Boom--!
The body of the Abyss-Reversing Desolate Venerable completely collapsed, and the gray waterfall-like Zero-Return Abyss was instantly swallowed by the Annihilation sea of light, turning into billions of dust particles and dissipating. Before the aftershocks of the earth-shaking tremor had subsided, the entire sixth level of the Heavenly Staircase suddenly fell silent, and then—"whoosh"—like a symphony of falling stars, resounded loudly in the void.
A crack appeared at the top of the celestial staircase, from which countless rays of starlight cascaded down, converging into a "starlight staircase" that extended towards the unseen seventh level. Within the starlight, countless ancient inscriptions and patterns of destiny faintly emerged, as if proclaiming that the existence there far surpassed everything before. The light was shrouded in mist, but from the cascading radiance, all three could feel an even more terrifying and insurmountable pressure, as if the fate of the entire universe rested upon it.
Qin Yu, Hong Xiuxiang, and Yunyi exchanged a glance, understanding that the seventh level of the trial was also a true abyss. But at this moment, they were covered in wounds, and their souls were in turmoil.
Qin Yu was the first to spit out a mouthful of blood. He raised his hand and waved it. A flash of light appeared in the Azure Evolution Core, and he took out three round and translucent divine pills. These divine pills were crystal clear, and their bodies shimmered with a luster like a swirling starry river. When the fragrance of the pills wafted out, even the cracks in the void trembled and slowly healed.
"Take these first to restore your soul consciousness and life force," Qin Yu said in a deep voice, handing two pills to Hong Xiuxiang and Yunyi, while he swallowed the third one himself.
Hong Xiuxiang accepted the divine pill with both hands, a warm and determined glint in her eyes. She nodded gently, "Qin Yu... if it weren't for you this time, I would have perished long ago." With that, she swallowed the divine pill without hesitation. Instantly, the book spirit within her body roared, Brocade Ink Soul Brush vibrated, emitting a wisp of soft book light to protect her Soul Sea.
Yunyi winked playfully, took the divine pill, and laughed, "Little Qinzi, I won't fall asleep so easily again." Her voice was soft, yet it echoed like a dragon's roar. As soon as she swallowed it, countless star-like butterflies appeared around her and entered her body, rapidly repairing her damaged dragon soul and body.
The three sat cross-legged. Qin Yu closed his eyes to regulate his breathing, the Source-Extinguishing Divine Sword lying horizontally in front of him, its radiance subsided yet constantly trembling, as if protecting its master. Around Hong Xiuxiang, scrolls of illusory spiritual books slowly turned their pages, the words transforming into light, flowing into a protective soul river. Behind Yunyi, the vast Butterfly Abyss and the shadow of the Nether Abyss Dragon manifested, with star butterflies fluttering and illuminating the dark heavenly staircase.
At this moment, the murderous aura after the brutal battle finally dissipated, replaced by the peace and warmth of the three sitting side by side, healing and recovering under the starlight.
Above them, the staircase of countless stars leading to the seventh floor still flowed silently, as if waiting for the three intruders to fully recover before stepping into that final, unknown abyss.
Starlight flowed like water, gently meandering between the broken walls and lingering light of the sixth-level heavenly staircase, as if the entire world had been transformed into a place of recuperation for the three.
Qin Yu closed his eyes to regulate his breathing. The divine pill transformed into countless streams of clear light, flowing into his limbs and bones, and his sea of consciousness gradually recovered from the shock. The Source-Extinguishing Divine Sword before him was like a slumbering divine dragon, its blade emitting a cold light that rose and fell slowly with his heartbeat. The moment he opened his eyes, his deep gaze swept over Hong Xiuxiang and Yunyi, and he thought to himself, "They have both suffered too many injuries in this battle. I cannot let them bear it alone any longer."
Hong Xiuxiang sat quietly cross-legged, a trace of blood at the corner of her lips, which gradually faded due to the power of the divine pill. Her fingertips gently touched the Brocade Ink Soul Brush, its surface shimmering with light, as if echoing her will. A resolute yet slightly trembling emotion appeared in her eyes—since stepping into the Realm of Primordial Echoes, she had truly felt the weight and cruelty of standing shoulder to shoulder with Qin Yu. She silently murmured in her heart, "Qin Yu... you bear too much. Even if the abyss of fate lies ahead, I will follow closely behind you, never retreating."
