Abyss Flowers Trial Realm · Four Judgments of the Consciousness Sea
The causal galaxy of the third layer of illusion had not yet subsided. The shattered threads of fate intertwined and recovered in the silence, transforming into a pale golden tide of light. The light patterns at the heart of the tower undulated slightly like breathing, and new trial fluctuations were rising. In this silent sea of light, the figures of Ning Qingyao and Luo Shuangyue slowly emerged. They stood side by side at the heart of the boundless vortex of cause and effect.
Ning Qingyao's long hair cascaded like flowing light, and a wisp of pale pink lotus radiance shimmered between her brows— the Spiritual Sense imprint inherited from the Lotus Immortal Hall. Her gaze was clear as she looked at the endless chains of fate and murmured, "So the so-called 'Cause-Observing Trial Realm' isn't about understanding cause and effect, but about—letting go of it."
Luo Shuangyue's expression was solemn, her robes fluttering. Her Spiritual Sense condensed into twelve halos beside her, each halos reflecting a different juncture in her life: obsession, compassion, faith, fear, loneliness... Looking at the twelve halos, a faint smile appeared on her face, "If the cause is me, why must the effect arise?"
In an instant, the sea of cause and effect beneath their feet rippled violently, and countless chains of fate coiled around them like snakes, dragging them into their respective illusory realms.
Ning Qingyao's illusory world is Annihilation lotus sea.
Countless blooming lotuses floated above the sea of light, each one sealing within it the person she had once saved. Those figures wore gentle smiles, but withered the moment she reached out, their petals falling like rain and shattering into dust. She heard a voice from the depths of the illusory realm.
"You take compassion as your cause and saving others as your result. If all beings are in vain, whom will you save?"
Ning Qingyao lowered her head, her fingertips tracing the air, tears mingling with the lotus blossoms. She whispered, "If all causes are scattered, then I will take nothingness as the cause."
"Taking stillness as the cause, and the mind as the boundary."
The moment she clasped her hands together, all the withered lotuses bloomed anew, and light and shadow transformed into countless characters that rose up, forming a pure lotus-seal array that surrounded her. The Sea of Cause and Effect suddenly quieted down, and the lotus sea flowed upstream, converging into a pink and white lotus pillar that pierced through heaven and earth, tearing apart the illusionary realm's blockade.
Boom!
Ning Qingyao broke through the illusion, and the radiance was like a waterfall, purifying the entire Yinhai into a pure white and dust-free realm.
On the other side, Luo Shuangyue's illusionary realm was Lei Yin's Severed Consciousness.
Thunder crackled in the sky as she stood beneath a thousand bolts of lightning, each bolt a manifestation of her deepest obsessions: a thirst for power, a fervent devotion to her faith, and regret for the past. The lightning itself multiplied into countless forms, each asking her in unison, "You cultivate Annihilation Lightning, yet fear Annihilation; you uphold truth, yet dread Nameless. Do you dare to bear witness to the cause with your own life?"
Luo Shuangyue looked up, pursed her lips, and formed a hand seal. The twelve wheels of soul light instantly merged into one, unleashing an annihilation-level spiritual lightning.
"Thunder is what I perceive, and perception is formless; I do not fear destruction, but only the lack of enlightenment."
With a furious roar, the entire sea of lightning was instantly shattered, turning into a white, ethereal dust. As she stepped out, the entire illusory realm collapsed into a lightning array, its cause and effect shattered by the thunder, returning to chaos.
When everything came to a standstill, Luo Shuangyue and Ning Qingyao opened their eyes at the same time. The Sea of Cause and Effect beneath their feet had transformed into two flowing bridges of light. They smiled at each other and stepped into the end of the bridges of light, where the gate to the fourth level slowly opened.
Outside, the core of the third level of the ancient pagoda lit up once more—two beams of light of different colors, one pink and one blue, pierced through the pagoda walls and shone directly into the silent sky of the fourth level.
The onlookers were shocked, and whispers broke out.
"Two more people have passed the third level? Those are disciples of the Lotus Immortal Hall!"
"That pink lotus light... is undoubtedly Ning Qingyao. And that lightning radiance in the sky must be Luo Shuangyue."
All the major temples of the Void Obliteration Domain were watching this extraordinary spectacle within the tower. An elder of the Asura Immortal Hall whispered, "These two are both extremely composed. If they can reach the fifth floor, they may have a chance to glimpse the principles of Annihilation Dawn."
