txolops Chapter 265 Entering the Abyss
Chapter 265 Entering the Abyss
"Fellow Daoist Xiao! This beast has become so violent and incredibly strong for some reason. I, Luo, am about to collapse! Please deal with those three ghosts quickly and come to my aid! Otherwise, all our efforts will be in vain!" The urgent message was sent towards Xuan Gu, with obvious fear in the tone.
The cyan-gold flying sword struck the solidified ghost armor on the Ghost King's neck with a piercing clang, scattering a trail of black and green sparks, but leaving only a shallow white mark. The sword's own spiritual light dimmed abruptly. Although this action did not harm the Ghost King's core, it successfully enraged the ferocious creature.
"roar--!!"
The Demon King felt a sharp pain in its neck, and the savage glint in its crimson eyes almost materialized into flames. It suddenly opened its monstrous maw, aimed it at the abyss below, and let out a roar completely different from its previous one!
"Ugh—!"
In the abyss, the viscous yin energy that had been flowing slowly suddenly boiled violently, as if a stagnant pool had been thrown into a boulder. Countless yin spirits emerged, as if summoned by their leader, vying to be the first to let out sharp cries.
Then an astonishing scene unfolded: these newly appeared spirits merged together, instantly transforming into a giant black serpent composed of spirits, roaring and lunging towards Luo Ming.
"What kind of supernatural power is this?"
Luo Ming's face turned deathly pale. He cried out in alarm, but before he could react, he was swallowed whole by the black snake, which was a hundred feet long.
"Whoosh—!"
To outsiders, it appeared that Luo Ming had been "careless" and was directly devoured by the black snake that the Ghost King had transformed into using his strange supernatural powers. The Thousand Demon Banner also seemed to have lost control as a result, being pulled by the Ghost King and plummeting straight down into the bottomless, dark abyss vortex filled with yin energy! His exclamation and the Thousand Demon Banner's shriek were quickly swallowed up by the surging yin energy.
"Fellow Daoist Luo!"
In the distance, Xuan Gu, who was "struggling" against the three ghost generals, finally changed his expression. The icy demeanor that had always been on his face was replaced by genuine shock and anger. He never expected that this cultivator surnamed Luo would be so incompetent, or rather, that the Ghost King's supernatural powers would increase so terrifyingly after consuming the Yin Embryo, that he would be dragged into the abyss so quickly!
Is it a rescue, or...?
Xuan Gu's eyes shifted several times in an instant. Rescue? Venturing deep into that abyss, clearly the Ghost King's lair, shrouded in endless Yin energy, was far too risky, certainly not the act of a wise man. Moreover, the situation below was unclear; Luo the boy might have other means of survival. Going down now might just be falling into some kind of trap.
But if left unattended, the Nine Apertures Yin Embryo has already been devoured by the Ghost King, and the most important part of this plan has failed. Are we just going to watch the potential treasure and this promising body perish in the abyss together?
In that instant of hesitation, the three ghost generals roared and pounced again, their bone forks and blades whipping up a chilling wind.
"Get out of my way!" Xuan Gu held nothing back at this moment. A fierce look flashed across his face, and a solid, dark blade of light suddenly burst forth from his sleeve. It was faster than divine sense could capture and instantly cleaved the ghost general who was charging at the front from his brow to his crotch in two! The ghost general's dark blue flames went out abruptly, and his soul disintegrated into pure Yin energy.
Taking advantage of the brief lull, Xuan Gu swayed and, like a ghost, broke away from the battle, appearing at the edge of the Yin Qi Abyss. He hovered above the surging vortex, his face ashen, staring intently at the churning, seemingly all-consuming inky blackness below.
The powerful divine sense probed downwards like a tide, but after only a hundred feet, it was interfered with and weakened by the violent and chaotic turbulent flow of Yin energy and the devouring power of the Nether Vortex itself, becoming blurred and indistinct. It could only vaguely sense that two powerful auras were rapidly falling from the deepest part below and were still fiercely clashing.
Just as he was secretly calculating Luo Mingsheng's chances of survival and the Ghost King's state, that arrogant voice rang out again from the depths of his consciousness, carrying undisguised contempt:
"Hmph, nothing special. Although that Ghost King is temporarily berserk thanks to the power of the Yin Embryo, his foundation is weak and his intelligence is not yet developed. He relies purely on instinct and brute force. This kid was actually dragged into such a deadly place of extreme Yin. How much of his supernatural power can he exert in such an environment? It seems that we overestimated him. At this moment, he is probably in grave danger. It's a pity for that demonic banner with good potential, and for his body full of blood and energy."
Xuan Gu remained calm, responding coldly with his mind: "You're looking too shallowly. This boy is by no means a reckless and incompetent person. He cultivates both magic and body, possessing a powerful physique. Even if his magical power is suppressed by the Yin energy here, his physical strength alone is enough to withstand it for a long time. More importantly..."
He paused, his tone unusually grave, "His spiritual sense is extremely strange. I have tried to probe him secretly several times with secret techniques, but each time I was easily blocked by his spiritual barrier, which means that his spiritual sense is no less than mine. This person has many secrets. I do not believe that he would perish here so easily."
"Oh? You think quite highly of him." The voice held a hint of surprise. "So, in your opinion, would he really fall on his own accord?"
Xuan Gu's gaze was sharp as a knife, as if trying to pierce through the layers of gloom. "This abyss is indeed dangerous..."
