Chapter 215: Chapter 24: The 7 Fiends Gather, Incident in the Earth Abyss (Part 2)
Over thirty Life Talisman Cultivators had gathered in the hall. Most were True Disciples, with only a handful of Inner Sect Elders at or above the Mid-Life Talisman Stage.
A disciple on duty from Wo Yun Peak activated a spell, triggering the Teleportation Array on the floor of Zhenyuan Hall.
Fang Cheng vanished into the light of the Teleportation Array along with everyone else.
A flash of light and a moment of dizziness later, he and his fellow disciples arrived a thousand zhang deep beneath Yinluo Island.
Five thousand years ago, Outer Celestial Demons had invaded this realm. After breaking through the Boundary Membrane, they didn’t descend from the heavens, but rather tunneled up from deep underground to invade the Mortal World.
Back then, the founding patriarch of the Yinluo Sect joined forces with other great masters to quell that Demon Tribulation. The site of the Celestial Demon invasion was heavily sealed, becoming what is now the Earth Abyss.
Over thousands of years, the Demonic Qi corrupted the subterranean creatures, transforming them into demons that remained in the Earth Abyss. The Yinluo Sect has intentionally "farmed" them to this day.
Fang Cheng looked around and saw Feng Ziang, the other five fiends, Cai Li, and Xiao Qi were all there.
Beneath their feet, the light of the circular Teleportation Array slowly faded.
A hundred zhang above the ground hung a boundless layer of crimson clouds.
Lightning occasionally flashed within the crimson clouds, unleashing rumbling thunder that shook the heavens and the earth.
Beneath the clouds, a black, barren expanse stretched as far as the eye could see.
Strange monoliths, low hills, and twisted, grotesque trees dotted the landscape.
All sorts of energies were in a state of chaos, and the Spiritual Qi was turbulent!
’This seems a little different from the last time I was here...’
Fang Cheng observed his surroundings, sensing that the ambient energy here was distinctly different from when he had undergone his Inner Sect Disciple trial.
Beside him, Feng Ziang said coolly, "Lao Qi, this is the third level of the Earth Abyss."
Realization dawned on Fang Cheng.
Just then, Cai Li shot forward, flying off in a certain direction, and the others hurried to follow.
After traveling for a hundred li, they saw an absolutely enormous crater appear in the black, barren earth ahead!
The crater’s diameter probably exceeded a hundred li. It was pitch-black inside, filled with indistinct shadows from which a vicious aura emanated.
A purplish-blue Grand Array was inverted over the crater like a giant bowl, its restrictive seals blooming with a dazzling light that painted the Earth Abyss in stunning colors.
Countless giant runes, each the size of a palace, floated within the light of the Grand Array’s seals, arranged like constellations stretching across the sky.
A Third-tier Top-grade Formation, the Netherworld Prison Suppression Array.
This was one of the foundations of the Yinluo Sect’s power, built over five thousand years. Before passing on, each generation of Supreme Elders in the Life Soul Realm would always leave behind some third-tier measures.
Before the group could get close to the Grand Array, a ball of cold, ghostly flame surged forth.
From within the flames, a woman with a stunning figure slowly walked out. She was dressed in magnificent robes. Upon seeing Cai Li, she showed a respectful expression, bowed, and said, "Might you be Elder Cai of the Law Enforcement Hall?"
Cai Li halted her Escape Light and said, "I am. By order of the Sect Leader, I have come to assist Wo Yun Peak."
The woman said, "The Law Enforcement Hall’s designated post is to the southeast. Elder Cai, please follow me."
The woman had clearly cultivated one of the sect’s nine great cornerstone techniques, the Nine Netherworlds Fire. A ball of cold, ghostly flame surrounded her, creating a burning sensation for anyone who touched it with their Divine Sense.
This woman was a True Disciple of Wo Yun Peak. She now guided the group, heading directly for the southeastern edge of the giant crater.
Cai Li remained silent the entire way, quietly following behind.
Soon, the group arrived at their destination.
There, at the edge of the crater, was a stone platform a hundred zhang in size, jutting out over the pit.
Beside the platform stood a Stone Stele inscribed with three words: Demon-Exorcising Platform.
The group landed on the platform, and the Female Cultivator from Wo Yun Peak took her leave.
Without wasting any words, Cai Li took out a rolled-up array diagram and tossed it onto the stone platform.
The diagram slowly unrolled. Once it had spread out, it resembled a carpet studded with stars, covering the entire Demon-Exorcising Platform.
Among them, seven "stars" were exceptionally bright and dazzling.
These were the seven array eyes of the Seven Kills Array.
Cai Li looked at Fang Cheng and the other six, her voice grave. "You seven will guard the array eyes. Elder Xiao and I will hold the Demon-Exorcising Platform, preside over the Array, and watch over you."
Fang Cheng and the other six accepted their orders.
Then, the seven each chose an array eye and entered it.
Fang Cheng entered the dense "starlight" of his array eye and channeled his Magical Power, immediately connecting to a Spiritual Mechanism.
He felt his Magical Power instantly surge, its might increasing tenfold!
At the same time, an astonishing murderous aura shot up into the sky, causing the crimson clouds high above to roil endlessly and emit rumbling thunder.
