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The temple door there was open. Inside, Xu Qing glanced at the statue but didn’t study it closely.

The innkeeper led him to the secret tunnel, and they started down the stairs. In the dark tunnel, the innkeeper’s labored breath echoed out. The innkeeper was racing as fast as he could, but it seemed slow to Xu Qing. Xu Qing shoved him forward, adding a burst of speed so that they soon reached the end of the stairs, and the altar above the abyss.

As soon as Xu Qing was on the altar, he looked around and spotted the cave 3,000 meters away, and the cross-legged figure in white.

She was a beautiful young woman with a flawless face. She seemed peaceful and innocent, except at this moment, her face was pale and she wasn’t moving. Dried blood was caked on her mouth, chin, and garment. The sight caused Xu Qing’s heart to flip-flop, and filled his face with mixed emotions. He recognized her immediately. This was indeed the naive, innocent young woman he’d met in the Merfolk Isles. He remembered how she’d skipped up to him and asked a very strange question.

“Elder Brother, do you A) like snakes in general, or B) like eating snake gallbladders?”

Xu Qing thought back to what the innkeeper had told him along the way. This young woman was that very same white snake.... He could still remember the last time he saw her, back at that inn in Seven Blood Eyes. That little white snake had wrapped around his wrist. [1]

“Right wrist…” he murmured. “Golden thread…. Life essence….” He looked at the young woman in white, who lacked any sort of life essence. He thought about the price she had paid for him, and suddenly felt guilt deep in his heart. This was too great of a kindness. And yet, Xu Qing couldn’t understand why she would do something like this for him, considering she had only been in his presence a few times.

He had experienced wonderful things in his life, but they all had a reason. For example, Sergeant Thunder had seen him gathering corpses to cremate them, and had felt it represented warmth in a chaotic world. Later, after Xu Qing saved his life, Sergeant Thunder treated him like a son. Grandmaster Bai had noticed how much Xu Qing was interested in plants and vegetation, and how he thirsted for knowledge. Thus, he had passed on his own wisdom to him. Master Seventh had admired how Xu Qing acted, and thus gave him a chance to prove himself. He had watched as Xu Qing walked the long path to stand in front of him. That was how Xu Qing had won Master Seventh’s approval.

But there was no explanation for Ling’er’s actions. Xu Qing had never once met a person like this before.

“Why?” he whispered as he looked at her.

The innkeeper stood next to him, his eyes full of sorrow as he looked at Ling’er.

“Because she loves you.”

Xu Qing didn’t say anything.

The innkeeper sighed, and his face full of wrinkles made him seem even more bitter.

“Xu Qing,” he continued softly, “there are some things in life that you can’t explain in just one way. There are things you can’t judge by a single standard. I know you don’t understand what I mean, but believe me, if you think that all good things in life need a logical reason to back them up... well then, Xu Qing, you’re locked into a very dead-end way of thinking.

“There are many types of love; there’s not just one uniform way it happens. Sometimes love is about being devoted to someone. Sometimes it’s about cherishing someone. It can be about admiration or sometimes mutual pain and sorrow. Occasionally love is about being attracted to someone, while other times it’s about chasing the past.

“There are all types of people in this world, and all types of things. Thinking that your way of living is the only correct one, well, that’s narrow-minded. Only when you can accept other ways of living can you really grow up.”

The innkeeper was deeply anxious, but at the same time, felt he needed to explain things clearly. He needed Xu Qing to understand that there were things in the world that didn’t have a good explanation. They happened without a sound reason to back them up. After all, that understanding would be critical to rescuing Ling’er from the Spirit Abyss.

Xu Qing listened to the innkeeper, and it struck a chord deep within him. He started trembling with emotion.

Looking at Ling’er, he said, “How do I save her?”

“She has to be saved within seven days!” the innkeeper said, trying to remain calm despite his anxiety. He looked at Xu Qing. “After Ling’er’s legacy failed, her soul fell into the Spirit Abyss below. Soon, her flesh and blood will start to wither until she’s nothing but a corpse. Using my sealing abilities, I’ve locked her flesh and blood in place, but it won’t last more than seven days. And one day has already passed! You have to bring Ling’er’s soul back from the Spirit Abyss before the time limit is up.”

The innkeeper looked at the abyss beneath the altar. “Outsiders can’t enter the Spirit Abyss without a spirit abyss talisman. Unfortunately, the last known talisman was used years ago, and the person who went inside with it never came out.

“What’s more, I’m not Ling’er’s birth father. I’m not even an Ancient Spirit. That’s why I can’t go inside. The only people who can enter are Ancient Spirits or people whose life force is connected to one. That’s why you’re the only one who can go find her.”

