The situation in Sky Rift Valley was worsening.
A sudden cold wave had triggered an unprecedented chaos.
Since the cold wave surged through the dark regions, the turmoil was no longer confined to the demons. The fierce birds and beasts of the valley seemed to harbor an even greater fear of the cold wave. Thousands upon thousands of living beings began climbing upward, or rather, initiating a mass migration.
Yu Ci was inevitably caught in the turbulent tide of this migration. Even with the Divine Map, he couldn’t avoid it. The countless creatures distributed within the forty-mile depth of Sky Rift Valley had no choice but to pile upwards in layers—first from forty miles to thirty, then to twenty.
In less than half an hour, the density of living creatures in the area above twenty miles had more than doubled the normal levels. Among them, hundreds, if not thousands, of ferocious demons lurked.
Conflicts were inevitable.
The fierce birds and beasts of Sky Rift Valley were far from hospitable, and their instincts branded demons as their natural enemies. At some point, skirmishes broke out. Initially, it was clashes between demons and the local creatures. The demons, newly escaped from the lower depths, were not yet acclimated to the region’s climate and were relatively fewer in number, making them appear at a disadvantage at first.
However, as the Core Refinement demons surged in waves, their powerful attacks turned the tide. Combined with the blo0dthirsty scent spreading on a large scale, the initial “host versus intruder” conflict quickly escalated into a chaotic free-for-all. Fierce birds, beasts, and demons—driven by primal instincts, competition for the upward path, or sheer blo0dlust—attacked each other madly. The violence spread like wildfire, with corpses and near-dead bodies plummeting downward one after another. The splattered blo0d stained the cliff walls in hues of dark red.
Yu Ci trudged forward with difficulty amidst the chaos. In such a state, he refrained from using the Qi Breathing Technique, as he needed to conserve his strength for potential dangers that could arise at any moment—dangers that were unavoidable, only varying in degree.
After slaying a lone demon with a swing of his sword, Yu Ci paused to catch his breath. At this moment, he found himself pondering another concern.
The “Yin Soul” he had encountered earlier had first possessed the body of a demon and then transformed into a black poisonous serpent, marking a spot outside the Demonic Beast’s lair. However, after being struck down by both the Dragon Fish and Yu Ci in turn, its soul had scattered, and its schemes were disrupted.
Subsequently, Yu Ci captured the Dragon Fish within the Demonic Beast’s lair and discovered a peculiar hooked chain. This chain now resided in his Storage Ring, wrapped in cloth to prevent the two hooks from colliding and causing further complications.
Aware of the chain’s extraordinary nature, and considering the earlier events, Yu Ci had been particularly cautious. Before being forced to relocate by the cold wave, he meticulously erased all traces of his presence from the lair. He even destroyed the remains of the demon he had slain at the “Rain Eaves,” ensuring no one could find any clues.
The only exception was the Underworld Tree. Its extensive roots were too time-consuming to clear, and the results would likely have been futile, so he abandoned the effort altogether.
With these precautions in place, Yu Ci believed he had ensured his own safety. Yet, when faced with the overwhelming events unfolding in Sky Rift Valley, such efforts seemed laughable. Connecting all the recent upheavals in the valley painted a picture of an astonishingly intricate conspiracy. It resembled the cold wave beneath his feet, crushing everything in its path into dust.
In the face of this cold wave, burying one’s head in the sand was the epitome of absurdity. The proper course of action was to climb the highest mountain, wait out the cold wave, and return when the chaos subsided.
Thus, Yu Ci felt an unprecedented urgency to return to the Heart Prohibition Monastery and report these events to Elder Zhou. In his knowledge, the strongest force near Sky Rift Valley was undoubtedly the Rifting Earth Sect.
It was at this moment that Yu Ci noticed someone through the Divine Map—someone who shouldn’t have been here.
***
Zheng Yan leaned his upper body against the cliff wall. Only by doing so could he barely support himself as he resisted the surrounding five or six demons.
He was already at the end of his rope. Each minor movement of his arms reopened the countless fine cracks on his body, as if a thousand small blades were slicing into him inch by inch. His pain was exacerbated by more than a dozen broken bones and the searing Yin Spirit fire gnawing at his organs, spreading slowly but relentlessly, keeping him teetering on the edge of life and death.
The agony was maddening, tempting him to slam his head into the cliff wall and end it all, to close his eyes and let the demons devour him.
Yet, deep within his heart, a singular thought remained. It roared and whipped at him during his darkest moments, forcing him to struggle and fight for survival against the demons’ claws and fangs.
Gradually, he grew numb to the pain. Even when a demon tore off his flesh, he barely reacted. Only when an attack directly threatened his life would he muster a frenzied counterattack, drawing upon reserves of strength that, though seemingly depleted, never truly ran dry.
His swollen eyes were almost entirely shut, and his ears buzzed incessantly, as though muffled by a membrane. Occasionally, the distant howls of demons penetrated this barrier, but they were faint and unclear.
Another demon lunged at him. Zheng Yan strained to open his eyes and parry the attack but was too slow. He could only tilt his shoulder in an attempt to dodge the blow. Yet, just as the demon let out a sharp cry, it was sent flying backward.
Zheng Yan froze. In that brief moment of distraction, a blow struck him.
