Elder Lu Bai spoke "The Abyss is a land conquered by the demons, it is said to hold many treasures that can improve one's cultivation."
"That is one of the reasons you have been sent to it, another one is that by destroying 10 demon strongholds you can gather enough merit for you to be considered for the 'Awakening'."
The Elder Bai nodded "Alright, now I'll explain the general level of the strongholds you will tackle. The strongholds are separated into 5 ranks, the 5th being the lowest and the 1st being the highest."
He continued "5th rank strongholds have a Physique Transformation Realm as the leader, 4th rank strongholds have a Soul Formation Realm Cultivator as the leader, 3rd rank strongholds have a Domain Realm as the leader, 2nd rank strongholds have a Pseudo-Emperor Realm as the leader, and as for the 1st rank of strongholds... they are said to have Emperor level monarchs as the leaders."
"You'll be destroying the 5th and 4th rank strongholds, all treasures you find will belong to you but you must bring back the head of the leader of the stronghold to prove you have actually completed the task. if you're lucky enough you could breakthrough and have a chance at 3rd rank strongholds."
Elder Lu Bai's expression than turned serious "We are approaching the entrance to the Abyss."
As we moved forward a dreadful scene came to light, there were broken human bones on the ground, a dreadful stench of blood spread.
This was the Abyss, a place if one was unlucky enough they could stumble into an Emperor-Level Existence.
We landed one the ground, as the smell of blood became nauseating. Elder Lu Bai tossed me a token made of black steel "This is a life saving token, it contains a little bit of the power of the Star Emperor, it can launch 3 attacks before being unusable."
He looked towards the hellish like place ahead of us and back at me "this is where we separate, but let me remind you, if you stumble into the demons genius "Lin" than escape quickly, although you can beat her with the Power of Soul you are not allowed to use it in this operation."
I who remained quiet this entire journey spoke "Elder Lu Bai, what exactly is the Power of Soul?"
Elder Lu's eyes scanned the area vigilantly before replying in a low voice "it's something unimaginable, a power granted to very few. The Star Emperor will explain it to you in detail, that is also why you need merit, so that you can access private information."
With that the Elder quickly turned around and flew away.
"So that's how it is"
I began my journey into the Abyss. I didn't find anything for a few hours, I always felt like someone, or something was watching me.
"Ah, why did Shin have to leave me alone for this horror part."
Shin had left in between the journey to the Abyss, apparently the Star Emperor wanted something from him.
I was walking aimlessly "Oh, who's this little rat? he doesn't even look that appetising, but oh well, can't be too greedy." A voice was heard from afar.
My eyes flashed as I disappeared from where I was as a Sword appeared where I stood a second ago.