Over the next ten days or so, more and more Nascent Soul cultivators, arriving from both sides of the Great Fissure's cliffs, gathered to participate in the upcoming hunt. Upon arrival, they set up camp along the cliff edges, patiently awaiting the arrival of the tide.

In the cultivation world of the East Sea, Nascent Soul cultivators were already figures who commanded respect in their own right. Except in Immortal Cities, it was rare to see such a large congregation of Nascent Soul cultivators assembled. Only an Immortal-Demon War might draw together more than ten thousand Nascent Soul cultivators at once.

However, the cultivators of the Southern Demon Continent cultivated far more rapidly, resulting in the gathering of hundreds of thousands of Nascent Soul practitioners here. This scale was astonishing, leaving little room for thought beyond sheer awe.

Even after the Abyss opened, a significant number of cultivators would continue to arrive.

Yet, the Great Fissure spanned billions of li, with countless entry points leading to the demonic realm abyss below the cliffs. Compared to this immense rift, the hundreds of thousands of Nascent Soul cultivators seemed small, free to pitch their camps anywhere.

These hundreds of thousands of cultivators were almost entirely stationed at the origin point of the Great Fissure. Since the activity range of the Abyssal Strange Beasts was too vast to predict where they might appear, every sweep began from the source and progressed deeper, ensuring no Strange Beast was missed.

Although no formal order was imposed on the hunt, all cultivators’ attention was fixed on the Great Fissure, and no one at this critical juncture would cause trouble and waste their strength.

The Abyssal Tide, based on experience, was estimated to arrive within these few days.

Qiu Li, Ye Qin, Huangfu Bing'er, Wang Rong, and their entourage of several dozen Nascent Soul cultivators erected dozens of tents made from animal hides on the cliff edge, establishing a temporary camp while they waited patiently.

The tedious necessities of setting up camp had already been managed by Dou Hongshan’s subordinates beforehand, requiring no effort from Ye Qin and the others.

One night, under the high, full moon.

Ye Qin and Huangfu Bing'er were meditating inside the animal hide tent.

Suddenly, Ye Qin’s spirit stirred as he sensed a faint, deep vibration rumbling beneath the earth.

Soon, a clamor of human voices erupted outside the tent.

Huangfu Bing'er opened her eyes, a faint smile gracing her lips. "Husband, it seems the subterranean tide has begun."

"It's finally here!"

A faint joy surfaced on Ye Qin’s face. He rose with Huangfu Bing'er, stepped out of the tent, and approached the nearest cliff edge to gaze into the Great Fissure ahead.

Prior to this moment, Ye Qin hadn't fully grasped the nature of the tide—its origin, or how it swept away the blue mist that permeated the entire fissure.

But now, the spectacle unfolding before his eyes truly shook him to his core.

Under the reflection of the bright moonlight, within the Great Fissure saturated with dense blue mist, came the surging sound of rapid waves—the crashing of immense tides against huge stones—intermingled with the roars of countless subterranean demonic beasts, a sound like muffled, rolling thunder, growing steadily more intense.

In less than half an hour, the cliffs on both sides began to tremble violently. Dozens of zhang high boulders occasionally detached from the cliff faces with a crash, plummeting into the bottomless abyss without even an echo.

A gust of wind, carrying a fishy stench, blew up from somewhere deep within the fissure. In moments, it escalated into a howling, ravaging tempest, comparable to the wind shear found thousands of zhang high in the atmosphere, whipping the thick blue mist away violently.

Even cultivators at the early Nascent Soul stage felt nearly unsteady under the force of such a powerful gale.

"This subterranean world beneath the ten-thousand-zhang abyss, with such magnificent power—how vast a sea must surge to raise such a fierce gale! This Great Fissure, billions of li long, must be unimaginably immense. I wonder if the underground sea at the bottom of this abyss connects to the ocean regions at both ends of the Southern Demon Continent?!"

Ye Qin sighed as he listened to the subterranean roar.

Huangfu Bing'er nodded, deeply moved.

Even Nascent Soul cultivators felt their own insignificance before these ancient mountains and rivers.

The dense blue mist was gradually swept away, revealing the dark and profound depths of the Great Fissure. This boundless, bottomless abyss looked like the maw of a man-devouring beast, mysterious and chilling.

Along the cliffs bordering the Great Fissure, the hundreds of thousands of watching Nascent Soul cultivators had already summoned their magical artifacts, their varied, dappled, brilliant light illuminating a vast area spanning hundreds of li. They waited excitedly for this moment to arrive.

"Go! Brothers, follow me, let's charge in!"

Someone, perhaps a reckless Nascent Soul cultivator, could no longer restrain himself, letting out a loud shout and leading the charge down into the depths.

"Follow! Quickly! Don't fall behind!"

The first stream of light plunged into the abyss. In an instant, countless figures of Nascent Soul cultivators astride their artifacts transformed into a magnificent, glorious torrent of light, rushing into the abyss in a competitive throng, forming a dazzling, radiant waterfall of light within the absolute darkness.

"Truly spectacular. It's the first time I've witnessed so many Nascent Soul cultivators acting in unison."

Huangfu Bing'er exclaimed sincerely.

She had not participated in the East Sea Immortal-Demon Wars, and besides, the East Sea cultivation world did not boast such a large population of Nascent Soul cultivators as the Southern Demon Continent. The presence of Yuan Crystals in the Southern Demon Continent allowed low-level cultivators to advance much faster than in the East Sea, making it common to reach the Nascent Soul stage in just one or two hundred years, thus resulting in a relatively larger number of Nascent Soul cultivators.

Young cultivators like Ye Qin and Huangfu Bing'er, reaching the late Nascent Soul stage in just over a hundred years, were commonplace here, causing no surprise.

