A Figure Seen from Behind in Chaos · The Seal Trembled

The night was deep and silent. Qin Yu stood alone on the high platform of the Radiant Cosmos Star Hall, gazing at the sky with eyes as indifferent as an abyss. The next moment, his consciousness deepened and his sea of consciousness slowly unfolded.

The sea of consciousness was like a boundless Star Abyss, silent yet turbulent. In the center of this Silent Abyss, the figure of the Annihilation Abyss Illusory Dragon gradually emerged—it was Yunyi. She stood gracefully above the chaotic star sea, her slender figure like water, the dragon's shadow overlapping reality and illusion, but her eyes carried an unprecedented solemnity.

"Little Qinzi..." Her voice was soft, yet filled with barely suppressed worry, "Are you really planning to go to that sealed land alone? The aura there... I feel like I've sensed it before in the depths of the Silent Abyss, like an ominous sign existing outside of logic."

Qin Yu stood with his hands behind his back, his expression unchanged, but a cold glint flashed in his eyes. "That's precisely why I must investigate first. If there really is some hidden cause, by the time we reach the Temple Organization, it might be too late."

Yunyi bit her lip, her expression complex, and her voice suddenly became urgent. "Do you know that such a solitary journey is tantamount to stepping into an unknown burial ground? Those sealed beings, even the strongest among the Source of Epochless cannot fully speak of them. Their names should never have been written down."

Qin Yu turned around, his gaze calm, even tender, as he looked at her. "Yunyi, are you worried about me?"

Yunyi froze, her playfulness and liveliness vanishing. She lowered her head and whispered, "Worried... but more than just worried. I've been with you for so long, I should be fearless, but... just the thought of you possibly perishing in that unknown place makes my soul tremble."

Qin Yu reached out and gently stroked the mane of the Illusory Dragon in his sea of consciousness, his voice deep and solemn like a vow. "Rest assured. If I dare not even take this step, how can I protect you? How can I protect the entire Annihilation Abyss Epoch? This time, I will proceed with caution."

Yunyi raised her eyes, her gaze reflecting Qin Yu's unwavering resolve and aloofness. In the end, she simply let out a long breath and said in a low voice, "Alright... then I will follow your soul shadow. If you falter even for a moment, I will protect you with my Tri-Soul Core."

Their consciousness trembled, and starlight flowed, as if leaving an indelible mark on their promise.

The following morning, clouds churned above the Radiant Cosmos Star Hall. The first rays of dawn pierced through the mountains and fell upon the layered glazed tiles of the palace, reflecting a sacred aura of interwoven golden and blue light.

Qin Yu did not sleep all night. He stood alone on the stone steps outside the palace, his Qingyi robes fluttering in the wind, his eyes calm as an ancient well, as if he had suppressed all his emotions. The Azure Evolution Core flickered gently between his brows, flowing with a pale blue light, symbolizing an uncertain journey about to begin.

Chi Ning arrived early, her gaze grave, her eyes filled with undisguised worry. She said softly, "Senior Brother Qin, are you really going to set off now? If we wait for the Temple's organization, at least the elders will be there to guard the area. You're going alone..."

Qin Yu turned around, his expression unchanged, and smiled faintly, "That's precisely why I must go first. With so many people around, there's bound to be something hidden or concealed. What I want to see is the most truthful answer."

Chi Ning bit her lip, wanting to dissuade her, but in the end she could only utter a soft "You must come back alive."

Qin Yu's gaze softened, and he nodded solemnly, "Mm."

He took a step forward, and his entire body transformed into a streak of azure light, soaring straight into the sky and disappearing into the endless sea of clouds in an instant.

At the summit of the Radiant Cosmos Star Hall, Chi Ning gazed at the Space Silence sky for a long time, a complex and indescribable emotion welling up in his heart.

Deep within the void, Yunyi's Illusory Dragon shadow quietly accompanied Qin Yu. Her playful smile had vanished, leaving only tension and solemnity.

"Little Qinzi, this trip isn't just dangerous... there should be unexpected surprises too."

Qin Yu's eyes were cold and sharp, his voice firm. "Then let me go and see the truth for myself."

A streak of azure light pierced the air, hurtling towards the "sealed land" deep within the Source of Epochless, a place sealed for billions of years.

Inside the Chen Clan compound, the bright lights couldn't mask the restless atmosphere. The hall was grand, with the Chen Lineage crest hanging on the sandalwood carved beams. Several servants whispered among themselves, their voices filled with worry and unease.

Madam Chen Xintong stood in the hall, her robes simple yet dignified. Though her face possessed the gentle features of a mother, it was etched with a deep-seated resentment by the recent absence of her son. Her fingers gripped the jade fan tightly, her knuckles turning slightly white, and her lips moved frequently, yet she could not utter a complete sentence.

