At this moment Qin Yu said to his mother, "Mother, it's getting late, we should return to the White Cloud Sect Heavenly Ultimate Cloud Residence the Baiyun Sect." Qin Yu replied, "Auntie Zhang and Young Master Zhang thank you for the dinner. We should go back now." Auntie Zhang and Young Master Zhang said, "Yes, yes, Aunt Qin, you've really raised a good child. Remember to visit the Zhang Mansion when you have time. You're always welcome."
Auntie Zhang Xiuhe personally escorted Qin Yu and Qin Yu to the gate of the Zhang residence, reluctant to part. The moonlight spilled onto the stone steps, flowing like water between the stone lanterns and ancient cypress trees in the courtyard, gentle yet solemn.
Qin Yu gently supported his mother, and with a light gesture of his right hand—
"Whoosh--!"
In the void, a blazing stream of light slowly emerged, and a flying spiritual platform, its entire body interwoven with azure and gold radiance and engraved with myriad spirit cloud patterns and the Heavenly Emanation Pill Diagram, descended from the sky. Colorful flames danced lightly on the platform, and the cloud light was hazy, as if it were a treasure bestowed by the divine court. Five spiritual pearls floated at the four corners, swirling around the platform and leaving behind streaks of starlight, as if time itself was slowly standing still in front of it.
Zhang Xiuhe's eyes widened in shock, and he exclaimed in a low voice, "This... this is actually the legendary 'Five-Colored Heaven-Wielding Platform'!? It's said that only core cultivators of the Epoch Realm or Kings of the Sealed Realm are qualified to wield this platform, yet he calls it something as if it were in the palm of his hand..."
Auntie Zhang couldn't help but nod repeatedly, "Good child, truly a good child, handsome, humble, and with such Celestial Person talent, Qin Yu is truly blessed..."
The servants and guests of the Zhang family had already stopped what they were doing and stood on both sides, some holding their breath and standing solemnly, some whispering quietly, and some looking at the young man in black robes with awe and respect.
"Is this Young Master Qin Yu... the legendary, unparalleled powerhouse who returned from the inner layers of the Spirit Firmament Great Realm?"
"My God, he's actually Madam Qin Yu's son... Doesn't that mean our Mist Market has produced a peerless genius?"
"This man, supporting his mother so gently, without a trace of arrogance, was like the gentlest of all the gods."
In an instant, Qin Yu was no longer just a strongman in everyone's eyes, but a gentle and virtuous role model.
On the platform, Qin Yu turned around, smiled, and waved to Auntie Zhang: "I'll come again another day. Auntie Zhang, take care of yourself."
Auntie Zhang's eyes reddened. "Alright, alright, be careful on your way back."
"Start--"
Qin Yu pointed a finger, and the Five-Colored Spirit Platform suddenly rose into the air, carrying the mother and child into a brilliant rainbow light that shot away through the sky. The light lingered in the air, like a magnificent vow spanning the sky above the Mist Market, refusing to dissipate for a long time.
Everyone gazed up at the sky, speechless for a long time.
At that moment, a name was planted in everyone's heart:
Qin Yu.
That was the most glorious legend in Mist Market, and the gentle figure of a true hero.
The night was as still as water, and the Heavenly Cloud Mansion of the White Cloud Sect Heavenly Ultimate Cloud Residence was quiet and still, with only a gentle breeze rustling through the flowering trees and scattering petals.
Qin Yu and his mother Qin Yu have returned home. The moonlight in the courtyard is like a ribbon, shining down on the two of them, making their tender figures appear exceptionally peaceful and serene.
At this moment, Qin Yu knew that "he was about to leave."
Qin Yu gently took Qin Yu's hand, her voice trembling, her eyes already red, and tears silently streaming down her face. "Yu'er... you've only been back a few days with your mother before you have to leave again. If you really can't get used to being outside, come back, come back to the White Cloud Sect. Your mother... will always be here waiting for you."
Qin Yu's eyes welled up with tears, and his heart choked with emotion. He paused, then tried to keep his voice steady. "Mother, don't worry, I will take good care of myself while I'm out there. I will never let myself get hurt, and I will never let anyone bully me." As he spoke, he raised his hand to wipe away the tears from the corners of his mother's eyes. His fingertips felt like a gentle breeze, and also like the affection he felt when he was a child nestled against his mother's knee.
