A light mist of shimmering color floated beneath their feet, and swirling, illusory light reflected between them like fragments of a boundary river.
Heavenly Emanation Treasure Realm, Inner Layer.
This is the deepest and most inviolable core forbidden zone in the entire Treasure Realm.
Countless broken threads of rules coiled in the air like cracks in time. The sky was shrouded in layers of light curtains, and in the distance, the bones of an unnamed behemoth hung upside down at the celestial pole. Its aura had long since vanished, but the remaining "logical vibrations" still disturbed the stability of space.
Qin Yu and Yan Yue walked slowly, their auras deep and restrained, their divine senses like threads constantly probing the unknown territory ahead.
Yan Yue Radiant Starfrost Robe, her silver hair swaying slightly with the starlight, Yan Yue slowly spoke, "Yu, that dark being we encountered in the outer Mystic Zero Ice Domain... that guy who annihilated more than a dozen Primordial Void with a single strike that shattered the Heavens and Shattered Souls, do you think he... might also have come from this inner layer?"
Qin Yu glanced sideways, his eyes as still as Silent Abyss, and slowly nodded:
"Very likely."
His voice was steady, yet carried a hint of unfathomable coldness.
"In the battle against Annihilation Contemplation Ashen Radiance One the Ashen One, we used the fusion skill [Life-Annihilating Dawn Codex: Silent Cause of Myriad Realms] and unleashed the Six Forms of Silent Judgment while in Azure Ring state. The terrifying commotion nearly caused the entire middle layer to collapse, yet it didn't attract any other dark creatures."
He slightly raised his head and looked towards the distant core of the inner domain.
"There's only one possibility—the true dark entities aren't in the middle layer at all, but are all hidden in the inner layer of this Heavenly Emanation Treasure Realm."
"They're waiting."
Yan Yue's phoenix eyes narrowed slightly, revealing a cold glint that seemed to flow from the depths of a star-filled abyss.
"Are they waiting for us to break in? Or are they waiting for something... a crucial awakening?"
Qin Yu said calmly, "Anything is possible. The inner layer is no longer just a contest of combat strength, but also a battle of rules and a struggle for destiny."
He paused, looking at the increasingly chaotic spatial rifts and layered dimensional vortexes ahead.
"Yue'er, from now on, we must be a hundred times more careful with every step we take than we were on the outer layer."
Yan Yue gently, the platinum butterfly-like ornaments trembling slightly, a ray of lonely light passing around her fingertips.
The two no longer moved slowly, but quietly cut into a deeper vortex of airspace.
Behind them, an extremely fine trace of rules, like a snake's shadow coiling around clouds, slowly flowed into the distance...
Beneath the shattered shadows of the abyss, a wisp of starlight quietly gathered in front of Qin Yu and Yan Yue, instantly revealing the image of Yi Xuanyan, a warrior burning with seven layers of annihilation fire.
He is the super-powerful strange fire, Annihilation Abyss Warrior, who was subdued by Yan Yue. He once destroyed the main fire body of the same origin in the decisive battle of the Fire Abyss, but now he has completely submitted to Yan Yue's Fate Soul and comes at her beck and call.
The moment he appeared, Yi Xuanyan knelt down before Yan Yue and Qin Yu with a thud, his face filled with excitement and awe.
"Master! That battle just now... I almost had my soul spontaneously combust even from a distance. That Life-Annihilating Dawn Codex and the Azure Ring Six Forms... this... this... this was simply the pinnacle of the Annihilation Era's opening!"
Yan Yue did not answer, but simply looked at him calmly.
"Yi Xuan, I have a question for you."
"We missed the Ice Extremity Fate Phoenix Sword in the Mystic Zero Ice Domain."
"Do you know if there are any divine artifacts, immortal artifacts, or magical treasures suitable for the fusion of ice-attribute soul consciousness within the inner layers of this Heavenly Emanation Treasure Realm?"
Upon hearing this, Yi Xuanyan immediately switched from warrior mode to loyal dog mode, his excitement causing flames to leap wildly:
"Yes, yes, yes, Master—no! Great Master, the treasures in this inner treasure realm are incomparable to those in the middle and outer realms!"
