Chapter 1127: The Crack at the Bottom of the Swamp

Ye Mo dared not leave the Golden Page World, nor even deploy a surveillance formation. Encountering the two Hollow Spirit State cultivators would mean certain death. He therefore cultivated within the Golden Page World. While the bitter bamboo possessed a spirit range, its life force was weak, so Ye Mo avoided cultivating nearby. However, upon seeing the snow fox, he conceived a plan: perhaps the fox could locate the herb.

Three days passed swiftly. Ye Mo’s power increased marginally; his cultivation essence refined slightly, but he remained at Nascent Soul State level five. He realized that three years of such cultivation might not even elevate him to Nascent Soul State level six, let alone the tertiary stage. The required spirit chi was exorbitant. His cultivation essence and spirit sense were strong, but ultimately limited by his need for spirit chi.

Uninspired by his lack of progress, Ye Mo deployed a surveillance formation. Instead of the dark swamp, he saw a pitch-black riverbed. The swamp’s suction had drawn the Golden Page World beneath the surface.

Immediately exiting the Golden Page World, Ye Mo found himself beside the riverbed, the sky unseen—clearly underground. He had not anticipated such a vast riverbed and subterranean world. Putrid swamp mud drifted in the frigid darkness. The Golden Page World’s presence indicated the swamp’s dynamic nature.

Without hesitation, Ye Mo released the snow fox. The fox sniffed the riverbed and darted in the opposite direction, descending ever lower. Ye Mo felt they were moving toward the earth's core.

After four hours traversing the immense riverbed, they continued downward for another two before slowing. The snow fox halted at a dark crevice, extending endlessly into the unknown. Ye Mo’s spirit sense could not fathom its depth or length. At its widest point, the crevice measured only ten centimeters; in places, just a few.

The snow fox paused above the crevice, gazing at Ye Mo. Ye Mo frowned. “What do you mean? Do you want to go inside?”

Even as a Nascent Soul State cultivator, the prospect of entering such a narrow, dark fissure gave him pause. The crevice might suck him down endlessly. Without the Golden Page World, he would have perished in the swamp’s suction; even with it, his destination remained uncertain.

Yet, the snow fox nodded resolutely. Reluctant but seeing no alternative, Ye Mo yielded. He released Zi Xu, saying, “Stand on my shoulders, and I'll take you down.”

The snow fox complied instantly. Ye Mo, mounted on Zi Xu, entered the crevice, ready to retreat into the Golden Page World at the first sign of trouble.

As he fell, the powerful suction returned, far exceeding that of the swamp. Ye Mo knew he was in grave danger; he could not resist the force. Even a Cauldron Filling State cultivator could not maintain speed against such suction; returning was impossible. The snow fox, clearly unaware of the peril, had lured him here.

If the crevice was sufficiently deep, even a soft landing would be fatal at this speed. Without a second thought, Ye Mo brought Zi Xu and the snow fox into the Golden Page World.

Inside, Ye Mo saw terror in the snow fox’s eyes. He glared, saying, “If it weren’t for this, we would have died because of you.”

Every four hours, Ye Mo deployed a surveillance formation disk. After nearly a day, the Golden Page World finally came to rest. Bringing the snow fox out, he saw a colossal black mountain. It was not tall, but stretched several kilometers, resembling a black dragon from afar.

Disappointment washed over him. The space differed from that beyond the crevice. The area seemed a few hundred square kilometers, yet contained nothing but the mountain.

A few steps in, Ye Mo noticed something amiss. Looking down, he found himself surrounded by human bones, blackened and scattered everywhere. Was this an ancient battlefield? He kicked a bone, sensing that these individuals must have been powerful masters in life for their remains to persist so long.

A storage ring lay beneath him. He instinctively picked it up, finding it cracked, its contents reduced to dust. Though broken, Ye Mo recognized it as belonging to at least a Cauldron Filling State cultivator or higher. Countless masters had died here; what was this place? Would he share their fate?

Ye Mo discovered dozens of storage rings and countless nearly-broken magical artifacts, all unusable. He sighed; if intact, these masters' rings would have made him wealthy.

Kicking at the ground as he walked, he mused, “What if an unbroken storage ring existed?” Would it yield the possessions of an ancient cultivator?

Unexpectedly, a metallic clang echoed beneath his foot. Looking down, he saw a disk-like object, seemingly undamaged. Clearly no ordinary item, Ye Mo immediately picked it up.

It likely fell from a broken storage ring. He grasped it, feeling a chilling sensation and an immediate prickling of his skin—intensely uncomfortable.

Before he could examine it further, a heavy fatigue consumed him. A voice, deep within his sea of consciousness, urged him to leave. He felt an overwhelming urge to flee, but the ever-active Three Birth Chant snapped him back to awareness.

“Possession?” Ye Mo realized a soul was bound to the disk. Furious at this attempted possession, he unleashed the full force of the Three Birth Chant. An almost invisible soul appeared in his sea of consciousness.

“Get out!” he roared. The soul was instantly expelled.

“What cultivation method is that?” the soul cried out, shocked.

“That’s none of your concern,” Ye Mo retorted, unleashing the Mist Lotus Heart Fire, intent on reducing the soul to ashes.