Chapter 150: The Abyss

Protected by the lake’s energy, Zhai Guangyi seemed to have no trouble walking through it. The lakebed was clean, with basically nothing strange in sight. He had thought such a dangerous place would hold some treasures, but now he felt somewhat disappointed.

Apart from the energy contained within the lake water, there was nothing of value. Moreover, the lake water was mixed with some strange substances, making its composition extremely complex. If not for Zhai Guangyi’s possession of the ‘World’ Skill, which helped him filter out unwanted energy, absorbing the lake’s energy would have harmed him.

After some time, Zhai Guangyi reached the small island at the center of the lake. It felt both familiar and unfamiliar. Turning to look back in the direction he came from, he saw an endless expanse of red lake surface, with no sign of Demon King Mephistopheles. The sky was dark and oppressive, making it hard to breathe in such an environment.

At the center of the island stood a petite figure, still looking the same as before. That strand of white hair was particularly striking in this setting.

The mad Elven Divine Tree, Sylph!

Zhai Guangyi had no idea how to bring this great Deity out of this lake. Would teleportation work?

“Master, it has been detected that this unit possesses absolute Magic Resistance. Teleportation Magic cannot be directly cast on it,” Classmate Xiao Ai answered Zhai Guangyi’s question with her usual intelligence.

“Then let’s try direct contact. Try and you might die!” With ‘World’ as his safety net, Zhai Guangyi was unlikely to die. If all else failed, he could just Level Up ‘World’ to Level 10. At worst, he’d lose an Avatar Body!

As he stood up, Zhai Guangyi realized his appearance was somewhat unseemly. He imagined himself wearing a clean and convenient set of Casual Wear, and in the next moment, he had transformed into the image in his mind.

“What if I imagine the Elven Divine Tree leaving this place? What would happen?”

As soon as the image formed in Zhai Guangyi’s mind, it shattered in the next instant. The scene before him was instantly dyed a bloody red.

‘World’ had failed!

Zhai Guangyi had already anticipated this. If it were so easy to solve, it wouldn’t be a Deity.

At that moment, the Divine Tree Sylph slowly raised her head to look at Zhai Guangyi. There was no trace of rationality in her eyes; all he could see was a sea of blood red.

The surroundings began to twist and distort, including the ground beneath Zhai Guangyi’s feet. He felt as though heaven and earth were spinning, the sky and land blending together like paste. His head began to feel dizzy and heavy.

“The lake!” Zhai Guangyi now felt the situation was extremely dire. Even though he hadn’t sensed Sylph launching an attack, the scene before him looked anything but good!

He could only turn to look back at the lake surface, but it had vanished, replaced by blood-soaked Goblins.

“What is this? Are there hallucinations too?” Zhai Guangyi raised his hand and summoned high-ranking Elemental Spirits, ordering them to attack the Goblins continuously. He even imagined granting the high-ranking Spirits powerful Magic Power enhancements.

But the Goblins actually absorbed the Elemental Spirits’ attacks, growing stronger and evolving into Demon Goblins.

Apart from these Goblins, the ground beneath Zhai Guangyi’s feet instantly vanished. He felt as if he had fallen into an endless abyss, one that seemed capable of devouring all things, including Zhai Guangyi and the Goblins from earlier.

“Detected influence from the Unique Skill ‘Abyss.’ Would you like to dispel the effect?” Xiao Ai asked Zhai Guangyi as usual, as dispelling an effect of this level required a significant amount of System Currency.

“Of course! Yes!”

The scene before him shattered instantly, like fragmented blood clots, and blood slowly trickled from the corners of Zhai Guangyi’s eyes. A crimson thread snapped from his head.

Just from this brief confrontation, Zhai Guangyi had lost around 4,000 System Currency—truly an unsustainable cost.

‘World’ could not directly affect the Elven Divine Tree, but the Elven Divine Tree’s Unique Skill could. Moreover, facing the stature of a Deity, Zhai Guangyi felt his entire Soul trembling.

The Elven Divine Tree, Sylph, did not take any action. She remained standing there with her head bowed, just as before, and did not continue attacking Zhai Guangyi.

“The crimson thread earlier seemed to activate automatically. Zhai Guangyi had experienced something similar before—when ‘World’ automatically activated and generated the System while he was still weak, to facilitate his growth.

The System continued to operate even while he was unconscious, which was actually due to ‘World’ constantly functioning. The current situation was no different.

“Can you analyze the effect called ‘Abyss’?” Appraisal was no longer reliable. If he had access to a higher-level Skill than Appraisal, it might have been possible, but Zhai Guangyi did not possess one.

The information panel for ‘Abyss’ appeared in Zhai Guangyi’s mind.

Based on the limited information from the brief encounter, Xiao Ai, the System of ‘World,’ had already inferred and organized the details.

The abyss Zhai Guangyi saw in the illusion earlier was not an illusion—it truly existed. His Soul had been drawn into that abyss, and the crimson thread was the medium directly connecting him to it.

The deeper he fell, the less his Soul belonged to him. The terrifying Abyss would devour everything, including all of Zhai Guangyi.

The Goblins that appeared earlier were not illusions either. They were likely Magical Beasts that happened to be drawn into the Abyss alongside Zhai Guangyi at the same time.

Zhai Guangyi’s Skills remained effective because his Soul had been absorbed. The Goblins drawn into the Abyss could also attract his Soul Energy within it, which was why they suddenly grew stronger.

If that were the case, the physical bodies of the ordinary Goblins in the outside world should have evolved as well.

Zhai Guangyi could not imagine what kind of enhancement ‘Abyss’ could bring to the Elven Divine Tree. It was essentially a large-scale Soul Extractor—any Soul struck by the crimson thread would have a portion absorbed and blended together within the Abyss.

Even if the species differed, Souls could still intermingle. When Souls changed, physical bodies were likely to change as well. Zhai Guangyi would not find it strange even if the Souls of Goblins and Elves were blended together.

That Abyss was filled with chaos and distortion.

Any soul within could become entangled with others due to combat. Souls inside do not inflict damage through attacks; their energy is merely absorbed by the opposing party, but ultimately, all are devoured by the Abyss, becoming usable energy for the Elven Divine Tree.

Yet now, the Divine Tree Sylph’s True Body shows no reaction to Zhai Guangyi. Having escaped the Abyss, He remains motionless, like a lifeless corpse.