"Not to mention Dao artifact-level divine artifacts, even 'transdimensional immortal artifacts,' which surpass the level of Dao artifacts, can be traced."
He paused slightly, a hint of caution flashing in his eyes:
"And one of the things I know--"
"It is the item you mentioned that is highly compatible with ice-attribute souls: the Star-Silence Phoenix Sovereign Sword."
Yan Yue's phoenix eyes flickered slightly.
Yi Xuanyan continued his solemn narration:
"That is a true interdimensional immortal artifact, said to have been forged from fragments of the Chaos Star Core, the inner core of the Heavenly Emanation Treasure Realm, and further fused with the remains of an ancient, Annihilation star and the primordial blood essence of the Star-Commanding Mystic Phoenix."
Its sword embodies a triple high-dimensional logical structure: 'Incineration,' 'Control Order,' and 'Annihilation.'
"It is said that once it unleashes its full power, it can directly disrupt the enemy's skill logic, cause their destiny trajectory to collapse, and even result in failure to rewind... Even those below the Annihilation Dawn Realm would find it extremely difficult to resist."
"And--"
Yi Xuanyan swallowed hard, his eyes burning with desire:
"That sword has not yet been subdued by any shapeshifter, but... it has entered a self-sealing state."
"If you want to get her, you must completely defeat her and..."
"She... was born to become a weapon for someone who rules the course of destiny."
Yan Yue's gaze was calm, but there was a barely perceptible fluctuation in her eyes.
Qin Yu turned his head slightly and looked at Yan Yue —at that moment he seemed to foresee the unparalleled scene when Yan Yue held this sword, surrounded by starlight, with fate frozen and Cause Splitting with a single sword.
After a long silence, Yan Yue spoke softly:
Where is it?
Yi Xuanyan raised his hand and pointed, drawing a starlight path in the void:
"Inner Layer, Western Universe, Beneath the Annihilation-Nirvana Extreme Abyss, the Land of Phoenix Roost and Starfall."
"However, that area is said to be inhabited by fragmented spirit entities that have existed for many years, at least at the Annihilation Source Realm · Initial Stage, and may even possess the ability to devour complete concepts. Furthermore, one must pass three tests: Star Fate Severed Cause, Phoenix Blood Nirvanic Emanation, and Silent Void Soul Annihilation, to enter."
Qin Yu slowly stepped forward, reached out and gently pressed down on the void, gathering the entire star map into his sleeve.
His eyes were calm yet resolute.
"Walk."
"Now that the Sword of Annihilation has appeared, it's time to retrieve it for Zi Xue..."
Yan Yue also slowly took a step forward, standing shoulder to shoulder with him.
Beneath their feet, the void began to tremble slightly. It was a fluctuation of resistance from the direction of the Phoenix-Roosting Starfall, as if responding to the awakening of some kind of destiny's omen.
When Qin Yu and Yan Yue stepped out of the void and stood atop the Star Destiny Platform beneath the Annihilation-Nirvana Extreme Abyss, a magnificent and soul-shaking sense of oppression crashed down upon them as if an entire era had fallen from the sky.
What came into their view was the colossal divine structure that soared into the sky, seemingly piercing through the cosmic canopy—the Phoenix Gate of Phoenix-Roosting Starfall.
The entire ancient gate was not cast from ordinary stone, but from a mixture of gold from the core of a meteorite and copper from the Silent Realm. Its surface was engraved with "Heavenly Emanation Fire Patterns" left behind when a star extinguished millions of years ago. In the center of the gate was a charred rock core, broken yet still brilliant, as shown in your picture. On it was engraved a golden phoenix spreading its wings and undergoing a phoenix-like rebirth, as if it were quietly looking down on all living beings from the boundary between destruction and rebirth.
Countless cosmic fire spirit stars slowly rotated around the door frame, as if the remnants of star souls flowed within, faintly audible the sound of phoenix cries and shattered stars, piercing through the soul's consciousness.