It landed perfectly on the back of his neck. Exhausted beyond resistance, Zheng Yan had no strength or will to retaliate. His swollen eyes struggled to stay open but were overwhelmed by the encroaching darkness. Within moments, he succumbed to unconsciousness.
Sliding down the cliff, Yu Ci swiftly dispatched the remaining weaker demons in the vicinity. He then turned his gaze to the unconscious Zheng Yan, a smile briefly tugging at his lips before his expression turned serious.
When Yu Ci had seen Zheng Yan trapped and on the brink of death through the Divine Map, he had hesitated about whether to intervene. Ultimately, he chose to act, rescuing the monk from the demons.
The moment his gaze swept across the monk, Yu Ci could immediately tell that more than half of the injuries on the monk’s body were not inflicted by ferocious beasts, wild raptors, or demons.
He crouched down and conducted a more thorough examination. Soon, he discovered bruises from ruptured blo0d vessels and meridians, wounds where flesh had been torn from within, and bone fractures from high falls—all of which were readily apparent. Most alarming, however, was a sinister fire force coiled within the monk’s organs.
This fire force originally resonated with Zhen Yan’s True Qi and bore some resemblance to the techniques he practiced. Yet, for some reason, it had spiraled out of control and was now slowly wreaking havoc on his internal organs.
Yu Ci, being unskilled in medicine, had no better solution for this situation. He could only administer a few cooling pills to alleviate the fire force. These pills, obtained from Steward Liu of the Sun Light Sect, were highly effective and managed to suppress the spreading flames temporarily.
As he treated the monk, Yu Ci couldn’t help but ponder: what kind of circumstances could have brought a Divine Connectivity-stage cultivator like Zhen Yan to such a pitiful state?
In fact, Zhen Yan’s appearance had been extremely abrupt. He hadn’t been present on the Divine Map earlier, but after a distorted light shadow streaked past the upper region of the map, Zhen Yan had plummeted from the sky. His fall ended on a narrow stone platform where he clung desperately to life.
This manner of arrival was as bizarre as the monk himself.
The distorted light shadow had blazed across the sky with a shocking speed, radiating a powerful impact that twisted light and shadow as it passed. Its momentum was overwhelming. Comparing it to anything else, Yu Ci found its speed closest to what he had witnessed during the battle between demonic beasts and the two-headed demon when they used the “One Breath, Three Calls” technique. Although the speed of dragon fish was also exceptional, it felt far lighter in comparison.
In that moment, only one possibility came to Yu Ci’s mind: a Void Stepping realm cultivator!
But why were there so many formidable figures in the Sky Rift Valley? And how was Zhen Yan tied to this?
Since witnessing the strange conversation between Zhen Yan and Ming Lan, Yu Ci no longer regarded the monk as an isolated individual. Instead, he saw him as an integral part of the chaotic events unfolding in the Sky Rift Valley. Especially considering Zhen Yan’s demeanor during their prior encounter, Yu Ci believed the monk could provide crucial clues to the valley’s turmoil. If not now, then perhaps in the future.
Still, Yu Ci had to exercise caution, ensuring that this potential lead didn’t turn into a “tripwire” that ensnared him.
As of now, Yu Ci remained unsure of why Zhen Yan had appeared so suddenly and ended up in such a dire state. Moreover, the situation in and around the Sky Rift Valley was rife with mysteries, and Zhen Yan himself carried an enigmatic aura that made him untrustworthy. Thus, before rescuing him, Yu Ci knocked him unconscious to minimize risks by avoiding direct interaction.
Of course, if he wanted to avoid all risks, he could have simply ignored the monk and moved on. After all, the distance between where Yu Ci found him and this place spanned more than ten miles. Why bother?
The reason was simple: Yu Ci couldn’t bring himself to watch as a “familiar acquaintance,” who had once conversed with him for over an hour, was devoured by demons.
He had to admit, a significant portion of his success in manipulating Tu Du, the old demon, during their last encounter was due to Zhen Yan. It was the monk’s detailed descriptions of Tu Du’s behavior and insights into his magical artifacts and spells that enabled Yu Ci to plan so effectively.
No matter Zhen Yan’s intentions at the time, Yu Ci felt the need to express his gratitude.
And this was his way of showing it.
However, with the monk now an added burden, the next twenty miles of travel would require a different approach.
After a moment of thought, Yu Ci glanced at the Divine Map again, confirming that there were no immediate dangers nearby. He then retrieved an item from his Storage Ring.
It was something that seemed to be made of layers of fine gauze stacked together. Less than half a foot in diameter, the object was pure white, intricately woven, and delicately rounded at the edges. Held in the palm, it resembled a cloud plucked straight from the sky.
Patreon Tiers Just Got More Affordable: From now on, FSM Level 2 will become the CN WN Bundle. The price will remain the same which is $10. Also, the price for the KR WN Bundle will also be decreased to $10 to match this bundle.
With this I have gotten rid of the level system. The reason I am doing this, is because I plan to add more chapters to the $5 Patron tiers. Currently the readers get 2 advance chapters when they become a $5 Patron, but I want to increase the chapters they get to at least 5 chapters and more. So the current updated tier system will work like this:
The Individual Tiers ($5) will give you access to 5 chapters or more.
The Bundle Tiers ($10) will give you access to all the chapters of CN or KR webnovels.
The Supreme Patron ($30) will give you access to all the webnovel chapters on Goblinslate.