Free Web NovelChapter 306: Chapter 228: Grudge Abyss (2)
"Excellent. Keep it safe for me," Han Ning said with a smile.
"SQUEAK!" Egg Pancake wriggled happily and secured the stone ball on its back. It thoughtfully shrank to a convenient size and flew in front of him.
"Elder Qingyao, Yin Yi, Fei Lin, let’s go." He vaulted onto Egg Pancake’s back and called out to Yin Yi and Elder Qingyao, who were huddled together chatting about who-knows-what.
Though from different Races, they were both female Soul Beasts of the same type, and their calls were quite pleasant. Eager to grow stronger, Yin Yi seemed to have many questions for Elder Qingyao about mastering Wood Type Energy.
"CHIME~" "CLANG~"
The two Soul Beasts let out melodious calls and returned to Han Ning’s side in a flash.
The well-fed Little Fatty Silkworm transformed into a streak of purple light and disappeared into his body.
The moment the All-Encompassing Spiritual Silkworm returned, a block of information appeared before his eyes.
Talent Information List (sorted by Aptitude)—
1. [Body Hardening]: Draws upon the Gold Type Element to make any part of the body incredibly hard. (Shadow Reaper, C, Progress: 75%)
2. [Netherworld Avatar]: The Shadow Reaper creates one Ghost Clone of itself. The clone can use all of the Shadow Reaper’s Soul Techniques and wields 100% of its power, but its defenses are more fragile than the original’s. Being killed inflicts no harm on the caster. If the clone moves too far away from the caster, it will lose connection and automatically dissipate. (Shadow Reaper, C, Progress: 57%)
’Oh? Have I killed so many Shadow Reapers that I’ve already extracted this many talent fragments...?’
Han Ning’s attention focused on the first line.
’No wonder the Shadow Reapers’ bodies are as hard as weapons. So this is the Talent they’ve mastered.’
He thought for a moment. ’It’s a fairly average, all-purpose sort of Talent. It seems useful for any Soul Beast that isn’t purely elemental.’
’The second one... seems like a great Talent. It’s also versatile; any Soul Beast that inherits it would be formidable... If an elemental type inherited it, wouldn’t that be like gaining an extra artillery platform out of thin air?’
Generally, clones were weaker than the original and extremely fragile, but this Netherworld Avatar was nearly identical to its caster.
’Shadow Reapers... There should be more in the Grudge Abyss.’
Han Ning’s heart pounded with excitement. If Yin Yi inherited an avatar ability after she evolved, her destructive power would be... unimaginable!
He searched the Black Tower one last time, but after finding nothing else of interest, he left with his Soul Beasts.
With his business concluded there, Han Ning returned to the surface. Elder Qingyao then led the way toward the entrance of the Grudge Abyss.
「After flying for about 2,000 kilometers through the clouds.」
Below, a vast, boundless ocher land came into view.
At the far edge of the land, a massive, seemingly endless black chasm had opened up.
Trailing wisps of white mist, Egg Pancake and Elder Qingyao lowered their altitude.
The environment here was exceptionally strange, completely different from anywhere else.
The farther down they flew, the worse the visibility became.
By the time Han Ning reached the ground and walked to the edge of the massive Abyss, visibility had dropped to less than five meters.
And below...
Darkness.
A darkness that seemed to swallow even light itself.
From within the terrifying darkness, wails filled with resentment seemed to echo up from below, hair-raising cries that inspired deep-seated fear.
Bizarre rock formations littered the landscape in every direction. Not a single plant grew here, let alone a living creature.
It was as if he and his handful of Soul Beasts were the only ones who existed in this entire land.
’So this is why it’s called the Grudge Abyss...’
Wisps of thick, gray fog, visible to the naked eye, curled upward from the bottomless Abyss and rose into the sky.
Anything, when massive enough, exudes a certain ineffable sense of pressure.
Although the fog shrouded the distance, obscuring any details, Han Ning felt a surge of inexplicable dread.
When you gaze into the Abyss, the Abyss also gazes into you.
"CLANG~"
Just then, Elder Qingyao patted Han Ning’s shoulder with her claw. An azure chain shot out from her body, linking itself to each of the Soul Beasts.
