Invasion of the Abyss

"Suppose you were unfortunate enough to be swept into an Abyssal war, your demon commander was severely wounded, and the enemy army came charging in."

"In such a hopeless situation, what should you do?" Yin Ming continued asking.

"Surrender! Surrender decisively! Preserve this useful body and gather Soul Crystals for Lord Wizard," Hui Er answered.

"Smack..."

"Do you think the other demons would spare you just because you surrendered?"

"You should turn around and kill your demon commander. That would give you a token of allegiance, and if you were lucky, you might even receive Soul Crystals from the enemy as a reward."

"If you were unfortunate enough to be summoned by a human wizard, and they wanted to dismember you for materials..."

"..."

"Enough! Learn all this, and you'll have mastered the Abyss's basic survival skills."

Half an hour later, Yin Ming had finished explaining and analyzing how Quasit hatchlings should deal with seventeen common dangers in the Abyss.

Though he himself had never once set foot in the Abyssal world, and was merely making reasonable conjectures and deductions based on inherited Quasit memories—fighting on paper.

"Praise Lord Wizard! If not for the survival experience you bestowed upon us, I'm afraid ninety percent of us would have perished the moment we arrived in the Abyss."

None of the Monkey Quasits knew that Yin Ming had never been to the Abyss. They found his views profoundly convincing. Quite a few even planned to find some hide to take notes on, and the clear stupidity had vanished from their eyes.

Just from hearing the tip of the iceberg of Yin Ming's account, they could already feel how difficult demonic life was, how treacherous and ever-changing the Abyssal world could be, and they fell into deep doubt over their own abilities.

A thought inevitably surfaced in their minds: Actually, being a monkey wasn't so bad.

[Zero Ring: Abyssal Sacrifice.]

Nine hundred and sixty-two Monkey Quasits used blood to trace the energy circuits of the spell.

With hearts filled with incomparable unease, they embarked upon the journey to the Abyssal plane.

"Alas..."

One Monkey Quasit after another stepped onto the rune array and vanished.

Yin Ming suddenly felt like a child—ptui... like an old farmer sowing seeds in spring and waiting for the harvest.

Even if each Monkey Quasit only had a one-in-a-hundred chance of redeeming itself, he could still harvest one hundred thousand Soul Crystals.

Moreover, Monkey Quasits would grow stronger over time. Once they grew from Zero Ring into First Ring extraordinary creatures, the difficulty of obtaining ten thousand Soul Crystals would plummet, and they could provide a long-term stream of income.

"Let's go! Time to return to the Flame-Burners Association!"

Ever since learning that Abyssal Sacrifice would be detected by the Wizard Black Tower, Yin Ming had forgiven Count Golden Lion's entire family.

This time, he did not remain behind to stand watch. He left the scene of the crime at top speed.

[...]

"An Abyssal Will fluctuation has been detected. Nearly a thousand Abyssal Sacrifices occurred in Green Forest. Has the Warlock Alliance discarded even its last fig leaf?"

Within the Wizard Black Tower, a bearded wizard blew his beard and glared as he watched the crystal ball used to detect Abyssal Sacrifices flash like a marquee. He let out an enraged roar.

At the same time, several warlocks hurried to the karst cave. Looking at the densely packed Abyssal Sacrifice Runes, they pressed hands to their foreheads. "Madness! How many demons would this take? They descended into the mortal world, so why are they returning to the Abyss?"

On a shallow Abyssal plane, nearly a thousand Monkey Quasits descended into the territories of various demon lords.

In the Blackscale Mountains, the war demon Romance suddenly opened his eyes. Countless phantoms emerged behind him, passing through black mist and bringing out an unconscious Quasit.

He inspected it from head to toe, drew a drop of blood with a sharp nail, then placed it in his mouth to taste. A satisfied smile appeared on his face. "Not bad luck! I caught a Quasit hatchling with royal blood. It'll be enough to brag to Kluo about for a while!"

