Chapter 1965: Anomalous Abyss
Barely managing to activate Life Miracle to soothe his injuries, Yun Che sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, taking a long time to calm his heart and still his soul.
Given his current state, he absolutely should not use his soul power again, but he could no longer wait.
His consciousness quickly roamed through his soul sea, and finally, in a deep and distant corner, he found the shadowy figure he had long forgotten.
Back then, when he first received the Demon Emperor's blood, his heart was filled with hatred, and all his will was focused on pursuing power sufficient for revenge. He had almost no concern or curiosity about the "great secret" and "great hidden threat" that Jie Tian Mo Di had mentioned.
At that time, he wished for all worlds to be destroyed. What did secrets or hidden threats matter to him?
Thus, it left no deep imprint on his will.
After stepping out of the Northern Domain, up until he killed Long Bai, his Dark Eternal Calamity had still not reached its peak. Afterwards, he did not deliberately cultivate Dark Eternal Calamity anymore, because after reaching the Great Accomplishment stage, cultivation could hardly improve it; it could only rely on the natural harmony between Dark Eternal Calamity and his body and soul.
He had thought this would be an extremely long process, perhaps thousands or even tens of thousands of years.
After all, that was the core power of an ancient Demon Emperor.
But after mastering the last part of the Heaven-Defying World Scripture, within just half a year, Dark Eternal Calamity had achieved perfect synergy with him.
From then on, he wielded Dark Eternal Calamity as if controlling his own limbs.
Only at that time, he had already become the Cloud Emperor, and there was nothing in the world that posed a threat to him. Additionally, his hatred-filled will back then had paid no attention to the words Jie Tian Mo Di left within the Demon Emperor's blood, so he had never recalled them over the years.
Now, the sudden crisis and the immensely overwhelming soul pressure finally made him recall the voice that Jie Yuan had imprinted within the Demon Emperor's blood.
"A great hidden threat"... Yun Che had an extremely deep feeling that the hidden threat Jie Yuan referred to back then was most likely the Abyss!
Could she have foreseen this day back then?
The soul level of Jie Tian Mo Di was immeasurably high. That trace of dark soul light clearly existed within Yun Che's soul sea, yet it emitted not even a wisp of soul aura. Yun Che had never sensed its existence all these years.
Gathering his spirit, Yun Che channeled the power of Dark Eternal Calamity and reached out to touch it.
Instantly, the dark soul light dispersed, revealing the figure of Jie Tian Mo Di within Yun Che's soul sea.
Seeing Jie Yuan again—though just a soul shadow that would soon dissipate—still caused Yun Che's heart and soul to tremble and surge.
Demon eyes darker than the Abyss, a terrifying face covered in fearsome scars, a pressure heavier than ten thousand skies... anyone facing her would tremble in fear. But Yun Che knew better than anyone that beneath her fearsome appearance and the Demon Emperor's "evil reputation" lay a warm, soft, even sacred demon heart.
Back when he was forced into the Northern Domain, he gradually learned that before leaving the world, Jie Yuan had secretly left him many retreats and aids, and he truly understood some of the profound words she had spoken.
Only, he could no longer say a word of thanks to her.
The shadow of Jie Yuan in his soul sea opened its demon eyes and spoke slowly: "Yun Che, for us to meet again means you have successfully cultivated Dark Eternal Calamity to perfection, and thus you naturally stand at the pinnacle of this world. As such, you ought to bear some heavy truths."
"The current world's qi is extremely thin, its laws extremely fragile, like a completely different world compared to the Age of Gods."
"The war that destroyed gods and demons might have caused chaos in order and collapse of laws, but the Chaos Qi should never have decayed to this extent. The spiritual energy of a world should forever maintain balance in order to cycle through the ages."
In short, Jie Yuan's words meant that the total amount of spiritual energy in a world should be eternally unchanging. In her knowledge as a Demon Emperor, this was the most basic common sense.
But the reality was that this world, which once held countless True Gods and Demon Gods, had decayed to the point where not even Demigods could be born from its qi level.
Space and order had become so fragile that they trembled and shattered under the power of Demigods.
And yet, only a few million years had passed since she left the Chaos.