Yunyi closed her eyes slightly, her body enveloped in a phantom of intertwined butterflies and dragon shadows. The shimmering light of butterfly wings gently landed on her shoulders, healing her injuries. A playful smile curved her lips, but in her heart she softly said to herself, "Little Qinzi... this time, I want to see you reach the end with my own eyes, no longer forced into slumber as before. Whether it's Yan Yue or Sister Huayan, we will find them together."
She slowly opened her eyes, looking at Hong Xiuxiang. Her pupils reflected starlight and a gentle smile. She whispered, "Sister Hong Xiuxiang, don't worry, Little Qinzi isn't alone. He has us. We will always protect him."
Hong Xiuxiang was stunned for a moment, then felt a warmth in her heart. She looked up at Qin Yu, her gaze filled with girlish shyness and a burning determination.
The three sat quietly beneath the magnificent starlight. The bloody atmosphere of the battle had long since dissipated, leaving only the trust and bond between them in the cosmic silence.
However, above their heads, the stairway of countless stars leading to the seventh floor continued to flow slowly, as if whispering a call—the next battle would be the test of the deepest abyss.
Just as Qin Yu and the other two were healing and recuperating, a strange, dark mountain range stretched across the depths of the Realm of Primordial Echoes. The peaks pierced the void like broken fangs, and grayish-white mist constantly overflowed from the mountaintops. This was not ordinary dust and mist, but rather "residual ashes of cause and effect" condensed together. Each wisp of mist could cause the rhythm of heaven and earth to suddenly stop.
At the very center of this Youyuan Mountain Range, a massive rift pierces the heavens and the earth, like a wound torn open in the world. At the bottom of the rift, a faint purplish-black light flickers, revealing the entrance to some ancient cave, as if concealing a forbidden secret.
Suddenly, a heavy tremor resounded across the earth. As countless stones tumbled, a divine beast covered in gray-gold scales slowly emerged.
Its size was so enormous that it seemed to support an entire sky.
[Divine Beast - Abyss-Rending Desolate Prison Mystic Hou]
Its head resembles a ferocious giant beast, its pupils burning with black and purple calamity flames, and a third "Eye of the Rending Abyss" grows on its forehead, capable of directly observing any cause and effect of fate. Its back grows bony wings, like broken mountain peaks; when the bony wings unfold, the surrounding space immediately shatters inch by inch, turning into nothingness and dust.
With each step, cracks appeared in the earth, and spatial vortexes, accompanied by deep dragon roars, caused the void to collapse.
It is a terrifying being that devours cause and effect and Fate Soul, capable of erasing the past and future of an enemy in an instant.
Behind it, an army of dozens of dark creatures followed closely.
They were clad in armor formed from shattered void, their faces veiled in darkness, their figures appearing and disappearing like shadows torn from another world. Their weapons emitted a chilling, dark light, their blades marked with causal fractures, capable of severing the life narrative of any enemy upon contact.
This Dark Legion marched alongside the Abyss-Rending Desolate Prison Mystic Hou, its black mist surging like an irreversible, world -World Extinguisher torrent, heading straight for the deep cave ahead.
A purplish-black light filled the cave entrance, each ray of light like a broken destiny track wailing, as if warning any who approached that the "Realm of Primordial Echoes" contained something that should never be touched.
However, the Abyss-Rending Desolate Prison Mystic Hou did not stop. Its deep roar echoed through the mountains, and the Dark Legion raised their heads in unison, their eyes burning with an eerie light. As if summoned, they stepped firmly into the depths of the cave.
At that moment, the causal rhythm of the entire mountain range suddenly froze, as if even time itself was trembling, foreshadowing the awakening of some terrifying being.
Inside the cave, the light suddenly dimmed.
The purplish-black light was not illumination, but the struggle of billions of broken lifelines, intertwined like the whispers of countless departed souls, transforming into an endless "elegy of cause and effect."
