At the bottom of the canyon in the Ancient Spirit Realm…
Ye Chen sat quietly at the center of his formation. The Spirit Source fragment hovered nearby, pulsing with emerald light. His dantian surged with refined spiritual energy, and his Foundation Establishment realm had fully stabilized.
His spirit sword floated silently at his side, radiating calm yet lethal intent.
But Ye Chen hadn't left.
Instead, his divine sense was locked onto the fragment, probing deeper into the rhythmic pulses it emitted.
"This piece… is just the surface," he muttered. "The real core is still sealed below the canyon floor."
His brow furrowed.
A strange unease was rising in his chest.
Suddenly—
Rumble—!
A deep, muffled quake echoed upward.
The entire canyon shook violently. Cracks split the rock. Red storm clouds flickered in the sky above, and the air's spiritual currents spiraled into chaos.
"The Spirit Source is mutating!"
…
Outside the realm, in the royal observation chamber:
Elders jumped from their seats in alarm.
"The spatial structure is destabilizing!"
"The Spirit Source fragment is triggering a resonance with something deeper!"
"The realm is beginning to collapse!"
"Call all disciples back! This is a full destabilization event!"
…
Inside the canyon, surviving participants turned pale.
"The ground—it's breaking apart!"
"Run! Run now!"
Princess Ye Qiluo held a teleportation talisman in hand. "Fall back!" she snapped coldly.
Ruan Cang's eyes were wide with panic. "Where's Ye Chen?! He's still down there!"
"Let him die!" someone roared. "He chose this!"
…
But Ye Chen remained still.
He looked toward the canyon floor.
A deep fissure was opening—far below—and within it, he saw something glowing faintly.
A beam of pure blue-gold light.
His eyes lit up, not with fear—but certainty.
"So that's where the true core lies."
Without hesitation, he wrapped himself in spiritual aura, his sword circling protectively.
And then—
He stepped into the rift.
"If I retreat now… then what meaning does cultivation hold?"
Rumble—!
The earth roared.
Stone shattered.
The entire canyon collapsed into a swirling abyss.
Dozens of onlookers turned back in shock—only to glimpse a white-robed figure descending into the heart of chaos, untouched by the crumbling world around him.
A sword in the storm.
A man against the void.
…
Back in the viewing hall, a white-robed elder whispered, "He went down."
A sect emissary's voice turned grim. "If he survives this… no realm will be able to contain him."
King Ye Yao stood silent for a long time.
Then he finally spoke:
"Send word."
"Shut down the realm's gate. Seal all news."
…
At the bottom of the abyss…
Ye Chen emerged onto a massive circular platform.
Carved into ancient stone, the platform pulsed with strange runes—not magic, not battle force, but something far older.
Floating above its center…
Was the true Spirit Source Core.
A sphere of shimmering starlight. Light and rhythm. Warmth and power.
Ye Chen stepped forward and knelt before it.
He reached out his right hand.
And touched it.
"There's no turning back now."
"From this moment on… I, Ye Chen, walk my own path."