Chapter 117: The Abyss Beckons- Gate Of Darkness

The moment Jian Feng swallowed the cloud of darkness, his consciousness plunged into a void of utter darkness, devoid of sound. Time seemed to halt, the cacophony of the battlefield giving way to an eerie, suffocating silence. There was no Obsidian Waterfall Realm, no Obsidian Woodlands, all seemed to vanish. Jiang Feng stood in an empty space of nothingness, all around was pitch black darkness, so deep, that it made the pits of his stomach felt heavy.

Every and anywhere he looked was also darkness, then she started to have the conception that something was looking back at him. It was all around him, no matter which angle he turned it was there. In this abyss, the Concept of Darkness whispered, its voice a haunting melody that resonated deep within his soul.

"It took you long enough for you to be here child. Fear, pain, despair... these are not weaknesses. They are the essence of the abyss" the darkness intoned, its voice like a double echo as if two persons were speaking at once. "Reincarnation, the first, the second and the last, you have been here before. Surrender to it, not as a victim, but as its master."

Jiang Feng's bloodshot eyes glowed faintly, his irises shifting to an inky black hue, he could hear a familiar yet strange voice that sent a chill down his spine yet it gave him comfort. He could hear the voice yet couldn't, he could understand it yet couldn't, it was a surreal feeling. His body trembled, not from fear, but from the overwhelming surge of comprehension flooding his mind. The Dao Threads he had once dismissed as cryptic etchings now unraveled before him, their true meanings revealing themselves in an explosion of clarity.

"Darkness is not the absence of light," Jiang Feng murmured, his voice steady despite the empty void surrounding him, but as he murmured no sound could be heard as it was devoured by the void. "It is a force, a presence, a will. It devours, it conceals, but it also transforms. It is ancient, a primordial force that governs the world, a sovereign that stood above trillions."

"The Abyss Beckons, the gate of darkness descends" the voice echoed one last time before fading away.

As Zhan Huito's saber descended toward him once more, Jiang Feng moved—not with panic, but with deliberate intent. His movements were unnervingly fluid, his figure blurring as he seemed to dissolve into the shadows around him, his speed was like a specter, a ghost in the dead of night, soundless and eerie. Zhan Huito's blade passed through empty air, its force splitting the ground where Jiang Feng had stood mere moments before.

"What?!" Zhan Huito roared, his eyes darting around in search of his target. His spirit projection, the Soulwither Elm, shuddered violently, its branches lashing out in all directions as though sensing danger.

Jiang Feng reappeared a few paces away, his figure shrouded in an aura of darkness that coiled and undulated around him like a living, breathing entity. The shadows clung to his form, pulsating with an otherworldly rhythm, as if they were an extension of his soul. His eyes, now jet black, gleamed with a cold, unfeeling intensity, devoid of any trace of humanity. The pain from his wounds had dulled to a distant throb, and the poison coursing through his veins was momentarily held at bay, its lethal effects suppressed by the abyss that now fueled him.

Above his head loomed a massive black gate, its presence both awe-inspiring and terrifying. The gate was ancient, its design primordial, as if it had been carved from the very fabric of the void itself. Its surface was etched with intricate, swirling patterns that seemed to shift and writhe when stared at too long, as though they were alive.

The edges of the gate were jagged, resembling the teeth of some colossal beast, and its frame was adorned with runes that glowed faintly with a dark, ominous light. These runes were not mere decorations; they pulsed with a power that felt older than time, their meanings lost to all but the most ancient of beings.

The gate itself was not just a spirit projection or a mere illusion—it was a true gateway, a portal into a world forged entirely of darkness. The air around it warped and blurred, as if reality itself struggled to contain its presence. It radiated an aura that inspired both reverence and dread, a feeling that this was not merely a tool or a weapon, but something sacred, something that demanded worship. The gate stood as a testament to the abyss, a symbol of its infinite depth and unyielding power, and it seemed to hum with a low, resonant frequency that vibrated through the very bones of those who dared to witness it.

Jiang Feng stood beneath it, a figure both diminished and elevated by its grandeur, as though he were a priest standing before an altar to a god long forgotten by the world of light. The gate's presence was overwhelming, a reminder that the darkness was not merely a force to be feared, but a realm to be revered.

"Zhan Huito," Jiang Feng called out, his voice carrying an unsettling calm. "You wanted me to run, but now you'll be the one who flees."

