As dawn broke, the Heavenly Radiance East Ridge of the Eternal Evolution Realm Hall remained as silent as an abyss.
Conradiance Halls, five figures sat solemnly in the battle hall, their expressions grave, each exuding a deep and unyielding aura, yet a certain cold sharpness emanated from the depths of their souls.
Qin Yu took a sip of spiritual tea, his gaze sweeping over Yan Yue, Zi Xue, Extinguished Light, and Yunyi, before finally speaking:
"We did a good job this round."
His words were calm, yet they conveyed a composure and control that only a destined person possesses.
"For Yu Yuance, Feng Li's complete disappearance is not just a defeat... but a complete severing of the first link in the chain of fate on the dark side."
"But this attack definitely enraged him."
He tapped his fingers lightly on the table, as if pointing out the flowing star trails:
He will not tolerate it any longer.
Yan Yue's eyes were cold and stern as she replied softly, "Since that's the case... then we can't wait any longer."
Extinguished Light smiled, "It's time to step into that Epoch Origin Spirit Ash Ruins —to let him personally witness his 'prey' turn into a hunting ground from which there is no escape."
Zi Xue's phoenix eyes flashed with a chilling light, and a spark ignited within them. "Next step, completely tear open his life shell."
Qin Yu slowly rose to his feet, his voice low yet resonating throughout the main hall:
"We need to let him know that Source of Epochless is never a place where he can weave nightmares."
"The real hunt—see you in the Ash Ruins."
Five days later, before the morning bell of the Eternal Evolution Realm Hall rang, a steady and awe-inspiring voice had already resounded from the top of the Heavenly Radiance Hall.
"The patrol mission to inspect the Epoch Origin Ash Ruins has officially commenced."
The commander of the temple guards, [Yao Guangxun], transmitted his voice from the Azure Wheel of the Yao Realm, his voice resounding throughout the entire temple domain.
"Because this round of patrol mission involves analyzing the deep remnants of the secret realm, verifying the boundary seals, and handling the Cause Severance of latent dangers, this mission will be undertaken alone by a male disciple of the Temple Guard."
"Each person will enter the core area of the Gray Ruins independently. The mission will last for one month, after which they will return to the temple and submit their inspection record."
Before the words were finished, the entire temple fell into a brief silence.
--This is the Epoch Origin Ash Ruins, a forbidden land where three Supreme Annihilation Lords, twelve- Ring Master -level disciples, and countless Soul Guards perished during the Old Era.
It is also one of the most unstable Fate-Cause in the entire Source of Epochless, containing unpredictable technical turbulence, out-of-control Fate trajectories, and reverse Soul Fate Chains.
Now, they're even demanding to enter the inspection area alone—
This is a mission, or perhaps a solitary sign before a fatal ordeal.
The Yao Guangxun added:
"This mission, though ostensibly for inspection, is also for refinement."
"The temple's protection is not merely about defense, but also about upholding its mission on the borders and treading on perilous lands."
"You all, prepare to depart."
--
At this moment, Qin Yu, standing atop the main staircase, remained unwavering in his gaze.
Meanwhile, Yan Yue, Zi Xue, Extinguished Light, Yunyi Yi all stood on the high platform in front of the hall, saying nothing and calmly watching them leave.
A spark ignited deep within her Zi Xue phoenix eyes as she murmured, "The gray ruins... it's time to set them ablaze."
Yan Yue whispered to herself:
"The curtain has finally risen on the hunting grounds..."
Qin Yu stood on the high platform of the Conradiance Halls, wearing a divine robe with Annihilation Radiance, his eyes clear and firm, yet revealing a cold light as deep as an abyss.
This time—I will go alone.
His words were calm, yet they seemed like a boundary marker falling, instantly causing the surrounding atmosphere to freeze slightly.
Yan Yue gently raised her eyes, her black hair swaying lightly, her face still serene, but a star-shaped mark appeared between her brows, clearly indicating that she had several layers of preparations hidden in her heart.
She approached Qin Yu, her tone still calm, but her eyes held a deep meaning:
I know you decided to go alone a long time ago.
"But if I sense any trace of [Fate Track Interference Wave] or [Skill Copy Reflection] within the Gray Ruins, I will break the rules and enter directly."
Qin Yu nodded slightly, reached out and pressed his hand on her shoulder, and whispered, "You won't have a chance. Don't worry, I have a way to handle this."
Zi Xue stepped forward, her phoenix feathers billowing, wisps of purple-gold starlight emanating from her fingertips. Her eyes were as clear as the first stars, yet now burned with a sharp fighting spirit.
"You go and deal with those scumbags who are preparing to hunt. We'll trigger their second ring as planned—to make them realize the difference between a 'hunter' and a 'temple guard.'"
