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Chapter 194 The Eternal Night's Deep Pool, the Source of Darkness Appears!! (Update 15 of 2 words)

Upper level of Anvil Fort.

Room 76, Section C.

The cramped space was filled with a mixture of smells: rust, sweat, and leftover food.

"call"

A breath of foul air, carrying a faint arc of electricity, was slowly exhaled and dissipated into the polluted air.

Fang Qingyu opened his eyes, the last trace of purple in the depths of his pupils receding, returning to a deep and calm state.

The minor internal injuries caused by enduring the lightning have largely healed, and he even feels that his physical body's resistance to lightning and its true essence have been subtly enhanced under the tempering of the lightning.

"woke up?"

Jiang Wei's voice came from the side.

The little girl had already woken up. She sat on the corner of the bed, hugging her knees, with a new strawberry lollipop in her mouth. Her clear eyes shone brightly in the dim light.

"Hmm." Fang Qingyu nodded, his gaze sweeping across the small room. "Where are they?"

"Half-Dream went to the exchange office to replenish supplies, while Big Guy and Little Lu are on guard outside."

Jiang Wei gave a vague answer.

Fang Qingyu got up, stretched his muscles and bones, and his joints made a slight but powerful popping sound.

Pushing open the thin, cardboard-like iron door, Chu Kuanglan and Lu Jiuyuan stood like two gatekeepers, guarding the entrance to the passage on either side, their eyes warily scanning the hurried figures passing by with shifty eyes.

"Fang Shen! How are you feeling?"

Chu Kuanglan asked in a deep voice

"It's nothing." Fang Qingyu said succinctly, his gaze fixed on the depths of the passage. "Banmeng is back."

The voice just fell.

Wei Banmeng's aloof figure appeared from the bottom of the staircase.

She carried several bags made of some kind of tough, ghostly leather, the surface of which was still covered with a faint frost.

"Everything is ready."

Wei Banmeng entered the room, placed the bag on the rusty iron table, and opened it.

This trip to the Eternal Night Pool was quite different from the Thunderstorm Cloud Sea trip.

There are many things to prepare.

Otherwise, there's a very high chance you'll get lost inside!

Moreover, due to the environmental factors inside.

It's perfectly normal to run into people inside.

A classic quote.

If I can't beat you, I can at least run away. This applies perfectly to the Eternal Night Pool.

The items inside immediately attracted everyone's attention; they were all materials taken from the spirits within the "Abyss" or produced in special environments.

For example, the Nightwalker's Wing Membrane Cloak has the effects of warmth and concealment, or the Frozen Corpse Spinal Fluid, when applied to the skin, can greatly enhance resistance to extreme cold in a short period of time.

Other items include Shadow Vine Roots, Light-Eating Beetle Shell Powder, Abyss Fish Swim Bladder Glue, and Tranquil Wood Amulet, among others.

"There's a lot of stuff, but it's all prepared for the characteristics of the Eternal Silent Pool environment and common spirits." Wei Banmeng's cool voice rang out. "Each person will receive a wing membrane cloak, a bottle of spinal fluid, a portion of Shadow Vine Roots and Shell Powder. Wear the Tranquil Wood Amulet close to your body. Check your equipment, we'll depart in five minutes."

Without any unnecessary words, the five quickly distributed the supplies and fastened their wing-membrane cloaks, the cold touch instantly isolating them from the polluted air inside the base.

The faint fragrance of calming wood lingers in the air, bringing a rare sense of tranquility.

Just as they finished packing and were about to leave the room...

Chu Kuanglan glanced sharply down the passage and lowered his voice: "Fang Shen, Junior Sister Wei, Lei Pojun is down there."

Fang Qingyu did not stop walking, but glanced down through the gap in the passage.

Lei Pojun's imposing figure was standing near the stairwell leading to the residential area on the ground floor, arms crossed, like an iron tower, his gaze intentionally or unintentionally sweeping towards the upper passage.

A disciple from the Tiangang Martial Arts School was leaning closer and whispering something to him.

A moment later, a look of understanding appeared on Lei Pojun's rugged face, followed by an arrogant smile.

Obviously.

He received news that Fang Qingyu and his group were about to head to the Eternal Still Pool.

