Chapter 104: The Abyss

Withdrawing his gaze, Xu Xing looked at the jade slip in his hand.

"The Abyss…"

Compared to the book in the Xuanjian City Library, the Xiang Jianzong's records on "The Abyss" were far more detailed.

According to Xiang Jianzong archives, The Abyss first appeared over fifteen hundred years ago, in a mortal town within the territory of Longxiang Qingtianzong.

At that time, the number of cultivators was still far fewer than today, and the only guardian stationed in that mortal town was a Jin Dan body cultivator.

But that Jin Dan body cultivator was no righteous sect member—he secretly practiced an extremely cruel body-refining technique.

To conceal his actions from his sect and gather enough pure blood, he artificially created famine, then used local aristocratic families to buy and sell poor children.

He also bribed the Nascent Soul warden above him, successfully suppressing the matter entirely.

The Abyss eventually uncovered it, and like a reckless fool, he exposed it outright.

But the result was that the Jin Dan body cultivator faced no punishment.

Instead, under the Nascent Soul warden's manipulation, he became a hero who fought demonic sects, while The Abyss was branded a demon and hunted, barely escaping death.

Fortunately, some Ling Yin Fang disciples happened to be visiting Longxiang Qingtianzong at the time and passed through that town, causing the truth to surface.

In the end, the Jin Dan body cultivator was executed for artificially creating famine, and the Nascent Soul warden was stripped of his cultivation for deceiving his superiors.

Yes.

Not because of the dead children, nor because of the poor families who starved to death.

The gravest charges were artificially creating famine and deceiving superiors.

Faced with the colossal power of Longxiang Qingtianzong, The Abyss was powerless—but perhaps from that moment on, he resolved to change something.

One of Hehuan Laozu's disciples had followed him ever since…

Dingdong!

A message alert sounded; Xu Xing pulled out his phone—it was Ba Zun.

Ba Zun: "Brother Dao, I've had my disciples compile the data on The Abyss—it will be delivered to @Jianzu tomorrow."

Ba Zun: "Also, regarding the incident involving our sect disciples practicing demonic body-refining techniques, I dealt with it all immediately upon learning of it—Brother Dao need not worry."

Hehuan Laozu: "Oh my, I was just about to ask—your timing is quite swift."

Ba Zun: "How can you, of all people, criticize me?"

Longxiang Qingtianzong was an isolated case; Hehuan Sect was full of countless similar cases.

Hehuan Laozu: "So I killed them all."

Hong Zun: "..."

It wasn't Ba Zun's fault—events from that time still burned vividly in his memory.

After driving the Cang clan out of the Central Continent.

Though the Liudaxian Sect had intended to impose restraint, aside from the Xiang Jianzong, the other Wudaxian Sects imposed no strict discipline on their disciples.

Moreover, the old ancestors of each sect and most high-level cultivators had no energy to spare.

The Starry Battlefield, the ancient past, the Cang clan ancestor who led a small group of Cang clan survivors to the far side of the stars—every matter demanded their constant attention.

Thus, on the Central Continent, mass killings for cultivation purposes were commonplace, and even within the Xian Sects, similar incidents occurred frequently.

Until one day, Jianzu returned from the Starry Battlefield and went out to relax.

It was a small mortal town under Xiang Jianzong jurisdiction—just like the incident The Abyss had encountered—but this time, a Xiang Jianzong sword cultivator intended to test his newly forged flying sword on the town's mortals.

Of course, Jianzu was no The Abyss—he immediately shattered the sword cultivator's spirit and soul.

After killing that sword cultivator, Jianzu did not return to his sect—he traveled across the entire Central Continent.

When he returned to the Xiang Jianzong, the disaster known as the "Tai Xuan Blood Calamity" began.

Originating from the Xiang Jianzong, it spread to the other five Xian Sects, as well as cultivators outside sects and demonic sects.

From Qi Condensation to Dao Comprehension, even beyond Dao Comprehension, too many cultivators died in Jianzu's hands.

Especially the demonic sects—they were shattered, nearly exterminated.

Even the demonic sect's ancestor, Huo, was forced to appear in person.

Just as everyone thought the matter had ended, Huo fled, gravely wounded.

Seeing this, he and three other Xian Sect old ancestors were compelled to intervene, seeking to stop the mad Jianzu.

"Your actions now are no different from those of the cultivators you've killed," Hong Zun had said then.

"You know my deeds are no different from theirs—do you really think this argument will convince me?"

That was Jianzu's reply to him back then.

As they stood in confrontation, Jianjun arrived—but not to restrain the mad Jianzu; he came to berate them.

Jianzu and Jianjun were both madmen!

Had the Cang clan not taken the opportunity to stir up trouble, they might have truly fought each other back then.

After once again slaughtering the rebellious Cang clan, Jianzu returned to his sect and did many bizarre things.

For example, widely disseminating cultivation methods, establishing schools, and enacting harsh laws.

Because of the previous lesson, the other Xian Sects dared not speak out—they cooperated actively—but the results were unsatisfactory.

Thus, after years of turmoil, Jianzu seemed to realize something, and since the opportunity had arrived, he went into seclusion.

In fact, their reason for not interfering in anything The Abyss did was precisely their fear that Jianzu might go mad again upon emerging.

Jianzu: "Thank you, Brother Dao."

Ba Zun: "Brother Dao, you're too kind—but to learn more about The Abyss, we must visit Ling Yin Fang."

Jianzu: "I was thinking the same."

Xu Xing replied, then exited the messaging app and put away his phone.

"I'll need to find time soon to visit Ling Yin Fang."

Xu Xing looked at the documents before him and couldn't help recalling the scenes he had witnessed while traveling across the Central Continent.

Even now, he still felt anger.

"Some people…"

…………

The next morning, Zhang Yunlu stepped out of the Scripture Transmission Tower.

Bright sunlight spilled down, leaving her dazed after spending the entire night reading.

Suddenly, a shadow appeared in her vision, then swiftly descended, landing before her.

"Good morning, little Yunlu!"

Chi Jiuyu leapt down from his sword, still as energetic as ever.

"How was it? Did you gain anything from reading those books last night?"

"Yes, I gained a lot," Zhang Yunlu said, meeting Chi Jiuyu's expectant gaze. "Your junior uncle ancestor's insights and reflections have benefited me immensely."

Chi Jiuyu was satisfied, but not with that title.

"Huh? Where did you learn such a strange title?"

"Everyone calls you that."

"That's them—what are we to each other?" Chi Jiuyu slung an arm around Zhang Yunlu's shoulder, winking. "Call me Master Chi from now on, how about it?"

"… "

"Just kidding! You can call me Future Master or Jiuyu Captain!"

"Jiuyu Captain."

Zhang Yunlu held a decent impression of the Master and didn't want to help Chi Jiuyu usurp the position so soon.

"Don't you need to cultivate?"

"No need!" Chi Jiuyu waved his hand. "We're already at the peak of Golden Core. Advancing to Soul Transformation won't come from hard practice alone."

Third update.

I rewrote this chapter many times; originally it was nearly four thousand characters, but after reading it myself, I thought it was too wordy.

(End of chapter)