Ge Wen Xuan placed the faintly glowing white scale and the bronze disc carved with the Eight Trigrams and Five Elements beside him, then continued taking out a small cloth bag from his pouch.

He grabbed a handful of light brown powder from the bag, slightly loosening his fingers to let the powder fall straight through the gaps. His arm moved as if drawing something, guiding the powder to leave “brush strokes” on the ground.

This was a formation array. In the Ritualist system before Fourth-Rank, to make formations manifest power, one needed materials rich in spiritual energy, drawing and arranging the formation stroke by stroke.

Fortunately, this formation was simple, its function was merely to awaken the power within the bronze disc.

Similar to a key.

As the brown powder in his palm continuously decreased until exhausted, the formation’s drawing was completed.

Ge Wen Xuan then cut his wrist, letting blood flow into the formation. The brown powder constituting the formation immediately glowed upon contact with blood, like fluorescent powder in the dim Extreme Abyss.

Ge Wen Xuan held the bronze disc with both hands, placing it above the formation.

The bronze disc lightly floated motionless, then began to “whoosh” and spin. It absorbed the fluorescent powder, spinning faster and faster until it created an air vortex, generating fierce winds.

“Whoosh…”

The spiritually depleted powder scattered in the fierce wind. The bronze disc spun toward the Confucian Saint’s statue, stopping above its head, and rotating rapidly.

At Ge Wen Xuan’s rank, he couldn’t understand why this was being done. Following the steps memorized in his mind, he next picked up the faintly glowing white scale, clasped it in his palms, channeled his energy into it, and closed his eyes while muttering incantations.

This process lasted over ten seconds. Ge Wen Xuan opened his eyes and threw the white scale toward the pitch-black abyss.

As the white scale fell toward the abyss, its light exploded, expanding into a blazing white sun that illuminated the entire Extreme Abyss in brilliant white. Yet even such a powerful light source couldn’t illuminate the abyss’s depths.

The light was swallowed by endless darkness.

Ge Wen Xuan quickly closed his eyes, not daring to look directly at the light source as hot tears welled up.

“Aohou…”

Simultaneously, a beast’s roar reached his ears. The roar felt strange—not the blood-stirring howl of a fierce beast, nor containing the savagery of wild beasts.

Instead, it was clear and resonant.

Ge Wen Xuan still didn’t open his eyes, as he could feel that beyond his eyelids was blinding white light.

…

Under the shade of a certain tree, a patch of shadow expanded as Xu Qi An and the others materialized from it, all gazing toward the horizon where the Extreme Abyss lay.

There, a white pillar of light shot skyward, piercing the clouds.

“What is that?”

Luan Yu cried out.

“This aura…” Shadow’s voice was extremely grave as she glanced at everyone:

“It’s not the Poison God’s power.”

“Neither Confucian, Buddhist, Daoist, Poison, Martial, Demon, Shaman, nor Ritualist,” Xu Qi An said lightly.

The leaders stared at him blankly. Xu Qi An looked back at them:

“I’ve fought Transcendents of all systems.”

Even if he hadn’t fought them, he had experienced them deeply…

Fought them all… Chun Yan, Luan Yu, and the others looked at him with complex expressions. This “fought them all” included those who had just been thoroughly beaten.

Xu Qi An turned to look at Granny Heaven Poison and asked:

“Granny, with your vast experience, do you know what this is?”

Granny Heaven Poison shook her head, her kindly face showing:

“This old woman has never left the Southern Borderlands in her life—I’m quite ignorant.”

Everyone stopped wasting words. Shadow merged into the darkness, continuing to carry everyone toward the Extreme Abyss.

…

Sensing the blazing white light beyond his eyelids dissipate, Ge Wen Xuan dared to open his eyes. In his vision, a tall and majestic four-legged beast stood suspended above the Extreme Abyss.

It was formed of white light, with a deer-like body covered in snow-white scales, a pair of horns on its head, horse hooves, and a snake’s tail.

This… Ge Wen Xuan’s pupils contracted. He recognized this spirit beast—most people in White Emperor City would recognize it. It was the overseas divine beast from Yun Province’s mythology that had appeared during a great drought, bringing violent rain and wind to nurture the earth.