Yunyi arrived as if by shadow, arms crossed over her chest, her Gold Radiance Dragon robe fluttering gently in the wind. Her smile remained playful, but unusually, she held back a hint of mockery in front of Qin Yu.
"Didn't you say, 'All who enter Qin Yuan will be annihilated'? Then let me see who dares to enter your abyss this time."
"When you bring back the ashes of their heads, I'll change the plaque at the entrance of our little temple and write 'Residence of the Lord of the Annihilation Era'."
Qin Yu smiled and nodded.
Extinguished Light, however, arrived last, clad in a long gray obsidian robe, his aura as calm as quicksand and still as the sea. But as he approached Qin Yu, he suddenly whispered:
"What I saw in my dream... In that secret realm, a dark wind lurked behind you, and your soul's breath was restless; perhaps a force not from the enemy is interfering with you."
"Remember, if the enemy is not intent on killing you, you can temporarily retreat for three breaths; it is not advisable to forcefully break through the secrets of heaven."
"But if it is... an enemy at the level of a Life Lord, then you will be the one to establish the first rule of our Eternal Evolution Realm Hall Palace's divine protection."
Qin Yu replied calmly, "I will."
--
At this moment, Wang Long also stepped forward, his gaze fervent, his voice filled with undisguised reverence:
"Brother Yu, don't worry, I'm not the Wang Long I was when I first joined. If anyone dares to mess with our side, I'll be the first to rush in."
"Although I can't fight my way into the dusty ruins with you, I'm here to guard every possible hidden agent who might make a move!"
The five of them gathered together, like the five souls of the realm.
At this moment, the moon is about to rise, and the gate to the gray ruins has slowly opened at the bottom of the Epoch Origin.
With her Yan Yue approached Qin Yu, her gaze focused, as if freezing the entire course of cause and effect at this moment.
"You just go ahead and kill, we... will take care of keeping the rear net intact."
Qin Yu remained silent, but slowly turned around, his figure disappearing between the Sun and the Silent Abyss, stepping into the Path of Epoch Origin.
The destined hunt has finally begun.
The following morning, as the first rays of light began to appear, the divine radiance of the Annihilation Radiance rose slowly from the eastern sky.
In the center of the Heavenly Radiance Hall plaza, a hundred male disciples of the temple's guardians have already gathered.
Each of them was clad in a divine robe, with mysterious patterns swirling around them and battle spirits entwining their bodies. Despite differences in cultivation levels, they all stood like silent, radiant statues between heaven and earth, their gazes sharp and their fighting spirit surging.
This is no ordinary mission.
This battle marked the first patrol and sealing expedition of the 100 members of the Eternal Evolution Realm Hall who broke into the "Epoch Origin Ash Ruins".
Boom--!
The Nine Luminaries Silent Lightning resounded through the sky.
At the summit of the Heavenly Radiance Hall, Yao Guangxun, clad in the Yao Realm Battle Robe, stood atop the heavens like a blazing sun.
He slowly raised his right hand, pointing into the depths of the void.
In an instant--
"Click--!!"
Above the dome, a silent rift quietly opened, as if the Epoch Realm itself had been forcibly torn apart. A Xuan Yao Annihilation Domain appeared, with Ash Abyss churning within, seemingly containing countless relics of reincarnation. The waste ash of the Epoch Origin slowly flowed in the space, like billions of annihilated memories.
In the square, all the temple's guardian disciples stood in solemn silence.
"The Epoch Origin Ash Ruins patrol mission has officially begun!"
Yao Guangxun's divine voice resonated throughout the universe; with a single command, the entire temple was shaken.
Buzz--!
A hundred beams of light descended from the dome of the Heavenly Radiance Hall, accurately enveloping each disciple and transforming into a Silent Abyss stream.
Streaks of light slowly rose into the sky, as if the stars of destiny were being awakened, and flew one by one into the Ash Abyss rift in the desolate void.
Now--
The entire Eternal Evolution Realm Hall seemed to sink into a solemn tranquility and anticipation.
This is the first all- Gray Domain mission for the Temple Guardians.
Indeed, it is the true beginning of the quiet turning of many gears of fate.
Qin Yu stood in the pillar of light, his gaze profound, his surroundings calm and undisturbed.
Unbeknownst to anyone, his journey was no longer a simple "inspection mission."
That was a hunt.
It is a campaign to control Fate-Cause.
The moment the pillar of light from the Heavenly Radiance Hall sank, Qin Yu's figure was swallowed by the annihilation, and in an instant, he passed through the Epoch Source Realm and fell into another world.
The tinnitus kept echoing in my ears.
