After Wu Yu finished reading the Orientation Log, he had a much better understanding of the Demons" Abyss.
Ordinary dan disciples could slay the demons within and retrieve their core parts to exchange for merits.
However, one could not acquire that many merits.
If one left the Shushan Immortal Sect to kill demons outside, then those merits would be significantly higher.
After all, the demons in the Demons" Abyss had already been imprisoned.
Within the vastness of the Dong Sheng Divine Continent, especially near the Gloomy Dreams Seas, demons roamed freely. For ordinary dan disciples at Wu Yu"s level, they would be lucky to get away with their lives if they went out to kill demons.
"This means that the Demons" Abyss is actually my best choice for earning merits at the moment. At the same time, I wonder how strong my white Jindan is."
Within Jindan Cave, they could not use powers, and this made Wu Yu anxious. He wanted an answer.
"Let"s go, Big Brother." Nangong Wei was even more anxious than he was. She was already tugging him along, as though afraid that he would go back on his word. She led him out of Jindan Cave.
Seeing this pretty and jumpy girl, Wu Yu"s spirits lifted. And the stress that Zhang Futu exuded was very quickly shrugged off.
"Once we leave Jindan Cave, it"s not likely that Zhang Futu will always be watching just for me. I have to use this opportunity to quickly enter the Demons" Abyss so that he cannot find me. Besides, the Demons" Abyss is not far. Given Nangong Wei and my speed now, we should be able to reach it in a day."
They left Jindan Cave quickly.
"Finally, I can use the Art of Sword Flight!" Nangong Wei"s ecstatic expression made her youthful beauty glow.
Outside of Jindan Cave, the two quickly found a deserted spot. Nangong Wei could wait no longer. She quickly retrieved a longsword from her Sumeru Pouch. It shone like a crystal, half orange and half transparent. The sword hilt had a ferocious tiger spewing flames, and the blade was arrayed with three Immortal Treasure Spirit Designs of unknown effects.
Nangong Wei"s talent was exceptional and, like Wu Yu, was affiliated with fire. That suited her warm and anxious personality.
Her first time mounting her sword. Her foot stood on the blade, producing sword-energy. She was at ease. With the sword spell activated, she rose into the air with a hum.
"Big Brother, come quickly!"
Nangong Wei exclaimed.
Wu Yu stepped on his sword and followed in a practiced fas.h.i.+on. When he reached her side, he was standing comfortably.
Now it was Nangong Wei who was surprised. She looked admiringly at Wu Yu. "Big Brother, this isn"t your first time on the sword, is it? Why do you control it so well?"
"Talent." Wu Yu smiled. He suddenly realized how gloomy he had been for a while now. And being with her, seeing her fresh, emotive smile, his spirits had been lifted considerably.
"Show-off!" Nangong Wei made a face at him, then increased her speed. As she flew, she called, "I lost to you last time. This time, I will win! Let the race to the Demons" Abyss begin!"
She was cheating. She was almost out of sight by the time she called back.
With a whoosh, Wu Yu transformed into a beam of golden light and set off in pursuit.
The formidable white Jindan essence flowed from his Sea of Breath Meridian to the rest of his body. It formed a whole with the longsword beneath his feet, and he rode the wind like the waves.
Wu Yu carefully controlled this newfound power. The more he pushed it, the more surprised he was. He had yet to test its offense, but in terms of speed alone, he was much stronger than before.
He opened his Jindan essence to its limits and saw the white Jindan begin to spin. Within the pure white, he saw its dissection into yin and yang, just like the Immortal Power of the Great Way. His regeneration speed was fairly quick as well.
Whoos.h.!.+
When it was activated to the maximum, he was like a keen sword that cut through air. Although Nangong Wei had left first, in a flash, he had already caught up to her.
He had a rough idea now.
At the first tier of the Jindan Dao Realm, his Art of Sword Flight speed surpa.s.sed Nangong Wei"s, and she was one of the elite talents in the Shushan Immortal Sect.
He knew now, and reduced his speed.
"She"ll be happier if she wins this compet.i.tion. In that case, I"ll make her happy."
Seeing the youthful girl in front, exuding vitality, Wu Yu let his thoughts drift. He knew that the age gap between them was not huge. In another three or four years, she would be all grown up.
After a day, Nangong Wei had just reached the entrance of the Demons" Abyss, Wu Yu a step behind. It was on the peak of a snowy mountain, a broad cone of ice that dominated front and center. In the center, there was a black pit of more than 100 zhang wide. Looking down from the edge, all one could see was pitch black, as though it were a bottomless pit.
It reeked strongly with a sinister demonic aura that permeated the surroundings as well, causing the snowy mountain to have no life, not even plants. Even the snow that covered the place was black.
This was the entrance to the Demons" Abyss!
Although the entrance was small, there was an unbelievably vast abyssal world below. In comparison to the Shushan Immortal Sect, covered in immortal mist, the inside of this place was as dark as h.e.l.l itself.
"I won!"
As expected, Nangong Wei was extremely excited, like a sprite in the snow.