Abyss-Rending Desolate Prison Mystic Hou led its army into the cave, the entire space trembled violently. A deep resonance emanated from the depths of the cave; it was not a roar, but rather like some kind of "ancient heartbeat." Each beat distorted the surrounding void, as if the cause and effect and time of the entire Source of Epochless · Middle Layer were trembling with its pulse.
As they approached, indescribable runes gradually appeared on the cave walls. These runes were not engravings, but rather resembled the bloodstains left on the rock walls by the universe as it collapsed, "Causal scars."
Suddenly, the darkness in front of the legion completely opened up.
A bottomless abyss was revealed, seemingly leading directly to the "invisible beyond." And at the very center of the abyss, floated a massive, indescribable, lingering shadow of a seal.
Its shape is indistinct, sometimes resembling the skeleton of a giant god, sometimes a collapsed continent, and sometimes merely a void crack. No one can be sure what it is.
But one thing was clear to everyone present:
This thing is countless times more ancient and terrifying than the Abyss-Rending Desolate Prison Mystic Hou.
As it swayed slightly, the causal chains on the Dark Legion twisted automatically, emitting a piercing cracking sound; even the giant, pitch-black eyes of the Abyss-Rending Desolate Prison Mystic Hou revealed submission and fear in that instant.
An ancient whisper floated in the air, not language at all, but rather like the world itself speaking:
"... The Nameless Abyss is neither god nor demon, but the cause of Annihilation before cause and effect Unborn..."
However, the sound lasted only a moment before falling completely silent.
The lingering shadow of the abyss remained dormant, as if awaiting some kind of opportunity. The Abyss-Rending Desolate Prison Mystic Hou, leading its Dark Legion, circled before it and began to kneel down, as if performing some ancient sacrifice.
This is what exists in the cave:
The lingering shadow of the seal of the Ancient Silent Abyss God.
Its true nature, capabilities, and purposes remain completely unknown.
It leaves the world with only one fact: if it awakens, the order of the Source of Epochless will be utterly destroyed.
At this moment, Qin Yu, far away on the sixth level of the Starfall Heavenly Stairway, was meditating with his eyes closed. Azure Ring remained still and undulating, while Hong Xiuxiang and Yunyi were also Spirit Transformation to recover their energy. The tranquility of starlight flowed between heaven and earth, which should have been as peaceful as ever.
However, the next moment, Qin Yu's brow twitched.
The Three Forms of Fate Construction — Cause and Effect Deconstruction, Time Flow Reversal, and Existence Erasure —vibrated simultaneously within his body, as if triggered by some unseen "ancient pulse."
No one initiated it, no one forced it, yet the three techniques appeared automatically at this moment.
Within his meridians, countless Karma Ripple flowed spontaneously, like the breath of the heart of the universe; fragments of timelines flashed before his eyes, past, future, and present overlapping in an instant; even his very existence was slightly blurred in some strange force field, as if even the logic of the world was questioning whether he "truly existed."
Qin Yu suddenly opened his eyes, cold sweat sliding down his forehead. Deep within his pupils, an indescribable outline seemed to be reflected—a chaotic abyss, where billions of destiny paths shattered and reformed. The deep heartbeat echoed through time and space into his blood, creating a strange resonance with his Three Forms of Fate Construction.
Azure Ring's voice trembled slightly in her mind, but she did not speak. Instead, she calmly gathered her power to prevent it from leaking out.
Qin Yu felt increasingly depressed; he clearly sensed that:
The Three Forms of Fate Construction within his body do not solely belong to him.
In that instant, they seemed to be responding to some extremely distant, ancient being.
Qin Yu, however, had no idea what had happened, let alone be able to trace the source of that power.
He simply clenched his fists tightly, gritted his teeth, and thought to himself:
"No matter what it is... even if its very essence is intertwined with something else, I will never yield! I will take control of everything."
The air seemed to freeze instantly, as if even the starlight and waterfalls were silently watching him.
Hong Xiuxiang and Yunyi noticed a slight change in his aura, but assumed it was because his injuries were not yet stable, so they did not say anything.
Meanwhile, deep within that distant cave—
The heartbeat of the sealed afterimage suddenly slowed by half a beat, as if responding to a predetermined rhythm.