The Eternal Extreme Sacred Hall remains as magnificent as ever.
A year or so is enough time for the once dilapidated palace to regain its vitality. Above the Annihilation Abyss Mountain Range, the vast Milky Way once again intertwines to form an endless dome. The 999 floating star palaces of the Eternal Extreme Sacred Hall are stabilized again. Starlight cascades down like waterfalls, and the sea of light surges like tides, illuminating the entire temple as if a divine kingdom has returned. The Limitless Evolving True Flow surges ceaselessly through the temple's veins, like rivers of light flowing between the temple's textures and stone pillars, completely smoothing away the traces of destruction, leaving only holiness and solemnity.
Amidst this magnificent restoration, the Annihilation Abyss Star Palace still stands silently, its towering palaces and majestic halls surrounded by stars, as if the heavens exist solely because of it. At this moment, deep within the palace, a solitary figure sits quietly before the jade steps.
Chi Ning.
She wore a long, Liu Yuan purple-gold robe, the sleeves of which hung down. Her slender fingertips gently caressed a token that had long since lost its luster—a fragment of a sword mark that once belonged to Qin Yu. At this moment, the fragment gleamed with a cold, gray light, yet it was being silently and tenderly watched over in her palm.
Her eyes reflected the billions of stars outside the Star Palace, but that brilliance could not conceal the loneliness and longing in her eyes.
"Qin Yu..."
She murmured softly, as if afraid to break the silence of the palace. Her voice was extremely soft, yet it seemed to pierce through the ages, carrying a slight tremor.
Scenes from my memory flashed through my mind:
The first time I saw him in the temple, I was struck by his calm yet resolute gaze.
They stood shoulder to shoulder against the enemy, Qin Yu's fearless figure silhouetted against death.
And those promises and the moments when their eyes met gradually swayed and solidified her resolve, making it impossible for her to escape.
However, he has now been missing for over a year.
Chi Ning's hand trembled slightly as she gripped the fragment of the sword mark, as if trying to retain that familiar aura. Her eyes were slightly red, but she still forced herself to remain calm, gazing up at the brightest star in the night sky, as if believing that his figure still lingered there.
She breathed softly, murmuring to herself, "If you truly Annihilation in the Desolate Annihilation Secret Realm... I should let go, shouldn't I? But... why can't I let go...?"
The palace was silent, except for the Limitless Evolving True Flow brushing against the palace, emitting a faint murmur, as if responding on her behalf.
Her eyelashes trembled slightly, and tears unconsciously welled up in the corners of her eyes. A tear that had not yet fallen was brushed by the wind and quietly slid into her hair.
But that name, which had long been weighing on his heart, resonated heavily in his chest.
--Qin Yu.
But... will he really come back?
Just as she was lost in thought, a deep yet gentle voice suddenly sounded softly from behind her, as if it came from the abyss at the end of time:
"Chi Ning."
She was startled.
In an instant, the tears in Chi Ning's eyes vanished, as if the lingering tenderness in her soul had frozen into ice and snow.
She took a soft breath, her fingertips lightly touching the corner of her eye, the movement swift and silent, as if that tear had never existed.
When I looked up again, my expression was as calm as ever.
She turned around, her tone as clear as a spring falling on a stone, carrying her usual restraint and a slight distance. "Senior Brother Lin."
Standing in front of her was a man surrounded by a deep, fragmented light.
He wore a dark gold robe with patterns resembling a swirling starry sky. Layers of fragmented shadows moved slowly across his shoulders and back, like countless fragments of the dead world silently churning. Where light and shadow intersected, a surreal vision of the collapse of all realms faintly appeared.
His eyes and brows were calm as an ancient mirror, his posture upright and steady, as if the cycle of cause and effect of the entire world was silently unfolding on his shoulders.
He is --
Silent Nether Rain Delusion · Lin Jiesheng
One of the core disciples of the Eternal Extreme Sacred Hall.
After Qin Yu "disappeared," the position that originally belonged to the Annihilation Abyss Star Palace was bestowed upon him by the Holy Temple.
The Supreme cultivation of the Only Book Realm, the title "Structured Scales of Myriad Eras, Ruler of the Wheel of Causes".