"What's going on? Yue'er and the others went to Wang Yuan's house on business two days ago..." Chen Xintong's voice was very low, but every word was like a heavy hammer blow to everyone's hearts, "They still haven't returned, and there's been no news from home at all?"

A servant stepped forward and reported, his voice trembling. "Madam, although Chen Yue is young and impetuous, he is always a man of his word. Two days ago, he did go to Wang Yuan's house to bring people to pick up Wang Yao, but there has been no further news since. The guards at home have patrolled, but have not received any reports."

Chen Xintong took a deep breath, her face turning icy. She waved her hand and said coldly, "Lu Feng."

The gatekeeper, Lu Feng, straightened his clothes, stepped forward, bowed, and said in a respectful but urgent voice, "Greetings, Master."

Chen Xintong's sharp gaze swept over the crowd before she slowly spoke, "Immediately send men to investigate Wang Yuan Mansion. You lead three teams to investigate along the original route without stopping; if anything changes, report back immediately. Furthermore, no outsiders are allowed to enter or leave the mansion tonight. Closely investigate all movements related to the Wang Clan."

Lu Feng replied, "Yes, Madam. I will go and fetch the young master back to the manor immediately." With that, he turned and left to carry out his orders, his steps hurried, as if each step was weighed down by an inescapable responsibility.

Chen Xintong stood rooted to the spot, her expression growing increasingly grim, a complex light in her eyes—anxiety for her son's safety mixed with a barely contained rage. She muttered to herself, "If anyone dares to disrespect the Chen Clan, they will give me an explanation today."

Inside the hall, the servants whispered amongst themselves, and several had already begun plotting and sowing discord: they needed to mobilize the Chen Clan's old guard, block the news, and search for potential obstacles. As a prominent local family, the Chen Clan moved with the speed of a storm.

In the darkness, Lu Feng's figure quickly disappeared outside the courtyard gate, heading south along the forest road with the token and several elite servants. Chen Xintong returned to her inner room, slowly sat down, clenched her fists, and remained silent for a long time. She secretly pondered: if there really was an external enemy involved, she must distinguish whether it was an accident or someone's doing it—everything must be thoroughly investigated.

Outside the mansion, the wind blew the lanterns on the eaves, their shadows swaying as if foreshadowing the turbulent waves that were about to be unleashed.

Qin Yu traversed the void alone, landing on the edge of the desolate wasteland that the Eternal Extreme Sacred Hall considered taboo. As soon as he stepped in, the world suddenly sank, as if even the pulse of time had been cut off.

In the surrounding wilderness, a desolate wasteland stretched out, the gray earth cracked like withered bones, ancient runes shimmering in the fissures—the lingering shadows of restrictions set by a powerful being millions of years ago, like bloodless veins still murmuring in the dark.

The phantom of broken chains floated in mid-air, each link carrying the power to World Extinguisher, as if they had long been broken, yet were still invisibly connected to some unspeakable abyss. When the wind blew, it was not the sound of the wind, but the mournful cry of time shattering, as if countless past moments were frozen here, still groaning after being forcibly stripped away.

Further away, a strange phenomenon of frozen time emerged from the depths of the wasteland: a shattered sea of clouds hung beneath the sky, yet every cloud remained motionless, even the weathered dust lingered in mid-air, as if some immense force had pressed down a "terminal" on the entire world.

Qin Yu stared intently, the Azure Evolution Core pulsating subtly between his brows. He could feel an invisible pressure closing in, as if it were trying to drag his soul into some abyss of no return.

Qin Yu traversed the desolate, cracked earth and still sea of clouds, finally arriving at the core of the seal. This place was completely different from the surrounding wasteland, resembling an ancient sacred relic lost in the torrent of time.

Ahead lay a dilapidated yet magnificent ancient palace, half of which had collapsed into ruins, with only a dazzling prismatic seal still standing majestically in the center. It hovered atop a stone pedestal adorned with interwoven dragon and beast heads, its crystal interior swirling with countless rays of colored light, dreamlike and ethereal, shooting straight towards the heavens, transforming into an endless pillar of light that pierced through the clouds and mountains. Interspersed within the colored light were fragmented shadows of time and space, as if recording an unspeakable ancient chaos.

Before this seal, a solitary figure stood alone.

The man wore a long robe, the hem of which fluttered in the still air, seemingly out of place with the frozen space and time around him. He raised one hand high, his palm holding a pale blue energy flame, the radiance echoing the seal, making his silhouette mysterious and unpredictable. The collapsed stone pillars and mottled reliefs around him all seemed solemn because of his presence.

