The Yin Matron's Abyss

Nether Bone Old Ancestor remained seated cross-legged, but the aura enveloping him was no longer pure nether-death gray mist. Instead, it was an ominous dark-gray presence flecked with jet-black spots.

The corpse spots that had covered his face now spread outward, transforming into twisted black patterns identical to the abyssal mark on the Dao Seed! His eyes remained shut, yet his eyeballs trembled violently beneath his lids. The muscles in his face twitched from time to time, revealing an expression where agony and madness intertwined. His aura had become exceedingly unstable, at times surging to the very peak of the third step, at others plummeting to the early third step. The energy fluctuations around him were chaotic and brimming with aggression.

He was clearly trying to refine or resist the abyssal mark on the Dao Seed, but the result... seemed to be backlash.

"Nether Bone Old Ancestor... he's already been corrupted!" Qingwei cried softly, disbelief in her voice.

Even a peak third-step existence could not withstand the corrosion of this abyssal mark?

"Judging by his condition, he's likely no longer lucid and is on the brink of half-madness." Venerable Ling Feng gripped his sword hilt tightly, his expression incomparably grave. "Those corrupted by the abyss gradually lose themselves and become puppets that know only slaughter and destruction.

"A peak third-step puppet..."

He did not finish, but everyone felt a chill rise along their spines.

The arrogance on Elder Flame Splendor's face also receded considerably. He stared at the black patterns on the Dao Seed and Nether Bone Old Ancestor's condition, his brows locked tight. "This mark... is even more troublesome than we anticipated."

Yin Matron remained silent, but her ghostfire eyes were fixed upon the Dao Seed, especially those black patterns. A nearly fanatical greed, difficult to detect, flashed through