Ye Qin flew ahead on his sword, the visibility so dim that he had to be close to make out anything with his eyes.

"Die!"

Ye Qin suddenly spotted a flying demonic beast rushing into view a few hundred zhang ahead. Reacting with blinding speed, he flicked his right hand, and two flying swords blazed with dazzling light, shooting out to cleave the demonic bird in two right down the middle.

Only then did Ye Qin get a clear look at the beast's appearance.

It was a late-stage Golden Core demonic eagle, similar to an evil eagle in form, but its eyes projected an unusually ferocious glare, its blood was pale blue, and it was significantly larger than demonic beasts of the same rank. Such strength was insignificant before Ye Qin. A Yuan Crystal dropped directly into his palm.

The demonic beasts inhabiting the cliff tops were relatively weak, many of them being only at the Golden Core level. It was rumored that venturing deep into the Abyss meant encountering many demonic beasts at the Nascent Soul stage or higher. Of course, Golden Core beasts also existed there, but they appeared in masses of thousands, making them extremely difficult to handle.

The vast flocks of demonic avians clustered on the Abyss cliffs had already suffered heavy losses from the large contingent of Nascent Soul cultivators who had entered earlier, leaving only scattered remnants and stragglers.

Ye Qin, Kenchuli, and Huangfu Bing’er, leading this team of several dozen cultivators, charged toward the bottom of the ten-thousand-zhang Abyss almost entirely unopposed, pursuing the cultivators ahead. Any unfortunate demonic avians that crossed their path perished before even getting close.

Halfway down, they encountered other low-level Nascent Soul cultivators fighting in small groups against the Abyss demonic beasts. Clearly, these cultivators had no intention of seeking the Abyss's rare beasts; they were content to harvest more Yuan Crystals here.

Ye Qin's group carved a direct path through the gaps between these cultivators, following the scattered scents of blood and flesh from the slain demonic beasts as they plunged deeper into the chasm.

Just as Ye Qin and his group leaped into the Abyss on their swords.

Another team of cultivators, numbering just over ten, followed them into the Abyss a few li behind, tracking their descent. At this moment, too many Nascent Soul cultivators were entering the Abyss; their auras were chaotic, and probing gazes were numerous, so Ye Qin failed to notice.

This second group of late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators trailed far behind Ye Qin’s contingent.

One of the late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators swept his sword aside to repel an attacking demonic beast, then turned to a cultivator missing an arm and said, "Brother Liangbai, they have one Twenty-Wheel cultivator, one Twenty-Wheel cultivator, and dozens of others.

Whether in one-on-one combat or a group fight, we stand no chance of winning."

"What, are you scared?!"

The armless cultivator gave the speaker a cold look and spoke with harsh intensity.

This armless cultivator was Cao Liangbai, the man in the purple-gold robe whose arm Ye Qin had severed on the Martial Arts Stage.

And this contingent of Nascent Soul cultivators all served under Lord Cao Dahe.

Cao Liangbai's original strength was not high, and having his arm severed on the Martial Arts Stage reduced his power even further. He had disgraced the Cao family, lost the favor of Lord Cao Da, and was squeezed out by his other Cao brothers, nearly resulting in his expulsion from the Cao clan.

The Martial Arts Stage held the understanding that one was responsible for their own life and death; Lord Cao Da had not broken any rules by privately seeking revenge for him.

Cao Liangbai had desperately pleaded with Lord Cao Da for one last chance, begging to be allowed to hunt for Spirit Ointment in the Demonic Realm Abyss to strive for a chance to reach the Spirit Transformation stage. Lord Cao Da, seeing he still possessed some ambition, 'reluctantly' assigned a team of Nascent Soul cultivators to assist Cao Liangbai in hunting beasts in the Abyss.

