Chapter 674: Chapter 673 Abyss Valley
Hearing Huang Ji’s fearful words, Ye Fan simply said, "It’s fine. I have a way to deal with this."
"I once fought a monster in an Immortal Mine under the control of the Hu Ben Main God. That monster was strong, but it couldn’t do a thing to me."
Huang Ji knew Ye Fan was resolute and that she couldn’t stop him, so she could only pray in her heart that their journey would be safe.
"Don’t worry too much," Ye Fan said. "If I wasn’t completely confident, I wouldn’t go. The Abyss Valley connects to the deepest part of the Outer Domain! If we don’t conquer it, we’ll never be able to explore the deepest reaches of the Outer Domain. That is my ultimate goal."
Ye Fan’s ambition was so vast that even Huang Ji was intimidated. However, knowing his personality, she simply nodded in support.
"Alright, then we’ll set off tomorrow!" she said.
Ye Fan shook his head. "You can’t go."
"Why?" Huang Ji was angry that Ye Fan would try to stop her. Of course, she knew he was only doing it for her own good, as the place was filled with absolute danger.
"Even I’m not confident I can make it out alive," Ye Fan said. "You can’t go. What would you do if there’s danger?"
"Then I’ll die with you!" Huang Ji retorted immediately.
"But—"
"There are no ’buts.’ I’m going with you. Otherwise, I will hate you for the rest of my life!" she declared.
Ye Fan was speechless. He hadn’t expected Huang Ji’s personality to be just as stubborn as his own. "Fine," he relented. "We’ll set off tomorrow."
Only then did Huang Ji’s icy gaze soften.
Ye Fan was beginning to understand that women were not to be trifled with. Once you offended one, you had to appease her in every way imaginable. Fortunately, Huang Ji was a Martial Cultivator. Her resilient nature and ability to move on from things quickly filled him with relief.
The next day, after making all the necessary preparations, the pair set out. They hastened toward the Abyss Valley. Fortunately, Ye Fan had a complete map of the Outer Domain.
The world beyond the Abyss Valley was the most perilous part of the Outer Realm. Since ancient times, few had dared to venture there, not even Main God Experts. It was said that the truth behind the fall of the Outer Domain Main God lay there. Many Main God Experts wished to find this truth, but the place filled even them with absolute fear. The Outer Domain loomed over the Divine Domain like a great shadow, and no one knew if or when that shadow might erupt.
As they left the bamboo cottage, Huang Ji felt a pang of reluctance. She had once considered this place her home, and leaving so suddenly was unexpectedly difficult.
"If you like it, we can come back after we return from the Abyss Valley," Ye Fan said.
"Okay." Huang Ji nodded.
The two set off toward the depths of the Outer Realm.
In the past, Ye Fan had come within a single step of entering the Abyss Valley. Though its allure was great, he had always felt the time wasn’t right. Now, he finally stood at its periphery.
The Evil Qi here was overwhelming, and Huang Ji could barely withstand it. Ye Fan took out the Yuanhong Sword, which immediately began absorbing the malicious aura.
What a terrifying sword! Huang Ji was shocked. As befitting the personal sword of the Ancestor of Tianyuan, it possessed such intense Evil Qi that few people could hope to control it.
With the Yuanhong Sword leading the way, the two proceeded smoothly.
Advancing further, Huang Ji nearly screamed. The ground was littered with corpses. They had all become desiccated husks, covering the landscape. The mere sight of corpses wouldn’t normally terrify a Goddess of the Divine Domain like her; she had seen battlefields with bodies stretching for a hundred miles. But the state of these corpses was too gruesome to behold.
Ye Fan approached one of the bodies and turned it over. The sight caused Huang Ji to nearly vomit and look at him with revulsion, but he paid her no mind.
After a brief examination, he said, "There are no wounds on these bodies. Clearly, they weren’t killed by an external force."
"They look as if they were scared to death!" said Huang Ji.
"Yes, it does look that way," Ye Fan agreed. "But I’m certain it’s not that simple."
Ye Fan drew his Yuanhong Sword and cleaved down, splitting the corpse in two. What they saw next was unbelievable: the inside of the body was completely empty.
"How horrifying! Their internal organs are gone!" Huang Ji exclaimed. "What kind of monster could suck out their organs without even breaking open their bodies?"
"This creature most likely sucked their organs out through their mouths," Ye Fan surmised. He split open two more corpses, only to find them in the same condition.
Huang Ji could feel an intangible, dangerous presence suffusing the area. This was no simple matter; the sheer number of bodies implied a vast quantity of organs, yet every last one had been devoured clean. Some of the dead had been guards, others slaves—tens of thousands of them in total. This wasn’t an abyss; it was the Nine-layered Hell, built entirely from corpses.
In Ye Fan’s opinion, the Demon Suppression Main God of that era must have been a greedy man to have used so much manpower for this excavation. Perhaps he was the only one who knew the true secret of the Abyss Valley.
"Should we keep going?" Huang Ji asked.
"Of course we continue," Ye Fan nodded.
Suddenly, there was a flicker of movement ahead. Ye Fan slashed with his sword, and a black creature exploded into a mist of blood. The two quickly advanced and saw what he had slain. The creature’s body was covered in decay. It resembled a pangolin, but its claws were much longer, nearly half a meter in length. Suppressing his disgust, Ye Fan used his sword to examine it.
"I see," he said. "These people’s organs were hollowed out by this type of creature."
"I’ve never seen such a terrifying creature in the Divine Domain," Huang Ji said.
Indeed, this monster was neither demonic nor bestial. It seemed to have been spawned from this unique, malevolent place.
"It seems you were right," Ye Fan said. "These people were literally frightened to death. Only after they died did these creatures hollow out their organs."
"I remember the Demon Suppression Main God once told my father a secret," Huang Ji said.
"What secret?" Ye Fan asked, his curiosity piqued.
Huang Ji continued, "He said that back when he was on the verge of excavating a supreme-grade Immortal Mine, a vast and vicious monster leaped out from the dark depths. It could unleash a Power of Terror, causing his men to die of fright without a sound. He battled the monster, and after he managed to wound it, the creature fled into the deepest parts of the mine. Fearing the monster would emerge and wreak havoc, he sealed the mine’s entrance."
Ye Fan felt as if he were waking from a dream.
"A Power of Terror?" he repeated. "That truly is a special kind of Cultivation Technique."
"Are we really going to venture into that darkness?" Huang Ji asked.
"We are," Ye Fan confirmed.
Huang Ji looked on with worry.
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