Chapter 159: Into the Abyss

Shen Zhaoqing, flanked by two towering wolf-clan guards acting as her ‘escort,’ walked shoulder to shoulder with the equally pale-faced Luan Ge. They headed toward the massive stone door at the far end of the hall, a door throbbing with spatial ripples.

Behind her, the two pairs of eyes that seemed to bore through her felt like needles piercing her spine.

Before the stone door, space twisted violently, forming a bottomless vortex filled with chaotic laws and raging energy.

“Go in,” one of the wolf guards coldly urged.

Shen Zhaoqing inhaled deeply, steeling herself to step forward in resignation.

Just then, an overwhelmingly domineering will forced its way into her mind through the Blood Soul Demon Contract.

“Don’t be afraid. I will find you.” It was Ling Shuang’s voice.

Under extreme pressure, Shen Zhaoqing unexpectedly calmed down.

She knew she had to take the initiative.

In the last moment before stepping into the teleportation gate, she quickly turned her head and whispered to Luan Ge in a voice only the two of them could hear:

“Once inside, don’t trust anyone—not even me.”

Luan Ge froze, her amber-gold eyes filled with shock and confusion.

Before Luan Ge could make sense of it, Shen Zhaoqing’s figure was swallowed by the vortex.

Just as the massive spatial gate was about to close—

“My treasure cannot leave my sight—!” A clear, tsundere scream echoed through the hall!

A streak of silver light, fast as lightning, suddenly shot out from beneath the seat Shen Zhaoqing had occupied earlier. Moving at an utterly irrational speed, it ignored all the guards’ attempts to stop it and plunged headlong into the closing teleportation gate.

This unexpected scene left everyone stunned.

Di Jun, who had been observing everything from the shadows, furrowed his brows almost imperceptibly—an uncontrollable variable.

But then his brow smoothed, and the corner of his mouth even curled into a hint of interest.

One more variable was fine too.

Perhaps it would force out the true potential of that Source Body faster.

Meanwhile, under the cover of this chaos, no one noticed the corner where the trembling rabbit spirit Tu Mianmian had a flash of reckless madness in her eyes.

‘First-hand material! This is heaven-sent first-hand material!’

‘I’m going for it! For the final volume’s sales! For my glory as the number one best-selling author in the demon realm!’

She quickly pulled out a small shovel from her bosom and frantically dug at the jade floor beneath her. With a soft ‘puff,’ she and the upturned dirt together vanished from the spot.

A small, inconspicuous hole appeared where she had stood, then quickly closed up, as if nothing had happened.

****

The moment she stepped into the teleportation gate, an irresistible, tremendous pulling force assaulted her from all directions.

Shen Zhaoqing felt as if her soul and body would be torn to shreds. Before her eyes swirled bizarre colors, and her ears were filled with deafening roars.

She instinctively tried to grab Luan Ge beside her, but only grasped emptiness. The tearing force had forcibly separated them.

After an unknown amount of time, when the dizziness finally faded, Shen Zhaoqing found herself plummeting from midair.

She forced herself to endure the discomfort, barely stabilizing herself in the air. Mustering the meager spiritual energy inside her, she stumbled and landed on soft, loamy soil.

“Thud.”

She knelt on one knee, gasping heavily, her face pale.

Lifting her head, what met her eyes was a dead silent forest stretching endlessly.

Towering ancient trees blocked out the sky, their branches twisted and grotesquely shaped. The air was thick with gray mist, visibility less than three meters, and her spiritual sense was suppressed to a tiny range.

The surroundings were terrifyingly quiet—not a breath of wind, not a single bird or insect sound. Only her own heartbeat was amplified infinitely in this dead forest.

Luan Ge… Ao Mian… all gone.

She was alone, having fallen into this unknown, danger-filled hunting ground.

Completely lost.

Shen Zhaoqing took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down.

Surviving was the top priority.

Without a moment’s hesitation, she immediately activated the ‘Drunken Concealment Breath Escape’ technique she had long since mastered. A faint scent of alcohol emanated from her, perfectly blending with the damp, decaying air. In an instant, her entire presence was erased.

Only then did she cautiously advance step by step.

This forest was strange in every way.

She crouched down, pinched a bit of black soil, and brought it to her nose to sniff.

A pungent smell of rotting vegetation and sulfur assaulted her senses.

More importantly, beneath that smell, she clearly sensed a faint yet extremely pure demonic energy.

These trees, these grasses, even the soil beneath her feet… all had been eroded by demonic energy.

It wasn’t the acquired demonic energy from demonic cultivation techniques, but a more ancient, more primordial destructive aura filled with brutality and deathly stillness.

Just then, Shen Zhaoqing’s steps halted abruptly. Her gaze fell on a strange plant not far ahead.

It was a fern about half a person’s height, but its leaves showed an eerie, charred black color, with dark red liquid flowing through the veins.

From this plant, Shen Zhaoqing felt an extremely familiar aura.

It was a life force of the same origin as the Jianmu Spirit Clan—the pulse of the wood spirits.

But this pulse was now tightly bound by that violent demonic energy, twisted in agony, as if letting out a silent wail.

‘What exactly happened here?’

‘Why is the aura of the Jianmu Spirit Clan mixed with demonic energy of this level?’

Shen Zhaoqing’s heart sank. The scene here filled her with a deep-seated discomfort and sorrow.

“Roar—!”

A violent roar suddenly erupted from the mist ahead, interrupting her thoughts. Then, a thunderous galloping sound approached from afar, shockingly fast.

Shen Zhaoqing’s pupils constricted. Without a second thought, she performed a clumsy roll and threw herself to the side.

“Boom!”

A huge dark shape charged past, practically grazing her back, and slammed heavily into an ancient towering tree behind her. That enormous tree, which would take three or four people to embrace, shook violently from the impact, and countless dead leaves rained down.

Shen Zhaoqing looked up, still shaken, and finally saw the intruder’s appearance clearly.

It was a deer.

A beautiful creature as huge as a small hill, its fur as smooth as solidified moonlight. Its antlers were crystal clear, radiating a soft halo.

This should be an auspicious beast appearing only in myths and legends.

But now, this Moonlight Deer’s eyes were a terrifying crimson, filled with madness, brutality, and a desire for destruction. Thick, dark purple demonic energy wrapped around its limbs like tentacles, constantly corroding its sacred body.

It had clearly lost all reason.

And on its body, Shen Zhaoqing again felt that familiar aura—of the same origin as the Jianmu Spirit Clan, yet completely opposite.

It was the final madness of life withering before destruction.

Watching the Moonlight Deer painfully ram its head against the tree trunk, letting out mournful cries, Shen Zhaoqing’s heart softened.

Maybe… maybe it could…

‘I’ll take a gamble.’

She gritted her teeth and made a bold decision.

She slowly stepped out from behind the tree where she was hiding. Raising her hand, she carefully mobilized the Dao Source power in her dantian—that power fused with the strength of the Longevity Tripod.

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