Cao Liangbai was unwilling to let things end this way. Since revenge was impossible in Demonic Spirit City, he intended to take revenge in the Demonic Realm Abyss while hunting beasts. He had always kept his subordinates watching the movements of Ye Qin's group. Dou Hongshan leading a flock of cultivators could not possibly remain hidden from him. He brought his own squad of cultivators and followed them all the way from Demonic Spirit City, attempting to exact revenge.

Cao Liangbai had long commanded respect within this team, and after losing an arm, his temper had become much more violent. The cultivators in the group dared not easily defy his wishes and could only steel themselves to assist him in his revenge.

In reality, keeping pace with Ye Qin's group ahead was no easy feat.

They couldn't stay too close, lest Ye Qin notice them. Nor could they stray too far, lest they lose track. Ye Qin and the others moved with extreme speed, and the residual scent of blood and flesh in the Abyss was intensely strong, attracting numerous demonic beasts that obstructed their pursuit.

Cao Liangbai snorted coldly, ignoring the uncomfortable expression of the other cultivator. He gazed at Ye Qin’s team, now just faint pinpricks of light in the darkness ahead, the resentment and rage churning uncontrollably within him, twisting and expanding.

"So what if their strength is great?! Who knows how many top-tier Nascent Soul cultivators have died mysteriously in this Demonic Realm Abyss."

"That bitch Dou Hongshan, I groveled and painstakingly tried to please her, and she wouldn't even give me a decent look! She's a Twenty-One Wheel cultivator, so arrogant—that I can tolerate. Once I become a Spirit Transformation cultivator, I'll deal with that slut. Even that pretty boy surnamed Wang, who is only at the Nineteenth Wheel, dares to give me a cold shoulder. And that surnamed Ye, I will grind him to ashes to vent the hatred in my heart!"

"Once we find the Abyss's rare beast, those top cultivators are bound to clash. We follow behind and wait for an opportunity to take them out. Perhaps we can even snatch a portion of the Spirit Ointment and break through to Spirit Transformation!"

Cao Liangbai grumbled darkly.

The Nascent Soul cultivators behind him remained silent, filled with contempt. Had he gone mad dreaming of Spirit Ointment? If Spirit Ointment were that easy to obtain, they would have reached Spirit Transformation long ago, why wait until now?!

As the procession pushed deeper, into the deepest reaches of the ten-thousand-zhang Abyss.

The floor of the Demonic Realm Abyss revealed an extremely vast subterranean world. The ceiling was rock, and below surged a body of seawater. This world was dim, yet it glowed with abundant bioluminescence from multi-colored waterweeds, corals, water-pearls, and strange, swimming sea fish whose scales flashed with dazzling, brilliant light.

Ye Qin gazed out. Although the Abyss interior was relatively dim, he could still clearly make out the situation within a range of several li. Further out, visibility dropped off sharply unless a cultivator stood there, their magical artifact emitting a brilliant radiance.

Even Divine Sense was drastically weakened here, making it difficult to probe distant areas.

Within the Abyss, the magical artifacts wielded by cultivators were, conversely, the most conspicuous and dazzling sights.

Likewise, the demonic beasts here were extraordinarily powerful; either their strength was exponentially increased, or they moved in tight formations. Nascent Soul demonic beasts, numbering in groups of tens or hundreds, were visible almost everywhere.

The resistance increased substantially, and the progress of the cultivators gradually slowed.

Of course, even the strongest Nascent Soul demonic beasts or mobs could not compare to this disciplined army of hundreds of thousands of Nascent Soul cultivators. Wherever the cultivators' grand army passed, regardless of the size of the beast packs, they were instantly reduced to heaps of bone and scattered flesh.

Although Nascent Soul cultivators occasionally suffered losses, their numbers were far, far fewer than those of the Abyss demonic beasts. To date, only a few dozen had fallen, and those were cultivators who rushed too far ahead, got caught within a beast horde, and failed to receive timely support from others, thus being overwhelmed and killed.