"Elder Qingyao, what are you...?"
"CLANG~"
Elder Qingyao let out a low cry. Without further explanation, she drifted forward and flew straight into the Abyss.
In the despairing, pitch-black darkness, only the light from Elder Qingyao’s chains illuminated their surroundings.
It wasn’t until they were truly inside the chasm that Han Ning began to understand what Elder Qingyao meant.
Countless hideous creatures dwelt within the darkness.
Sensing the arrival of other beings, a series of sharp screeches suddenly echoed through the silent, empty space.
Immediately after, the ceaseless sound of countless flapping wings filled the air.
Han Ning tried to extend his Spiritual Power, only to discover that, just like in the Mist Deep Valley, this place contained a strange Energy that could bewilder the mind.
The Power here was far more terrifying than in the Mist Deep Valley. At his Tier Two level, he could barely protect himself; the range of his Spiritual Power was suppressed to within two meters of his body.
Back in the outside world, it could extend to a radius of at least twenty meters.
But the azure light radiating from Elder Qingyao acted like an impassable barrier, warding off the all-encompassing Darkness and providing a profound sense of security.
Aided by the azure glow, he could faintly make out...
...tens of thousands of giant bats with tattered wing membranes, gaping maws full of fangs, pitch-black eyes, and bodies covered in dense black fur, surging toward them like a tidal wave.
[
Race: Bloodthirsty Bat
Gender: Male
Aptitude: E
Level: Extraordinary I
Talent: None
Mastered Elements: Dark
Introduction: Feeds on Dark Energy and flesh. Possesses an astonishing reproductive ability.
...
]
Without sparing the numerous Bloodthirsty Bats a glance, Elder Qingyao summoned rapidly spinning azure chains that materialized around her body.
"SCREEE~~"
"SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT!"
Any Soul Beast that approached the azure chains was instantly disintegrated into a fine mist of blood by the terrifying Energy they contained.
Surprisingly, no Soul Crystals dropped from the bodies of these dead Soul Beasts; it was as if they were merely empty shells.
Under Elder Qingyao’s protection, Han Ning’s other Soul Beasts had no need to act.
In the oppressive Darkness, only a single azure orb of light was rapidly descending.
Flowers of black and deep-purple blood occasionally burst at the orb’s edge, like bloody fireworks welcoming their arrival.
The depth of the Abyss was far beyond Han Ning’s expectations.
At Elder Qingyao’s speed, they fell for a full hour before they felt the tremor of landing on solid ground.
Han Ning blinked and looked ahead.
Before him lay a dim space, with the azure radiance barely illuminating a small area.
A few simple stone houses stood nearby.
He took a shallow breath, and the thick stench of blood and filth drifted into his nostrils.
With their arrival, pairs of scarlet eyes suddenly lit up in the surrounding pitch-black space.
Immediately after, a pair of thick, muscular arms covered in dark patterns reached out from the edge of the light.
The arms roughly shoved aside a companion blocking its path, and a giant nearly ten meters tall with pale blue skin slowly emerged.
[
Race: Dark Pattern Giant
Gender: Male
Aptitude: C
Level: ???
Talent: None
Mastered Elements: Giant, Dark
Introduction: A mutated individual of the Abyssal Giant race. Rumor has it their souls are Cursed by an Abyssal Great Demon, preventing them from ever leaving the Darkness.
...
]
The Dark Pattern Giant had only one eye.
Its single, cold, and tyrannical eye swept over Elder Qingyao. It raised its brawny arms, and the dark patterns on its skin began to emit a strange, dark glow.
The patterned palms expanded rapidly as they moved, and by the time they reached Elder Qingyao, they were large enough to blot out the sky—a hundred meters wide, like a great mountain crashing down.
BOOM!
Elder Qingyao merely whipped the chains around her. Thick links shot out, extending for hundreds of meters to coil around the giant hands, and then... they constricted violently.
CRACK!
Blood splattered everywhere. The colossal hands that had blotted out the sky were instantly torn into fragments of flesh and bone that rained down from above.
"ROAR!!"
The Dark Pattern Giant reeled in pain, its glare toward Elder Qingyao growing even more ferocious.
At the same time, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed from the neighboring houses.
