Chapter 875
Changes in the Demon Abyss, Prophecy of Catastrophe
Chapter 875 Changes in the Demon Abyss, Prophecy of Catastrophe
Qiu Ruofeng stood up, walked to the center of the hall, and waved his hand.
A huge map appeared in the main hall.
The map is marked with countless bright dots, which represent the internal structure of this dark abyss.
In the center of the map, there is a striking red marker.
“Here,” Qiu Ruofeng pointed to the red marker, “is the location where we found the inheritance of the Xuanhua Grandmaster.”
Lu Qing frowned slightly as he looked at the red mark.
That location, deep within the star map, was marked with countless danger markers.
Just by looking at it, you can tell that it's extremely dangerous.
However, Lu Qing saw that even this map only showed a small part of the Dark Abyss.
The deeper areas remained shrouded in darkness, clearly indicating that the Netherworld Palace had not been able to explore that far.
Even so, it still surprised him.
Because the old Azure Dragon once said that even Dao Transformation Immortals kept the Dark Abyss a closely guarded secret and dared not explore it casually.
But now, the Netherworld Palace has actually managed to explore such a large area inside, even if it's only the outer perimeter, it's still quite astonishing.
After all, immortals who have attained enlightenment have long since disappeared from the starry sky, and there should be no such beings in the Netherworld Palace.
Was the old Azure Dragon wrong, or did something new happen in the Dark Abyss after such a long time?
Lu Qing's mind raced with thoughts, but his face remained impassive.
He looked at Qiu Ruofeng and said calmly, "Fellow Daoist Qiu, there is something I don't understand."
Qiu Ruofeng quickly said, "Please speak, fellow Daoist."
Lu Qing said, "It is said that even Dao Transformation Immortals dare not enter the Dark Abyss rashly, but from what I've observed, you haven't encountered much danger. Why is that?"
Upon hearing this, Qiu Ruofeng smiled, as if he had expected Lu Qing to ask such a question.
"Fellow Daoist is indeed perceptive." He stroked his white beard and slowly spoke, "This matter is a long story, involving many secrets of the Demon Abyss, but since you have asked, I will naturally tell you everything I know."
He paused, as if organizing his thoughts, before continuing, "In ancient times, the Dark Abyss was indeed incredibly terrifying."
It was filled with an extremely terrifying dark aura, so dense and pure that it was beyond our imagination.
Let alone those at the Dao Integration Realm, even Dao Transformation Immortals would turn pale at the sight of it and dare not set foot there lightly.
"That aura can not only erode a cultivator's physical body and soul, but also pollute their foundation."
It is said that many Dao Transformation Immortals entered to explore in the past, but they either perished inside or suffered damage to their Dao foundation and a sharp drop in their cultivation after they came out.
Over time, this Dark Abyss became a universally acknowledged forbidden zone in the starry sky, and no one dared to approach it lightly.
Lu Qing nodded; these were basically the same as what he had heard from the old Azure Dragon.
This is also why the old man who committed the curse offended the Immortal of Transformation back then, and was hunted down to the point of having nowhere to escape, ultimately chose to flee into the Dark Abyss.
Only such a perilous place could stop the steps of the Daoist Immortal.
Of course, whether the cursed old man survived in the end is unknown.
After all, he was never seen in the starry sky again after that.
As Lu Qing's thoughts raced, Qiu Ruofeng changed the subject and continued, "But starting from about 100,000 years ago, this Dark Abyss underwent some kind of change."
The dark aura within began to weaken, weaken, and weaken again.
Although the pace was slow, the cumulative effect over time became quite noticeable.
"Over a long period of time, in the last tens of thousands of years, the dark aura surrounding the Demon Abyss has weakened considerably."
Even if a Dao Integration Realm expert enters, as long as they don't go deep into the core area, it won't cause much trouble.
Of course, there will still be dangers, but at least it won't be a certain death sentence.
"More than 100,000 years ago?" Lu Qing's heart stirred.
This timing is rather interesting.
The Guixu Secret Realm was sealed off hundreds of thousands of years ago. Old Canglong and the others have always stayed in the secret realm, isolated from the outside world, so they naturally did not know about the changes in the Dark Abyss later.
No wonder the old Azure Dragon said that even Dao Transformation Immortals were wary of this place.
What he knew was probably from an earlier time, when the darkness was at its most intense.
"I see." Lu Qing nodded and didn't ask any more questions.
However, his doubts did not completely disappear.
Why did the aura of darkness weaken?