He slowly took out an exquisite jade bottle from his sleeve and handed it to Qin Yu: "Mother, this is the 'Azure Essence Limitless Pill' that I personally refined for you. It contains the essence of eternity and the energy of lifespan. You must take one every ten years. It will protect you from all diseases and keep your vital energy from declining." "The ones I gave you before can also be taken. Moreover, you can combine them and take two at a time. Including the previous ones, there are a total of three thousand."
Qin Yu took it, her hands trembling slightly as she held it tightly in her palms. Tears blurred her vision again, tears of happiness and emotion mingling together.
Then, Qin Yu raised his hand, and a beam of spiritual light appeared, causing the five-colored spiritual platform to reappear, shimmering and floating above the courtyard. A new layer of inscription array was engraved on the edge of the platform, reflecting the "spiritual message" left by Qin Yu himself.
He handed the spiritual message to Qin Yu: "I'll leave this spiritual platform to you. I've inscribed the usage instructions and protection mechanisms into this spiritual message."
He paused, then gently added, "Mother, when Yang Zheng and Zhao Xinyu arrive, please give this letter to them. I have entrusted them to take good care of you while I am away."
Qin Yu held the letter as if it were a promise from her son, as if each word had transformed into a warm breath, gently caressing her heart.
"Silly child..." she sobbed softly, "What I fear most is not that you've gone too far, but that you're too tired and suffering alone out there..."
Qin Yu hugged her tightly. "Mother, no matter how far I go, my heart will always be with you. I will always be Qin Yu who grew up under your care."
The lanterns in the courtyard swayed gently, and the moonlight enveloped the figures of the mother and child embracing. At that moment, time seemed to stand still. Even amidst the turbulent world and the unpredictable nature of life and death, the warmth and reluctance of this moment would be forever etched in the heart of this strongest being of Epoch Origin.
Above the Heavenly Ultimate Cloud Residence, night fell, and starlight cascaded down like a waterfall, covering the entire tranquil courtyard. Qin Yu stood in the center of the courtyard, facing his mother, Qin Yu, his figure tall and straight as a mountain, yet filled with undisguised tenderness and reluctance.
He gazed deeply at his mother's kind yet worried face, his eyes glistening with emotion.
Then, he slowly raised his hand and gently traced a line in the air with his five fingers—
"Boom--"
With a soft, water-like sound, a crystal-clear, mirror-like spatial rift opened behind him, like the separation of a lake, leading to the distant sky and his destined journey to once again step onto the battlefield.
A faint, desolate breeze wafted through the air, ruffling the black hair at Qin Yu's temples. She stared intently at the crack, her expression filled with suppressed reluctance, yet she shed no tears.
At this moment, Qin Yu suddenly turned around, knelt down lightly on both knees, and bowed respectfully to Qin Yu with his body upright. His voice was steady and powerful, yet it revealed an unconcealable sob:
"Mother, I'm leaving now. Please take care of yourself."
This bow is the son's farewell, a vow of gratitude, and the deepest respect for his mother's lifelong protection.
Qin Yu clasped her hands tightly to her chest, tears already welling in her eyes, but she stubbornly held them back. She knew—
Her son was no longer the innocent child he once was, but someone who bore the heavy responsibility of the entire future of Epoch Origin.
She didn't try to persuade them to stay, nor did she plead or beg. She simply stood in the starlit courtyard, nodded gently, and spoke softly:
"Go, Yu'er. You have your own path to walk, and your own mission to fulfill. Mother... awaits your triumphant return."
Qin Yu stared intently, then stood up. The moment he stepped into the spatial gate, his figure was enveloped in starlight, and his robes fluttered in the wind.
The next second, the spatial rift snapped shut with a "click," as if it had never existed.
Only Qin Yu remained standing quietly in the courtyard, gazing up at the direction where the starlight shone brightest in the sky, and whispered:
"My child, no matter how far you go... your mother will always be here, waiting for your safe return."
The Source of Epochless.
Deep within this ancient and mysterious Source Realm lies a hidden realm, untouched since time immemorial, known as the [Soul Cavern Dense Forest].
This place is perpetually silent, with only the light dripping from the Soul Tree like eternal tears of time. The Soul Cavern is governed by three laws: unstable soul frequencies, unpredictable logic, and disordered time. None of the celestial temples dare to touch it lightly.
But at this very moment--
"Boom!!!"
A deep, booming sound, as if an ancient divine soul had awakened, exploded in the Soul Cavern Dense Forest!
In an instant, the entire secret forest trembled violently, the roots of hundreds of soul trees surged up, twisting wildly like countless undead tentacles, the soul light dissipated into smoke, and space folded like glass shattered by a heavy hammer.
The next moment--
"Screech--Screech--Screech--!!!"
