The top floor of the library.
The old librarian began repairing some ancient books.
Ye Xiao sat by the window. From there, he could see students bustling in and out of the library's main entrance.
He turned his gaze back to the book in front of him: Introduction and Distribution of World Scars.
It was thick, with yellowed, brittle pages and worm-eaten corners.
He turned the pages very slowly, afraid of tearing them.
It had nothing to do with cultivation. It was a collection of miscellany, recording what Transcendentalists throughout history had seen and heard in different World Scars.
A World Scar hadn't existed since the beginning of time.
A hundred thousand years ago, spiritual energy returned to the world, and humans and countless other races lived together on the same continent.
Later, a great war tore the world apart—not a war between humans and monsters, but a schism in the Dao.
The world split in two: the Human World and the monster world.
Between the two worlds lay only a single "World Scar."
A World Scar wasn't a crack.
It was a "membrane" between two worlds.
Like a scar on skin, a crack in porcelain, or the wall between two rooms.
A crack was a hole in that wall.
Ninety-five thousand years ago, the thinnest part of the World Scar split open.
Monsters poured into the Human World for the first time.
That battle lasted a thousand years, and humanity was nearly wiped out.
It was the Nameless Ancestor who punched through the monster world, then sealed the World Scar with his Fist Intent.
Now, the seal was weakening.
Ye Xiao paused there and looked out the window.
The setting sun dyed the sky dark red, like blood.
There were eighty-eight weak points in the World Scar, scattered across the globe.
These weak points were the "roots" of the cracks.
The monsters couldn't attack the seal directly, but they could erode it with demonic energy.
Like water wearing away stone, like an iron rod ground down to a needle.
Ninety thousand years was enough to wear many things away.
How much longer could the seal hold? The book didn't say.
But Ye Xiao noticed a line of pencil writing in the margin. The handwriting looked new, as if it had been written recently.
"At the earliest, three years. At the latest, five."
His hand began to tremble.
"Are you afraid?"
At some point, the old librarian had come to stand behind him.
He set a cup of fragrant tea on the table in front of Ye Xiao.
"Have some tea before you continue."
Ye Xiao fell silent, then looked up at the old librarian.
"Elder Qian, did you write this note?"
The old man didn't deny it.
"I did."
Ye Xiao drew a deep breath. "The World Scar could break in as little as three years?"
The old man nodded.
"That's the worst-case estimate."
"You've already learned a secret that mustn't be revealed."
Ye Xiao asked, "Why can't it be told?"
The old man replied, "If this secret gets out, the world will descend into chaos. Human nature can't withstand the test. Once people learn that the apocalypse is coming, social order will collapse in an instant. They'll descend into a final frenzy before the end, indulging their desires and committing crimes without restraint."
Ye Xiao fell silent for a long time.
The old librarian smiled and reassured him. "This isn't something you need to worry about right now."
"If the sky falls, the tallest will hold it up."
"There are so many Transcendentalists up there. They want to survive more than anyone."
Hearing this, Ye Xiao gave a relieved smile.
"You're right, Elder Qian."
"If the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up."
Ye Xiao continued reading.
Soon,
he found a section about the Red Abyss.
That was what he wanted to learn about.
"The Red Abyss is the seventeenth of the eighty-eight cracks, located in Jiang City. The seal is weak, monsters are active, and the danger level is high."
That brief description was enough to paint a picture of the Red Abyss's danger for Ye Xiao.
"On the other side of the crack lies a sea of fire. There is little land, but endless magma. Rivers of magma crisscross the region, and volcanoes erupt every few minutes. The air is thick with the stench of sulfur and charred earth. The temperature is so high that steel melts and rocks turn red."
"The sky is dark red, and the sun is never visible. Only the light of the magma illuminates the whole world, bathing it in the colors of hell."
"In the depths of the Red Abyss stands a volcano. Its crater is a thousand zhang across, its depths unfathomable. Magma pours from the crater, forming rivers that flow into the distance. That volcano is the lair of the Flame Demon King."
Ye Xiao's throat tightened.
He imagined that world—without wind, rain, or sound.
Only the bubbling of magma, the roar of volcanoes, and the howls of monsters.
"The monsters of the Red Abyss are mostly Flame Demons. Flame Demons aren't creatures corrupted by demonic energy; they're incarnations of demonic energy itself—flames, magma, and sulfur. Their bodies are made of fire, rendering physical attacks almost useless."
"Flame Demons are divided into four ranks."
"The lowest rank is the Flame Demon Larva. About one meter tall, with skin like charred coal, it can spit fireballs reaching a thousand degrees. It is equivalent to a human in the Second Realm. These monsters are the most numerous, swarming together like locusts and blotting out the sky."
"The middle rank is the Flame Demon Warrior. About three meters tall, with patterns of fire covering its body, it can transform into flames and is immune to physical attacks. It is equivalent to a human in the Fourth Realm. Wielding battle axes formed from solidified magma, it can cleave through steel with a single strike."
"The high rank is the Flame Demon Lord. About five meters tall, with fiery wings on its back that let it fly. It can summon magma and burn everything to ashes. It is equivalent to a human in the Seventh Realm. Each Flame Demon Lord rules over a territory of magma."
"The highest rank is the Flame Demon King, about ten meters tall, sleeping in the deepest part of the volcano. A single thought can set an entire city ablaze; a single fit of rage can melt a mountain range. It is equivalent to a human above the Tenth Realm."
Ye Xiao put down the book and closed his eyes.
A ten-meter-tall giant of flame appeared in his mind, standing at the crater and looking down upon the Human World.
He opened his eyes and continued reading.
"The dangers of the Red Abyss go beyond its monsters."
"First, the heat. The magma in the Red Abyss reaches three thousand degrees. Any creature that falls in will melt instantly. Even a Martialist's Golden Body can last only a few breaths at the edge of the magma."
"Second, poisonous gas. The air in the Red Abyss is thick with sulfur and sulfur dioxide. Inhaling it burns the lungs and corrodes spiritual energy. An ordinary person would be poisoned to death within minutes."
"Third, spatial instability. Space along the edge of the Red Abyss crack is severely distorted. The slightest misstep can send you tumbling into the void's chaotic currents, where you'll be lost forever."
"Beyond these, the Red Abyss holds another special danger—the Flame Demon King's will."
"The mental waves it emits in its sleep erode the mind. Those who stay in the Red Abyss too long grow irritable and quick to anger, eventually losing their reason. In severe cases, they may be controlled outright by the Flame Demon King, becoming half-human, half-monster abominations."
Ye Xiao's hand stopped on the page.
There, he noticed a line of writing in the margin.
"If you stay in the Red Abyss too long, you'll hear a voice. It will call for you, using your name."
Danger lurked everywhere in the Red Abyss.
"But the Red Abyss also offers opportunities."
"First, a mineral called Molten Heart lies deep within the magma. It is a crystal formed from energy released while the Flame Demon King sleeps, and it contains an exceptionally pure fire law. Refine it, and your body can gain Flame Resistance. It can even greatly enhance the power of fire-based skills."
"Second, a plant called Fire Spirit Grass grows along the rim of the Red Abyss's volcano crater. It is the only spirit plant capable of surviving beside magma and a key ingredient in high-grade fire-type pills. A single Fire Spirit Grass can fetch hundreds of thousands on the black market."
"..."
Before you continue