At this moment, Qin Yu completely saw through the true meaning of Illusory Dream of Past Regrets. Letting go of the past is never about forcibly forgetting, ruthlessly severing ties, or erasing true feelings. True relief is about accepting all predetermined outcomes, accepting regrets, accepting losses, and accepting all the imperfections in life. There is no need to tamper with the past to make up for debts, nor to deceive oneself with illusory perfection.
What's hardest to let go of is never the people and events that have passed, but rather the lingering thought in our hearts, "If only we could do it all over again."
Qin Yu's steps grew increasingly steady and firm. The figures, sounds, and landscapes behind him gradually receded with each step, fading away layer by layer. There was no devastating collapse, no sorrowful parting, only a gentle fading into the distance.
Just as all the scenery was about to melt away, a gentle voice drifted from afar. "Are you really not going to leave?"
Qin Yu paused slightly, but only for a moment, before continuing forward, his voice calm and even. "No." Click
The first crack in the sky suddenly spread out. Then, countless fine cracks crisscrossed, covering the entire illusory sky. This rewritten, perfect life trajectory began to crumble layer by layer from that moment on.
The streets and alleys transformed into starlight, and the mountains and rivers gradually became transparent and blurred. All the mistakes that were made up for, the farewells that were continued, and the old friends that were called back slowly faded away and disappeared in the soft light.
Qin Yu kept his eyes open and watched calmly as everything dissipated. True relief always includes a willing farewell. At the end of the illusion, that smiling figure was completely annihilated in the flowing light. Qin Yu's eyes were calm, without any lingering, obsession, or resentment.
Boom! The vast Illusory Dream of Past Regrets collapsed completely and vanished into nothingness. Qin Yu successfully passed the second test.
In the real world, the black fog still shrouded the Ancient Gate of Myriad Dharmas, and the spatial confinement remained unabated. More and more cultivators who had stopped at the first level of the Illusory Domain of Greed and Delusion were awakening one after another. At first, there were only a few scattered people, but in an instant, the number increased to dozens and hundreds, and the number continued to increase.
As the black mist dissipated, everyone's consciousness returned to normal, and their vision cleared. However, their physical bodies remained locked in place by the invisible space, trapped in this thousand-mile-long prison, unable to move.
A middle-aged cultivator's face was ashen, his eyes filled with bitter resentment. In the first illusion, he encountered a lost ancient technique, which he never touched or approached throughout. Yet, he remained attached to it from beginning to end, unable to let go, and ultimately succumbed to the lingering greed in his heart.
The elderly man beside him slowly opened his eyes, remained silent for a long time, and then a bitter smile appeared on his lips. "I have cultivated for over 300,000 years, traversed countless perilous lands, and experienced countless vicissitudes, only to be defeated in the end by the mere three words 'reluctance'."
No one around them mocked or ridiculed them. Those who had awakened at this moment were all losers from the first level, each with their own flawed obsessions, filled only with sighs and melancholy.
Further away, a middle-aged cultivator, his eyes bloodshot, could not accept the outcome and roared angrily, "I didn't take it! I didn't even touch it! Why am I judged to have failed!" He frantically activated his Dao Foundation to break through the spatial confinement, and the Dao aura around his body surged, but he could not shake it in the slightest.
The ancient gate's restrictions never consider actions or traces, but only judge one's own mind and attachments. Whether or not one reaches out to touch it is irrelevant; a single thought of greed or selfishness, or even the slightest reluctance, is enough to lead to defeat.
The defeated group soon noticed an even more unsettling sight: those geniuses and strong individuals who had truly passed the first trial remained with their eyes closed, deep in slumber, the black mist surrounding them growing ever thicker and deeper, indicating they had fallen into an even deeper illusory trial.
The awakened losers, trapped in the cage of reality, watched helplessly as the sleeping winners strode forward, step by step delving deeper into the core of the secret realm. In an instant, envy, resentment, shame, and melancholy intertwined and spread, enveloping the entire crowd. Some sighed deeply, some silently reflected on themselves, and some were filled with regret, finally beginning to face the flaws and weaknesses in their own Dao hearts.
Just as everyone's emotions were churning, another wisp of black mist suddenly dissipated. A cultivator abruptly opened his eyes. This time, the person who awoke had a completely different expression from the ashen and dejected one who had lost the first level. His eyes were red-rimmed, his breathing was rapid, his body trembled slightly, and his eyes held an uncontrollable grief.
"Mother..." He stared at the empty black mist in front of him, his voice hoarse and weak, almost broken. "Mother..." The surrounding losers all turned their heads, but no one spoke. They already understood what had happened.
Ignoring the stares of those around them, tears silently streamed down their faces as they murmured, "I knew it was fake... I knew it from the very beginning. But I haven't seen you for 170,000 years..."
