Chapter 880: Falling into the Abyss
Amidst terrifying sounds of flesh exploding, within a few breaths, the bodies of ten Divine Mansion disciples were brutally shattered by Yun Che, whose emotions had spiraled out of control. Just as his bloodstained fist was about to strike the last Divine Mansion disciple, it abruptly stopped in mid-air.
The Divine Mansion disciple, already collapsed and limp on the ground, was deathly pale. Seeing Yun Che's movement suddenly halt, the man, who had been resigned to his fate, saw a glimmer of hope for survival. He scrambled backward, trembling: "Don't kill me... don't kill me... ah!!"
With a scream, he was sucked directly in front of Yun Che. Yun Che's hand grabbed the disciple's head, light flashed from his left arm, and Xuan Gang flew out, instantly invading the man's soul.
The Divine Mansion disciple immediately lost his wits, and the memories of his last half-hour rapidly flowed into Yun Che's mind... Within those memories, Yun Che clearly saw the image of Su Ling'er leaping off Jueyun Cliff.
"Urgh... Ah!!!" Yun Che's face contorted, his teeth chattering. He let out a roar and hurled the Divine Mansion disciple in his hand with tremendous force. Before the man even hit the ground, his body had shattered into several pieces.
Crimson blood stained the mountain rocks. The twelve people from Seven Stars Divine Mansion were instantly reduced to a pile of mangled corpses and blood, yet this did nothing to alleviate the anger and pain in Yun Che's heart. He closed his eyes, roaring like a frenzied beast...
Bang...
He fell heavily to his knees, his bloodied arm smashing down with savage force.
Boom!!!!
A thunderous sound echoed across most of the Langhuan Mountains, causing countless rocks on Jueyun Peak to collapse.
Yun Che's arm gushed blood, but he felt no pain at all. He knelt on the ground, his hands gripping the earth tightly, breathing heavily, his entire body trembling violently.
Why...
Why did it have to be like this...
Yun Che's soul felt as if pierced by a thousand arrows... He had lost Ling'er before, and that had always been the greatest pain and regret of his life.
To meet Ling'er again, he had always believed, was surely the greatest gift from the heavens. When he learned he was doomed to die, in his final moments, his greatest desire was to see Ling'er once more... even if just a distant glance.
Through the Primordial Mystic Ark, he used the only and final opportunity to come to the Cang Yun Continent. After confirming that the events of six years ago were no dream, he was overjoyed. But before he could even see Su Ling'er, he received such devastating news, such an ending...
In his previous life, hatred had blinded his eyes and soul. Su Ling'er had given him her everything, shed nearly a lifetime of tears for him, yet he had never given her even a single promise...
In this life, when he saw Su Ling'er again in the "illusion," he gave her all his promises. But before he could fulfill them, he only gave her six years of foolish waiting... only to lose her once more.
"Ling... er... what wrong did she ever do..." The pain of his soul being torn apart made Yun Che lose all sensation of his body and senses. Cold tears dripped one by one onto the ground beside his hand: "Why does heaven... treat her like this!!"
"No... it's my fault... all my fault..." Yun Che's whole body trembled, his teeth nearly ground to pieces: "Why did I waste time dealing with those bastards like Su Haoran... If I had come sooner, this wouldn't have happened... Ling'er wouldn't be in danger..."
"It's all my fault!!"
"Ah!!!!!"
Yun Che's eyes turned bloodshot. He swung his left arm and punched himself hard in the chest.
Pfft!
Under that punch, his chest caved in, and a long stream of blood shot from his mouth. But physical pain could never compare to even a fraction of the agony in his heart.
Ding...
Under that punch, a small jade pendant he had kept near his chest was flung high into the air, colliding with the rocks ahead with a crisp sound, then bouncing back in front of Yun Che, quietly flickering with a faint purple light.
The weak purple gleam in his pupils made Yun Che's arm, which was about to strike himself again, freeze in place. The next instant, as if struck by lightning, he dove forward and scooped it into his palm.
It was a small diamond-shaped jade, emitting a warm purple glow. This jade was no ordinary Mysterious Jade—it was the Soul Crystal that Su Hengshan had given him!
Su Ling'er's Soul Crystal!!
A Soul Crystal is linked to its owner's life soul. Once the owner's life is extinguished and soul destroyed, the Soul Crystal will instantly shatter. In larger sects, important figures would leave a Soul Crystal within the sect, so that if they died abroad, it would be known immediately.
But Su Ling'er's Soul Crystal in his hand... had not shattered! It was still flickering with the light of a soul!
Ling'er is not dead!!
It was as if a cold spring had surged through Yun Che's entire body, calming his chaotic mind into a sharp, icy clarity. He clutched the Soul Crystal tightly and rushed with stumbling steps to the edge of Jueyun Cliff.
The misty, fog-shrouded cliff was bottomless. The world beneath Jueyun Cliff was known as the Graveyard of the Death God. Throughout countless years of history on the Cang Yun Continent, countless people had fallen or ventured down, yet not a single person had ever come out alive—including peerlessly powerful Emperor Lords, who were revered like gods among humans!
This was no secret, but common knowledge known even to women and children across the Cang Yun Continent!
The words of the twelve from Seven Stars Divine Mansion could deceive him, but memories could not. Su Ling'er had indeed jumped off Jueyun Cliff.
