The first to notice the massive deaths of Abyss creatures were the Abyss Emperors of the lower-ranked layers among the Abyss's 108 layers.
Since the battle six thousand years ago, the main passage connecting the Abyss and Douluo Planes had been sealed. There were still hundreds of small passages and thirty-six large passages between the two planes. The strongest Abyss creatures that could pass through these passages were only equivalent to Title Douluo.
But even Title-level Abyss creatures only appeared on the battlefield during third-level Abyss tides.
Even when higher-ranked Abyss creatures below the Title level appeared at the Abyss Passage, they were relatively rare.
Therefore, over the years, the Abyss creatures that frequently clashed with the Blood God Legion mostly came from the lower-ranked layers.
Those layers' Abyss creatures were relatively weak, could all pass through the Abyss passages, and were numerous—perfect cannon fodder to wear down the Blood God Legion's soldiers and equipment.
Naturally, when their subordinates suffered large-scale casualties, these Abyss Emperors were the first to notice.
At first, they didn't pay much attention.
Abyss creatures were endless—some casualties were routine. As long as the energy returned to the origin, new soldiers would soon be reborn. That was the Abyss Plane's confidence.
But soon, they were horrified to discover that after their soldiers were killed, the Abyss energy didn't return! Where had such a large mass of Abyss energy gone?
The Abyss Emperor of the 107th layer investigated his domain, found massive Abyss creature disappearances and the energy not returning, and sensed trouble. Suspecting something had changed on the Douluo Continent, he urgently contacted nearby Abyss Emperors. Finding they faced the same situation, he immediately reported it to the Abyss Saint Lord, awaiting his judgment.
At the same time, they dispatched Abyss creatures to investigate.
It's funny—because Abyss creatures possessed the "undying" trait, aside from the Layer Emperors, who feared being overthrown during their resurrection and were relatively cautious about their lives, ordinary Abyss creatures weren't afraid of death at all. Without specialized reconnaissance missions, no Abyss creature would ever return alive to report the details.
Days later, deep within the Abyss Plane, the Abyss Saint Lord sat on his high throne, his commanding aura faintly emanating, the entire Abyss trembling under his pressure.
Before him, numerous Abyss Emperors and Emperors stood silently, not daring to breathe.
The Saint Lord's eyes were half-closed, as if dozing or pondering. After a long moment, he slowly spoke, his voice low and calm, yet carrying a soul-trembling pressure.
"Has the situation been investigated?"
The Saint Lord's voice echoed through the hall, not loud, but making every Abyss Emperor present tremble.
One Abyss Emperor stepped forward and bowed. "Reporting to the Saint Lord, it's been clarified. On the Douluo side, a human youth wielding a golden spear has appeared in the Blood God Legion. The golden spear can devour Abyss energy for its own use. When our soldiers are killed by that spear, the Abyss energy is devoured and cannot return to the Abyss."
Because Tang Wulin trained at the Abyss Passage, this information was easy to obtain.
The Abyss Saint Lord's brow twitched slightly, but he said nothing.
The Abyss Emperor continued, "Additionally, the Blood God Legion seems to have adjusted their tactics against us. They no longer directly kill our soldiers as before, but have switched to capturing them alive. Though I haven't witnessed it personally, I suspect our soldiers are uniformly handed over to that youth for execution afterward. That's why our losses are increasing at an alarming rate."
The suspicion was certainly reasonable.
Over the years, the Douluo side had struggled to cope with their immortality. Suddenly having someone like that appear—if the roles were reversed, they would do the same.
The Abyss Saint Lord still didn't respond immediately.
The hall was silent enough to hear a pin drop, only the sound of his fingertips tapping the chair back echoing—one after another, like a countdown.
"That golden spear should be a divine artifact that counters Abyss energy."
After a moment, the Abyss Saint Lord finally spoke, his tone icy. "Then take it. How strong is that human youth that he can make you all helpless?"
The Abyss Emperor trembled and prostrated himself. "Saint Lord, please understand—that youth's cultivation is only approaching the Soul Sage level, but he wears Battle Armor that puts his combat power no lower than a Soul Douluo's, and he can probably resist a Title Douluo to some extent. With the forces we can currently send through the passages, ordinary soldiers are no match for him."
After investigating Tang Wulin's situation, he'd tried sending Abyss creatures to kill him and seize or destroy the Golden Dragon Spear—but he couldn't.
After starting to devour Abyss energy, Tang Wulin's cultivation improved daily, rapidly rising from early Spirit Emperor to the threshold of Spirit Sage. With Two-Word Battle Armor, his strength was just at an awkward middle ground—lower-ranked Abyss creatures couldn't defeat him, and those who could couldn't cross over. Aside from the Abyss Emperors themselves, the lower-ranked Emperors had no Title-level subordinates.
