Chapter 618: 577 Abyss I
Darkness.
Silence.
Vaguely, Zhang Rongfang could still see wisps of fog slowly drifting in the surrounding air.
White mist, very much like strands of spider web, resembling the color of suspicious clouds and eerie fog.
He took a deep breath, barely feeling that all the wounds on his body had healed, no longer exposing any bleeding cuts to the outside, before slowly standing up.
’Wish Girl?’ No response.
’Blood God?’
’Great Spirit Desires Heaven?’
He attempted to connect with the Residual Gods that were carried within him, one by one.
But none answered.
’Indeed, although they are connected with me, they essentially exist within their own Void, rather than within my body.
It’s just because they focus more of their attention on me, causing situations like the Blood Lotus to occur.’
Zhang Rongfang had been in contact with the white scales a lot, and gradually became familiar with the existence of gods and deities.
At this moment, his mind quickly found an answer.
’It seems, everything can only rely on myself now...’ He exhaled, his body rapidly shrinking back to a height of around 1.8 meters.
In such an unknown environment, what’s needed is to reduce movement and gradually explore.
Being too tall would actually increase noise, making stealth disadvantageous.
With a swishing sound, he stood up.
Zhang Rongfang looked to the left.
Within the tall and spacious metal corridor, the walls had black stains like oil residue, with familiar Lock Script inscriptions in the corners.
He only recognized a small part.
Even in the dim light, despite the distance and lack of adequate illumination, he could still make out the content on it.
’Void... possessing soul, known as... abyss.’
The middle part of the characters had become blurred, seemingly too worn by time.
Sigh...
Zhang Rongfang tentatively raised his hand and reached towards the left side.
Thud.
A layer of invisible force, as thin as glass, was lightly pierced by his fingertip.
Zhang Rongfang was startled for a moment; previously inaccessible places suddenly...?
He raised both hands again and reached to the left.
This time, he didn’t touch anything.
Then he reached into the air on the right side.
Similarly, he touched nothing.
Standing in place, pausing, Zhang Rongfang took deep breaths, confirming that there was breathable air here.
Then he took a deep look around.
’Perhaps the reason I can’t return to the real world is because the Mosang Void was just destroyed.’
’The destruction of the Mosang Void might have granted me some special qualification or might have changed some mechanism here... But regardless, if I want to return to reality, staying put is not going to work...’
He glanced at both sides, deciding to go left first.
Raising his foot, Zhang Rongfang tentatively took a step to the left.
His foot stepped onto the metal corridor floor, feeling the return of a cool, hard touch.
Confirmed it wouldn’t collapse.
He continued, step by step, along the left side of the corridor, moving forward.
Click.
Click.
The faint sound of footsteps, even in such a silent environment, inevitably created an echo.
Suddenly, he spun around, looking towards the door he had left.
It was an empty expanse, only gray-black metal corridor walls.
The door was gone?
Zhang Rongfang felt a chill in his heart, having only walked a few steps, yet changes had already occurred.
But now, there was no turning back.
Turning back, he steadied his mind, continued forward, walking slowly.
Soon, ten meters, twenty meters.
A hundred meters.
A semicircular exit appeared ahead.
Outside the exit, faint bright gray-white light shone in, casting a dividing line on the corridor ground.
Wailing sounds of wind blew in from outside, with temperatures plummeting, growing colder and colder.
Zhang Rongfang, strong and robust, didn’t mind, and instead continued forward.
Soon, he walked out of the metal corridor.
As he crossed that dividing line, his vision suddenly widened.
To the left of the corridor exit was a steep, dark rock cliff.
Zhang Rongfang looked up, unable to see the edge.
At the field of vision’s end was a faint gray light, constantly emitting the only brightness here.
On the left side was a gray-black cliff.
He lowered his head, reaching out to touch the cliff on the left side.
The rock was hard and cold.
Then to the right.
Zhang Rongfang looked to the right.
Far away on the right side of the corridor was another steep gray-black rock cliff.
From a distance, the opposite cliff was at least several kilometers away, perhaps even further. Unable to measure.
He pondered for a moment, lifting his foot to walk towards the opposite cliff.
Click.
Click.
Click.
Suddenly, Zhang Rongfang halted.
He looked down.
The metal floor beneath his feet had reached its end.
Ahead, one more step meant stepping into a pitch-black boundless abyss.
This seemed to be a gorge abyss.
Standing at the edge of the corridor, Zhang Rongfang looked down.
Below was only darkness.
The two cliff faces extend downward, stretching into the boundless darkness, until they can no longer be seen.
Only now does he realize that the metal passage he is in is but a small segment embedded into the cliff.
It’s as if someone cut out a piece of a pipe and forced it into the cliff face.
"What... is this place?"
