The fog in Su Yu's consciousness grew clearer as his will stirred. Observing the sudden transformation of his sea of consciousness into what seemed like another illusionary realm, Su Yu felt as though he had stepped into the dense mist. The surrounding yin energy seemed to move in tandem with his thoughts. He reached out and parted a patch of fog, revealing a massive white jade stone, reminiscent of the fog pool on Nanwu Mountain but slightly smaller. Beside the jade stone stood a solitary monument.
Though Su Yu's eyes could not see, he could clearly perceive the bluish-gray stele.
Intricate engravings carved into the stele, in a script unfamiliar to Su Yu, emitted a complex pattern. Yet just by looking at it, the meaning of the words surfaced in his mind: The Abyss of Ten Thousand Evils.
The Abyss of Ten Thousand Evils!?
The simple words carried an oppressive weight.
Su Yu's pupils contracted. Was this the sacred stele of the Abyss of Ten Thousand Evils?
Suddenly, wisps of white energy spread across the stele's surface. Instinctively, he stepped back to avoid its threat. But as soon as he retreated, the oppressive aura vanished, replaced by an indescribable tranquility.
Gradually, the surrounding scenery revealed itself. The area around the stele became clear in his mind: the outline of stones behind him, the silhouette of a few solitary trees farther away, and even the corpses of Zhang Fugui and the zombie. The place wasn't large, no more than about a mile in radius, with the stele at its center.
And though the place seemed unrelated to him, Su Yu found he knew the position of every stone, every object he touched, as though it were all under his dominion.
What is this? Could there be a real world inside his body?
Clutching his abdomen, Su Yu quickly regained his composure. His gaze swept to the shadowy beast crouched behind the Abyss of Ten Thousand Evils stele. "Explain," he demanded.
The shadow beast, guilty from its earlier mischief, stammered and confessed, "The sacred stele has formed a prototype, so the Abyss of Ten Thousand Evils is taking shape."
Reluctantly, it laid everything out. "What you're seeing is the sacred stele of the Abyss of Ten Thousand Evils. Now that it has a shadow, it can start accepting ghosts. Sure, it needs some yin energy early on, but it'll keep expanding. The denser the yin energy inside and the harder the little ghosts work, the vaster the Abyss will grow. Eventually, it'll provide you with even purer energy!"
"This world is a bit chaotic, so it's necessary to carve out a space like this," the beast awkwardly explained. "In a few days, it'll expand a bit more."
Though the current form was peculiar, it was the first time the Abyss of Ten Thousand Evils had erected a stele inside a person!
In the past, it always chose auspicious landscapes, not a cultivator in the Qi Refinement stage. Just erecting the stele was already impressive!
Su Yu frowned. The initial headache he felt had gradually subsided as the mist in his sea of consciousness clarified. The figures of Zhang Fugui and the zombie became more distinct, like intricate patterns. Observing them through the sea of consciousness, he could perceive every vein and every strand of yin energy flowing from them into the Abyss of Ten Thousand Evils.
He could sense other scattered strands of yin energy within his body slowly converging into the Abyss. The faint outline of the stele in his sea of consciousness became increasingly vivid. At this point, Su Yu realized he was now fully bound to this so-called Abyss of Ten Thousand Evils.
Perhaps initially, the black spirit pearl was merely something he swallowed. But after feeding it yin energy, the relationship between him and the pearl fundamentally changed.
It seemed as though he could effortlessly control everything within the Abyss.
"But we've taken the first step now! Look, the shadow of the Abyss of Ten Thousand Evils' stele is complete. As long as we gather more laborers—uh, ghosts—it'll stop draining your yin energy and start nourishing you instead!" The shadow beast rambled, then noticed Su Yu's pale face and sweat-soaked brow. Startled, it blurted, "Wait, why are you sweating so much…?"
Something seemed off about this human. Could it be that the yin energy was—
Sensing the beast's probing, Su Yu's sea of consciousness tightened.
"Don't panic! We're genuinely useful, I swear!" The beast hurriedly displayed its value. With a flick of its tail, the surrounding yin energy grew more substantial. Su Yu could see the dispersed yin energy from Zhang Fugui and the zombie flowing into the Abyss of Ten Thousand Evils' sacred stele, then into his dantian, relieving his gnawing hunger.