Though some lower-ranked Abyss Emperors appeared to be only Title-level, because they carried the Plane Seeds representing their respective layers, their actual strength and Abyss energy exceeded ordinary Title-level Abyss creatures.
After all, they were still layer lords—they had some status.
With the main passage sealed, they could at best send projections over—but that was clearly meaningless.
(Note: In the original, the lower 36 Abyss Emperors' settings fluctuated between Title Douluo and Super Douluo levels, and whether they could enter the Douluo Plane through branch passages or only the sealed main passage was inconsistent. I'm using my own settings here.)
Moreover, given this turn of events, he didn't believe the Blood God Legion hadn't arranged covert protection for the young man.
How were they supposed to fight this? Weren't they being set up?
After hearing this, the Abyss Saint Lord's fingertip tapping stopped.
The hall fell deathly silent.
"So," the Abyss Saint Lord's voice slowly rose, emotionless, "you're telling me a human brat under the Soul Sage level, armed with a divine artifact, has pushed you Abyss Emperors to the point of helplessness?"
The Emperor trembled, his forehead pressed to the ground, his voice bitter: "Saint Lord, calm your anger! It's not that your servant is incompetent—it's truly that the passage restrictions prevent me from descending in person. If... if the main passage weren't sealed, I would have gone myself long ago and torn that brat to pieces!"
This Abyss Emperor couldn't guarantee he could kill the target either—the Blood God Legion's strength was no joke, with several Limit-level Four-Word Battle Armor Masters. Even if he descended in person, encountering those humans would be troublesome.
But to avoid appearing too incompetent before the Saint Lord, he spoke with absolute certainty, shifting all blame to the sealed main passage.
This comment, however, greatly displeased a higher-ranked Abyss Emperor present.
Standing beside the Abyss Saint Lord, the Blazing Emperor narrowed his eyes, his expression darkening. He unconsciously touched the scar on his face.
It was a wound from the Dragon God's claw, left after the battle with Emperor Tian six thousand years ago.
Six thousand years ago, as the Abyss Plane's commander leading forces against the Douluo Plane, he'd been defeated, resulting in the main passage's seal. This scar had become an eternal humiliation.
Now this lower-ranked fool, to excuse his incompetence, was blaming everything on the sealed main passage—to the Blazing Emperor's ears, it sounded like a slap in his face!
"That's enough."
The Blazing Emperor finally spoke, his voice cold.
"You say the passage prevents you from descending in person. Let me ask you—even without the passage, if you descended in person, what could you accomplish? Can you defeat the Blood God Legion?!"
The Emperor froze. Seeing it was the Blazing Emperor, he immediately thought of the events six thousand years ago and wished he could slap himself.
You fool! Why did you have to bring that up?!
The Blazing Emperor ignored him, instead approaching the Abyss Saint Lord, kneeling on one knee, head bowed. "Saint Lord, your subordinate is willing to handle this personally."
The Abyss Saint Lord looked down at him, his gaze deep as an abyss, seeing his unwillingness. But he ultimately shook his head. "No need. Temporarily withdraw forces. Don't send more troops to attack the Douluo Plane."
The Blazing Emperor was stunned. He looked up, eyes full of confusion. "Saint Lord?"
"What he said isn't without reason." The Abyss Saint Lord slowly spoke, his tone calm but unquestionable.
Though that Abyss Emperor's words were suspect, they weren't without merit.
With the main passage sealed, the strongest beings that could reach the Douluo Plane were Title-level combatants. Even if the Blazing Emperor had many such subordinates, they couldn't decisively turn the tide—the Blood God Legion had experts at that level too.
If the youth had experts guarding him secretly, rashly sending troops would only feed the enemy and waste Abyss energy.
Rather than consuming energy meaninglessly, it was better to withdraw temporarily and wait for a better opportunity.
The Blazing Emperor's lips moved. He felt it was humiliating for the Abyss Plane to be forced to withdraw by someone they looked down upon. He wanted to argue, but the Saint Lord raised his hand to stop him.
"Wait for the right moment. I'll find an opportunity to open the main passage. Then you can personally crush that brat and seize the divine artifact!"
Seeing the coldness in the Saint Lord's eyes, the Blazing Emperor understood that his master felt equally shamed. A glint flashed in his eyes as he knelt, saying solemnly, "Your subordinate obeys!"
The Saint Lord nodded slightly and waved his hand. The assembled experts' figures gradually faded from the hall, leaving it empty and silent.
Then the Abyss Saint Lord closed his eyes and fell into a deep slumber.
He had performed this puzzling operation many times before—its purpose was to extend his consciousness to the Douluo Plane.
