Chapter 24: The Cyan Disk and Fatty's Speculation

As Lin Chuan stepped within thirty feet of the Azure Nether Grass, the malevolent spirits throughout the entire valley suddenly let out a piercing shriek. The sound was like a thousand sharp blades scraping against his eardrums, forcing Lin Chuan to cover his ears.

"What's happening?" He turned to look at Fatty, only to find his unscrupulous friend staring at the sky with a grave expression.

All the malevolent spirits in the valley were acting as if they had gone mad, rapidly converging toward the center. Even the spirits that had been battering Fatty’s soul barrier turned around and surged like a tide toward the space above the Azure Nether Grass.

"Fall back!" Fatty warned Lin Chuan via soul transmission, his own soul shadow drifting backward.

Lin Chuan stumbled back a few steps and looked up, only to see countless spirits gathering above the grass, forming a dark cloud that blotted out the sky. The cloud rotated slowly like a giant vortex, swallowing all light in the valley.

"They are self-annihilating..." Fatty muttered, his voice laced with shock.

Lin Chuan focused his gaze and saw that the spirits forming the cloud were indeed turning into green smoke one by one. But this smoke did not dissipate; instead, it remained trapped within the cloud, its concentration increasing as more spirits vanished.

After a hundred breaths, the cloud turned translucent, and a green object could be seen taking shape within it. When the very last spirit perished, the cloud completely dissipated, revealing the object hovering in the air—a green disc, missing about an eighth of its form.

For the first time, sunlight pierced through the perennial gloom of the Soul-Devouring Azure Abyss, spilling onto the land. Lin Chuan squinted, making out the details of the disc: it was about three feet in diameter, composed of a translucent green material, and engraved with intricate patterns that seemed to ripple across its surface as if alive. An ancient and mysterious aura emanated from the disc, causing Lin Chuan’s heart to palpitate.

"This..." Lin Chuan suddenly realized something and turned to Fatty. "Yesterday, you said there might be a million spirits in this valley?"

Fatty nodded, his eyes flashing with contemplation. "We consumed a hundred thousand yesterday and tens of thousands today. That is exactly about one-eighth of a million."

Lin Chuan gasped. "So this disc was supposed to be whole, and because we consumed one-eighth of the spirits, it became one-eighth incomplete?"

"Smart," Fatty praised him for once, his expression turning serious again. "It seems this Soul-Devouring Azure Abyss is not a naturally occurring hazard as recorded by the Heaven’s Luck Pavilion, but something man-made."

"Man-made?" Lin Chuan’s eyes widened. "Who could have such power?"

Fatty shook his head. "Hard to say for now. But if I’m not mistaken, there should be eight such valleys throughout the entire Soul-Devouring Azure Abyss, each containing an Azure Nether Grass and a million spirits."

A chill crawled up Lin Chuan’s spine. Eight valleys, eight million spirits, eight green discs... This was definitely a massive and precise layout. He could almost smell the stench of a conspiracy hanging in the air.

"What have you guessed?" Lin Chuan asked in a low voice.

Fatty pondered for a moment. "It’s impossible to confirm yet; we need to find the next valley to verify it. However..." He looked at the Azure Nether Grass, "We can safely harvest it now."

Lin Chuan nodded and carefully crossed the ten-foot-wide death zone. The closer he got to the center, the more he felt the suffocating aura of death, as if countless invisible hands were tugging at his soul. By the time he stood before the grass, his back was soaked in cold sweat.

Up close, the Azure Nether Grass was even more miraculous than he had imagined. It seemed as though liquid were flowing inside its crystalline stems, and its bluish-purple leaves were covered in fine silver veins. The small white flower at the top emitted a faint, clear fragrance that stood in stark contrast to the thick, deathly atmosphere surrounding it.

Lin Chuan pulled a jade box from his storage pouch, which he had specifically prepared for harvesting spiritual herbs. But just as he was about to place the grass inside, Fatty’s voice echoed in his mind: "Don't use that. Put it directly into the Blood Spirit Ring."