Is it a natural change or a human factor?
If it was truly done by human hands, then what level of skill must the person who did it possess?
He didn't ask these questions for the time being.
He looked at Qiu Ruofeng with a scrutinizing gaze.
"Fellow Daoist Qiu, I understand all of this, but what does it have to do with what you promised me?"
Qiu Ruofeng was slightly taken aback.
Lu Qing continued, "I haven't forgotten that I came here because you promised me that you would tell me the reason why the immortals of the ancient times disappeared."
But after entering this Demon Abyss, you didn't mention this matter at all. Instead, you told me the location of the Xuanhua Great Power's inheritance.
His voice was calm, but there was a hint of coldness in his tone.
"There's no such thing as a free lunch. Even a child understands this principle. I don't think Fellow Daoist Qiu would tell me about such a great opportunity for no reason."
Upon hearing this, the atmosphere in the hall immediately became subtle.
The men in black robes exchanged glances, a strange glint in their eyes, but none of them spoke.
They could all sense that although Lu Qing's tone was calm, that subtle sense of oppression had reappeared.
Qiu Ruofeng's smile remained unchanged.
He seemed to have anticipated Lu Qing's question and waved his hand calmly.
"Fellow Daoist, please don't be impatient," he said with a smile. "Since I have invited you here, I will naturally tell you everything. However, this matter is of great importance and needs to be explained from the beginning. Please be patient."
He looked at Lu Qing and asked, "May I ask, fellow Daoist, have you ever heard of a prophecy that has been circulating among the stars for a long time?"
"A prophecy?" Lu Qing raised an eyebrow slightly.
He thought for a moment, and some records he had seen in the Holy Alliance's books came to mind.
The human race in the Tianyuan Great World has a long history. When he was in the Holy Alliance, he read many ancient books, including one that recorded various ancient legends.
That text does indeed mention a prophecy.
"You mean... that prophecy about a catastrophe that will occur in the starry sky?"
Lu Qing asked.
Qiu Ruofeng nodded, a hint of approval flashing in his eyes: "That's right, it is that prophecy. I didn't expect you to know about it as well."
Lu Qing didn't speak, she just looked at him quietly.
The prophecy was recorded very briefly in the Holy Alliance's records, only saying that one day in the future, a catastrophe would descend upon the starry sky, causing widespread devastation and the destruction of countless worlds.
As for the specifics of the calamity, when it would occur, and how to deal with it, none of this was mentioned. Because of this, most cultivators regarded it merely as an ancient legend and did not take it seriously.
Qiu Ruofeng's expression relaxed a little when he realized that Qiu Ruofeng knew.
“Since you’ve heard of it, that makes things easier,” he said slowly. “But do you know where this prophecy came from?”
Lu Qing shook his head: "It is not recorded in the classics."
Qiu Ruofeng took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "Then I will tell you, fellow Daoist, that prophecy was deduced by an immortal in ancient times at the cost of all his life force."
"At the cost of one's own life force?" Lu Qing frowned slightly.
“That’s right.” Qiu Ruofeng nodded. “That immortal spent his entire life’s cultivation, burned all his life force, and even sacrificed his own Dao foundation before he could barely glimpse a trace of the future’s secrets.”
After deducing the prophecy, he was exhausted and died on the spot, leaving only a wisp of his spirit to be reincarnated.
He paused, then continued, "That is why this prophecy has been passed down through the stars for so long."
Otherwise, if it were an ordinary prophecy, it would have been lost to the river of time long ago.
You must understand, that was the future that a Dao Transformation Immortal glimpsed at the cost of his life; it inherently contained some kind of indescribable power.
Lu Qing was silent for a moment, then asked, "But most forces in the starry sky nowadays only regard this prophecy as a legend and doubt its authenticity. Why did Fellow Daoist Qiu specifically bring this up?"
Qiu Ruofeng's expression turned serious.
He looked at Lu Qing and said, word by word, "Because that prophecy is true."
Lu Qing didn't speak, but just looked at him quietly, waiting for him to continue.
Qiu Ruofeng said, "The reason I know it's true is because the one who deduced this prophecy was one of our Netherworld Palace's founders."
Upon hearing this, a hint of surprise finally appeared on Lu Qing's face.
The founder of the Netherworld Palace?
That immortal who has attained enlightenment is actually from the Netherworld Palace?
He looked at Qiu Ruofeng with a hint of doubt in his eyes.
