Chapter 74: The Northern Abyss and a Farcical Misunderstanding

From that day on, the Yu residence in Jixian Alley gained two more occupants.

The house was spacious and empty. After Qingqing left, Obaba took on the responsibility of managing affairs. He had intended to arrange for the two newcomers to stay in the west wing, but Hongchou insisted on residing in the servants’ quarters. Unlike Obaba, she had never considered befriending Yu Lang. From the moment Yu Lang pulled her out of the mire in the long prison, she resolved to serve the Yu family loyally for life. She understood this was not out of servility, but simply a desire to repay kindness as it ought to be repaid.

Yu Lang’s days were not easy of late. Although Zhang Tianba dared not oppose Yu Lang openly, he coerced the Lin family and others to spread rumors everywhere that Yu Lang coveted beauty and had forcibly taken Lin’s daughter. Zhang Tianba had no intention of substantiating these claims in court; he merely wanted to ruin Yu Lang’s reputation.

And since Qingqing, who had lived in Jixian Alley for four years, had recently left without a word, the neighbors gossiped that Yu Lang had found new love and abandoned her, prompting her to leave for distant lands.

The brothers of the Wave Camp, though they had always admired Yu Lang, were all young and hot-blooded; they could not accept such heartless abandonment. They felt that since Qingqing had accompanied him all this way, she at least deserved a formal marriage.

Especially Zhang Chengxing, upright and unyielding by nature, was swayed by his own brother Zhang Tianba’s embellishments and declared that unless Yu Lang brought Qingqing back, he would sever ties with him.

Yu Lang could not explain his relationship with Qingqing to outsiders, nor did he feel any guilt in bringing Hongchou into the Yu household. If Qingqing were still here, he believed she too would have rescued Hongchou and the young Lin Shuisheng from the Lin family.

Li Dahu always remembered Qingqing’s kindness. After hearing about these events, he visited Yu Lang several times. Yet Yu Lang was unwilling to speak of Qingqing, let alone offer a reasonable explanation. Eventually, Li Dahu stopped calling, and the two became somewhat estranged over the matter.

Taking advantage of this rare period of quiet, Yu Lang began to study the Xiao Yun ancient coin Ning Xiaoyu had left him.

Once he broke its seal, Yu Lang imitated Ning Xiaoyu, gripping the Xiao Yun coin tightly in his palm. A stream of information trickled into his mind.

Yu Lang entered an illusionary realm. At the entrance stood a stone stele inscribed with three ancient characters: “Northern Abyss Realm.” Deeper within lay a vast river of stars.

Almost as soon as he entered the Northern Abyss Realm, a nine-tiered exquisite pagoda appeared in Yu Lang’s Sea of Qi. Only the first tier was lit; the other eight were shrouded in darkness. The nine-tiered pagoda corresponded to a unique art of the Wall-Breakers—the Northern Abyss Method. Each illuminated tier represented a level of mastery.

This star river had boundaries. After traveling for a while, Yu Lang reached invisible barriers on all sides. Above, three hundred forty-seven meteorites hovered, each distinct in shape, color, and orbit. These were the natal stones of the three hundred forty-seven Wall-Breakers in Great Tang; if one died, their corresponding stone would shatter.

The ground was thick with the dust and fragments of broken natal stones. Yu Lang crouched to inspect them, wondering which remnants belonged to Yu Jia’ao.

Following the technique contained within the Xiao Yun coin, Yu Lang completed the Northern Abyss pact and summoned his own natal stone.

Just as he finished the ritual, two natal stones—one large, one small—slowly drifted toward his position.

Yu Lang was puzzled. Each person should only have one corresponding natal stone. Why were two being drawn to him?

A sudden thought struck him: the second stone likely belonged to Yu Jia’ao, who must have found some special way to preserve his own and pass it on to Yu Lang.

Both stones were pale blue, one large and one small, always side by side.

The natal stones were hollow, storing the Northern Abyss power they had absorbed—a gift from heaven to Wall-Breakers, who could use this force to advance their cultivation.

Yu Lang extracted a pale green light from the small natal stone and slowly absorbed it. The pagoda did not change, except that the first tier shone a little brighter. Yu Lang gave a wry smile—after all, he had only been in Great Tang for four years; the power stored in his natal stone was meager.

The larger stone was quite different. Yu Lang sat meditating for a long time before he managed to absorb its energy. Even then, he only managed to store part of it in his body; the rest remained in a dispersing state.

Yet even with just half the power, his Northern Abyss Method leapt directly to the third tier, with the third tier’s light blazing so brightly it seemed ready to break into the fourth at any moment.

The Northern Abyss power appeared to be an entirely separate force from Yu Lang’s original cultivation; it could only be depleted, and aside from gathering it from the natal stone in the illusion, there was no other way to obtain more.

After consolidating his third-level cultivation, Yu Lang noticed his small natal stone had grown larger. It seemed that both the size and the rate of accumulation of the Northern Abyss power increased with the host’s advancement.

Suddenly, Yu Lang heard movement at the realm’s entrance and saw someone swagger in, summoning their own natal stone to absorb the power.

Everyone in the Northern Abyss Realm appeared identical: pure white, with no trace of their real-world features.

Yu Lang recalled that Wall-Breakers were hostile to one another. He immediately tried to act first, but when he was ten steps away, he crashed painfully into something like a wall of tempered glass. In this realm, one could not use one’s real-world abilities, and everyone was as ordinary as anyone else; thus, Yu Lang had sensed nothing of the barrier.

The other person burst out laughing. “Don’t you know? In the Northern Abyss Realm, we can’t harm each other!”

Yu Lang asked, “So if I keep ramming this barrier, will I kill myself?”

The two were not only identical in appearance, but their voices were exactly the same. Clearly, all distinguishing features were erased here.

The other man paused. “I’ve never thought about that. But we Wall-Breakers have agreed this is a place of absolute safety. Outside, we might be mortal enemies, but here, we might even become friends.”

Yu Lang suddenly asked, “I’m Li the Cat. May I have your name?”

“Oh, I’m Chen the Dog.”

Clearly, both were using false names. For a Wall-Breaker, revealing one’s identity could be fatal.

“Brother Dog, I’m new here and don’t know the rules. Can you tell me about the mysteries of this place?”

Chen the Dog’s expression was complicated. “Brother Cat, don’t ever tell anyone you’re new here. That alone narrows down your identity. Chatting in the Northern Abyss Realm is one thing, but exposing yourself means death.”

Yu Lang broke into a cold sweat. “Thank you for the warning, Brother Dog. I’ll be careful from now on. You’re a good man.”

“Hmph, there are no good or bad men among Wall-Breakers. To be the one who survives in the end, we must fight each other,” Chen the Dog said, his tone inscrutable. “Still, since we’ve met, I’ll teach you a way to use the Northern Abyss Realm to save your life. If you’re in a desperate situation, you can force open this realm. As long as your spirit enters the illusion, your body outside will become ‘spirit-stilled.’ That’s a protection granted by the creator of this realm.”

The term “spirit-stilled” made Yu Lang shiver. That was a state only the highest cultivators could achieve: a body matched by none, stronger than any weapon in the world. For this man to mention it so lightly, his own cultivation must be profound indeed—these Wall-Breakers were truly a gathering of hidden dragons and crouching tigers.

“Enough. Wall-Breakers should never speak too deeply with strangers. Let’s end our conversation here,” Chen the Dog said, turning toward the entrance. “Oh, and one more thing: One hour in the Northern Abyss Realm equals a month outside. Don’t stay too long.”

Yu Lang was stunned and rushed toward the exit in a panic: Don’t bury me as a corpse—I can still be saved!