Chapter 707: Chapter 707: Into the Abyss
The doors of the high-security war room slid open. Ethan walked out into the corridor, finding the two generals, the Vice Sect Leader, and Heidy waiting in tense silence.
"Everything is settled," Ethan said, his gravelly voice flat. "It is time to work."
They followed him down the boarding ramp to the valley floor. The vanguard disciples stiffened at his arrival, relaxing slightly as he passed. Ethan walked straight to the canvas-covered alcove holding the metal containers.
"These storage drums are no longer useful," Ethan remarked, looking at the ruptured vessel. "We can rescue a small amount from the sealed containers, but it will not be much. The moment this liquid is exposed to the atmosphere, it loses its properties. Do not enter this fissure anymore. Your bodies cannot resist the remnant poison. I will check the area to determine the concentration and start the plan."
Ethan stepped toward the stone archway. The Vice Sect Leader raised his hand, his voice filled with concern. "Halt! Divine Doctor, you cannot go. You are indispensable. We can send any disciple to explore the caverns."
The surrounding disciples felt the cold grip of death, staring at Ethan as they prayed he would not choose them.
Ethan turned his head, his amethyst eyes sweeping over the soldiers. "That is not necessary. This poison has no effect on me."
"How can that be possible, Master Ethan?" General Boros asked, confused.
"This poison is dangerous for you because you have surpassed the Golden Core level," Ethan explained. "But for those whose cultivation is below that tier, it is almost useless."
Hearing his breakdown, the disciples exhaled in relief, their shoulders dropping.
"In reality, this poison works by accumulation," Ethan continued with a faint smile. "If you enter this zone, it builds up in your body. If you eat food here, drink water here, or sleep here, everything you do will add to the poison baseline until you die. To clean it, you only need to take a bath, but the water must be special. I will go check the interior and tell you what we need. Heidy, come with me. Let us enter."
"Yes, Master," Heidy replied instantly, her hand on her sword hilt.
They walked past the barriers and entered the dark stone mouth. The moment they cleared the threshold, Ethan’s eyes flashed with a deep amethyst light. The purple radiance cut through the darkness, revealing a thick black smoke dancing through the cavern chamber.
"Is it safe, Master?" Heidy asked, scanning the shadows.
"Mmm... it depends on your case," Ethan replied as they descended the rough stone slope. "This is a great opportunity for you. It all depends on what we find."
"I see..." Heidy murmured, trusting him completely.
Ethan suddenly stopped, tracking the fractures in the rock face. "They did a lot of stupid things. They found the ruins and blew them up using explosives, destroying the reservoirs of the Water of the Dead."
They continued their descent, navigating a series of narrow, claustrophobic tunnels that twisted downward like an ant nest.
"This is great," Ethan muttered after a while.
"What is it, Master?" Heidy asked.
"Your undergarments shifted just now, and your coño looks quite pink," Ethan remarked, his voice entirely deadpan.
"Master...!" Heidy gasped, her face turning bright red in the dark tunnel.
"Haha... I am joking," Ethan chuckled, his amethyst eyes flashing with dark amusement. "The good thing is that they destroyed the upper area but did not reach the imperial tomb. It seems the imperial tomb has a leak. If a single leak can produce this much Water of the Dead, I cannot imagine how much death energy is pooled below. The problem is that with an excess of this water... more powerful beings might appear, wanting to devour that essence."
Heidy looked at him, her pulse quickening as they descended further into the damp cold. "What exactly do you mean by that, Master?"
Ethan stopped, adjusting his footing on the slick rock. As he focused, the ancient memories of Lord Amethyst flowed into his mind with perfect fluidity. He was no longer relying on Crul to dissect these phenomena; his own brain was synthesizing the knowledge seamlessly.
"Do you know anything regarding the Undead?" Ethan asked.
"I do not, Master," Heidy replied, shaking her head. "Are you referring to skeletons? I thought those were merely old legends used to frighten children."
"They are very real," Ethan said, his voice dropping into a flat, clinical register. "When death energy achieves a specific density, the surrounding corpses can spontaneously generate a brand-new consciousness. It is not the original soul of the deceased, but rather a dark soul. It synthesizes the residual, fractured desires of the dead, fusing them into an independent, conscious dark entity. I highly suspect this imperial tomb contains them. If it does, we are in severe troubles."
"Why, Master?" Heidy asked, her hand tightening around her hilt. "Are they truly that difficult to eliminate?"
"To put it into an accurate metric for you," Ethan explained, his amethyst eyes scanning the black mist ahead, "a low-tier undead that has just recently acquired its dark consciousness is nothing like the fragile bones in your stories. It possesses enough raw physical power to defeat a standard Golden Core practitioner in a strict one-on-one engagement."
Heidy’s breath caught in her throat. "That strong?"
"Terrifyingly strong," Ethan stated, continuing down the narrow path. "Furthermore, if we engage them inside the tomb, they will constantly harness the surrounding death essence to instantly regenerate their physical vessels. In this environment, they are functionally immortal and continuously grow stronger."
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From this moment forward, to avoid confusion regarding cultivation ranks, I will include this footer with the current established levels.
Note: These are only the ranks mentioned so far to avoid spoilers.
Body Refinement Realm
Skin Refinement / Bone Refinement / Organ Refinement
Spiritual Gathering Realm
Spiritual Perception / Spiritual Mist / Spiritual Condensation
Spiritual Core Realm
Core Solidification / Core Awakening / Spiritual Collapse (Half-step Spiritual Core)
Spiritual Soul Realm
Spiritual Soul Awakening / Soul Nourishing / Soul-Core Fusion
Golden Core Realm
Prime Fusion / Core Perfection / Core Destruction
Spiritual Sea Realm
The Melting Tide / The Tidal Horizon / The Sea Mist Ascension
Dao Manifestation Realm
Stage 1 ?? / Stage 2 ?? / Stage 3 ??
Spiritual Transcendence
Stage 1 ?? / Stage 2 ?? / Stage 3 ??
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Sword mastery levels
Sword Intent.
Sword Aura.
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