Qin Yu's breathing was so light it was almost imperceptible. The third stage of "Wanyan Return to Stillness Knowing" continued, the entire Endless Abyss of Knowing never ceasing its Return to Emanation on him. His past was largely severed, and only a few faint, fading traces remained of his future. Transparent gaps spread from his left arm towards his shoulder and neck from his physical body.
The crisscrossing cracks on his Fate Soul had long since penetrated to its roots; most of the Nine-Wheel True Evolution Dharma Wheel were dim and lifeless, and the remaining few could barely maintain their rotation. Qin Yu supported his body with the Silent Origin Stainless Sword; the five fingers of his right hand were so transparent that one could directly see the surging Knowing Surface behind him.
Blood slowly dripped down his lips. Before each drop could truly fall into the Endless Abyss of Knowing, the knowledge about "Qin Yu's bleeding" was already derived, then returned, once again backfiring on his existence.
He had little left to lose; his Evolution Name was reduced to a last thread, a thread that could barely hold the name "Qin Yu" together.
But at this final moment, on the verge of complete Return to Emanation, Qin Yu suddenly remembered the three words he had just uttered. "I am still here." The instant this thought resurfaced, his eyes, which had become somewhat unfocused due to his severe injuries, suddenly froze.
No, he's been doing one thing all along. Ever since "Wanyan Return to Stillness Knowing" truly came to fruition, he seems to have tried every path that could reach the root of things—"The Fate Cause Sealing Mirror" couldn't separate evolution, "The Star Structure Returning Ring" couldn't trace back to before evolution, and "The Book of Fate Law" couldn't read the source that hadn't yet become knowledge.
"Void Source · Dream Stillness" cannot transform "Derivation" into an object that can be returned to zero, and "Return to Origin and Sever Retracing" cannot pull "Derivation" itself into a range where its right to exist can be stripped away. But beyond these failures, there is something even more hidden that has never stopped from beginning to end.
He was proving that he hadn't disappeared, that he was still Qin Yu, that he could still fight, that his Fate Soul hadn't been completely shattered, and that his Evolution Name still had a last glimmer of hope.
Even the moment he braced himself against the Silent Origin Stainless Sword, refusing to let his knees fall, was a silent testament to the entire Endless Abyss of Knowing —I am still here. Qin Yu's pupils contracted slightly.
An even more piercing chill seeped from the deepest part of his Fate Soul, for he finally saw that "Wanyan Return to Stillness Knowing" was still able to firmly grasp his last remaining position.
"I am still here" itself is the last of the Clinging to Knowing. As long as he still needs to prove "I exist", there must first be a "I" that needs to be proven. As long as this "I" is established, the Endless Abyss of Knowing can give rise to it. As long as it can be given rise to, "the Wanyan Return to Stillness Knowing" can give rise to the "I" that was given rise to, and then Return to Emanation with his own deepest nature.
The more unwilling Qin Yu was to accept Qin Yu, the clearer Qin Yu "unwillingness to accept defeat" became. The more unwilling Qin Yu was to admit defeat, the more complete his "unwillingness to admit defeat" became. The more Qin Yu wanted to tell himself that it wasn't over yet, the easier it was for the "still existing Qin Yu" to be fully derived from the Endless Abyss of Knowing.
He had been desperately holding onto the last line of defense. But that very line was becoming the final knife that would kill him. "So that's how it is..."
Qin Yu's lips moved slightly, his voice so soft it was almost inaudible. "Even this... I can't grasp." As his words fell, the last Evolution Name behind him suddenly dimmed. Buzz —Qin Yu understood he couldn't grasp 'I'm still here'.
This knowledge was also derived, and the next moment, it returned, crack!!! The last relatively intact area in the center of the Fate Soul suddenly cracked open.
Qin Yu's body jolted violently, and he fell forward, his right hand barely able to grip the Silent Origin Stainless Sword. The blade plunged deep into his Knowing Surface, and he used his last remaining strength to support himself, his shoulders and back heaving violently, blood gushing from his mouth and nose, and for the first time, his vision truly began to dim.
It was too fast; there was no time left. He couldn't even consciously "let go of the proof." Because—"I must let go of the proof"—it's still a state of awareness. "I no longer prove my existence."
It is still a form of knowledge. "I don't need to know whether I exist." It is still a form of knowledge. Any answer that can be spoken, thought out, understood, and confirmed by him, once it takes shape, will fall into knowledge.