In his view, this was a sign that the other party had given up in the competition for Thunder Source Essence.

Fang Qingyu withdrew his gaze, his face expressionless, and simply uttered two words: "Let's go."

The five people filed out, no longer looking down, and went straight through the crowded and dirty passageway toward the heavy gate of the stronghold that led to the storm outside.

Boom!

The floodgates opened, and raging storms once again became the theme of the world.

Leaving the shelter of Iron Anvil Fortress, the five braved the raging wind and rain, once again venturing into the gray, scorched wasteland.

But this time, their direction of travel was completely different from that of the thunderstorm and sea of ​​clouds.

The sky was still covered by thick, leaden-gray clouds, but the shape of the clouds had changed.

It was no longer a rolling, surging wall of thunderstorm clouds, but rather presented a low, oppressive state, like a huge gray lead block.

The rain was still cold.

However, it lacked the stinging and numbing sensation of lightning; instead, it was a deep, bone-chilling coldness, carrying a damp and putrid smell.

The distant scenery also looks quite different.

On the left horizon, the enormous tornado we had seen earlier had receded into the distance, leaving only a blurry trace.

The eerie area on the right where snow was falling appeared even clearer at this moment.

The heavy snow fell silently, merging with the icy rain at an invisible boundary, disappearing into a chaotic and hazy "snow and rain belt".

The further you go, the more noticeably the temperature drops.

The cold rain pattered against the wing membrane cloak, making a dull thud.

The water at our feet accumulated and gradually formed a cold stream that meandered among the jagged rocks.

Watch your step! The water is cold, and there might be something in it!

Lu Jiuyuan's voice rang out amidst the wind and rain, tinged with vigilance.

The long sword in his hand was slightly drawn from its sheath, its blade gleaming with a cold light.

Sure enough, in Fang Qingyu's field of vision, deep within those cold pools of water, some slowly wriggling black title symbols representing the Fate Ghost began to appear.

【Cold-water spiny eel】, 【Living in decaying moss】.
Like shadows in the water, they lurk in rock crevices or murky bottoms, waiting for their prey to step into the cold waters.

The team maintained a tight formation. Chu Kuanglan, relying on his powerful physical strength, stomped down heavily, shattering the thin ice blocking their path or crushing some of the withered ice vines that tried to approach.

Fang Qingyu was responsible for remotely eliminating the ghosts that suddenly attacked from the water or the shadows of rocks. Platinum energy lines or dark red calamity fire energy shot out silently and accurately killed them.

The damp, cold, and fishy smell in the air grew stronger, and the light became increasingly dim.

It wasn't because it was late, but because a huge, dark area, as if soaked in thick ink, appeared ahead.

We've arrived at the eternally silent pool!
In stark contrast to the raging, noisy, and blindingly bright lightning of thunderstorms and seas of clouds.

At the edge of the eternally silent pool lies an absolute silence and darkness that devours everything.

The darkness was not simply the absence of light, but rather more like a living, viscous ink.

It emanated from a colossal, seemingly bottomless chasm leading directly to the earth's core, flowing slowly and swallowing up the surrounding light and sound.

Standing at the edge of the rift valley and looking down, your view is swallowed by absolute darkness, with no bottom in sight.

Only on the rock walls near the edge, moss and strange mushrooms, emitting a faint blue or pale green glow, dotted the boundless darkness like will-o'-the-wisps, further emphasizing the deathly stillness and profundity of the core area.

The wind blowing from the rift valley carries a chill that penetrates to the bone, mixed with black dust that resembles ice crystals. When it touches the skin, it brings a stinging pain like needles and a cold sensation that slowly erodes the body's protective energy.

Fortunately, the faint fragrance emanating from the Tranquil Wood Amulet was resisting the restless, whispering mental erosion that was trying to penetrate the mind.

"Is this the Eternally Silent Pool?"

Chu Kuanglan lowered his voice unconsciously, with a hint of instinctive awe in the face of the unknown darkness.

Subconsciously, he wrapped the night-walking bat wing membrane cloak around himself tighter, but its weak light-absorbing effect seemed like a drop in the ocean at this moment.

"Ah."

