Realm Immeasurable Tribulation · Final Judgment of Cause and Effect

Amidst the resounding collapse of the eighth celestial staircase, Qin Yu and Yunyi were lifted upwards by the turbulent flow of starlight. In the next instant, the world suddenly vanished, and all the starlight, karma, and aura around them instantly turned into silent nothingness.

Before my eyes appeared a vast and boundless ocean—but not water, but countless rivers of life. They crisscrossed, as if dissecting the entire universe into chains of light, each chain flowing with the past and future of countless lives. When those rivers collided with each other, they emitted a deep hum, like the whisper of cause and effect itself, sending chills down my spine.

Qin Yu and Yunyi stood suspended above the Sea of Fate, with nothing beneath their feet, yet they could feel countless threads of fate trying to entangle their bodies and drag them into different rivers. At that moment, a Mirror of Fate slowly emerged in the void ahead.

The mirror towered high, seemingly against the backdrop of the entire Sea of Fate. Its surface was crystal clear, initially reflecting only the figures of Qin Yu and Yunyi, but in the next instant, the reflection began to distort.

Qin Yu saw a familiar yet unfamiliar version of himself in the mirror.

Qin Yu, who never awakened his Azure Ring and had already died in the Heavenly Emanation Treasure Realm;

Qin Yu, whose mind collapsed after the deaths of countless comrades, transformed into a bloodthirsty demon;

Even Qin Yu, who succumbed to Chen Chao and the forces of darkness, becoming a tool of enslavement.

The reflections did not linger, but stepped out of the mirror, each carrying a power identical to his, or even more terrifying, and coldly stared at him.

At the same time, Yunyi's reflection also appeared. She saw that if she was not awakened, she would forever slumber beneath the Void Tree in her Sea of Consciousness, so lonely that even her name would be forgotten; she saw that if she were assimilated by the Dark Abyss, she would transform into a World Extinguisher dragon, its blood-red wings sweeping across the sky, annihilating all life and light. Her reflection's dragon eyes were cold and filled with the scene that Qin Yu least wanted to face.

The Sea of Destiny surged, the murmurs of countless rivers transforming into a thunderous roar. The entire space seemed to proclaim:

"To reach the Ultimate realm, you must first sever your past and future!"

The light of the Mirror of Fate suddenly surged, and dozens of illusions materialized, breaking through the River of Fate and rushing towards Qin Yu and Yunyi.

Qin Yu's eyes were cold, and the aura of Annihilation Origin surged around him. He said in a low voice, "So the enemy on the ninth floor... is actually ourselves."

The light on the Mirror of Fate suddenly exploded, and dozens of illusions stepped out simultaneously, shattering the ripples of the River of Fate. Each illusion carried a real soul aura and the pressure of logic, as if it were not a mere phantom, but another "real version of themselves."

At the forefront, "Dark Qin Yu" stepped forward, also wielding the Source-Extinguishing Divine Sword. The sword's blade flowed with jet-black annihilation flames; as it struck, the heavens and earth distorted, and the chains of cause and effect were instantly severed. He coldly murmured:

"If you choose the other path, it is me."

At the same time, Yunyi's illusion rose from the River of Fate, its Black Abyss Dragon wings unfurled, its eyes burning with scarlet Annihilation Abyss light, its voice low yet cruel:

"I am your future, slumbering in Eternal Silence; I will burn away all light and life."

Illusions surged from all sides, the roar of the River of Fate overlapping with their footsteps, making the entire space feel like the end of the world.

Qin Yu's expression was cold and stern, Three Forms of Fate Construction within his body vibrated simultaneously. He raised his hand and pointed, and three halos instantly appeared in the void:

The first level – Cause and Effect Deconstruction!

Countless chains of destiny exploded into light fragments around him, and the attacks of the vast illusions instantly disintegrated. Sword light, fist imprints, and soul flames all collapsed, turning into fragments that scattered in the air. The void seemed to be rewritten.

The second level – Time Flow Reversal!

Qin Yu suddenly took a step forward, and nine afterimages of time appeared behind him, as if nine different versions of himself from different times and spaces were superimposed together. The illusions tried to get closer, but were forcibly pulled back to the "not yet attacked" state, and the attack froze and collapsed in mid-air.

The third level – Existence Erasure!

Qin Yu raised his sword and slashed horizontally. The blade of the Source-Extinguishing Divine Sword burst forth with invisible light, directly cutting into the very definition of the enemy's existence. Those "future selves" froze under the sword light, then gradually faded from reality, as if they had never existed.

However, the Mirror of Fate roared deafeningly, and the erased illusions began to recombine, the power of the River of Cause and Effect piecing them back together.

