Record of a Demon's Cultivation Chapter 1277: Self-Reliance

Translator: CinderTL

"Fellow Daoist Gou Jun, the Pure Origin Heavenly Dew is now in your possession," Leng Zhi declared, casually handing the dew to Song Wen.

Song Wen accepted the dew, retrieved a jade box, and stowed it away with care. He then inquired, "The Pure Origin Heavenly Dew must never touch the ground, lest its spiritual essence dissipate. How is it that this dew, embedded within the rock wall, remains unharmed?"

"This rock wall has endured the gale for millennia, transforming it into a wind-attributed spiritual object. Naturally, it will not contaminate the Pure Origin Heavenly Dew."

As Leng Zhi explained, she expertly steered the tornado, causing it to ascend rapidly.

In stark contrast to their perilous descent, the ascent proved to be effortless.

The tornado surged upward, traversing thousands of miles in mere moments.

Just as they were on the verge of escaping the abyss within a few dozen breaths, an unforeseen calamity befell them.

A blinding radiance erupted from below, piercing the utter darkness of the abyss.

All four felt their hearts clench, frantically channeling their Qi into the formation to hasten their escape.

However, the light surged upward with terrifying velocity, overtaking the tornado in an instant.

It was then they discerned that the light was, in fact, silver lightning.

This lightning did not manifest as a single bolt but rather as countless silver serpents, thick as arms, writhing violently throughout the abyss.

Boom, boom, boom...

The silver snakes relentlessly assaulted the tornado.

Already strained by the ferocious gale, the tornado could not withstand the sustained onslaught of lightning. It began to waver, faltering on the brink of disintegration.

At the heart of the formation, Leng Zhi’s eyes flickered with sudden terror, as though a horrifying memory had resurfaced.

Her expression hardened, and the hand seals she manipulated abruptly shifted.

In the blink of an eye, Song Wen, Xue Cong, and Heng Ziping felt their Auxiliary Array Disks surge uncontrollably, flying towards Leng Zhi. Simultaneously, a torrent of azure gale erupted from the disks, blasting towards their faces.

The trio recoiled in shock, utterly unprepared for Leng Zhi’s sudden treachery.

The disks were too close to deploy their defensive magical artifacts in time. They could only desperately condense mana shields.

Yet, contrary to their expectations, the azure gale lacked sharpness or destructive power. Instead, it carried an overwhelming, boundless force. Upon striking their mana shields, it flung them outward.

At the very same moment, the tornado began to contract, shrinking from its towering thirty-meter diameter to a mere three meters.

Though reduced in size, the tornado grew denser and more concentrated. With less surface exposed to the gale and lightning serpents, it stabilized almost instantly.

Song Wen, Heng Ziping, and Xue Cong realized they had been expelled from the tornado’s core. Though unharmed, they were now fully exposed to the relentless fury of the howling gale and the rampaging lightning serpents.

"Leng Zhi, I shall engrave this debt in my heart and repay it tenfold!" Heng Ziping summoned three flying swords, which whirled around him, weaving a Sword Qi barrier from countless sword shadows that sliced through the oncoming gale and lightning serpents.

Though temporarily safe, he refused to linger, shooting upward without hesitation.

Song Wen and Xue Cong found themselves in similar predicaments. Each activated their defensive magical artifacts and fled upward with all their might.

Meanwhile, Leng Zhi struggled to control the four array disks simultaneously. Despite her seemingly frantic movements, she managed to stabilize the tornado and ascend at breakneck speed, swiftly vanishing from the trio’s perception.

Just then, Song Wen observed the gale beginning to weaken.

He immediately grasped the reason for Leng Zhi’s earlier panic.

The gale was about to shift its direction!

An ominous premonition washed over Song Wen.

He was still tens of thousands of miles away from the abyss entrance. Before the gale changed course, escaping the abyss would be utterly impossible.

In that critical juncture, Song Wen made an instantaneous decision.

He reversed his course and plummeted towards the abyss’s depths.

The weakened gale made moving against the wind significantly less arduous than before.

His sudden action immediately drew the attention of Xue Cong and Heng Ziping.

The two men initially froze in astonishment but quickly grasped Song Wen’s intention.

Heng Ziping wavered, uncertain whether to ascend or descend.

While an ascent guaranteed they couldn't escape before the gale shifted, the unknown conditions at the abyss's bottom rendered a downward escape equally perilous.

In contrast, Xue Cong acted with far greater resolve. Recognizing Song Wen’s plan, he promptly altered his trajectory and pursued him relentlessly.

"Fellow Daoist Gou Jun, lend me your strength! I can help you resist the gale and alleviate your burden."

Xue Cong’s plea went unanswered.

Instead of fleeing, wisps of Thunderlight erupted from Song Wen's very being, doubling his escape velocity as he dissolved into the depths.

Xue Cong stood utterly stupefied.

He had extended repeated gestures of goodwill toward "Gou Jun," only to be met with stony indifference. Not only that, but their combined strength would have undoubtedly been a boon to Gou Jun.

Xue Cong had never conceived of such a resolute refusal.

"Hahaha..."

Heng Ziping's voice, laced with a tinge of mockery, suddenly resounded.

"Xue Cong, even the simplest peasant understands the wisdom of self-reliance over begging for aid. You, a cultivator at the Void Refinement Stage, actually sought assistance during a dire predicament. How truly ludicrous!"

A colossal sword, easily thirty meters in length, materialized before Heng Ziping. It sliced through the surrounding gang qi, beginning its downward plunge.

Having finally grasped the unfolding situation, he altered his trajectory, following closely in the wake of the immense blade as he hurtled deeper into the abyss.

The sword's overwhelming power effortlessly tore through the now-diminished gang qi, significantly augmenting Heng Ziping's speed of escape.

His derisive words still reverberated in Xue Cong's ears as Heng Ziping's figure vanished from view.

Sensing that he had been left behind, Xue Cong felt a potent wave of resentment surge through him, mingled with a bleak sense of desolation.

His countenance turned frigid as he channeled every ounce of his strength into a desperate flight deeper into the abyss.

"I require no one's assistance!"

A fierce surge of pride coursed through him, his gaze hardening with unyielding resolve.

However, the gale that had been propelling him upward from the depths began to wane rapidly, eventually ceasing altogether.

Suddenly—

Boom!

The direction of the gale abruptly reversed, cascading downwards like an ethereal river.

Xue Cong was seized by an immense, crushing pressure, as if ten thousand mountains had suddenly descended upon him.

His ability to maintain balance evaporated, and he was violently swept downward by the reversed gale, plunging helplessly into the abyss.

A figure materialized above him, rapidly closing the distance.

Xue Cong recognized the silhouette of Leng Zhi.

Leng Zhi appeared to be in a dire state. Her once pristine white robes were now marred by crimson stains, and her body swayed precariously, like a mere feather caught in the wind, as she too was inexorably drawn into the abyss by the gale.

It was evident that she, like him, had failed to escape the abyss's clutches and had sustained injuries from the sudden reversal of the gale, placing her in a critical situation.

(End of the Chapter)