Jie Yuan continued: "Chaos Qi does not disappear for no reason. The only possibility is that it has flowed elsewhere."
"Initially, I thought that under the influence of the War of Gods and Demons, the Chaos Wall had developed invisible tiny fissures, causing the Chaos Qi to continuously leak out."
"This was the only explanation I could think of, the only possibility."
"But when I set foot in the current Bei Shen Domain, I suddenly sensed an abnormal flow of dark qi."
Among the Four Demon Emperors, Jie Yuan's overall strength was not the strongest.
But she possessed the most primitive and purest dark power. Her affinity for and mastery over dark power was the ultimate in all eternity.
Thus, her perception of dark qi was undoubtedly extremely keen.
"You once told me that the territory of the Bei Shen Domain had been shrinking. Clearly, these silently dispersing dark qi currents were the root cause."
"Following the direction of the dark qi's dispersion, I discovered that they all eventually flowed into Tai Chu Divine Realm."
"And after entering Tai Chu Divine Realm, they all flowed towards..."
"The Abyss of Nothingness!"
During the War of Gods and Demons, the order and laws of Chaos completely collapsed, and all Chaos Qi flowed toward the Abyss of Nothingness, where the laws had cracked... The Primordial Divine's will had clearly informed him of all this.
And Jie Yuan, relying on her extreme sensitivity to dark qi, had also discovered this truth in the current world.
At this moment, the shadow of Jie Yuan suddenly emitted a strange demonic light, and then spread a gray-white scene in Yun Che's soul sea.
In the scene, Jie Yuan floated in the air, looking down... Above her was the gray-white sky of Tai Chu Divine Realm, and beneath her feet was the vast, boundless Abyss of Nothingness, like a ferocious, gaping demon mouth ready to devour everything.
"The Abyss of Nothingness has clearly undergone some kind of anomaly."
Jie Yuan's voice sounded again: "The Chaos Qi of the current world has mostly stopped leaking, likely having reached a new balance. Only the dark demon qi continues to dissipate. The reason is probably that most living beings with Dark Profound Force in the present world are forced to gather in one place, causing the concentration of dark demon qi in Bei Shen Domain to become too high, and thus under the influence of the Abyss of Nothingness's anomaly, it still continues to flow toward the Abyss."
"Now that you stand at the pinnacle of this world, Dark Profound Practitioners naturally no longer need to be imprisoned in the Northern Domain. The leakage of dark qi should have gradually ceased."
"As for the Abyss of Nothingness, which has been continuously devouring Chaos Qi—what kind of terrifying anomaly has actually occurred there..."
At this point, Yun Che's emotions quickly calmed down.
The "great hidden threat" Jie Yuan spoke of was indeed related to the Abyss. But it was no different from what the Primordial Divine's will had told him back then.
At the end of the War of Gods and Demons, when the Primordial Divine's will discovered the anomaly of the Abyss, the collapsing Abyss had already deviated from the laws she had originally established and thus escaped her control.
Moreover, at that time, she only had will, without power or concrete existence, so she could not determine what exactly had happened to the anomalous Abyss or what consequences it would lead to.
It was also this unpredictable great hidden threat that made her choose to reincarnate through a thousand lifetimes to be reborn.
At that time, her will could not discern that beneath the anomalous Abyss, within what was originally a world of annihilation, a world of life had unexpectedly appeared.
Even the Primordial Divine was like this; millions of years later, although Jie Yuan discovered the anomaly of the Abyss, she similarly could not determine what kind of anomaly it was.
Naturally, she could not tell him how to deal with it.
Just as Yun Che's expectations had completely fallen through, Jie Yuan in the scene lowered her gaze, and her voice gradually grew deep and somber:
"The Abyss of Nothingness turns everything that falls into it into nothingness. It is a destructive force that even Ni Xuan and I cannot comprehend."
"In our lifetimes, Ni Xuan and I have approached the Abyss of Nothingness countless times. As a Demon Emperor and a Creation God, every time we faced the Abyss of Nothingness, we felt a terror that pierced straight to the heart and soul. That terror warned us that if we fell into it, even as a Demon Emperor or a Creation God, we would be annihilated into nothingness."