With a flick of his wrist, the Celestial Dagger materialized in his hand, its runic lines glowing faintly with a dark, ominous light. Jiang Feng infused the weapon with the newfound energy of the abyss, the dagger humming with a resonance that sent chills down Zhan Huito's spine.

"You dare challenge me still?!" Zhan Huito barked, his voice filled with both anger and unease, the gate that stood before him sent a chill down his spine, he could pull his soul shaking and even his Golden Core seemed to be shaking frantically.

"Just die already you bastard!!" Hate and rage burned in Zhen Huito's chest as he did his best to boost his will, His saber glowed with a green light as he unleashed another wave of attacks, each strike tearing through the battlefield with unrelenting ferocity.

Jiang Feng didn't flinch. Instead, he stepped into the onslaught, his form flickering like a shadow. Each saber strike that should have torn him apart passed harmlessly through his body, his presence elusive and ghostly. The darkness cloaking him seemed to consume the attacks, leaving only an empty void in their wake.

"Impossible!" Zhan Huito bellowed, his frustration mounting as he failed to land a single blow. "What kind of trickery is this, what the hell is happening?!" Zhan Huito rushed backwards, his eyes looked up at the large gate causing blood to leak from his eyes.

"No trickery," Jiang Feng replied, his tone icy. "Just the abyss you will be buried in."

He thrust the Celestial Dagger forward, its blade piercing through the dense fog of the swamp and striking true. The weapon embedded itself in the Soulwither Elm's core, its runes flaring as the darkness within it erupted outward. The swamp illusion wavered, its oppressive grip loosening as the tree spirit projection shuddered violently.

Zhan Huito screamed, clutching his head as the backlash of his damaged spirit projection assaulted his mind. Blood trickled from his ears and nose, his aura faltering as his connection to the Soulwither Elm wavered.

"You underestimated me, you should've went all out from the start to finish me, but you didn't, you toyed with me" Jiang Feng said, his voice low and menacing. "And now, you'll pay the price."

The darkness around Jiang Feng surged, coiling like serpents before launching toward Zhan Huito. The tendrils of shadow wrapped around him, binding his limbs and crushing him with an unrelenting force. Zhan Huito struggled, his saber flailing uselessly as the abyss consumed him.

Jiang Feng stepped closer, his expression unreadable. "This is the difference between us. You rely on brute strength and intimidation, but I... I adapt. I learn."

Zhan Huito's eyes widened in terror as Jiang Feng raised his hand, the darkness obeying his command. "Wait! You can't—"

Before he could finish, the shadows constricted with a sickening crunch. Dark thread burst out of his body, from his eyes, ears and mouth, the sight was eerie to the extreme and would make the average persons skin crawl. Zhan Huito's body fell limp, his saber clattering to the ground as the darkness released him.

But that wasn't all, the Gate of Dark shuddered as a white fog was sucked out of Zhan Huito's chest. The fog had the face of Zhan Huito had it screamed, "Nooo!!" But the gate swallowed his soul with unfeeling judgment.

The swamp illusion dissolved completely, revealing the scorched battlefield beneath. Ji Moran lay a short distance away, her breathing shallow but steady but also extremely injured. The ice phoenix above her had vanished, its energy spent.

"What!!"

As the swirling energy of the swap faded, Gao Zhenlei's gaze snapped to the side, his heart lurching in his chest. There, before his eyes, Zhan Huito's body crumpled to the ground with a sickening thud. The sound echoed in Gao Zhenlei's mind like a thunderclap, sharp and deafening, tearing through his thoughts and leaving behind a hollow, ringing silence. His body trembled, not from exhaustion, but from the sheer shock of what he had just witnessed. Zhan Huito—his comrade, his brother in arms, the man who had stood by his side through countless battles—was dead.

"Brother Zhan, no!" Gao Zhenlei's voice cracked, raw with grief and disbelief. His eyes darted to Jiang Feng, who stood motionless, cloaked in an aura of darkness that seemed to devour the very light around him. Thunder crackled across Gao Zhenlei's bloodied body, the remnants of his earlier battle with Ji Moran still coursing through him. His injuries were severe, his body a patchwork of wounds that screamed for rest, but the sight of Zhan Huito's lifeless form ignited a fire within him, burning away his pain and replacing it with a searing rage.

