CH 102 The Netherworld's Nine Springs, Strongly Favoring The Apprentice

Seven days after leaving Ziyun Dao City, Zhuiyun Peak, along with the other flying peaks, crossed the edge of a vast plain and saw a huge chasm. 

It looked like an abyss leading directly to the underworld, or a crack in the earth, stretching endlessly below, filled with darkness. Just looking from afar, it seemed as if it could pull a person's soul down into its depths. 

The massive chasm extended far, as though dividing this place from the world beyond. The newbies on the flying peaks were all in awe of this grand natural wonder. This was the moment when the battle-hardened senior disciples would step in and explain things. This position of clearing up confusion for the younger disciples was always highly coveted. A Golden Core disciple stood on the cliff of their flying peak, full of pride, explaining to the surrounding junior disciples: “See that? That’s the Northern Abyss, one of the Nine Abyss. It’s said to be a passage to the underworld. If you go down there, you’ll see the Yellow Springs, and even a drop will drag you into the River of Forgetfulness, sending you into the cycles of reincarnation.”

“Has anyone gone down there?” a disciple immediately asked curiously.

“I don’t know if anyone’s gone down, but no one’s ever come back up,” the senior brother shook his head dramatically. “That place is too mysterious. Our flying peak can’t even fly directly across it; we’d be pulled down if we tried. Normally, it only takes eight days to reach Yun Capital, but because of this big chasm, we have to go around. However, there are many evil spirits and monsters down below that occasionally climb out. They look all sorts of strange, and they die as soon as they’re exposed to sunlight…”

“Are they valuable?” another disciple interrupted, and the others eagerly nodded in agreement, their interest clearly focused on profit rather than appearance. They were all excited. “The demons, monsters and spirits manual says there’s a thing called Abyssal Snail that’s really expensive—is that true?”

The senior brother gave the interrupter a dissatisfied glance before coldly snorting, “There’s all sorts of junk down there, and snails come in different types. But if you’re talking about something valuable, there’s a type of snail that carries extreme Yin energy, called the Taiyin Snail, which is indeed expensive. Back in the day, someone caught a small one. After our Sect Leader appraised it, it was found to contain a drop of pure soul essence. You know what that means.”

“Wow…” All the disciples were filled with longing. Pure soul essence was something that could give birth to true spirits. It could instantly turn spiritual artifacts into sentient spiritual treasures, or even be used to create a body double. It was essentially the key to having multiple lives! If they could catch one, they’d be set for life.

The senior brother couldn’t help but also feel a bit envious, sighing, “This kind of thing is mostly dependent on luck. There are other places of the Nine Abyss we'll pass through too, but only a few Taiyin Snails have ever been found. You need to have a broader perspective. There are also other spirits and demons with venomous effects such as soul poison. Poison Peak loves to collect this poison in particular, and a single drop can fetch three thousand spiritual stones…”

“Wow!” The young disciples were once again in awe.

“But only people from Poison Peak can capture those. If we try, and our souls get contaminated, we wouldn’t even make it to Qingnu in time to be saved,” the senior brother warned. Seeing their crestfallen faces, he smirked inwardly, “There’s also a kind of small white fish that occasionally appears. It has a black stripe on its back, and we call it the Xuanyang Fish. Members of the sea clans love to eat them. If you catch one, Deputy Peak Master You will trade three of his tentacles for it.”

“Heavens!!” The young disciples exclaimed in shock again.

“But if you see this fish, don’t say a word. Just run. That thing is so fast, even a Nascent Soul cultivator’s divine sense can’t catch it. Without a Demigod or Synthesis stage cultivator, touching it would leave a hole in you,” the senior brother expertly doused their enthusiasm, continuing, “There are other little things too. When the time comes, we’ll stop a few times, and you can pick up small things. Just remember, don’t touch anything with your bare hands.”

“Got it!” The disciples were still buzzing with excitement.

Soon, the flying peaks began to stop along the edge of the giant chasm. 

