Chapter 2161: Death Abyss
After the five people stepped into the Void-Breaking Array one after another, the gray spatial divine light immediately condensed but did not completely vanish. The entire Void-Breaking Array still operated slowly in a hazy gray glow, and as the mysterious patterns circulated, they faintly emitted the supreme divine aura of the Abyss Emperor.
This was originally a gift from the Abyss Emperor to the six divine kingdoms, yet it alone excluded Senluo Divine Kingdom, which was undoubtedly a cause for lament.
Hua Fuchen turned his gaze toward Meng Kongchan and transmitted his voice: “Brother Meng...”
Both were laden with concerns. The moment their eyes met, they understood each other and vanished in the same direction.
Hua Caili, after all, had a simple heart and shallow experience. She could not comprehend the elders’ bonds and entanglements that spanned over ten thousand years, nor could she read the profound heaviness and heartache hidden beneath her father god’s calm exterior. Even Dian Luohou’s anger only touched the surface.
Now that the younger generation had departed, Hua Fuchen and Meng Kongchan could finally shed their pretense of ease for a while, confiding in each other and discussing ways to make amends.
Meng Cangji knew well the heavy matters weighing on his divine venerable and did not follow. He came to Meng Jianxi’s side and said flatly: “I wonder what the Abyss Divine Son was thinking. He endured two hundred breaths of the Wild Devouring Punishment less than ten hours ago, yet he insists on forcing his way into this forbidden realm. And His Excellency actually allows it.”
Meng Jianxi replied: “Because Father God knows that Brother Abyss must have his reasons. If he is unwilling to speak of them, Father God will not ask, and that is the unique trust Father God has in him.”
Meng Cangji’s aged eyes deeply studied Meng Jianxi for a moment. He seemed to want to speak but then stopped, finally saying only: “Let’s go.”
But Meng Jianxi did not move. He looked toward the direction of the Void-Breaking Array: “The Divine Slumber Forbidden Domain can be stayed in for at most seventy-two hours. That way, the time we can remain in the Pure Land is also extended by quite a bit. Grandfather, you and Uncle can enjoy the Pure Land at leisure and visit old friends. I need to stay here. If Brother Abyss encounters danger within the forbidden domain and is wounded and forced out, I can attend to him immediately.”
Meng Cangji frowned slightly, then relaxed a little after a long while. His gaze was somewhat complicated: “Jianxi, does this mean... you have completely given up the struggle?”
“Mm.” Meng Jianxi replied without the slightest hesitation.
He turned around, facing Meng Cangji’s gaze directly, and said with extreme seriousness: “My initial decision to give up was because I could not compete, and I no longer dared to compete. Father God’s undisguised favoritism, Brother Abyss’s perfect divine rank, and his astonishing talent in the Xuan path and his methods... coupled with my mother’s fate held in his palm—that sense of powerlessness was so heavy it made it hard for me to breathe. Reason made me choose not to contend, to submit.”
“But at that time, I still had a quarter of unwillingness.”
“Now, however, I am completely convinced, without even a shred of unwillingness left.”
He spoke such “discouraging” words with complete ease, even offering a faint smile: “Especially after seeing Brother Abyss’s deep affection and will today, I feel more and more that fate sending Brother Abyss back is a great blessing to our Weaving Dream Divine Kingdom. So why should I still contend?”
“Standing by Brother Abyss’s side, assisting him to together lift up the future era of Weaving Dream—isn’t that also a glory enough to be etched in history for a thousand ages?”
Staring into the unusual light in Meng Jianxi’s eyes, Meng Cangji finally nodded slowly: “Good. Since you have made your decision, I have nothing more to say. But after all, the past offense was too deep, I fear...”
“What are you talking about, Grandfather?” Meng Jianxi said with a smile: “Brother Abyss’s will is strong enough to endure double the Wild Devouring Punishment. How could he care about those minor past grievances? This worry of yours is truly unnecessary.”
“Good, good!” Meng Cangji finally smiled: “You are right. Your excellence is seen by all of us. And that Weaving Dream has gained another person more excellent than you is not a disaster from heaven, but a great fortune from heaven. Truly, our thoughts back then were too narrow. Your uncle and the others are now thinking the same as me, but they just cannot let go of the seventy percent of their old pride and the thirty percent of fear. It is time for me to go and speak well with them.”
“Eternal Pure Land, new birth for all kingdoms. Having you two in Weaving Dream’s next generation is truly reassuring. With such a brilliant and promising future, we old folks must naturally give our utmost, hahahaha...”
...
The abyss dust brushed against his face, and Yun Che slowly opened his eyes.
What met his sight was a gray, hazy world. The light, the air, the atmosphere—all were like the Mist Sea.
But the abyss dust here was much denser than in the middle section of the Mist Sea. It was perhaps close to the depths of the Mist Sea.