At the foot of this colossal gate lies a high-level Heavenly Abyss platform, resembling a divine garden. Flowers and plants bloom red like starlight, and stone steps meander into the distance in the dim golden light, extending to the boundary of the sea of clouds hundreds of feet away. Mountains and rivers stretch far and wide, with towering peaks arrayed in formation. Vast swathes of mist and clouds churn and surge in the sky, as if welcoming or warning.
Yan Yue gently raised her eyes, gazing at the Xingyun Gate that pierced through heaven and earth. A ray of brilliant light flowed in her pupils as she softly said:
"Is this... the resting place of the Star-Silence Phoenix Sovereign Sword?"
Qin Yu's expression was solemn. The Azure Ring had not appeared, but his Fate Soul consciousness was already slightly trembling.
That tremor did not come from any hostility, but from some extremely pure fluctuation of high-dimensional logic. It seemed that an extremely ancient being was quietly sleeping behind that door, waiting for the person who truly "bears the mandate of the burning cause" to come and awaken it.
This Phoenix-Roosting Starfall Gate is both the beginning of a "path" and a seal of "Annihilation".
Qin Yu slightly raised his hand, gently Yan Yue to his side, his tone as firm and deep as a Mystic Void secret:
"From here on, it is not just a trial, but also the Ultimate awakening to annihilation, to the path of silence, and to the authority of the Fate Soul."
Yan Yue nodded, her lips silently settling. "I'm ready."
A slight tremor of golden light, a tiny spark igniting.
The next step will be to step into the core sacred land of the high-dimensional treasure realm, Phoenix-Roosting Starfall, which only true "destiny rewriters" are qualified to approach in the history of myriad worlds.
Just as Qin Yu and Yan Yue were gazing intently at the towering Phoenix-Roosting Starfall Divine Gate that seemed to pierce the heavens, a faint wave of soul pressure suddenly rose from the void. Then, an old man dressed in a dark blue robe, with an aura as ancient as an abyss, quietly appeared on the stone steps.
His eyes were cloudy yet deep, his sideburns were like dust from fire, and his aura was not that of immortal essence, but rather that of a vast and invisible source of medicinal power, as if every glance contained billions of destructive medicinal factors.
The old man stood with his hands behind his back, his voice aged and deep, yet it resonated through the void:
"The land of the Star-Silence Phoenix Sovereign Sword is not to be desecrated by juniors like you. Leave immediately and do not disturb my master's slumber."
Yan Yue frowned slightly. Her senses were extremely sharp; she immediately perceived that this person was no ordinary being, and whispered:
"He... is not human, but... a spiritual pill in human form!"
Qin Yu stepped forward, his eyes gleaming with azure light, a ring of Azure Ring light flashing and then disappearing. He chuckled coldly, the Source-Extinguishing Divine Sword resting lightly at his side.
"Old man, you've got quite the nerve. Now that you've taken human form and consider this place your master's slumbering place, could you perhaps be the so-called Xingyun Guardian?"
The old man narrowed his eyes slightly, slowly raised his hand, and a black-gold medicinal flame ignited from his palm, instantly distorting the surrounding space as if molten iron were being poured into water.
"I am the Myriad Dao Spirit-Extinguishing Pill that has slumbered for millennia in the inner layer of the Heavenly Emanation Treasure Realm. Inheriting the fire of ancient celestial medicines, it devours the source of essence from all realms. With a single word, all other medicines fall silent."
He stepped forward, and a divine ring of pharmacology, constructed from the elements of a thousand kinds of spiritual herbs, appeared in the void. Within each ring, there were illusions of different divine pills shattering, as if he could transform the enemy's Fate Soul logic into "body-refining materials" with just a thought.
"Our lord remains unawakened; no one else may set foot here."
Qin Yu's eyes turned cold, and his fighting spirit surged like a tsunami. The Azure Ring slowly rotated behind him, and the Source-Extinguishing Divine Sword revealed black and gold cracks that severed Mieyin.
"Come on, old man... if you dare to stop me, then I will—cut you down."
In an instant, a surge of azure light erupted, and Sword Qi roared like thunder in Silent Abyss. Qin Yu transformed into a blur and dashed out in an instant!