Fate-Track Shard Crystal · Ashes of Judgment

The moment the fourth level of the Heavenly Staircase opened, the starlight waterfall beneath the three of them suddenly twisted, no longer a simple stream of light, but transformed into gray-white life tracks, like billions of "threads of life and death" hanging down, carrying a cold bell sound, pushing Qin Yu, Hong Xiuxiang and Yunyi to a higher place.

The moment they landed, the world came to a complete standstill.

It was a gray, dead zone, devoid of wind and light, with only the deep tolling of bells echoing in the depths of the void, as if announcing the arrival of some irreversible judgment.

The void suddenly cracked open, and a colossal figure slowly emerged.

It was a judge clad in a long gray-black robe, ten zhang tall, half-human and half-mechanical, his figure as straight as a pillar of heaven.

The robe was engraved with countless causal lock patterns, and as they flowed, it seemed as if the fates of countless beings in the entire Source of Epochless were burning away within them.

Its face had no features, only a huge "Pupil of Judgment," within which a scroll depicting the birth and death of countless destinies turned, coldly watching Qin Yu and the other two.

"Boom--"

It slowly raised its hands, its left hand holding a Fate-Track Scales, and its right hand grasping the Causality Severing Sword.

The moment the action was completed, the entire world was suppressed. Hong Xiuxiang felt a tightness in her chest, her face turned slightly pale, Brocade Ink Soul Brush she had just gripped trembled. Yunyi, on the other hand, was leaking dragon breath, and the shadow of the Black Abyss Dragon appeared behind her. Her soul power instinctively resisted the oppressive force that was "certain to kill".

Qin Yu took a deep breath, and the dark gold ring pattern of the [Silent Ring · Return to the Abyss Diagram] appeared beneath his feet Source-Extinguishing Divine Sword responded with a hum. He focused his gaze and said coldly:

"This is not the place to decide my fate!"

However, what responded to him was the sudden flash of gray-white light from the Eyes of Judgment.

[Fate-Track Judgment].

Billions of gray-white chains descended from the void, forcibly reflecting the fates of the three.

Qin Yu could clearly see that the lines of his future were beginning to break apart inch by inch, and even his soul was trembling.

Hong Xiuxiang's causal threads were suppressed, her soul consciousness was directly torn open, and she almost collapsed on the spot; Yunyi even more crushed by the scales, her dragon wings were shattered, and she turned into a phantom.

Boom! The heavens and earth resounded with an explosion, and the suppression of the fourth layer officially began.

A gray-white light swept down, and the instant his fate trajectory was reflected, Qin Yu felt a tearing sensation in his chest, as if even his breath had been taken away. He was shocked, and the Source-Extinguishing Divine Sword and the Sword of Dream Silence hummed together, their sword lights intertwining, temporarily blocking the gray-white cracks reflected on his fate trajectory.

Hong Xiuxiang bit her lip, a cold light flashing in her eyes. The Brocade Ink Soul Brush hovered between her fingers, and she suddenly wrote seal characters in the void. A golden-blue seal character flashed out and was instantly imprinted on the Causality Severing Sword the Judge had swung down.

[Soul Seal Script Law Severance]!

A sudden snapping sound echoed between heaven and earth; the gray-white chain of cause and effect was jammed before the ink and seal script, unable to continue its progress.

"Drink!"

Yunyi's eyes suddenly lit up, and her figure abruptly transformed into Black Abyss Dragon shadow. Her soul wings unfurled, and her eyes flashed with a dark purple, silent light. She raised her head and roared, causing the void to tremble, and the entire domain was covered by silent soul waves.

[Dark Abyss Roaring Soul]!

The invisible soul sounds surged like a tide, tearing countless cracks open on the judge's chest.

Boom!!!

The three forces clashed in an instant, with the Sword Qi of Annihilation, the seal of sealing, and the impact of soul sound erupting simultaneously. At that moment, the gray-white death zone finally began to waver, the scales of fate held high by the Fate Adjudicator suddenly sank, Causality Severing Sword paused slightly.

However, at this very moment--

The Eye of Judgment suddenly spun, and the scrolls depicting billions of life trajectories simultaneously shattered, as an even more terrifying force crushed down.

[Future Erasure]!

Qin Yu saw the scene of "dying here," Hong Xiuxiang saw the illusion of "being completely submerged in books," Yunyi saw the end of "the dragon soul turning to ash and completely dissipating." Each scene was like a predetermined fate, irresistible.

"No retreat!" Qin Yu roared, his eyes flashing with a cold light.

[Silent Origin - Unborn Silent Cause] was activated instantly. The Source-Extinguishing Divine Sword slashed down, and the Sword of Dream Silence ripped through the void at the same time. The annihilating sword cry and the cracking light of the illusion intertwined, forcefully severing the illusion of the future.