“Ancient Spirits? Spirit Abyss?” Xu Qing had heard about the Ancient Spirit species before, but knew that now wasn’t the time to ask for details about them. [2]

There was a seven-day time limit, and one day had already passed. Xu Qing looked at the innkeeper. “Do you have jade slips with information about the abyss? If so, give them to me. I’ll study them shortly.”

The innkeeper took out a handful of jade slips and handed them to Xu Qing. Indicating one in particular he said, “That will get you back here.” He went on to explain briefly how to use it. Then, it was with pleading eyes that he said, “Please. Ling’er gave her life for you, so... you must save her.”

Xu Qing looked over at Ling’er and thought back to the three times she had saved his life. He nodded. Then he walked to the edge of the altar and, without the slightest hesitation, jumped off. In the blink of an eye, he disappeared into the abyss. Cold air swirled past him, into him, making him feel like his flesh and soul would be frozen solid.

Looking down into the abyss, Xu Qing tapped into his cultivation base, sent his shadow stretching out in all directions, and released the power of his taboo poison. Only then did he examine the information the innkeeper had given him.

Information poured into his mind as he dropped down, giving him a clear understanding of everything related to Ling’er and the Spirit Abyss.

Countless years in the past, long before the time of Ancient Emperor Dark Serenity, there was another species that conquered the Revered Ancient mainland.

They were the Ancient Spirits. In his later years, Emperor Ancient Spirit gathered the collective power of his species as well as destiny aura to do something that shook all of Revered Ancient. It was related to heavenly daos.

Emperor Ancient Spirit was unlike the later Woe-Immortals, or any of the more than 3,000 species that came earlier. Instead of trying to create a heavenly dao, he wanted to become one. And the way he did it was to try to possess an existing heavenly dao.

Creation was a virtue. Possession was a rebellion.

Emperor Ancient Spirit failed, and thus the Revered Ancient mainland suffered a backlash from the heavenly dao. The bloodline of his species was cursed. In the final critical moment, Emperor Ancient Spirit used his terrifying cultivation base power to transport most of his people to another major world, in an attempt to avoid complete catastrophe for his species as a whole. Despite his efforts, his people failed to avoid the curse.

Emperor Ancient Spirit perished. His major world withered, becoming a world of death. The Ancient Spirits within it all died. However, there was more to the curse than just simple death. The power of the curse caused all of the dead Ancient Spirits to be transformed into deceased souls that howled in anguish day and night. That withered world of death became the deceased Ancient Spirit world, where the effects of that curse caused endless torment. And that kingdom was forever buried in the depths of Revered Ancient.

The Spirit Abyss in the Wood Spirit lands was only one entrance that led to the major world originally created by Emperor Ancient Spirit. There were other entrances in other locations.

Although the Ancient Spirit species as a whole was cursed, their bloodline still existed in scattered places in Revered Ancient. And thus, descendants of Emperor Ancient Spirit would occasionally pop up.

As Xu Qing descended into the abyss, he occasionally spotted skeletons stuck in the walls, other descendants of the Ancient Spirits who had attempted and failed at seizing their legacy. There was a good reason for such descendants to make such attempts. After the Ancient Spirit species was transformed into snakes, the curse to their bloodline made life difficult. They lived in a state in which their blood vessels could collapse at any moment.

Thus, they would eventually go to the nearest entrance to the deceased Ancient Spirit world, where they would attempt to use the power from that world to suppress the curse in their blood. Only then could they assume human form. Sadly, the Ancient Spirit species were a pitiable lot. Throughout their lives, they would have to come back to the Ancient Spirit world to renew the suppression of the curse. Every single time they did that, they faced great danger.

Those who failed would have their souls devoured by the Ancient Spirit world, and they would become deceased souls there.

After studying the information, Xu Qing looked at his right wrist and sighed. Then his eyes glittered with determination, and he accelerated downward.

He was like a shooting star that picked up speed as he entered the icy depths of the abyss. He felt a force of expulsion pushing against him, but because that life essence thread was from an Ancient Spirit, it didn’t affect him. He held nothing back as he sped to the bottom of the abyss.

Eventually, he noticed some colossal creature below, surrounded by mists. It was a gargantuan, decomposing snake that pulsed with a strong aura of death. Resting atop the head of that dead snake was a major world. It wasn’t possible to see the world clearly, but howls of grief echoed from it. As those howls pierced through the mist and reached Xu Qing’s ears, he felt a powerful gravitational force latch onto him and drag him toward the major world.

The closer he got, the larger the snake became, until it was so big he couldn’t even tell it was a snake. All he saw was that world, filled with screams of anguish that got clearer and clearer.

Eventually, he slammed into the greater world, causing a rumbling sound to echo out in all directions. A crater appeared on the ground. A moment later, Xu Qing strode out of it and looked around.

1. Ling’er asked him the question in chapter 127. He last saw her in snake form in chapter 168. ☜

2. The Ancient Spirits were mentioned in chapters 430, 431, and 455. ☜