The Shadow

Ye Chuan put away the Soul Gathering Banner, his spiritual sense spreading out around him like a tide.

He had to find Qian Shuang.

The spiritual energy within the Mystic Crystal Abyss was chaotic, and the obstructing ore drastically reduced the range of his spiritual sense detection, but Ye Chuan did not give up.

Ye Chuan took out two spirit herbs from his bag and tossed them into his mouth to begin refining them.

These were good things that could boost mental power. For Ye Chuan, every bit of increased mental power expanded the range of his spiritual sense.

Following the special area mentioned earlier by the Golden Sun Sect elder, Ye Chuan began searching for that region.

"Over there, something seems a bit strange." Ye Chuan's figure flickered and vanished from the spot.

Utilizing spatial teleportation, Ye Chuan appeared at the end of the cavern tunnel. The scene before him abruptly changed—

The originally narrow passage suddenly opened up into a vast, circular empty space a thousand zhang in diameter. The edges were a bottomless, pitch-black chasm, completely different from the cavern he had seen before.

Thick black mist swirled above the chasm, mixed with a heart-palpitating, fluctuating sound. The rocks at the edge were covered with corrosive marks.

"This must be the place, right?" Ye Chuan stroked his chin.

He couldn't sense anything below the chasm.

But his intuition was telling him that Bai Qianshuang was likely inside.

"Never mind, finding Qian Shuang comes first."

With almost no thought, he leaped into the chasm. The chaotic spiritual power around his body surged violently, forming a black light barrier that completely isolated the rushing black mist and baleful energy.

"Poison?"

"No... death energy." Ye Chuan felt as if he were submerged at this moment, but due to the influence of his Chaos power, he remained completely unaffected.

The interior of the chasm was steeper than imagined. The rock walls were covered with sharp stones, their surfaces coated with a slippery, slimy mucus that emitted a rotting stench.

Occasionally, black shadows extended from the black mist, attempting to entangle Ye Chuan's body, only to be instantly shredded by the chaotic spiritual power surrounding him.

"So weak."

Ye Chuan's speed didn't decrease. He plunged downward like a black bolt of lightning, continuously releasing his spiritual sense around him.

After descending roughly ten thousand zhang, the black mist gradually thinned, revealing a massive stone cavern ahead—

It was precisely the field of corpses where Bai Qianshuang had been teleported earlier!

The scene inside the cavern was even more unexpected than Ye Chuan had imagined. Mountains of skeletal remains were scattered with broken magical artifacts and rusted weapons. Traces of battle were still visible on the rock walls.

This was clearly a massive graveyard!

"So there's a place like this too." Ye Chuan's spiritual sense spread out and soon seemed to discover something. He vanished from his spot and reappeared in another location.

Here, several faint blue spiritual lights were embedded in cracks in the rock wall, not yet fully dissipated.

It was Qian Shuang's aura.

"So, Qian Shuang was teleported here after all."

"These are all skeletons. That girl wouldn't be scared, would she?" Ye Chuan continued observing. The surrounding area was also filled with death energy, somewhat hindering the expansion of his spiritual sense.

Moreover, in a place like this, there was no guarantee what might be lurking.

"Qian Shuang?"

"Qian Shuang~" Ye Chuan called out. His voice echoed in the vast, empty cavern, but received no response.

He seemed to discover something, bending down to pick up a fragment of a dress. Ye Chuan could sense the residual aura on it and a faint, almost imperceptible trace of black energy—

Clearly, Bai Qianshuang had clashed with something here. She hadn't been injured, but her whereabouts were now unknown.

Following the aura, Ye Chuan soon sensed a powerful black energy deep within the cavern, mixed with a familiar spiritual power.

"Seems she chased after a demonic creature? Or perhaps..." Ye Chuan pondered.

He had no doubts about Bai Qianshuang's strength, but if she truly encountered a troublesome demonic creature, he needed to hurry and assist.

His figure flashed as he pursued deeper into the cavern.

The number of skeletal remains along the way increased, and the black energy grew denser, as if warning intruders of the danger ahead.

Ye Chuan paid it no mind. The chaotic spiritual power around his body grew more solid as he flew towards the source of the aura.

Finally, Ye Chuan saw a burst of light.

In the distance, Bai Qianshuang was locked in battle with an indistinct black mass. The black entity was formless, like a void, yet Bai Qianshuang's snow-white daoist robe was stained with blood droplets, making her appear somewhat disheveled.

Clearly, this monster's difficulty far exceeded Bai Qianshuang's expectations.

Bai Qianshuang had come here to find a way out but encountered this black monster. Her Insight Realm cultivation was actually ineffective against it!

Fortunately, Qianshuang's spiritual power foundation was solid enough, and with the spirit herbs Ye Chuan had provided, the opponent couldn't gain the upper hand on her for the time being.

"Qian Shuang!" A familiar voice called out, making Bai Qianshuang pause for a moment. She turned her head and discovered Ye Chuan was here too!

"Be careful, Ye Chuan!"

As soon as Bai Qianshuang spoke, the black monster seemed to notice Ye Chuan as well, instantly transforming into a black streak of light that shot towards him!

"What the hell is this thing?" Ye Chuan raised an eyebrow, directly drawing his spirit sword and slashing out several sharp sword beams!

The sword beams swept through the black monster but passed right through its body.

"Physical attacks are ineffective?" Ye Chuan was momentarily stunned. His other hand quickly rose, firing a beam of demonic light!

With Ye Chuan's Insight Realm cultivation, just one beam of demonic light instantly illuminated the entire cavern!

This time, under the glow of the light, the black monster's movements clearly slowed down a few degrees. Seizing the opportunity, Ye Chuan went all out—

"Try this." Ye Chuan stood in mid-air, arms crossed. Hundreds of magic circles materialized behind him.

The next moment, hundreds of spells were unleashed by Ye Chuan as if they were free, transforming into a torrent of energy that instantly submerged the black monster!

With a tremendous boom, the entire space began to shake violently!

Ye Chuan immediately teleported to Bai Qianshuang's side, directly using a healing spell to restore her injuries.

"Are you alright, Qian Shuang?"

"I'm fine." Bai Qianshuang gently shook her head. Seeing Ye Chuan appear by her side, an indescribable sense of security welled up within her for some reason, making her unconsciously reach out and tug lightly on the hem of Ye Chuan's robe.

"It's good you're okay. I didn't expect you to be in a place like this either." Ye Chuan patted Bai Qianshuang's head, then shifted his gaze towards a certain spot.

"Doesn't seem to be over yet."

The mass of black monster floated in front of Ye Chuan, then its body began to continuously contract, actually taking on a humanoid form!

The humanoid shadow had no face, only emitting a strange sound, "Chaos Heavenly Emperor, Luo Xuan Empress..."

"Another... new cycle..."

"But... useless..."

Ye Chuan frowned. This pitch-black thing seemed to know a lot?

"What are you?" Ye Chuan asked.

"..." The shadow did not answer Ye Chuan. It instantly melted away, as if merging into the darkness, leaving behind no trace of its aura.

"..."

Surrounding silence, not a sound.

"It... seems to have vanished." Bai Qianshuang could sense the black energy around them rapidly dissipating and spoke softly.

"Chaos Heavenly Emperor, Luo Xuan Empress?" Ye Chuan's gaze fell upon Bai Qianshuang.

Bai Qianshuang is the inheritor of the Luo Xuan Empress, so why did it suddenly mention the Chaos Heavenly Emperor?

Could it be because of her own power of chaos?