the Dao". "The Wanyan Return to Stillness Touch" doesn't even need to care what Dao you established.
It asks only one question: Where does your path end? As long as there is a question of "where does it end," there are boundaries. And as long as there are boundaries, it can reach them.
The Touch Emanation Beast slowly closed its five fingers. The first stage continued, and Qin Yu could clearly feel everything about him being layered: the boundary of his physical body, the boundary of his Fate Soul, the boundary of his Dao foundation, the boundary of his will, the boundary of his supernatural powers, the boundary of cause and effect, the boundary of his name, the boundary of his existence, and the boundary of "I".
The more he tried to stabilize any one of the layers, the clearer that layer became, and the clearer it became—the more dangerous it was. Qin Yu did not immediately use his supernatural powers. Because now, any statement like "This is my power" could become the next point of Touching the Boundary for the Touch Emanation Beast. Just then, the Touch Emanation Beast raised its second hand.
The second stage is still called "Touching the Boundary," the name is the same, but the meaning is completely different. The first stage of Touching the Boundary is finding your boundaries. The second stage of Touching the Boundary is Touch Return the boundaries you have touched.
The first finger of the Touch Emanation Beast gently bent, and thud! A bloody gash suddenly exploded on Qin Yu's chest! He took a half-step back, no external force had struck him. That was Qin Yu's own physical boundary— the Touch Return.
It had been touched by the Touch Emanation Beast. Now, returning, it had become the boundary borne by the Touch Emanation Beast, the second finger. Fate Soul, thud!!! Qin Yu's sea of consciousness trembled violently. Next to the Fate Soul crack left by the Evolution-Devouring Beast, which had not yet fully recovered, new fine marks appeared directly.
Qin Yu's face paled slightly. His third finger—his will— Qin Yu unwavering determination to reach the fifth finger and face complete Return to Emanation rather than retreat, was reversed after being touched by the Touch Emanation Beast.
It forced Qin Yu his own unwavering resolve, to walk the path of returning to the Return to Emanation. The more he refused to Touch Return became. Fourth finger. Dao. Fifth finger. "I".
... Boom!!! The Sea of Touch sank for billions of miles simultaneously. For the first time, Evolution Name afterimage appeared in the space behind Qin Yu: "Qin Yu." Two words, complete and clear. And therefore—the danger was extreme.
Because a complete Evolution Name implies a clear direction. A clear direction implies a boundary, Touch Emanation Beast's hand gently touched the outer edge of the two characters "Qin Yu". Crack, the first crack appeared, and Qin Yu's pupils contracted. It hadn't even entered the third stage yet. The Evolution Name had already begun to be damaged.
The Touch Emanation Beast didn't stop; layer after layer of Qin Yu's own boundaries were Touch Return it. The boundaries of "I" pressed against "I." The boundaries of power pressed against power. The boundaries of will pressed against will. The boundaries of the Dao Foundation touched against the Dao Foundation. The boundaries of the Fate Soul touched against the Fate Soul.
Qin Yu finally fully understood the second stage: the Touch Emanation Beast hadn't copied his power, nor had it truly seized any supernatural abilities; it had simply become that boundary. Then it allowed the boundary to touch back from the other side.
Qin Yu himself was situated between the two sides. The stronger he became, the more solid the two sides became. The heavier the collision, the more he wanted to maintain "this is me," and the more blurred that boundary became. In the end—he touched himself. He destroyed himself.