Chapter 335 – Abyss of the Dark Moon

“The Dark Moon Mark… Yan Yunyu is in trouble.”

The speaker was Xue Ying, her expression extremely grave as she gazed at the dark moon.

She had once fought Black Wolf and personally experienced the power of the Dark Moon Mark.

In the early stages of that battle, although Black Wolf possessed the strength of Sha Refinement, along with extensive combat experience and an extremely brutal fighting style, she had managed to hold her own against him, relying on the Demon Blade Blood Cherry.

But as the Dark Moon Mark emerged, the situation was instantly reversed.

Empowered by this force, Black Wolf not only saw a drastic increase in strength but also gained an exceptionally sinister and cold Mana, as well as an extremely eerie ability.

That frigid Mana could even freeze Spells and would ignore most defenses, invading a person’s body and Divine Soul.

The blood blades Xue Ying had constructed with her Spells were directly frozen and shattered.

And that eerie ability was even more heart-stopping.

The Dark Moon Mark was like an abyss, actively luring the Divine Sense of Cultivators to focus on it.

When a Cultivator stared at the Dark Moon Mark, the Abyss of the Dark Moon would also resonate with their Divine Soul, causing them to become entranced by the vastness and boundlessness of the dark moon, while giving them a sensation of their Divine Soul endlessly falling.

This perpetual descent brought both a sense of tranquility and anxiety—the tranquility was bestowed by the Abyss of the Dark Moon, while the anxiety stemmed from the warning of the Cultivator’s true spirit.

After merely gazing for a moment, Xue Ying had felt at the time that if she fell too deep, she would never return.

And the continuous descent of the Divine Soul also brought negative effects—a person’s thinking would slow down as a result.

It was under this unexpected assault that Xue Ying had been defeated, losing one of her eyes to Black Wolf.

Due to the invasive cold energy, her eye had still not recovered to this day.

“That Dark Moon Mark can’t even be looked at… Resonating with it for too long will cause one to become completely entranced. All emotions and memories will be sucked away by the Abyss of the Dark Moon, forever falling into the abyss.”

As Xue Ying pondered, the onlookers around her were also startled by the appearance of the Dark Moon Mark.

Soon, murmurs of discussion arose in the surroundings.

“Another Forbidden Power. If it weren’t for such things, we would never have been defeated so miserably!”

“Exactly…”

The Prodigies of the south despised Forbidden Power intensely, and their words carried a sense that the northern scholars’ victories relied entirely on Forbidden Power, implying an unfair advantage.

This, in turn, displeased the northern scholars—the Four Seas Tavern was crowded, with not only southern youths but also many northern Prodigies present.

Upon hearing the words of the southern Prodigies, a northerner sneered and said:

“Hah, envious that we possess Forbidden Power? If that’s the case, why don’t you go and obtain it yourselves? Forbidden Power isn’t exclusive to us. We’re even willing to share it. If anyone wants Forbidden Power, step forward—I can distribute it to you right now.”

These words immediately silenced many.

Forbidden Power was indeed formidable, but its troubles followed just as closely.

Take Black Wolf in battle, for example. Even without activating the Dark Moon Mark, he was tormented by the frigid energy in daily life, and each time he fell into deep sleep, he experienced the sensation of his Divine Soul endlessly falling.

Much of his irritability, ferocity, and cruelty were forced upon him by the Dark Moon Mark.

Unwilling to invite Forbidden Power into their bodies, the southern scholars quickly changed the subject, shifting to other matters.

“Yan Yunyu should have a chance of victory, right? That’s a Spirit Tool. Once bound by it, even if Black Wolf activates Dark Moon, he shouldn’t be able to break free, should he?”

These words stirred the hearts of many.

However, their hopes were soon dashed.

What made them even more helpless was that it wasn’t the northerners who shattered their delusions, but Xue Ying, who also possessed a Spirit Tool.

“It’s difficult. With Yan Yunyu’s strength, it’s hard for her to unleash the full power of the Spirit Tool. Black Wolf has a chance to break free.”

“Most importantly, the frigid aura accompanying Dark Moon will freeze the Mana within Yan Yunyu’s chains, rendering this Spirit Tool inoperable.”

High-grade Spirit Tools are not something that even Gang Sha stage Cultivators can handle. Normally, even Mortal Shedding stage Cultivators going all out would find them nearly impossible to deal with.

Because they cannot be destroyed and are extremely difficult to defend against, Cultivators who possess Spirit Tools often stand out and possess overwhelming strength.

However, while Spirit Tools are nearly indestructible, they are still objects that require Mana to activate.

And the Mana within a Spirit Tool is not impervious to all forces.

In the past, this weakness wasn’t significant, as ordinary Cultivators could hardly penetrate the interior of a Spirit Tool to deplete its Mana.

But Forbidden Power is different. In terms of hierarchy, Forbidden Power ranks even higher than Spirit Tools. As a result, this power can easily penetrate Magical Artifacts and erode the Cultivator’s Mana.

Without Mana, a Spirit Tool is nothing more than a lifeless object, naturally incapable of restraining Black Wolf.

Just as Xue Ying shook her head and sighed, on the battlefield, Black Wolf acted exactly as she had predicted. He began using his frigid aura to corrode Yan Yunyu’s Avici Chains, aiming to deplete the Mana within them.

No, he didn’t even need to actively do it. He clearly knew that his frigid aura possessed the ability to corrode all things, turning everything around him cold and lifeless. Mana at the Sha Refinement Stage stood no chance against such erosion.

