She leaped onto Wu Tao's bald head and began to play around.
Seeing this, Wu Tao glared at You Meng, grabbed her with both hands, squeezed her into a ball, and threw her out.
To cultivate the fourth technique, "One Grade Buddhist Divine Ability: Sky-Traversing Buddha Transformation into a Thread," besides the Heaven and Earth grade spiritual materials as the main components, one must also refine a large amount of cloud qi.
Within the Danxia Bead, there was a swirling mass of cloud qi and radiant mist, containing pure, condensed cloud qi.
This pure cloud qi had been exhaled and refined by Wu Li over a hundred years, and in the end, it all benefited Wu Tao.
Wu Tao swallowed it into the Danxia Bead. With a surge of Buddhist power, the vast cloud qi and radiant mist instantly transformed into a mystical force, integrating into the meridians of his heart.
Wu Tao had not anticipated that the cloud qi and radiant mist within the Danxia Bead would be so compatible with the "One Grade Buddhist Divine Ability: Sky-Traversing Buddha Transformation into a Thread" he was cultivating.
...
On the other side.
Following the special ebb of demonic energy from the Demon Abyss that occurred every ten years, the danger level of the Demon Abyss significantly decreased.
The edges of the Demon Abyss gradually became populated with more cultivators.
Although most of them were of low cultivation, not daring to enter the Demon Abyss itself, they could still gather spiritual materials from its periphery. However, due to the sheer number of people, it appeared particularly lively.
Some individuals even engaged in the practice of preying on others, setting their sights on Wu Tao. The result was that Wu Tao mercilessly killed them.
Wu Tao looked with disdain at the storage bags he had just acquired, muttering curses about them being poor.
...
Indeed, these cultivators of Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment stages were merely scavenging for scraps left behind by others. How could they possibly possess anything valuable?
To avoid further disturbance from these minor figures, Wu Tao decided to stop playing the weakling and revealed his late-stage Core Formation power.
As expected, once Wu Tao truly displayed his cultivation level, few dared to bother him anymore.
...
Within a few hours, Wu Tao had, in essence, stepped onto the land of the Demon Abyss.
His spiritual sense swept out, and Wu Tao discovered a well-equipped and numerous group of cultivators exploring the outskirts of the Demon Abyss ahead.
The Demon Abyss was unlike the outside world; it was an unfamiliar place.
Within the Demon Abyss, there was only endless darkness and desolation. There was no sunlight, making it a completely pitch-black world.
The Demon Abyss was once a massive battlefield where countless human ancestors fell along with alien races.
In the ancient era, there was the Abyss race, resembling a cross between oxen and horses, with colossal bodies hundreds of times larger than humans.
Every member of the Abyss race possessed immense strength and formidable innate divine abilities. Even without cultivation, upon reaching adulthood, they possessed the combat power of a human Core Formation cultivator.
However, for unknown reasons, the Abyss race harbored deep animosity towards humans, preying on them in the barren lands. Countless humans perished at the hands of the Abyss race.
But as the ancient era passed, human power experienced significant development during the primeval era, leading to a reckoning with the Abyss race.
Ultimately, although humanity suffered considerable losses, the Abyss race was utterly exterminated.
The present Demon Abyss was one of the battlefields of that brutal racial war.
This information could now only be found in ancient texts, as years had passed, and the blood and tears of that era had long been forgotten.
Within the Demon Abyss, in addition to the darkness and desolate scenery, various strange remnants lay scattered, such as bizarre mountains or colossal, uncanny withered bones.
The Demon Abyss was vast, but it was not a place that ordinary cultivators could venture into.
However, the number of cultivators entering the Demon Abyss this year was several times that of normal times, creating a veritable sea of people pouring in.
The reason for all this was a recently circulating rumor that a great tomb from the ancient era lay hidden deep within the Demon Abyss.
The tomb was said to contain inexhaustible treasures that could elevate one to the heavens in a single step.
...
"A great tomb has appeared in the Demon Abyss!"
"Several second-rate aristocratic families and Nascent Soul stage experts have ventured in, so it's likely true!"
"Someone saw countless palaces within the Demon Abyss. It's a treasure trove!"
An elder family patriarch reprimanded, "Nonsense! It's clearly a demonic land and a great tomb. The fact that the rumors are spreading so quickly now means someone is luring us into a trap!"
"Patriarch Wu, are you going?"
Someone beside him asked obsequiously.
"Go, why wouldn't I? My lifespan is not long anyway, and even if I don't go, I won't live much longer."
"My descendants are quite capable. Even if I meet misfortune on this trip, they will be able to protect the family business."
"In my youth, I dared not gamble for the sake of the family. Now that I am old, I must take a chance. I cannot depart from this world without experiencing this journey."
