The pitch-black mist, accumulated over countless epochs, surged forth from within the gate, vast and unstoppable. The black mist that burst forth from the ancient gate did not gravitate towards any one direction, but instantly spread and expanded in all directions, enveloping the entire world for thousands of miles. The thousands of cultivators in front of the cliff had no time to react before they were instantly swallowed up by the thick black mist, their figures completely submerged within it.
"Retreat!!!" "Retreat!!!" "Retreat quickly!!!" Someone shouted a warning, and the previously stalemated crowd instantly exploded, fleeing in panic.
But it was all too late. The black mist spread far faster than anyone could perceive or react, covering the entire cliffside airspace in an instant—ten miles, a hundred miles, a thousand miles.
Boom! The instant the black mist enveloped the vast expanse of land, an invisible spatial boundary suddenly closed, completely severing the passage between inside and outside. In the chaos, some people immediately tore through the void in an attempt to escape.
With a hiss, the newly formed spatial rift instantly vanished and closed, rendering escape futile. Another cultivator decisively crushed his personal escape treasure, but received no response from it; the treasure had completely failed.
"What's going on?!" "Get out of here! Break through this black mist!" Several powerful divine abilities suddenly erupted, simultaneously striking the edge of the black mist. Boom!!! A deafening roar resounded, but the thick black mist remained as stable as ever, without even a ripple.
Immediately afterwards, all the sounds and commotion in the entire venue suddenly changed, and the invisible force of confinement that had covered the entire sky for thousands of miles completely settled down.
Qin Yu clearly sensed that the space around him suddenly sank, and his entire body was instantly locked in place. He couldn't lift his fingers, couldn't move his legs, and even the hem of his clothes that had just been slightly raised was frozen in mid-air, completely still.
His gaze suddenly hardened, and he forcefully suppressed the turmoil in his heart. He did not rashly activate his cultivation to resist, but instead calmly sensed his own condition and the surrounding situation.
At this very moment, all the cultivators within the area shrouded in the thousand-mile-long black mist were subjected to the same form of confinement. Those who had just turned to flee remained frozen in place, their panicked postures unchanged; those who had raised their hands to form hand seals in preparation for battle...
Hands froze in mid-air; the person levitating in the air remained motionless. Even the elders and prodigies from the four great families, with their profound foundations, were all enveloped by this boundless spatial confinement power, and no one was exempt.
Some roared in shock and anger, some exhausted their Dao foundation to break free, and some tried to manipulate space with their Fate Soul, but all their methods were in vain. This world seemed to be completely sealed off, and all things were silent.
The black mist did not immediately reveal its murderous power, but instead grew thicker and denser, drastically compressing visibility from a hundred feet, ten feet, and finally shrinking to within a few feet. Strands of bone-chilling cold quietly seeped in, neither violent nor fierce, yet all-pervasive, seeping into the bone marrow along the skin and blood vessels, devouring Fate Soul.
"Form ranks! Everyone, gather together!" a sect elder shouted sternly, trying to calm the disciples and maintain the formation.
However, everyone was bound and unable to move an inch. They could only rely on their similar positions to barely draw upon each other's Dao energy and protect one another. The four major families also urgently activated their protective Dao techniques, struggling to connect their defensive power and hold their formation. Only the Rogue Cultivator cultivators on the periphery were leaderless and completely panicked and collapsed.
"I can't move!" "I can't break through this barrier at all!" "My teleportation talisman and other magical artifacts are all ineffective!" "It was that person who triggered the ancient restriction! Damn it!"
Fearful curses and panicked screams rose and fell, echoing layer upon layer in the thick black fog. Previously, everyone had their own ulterior motives and schemes, all wanting others to scout ahead so they could reap the benefits. In the blink of an eye, all the cultivators in the entire thousand-mile world were trapped in this sudden, ancient prison.
Qin Yu remained standing still. The thick black mist had already obscured the figures around him, leaving only a hazy darkness in his vision. The biting cold seeped into his robes and assaulted his body. He tried again to move his right hand slightly and lift his foot to take a step, but his body remained motionless. All his qi, blood, Dao energy, and spatial opportunities were locked away.
Qin Yu's brows furrowed slowly, and he understood in his heart that at this moment, he, like everyone else in the room, was completely imprisoned and had no way to break free.
The black fog continued to deepen, and the thousand-mile expanse of land before the Ancient Gate of Myriad Dharmas, which had been illuminated by the morning light, had completely lost its color. The sun, which had just risen in the distance, still hung in the sky above the Primordial Grave, but once it reached the edge of this area, it could not advance any further. The thousand-mile black fog was like a giant curtain that sealed off the world, enveloping the cliff, the ancient gate, the Lineage, and all the cultivators who had not had time to retreat.
