Clear Abyss, Leap of Faith

Moon Gazing Cliff.

Along the way, Li Mo actually had not spent all that much effort searching for strange beasts to kill.

No matter how generous the sect's rewards were, they definitely could not compare to Ice Block's inheritance.

Just listen to it—Nine-Colored Primal Phoenix.

An opportunity this high-end would probably have had nothing to do with him in this lifetime if he had not clung to Ice Block's jade leg.

"Smells so good."

As thoughts turned in his mind, Li Mo had already climbed onto Moon Gazing Cliff.

Looking down from here, there was a sheer cliff ten thousand fathoms high. Clouds and mist coiled below, and the bottom could not be seen at all.

Not even a single flying bird was in sight.

Clear Abyss.

This place was the origin of the entire Clear Abyss Sect.

If one looked farther into the distance, one would discover that the whole of Clear Abyss had appeared very abruptly.

With no head and no tail, it did not look like natural terrain at all.

"Where is the inheritance site?"

Li Mo swept his gaze around, but did not discover the so-called inheritance site.

That made sense.

This Moon Gazing Cliff was not some place where human traces were rare. He had heard that young couples from Rare Beast Peak often came here for secret trysts, and there were quite a few anecdotes and legends about this place within the sect.

If it were that easy to find, it would probably have been made public long ago.

Then how had Ice Block discovered it?

Could it be the same as when he was in Divine Blade Cave, where he had felt a resonance with that hammer?

Was the opportunity here calling to her too?

"Speaking of which, don't tell me I have to jump from Moon Gazing Cliff down into Clear Abyss."

"How deep would that be..."

Li Mo walked to the front of the peak and sized it up.

Suddenly, his vision blurred.

In the unseen depths of fate, it was as if a heaven-shocking sword intent had cleaved down.

That sword intent was like heavenly punishment falling from the Nine Heavens, able to cut through any obstacle in this world until its target was completely slain.

At this moment.

Li Mo felt that his fleshly body, tempered by the Extreme Weapon Slaughter Body, was incomparably fragile, no different from an ordinary mortal body of flesh and blood.

"Whew..."

"Clear Abyss... was cut out by someone with a single sword strike?"

This appalling thought rose in Li Mo's heart.

A sword strike cleaved out who knew how many ages ago, yet even today, sword intent still remained.

One sword flash chilled nineteen provinces.

Before this sword intent, that no longer seemed like a figure of speech.

What kind of mighty being must that have been?

"In the future, Ice Block might also become that kind of mighty being. Perhaps even stronger than that?"

Li Mo recalled the Heavenly Mandate Divine Eye's evaluation of Ying Bing.

In the future, she would surely become the strongest throughout the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths.

Compared to her right now, at least in the Blood-Qi Realm, he should not have fallen behind by too much...

Thinking of this, Little Li sighed.

"How am I just not material for sword practice?"

"I'll try again next time with a better sword..."

The slightly chilly wind of Moon Gazing Cliff blew over.

Ying Bing tied up her long hair, which had become slightly, slightly disheveled, and glanced over from the corner of her eye.

"The High Heaven Sword Path is indeed vast and majestic, its qi piercing mountains and rivers."

"The master currently in charge of this path should still be keeping vigil at the Sword Mound?"

The person who had cleaved out this sword strike was someone that even she, in her prime, would have had to take seriously.

Later.

That master had passed the High Heaven Sword Path to a deposed princess of the Great Yu Dynasty.

As it happened, it was quite the coincidence.

She and the female Sword Immortal who had inherited the High Heaven Sword Path and later become the foremost person beneath the Nine Heavens had known each other when they were still insignificant.

Because in her previous life, she had been regarded as someone with severed meridians and had not been able to enter the Clear Abyss Sect at the first opportunity.

She and the other woman had once shared a period of supporting each other, weathering the storm in the same boat.

That had been Ying Bing's first time learning the sword.

"Chulong should have been demoted to the Eastern Wasteland by now as well."

"But she definitely won't know who I am anymore."

A faint smile unconsciously appeared on Ying Bing's face.

It was also at this moment that she ascended Moon Gazing Cliff.

"Mm?"

When she saw Li Mo at the edge of the cliff, his entire body stained with beast blood, Ying Bing was slightly taken aback.

In her expectations, Li Mo should still have been in Brook Stone Forest right now. After all, toward the end, he might encounter ninth-grade peak strange beasts.

Even if he was at twelve meridians in the Blood-Qi Realm, relying on a sword art at great completion, there was absolutely no way he could handle them easily.

Considering that this stretch of the road was not easy for someone in the Blood-Qi Realm, she had even deliberately given Li Mo an extra hour.

