Abyss of the Dead

A bone-chilling wind howled through the abyss.

Li Xiaoyu felt his body falling endlessly.

All around him was pitch-black; he couldn't see his own hand in front of his face.

His consciousness began to blur from his grievous injuries and depleted spiritual energy.

Just as he was about to lose consciousness completely, a pair of cold, soft hands suddenly reached out of the darkness and clasped his tightly.

He struggled to open his eyes and saw a face streaked with tears, yet resolute.

It was Lu Xueqi.

She had actually jumped down after him.

"You... fool."

Lu Xueqi said nothing, only tightened her grip on his hand.

As though she meant to bind their lives together.

She pressed her face against his chest, feeling his faint heartbeat.

At that moment, she felt no fear, no despair.

All she felt was peace and contentment.

To fall into this abyss with him and journey together to the Yellow Springs might, perhaps, be a kind of happiness.

The two held each other tightly as their bodies plunged into the unknown depths of darkness.

Darkness.

Endless darkness.

Cold.

Bone-chilling cold.

Li Xiaoyu had no idea how long he had been falling.

Perhaps only an instant, or perhaps ten million years.

His consciousness wavered between confusion and clarity.

Each time he was about to sink into unconsciousness, the softness and warmth in his palm drew him back.

He knew Lu Xueqi was still there.

She was still by his side.

That thought was a lonely lamp in the night, sustaining the last of his will.

At last, their fall gradually slowed.

"Thump."

With a soft sound, their bodies landed on solid, icy ground.

Li Xiaoyu endured the agony of feeling as though every bone in his body had been shattered and opened his eyes.

This was the bottom of the Abyss of the Dead.

A world without light, sound, or life.

The air was thick with yin energy and resentment.

These forces were corrosive, steadily eroding their protective spiritual energy.

Li Xiaoyu could feel the little spiritual energy left in his body rapidly dwindling.

"Xueqi, are you all right?"

He struggled to sit up and looked at Lu Xueqi in his arms.

Lu Xueqi was just as pale, but her condition was better than Li Xiaoyu's.

She shook her head and answered weakly, "I'm fine. What about you?"

Her gaze fell on the front of Li Xiaoyu's robe, stained red with blood, and her eyes filled with heartache.

"I'm not dead yet."

Li Xiaoyu gave a self-mocking smile and struggled to stand, but the movement tugged at his wounds, making him grimace in pain.

"Don't move!"

Lu Xueqi quickly steadied him, letting him lean against her.

Her body was cold, yet soft and fragrant, and his heart stirred faintly.

"What do we do now?"

Lu Xueqi looked around. The endless darkness left her feeling helpless.

Li Xiaoyu forced himself to calm down.

The more dire the moment, the less they could afford to panic.

"We have to get out of here as soon as possible."

He spoke gravely. "The yin energy and resentment here are too strong. If we stay too long, our spiritual energy will be exhausted, and then we'll be lambs waiting for the slaughter."

Li Xiaoyu circulated his spiritual energy, gathering a faint blue glow at his fingertips that illuminated a few feet around them.

They saw that the ground beneath their feet was black, as if soaked in blood.

Giant, unidentifiable beast bones lay scattered around, weathered by the passage of time.

And in the darkness farther away, it seemed that countless eyes were watching them.

"Wooo—"

Howls like ghosts wailing came from every direction.

In the darkness, one twisted, translucent figure after another began to slowly approach them.

Yin spirits!

The souls in the Abyss of the Dead—those unwilling to pass on, bound by resentment for millions of years!

These yin spirits had no physical bodies. Ordinary blades and swords couldn't harm them.

They fed on the yang energy and souls of the living. Once they latched on, they would annihilate the victim's spirit and leave them forever beyond salvation.

"Careful!"

Li Xiaoyu barked, shielding Lu Xueqi behind him.

He knew that to deal with these yin creatures, he had to use righteous arts of pure yang.

Enduring the pain, he sat cross-legged, formed hand seals, and began chanting the Heart-Calming Incantation of the Taiji Profound Clarity Path.

"Heaven and earth are natural; foul energy scatters. Within the cavern, mystery and emptiness; bright and radiant, the Great Origin..."

As he chanted, circles of gentle blue light spread outward from his body.

The yin spirits that drew near recoiled the instant they touched the blue light, as if they had met their bane. They let out shrill screams, their bodies wreathed in blue smoke, and retreated in droves, daring not to approach again.

Yet Li Xiaoyu's face grew even paler.

Using an art on this scale placed an enormous strain on his badly injured body.

He could feel his spiritual energy draining at an alarming rate.

"This won't work. I can't hold out much longer."

He gritted his teeth as he spoke.

Seeing him sway on the verge of collapse, Lu Xueqi's heart ached.

She stood and moved in front of Li Xiaoyu, shielding him.

"Focus on healing. I'll deal with them!"

Her cool voice was firm.

The Tianya Divine Sword in her hand blazed with blue light.

Tianya had been forged from otherworldly iron from the Nine Heavens and carried the righteous qi of heaven and earth. It was just as effective against these evil creatures.

With a slight flick of her wrist, streaks of sharp blue sword qi bloomed like lotuses and swept toward the yin spirits around them.

"Chh! Chh! Chh!"

The yin spirits struck by the sword qi were purified in an instant, dissolving into specks of light that scattered through the air.

Lu Xueqi's swordplay was cool and fierce, every strike carrying the majesty of judgment.

With just one woman and one sword, she carved out a safe space amid the endless swarm of yin spirits.

Watching her white figure dance through the darkness, Li Xiaoyu felt his heart surge.

This usually aloof woman was more dependable and courageous than anyone when it mattered.

He no longer hesitated. He immediately closed his eyes and circulated his cultivation art with all his might to heal his injuries.

Li Xiaoyu took the healing pills his master had given him from his robes and shoved them all into his mouth.

The pills melted as soon as they touched his tongue, turning into streams of warmth that flowed into his parched meridians.

At the same time, the Immortal-Slaying Gourd at his waist began to grow faintly warm.

Li Xiaoyu's heart stirred, and he tried to activate the gourd.

He discovered that the Immortal-Slaying Gourd had actually begun absorbing the dense yin energy and resentment around them on its own.

These forces, so toxic to cultivators, were rapidly broken down and refined once they entered the gourd.

The violent, evil parts were suppressed, while the souls' most fundamental power was transformed into streams of cool energy that flowed back to Li Xiaoyu, nourishing his damaged spirit.

"It can do this too!"

Li Xiaoyu was overjoyed.

This was an unexpected boon!

With the Immortal-Slaying Gourd's help, his recovery speed increased several times over.

Time slowly passed as one attacked and the other defended.

Gradually, fragrant sweat beaded on Lu Xueqi's forehead.

There were simply too many yin spirits. They seemed endless, impossible to kill off.

Her spiritual energy was also rapidly running low.

Lu Xueqi's movements began to slow, and her sword light was no longer as fierce as before.

Several times, yin spirits slipped through her web of sword qi and nearly pounced on her and Li Xiaoyu.

"Pfft!"

Caught off guard, she was pierced through her protective sword qi by a powerful yin spirit. Her spirit shuddered, her throat turned sweet, and she spat out a mouthful of blood.