Quest for the Heavenly Abyss

Chapter 2: Netherworld Body Tempering

Ye Mo woke up in the boiling magma, with half a charred snake scale stuck in his throat. His left hand was still tightly clutching the bronze furnace tripod. At this moment, the nine-dragon pattern on the furnace body was emitting an eerie purple light. Under the reflection of the dark red lava, it seemed as if it would devour people at any time.

"Welcome to the Abyss of Demons, ant." A hoarse voice surged from all directions, carrying a sulfurous smell. Ye Mo suddenly looked up and saw a suspended upside-down iron city above his head. The city walls were densely covered with rusty swords, each of which was dripping black blood.

"Who?" Ye Mo struggled to stand up and found that his legs were covered with fine scales. When stepping on the solidified lava, it made a harsh friction sound. There was a fist-sized wound in his abdomen. The wound that should have been fatal was now healing at a speed visible to the naked eye. For every inch healed, there was an additional cyan-purple vein under the skin.

"I am the ancient demon god suppressed here, and also your savior at this moment." The voice condensed into substantial black fog, revealing half a rotten body. "When you swallowed the Foundation Establishment Pill three days ago, a wisp of my remnant soul parasitized in your body."

Ye Mo suddenly remembered that when the Foundation Establishment Pill turned into a blood mist and drilled into his glabella, there was indeed a cold breath wandering in his sea of consciousness. He operated the Devouring Heaven Technique to expel it, but found that the spiritual energy in his dantian was like boiling water. Every time it was operated, it would cause an excruciating pain like being bitten by ten thousand ants.

"Don't waste your effort. Now you can't even use the lowest-level Qi-inducing Technique." The demon god let out an ugly laugh. "But you can choose... to sign a blood contract with me."

A bone spur covered with barbs extended from the black fog and pierced Ye Mo's palm. At the moment when the blood dripped into the lava, the entire iron city suddenly lit up with scarlet runes. Ye Mo felt a huge power surge into his body. The originally broken meridians were forcibly widened, and the bones emitted a groan of being overburdened.

"This is the Netherworld Body Refining Technique, a great gift specially prepared for a waste like you." The voice of the demon god became greedy. "Every time you die, your body will be closer to the body of a demon god."

Before the words had finished, a muffled thunder-like vibration came from the iron city. Three hundred and sixty chains hung down from the clouds. At the end of each chain was a rotting corpse. Ye Mo instinctively wanted to escape, but found that his feet had sunk deep into the lava. The bronze-colored scales were spreading upward along his calves.

"The first level, the Yin Soldier Calamity." The voice of the demon god carried a morbid excitement. "Kill a hundred people, and I will bestow upon you the sword qi transformation into demon technique."

The first Yin soldier to rush over was covered in rotten flesh. The rusty sword in his hand slashed out a dark green sword qi. Ye Mo raised the copper furnace to block. Suddenly, the nine dragons on the furnace body came alive. The dragon mouths opened wide and devoured the sword qi. He felt that the furnace tripod was greedily absorbing power. The originally exhausted dantian actually surged with a wisp of spiritual energy.

"Good thing!" Ye Mo's spirits were lifted. He took the initiative to meet the group of Yin soldiers. For every sword qi swallowed by the copper furnace, the dragon eyes on the furnace cover would brighten a bit. When the hundredth sword qi was absorbed, the copper furnace suddenly let out a dragon's roar, and a purple light penetrated Ye Mo's glabella.

"Sword qi transformation into demon!" The demon god roared. Ye Mo only felt his sea of consciousness being torn apart. A blood sword entwined with demonic qi appeared out of thin air. Instinctively, he swung a sword. Where the purple-black sword qi passed, the bodies of the Yin soldiers were like being corroded by concentrated sulfuric acid. They turned into blood water without even having time to let out a scream.

"Not enough!" The demon god roared. "Kill them all! Let the blood soak your bones!"

Ye Mo's consciousness began to blur. He saw that his arm had completely turned bronze-colored, and his nails had turned into half-foot-long claws. Whenever the blood of a Yin soldier splashed on his body, lumps would bulge on his skin, and then with a "pop", they would burst open, revealing the flashing demonic patterns inside.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!" He slaughtered wildly until the last Yin soldier was disemboweled. When the thousandth corpse fell, the iron city suddenly shook violently. Thirty chains fell from the air and nailed Ye Mo to the rock wall.

"Next is... the refinement by Netherworld Fire." The voice of the demon god carried pain. "You must endure the burning of the Nine Netherworld Fire for seven days and seven nights. Otherwise, your soul will be scattered."

Dark red flames seeped out from the rock wall. Ye Mo's skin was instantly carbonized and peeled off. He bit off three molars and endured the intense pain. However, he found that the flames were reshaping his bones. Whenever a bone was burned to ashes, demonic patterns would recondense at the original place.

"Remember this pain..." The voice of the demon god became weaker and weaker. "When you can face the burning with a smile, you will be able to control the Nine Netherworld Fire."

Ye Mo didn't know how much time had passed. His consciousness repeatedly jumped between being awake and unconscious. At dawn on the seventh day, when the last trace of flame was extinguished, he looked down at his palm - under the skin, there were intertwined golden and black veins flowing. Each vein seemed like a living spiritual meridian.

"Congratulations, you have achieved great success in the Yin-Yang Hybrid Body." The remnant soul of the demon god appeared. At this moment, his body had completely rotted. "Now, use the sword qi transformation into demon to cut open the iron city."

Ye Mo raised the blood sword and felt the hunger coming from the sword body. When he stabbed the sword into the rock wall, the entire iron city suddenly let out a wail. Countless Yin souls surged out from the sword crack. The blood sword crazily devoured these souls. The sword body began to expand and finally turned into a ten-foot giant sword.

"Cut!" The demon god and Ye Mo shouted at the same time. At the moment when the giant sword fell, Ye Mo saw his own reflection - in the vertical snake pupils, golden flames were burning. His hair had turned silver-white, and the veins flowing under his skin were like living things.

At the moment when the iron city was cut in two, Ye Mo felt something break free from his body. Suddenly, a memory appeared in his sea of consciousness: three thousand years ago, the sect master of the **** perished together with the ancient demon god and sealed the demon god in the Abyss of Demons. And his Nine Yin Absolute Meridian is precisely the key to opening the seal.

"You deceived me!" Ye Mo roared. "You don't want me to inherit your mantle at all. Instead, you want to resurrect through my body!"

The remnant soul of the demon god let out a strange laugh. "That's right, but so what? Now, you are already half a demon body." Suddenly, he pounced on Ye Mo. "Let me devour you, and we can rule the world!"

Instinctively, Ye Mo swung the blood sword, but found that the sword body began to melt. His consciousness became blurred again. Vaguely, he saw the copper furnace suspended in mid-air. Suddenly, all the nine dragons on the furnace cover opened their eyes...