Kongsang Mountain was less a majestic peak and more a colossal, ugly blister on the face of the earth. Completely barren, the terrain was nothing but jagged rock, dark sand, and desolate gravel. The silence was absolute and terrifying; even the presence of life seemed to be an insult to this vast expanse of geological misery.
It took Lord Pig about thirty minutes of aerial surveying—less time than it took him to select which part of Shuiyue's arm was the most comfortable—to locate the entrance of the Wanfu Ancient Cave. It was a gaping maw halfway up the mountain, permanently shrouded in shadow, sloping downwards into an oppressive darkness. Only the cave mouth offered a meager outline of light.
Lord Pig, the half-foot-long Zhu Xian Sword nestled in its makeshift golden sheath on his back, landed deftly at the entrance. Gusts of icy, sepulchral wind blew out, chilling his plump, golden face to the bone.
Simultaneously, a horrific rustling noise emanated from the depths, sounding like a thousand whispering ghosts or perhaps just ten thousand creatures dragging their claws—a sound designed to make the scalp of any lesser adventurer crawl.
Flapping his freshly conditioned Wind-Thunder Sky Wings, Lord Pig soared into the blackness. The cold intensified, and the stench was overwhelming: a thick, repugnant layer of bat guano coated the ground. Fortunately, his newly achieved aerial superiority meant he could entirely bypass the unhygienic floor.
Looking up, the ceiling was a horrifying, inverted tapestry of black vampire bats, hanging like putrid fruit. Sensing the fresh, divine energy of Lord Pig, the entire swarm erupted. They unfolded their leathery wings and rushed forward in a terrifying, unified black torrent toward the luminous golden figure. These were no ordinary bats; they were twice the size of those he'd previously encountered, their hideous, black bodies contrasted by scarlet, gaping maws.
"Swallow the Sun!"
Lord Pig was prepared. With a calm sigh, he raised a paw. A black hole vortex, a point of absolute void, condensed instantly in his palm. An infinite, insatiable devouring power emanated from it, and the black torrent of blood-sucking fiends rushed headlong into the maelstrom.
Energy +1, Experience +1, Magical Power: Bloodsucking (A minor, passive ability automatically acquired from the meal.)
Energy +1, Experience +1
Energy +1, Experience +0.5...
Energy +1, Experience +0.000001
Energy +1, Experience +0.000000001
"Haha! This Sun Swallowing Magical power is undeniably the best! It's truly tailored to Lord Pig's lifestyle!" His little fat face beamed with a triumphant, flowery smile as he watched the endless stream of bats dissolving into pure numerical gain.
The black hole was a bottomless abyss; no matter how numerous the bats, it showed no sign of filling. After a relentless, monotonous half-hour of sustained feasting, the torrent finally subsided.
Lord Pig totaled his loot. He had successfully consumed the vast majority of the cavern's population, netting a solid three million energy points. The experience points, as expected, had rapidly diminished after the first few hundred consumed, becoming virtually negligible.
Three million energy! That's enough to buy a dozen more minor upgrades or fuel the Divine Escape Technique for several centuries. A magnificent gain! One must always be content with such bounty, Lord Pig mused, feeling entirely justified in his mass slaughter.
With the airspace cleared and the odor slightly less offensive, Lord Pig advanced. The cave soon split into two deep, dark forks, leading into unknown depths like the gaping maws of a colossal demon.
At the junction of the two paths stood a massive stone tablet, easily six times the height of a man. Carved onto its surface, in arrogant, blood-red ancient seal script, were four enormous characters:
"GOD'S WILL IS ON MY SIDE!"
"Oh, the audacity! The sheer, unmitigated shamelessness!" Lord Pig curled his lip in utter disdain. Only the most self-important fanatic would chisel such monumental garbage.
He propelled his Wind-Thunder Sky Wings, unleashing a focused blast of wind and spiritual thunder directly onto the tablet.
Boom!
The colossal slab exploded into ten thousand fragments of rock dust. Lord Pig sailed smoothly past the debris field and proceeded down the left fork.
Swish!
Suddenly, three deadly rays of light—one crimson and two yellow—shot out from the darkness ahead. With his Nine Nether Demon Eyes, Lord Pig instantly discerned their forms: a small, dark-red fork, a three-foot-long flying sword, and a massive, gray fang from an unknown beast.
Clang! Bang!
The Wind-Thunder Sky Wings moved with impossible speed, and the sheer turbulence of the resulting gale repelled the flying magic weapons with three metallic clangs. Simultaneously, the force of the wind revealed the wielder: an evil-aligned monk whose robes reeked of blood.
Kill confirmed. Energy +200, Experience +200.
"So fast! That was… that was the ancestral spirit beast of Qingyun, the infamous Lord Pig!" A cry of sheer terror echoed from the darkness.
Lord Pig looked ahead, spotting two figures. One was a tall, thin man with a skeletal face, a sharp hooked nose, and small, intensely focused eyes, holding the yellow flying sword that Lord Pig had just repelled.
The second figure was utterly grotesque: a tall, stooping man with drooping eyelids, a protruding nose, large, upward-pointing ears, and bright red lips that constantly revealed a long, flicking tongue. This, as Lord Pig instantly deduced, was the notorious Wild Dog Taoist, clutching a gray fang magic weapon.
"Retreat! Retreat now!" the Wild Dog Taoist shrieked, turning tail and scrambling to escape.
"Not so fast, Xiao Gouzi! Allow Lord Pig to demonstrate the new power of his sword!"
Lord Pig reached behind him, grasping the hilt of the miniaturized Zhu Xian Sword. He pointed the unassuming blade forward, and a focused beam of utterly pure, cold, colorful sword energy shot toward the tall, thin man.
