Chapter 100: The Abyss of the Sea Eye

My companion, Xueshan, and I had somehow blundered into the territory of the Sea Wolf Clan.

“Since fate has brought us here, we may as well settle in for now. It is time to teach the Sea Wolf Clan a lesson.”

“This Jiang Ye of the Sea Wolf Clan certainly deserves to be disciplined. But to defeat an enemy, one must first know him. Do you understand the Sea Wolf Clan’s situation?” I asked.

Xueshan and I exchanged what we knew about the Sea Wolf Clan. It turned out that the Western Sea God Lord, Gui’er, had ordered his cousin to placate the Sea Wolf Clan and, using gold and silver supplied by the heavens, had purchased Sea Wolf oil from them at a high price. Once the oil was in hand, they replaced it with other fats and destroyed it. Gui’er was crafty to the extreme; he never dealt directly with the Netherworld, but operated from the shadows, having his cousin sell the Sea Wolf oil at a reduced price to trusted merchants, who then resold it into the Netherworld. The Netherworld was pleased to get the oil cheaply, and the Western Sea God Lord and his octopus cousin were equally pleased to make a profit. The losers were the heavens and the people of the heavens, who had long been providing an endless stream of blood to feed foreign enemies and parasites. The higher Jiang Ye pushed the price, the happier Gui’er became. With no support from the Heavenly Palace and no backing from the lands and seas of the world, any attempt by the Heavenly Palace to exterminate the Sea Wolf Clan was blocked by all the factions in heaven. Gui’er could even present himself as a man surviving in the cracks between forces. This new Sea Wolf chieftain, Jiang Ye, was such a fool that he thought by using this as leverage he need fear neither heaven nor earth, acting with complete impunity. In truth, if the Western Sea were lost, the Netherworld would be the first to wipe out the Sea Wolf Clan and turn them into livestock, taking their oil whenever it was needed.

“In that case, let us make that foolish Jiang Ye shed a few tears before a coffin,” I said to Xueshan.

“Agreed.”

Xueshan and I reached an instant understanding.

“To make this happen, we’ll need one thing,” Xueshan said.

“What thing?”

“The Dream-Entering Token.”

“Where is it?”

“With me.”

“Then let’s go.”

“This is a newly forged divine artifact from Lord Min of the Netherworld. To use the Dream-Entering Token, one must have the power of the Ghost Eye or the Ghost Ear of the Netherworld.”

“You mean we have to ask Lord Min for help?” I asked.

“Yes.” Xueshan nodded.

“That’s impossible!” I said.

“Not necessarily impossible...” said Xueshan.

“How so?” I asked, puzzled.

“Come with me.”

Xueshan took me flying to the seashore.

“To the Netherworld?” I thought. If we were going to the Netherworld, then I would not go. After hearing of the battle at Luolong, I had made up my mind: I would face Min Zhong on the battlefield and settle matters there.

“No. Under the sea,” Xueshan said.

“Under the sea?”

Using a water-parting, breath-holding technique, we entered the deep ocean. Waves of bone-piercing cold surged at us. I had heard that in the Western Sea, on the border of the Sea Wolf Clan’s lands, there was a vast ocean eye and icy abyss, said to connect to the road of no return and lead into the frigid inferno of endless torment. This ocean eye was so deep and cold that immortals from all realms kept far away; no one dared delve into it, and no one had the power to do so. Could it be that he intended to descend into the ocean eye? I guessed inwardly.

“This ocean eye is extremely deep and cold,” Xueshan said, preparing to set up a protective barrier.

As expected! He really meant to go down into the ocean eye.

I laughed. “If anyone needs protection, it should be Granny protecting you. Don’t go falling into the ocean eye and bring on that heart ailment of yours again. I won’t be able to drag you out.” If he truly had a seizure in the water, I really could not get him out; my swimming was only average.

I cast a spell and formed a barrier of true fire to shield both myself and Xueshan.