The pure yin energy entering his dantian was only a trace, but it felt distinctly different from ordinary yin energy. Su Yu had previously experienced the pearl's purified energy, yet the purity condensed by the stele's shadow surpassed it. It reminded him of the black mist he'd seen in the depths of the fog pool.
The shadow beast cautiously observed Su Yu. "You can feel the difference, can't you? This pure energy is twice as effective as regular yin energy. When the Abyss reaches its peak, its purity will be even greater. Sure, the initial investment is steep, but now we've got two ghostly workers!"
Two workers were infinitely better than none!
"With enough ghosts in the Abyss, you won't go hungry and can even enhance your cultivation." The shadow beast felt it had finally found common ground with its new host and tempted him further: "Think about it. To keep yourself fed, we just need to capture more malicious spirits and wild ghosts. For them, it's just a change of training grounds. But for you, it's a lifeline! Isn't this a win-win?"
The shadow beast paid no attention to Su Yu stirring the thick fog within the Abyss of Ten Thousand Evils. The more it thought about the situation, the more feasible its plan seemed. Initially, it hadn't known how to handle this young human cultivator. But now, realizing that this human depended on yin energy to survive—and would experience hunger without sufficient supply—it found its opportunity.
In the past, the Abyss of Ten Thousand Evils was located on Nanwu Mountain, where wandering spirits were sparse and capturing living beings was difficult. But now that the Abyss was bound to a person, they could gather spirits wherever they went, all while avoiding detection by cunning cultivators. Wasn't this a perfect scenario?
"How about this: you capture ghosts to feed the Abyss, and I'll provide you with pure energy to sustain your life," the shadow beast proposed, its tail flicking and its eyes gleaming. "Once the Abyss of Ten Thousand Evils produces pure energy, we split it fifty-fifty. What do you think?"
The Abyss of Ten Thousand Evils needed ghosts to grow stronger. Without enough spirits, the Abyss couldn't generate sufficient yin energy to sustain itself and would require external yin energy as a supplement. However, the pure energy provided by the newly-formed stele's shadow was undeniably superior, resembling the mottled black energy Su Yu had seen deep within the fog pool on Nanwu Mountain.
The black spirit pearl was merely the Abyss at its weakest stage. Erecting the stele was just the beginning.
As this thought crossed Su Yu's mind, he focused his consciousness, causing the thick fog before him to dissipate. His gaze fell upon the black spirit pearl embedded in the totem. He noticed that the pearl emitted faint wisps of yin energy, which the totem slowly absorbed. Yet the gnawing hunger in his abdomen remained.
The shadow beast, still caught up in its excitement, suddenly flinched as a wave of yin energy pricked at it, forcing it to retreat a half-step. "Okay, maybe fifty-fifty isn't fair. How about forty-sixty? I take forty, you take sixty?"
The yin energy pressed further. Su Yu concentrated briefly and withdrew from the Abyss, his attention returning to the totem where the shadow beast wagged its tail.
Looking at the beast now, it resembled nothing more than a pitiful guard dog begging for favor.
"Thirty-seventy!"
"Twenty-eighty!"
The pure energy was insufficient to evoke the memories hidden in his sea of consciousness as the black energy in Nanwu Mountain once did. However, if the Abyss continued to grow, it might eventually produce a large black stone like the one he'd seen beneath the fog pool. Perhaps then he could reclaim what he sought.
Despite the shadow beast's earlier deception, the benefits it presented were undeniable and aligned with Su Yu's needs.
"Do they just stay inside?" Su Yu ignored the shadow beast's bargaining and, with a flick of his consciousness, gained a clear view of everything within the Abyss. He was inclined to believe the beast's claims since he could tangibly sense his control over this small domain within his dantian. Yet a lingering discomfort remained. He didn't like being at the mercy of unknown factors. Now, not only was there a totem within him, but also this mysterious Abyss of Ten Thousand Evils.
"They can come out. You're currently their only connection to the outside world," the shadow beast explained weakly. "But once inside the Abyss, they become its creatures. Unless the seal is shattered—as it was on Nanwu Mountain, leading to your complete death—they'll remain under the stele's control. Even if they leave temporarily, they can't stray far without your permission, and they can't harm you. Rest assured… So, do you agree?"