Even figures like Dou Hongshan, at the peak of the ninth layer of Nascent Soul, being barely over a hundred years old and yet unmarried, would be considered rare in the East Sea cultivation world, but this was normal in the Southern Demon Continent. Many core direct descendants of major families in the Southern Demon Continent only considered pairing up with Dao Companions after achieving the Spirit Transformation stage.

The only regret was the bottleneck at breaking through to the Spirit Transformation stage. Every decade, only two or three late Nascent Soul cultivators received an opportunity to obtain the spiritual unguent from the Abyssal Strange Beasts; breaking through to the Spirit Transformation realm was not easy. Once that hurdle was cleared, further cultivation became relatively smoother.

"Husband, shall we set off now?"

Huangfu Bing'er turned her pretty face to ask Ye Qin.

Just then, Qiu Li appeared beside them in a flash. Hearing Huangfu Bing'er’s question, she looked at Ye Qin with a smiling expression.

"Wait a moment!"

Ye Qin glanced at the bottomless abyss and said calmly, "There should be a massive gathering of Abyssal Demonic Beasts below. Let these initial Nascent Soul cultivators clear out the gathered beasts, and then we will descend. That will save considerable effort. The Abyssal Strange Beast probably won't be found quickly. Descending now would only result in us being entangled by numerous Abyssal Demonic Beasts, wasting time. Senior Qingqiu, how much information did you extract from Dou Hongshan regarding the demonic abyss?"

"I interrogated Dou Hongshan, promising not to destroy her Nascent Soul, only then did she divulge everything she knew. She has entered this abyss five times, seeing the Abyssal Strange Beast on two occasions, but failing to contend against other cultivators, thus missing out on the spiritual unguent. However, she harbors intense hostility toward me and deliberately omitted many crucial details. I even suspect she might be intentionally misleading me. I am currently scrutinizing her account, which requires considerable time. It is unfortunate that Wang Rong has never seen an Abyssal Strange Beast; otherwise, by comparing the accounts of Dou and Wang, we could discern the truth in her statements."

Qiu Li gave Ye Qin a charming, captivating smile.

"Oh?"

Ye Qin nodded noncommittally.

Among their group of several dozen Nascent Soul cultivators, only Dou Hongshan had personally encountered an Abyssal Strange Beast and understood the true nature of this overlord. But Ye Qin understood that since Qiu Li had taken over Dou Hongshan's body, Dou must despise Qiu Li, meaning the information gleaned from her could not be entirely trusted.

"Young Master Ye, shall we depart now?"

"Soon, just a little longer."

Ye Qin pondered for a moment before speaking.

In truth, they shouldn't wait too long, lest others seize the initiative, which would be detrimental.

He wasn't the only one thinking this way.

In the camps along the fissure's edge, more than half of the cultivators were not in a hurry to act. They waited for the cultivators ahead to clear out a wave of demonic beasts in the abyss before moving in to claim the advantage of being later entrants.

Of course, the Nascent Soul cultivators who entered first were by no means foolish or reckless.

Not all Nascent Soul cultivators were solely focused on the spiritual unguent of the Abyssal Strange Beast.

After all, for a large segment of low and mid-tier Nascent Soul cultivators, the chance of obtaining the spiritual unguent was exceedingly slim. With only a few portions of unguent available, the cultivators who managed to secure it would truly possess immense celestial fortune.

First, they aimed to familiarize themselves with the environment within the abyss, building experience for future visits. Second, acting together, they planned to hunt some of the demonic beasts within the abyss to acquire Yuan Crystals. Only last did they hope to perhaps encounter an Abyssal Strange Beast by chance. And finally, only the absolute top-tier cultivators at the ninth layer of Nascent Soul stood a chance in the ensuing fierce competition.

At least, according to the history of the Southern Demon Continent, over ninety percent of those who ultimately seized the spiritual unguent were top-tier late Nascent Soul cultivators who had passed the twentieth wheel of trials. Less than ten percent were late Nascent Soul cultivators below the twentieth wheel who succeeded unexpectedly.

"Senior Qingqiu, please go inform your subordinates and Wang Rong's group to prepare to depart!"

Although Qiu Li was the nominal leader on the surface, Ye Qin was the one truly guiding the team.

After Ye Qin made his decision, Qiu Li went to gather her followers.

Shortly after, Ye Qin, Huangfu Bing'er, and Qiu Li as the absolute core, along with Wang Rong—who considered himself part of the core—and the other Nascent Soul cultivators in their cohort acting as subordinates and hangers-on, formed a small unit, mounting their artifacts and flying swiftly toward the abyss below the cliffs.

Ye Qin steered his fire-elemental minor divine ability flying sword, diving toward the abyss.

Ahead of him, scattered points of brilliant light marked the artifacts of other Nascent Soul cultivators who had already entered the abyss. Beside him, the roar of the wind mingled with various other sounds, and the violent gale continued to buffet the cultivators' protective shields.

They too had become mere specks of light within the shining cascade.

The cultivators had only flown for a short while before the cliffs behind them vanished from sight, replaced only by streaks of light generated by cultivators continuously plunging down toward the abyss.

Not long after, the smell of blood drifting up from below gradually intensified, and the shouts of cultivators mingled with the roars of demonic beasts became clearer.

Tension tightened in everyone's hearts. Their respective flying swords and magical artifacts were brought forth, ready for battle at any moment.

Ye Qin immediately released his eight flying swords. The quest for the spiritual unguent from the Abyssal Strange Beast meant the ensuing conflict would be brutally savage, with mass casualties. Out of caution, it was best to have eight swords guarding him. Moreover, this was still only a fraction of his true strength.

The demonic beasts within the abyss were far denser than on the surface. Even the sheer cliff walls on both sides hosted numerous nests belonging to avian demonic beasts.