Free Web NovelChapter 196: Chapter 196: Beneath the Abyss
After being enveloped by the strange red mist, Shen Daoxing came to a halt. Knowing the depths of this mountain range were fraught with peril, he had no intention of venturing further and throwing his life away. He only needed this place to escape the pursuit of the Celestial Profound Sacred Land.
Immediately, Shen Daoxing turned and began moving along the side of the mountain range, not taking another step deeper.
However, he had not taken more than a few steps.
WHOOSH!
A piercing whistle cut through the air.
Shen Daoxing sensed something and, with a light tap of his toes, leaped away from his spot.
In the next instant.
BOOM!
A deafening crash followed as a massive beam of sword light descended, kicking up a cloud of dust and carving a deep trench in the ground.
"Run? Let’s see where you can run to now."
A cold voice rang out.
Moments later, Yue Wuchen and Yuwen Jianchi slowly emerged from the red mist not far away.
Seeing this, Shen Daoxing’s heart sank. He hadn’t expected them to follow him even into the depths of the Luoyun Mountain Range.
’It seems they won’t rest until they’ve killed me today.’
Just then, with a flick of his elegant robes, Yue Wuchen sent the Ancient Copper Mirror flying out once more. It grew larger and larger, expanding to the size of a millstone in the blink of an eye.
A faint light began to glow upon its surface, and a mystical beam shot toward Shen Daoxing once again.
Without hesitation, Shen Daoxing’s figure flickered as he turned and plunged into the deeper red mist.
At that moment, the red mist churned violently, as if Demons lurked within. Faint, terrifying roars could even be heard.
But Shen Daoxing showed no hesitation; instead, he quickened his pace.
Yue Wuchen and Yuwen Jianchi exchanged a glance and paused for a moment, but still gave chase.
Shen Daoxing had no idea how long he ran. He only knew that the surrounding red mist grew thicker and thicker, reducing visibility until he couldn’t see his hand in front of his face. Meanwhile, the strange, terrifying cries around him grew more and more frequent.
Suddenly, Shen Daoxing’s feet froze. He skidded to a halt.
A vast, boundless abyss had appeared before him.
The abyss was immense. Shen Daoxing looked up but couldn’t see the other side, and looking left and right, he could see no end to it.
Down in the depths, a strange crimson something churned. As Shen Daoxing peered down, he saw only a pair of blood-red eyes in the endless darkness staring back at him, as if some colossal, terrifying entity lurked below.
An unseen force seemed to be drawing him in.
Shen Daoxing found himself walking forward involuntarily. He was only a single step from the edge of the abyss when he snapped back to his senses with a jolt.
"You can’t escape!"
At that very moment, Yue Wuchen and Yuwen Jianchi slowly emerged from behind Shen Daoxing.
"Before you lies the Ghostly Mist Abyss, one of the five great Forbidden Lands of the East Continent. Countless peerless masters have entered it throughout history, but none have ever come out. It is a taboo place in all of Daqian. Do you dare to go down?"
Yuwen Jianchi watched Shen Daoxing calmly, as if he were already a trapped animal.
"Shen Daoxing, if you know what’s good for you, you’ll come back with us obediently," Yue Wuchen said coolly.
"And what will happen to me if I go back with you?"
Shen Daoxing turned to face Yue Wuchen.
"Shen Daoxing, you are indeed a one-in-a-million genius. But unfortunately, you are the Celestial Slaughter Star. My master prophesied that our Celestial Profound Sacred Land will one day be destroyed at your hands. Therefore, you must die!"
Yue Wuchen made no effort to hide the truth.
Hearing this, Shen Daoxing found it so absurd he couldn’t help but laugh. "The Celestial Slaughter Star? Destroy the Celestial Profound Sacred Land? Hahaha!"
Then, his expression becoming as placid as an old well, Shen Daoxing looked at Yue Wuchen. "Yue Wuchen, let me tell you something. Originally, I had nothing to do with your Celestial Profound Sacred Land. But it is precisely because you have hunted me that I will one day destroy your Celestial Profound Sacred Land!"
Yue Wuchen’s face instantly turned cold. "You dare talk tough when you’re at death’s door!"
But the moment the words left his mouth, without a shred of hesitation, Shen Daoxing turned and leaped into the Ghostly Mist Abyss.
Yue Wuchen and Yuwen Jianchi were both startled. They rushed to the edge and looked down into the abyss, only to see pitch-black darkness and churning red mist. Shen Daoxing’s figure had already vanished.
"I can’t believe that kid actually dared to jump!"
Yuwen Jianchi looked at Yue Wuchen, clearly surprised. "What now?"
Yue Wuchen frowned, glancing at the strange red mist all around them.
ROAR!
Suddenly, the strange red mist surged violently, and a series of terrifying cries echoed from within, as if some horrifying entity was stirring.
Yue Wuchen made a swift decision. "This place is too dangerous and strange. We’ll leave first and report this to Master."
Yuwen Jianchi nodded.
With that, the two leaped up and departed silently.
But after the two had left, a swirl of red mist parted below in the Ghostly Mist Abyss, slowly revealing Shen Daoxing’s figure on the cliff face.
It turned out that after leaping into the abyss, Shen Daoxing had raised his Great Ming Demon Sparrow, stabbed its blade into the rock, and hung suspended from the cliff face. He had not truly fallen into the depths.
Clinging to the Great Ming Demon Sparrow, Shen Daoxing hung on the cliff face for a long time. Once he was certain there was no movement from above and that Yue Wuchen and Yuwen Jianchi were gone, he pushed off lightly. Using his sword to find purchase on the rock, he began leaping rapidly upward.
He was just about to reach the top of the abyss.
Just then, without any warning, a mysterious, inexplicable humming sound—low and protracted—rose from the depths of the abyss.
Shen Daoxing froze, his eyes widening in shock. The rock wall before him suddenly shattered. With a CRACK, large chunks of stone broke away and tumbled into the abyss.
With that, Shen Daoxing lost his foothold. His upward momentum vanished, and his body plunged downward, falling rapidly.
In a daze, Shen Daoxing saw visions of mountains crumbling and the earth splitting, of seas flowing backward. All the surrounding vegetation withered in an instant, only to be reborn anew. Storm clouds gathered and a sea of clouds roiled, rapidly converging only to disperse again.
Then, he lost consciousness.
...
When Shen Daoxing regained consciousness, he felt a trickle of something cool and sweet flowing from his mouth down into his stomach.
Shen Daoxing slowly opened his eyes. He saw a beautiful face—a young woman dressed as a village girl. Her clothes were simple, but even so, they could not conceal her stunning features.
"You’re awake?" the young woman asked with concern, setting aside the bowl in her hands.
"Where is this?"
Shen Daoxing turned his head to look around. He found himself in a wooden hut with sparse furnishings, one that seemed quite poor.
He then looked down at his own body and saw that it was wrapped in layers of bandages. Only then did he remember falling from the edge of the abyss.
Shen Daoxing shot to his feet and rushed out of the hut.
"Hey, your injuries haven’t healed yet! You can’t just move around like that!"
The young woman reached out to stop him, but she couldn’t hold him back.
Shen Daoxing pushed open the door of the wooden hut and stepped outside. He looked around and saw a world alive with the songs of birds and the fragrance of flowers, brimming with the vitality of spring.
