Abyss

Biodata

Background

The Abyss descended upon a parallel Earth in the early 22nd century, reshaping civilization through extraordinary power, martial arts advancement, genetic modification, and bio-mechanical technology. Its arrival ended the former age of nations and created an era in which strength became paramount 1.

Humans explore the Abyss as a layered environment inhabited by exotic beasts and affected by Abyssal Demonic Qi. This pressure suppresses human beings, becoming stronger deeper within the Abyss; only exceptional blood energy and willpower allow deeper exploration 54.

The Abyss is also associated with Liminal Spaces: dangerous independent dimensions connected to Abyssal anomalies. Survivors who clear such spaces may receive a variable “blessing” that weakens the suppression of Abyssal Demonic Qi 56 57.

Appearance

The Abyss has no confirmed stable form. During Li He’s escape from a Liminal Space, he witnessed an unobservable figure seated on a throne at the end of a corpse-paved road; the figure’s appearance could not be retained in memory 62.

• The throne-associated figure is suggested to be the Abyss’s consciousness 62.
• Attempts to remember its form are erased or fail immediately 62.
• Its influence may also manifest through corruptive essence blood, anomalous dimensions, and altered creatures 70 79.

Manifestations & Influence

Abyssal Demonic Qi

Abyssal Demonic Qi continuously oppresses humans within the Abyss. Its pressure intensifies by depth and can be resisted through sufficiently refined blood energy 54.

• The Abyss is divided into layers, with deeper regions presenting greater suppression 54.
• A Liminal Space blessing substantially reduced Li He’s sensitivity to this pressure 57 62.
• Corrupted Abyssal power can carry mental corruption in addition to physical danger 75.

Liminal Spaces

Liminal Spaces are bizarre dimensions tied to the Abyss but existing independently. They can abruptly swallow living beings approaching Abyssal-energy anomalies 56.

• Their difficulty reportedly scales with the combined strength of those trapped within 57.
• Their layouts can change between enclosed rooms, corridors, prisons, and other artificial-seeming environments 54 56 58.
• Clearing one may result in recognition or a blessing from the Abyssal Will 57.
• Li He’s Liminal Space escape led him to the throne-associated figure and returned him to Safe Zone 42 with reduced Abyssal suppression 62.

Temporal and Parallel Influence

Hall Master Yuan Shan theorizes that the Abyss does not experience time linearly. In this view, past, present, and future coexist for it, allowing it to project possible parallel timelines into a person’s mind 79.

• Li He’s blood-pool trial presented a future in which Yellow Mountain Martial Arts Hall had been swallowed by the Abyss and Li He became the Mountain Ape 70 78.
• Yuan Shan considers this experience a possible connection to the Abyssal Will rather than conventional time travel 79.
• Qi Yunzhang later states that the Abyss may make arrangements across time for individuals in whom it takes interest 124.

Erosion and Temptation

Abyssal erosion is described as more than simple corruption through power. Qi Yunzhang warns that the Abyss can exploit a person’s doubts, obsessions, and desire for answers until they gradually become assimilated 124.

• The Abyssal Worm’s neural center calls the Abyss “Mother” and offers Li He power, immortality, and authority in exchange for becoming part of it 114.
• She argues that martial artists already draw upon Abyss-derived power through exotic-beast essence blood 114.
• Qi Yunzhang warns that fixation on the Abyss’s mysteries can lead a person toward its embrace and eventual representation in the real world 124.
• Li He is believed to share over 80% biological similarity with a child who died in the Abyss eighteen years earlier, leading Qi Yunzhang to suspect the Abyss had taken an interest in him 124.

Relationships

• Li He — Survived a Liminal Space, encountered the throne-associated figure, and received an Abyssal blessing. He is later identified as a potential target of Abyssal erosion and long-term “arrangements” 62 79 124.
• Abyssal Worm’s Neural Center — Refers to the Abyss as “Mother” and presents absorption into Abyssal power as evolution rather than corruption 114.
• Qi Yunzhang — Abyss scholar who warns that the Abyss is watching Li He and seeks to erode him through unanswered mysteries and self-doubt 124.
• Yellow Mountain Martial Arts Hall — In Li He’s blood-pool trial, the hall is swallowed by the Abyss during a future Abyss Tide; whether this was a true parallel timeline remains uncertain 70 79.