Wei Banmeng's voice was also very low, her cold eyes staring at the thick darkness, but a trace of heat ignited deep in her eyes, "'Darkness' source substance is most likely to appear in the deepest part of this darkness."

"How to get down?"

Lu Jiuyuan observed the steep, slippery rock face covered with luminous moss, his brows furrowed.

"There is a road."

Wei Banmeng pointed to a relatively gentle slope at the edge of the rift valley, where there seemed to be narrow, winding stone steps, either man-made or naturally formed, that snaked downwards and disappeared into the thick darkness.

"This is the path left by previous explorers. Be careful and stay close to me."

She was the first to step onto the slippery stone steps.

Chu Kuanglan followed closely behind, acting as the vanguard.

Fang Qingyu led Jiang Wei in the middle, while Lu Jiuyuan brought up the rear.

Stepping into that thick darkness felt like instantly entering another world.

The sounds of raging wind and rain, and thunder from the outside world, completely disappeared, replaced by a chilling silence.

The only sounds were the faint thud of footsteps on the slippery stone steps and their slightly heavy breathing.

The faint light-absorbing effect of the Night-Winged Membrane Cloak was almost negligible; in this absolute darkness, even companions standing close by could only see blurry outlines.

Fang Qingyu immediately activated Night Visitation, and his vision became much clearer.

The mosses and fungi that emitted a ghostly blue and pale green light were like road signs in the darkness.

"Use shell powder!"

Wei Banmeng said in a low voice.

The group immediately and carefully sprinkled the carapace powder of the light-devouring beetle onto the shoulders or backs of their companions and their own cloaks.

Tiny specks of silver light appeared, like stars in the darkness. Though faint, they were enough to help them pinpoint their location in the absolute darkness, preventing them from getting separated. The deeper they went, the stronger the chilling atmosphere became.

Chu Kuanglan took out the frozen corpse's spinal fluid and distributed it to everyone.

The icy liquid, applied to the exposed skin, instantly brought a bone-chilling cold, but immediately afterwards, a powerful force against the cold rose from within, resisting the extreme cold that almost froze the blood.

There is no safety in the darkness.

In the night's gaze, in the shadows of the rock walls, beside the cold, dark river, and even on the stalactites hanging overhead, lurks all sorts of light-hating ghosts.

【Shadow-Bound Spider】, 【Diving Blind Eel】, 【Wailing Gargoyle】

They approach silently, like hunters in the dark.

"Shadow-binding spider on the rock face to the left!" Fang Qingyu warned.

Chu Kuanglan's heavy punch, imbued with fierce energy, smashed a giant spider that was trying to spew sticky, shadowy silk into pieces.

"Underground river on the right, swarm of hagfish!"

Lu Jiuyuan's blade flashed like a bolt of lightning, severing several slippery tentacles covered in suckers that had sprung out from the icy river water.

"Overhead!"

Wei Banmeng silently drew his Xuanchi twin blades, and with a flash of icy light, a gargoyle hanging upside down, about to let out a piercing scream, was instantly torn to pieces.

The battle was brief but intense, and all the more dangerous in the absolute darkness.

Each encounter was resolved swiftly thanks to Fang Qingyu's accurate early warnings and the tacit cooperation of his companions.

The roots of the Shadow Vine were also ignited, emitting a faint smoke with a peculiar, spicy smell, which indeed made some of the Light-Averse Ghosts lurking further away irritable and retreat.

After traveling for an unknown amount of time in the darkness, the terrain began to become relatively flat.

The group seemed to have arrived at the lower middle part of the rift valley, a relatively open plateau area.

The ground here is covered with cold, black silt.

The dark, corrosive dust in the air grew even denser, and the calming wood amulet seemed to be losing its effectiveness. A disturbing whispering sensation flickered in his mind.

Until they traversed the icy mud of the bone-corroding swamp, dodged the slime of the shadowy slugs and the sudden attacks of the lurking abyssal fanged fish, and endured the piercing mental screams of the wailing gargoyles.
The five of them finally arrived at the vast cavern space deep within the Eternal Silence Pool.

Absolute darkness enveloped everything like thick ink.

Beneath my feet lay cold, rocky ground riddled with deep, bottomless cracks.

An ancient, deathly atmosphere permeated the air, as if even the passage of time had frozen here.

