Chapter 178: Sneaking Through the Dark Abyss, First Trial of the Edge

Leaving the protection of the Star Fall Islets and heading deep into the southeast of the Vast Sea, the surrounding environment changed rapidly.

For the first hundred miles, one could still see the wreckage of shattered star islets, abandoned ancient array pedestals, and some low-level sea beasts accustomed to the thin starlight and chaotic spiritual energy of the fringe zones. But the further southeast they went, the deeper the color of the seawater became, gradually shifting from ink blue to a near-pure black that seemed to absorb all light. The light of the stars in the sky also became thin and distorted here, as if blocked by an invisible, malicious curtain.

The pressure was pervasive.

It was not just the physical pressure from the immense weight of the seawater, but a heavy burden originating from the energy and spiritual levels. The spiritual energy drifting in the air (or rather, the seawater) became thin and turbid, filled with a nauseating, fishy, sweet, and decaying scent—a mixture of highly concentrated "Filthy Star Malice" and "Blood Grudge Power." Even for a Nascent Soul cultivator, prolonged exposure to this environment would cause their magic power to circulate sluggishly, and their mind would be easily eroded by negative emotions.

Lin Xuan expanded a thin, gray, chaotic barrier, enveloping all twenty-two people. The chaotic energy flowed slowly, acting like the most precise filter, blocking and annihilating the vast majority of filthy energy while maintaining a relatively pure environment and stable pressure inside. This undoubtedly greatly reduced the burden on the group, but it also kept Lin Xuan in a state of constant consumption.

"Follow closely, restrain your aura." Lin Xuan's voice sounded directly in everyone's sea of consciousness, calm and waveless.

The team formed a wedge formation, with Lin Xuan in the lead, Zhao Yuan following closely behind, and True Person Beichen, Elder Ling Shuang, and Ancestor Hunyou positioned on the left and right wings. Everyone suppressed their own aura to the minimum, like a group of silent fish in the deep sea, relying on Lin Xuan's guidance and the slightly glowing "Micro-Light Guiding Array" compass in True Person Beichen's hand to continue diving, and diving further, in one direction.

The surrounding light grew dimmer and dimmer; in the end, it was impossible to see with the naked eye, and they could only rely on spiritual sense to explore. However, spiritual sense was also greatly suppressed and interfered with here. Extending it out, one could often only "see" a blurry, distorted darkness filled with viscous malice, and the occasional, heart-palpitating, enormous shadow silhouettes that flashed by in the darkness—perhaps the sunken ancient star remains, or perhaps the lair of some polluted and mutated deep-sea giant beast.

The silver micro-light emitted by the array compass in True Person Beichen's hand became the only reliable guide at this moment. The light was not intense, but it was exceptionally stable, piercing through layers of filth to outline a winding but relatively "safe" energy trajectory ahead. This trajectory was not a straight line, but constantly avoided detected energy turbulence vortices, high-concentration pollution zones, and the territories of certain "living things" that emitted terrifying auras.

"Turn left thirty degrees, seven hundred zhang below, there is a relatively stable 'Cold Spring Fissure' where we can temporarily avoid the large filthy vortex ahead." True Person Beichen's voice was tense; he was focusing all his attention on analyzing the massive amount of data fed back by the array compass.

The team turned immediately, like agile fish, sliding silently into an inconspicuous, narrow fissure hidden on the side of a giant undersea ridge. Inside the fissure, the temperature plummeted, the water flow was almost stagnant, and the concentration of filthy energy was much lower, but it was permeated with a more ancient, more eerie sense of silence. The rock walls were covered with thick, glowing, unknown deep-sea moss, providing a faint illumination.

Everyone seized the time to regulate their breathing and replenish their consumption. Elder Ling Shuang waved her hand to set up a layer of thin ice, further isolating the internal and external auras. Ancestor Hunyou released a nearly imperceptible ghost, which drifted to the entrance of the fissure to keep watch.

Zhao Yuan sat cross-legged and looked inward. Although he was within Lin Xuan's barrier, the filthy pressure from the outside and the omnipresent malice originating from the deep-sea evil objects still seeped in like ice water, constantly attempting to erode his protective star power and mind. The newly born "Silent Star Chaos Qi" operated spontaneously, forming an extremely faint gray-blue halo on the surface of his body, silently dissolving and annihilating the vast majority of the erosive power, and even faintly showing a tendency to "devour" the star-attribute parts within it. However, the subtle irritability and chill coming from the soul level still required him to use his firm will to forcibly dispel them.