The common people of Yun Province called it—the White Emperor!

To this day, its statue is still enshrined in the White Emperor Temple in White Emperor City.

The overseas spirit beast White Emperor slowly surveyed its surroundings, pausing briefly at a spot behind Ge Wen Xuan before withdrawing its gaze. It looked down at the Extreme Abyss below and emitted a series of brief, strange syllables.

This was a language Ge Wen Xuan had never heard, syllables that human vocal cords couldn’t produce.

It’s talking to someone… A terrifying conjecture flashed through Ge Wen Xuan’s mind, making his face pale slightly as he unconsciously gripped the teleportation device in his sleeve.

The teleportation device could take him away from here, transporting him back to a preset location for a quick escape.

Teleportation devices were either unidirectional or random. Without drawing an array beforehand to set the destination, it would become random teleportation, transporting to any location within a certain range.

Therefore, he couldn’t use the teleportation device to accurately reach the Confucian Saint statue. Random teleportation in the Extreme Abyss would be irresponsible to his own life.

At this moment, Ge Wen Xuan suddenly felt his heart palpitate. His pores opened, and his hair stood on end—a warrior’s danger sense activated, transmitting danger signals, frantically urging him to flee.

He resisted, keeping his head lowered, prostrating motionless on the ground.

A terrible will awakened from the Extreme Abyss. The prostrate Ge Wen Xuan trembled all over. He could sense that something was about to emerge from the Extreme Abyss—something terrifying enough to make one’s courage fail.

What was in the Extreme Abyss?

The answer was self-evident.

A wisp of black smoke rose gracefully from the pitch-black Extreme Abyss, hovering before the White Emperor. The smoke’s outer layer was like jumping flames, constantly flickering, while within its core was a pair of eyes.

These eyes contained no emotion whatsoever, not even coldness.

Spirit Beast White Emperor looked at the black smoke and again emitted strange syllables.

After speaking, it fell silent for several seconds, tilting its head as if listening.

In the distance, the yellow-haired monkey hidden in a concealed corner also tilted its ears to listen.

The White Emperor pondered for a moment, then emitted strange syllables again—this time a long series lasting over ten seconds.

It listened intently for a long while, then nodded slightly.

Then, the White Emperor spoke again, asking its third question.

As the strange syllables ended, its gaze fixed intently on the black smoke, its long neck stretching forward slightly, just like a human leaning forward.

This question seemed very important.

The hiding yellow-haired monkey walked out from its hiding place, disregarding the risk of discovery, tilting its ears and concentrating fully as it waited.

Just then, a “crack” sound echoed through the Extreme Abyss.

The bronze disc floating above the Confucian Saint statue’s head, spinning rapidly, shattered to powder.

The black smoke that had risen from the depths of the Extreme Abyss dissipated into nothingness.

Spirit Beast White Emperor dove downward in pursuit for some distance, until it struck a barrier of clear light, the impact nearly destroying its body formed of white light.

A great sigh echoed through the Extreme Abyss.

Spirit Beast White Emperor looked at the prostrate Ge Wen Xuan, its voice resounding:

“Take my scale back.”

Having spoken, it dispersed into white light, returning to its snow-white scale form, automatically floating to Ge Wen Xuan’s face.

Ge Wen Xuan carefully stored the scale in his pouch. Suddenly his ears twitched, hearing waves of beast roars coming from above, all in chaos.

They’ve caught up? Xu Qi An has come… Ge Wen Xuan’s expression changed slightly, fear flashing in his eyes. Having witnessed Xu Qi An’s terrifying combat power not long ago, he decisively crushed the teleportation jade talisman in his palm.

A clear light rose, making him vanish from the spot.

Before leaving, he saw a golden light plunging—Xu Qi An with his fire ring burning behind his head.

Xu Qi An, shooting down like a cannonball, made a sudden stop before the Confucian Saint’s statue that defied the laws of mechanics, dissipating all momentum into nothingness.

This was why Fifth-Rank warriors were called Energy Transformation experts.