He is not a being of flesh and blood, but is composed of billions of fragments of the dead world. Each scale is an ember of an era of destruction, and each breath carries the lingering echoes of cause and effect from the destruction of countless worlds.
What he controls is the cyclical logic of the epochal components; once released, the enemy will be trapped in a deadly predicament of "disordered cause and effect."
The causes of the past cannot overwrite the future, and the effects of the future cannot change the present. Yet Lin Jiesheng is able to Time Splitting, trapping the enemy in Endless cycle of contradictions, where body and soul, thought and consciousness will all be torn into fragmented illusions that cannot Return to One.
Chi Ning gazed at him, her brow expressionless.
But the slight resistance that had already arisen in her heart quietly resurfaced at this moment.
He was too rational, too perfect, too... flawless.
But he is not Qin Yu.
He wouldn't stand in her way when she was in danger, nor would he vehemently refute her when she was falsely accused, nor would he remain silent for even half a day because of a single tear from her.
He cannot, and will not.
Even now, he gently called to her, "Junior Sister, you seemed troubled just now. Is it something you can't let go of about the Annihilation Abyss Star Palace incident?"
Chi Ning smiled gently and shook her head, "It's nothing serious."
But in that instant, her fingertips unconsciously tightened around the hem of her clothes.
Annihilation Abyss Star Palace.
That was his former palace.
She stood silently before that star-studded palace countless times, waiting for his return.
Now, the palace has a different owner.
The star palace still stands, but the person Bugui.
Lin Jiesheng stepped forward, a ripple in his eyes that even he himself didn't realize. "If you're willing, I can petition the elders to transfer you to the side of the Star Palace, where I will personally protect you."
Chi Ning's gaze flickered slightly, but she said in a low voice, "Thank you for your kind offer... however, my mind is made up, and there's no need to change it."
When she said this, her tone was as light as snow, so light that even Lin Jiesheng was taken aback.
The wind quietly swept across the high walls of the palace, stirring up a strand of hair.
Her figure remained isolated before the steps, but in her eyes, a name that should no longer exist was clearly reflected.
Lin Jiesheng remained silent, his eyes slightly lowered. The fragments of the Death Realm gently scattered from the hem of his robes, silently disappearing into the void of cause and effect.
But no one knew that at that moment, the gears of the epochal components had quietly shifted for a fleeting instant.
And behind that, the wheel of time seems to be slowly turning again—
Suddenly, outside the majestic main hall of the Eternal Extreme Sacred Hall, the sky shook violently.
A streak of azure light, like a ten-thousand-foot waterfall of light traversing a galaxy, suddenly plummeted from the endless void. The light surged and churned, with countless fragments of azure light intertwining in the void, dragging out a light curtain that seemed capable of cleaving heaven and earth. Within that light, the textures of space and time were forcibly torn apart, and even the altar in front of the hall trembled with a roar, with countless azure cracks appearing on the ancient stone pillars. The interplay of light and shadow seemed to be about to completely envelop this sacred domain.
The disciples guarding the palace gates suddenly paled, their souls surging, and they drew their spiritual weapons, shouting angrily, their voices shattering the clouds:
"Who dares to trespass on my Eternal Extreme Sacred Hall!"
The Limitless Evolving True Flow surged wildly in the void, forming a towering blue tide that seemed poised to engulf the palace in the next instant. The guards before the palace gripped their weapons tightly, their eyes sharp, yet deep within the light barrier, they saw a figure gradually becoming clearer.
The person stepped on azure light, as if slowly emerging from countless Annihilation stars.
His steps were neither hurried nor slow, yet they were like those of Gods and Devils traversing eternity; with each step, ripples of annihilation spread through the void like water, causing the disciples guarding the temple to feel their blood surge.
"That is...?"
As the azure light dissipated, a figure clad in black robes finally came into full view. His brows were sharply defined, his eyes cold yet composed, and the aura surrounding him seemed even more ancient and profound than the void itself.
As he slowly descended from mid-air, the moment his toes touched the ground, the entire sky and earth in front of the hall suddenly sank.
He raised his hand and turned it, revealing an ancient and noble radiance between his brows.
