Huadi

Emperor Rank Abyssal Creatures roughly corresponded to powerful Eight-Ring Soul Douluo. With the current strength of Douluo Continent, they could still be dealt with easily. And let's not forget, Douluo Continent also had Soul Tools.

As long as no Abyssal Creatures at the Abyssal Monarch level made a move, Xia Yanqing's personal safety could still be guaranteed.

"The Abyss Plane? Abyssal Creatures?" Xia Linyuan murmured. "Come to think of it, I've been on Douluo Continent for six years, but aside from that brief glimpse back then, I've never properly observed this Abyss Plane."

"Since we both come from the 'Abyss,' once I'm in the mood, I'll have to take a closer look and see how the Abyssal Creatures of the Douluo Universe differ from a half-Abyssal creation like me, who fell into the Abyss. Hmm, I hope these 'kin' of mine can bring me a few surprises. I imagine R'lyeh would be interested, too."

At the thought, Xia Linyuan's lips curled up slightly.

Half a year later.

Xia Linyuan was playing chess with Zou Yihan when his hand paused for just a moment. But he quickly recovered and set down the piece he was holding.

Sharp-eyed, Zou Yihan noticed his odd behavior. "Linyuan, what's wrong?"

Xia Linyuan smiled faintly. "Nothing. I just suddenly remembered that Dad hasn't been home for half a year."

At the mention of Xia Yanqing, Zou Yihan couldn't help smiling, though a trace of sadness crept in. "The fighting at the front is fierce. Your father is the backbone of the army, so he can't just leave the camp. Half a year is a short time, all things considered."

"Mom, shouldn't the one leading the troops to the front be Duke of White Tiger, the commander of the entire army?"

Xia Linyuan knew that his nominal father was better at politics than leading troops. And yet it was Xia Yanqing who had been sent to the Endless Mountains to lead the army in repelling the invasion of Abyssal Creatures.

Zou Yihan said helplessly, "In recent years, there have been constant border clashes between the Star Luo Empire and the Sun Moon Empire. Duke of White Tiger has been stationed in the Mingdou Mountains to guard against a sudden attack by the Sun Moon Empire, so he can't spare any troops for the time being. That leaves your father to lead them."

Zou Yihan thought Xia Linyuan was merely a six-year-old boy with a somewhat eccentric temperament, so she made light of the situation.

She herself found it a little absurd. Compared to border disputes, shouldn't the Abyssal Creatures eyeing Douluo Continent be the greater threat? Well, perhaps she was just a woman and didn't understand politics. All she could do was pray that Xia Yanqing would return safely.

Hearing that Duke of White Tiger was still stationed in the Mingdou Mountains to guard against a sudden Sun Moon Empire invasion, Xia Linyuan had a rough idea of what the Xingluo Emperor was thinking.

He probably believed the spatial rift was still unstable, and that their forces, bolstered by a large number of Soul Tools, could repel any Abyssal Creatures that made it through. Besides, the Abyssal Creatures couldn't cross the rift, and they knew nothing about the Abyss Plane. Meanwhile, the Sun Moon Empire was acting up, making one small move after another. So it was better to deal with internal troubles before facing external ones.

Xia Linyuan narrowed his golden eyes. "What adorable little things."

"Linyuan, what did you say?" Zou Yihan asked, puzzled when she heard him muttering to himself.

Xia Linyuan immediately broke into a bright smile. "Nothing."

His smile was radiant, but deep in those golden eyes, so devoid of emotion, a bone-chilling glint flashed.

Just moments ago, Carlos, whom he had sent to the Endless Mountains to investigate the Abyss Plane, had sent word: a second-level Abyssal Tide had suddenly erupted in the Endless Mountains. Xia Yanqing, leading the troops in defense, had been gravely wounded after three Emperor Rank Abyssal Creatures attacked him together. If Carlos hadn't stepped in in time, Xia Yanqing would have fallen in the Endless Mountains.

"That's enough to make anyone furious."

Xia Linyuan's voice was as indifferent as ever, but a closer listen revealed that it was now filled with murderous intent.

Night fell.

Before a gigantic cave, fully three thousand meters in diameter, stood a man and a Dragon Crow.

Who else could the man and Dragon Crow be but Xia Linyuan and Carlos?

Xia Linyuan said nothing. Carlos simply chose one of the more than one hundred densely packed passages at random and flew inside.

Perhaps it was just an illusion, but it seemed as if something lurked in the surrounding darkness, as though the darkness itself were constantly writhing.

After they had advanced a short distance, a piercing cry rang out from the darkness. But the next moment, it turned into a miserable shriek. The unknown creature had barely managed to cry out once before falling silent.

When the shriek cut off abruptly, Xia Linyuan narrowed his eyes.

He could sense that after the Abyssal Creature he had just killed died, most of its energy had been reclaimed by the Abyss Plane. That was why the Abyss Plane could give rise to new Abyssal Creatures, no matter how many of them were killed.

That was different from the Abyss he came from.

In the Abyss where he lived, all creatures apart from him and R'lyeh had been created by R'lyeh using her own power, with no limit to their numbers. But these Abyssal Creatures were born from the Abyss Plane, which constantly reclaimed the energy of the dead and used it to create more.

An Abyss Plane like this had limits on both quality and quantity. It was like a bottle that could only hold so much water. Once full, it could hold no more; the only way to expand its capacity was to devour other planes.

Xia Linyuan stroked one of Carlos's sturdy horns and spoke in an utterly strange accent, though it was hard to say why. "Carlos, Dracarys."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Carlos opened his jaws and spewed forth brilliant flames like the rising sun. In an instant, they filled the entire Abyss Passage, which was made of energy. Cries of agony rang out without end; even a single one would make an ordinary person tremble with fear!

"Who goes there? How dare you trespass on my territory!"

Only after Carlos had finished breathing fire did a low, hoarse voice sound from the distance.

The fellow who called himself Huadi was a burly man over two and a half meters tall, with powerful muscles all over his body and a chilling aura. Unlike the Abyssal Creatures Xia Linyuan had killed along the way, he looked hardly any different from an ordinary human.

Huadi controlled the seventh level of the Abyss Plane. His strength would rank him among the Demigod-level powerhouses on Douluo Continent. He excelled at changing his form and possessed abilities resembling whatever form he took.

That ability to change his form was rather similar to the real Nyarlathotep.

The real Nyarlathotep was the Crawling Chaos, as well as the God of a Thousand Faces. She delighted in deceiving and tempting humans, and took her greatest pleasure in plunging them into terror and despair.

After hunting Nyarlathotep, Xia Linyuan had also seized that ability to change his form.