"This is just the beginning. The environment of the true 'Absolute Blind Zone' and the location of that 'Star Remains Giant Egg' is likely a hundred or a thousand times worse than here." Lin Xuan's voice sounded in his consciousness, carrying a warning, "Although the essence of your 'Silent Star Chaos Qi' is high, its total amount is limited, so consume it with caution. Unless necessary, do not easily use it to resist environmental erosion; rely more on your will and protective magic treasures."

"Yes, Senior." Zhao Yuan was secretly alerted. He checked the "Silent Shadow" at his waist again; the dark blue patterns on the scabbard were slightly hot, as if excited, and as if vigilant. He wore the "Mystic Ice Soul-Protecting Crystal" given by Elder Ling Shuang close to his body, which sent waves of coolness, helping to stabilize his soul.

They rested for less than the time it takes to brew a cup of tea.

"Hmm?" Ancestor Hunyou, who was in charge of the watch, suddenly gave a muffled groan; the ghost he had released instantly lost contact with him!

"Something is approaching!" He whispered, his withered fingers rapidly forming seals, and a palm-sized, dark-colored small banner with countless phantom images of painful faces appearing on its surface flew out from his sleeve, hovering above his head, emitting invisible soul-power fluctuations that swept outside the fissure.

Almost at the same time, light flickered in Lin Xuan's Chaos Tribulation Pupils as he looked at the darkness above the fissure entrance.

Gurgle... gurgle...

An extremely faint sound, as if viscous liquid were flowing, came from above the rock wall. Immediately after, a blurry, translucent "thing" with dark red star spots flickering inside, like melted gelatin, "flowed" down silently along the rock wall! It had no fixed form, its edges constantly wriggling and extending slender tentacles; wherever it passed, the glowing deep-sea moss withered and lost its color rapidly, being devoured by it.

"Filthy Star Malice Aggregate!" True Person Beichen whispered, "And it's the highly active kind with basic predatory instincts! Be careful, it might just be a 'scout'!"

The "gelatinous" mass seemed to sense the fresh life aura and relatively pure energy within the fissure; its flow speed suddenly accelerated, its front end suddenly expanded and opened, turning into a "mouthpart" filled with dense, saw-toothed energy structures, and pounced toward Ancestor Hunyou, who was closest to the entrance! A fishy wind mixed with the resentment of star extinction and blood malice rushed toward them!

"Hmph! Monsters and demons, you dare to get close?" Ancestor Hunyou sneered, shaking the small banner above his head, and several gray-black soul shadows emitting shrill shrieks shot out, crashing into the gelatinous monster!

Chi chi chi—!

The soul shadows crashed into the gelatinous body, but instead of tearing or penetrating it as expected, they seemed to fall into a viscous mud pit, their speed greatly reduced, and the soul-power light on their surface was rapidly polluted and eroded by the dark red star spots in the gelatin, emitting a "sizzling" sound of dissolution! The gelatinous monster only paused slightly before continuing to pounce, and its volume even expanded slightly, as if it had devoured part of the soul power!

"This ghost thing can pollute soul power!" Ancestor Hunyou's expression changed slightly; the ghosts refined by his "Ten Thousand Soul Banner" were already somewhat evil, yet they were actually countered by this Filthy Star Malice!

Just as the gelatinous monster was about to pounce on Ancestor Hunyou—

An ice-blue sword light arrived first despite being launched later!

Elder Ling Shuang pressed her fingers together like a sword, and a "Mystic Ice Sword Qi" condensed to the extreme swept past silently, precisely slashing at the core of the gelatinous monster! The extremely cold sword intent erupted, instantly freezing the large mass of gelatin, along with the dark red star spots inside, into a huge, dark blue ice block emitting chilling white mist!

However, the ice block only lasted for one breath before countless dense cracks exploded on its surface, and the dark red light inside flickered crazily, looking as if it were about to break out of the ice!

"Star filth, resentment aggregate; physical and ordinary spell effects are limited." Lin Xuan's calm voice sounded, but he did not make a move, instead looking at Zhao Yuan, "Zhao Yuan, try your 'Silent Star Chaos Qi'."

Zhao Yuan understood, knowing that Lin Xuan was testing the actual combat effect of his new power, and also accumulating experience for potentially stronger similar existences they might encounter later.

He stepped out, not drawing his sword, but only raising the index finger of his right hand, and a wisp of gray-blue energy quietly overflowed from his fingertip. The energy was as thin as a hair, yet gave people a sense of sharpness that could cut through everything.

Without a grand momentum, Zhao Yuan just lightly slashed through the air toward the gelatinous monster that was about to break free from the ice.

The gray-blue thin line flashed and disappeared.

Crack.

