“Jump!” Gu Xingyu gave an order, and without wasting any time, the entire Gu family jumped into the gash that had appeared in the ground below.
Although it seemed like endless darkness, filled with slight specs of shimmering light, none of them hesitated as they dove straight into the boundless abyss, meeting whatever danger that might come their way.
Luo Xiao had also jumped into the fissue without any delay; but even then, he still kept his senses taut and his mind vigilant.
The darkness surrounded him and cut off all other senses. He could no longer feel or even hear any of the other descendants that had jumped into the gap alongside him, instead it was as if his entire body was wrapped in a warm and comfortable blanket of darkness.
A few gleams of light shot past, resembling shooting stars in the sky, but although the beauty of these few lights was easy to attract attention, Luo Xiao did not dare to relax his vigilance. He knew that many had died in this realm, and he did not believe that the entrance was without danger.
The darkness made it difficult for him to observe his surroundings, as he could not feel anything, nor could he move his body. He was wrapped in the darkness, seemingly falling through an endless night sky, only interrupted by the scattered lights that flashed past from time to time.
During the fall, Luo Xiao’s sense of time was becomming more and more confusing. He did not know whether he had just arrived within this dark place, or if he had already spent days here, unable to move out.
Even so, there was no panic in Luo Xiao’s heart as he took a deep breath and kept on high alert.
After an unknown amount of time, Luo Xiao’s eyes narrowed as he looked at the distance. The darkness was slowly receeding and his body began to regain its ability to move little by little.
.....
It was not a sudden change, but it resembled a morning, where dawn would bring light to the world after a night filled with darkness. His body also seemed to regain his strength in a way similar to when one would awaken in the morning.
Luo Xiao could not help but narrow his eyes as he looked at the arriving daylight, but he did not lessen his guard towards the darkness behind him. He felt that the boundless darkness seemed to be much more dangerous than the light ahead.
“Crap!” Just as Luo Xiao was about to reach the light, he felt as if something came rushing towards him from the darkness behind. He still did not have full control over his body, and as a soul cultivator, his physical strength could not withstand as much damage as those who cultivated their inner energies, so he could only use his abilities to swiftly avoid the incoming attack.
“Black Pagoda Art!”
Knowing that his body would not be able to withstand the incoming attack, Luo Xiao quickly roused the Soul Energy within his body and used one of the spiritual art techniques he had learned before.
The Black Pagoda Art was one of the spiritual art skills that Luo Xiao had practiced for a long time, and he had already managed to reach the eight layer, making it almost impossible to destroy for anyone beneath the rank of a Heaven-ranked expert.
However, Luo Xiao dared not to gamble with his life, so although he had activated his defense, he also wanted to leave the darkness as quickly as possible, and thus used another of his more familiar abilities right away.
“Moon Goddess’ Hand!”
The Moon Goddess’ Hand was a spiritual art skill that Luo Xiao had gotten at the Cloudsoar Academy, and it was one of the most suitable spiritual art skills he had practiced.
This particular skill needed the user to be, at least, a Heavenly Soul, so it was few soul experts that were able to use it, but due to this requirement, the damage it could cause was also much more outstanding than most others.
Eighty-seven illusionary hands appeared in the air, all created by the spiritual energy that Luo Xiao activated, creating a large wall of glistening, transparent energy-hands, which both blocked, but also swatted at the attack coming his way.
The Moon Goddess’ Hand was able to create up to one-hundred hand-imprints at most, and when the one hundred hands appeared in the sky, they were able to crush mountains.
Unfortunately, Luo Xiao was still unable to fully mitigate the damage behind the attack that was shot toward him.
A long and indistinct black tentacle seemed to whip towards his back, shattering the many hands that were trying to push back, and kept hitting the Black Pagoda Art, causing cracks to appear on the surface.
Luo Xiao used the impact from the collision to traverse the final distance towards the light, and quickly, the darkness faded, alongside the attacking beast that returned to the boundless abyss.
As soon as the light embraced Luo Xiao, his sight was blinded, and before he could open his eyes once more, he found himself being dropped on a hard and dusty surface.
Opening his eyes, Luo Xiao quickly realized that he had arrived at the Secret Realm, and that it was not without reason that it was known as a burial place for countless talents.
Raising his arm and wiping the bloodstains that were leaking at the corner of his lips, Luo Xiao took a deep breath and quickly adjusted his mindset.
He had landed in a large jungle, but unlike most forests and jungles in the Tiandi Continent, this place was clearly not a friendly place. Many of the plants close by were facing him, and while some had teeth and openings in the middle of their pistil, others were slowly releasing their vines, creeping towards him with no good intentions.