Yet in his hand, the Soul Crystal, still intact and warm, also could not lie.
Yun Che stood on the very edge of Jueyun Cliff, took a deep breath, and forcibly suppressed his frantic heartbeat. His mouth uncontrollably murmured in confusion: "Ling'er is still alive... Ling'er isn't dead... Ling'er isn't dead..."
He suddenly leaped into the air, positioning himself directly above Jueyun Cliff, and shouted with all his might into the endless abyss below:
"Ling'er!! Ling'er!! It's me, Yun Che... Ling'er, where are you... Ling'er!!"
His voice, amplified by profound force, could reach hundreds of miles, yet it was completely swallowed by the pitch-black abyss below. After a long while, not a single echo returned... nor any response from Su Ling'er.
Above was the vast sky; below was the boundless abyss. In that instant, he felt as if standing at the junction of heaven and hell, with only his heartbeat and breathing remaining in the entire world.
Slowly raising his palm, the light from the Soul Crystal connected to Su Ling'er's soul shone warmly, telling him that Su Ling'er still existed intact in this world, waiting for their reunion. He stared fixedly at the Soul Crystal, and gradually, Su Ling'er's figure appeared before his eyes...
From the previous life, Su Ling'er, like a melancholy spirit, who had shed countless tears for him...
From six years ago, Su Ling'er, laughing like an angel, crying loudly and telling him he must come back...
Gently clenching the Soul Crystal in his palm, Yun Che stopped shouting. His gaze, once clouded, suddenly became clear. His body slowly descended, then abruptly accelerated, like a falling meteor hurtling toward the endless abyss below.
[Yun Che, I want you to swear... no matter now or in the future, as long as you are on the Cang Yun Continent, you must never approach Jueyun Cliff again! Even if your strength becomes a hundred times what it is now, enough to dominate the world and easily crush someone like Xuanyuan Wentian, never attempt to explore below Jueyun Cliff... What lies beneath Jueyun Cliff, I cannot tell you. But its terror is far beyond what you can imagine!]
[I understand. No matter when, I will never approach Jueyun Cliff. Even if for some special reason I end up at Jueyun Cliff, I will absolutely never try to investigate the secrets below... I swear to Mo Li, and I will keep my word.]
............
Mo Li's strict warning from back then still echoed in his ears, and the promise he had made to her was equally clear.
Mo Li, I'm sorry. I'm about to break my promise to you...
In that life on the Cang Yun Continent, I thought the most important thing in my life was revenge.
But the moment Ling'er died in my arms, I suddenly realized that my world had become empty. That pain and regret continued throughout my entire life... Every day, every moment afterward, I was in pain and remorse. In my dreams, I countless times wished that if only everything were false, and Ling'er were still by my side, then I would lay down everything, all of it, and give her my all...
And that dream, that wish, miraculously became reality... How could I lose her again!!
"Ling'er..." Yun Che whispered softly as he fell: "Even if I have to be forever buried with you in the Graveyard of the Death God, I will never let you go again!"
Yun Che's fall had no hesitation or fear; instead, it grew faster and faster. He tightly gripped Su Ling'er's Soul Crystal, praying in his heart that it would never shatter... never shatter.
In the blink of an eye, he had fallen a full thousand zhang, and the surroundings became pitch black. He looked up and found that even above, there was not a trace of light.
Ling'er, where are you... where exactly are you!
I know you must be safe and sound... I will find you soon!!
Darkness instinctively instills fear in people, especially the complete darkness of an abyss. But Yun Che's falling speed did not slow down; instead, he continuously accelerated with all his might.
The Soul Crystal in his palm told him that Su Ling'er was surely waiting for him somewhere in the world below the abyss.
Earlier, because he was late, the result he got was the cruel reality of Su Ling'er jumping off Jueyun Cliff. Now, how could he allow himself even a moment of hesitation or delay?
Whoosh!
A crimson Phoenix Flame ignited in Yun Che's hand, illuminating the pitch-black abyss world. But under the light of the Phoenix Flame, all he saw was still an empty darkness. The abyss below had no end in sight.
Yun Che directly extinguished the Phoenix Flame and continued falling at full speed... In the history of the Cang Yun Continent, countless cultivators who attempted to explore the bottom of Jueyun Cliff descended with extreme caution and slowness. Even Mo Li, when she had explored Jueyun Cliff a few months ago, had maintained eight parts of vigilance and caution.
But Yun Che was definitely the first person to charge madly at full speed into this abyss—the most fearsome abyss in the entire Cang Yun Continent... perhaps even in the entire lower realm.
The wind howled in his ears, the air grew colder and colder, and Yun Che's frantic heartbeat never calmed. He imagined the world beneath the abyss as a vast ocean... or a pitch-black jungle... something that would make it difficult for those who fell in to escape, but not take their lives...
So, Ling'er must be safe! As long as I land in the world below, I will surely find her!
Mo Li had clearly told him that the world beneath Jueyun Cliff was unimaginably terrifying—beyond anything he could conceive... But at this moment, he clung to that thought with all his strength, believing in it with all his might.
Amidst the howling sinister wind, he had already fallen several thousand zhang. And now, he finally began to sense the same eerie aura that Mo Li had detected before.
This aura...
Dark Demon Qi!?