Don't forget, his Thousand Demon Banner is also a supreme demonic treasure that gathers yin energy and souls. The denser the yin energy, the stronger its power. Just wait and see, if he can truly…”
At the bottom of the abyss, the cold was biting, and the viscous, ink-like yin energy was almost solidified, relentlessly eroding the protective aura and emitting a faint "sizzling" sound. The speed at which magical power was lost far exceeded that of the outside world.
Ordinary Core Formation cultivators would likely perish within half a day here. The Six-Armed Ghost King, on its home turf, was even more imposing. Its six ghostly claws gleamed with eerie light, containing terrifying brute force and chilling coldness. They even made the chains of soul power extending from the Thousand Demon Banner creak and groan, on the verge of breaking free from their restraints.
Luo Ming's eyes narrowed, and he no longer hesitated. The spirit beast ring on his wrist flashed slightly, and a massive, mountain-like black shadow suddenly appeared, crashing to the ground with a heavy thud—it was the Xuan Turtle.
As soon as it appeared, it let out a deep and intimidating roar at the rampaging Ghost King. Its body swelled up, directly bursting the huge black snake's body. Then, without hesitation, it moved its thick limbs and, like a mobile fortress, crashed into the Ghost King.
Although the Xuan Turtle is only a level six demon beast, it possesses extraordinary talent and its shell is so sturdy that it can withstand attacks from Nascent Soul stage cultivators for a short time.
Here, many magical spells and supernatural powers are suppressed by the Yin energy, making the pure, extreme physical strength and defense the most reliable reliance. With this "shield" directly restraining it, coupled with the harassment and tearing of countless demon souls within the Thousand Demon Banner, it is not difficult to hold back this raging ghost king for a short time.
As for the Xuan Turtle's geomagnetic elemental lightning, although it was very effective against this Ghost King, Luo Ming did not intend to use it. If such a powerful Ghost King were severely damaged, Luo Ming would feel sorry for it. Even if it was stored in the Thousand Demon Banner, it would take a long time to recover. In that case, it would not be of much help in this Void Heaven Palace.
Taking advantage of this moment, Luo Ming transformed into a phantom and retreated hundreds of feet. He lightly touched the Five Spirit Bracelet on his other wrist with his fingertip, and a beam of light shot out, landing on the ground and revealing the black cocoon where the Wind Fox Beast was located.
The Wind Fox Beast remained curled up in the cracked black cocoon, but its aura was completely different from before. When it was fully exposed to the endless, pure Yin energy at the bottom of the abyss, a sudden change occurred!
Without any prompting, the thick, ink-like Yin energy around them seemed to be summoned by an invisible force, surging wildly towards the Wind Fox Beast, its momentum far exceeding that within the Spirit Beast Ring.
In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, a huge vortex of yin energy, more than tens of feet in diameter, slowly rotating, had already taken shape, with the black cocoon emitting a ghostly light at its center.
The vortex stirred up the Yin energy that had accumulated at the bottom of the abyss for countless millennia, emitting a low whistling sound. The aura of the Wind Fox Beast seemed to have been freed from all restraints, and began to soar upwards at an astonishing speed. A cold, invisible pressure, seemingly originating from the depths of the netherworld, quietly spread out as its aura expanded.
In the distance, the Six-Armed Ghost King, who was locked in battle with the Xuan Turtle and the Thousand Demon Banner's demonic soul, suddenly froze! On its hideous and terrifying face, which was nothing but violent, a strangely human-like expression suddenly appeared—a fear that had penetrated to the very core of its soul!
The flames in the crimson giant's eyes flickered violently, revealing a sense of fear. It involuntarily stopped its attack, its six arms flailing helplessly as it let out a low, uneasy roar towards the direction of the Wind Fox Beast, as if it had encountered some kind of natural enemy.
Seeing this, Luo Ming couldn't help but feel a surge of joy: "For the fake infant ghost king to be so fearful, it seems that the Wind Fox Beast has indeed awakened the Netherworld Bloodline, giving it an innate ability to suppress all ghosts and spirits. Judging from this situation, once it successfully breaks through to the seventh level..." Expectation flashed in his eyes. A seventh-level being with a top-tier Netherworld Bloodline would likely possess incredibly powerful supernatural abilities, making it an extremely powerful trump card in his hands.
The movement of the Wind Fox Beast absorbing the surrounding Yin energy during its advancement eventually affected the Abyss.
First, the originally passively surging, viscous, ink-like Yin energy, as if stirred by an invisible giant hand, began to spontaneously and faster converge and rotate towards a certain point in the abyss.
Gradually, it formed a vortex even larger than the Yin Qi vortex created by the Ghost King, with an alarmingly high concentration of Yin Qi at its center! As this vortex spun, it faintly emitted a low whistling sound, like the breath of a giant beast.
"What is this?" Xuan Gu's pupils suddenly contracted, his heart filled with shock and disbelief. "The Yin energy spontaneously gathered and condensed into an eye... This is definitely not the Ghost King's divine power, it seems more like... something is actively and frantically devouring the Yin energy here! And the speed and purity of this devouring..."
He instantly ruled out the possibility of a ghost king advancing to the next level. If a ghost were to break through from a false infant to the Nascent Soul realm of a true human cultivator, it would inevitably trigger the laws of heaven and earth, attracting a tribulation of extreme yang and strength. It would be impossible for it to simply "quietly" devour yin energy.
"Could it be that besides the Ghost King, another powerful ghost is lurking at the bottom of this abyss? Is it also using the Yin Meridian to break through at this moment?" Xuan Gu's mind raced, his expression shifting between light and shadow. If this were true, the situation would be unpredictably complex. Two powerful ghosts…