Chapter 881: The Maiden at the Bottom of the Abyss (Part 1)
How could there be demonic energy here?
If it were anyone else, they would only perceive this aura as the yin energy accumulating at the bottom of the abyss. But Yun Che, having crossed blows with Fen Juechen and Xuanyuan Wentian, and having come into contact with a true demon in the Slay Moon Demon Cave, immediately recognized that this aura was of the same type as the demonic energy radiating from Shiyue Mojun!
However, this demonic energy was extremely faint—at least in Yun Che's perception. If one wasn't paying attention, they might not even notice it.
Burning with anxiety, though briefly puzzled, Yun Che didn't dwell on it too much. He continued charging downward at maximum speed.
Normally, he was an exceptionally cautious person. When searching a highly dangerous place, he would always guard against every step. But today, facing the most terrifying "Death's Graveyard" on the Cang Yun Continent, he seemed instead to be rushing headlong toward "death" with reckless abandon.
Amid the increasingly eerie wind sounds, he had been descending for a long time. By his estimation, he had already fallen at least ten thousand zhang, yet there was still no sign of the bottom. His heart clenched tighter and tighter. Su Linger's profound strength was only at the Spirit Xuan Realm; let alone flying, even her ability to hover in the air was quite weak.
If she had fallen from a mere thousand zhang, let alone ten thousand, she would surely have died.
But the soul crystal he held in his hand remained intact and warm.
Yun Che clenched his hands slightly, casting aside all wild thoughts and distractions from his mind. For him now, knowing that Su Linger was still alive was enough… No matter what lay below, no matter what had happened to Su Linger, this time, in this life, he would never let go again!
Even if it wasn't just an unknown dark abyss, but even if he knew it was the Nine Nether Purgatory, he would jump into it without hesitation.
The first time he jumped off Jueyun Cliff, he had lost consciousness during the fall, not knowing how far he had fallen or where he landed. This time, he realized how terrifyingly deep the abyss beneath Jueyun Cliff truly was.
He continued falling for several thousand zhang more, still not reaching the bottom, but at this moment, his body unconsciously passed through a "boundary point" and entered another world.
Instantly, Yun Che's entire body went ice-cold. An intense, overwhelmingly dense yin-cold aura surged from all directions, assaulting his entire body and profound veins. At the same time, he felt a powerful pulling force rising from below, as if countless invisible dark hands were fiercely dragging him down.
He immediately tried to gather his strength to resist, but that pulling force was overwhelmingly strong. His profound strength was as insignificant as a grain of sand before that force—he couldn't muster even the slightest resistance and was viciously yanked downward.
"Ugh!!"
Bam!!
Yun Che let out a pained groan. Like a pebble smashed down by a tremendous force, he plunged headfirst, falling a thousand zhang before crashing heavily onto an extremely hard object. The impact left his entire body numb and paralyzed. He lay sprawled on the ground for a long while before struggling to sit up.
Yun Che pressed one hand against his head and the other against the ground before finally realizing that beneath him was solid ground—he had reached the very bottom of the abyss!!
The ground his palm touched was icy and hard… firmer, in his tactile impression, than the toughest mystic steel he had ever seen on Tian Xuan Continent.
Yun Che tried to stand, but as soon as he braced his arms, he slumped back down heavily. His mouth opened wide, and he nearly exhausted all his strength just to complete one breath. His chest felt as oppressed as if a ten-thousand-jun steel plate were pressing down on it. His mind was groggy, and his consciousness was blurred to the point of near dissociation.
The remaining clarity in his mind told him this was the devouring effect of the dark demonic energy!
Life-devouring, soul-devouring!!
He had experienced this feeling when entering the Slay Moon Demon Cave. Now, his profound strength was far greater than back then, but his resistance was tens of times weaker. In just a few breaths, it felt as if half his life had been forcibly taken from him.
Because the dark demonic aura here was even denser than that of the terrifying Slay Moon Demon Cave… and denser by an unknown number of times!
Moreover, this dark demonic aura not only devoured vital energy and soul power but also suppressed profound strength. If not for his Evil God's Mysterious Vein, which rendered him immune to suppression, he wouldn't even have had a chance to resist.