Deep within the tower, Qin Yu's aura grew increasingly calm, and his figure slowly emerged from the bottom of the third layer of the sea of light.
Before his eyes, the threads of cause and effect were weaving into a mirror, reflecting countless versions of "himself".
As the light and mist of the third layer gradually dissipated, a soft, serene light emanated from the depths of the tower's core, like the first rays of dawn. Qin Yu's figure appeared from the stream of light, his footsteps lightly landing on the surface of the Sea of Cause and Effect. The light and water beneath his feet rippled slightly, without any hostility, as if welcoming a master already acknowledged by this world.
Boundless threads of destiny intertwined like a celestial river, with billions of silver strands entwining, flowing, and diverging in the void to form a massive scroll of Fate-Cause. This was the core of the "Cause-Observing Trial Realm," a test to see if cultivators could control their own destiny without being Karmic Backlash. Many cultivators fell into fear and lost themselves here, ultimately having their traces erased by the Tower Spirit. However, the moment Qin Yu stepped in, the entire illusory realm's threads of destiny trembled slightly before settling into calm.
He gently raised his head, his gaze calm and serene, a faint smile playing on his lips, "The Cause-Observing Trial Realm... truly a work left behind by the Ancient Logic Cultivation God, even the structure of destiny is folded in a logically self-consistent way. If I hadn't witnessed it firsthand, I probably wouldn't have imagined that this so-called trial would be so exquisite."
In the silent sea of light, countless "himself" suddenly rose. These phantoms of Qin Yu stood at the end of the lifeline, their postures identical but their expressions varied. One was indifferent, one compassionate, one resolute, and one hesitant. They were all projections of every choice he made in his life, extensions of the "cause" and echoes of the "effect."
A deep, resonant voice of the Tower Spirit echoed from the void:
"If you can see that the cause of your own existence does not disturb the effect of your own existence, then the cause will not hinder the effect, and the effect will not disturb the cause; thus, you can determine your own destiny."
Qin Yu smiled slightly.
He reached out and drew the light in his palm into a pen. It was the manifestation of the "Book of Fate Law - Realm Severing Origin Brush". With a single stroke of the brush, pale golden ripples instantly spread through the void.
The moment the pen touched the paper, the causal lines seemed to be plucked by an invisible hand, emitting a clear, melodious sound. Countless phantom figures of Qin Yu began to blur, their causal trajectories converging and finally overlapping back onto Qin Yu alone.
He whispered, "My cause does not arise from outside, my effect does not depend on others. The cause arises from me, the effect is written by me. This world is merely a page in my pen."
Having said that, he put pen to paper again.
Boom--
The sea of light in the entire "Cause-Observing Trial Realm" suddenly froze, and countless lifelines were reorganized by a gentle force, becoming clear and orderly, like chapters arranged in a book. The originally tangled chain of cause and effect flowed as smoothly as a poem under Qin Yu's pen, even the Tower Spirit fell silent for a moment.
The ethereal light transformed into the wind, gently stroking his robes as if submitting to him.
Qin Yu raised his eyes, his expression still calm. "If this is the test, you have passed."
As the words fell, the entire third level of space trembled violently, then slowly subsided. The Tower Spirit's voice rang out again, but this time it carried an almost sighing calmness:
"Only Book Realm · Intermediate Stage can cause and effect be rewritten without disturbance; the Book can lead to enlightenment, and the Brush can become divine."
A soft light enveloped Qin Yu, and a portal to the fourth level appeared in the void. Qin Yu stood with his hands behind his back, his clothes fluttering slightly, and turned to step inside.
In that instant, the entire area outside the tower blazed with light, and countless cultivators cried out in astonishment—
"Who is that? That light isn't Ning Qingyao's lotus radiance, nor is it Bai Li's Language Construction Flow..."
"That is—the emblem of the Eternal Extreme Sacred Hall! The Light of Sole Book Judgment!"
The portal closed, and the tower walls returned to silence. Only a wisp of golden light lingered deep within the tower's core, seemingly proclaiming an undeniable truth—
Qin Yu, having rewritten cause and effect with the "pen of Sole Book," easily stepped into the fourth layer of illusion.