On the Demon-Exorcising Platform, seven dazzling balls of spiritual light slowly rose, spreading out until they were several li apart, each one shining brilliantly.
Countless "stars" spread out between them, merging into the light of the Netherworld Prison Suppression Array.
The purplish-blue Grand Array above the crater trembled slightly, and its light instantly grew a few shades more intense!
Fang Cheng ascended into the sky with the seven dazzling balls of spiritual light. He sat cross-legged in the void, circulating his Magical Power, and remained perfectly still.
Aided by the Spiritual Mechanism of the Seven Kills Array, his Divine Sense was elevated by several levels, and the range of his perception expanded by more than tenfold.
With this, he was also able to get a rough look at the current state of the Netherworld Prison Suppression Array.
He saw eight Demon-Exorcising Platforms jutting out neatly from the crater’s edge, one at each of the eight cardinal directions.
From each Demon-Exorcising Platform, a Grand Array had risen, seamlessly integrating with the Netherworld Prison Suppression Array.
The Grand Array to the southeast was a vista of endless stars, with seven particularly bright ones shining in the sky, filling the heavens and earth with a murderous aura.
The Grand Arrays in the other directions were all different. One was a sky full of firelight that seemed to inhale and exhale the very void.
Another was a mass of ghastly white bones, spreading out like thorny briars.
One was a surging mass of Demon Fog, so pitch-black that nothing could be seen clearly within.
Another was a vast sea of Demonic Light, bizarre and ever-changing, making one dizzy just by looking at it.
From these Grand Arrays, Fang Cheng identified the nine branches and Nine Peaks of the Yinluo Sect one by one.
For example, there was Cuimei Peak, which focused on the Netherworld Purgatory Divine Light.
Holy Spring Peak, which focused on the Bridge of Helplessness; Nine Dragon Peak, which focused on the Bone Daoist Palace; Golden Furnace Peak, which focused on the White Bone Relic; Wo Yun Peak, which focused on the Nine Netherworlds Fire; Lotus Peak, which focused on the Netherworld Banner; and Cyan Cloud Peak, which focused on the Celestial Ghost Scripture.
With every Grand Array that rose, the power of the Netherworld Prison Suppression Array increased, and the light from its seals grew more solid.
It was the first time in Fang Cheng’s life that he had ever seen an Array so magnificent, so vast, and so imposing.
Directly above the center of the crater, another Demon-Exorcising Platform was suspended in the void.
Manning this platform was Celestial City Peak, the lineage of the Sect Leader, personally taught by the Supreme Elder.
At that moment, there was no movement from within the crater, giving off an oppressive and deathly silent sense of danger.
This was the third level of the Earth Abyss.
The bottom of the crater was the fourth level.
If what Cai Li said was true, then at least four Tier Three Demons were down there, eyeing them like hungry tigers, plotting how to break the seal of the Netherworld Prison Suppression Array and charge into the Mortal World!
With a great battle imminent, Fang Cheng focused his mind, calmed his qi, and regulated his Magical Power.
Sun Fuguo had once taught him:
"A dulled edge is the greatest taboo for a Sword Cultivator!"
"There are no tricks to using a sword; simply always maintain a reserve of strength and never exhaust it."
While they waited, several more Escape Lights flew to the edge of the Demon-Exorcising Platform, revealing more than ten Sensing Realm cultivators.
Fang Cheng looked down and saw that these disciples’ Cultivation was not weak; they appeared to be Inner Sect Disciples.
An old acquaintance, Chen Yu Yan, was among them.
Wang Pan and Feng Mo, two Outer Disciples from his cohort, were also there.
All three of them noticed Fang Cheng sitting cross-legged high in the air and greeted him from afar.
Afterward, these dozen or so Inner Sect Disciples went to the edge of the Demon-Exorcising Platform. Each took up a position, their backs to the crater and facing outward, standing silently as if guarding against something.
’What a coincidence. Could they have been intentionally arranged here to lend a hand in a moment of crisis...?’ Fang Cheng wondered.
Putting Wang Pan aside, Feng Mo’s Feng Family was close with the Ye Family, and Feng Mo himself had a friendly relationship with Fang Cheng.
And as for Chen Yu Yan, that went without saying...
Fang Cheng found it hard to believe it was a coincidence.
After waiting for half a day, there was still no movement from the crater.
The Netherworld Prison Suppression Array pressed down steadily over the crater, solemn and magnificent.
Everyone in the Yinluo Sect was calm and composed, awaiting the impending Demon Tide.
Both sides were gathering their strength.
Just then, Fang Cheng noticed a slight writhing movement on the ground at the edge of the crater.
Immediately after, hundreds of demons, each about a zhang long, dark red, and resembling giant centipedes, quietly broke through the surface and crawled out.
The Blood Centipedes’ hundred legs scurried, a dense, crimson tide surging rapidly toward the Demon-Exorcising Platform.
These Blood Centipedes were all first-tier. They weren’t very powerful, but their strength lay in their sheer numbers.
Chen Yu Yan and the other Inner Sect Disciples immediately activated their Divine Power Magical Artifacts and charged forward to meet them.
A strange restlessness quietly emerged between heaven and earth.
"They’re here!"
Fang Cheng turned his head toward the bottom of the crater, sensing a heart-stopping demonic intent.
...
