After receiving their orders, everyone from the Heavenly Wing Race hurried to prepare. Judging by the aura rising from the bottom of the enormous pit, the environment down there was probably far harsher than above. Thorough preparation was essential when exploring an unknown world.
"Since everyone is ready, leave a squad here to stand guard. The rest of you will follow me into the underground abyss," Venerable Skyfire declared.
"Yes!" the others answered in unison. Then they filed out, following Venerable Skyfire as he leaped into the underground abyss.
"Use your fire seeds to keep warm!"
Everyone who had followed him down was startled by Venerable Skyfire's warning, but no one questioned his judgment. They immediately summoned their fire seeds to envelop their bodies. One of them was a moment too slow, and ice had already begun forming over his skin. Fortunately, Venerable Skyfire, who specialized in fire divine abilities, intervened and dispelled the ice.
"Be careful. I don't want any needless casualties," Venerable Skyfire said sternly. Then he ordered them to search for traces of Netherworld Grass.
The underground abyss was pitch-black and fathomless, its surroundings cold and utterly silent, as though time itself did not exist. Below them, it was like a peerless Fierce Beast opening its enormous maw to devour everything. They could only probe their surroundings with divine sense, so they could not stray too far apart, lest they lose their way.
Shi Yi sat cross-legged atop a boulder, absorbing the energy unique to this abyss and converting it into his own divine power through the Primordial Chaos Heaven-Refining Grand Formation. As he began cultivating, this peculiar energy seemed to respond to some attraction, gathering around him.
As more and more of that energy gathered, the peculiar energy surged into his flesh ever faster, until even the Primordial Chaos Heaven-Refining Grand Formation struggled to convert it all. Ice actually began forming over Shi Yi's body, yet he seemed entirely unaware, continuing to sit there cross-legged and absorb the energy.
When Shi Yi activated the Primordial Chaos Heaven-Refining Grand Formation to cultivate, the unusual environment occasionally caused certain yin-cold Dao rules to manifest. He caught hold of these rules and sank into a state of Dao enlightenment.
The icy energy wrapped tightly around Shi Yi's body. Before long, ice covered him completely and continued to thicken. Moreover, that strange energy was still seeping into his flesh, while Shi Yi, immersed in deep Dao enlightenment, remained seemingly oblivious.
Seven or eight days passed in this fashion. Ever since Shi Yi had entered deep Dao enlightenment, he had shown no sign of awakening. Instead, his condition seemed to worsen. Not only was his body encased in ice, but even his internal organs had frozen, and his blood had long since ceased to flow. If not for the faint fluctuations occasionally emanating from between his brows, he could almost have been pronounced dead.
The yin-cold Great Dao was one of the most profound and mysterious Dao rules in the world. It was neither fierce like a raging fire nor unrestrained like a wild gale. Instead, it was still as a glacier and cold as frost and snow, holding within it the utmost silence and unfathomable power.
In extreme cold, all things fell silent, and even time seemed to freeze. Amid this stillness, cultivators needed to set aside their impatience, discard distracting thoughts, and make their minds clear as ice and pure as snow. Only then could they glimpse the true essence of the yin-cold Great Dao-to nurture vitality in silence and accumulate strength in the cold.
Though ice was cold, it could bear the weight of a thousand jun; though frost and snow were soft, they could blanket mountains and rivers. Cultivators needed to learn to remain unyielding in adversity and temper their wills in bitter cold. Yin-cold was not destruction, but a trial, one that allowed cultivators to forge stronger souls and bodies in the utmost chill.
What the yin-cold Great Dao revealed was "change." At the extreme of cold, heat arose; at the extreme of stillness, movement was born. This was the ultimate principle of the transformation between heaven and earth's yin and yang. Cultivators needed to understand that yin-cold was not eternal, but merely one stage in the cycle of all things. In the deepest cold lay the hidden buds of spring; in endless silence, life's flourishing was nurtured. To comprehend the yin-cold Great Dao was to penetrate the laws governing these changes, thereby grasping the balance of yin and yang in cultivation and reaching the realm of unity between heaven and man.
The yin-cold Great Dao was lonely and profound, yet it led to cultivation's highest realm. To preserve warmth within one's heart amid the cold, hear heaven and earth's whispers in silence, and embrace life's transformation with resilience-this was the true meaning of the yin-cold Great Dao: to use bitter cold as a mirror that revealed one's true heart, and silence as a boat that carried one to the far shore.
The peculiar yin-cold energy continued to surround Shi Yi without dispersing. Another four or five days passed.
His frozen body seemed to have lost all vitality, lying silent in endless cold. Yet from the depths of that deathly stillness, a rumbling crash erupted like thunder tearing apart the sky. The rule of Thunder Dao life had awakened within him, stirring his slumbering blood, sinews, and bones.
Vitality surged like a tide. The frost gradually melted, and his flesh began to revive. Every inch of skin trembled, every bone hummed softly, as though spring had returned to the earth and all things were born anew.
