Chapter 27: The Abyss of Ten Thousand Demons

When Ji Ning entered the trial worlds left by the three great sword cultivators, in the outer regions of the Origin Land.

All around was darkness.

Only a figure radiating golden light stood there—it was Prince Qinghuan.

Ripples of power emanated from him, spacetime energy undulating continuously. Even without making a move, his aura was clearly far stronger than before, a brand-new level.

“Great freedom, great ease. From now on, I, Qinghuan, have truly reached the summit, no less than BetaLeo or Dong Xiu.” Prince Qinghuan revealed a smile.

Back then, he and Ji Ning had gone to walk the Source Chains. Ji Ning and Feng Yi had succeeded, but he had failed.

In truth, Prince Qinghuan was proud at heart. He had accepted defeat, but deep inside he had always held his breath... Now, he had finally perfectly integrated his path of attack and defense, elevating his strength once more. Among World-level cultivators in the Twelve Palaces of Mangya Kingdom, only two had achieved this—BetaLeo and Dong Xiu.

Now there was another—him, Qinghuan!

“My current realm can be considered the true limit of the World level.” Prince Qinghuan nodded gently. “No matter how miraculous the Inner Domain World is, it can no longer bring me much progress. But I will still go... perhaps I might obtain some treasure that could aid my path after becoming a Dao Lord.”

If he were in the Mangya Kingdom, Prince Qinghuan would probably prepare a little and then break through to become a Dao Lord.

But now he was in a different universe; once he became a Dao Lord, he could not return.

…

Prince Qinghuan, possessing two supreme Daos perfectly integrated, had thus reached the summit.

Feng Yi Xinjun, meanwhile, was still experiencing life-and-death danger in the trial world of that great heartforce cultivator.

Ji Ning? He too was in the trial world of the three great sword cultivators.

…

Ji Ning felt an invisible wave envelop him, instantly sweeping over him.

“Hmm?”

When everything around became clear, Ji Ning was slightly startled.

Looking around, he saw many living beings, and in the distance a massive city visible to the naked eye, exuding an astonishingly powerful aura. Though Ji Ning did not care much, the aura was strong enough that ordinary World-level cultivators could do nothing against it.

“This is?” Ji Ning’s gaze suddenly fell on a seemingly ordinary rock nearby.

The rock had been very ordinary.

But now golden characters and a map suddenly appeared on it.

“The Abyss of Ten Thousand Demons has thirty-six layers of worlds.”

“It is a trial ground created by three great sword cultivators.”

“The twelfth, twenty-fourth, and thirty-sixth layers each have a teleportation passage to leave, the only passages returning to the Origin Land.”

“Remember, the stronger your strength, the more you can obtain.”

The golden characters and map on the rock appeared once and then quickly vanished.

Ji Ning swept his gaze and also his divine sense, scanning a billion li around. Within that range, there was only that one majestic city, with millions of cultivators inside, the strongest being three World-level cultivators. Those three, local powers, were greatly startled by Ji Ning’s divine sense.

Such a powerful divine sense!

Recall that back at the Huilan Sect branch, Ji Ning had suppressed the divine senses of three hundred other World-level cultivators with his own.

“The three great sword cultivators died who knows how long ago. Yet so many living beings still exist in their trial world.” Ji Ning mused. The reason he had probed a billion li was that he had noticed earlier that the city’s formation power was not too strong.

Whoosh.

Ji Ning took a step and vanished without a trace.

…

“Whose divine sense was that? Too strong. This world is a trillion li wide, and not many have such powerful divine sense.” A golden-robed old man sat there, frowning.

Whoosh.

On the chair beside him, a white-robed youth suddenly appeared, sitting calmly, looking at the old man.

“You—” The golden-robed old man was greatly startled, staring at the white-robed youth, “You, you...”

He was a World-level cultivator!

One of the top existences in this world! How could a powerful being appear beside him without his notice?

“I have some questions for you.” Ji Ning said.

“Please ask, senior.” The golden-robed old man felt a chill in his heart.

“I hope you don’t lie to me. You can guess the consequences of lying.” Ji Ning said.

The golden-robed old man quickly smiled obsequiously: “Senior could kill me with a flick of a finger. I would never dare to hide or deceive.”

Ji Ning nodded: “I ask you, do you know the Abyss of Ten Thousand Demons?”

