Chapter 651

Chapter 651: The Evil Abyss (Part 1)

The Evil Abyss is a part of the Yongle dungeon, yet it stands independently from the Ninth Level Dungeon.

Upon his arrival, Wang Chen’s first impression of the Evil Abyss was overwhelmingly negative.

Filthy, dirty, eerie, and cold…

The spiritual energy in this place is exceedingly weak, saturated with a vast amount of negative energy. Cultivators here must either cast protective spells or use Dan symbols to defend themselves, or they risk being quickly eroded by the energy.

In mild cases, their foundation might be damaged; in severe cases, they could fall into madness!

Practicing cultivation in such an environment is akin to courting death, unless one specializes in Evil Techniques!

Thus, only those who have committed grave mistakes are assigned to guard this place.

Wang Chen, having suffered the misfortune of being caught in the crossfire, faced a heavy toll!

But as a mere Purple Palace cultivator and a loose cultivator who had smuggled himself up from the lower realms, he could only resign himself to the situation, thinking, “Since I’ve come here, I might as well make the best of it.”

No matter how harsh life becomes, he must carry on!

The chief cultivator overseeing the Evil Abyss is a higher-level Golden Core named Real Person Yunhe.

However, this Golden Core usually remains in the cavern for closed-door cultivation, while all matters in the Evil Abyss are managed by three prison officials at the peak of the Purple Palace.

Wang Chen is said to be guarding the Evil Abyss, but in reality, he is tasked with all the hard and dirty work.

The Evil Abyss is vast, structured like a beehive composed of numerous caverns, with Real Person Yunhe occupying the central position, controlling the Formation to Suppress Monsters and Demons.

This high-level Golden Core cultivator utilizes the formations to practice cultivation, so as long as the imprisoned monsters and demons do not stir up trouble, he has no desire to waste any time.

Of course, such privileges are exclusive to him.

The three officials below him might have a share of the benefits, but for a guard at Wang Chen’s level, there truly is nothing valuable.

The treatment is far worse than before!

Thus, the number of guards in the Evil Abyss is very limited, and each is lifeless, most wearing grim faces with a sullen expression.

They are silent and do not form cliques, resembling individuals who have completely lost hope in life, merely existing without any interest in anything.

Some guards suddenly collapse while walking, never to rise again.

Others view this with indifference, hurriedly checking and refining the bodies to prevent their souls from becoming Evil Spirits.

There are also those who like to speak to themselves; with no one to talk to, they murmur incantations under their breaths, producing a sense of inexplicable fear and shivers for anyone who hears them.

These were Wang Chen’s observations after three days in the Evil Abyss.

His direct superior is Changsun Yong, one of the three officials managing the Evil Abyss, with over a hundred guards under him.

Wang Chen’s assigned tasks are not light; each day, he has to inspect the core points of the formations to ensure that every magical node operates correctly.

He also has to deliver meals to a group of monsters and demons.

These two tasks are scheduled for morning and afternoon, and at night, he needs to rotate shifts with other guards.

With the Evil Abyss consisting of hundreds, if not thousands, of interconnected cells and caverns, although Wang Chen only manages a small portion, he is still constantly busy and working hard.

Let alone cultivating, even his time to rest is extremely limited.

As night fell, the concentration of negative energy in the Evil Abyss reached its peak, making the inspection work particularly arduous and dangerous.

“This is the Qingyang Lantern.”

An old guard walked ahead with a lantern, guiding Wang Chen as he rambled, “Remember, when the lantern is lit, the person lives; when the lantern goes out, the person dies. Don’t let this lantern go out!”

Wang Chen followed behind, nodding in response, “Understood.”

He also held a Qingyang Lantern in his hand.

The environment in the Evil Abyss was extremely harsh; due to the influence of negative energy, the connecting passages became very dim at night, and the Obsidian Lamps embedded in the stone walls barely emitted any light.

Thus, the guards had to carry lanterns while patrolling.

The Qingyang Lantern was a special spirit tool issued by the Forbidden Prison Office, designed to dispel negative energy and ward off evil spirits, while also calming the holder’s mind, making it difficult to be deceived by illusions.

Much of the malevolent energy filling the Evil Abyss came from the imprisoned monsters and demons. Although the experts from the Forbidden Prison Office regularly came down to cleanse it, they could never eliminate it entirely.

Unless they killed all the monsters and demons!

This situation burdened the guards stationed at the Evil Abyss, leaving most of them with poor outcomes.

The old guard suddenly asked, “Little Wang, you’re so young, how did you end up in the Evil Abyss?”

Wang Chen smiled wryly, “It’s a complicated story.”

This same question had been asked by the old guard three times already.

After each of Wang Chen’s responses, the guard quickly forgot, only to suddenly remember and ask again.

Wang Chen suspected that his brain had been partly corroded by the negative energy.

“Just keep living.”

The old guard did not press further and said, “As long as you’re alive, there’s hope, and with hope, you can go back.”

Leaving the Evil Abyss, returning to the Yongle Immortal City, or even the dungeon, was likely the shared sentiment of most guards who had been assigned here!

Yet, very few ever achieved that wish!

“We’re here.”

The old guard abruptly stopped, turned to Wang Chen, and said, “This cell holds a great beast level mountain demon, and its temper is extremely foul. You must not come close.”

As he spoke, the old guard raised his Qingyang Lantern.

The light brightened, cutting through the dense bars and illuminating the dark cell inside.

A black-furred creature appeared in Wang Chen’s view.

The mountain demon, a monster dwelling in the deep mountains, was enormous, powerful, and had exceptional combat strength. Even a roaring tiger would have to retreat three steps when faced with it, fearing to engage.

As a great beast level mountain demon, its prowess was certainly formidable!

Yet, no matter how mighty it was, having its powers sealed, it could only curl pitifully in the corner.

When the light from the Qingyang Lantern shone on it, the mountain demon seemed to wake abruptly from its slumber.

It leaped up, turning mid-air, and lunged toward Wang Chen and the old guard!

Neither the old guard nor Wang Chen showed any signs of panic.

In the next moment, the mountain demon hit the iron bars of the cell.

Each bar was as thick as an adult’s arm and arranged closely together, with talismans carved along their surfaces.

As the mountain demon collided with the bars, all the talismans lit up simultaneously.

“Ah!”

The fierce mountain demon let out a painful cry as smoke began to rise from its grasping claws, and in pain, it quickly released its grip and fell to the ground.

“These beasts…”

The old guard savored the misfortune, saying, “They never learn from their mistakes. After suffering a few times, they still don’t give up. They deserve it!”

“You’re the real beast!”

As soon as the old guard finished speaking, the mountain demon, flat on the ground, suddenly lifted its head and glared at him, its scarlet eyes flashing with dangerous light, as it spat out human words, “Your whole family are beasts!”

The old guard laughed.