The entire hall fell silent; you could hear a pin drop. He had overcome the temptation of greed and delusion, but ultimately succumbed to the allure of past regrets and the promise of a perfect ending. Knowing it was an illusion, a dream, a false sense of fulfillment, he still couldn't bear to let go and endure separation again when his loved ones, who had been gone for 170,000 years, reappeared before him.
After a long silence, he closed his eyes and gave a bitter smile, his voice filled with weariness and weakness. "If I had to go through this again, I probably still wouldn't be able to get through it." The black mist completely dissipated, and his qualification for the second trial was utterly annihilated.
Around him, a group of cultivators still shrouded in black mist were each adrift in their Illusory Dream of Past Regrets, undergoing the gentlest yet cruelest test of their true nature. Some slowly relaxed the sorrow between their brows, completely letting go of their obsessions; some had tears in their eyes but remained asleep, gritting their teeth to say goodbye; some were deeply trapped in their past dreams of fulfillment, unable to break free, and quietly succumbed to defeat.
Those who break through the second illusion and let go of their old regrets will still not return to reality. The black mist gathers layer by layer and sinks again, drawing everyone's souls and consciousness towards a deeper, Ultimate test.
Qin Yu was one of them. His Illusory Dream of Past Regrets completely collapsed, all the perfect illusions vanished, the rewritten past returned to its true form, and the old friends he met again parted ways once more. He did not take away a single bit of the false perfection, nor did he erase a single bit of the real past.
Memories remain, feelings endure, regrets are accepted with equanimity, but the obsession with "doing it all over again" in my heart has been severed.
Boundless darkness once again enveloped his soul, and a new trial was yet to take shape. Qin Yu stood alone in the Space Silence chaos, calming his mind and spirit, waiting for the black mist to unfold a new world before embarking on the next trial of his Dao heart.
After the last glimmer of light faded from the Illusory Dream of Past Regrets, Qin Yu once again fell into boundless darkness. This time, the black mist did not immediately create a new world for him. There were no mountains and rivers, no ancient cities, no old friends, and not even any ground to stand on.
Qin Yu's consciousness was suspended in an unknowable Space Silence, with no reference points to measure distances or any changes to prove that time was passing.
The distinction between the previous moment and the next moment disappears here; distance, up and down, front and back also vanish; even darkness itself gradually fades away, because when the distinction between light and darkness ceases to exist, "darkness" also loses its meaning of being identifiable.
Time stood still, space fell silent, and only a silent consciousness remained. Qin Yu did not move, nor could he go anywhere.
After a long while, a very faint light appeared ahead. Then, a second, a third, and countless other faint lights lit up one after another. These lights did not form a new world. They formed— Qin Yu.
The first scene unfolds, depicting a path he once walked. The second scene appears, followed by the third, the fourth... Countless memories begin to unfold in the Space Silence, the battles he experienced.
The perilous places traversed, the opportunities gained, the life-and-death experiences endured, the people met, the choices made, every victory, every defeat, every breakthrough, every moment of rising again after being on the verge of despair—all of these were completely extracted from the depths of consciousness by this illusory realm.
There is no alteration, no embellishment, and no attempt to create an alternate ending for the past like in "Illusory Dream of Past Regrets." What is shown here is—the true story of Qin Yu.
Immediately afterward, beyond his memories, new things appeared: his cultivation, his path, his glory, the traces he left behind along his cultivation journey, the identities he had been called, everything others used to confirm "who Qin Yu is"—all these began to emerge layer by layer around him. They surrounded Qin Yu, ultimately forming a complete person.
Qin Yu raised his eyes. Countless years that belonged to him floated in the Space Silence. And at this moment, he understood—the third level had arrived, the True Self Returns to Nothingness.
The first two levels involve specific objects: the first forces you to confront the external things you want to possess, the second forces you to confront the past you can't bear to lose, and the third level has no "others" involved. Because what you need to let go of at this stage is only ever yourself.
A silent vibration rippled out from the depths of Space Silence. Qin Yu's gray robe disappeared first, followed by his appearance, physique, and physical sensations—all the outward appearances that distinguished him from the outside world—began to gradually fade away.
Qin Yu did not stop him, as he was still able to think and knew who he was, so the Illusionary Realm continued to peel away deeper.
His identity began to fade, the way others addressed him began to disappear, and all traces that could prove what he had ever accomplished gradually receded from his surroundings. Qin Yu watched quietly.
He didn't make a move because he knew there were no enemies in this realm, and any supernatural power would be meaningless. If he were to forcibly tear this place apart with force, then the very thought of "I will pass through with my own strength" would have already seized "me" again. So Qin Yu did nothing, letting the illusionary realm continue.
Soon—his cultivation began to fade. The path that belonged to him began to drift away. The power he had honed through countless life-and-death battles disappeared layer by layer from his consciousness.
In the end, he possessed nothing left to prove his strength or weakness. Yet the illusion remained unresolved, because these things were still merely "belonging to me." They hadn't truly touched—"me."