Lower Abyss Realm.
The firmament hung low, steeped in the heavy air of dusk.
Turbid miasma filled the space between heaven and earth, like a thick pall of gloom shrouding all four directions. Even beneath a cloudless sky stretching for miles, without so much as a wisp of haze, one only saw a gray, murky canopy upon looking up, as though even the sunlight had been drained into a dim and somber hue.
The mountains looked dust-coated, the rivers ink-stained. Though vegetation grew, fresh green was scarcely seen. The entire world was painted in a brooding, dusky darkness.
It was like some TV station's underworld filter—one glance was enough to make your whole body feel awful, liable to trigger physical discomfort.
It resembled the Unborn Realm, yet was completely different.
"The air is poisonous..."
Xiang Yuan took a breath, his brows knitting slightly.
Poison or not, Xiang Yuan did not care. Long ago, he had acquired a constitution immune to all poisons. Whether those multicolored mushrooms were cooked or raw, he would eat whatever came his way without hesitation.
Later on, poison itself could be regarded as a form of external nourishment.
Xiang Yuan glanced at the towering wall before him. The entire wall was black as ink, built from some unknown dark stone. Layer upon layer of pitch-black tiles covered its crest, gleaming with a cold, metallic luster beneath the dim light of day.
The wall stood over five zhang high, stretching across the path like a heavenly chasm and inspiring awe at first sight.
Most eye-catching were the enormous beast-head reliefs upon its surface. Some glared with furious eyes and bared fangs; some spewed blazing fire, their manes flying; others bore twin horns atop twisted, grotesque faces.
These beast-head reliefs were lifelike, as if they might come alive