The mist drifted slowly among the crowd. At first, blurry figures could be seen dozens of feet away, but as time went on, the field of vision gradually narrowed until only distorted and hazy black shadows remained beyond ten feet.
The chill grew clearer, seeping into the depths of the Fate Soul through the robes, skin, and bones. There were no wounds or frozen flesh wherever it passed, yet everyone felt an icy cold that was hard to dispel, as if their entire sea of consciousness had been placed into an abyss where no light could ever shine.
Qin Yu remained firmly rooted to the spot. He didn't waste any more energy struggling. His gaze pierced through the constantly flowing black mist, observing the changes around him as much as possible. The cultivators nearby were far from calm. Some were still frantically activating their Dao principles to break through the spatial constraints, some were trying to use their Fate Soul to control divine weapons to bombard the prison's boundaries from the outside, and several Eternal Silence Realm experts were echoing each other, forcibly converging their respective Dao essences into one place.
"Again!" A furious shout came from the left side of the black mist. Boom!!! Several forces erupted simultaneously. The space trembled violently. But the tremor lasted only a moment. The Thousand-Mile Cage remained intact, without even a crack. "Useless..." someone's voice was deep. "The space is completely sealed off." "Then keep bombarding! I don't believe this restriction can really trap everyone here!"
On the other side, someone immediately shouted sharply, "All sect disciples, gather together! Those who can sense each other's Fate Soul, form an array first, and do not act rashly!" "Ju Lineage Shangguan Lineage, stabilize your Dao foundation!" "No one from the Shangguan family is allowed to leave their positions!" "Hua Lineage disciples, listen to my command—" "Chi Family Lineage members, form an array!" Shouts came from different locations in the black mist. The sect forces, which originally had their own thoughts, finally began to instinctively move towards their own people.
Those whose bodies were still unable to move responded to each other with their Fate Soul. Fellow disciples who were originally close together forcibly connected their Daoist auras, attempting to use the power of the group to resist this unknown black mist.
The area where the Rogue Cultivator were located was even more chaotic. They had no unified command, nor the coordination formed by long-term joint cultivation. Several small groups that had temporarily formed alliances began calling out each other's names to confirm their location by sound.
Just as this chaos continued— hum... The Ancient Gate of Myriad Dharmas suddenly trembled again. Qin Yu abruptly raised his eyes. Deep within the black mist, the ancient gate, which had been obscured to the point of only a hazy outline, lit up once more. First, the two pillars on the left and right, then layers of dark gold arches, and finally, all the awakened array patterns on the entire gate simultaneously emitted an ancient glow.
Golden streaks pierced through the black mist, crisscrossing and extending across the desolate world. The darkness did not engulf the radiance; instead, it slowly retreated to both sides for a moment along with them. The surrounding noise subsided accordingly.
The next moment, a voice rang out. No one knew where it came from. It did not originate from any specific location within the ancient gate, nor did it spread from the sky or the ground. When the voice appeared, the Fate Soul of every person within the Thousand-Mile Prison heard it simultaneously.
Ancient, timeless, carrying a serene composure that has remained undiminished even after countless eons. "Only those with unwavering Dao hearts are worthy to approach—" The first line fell. A layer of array patterns on the Ancient Gate of Myriad Dharmas slowly lit up. "Worldly thoughts dissolve, and the realm deepens." The second line fell. The black mist ceased its churning. "Do not seek the path of fleeting fame—" The third line resounded for miles. The movements and expressions of those cultivators still frantically bombarding the spatial barrier momentarily faltered.
Finally—"With unwavering resolve, I knock upon the towering peak." Buzz! As the last word fell, the entire Ancient Gate of Myriad Dharmas suddenly shone brightly. Then all the golden Dao patterns fell silent again. The sound vanished, and a suffocating silence descended upon the vast expanse of land.
Qin Yu's gaze narrowed slightly. The four sentences didn't directly explain what was inside the secret realm, nor did they tell everyone how to break free from the current confinement, but their meaning was already extremely clear.
Only those with unwavering resolve are qualified to proceed. This black mist itself is already part of the ancient sect's trial. Some have clearly grasped this point. "Resolve..." A slightly hoarse voice came from within the black mist. "Is this a selection process for those entering the secret realm?" Someone else immediately said, "So, as long as we guard our resolve, we can pass?" "Don't be too happy yet!" someone interrupted in a deep voice. "Nothing has happened yet!"