His feet landed silently. He raised his head to examine the Confucian Saint’s statue—the face was distinctive, the features extremely dignified yet not overbearing, even showing some compassion for all living things.

The long robe style on the statue differed from current mainstream Confucian robes. The scholar’s cap also showed historical features, taller and more cumbersome than present-day versions.

There was a deep crack in his brow.

So this is the Confucian Saint’s statue, the core of the Poison God’s seal… Xu Qi An adjusted his clothes and cap, bowing deeply to this strongest figure in Central Plain’s human history.

“I also want to become as strong as you someday, but not so short-lived,” he thought.

Granny Heaven Poison and the others arrived successively. Ba Ji and Shadow rushed to the statue, examining it before sighing in relief:

“The statue is intact, undamaged.”

Luan Yu, Chun Yan, and Granny Heaven Poison who followed behind also came over. After carefully observing the statue, they relaxed. Luan Yu’s alluring red lips curled as she glanced at Xu Qi An:

“I told you, how could the Confucian Saint’s seal be destroyed so easily?”

Chun Yan cautiously examined the surroundings, finding no abnormalities, but couldn’t help frowning:

“But Silver Gong Xu’s prediction wasn’t wrong—Ge Wen Xuan did come to the Extreme Abyss. He couldn’t have just come down to sightsee.”

When Ge Wen Xuan saw Xu Qi An, Xu Qi An and the others had also seen him.

Xu Qi An walked to the cliff’s edge, looking down into the pitch-black, bottomless abyss, probing:

“Is the seal still there?”

Chun Yan gave a clear whistle, summoning a two-headed bird and controlling it to dive toward the abyss.

Xu Qi An saw the two-headed bird, after diving some distance, get pulverized by a layer of clear light. The light rippled outward, briefly illuminating the entire Extreme Abyss.

Chun Yan bent down to pick up a pebble, throwing it into the great ravine. The clear light didn’t react—the pebble disappeared into darkness.

Xu Qi An listened intently for a long time but never heard the pebble hit bottom.

Chun Yan explained:

“Anything with life cannot enter the Extreme Abyss. But lifeless objects can penetrate the Confucian Saint’s seal.”

Xu Qi An thought for a moment, then said:

“It should be things with consciousness, otherwise spiritual items could enter too.”

Chun Yan smiled bitterly:

“The Poison Tribe has no magical treasures—we’ve never tried.”

As her words fell, the ground beneath everyone’s feet suddenly began shaking, stones and sand rolling down the gentle slope.

“Roar…”

From the Extreme Abyss, from the distant underground, came a deep and terrible roar.

When the sound reached them, due to the great distance, it had become pure sound waves.

At the same time, Xu Qi An felt the Seven Fatal Poisons at his nape restlessly stirring, as if wanting to leave his spine and flee this place.

“Has the Poison God awakened?”

Luan Yu’s voice trembled with fear, but despite her fear, she didn’t panic, calmly retreating.

After the roar ended, the ground’s trembling didn’t stop but grew more violent, with rocks and sand continuously rolling down from the upper slope.

Everyone sensed an enormous and terrible force surging up from the Extreme Abyss.

Chun Yan’s expression changed:

“It’s the Poison God’s power—quickly retreat!”

What does that mean, isn’t this place full of Poison God’s power anyway… Xu Qi An wondered internally. Never one to act tough needlessly, he immediately retreated with Chun Yan.

The next moment, he understood her meaning.

From the Extreme Abyss erupted vast amounts of Poison God power—black-red vital force, dark green poison force, pitch-black corpse force, light blue heart force…

They were pure and abundant, surpassing anything outside the Extreme Abyss.

Xu Qi An and Chun Yan, being closest to the cliff, were enveloped by high-purity emotional poison force. Instantly, every breath was filled with sweet fragrance.

He felt his mouth go dry, his body burning hot, a certain part swelling as if about to explode. The Seven Fatal Poisons greedily absorbed the emotion of poison force invading his body but couldn’t fully digest it.

If Xu Qi An was like this, Chun Yan as a Heart Poison Master immediately became confused, her pretty face burning hot, sweet moans floating from her tender, dripping lips.

