Fate Seal Reversal · The Hunter Becomes the Hunted

In the Heavenly Emanation Treasure Realm · Middle Layer, far away on a gray-blue floating continent, purple-gold spiritual flames surged, their ancient and broken aura flowing. A team formed from divine artifacts, strange fires, immortal herbs, and magical treasures stood before a broken floating altar. In the distance were the ruins of a tilted and broken crystal palace, overgrown with shattered spiritual vines and dormant seals. Starlight poured down all around, yet the atmosphere was utterly silent.

The leader of the group was a tall young man whose body was inlaid with gold and jade, and whose brow was adorned with divine patterns. He had a gloomy expression, his right arm was a semi-mechanical spiritual bone structure, he wore the Broken Star Armor, and a three-foot-four-inch Annihilating Thunder Vast Heaven Sword was held horizontally behind him, thunder roaring with every breath. He was the main soul of the Mighty Thunder Heaven-Suppressing Sword, one of the transforming divine artifacts.

"Sigh... I really don't know where we're supposed to find the person in the portrait." He shook his head slightly, his tone a mixture of weariness and suppressed anger. "That powerful expert at the Only Book Realm named Liang Jichen didn't say anything, just threw us a portrait and ordered us to fight to the death—"

Before he could finish speaking, the woman beside him, dressed in a green silk robe with dewy eyes, snorted coldly. A leaf vein mark with a faint green light floated between her brows, clearly the personified form of the immortal herb—the soul of the Heavenly Origin Nine Spirit Grass.

"He used the Fate Soul Lock Seal our lives and deaths, yet he didn't reveal the enemy's realm, movement techniques, or origins, expecting us to exhaust our soul power to find him? If the Soul Lock hadn't sealed our soul's trajectory, I would have already found a way to self-destruct and reincarnate, breaking free from this bondage!"

As soon as she finished speaking, a young man with silver hair, fiery eyes, and robes adorned with flowing patterns of burning flames sneered and replied, with nine phantom images of fiery feathers appearing behind him.

"Don't even mention it! I, the mighty 'Nine Luminaries Aberrant Flame,' once devoured a sixth-tier Heaven-Annihilating Beast in the Ten Spirits Burning Abyss, and now I'm reduced to a pathetic soul-searching dog in this middle level? If my Fate Soul hadn't been controlled, how could I possibly obey the orders of that Mystic Emanation Nether Venerable!"

"Yes," a middle-aged man holding a talisman scroll and wearing a robe with talisman patterns added in a low voice. His face was stern and his temperament was extremely ancient and solemn. He was an ancient talisman personification.

"Each of us was forged through countless trials in the Myriad Tribulations Fire Prison, the Myriad Realms Treasure Domain, and the Ten Heavens Burning Grass Garden. We are the coveted treasures of countless cultivators, yet today we have become enslaved hunting dogs—truly... damned!"

Several people fell silent. Deep within Mighty Thunder Heaven-Suppressing Sword's eyes, thunder rumbled. He looked towards the distant sky, lightly stamped his foot, and the portrait bestowed by Liang Jichen appeared in the void.

In the portrait, the man is dressed in dark gray battle armor, his eyes are like Star Abyss, his expression is indifferent but there is a kind of coldness that overwhelms all destiny, it is Qin Yu.

"Even if we are to follow orders, we should know... who we are facing," he whispered, his voice heavy as thunder. "If this person is more terrifying than Liang Jichen, are we carrying out a mission or sending ourselves to our deaths?"

Heavenly Origin Nine Spirit Grass said calmly, "You're not the first person to ask this question, but... no one gets an answer."

The next moment, accompanied by a gust of wind, the group transformed into afterimages and soared into the boundless chaotic nebula in the Heavenly Emanation Treasure Realm · Middle Layer, searching for the name in the portrait that was destined to trigger a storm.

Their Fate Soul are still trembling.

And the people in the painting are quietly approaching their destined turning point.

In the abyss of nothingness, a rift forcibly torn open by the spatial and temporal layers, like a gaping dark maw, floats silently in the dimensional gap of the Heavenly Emanation Treasure Realm · Middle Layer, resembling a chaotic remnant left after all things collapsed.

Qin Yu, Yan Yue, Wang Long, and Lin Yun stood deep within the rift, where the nebula, lightning, and causal dust of the outside world could not penetrate even a fraction. This place was like a sliver of space outside the origin of time, a pre-battle refuge created by Qin Yu using "Fate Trajectory Profiling".

