"Tap."
The sound of light feather boots stepping onto the dry, hard underground ground echoed softly.
The mont she passed through the teleportation array, Ye Bai was imdiately hit by a wave of scorching sulfurous air.
The colors that filled her vision shifted from the gloomy gray-blue of night to an ominous, oppressive shade of dark red.
Ye Bai quickly scanned her surroundings and found herself in a typical subterranean landscape—composed entirely of deep black rock and vivid, molten lava.
The "sky," the mountains, and the ground were all ford from this unyielding stone, while rivers and waterfalls of lava flowed through its cracks, their glow illuminating the surrounding walls and painting a hellish, monotonous scene.
Ye Bai stood atop a massive stone platform, not far from a "river" of molten lava.
Autofis was beside her, curiously observing their surroundings.
Faced with this sight, Ye Bai pulled out a magic scroll and asked the paper figure:
"Which layer of the Abyss are we in?"
The Abyss was divided into nine layers, with each deeper level housing increasingly powerful infernal creatures. The ninth layer concealed the Abyssal Core, the source from which all these beings erged from the lava.
"Wait a mont." The paper figure fell silent briefly, processing the information before replying, "I can only confirm we're below the fourth layer."
Below the fourth layer…
Ye Bai nodded, her expression turning serious. That ant the infernal creatures here were at least Level 40 or higher. If they were in the sixth or seventh layer, the monsters would exceed Level 60.
Moreover, the deeper the layer, the fewer spatial rifts leading back to the surface existed.
Each layer of the Abyss had such rifts—passages that powerful infernal creatures couldn’t traverse, but which Bloodline Bearers could freely cross.
For players like Ye Bai, these rifts acted as safe save points. That was why, when she had asked the paper figure earlier, she had only inquired about entering the Abyss—returning was as simple as finding a rift. Locating one in the Abyss was far easier than searching for an entrance on the surface.
Though the rifts shifted, they usually remained stable for a period. During that ti, Ye Bai could move freely between the surface and the Abyss.
This trip wasn’t one she expected to complete in a single attempt. Her plan was to explore as deeply as possible, mark the locations of corresponding surface rifts, and then decide her next steps accordingly.
First, she needed to confirm exactly which layer she was in.
Ye Bai surveyed the terrain from the high platform before following the lava river ahead.
Traveling through the Abyss doubled her need for water compared to the surface, but she had co prepared with ample supplies.
After walking so distance, Ye Bai suddenly froze and swiftly ducked behind a large boulder.
About fifty or sixty ters ahead, a group of six horned demons was dragging a crude cart loaded with goods, heading in a specific direction.
Horned demons—Level 45 to 55 infernal creatures—were the backbone of the Abyssal Legion, commonly found in the third to seventh layers.
However, the fact that these demons were clearly working suggested they served a more powerful master. And in the Abyss, that could only an one thing: the layer’s Abyssal Lord.
Infernal creatures were embodints of chaos, rarely forming factions or alliances. The only one capable of commanding them was the strongest being in the layer—the Abyssal Lord, the boss of that level. Naturally, the deeper the layer, the more formidable the Lord.
Ye Bai’s gaze swept over the cargo in the cart—and then she stiffened, unable to suppress her shock.
The cart wasn’t carrying typical Abyssal items like crystal magic stones. Instead, it was filled with… brightly colored corals and shells of varying sizes.
She even spotted a gleaming pearl nestled inside one open shell.
Such things would be perfectly normal on land or by the sea—but in the Abyss? And in such quantities? Moreover, deep-sea creatures were natural counters to infernal beings.
If these had co through a spatial rift, three conditions would have to be t:
1. A stable underground rift existed.
2. The infernal creatures had a way to pass through it.
3. The rift happened to open underwater.
Each of these was nearly impossible on its own.
This anomaly was too strange to ignore. After a mont’s thought, Ye Bai decided to follow the horned demons, keeping a safe distance behind them.
She trailed the group for so ti until, finally, a fortress of Abyssal design ca into view.
The crude, imposing structure clung to a cliffside, with a lava river serving as its "moat." Various infernal creatures road the area around it.
[You have discovered the "Abyssal Cliff Fortress." 10 Historical EXP, 100,000 EXP.]
So, this was the fortress of the Abyssal Lord ruling this layer.
The horned demons hauled their cart of "seafood" inside, while Ye Bai lingered in a safe spot, studying the fortress’s layout. Then, her eyes lit up.
Above a platform along the fortress’s edge, she spotted a crimson fissure in the air.
A spatial rift!
She had only been curious about the seafood, but now she’d stumbled upon a rift.
She needed to check how long that rift would remain active.
No infernal creatures guarded the area around the rift, but plenty still wandered nearby.
Ye Bai opened her equipnt panel, double-checking that [Perfect Mask] was still equipped.
This item was her lifeline in the Abyss.
But what about Autofis?
She turned to find the creature tilting its head at her, as if asking why they’d stopped.
Then she rembered—Autofis had a unique magical presence. Unless it pulled another stunt like disrupting a ritual, others would subconsciously overlook it.
Honestly, it was probably less likely to be caught than she was.
Steeling herself, Ye Bai cautiously stepped into the fortress grounds of the unknown Abyssal Lord.
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