North Region, Great Abyss.
The severe winter imprisoned everything, turning dripping water into ice.
This is the place where a generation's great demon was suppressed, ever since five years ago when the great demon Xiahou Yuan was defeated by Tianjianzi's hand, he was sealed here.
Tianjianzi, compassionate towards the heavens and people, even though the great demon Xiahou Yuan was excessively evil, he was the leader of countless demons in the Five Realms.
Still, he didn't deliver the killing blow.
Eighteen layers beneath the ground of the Great Abyss, a thin figure sat there.
The bones of his chest were pierced by black chains, and his limbs were also bound by chains.
All the chains were covered with intricate patterns, vaguely isolating the heavens and the earth, suppressing everything.
"Big Brother Xiahou, I'm sorry!"
"Qing'er, why did you, why did you betray me? What benefits are there in siding with Tianjianzi? Can he give you a position above all living beings?"
"Big Brother Xiahou, it's not true, I'm not your 'Qing'er', the descendants of the Bai family have long been extinct, I only borrowed the bloodline of the Bai family to get close to you, my real name is not 'Bai Qing'er'."
"Do you remember when you were chased and gravely injured, on the brink of death, it was I who saved you, it was I who reinvigorated your body and spirit."
"Big Brother Xiahou, that's also not true, the people who chased me back then were all acting for your benefit."
"When you cultivated and went astray, I used rare fruits of heaven and earth to prolong your life."
"All fake, I deliberately went astray to make you discover that my bloodline aura is related to the Bai family, so that you would mistakenly believe that I am a descendant of the Bai family."
"I bestowed upon you the title of Demon Queen, able to command the leaders of the demons in the Five Realms, above all living beings."
"Big Brother Xiahou, you are the demon king, the source of chaos in the world. Because of you, the leaders of the demons in the Five Realms gathered together. If you don't die, it will be the death of all beings!"
Eighteen layers beneath the ground of the Great Abyss, Xiahou Yuan sat there, all the past like scenes flashing rapidly through his mind.
No one knew that the background of the great demon Xiahou Yuan was very ordinary, born in an ordinary village.
When Xiahou Yuan was ten years old, he accidentally entered a cave and obtained a legacy of demonic cultivation.
However, when Xiahou Yuan returned to the village, he found that the entire village had been slaughtered by passing demons.
Since then, Xiahou Yuan has stood completely opposed to the demons.
Xiahou Yuan's cultivation aptitude was extremely high. With just that demonic legacy, he cultivated to the fourth realm.
During this period, Xiahou Yuan was also relentlessly hunting down various major demons.
But soon, Xiahou Yuan discovered that demons could not be exterminated.
Even if all the demons in the world were wiped out, in fifty or a hundred years at most, a new batch of demons would arise.
Because the demonic cultivation method, even though fraught with dangers, compared to the cultivation methods of the righteous path, was like taking a shortcut.
As long as living beings exist, there will be those who cannot control themselves and embark on the path of demonic cultivation.
So Xiahou Yuan thought of another way.
Since demons couldn't be exterminated, then become the strongest demon oneself.
Then, "establish rules" for the demons of the world, so as to limit the harm caused by demons to a stable range as much as possible.
However, Xiahou Yuan overlooked the forces of the righteous path.
Just as Xiahou Yuan was constantly consolidating the demons of the Five Realms, in the eyes of the forces of the righteous path, he became a thorn in their side.
Originally, the demons of the Five Realms were scattered and posed no significant threat to the forces of the righteous path, even if they died, they only killed ordinary civilians.
But now, with the demons of the Five Realms about to be united, how could they allow that?
So there was the earth-shattering battle between the righteous and demonic forces five years ago.
Originally.
With Xiahou Yuan's strength.
Even if he lost, he could still escape unscathed.
But he overlooked 'Qing'er', who had been with him for decades.
"Qing'er."
In Xiahou Yuan's silent gaze, a trace of tenderness emerged.
Even though betrayed by 'Qing'er' and ending up in his current situation, Xiahou Yuan still never harbored resentment towards 'Qing'er'.
"I just don't know, after I'm gone, will the world be peaceful?
Xiahou Yuan's breath became weaker and weaker.
His dantian was sealed, his primordial spirit was suppressed, coupled with losing the will to survive, Xiahou Yuan's vitality was rapidly fading away.
As his end seemed imminent.
Silently.
A consciousness descended.
Lin Yuan was slightly stunned, immediately feeling the endless pain emanating from the position of his chest's xylophone bones and his limbs.
"What kind of start is this?"
Lin Yuan took a light breath, only feeling the pain increase several times.
This made Lin Yuan dare not move, even breathing became cautious.
Soon.
Lin Yuan quickly browsed through Xiahou Yuan's memories.
