88: Chapter 88 Leaving the Myriad Spiders to Face the Fallen Dragon, Encountering Demonic Traces to Explore the Truth

After leaving Wanzhu Mountain, the world remained dim.

Ye Qing identified the direction and traveled at a steady pace toward the northwest, where the main vein of the "Dragonfall Abyss" was located.

Now that his cultivation had reached the Late Golden Core Stage, his travel speed was several times faster than before. His aura was restrained like an abyss, blending into the thin clouds in the air. Unless someone of the same cultivation level or a higher Realm deliberately searched for him, it would be extremely difficult to discover him.

He did not rush at full speed. Instead, while flying, he swept his powerful Divine Sense over the mountains and terrain below. Combining this with the map information obtained from Shopkeeper Zhou Ming, Deacon Chen Xuan, the black market, and his own explorations, he continuously corrected and perfected his understanding of the vast and dangerous area of the "Dragonfall Abyss".

The "Dragonfall Abyss" was not merely a single abyss.

It was a "Deadly Land" spanning tens of thousands of miles, with extremely complex terrain, violent and chaotic Spiritual Qi, fragile and unstable space, and riddled with countless dangers and unsolved mysteries.

Its core area was said to be a terrifying, bottomless rift hundreds of miles wide, shrouded year-round in thick black mist and spatial storms; ordinary Cultivators would surely die if they approached. Meanwhile, dangerous places like "Starfall Valley", "Earth Dragon Ridge", and "Chi-Yan Mountain Area" were merely the "tentacles" or "radiation zones" extending outward from the massive body of the "Dragonfall Abyss".

The ruins of the ancient teleportation array were located near the boundary between the core area of the "Dragonfall Abyss" and the extension zone of "Starfall Valley", sealed by powerful ancient Restrictions and spatial turbulence. This was the reason why the Tianxing Sect, Liuyun City, Ancient Sword City, and even the Yao Race coveted it but found it difficult to penetrate deep inside.

"With my current strength, the core area of the 'Dragonfall Abyss' is still unpredictably dangerous and should not be entered for now. However, I can go explore the 'deep outer perimeter' near the core, or the areas further out from the ancient teleportation array ruins, and perhaps find some high-level resources to enrich my Cave Heaven World."

Ye Qing calculated in his heart. He had already obtained three star source crystals, which were enough for now. However, the growth of his Cave Heaven World required massive amounts of high-quality nutrients, and his own cultivation improvement also needed more insights and accumulation. The depths of the "Dragonfall Abyss" undoubtedly contained more Opportunities.

Of course, the risks were also greater. Not only was the environment more hostile, but the entrenched Yao Beasts were of higher rank, and he was more likely to encounter elite troops of the Yao Race or even experts from the major Human Race factions.

"Stability is paramount; I will act according to the situation."

He set his tone, shifted his escape light slightly, and chose a relatively "obscure" route that was said to have records of producing ancient Cultivator Immortal Cave ruins, heading toward the depths of the "Dragonfall Abyss".

He flew like this for about two days.

The scenery ahead became increasingly desolate and dead silent.

The earth presented a sickly gray-black color, vegetation was almost extinct, and only some twisted strange rocks, as if ravaged by an invisible force, stood erect. The sky was perpetually gloomy, with low-hanging clouds rolling slowly, showing an eerie dark red or lead-gray color. From time to time, tiny spatial cracks would streak across like lightning, only to rapidly heal.

The Spiritual Qi in the air was thin and violent, the Five Elements were in disorder, and it was mixed with wisps of heart-palpitating, seemingly ancient, malevolent Qi and the power of spatial annihilation.

"This is the true scene of the deep outer perimeter of the 'Dragonfall Abyss'... It is indeed not a kind place."

Ye Qing raised his vigilance to the maximum, maintaining his Divine Sense within five hundred zhang around him, carefully perceiving every trace of energy fluctuation and spatial abnormality. At the same time, he pushed the medicinal power of the "void concealment pill" to the limit, his figure almost merging with the dim environment around him.

After traveling another hundred or so miles, a rolling hilly area shrouded in black mist appeared ahead.

The black mist was thick as ink and rolling ceaselessly. When his Divine Sense probed inside, it felt like falling into a quagmire, making it difficult to reach far. Moreover, low, irritating roars and a faint, lingering fishy stench faintly emanated from it.

The map marked this place as the "Black Nightmare Hills", which produced a poisonous spiritual plant called the "Nightmare Flower". However, it was more importantly infested with a type of Tier 3 gregarious Yao Beast called the "Nightmare Beast", which was adept at creating illusions and mental attacks and was extremely difficult to deal with.

Ye Qing had little interest in the "Nightmare Flower" and was about to detour when the edge of his Divine Sense caught a trace of an extremely weak, yet exceptionally pure... fluctuation of star power?

