Chapter 637: 100,000-foot-deep Abyss

The others were stunned again.

Eldest Senior Brother had the highest rank among the disciples, right? Whose rank could be higher than Eldest Senior Brother?

Young Yu Zhenghai picked the scabbard up. He cleaned the dirt off it with his tattered clothes. The veins on the scabbard could now be clearly seen.

Lu Zhou understood what was going on and asked, “You called him your senior brother?”

Young Yu Zhenghai answered honestly, “He’s Yu Shangrong. He said he’ll bring me to my master in Great Yan…”

Mingshi Yin said indignantly, “Second Senior Brother has gone overboard! How could he take advantage of the situation like this?”

Pan Zhong and Zhou Jifeng looked around themselves and acted as though they heard nothing. They would certainly make mistakes if they said too much. On the other hand, they would not make mistakes if they kept quiet.

Young Yu Zhenghai was confused. Second Senior Brother? The others addressed him as Eldest Senior Brother even though he was clearly the newest addition.

Lu Zhou looked at young Yu Zhenghai, deep in thoughts.

According to his current resurrected state, Yu Zhenghai did not seem to have completely lost his memories. His dantian’s sea of Qi was still intact. The cultivation method and his masterful sword techniques could be unleashed instinctively. What intrigued Lu Zhou was… his current state was slightly similar to Conch.

The Luo woman, Conch, loss of memories, the awakening of cultivation base… Everything seemed connected…

Lu Zhou had already thought about this when he saw Yu Zhenghai. The more he thought about it, the more he found it made sense. Could the Luo woman also be a Wuqian and was resurrected as Conch?

No. The individual’s lifespan would shorten every time he or she was resurrected. Lu Zhou had examined Conch’s body repeatedly. If she had been reborn, she would not possess such rich vitality. If she was not reincarnated, then, what was it?

The notebook said the red lotus would not limit one’s longevity… In other words, did people with red lotuses have longer lives?

He looked at Conch’s naïve and pure appearance. He could hardly connect her to the Luo woman from 300 years ago. However, the awakening state Conch displayed and Yu Zhenghai’s condition clearly showed that it was possible. Was Conch… the Luo woman?

In the end, Lu Zhou shook his head and dismissed these thoughts. His priority at the moment was to find Yu Shangrong. If it were not for Bi An, they would not have been able to find this place even after a decade.

At this moment, almost none of the others from the Evil Sky Pavilion could reconcile young Yu Zhenghai in his tattered robes to the majestic Yu Zhenghai they knew.

“Where’s Yu Shangrong?” Lu Zhou asked.

Young Yu Zhenghai pointed in the direction of the 100,000-foot-deep abyss and said, “He fell into the abyss to save me…”

“…”

The others were quiet. They could hardly believe this.

Young Yu Zhenghai began to recount what had happened to Lu Zhou.

The others were shocked.

“Lou Lan has the ambition of wolves. It’s no wonder Mister Second hasn’t returned even until now. The grand shaman ambushed him,” Pan Litian said.

“Grand shamans are able to invite deities and set up Formations. There are only a handful of individuals capable of becoming a grand shaman in Lou Lan… Lou Lan is certainly desperate to exchange the lives of that many shamans for Mister Second.”

Mingshi Yin said, “I don’t believe Second Senior Brother is dead. Master… I’ll go and search for him.” As soon as he finished speaking, he turned around, preparing to make his way to the abyss.

Lu Zhou said, “Wait.”

Mingshi Yin stopped moving, puzzled.

Lu Zhou said, “Yu Zhenghai has just been resurrected. His state is unstable. All of you will stay here. I’ll go and take a look.”

“Master!”

His disciples bowed.

“Master, you mustn’t! The prospect of surviving that 100,000-foot-deep abyss is extremely low,” Si Wuya said, “I volunteer to go down there to bring Second Senior Brother back.”

“I’ll go… Your cultivation base is too weak,” Duanmu Sheng said.

“…”

“Stop arguing… My cultivation base is the most profound among us at the moment. I should go.” Mingshi Yin stepped forward.

Pan Litian smiled and said, “All of you are still young. Why should you go? I’m a bag of old bones… I’ll go.”

“Enough.” Lu Zhou raised a hand and interrupted their argument.

Everyone fell silent and looked at Lu Zhou in confusion.

Lu Zhou looked at young Yu Zhenghai next to him and said, “Do as I say.”

“Understood!”

The others no longer dared to object.

…

At the periphery of the 100,000-foot-deep abyss.

If one were to peer over the edge, nothing else but endless darkness could be seen.

The disciples were all shocked by this sight.

Little Yuan’er and Conch could not bear to look at it and quickly averted their eyes.

Si Wuya said, “This abyss is half as long as Heaven’s Moat… Many cultivators with an appetite for adventure had tried to see how deep this abyss was in the past. Unfortunately, none of them made it back.”

“This abyss is too peculiar.”

“Is it more peculiar than the Four Forests? Even Junior Sister Tianxin managed to return from the depths of Misty Forest… We should believe in master,” Duanmu Sheng said.

“You’re right. Everyone said that going too deep into the Four Forests will only spell death… Now, those with a profound cultivation base could go in and bring a mount or two back with them,” Mingshi Yin said with a smile.

Pan Litian remembered his own experience in Blackwood Forest. He said with a sigh, “It’s strange, now that I think of it. The cultivation bases of humans have always been improving and progressing. Humans are exploring and conquering many previously unknown territories. The southernmost part of Heaven’s Moat was once called the highest point of the world 800 years ago, and nobody could reach it. Yet, many had conquered it throughout the years…”

The others nodded in agreement to his words.

Curiosity and exploration were natural for humans.

Lu Zhou recalled what the Luo woman wrote in her notebook. Perhaps, she had come here to explore as well. However, Great Yan’s Imperial tutor was the exact opposite. He longed for peace and sought a comfortable life.

“Yu Shangrong is my disciple, after all. If he’s alive, I want to see him. If he’s dead, I want to see his corpse,” Lu Zhou said as he stepped into the air above the abyss.

His disciples bowed in unison. “We’ll wait for you here, master.”

“We’ll be waiting for you, Pavilion Master.”

Lu Zhou swept his gaze across the Evil Sky Pavilion disciples and members before he nodded. Then, he descended slowly into the abyss.

The members of the Evil Sky Pavilion watched as he descended. It did not take long before his figure was swallowed by the darkness.

…

Lu Zhou maintained the speed of descent. When he looked up, he could still see the light from the sky.

After a while, he increased the speed of his descent. The wind roared in his ears, and he activated his protective energy.

He kept descending and would look up every so often. The sky was growing smaller and smaller, and the light was growing dimmer and dimmer.

“Is this abyss truly bottomless?” Lu Zhou did not believe this; he continued descending.

After some time, Lu Zhou suddenly felt a pulling force. “A suction force?!”

Lu Zhou felt his body grow heavier. It was as though some energy was pulling him from below, causing him to expend more and more Primal Qi as well.

“With Yu Shangrong’s cultivation base, even if he falls into the depth of the abyss, he couldn’t have died.”

Lu Zhou slowed his descent. The lower he descended, the stronger the pulling force became.

There was a simple principle behind this. When he sank to the point where the pulling force was greater than his strength, that would be the point of no return.

Where was Yu Shangrong?