# Chapter 2028: Xue Hou
The two blood beasts flapped their wings, rapidly sinking into the Endless Abyss, disappearing into the darkness.
"The rules of heaven and earth here are completely different from the outside world. The Endless Abyss is indeed not simple. I wonder how it was formed." Kong Lanyou murmured.
Zhang Ruochen nodded: "As the Kunlun Realm recovers, the Endless Abyss has become even more eerie, and the suppression on outsiders grows stronger and stronger."
This was already Zhang Ruochen's third time entering the Endless Abyss, so he could clearly feel the various changes in the Endless Abyss.
Compared to before, the current Endless Abyss exerted an even stronger suppression on Saint Qi and Spiritual Power, making it impossible to use even one percent of their strength.
Only physical strength could still be freely utilized, after all, this was an internal power that did not rely on external objects.
The rules of heaven and earth within the Endless Abyss were extremely powerful, as if independent of the Kunlun Realm.
With Zhang Ruochen's current cultivation at the Nine-Step Saint King level, he still couldn't help but feel a sense of dread, as if his mind could be devoured by the Endless Abyss at any moment.
The dark devouring power contained in the Endless Abyss would likely make even cultivators of the Path of Darkness feel apprehensive. Under normal circumstances, even Great Saint realm experts would keep their distance from the Endless Abyss, not daring to set foot in it lightly.
The two blood beasts descended very quickly, and it didn't take long for them to reach the first gradient of the Endless Abyss.
Zhang Ruochen remembered that back then, Yan Liren had activated the Blood God Scepter, wiping out all the blood beasts on the first gradient with a single strike.
But now, he could clearly sense that the first gradient had a large number of blood beasts again. For some unknown reason, these blood beasts had not gone to the outside world; otherwise, the Blood God Sect would have been in big trouble.
"Your Highness need not worry. Without orders, these blood beasts will not leave the Endless Abyss." Qiu Yichi said with a charming smile.
Zhang Ruochen turned his gaze to Qiu Yichi and asked coldly: "What exactly are you trying to do by creating these blood beasts?"
"Just some experimental subjects." Qiu Yichi said indifferently.
Zhang Ruochen frowned slightly: "What kind of experiments?"
Qiu Yichi only revealed a faint smile but did not answer.
Seeing this, many thoughts quickly flashed through Zhang Ruochen's mind. He vaguely associated some things but couldn't be certain.
Judging by Qiu Yichi's behavior, no matter what questions he asked now, she probably wouldn't answer anymore.
So to clarify these matters, he would have to go to the second gradient of the Endless Abyss and meet the person behind Qiu Yichi.
"Rumble."
Very abruptly, the space of the Endless Abyss experienced a violent tremor. A large patch of bloody light surged up from the bottomless chasm, illuminating thousands of miles in a dark red hue, evolving into thick layers of blood clouds, and a strong, pungent bloody smell spread out.
Zhang Ruochen had already seen such a scene when he first entered the Endless Abyss.
Only back then, the gushing bloody light only covered an area of a few hundred miles, far smaller in scale than this time.
According to legend, this blood Qi was left behind by Xue Hou and would erupt periodically. This blood Qi seemed to be the key to transforming savage beasts into blood beasts.
Although he had never approached that area, Zhang Ruochen speculated that it should be the entrance to the second gradient.
Whether it was the former Blood God Sect leader, Yan Liren, or that undying Blood Demon, they had all gone from here to the second gradient, and what happened afterward was unknown to anyone.
Sure enough, both blood beasts quickly flew toward the chasm spewing blood Qi.
After entering that chasm, Zhang Ruochen found that his vision was completely obscured by the blood light. Even when he activated his Divine Seal Eye, he couldn't see the environment around him.
After a while, the blood light disappeared.
"This..."
Both Zhang Ruochen and Kong Lanyou showed shocked expressions.
The reason was simple. The situation on the second gradient was completely different from what they had expected.
They had thought the second gradient would be darker than the first, a desolate scene.
However, the reality was that the second gradient was not dark at all; it was a world of light.
At the same time, this world was not desolate at all; on the contrary, it was full of vitality.
Looking down, there were rolling mountains and rivers, with dense vegetation in the mountains, lush and green. Some trees even appeared taller than the mountain peaks, with luxuriant branches and leaves, blotting out the sky and covering the sun.
Qiu Yichi chuckled: "Surprised, aren't you? When I first came to the second gradient of the Endless Abyss, I had the same expression as you. If you don't come down here yourself, no one would imagine that beneath the Endless Abyss, it would be like this."
Zhang Ruochen was truly shocked. He almost suspected that he had left the Kunlun Realm and entered another world.
Looking around, from every direction, he couldn't see the edge at all, unable to imagine how vast this world was.