“The Abyss of Ten Thousand Demons? Of course I know it.” The golden-robed old man glanced curiously at Ji Ning. Anyone at the peak of this world should know about the Abyss of Ten Thousand Demons.

Ji Ning’s gaze turned cold.

The old man quickly added: “Our world is a trillion li wide, with many powerful beings. Over endless ages, many strong ones have been born. But the most powerful have always been the terrible demons of the Abyss of Ten Thousand Demons. Legend says the Abyss has thirty-six layers, filled with countless demons. Some extremely strong ones are called ‘Demon Lords.’”

“Every chaos cycle, a large number of demons surge out from the Abyss, led by a Demon Lord, sweeping across this world. Then all the powerful beings must join forces to resist. Sometimes we fail, but the demons always retreat back into the Abyss before long.”

Ji Ning frowned: “Demon Lords?”

Knowing oneself and the enemy ensures victory. Ji Ning came to ask the native strongman to learn more about the Abyss of Ten Thousand Demons. After all, this was a trial world created by three Eternal Emperor-level sword cultivators, one of whom rivaled the Great Dominator. No amount of caution was excessive.

“Legend says that in the first twelve layers of the Abyss, there is only one Demon Lord.”

“Below the twelfth layer, each layer has a large group of Demon Lords. No one has ever reached the bottom of the Abyss and come out alive, so we only know there are many Demon Lords; nothing else is clear.”

“Demon Lords are extremely powerful, killing us with ease.” The golden-robed old man sighed. “Below the twelfth layer of the Abyss is a mystery.”

Ji Ning nodded slightly, lost in thought.

…

This world was only a trillion li wide. According to Ji Ning’s detailed inquiries, the strongest were World-level. It was said that those who reached the Dao Lord level would vanish without a trace.

“The Abyss of Ten Thousand Demons?”

Ji Ning stood on a mountain peak, gazing into the distance. Far away lay a dark abyss a million li across, its bottom invisible, filled with terrifying baleful aura.

“Is this the trial of the great cultivators?” Ji Ning revealed a faint smile. Trials were a form of selection. Great cultivators were very proud; ordinary cultivators were not even qualified to glimpse their treasures. The treasures left by a great cultivator on par with the Great Dominator before death were priceless.

“I wonder if I, Ji Ning, can catch the eyes of the three great cultivators.” Ji Ning immediately transformed into a sword light, his momentum like a rainbow, carrying a hint of Dripping Blood Sword Intent. In an instant, the sword light plunged into the Abyss of Ten Thousand Demons.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh—

Black mist filled the air, carrying strange spatial ripples.

“Hmm?” Ji Ning soon reached the first layer of the Abyss, a world radiating endless firelight, with magma and volcanoes visible.

Ji Ning swept his divine sense directly.

After all, the first twelve layers had only one Demon Lord. Even the native World-level cultivators often ventured here for adventure, so Ji Ning was not afraid.

“A hundred billion li in radius, a world unto itself, with over three hundred demons, each with an aura comparable to a World-level cultivator.” Ji Ning held a divine sword, Ziguang Qiong, in each hand.

“From the world above.”

“How dare you trespass into our Abyss of Ten Thousand Demons.”

“Kill.”

Ji Ning’s divine sense sweep immediately provoked some nearby demons to charge at him. These demons were all of the same race, with gray-black skin, membranous wings, and metallic-luster claws. Their flight speed easily exceeded the limits of the Heavenly Dao, and their invisible aura was indeed quite strong.

Ji Ning swept his gaze.

His gaze condensed into swords!

Streams of sword intent surged, forming a vast Yin-Yang Sword Intent Domain, like a terrifying millstone, easily grinding and killing all charging demons. The demons were all terrified—their enemy killed them with just his gaze and sword intent?

Ji Ning was very calm. These demons were not even qualified for him to activate the Seven Divine Thunders and Seven Divine Waters. The Yin-Yang Sword Intent Domain formed by directly condensing sword intent might have only ten to twenty percent of the power of the divine thunders and waters, but it was enough to sweep them away.

“Rumble—” The terrifying sword intent rampaged freely, easily annihilating any demons that dared to attack.

Ji Ning continued flying downward.

He pierced through the earth, through another layer of black mist, and arrived at the second layer of the Abyss.

…