Especially now, with the chains wrapped around him, his frigid aura could spread even more easily.

Therefore, he believed he didn’t need to actively corrode the chains; the residual waves of his aura alone would be enough to extinguish Yan Yunyu’s Mana.

This line of thinking led him to completely ignore the chains. Instead, he sneered and advanced toward Yan Yunyu. As he moved forward, he spoke: “I, who have invoked the power of Dark Moon, am invincible. Your chains cannot hold me!”

As his words fell, his aura surged violently. He readied himself to shake off the now Mana-less chains and charge straight at Yan Yunyu—though he could attack from a distance, he preferred the feeling of tearing his opponents apart with his own hands.

He also knew full well that close-quarters combat made it difficult for others to intervene and rescue.

“…”

Black Wolf’s plan was sound, but after taking just one step, his expression froze.

His explosive momentum… had not broken the chains’ restraint.

At this moment, Black Wolf still hadn’t realized the severity of the situation.

Failing to break free from the chains’ seal immediately only made him feel embarrassed and awkward. Thus, he tried to save face by saying, “Heh, you actually withstood my first assault. Not bad, you do have some skill. But with just this ability, you won’t be able to hold me.”

“Break open for me!”

As he roared, he no longer focused on charging forward to fight. Instead, he channeled all his Mana, determined to use his frigid aura to extinguish Yan Yunyu’s Mana within the chains.

In fact, he even harbored a thought: to transmit the yin-cold aura to Yan Yunyu through the connection of the Avici Chains.

This was difficult, but he believed he could do it. The power of the Dark Moon was just that formidable.

“Boom!”

As Black Wolf roared, the black moon between his brows grew increasingly somber and conspicuous, drawing everyone’s attention involuntarily.

Noticing this, the crowd defended themselves while sighing, “Black Wolf is getting serious. Yan Yunyu is about to lose.”

“Losing isn’t a big deal. She’s already done well enough to force Black Wolf to use his Forbidden Power, even exceeding expectations.”

“Truly a glorious defeat… After today, no one will underestimate her again.”

At this point, everyone still believed Black Wolf would win.

This belief stemmed from two reasons: first, Yan Yunyu had no prior reputation, while the might of Forbidden Power was undeniable.

Second, during the battle, Yan Yunyu hadn’t displayed any signs of a true powerhouse.

Her combat relied entirely on the Avici Chains, which moved like living beings, appearing and vanishing unpredictably. She herself showed no remarkable qualities.

In fact, she had been intimidated by his killing intent several times and even retreated timidly when Black Wolf charged forward.

With such a performance, it was hard for anyone to believe she could turn the tide in adversity.

Yes, after unleashing Forbidden Power, in everyone’s eyes, Yan Yunyu was the one at a disadvantage.

However, just as they thought this, a strange scene unfolded in the arena.

Black Wolf was shouting loudly, his expression one of intense effort as if he were about to unleash a powerful surge.

Yet, despite this display, he still failed to break through the blockade of the Avici Chains.

Of course, if that were all, the crowd would have been surprised but not bewildered.

What made them look puzzled and almost burst into laughter was that Black Wolf, who was roaring in anger and wearing an expression of explosive effort, had an aura that was utterly calm—so calm it resembled the surface of a windless lake.

This scene prompted many to mutter in disbelief.

“What is Black Wolf doing? Where’s his outburst?”

“Exactly, is he joking?”

“What a waste of emotion…”

When cultivators unleash their power, there are usually noticeable effects.

Whether it’s the air trembling, Mana burning like flames, or the surroundings growing heavy and oppressive.

Even without these, a cultivator releasing their Mana would cause their aura to surge continuously.

Black Wolf exhibited none of these.

Despite his shouts and the expression of exertion on his face, he remained completely calm.

So calm that not only was there no outburst, but he didn’t even adopt a combat stance to channel his Mana.

He seemed as if he were merely strolling leisurely.

Such a bizarre sight naturally led the onlookers, who had been anticipating an intense duel, to feel their emotions had been wasted.

“Black Wolf, stop playing around!”

“If you want to toy with your prey, do it another time. We’re waiting to eat…”

Even the northern scholars couldn’t bear to watch Black Wolf’s antics and called out to remind him.

Clearly, they hadn’t yet grasped the severity of the situation.

Fortunately, they soon realized it.

—Black Wolf, standing in the arena, finally spoke.

But now, there was no trace of his earlier arrogance or audacity. Instead, his face was filled with terror and disbelief.

“What’s happening? Why can’t I unleash my Mana? Move, damn it, move!”

Black Wolf’s face was filled with terror as he roared angrily, straining with all his might to unleash his power.

Yet, no matter how hard he tried or how much effort he exerted, his aura showed not the slightest fluctuation.

No, that wasn’t quite right—it wasn’t that there was no fluctuation.

Rather, the fluctuation wasn’t upward but downward.

After being bound by the Avici Chains, his Mana, his aura—everything was endlessly plummeting, falling into silence.

Even the dark, gloomy Black Moon was sealed and silenced by a peculiar force.

The chilling energy that seemed capable of corroding all things gradually dissipated, and the unique ability to lure others into gazing upon it was obscured by a faint, elusive mist.

A few breaths later, Black Wolf’s entire aura fell into complete silence.

In the perception of everyone present, he was no longer a Sha Refinement Cultivator but rather resembled an ordinary person devoid of Mana.

Such a terrifying scene instantly plunged the surroundings into utter stillness.

(End of Chapter)