The fluctuation came from deep within the black mist hills. It was not fixed but, like breathing, flickered and moved rhythmically.

"Star power? In such a malevolent place? Could it be some kind of special star-attributed Yao Beast, or... a hidden star Ore vein?"

His heart moved slightly. After a moment of contemplation, he decided to approach and investigate. If it really was a special star-attributed Yao Beast or Ore vein, it might be a good supplement for his Cave Heaven World.

He quietly lowered his altitude, restrained all his aura, and like a ghost, hugged the edge of the hills, sneaking toward the source of the star power fluctuation.

Visibility in the black mist was extremely low, and the suppression on Divine Sense was strong. Ye Qing could only rely on the "Void Dao Seed"'s keen sensing of energy fluctuations and his own familiarity with star power, carefully moving forward under the cover of the strange rocks in the hills and the black mist.

The deeper he went, the clearer the star power fluctuation became, even mixed with a trace of... a faint bloody smell, and the residual Spiritual Qi disorder after a battle.

"Something is going on."

Ye Qing became increasingly vigilant. Hiding behind a huge weathered rock, he condensed his Divine Sense into a line, piercing through the layers of black mist, and struggled to probe toward the core area of the fluctuation.

About three miles away, in a relatively open valley, the scene entered his "field of vision".

In the center of the valley lay a massive Yao Beast corpse. Judging by its appearance, it was a Tier 3 Early Stage "Silver-Armored Earth Dragon" over five zhang long, covered in dark silver scales with a spiral horn on its head!

Beside the Earth Dragon corpse were scattered many fragmented Ores that emitted a faint starlight. These were the source of the star power he had sensed earlier—a medium-quality star Ore called "Star-Glow Stone", commonly used for refining low-level star Magical Artifacts or setting up Formations.

At the edge of the valley, near a crack in the mountain wall where the black mist was particularly thick, stood three figures. They were not from the Human Race.

The one in the center was a young man, eight feet tall, with a handsome but sinister face, dark golden pupils, and dressed in a gorgeous dark gold robe. His aura was vast and obscure, clearly reaching the Tier 3 Late Stage (Late Golden Core Stage)! There was a faint spatial distortion around him, evidently indicating he had some control over spatial power. This was the Young Master.

On the left was a burly giant with a bare upper body, blue-gray skin, rock-like knotted muscles, and a pair of short curved horns on his forehead. His aura was fierce, reaching the peak of Tier 3 Middle Stage (Golden Core Middle Stage Peak), and he was a "Stone-Armored Demon Ox" transformed Yao General.

On the right was a woman with a seductive figure and a charming face, wearing revealing black leather armor. She had a pair of transparent wings as thin as cicada wings on her back, and a scorpion tail with a barb extended from her tailbone. Her aura was also at the Tier 3 Middle Stage, and she should be a "Phantom Poison Scorpion" transformed Yao General.

Three transformed Yao Generals! The leader was even at the Late Golden Core Stage! At this moment, they were gathered in front of the crack in the mountain wall, whispering to each other with vigilant expressions, seemingly investigating or guarding something.

At their feet lay two Human Race corpses. Judging by the fragments of their clothing, they seemed to be from some small Sect or Loose Cultivators, with cultivation around the Foundation Establishment. They were already dead, their deaths tragic, as if torn apart by sharp claws.

"Three high-level Yao Generals, hunting a Silver-Armored Earth Dragon here, and still guarding that crack? What is in the crack?" Ye Qing analyzed rapidly in his heart.

Anything that could make three Middle to Late Golden Core Stage Yao Generals so serious, even going so far as to kill the trespassing Human Race Cultivators to silence them, must not be simple. It was very likely related to star power; otherwise, it would not have attracted the Silver-Armored Earth Dragon (this beast loved to eat Ores containing star power) to come and be killed.

Was it a more precious star Ore vein? Or some kind of star-attributed Heaven And Earth Treasure? Or perhaps... a clue related to the ancient teleportation array?

Ye Qing's eyes flickered, and he did not act rashly.

The three Yao Generals were not weak, especially the Young Master, who gave him a faint sense of danger; his strength was probably not inferior to an ordinary Human Race Cultivator at the Golden Core Perfection. A head-on fight might not be favorable, and it would easily alert the enemy.

"I need to win by wit, or wait for them to leave before investigating."

He patiently lay in ambush, restraining all his aura and Divine Sense fluctuations, silently observing only with the "Void Dao Seed"'s instinctive sensing of energy.

In the valley, the Young Master Yao General seemed to have finished checking the crack and turned to give orders to his two subordinates.