But... he had actually arrived even earlier than she had?

"You're finally here."

Li Mo smiled brightly, not surprised at all.

Looks like Ice Block had it pretty easy on the way here. Even her hairstyle isn't messed up.

His clothes had been torn...

Fine, he had torn them himself.

"Mm. Heal your wounds first. I'll wait for you."

Ying Bing gave a light nod of her exquisite head, understanding rising in her heart.

Li Mo must not have tangled with any of the strange beasts along the way.

Instead, he had ignored everything else, avoiding battle whenever he met a strange beast and running straight to Moon Gazing Cliff.

"Heal my wounds?"

Li Mo paused, then smiled and said:

"I'm not hurt. This is all strange beast blood. Look if you don't believe me."

"I ran into two not-so-strong strange beasts blocking the road, and I was in a hurry, so I didn't care about much else."

He walked a few steps closer.

Ying Bing's dark brows drew together slightly, and she actually reached out and tapped his chest.

It really was strange beast blood.

Could it be that he had not run into any trouble along the way, and only when he climbed Moon Gazing Cliff had he encountered two early ninth-grade strange beasts?

This luck was a little too good.

But... that was also equivalent to giving up on the trial.

Ying Bing naturally did not care about the sect trial's rewards, but Li Mo clearly did not know why she had called him here, yet he had still chosen to come over at all costs...

Ying Bing raised her head and saw that handsome face with its sunny smile.

She did not see the slightest trace of complaint or impatience between his brows, only the joy of having completed their promise in time.

It was as if he trusted her utterly, as if there had to be a reason she had called him here.

Why?

Ying Bing found herself somewhat unable to understand this young man.

"Uh..."

Li Mo was a little unused to it.

Ice Block's finger was still poking his chest.

Cool and chilly...

"Esteemed true disciples, did I come at a bad time?"

Suddenly.

A raspy voice, ruining the atmosphere, drifted over with the cold wind.

Li Mo and Ying Bing turned their heads almost at the same time.

They saw that on the road they had come by—the only road up to Moon Gazing Cliff—a figure in black clothes and a black robe, his face covered by an iron mask, had appeared there at some unknown time.

"I only meant to seek out Disciple Li and settle a score."

"I never expected an unexpected gain. Even Disciple Ying is here."

When he spoke of Ying Bing, the black-robed man's voice trembled, taking on an excitement he could hardly suppress.

Whoosh—

A signal arrow tore through the air.

The other side was practically one step away from plastering the words "bad guy" on his own face.

Naturally, Li Mo did not waste words with him. He called for help directly.

Yet the black-robed man remained unmoved. Instead, he said mockingly, "Disciple Li, why not use your head and think? If I had not made every preparation, would I have appeared here?"

"Ying Bing, oh Ying Bing, I truly can't bear to let you and him become a pair of doomed mandarin ducks. As long as you..."

Ring, ring—

Two chimes rang out.

Expressionless, Li Mo shook the Concentric Bell.

"Li Mo!"

In an instant, even the black-robed man's voice changed.

If one could see through the mask, one would see the face beneath it change wildly in an instant, sweat breaking out.

Of course he knew who that bell would summon!

"You deserve to die!"

Faintly, only a beast's roar could be heard, echoing without end within Clear Abyss.

Only, before the other party could make a move, a streak of sword light had already arrived.

The sword intent was icy to the bone, overbearing and decisive, making one's hairs stand on end.

Ying Bing had actually thrown the longsword in her hand.

The black-robed man was confident he could take this sword head-on.

But he had to admit, Ying Bing's strength far exceeded his imagination. "Genius" was simply not enough to describe her.

If he took it head-on, even as someone in the Divine Observation Realm, he would be injured.

The air went still for an instant.

In the end, the black-robed man chose to stop in his tracks and dodge sideways.

However, at that very moment, Ying Bing did not look at the black-robed man, but met Li Mo's eyes.

"Jump."

Li Mo seemed to realize what she intended to do.

Ying Bing suddenly felt she understood this youth even less.

This was the unfathomably deep Clear Abyss.

Why did he not have even the slightest trace of fear?

Or was it because of his... trust in her?

"All right."

Ying Bing had never been someone who dithered and tangled herself up.

Since Li Mo agreed, though she could not understand what he was thinking, she still pulled that hand without the slightest hesitation and stepped into empty air.

The cold wind instantly turned biting.

Everything around them rapidly blurred.

All their senses began to grow sluggish...

"You two!!"

On Moon Gazing Cliff, the black-robed man charged over, the black robe on his body already torn apart from within.

From above, he stared blankly downward at the young man and young woman holding hands tightly as they vanished among the clouds and mist.

In his eyes, only disbelief remained.