Quest for the Heavenly Abyss

The mountain wind rolled up dead leaves and swept past Qingya Village. Ye Mo squatted by the stream and washed herbs. His knuckles were frozen white by the cold water. A muffled thunder-like vibration came from afar. Seven sword lights cut through the leaden clouds and cast distorted shadows on the old locust tree at the entrance of the village. "Ye boy! Run quickly!" Hunter Zhang came running in a staggering manner. There was a half-broken blood-stained broken arrow stuck in his back. "The people of Qinghe Sect... say that you stole their Foundation Establishment Pill!" Ye Mo's pupils shrank suddenly. The "Shennong's Materia Medica" in his arms slipped into the water. Three days ago when he was gathering herbs in Nanshan Mountain, he did indeed see several people in Taoist robes chasing a monster. At that time, the bulging sarcoma on the abdomen of that fire fox was clearly the inner core only possessed by Foundation Establishment cultivators. The sword lights were getting closer. The leader stepped on the Red Scale Sword. The jade plaque on his waist was engraved with the four characters "Qinghe Sect Law Enforcement". Ye Mo turned and ran, but found that his retreat had been blocked. Three sword lights attacked from the left and right sides. Where the sword qi passed, the rocks instantly cracked into powder. "How bold!" Law enforcement disciple Li Yanxi sneered. "When the case of the stolen Foundation Establishment Pill was traced to Qingya Village, I still didn't believe that an ordinary mortal could steal a high-level pill." He shook his wrist. Blood-colored runes appeared on the sword body. "But your Nine Yin Absolute Meridian... saves us the trouble of refining medicine." Nine Yin Absolute Meridian? Ye Mo had never heard of this term. He only felt a sudden sharp pain in his heart, as if countless ants were gnawing in his blood vessels. The scorch mark left by being struck by lightning by the stream seven days ago was emitting a faint blue light at this moment. Snake-shaped patterns appeared under his skin. "Catch him! Alive or dead!" Li Yanxi shouted loudly. The six disciples behind him formed the Big Dipper sword formation. Ye Mo staggered backward. At the moment when he stepped on a broken branch, a sudden change occurred. The ground exploded with a loud bang. A bucket-thick red chain snake burst out of the ground. This was exactly the monster that was being chased by the Qinghe Sect three days ago! Its eyes were as red as blood. The sarcoma on its neck split open, and a pigeon egg-sized Foundation Establishment Pill rolled to the dust. "You evil beast, seek death!" Li Yanxi's sword light soared three feet. But Ye Mo involuntarily pounced on the pill. As soon as his fingertip touched the warm pill body, the pill suddenly turned into a blood mist and drilled into his glabella. The intense pain flooded his consciousness like a tide. He heard the crisp sound of bones breaking. Countless small bumps bulged under his skin, as if there were living things swimming inside. "No good! He is absorbing the Foundation Establishment Pill!" A disciple exclaimed. Li Yanxi's face changed suddenly. "Stop him quickly!" Six long swords stabbed at the same time. Ye Mo instinctively raised his hand to block. But he saw his arm instantly swell three times. Bronze-colored scales appeared under his skin. The red chain snake hissed. The snake's head suddenly exploded and turned into a blood bead that merged into Ye Mo's palm. "Ah——!" Ye Mo roared to the sky. Seven blood-colored air columns sprayed out from his seven orifices. Li Yanxi's Red Scale Sword stalled in mid-air. The sword body began to melt as if being burned by an invisible flame. "Impossible! This is... the Ancient Devouring Heaven Art!" Li Yanxi retreated in horror. "Who are you exactly?" Ye Mo couldn't hear any sound. He only felt full of power all over his body, as if he was about to overturn the entire mountain. When he opened his eyes again, his pupils had turned into vertical snake pupils. Wherever his sight reached, all things were shrouded in a blood-colored mist. "Kill!" Instinctively, he pounced on the nearest cultivator. At the moment when his sharp claws tore open the opponent's throat, a hot current surged into his dantian. The medicinal power of the Foundation Establishment Pill was running wild in his body. Ye Mo felt that his meridians were about to burst. But this kind of pain actually gave him a morbid pleasure. The Big Dipper sword formation instantly collapsed. Li Yanxi turned to escape, but Ye Mo captured his ankle from a distance. "Spare me! We can cooperate..." His plea stopped abruptly. The whole person was torn in half. The smell of blood stimulated Ye Mo's nerves. He pounced on the remaining disciples like a wild beast. When the last person fell to the ground, the old locust tree at the entrance of the village suddenly emitted a mournful sound. The trunk split open a gap, revealing half of a bronze furnace tripod. The surface of the copper furnace was covered with obscure runes. The nine dragon-shaped patterns coiled on the furnace cover suddenly came alive. Ye Mo reached out and touched the furnace body. The blood bead in his palm merged into the copper furnace. The entire mountain began to tremble. "After a thousand years... I finally waited." An old voice sounded in his mind. "I am the first-generation sect master of Taixu Sword Sect. Are you willing to inherit my mantle?" Before Ye Mo could answer, the sky suddenly became covered with dark clouds. Nine bucket-thick thunderbolts struck down. He hugged the copper furnace and rolled into the mountain stream. His consciousness gradually blurred in the intense pain. The last thing he saw was the slowly opening dragon eyes on the furnace cover...