Deeper and deeper we descended through the blue-black abyss, and colder and colder it became. Within me, divine true-fire power kept the chill at bay, and ordinarily I would have feared no cold at all, but the frost of this abyss still made me want to shiver. Fearing that Xueshan’s chronic illness might flare up again, I raised my power to strengthen the true-fire barrier, and so I myself grew even colder.

“Granny, remove your barrier,” Xueshan said. Then, within my barrier, he set up a transparent one of his own, sealing out both seawater and cold. Instantly, warmth like spring filled the space within.

“The Cloud-Congealing Heart Method!” This nephew-brother was actually able to use the Cloud-Congealing Heart Method in the icy depths of the ocean eye, and with such mastery!

I withdrew my barrier and felt warmth return to my body. I thought that, aside from the chronic illness that tormented him until he seemed half dead and utterly helpless, Xueshan was indeed worthy of being the eldest disciple’s pupil. Thinking of this, I could not help laughing at myself for my old habit of showing off and making a fool of myself. Back then, when I met my master at the Soaring Immortal Cliff and saw how thinly he was dressed, I had foolishly handed him my fur cloak. He was fine, while I caught a chill and fell ill, forcing him to care for me all night, cook porridge for me to drink, and keep me company for several days. At the time, I had no idea he was the revered divine lord, and thought he was trying to kill himself, so I clung to him and refused to let go.

Thinking of that, I could not stop myself from smiling.

“What is Granny laughing at?” Xueshan asked.

“At how foolish I was back then, making a joke of myself,” I said.

“She also liked silly jokes,” Xueshan said, his eyes shining with memories of happiness.

“Is your wife still Xingyao?” I asked in gossip.

“My wife,” Xueshan said.

It seemed separation truly does make the heart grow fonder, I thought.

We descended for a very long time through the frigid abyss. It grew darker and darker; apart from the faint light of the barrier, everything around us was black as a void, as if we had been swallowed into the maw of some enormous beast. The feeling was somewhat like the old days in the Great Iron Encircling Mountain of the Netherworld. The feathers all over my body stood on end, and I tensed.

“Don’t be afraid.”

As soon as Xueshan spoke, a black shadow flashed outside the barrier. A gaping maw lined with fangs slammed violently into it, and a throat stuffed with rotting fish and shrimp pressed right up against my eyes. That throat opened, and from within it emerged another wormlike mouth covered in fangs, groping and searching along the barrier. Then the blood-red maw spat out a mass of black, long hair that wrapped around the barrier and gnawed hungrily, while the wormlike inner mouth bored and chewed in one spot.

Xueshan’s barrier did not suffer the slightest damage, but I was so startled I nearly jumped. I had seen plenty of monsters before, but in such a pitch-black, unknown, and frigid abyss, to have such a disgusting thing suddenly appear was still enough to turn my stomach.

Xueshan pointed with his hand, and the creature shrank away in terror.

“This is a Little Man-Beast. It looks ferocious, but its courage is very small. Its mouth cannot even chew the softest fish and shrimp; it can only eat dead fish and dead shrimp, holding them in its mouth until they rot into foul water. Tap it once, and it runs away in fear,” Xueshan said.

“Oh? So it only looks frightening. Wouldn’t it be easy prey for other monsters?” I asked.

“This creature is vicious in nature. It is most prone to hatred, and once offended it will seek revenge for the smallest slight. It is skilled at spraying its enemies with poisonous rotting water. Right now it should be spraying us...” Xueshan had not finished speaking when a huge splatter of yellow-green foul water, thick as spit, was fired at the barrier behind us, disgusting beyond measure.

I gagged in revulsion and covered my mouth. “Young Prince Xue, my little ancestor, could you at least tell Granny first that this thing spits?”

Xueshan smiled faintly and used magic to clear away the foul water outside the barrier.

We descended a while longer, and two brilliantly colored little fish swam over, adorable with their big eyes, pouty mouths, and plump bodies. The two fish kissed me and I kissed you, like a pair of lovers.