"Alright, let"s go in." Wu Yu looked around him. Although he did not see Zhang Futu, in order not to meet him at all, Wu Yu did not want to linger outside for even a moment.
"First, take a Vajra Sword Talisman."
From the side of the fathomless entrance to the Demons" Abyss, there was a black hall, where a disciple of the Xuan sword rank sat guard. He was in charge of suppressing the demons in the Demons" Abyss, and was supported by more than 30 disciples of the Huang sword rank on a day to day basis. This black hall was where many experts of the Immortal Dao gathered, and was virtually a sword palace by itself.
These experts were mainly on guard to prevent accidents from occurring. Each Shushan disciple that wanted to train in the Demons" Abyss had to take a Vajra Sword Talisman with them.
"With the Vajra Sword Talisman, we can use it the moment we meet an attack that we cannot deal with and our lives are in danger. The Vajra Sword Talisman conceals a Vajra sword formation that will protect us until the sect comes to our aid. It guarantees that there will be no threat to our lives. With the Vajra Sword Talisman, there have been virtually no deaths in the Demons" Abyss for thousands of years." Wu Yu remembered the explanation in the Orientation Log.
This Vajra Sword Talisman was much more valuable than the Fire Talisman of the Valley of Immortal Fate. The Fire Talisman could only send an alert.
"However, using the Vajra Sword Talisman costs the sect resources, and one will be penalized five merits, or one cannot enter the Demons" Abyss again. If one does not have enough merits, then one will have to work and earn them, until these five merits are paid. This also means that the Vajra Sword Talisman is a loan from the sect. If one does not use it, then it must still be returned upon exit."
This also meant that as long as there was no life threat, disciples would not use it foolishly, which would waste resources.
Five merits was not easy to earn.
Walking into the black hall, he saw an empty s.p.a.ce where only two old men were seated and playing chess. The table in the middle was laid out with dozens of Vajra Sword Talismans. Wu Yu and Nangong Wei walked towards the two disciples of the Huang sword rank and bowed, then they took a Vajra Sword Talisman each. They walked back towards the abyss, ready to descend.
Those who were skilled and brave would jump in directly.
The two exchanged a look, then hesitated no longer, descending on their swords.
It was pitch black all around them. The moment they entered, they felt a sinister aura that chilled their hearts.
"So dark." Nangong Wei quickly came to press herself against Wu Yu. The dark, sinister feeling in the Demons" Abyss was beyond what she had expected.
No wonder she had wanted to bring Wu Yu along when she came. She was a scaredy-cat.
"Don"t be afraid."
Wu Yu quickly led her deeper in. It was really dark here. Given his vision, he could only barely see a few dozen zhang around him. After roughly an hour, they landed on a craggy area. The rock here was a dusty grey, and there were strange subterranean plants all around them. It was stifling.
And the most unnerving was the demonic aura that continued to permeate their surroundings. After arriving, Nangong Wei craned her neck, looking about her, eyes wide. She continued to clutch at Wu Yu"s arm, nervous.
"You sure you want to slay demons?" Wu Yu asked.
In this position, all was dark. Only a spot of white light above them that was the entrance.
"Mm! I"m sure. I want to kill many many demons. I will start here." Nangong Wei suddenly became stern. She spoke seriously, untold stories in her eyes.
"Then let"s go in deeper." Wu Yu led the way, moving to the deeper regions of the Demons" Abyss. They had to journey for more than a day before they would even near the area where demons would appear. At their present location, there were more Shushan Immortal Sect disciples than demons.
In truth, the ordinary dan disciples that came and went numbered 3,000 or more. If the demons here were not clever, they would be dead in a few days.
You would be lucky to even find a single demon here. In order not to be killed, the demons all hid themselves away.
The two traversed the barren subterrain. They headed deeper in. There were also high mountains and streams in this place, except all of them reeked. Within the river, all kinds of poisonous insects thrived.
"Wei Er, you seem to hate demons very much," Wu Yu said along the way.
Nangong Wei nodded, saying, "Yes. Demons are evil beings. They create disaster in the world and kill wantonly. They are sinful and should die! I once swore that when I grow powerful one day, I will kill all the demons!"
"Why so extreme?" Wu Yu had not thought that she would have such a serious side to her. Of course, she was but a child, and it was understandable for her to be a little more polar in her views.
At least from his encounter with the Ninth Spirit, Wu Yu was of the opinion that no life was born evil in this world. Demons had both good and evil in them, and humans as well.
At this point, Nangong Wei"s eyes reddened, saying, "My mom was killed by demons, and she left me forever.... My daddy says that my mom was the best woman in the world. He will kill all the demons to take revenge for her, and I will too. I miss my mommy...."
Recalling this, she began to cry.
Wu Yu was speechless. He offered a few words of comfort. This was indeed unfortunate. He was not personally involved, and had no way of judging the decision of the father and daughter. But the pain of losing kin was one he understood.
A day later, they had already descended deep into the Demons" Abyss. Besides a few Shushan Immortal Sect disciples, they had yet to encounter any demons.
However, perhaps because their party looked a bit weaker, Wu Yu could feel something demonic watching them.