Unless they encountered a Demonic Beast Lord, this massive army of Nascent Soul cultivators could not be halted. Only a Thirteenth Rank or higher Demonic Beast Sovereign, due to its immense power, could pose a fatal threat to the Nascent Soul collective, resulting in casualties numbering in the thousands.

Several hours later, Ye Qin surveyed his surroundings and found that the dots of light representing Nascent Soul cultivators visible ahead, to the left, and to the right numbered fewer than ten thousand, and all of them were at the late Nascent Soul stage. The majority of the other cultivators were still catching up from behind or lingering to hunt beasts.

"These cultivators must be the very first wave that charged forward, perhaps a tenth of the total. They are almost all focused on the Spirit Ointment. I suggest we don't need to rush to the absolute front; maintaining our position within this leading group should suffice, letting the ones ahead clear the path of demonic beasts. We can exert our full strength once we locate the Abyss’s rare beast."

Qing Qiuli’s eyes held a cunning glint.

By her nature, if she could achieve her goal with one unit of effort, she would never use two. Following behind was certainly the most effortless and safest method.

"Oh!"

Ye Qin nodded slightly, agreeing with Kenchuli’s logic, and flew his sword neither too fast nor too slow. Occasionally, he would make a move, slicing down any lone demonic beasts they encountered.

However, this plan, though sound, might not unfold as wished.

The groups of cultivators surging at the very front were equally unwilling to act as free laborers, clearing obstacles for those trailing behind. They simply refused to engage the demonic beasts, relying on their speed to race past or detour around the dangers.

This left the beasts for the cultivators behind them, creating "trouble" for the rear guard.

Therefore, even though Ye Qin's contingent followed amidst the larger mass of cultivators, they still encountered demonic beasts from time to time.

Ye Qin maintained a direct trajectory; encountering solitary beasts, he swiftly cut them down, but when faced with packs of dozens of Nascent Soul demonic beasts, he would detour to avoid unnecessary entanglement.

For Ye Qin, this was a relatively easy task.

However, for the other dozens of Nascent Soul cultivators in the team, it presented some trouble, as not all Nascent Soul cultivators possessed the combat power of a Twenty-Wheel expert capable of outright slaying an ordinary Nascent Soul demonic beast.

The subordinates of Dou Hongshan and Wang Rong struggled to handle Nascent Soul demonic beasts easily, occasionally encountering minor setbacks that slowed their pace.

The group had traveled for an unknown duration when suddenly, about ten li ahead, a violent commotion erupted, punctuated by curses and agonizing cries: "Fall back quickly, people are dying, they’re too troublesome!" "Damn it, what’s wrong with the vanguard? Why didn't they give us, the ones behind, a warning about the danger!" Many Nascent Soul cultivators began to retreat in panic.

"Stop!"

Ye Qin’s expression changed drastically. He waved his hand, halting the rapidly flying cultivators. However, since he was still some distance away, he could not ascertain the exact situation ahead.

"Could it be a Demonic Beast Lord?"

"If it's not a Demonic Beast Lord, what else could cause such panic?" The only difference, I suspect, is whether we've met a Great Demonic Beast Lord or a Minor Demonic Beast Lord."

Wang Rong and the other cultivators all looked puzzled and alarmed. Though the massive army of Nascent Soul cultivators swept through the Demonic Realm Abyss, hunting beasts fearlessly and seemingly unstoppable, once they clashed with a Demonic Beast Lord, their defeat was swifter than an avalanche. Facing a weaker Minor Lord might cost a hundred cultivators their lives; facing a powerful Great Demonic Beast Lord could easily claim a thousand Nascent Soul lives.

Among this contingent of cultivators, only Qing Qiuli remained composed and indifferent. She was once a powerful Demon Saint and did not fear a mere Demonic Beast Lord, but she was unwilling to take risks. If she encountered a Demonic Beast Lord now, she was certainly no match for it. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to visit Qidian)