“Do not move!” Xueshan said, but by the time he spoke I had already reached out from within the barrier to tease the two fish. Suddenly their eyes bulged, bloodshot and fierce; their bellies flipped upward, their bodies folding backward, and several rows of fangs appeared beneath their bellies, snapping at my hand. Protected by the barrier, they smashed against it and failed to bite me, then turned their fury on one another, fighting with a rasping crunch. They had just moments earlier seemed so tender and affectionate, but in the blink of an eye they had gnawed each other to pieces and died together.

“These are Poor-and-Common Fish. They can only share poverty, not wealth. When there is no food, they are tender and loving, relying on each other; when food appears, they must fight to the death, and it often ends in mutual destruction,” Xueshan said.

“Oh, they are like some couples in this world,” I said.

“Your movement just sent a pair of sweethearts to their graves,” Xueshan laughed.

“That is hardly my fault. If it is like this, why cling to one another in the first place? I only hope they can forget one another in the rivers and lakes of their next lives,” I said.

“Let us hope so...” Xueshan murmured.

I did not know where all these worries in such a young person came from.

The barrier entered a vast stretch of glowing red water. Looking closely, I saw countless tiny red humanoid monsters circling shells, pebbles, and small conches, going round and round without end.

“What are these?” I asked.

“Foolish Worms. They are the most numerous in this abyss, and also the most foolish. Once they hatch and open their eyes, they circle the first thing they see and never stop. Often a great fish comes by and swallows many of them in one gulp, or they are eaten by the creatures they encircle. If the first thing they see is one of their own kind, they immediately begin reproducing without pause; their breeding ability is very strong. Most of the others just spin until...” Xueshan had not finished when a huge mass of wildly spinning Foolish Worms slapped against the barrier, shrieking hysterically with heartbreaking cries, like ghosts and wolves howling. The suffering in those voices sounded as if they had reached the inferno itself. Without the protection of the barrier, one would truly be terrified to death by so many frenzied Foolish Worms.

“...until they spin themselves insane,” Xueshan finished.

“Young Prince Xue, if there are monsters, please tell me early. Your heart ailment is better now, but you are going to give Granny heart trouble,” I said helplessly.

“Are you afraid, Granny?” Xueshan asked.

“I am not afraid... I just think it is disgusting,” I said, a little guiltily.

“I was startled at first too,” Xueshan said.

“Oh? Are there any more monsters?” I asked.

“No more,” Xueshan answered.

“Really none?”

“None.”

“Do not lie to me.”

“Ah, there is one more. It pops out when it drinks and frightens people. Very terrifying,” Xueshan said with utter solemnity.

“A monster that drinks?” I asked, puzzled.

Xueshan laughed... “We’re nearly there.”

Sure enough, a patch of light appeared not far away. We headed toward it and traveled a while in parallel. The light grew brighter and brighter, then began to rise. After swimming for some time, it seemed as if we had seen the sky. We leaped out of the water and landed on the ground.

I looked up. The blue above was not the vault of heaven at all, but a huge sheet of crystal like a sky-covering dome, holding back the azure sea above and all around, turning the island into land beneath the sea. On the island stood a glacier, and all around our feet lay clusters of tiny, glittering ice crystals of every size.

“How did you find this place?” I asked Xueshan in astonishment.

“This was once a fragment left behind when Nuwa transformed into Black Ice to mend the rift in the heavens. It fell here and became the underwater sky-dome,” Xueshan said.

“Could the reason the abyss is so cold be because of this?” I asked.

“Yes. This Black Ice sky-dome is extremely cold,” Xueshan said.

Yet I did not feel cold inside Xueshan’s barrier.

“This island is so cold—does it snow here?” I suddenly had the idea.

“Granny, scoop up some water and scatter it over there to try,” Xueshan said.

I gathered a handful of water and, using immortal magic, flung it upward. Xueshan swept his sleeve, and snow began to fall from the heavens...

I stood stunned...

That snow was as beautiful as the snow at the Soaring Immortal Cliff...