The colorful light reflected off his hair and shoulders, outlining the silhouette of a demigod, yet it was blurry, as if heaven and earth were deliberately concealing his true appearance. At that moment, Qin Yu felt a faint sense of oppression in his heart, like the gaze of ancient times—this person was no ordinary being.

Qin Yu stood silently behind the broken walls and ruins, his gaze fixed on the mysterious figure ahead, his heart instantly heavy. At that moment, the azure light between his brows trembled slightly, and Azure Ring's voice echoed in his mind—

"Qin Yu... be careful."

The voice was unlike its usual cold tone, instead carrying an unusual air of suppression and caution. "The karma surrounding this person is not of this world. He shares the same origin as that seal, and seems to be connected to the restrictive energy left behind by an ancient powerful being. If you approach rashly, you are very likely to be drawn into the 'Fate-Order Illusory Net' he has constructed, and your life and death will be out of your control."

Azure Ring's reminder caused Qin Yu's pupils to shrink slightly. He stared at that figure's back and felt that the aura emanating from the other person was even more profound than the vast starry river, and even inherited from the unknown hidden within the seal.

Azure Ring's last sentence was low and cold:

"If he turns around, even if it's just to make eye contact with you, you'll be drawn into his writing logic... that's already a trace of power beyond the Only Book Realm."

Qin Yu held his breath amidst the ruins, staring intently at the figure's back.

The man slowly raised his other hand, his fingertips trailing ancient runes, as if each stroke he wrote could automatically alter the order of heaven and earth. The runes emerged from the void like stars, instantly weaving into a magnificent scroll-like phantom that covered the surface of the crystal seal.

The air froze, and the world fell silent. It seemed as if only his "writing" was circulating throughout the entire ruins.

Suddenly, the prism within the seal trembled, its internal colored light surging like a raging sea. The previously still fragments of time twisted violently, erupting with a deafening roar that tore the heavens and earth apart.

Qin Yu's eyes suddenly narrowed as he saw the runes and scrolls surging around the man being instantly crushed by the immense rainbow power released from the seal!

Boom--

A deafening roar shook the heavens, and a dazzling pillar of light, like a collapsing celestial river, slammed down on the man. His robes tore instantly, and his body flew through the air like a broken bowstring, crashing heavily into the crumbling stone walls. Blood traced a scarlet arc in the air, splattering onto the broken stone steps surrounding the seal.

The seal, however, still stands tall and imposing, its prisms gleaming with an unassailable cold light, seemingly proclaiming: anyone who dares to touch it will be punished.

The man knelt awkwardly amidst the ruins, his shoulders heaving violently, blood trickling down from the corner of his lips. Yet his eyes remained sinister and fierce, fixed on the seal like the glare of a wild beast after being driven back.

Qin Yu was secretly alarmed, and even Azure Ring whispered in her mind:

"Do you see that? Behind this seal lies a terrifying power that surpasses even the mid-level... Even cultivators above the Chaos Realm cannot forcibly rewrite it."

Amidst the ruins, the man slowly rose, blood streaming down his shoulder. But as he raised his head, the atmosphere of heaven and earth suddenly shifted.

The desolate wilderness, already deathly silent, now seemed even more like a plunge into an invisible sea of chaos.

Twisted vortexes appeared around him, not simply a surge of spiritual energy, but the chaotic churning of the very essence of heaven and earth around him. Light and darkness, cause and effect, illusion and reality intertwined and disintegrated around him, as if the entire world was returning to its initial chaos with each breath he took.

Qin Yu's eyes widened in shock, and he was secretly alarmed.

--The Chaos Realm!

That was an existence that transcended existence and non-existence, transcended yin and yang. The state before the Heaven and Earth Undetermined was actually embodied in this person's physical body.

He let out a low, cold snort, the sound seemingly emanating from countless dimensions simultaneously:

"Hmph... Even a seal erected by an ancient powerful being won't stop me for long."

As soon as he finished speaking, his figure suddenly transformed into a chaotic ball of light, a mixture of darkness and radiance. The ball of light instantly distorted the void, causing even the remaining rainbow light streams that were sealed to tremble, yet they could not restrain it.

In an instant, his figure vanished as if he had never existed, leaving only the lingering stench of blood and chaotic energy in the air.

The world returned to deathly silence, leaving only the immovable, towering crystal seal, radiating a cold and majestic light.

Qin Yu watched from afar, while Azure Ring whispered in her mind:

"This person has touched the Chaos Origin... even more unfathomable than the Silent Mystery Realm. If it weren't for the backlash from the seal, even if we hadn't faced him directly today, we would have had no way out."