Yunyi then let out a soft murmur, her dragon eyes suddenly brightening, and the annihilated soul ring appearing in her right eye.

"Silent Abyss Single Gaze - Soul Severance!"

At that moment, the entire space fell silent. Her gaze shot out, condensing into a jet-black chain that instantly pierced through the void, freezing more than a dozen illusions in place. The logic of those illusions' souls collapsed in an instant, and a shower of light burst forth from the river of fate, like countless stars falling.

The scene shook violently, the surface of the Sea of Fate churned with towering waves, and the radiance of the Mirror of Fate became even more ferocious, as if it were enraged that Qin Yu and Yunyi had been able to reverse their own fate.

Qin Yu took a deep breath and said coldly:

"It seems these nine levels won't be so easy to get through..."

The light of the Mirror of Fate suddenly intensified to its Ultimate, the entire illusion trembled violently, and the River of Cause and Effect seemed to be overturned, turning into an inverted celestial river that poured down and crashed down on Qin Yu and Yunyi.

"Boom--!"

In that instant, the mirror no longer merely projected a few illusions, but rather countless futures of Qin Yu and Yunyi appeared simultaneously—some were the tragic moments of Qin Yu's death in battle, some were the cruel scenes of Yunyi being annihilated into ashes, and others were the terrifying futures of them betraying each other and turning their blades against each other.

Each "future phantom" carries a complete soul and a logical pressure, as if these cruel futures are inevitable and unchangeable.

You will eventually Annihilation--

Dozens of "Dark Qin Yu" roared in unison, and the black flames of the Source-Extinguishing Divine Sword, like a boundless raging sea, blocked the attack from all directions.

"You will betray the light--"

Countless "Fallen Yunyi" simultaneously unfurled their dragon wings, and the night feathers transformed into a World Extinguisher storm, plunging straight down.

At this moment, there was no way out in the entire illusion; the world was filled with enemy shadows, and even the air was bound by cause and effect.

Qin Yu's eyes suddenly flashed with cold light. He gripped the Source-Extinguishing Divine Sword, and the Azure Ring deep within his sea of consciousness trembled slightly, its patterns rippling outwards with countless rays of silent light.

"Illusion? Future? I, Qin Yu, have never believed in fate!"

He stomped his foot, Three Forms of Fate Construction erupted simultaneously:

The Cause and Effect Deconstruction shattered some of the illusions once more, cutting their chains of fate into shards of light;

Time Flow Reversal forcibly dragged several dark selves back to the moment before the sword was drawn;

The Existence Erasure, causing them to vanish like mist in an instant.

But the next second, the Mirror of Fate suddenly reversed, and those illusions were forcibly reassembled with the logic of "inevitable future".

Yunyi's dragon eyes flashed with the light of Silent Abyss, and her dragon wings suddenly spread open.

"Butterfly Abyss Illusory Tide--!"

Billions of butterfly shadows cascaded down, transforming into a catastrophic tide of stars, sweeping vast illusions directly into the Abyss of Annihilation. Countless false futures shattered into dust within the butterfly tide.

However, beneath the light and dust, even more and stronger illusions continue to emerge.

They are not phantoms, but rather seem to bear the judgment of fate itself.

Qin Yu's expression was cold and stern, and the power of the Annihilation Origin surged forth from his body.

"Yunyi, this level... I'm afraid we'll have to use every ounce of our strength!"

Boom--!

The Mirror of Fate suddenly shattered, its surface no longer merely reflecting, but tearing open a rift that ripped through the heavens. Countless fragments of the future converged wildly within the rift, the dark futures of countless Qin Yu and countless Yunyi being compressed and reassembled, ultimately merging into an immense "Fate-Track Silent Shadow."

That was a fusion of Qin Yu and Yunyi's dark projection, towering 100,000 feet high, draped in shattered chains of fate, with empty eyes and burning flames of destiny in its pupils. In its right hand, it held the ashen afterimage of a Source-Extinguishing Divine Sword, while in its left hand, it spread the broken wings of a pair of black dragons of Annihilation Abyss. Its feet trod on a shattered River of Cause and Effect, as if it were the embodiment of all future tragedies.

When it spoke, its voice seemed to overlap with billions of futures:

"You will all perish... this is destiny."

The next instant, the Fate-Track Silent Shadow raised the Ash Longsword, and what he slashed down was not a single sword strike, but countless sword marks falling simultaneously from the future. The sword light intertwined to form a severed net of fate, pressing down on the entire world and causing it to crumble inch by inch.

Qin Yu and Yunyi were instantly forced into a deadly situation!

Qin Yu roared, and the Source-Extinguishing Divine Sword erupted with an unprecedented black and silent sword light. His body transformed into ten thousand Silent Source Ring, directly clashing with the sword.

