The gray-white mist of the Wildlands had completely dissipated, leaving only a cold, gray-black expanse. The shadows of the four stretched grotesquely across the barren land, every fragment of bone seeming to tremble. The wind ceased entirely, and even the breathing of the wilderness itself felt suppressed.
Ye Chenyu lifted his eyes and saw, deep in the sky, a pair of enormous eyes—Zhu Jiuyin. It had no full face, appearing as merely floating pupils in the void, its gaze deep and indifferent, exuding a pressure that could freeze all things. In that instant, time across the Wildlands seemed to halt: the wind stopped blowing, bones ceased falling, even the gray mist froze in place.
His heart pounded violently, each beat echoing through the empty wilderness. Zhu Jiuyin's gaze was like a blade, piercing the depths of his soul, filling Ye Chenyu with a profound sense of nullity—every memory, every will, even the meaning of his existence, seemed drained away, leaving only pure fear coursing through his veins.
Xing Lan sensed the power of Zhu Jiuyin, shivering slightly as she murmured, "It… it doesn't just gaze. It examines existence itself."
Xuan Ye attempted to cast a rune array. The runes glowed with a ghostly blue on the ground, but were instantly reversed by Zhu Jiuyin's gaze. The once-functioning array seemed inverted; the light receded, and the energy contained within flowed backward to its source. Xuan Ye roared, struggling to maintain stability.
Liyue Ying furrowed her brow. She felt a subtle resonance between her bloodline and Zhu Jiuyin. Each breath felt like a struggle against the Wildlands' ultimate order. She extended her hand, only to find even the slightest motion countered by an invisible force of time, the air thick and viscous, isolating her from her surroundings.
Ye Chenyu watched all this, despair rising within him. He found himself unable to think; his thoughts were tossed by invisible hands, every notion sensed and twisted effortlessly by Zhu Jiuyin. He saw himself and his companions' actions quietly reversed—Xuan Ye's recently cast rune array dissolved, Xing Lan's attempted water strike flowed backward, as if all forces were being drawn into the abyss of those eyes.
The bones scattered across the Wildlands stirred faintly, but the sound was immediately swallowed by Zhu Jiuyin's gaze, leaving only infinite emptiness within. Ye Chenyu felt his existence gradually drained. He tried to call out, but his vocal cords froze; his throat could produce no sound. The four seemed like shadows under examination in the void, each breath, each blink, precisely observed by Zhu Jiuyin.
Xing Lan whispered to Ye Chenyu, "We must rely on our sense of existence… we cannot allow ourselves to be erased completely."
A strange energy surged through Ye Chenyu's bloodline. He closed his eyes and concentrated, gathering all past memories—South Mountain, North Mountain, East Mountain, and every experience—into a central "core," as if using existence itself to resist Zhu Jiuyin's gaze. Xuan Ye and Liyue Ying simultaneously focused their power; the three wills intersected at the heart of the Wildlands, forming a faint protective barrier.
Zhu Jiuyin slightly shifted its gaze, and cracks appeared in the frozen time of the void. Bones trembled lightly; gray-black mist swirled once more. Yet despair still gripped the four—they knew these eyes were no ordinary presence, but an ultimate force of judgment, scrutiny, and dominion.
Ye Chenyu realized: this Wildlands was no mere natural realm, but a manifestation of primordial order. His origins, runes, bloodline, even the secrets of all five lands of the Spirit Realm, seemed insignificant under Zhu Jiuyin's gaze. A profound sense of nullity gripped him—existence itself felt as light as dust, as if a mere sweep of those eyes could erase everything.
Yet he did not give in. He gathered all his experiences and memories into light, concentrated into a flame of will, clenching his fists as if to use existence itself to resist the void. He understood that the true challenge had only just begun—the ultimate force at the heart of the Wildlands awaited them, and Zhu Jiuyin's gaze could never be fully escaped.
On the gray-black expanse, the four figures swayed between stasis and subtle movement. Zhu Jiuyin's eyes hovered deep in the void, twisting time and space with their gaze. Despair, fear, and the void intertwined; the four floated like solitary souls across an infinite wilderness, seeking support from each other amid the emptiness.
This was the deepest part: the trial of existence under the faceless deity's gaze, a prelude to the ultimate force of the Spirit Realm.