She thirstily embraced Xu Qi An beside her, offering burning, passionate kisses, her hands clumsily exploring his body, seeking the handle that could satisfy her needs.

You are an innocent… Xu Qi An chopped her unconscious with his hand. This wasn’t difficult, as Chun Yan’s will had already collapsed under the emotional poison.

He carried Chun Yan back to Ba Ji and the others, looking up at this enormous energy shooting skyward before slowly raining down, scattering near the Extreme Abyss.

Granny Heaven Poison said in a deep voice:

“Let’s go, leave this place first.”

Everyone returned along their original path, witnessing poisonous insects and beasts falling into madness along the way.

Under the nourishment of this vast Poison God power, they underwent terrible mutations—two-headed birds grew third heads; giant pythons began shedding skin, becoming longer and thicker; insect swarms’ bodies rapidly swelled to rat size; the vegetation grew frantically, emitting either tragic cries or children’s laughter…

Ugly, unrecognizable mutated monsters grew second reproductive organs… black-backed apes’ ribs extended into new pairs of arms… huge shadows wandered, devouring creatures in their path…

All the monsters in the Extreme Abyss had gone mad.

Led by Shadow, they quickly retreated from the Extreme Abyss to the outer primordial forest.

“The Confucian Saint’s statue wasn’t damaged, the seal is still there—why did this happen?”

Xu Qi An, as an outsider, was baffled by the situation.

Ba Ji said in a deep voice:

“The Poison God constantly leaks power, its state very unstable—sometimes little, sometimes much.

“Its power makes nearby poison beasts abnormally powerful. Every six to seven hundred years, Transcendent Realm poison beasts are born in the Extreme Abyss. Slaying these beasts is a responsibility the Poison Tribe must bear.

“And every time a Transcendent poison beast emerges, it’s inevitably accompanied by the fall of one of our tribal leaders.”

Xu Qi An frowned:

“So this is a normal phenomenon?”

Granny Heaven Poison shook her head:

“This was caused by that youngster. Though I don’t know what methods he used, if this old woman isn’t mistaken, the Poison God’s consciousness has further awakened. Similar power eruptions will occur many times over a long period ahead.”

Luan Yu and the others’ expressions immediately turned ugly.

Granny Heaven Poison continued slowly:

“You were right—this is Xu Ping Feng’s method to constrain our Poison Tribe’s Transcendent experts. Further awakening the Poison God, making the Poison God’s power near the Extreme Abyss surge in the short term. Catalyzing the probability of Transcendent poison beasts being born.

“Forcing us to stay in the Southern Borderlands, regularly clearing out excess-powered beasts that might enter the Transcendent realm, having no time to interfere in Central Plains affairs.”

While handing Chun Yan to Luan Yu, Xu Qi An asked:

“Clearing powerful poison beasts doesn’t require ordinary tribespeople, right?”

Granny Heaven Poison nodded:

“Ordinary tribespeople entering the Extreme Abyss face life-and-death danger—they’re of no use.”

Then I can at least ‘hire’ the Poison Tribe’s ordinary warriors… Xu Qi An asked again:

“Does the Poison God’s awakening mean the seal is loosening?”

Granny Heaven Poison shook her head:

“For a thousand years, the Poison God has constantly eroded the Confucian Saint’s seal, and has had similar awakenings, but quickly returns to slumber—longest for decades, shortest for several years.

“Facts prove that only Beyond-Rank can shake a Beyond-Rank seal. That Xu Ping Feng can’t even weaken the Confucian Saint.”

Xu Qi An looked at her.

Granny Heaven Poison’s gaze swept over the gathered leaders, saying:

“Go back and notify the tribespeople—in three days, experts Fourth-Rank and above will follow us to explore the Extreme Abyss and slay poison beasts.

“Silver Gong Xu’s combat power is unmatched—this old woman earnestly requests Silver Gong Xu’s help.”

Long Tu, Ba Ji, and the others looked toward Xu Qi An.

“Alright.”

Xu Qi An nodded, asking:

“Isn’t the Poison God’s power erupting good for the Poison Tribe?”