Chapter 323 - Revisiting the Abyss of Devil's Aura

Qingluan and Ziyun’er ran in from the outside as soon as they heard the commotion inside the courtyard. When they saw what happened, Ziyun’er hastily propped Xiao Chen up while Qingluan transferred energy to him.

Those inflicted with the Heartless Curse must not become romantically involved. Revisiting old haunts would just worsen the effects of the curse. Practitioners of the Heartless Mystic Skill suffered the same fate. It wasn’t until the darkness of the night engulfed the courtyard that Xiao Chen’s condition finally improved. With cold sweat trailing down his face, he said softly, “I’m fine now…”

Zhiluan was still pacing back and forth in the courtyard. “You’re going to die, going to die. Kid, your curse is worsening. If you don’t remove the curse soon, it’ll end you one day.”

Xiao Chen frowned. Huashang was the only one in the world capable of removing this curse. But he knew that old woman’s temper and he also knew that he wasn’t strong enough to coerce her even if he went to her. Moreover, she would never undo the curse for him. He said, “It’s alright. I’ll be able to remove it myself when my cultivation improves.” He looked at Qingluan and Ziyun’er. “Get some rest, you two. I’m fine now.”

The girls hesitated before replying in unison, “Please take care of yourself, Master.” They excused themselves and headed for their residence outside the courtyard. The dim moonlight reflected the deep worry on Ziyun’er’s face.

“There wouldn’t be heartache without emotion. When his heart stops hurting one day, that’ll be the day he no longer loves her.”

She looked up at Qingluan. “Sister, is love really that terrifying?”

Qingluan was speeding along but paused in her tracks when she heard the question. She fixed a stern gaze at Ziyun’er. “Love is as much a poison as it is a bewitchment. Never mention it again. You should understand our mission…” She turned away and looked in the direction of Xiao Chen’s courtyard.

Shivering all over, Ziyun’er lowered her head and said, “I understand…”

The full moon was as round as a disk in the night filled with stars. Sitting cross-legged inside the courtyard, Xiao Chen focused on meditating with the fourth step of Yaoguang School’s mind cultivation method, the Jade Palace of Frozen Heart. The cultivation method of Yaoguang School was Ling Yin’s creation. There were nine steps in total, with the fourth focused on cultivating the mind. In the past, Xiao Chen barely grasped the basics of the fourth step.

Two hours later, when the moon rose high in the sky and the Big Dipper became the brightest stars among the seven. The star at the tip of Big Dipper, named Yaoguang, began to flicker incessantly. Suddenly flustered, Xiao Chen looked up at the sky and his mind fell into chaos when he saw the flickering Yaoguang star.

Ling Yin lived in Yaoguang Temple atop the Mystic Cyan Mountain in the past, earning her nickname Yaoguang Fairy. With Xiao Chen’s search for his master proving to be fruitless, he had only Yaoguang star to confine his longing in. How could he remain calm after seeing the flickering star?

Moments later, dark clouds abruptly rolled over to obscure the seven stars. Only then did calm return to Xiao Chen’s heart. Even so, his back was damp with cold sweat.

At dawn the next day, everyone gathered outside the City Master’s Manor. This time, the Three Friends of Winter opted out of the trip in favor of staying behind to deal with the infected people. Several quick exchanges of words later, Yu Yifeng maneuvered the Flying-cloud Stone in the southeast direction of the city.

They covered a distance of nearly several hundred miles in an hour. They didn’t go too fast as they wanted to examine the situation. Their observation showed nothing out of the ordinary. Even though many places were still covered in ice and snow, the greenery was nonetheless lush and the air was filled with floral fragrance and the singing of birds.

Ling Fei glanced at Xiao Chen with his hands crossed in front of his chest and sneered. “You made it sound so dire, but it didn’t look that serious to me. Heh, you really know how to scare people with your words. Is that how desperately you want the Immortals’ League to favor you?”

The rest didn’t comment but after seeing nothing strange on their way here, most thought that Xiao Chen had indeed exaggerated.

Xiao Chen ignored him. His Divine Sense was sharper than most, and he could already sense a faint trace of Devil Qi at this moment. Wan Yanyan sneered. “Xiao Chen, don’t tell me you have a motive of your own for trying so hard to get us here…”

“Amitabha…” Xu Gu recited the Buddha’s name. “Please don’t fight among yourselves when we’ve not even reached our destination yet…”

He was midway through his sentence when the Flying-cloud Stone abruptly came to a halt. Everyone was alarmed. “Wh-what’s that?!”

Underneath them was a sea of dark fog that dyed every plant black. Even as they moved another hundred miles, they still saw no end of the fog. It was truly an astonishing sight. Meanwhile, a Devil’s Carnage Qi had pierced the Barrier of the Flying-cloud Stone and was filling the space inside.