When others suddenly entered a forbidden domain submerged in abyss dust from the Pure Land, it was like falling from a clear spring into a muddy swamp—their Xuan energy and spiritual senses heavily suppressed, extremely uncomfortable. But Yun Che was like a fish entering the boundless sea. The mental pressure from the Pure Land completely dissipated, and every wisp of abyss dust here could become a vessel for his spiritual perception.
“Hoo...”
He let out a long breath, then released his consciousness to cover the surroundings.
Li Suo said softly: “It’s so quiet. Much quieter than the Mist Sea.”
Yun Che replied casually: “That’s because there are very few abyss beasts here, but abyss ghosts abound.”
And when abyss ghosts wandered, they were nearly silent.
“Don’t be in a hurry to explore the surroundings. Concentrate and rest for a while,” Li Suo said even more softly. “In the Pure Land, your soul strings were stretched too tight, and the soul wounds from the Wild Devouring Punishment haven’t fully healed yet. This place is safe for you. At least give yourself a moment to catch your breath.”
“Oh? Worried about me?”
“Mm.”
The corner of Yun Che’s mouth curled into a faint smile, and he obediently withdrew his senses and guard, sitting down cross-legged. “Alright. How could I refuse the concern of a Creation God.”
Li Suo said nothing more, quietly watching Yun Che close his eyes to rest. But she could clearly sense that his spirit could never truly relax; at least three-tenths of it remained on alert.
A shadow of an abyss ghost drifted nearby, but just as it was about to touch Yun Che, it suddenly turned and moved in another direction, quickly disappearing into the vast gray fog.
Li Suo finally couldn’t help but ask: “Your mind is still very troubled. What are you thinking?”
Eyes still closed, Yun Che said in a low voice: “I can’t get over why Mo Su was unmoved by the Life Miracle I showed her. I thought back carefully to my conversation with Mo Su. She mentioned the word ‘death wish’ more than once.”
“So I’m thinking that perhaps, more than the wound caused by the Ancestral Sword, the ‘death wish’ born from Pan Xiaodie’s extreme guilt and sense of sin is the main reason for her ‘slumber’. And a death wish is something that even the Life Miracle can...”
He stopped abruptly, suddenly shouting harshly:
“Who!!”
Boom—
The erupted sound wave, carrying the suddenly explosive Xuan energy, violently shook the surrounding space. Dozens of cracks rapidly spread outward as Yun Che stood up, stirring up sharp shrieks from countless abyss ghosts in the distance.
Li Suo: “...!?”
Yun Che’s eyes blazed with a deep light, his gaze sweeping like a hawk in all directions.
But his spiritual perception caught nothing but pure abyss ghosts and turbulent air currents.
One breath... two breaths...
Li Suo finally spoke: “What happened?”
Having found nothing, Yun Che’s soul strings remained taut, his brows tightly knit to the extreme: “Someone was watching me.”
Li Suo was silent for a moment, then said: “Did you find the source?”
“...No.”
Li Suo said: “I didn’t notice anything either. Moreover, with such dense abyss dust here, other people’s spiritual senses are limited, while yours are doubly sharp. Even Hua Qingying’s spying in the Mist Sea you could clearly detect—let alone that everyone who entered this forbidden domain with you is at the Divine Annihilation Realm.”
Yun Che’s expression shifted slightly. The shout he had let out hadn’t escaped his mouth carelessly. The instant before he shouted, his spiritual perception had already radiated in all directions. The sudden yell and the burst of Xuan energy would have been enough to cause any soul breath to stir unexpectedly.
But even though his perception had been extended to the limit, he had found nothing.
He was certain that if he had been the one spying on someone else, and that person had suddenly shouted and released Xuan energy while resting in silence, his own soul breath would inevitably have had a reaction—whether light or heavy. At the very least, there would have been some ripple or trace.
Especially in a place where abyss dust was dense, and especially... that faint feeling of being watched carried a strange sense of weakness.
After another long moment, Yun Che finally relaxed his brows and withdrew his senses, exhaling slightly: “Maybe I’ve been too tense for too long, jumping at shadows.”
Perhaps...
But the Demon Empress had warned him more than once that in this world, the most easily ignored thing was a sudden “illusion.”
After this incident, Yun Che could no longer rest in peace. He stepped forward, silently spreading his perception outward... Before he knew it, half an hour had passed. He sensed the aura of Xian Yue, but immediately turned and walked toward a place where the abyss dust was even denser.
In the direction he was heading, the concentration of abyss dust rose abnormally, and the density of abyss ghosts also surged sharply. Passing by one abyss ghost after another, he finally stopped.
Ahead lay a bottomless black abyss, swirling with gray, dim abyss dust so thick it was nearly solid, like a silently open demon’s mouth that could devour everything in the world.
Yun Che stared at the dark abyss, speaking in a low voice: “So this is... the Death Abyss.”
Everyone in the world knew that at the center of the Mist Sea lay an enormous Primordial Death Abyss. Within the Primordial Death Abyss was the densest, most primitive, and most terrifying abyss dust of the Abyss World.