With her Hong Xiuxiang flowing freely, she turned her pen, and thousands of pages transformed into flashing blades, severing cause and effect one by one.

[Thousand Pages Sever Causality]!

Yunyi took a step forward, and the dragon soul and butterfly shadow manifested simultaneously. The butterfly wings transformed into sharp streams of light, rushing against the judge's giant pupil.

[Annihilation Butterfly Rain]!

Boom boom boom--!

The entire dead zone exploded completely, the gray-white cracks shattered into countless points of light, and the massive body of the Fate Adjudicator shuddered violently, staggering back half a step. A vertical crack appeared on its chest, from which starlight-like liquid light slowly flowed out, but was quickly absorbed and reorganized by its scales.

It did not fall; instead, it became even more terrifying. The "Eye of Judgment" slowly pressed down, and the countless bands of fate within it converged again, locking onto Qin Yu and the other two.

Boom--

The wound on the Fate Adjudicator healed in the gray-white flames, and in the next instant, it suddenly raised the "Fate-Track Scales" with both hands. The scales stretched between heaven and earth, transforming into a gray-white bridge spanning the ages, and billions of broken Fate Tracks poured down like a tidal wave, pressing the entire celestial space into a silent, deathly stillness.

"The Ultimate Judgment."

Its sound was not language, but the simultaneous roar of billions of destiny tracks. In an instant, Qin Yu and the other two felt their breath, heartbeat, and soul were all written into a preordained Fate Book.

Left disk flashing --

Cut off life!

In an instant, cracks appeared in Qin Yu's body, as if his flesh and blood were being erased by fate itself. He clearly felt the traces of his "living" dissipating.

Right side burning--

Death is imminent!

Hong Xiuxiang was shocked to see all possibilities after her death instantly extinguished—she even lost the right to die, her soul seemingly locked in the moment "before the end" forever.

A beam of light suddenly burst forth from the center of the scales, stretching into the future—

Sever Future!

Yunyi Yilong's pupils contracted as she saw all her future battles and all her existence rapidly peeling away, as if they were about to completely dissipate into an "unconcealed" void in the next instant.

At this moment, the three were truly driven to the brink of despair.

Qin Yu's eyes were bloodshot, the Source-Extinguishing Divine Sword and the Sword of Dream Silence simultaneously hovered beside him, and the Azure Ring in his sea of consciousness trembled. He roared:

"Break!"

[Silent Origin - Eternally Sever the Heavenly Balance] activated!

Endless sword light transformed into a ring of annihilation, forcefully slashing towards the gray-white chains of the scales. The celestial steps trembled violently, and countless fragmented scrolls appeared between heaven and earth, all sliced apart by the sword ring.

Hong Xiuxiang's hands were stained with blood. With a sudden, sharp touch of her Brocade Ink Soul Brush, she gritted her teeth and burned away all her soul blood.

[The Final Chapter of the Sole Book: The Boundary- Realm-Severing Script]!

The word "End" suddenly appeared in the void, and the blue and gold seal exploded, forcibly tearing open a corner of the judgment scale.

At the same time, Yunyi let out a low roar, and her dragon soul erupted completely. Her pupils transformed into the Eye of the Silent Abyss, and her butterfly wings unfurled, unleashing a sea of billions of butterflies that poured down from the depths of the void, covering the entire Heavenly Staircase.

[Silent Abyss Single Gaze]!

The chains of light pierced straight into the judge's heart, forcefully shattering the "Sever Future" band of light!

Boom boom boom--!

The three skills activated simultaneously: Dream Sword Annihilation, Pen Finale, and Dragon Soul Silence Eyes. These three forces intertwined to form a destructive sea of light, forcibly halting the Ultimate Judgment of the Fate Adjudicator. The scales shattered, and the gray fragments transformed into countless streams of light that scattered into the void.

The Fate Adjudicator let out a hollow roar, its massive body splitting in half, grayish-white flames gushing from the cracks. But it did not fall; instead, its eyes blazed with an even more terrifying light, as if it were willing to sacrifice itself to launch its final judgment once more.

From the half-shattered body of the Fate Adjudicator, an unprecedented gray-white flame suddenly surged forth. It lowered its massive head, its empty pupils reflecting countless worlds, each one annihilating. Then, it raised the broken "Fate-Track Scales," its voice like an ancient, silent whisper:

"Self-judgment—I will exchange my fate for the destruction of all realms."

At this moment, the celestial steps completely lost their color.

