Chapter 1752 Entering the Silent Star Abyss
Zhang Xuan opened his eyes, his eyes flashing with a sharp light. "The information from Ghost Ear is basically confirmed. The guards of the Meteor Demon Sea and the Silent Soul Court rotate every hundred years. Each time the guards are rotated, the two major forces will set up new restrictions around the Star Abyss to replace the old ones. This process of replacement will last for about half an hour. During this time, some seals deep in the Star Abyss will be temporarily loosened."
The old slick man unconsciously tapped his fingers on his knee: "The problem is, this news came at the perfect time. We had just established ourselves in Bone Tomb Village when someone offered to sell information about the secret passage to the Desolate Star Abyss, and at a hefty price."
Zhang Xuan nodded: "There are indeed many suspicious points, but have you ever thought about what the person who set this up would gain if it were a trap?"
The old man pondered for a moment and said, "There are two possibilities. First, someone suspects our identities and wants to test whether we are interested in the Guiji Star Abyss. After all, that is the place where the Chaos Crystal is sealed, and only those with ulterior motives would risk going there."
"And the second one?" Zhang Xuan asked.
“Secondly, someone wants to use us to do their dirty work,” the old man’s eyes flashed with a hint of sword intent. “The depths of the Guiji Star Abyss are fraught with danger. The mastermind may want us to die inside, or… wants us to retrieve something for him.”
Zhang Xuan was silent for a moment, then suddenly smiled: "No matter what the possibility is, I must go to the Desolate Star Abyss."
"Why?" the old man frowned.
“Because of time,” Zhang Xuan stood up, walked to the window, and looked down at the bustling demonic currents below, “we have been in the Abyss of Beginning Demons for several years now, and the business of the Treasure Pavilion has grown bigger and bigger. Sooner or later, it will attract the attention of real major powers. The Skeleton Demon Lord can protect us for a while, but if the high-level demonic cultivators of the Meteor Demon Sea or the Silent Soul Court personally intervene, he will never stand up for us.”
He turned around, his eyes blazing: "I need to acquire enough strength to protect myself before I'm exposed. The Chaos Crystal is the only chance to boost my strength in the short term. If the Dijiang main trunk is completed, I can advance to the True Immortal realm. Even if I reach the peak of the True Immortal realm, I will not be afraid."
The old hand remained silent.
He knew Zhang Xuan was right.
"It's too dangerous for you to go alone," the old slick man finally said. "I'll go with you."
“No,” Zhang Xuan shook his head. “Someone needs to be here. If we both leave, the demon fetus won’t be able to handle things if something happens. Besides, the shop’s sudden closure will definitely arouse suspicion.”
He walked up to the demon fetus and patted him on the shoulder: "Keep in touch with Hei Zi. If I do not return within three months, or if any unexpected news comes out, immediately close the shop and retreat back to the Immortal Gourd Realm through the passage. Remember, survival comes first."
The demonic fetus's eyes reddened slightly, and it nodded emphatically: "Master must come back."
Zhang Xuan then looked at the old man and said, "I'm entrusting the shop to you. If a powerful enemy attacks, don't defend it to the death. Take the demon fetus and leave first."
“I understand,” the old man said in a deep voice, “but remember, if things become impossible, back down immediately. As long as you’re alive, anything is possible; if you’re dead, you’re dead.”
"Don't worry, I value my life very much." Zhang Xuan smiled.
Three days later.
Zhang Xuan left quietly, without alerting anyone.
He first circled around the Bone Tomb several times in the form of the Bloodscarred True Demon, and after confirming that no one was following him, he changed his appearance in a secluded corner, transforming into an ordinary-looking gray-robed demon cultivator.
Following the route recorded in the Ghost Ear Jade Slip, Zhang Xuan headed north, traversing hundreds of billions of miles of desolate wilderness.
Along the way, he encountered three energy tides, two spacetime rifts, and also avoided several patrolling demon army teams.
The vastness and danger of the Abyss of Beginning Demons were vividly displayed along the way.
Seven days later, Zhang Xuan arrived at the outer edge of the Guiji Star Abyss.
The sight before him made him gasp for breath.
It was an indescribable wonder of nature.
It was a shattered star field suspended upside down in the sky.
Countless fragments of stars floated in the void, some still burning, others having cooled into cold boulders.
They are connected by gray-white spacetime turbulence, forming an enormous vortex.
At the center of the vortex was a bottomless darkness.
Just looking at it from afar is enough to send shivers down your spine.
At the edge of the Star Abyss, a white bone altar floats every tens of millions of miles.
The altar was burning with eerie green flames, clearly part of the protective barrier.
Zhang Xuan could sense that at least thirty True Immortal-level divine senses were sweeping across the outer edge of the Star Abyss, with three of them being particularly terrifying, having already reached the Golden Immortal level.
"It really is a den of dragons and tigers." Zhang Xuan thought with a chill.
According to Oni-mi's intelligence, the troop rotation will begin at midnight tonight.
At that time, all the guards will gather at the guard change platform on the southeast side of Star Abyss, while a hidden rift on the northwest side of Star Abyss will have a weak period of about half an hour due to the alternation of the old and new restrictions.
Time passed by minute by minute.
Zhang Xuan held his breath and focused his mind, pushing the Nirvana Branch to its limit, until his entire being vanished into nothingness.
He even interfered with his own existence through causal branches, causing those divine senses that swept over the area to subconsciously ignore it.
The hour of midnight has finally arrived.
Suddenly, a dazzling magical light erupted from the southeast side of Star Abyss.
Dozens of powerful auras soared into the sky, weaving together into complex magical patterns in the air.
The old and new guard teams began to hand over their duties, and the restrictions on the entire Star Abyss fluctuated accordingly.
It's now!
Zhang Xuan moved like lightning, skimming along the edge of the Star Abyss, speeding towards the northwest.
He evaded the monitoring of the seven bone altars, bypassed three hidden killing array nodes, and finally arrived at the secret rift marked in the jade slip.
This narrow gap was only as thick as a hair, and its sides were covered with densely packed restrictive runes, which were now flickering due to the change of guards, greatly reducing their power.
Without hesitation, Zhang Xuan activated his spatial branch, transforming it into a thin thread that burrowed into the forbidden rift.
In an instant, the world spun around!
A terrifying tearing force surged from all directions, as if to tear him to pieces.
Zhang Xuan was prepared. He activated the gravity-based lateral branches at full power, creating a spatial membrane on his body surface to offset most of the tearing force.
At the same time, he used causal branches to pinpoint the location of the rift's exit, ensuring he wouldn't get lost in the spatial turbulence.
Ten breaths, twenty breaths, thirty breaths...
Zhang Xuan struggled forward through the crack, each step feeling as heavy as a thousand pounds.
He could sense that the restrictions on both sides of the rift were slowly recovering, and if he couldn't get through within half an hour, he would be trapped here to die.
Finally, at the forty-ninth breath, a glimmer of light appeared ahead.
Zhang Xuan gritted his teeth and exerted all his strength, bursting out of the crack like an arrow released from a bow!
"boom--"
The moment his feet touched solid ground, the crack behind him snapped shut, and the restriction was fully restored.
Zhang Xuan staggered a few steps, steadied himself, and then looked up at his surroundings.
This is a vast and boundless ancient battlefield.
The sky was shattered, with dark red blood flowing through the cracks.
The earth is covered with bottomless ravines, each ravine still bearing the terrifying lingering echoes of the Great Dao's laws.
Some still burn with inextinguishable demonic flames, while others are frozen in eternal ice.