Now that the two planes were connected, he could do this. Though he couldn't perceive specific existences, he could sense strong negative energies.
The evil god the Holy Spirit Cult had worshipped during their growth was actually him.
That was how he'd gradually guided the Holy Spirit Cult into cooperating with the Abyss, granting them the Blood River God-Slaying Grand Array and Possession Demons.
The process hadn't gone smoothly—the Holy Spirit Cult had been suppressed too harshly on the Douluo Continent. If not for the softer targets of Xingluo and Douling, he'd have given up on them long ago.
Fortunately, the Killing God—a variable who approved of his invasion plans—had appeared, making the investment worthwhile.
And after receiving so much support, it was time for the Holy Spirit Cult to give back.
As his consciousness spread, the Demon Emperor on the distant Douling Continent received the instruction.
"Go to the Endless Mountains area to guide the Abyss passage?" The Demon Emperor rubbed his brow with some headache.
The Sea God Corps' fleet was now not far from the Xingluo Federation, and his attention had already shifted there. He hadn't expected the Saint Lord to give him this order now.
Still, he didn't dare to disobey.
Besides, if they could open a breakthrough at the Endless Mountains, it would benefit the Abyss Plane too. The Demon Emperor didn't want to place all his hopes on the Holy Spirit Cult.
The Holy Spirit Cult currently had the ability to perform a blood sacrifice to open an Abyss passage, but they weren't planning to do so yet.
There were many reasons.
Three main ones:
First, they were waiting for that Demon Lord.
Given the Demon Lord's divine-level strength, they could afford to wait for the six-month agreement.
Second, some preparations truly weren't complete.
For instance, the Blood River God-Slaying Grand Array—the Holy Spirit Cult's plan wasn't to build one, but two. Since the array required ten million souls and resources were sufficient, it just took more time to prepare.
Having two such arrays would greatly boost the Holy Spirit Cult's strength. The benefits outweighed the risks.
Third, the Holy Spirit Cult and the Abyss didn't trust each other—each had their own agenda.
The Abyss wanted to use the Holy Spirit Cult to descend to the Douluo Plane, while the Holy Spirit Cult hoped the Abyss and Douluo Planes would fight to mutual destruction, leaving them to reap the rewards.
But after witnessing the Killing God, the Holy Spirit Cult understood the divine level and was undoubtedly wary of the Abyss Saint Lord's strength. And whether Douluo had the means to counter him—the Holy Spirit Cult had no idea.
But the Demon Emperor knew that because he appeared so composed, the Ghost Emperor and Demon Empress likely assumed—two mere reincarnated deities and a few near-divine existences were no match for the Abyss Saint Lord.
With this understanding, they probably had other plans, like waiting for those reincarnated deities to recover to a certain level so they'd have stronger forces to fight the Abyss to the death.
This third point was the Demon Emperor's greatest concern—raising a tiger could lead to unforeseen consequences.
If they could establish a foothold at the original Abyss Passage, the Holy Spirit Cult would lose control of the situation.
So upon receiving the Abyss Saint Lord's message, he quickly gathered personnel for action.
And this movement didn't escape Rong Lingji, who had already infiltrated the Douling Continent.
With his divine-level foundation, Rong Lingji—now in Tiandou City on the Douling Continent—easily detected the Demon Emperor and several Title Douluo leaving.
He thoughtfully observed this and ultimately decided to follow.
Days earlier, he and his Dark Department operatives had arrived by soul tool aircraft off the Douling Continent coast and infiltrated.
Unfortunately, their gains had been minimal.
Now, detecting something unusual, he naturally went to investigate.
When he confirmed these experts' destination was likely the Douluo Continent, he reported it to the Dark Department and alerted Huo Yuhao, then let it be.
A Holy Spirit Cult Limit's movements were worth noting. But he was there to disrupt the blood sacrifice—he couldn't follow them all the way back to the Douluo Continent.
On the Douluo Continent, Huo Yuhao received Rong Lingji's message and fell into thought.
Thanks to the little mole Lan Fozi, he already knew the Demon Emperor's name.
As the Possession Demons' leader and an Abyss creature, what was his purpose in leaving Douling at this time with a group of Title-level experts, apparently heading for the Douluo Continent?
Or, if the Holy Spirit Cult's destination truly was the Douluo Continent, what here was worth such a significant deployment?
There didn't seem to be many possibilities.
Huo Yuhao first called for Lan Fozi. Learning that the Holy Spirit Cult hadn't contacted her recently, he smiled.
"Could I have hooked a fish?"
Although this world had diverged significantly from the original story, the original still had reference value.
In the original, when the Endless Mountains' Abyss Passage had problems and the main seal was damaged—that was the result of external help from the Holy Spirit Cult!
***
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