The light barrier on the fourth level of the ancient pagoda trembled slowly, like a flowing silver film. That was the threshold of the [False Thought Consciousness Sea]—the Ultimate illusionary barrier that countless cultivators dreamed of but could not reach.
Bai Li's figure slowly rose from the vortex of light on the third level. Her long hair was as white as snow, her clothes fluttered, and her eyes still held a lingering brilliance. She had once defined cause and effect with words and used her heart as the boundary, making her the only cultivator to successfully pass through the third level using linguistic logic. At this moment, her toes landed before the gate to the fourth level. Her gaze was calm, yet she could feel the terrifying suppression hidden behind that thin membrane—the edge of the power of "Consciousnessless." Once stepped into it, consciousness would no longer be attached to the physical body, but would completely enter the realm of mind and illusory thoughts.
She took a light breath and touched the light barrier with her fingertips. In an instant, countless sound waves surged into her mind, the residual consciousness of billions of cultivators who were annihilated, like whispers or calls.
Bai Li frowned slightly and took a small step back. In the instant her heart was torn apart, she immediately raised the "Language-Cause Crystal Feather" in her hand—a linguistic artifact she had condensed on the third level, symbolizing "the creation of life through words, the birth of the Dao through language." The crystal feather transformed into countless runes, swirling around her, each word converging into gentle waves of sound—
"Use words as a shield, and break through falsehoods as a boundary."
Suddenly, the boundary of the fourth level emitted a dazzling silver light, and a gentle force enveloped her. It was the ancient tower's response to her—though she had stopped here, she had already touched the "gateway to the sea of consciousness" of the fourth level.
The Tower Spirit's voice then rang out, carrying a cold echo, yet also containing a rare hint of approval:
"The cultivator Bai Li, who determines cause with words and understands effect with the mind, though he stops before reaching the Sea of Consciousness, has perfected his mind and is thus granted a 'Cause-Language True Feather'."
A silver feather of light drifted down from the void and slowly disappeared into Bai Li's palm. Within the feather, faintly flowing light of Annihilation Dawn- level characters emanated, their meaning ancient and mysterious—capable of directly elevating the laws of causality and language to a "conceptual-level definition" upon future breakthroughs.
Outside, the moment the tower walls shook, many onlookers gasped in unison.
"She was bounced out—wait, no! That was a reward of glory!"
"That's impossible! The first three levels of the ancient tower have never offered any rewards! Only from the fourth level onwards is it possible to receive a 'Blessing from the Tower'!"
"She was recognized even before she stopped, doesn't that mean her Dao of Language Construction has been acknowledged by the tower itself?"
The elders of all the halls in the Void Obliteration Domain rose to their feet, their expressions grave. The disciples of the Asura Immortal Hall whispered amongst themselves, "If she advances another step, perhaps she can rival that 'mysterious child'..."
Bai Li landed steadily in the empty plaza outside the tower, her eyes clear and bright, gently stroking the silver feather in her hand. She smiled slightly and murmured, "So even the Tower of Truth understands how to appreciate the gentleness of language."
She turned around, looking at the still-flickering light gate at the heart of the tower, and said softly, "... It seems that the one who can truly go further is the one who steps into the fifth level."
A sudden burst of light shone from within the tower walls, and a new illusory realm quietly opened.
[Fourth Layer of Illusion: The False Thought Consciousness Sea]
A golden light tore through the tower wall, shooting straight up from the depths of the endless sea of light. Qin Yu's figure appeared in that light, his robes flowing like clouds, his brushstrokes gleaming.
The Tower Spirit's whisper echoed in the ears of every cultivator, "He arrives."
The tremors of the tower walls grew deeper and deeper, and ancient light symbols emerged from the fourth floor, like the breath accumulated over millions of years awakening at this moment. The entire fourth floor of the Ancient Logic God-Cultivation Tower was shrouded in an invisible wind of consciousness, which was the true form of the "False Thought Consciousness Sea"—an infinite mental domain woven from thoughts, will, and illusions.
The four Abyss Flowers entered this level. Their figures were not physical entities, but rather four streaks of light and shadow at different frequencies: one like flowing sand, one like dark flames, one like a wave of light, and one as still as a stone tablet. As the most mysterious beings in the Void Obliteration Domain, they never spoke, communicating with each other through consciousness. The "False Thought Consciousness Sea" on the fourth level was not an illusion for them, but a test of the Limit of their mental stability.