"One of the world's top experts, one of the most likely to break through to the Ninth Realm, ended up like this after being defeated in a major battle five years ago? "
"If it weren't for me, Xiahou Yuan would have died just now, right?" Lin Yuan felt the extreme weakness of his flesh.
"But since I'm here, everything will be different. This is going to be interesting."
Outside the Great Abyss.
More than ten patrollers took a turn, finding no anomalies, and gathered together to chat.
The North Region was already a cold and harsh land, and the Great Abyss was even more so, deserving the title of a forbidden zone for life.
Who would stay in such a place if not for the sake of guarding the great demon Xiahou Yuan sealed below?
In fact, to say they were guarding was just for show, to confirm whether Xiahou Yuan, imprisoned below, was alive or dead.
The prison of the Great Abyss, people from outside couldn't enter, and people from inside couldn't leave.
"It's worthy of Xiahou Yuan, it's been five years and he's still not dead."
Among the more than ten guards, a man with triangular eyes exclaimed.
Although they didn't dare to enter the eighteen layers beneath the ground, they had the means to confirm Xiahou Yuan's life or death.
This was the last resort left when Tianjianzi sealed Xiahou Yuan here years ago.
"I heard that five years ago, Xiahou Yuan and Tianjianzi's battle was earth-shattering, and in the end, Tianjianzi used the ultimate skill of the Tianjian Sect to defeat Xiahou Yuan's demonic true body."
Another guard whispered.
Surrounded by this frigid land, their only pleasure was discussing the legendary great demon Xiahou Yuan.
After all, he was right beneath their feet.
"I've heard another version, saying that the 'Queen' by Xiahou Yuan's side was actually Tianjianzi's childhood sweetheart, and it was because of this 'Queen's' betrayal that Xiahou Yuan was defeated and sealed."
The third guard couldn't help but speak up.
"Impossible."
"Tianjianzi is such a figure? He holds sway over the righteous path, how could he resort to such methods?"
"Indeed, I also find it impossible. Even if Tianjianzi defeated Xiahou Yuan, he didn't kill him, but sealed him here to linger on."
"In the face of Xiahou Yuan, such a wicked demon, Senior Tianjianzi still harbored a compassionate heart, how could he possibly resort to such despicable means?"
One guard after another expressed their opinions, many of them highly 'admiring' Tianjianzi and naturally unwilling to allow others to have such 'insights'.
"Compassionate?"
"Pitying the heavens and the people?"
"All bullshit!"
Eighteen layers beneath the ground, Lin Yuan's face showed a hint of mockery.
The reason Tianjianzi didn't kill him was solely because of Xiahou Yuan's mastery of a demonic technique—
The Art of Separating the Soul from the Body.
This demonic technique was similar to possession.
After the physical body dies, the soul would fly out.
Seeking a suitable host to inhabit.
The soul is the confluence of spiritual energy and soul, not a physical entity, so it's difficult to control or deal with.
In the battle five years ago, if Tianjianzi had killed Xiahou Yuan, it would have been difficult to stop Xiahou Yuan's soul from escaping.
But letting Xiahou Yuan's soul go was equivalent to fighting for nothing. In fifty or a hundred years, Xiahou Yuan would fully recover his strength and come back.
So, Tianjianzi came up with a method.
That is to seal Xiahou Yuan's physical body, trapping his soul within it, and then suppress his physical body beneath the Great Abyss.
Wanting to slowly torture Xiahou Yuan to death.
This method was indeed effective, just five years later, Xiahou Yuan couldn't hold on anymore.
If it weren't for Lin Yuan's arrival, he would probably have died by now.
"Qing'er."
After watching Xiahou Yuan's memories, Lin Yuan discovered the culprit behind Xiahou Yuan's current fate.
In fact, even if betrayed by 'Qing'er', with Xiahou Yuan's abilities, there was a good chance he could have escaped.
At most, he would have paid a higher price.
It's just that at the time, Xiahou Yuan was utterly despondent, and 'Qing'er's' betrayal shattered his state of mind, so he didn't put up any resistance.
"Foolish."
"Such a strong person, actually swayed by such low-level emotions."
Lin Yuan frowned.
During his prime, Xiahou Yuan was a peak Ninth Realm expert.
And at the peak of the Ninth Realm, it's almost equivalent to a Fourth Rank Evolver in the main world.
If Xiahou Yuan had a strong will to survive five years ago, it's highly unlikely he would have been suppressed here, and Lin Yuan wouldn't be in his current predicament.
"Forget it."
Lin Yuan started to ponder.
The Great Abyss is an extremely magical place, not only a forbidden zone for ordinary people but also for powerful cultivators.
Because the deeper into the Great Abyss, the more the powers possessed by cultivators would be suppressed. The eighteen layers of the Great Abyss are enough to reduce Seventh and Eighth Realm experts to mere mortals.