Moreover, he discovered that this world was filled with a strange power, different from the Saint Qi of the outside world, which seemed to have great benefits for strengthening the physical body.
If this were to spread, it would cause an unimaginable uproar.
"So many powerful blood beasts." Kong Lanyou murmured.
Casually glancing around, Kong Lanyou found thousands of blood beasts, including Saint King level blood beasts, entrenched in the mountains and forests, making one feel as if they had arrived in a primitive wilderness.
If all these blood beasts were under someone's control, they would undoubtedly be an extremely terrifying force.
After entering this world of light, the flying speed of the two blood beasts noticeably increased.
Zhang Ruochen secretly mobilized the Sacred Dao Rules within his body, wanting to probe the insubstantial and substantial aspects of this world.
"Time Rules, Space Rules, and Truth Rules can still be used, but other rules are suppressed extremely severely." Zhang Ruochen's thoughts turned rapidly.
Time, Space, and Truth were all Eternal Paths, the most special. No matter how strange the Endless Abyss was, it couldn't exclude them.
Of course, this was also because Zhang Ruochen's comprehension of the Way of Time, Way of Space, and Way of Truth was extremely profound; otherwise, it would be difficult for him to make them effective.
With three Eternal Paths, plus a physical body at the Below Great Saint level, Zhang Ruochen still possessed sufficiently powerful strength in the second gradient of the Endless Abyss.
"Your Highness, we're almost there!"
Just as Zhang Ruochen was thinking, Qiu Yichi's voice suddenly sounded.
Hearing this, Zhang Ruochen snapped back to reality and cast his gaze straight ahead.
A steep mountain peak towering into the clouds came into Zhang Ruochen's view, entirely dark red, as if it had been soaked in a sea of blood.
At the peak, there was a stretch of ancient and elegant palaces, hidden among the clouds, faintly visible, like a celestial palace, full of mystery.
As the blood beasts gradually approached the blood-colored mountain peak, Kong Lanyou couldn't help but frown slightly: "Cousin, this mountain peak is very eerie. It actually has viscous blood seeping out. That doesn't seem to be ordinary blood; it should be Divine Blood."
Zhang Ruochen's expression was grave: "It is indeed Divine Blood. This entire mountain peak was likely stained red by Divine Blood. I really wonder what happened here."
Having entered the second gradient of the Endless Abyss, the questions in Zhang Ruochen's mind had undoubtedly increased. The secrets hidden in this place were far more than he had imagined.
Finally, the two blood beasts landed on the square at the peak.
With a movement of their bodies, Zhang Ruochen and Kong Lanyou swiftly leaped down from the backs of the blood beasts.
A thin, gray-robed old man approached and bowed to Zhang Ruochen: "Dragon-Protecting Pavilion Heavenly Dipper Pavilion Pavilion Master, paying respects to His Highness the Crown Prince."
The gray-robed old man was none other than the Tenth Emperor of eight hundred years ago, the Supreme Elder of the Blood God Sect, Yan Liren.
"Supreme Elder, it's been years. It seems your life has been treating you well." Zhang Ruochen's voice was somewhat cold.
Yan Liren showed a pained expression: "I beg Your Highness the Crown Prince to forgive me. I too am acting against my will."
"Where is Mu Lingxi?" Zhang Ruochen immediately asked.
Yan Liren said: "Your Highness, please rest assured. Although I brought her back to the Endless Abyss, I have not harmed her in the slightest."
Hearing this, Zhang Ruochen breathed a slight sigh of relief. He believed that Yan Liren would not deceive him.
After all, Yan Liren was the Pavilion Master of the Dragon-Protecting Pavilion's Heavenly Dipper Pavilion. He believed that the Ming Emperor would not misjudge a person.
"Your Highness, please."
Qiu Yichi also appeared on the square and made a gesture of invitation.
Zhang Ruochen's expression was calm. He cast his gaze at the nearby palaces, then began to walk forward step by step.
Seeing this, Kong Lanyou did not hesitate and closely followed Zhang Ruochen's steps. No matter how dangerous the path ahead, she would definitely share Zhang Ruochen's fate.
Eight hundred years ago, she had failed to stop Chi Yao and could only watch helplessly as Zhang Ruochen died under Chi Yao's sword.
Now, she would never let such a thing happen again, even if it cost her life, she would not hesitate.
Yan Liren shook his head slightly and also followed. Many things were no longer up to him.
Entering the palaces, Zhang Ruochen and Kong Lanyou both showed slight surprise, because they found that the layout here was exactly the same as the Sacred Ming Imperial Palace of eight hundred years ago, making them feel as if they had returned to eight hundred years ago.
The flowers, plants, and landscapes in the palaces were so familiar to them, involuntarily evoking their memories.