The moment they stepped into the sea of consciousness, the void instantly boiled, countless "fragments of thought" poured down like a torrential rain, and illusions and reality surged beneath their feet.
The first Abyss Flowers, known as the "Thoughtless One," cultivated through pure emptiness, his mind unattached and thoughts nonexistent. However, when he reached the center of his sea of consciousness, he was suddenly surrounded by his own reflection. Every expression and thought in that reflection was the opposite of his own, as if the entire universe was denying his "emptiness."
He remained silent for a moment, then a slight smile appeared on his lips, "If emptiness becomes an attachment, then it is not emptiness."
One thought arises, ten thousand thoughts cease. The sea of consciousness of the Thoughtless One instantly solidifies into a mirror, all reflections crumble, and the illusory realm transforms into a tranquil lake. The Tower Spirit's whisper echoes:
"Those Abyss Flowers, those Thoughtless One, their minds return to stillness, and they ascend to the fifth level."
A silver ray of light rose from the heart of the tower, lifting him up and sending him to a higher level.
The second Abyss Flowers is the "Form-Observing One," whose cultivation is unfathomable. He is skilled at Realm Breaking through "conceptual deconstruction." At this moment, he stands deep within his sea of consciousness, and the light beneath his feet converges into countless figures, each one a being he has "observed" in the past—enemies, friends, masters, lovers... They roar in unison, as if trying to pull him back into the abyss of cause and effect.
The Form-Observing One calmly raised his hand, and a book appeared in the air, unfolding page by page, reflecting all the truths he had ever witnessed. At that moment, he understood—"to observe" is to intervene, and only "No Observation" is to transcend.
I use observation as a mirror, not the mirror as my eyes.
The pages burned, his consciousness suddenly brightened, and the Tower Spirit spoke again:
"Those Form-Observing One Abyss Flowers and observe the physiognomy, with their sea of consciousness undisturbed, ascend to the fifth level."
The remaining two Abyss Flowers, however, were not so composed.
The third "String-Speaking One" is skilled at communicating with the Consciousness Realm through music. When she stepped into the Sea of Illusion, the Sea of Consciousness transformed into a torrent of countless musical pieces. She attempted to guide order with her music, but fell into chaos amidst the countless disordered melodies. The strings snapped, her consciousness shattered instantly, and the Sea of Illusion surged back, engulfing her.
"The sound of consciousness... can actually backfire on my own heart." She murmured, her consciousness turning into light dust, and the Tower Spirit's light curtain lifted her out of the tower.
Tower Spirit declares:
"The One Abyss Flowers, the String-Speaking One, who returned after recognizing the chaos, is hereby granted a 'Recognition Annihilation Shattered Resonance Crystal'."
It was a crystal core that emanated silver-gray sound waves, symbolizing that although she had not yet broken through the barrier, she had been recognized by the tower and could use this crystal to cultivate the "Consciousness Sound Formless Method" in the future, which was comparable to a fourth-level treasure.
The last one was the "Soul-Abyss One." He possessed extremely strong soul resistance, yet he encountered the "Tide of Ten Thousand Souls" in his False Thought Consciousness Sea. These were fragments of consciousness from all those annihilated within the ancient tower, and countless whispers roared in his mind, "Who are you? Where does your consciousness come from? You never existed!"
The Soul-Abyss One roared, attempting to suppress it with his will, but the tide of consciousness surged back, dragging him into the endless illusory river.
"The False Thought Consciousness Sea ultimately cannot contain those who reach the extreme of 'consciousness'."
He was engulfed by the stream of light, and the Tower Spirit proclaimed:
"Those Abyss Flowers, those Soul-Abyss One, though their consciousness may dissipate, will be granted a 'Sea of Consciousness Binding Seal'."
A commotion erupted outside the tower again. "That's... the ancient tower's seal!"
"Sure enough, starting from the fourth level, you can win a prize even if you fail!"
Countless rays of light flowed across the tower, like a galaxy flowing backwards. The figures of the two Abyss Flowers disappeared into the depths of the fifth floor, while the two cultivators who had been ejected sat cross-legged, receiving the ancient tower's energy.
Deep within the tower walls, Qin Yu's aura slowly emerged. He stood at the edge of his sea of consciousness, his gaze calm as still water.
The entire fourth level was completely silent. Only the golden pen spun slightly, transforming into countless rays of light that tore open the boundaries of the illusory thoughts.