The Stone-Armored Demon Ox Yao General responded with a muffled sound, walked to the Silver-Armored Earth Dragon's corpse, and began to crudely dissect it, taking away the Yao Dan, horn, heart, and other valuable parts, and collecting the scattered "Star-Glow Stone" Ores.

The Phantom Scorpion Demoness scanned the surroundings vigilantly, her thin wings vibrating slightly behind her back, emitting invisible mental fluctuations as if sensing for any hidden observers.

Ye Qing felt a shiver in his heart and pushed the effects of the "void concealment pill" to their limit, even channeling a trace of Chaos from his Cave Heaven World to cover himself, completely isolating himself from all mental detection.

The Scorpion Demoness's perception swept over Ye Qing's hiding spot and paused slightly, seemingly puzzled, but failing to find anything unusual, she eventually moved it away.

A moment later, the Stone-Armored Demon Bull General finished cleaning up, gathered the spoils into a Storage Pouch, and handed it to the Young Master.

The Young Master took it without even looking, his gaze casting once more toward the crack in the mountain wall, his brows furrowed slightly as if he were hesitant.

"Young Lord, this place is not suitable for a long stay. The commotion just now was not small; although the small fry have been cleared, there is no guarantee that it won't attract other experts of the Human Race. That thing still needs some time to mature, so why not retreat first and come back later?" the Phantom Scorpion Demoness suggested in a low voice, her tone coquettish yet cold.

The Young Master was silent for a moment, then nodded slowly: "Very well. Leave a 'Dark Shadow Mark', and let us go."

As he spoke, he flicked his finger, and a nearly invisible dark golden speck of light sank into the rock wall beside the crack, immediately vanishing without a trace.

After doing this, the three Yao generals did not linger. Their figures flickered, turning into three blurred beams of light that plunged into the rolling black mist, disappearing in the blink of an eye, heading directly toward the deeper parts of the Dragonfall Abyss.

The valley returned to silence. Only the broken corpse of the Silver-Armored Earth Dragon, a faint scent of blood, and the deep, dark crack remained, silently recounting everything that had just occurred.

Ye Qing did not appear immediately.

He lurked in place for about half an hour more, confirming that the three Yao generals had truly left and would not return for a surprise attack, before quietly walking out from his hiding spot.

He first arrived beside the corpse of the Silver-Armored Earth Dragon.

The corpse had been mostly dissected, but the remaining flesh, blood, and bones still contained significant life essence and Earth-element and star source essence. He waved his hand, collecting the remains and sending them into the waste area of his Cave Heaven World.

He also picked up the scattered, uncollected fragments of "Star Shine Stone" from the ground.

Then, he walked slowly to the crack in the mountain wall.

The crack was about a foot wide, extending inward into a bottomless depth. Chilly winds mixed with pure star source essence surged out from within. On the rock wall at the edge of the crack, that "Dark Shadow Mark" was extremely subtle; if he hadn't known about it beforehand and possessed a powerful Divine Sense, it would have been nearly impossible to detect.

"Leaving a mark to monitor? Quite cautious."

Ye Qing did not touch or erase the mark, so as not to alert the enemy. He carefully probed into the crack with his Divine Sense, while simultaneously using his "Void Dao Seed" to sense the energy flow inside.

The crack was initially very narrow, but after traveling a few yards, it suddenly opened up into a small, natural stone chamber.

In the center of the stone chamber was a small "puddle" the size of a washbasin, appearing a dreamy deep blue. The puddle was not true water, but rather star source essence that had condensed into liquid, emitting a heart-palpitating aura of pure star source essence.

In the center of the "puddle" grew a strange plant.

The plant was only three inches tall, crystal clear like blue crystal, with three shuttle-shaped leaves. In the center of the leaves rested a fruit the size of a pigeon's egg, perfectly round, displaying the deep colors of the starry sky, with natural star Dao patterns flowing across its surface!

The fruit was not yet fully mature, but it already emitted a majestic star Dao aura and a strange, calming fragrance that seemed capable of stabilizing the Divine Soul and purifying the Dao Heart.

"This is... the 'star soul spirit-calming fruit'?!" Ye Qing's pupils constricted, his heart shaken.

This item was a legendary star-attributed spiritual plant that only grew in places where star source essence gathered and the environment was extremely special and pure. Its fruit contained pure star Soul Power and spirit-calming Dao aura, making it a primary ingredient for top-tier Medicinal Pills that enhance Divine Soul cultivation, break through Heart Demons, and stabilize the Dao foundation; it could even assist a Cultivator in comprehending the Great Dao of the Stars, making its value immeasurable!

No wonder the Silver-Armored Earth Dragon was guarding this place; it must have sensed the scent of this fruit and wanted to wait for it to mature to consume it, perhaps hoping to use it to achieve a Breakthrough. It was also no wonder that the three high-ranking Yao generals valued it so much, even going so far as to kill those who accidentally entered to silence them.

