The Ascension of Contracted Spirits

Chapter 568 - 248: Half a Lord of the Abyss_3

"If you’re wise to protect yourself, you might scrape by."

"If you choose the wrong side, death is certainly awaiting."

"Ha." Xu Yan snorts derisively, "Picking a side blindly, who knows what will happen."

"But siding with His Highness next door, we know very well what the result will be."

"After all, he is the ’Young King’!"

Shi Shou ominously stated, "Just one step away from becoming the ’Young Emperor’."

Xu Yan, as if hearing the funniest joke in the world, almost laughed his head off:

"The full title of the Young Emperor is — the Innate Prince!"

"Shi Shou, oh, Shi Shou, do you know the implications of the words ’Innate’?"

"Lower and middle-tier officials may get promoted in advance, leaping over their ranks."

"But at the top, even the greatest of luck finds it hard to bridge the gap!"

"Ye Hanjun had the chance to be the Young Emperor, but he gave it up himself, who can he blame?"

"Moreover, he later awakened two positions, dual-positioning might double his early-stage combat power, but there is no way he could ever reach the pinnacle of the late stages. His Path of Controlling Spirits is completely severed now. He’s just struggling in his death throes!"

Xu Yan’s laughter grew louder and louder, his tone full of deep pity:

"Did you know? Originally, some of the Great Elders held hope for him."

"The moment he awakened dual positions, those expectations vanished."

"Perhaps his identity as the ’Young King’ is not fake, but you must admit, he’s the Young King with the least potential, any other king would be a better choice than he is. There is no chance of success if following him."

In the darkness, Xu Yan’s laughter echoed for a long time.

Ye Ji and Shi Shou both fell silent, neither of them refuted his claim.

After a long, long time, a sigh seemed to drift out of the darkness, as light as a mosquito’s hum and fleeting as a shooting star.

...

...

"Buzz buzz buzz——"

The final long-distance teleportation lasted a full day and night.

Even Ye Hanjun felt dizzy, let alone the followers.

But, when their eyesight finally cleared and the turbulent white space disappeared completely,

Above them, three purple moons, gigantic and sharp like a sickle, silently moved into their line of sight.

"Finally..."

Ye Hanjun looked up at the sky, taking a deep breath and exhaling deeply.

In his pupils, the reflection of the purple moons filled them, a wisp of black smoke entered his organs, and then it gushed out from his mouth and nose.

In that instant, his black hair and black pupils changed again.

Originally, they were merely color of black ink, but now the ink color seemed to soak into his soul. His fair skin could hardly conceal the terrifying Dark Element, which were using his flesh as a nest and were constantly settling in and gathering.

Yu Ruoxin, who was closest to him, carefully inhaled a mouthful of the ubiquitous black fog.

She suddenly coughed violently, and her whole face turned as black as charcoal, quickly turning red through the black.

"The environment of the Abyss is different from the Giant Frog Marsh. Ordinary creatures cannot survive here."

"Here is just the peripheral area of the Ghost Lamp Abyss, a midway station in the long-distance teleportation array. The Demonic Qi circulating between heaven and earth is very sparse, reaching a maximum concentration of 20%."

"If it reaches over 80%, even I cannot stay for long and must respectfully avoid it."

Ye Hanjun once again emphasized the rules of survival here, then took out hundreds of bottles of white spray from his ring and distributed them to everyone:

"If you feel that you are being assimilated by darkness, or you have uncontrollable murderous intent or criminal desires... you can use this spray to alleviate it."

"Over time, when you become accustomed to it, you will find that the average concentration of the spiritual energy between heaven and earth is at least a hundred times that of the Giant Frog Marsh."

"Many native Fond Spirits needn’t work hard, they can casually grow into Jade Infant Fetus or Wheel of Life Embryo—and then end up at the bottom of the food chain..."

Linghu Fei, Ma Nongmei, Tan Ziping, each of them was wide-eyed, their previous expressions of admiration engulfed by fear.

The many dangers of their hometown heard from Master Han was always hard to truly conceptualize.

Just arriving here, merely taking a breath, seemed like having a series of ice blades thrust into their chests.

The omnipresent dark fog also made their senses duller than ever before.

—How is it any different from being blind if you can’t see anything beyond ten meters?

"So, this is what the Abyss is like? it’s far more frightening than I had imagined..."

"According to Master Han, this is still the ’safe zone’. We aren’t even qualified to look at the truly dangerous areas."

"Hmm... I suddenly kind of understand the worldview that Master Han once mentioned..."

"In such a grand world, the legendary ’Holy Saint Embryo’ must exist."

"Compared to this, our Giant Frog Marsh is like a speck of dust, instantly crushed underfoot."

...

Fear, surprise, awe... all sorts of emotions rose within them.

However, Ye Hanjun seemed invigorated, experiencing a sudden burst of familiarity.

The perpetual sense of strangeness that could never be erased in the Giant Frog Marsh was instantly dispelled upon returning to his ancestral land.

This was where he had survived since he was a child.

This was the place he was truly familiar with, truly comfortable in.

"Your Highness, let’s proceed with the teleportation."

Ye Ji gave sufficient time for their emotions to settle. He thought back to the day when he returned to the Ghost Lamp Abyss after passing the trial of the Night, and how his spirits had soared then.

But he had to remind them: "There is still a long way from here to the territory of our family."

"We need to teleport at least seven more times to reach ’Without-Sun City’."

"If we encounter special conditions like the consumption of black moon silkworms, passing through the shadowy soldier’s pathway, the void of blood rift, or a chaos of demon beasts, we can afford to wait, but you and your companions... I’m afraid can’t afford that."

Ye Hanjun nodded, not denying it.

The Ghost Lamp Abyss was too dangerous, any inconspicuous corner could potentially conceal a mountain of skeletal remains.

The protection of three 7th order elders can only provide the most basic freedom of passage.

If they don’t reach Without-Sun City quickly with their large group, countless unexpected risks may occur.

"Master Han, may I ask how large is your family’s territory in the Abyss?"

Yu Ruoxin sneaked over, blinking her eyes and asking softly.

Su Mei, Wang Xinfei, Li Jingming... their fellow disciples weren’t far away, they all pricked up their ears to hear his answer.

"The Ghost Lamp Abyss is one of the seven major abysses. It’s not the oldest, nor is it the youngest."

"As for my family... it was established during the tenth era of the Ancient Era."

"By the first era of the Near Ancient Era, under the conquest of our first generation ancestor, the Ye Clan took the entire Ghost Lamp Abyss as the territory, thus outsiders call us ’Ming Lamp Night Clan’."

Ye Hanjun smiled knowingly and said quite casually:

"Of course, that was our clan’s past glory."

"After the fall of the original ancestor, each generation became weaker than the last."

"Although we are currently regarded as the supreme royal family in the Ghost Lamp Abyss, we share this position with two other supreme royal families. At most, we are half the Lord of the Abyss."

"Master Han, are you sure about what you are saying?"

Lin Pingfan couldn’t help but mutter, "So you’re saying the entire Abyss actually belongs to your family."

"At most, you’ve leased out some of the unneeded land, but you still remain the landowner... If I haven’t misunderstood, that’s what you mean, right?"