The Primordial Death Abyss was unique, but Death Abysses were not. They were far smaller, existing sporadically in the depths of the Mist Sea.
However, the depths of the Mist Sea contained abyss beasts and abyss ghosts at the Divine Extreme Realm, which were beyond his current ability to control. He had only stepped into it once, returned in disgrace, and never dared to enter recklessly again. So this was his first time seeing a real Death Abyss.
This Death Abyss was less than a hundred feet wide, but it silently released an indescribably terrifying aura. After staring at it for a long time, Yun Che’s vision suddenly blurred, and an inexplicable urge rose in his heart to leap down and return forever to nothingness.
Yun Che quickly averted his gaze, pushed out his right hand, and sent a ball of fiercely burning Golden Crow Flame toward the Death Abyss.
The moment the golden flame fell into the Death Abyss, its light and heat instantly vanished. There was no struggle of power, no sound at all—just a sudden return to nothing.
Yun Che narrowed his eyes slightly, a strange glint flickering in their depths.
“A perfect disposal method.”
“Perfect... disposal method? What are you talking about?” Li Suo asked in confusion.
“You’ll know soon enough.”
Before he finished speaking, Yun Che suddenly spun his head to the right, his pupils blazing with intense light. Even his fingers curled involuntarily, as if from excitement and elation.
“I found her.”
Following Yun Che’s perception, Li Suo murmured softly: “Shen... Wu... Yi?”
“Is the reason you insisted on coming here... just for her?”
“Yes!” Yun Che concealed his aura, traversing the layers of abyss dust toward the direction of that aura.
“...” Li Suo seemed startled by this answer. After a long while, she asked, full of confusion: “Why? Is it simply a desire to get close to her, or an attempt to awaken her memories?”
“I... truly want to get close to her. So much. Too much to care about the consequences or the costs.”
Those few words were laden with Yun Che’s exceedingly heavy and complicated emotions. But at this moment, standing here in the Abyss World, he was no longer purely Yun Che.
“But my personal feelings and attachments must never... take precedence over the safety of my homeland.”
Li Suo: “...”
“The opportunity I seek to be alone with her is not because ‘Yun Che’ wants to get close to her, but because ‘Cloud Emperor’... needs someone to stand by his side and fight alongside him.”
Li Suo’s divine soul rippled, her voice as light as a wisp of smoke: “But now, she is not Xia Qingyue. She is Shen Wuyi, who has lost her past. She doesn’t remember you, doesn’t remember her homeland. Her only identity is the Divine Daughter of the Eternal Night Divine Kingdom. How could she possibly stand with you?”
“Moreover... Mo Su specifically warned you that Shen Wuye Ye has murderous intent toward you. Shen Wuyi is very likely the one to carry it out, and here is undoubtedly the most perfect place.”
“Mm, I know.” Yun Che’s reply was utterly unperturbed.
Li Suo said nothing more. “It seems you have already thought about how to proceed... I await your success.”
Yun Che’s perception had already touched the area where Shen Wuyi was located before his body moved, but her current state surprised him greatly.
The Abyss Emperor’s favor was so precious and rare, yet she had used it to enter this Divine Slumber Forbidden Domain. Anyone would think that within this forbidden domain, there must be something she desperately sought.
Once inside, she would undoubtedly do her utmost to search for it, wasting not a single moment.
After all, the Divine Slumber Forbidden Domain could only be stayed in for at most seventy-two hours.
But in Yun Che’s perception, Shen Wuyi had completely suppressed her aura, her figure hidden beneath a huge gray rock, unmoving for a long time.
There was no sign of any search, nor did she provoke any abyss ghosts.
What was she... doing?
The aura of Xian Yue he had sensed earlier was rapidly moving and fighting, with a hint of enthusiasm—after all, this was a former divine burial ground. Anyone entering for the first time would be filled with excitement and curiosity.
But she, who had shown such a strong desire to enter the Divine Slumber Forbidden Domain, was instead so silent?
Just then, Shen Wuyi, who had been still, suddenly turned her gaze. Yun Che’s divine sense directly met a pair of eyes as cold as the winter moon.
She found me!?
Yun Che quickly withdrew his perception. He stirred the abyss dust with his palm, and an abyss ghost hidden in the dusty fog suddenly let out a shriek and lunged, its long, sharp claws aiming straight at Yun Che’s chest.
Pff!
Yun Che neither dodged nor blocked. He completely restrained his Xuan energy, and the abyss ghost’s claws pierced straight through his chest, tearing several bloody holes in his body and exploding a horrific cloud of blood mist.
Li Suo was instantly alarmed: “Yun Che, you...”
“Don’t worry,” Yun Che’s face gradually turned deathly pale from the pain, but the corners of his blood-stained lips tilted slightly upward. “Have you forgotten? I once said that getting hurt is the easiest way to make someone let down their guard... the heavier the injury, the more so... Hiss!”
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