The former cold and deathly silence now transformed into surging power, unleashing unprecedented vitality. This was awakening after stillness, rebirth after destruction. His body was no longer merely a shell, but a vessel bearing the rules of heaven and earth. Thunder's power coursed through his blood, and vitality blossomed in every corner of his body.
Vast energy surged through Shi Yi's flesh. A little of it spilled out, setting the surrounding space trembling without end. Chaos qi churned in his eyes, with lightning flashing and yin-cold qi drifting in their depths.
"I've reached the great perfection of the Array Formation realm, and I've also comprehended the yin-cold Great Dao rules within this abyss. This seclusion has certainly yielded a rich harvest. It's a pity I haven't comprehended this place's darkness rules, but now I need to find Netherworld Grass as soon as possible."
His powerful divine sense spread out once more. Having comprehended the power of the abyss's yin-cold rules, his divine sense had developed some resistance to it, allowing him to probe a wider area with greater clarity.
With nothing obstructing his divine sense, Shi Yi probed freely with its formidable power as he raced along. To him, the underground abyss was now no different from the outside world.
The following day, Shi Yi patiently searched every corner of the abyss where it might grow. Suddenly, his divine sense detected three living beings approaching his location. He withdrew his divine sense and hid behind a boulder. Thanks to the Primordial Chaos Heaven-Refining Grand Formation, he was confident they would not detect him. Before long, the three beings arrived.
They're members of the Heavenly Wing Race, Shi Yi thought.
"Do you think there's actually any Netherworld Grass here? So many of us have searched for over a month, and we haven't even seen a shadow of this sacred medicine. If we have to stay here for another few months, I'm afraid I won't be able to hold out," one member of the Heavenly Wing Race said.
"Enough. Save your breath. We're the ones who accepted this mission in the first place. If we return empty-handed, we won't get anything either," another said.
"That's right. Besides, we need to stay on our guard. We still haven't found whoever came down here first. There's a good chance they came for the Netherworld Grass too. We might even have
"a fierce battle on our hands," said the one among the three who had yet to speak.
"Haha, what's there to fear? In this world, our Heavenly Wing Race is the undisputed overlord. No matter which race obtains it, they must hand it over, or the calamity of extermination will be right before their eyes," the first speaker said again.
Only after the three had left did Shi Yi emerge from behind the boulder. His gaze was dark and heavy as water, as though lightning were about to burst from it.
"Heavenly Wing Race, you'd better not provoke me. Otherwise, I won't mind leaving you in this underground abyss forever." With that, Shi Yi headed off to search in another direction.
That day, Shi Yi was still spreading his divine sense to search for Netherworld Grass. After so long without any results, even he was beginning to feel secretly anxious. He was starting to doubt whether Netherworld Grass existed in this underground abyss at all.
After searching fruitlessly for so long, Shi Yi simply stopped atop a boulder and sat cross-legged to calm his increasingly restless mood.
Hmm? This boulder seems a little different from the ones I rested on before. I can actually sense the aura of the yin-cold Great Dao on it. Something's strange, Shi Yi mused.
"Nether Annihilation!" Shi Yi leaped off the boulder and threw a punch.
With a crashing boom, Shi Yi shattered the boulder. He had not dared use too much force, afraid of damaging whatever was inside. When the boulder broke apart, he was completely stunned. Then he looked as uncomfortable as though he had swallowed something unpleasant, before finally breaking into excitement.
At the center of the split boulder grew a small blade of grass. Netherworld Grass was a mysterious and rare spirit herb, ink-black throughout and crystalline, as though condensed from the purest darkness. A thin veil of cold mist shrouded its surface year-round. It was bone-chilling to the touch, as though it could freeze the soul. Netherworld Grass usually had eight leaves, each seemingly carved from black jade. A faint, eerie light flowed through their veins, giving off a yin-cold aura.
"So that's how it works! This boulder wasn't a real stone. As the Netherworld Grass grew, it gathered the peculiar energy in this underground abyss. That energy enveloped it year after year, eventually forming a solid substance resembling a boulder, enclosing the Netherworld Grass at its center. And because of the underground abyss's unusual environment, we can only investigate with divine sense, which these peculiar boulders can also block. Luckily, I comprehended some yin-cold Great Dao rules. Otherwise, even standing right here, I wouldn't have been able to detect anything unusual," Shi Yi said delightedly.
Shi Yi counted the leaves. There were only eight, but then he smiled and shook his head, wondering whether he was being too greedy. With eight leaves, it was already sacred medicine. If it grew a ninth, the Netherworld Grass would contain immensely powerful yin-cold energy, making it an excellent ingredient for refining top-grade yin-attribute pills. Even among divine medicines, it would rank near the top.
Sighing that all these days had finally yielded a reward, Shi Yi harvested the Netherworld Grass, leaving its roots behind, and placed it in a special jade box, afraid its medicinal potency would escape.
"Our Heavenly Wing Race wants this stalk of Netherworld Grass. Present it to us. As for your contribution, our race will reward you."