Then it was transformed, then returned, and then it was Return to Emanation again. The light in Qin Yu's eyes dimmed little by little, and the little finger of his right hand disappeared. The Nameless disappeared. The edge of his palm began to become transparent, and the last patch of blood in the center of his chest gradually faded away.
The seventh wheel of the Nine-Wheel True Evolution Dharma Wheel extinguished. The eighth wheel stagnated. Only the last wheel remained, slowly rotating in the deepest part of the Fate Soul.
One turn after another, with each rotation, a portion of the wheel's rim is lost; Qin Yu's past is so severed that it can no longer form a complete trajectory. Two of the last three branches of the future extinguish.
The last line—it too began to fade. His Evolution Name was reduced to a single stroke, just one stroke, and that stroke was disappearing. At this moment, Qin Yu had truly reached an unprecedented perilous situation. If he took another half step forward—not even the inscription "Qin Yu once stood here" would remain, and the Wanyan Ancestral Land would not remember him.
The True Evolution Divine Hall will not remember him, the Six Sense Roots Emanation Domain will not leave any trace of him, and even the sight, smell, taste, and touch that have already been passed through will lose a person who once walked through them.
Qin Yu slowly closed his eyes. He no longer said "I am still here," nor "I Does Not Exist," neither proving nor denying. He didn't even hold onto the thought of "letting go of proof," but it was too late. The final Return to Emanation "Wanyan Return to Stillness Knowing" had arrived. The last remaining trace of Evolution Name began to fade.
In that instant, a page of a book in the deepest part of Qin Yu's sea of consciousness was gently turned. The sound was so soft that in this Endless Abyss of Knowing where even "sound" itself could be knowledge, it left almost no lingering echo. A point of light suddenly appeared between Qin Yu's brows, and the next moment...
A celestial book, no bigger than an inch, slowly emerged from between his brows. Qin Yu's nearly unfocused pupils contracted slightly. "Primordial Hongmeng - Great Luo Heavenly Chapter." The ancient celestial book, which had been dormant within him and carried the authority of the universe's origin, now manifested on its own.
It hovered before Qin Yu's brow, very small, only an inch or so, but as the first page slowly unfolded—
Boom!!! The entire Endless Abyss of Knowing suddenly lit up! An intense, blinding radiance burst forth from that small celestial book, instantly enveloping Qin Yu's body, which had already disappeared by more than half. The last Evolution Name, which was about to be completely extinguished, paused abruptly in that light.
For a mere instant, Qin Yu did not recover, his Fate Soul did not heal, the broken past did not return, and the extinguished future did not reappear. Yet, Return to Emanation's speed in reaching the final step was forcibly sustained by that instant of light.
Immediately afterwards, the tiny celestial book slowly rose from between Qin Yu's brows, ascending higher and higher, its pages unfolding—one page, ten pages, a hundred pages, countless pages. Finally, a Book of the Universe's Origin, constructed from countless points of light and ancient Dao patterns, quietly floated behind Qin Yu.
"The Primordial Hongmeng: The Great Luo Heavenly Chapter". As the pages turn, golden script flows along the edges, and five-colored ink light reflects between the layers of translucent pages.
Time flows through a corner of the page, past, present, and future intertwine on the same page; space opens and closes with the arrangement of words, and countless near and far, birth and death exist within a single word; life and death are transformed into ink marks of varying shades, circulating on both sides of the spine;
Cause and effect condense into punctuation, ancient connections weave through the chapters; the five elements transform into five colors of ink, arising and ceasing with each page turn; yin and yang are presented in the strokes and blank spaces, one bright and one dark, one visible and one hidden;
Fate transforms into countless fine threads, threading through the table of contents, page numbers, and unopened chapters; reincarnation forms ring after ring of chapters, one after the other; nothingness sinks into the deepest blank spaces between the pages;
The rules are transformed into golden inscriptions that bind the entire book together; logic allows billions of words to be interconnected; and the narrative unfolds as layers of semi-transparent pages, continuously spreading from behind Qin Yu into the depths of the Endless Abyss of Knowing.
The twelve paths—fully open, time, space, life and death, cause and effect, five elements, yin and yang, destiny, reincarnation, nothingness, rules, logic, narrative.
At this moment, the "Primordial Hongmeng - Great Luo Heavenly Chapter" had pushed everything it could unleash to its Ultimate. Qin Yu's pale face was illuminated by thousands of lights, but there was no joy in his eyes.
