The Nine Legion Commanders, The Abyss Plane's Origin

Abyss Plane.

The seventy-sixth layer.

Amidst the scorched earth, eleven shadows rose slowly from the ground, their bodies suffused with darkness so absolute that even light could not refract off them.

"The chaotic scent of gunpowder—how truly interesting."

Jiang Xiu's blood-red eyes swept across the boundless wilderness, a hint of emotion in his voice. The other ten shadows stood guard around him, as loyal as any soldier.

"So that's how it is. With the breakthrough of my main body, the shackles of the Shadow Monarch have also been broken."

After silently sensing the changes, a look of wonder flickered in Jiang Xiu's eyes as he murmured to himself.

Following his breakthrough to level ten, the authority of the Shadow Monarch had been further unlocked. He could now not only extract the shadows of ordinary corpses but also designate one shadow to serve as a Legion Commander.

A shadow serving as a Legion Commander would not only retain all the memories and strength it possessed in life but could also continue to grow stronger through the shadow soldiers under its command, assisting Jiang Xiu in directing the mindless shadow legion.

The Legion Commander would remain one hundred percent loyal to Jiang Xiu, treating him as its highest command.

"As for the candidate for Legion Commander... I feel that the ruler of this Ant Emperor Clan still has some charm left."

Jiang Xiu could not be careless in his choice of a Legion Commander. If he wanted to gradually control the entire Abyss, he had to first deal with the Ant Emperor Clan and use them as a springboard to conquer other abyssal races; thus, he and the Ant Emperor were destined to clash sooner or later.

"The road is long and the burden heavy. I must increase my strength as soon as possible."

Jiang Xiu stroked Black One's head, his gaze deep and distant.

The Abyss Plane consisted of one hundred and eight layers, with a massive leap in strength occurring every thirty-six layers.

In the final thirty-six layers, the ruler of every abyssal species possessed strength comparable to a human Titled Douluo.

In the middle thirty-six layers, the ruler of every abyssal species possessed strength comparable to a human Super Douluo.

In the first thirty-six layers, the emperor of every abyssal species possessed strength comparable to a human Limit Douluo or demigod. The few Emperors at the very front had even stepped into the god-level in certain domains, such as the Spirit Monarch's spiritual power and the Fierce Emperor's divine power.

And here, on the seventy-sixth layer where Jiang Xiu currently resided, the Ant Emperor—the ruler of the Ant Emperor Clan—possessed the strength of a Titled Douluo.

"Come, let the slaughter begin!"

With his spiritual power replenished, Jiang Xiu was determined to have a good fight and expand the ranks of his shadow army.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak!"

Receiving their Monarch's order, the ten Abyss Ant shadows moved instantly. Their scarlet eyes gleamed with ferocity as they charged side-by-side toward a slightly larger Abyss Ant. Their massive bite force was comparable to hyena-type soul beasts, and Black One even fought dirty from behind, repeatedly reaching in to strike.

Jiang Xiu followed behind, continuously extracting the shadows of the fallen Abyss Ants to add them to his glorious shadow legion.

As time passed, the shadow army behind Jiang Xiu grew larger. By the time he had extracted the seventy-sixth shadow, Jiang Xiu was already capable of completely hunting down Abyss Ants comparable to the Great Soul Master level among human soul masters.

As the shadow of this Abyss Ant emerged, a wisp of dark, ghostly light fell into Jiang Xiu's body, and the strength of this shadow of his suddenly increased by a fraction.

"Is this... feedback?"

Jiang Xiu raised an eyebrow, as if realizing something, and was suddenly enlightened.

The shadows he had extracted previously were too weak; the mere act of conversion burned them out, let alone providing feedback to him. But now, after killing an Abyss Ant comparable to a Great Soul Master, there was naturally excess energy to feed back into him.

"Since this shadow of mine can level up on its own, I will make it as strong as possible."

After pondering for a moment, Jiang Xiu set his plan.

This shadow was originally his, merely lost in this Abyss Plane, and the Shadow Monarch martial soul acted as a medium, allowing his consciousness to be transmitted to it.

Perhaps one day, when the Abyss Plane invaded, this shadow would merge back into his main body, and these energies would naturally return to him.

Every bit of accumulation now was preparation for the future.

"Perhaps the path to salvation for breaking through to god-level in the future lies within this..."

Jiang Xiu narrowed his eyes slightly. With a wave of his hand, he led his shadow army forward to slaughter once more, even activating his Monarch Domain to boost the combat power of his shadow soldiers while providing them with concealment.

In an instant, the area where Jiang Xiu stood descended into chaos, with roars and the sounds of battle mingling together.

However, this small patch of territory was far too insignificant compared to the vast seventy-sixth layer of the Abyss.

Time ticked away, and only when Jiang Xiu's spiritual power was nearly exhausted did the footsteps of the slaughter slowly come to a halt.

Even so, Jiang Xiu's shadow legion had expanded to a full one hundred and fifty, and the strength of this shadow of his was on the verge of stepping into the Great Soul Master level.

"Thanks for nature's gift."

Feeling the increase in his strength, Jiang Xiu sighed softly; there was nothing more satisfying than leveling up.

Just then, a dark purple Abyss Ant with a build as sturdy as a calf and a mouth full of fangs charged straight toward Jiang Xiu and his group from the distance. It didn't even forget to devour a fellow ant along the way, and on its body, there were five distinct golden marks.

"Danger! Retreat!"

Jiang Xiu sensed the aura radiating from it—it was clearly comparable to a Soul King—and he issued the order without hesitation.

Although his shadow legion would not die, they would grow weaker with each death. Every soldier was one he had raised himself; how could he allow them to make meaningless sacrifices?

Furthermore, the gap in strength between the two sides was too great, and his spiritual power was nearly depleted. A strategic retreat was the best policy.

"Wait until next time, and I will slaughter you."

After casting one last deep look at it, Jiang Xiu led his shadow legion and sank completely into the ground.

The Abyss Ant watched the Shadow Soldiers vanish before its eyes, stamping its feet in frustration. Lacking any real intelligence, however, it soon wandered off elsewhere to continue devouring its own kind.

"It's about time; I should head back and get some rest."

After covering the Shadow Soldiers with the Monarch Domain, Jiang Xiu let out a soft sigh and prepared to return to his original body. After all, he had to go to the Spirit Ascension Platform tomorrow to increase the age of his spirit rings, and he had already confirmed that the flow of time here was identical to that of the Douluo Plane.

"I expect I'll run into Na'er, Leng Yaozhu's disciple, at the Spirit Ascension Platform tomorrow."

Jiang Xiu pondered briefly. He was certain that Leng Yaozhu's decision to have him stay at the Spirit Pagoda today was about far more than just a simple spirit ascension.

As Jiang Xiu's consciousness withdrew, the entire Monarch Domain fell into a profound silence.

At that moment, a translucent thread as thin as a strand of hair emerged from the top of each of the one hundred and fifty Shadow Soldiers, all of them surging toward Jiang Xiu.

Finally, they converged on the back of Jiang Xiu's right hand, forming the mark of an Ant Emperor roaring at the sky. Though it was so faint as to be nearly invisible, it was undeniably real.

Immediately thereafter, the entire Monarch Domain plunged once more into eternal night...