Ji Moran had been a formidable opponent, her skill and determination pushing him to his limits. If not for his Golden Core Realm cultivation, he might have fallen to her. His Golden Core, a manifestation of his connection to the heavenly Dao, held five times the energy of her Essence Lake. It was this advantage that had allowed him to outlast her, to wear her down until she had no choice but to succumb. After defeating her, he had planned to keep her alive, to make Jiang Feng watch as he and Zhan Huito claimed her in front of him, savoring his despair.

But now, those plans lay in ruins. Zhan Huito was dead, their shared dream of dominating the Obsidian Waterfall Realm shattered in an instant. The future they had envisioned—a future of power, conquest, and unbridled dominance—was gone, replaced by a gaping void of loss and fury.

"I'll kill you!" Gao Zhenlei roared, his voice trembling with a mixture of grief and rage. His mind was a storm of chaos, his thoughts fragmented and scattered. He didn't know how Jiang Feng had done it, nor did he care. All that mattered was vengeance. In his blind fury, he failed to notice the massive gate looming above Jiang Feng, its ancient, primordial design radiating an aura of dread and reverence. He didn't see the cold, unfeeling expression on Jiang Feng's face, nor the jet-black eyes that seemed to swallow the world itself.

Lightning crackled around Gao Zhenlei as he surged forward, his spear flashing like a bolt of pure energy. His Lightning Cloud Field erupted around him, slamming downward with devastating force. His movements were wild, untamed, as though he had tapped into the very essence of the spear itself. But before the Gate of Darkness, his efforts were futile.

Black threads erupted from the gate, spreading across the sky like a web of shadows. They moved with a mind of their own, weaving through the air with an eerie precision. Jiang Feng stood still, his expression unreadable, as though he were merely an observer to the gate's will. He knew he didn't have full control over it, and so he didn't try. He simply let it act, a vessel for the abyss's power.

It was only then that Gao Zhenlei noticed the gate. His eyes widened as he took in its immense, otherworldly presence. Just looking at it sent a jolt through his soul, as though it were trying to wrench it from his body. His arms grew weak, his spear trembling in his grip. His face paled, the color draining as he realized the magnitude of what he was facing. The black threads continued to spread, covering the sky, the land, and the long road ahead, as though the world itself were being consumed by darkness.

"Judgment has been passed," Jiang Feng said, his voice calm and cold, like the stillness before a storm. His body rippled, the air around him distorting as though he were no more than a reflection on the surface of a lake. In an instant, he vanished, reappearing directly in front of Gao Zhenlei.

Before Gao Zhenlei could react, Jiang Feng plunged his dagger into his chest. The blade slid in with a sickening ease, as though it were cutting through air rather than flesh. Gao Zhenlei's eyes widened, his mouth opening in a soundless gasp. The black threads surged forward, wrapping around his body like serpents. In a single, fluid motion, they tore him in two.

The gate then shuddered, its ancient runes glowing brighter as a white fog began to gather from the remains of Gao Zhenlei's body. The fog swirled, coalescing into a faint, ghostly shape before being sucked into the gate. Loud, anguished screams echoed from within the fog, a chorus of torment that seemed to come from the very depths of the abyss.

And just like that, Gao Zhenlei and Zhan Huito were no more—one body destroyed and one crumpled to the ground, their souls consumed. The Gate of Darkness loomed above, its presence a silent testament to the power of the abyss, the void of darkness, and to the fate that awaited all who dared to stand against it.

The gate shimmered once more before vanishing, Jiang Feng staggered, the adrenaline that had fueled him fading as exhaustion set in. His body ached, his wounds still raw despite the temporary reprieve provided by the abyss and the Gate Of Darkness. But he didn't falter. He forced himself to move, making his way toward Ji Moran.

Kneeling beside her, Jiang Feng placed a hand on her shoulder. "Ji Moran, wake up," he urged, his voice soft but insistent. He gentle shook her body, with slight urgency.

Soon after, her eyelids fluttered, and she groaned weakly. "Feng... you're alive," she whispered, a faint smile tugging at her lips that as filled with blood, "I did great didn't I?" Her smile was one of one relieved to be alive.

"For now, we are okay. You did great, I couldn't have done it without you!" he replied, a hint of relief in his tone. "We should try to recover as soon as possible."

Ji Moran nodded weakly, her gaze lingering on Jiang Feng. "You... used something dangerous, didn't you?"

He hesitated, then gave a small nod. "I did what I had to. Let's go."

As he helped her to her feet, the battlefield fell silent, the echoes of their struggle lingering in the air. The abyss had revealed its power, but at a cost—a cost Jiang Feng wasn't sure he was ready to fully understand.