Because—it's not enough, far from enough. In the center of the Knowing Wall, the crack slowly widened, and the Knowing Emanation Beast stepped forward from it. This time, its form was clearer than ever before.
Omniscience forms the head, ignorance extends into the torso, attachment, doubt, and emptiness flow along the limbs, Myriad Laws Return to the Ruins behind it, the remains of countless losers rise and fall with its steps, the Knowing Wall transforms into the chest, and in the center of the chest, the afterglow of the Silent Form Realm still flickers.
When the Endless Abyss of Knowing further presented it as a "knowledgeable phenomenon" that Qin Yu could currently bear, countless subtle extensions appeared on the surface of that enormous outline—each subtle extension pierced through a timeline, and each tiny gap led to a complete Knowing Realm.
It exhaled a breath, and billions of the Knowing Realm were generated; it inhaled a breath, and billions of the Knowing Realm Return to Emanation. Then—it looked at Qin Yu, and then at the "Primordial Hongmeng - Great Luo Heavenly Chapter" behind Qin Yu.
The entire Endless Abyss of Knowing coalesced into a single sentence. "What have you learned?" Qin Yu did not answer; he no longer had the strength to reply. Moreover, any answer at this moment would become knowledge itself. "Primordial Hongmeng - Great Luo Heavenly Chapter" moved first. Whoosh! Thousands of pages flipped simultaneously, and the pages of rules shone brightly.
Countless golden runes soared into the sky, rapidly spreading along the relationships between the Knowing Wall, Knowing Surface, and Knowing Layer. These runes attempted to rewrite everything happening here, separating Qin Yu from the direction of "Return to Emanation".
However, the Knowing Emanation Beast only "knows" for a moment, without raising its hand or blocking, and that glance didn't even form any visible power before the golden runes suddenly stopped.
One, ten, ten thousand, hundreds of millions—all the golden characters rewriting the rules faded rapidly from the very first stroke, rustling... the golden light Return to Emanation source.
The page of rules suddenly dimmed, and the next page turned, revealing cause and effect, clanging and resounding! Countless chains of cause and effect burst forth from within the Heavenly Chapter, piercing through the Endless Abyss of Knowing, attempting to rewrite the connection of "Qin Yu being derived—being derived back— Return to Emanation".
The Silent Form Realm on the chest of the Knowing Emanation Beast flashed slightly. That time, it touched the "source". The chain of cause and effect stopped instantly, because before cause and effect appeared, there was already evolution.
Crack! The first one snapped, followed by billions of others collapsing simultaneously. The Heavenly Chapter flipped again, and five-colored ink light surged forth, creating mountains, seas of stars, life, and worlds. Countless beings rapidly generated within the five-colored ink light, attempting to offset the Return to Emanation Qin Yu was suffering through continuous Creation.
The Knowing Emanation Beast once again "knows," and the five-colored ink light suddenly loses its meaning because "Creation"—also originates from the origin—is a process where all newly born beings, before they have a chance to fully manifest themselves, Return to Emanation from their roots.
Time was exhausted, space was exhausted, life and death were exhausted, cause and effect were exhausted, the five elements were exhausted, yin and yang were exhausted, and the threads of fate broke one after another. The halo of reincarnation was extinguished one after another.
Nothingness itself cannot be a refuge, because "nothingness" is still a knowledge that has already arisen from evolution, with dim rules and collapsed logic. The semi-transparent pages of the narrative are shattered in large pieces.
With a whoosh, countless fragments flew towards the Endless Abyss of Knowing. A living tome that contained all laws and allowed all origins to intertwine between its pages was now rapidly shattering before the Knowing Emanation Beast.
As Qin Yu watched all this, the last glimmer of light in his eyes dimmed. The Knowing Emanation Beast was right. "Primordial Hongmeng - Great Luo Heavenly Chapter" was also within the realm of evolution.
All its authority stems from the possibilities derived from the dimension of "books." It can write rules, and the "writing of rules" arises from these derivatives. It can alter cause and effect.
It can "change cause and effect" from derivation; it can control life and death; it can manipulate fate, reverse reincarnation, sink into nothingness, manipulate logic, and change narrative.
These—all still occurred after the emergence of power—and where "Wanyan Return to Stillness Knowing" stood, before these powers arose, the Knowing Emanation Beast took a step forward. The Heavenly Chapter behind Qin Yu trembled violently, a crack appearing—