The Abyss within his dantian wasn't obtrusive, and Su Yu could re-enter it at will. After observing for a while, he decided to test its functions. He touched Zhang Fugui with a flick of his consciousness. As soon as he did, the two figures within the Abyss disappeared, and Zhang Fugui and the zombie reappeared outside.
Su Yu was slightly surprised. It really worked?
"Daoist Priest!"
Before Su Yu could think further, a familiar voice cried out beside him. Zhang Fugui, upon seeing Su Yu, was on the verge of tears.
Su Yu stepped back to avoid Zhang Fugui's desperate lunge, confirming that the boy was still lively—for now.
Zhang Fugui had been through a harrowing ordeal. He only remembered the Daoist Priest jumping into the fog pool, followed by a burst of lightning. When he regained consciousness, he was in dense fog, accompanied by the zombie that had nearly claimed both their lives. To his horror, the zombie didn't attack him but aimlessly followed him instead.
Later, an unknown force compelled him to labor, moving stones for what felt like an eternity, leaving him in constant dread.
Seeing the Daoist Priest now, Zhang Fugui was overwhelmed with relief. At last, he had found a familiar face!
"Are we out of the mountain now?"
But as Zhang Fugui noticed the cultivators walking nearby, his excitement waned, and his expression stiffened.
Ignoring Zhang Fugui's disappointment, Su Yu turned his attention to the zombie, which had also emerged from the Abyss. Its body was still marked with mottled black spots, but it no longer displayed aggression.
According to the shadow beast, this creature was now connected to him as well…?
Seemingly aware of Su Yu's presence, the zombie moved toward him, its hand reaching out. Su Yu stepped back, and just as the zombie was about to reach him, it abruptly stopped. At that moment, Su Yu felt the familiar chains that had once bound Zhang Fugui reappear at his feet.
This time, there were two chains.
One still bound Zhang Fugui, while the other secured the zombie.
"Stay," Su Yu commanded, his gaze fixed on the creature.
The zombie froze, tilting its head as though curious but made no further movements.
Standing silently in the room, the zombie seemed entirely docile, a stark contrast to its previous ferocity when it had relentlessly pursued Su Yu in the mountain.
"This thing is also part of the Abyss of Ten Thousand Evils?" Su Yu asked, lifting the chain at his feet.
The shadow beast stared at the chain in surprise. It was the first time it had seen such a thing. It hadn't noticed the chain on either Zhang Fugui or the zombie while they were inside the Abyss. No wonder it failed to capture any major spirits earlier but managed to snatch these two. So, there was already some kind of connection between these two and its new master!
"This isn't part of the Abyss," the shadow beast exclaimed. "The Abyss binds wandering spirits and vengeful entities using the ancient seals of the stele. That thing at your feet feels more like an ancient technique, some form of ghost control magic… Wait, don't you know about this?"
Su Yu's mind flashed back to when he struck the zombie on the head with his palm.
Recalling that moment, he didn't dwell on it further but instead asked, "Do you know what this thing is?"
The shadow beast, sensing Su Yu shifting the topic, glanced at the zombie and said, "I have no idea what it is. Back in Nanwu Mountain, it was always disobedient. We rarely crossed paths, and it didn't contribute much to the Abyss. Even after hundreds of years, its cultivation hasn't improved since the day I first encountered it."
Su Yu: "?"
The shadow beast suddenly realized something: "!!!"
A fledgling spirit that had barely begun cultivating, paired with a zombie whose origins and progress were completely stagnant.
To rely on these two for contributions to the Abyss of Ten Thousand Evils? What a joke.
The shadow beast cautiously suggested, "Perhaps we can renegotiate."
Su Yu: "..."
"Nineteen-eighty split… any less, and I can't do it!" the shadow beast finally conceded, its heart bleeding with every word. "The Black Spirit Pearl also needs energy to function properly."
Su Yu, still feeling the lingering hunger in his body, responded casually, "We'll see."
The shadow beast: "!?"
What did that mean? Was it a yes or a no? How could this human not give a clear answer?
Even at nineteen-eighty, he still wouldn't agree?! Were all humans this ruthless and cunning?!