Sometime later, Bluetile Courtyard, in Qin Yuâs previous dwelling.
Qin Yu sat in the seat of honor. He lifted a hand and pointed a finger. An invisible imprisoning strength immediately arrived and thoroughly sealed the area.
Feeling this imprisoning strength, the Ancient King Patriarch, Old King Patriarch, and Red Fringe all changed their expressions.
So strong!
Moreover, it faintly gave them a sense of threat. Qin Yuâs display of strength was far greater than the previous new Kingâs.
In the abyss, strength was the true status. These three old demons restrained their previously casual manner.
Qin Yu said, âThe ancestral land has been destroyed. The one there will never appear again.â
The Ancient King Patriarch, Old King Patriarch, and Red Fringe all paled. They never thought that the first sentence Qin Yu said would be such explosive news.
The ancestral land had really been destroyedâ¦
Before, when the vortex vanished, they had vaguely guessed this.
After all, it was the ancestral land and it was connected to the aura of the entire tribe. As Nameless True Kings of the tribe, they certainly were able to sense something.
But now, after obtaining confirmation from Qin Yuâs lips, the impact this had still left them shaken.
Qin Yu waited for a time, allowing them to digest this news. Then he continued to say, âNow, the three of you may go ahead and ask your questions. I will tell you in advance that there are some secrets that I can only hide.â
Red Fringe was the first to speak. âThat one in the ancestral land, just who is it?â As she spoke, her tone became increasingly urgent. âOr to be more exact, what relation does that one have with the Nightmare Clan?â
Qin Yu looked at her and said, âThat oneâ¦to be precise, he was a parasite hiding within the Nightmare Clan.â
âOf course, calling him the Nightmare Clanâs old ancestor isnât wrong either. It is indeed because of his existence that the Nightmare Clan has its current status.â
Red Fringe furrowed her eyebrows, not too satisfied with this answer.
Qin Yu waved his hand, interrupting her before she could speak. âI know what you want to sayâ¦very well, I can tell you the truth, but this matter involves events of great significance. None of you can reveal anything, otherwise the entire tribe shall face total annihilation!â
The Ancient King Patriarch, Old King Patriarch, and Red Fringe all sucked in a deep breath, their heartbeats accelerating.
Qin Yuâs eyes deepened as he swept over the three. He slowly said, âThe one in the ancestral landâ¦was a shadow of the abyssâ¦â He immediately wove a tale of what happened.
To simply summarize it, there were nine points of truth and one point of lies. After being altered by Qin Yu, the story was still the story, but its flavor had changed.
As the three old demons listened, their complexions changed again and again. They constantly verified what they knew with what they heardâ¦then, everything made sense.
No wonder someone could directly become an Abyssal True King just by being selected to enter the ancestral land and capturing the throneâ¦no wonder the successive Nightmare Kings, no matter which family they came from, would give off an essentially familiar feelingâ¦no wonder the tribe didnât feel close to the ancestral land, and it even gave them a sense of cold predationâ¦
A shadow of the abyss that developed free will and refused to dissipateâ¦so this was the reason why the Nightmare Clan was able to rise up from nothingâ¦but was he really just a simple shadow? And this shadow had disappeared now.
In other words, the Nightmare Clan had lost their ancestral land. While they had already thought of such a possibility, they still felt dazed when it was confirmed to be true.
Could the future Nightmare Clan still maintain its current status? Or, with the disappearance of the ancestral land, would the Nightmare Clan fall into decline and eventually collapse?
The Old King Patriarch opened his mouth. âThis may seem offensive, but I still wish to ask it. What is your true identity?â
Qin Yu could feel eyes gather on him. This was presently one of the matters they cared about the most. It might even be no less important that the true secret of the ancestral landâ¦
Because Qin Yu was the current Nightmare King. He wielded authority over the entire tribe and would determine their future prosperity or decline.
âThe abyssâ will cannot be defied. Since a Shadow of Betrayal has appeared, it will naturally find a way to thoroughly erase it.
âThousandhonor Marquis was an enforcer, but his movements were too slow. So with my appearance, all mistakes were erased and everything returned to normal as it should be.â
Qin Yu faintly smiled, âThat is my true identity.â
He didnât directly reply, but this answer was obviously enough. The Old King Patriarch, Ancient King Patriarch, and Red Fringe all nodded. It was just as they thought.
Like that, Qin Yu used Thousandhonor Marquisâ status and easily explained his sudden disappearance.
There was no need for a useless enforcer to continue to exist. It was normal to be cleaned up by the abyssâ will.
Moreover, Qin Yu inadvertently managed to make the three old demons believe even more in him.
This was because they had already suspected Thousandhonor Marquis beforeâ¦now that they knew more, everything became clear.
Hence, the three old demons believed 70-80% of what Qin Yu saidâ¦in truth, this was already a very good result.
Without staying for too much longer, the Ancient King Patriarch, Old King Patriarch, and Red Fringe all bid their goodbyes and left.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Qin Yu watched them leave and furrowed his eyebrows. He said in a soft voice, âThey really are cautious. But this doesnât matter. As long as they donât tear through my disguise, the most difficult first part has ended.â
From here on out, he was the new Nightmare King!
Even with Qin Yuâs shrewd mentality and skill at hiding his emotions, he couldnât help but feel choked up. As a being of the living world, he had somehow turned into the Nightmare Clanâs King. This was simply inconceivable!