"Unfortunately, everything can never go back." Zhang Ruochen sighed softly.
If he could, he really wanted to return to eight hundred years ago, continue being the Sacred Ming Crown Prince, with the Ming Emperor not missing, not being connected to the Undying Blood Clan, and Chi Yao not being his enemy... everything was so beautiful.
However, everything was already impossible. That was just a fantasy deep in his heart.
"Greetings, Master."
Just then, Qiu Yichi suddenly bowed, paying her respects extremely respectfully.
At this moment, Qiu Yichi had completely put away her seductiveness, appearing extremely serious.
Zhang Ruochen turned around. A tall and slender figure came into his view, walking slowly from afar.
It was a woman of stunning beauty, appearing very young, at most twenty years old, but her eyes were extremely deep, exuding the vicissitudes of time.
The woman wore a dark green palace dress, with blood-colored long hair coiled up, adorned with a jade-green phoenix hairpin. Every move she made exuded an imposing nobility, so noble that it was hard to approach.
Slowly, the woman came closer. Her gaze rested on Zhang Ruochen, meeting his eyes.
Zhang Ruochen fully concentrated his spirit and Qi, staring intently at the stunning woman before him. He did not feel any fluctuation of power from her. But imperceptibly, he felt an extremely terrifying pressure. Even with Zhang Ruochen's firm mind, it was somewhat difficult to bear.
Undoubtedly, there was an enormous gap between him and this stunning woman. Even if his cultivation and strength were ten or a hundred times greater, it could not bridge this gap.
"Chen'er, you've finally come. It's really not easy for your mother to see you." A smile appeared on the stunning woman's face, her gaze soft. She reached out a hand, wanting to caress Zhang Ruochen's cheek.
But Zhang Ruochen stepped back, creating distance. He stared deeply at her, and after a long while, said: "Xue Hou of the Undying Blood Clan, I cannot afford such a connection."
Hearing this, the stunning woman let out a long sigh and withdrew her hand.
"I have come to the Endless Abyss. You should release Mu Lingxi and Chi Kunlun. Whatever you want to do, you can come at me directly. There's no need to involve the people around me." Zhang Ruochen said.
"Mu Lingxi is my daughter-in-law, and Chi Kunlun is my grandson. How could I harm them? Having them brought to the Endless Abyss was only because I wanted to see them. Why must you be angry?" The stunning woman did not get angry; her tone was still gentle.
Zhang Ruochen said: "I'll say it again. I have nothing to do with the Undying Blood Clan."
"Do you hate the Undying Blood Clan so much?" The stunning woman frowned.
Zhang Ruochen said: "Yes. How could I have any fondness for a race that only knows destruction? After they destroy other races, they will only end up destroying themselves. The Undying Blood Clan should not exist at all."
He had personally witnessed countless beings of the Kunlun Realm being slaughtered by the Undying Blood Clan, their blood drained dry. That sight made him angry, making him want to uproot the Undying Blood Clan.
"Chen'er, your thinking is too extreme. The Undying Blood Clan exists because there is a reason for its existence. Just as there is light, there must be darkness. Everything in the world is relative. Losing one side would break the balance of the universe, and that would be a disaster." The stunning woman said very meaningfully.
Zhang Ruochen said: "Balance? Isn't everything the Undying Blood Clan doing breaking this balance? It's not that I'm too extreme, but that you are too self-righteous."
Hearing this, the stunning woman seemed somewhat helpless and shook her head: "Talking about this now is meaningless. You will understand later. I have personally prepared some food. Accompany me and eat a little."
"Do you think I came here specifically to eat the food you prepared?" Zhang Ruochen retorted.
The stunning woman turned around and, while walking, said: "If you want to see Mu Lingxi, then follow me."
Hearing this, Zhang Ruochen's gaze immediately froze. He really didn't want to be led by the nose by Xue Hou, but since Mu Lingxi was involved, he had no choice but to compromise.
Clenching his fists, Zhang Ruochen took a deep breath, doing his best to calm himself.
He found that after meeting Xue Hou, his emotions had become very agitated, completely losing his composure. Such a state was undoubtedly very bad.
"Cousin, guard your state of mind. Aunt is, after all, your biological mother. I believe she won't harm you." Kong Lanyou reminded.
Zhang Ruochen turned to look at Kong Lanyou and nodded slightly: "Mm. I'm fine. Let's go."
With that, Zhang Ruochen and Kong Lanyou walked together, following behind Xue Hou.
No matter what Xue Hou wanted to do, at this point, they could no longer retreat.
...
Xue Hou had finally appeared. Now Zhang Ruochen's mood was probably no different from Chi Kunlun's when he first met her. What do you all think? Of course, check out the new book "The Legend of the Heavenly Emperor."