"NO—!" The man screamed, a primal sense of doom washing over him. He instinctively threw his yellow flying sword up to block.
WHANG!
The sword energy didn't so much clash with the flying sword as it disintegrated it. The beam passed cleanly through the fragmented remains and sliced through the man's neck. His head fell away cleanly, and blood erupted like a crimson fountain.
Kill confirmed. Energy +200, Experience +200.
"Hiss!" The Wild Dog Taoist registered the fate of his companion and let out a horrified gasp that sounded suspiciously like a dog trying to suck air through a broken straw. He doubled his speed, running like a startled rabbit.
Lord Pig wasn't in a hurry. He knew the Wild Dog Taoist would lead him to the other members of the Demon Sect who were surely gathered ahead. The pig simply glided along, enjoying the chase.
After a short pursuit, a glimmer of light appeared ahead—a light that bloomed in the darkness like a strange, phosphorescent flower. Lord Pig rushed in and found himself in a vast, cathedral-like cavern. The ceiling, a hundred feet above, was lost in shadow.
Directly ahead, a monumental rock stood tall, emitting a powerful, strange light that illuminated the entire space.
But the most striking feature was the colossal abyss that dropped away behind the glowing boulder. The rock's light could not penetrate the void; the abyss was pure, light-swallowing darkness—a lifeless, gloomy chasm whose opposite side was entirely invisible.
Lord Pig paused, examining the three figures standing before the rock. One was a large, bearded man who looked formidable; another, a young woman of undeniable, deadly beauty; and the third, a pale, evil-looking young man in white robes.
Engraved upon the strange, glowing boulder were three enormous, ancient characters:
"DEAD SOUL ABYSS"
The bearded man, the leader, immediately fixed his wary gaze on Lord Pig. He had seen the Wild Dog Taoist return alone. He knew, without asking, that the others who ambushed the pig were dead.
"Are you the spirit beast of Qing Yunzi's line, Lord Pig?" the bearded man—the current head of the Blood Refining Hall, known simply as Boss Xue—asked, his voice heavy with caution.
"Wrong! I am not anyone's spirit beast! I am myself! I am a different firework! A sovereign entity!" Lord Pig corrected him sternly, his little face entirely serious.
"We waste no time! Attack!" Boss Xue realized talking was pointless and issued the command.
Before anyone could move, Boss Xue's right eye, previously normal, suddenly swelled to twice its size and turned a grotesque scarlet red. The enormous, terrifying eye dominated his face. A beam of vile red light instantly shot out, aimed directly at Lord Pig.
"Nine Nether Demon Eyes!"
Lord Pig was entirely unfazed. His pupils instantly turned a pitch black, as if infinite, hypnotic demonic intent was gathering within.
The Wild Dog Taoist, the beautiful woman, and the young man, who were all still preparing their attacks, froze. They seemed to fall instantly under the hypnotic power of Lord Pig's eyes, their faces contorting in expressions of endless pain and existential terror, as if they had tumbled into the deepest abyss of the Nine Nether Hell.
Swish!
A ray of dark, focused spiritual light shot out from Lord Pig's eyes. It collided with Boss Xue's red light, and the crimson beam evaporated instantly. The black light sank into the oversized scarlet eye. The next moment, the eye turned black, then dimmed entirely, and Boss Xue's massive body fell limply to the ground.
Kill confirmed. Energy +300, Experience +280.
"So incredibly weak," Lord Pig sighed, shaking his head with an air of immense disappointment. These mere disciples of the Shangqing Realm couldn't even withstand one glance of the Nine Nether Demon Eyes, yet they dared to block my path. Truly, they have no concept of power.
It wasn't their fault, of course. They were hidden away and possessed only patchy, outdated information on the Golden Pig's strength. Furthermore, seeing only a tiny, fluffy creature completely undermined their natural instincts.
"You three should also retire now," Lord Pig announced.
His Nine Nether Demon Eyes pulsed once more. The beautiful woman, the pale young man, and the Wild Dog Taoist all collapsed to the ground, their lives extinguished instantly.
Kill confirmed. Energy +250, Experience +230. (Beautiful Woman)
Kill confirmed. Energy +250, Experience +220. (Pale Young Man)
Kill confirmed. Energy +200, Experience +150. (Wild Dog Taoist)
Having efficiently dispatched the entire demon contingent, Lord Pig began the meticulous process of looting.
He trotted over to the pale young man, whose clothing had clearly been expensive, and, after a quick rummage, produced a folding fan from his robes.
"The Mountain and River Fan! An excellent treasure, capable of manifesting mountains and rivers to suppress foes. What a shame the poor boy died before he could even deploy it," Lord Pig lamented, not for the boy, but for the lost opportunity to test the fan's defensive capabilities.
Next, he examined the beautiful woman. After a moment of careful investigation, Lord Pig located a subtle rope tied around her waist—the renowned Binding Immortal Rope, used to subdue even the strongest enemies.
Lord Pig untied the Binding Immortal Rope and, after admiring its tensile strength, used it to replace the plain golden cord holding his Zhu Xian Sword. The ultimate killer weapon was now lashed to his back with an ultimate capturing weapon—a statement of pure, aggressive wealth.
"Ah, murder and arson truly pave the path to wealth!" Lord Pig declared, adjusting the rope. He now looked like a tiny, gold-furred, over-equipped bandit.
With a flourish, Lord Pig used his paw to open the Mountain and River Fan, waving it elegantly. He had the Immortal Execution Sword strapped to his back, secured by the Binding Immortal Rope, and the formidable Mountain and River Fan held open in his hand.
With the air of a self-made, obscenely wealthy magnate, Lord Pig waddled toward the gaping, light-swallowing chasm behind the glowing rock—the Dead Soul Abyss—ready to jump in and find the first volume of the Heavenly Book.