The power of the Tranquil Wood Amulet was suppressed to the minimum. Its spiritual erosion, like the whispers of vengeful spirits, was all-pervasive, requiring immense willpower to maintain mental clarity.

"This is the deepest part."

Wei Banmeng's voice carried an undisguised weariness, but even more so a solemnity and a faint hint of expectation.

A longing tremor emanated from behind her as she wielded the Xuan Chi Twin Blades.

As everyone held their breath and strained to explore the area with the help of the sparse luminous moss and cold-light fungi on the rock wall, as well as the faint silver light provided by the carapace powder of the light-eating beetles sprinkled on their bodies.

Look over there!

Chu Kuanglan suppressed his excitement, his voice trembling slightly, and pointed to the left side of the center of the cave.

Everyone's attention was instantly focused!
Above a relatively open rocky ground, a small patch of darkness was undergoing a chilling transformation!
The darkness there surged and swirled violently, like boiling ink!
As light approached it, it was mercilessly swallowed and distorted, forming a miniature dark vortex about two meters in diameter that slowly collapsed inward!
A pure, cold aura of darkness that devours all light and heat.

It's emanating from the core of that vortex!

So much so that the faint glow moss and cold light fungi on the rock face near it instantly dimmed, as if their life force had been sucked away!

Dark Source Tide.

It is taking shape!

"It's it! The Source of Darkness!"

Wei Banmeng's usually cool face instantly lit up with uncontrollable joy, and her usually calm eyes were now filled with burning desire!
The Xuan Chi twin blades emitted a clear hum behind her.

Chu Kuanglan and Lu Jiuyuan were also instantly excited. After going through many hardships, they had finally found their target!

However, just as this surprise spread across everyone's face!

Fang Qingyu's pupils suddenly contracted to pinpoints.

In Ye Ye's vision, near the gathering dark essence, in a dark corner, several red titles suddenly appeared.
And not just in one place!
"careful!"

Fang Qingyu let out a low shout, his voice like a thunderclap in the dead silence, instantly shattering the atmosphere of surprise.

He moved with lightning speed, his left hand suddenly reaching out and grabbing Wei Banmeng's arm, pulling her backward with tremendous force.

At the same time, his right hand pressed down on Chu Kuanglan's shoulder like an iron clamp, and Lu Jiuyuan was instantly stopped by his sharp eyes and actions.

The four were startled by Fang Qingyu's sudden, almost violent action, their surprise freezing on their faces, then turning into astonishment and confusion!

"Qingyu?!"

Wei Banmeng was pulled by the arm and looked at him in astonishment.

The desire for the Xuan Chi Twin Blades clashed fiercely within her heart with Fang Qingyu's warning.

Chu Kuanglan's shoulders were pressed down, and his excited expression instantly turned into astonishment: "Fang Shen? You...?"

Lu Jiuyuan's eyes were sharp, and he instantly realized something was wrong.

He immediately gripped the hilt of the knife tightly and warily scanned the surrounding darkness.

Fang Qingyu didn't explain immediately. Instead, he scanned the area around the Dark Source with extremely sharp eyes, then lowered his voice and said in a whisper that only the five people could hear:

"There are about five people behind a huge stalagmite to the left front. There are fewer people, only three, in a recessed cave to the right front. There are four people on a towering rock platform directly in front, closest to the center of the cave."

Fang Qingyu spoke very quickly, clearly conveying the location and number of the ambushers in each direction.

The excitement on Wei Banmeng and the other two's faces froze instantly, as if doused with a bucket of ice water.

Fang Qingyu's low shout and rough actions abruptly pulled them back from their euphoria at the imminent arrival of their target to the harsh reality.

Five people to the left front, three to the right front, and four directly in front.

Wei Banmeng's cool voice carried a hint of barely perceptible dryness as she quickly relayed Fang Qingyu's information, her sharp eyes sweeping over the three dark areas that had been pointed out.

The hum of the Xuan Chi Twin Blades still yearned, but now it sounded more like a warning.

Chu Kuanglan's muscles tensed, a heavy pressure emanating from the spot where Fang Qingyu was pressing down on him. He gasped for breath and said in a muffled voice, "Damn it, twelve of them are at least at the Transcendent Realm? What are we going to do?"

