Chapter 717: Yao Dao (I)
Seawater surged through the pitch-black depths. The endless darkness, terrifying silence, and omnipresent void rifts inevitably filled one with fear and the urge to retreat.
A void rift over ten meters long silently opened within the endless depths like the eye of some terrifying behemoth.
Lin Zheyu swiftly moved away from the area surrounding the rift. The appearance of such a massive void rift made the already violent spatial power nearby even more terrifying and turbulent.
The deep-sea void resembled an enormous bolt of black cloth as tiny void rifts tore across it one after another.
"I've traveled almost two kilometers. Just how much farther does this region stretch?" Lin Zheyu murmured softly.
Almost no living creature could survive and reproduce in such a terrifying forbidden zone. The surroundings were deathly silent.
Suddenly, a strange noise echoed through the silent depths. Lin Zheyu narrowed his eyes and looked in its direction. Aside from the densely packed void rifts, there was nothing unusual where the sound had come from.
"No, something's wrong! The sound came from inside the void rift!" Lin Zheyu narrowed his eyes as a chill rose in his heart.
The golden Heavenly Eye within his sea of consciousness suddenly opened, extending his perception into the void rift. However, before he could discern what lay inside, an intense pain tore through Lin Zheyu's spiritual soul, forcing his Heavenly Eye shut in an instant.
"Fuck! What kind of monster was that? Some strange creature living inside the void rifts?" Lin Zheyu sucked in a cold breath.
The excruciating pain coursing through his spiritual soul made him furrow his brow, and his complexion turned slightly pale. Lin Zheyu had sensed only a trace of an overwhelmingly terrifying aura before his perception was severed. Even while closed, the Heavenly Eye deep within his sea of consciousness continued to throb with stabbing pain. He tried to open it again, but found that he could not.
"The unknown is the greatest terror..." Lin Zheyu exhaled softly.
He silently raised his assessment of the Honggedis Trench's danger by several levels. He still knew far too little about this forbidden region of the deep sea. Although the Honggedis Trench was known as a forbidden zone, it was not supposed to be so dangerous that even a Nascent Soul realm expert would face such peril upon entering.
Lin Zheyu believed his perception ranked among the very best in the Nascent Soul realm. Yet despite his powerful perception and profound attainments in spatial laws, he had nearly been swallowed several times by void rifts that appeared without warning. Any other Nascent Soul realm cultivator would probably have died here long ago.
"There must be a safer way to cross this forbidden zone and enter the Honggedis Trench. If everyone had to force their way through like me, even Nascent Soul realm experts would be hard-pressed to survive..." Lin Zheyu muttered. He became even more vigilant and slowed his pace.
The terrifying creature concealed behind the void rift had truly frightened him. That dreadful aura was at least at the Deity Transformation realm.
Lin Zheyu swam slowly through the deep sea. The surroundings were so silent that the sound of the flowing water seemed exceptionally distinct. It was nearly impossible to determine one's bearings here, but that posed no problem for Lin Zheyu. His main purpose in coming here was to locate the space-time node, so he merely needed to follow the demonic qi toward wherever its energy was most concentrated. After advancing another four kilometers or so, the stifling sense of oppression in his heart suddenly vanished.
"I'm finally out!" Lin Zheyu smiled faintly as he watched a jellyfish-like creature swim past ahead.
He suddenly reached out with his right hand and seized the jellyfish-like deep-sea creature.
Sensing danger, the deep-sea creature erupted with dazzling lightning. Its power was so immense that it could faintly threaten even a late-stage Foundation Establishment realm cultivator. However, the attack did not last long. In less than two breaths, the strange jellyfish was already on the verge of death, lying limp and powerless in Lin Zheyu's palm.
"As expected of a forbidden region of the deep sea. This jellyfish-like creature's aura has not even reached the peak of the Qi Refining realm, yet it can unleash an attack capable of threatening someone at the late-stage Foundation Establishment realm," Lin Zheyu remarked with interest.
After leaving that dangerous forbidden zone behind, he felt much more relaxed, free from the oppressive sense of urgency he had experienced there. Lin Zheyu was now in the mood to study the powerful creatures inhabiting this forbidden region of the deep sea. After carefully examining the jellyfish-like creature, he gently tossed it from his right hand and released it.
However, when the jellyfish had sunk about two meters, a hideous black tongue covered in sucker-like protrusions shot out with incredible speed. It coiled around the jellyfish and vanished in an instant.
"Oh? This creature is rather interesting." Lin Zheyu exclaimed softly as his right hand abruptly expanded and reached downward.
Before long, a creature covered in hard armor and resembling an enormous rock appeared before Lin Zheyu. It had no eyes, ears, or nose, only an enormous mouth. Once its mouth closed, its entire body was completely encased in armor, and not the slightest trace of life emanated from it. It could perfectly disguise itself as a lifeless rock. Had he not sensed its aura when it attacked its prey, it truly might have deceived him.
"All sorts of bizarre deep-sea creatures with strange and varied abilities live here. This place truly is an enormous treasure trove!" Lin Zheyu said with a smile.
During the early days of martial cultivation, martial artists imitated powerful beasts to create remarkable martial cultivation techniques. At Lin Zheyu's current level of strength, however, the abilities of powerful exotic beasts could no longer be mastered through simple imitation. Even so, these creatures with special abilities still possessed immense research value to him. In fact, they were even more valuable now.
All things in the world contained the profound truths of the Great Dao. By studying these creatures with special abilities, one could glimpse traces of how the Great Dao operated. Many powerful techniques and secret arts in the cultivation world had been created by experts through 'biomimicry,' imitating mighty creatures. For instance, the primary cultivation technique that Jing Xinyue practiced was modeled after the legendary Vermilion Bird, one of the Four Divine Beasts!
With a thought, Lin Zheyu casually stored the rock-like deep-sea creature inside the Primordial Chaos Pool. He then sped onward, following the demonic qi toward where its energy grew denser. Whenever he encountered an interesting deep-sea creature along the way, he casually stored it in the Primordial Chaos Pool to study carefully when he had the time.
The Honggedis Trench truly lived up to its reputation as a legendary forbidden region of the deep sea. The journey was an eye-opening experience for Lin Zheyu, exposing him to numerous bizarre deep-sea exotic beasts with all manner of unique natural abilities.
"I've finally found some yao. It seems the space-time node isn't far from here." Lin Zheyu grinned and quickened his pace.
After his previous experience, he no longer dared to spread his perception without restraint after entering this region, fearing that he might attract powerful deep-sea exotic beasts. Fortunately, he had not encountered any danger along the way.