Huadi

Abyssal creatures at the Emperor level roughly correspond to the strength of an eight-ring Soul Douluo. With the current power of the Douluo Continent, they can still be handled with ease, and let's not forget, the Douluo Continent also possesses soul guidance devices.

As long as an Abyssal creature at the Abyssal Monarch level does not intervene, the personal safety of Xia Yanqing can still be guaranteed.

"The Abyssal Plane? Abyssal creatures?" Xia Linyuan muttered to himself, "Come to think of it, having been on the Douluo Continent for six years, aside from that hurried glance back then, I really haven't properly observed the existence of this Abyssal Plane."

"Since we both originate from the 'Abyss,' once I become interested, I shall have to observe and see how the Abyssal creatures of the Douluo Universe differ from a semi-abyssal creation like myself who has fallen into the abyss. Hmm, I hope these 'brethren' can bring me some surprises; I presume R'lyeh would be interested as well."

Thinking of this, the corners of Xia Linyuan's mouth curled up slightly.

Six months later.

Xia Linyuan, who was playing chess with Zou Yihan, paused for a moment, but quickly returned to normal, placing the piece he was holding onto the board.

The sharp-eyed Zou Yihan noticed Xia Linyuan's anomaly, "Linyuan, what's wrong?"

Xia Linyuan smiled slightly, "It's nothing, just suddenly remembered that Father hasn't been home for half a year."

Thinking of Xia Yanqing, the corners of Zou Yihan's lips couldn't help but lift slightly, yet she felt a bit sad, "The war at the front is intense, and as the backbone of the army, your father cannot easily leave the camp. This half-year is actually considered short."

"Mother, shouldn't the one leading the troops to the front line be the Duke of White Tiger, who commands the three armies?"

Xia Linyuan knew that this convenient father of his was skilled in politics, not in commanding armies, yet it was Xia Yanqing who had been transferred to the Endless Mountains to lead the troops in resisting the invasion of Abyssal creatures.

Zou Yihan said helplessly, "In recent years, border friction between the Star Luo Empire and the Sun Moon Empire has been constant. The Duke of White Tiger has been stationed at the Mingdou Mountains to prevent the Sun Moon Empire from suddenly launching an attack. He cannot spare the time, so we can only let your father lead the team."

Zou Yihan assumed Xia Linyuan was just a six-year-old child with a somewhat eccentric personality, so she downplayed the situation.

She herself felt somewhat speechless; compared to border disputes, shouldn't the Abyssal creatures eyeing the Douluo Continent with hostility be more dangerous? Well, perhaps because she was a woman, she didn't understand politics; she only prayed that Xia Yanqing would be safe and sound.

Hearing that the Duke of White Tiger was still leading troops stationed at the Mingdou Mountains to prevent the Sun Moon Empire from suddenly attacking and invading the Star Luo Empire, Xia Linyuan roughly guessed the thoughts of the Star Luo Emperor.

It was likely that he felt the spatial rift was still unstable, and that the Abyssal creatures capable of passing through could be repelled by their strength combined with a large number of soul guidance devices. Since they could not pass through the spatial rift themselves and had no clear understanding of the situation in the Abyssal Plane, and with the Sun Moon Empire acting restlessly and making small moves, he chose to secure the interior before dealing with the exterior.

Xia Linyuan's golden eyes narrowed slightly, "What a bunch of little cuties."

"Linyuan, what did you say?" Hearing Xia Linyuan muttering to himself, Zou Yihan asked in confusion.

Xia Linyuan immediately beamed, "Nothing."

Although his smile was incredibly bright, a chilling, soul-shaking coldness flashed deep within those indifferent golden eyes that lacked any emotional fluctuation.

Just moments ago, Carlos, whom he had sent to the Endless Mountains to scout the situation of the Abyssal Plane, sent word that a level-two Abyssal Tide had suddenly erupted in the Endless Mountains. Xia Yanqing, who was leading the defense, had been besieged and severely wounded by three Emperor-level Abyssal creatures. If not for Carlos intervening in time, Xia Yanqing would likely have perished in the Endless Mountains.

"This is truly infuriating."

Xia Linyuan's voice remained as indifferent as ever, but if one listened closely, one could hear that his tone was now filled with killing intent.

Night fell.

In front of a massive cave with a diameter of fully three thousand meters, a person and a dragon-crow stood at this moment.

Who else could this person and dragon-crow be but Xia Linyuan and Carlos?

Xia Linyuan didn't say a word, and Carlos randomly chose one of the dense maze of over a hundred tunnels and flew inside.

Whether it was an illusion or not, it felt as if something was lurking in the surrounding darkness, as if the darkness itself were constantly squirming.

After advancing a short distance, a piercing screech suddenly rang out from the darkness, but in the next second, the screech turned into a shrill, miserable scream. The unknown thing only had time to let out one cry before there was no more movement.

After the scream came to an abrupt halt, Xia Linyuan suddenly narrowed his eyes.

He could feel that after the Abyssal creature he had just killed died, the vast majority of its energy would be reclaimed by the Abyssal Plane. Therefore, even if many Abyssal creatures died, the Abyssal Plane could always give birth to new ones.

This point was different from the abyss he came from.

In the abyss where he resided, all creatures other than himself and R'lyeh were created by R'lyeh using her own power and had no upper limit. However, these Abyssal creatures were born from the Abyssal Plane, which then continuously recycled the energy of dead creatures to continue creating more.

Such an Abyssal Plane had a critical point in both quality and quantity, much like a bottle with a limited capacity for water; once full, it could hold no more and could only expand its volume by devouring other planes.

Xia Linyuan stroked Carlos's thick horns and said in an incredibly eerie tone that was hard to describe, "Carlos, Dracarys."

As soon as his voice fell, Carlos opened his massive maw, and flames as brilliant as the rising sun gushed out, almost instantly filling the entire Abyssal tunnel constructed of energy. The screams were endless; a normal person would tremble in fear just by hearing a single one!

"Who goes there! How dare you trespass into the territory of Huadi!"

Not until Carlos finished spewing his dragon flames did a low, hoarse voice come from afar.

This fellow who called himself Huadi was a burly man over two and a half meters tall, with powerful muscles all over his body, exuding a cold and grim aura. Unlike the Abyssal creatures Xia Linyuan had killed along the way, he looked no different from an ordinary human.

Huadi, who controlled the seventh layer of the Abyssal Plane, was a quasi-god-level powerhouse even on the Douluo Continent. He was adept at changing forms and possessed abilities similar to those forms.

This characteristic of changing forms was actually similar to the true Nyarlathotep.

The true Nyarlathotep was the Crawling Chaos and the God of a Thousand Faces; she delighted in deceiving and seducing humans, taking her greatest joy in plunging them into terror and despair.

And after hunting Nyarlathotep, this ability to change forms had been plundered by Xia Linyuan.