"The Blood Spirit Ring?" Lin Chuan paused. "Didn't you say the space inside the ring was unstable and that living things would..."

"I lied," Fatty’s voice held a hint of cunning. "The Blood Spirit Ring is a treasure I forged during my prime. Its interior is like a small world; not only can it house living things, but it can also preserve the potency of spiritual herbs without loss."

Lin Chuan twitched his mouth. "You... how many more things are you hiding from me?"

"Plenty," Fatty laughed smugly. "Hurry up, secure the grass, and don't miss that disc either."

Lin Chuan shook his head helplessly and placed the Azure Nether Grass directly into the Blood Spirit Ring. He then looked up at the incomplete disc hovering in mid-air and leaped to grab it, only to find his hand passing straight through the solid object.

"Use your soul power," Fatty reminded him. "This thing isn't physical."

Following Fatty’s guidance, Lin Chuan released a thread of soul power to envelop the disc. This time, it followed his lead, eventually turning into a streak of green light that vanished into the Blood Spirit Ring.

"Alright, next we..." Before Lin Chuan could finish, he felt the Blood Spirit Ring grow hot.

"What is it?" he asked urgently.

Fatty’s voice became solemn. "The Azure Nether Grass and the disc... they are resonating within the Blood Spirit Ring."

Lin Chuan inspected the interior of the ring and, sure enough, saw the grass and the incomplete disc floating in the void, a thin beam of green light connecting them. Even more surprisingly, the edges of the disc’s missing segment were slowly growing, as if attempting to repair itself.

"Interesting..." Fatty murmured. "It seems we really do need to find the other seven valleys."

The two decided to abandon their plan to head to the core area of the Soul-Devouring Azure Abyss for now, turning their attention to finding the other potential valleys. When Lin Chuan returned to where Zhang Lin and the others were waiting, they were looking around nervously.

"Brother Lin!" Zhang Lin was the first to spot him and hurried over. "We heard a terrifying sound from the direction of the valley just now and thought you..."

"I'm fine," Lin Chuan waved his hand, briefly explaining the phenomenon while omitting any mention of the green disc. "I have already obtained the Azure Nether Grass."

The three were overjoyed, and Li Yu even clapped in excitement. "That's great! Three hundred thousand low-grade spirit stones secured!"

Lin Chuan nodded, then changed the subject. "However, according to records I saw in an ancient book, there should be seven other similar valleys in the Soul-Devouring Azure Abyss, each likely containing an Azure Nether Grass."

The expressions of the three shifted instantly from joy to shock, and then to wild ecstasy. Wang Tiezhu stammered, "Br... Brother Lin, are you saying there are seven more? And each is worth three hundred thousand?"

"Theoretically, yes," Lin Chuan said, feigning hesitation. "However, continuing to search might delay our time to explore the core area..."

"Forget the core area!" Zhang Lin said decisively. "Of course we'll look for the Azure Nether Grass! Three hundred thousand per plant—that's two million one hundred thousand total!"

Li Yu and Wang Tiezhu nodded repeatedly, the glimmer of spirit stones shining in their eyes. Lin Chuan smiled inwardly; this was exactly the result he wanted. Persuading them to change their plans had been much easier than he expected.

"Alright then, we will search for the other valleys first," Lin Chuan agreed with a feigned reluctance. "But the Soul-Devouring Azure Abyss is vast, so we need a search strategy."

Fatty’s voice sounded in his head: "Head northwest. If my guess is correct, the eight valleys should be arranged in a ring, surrounding the perimeter of the core area."

Lin Chuan nodded nonchalantly and told the three, "According to the book, these types of special terrains often follow a certain pattern. Let's search toward the northwest first, and if we find nothing, we'll adjust our direction."

And so, the party of four changed their original route and began to move toward the northwest.