From the Myriad Souls Sacrificial Well at the heart of the woodland, a large amount of yellow-green smoke rose up, its color resembling polluted soul liquid, gloomy and viscous, carrying a corrosive aura that the soul instinctively rejects.
The smoke surged like a tide, instantly engulfing the entire Soul Cavern Dense Forest. From above, the once star-studded, clear forest had transformed into a massive and eerie "Yellow-Green Soul Abyss."
Even more terrifying is--
Within this yellowish-green mist, fragmented echoes of soul thoughts continuously resounded:
"... Return... Return..."
"Silent Abyss... unfinished... the narrative incomplete..."
These sounds, like countless fragmented narratives, intertwine, overlap, and penetrate the sense of hearing in space, striking the soul directly, like a strange bell tolling against the barriers of the soul.
The withered branches in the forest spontaneously ignited with blue flames, and twelve layers of soul imagery appeared in the sky above the entire secret realm. Each one was broken and dilapidated, yet seemed to originate from an ancient existence at the beginning of the Epoch Origin. The appearance of each soul image caused spatial tremors, and for a moment, the soul frequency observation device of the entire Source of Epochless vibrated wildly.
Within the main observer's domain, the magic circle had already activated a red warning light:
Buzz buzz buzz!
The Source of Epochless - The Seventh Dimension - Soul Cavern Dense Forest
Signs of "Non-Returning Narrative Soul" resurgence discovered
Suspected disordered spirit core fluctuations, level: Radiant Forbidden Class
Do not approach! Do not observe!
At the same time, the yellow-green soul mist, as if possessing consciousness, slowly twisted in the air into a blurry human figure. The figure was surrounded by countless broken life trajectories, fragmented Soul Arts rules, and causal structures with reversed time sequences. Its appearance was indistinct, yet it exuded a sense of oppression that made the universe pause.
Meanwhile, the Epoch Origin observers, far beyond the million-soul domain, were also stunned and speechless at this moment.
Soul Cavern Dense Forest... [An "Unreturned Soul Entity" has appeared?]
An existence long since erased from all historical records... is about to awaken.
--Unnamed, unwritable, unobservable, and unsealed.
The Source of Epochless: The Heavenly Emanation Hall of Observation.
The void was still, and twelve observation mirrors hung atop the temple, like twelve sleepless heavenly eyes, reflecting all things in the Epoch Origin —the flow of cause and effect, the evolution of destiny, the rise and fall of the Soul Realm, the break in the sequence of time... all were contained within them.
And at this very moment--
"Click!!!"
A sudden and deafening cracking sound shattered the tranquility of the palace. One of the observation mirrors suddenly shattered, turning into billions of fragments of light that scattered in all directions, as if something that should not exist had torn apart Epoch Origin's recording logic.
Within the shattered mirror, the reflection of the [Soul Cavern Dense Forest] revealed a yellow-green soul mist that Time Splitting, accompanied by whispers of lingering souls and the sound of those who had not yet returned, soaring straight into the sky.
On the divine throne, Lord Tong Ning slowly opened his eyes.
In her eyes, an image of endless Soul Sea and vortexes of cause and effect converged. She gazed at the Soul Cavern Dense Forest, which was about to spiral out of control, without uttering a word, her divine light as clear as a mirror.
But the next moment, the purple flame between her brows trembled slightly, and she slowly uttered a sentence:
"Oh no... An unknown spirit has appeared."
She slowly rose, and as her divine energy flowed around her, the entire Hall of Observation seemed to breathe in accordance with her will. She did not immediately issue orders or take action, but instead lowered her head and looked at the life seal talisman in her hand that emitted a pale blue glow.
That was the only item she personally brought out from the "Fate Mark Divine Hall".
She gazed silently for a long time, her mind sinking in, as if she saw that familiar figure—
White robes, bloodstains, a silent sword, and a ring mark.
That was the young man she had witnessed firsthand, who had taken the path of Fate Soul step by step from the chaotic era of Annihilation Origin, breaking through layers of causal and fate pressures, and rising from the Land of Taiyan to the peak of the Source of Epochless.
At this moment, Tong Ning gently stroked the talisman, a hint of genuine expectation rising in her eyes beneath the weight of the Nine Heavens' Mandate:
"Qin Yu... are you back?"
"This storm that is about to tear the Epoch Origin apart... only you can quell it."
At the summit of the temple, the shattered observation lens drifted and reassembled in mid-air, yet it could never again reflect any image of the Soul Cavern Dense Forest.
Within the life seal, a wisp of azure light is slowly reviving.