"Silent Origin - Eternally Sever the Heavenly Balance!"

The sword light was like a judgment that severed the balance of heaven and earth, tearing apart the net of fate in an instant.

At the same time, Yunyi suddenly looked up, and her right eye suddenly shone with a Silent Abyss light.

"Silent Abyss Single Gaze!"

With a single glance, time stood still, and the movements of the Fate-Track Silent Shadow were instantly frozen!

However, it twisted the future again while it was still stagnant, forcefully breaking free from the shackles of the Eye of the Silent Abyss, shattering Qin Yu's sword light with a swing of its sword, and tearing Yunyi's dragon wings apart with a backhand, leaving bloody marks!

The moment blood splattered, Qin Yu's pupils constricted, and he roared:

"Existence Erasure!"

He directly released the third life structure, forcefully erasing one of Fate-Track Silent Shadow's arms from the "logic of existence"!

Boom! The Ash Sword fell, but the Silent Shadow Body remained, its aura even more terrifying.

As the void twisted, it began to devour its own shattered arm, piecing its fragmented existence back together! The Mirror of Fate flickered behind it, providing the power for infinite reconstruction of the future!

Yunyi landed panting beside Qin Yu, her dragon eyes flashing with a cold light.

"Little Qinzi, this time... you have to use all your trump cards!"

Qin Yu gripped the Source-Extinguishing Divine Sword tightly, the Azure Ring within his body vibrated, and nine layers of light appeared in circles deep within his sea of consciousness.

He took a deep breath and murmured:

"Then let fate be buried here forever..."

The void roared, Fate-Track Silent Shadow struggled frantically under the pressure of the Azure Ring. Suddenly, the Ash Sword cleaved down from the sky. Countless fragments of Fate appeared around it, like the Ultimate fate records of living beings, burning away in the void.

[Final Fate Judgment]!

In an instant, the entire ninth level of the Star Abyss transformed into a colossal arena of fate. Billions of illusory lifelines collapsed simultaneously, and all existences were pulled into the same "script of ending." The images of Qin Yu and Yunyi were infinitely superimposed, and in the next instant, they would be swallowed up by the gray-white light of death!

Yunyi roared angrily, her Dragon Soul Eye igniting with the dark light of the Annihilation Abyss, releasing the [Rending Domain Dragon Soul] to counterattack, but it was torn apart inch by inch in the wave of Fate-Track Judgment. Her soul breath trembled violently, almost being forcibly cut into a future of "non-existence".

Qin Yu's expression was cold and stern. Behind him, the illusory Azure Ring suddenly unfurled nine layers of light. Countless threads of cause and effect surged wildly, like lightning from the deepest part of the universe suddenly striking down!

"The Realm Immeasurable Tribulation!"

In an instant, all the unpaid karmic debts and all the future karmic chains ignited around Qin Yu. At that moment, the ninth layer of the sky was completely ablaze, and billions of calamity fires transformed into a celestial waterfall, crashing down upon the Fate-Track Silent Shadow.

The Fate-Track Silent Shadow brandished its life-severing light, attempting to completely sever this boundless flame of calamity. But with each strike, new karmic debts were entangled at ten times the speed, locking its limbs and soul.

A terrifying scene unfolded between heaven and earth: on one side was the [Final Fate Judgment] of the Fate-Track Silent Shadow, which severed the life trajectories of countless beings, past and future, with a single sword strike; on the other side was Qin Yu's [Realm Immeasurable Tribulation], where countless causal threads of calamity fire intertwined, turning the entire Star Abyss into a destructive inferno!

The two forces clashed head-on in the void, and the resulting explosion caused the entire Realm of Primordial Echoes to tremble. Spacetime completely collapsed at this moment, and even the laws of causality were forcibly rewritten!

Qin Yu's eyes were bloodshot as he desperately held onto the Source-Extinguishing Divine Sword, while the nine rings of the Azure Ring on his back simultaneously burst into flames.

"Fate cannot be predetermined! Cause and effect are solely in my control!"

With a roar, the causal calamity of the Realm Immeasurable Tribulation completely engulfed the Fate-Track Silent Shadow. Its screams echoed in the void as its body was erased bit by bit, like a script being written, and finally collapsed along with the gray light of [Final Fate Judgment], turning into silent nothingness.

The void returned to darkness.

Qin Yu's breathing was disordered; he knelt on one knee, the Source-Extinguishing Divine Sword still humming. He looked up at the gradually shattering ninth level of the Heavenly Staircase, a cold thought running through his mind:

"From this day forward, cause and effect, destiny and fate, will no longer be my shackles."