"Wake up, little thing. You have two choices now. Either..."

"I know you want my Soulstone, but you have to give me Soul Crystals."

The war demon: "..."

Why had the script suddenly changed?

Weren't they usually supposed to say, "Honored Lord, I am willing to serve you, but give me liberty or give me death"?

"With your Soulstone, even you belong to me. I can agree to your terms first, then take back the Soul Crystals afterward."

Romance, the war demon, seriously suspected that this was a Quasit whose brain had not fully developed. He asked in utter confusion.

"No. If you dare take back the Soul Crystals, I'll destroy them first, then go die."

Red Eighteen's gaze was resolute. He had simulated this scene hundreds, even thousands of times in his heart. His words struck the ground like nails, and even he himself believed them three parts out of ten.

Shock!!

Had the Quasit race become poor and fierce to such an extent?

They were actually ruthless enough to sell even themselves?

"..."

Several days later.

Demon King Christine summoned the demon lords. As he passed through the territory of the neighboring Lava Troll Kluo, Romance deliberately paid him a visit.

Inside a palace built of black stone at the mouth of a scorching lava volcano, the two demons sat facing each other.

Even in his normal state, the Lava Troll stood three meters tall. Compared to him, the human-height war demon looked somewhat miniature.

As for the Quasit, who was only one meter forty tall, he practically had no presence at all.

After exchanging pleasantries, the war demon suddenly said, "You asked who it is? Nothing much. I picked up a royal-blood Quasit hatchling a few days ago."

"A royal-blood Quasit hatchling? You say that as if nobody else has one."

The Lava Troll looked disdainful and waved a hand. "Let me show you the one I picked up."

With that, a Quasit hatchling over two meters tall, slightly hunched, with two tufts of gleaming silver monkey fur on the tips of his ears, walked before the war demon.

The war demon: "..."

Looking at the Quasit who was taller than himself.

Romance took a deep breath and pointed at the Lava Troll. "Don't tell me it's also an Abyssal Quasit—and a hatchling, at that."

"I personally tested its bloodline. A genuine Abyssal Quasit. Perhaps it was overnourished and developed rather well."

"..."

"Alas..."

On a shallow Abyssal plane, within Scarlet Territory.

Red Nose sat cross-legged at the entrance to a mine, watching Demon Bloodline laborers continuously carry Soul Crystals out of the mine shaft.

The good news was that he had finally found a Soul Crystal Mine, and its reserves were exceedingly abundant.

The regrettable part was that this mine already had an owner. He was merely an overseer; not a single Soul Crystal produced here had the slightest thing to do with him.

"This can't go on! That brain-dead demon lord thinks he truly has my Soulstone in his grasp, so he squeezes me for all I'm worth. He can't even bear to give me a single Soul Crystal."

Red Nose suddenly rose and headed east without encountering any obstruction.

As a demon who had handed over his Soulstone, he suffered the highest level of exploitation, but also enjoyed the highest level of trust. Otherwise, the task of guarding the Soul Crystal Mine would never have fallen to him.

According to the intelligence he had gathered.

To the east, the demon lord was a succubus. Not only was she powerful enough to squeeze dry dozens of demons of the same rank, but it was said that she also had an unclear relationship with some Demon King.

If he offered her the information about the Soul Crystal Mine and requested ten thousand inferior Soul Crystals as a reward, that should not be too much, right?

"Stop! You death-seeking thing, do you know what place this is, barging in so recklessly?"

Before Red Nose could approach the Yak Mountains, two well-proportioned, muscular humanoid Demon Bloodlines suddenly appeared behind him and struck the back of his head with an enormous spiked club.

"The price of Quasit hatchlings has fallen badly lately. We might as well kill him directly!" another Demon Bloodline said.

In order to redeem his Soulstone.

Red Nose endured the pain. His body staggered, yet he forced himself not to pass out. With the last of his strength, he roared, "Tell your mistress that I have a Soul Crystal Mine to offer her."