Old Patriarch Wu Si Dao of the Wu family said this to the person beside him.
...
Hearing Wu Si Dao's words, another elderly patriarch of the Jin family sighed and lamented, "You young people have ample time; there's no need to risk your lives..."
"We old fellows have no choice. We seek fortune in peril for the sake of our descendants!"
...
"Senior, your words are not entirely correct. The more perilous a place, the more treasures it holds. The path of cultivation and seeking the Dao is, in the end, about contention!"
"If you don't contend with others? Don't contend with heaven and earth? Don't contend with all things? How can you achieve immortality and enlightenment? I do not wish to live an ordinary, unremarkable life!"
A young Foundation Establishment stage cultivator said with fervor.
A similarly young, burly man chuckled, "It's just a cheap life, am I afraid to let it go?"
"If I gamble and win, I'll buy thousands of acres of spiritual land, become an ancestor of a noble family, establish my own clan, and rise to the ranks of the esteemed families. If I lose, and die, I accept it!"
...
Numerous cultivators gathered outside the Demon Abyss, and an unseen undercurrent began to surge.
...
To be honest, the interior of the Demon Abyss was filled with treacherous peaks and dangerous terrain, dotted with swamps and poisonous valleys, teeming with demonic beasts and venomous creatures.
Many areas were shrouded in a dull gray mist, and chilling winds would frequently rise, swirling in mid-air.
Upon closer inspection, these places often contained numerous skeletal remains, both human and animal, an eerie spectacle.
If one lingered here for too long, they could hear the wails of countless vengeful spirits, enough to frighten ordinary, faint-hearted mortals to death.
Of course, as it was a battlefield from the ancient era, it was also home to various spiritual substances, elixirs, spiritual herbs, and mineral materials.
Danger and opportunity coexisted. Without a certain level of strength and luck, venturing deep into the Demon Abyss would be no different from seeking death.
However, not all areas within the Demon Abyss were extremely dangerous, such as the outer regions.
Some areas had peculiar environments, with numerous large stones containing light-emanating qualities, interconnected. Coupled with less demonic energy, these were slightly safer places.
Even in these outer regions, there were some extremely special spiritual materials nurtured, which even Wu Tao found noteworthy.
These cultivators were exploring in these areas. Leading them was an elder with early-stage Core Formation cultivation.
He stroked his snow-white beard and held a treasure-seeking ruler, an artifact-grade magical item, measuring something.
Behind the elder followed over a dozen Foundation Establishment stage cultivators, clearly a group.
Wu Tao immediately recognized that this group of people definitely belonged to a family without their own territory!
A petite and delicate young Foundation Establishment female cultivator, gazing at the treasure-seeking ruler in the elder's hand, cupped her fists and said cautiously.
"Grandfather, the demonic tide of today has just passed. Under normal circumstances, it should subside for a few days..."
"Why don't we take advantage of this safe period to explore further? Perhaps we can obtain many treasures!"
Another young male cultivator echoed, "Yes, Grandfather. What good things can be found in the outer regions? They've already been scoured repeatedly."
The elder's attention finally shifted from the treasure-seeking ruler.
He said with a cold smile, "Jing Ru, Ao Dong, do you know why Old Man leads the Bai family to explore the Demon Abyss year after year and always retreats safely?"
Bai Jing Ru and Bai Ao Dong's faces flushed, and they replied with obvious lack of confidence, "Because, Grandfather... Family Head... you are cautious!"
Bai family patriarch, Bai La Tu, nodded and said, "Time flies. I've been here for almost two hundred years."
"In these two hundred years, I have personally witnessed countless reckless cultivators die, no less than eight thousand."
"What kind of place is this? This is the Demon Abyss..."
"Let's not even mention the inherent dangers of the Demon Abyss itself. Just consider the ruthlessness of the second-rate families from the surrounding major prefectures. Haven't you seen?"
"One wrong step and you could be conscripted, or they might covet a treasure you possess and kill you on a flimsy excuse, and no one would say anything."
...
Upon hearing this, Bai Jing Ru retorted with a stiff neck, "We are all scions of noble families, why must it be like this? Do rules no longer matter?"
Bai La Tu glanced at his foolish granddaughter and sighed, answering, "Noble families, my foot! What rules? Fists are the rules."
"Look at how powerful the Wu family is, yet they dare not occupy the Demon Abyss alone. This shows how strong and ruthless these second-rate families are!"
"Moreover, if it weren't for these jackals, would the tiger that is the Wu family give us ants a chance to snatch food from their bowls?"
As he said this, a cold smile appeared on Bai La Tu's face.
However, to quell the restless thoughts in his clansmen's hearts, Bai La Tu still offered some words of comfort to boost morale.