After a long time, he took a deep breath and suppressed his tumbling emotions. He looked down at his shadow and his eyes lit up with anticipation. âNow itâs time to count the harvest.â
â¦
Qin Yu never forgot his most basic goal for coming to the abyss for even one moment. So after awakening Old Turtleâs Undying Body fragment, he directly asked him about the secrets of the Path of 10,000 Souls. This was something that concerned Ning Lingâs life and death.
âThe Path of 10,000 Soulsâ¦â Old Turtle thought for a moment and then his face changed a bit. He looked up at Qin Yu and subconsciously gulped.
He certainly wasnât an idiot. Just by looking at Qin Yuâs appearance, anyone could tell that there was another story behind this.
Could it be he had cultivated it? No, that wasnât right. Qin Yuâs soul aura was complete and hadnât undergone division.
Then what was the reason?
Without giving Old Turtle more time to think, Qin Yu said, âTruthfully tell me everything you know. If you dare to conceal anything from me, I will break you to pieces.â
Startled, Old Turtleâs face turned blue. Qin Yu was extremely seriousâ¦the situation was likely far worse than he first imagined.
He gulped and wiped his mouth. Donât ask why a shadow was able to swallow and wipe his mouth, after all, he was a projection of the abyss so of course he was different.
âThe Path of 10,000 Souls was one of my attempts. You should know that I fear death above all, so I always try to keep an extra path open for myself. So I had an idea. I split up my consciousness, dividing and treating them as seeds. Then these seeds constantly strengthened, and if they finally fused together, it would be able to greatly enhance my strength.
âThe Qi Zhen that cooperated with you, as well as other shadows, were some of my attemptsâ¦cough coughâ¦imagining something can be beautiful, but reality is often harsh. In short, I failed. The Path of 10,000 Souls in itself is wrong.â
Old Turtle paused and looked at Qin Yu. He braced himself and said, âThe rules do not allow it, so this in itself is a dead end. It will not work at allâ¦â
Qin Yu waved a hand and interrupted him. âIâll ask you something else. A fragment soul of someone who cultivated the Path of 10,000 Souls, can they obtain true freedom?â
His eyes were sharp and fierce. âThe freedom I speak of is to become an independent individual that is no longer restricted by the main body, to become a pure and singular life formâ¦think before you speak, otherwise Iâll break you to pieces!â
It was this sentence again!
Old Turtleâs lips twitched and he almost cried out loud. Although the Path of 10,000 Souls was wrong in itself and was impossible to cross, it was indeed an extremely mysterious cultivation method.
What nonsense. He had imprisoned himself within the Nightmare Ancestral Land, enduring solitude and loneliness. During all that time, he spent endless effort and energy to finally create this secret art. Even if it was incomplete, its quality was absolutely top tier.
After all, Old Turtle feared death, and however much he feared that, that was how much effort he would put into this effortâ¦that was 120% effort.
What resulted from that was the Path of 10,000 Soulsâ incomparably overbearing abilityâ¦it came from him, so he knew it best. Even so, of course he would be worried that the shadows that split out from him would follow his example.
So when it came to the imprisonment of these fragment souls, there was no solution. If not for that, Qi Zhen, who had begged for death, wouldnât have waited until now to achieve this wish.
Facing Qin Yuâs blazing eyes, Old Turtle paled and his forehead became covered with sweat. However, not replying was impossible. He could clearly feel the cruelty hidden below Qin Yuâs clam surface. It was like a roiling volcano. It could erupt at any moment and burn everything down to ashes.
Whether it was being broken to pieces or burnt to ashes, it all resulted in âdeathâ at the end.
âThis matterâ¦is very difficultâ¦when I created the Path of 10,000 Souls I was worried I would be betrayed by my shadowsâ¦I never thought that thisâ¦â Old Turtle stuttered, fear filling his heart. He really was afraid that his life would come to an end at any moment.
Rumble rumble â
The skies instantly darkened as countless black clouds gushed out. Then a million bolts of thunder cracked down, roaring between the heavens.
Arcs of lightning intertwined, tearing apart the darkness. The aura of destruction enveloped Old Turtle, making him scream, âDonât blame me! Donât blame me! When I created the Path of 10,000 Souls in the past, I never imagined this would happenâ¦please donât kill me, I beg you not to kill me!â
This was the world of Qin Yuâs mind. He was the ruler of this world and could change everything with a thought.
If he wanted to kill Old Turtle, he didnât even need to do much at all. Just a single glance could send him beyond redemption.
The Undying Body could resist the invasion of time and last foreverâ¦but as was said countless times before, there was no absolute in this world. Even if it existed, it was only limited to a certain scope.
If one could really become immortal and undying, why would Old Turtle fear death so much and imprison himself in the Nightmare Ancestral Land, enduring loneliness and not daring to take a single step into the abyss?
This was certainly because the abyssâ will could kill himâ¦and it just happened that while the little blue lampâs absolute strength couldnât compare with the abyssâ will, its level of strength was no weaker.
So, it could achieve this.
In order to survive, Old Turtle could only hand over his source mark. Now that Qin Yu possessed it, he could destroy Old Turtle with just a thought.
Pitiful screams filled the air. Lightning flashed within the world of Qin Yuâs mind, illuminating his face. He had finally found the source of the Path of 10,000 Souls, but he never imagined this would be the result.
There was no solution. There was actually no solution!
After learning all this, Qin Yu naturally thought about Qi Zhen. Qi Zhen was Old Turtleâs shadow, and had been begging to die for many years.
This confirmed everything that Old Turtle said. Fragment souls from the Path of 10,000 Souls would never be liberated!