novelraw Chapter 871 - 737: Land of Extreme Abyss
Chapter 871 - 737: Land of Extreme Abyss
The personnel from the Heavenly Court searching for missing personnel immediately recognized the identity of their opponents upon encountering the West Ox team. After all, most members of the West Ox team were demon cultivators, and they immediately assumed that the murders were committed by the West Ox team.
No amount of explanation from the West Ox team would help, nor would they attempt to explain. It's quite normal for the Battle of Great Pardon to involve killings.
The deaths of the personnel being pursued by the Heavenly Court meant that Niu Qian dared not treat Situ Zhen's capture lightly, and he secretly dispatched additional personnel to handle it.
Since there was already evidence proving that the Sky Splitting Sword was in Situ Zhen's possession, this matter became Niu Qian's utmost priority.
Among the various teams, not to mention the overt eyes surrounding the command centers, even the smaller squads had some spies planted in each other. The West Ox team's unusual movement of personnel attracted attention and scrutiny from other teams, initially causing some bewilderment.
Duan Jie was also busy, under Situ Zhen's instructions, and the lurking members of the Demon Path in each team gradually began to uncover the truth behind the West Ox team's movements due to the Sky Splitting Sword being in Situ Zhen's possession!
There was no fear of the situation being deceptive and unpredictable, only fear of deliberate troublemaking.
The tension escalated abruptly, and all teams focused their gaze on Situ Zhen. The Mountain River Map's beacon on Feng Yin's token was frequently enlarged for viewing, and Situ Zhen's lone flying figure often appeared in the mirror images of other teams.
Under-the-table maneuvers from all parties remained silent.
On Beiju Team's command center high platform, Xiao Ruomei's complexion changed suddenly as she looked at the mirror image and spoke telepathically to Lan She: "Something's not right, sir. Situ Zhen might be heading to the Land of Extreme Abyss."
The Commander Lan She also turned to look at the mirror image, frowning in confusion, "The Land of Extreme Abyss is filled with unpredictable void currents that consume anything, it's very dangerous."
This is also the reason why personnel participating in the battle did not dare to venture there recklessly.
Xiao Ruomei continued, "She's almost reached the Land of Extreme Abyss and shows no intention of changing direction. Once inside the Land of Extreme Abyss, the beacon on the Mountain River Map will disappear, avoiding pursuit."
Lan She remained puzzled, "Are you suggesting that she knows Feng Yin's token has drawn pursuit, yet she refuses to give up the token?"
Xiao Ruomei hesitated, as this indeed seemed illogical, and said slowly, "The specifics of what's happening may only be known upon contacting her directly."
Lan She inquired, "Is there no one nearby who can reach her yet?"
On the surface, Situ Zhen belonged to their Beiju team, and if she indeed possessed the Sky Splitting Sword and was being pursued by the Heavenly Court team, they naturally felt they had the advantage to communicate.
Xiao Ruomei hesitated, "For some reason, contact has been lost currently. If she truly wants to enter the Land of Extreme Abyss, the personnel sent later won't make it in time."
Lan She fell silent, feeling that this Battle of Great Pardon was different from the past. The battle had barely begun when everything descended into chaos, and the originally planned strategies all became useless, swept along with the changing situation.
In the Heavenly Court team's command center, Manxi also felt the situation had become chaotic, occasionally glancing back at the Xuanji Token Master who was contacting Shi Chun, feeling resentful toward Mulan Jin for rescuing Li Hongjiu from Life Prison to participate in the battle.
If it weren't for this Xuanji Token Master rescuing Li Hongjiu from the encirclement of several factions, no one would have managed to acquire the Sky Splitting Sword.
Even if another faction managed to seize the Sky Splitting Sword, who could have anticipated that Dongguo Shou had mastered "Inch and Mile," making a surprise attack filled with great potential? Now, others are prepared against Dongguo Shou, and if the Sky Splitting Sword is obtained, it poses a great threat.
In short, if not for Shi Chun causing a series of unexpected changes, then Dongguo Shou, who had hidden his strength, could easily achieve great success in the final battle.
The more uncertain the situation became, the greater Manxi's resentment, blaming Mulan Jin for selfishly disrupting the overall situation.
But he was helpless against the other's actions, and could only harbor bitter feelings inwardly.
Meanwhile, Mulan Jin also conveyed Manxi's message to Shi Chun, sharing the currently gathered relevant information, reminding him to fulfill previously promised actions, such as retrieving the Sky Splitting Sword, or suffer severe punishment!
Shi Chun, flying swiftly, also became silent, as the situation suddenly changing like this was unexpected for him.
Originally, the setup was that people would notice he was pursuing Situ Zhen, seeing that Li Hongjiu's experts were injured, and then separate him from those experts, prompting others to attack him.
Now, before he even showed up, everyone believed the Sky Splitting Sword was in Situ Zhen's possession, and pursued Situ Zhen, leaving him wondering what to do.
Wu Jinliang, who had been watching the communication, murmured, "How did other factions come to believe the Sky Splitting Sword is on Zhener?"
Shi Chun sighed, "What else could it be? Either news leaked from Manxi, or Zhener herself caused it, with a greater chance of Zhener."
Wu Jinliang pondered upon hearing this and nodded, "Indeed, she isn't aware you are also collecting heads for the Demon Path's blood sacrifice. Given such a great opportunity, it's entirely possible she'd seize it. If that's the case, she truly is working for the Demon Path, how did it come to this? And..."