The elders on the peaks emerged, sternly warning, “The most important thing is, under no circumstances should you get too close to the Nine Abysses. If you lose control of your mind and jump in, no one will be able to save you.”

“We know,” the disciples replied, mostly indifferent, already taking out their identification booklets and discussing what would be best to collect. 

The elders shook their heads in exasperation—some lessons could only be learned through experience.

Feng Qingxiu was among the expedition newbies. As he followed the crowd toward the chasm’s edge, he noticed that under the sunlight, the grass on the ground was slightly black, with icy dew on the tips of the leaves.

Underneath the dense and eerie moss and grass, occasionally some strange creatures would appear. Only when the grass was parted to let in sunlight would these creatures leap out, startled.

Kun-Lai had long prepared special gloves and pouches for this purpose.

A group of well-dressed female cultivators, carrying baskets full of gloves and pouches, began renting them out. The gloves had a special glow, but they looked rather worn, as if they’d been used for hundreds of years and were starting to fade.

You Jia requested eight pairs but insisted on paying for only one. A stalemate ensued.

Finally, a female cultivator draped in fine robes stepped forward, holding a jade shuttle, and suggested they could chop off two of his hands, which would be enough to only pay for one set.

So, You Jia paid for four sets and left.

Feng Qingxiu rented a set and found that the gloves were woven without any visible seams. When he put them on, the threads seemed to come alive, spreading up his arms.

“Yuzhi Peak has new products again,” You Jia said beside Feng Qingxiu.

“They look quite old,” Feng Qingxiu remarked with some confusion. Upon closer inspection, however, he was captivated by the craftsmanship. The holes and patches seemed to form part of a larger pattern, and the more he looked, the more impressive they appeared. He was suddenly eager to learn the technique and perhaps make a set for his master as a gift.

“Yuzhi Peak is currently into retro styles,” You Jia couldn’t understand this particular aesthetic. “They change trends every year. Don’t mind them. They’re like Shennong Peak, every time out on expeditions they are basically only tagging along, only interested in raising the prices of their materials. Hmph!”

“The sharp tongues of the Poor Peak are sharper than their swords!” scoffed the gorgeously dressed female cultivator overhearing their complaints. “If you’re so capable, go fight naked. Then your clothes won’t get torn, and you won’t need to come to us to buy more.”

“You only charge your spider spirit demons the price of one set, even though they have eight legs. Why should I pay four times as much and for worse fabric?” You Jia shot back angrily.

"If you dare to hit me, I'll quadruple the price," the woman snorted coldly, "If you're not satisfied, why don't you go weave it yourself?"

In terms of status, the resentment from Yuzhi Peak was just as strong as that of Shennong Peak.

"Do you dare to fight me?"

Seeing that a real fight was about to break out, Feng Qingxiu quickly dragged You Jia away.

Given the opportunity to back down, You Jia immediately started grabbing at everything within reach, like someone gathering sea products on a beach. In a radius of hundreds of meters, not a single item was left behind.

Feng Qingxiu sighed helplessly and had no choice but to distance himself from him.

His master stood beside him, holding a small white fish with a black streak along its back. After toying with it for a moment, he tossed it into Xiao Qing’s pouch.

"Master, this is too valuable..." Feng Qingxiu felt overwhelmed.

But his master, completely at ease, cheerfully patted his apprentice’s head. With great interest, he reached into the air and pinched a tiny white shell, no bigger than a fingertip. After playing with it for a bit, he also tossed it into Xiao Qing’s pouch. The cold aura emitting from the shell was so intense that a layer of ice instantly formed over the pouch.

Forget it... Feng Qingxiu gave up and continued searching under the tall grass and moss for other useful items.

A little while later, he suddenly heard a commotion in the distance, "Someone fell down—!"

Feng Qingxiu's heart skipped a beat, and just as he was about to look up, he saw his master casually reach out into the air. In his hand was a terrified boy, being held up by the scruff of his neck. Ji Yunlai glanced at him with a bored expression, and then carelessly tossed him into Xiao Qing’s pouch.

Feng Qingxiu: "..."