Yan Yue leaned forward slightly, her gaze calm and serene, her silver hair fluttering slightly, her Radiant Starfrost Robe shimmering with starlight and cold flames, her Daoist voice like the soft murmur of dawn and moonlight:

"Yu, it is now certain that the entire Heavenly Emanation Treasure Realm · Middle Layer has almost fallen into the control of Mystic Emanation Nether Venerable Liang Jichen."

"The Fate Soul imprint of the shapeshifter has been sealed, and tens of thousands of cultivators are being manipulated by him to hunt us down... Every move we make will be within his trap. The current situation is extremely unfavorable."

Wang Long then stepped forward, Fate Pressure Wheel Seal behind him to slowly rotate, and whispered in a deep voice:

"Yes, Senior Brother Qin Yu. If we rashly reveal ourselves now, we will inevitably be surrounded and attacked by a large number of shapeshifters—although these people did not intend to, their Fate Soul are controlled, and their killing intent is uncontrollable."

Qin Yu remained silent, his eyes slightly closed, and the Book of Fate Law in his hand flickered slightly with a change of his aura.

Suddenly--

A wisp of soul energy, neither light nor darkness, neither abyss nor depth, suddenly surged from his body, and in the next instant—

The sea of consciousness is opened.

That was a silent realm that transcended all other realms.

Within the vast sea of consciousness, the divine tree floats in the air, its thousands of branches and leaves, and countless star souls hang like silent light, illuminating the entire sea of consciousness. Beneath its roots, Azure Ring hangs quietly on the central branch, like an ancient mirror reflecting the will of the heavens, its pale blue soul radiance flowing slowly with the rhythm of the divine soul.

Qin Yu stepped onto the star platform and slowly walked to the divine tree. His figure was as tall and imposing as an abyss, and his aura contained a silent sharpness that could annihilate everything, as if the pen of destiny was about to write a decisive chapter.

He looked at Azure Ring, his voice low yet resolute, like an imperial edict:

"Azure Ring, can you completely erase the Fate Soul mark engraved by Mystic Emanation Nether Venerable Liang Jichen?"

Upon hearing this, the divine tree trembled slightly.

The Azure Ring was leisurely floating on the branch, as if bathing in the light of a dream. Upon hearing Qin Yu's question, it slowly turned around, and a faint light shone at the center of the ring.

The sound was like the gentle murmur of a clear spring, carrying a confident and composed ancient will.

Yes, there are.

"Although Liang Jichen has reached the Supreme of the Only Book Realm, his Fate Soul construction is still at the 'recording logic level.' The Fate Soul imprints he has carved are not based on the ultimate level format."

"Within your sea of consciousness, I can easily erase all those 'name-recording seals' through your Fate-Cause seal sovereignty."

As she spoke, Azure Ring shook her body, and four beams of azure light scattered like raindrops, falling into the Soul Recognition Scrolls around the Divine Tree, completely reflecting the structure of the Fate Soul Imprint.

Qin Yu nodded slowly, his expression sharp as a blade, his eyes reflecting the light of countless souls, and whispered as if making a vow:

"That's good."

"Next--"

"His turn... to become the prey being hunted."

As soon as he finished speaking, his mind jolted, and the main page of the Fate Cause Master Seal lit up instantly. Several Fate Trajectory Profiling Chains began to operate rapidly. His eyes were like stars burning in the night sky as he suddenly looked up at the crack outside the real world.

"I already have a solution."

He stepped out of the void, pointed a finger, and the rules of the rift reversed—

Yan Yue followed quietly, her radiant long dress billowing lightly, and starlight-like flames flowing down her shoulders like a silver spring.

Wang Long's fivefold life-pressure ring vibrated, and the Realm Splitting domain faintly rumbled.

Lin Yun's spear, now imbued with radiant flames, pointed Heavenly Emanation the heavens.

The next moment, Qin Yu turned to look at everyone, his voice as firm and sharp as a vow:

"We'll set off immediately."

"This battle—is not only for Yunyi and Extinguished Light."

"Furthermore, it is for... the complete Annihilation Liang Jichen, the severing of all Fate Soul Lock Seal, and the liberation of all enslaved beings."

Everyone nodded emphatically.

At the eye of the storm of destiny, their figures had already disappeared into the layers of void, and they were approaching the deepest part of the middle layer of the Star Soul Vortex step by step.

The game has turned; the counterattack is about to begin.

In the Heavenly Emanation Treasure Realm · Middle Layer, atop an ancient bronze platform that floats horizontally in the air, the sky is gloomy, and layers of dark flames surge in the void, like the seabed where billions of souls are adrift. This place was originally the boundary zone of a broken rule in the Heavenly Emanation Treasure Realm, and fragments of boundary patterns can be faintly seen on the spatial cross-section, with unstable structural storms occasionally cracking and roaring.