Zhang Rongfang returns to the left side near the cliff, carefully inspecting the cliff wall for undiscovered clues.
But after a thorough search, outside the passage, this short cliff wall of just a few dozen meters isn’t marked with a single trace.
Soon, he returns to the cliff again and lightly taps its hardness.
"Looks like I’ll have to resort to some unconventional measures."
Thinking for a moment, Zhang Rongfang suddenly extends his right index finger and lightly taps on the metal floor.
Instantly, a blood spot appears on the ground.
Then he begins to dot blood spots around the surroundings.
His blood cells can survive outside the body for a long time, paired with his blood tracking ability, and now they can be used to locate.
Soon, after placing dozens of blood spots at the entrance of the passage, Zhang Rongfang takes a deep breath, returns to the cliff, and suddenly stabs his finger.
Pop.
His fingertip leaves no trace on the cliff, only skidding sideways and trailing yellow sparks.
"Very hard, should be doable."
His hands swiftly press and leap onto a steep protrusion of the cliff, gaining momentum.
Whoosh!
His body rapidly climbs upwards.
From a distance, he looks like a dark red gecko quickly scuttling up.
Soon, the passage below is submerged in faint mist, indistinguishable.
Zhang Rongfang doesn’t stop, moving steadily upwards, upwards.
A hundred meters, two hundred meters, three hundred meters.
Above remains an expanse of grayish-white light.
He pauses and looks down; below lies a pitch black, long having lost sight of the metal passage’s shadow.
Taking another breath.
Zhang Rongfang accelerates, continuing to climb upwards.
Though he cannot pierce the cliff, he can use skillful force control, leveraging any minuscule protrusion on the stone wall to speed upward.
Time ticks by.
He has no idea how much time has passed or how high he has climbed.
Finally, Zhang Rongfang spots an identical metal passage slanting up to the right.
Through the mist, he can only see the passage firmly embedded in the stone wall, isolated, with no connections above or below.
Relaxed, he quickly turns and climbs towards it.
Soon, he draws nearer and nearer to the passage.
Pop.
With a leap, he lands precisely on the passage floor, crouched.
Phew...
Exhaling deeply, Zhang Rongfang stands up, observing his surroundings.
This passage differs from the previous one.
The surrounding metal walls are engraved with numerous symbols.
Many of these symbols are lock scripts that Zhang Rongfang recognizes.
Seeing the lock scripts invigorates him.
"It seems these lock scripts are far more than just ceremonial..."
Rather than enter the passage immediately, he begins exploring and identifying the lock scripts along the metal walls.
Unlike the passage linked to Mosang God, this passage seems newer, its metal finish slightly shinier.
The lock scripts and other symbols on the wall also appear newer.
He identifies them one by one along the wall.
"Cannot remember how many years... I’m nearly insane... will anyone come...?"
"Where exactly is this place? Why am I here!?"
"So hungry... so hungry..."
"Is this my final punishment here? Why...?"
"Die... hahaha, everyone just die!"
The words left here make Zhang Rongfang’s heart grow heavier.
They are messages left by desperate souls on these metal walls.
"It seems... there’s no way out of this place."
He looks ahead into the depths of the passage.
"But if the Mosang God had a Gate of the Void, maybe there will be one here too."
With this thought, Zhang Rongfang speeds up, moving lightly against the wall.
Fearful the ground might suddenly collapse beneath him.
Better to be cautious since no one knows what conditions lie here.
Zhang Rongfang ventures deep into the passage, curving in for hundreds of meters.
Soon... a similar silvery-white metal door appears before him.
His heart leaps with joy, he approaches closer and walks to the door.
But soon, upon seeing the door, the hint of joy on his face quickly dissipates.
Replaced by a sense of gravity.
This metal door is only three meters tall.
Though its surface is silvery-white, it is not smooth and mirror-like like the Mosang God’s Gate of the Void.
Instead, the door is riddled with pale red rust marks; some places have started to peel and bubble, dropping flakes of iron skin.
The handle is also covered in protruding rust patches.
Critically, there are no patterns on the door’s center.
"If the patterns on the door represent the deities residing inside, then without patterns, does it mean there are no deities here anymore?"
Zhang Rongfang reaches out, lightly grips the handle, and tries to turn it.
But regrettably, the handle, like the cliff, remains rigid, without any sign of motion.
He tries pushing forward again, but the door stays unmoved, merely shedding rust skin onto the ground.
Hmm?
Zhang Rongfang suddenly notices a line of small text emerging from the section of the door revealed by the fallen rust.
Previously, this part was clearly blocked by the pale red rust, preventing discovery.
On closer look, the text is engraved deeply, and it is also written in lock script which Zhang Rongfang can read.
He invigorates his spirit and begins to carefully identify the text.
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