Of course.
For Lin Yuan, these were not a problem.
What really made it difficult for Lin Yuan were the six black chains that sealed his body.
These six black chains were forged from the essence of the deep sea's millennium-old fine gold. Even a Ninth Realm expert would find it difficult to destroy them.
Moreover, on the surface of the fine gold, there were inscriptions of Tianjian Sect's heritage.
Just these six black chains alone firmly suppressed Lin Yuan.
The slightest movement would result in endless pain.
In addition to the chains, Lin Yuan's physical body and soul were also sealed by layers of secret techniques.
The reason Tianjianzi dared to seal Xiahou Yuan beneath the Great Abyss was because he was certain there was no possibility of escape.
"So many sealing techniques, Xiahou Yuan really can't break free."
Lin Yuan sighed.
But he wasn't Xiahou Yuan. After thinking for a moment, Lin Yuan immediately came up with several methods.
Firstly, it was to minimize the suppression of his body and soul by the six black chains.
Only in this way could Lin Yuan have a chance to regain his strength. As long as he returned to the Fourth Rank, even if he wasn't at the Twelfth Stage, he would still have more than enough to leave the Great Abyss.
"In the Swallowing Evolution Path, there is a method of 'devouring' that can transform all kinds of energies in the world into one's own."
"I will use the Tao of Tai Chi to slowly devour the essence of the deep sea fine gold within the black chains."
"As long as the deep sea fine gold turns into scrap metal, the inscriptions on it will naturally lose their restraining effect on me."
Lin Yuan nodded slightly.
The Swallowing Evolution Path is a path beyond the Sixth Rank in the Seven Star Cave world.
Extremely mysterious, it can influence the mind of an Evolver.
But it must be said that this path of evolution is indeed powerful, even in such dire straits, Lin Yuan can still make it work.
"Let's begin."
Lin Yuan closed his eyes, slowly circulated the qi and blood in his body, enduring tremendous pain while slowly eroding the six black chains.
"With the most basic circulation of qi and blood, there really isn't any backlash from the sealing of the soul."
Lin Yuan calmed his mind.
His physical body and soul were both sealed by layers of secret techniques. As long as he exerted a little force, he would encounter backlash.
But now, just circulating basic qi and blood, it obviously didn't meet the requirements for backlash.
After all, the basic circulation of qi and blood is too widespread; as long as a person is alive and breathing, the qi and blood will slowly circulate.
At the time, Tianjianzi's idea was to torture Xiahou Yuan to death, leaving a way out naturally.
Outside the Great Abyss.
Two guards were slowly approaching the entrance.
These two guards, one big and one small.
The big one was a middle-aged man with a full beard.
The small one was barely twenty years old, with a hint of innocence on his face.
"This is the Great Abyss? It's terrifying."
The smaller guard, named Zhao Si, was a Second Realm cultivator.
At this moment, however, he looked grave, as if under immense pressure.
They hadn't even entered the Great Abyss yet, just approaching it, Zhao Si felt his qi and blood almost submerged. If it were an ordinary person, every step would be accompanied by tremendous pressure.
One can imagine.
Being suppressed in the deepest part of the Great Abyss, the eighteen layers beneath the ground, Xiahou Yuan must endure how terrifying pressure every moment.
"Lower your voice."
The middle-aged man with a full beard beside him whispered.
For some reason, the closer they got to the entrance of the Great Abyss, besides the physical pressure, they felt a kind of mental pressure.
Perhaps it was because the legendary great demon was sealed inside.
The power of a name.
Even though five years had passed.
Even though they knew that this legendary great demon was no longer what he used to be.
Even though they could now trample this legendary great demon underfoot.
But the fear and dread from the depths of their souls still remained.
As if a lamb saw a tiger, even though the tiger was about to die of old age, it still dared not approach.
After a moment.
The two arrived at the entrance of the Great Abyss.
They carefully looked at the entrance.
On the black stone lantern.
A flame was burning slowly inside.
"Xiahou Yuan is alive."
The middle-aged man with the full beard spoke.
This lantern was left by Tianjianzi and can constantly sense Xiahou Yuan's life status in the eighteen layers beneath the ground.
If Xiahou Yuan dies completely, his soul extinguished.
The flame inside the lantern will be extinguished.
But now the flame is still burning.
It means Xiahou Yuan is not dead.
"Not dead."
Zhao Si next to him shrank his head.
He couldn't imagine how Xiahou Yuan had managed to survive in the deepest part of the Great Abyss without any food supply.
"Let's go."
The middle-aged man with the full beard confirmed the status of the lantern and immediately led Zhao Si back.
Just like that.
In the blink of an eye, ten years later...
...
I need POWAAAA :D
15 chapters ahead on patreon: patreon.com/David_Lord
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