The "star soul spirit-calming fruit" was equally useful to the Yao Race, especially for those who Cultivate star-attributed Cultivation Techniques or need to strengthen their Divine Soul and resist Heart Demons; it could be called a supreme treasure.

"Good heavens, so it was this kind of treasure. Looking at the state of this fruit, it likely needs some time before it is fully mature—perhaps ten days, half a month, or even longer. The 'still needs some time to mature' that the Young Master mentioned must refer to this."

Ye Qing's thoughts raced.

How could he miss such an Opportunity?

But taking the unripe fruit directly would greatly reduce its effectiveness and be a waste of a Heaven And Earth Treasure. Leaving it here to wait for it to mature naturally would risk complications, as the three Yao generals could return at any time or other unforeseen events could occur.

"Perhaps... I could take it along with its roots and transplant it into the Cave Heaven World to Cultivate? The Cave Heaven World is rich in star source essence and has a better environment; perhaps it could accelerate its maturation and ensure its medicinal properties are not lost."

He carefully sensed the root system of the "star soul spirit-calming fruit" plant. The roots were deeply embedded in the pool of star source essence below and were faintly connected to the local earth veins, but they were not inseparable.

"I will give it a try. Even if there is slight damage during the transplant, it can recover with the nourishment of the Cave Heaven World's Origin. It is better than leaving it here and inviting unnecessary variables."

He hesitated no longer. He first carefully scanned the stone chamber with his Divine Sense to confirm there were no other Restrictions or traps.

Then, he took out a set of specially made jade shovels and jade bottles and came to the side of the "puddle".

He first carefully collected all of the star source essence liquid, putting it into the special jade bottles, obtaining three bottles in total. This liquid was also an excellent auxiliary material for refining Medicinal Pills and Artifact Refining.

Next, he used the jade shovel to carefully dig up the rock and soil around the plant's root system, trying his best to keep the roots intact, especially those few strands of "star soul roots" attached to the main root that looked like condensed starlight.

The process required extreme care and patience; the slightest carelessness could damage the foundation of the spiritual plant.

It took a full hour before Ye Qing successfully removed the entire "star soul spirit-calming fruit" plant, along with the large clump of star spiritual soil wrapped around its roots.

The moment the plant left the soil, it trembled slightly, and its radiance dimmed a little, but it did not lose its vitality.

Ye Qing did not dare to delay. He immediately opened the portal to his Cave Heaven World, carefully sent the plant along with the spiritual soil into the Cave Heaven World, and placed it directly in the center of the Floating Landmass, right below the star core. He watered it with the newly collected star source essence liquid and set up a small Spirit Gathering and nourishing Formation using star Formation Flags to help it stabilize and recover.

After doing all this, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Looking back at the stone chamber in the crack, it was now empty, with only the marks of his excavation remaining.

He thought for a moment and decided not to make any extra arrangements, lest he overdo it.

"Got it, leave quickly."

He quickly exited the crack, his figure flickering as he plunged into the black mist, speeding away in the direction opposite to where the Yao generals had left.

He traveled hundreds of miles in one breath, found a hidden pile of rocks to hide in, and set up Restrictions.

Only then did he sink his consciousness into the Cave Heaven World to check the status of the "star soul spirit-calming fruit".

Under the nourishment of the Cave Heaven World's star core and the assistance of the Formation, the plant had stabilized. Its radiance had recovered, and it was even more lustrous than when it was outside. The unripe fruit seemed to have grown slightly larger, and the Dao aura flowing around it appeared even more lively.

"As expected, the environment of the Cave Heaven World is more suitable for its growth. Given time, it will surely mature."

Ye Qing nodded with satisfaction. Although this exploration did not directly yield clues about the ancient teleportation array, obtaining this rare treasure was a huge harvest. This fruit would have immeasurable value for his future Breakthrough to the Nascent Soul, resisting Heart Demons, and strengthening his Divine Soul.

"Those three Yao generals appear to be of high status within the Yao Race, especially that Young Master, who was addressed as 'Young Lord'. Their guarding of the 'star soul spirit-calming fruit' here might just have been a stop along the way; their true goal is likely also deep within the Dragonfall Abyss, and perhaps even related to the ancient teleportation array."

"The Yao Race's infiltration of the Dragonfall Abyss is deeper than I anticipated. I must be more careful from now on."

He withdrew his consciousness from the Cave Heaven World and looked toward the depths of the Dragonfall Abyss, which was filled with black mist, his gaze calm.

Inside his body, within the 7,500-zhang Cave Heaven World, beneath the star core, the newly transplanted "star soul spirit-calming fruit" grew quietly, continuously feeding back pure Power of the Primordial World and wisps of star Soul Power Dao aura.