The wind whispers like ashes.
He opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was a world of gray-purple and scarlet.
This is the deepest section of the Epoch Origin Ash Ruins.
Only the temple guards of the Eternal Evolution Realm Hall are allowed to venture into the depths of this realm and take charge of the most dangerous "Life Source Inspection."
The place where Qin Yu stood was a swamp that looked as if it had been burned down by a great disaster.
The lake was no longer filled with water; instead, it was covered with layers of ash and decay, flowing with a pale purple light and rust-colored cracks, as if a decaying soul was quietly awakening from the ground.
In the center of the lake stands a broken tower, upon which hangs an inverted "life-destroying statue," long since decayed yet still burning.
He took his first step, and the stream of light behind him silently ceased.
It was as if fate had truly left the boundaries of the world's understanding, and been cast into a forgotten land where no one wrote.
"... This is the deepest abyss of the gray ruins."
Qin Yu's gaze was deep as he stared ahead.
In that instant, ripples suddenly spread across the ash swamp beneath his feet—not the turbulence of liquid, but rather—cracks in the logic that had been disturbed.
Immediately afterwards--
Knowledge Sea: Slight deviation in the logical main chain
Sea of Consciousness: Decline in Causal Synchronization Rate
Knowledge Sea: Conceptualization permissions are limited
"Just as I thought." Qin Yu's eyes sharpened. After stepping into this place, it wasn't just the terrifying external environment that was most dangerous; the interference with the essential logical system of cultivators was the most dangerous aspect.
The air here Does Not Exist the Five Elements, but is permeated with particles called "Conception Corrosion Mist." It gradually interferes with the logical chain of "skill construction" in everyone's mind, making you doubt whether a skill has ever existed before you activate it.
Even more terrifying is--
"If one's will is not firm, even the origins of one's own cultivation will be gradually forgotten."
The entire Gray Domain seemed to push the Fate-Cause back into chaos.
But--
Qin Yu, however, remained expressionless.
The divine soul blessing from the Annihilation Lord Realm made his sea of consciousness as stable as a monument.
He slowly raised his hand, and a [Silent Origin Causal Wall] faintly unfolded, isolating the initial layer of erosion.
Just as he regained his footing, a low, mournful cry came from afar.
It's as if some kind of "unwritten existence" is brewing and rising in the depths of the lake.
He narrowed his eyes slightly.
This battle was not just an inspection.
It was also the beginning of the hunt.
Just as Qin Yu gazed at the gray lake ahead, the entire Lake of Decay suddenly began to boil violently—
Boom!!
Countless streams of gray water shot into the sky, as if the "corruption logic" at the bottom of an entire lake had been forcibly torn apart. Dozens of jet-black methane columns rose into the air, stirring up the turbulent flow of scarlet and purplish-gray.
The next breath--
The center of the lake suddenly exploded.
A colossal beast roared out from the depths of the gray swamp, and in that instant, the entire gray lake seemed to be ignited by its fury.
Its body towers like a twisted giant tree, its trunk seemingly woven from bones, charcoal, and rotten wood, its bark mottled and cracked, revealing blood-like "veins of decay."
More than ten branch-like giant limbs extend from its sides, each one asymmetrically curved, with "ossified claws" growing at the ends that resemble bizarre fingers, the tips of which flow with blackish-purple viscous fluid, and the space around it corrodes and collapses where it lands.
Its head resembled a decaying mask devoid of logic, with one eyeball already dried and broken, while the other shone with a sinister purple light like a lamp in the abyss.
A vertical crack appeared on its forehead, and a crystal core filled with "remnants of destiny" was embedded in it, seemingly constantly devouring the fragments of skill logic in this world.
Even more bizarrely—
Its entire body was coiled with circles of struggling human-shaped afterimages, some resembling cultivators, others like soul beasts. Each one wore a pained expression, as if endlessly repeating the names of the techniques they had failed to execute, yet could never succeed.
They seemed to be the lingering echoes of skills devoured by this strange beast.
The entire monster, resembling a giant tree spirit woven from rotten matter, stood in the center of the lake, its aura churning like a hellish lamp.
"... Logical beings?"
Qin Yu's eyes flickered slightly.
This is no ordinary beast, but a 'collection of lingering skill remnants' born from the corrupting rules of the gray ruins' logic, possessing the ability to distort, imitate, and devour cultivators' skills.
With a roar, all the remnants of skill designs on the ground trembled, as if the entire logic of the secret realm was about to submit to it.
This beast is named:
--[Gray Abyss Tree Nightmare].
It is one of the most terrifying beings deep within this ash marshland.
Indeed, this is the initial trial for Qin Yu in this battle.