Qiu Ruofeng seemed to see his doubts and said with a wry smile, "Fellow Daoist, there is no need to doubt. Although our Netherworld Palace is weak now, our ancestors did indeed produce a Dao Transformation Immortal."
Otherwise, how could we establish a foothold in the nearby immortal realms and build a power that spans numerous living worlds?
He sighed and continued, "But after that patriarch passed away, our Netherworld Palace has never produced another expert at the Transformation Realm."
Over the years, each generation has been worse than the last. Now, although some foundation remains, it is far inferior to that of ancient times.
Lu Qing nodded and didn't ask any more questions.
The descendants of the Dao Immortal are indeed qualified to do this.
Just like the Great Yuan Immortal Realm, which was once the territory of a Dao Transformation Immortal.
However, after that Dao Transformation Immortal passed away, the world split into the current situation where each of the major life worlds operates independently.
Moreover, if their ancestors had not produced immortal beings, the Netherworld Palace would not have known so many secrets.
“I have also seen the contents of that prophecy in the classics,” Lu Qing said. “It says that a great calamity will come in the future, but it is vague about what kind of calamity it is and when it will come. Since Fellow Daoist Qiu knows more, you may speak frankly.”
Qiu Ruofeng was silent for a moment, then slowly spoke.
"In fact, there were many details in that prophecy that were not made public. Apart from the successive Supreme Elders of our Netherworld Palace, few people knew about it."
He looked at Lu Qing, his gaze deep and unfathomable.
"That is, the calamity that our ancestor foretold is coming soon."
"Almost there?" Lu Qing frowned slightly.
Qiu Ruofeng nodded, his expression extremely solemn: "According to the ancestor's calculations, it will take anywhere from a few hundred years to over a thousand years. We cannot determine the exact time, but we can be sure that it will not be too long."
Hundreds of years, thousands of years.
For ordinary people, this is an unreachable, long period of time.
But for cultivators, especially those at the Dao Integration Realm, it's just a fleeting moment.
Lu Qing asked, "What would happen if we ignored that catastrophe?"
Qiu Ruofeng gave a bitter smile: "Fellow Daoist should be able to imagine that once the calamity descends, the entire starry sky will be devastated. At that time, not only those life-bearing worlds, but even we cultivators will not be able to escape the calamity."
He paused, then continued, "Although our Netherworld Palace is not a prestigious sect, and our actions are somewhat... well, not so upright."
But in any case, we don't want to see the stars destroyed.
Moreover, if a catastrophe were to truly befall us, we would not be able to escape it either.
When the nest is overturned, how can the eggs remain intact?
Lu Qing nodded, but did not comment on it.
He asked, "Then what exactly is this catastrophe related to?"
“Actually, we don’t know either.” Qiu Ruofeng sighed. “Even our ancestor couldn’t fully deduce the cause of that calamity. We know that one of the sources of that calamity was this Dark Abyss.”
Upon hearing this, the hall fell silent.
The figures in black robes all had serious expressions, as if they had mentioned something extremely terrifying.
Lu Qing was silent for a moment, then asked, "Are you saying that this Dark Abyss will trigger a catastrophe that will affect the entire starry sky?"
Qiu Ruofeng nodded: "That's right, this is a prophecy left by our ancestor before his death."
He said at the time that a terrifying calamity would erupt from the depths of the Dark Abyss on some future day.
At that time, the entire starry sky will face annihilation.
"What exactly was that calamity?" Lu Qing asked.
Qiu Ruofeng shook his head: "I don't know. The patriarch didn't say it explicitly. He only mentioned it in his prophecy. The calamity was extremely terrifying, and even a Dao Transformation Immortal would find it difficult to resist."
Once it truly erupts, the entire starry sky will be plunged into utter destruction.
He looked at Lu Qing, his eyes filled with earnestness.
"Over the years, our Netherworld Palace has been exploring this Demon Abyss, trying to figure out what kind of calamity it is."
But the Abyss of Demons is too deep; the deeper you go, the more dangerous it becomes.
We can't get close at all. Just in this outer area alone, we've already lost the main bodies of several Dao Integration Realm elders.
“Until recently, we discovered a place.”
He pointed to the striking red mark on the map.
"That's where the Xuanhua Grandmaster fell. Perhaps we can find out what we want to know there."
Lu Qing stared at the red mark, lost in thought.
He recalled the black figure that had chased Xuan Hua and the several blood-red figures. Could it be that the so-called calamity was related to those beings?
Thinking of this, Lu Qing asked, "So, the reason you sought me out here is?"
(End of this chapter)