"Demonic energy… why… is there… such terrifying… demonic energy…"
Yun Che murmured, but he could barely hear his own voice. He shook his head forcefully, struggling to stay awake, then slowly shifted his body to sit upright. Rapidly calming his mind, he began circulating the Great Dao Pagoda Art. It started slowly, then accelerated. All fifty-four of his profound passes, along with every pore on his body, opened wide. Wisp after wisp of the purest and most refined world energy flowed into his body like cool streams, transforming into his strength and life force.
Yun Che's head cleared, but without a single chance to resist, he would soon be devoured into dark ashes by the demonic aura.
This was precisely why… Mo Li had warned him never to attempt exploring the world beneath Jueyun Cliff.
Yun Che didn't try to challenge that terrifying pulling force again. After all, a withered leaf could never overturn a towering wave no matter how hard it struggled. He raised his hand and gazed blankly at the shimmering purple soul crystal… How could Linger possibly survive in a world like this? The moment she touched this realm, in less than a second, she would be devoured into dark ashes, leaving not even a trace…
How could she still be alive…
Could it be that Su Hengshan had mistaken the soul crystal?
No… I can't think like that. How can I think that way? Yun Che shook his head in anguish, closed his palm, and clenched the soul crystal tightly… I must believe in this soul crystal. I must believe in Linger. And I must believe in miracles! I, who have already lost Linger, can still have her reappear in my life… What reason do I have not to believe that she is still safe and alive!
Stuffing his mind with the certainty that Su Linger was still alive, Yun Che stood up again. Igniting the Golden Crow Flame, he slowly moved his footsteps, searching the darkness of this strange world. He walked for quite a while, but the scene was always the same—gloomy, dark, empty, and dead silent.
This place was like an empty world of death, with nothing else besides darkness and an abnormally dense demonic aura.
"Linger! Ling… er!!!"
Yun Che began to shout loudly, clinging to the hope of a miracle. His cries didn't travel far in the overly dense darkness. As he cautiously walked forward, hoping to find something, he poured more and more profound strength into his shouts.
"Ling—er—!!"
"Ling——er——!!"
"It's me, Yun Che! Where are you… I know you're here!!"
"Ling——er——!!!"
Step by step he advanced, cry after cry he shouted. In this world of extreme darkness, the flames on his body blazed glaringly bright.
In the darkness, he didn't know how far he had gone. He had called out over a thousand times, but the only answer he received was darkness and deathly silence.
Finally, Yun Che's steps halted… Deep down in his subconscious, he had long known that Su Linger couldn't possibly survive in this world. In this entire plane, aside from him, not a single person, not a single living being, could survive here.
But he didn't dare, and didn't want, to accept this too-cruel reality. He desperately believed that must be Su Linger's soul crystal, desperately chased after that slim-to-nonexistent miracle…
He lifted his head, but all he saw was darkness. His chest felt so oppressed it was about to explode, and his whole body trembled. He took a heavy breath and, with all his might, let out a roar of release:
"Ling——er——!!!!!"
The air vibrated. This roar pierced through the darkness and traveled far, far away.
"Grooowl!!"
And at that moment, from far ahead, a muffled roar suddenly rang out.
That roar was extremely distant, as if coming from a thousand li away. Yun Che's entire body jolted violently. His ears instantly went deaf. It felt like a heavy hammer had smashed into his chest, shaking his internal organs violently. A surge of rebellious blood rushed straight to his throat.
This… This is?!
Yun Che staggered back several steps before barely managing to steady himself, his heart filled with shock… That sound was clearly the roar of a beast!
A profound beast was actually living here?!
A creature surviving in a world like this?!
Just the fact that a living being existed here was enough to horrify Yun Che. But even more shocking was that this profound beast had only let out a roar—and a roar from such a remote distance—and it had already inflicted internal injuries on him.
It was like being struck in the chest by an Eighth-rank or above Emperor Lord when caught off guard.
What kind of terrifying power, what kind of terrifying creature, was that?!