The next moment--
A Purple-Gold Eternal Pole Crystal Core emerged from his palm, releasing boundless pressure. The crystal core was entirely interwoven with purple and gold, and within it flowed light that resembled fragments of laws from countless epochs. Every ray of light seemed to depict the creation and destruction of a world.
That aura was neither that of an outer disciple nor an inner disciple; it even surpassed that of Jin Hui, an ordinary core disciple.
--This is a "Purple-Gold Crystal Core" that only the highest-ranking disciples of the Holy Temple are qualified to possess.
The weapons that the guards were about to swing were frozen in mid-air as if they had been immobilized.
Their pupils contracted sharply, filled with disbelief.
"Purple... Purple-Gold Eternal Pole Crystal Core! Core disciple... who is he??"
"This... how is this possible?!"
The azure light dissipated, leaving only that solitary figure, his cold gaze sweeping across the entire hall.
He has finally returned. -- Qin Yu
The two temple guardians, their faces solemn, despite being shocked by the Purple-Gold Crystal Core, still followed temple protocol, stepping forward in unison, clasping their hands in a respectful bow, their voices trembling slightly.
Please hand over your token for verification.
The atmosphere in front of the hall froze, and all eyes were fixed on the figure whose blue light had faded and whose robes were fluttering.
Qin Yu's brows were cold and stern. He didn't say much, but slowly took out an ancient token from his sleeve.
The token was entirely dark gold, yet under the light, countless layers of causal golden patterns faintly emerged. As the patterns flowed, they seemed to depict the rotation and annihilation of the Milky Way. On its back, the unique Annihilation Star pattern belonging to the Eternal Extreme Sacred Hall was engraved.
He tossed it lightly, and the token landed steadily in the palace guard's hand.
The two temple guardians received the token with both hands. The moment their soul energy entered the token, they felt a darkness before their eyes, followed by a surge of countless illusions of collapsing eras into their sea of consciousness, almost causing them to kneel on the ground.
Their faces turned deathly pale instantly, their hands trembling as they struggled to flip the token over.
The token was clearly marked with several supreme inscriptions: "Annihilation Star Hall - Core Disciple - Qin Yu".
The two were shaken to their core, as if a thunderbolt had struck their very consciousness.
"Qin... Senior Brother Qin Yu!"
They bowed deeply, their foreheads almost touching the ground, their voices filled with uncontrollable awe. "Greetings, Senior Brother Qin Yu! Senior Brother Qin Yu, please come in!"
At that moment, the dozens of disciples in front of the hall also gasped in shock, their hearts filled with disbelief.
A year ago, the Dao Shadow Soldier Corps launched a surprise attack on the Holy Temple, and Qin Yu's name disappeared from the Holy Temple's records for a time. The Annihilation Abyss Star Palace was also transferred to someone else. Many people thought that he had perished in that bloody battle.
Today, however, he personally stood before the hall, using the Purple-Gold Crystal Core and the Annihilation Star Token to once again tread upon the gates of the Holy Temple.
The temple guard immediately turned around, formed a hand seal, and silently chanted an ancient incantation.
Suddenly, all the myriad talismans on the entire palace gate lit up, as if a galaxy that had been dormant for a year had awakened in an instant.
Boom--!
Strands of cyan-gold light intertwined, and hundreds of layers of spatial restrictions slowly collapsed, as if a ten-thousand-foot-long water curtain had been forcibly ripped apart, with the flowing light fragments turning into a sky full of starlight that fell in front of the hall.
Those were the multiple layers of defenses set up by the Eternal Extreme Sacred Hall after the Battle of Dao Shadow to prevent another surprise attack. Each restriction was enough to trap and kill a being at the Annihilation Source Realm · Supreme.
At this moment, with Qin Yu's identity confirmed, all the restrictions lowered, slowly opening a magnificent and solemn passage.
The two temple guards lowered their heads and spoke solemnly, extending their hands in unison. "Senior Brother Qin Yu, please enter the hall!"
The light and rain of heaven and earth shone upon Qin Yu's figure. He stood with his hands behind his back, his robes fluttering, and azure light intertwined with purple-gold radiance, like a god returning from the Annihilation Abyss. He slowly stepped into the holy temple.