Qin Yu, Yan Yue, Wang Long, and Lin Yun were traveling to this place when, as they were probing with their divine senses, a wave of soul energy suddenly attacked from the distant sky.

Four figures swiftly broke through the air and stopped several dozen feet in front of Qin Yu.

These four individuals possessed a sharp aura, and their figures were all marked with patterns of magical artifacts. One had crystal jade wheel imprints wrapped around his palms, another had a mountain-like black iron artifact soul coiled on his shoulder, another had three magical swords that automatically swirled behind him, and the third wore a battle robe inscribed with talismans, with the Dharma Flower hidden within. All of them were manifestations of magical artifacts.

When their eyes met Qin Yu's, they were all startled.

"It's him... the person in the portrait!"

Those words practically burst from my throat.

The eyes of these four people held not only murderous intent, but also a mixture of fear and excitement—they knew perfectly well that if they could complete the mission and erase the person in the portrait, they might be able to break free from the enslavement of the Fate Soul Seal; but they also knew that the person before them was no ordinary person.

Qin Yu slightly raised his hand; the Source-Extinguishing Divine Sword remained unsheathed, and his ethereal robes fluttered in the wind. He gazed at the four people, his voice as steady as the abyss of the Soul Realm:

"Gentlemen—don't make a move yet."

"I know you were forced into this. I understand that the Fate Soul marks on you come from Liang Jichen, and I... have a way to completely erase them."

As soon as the words were spoken, the four of them were startled, their eyes flickering with uncertainty.

"If you are willing to believe me, please let me have one move,"

"If you are willing to believe in freedom, then please lay down your swords."

But—before they could even express their opinion, the void in the distance shattered once more.

The six transformed figures suddenly appeared and landed on the platform at the same time.

In the blink of an eye, the six people stood several feet away from Qin Yu, their spiritual energy surging and intertwining to form a strange sealing array, suppressing this area into a low-frequency state of pre-battle tremors.

At this moment, slowly walking out from the crowd was a master of weapon spirits—the very person who had transformed the Mighty Thunder Heaven-Suppressing Sword earlier.

He was clad in lightning-infused black and gold armor, with the shadow of the Jun Thunder Sword hanging high in the void behind him. The weight of his aura was so great that it caused the soul structures of all the strange fire immortal herbs around him to resonate slightly.

His eyes reflected Qin Yu's image, and his voice was low:

"You said... you can completely erase the mark of Fate Soul slavery from our bodies?"

Qin Yu's gaze was fearless; he nodded slightly, his determination as firm as if commanding the heavens to obey the laws of nature.

"Yes."

"You've probably already realized that the so-called 'mission' is nothing more than a 'hunting trap' set by Liang Jichen to extract your soul consciousness and the essence of your components."

"He set this trap because he couldn't truly control you. But he coveted your power, so he used the Fate Soul Lock Seal to control your bodies, not your minds."

"And I--"

He stepped forward, Azure Ring aura slowly surged from his soul core, rising with azure light, like a blue mirror surrounding Qin Yu.

What I can do is give you true freedom.

"I can summon the Azure Ring of Light to erase the Fate Soul Lock Seal from each of you, leaving no backlash whatsoever."

His voice suddenly turned cold, and his words became clear:

Have you ever thought about this?

"If you truly Annihilation me, will that person... truly keep their promise?"

"He sets up schemes, carves seals, enslaves people, and then gives them a painting—wouldn't such a person 'kill you after you've served your purpose'?"

"Once he absorbs your original souls, he can directly use your names to break through the middle level of the spiritual path and forcefully enter the deepest layer of the Heavenly Emanation Treasure Realm."

"Would he still let you live then?"

He glanced around at everyone, his last words as heavy as iron, piercing straight to their very souls:

"I have no enmity with you."

"He is the true chain binding your Fate Soul."

The air above the ruins was deathly still.

Mighty Thunder Heaven-Suppressing Sword's gaze changed; the hesitation and disbelief that had been hidden in its eyes began to waver with each word Qin Yu spoke.

Finally—he gently raised his hand, and an arc of lightning disappeared.

"Let's try the method you mentioned."

"If we can truly remove this life seal, we swear we will never again serve the Mystic Emanation Nether Venerable."

At that moment, everyone's eyes were fixed on the instant when Qin Yuqing's aura was about to engulf the Junlei Zhentian Sword.