The frozen gelatinous monster, along with the thick Mystic Ice on the outside, split apart from the middle with a smooth, mirror-like cut! At the cut, there was no energy explosion, no flying ice fragments, only a sense of void as if a part had been completely "erased" from the level of "existence"! The cut part of the gelatin had its internal dark red star spots instantly extinguished, its wriggling stopped, and it rapidly turned into the most primitive, inactive filthy energy dust, drifting away slowly. As for the cut Mystic Ice, the ice crystal structure at the break also presented a strange state of "dead silence," losing all cold-attribute spiritual light.

One strike, silent and soundless, yet it completely "killed" this filthy aggregate that even the peak Nascent Soul Ancestor Hunyou found troublesome!

There was silence inside the fissure.

Ancestor Hunyou's eye corner twitched, and he took a deep look at the gray-blue energy that had not yet completely dissipated from Zhao Yuan's fingertip. A trace of surprise also flashed in Elder Ling Shuang's cold eyes. True Person Beichen stroked his beard and nodded, his eyes revealing anticipation.

Lin Xuan nodded slightly: "The effect is acceptable. 'Silent Star Chaos Qi' indeed has an essential restraint against this type of filthy existence that takes distorted star power as its core. But what about the consumption?"

Zhao Yuan looked inward and estimated: "The strike just now consumed about one percent."

One percent, it seemed not much, but one had to know that what they faced just now was only a "scout" level pollution body. What if they encountered stronger ones, or needed long-term, high-intensity output? Zhao Yuan felt a sense of awe in his heart, and his level of "cherishing" his own power increased by another layer.

"Remember this feeling." Lin Xuan said, "Your power must be used at the most critical moment. Leave ordinary obstacles to others."

"Yes."

"This place is not suitable for a long stay; the movement just now might attract more things." Lin Xuan waved his hand, and the chaotic barrier enveloped everyone again, "Continue moving forward."

The team left the Cold Spring Fissure silently again, following the trajectory pointed out by the "Micro-Light Guiding Array" compass, and continued to sneak into the deeper, darker sea abyss.

As they went deeper, the surrounding environment became increasingly bizarre. There were more and more huge, mountain-like star remains, and many of the remains still had distorted, ancient runes emitting ominous auras. Sometimes they would encounter a "dead water zone" that was completely still, where even spiritual sense seemed to be frozen; other times they had to cross a "turbulence belt" filled with shattered star power and spatial rifts. Various strange, deeply polluted deep-sea creatures also began to appear; most of them had lost their original forms, becoming distorted and full of aggression, and some had even partially merged with the Filthy Star Malice and Blood Grudge Power, becoming half-energy, half-biological monsters.

The team avoided them as much as possible; for those that could not be avoided, Elder Ling Shuang, Ancestor Hunyou, True Person Beichen, and others cooperated to clear them out with the fastest speed and the least movement. Zhao Yuan followed Lin Xuan's instructions, trying his best to conserve his power, and only made a move when encountering monsters that were particularly troublesome, difficult to solve quickly by conventional means, and clearly carried strong "filthy contract" or "distorted star" characteristics, using "Silent Star Chaos Qi" to kill them in one strike.

Every time he made a move, that gray-blue, silent, and returning-to-nothingness power left a deep impression on his companions, and also gave Zhao Yuan a more precise grasp of the characteristics and consumption of his own power.

The sneaking continued for who knows how long. The perception of time became blurred here. Only on the "Micro-Light Guiding Array" compass did the scale representing the distance to the target shrink slowly and firmly.

Finally, after avoiding a "Blood Grudge Tide" of astonishing scale once again, the light on the array compass in True Person Beichen's hand suddenly became hurried and dim, as if it had been subjected to some kind of powerful interference. His expression changed: "Ahead... the energy field is extremely chaotic and distorted, and the array compass's detection and analysis capabilities have dropped significantly! We... may have already approached the edge of the 'Absolute Blind Zone'!"

Everyone's spirits lifted, and then their hearts tightened even more.

Lin Xuan stopped, gray light flowing in his Chaos Tribulation Pupils, looking at the void ahead where even the darkness seemed more "thick" and "viscous." Even with his eyesight and perception, he could only "see" a huge shadow silhouette that was constantly wriggling and changing as if it had life, and in the shadow, the dark red pulsating light that made the soul tremble.

"This is it." Lin Xuan's voice carried a hint of solemnity, "Prepare yourselves; what comes next... is the true test."

Everyone held their breath, gripped their magic treasures, and adjusted their state.

Zhao Yuan silently operated the "Silent Star Chaos Qi," the gray-blue energy flowing silently in his meridians, and the Silent Shadow sword emitted a low tremor in its scabbard.

The darkness ahead was like the open mouth of a giant beast, waiting for them to enter.