Countless broken lifelines flew out from its body, encircling the entire waterfall world, like billions of chains binding all cause and effect and the future. A cluster of gray-white flames ignited in the center of the scales; it was not energy, but the burning form of the "origin of destiny".

Boom boom boom--!

The gray flames suddenly exploded, forming a vortex of Annihilation. All light, sound, and spatial rules vanished, even time was stripped away, leaving only the pronouncement of "inevitable death" for heaven and earth.

Qin Yu felt a tightness in his chest, as if his fate had been torn apart by a force in an instant. He saw countless possible future deaths before his eyes—turning to ashes, shattering his soul, falling into nothingness... all swirling around him.

Hong Xiuxiang's pupils dilated, and the Brocade Ink Soul Brush in her hand trembled violently, her writing spirit crumbling. She saw her own existence written as "blank," as if she had never had a name.

Yunyi's long hair danced in the wind, and cracks of annihilation flickered in her dragon eyes. Her dragon soul was also being extracted, and she saw her future dragon shadow gradually dissipate and be wiped into Emptiness.

All three were in dire straits.

Just then, Qin Yu gritted his teeth, and Azure Ring suddenly appeared on his forehead, its blue light intertwining with a silent glow. He roared:

[Silent Ring - Initial Realm Resonance]!

The Azure Ring burst forth with countless cracks of light, forcibly linking the destinies of Qin Yu, Hong Xiuxiang, and Yunyi together, as if weaving them into a new beginning!

At the same time, Hong Xiuxiang clasped her hands together, the tip of her pen tearing open in blood, and with her last breath wrote, "Unfinished."

The [Final Chapter of the Sole Book - The Boundary- Realm-Severing Script] was used in reverse, rendering their "end" impossible to write!

At the last moment, Yunyi suddenly opened Silent Abyss Single Gaze:

[Silent Abyss Single Gaze: Three Souls Descend upon the Severed Realm]!

The three-colored soul rings burst forth, and the dragon shadow, butterfly tide, and Annihilation Abyss radiance merged into one, fiercely piercing through the Judge's burning vortex of destiny!

Boom boom boom--!!!

The world has been completely turned upside down.

The immense body of the Fate Adjudicator suddenly stiffened, cracks spreading from its head to the scales. In the next instant, its entire existence seemed to be erased—turning into countless gray fragments that merged into the void and ceased to exist.

The three of them fell onto the Heavenly Steps simultaneously, their chests heaving violently, as the deathly silence around them gradually returned to its starlight. The waterfall flowed again, and the Heavenly Steps trembled, clearly acknowledging that they had passed the fourth level.

But when Qin Yu looked up, a chilling intuition surged within him:

The higher they go, the more trials await them; these trials will not end here.

The moment the Fate Adjudicator collapsed completely, the world fell into a brief silence, followed by a roaring Starfall, as if weeping for its demise. The annihilated gray fragments did not dissipate, but were condensed by the starlight of the waterfall, gradually transforming into a strange, crystalline object that exuded an aura of death.

The crystal floated in the void, its shape resembling an irregular polyhedron. Within it flowed fragmented images of destiny, each streak of light carrying the phantom of a future being, only to shatter and vanish in the next instant. Ancient symbols appeared on its surface, as if the final judgment of the judge had not yet uttered, sealed deep within the crystal.

[Fate Shard Crystal]--

When Qin Yu reached out and caught it, he felt a chill in his palm, as if he were holding not a crystal, but the end of all destinies. The Azure Ring vibrated gently in his sea of consciousness, whispering coldly:

"Little Qinzi, this is no ordinary object. It contains remnants of fate's trajectory that were devoured by the Fate Adjudicator. If you can grasp it, you might be able to glimpse the cause of the fifth layer... or even rewrite fate's trajectory for a moment."

Hong Xiuxiang stared at the shattered crystal, a hint of fear flashing in her eyes. She could clearly feel the book spirit's resistance to it, because the essence of this shattered crystal was the incomplete chapter of "The Writing Has Ended".

"This thing... is like a 'manuscript' of fate; anything that exists could vanish within it."

For the first time, a solemn expression appeared on Yunyi's pretty face. She reached out and touched the shattered crystal, a glint of dark light flashing in her dragon eyes before she instantly withdrew them, her voice low and deep:

"I saw... countless dead futures, struggling within them, but with no chance of being written anymore."

All three knew that this [Fate Shard Crystal] was no ordinary loot, but the key to the next level of the Starfall Heavenly Stairway.

The waterfall roared suddenly, its starlight-studded waters cascading down, lifting the three of them and slowly propelling them towards the higher fifth level. As the upward force surged, Qin Yu gripped the shattered crystal tightly, a chilling clarity washing over him:

The fifth level will be a true test of life and death.