"But now, facing the Abyss, that sense of terror has become so faint. What assails the soul instead is a kind of irritating unease."
"Could it be..." she seemed to murmur, "the Abyss's originally extremely pure destructive force has undergone some change due to the influx of Chaos Qi?"
"Or perhaps, the root of the Abyss's anomaly is the anomaly of this destructive force itself?"
The voice echoed above the Abyss of Nothingness, and Jie Yuan fell into a long silence. Then, she suddenly made a move that shocked Yun Che's heart and soul.
Her demon body suddenly plunged, flying straight down into the Abyss of Nothingness.
Yun Che: "...!!"
The light suddenly dimmed, and Jie Yuan's body had already entered the forbidden domain of the Abyss that was never to be touched in anyone's understanding.
Jie Yuan's perception, through the soul imprint she left behind, clearly transmitted into Yun Che's soul.
An extremely special, law-defying devouring annihilation force instantly assailed from all around, accompanied by a powerful tearing force... as if an invisible hand reached out from the darkness, trying to drag her to the endless, unfathomable bottom of the Abyss.
Jie Yuan frowned deeply. What stirred in her soul was not fear, but... deep confusion and surprise.
Because neither the devouring annihilation force nor the tearing force posed any threat to her at all!
In her understanding, the Abyss of Nothingness would turn even a True God who fell into it into nothingness, with no chance of escape.
But the force that assailed her was so weak that it could not pose even a shred of threat to a True God.
Transmitted to Yun Che's perception... he was almost instantly convinced that this level of devouring annihilation force could not even cause substantial harm to him.
But that tearing force was immense to him, almost irresistibly huge.
As Jie Yuan descended, both the devouring annihilation force and the tearing force rapidly magnified. In just a few breaths, the tearing force became so terrifying that even if Yun Che exerted all his strength, there was no possibility of breaking free.
Jie Yuan's demon body continued to sink at extreme speed...
Ten breaths... a hundred breaths... half an hour... one hour... three hours...
With every moment of descent, the devouring annihilation force around her became denser by a fraction, though the increase was rather slow. In contrast, the already extremely terrifying tearing force kept skyrocketing, and very early on, it had become so horrific that Yun Che's perception simply could not bear or comprehend it.
Finally, at a certain moment, Jie Yuan's descent gradually slowed, and eventually she came to a stop there.
No light, no sound, no matter of any kind.
No intact space anywhere, only shattered spatial fragments and vortices.
The clearest perception was the destructive force striking from all directions, and a tearing force so powerful that it defied any description.
Fine indentations constantly appeared on Jie Yuan's body... but that was all. Even having sunk this deep, the power here could not inflict even a single substantive wound on her.
But that tearing force had become so powerful that even she could not help but feel wary.
She did not know how much longer it would take to reach the end of the Abyss, or... whether it even had an end.
But if she continued to go deeper, as the tearing force intensified further, once it became too great for even her to resist, then she would be forever lost in the Abyss.
There were still too many important unfinished matters in the world; she did not dare to gamble.
Demonic light exploded from her body, and Jie Yuan's demon frame soared upward, shooting straight up against the Abyss's terrifying tearing force.
Her speed was in no way inferior to her descent.
The devouring, silent Abyss of Nothingness instantly resounded with demonic thunder that shook the nine heavens.
The scene faded at this point, and when it reappeared, Jie Yuan had already returned to the sky above the Abyss of Nothingness.
The Abyss of Nothingness, which once would have turned everything into nothingness... Jie Tian Mo Di descended for three hours, yet returned safely.
Yun Che perceived it clearly: now, the Abyss of Nothingness's devouring annihilation force was no longer so terrifying. Even at the deepest point Jie Yuan had reached, it would not pose a life-threatening danger to him in a short time.
What was truly terrifying was the tearing force!
The Abyss had long been anomalous. That is to say, in the million-year history of the Divine Realm, those living beings and dead objects that had fallen into the Abyss of Nothingness, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, did not instantly annihilate into nothingness upon entering. Instead, they were pulled by an irresistible force into ever deeper depths of the Abyss, never to return.
Immortal Wood Romance