He turned his head to look at Shi Chun, "Have you thought about it? Since she's working for the Demon Path and hiding her identity, if things don't go well, or if needed, would she possibly reveal that you were the one who instructed her to go to the Land of Extreme Abyss?"
"There's no need to worry about that, it's manageable. But with this development, I feel like the 'Gui Cang' faction doesn't seem to care if the Demon Altar is shared with more people." Shi Chun fell silent, sensing that things were becoming more complicated, a bit hard to comprehend, and suddenly said, "Contact Huang Yingying over there, tell him to pause his cultivation and bring the Divine Arrow here as a precaution."
"Indeed, the situation in the Land of Extreme Abyss is beyond the Heavenly Mirror's sight, making it the perfect place for a sneak attack." Wu Jinliang nodded repeatedly.
Just as he finished speaking, Shi Chun paused and took out the Mother-child Talisman to check. It was a message from Situ Zhen: Shi Chun, I've reached the shores of the Extreme Abyss, someone is chasing me, what should I do?
The dawn was hazy, gently bathing a turbulent sea.
Beneath the sea, black reefs were visible everywhere to the naked eye.
Above the sea, black jagged reefs stood tall, tooth-like and protruding, occupying vast areas, creating splashes of waves everywhere, with hidden currents swirling among them.
This was a result of the remains from an ancient battle being washed by seawater over the years.
Amidst the chaotic reefs, there were long ravines filled with cascading mist, about two or three miles wide, with places that were wider or narrower, the seawater continuously poured in along the cliff walls, seemingly never exhausting for mysterious reasons, and steam rose from the abyss.
Floating above, Situ Zhen looked at this giant fissure, with lips tight, a complex expression on her face, until a transmission reached her ear from below the abyss, prompting her to fly into the mist-filled dark abyss.
In the Mirror Images of the five teams, everyone was watching this scene, wanting to know if she would enter the abyss; each outcome had its own response strategy, and now it seemed like a weight was lifted.
Initially, the Mountain River Map still showed the light dots of Feng Yin's Token, but soon they suddenly disappeared, indicating that the target went deeper.
At the same time, a graceful, veiled figure with fluttering robes entered the abyss from another direction.
Suddenly, a figure emerged to rendezvous, leading the way.
As the entry went deeper, the veiled woman looked up, seeing the faint light of the sky gradually dim, the sound of rushing waterfalls around them also became faint, the waterfalls broke into misty sprays, sometimes blown upwards by unknown erratic winds, and thin streams trickled down the cliff walls.
Not long after entering the darkness, beam-like light cracks began appearing on the cliff walls.
Sparse or continuous mineral veins of crystal stone emitted faint yellow, light blue, red, and warm white light, adding a distinctly mysterious feel to the abyss. As the two flying figures moved, the glowing veins appeared and disappeared, sporadically showing strange flowers and grasses growing in the abyss.
From time to time, there were strange sounds, either like a huge heart pounding beside the ear or a sharp sudden scream tearing at the eardrum.
"Don't be afraid, it's just the disturbances in the space turbulence, follow me closely and you'll be fine." The man leading the way turned back to transmit a message, manipulating several flying filaments of Sandal Gold Flame Energy with one hand to navigate across the cliff's veins, clearly familiar with the abyss, far from being a newcomer.
After a period of flight, the guide led them into a crack in the cliff, and soon, a dazzling scene unfolded ahead, it was a space with prism-like crystal minerals, with no inherent light, only reflecting the light source.
The guide halted at the entrance, gesturing for Situ Zhen to enter while he guarded the entrance.
Deep in the resplendent crystal mine, a black-clad person wearing a bizarre iron mask sat on a fallen crystal pillar.
The veiled woman crossed treacherous paths, flashed to the front of the other person, and first pulled down her veil, revealing a delicate face. It was Su Mian, Feng Chi's contact. She bowed to the black-clad person, "Disciple pays respects to the Holy Master!"
The black-cladded figure in front of her was the Sect Hierarch of the 'Tianyi' lineage, the top figure of that lineage.
The Tianyi Sect Hierarch spoke in a somewhat aged voice, "Where is Shi Chun?"
Su Mian replied, "Not far, should arrive within one or two hours."
The Tianyi Sect Hierarch said, "Wu Hong's four protector's old man made a move, Shi Chun had them quietly come to the Extreme Abyss here as well, unclear on his intentions."
Su Mian frowned slightly, "Holy Master, have you found out who that wretched old man is?"
The Tianyi Sect Hierarch shook his head and said, "Still haven't found out, without a name, it's hard to check the battle enrollment list, Wu Hong's four have never encountered him before either. Now, with limited external communication, it's challenging to compare. And that old man isn't interacting with those four, now he's disguised too, so they don't know what that old man is doing for Shi Chun."
Su Mian pondered, "Coming to the Extreme Abyss... regardless, if someone is specially attended to by Shi Chun, they should be someone of great use."
The Tianyi Sect Hierarch continued, "The Battle of Great Pardon's million participants' list has been thoroughly examined, and there is no sign of Lao Changtai and Chu Jingtang registering, no clue how those two got in. It seems there are only two possibilities. One is they impersonated someone to enter, the other is they infiltrated in advance, just like us. The latter seems unlikely, as before Mulan Qingqing registered for the battle, Shi Chun shouldn't have known Mulan Jin would bring him in, and so couldn't have planned in advance. By the time Shi Chun knew he wanted in, the entrance was tightly secured, making infiltration impossible."