Everyone felt a chill down their backs. Xiao Chen asked calmly, “Do you still think I was frightening you with words now?”

Most of the group hailed from famous families and sects; they had no experience seeing such a diabolic scene. For a moment, no one said anything. Su Zimu frowned and asked, “Brother Xiao, is this the Abyss of Devil’s Aura?”

“No. This place is tainted by the Devil’s Carnage, that’s all.” Xiao Chen’s brows furrowed as he spoke. The last time he came here, there was no sign of infection here.

“What? Then what’s the real Abyss of Devil’s Aura like? I think we should stop our operation immediately and inform the Immortals’ League before doing anything!”

Someone was already raising the white flag. Bai Yushu shut the book in his hand. “We should at least check on the Abyss of Devil’s Aura.” He looked at Xiaoyue. “That reminds me. Fairy Xiaoyue, didn’t Senior Situ hand you some Carnage Destruction Pills before we left?”

Without a word, Xiaoyue took out two jade bottles containing the Carnage Destruction Pills and Heaven List Protective Pills that Situ Bei had prepared in a hurry. Sixth-order Elixir Saint’s pills were nothing to scoff at. They were strong enough to ward off the Devil’s Carnage Qi.

Xiaoyue gave everyone two Carnage Destruction Pills and one Protective Pill each. When she reached Xiao Chen, he shook his hand and said, “I don’t need it.” Situ Bei appeared to hold a deep grudge against him. He wouldn’t touch Situ Bei’s pills with a ten-foot pole. Moreover, what was there to fear about regular Devil’s Carnage?

“I’ll take it if you don’t want it!” Zhiluan snatched the three pills out of Xiaoyue’s hand. He was still fuming over Ziyun’er forcing him on this trip when he was having so much fun at the City Master’s Manor.

By the end of the distribution of the pills, everyone also came to grasp the severity of the situation. They once again continued their journey in the direction that Xiao Chen mentioned. Throughout the journey, they saw the sea of Devil Qi stretching endlessly before them. The sight struck fear into their hearts. Fortunately, this was a desolate place. They couldn’t even imagine the consequences if Devil Qi were to break out in the crowded Tianyuan City.

Half an hour later, they finally arrived at the valley filled with Devil’s Aura that Xiao Chen had once passed. Yu Yifeng immediately stopped the Flying-cloud Stone, not daring to bring them any closer.

The sight shocked them. Devil’s Carnage soared into the sky and formed an expanse of rolling dark fog at low altitude. The boundless fog obscured everything and killed every living thing in its vicinity. It was as if Judgment Day had descended on earth.

“Amitabha…” Xu Gu placed his palms together and started reciting the scripture without an end. Su Zimu looked deep in thought. Shedding his tranquility, he had the Mystical Heaven Fan in his hand shut in preparation for danger.

Qingyu and Liu Feiyan were so terrified that their faces had taken on a deathly shade of white. They dared not to even exhale a deep breath. On the contrary, Xiaoyue appeared calm. The sight before her neither impressed nor scared her.

“Is this the Abyss of Devil’s Aura, Brother Xiao?”

Before Xiao Chen could reply, Zhiluan started screeching. “I’m not going down, absolutely not! Meow! Let go of me, d*mned lass! I refuse to go down and die with you all!”

“Silence! Another peep out of you and I’ll throw you off the Flying-cloud Stone!” Ziyun’er stared at the boundless sea of churning dark fog as she waited for Xiao Chen’s strategic decision.

Malice flitted past Ling Fei’s pupils. “The Devil’s Aura here is strange. Danger lies in the unknown. I think we mustn’t set foot in it.” He then looked at Xiao Chen. “Brother Xiao, out of all of us, you’re most familiar with this place. Why don’t you bring a few people with you and check out the place first?”

Not all eighteen people in the group was united. Since Xiao Chen was close to Yu Yifeng’s group, Ling Fei wanted them to act as the frontline and enter the abyss first. Ziyun’er sneered. “Very well. Why don’t you come with us, Brother Ling? We’ll leave Master Xu Gu and the rest here.”

“Let go of me, d*mned lass! I’ll never go down there and throw my life away with you people!” Zhiluan was pawing and kicking to get out of Ziyun’er’s hold. She glared at him. “Shut up!”

“That’s enough!” Xiao Chen’s sudden sternness gave quite a few of them a scare. Everyone turned to look at him. When they saw his deep frown, all of them fell silent.

Xiao Chen’s expression became exceptionally solemn as he not only sensed a thick Devil Qi this time, but also Negative Qi.

The Negative Qi was bizarre. It didn’t feel like it belonged to the human world, but another world entirely. However, that world wasn’t the Devil World.