He felt his body's energy and blood, more than half of which had been depleted, and his muscles aching slightly, a result of the intense battles and travel he had endured in the icy swamp, the dark river, and under the shrieks of the gargoyles.

This has already caused his performance to drop from its peak.

One must be cautious when facing any peak martial artist of the same level, let alone twelve unknown individuals.
Lu Jiuyuan's expression was solemn, his long sword gripped tightly, his knuckles turning white.

He was also exhausted; although his agility remained, his strength and reaction speed had diminished.

"Is their location strategically advantageous, with the three parties either confronting each other or encircling us?"

Lu Jiuyuan's voice was very low and filled with worry.

In either case, given their current state, rushing out to compete for the condensing Dark Source Essence would be futile.

Wei Banmeng pursed her lips tightly, her eyes flashing intensely in the darkness.

Xuan Chi's desire almost burned through her reason; it was the key to her breakthrough.

But Fang Qingyu's warning, the heavy breathing of her companions, and the waves of emptiness emanating from deep within her own body...
They were all frantically pulling at her.

Reason told her that rushing out now would have a very slim chance of success, and she was more likely to become the first victim in the three-way battle or in an ambush.

"Wait or retreat?"

Chu Kuanglan managed to utter a few words, his huge fists clenched so tightly they cracked, filled with resentment.

withdraw?
This means giving up the Dark Source Essence that was so close at hand, and that all the previous arduous journey and exhaustion would be in vain.

Wait? Wait for the three parties to start fighting first?
But can they wait until then?

What if the other party is the same faction, or three parties attacking at the same time?

In its current state, it probably doesn't even qualify to be a fisherman.

The air seemed to solidify into lead, pressing heavily on everyone's hearts.

Only in the center of the cave, where the dark vortex spun and collapsed, did the source of darkness exude an increasingly clear allure and aura of death.

Time flowed in absolute silence, each second feeling like torture.

Just as Wei Banmeng's brows furrowed deeper and deeper, Chu Kuanglan's eyes alternated between struggle and ferocity, Lu Jiuyuan's hand holding the knife trembled slightly, and even Jiang Wei, with a lollipop in her mouth, scanned the scene ahead with particularly serious eyes in the darkness.
Fang Qingyu made a move.

Without the slightest hesitation, he still held Wei Banmeng's arm firmly with one hand, and with the other hand he suddenly exerted force, pulling Chu Kuanglan, who was still struggling, and Lu Jiuyuan, who was on guard, backward at the same time.

"This way!"

With a low shout, he pulled the three of them, including Jiang Wei, and like a shadow blending into the darkness, swiftly retreated to the side and rear of a shadowy area composed of damp, cold stalactite pillars and dense, phosphorescent ghost moss.

This area is slightly low-lying and is also sheltered by stone pillars.

This effectively avoided direct line of sight between the high platform directly in front and the ambush points on the left and right flanks.

The cold rocks and slippery moss made the five of them instantly curl up behind this natural shelter.

Wei Banmeng was forcibly pulled into the shadows by Fang Qingyu, her body slamming against the cold stone pillar. She was about to question whether this sudden retreat meant giving up.

Chu Kuanglan and Lu Jiuyuan also looked at Fang Qingyu with confusion and a sense of frustration that had been forcibly suppressed.

However, before any of them could speak...

Fang Qingyu had already turned around, leaning against the cold stalactites.

Those deep eyes gleamed faintly in the darkness, calmly sweeping over the three faces filled with entanglement, exhaustion, resentment, and doubt.

The corner of his mouth twitched upwards very slightly.

Then, in a voice so calm it was almost undisturbed, yet so clear it was like an icicle piercing the silence, he uttered a few words to his three teammates, who were exhausted and caught in a dilemma:
"Withdraw my ass!"

These sudden words, coupled with Fang Qingyu's extremely calm tone and gaze, made the situation even more unexpected.

This instantly froze Wei Banmeng and the other two.

Fang Qingyu's gaze passed over them and fell once again on the boiling darkness in the center of the cave, and the hidden dangers lurking within it.

The voice remained calm, yet carried an undeniable decisiveness.

"Rob!!!"

(End of this chapter)