Location: Beneath the Crystal Palace — Hall of Forgotten Memories
The Awakening Beyond the Path
The ancient laughter slowly faded into the darkness.
Qin Huaian remained standing on the first step of the broken path.
His expression had not changed.
Behind him, Fenglan, Meiyue, and Xiaoxiao stood silently.
None of them could see the true form of the existence that had just spoken.
Only those enormous eyes remained visible in the darkness.
Watching.
Waiting.
Judging.
Fenglan clenched his fists.
"Father…"
Qin Huaian raised one hand.
Fenglan immediately stopped.
Huaian's eyes remained fixed ahead.
"Don't move."
His voice was calm.
"But don't fear it either."
The darkness suddenly trembled.
A deep voice echoed again.
"You possess confidence."
A pause.
"But confidence alone will not take you beyond the Crown."
Qin Huaian's gaze remained cold.
"I didn't come here to prove my confidence."
"Then why did you come?"
Huaian answered without hesitation.
"To understand."
Silence.
For several seconds, nothing happened.
Then—
The enormous eyes slowly closed.
The pressure disappeared.
Fenglan released the breath he had unknowingly been holding.
Meiyue looked toward Huaian.
"It left?"
Qin Huaian shook his head.
"No."
He looked toward the darkness.
"It wants us to follow."
The Door Beneath the Path
The broken staircase suddenly began sinking.
One step after another disappeared beneath the darkness.
The group remained still.
Then the entire space beneath them cracked open.
A massive black door emerged.
Ancient symbols covered its surface.
Unlike the symbols they had seen before—
These were moving.
Changing.
As if the door itself were alive.
Xiaoxiao stepped closer.
"This wasn't here before."
Huaian nodded.
"It was hidden."
Meiyue activated her Void perception.
Her expression immediately became serious.
"There are countless memories sealed inside."
Fenglan looked confused.
"Memories?"
Meiyue nodded.
"Not ordinary memories."
She looked toward Huaian.
"These belong to the First Void Emperor."
The ancient Emperor's Will appeared beside them.
Its expression changed when it saw the door.
"You shouldn't enter."
Everyone looked at it.
Fenglan frowned.
"Why?"
The Will stared at the ancient door.
"Because this is where he recorded everything he regretted."
The Emperor's Warning
Qin Huaian looked at the Will.
"What is inside?"
The Will remained silent.
Then it answered.
"His victories."
"His failures."
"His discoveries."
"And his final mistake."
Meiyue's eyes narrowed.
"The path beyond the Twelfth Realm?"
The Will nodded.
"Yes."
The atmosphere became heavy.
Qin Huaian stepped toward the door.
Xiaoxiao immediately caught his arm.
"Huaian."
He looked at her.
"Don't go alone."
For a moment, Huaian said nothing.
Then he gave a faint smile.
"I wasn't planning to."
Fenglan immediately stepped forward.
"Then we're going together."
Meiyue nodded.
"We entered the ruins together."
Xiaoxiao released Huaian's arm.
"Then let's finish this together."
Huaian looked at the three of them.
For a brief moment—
His cold expression softened.
Very slightly.
"Good."
He turned toward the door.
The Hall of Forgotten Memories
Qin Huaian placed his hand against the ancient door.
The moment his palm touched it—
BOOM!
The entire Crystal Palace shook.
The door opened.
A wave of ancient memories rushed outward.
Fenglan saw armies.
Meiyue saw ancient civilizations.
Xiaoxiao saw countless Void cultivators.
But Huaian saw something different.
He saw a single man.
Standing alone.
The First Void Emperor.
The memory pulled Huaian forward.
His consciousness entered the hall.
When he opened his eyes—
Everyone was gone.
He stood alone inside an endless black world.
Countless crystal spheres floated around him.
Each one contained a different memory.
A war.
A conversation.
A death.
A discovery.
A betrayal.
A triumph.
A failure.
Thousands of years of history were preserved within those spheres.
Huaian slowly looked around.
"So this is your memory…"
The First Memory
One crystal sphere floated toward him.
Huaian raised his hand.
The moment his fingers touched it—
The world changed.
He stood on top of an ancient mountain.
Countless cultivators were gathered below.
At the center stood the First Void Emperor.
He was younger.
Powerful.
Proud.
His Void aura covered the heavens.
A voice echoed through the memory.
"I believed the Void existed to obey me."
The scene changed.
The Emperor destroyed mountains.
Erased space.
Collapsed entire dimensions.
Everywhere he went—
The Void submitted.
Huaian watched silently.
Then the memory changed again.
The Emperor stood alone.
His expression was no longer proud.
It was empty.
"I was wrong."
The memory shattered.
Another crystal sphere appeared.
Then another.
Then another.
Huaian suddenly understood.
The Hall wasn't showing him the Emperor's achievements.
It was showing him his mistakes.
A Message Left Behind
One particular sphere stopped directly in front of Huaian.
Unlike the others—
It was completely black.
No image.
No light.
No aura.
Huaian touched it.
The sphere dissolved.
A familiar figure appeared.
The First Void Emperor.
But this time—
He was looking directly at Huaian.
Not at an unknown future cultivator.
At him.
"I knew someone would eventually arrive."
Huaian's eyes narrowed slightly.
The Emperor continued.
"If you are seeing this…"
"Then you have already reached the place where I failed."
The memory paused.
Then the Emperor smiled faintly.
"But there is something you must understand."
"The Void was never meant to be controlled."
Huaian remained silent.
The Emperor's voice became softer.
"It was meant to be understood."
The Forgotten Question
The First Void Emperor raised one hand.
Behind him appeared an enormous black staircase.
The same broken path Huaian had just seen.
"I reached the Twelfth Realm."
"I stood before the final boundary."
"But I asked the wrong question."
Huaian's eyes sharpened.
"What question?"
The Emperor looked directly at him.
"How can I control the Void?"
The memory began fading.
Before disappearing completely, the Emperor spoke one final sentence.
"Perhaps…"
"The one who succeeds…"
"Will ask something different."
The memory vanished.
The Hall became silent.
Huaian stood alone among thousands of floating memories.
His eyes slowly closed.
Then—
A faint smile appeared on his face.
Because he already knew the question he would ask.
Not—
How can I control the Void?
But—
What does the Void want to become?
Far away, somewhere beyond the Hall—
Something ancient opened its eyes again.
And this time...
It was smiling.