The giant dragon beat its wings, flying a thousand miles across the Nether Pool. On the dragon's back, Chi Ji gazed into the distance, and all the worries that had plagued her in recent days were forcibly pulled back by the scenes unfolding before her.
First, she saw a stretch of mudflats. At the end of the mudflats were jagged cliffs, looking very much like the rising earth she had encountered when traveling to the Blazing Fortress.
The black stone cliffs stood abruptly against the skyline.
They stacked layer upon layer, each cliff taller than the last, thrusting straight into the gloomy clouds above.
The towering mountain wall was so high it felt like the end of another world.
Though Chi Ji was the daughter of a demon god, this was her first time flying over the Nether Pool and seeing its north bank.
In her previous understanding, she only knew that there was a temple on the north bank, a place the Demon Lord had once blessed.
Seeing it today for the first time...
She was profoundly shaken.
Yet, it did not end there....
As they approached the sky-reaching cliff, the giant dragon beneath her suddenly beat its wings and angled upward, charging straight into the clouds.
The sound of the wind roared in her ears. The sudden ascent caused her to feel a brief moment of weightlessness.
She grew instinctively tense, her face showing panic.
"Don't be afraid!"
"It's alright!"
Her father's gentle voice rang out, soothing her uneasy heart.
She glanced at her father's back and hid her panic, shifting her gaze forward toward the clouds. The sky drew closer and closer until they pierced through the grey mist, going up and up....
That sensation was just like when she had snuck out of the Demon Abyss and run to the Blazing Fortress.
The only difference was the direction.
Back then, she was climbing a volcanic range; today, she was flying over a mountain wall.
But in essence, it was the same—flying out of a great pit, escaping the Demon Abyss.
It seemed a bit slower.
Yet she knew in her heart that the giant dragon should be flying much faster than she could.
The vast mist churned around her, obstructing her vision and making it hard to see.
She waited in anticipation, feeling as if she had endured a long winter, until the giant dragon finally tore through the grey sea of clouds and flew into the grey sky above.
In that instant.
Chi Ji only felt a stinging pain in her eyes, blinded by a flash of intense light.
She instinctively raised her hand to shield her eyes, yet she peeked secretly through the gaps in her fingers...
The world was dazzling at first, then hazy.
Finally... she slowly adapted. The world grew clear, and her eyes gradually adjusted.
Her palm dropped naturally. The moment she looked up at the sky, Chi Ji was stunned.
A golden brilliance shimmered in her emerald eyes. Her throat bobbed as she muttered blankly, "That is...."
Chi Ming spoke softly into her ear, "That is the Great Sun. Humans outside the Demon Abyss call it the sun."
Chi Ji's throat bobbed again.
"The... the sun!"
It hung there, right upon the vault of the heavens.
The light it radiated illuminated the entire world, and it illuminated her as well, feeling warm...
This was the first time she had seen such light; it was even brighter than the Nether Pool at night.
But it looked so small? It didn't even seem as large as a millstone.
It hung high up there, and Chi Ji even felt as though she could pluck it down with one hand and hold it in her palm.
She saw the blue sky and white clouds, just as it was written in a certain forbidden arts book.
The world outside the Demon Abyss was like this: the sky was not grey but blue, the clouds were not grey but white, the mountains were green, and the water was emerald...
She said, "These are the brightest, cleanest colors I have ever seen."
Chi Ming smiled slightly.
Colors?
This was light.
But...
To the people of the Demon Abyss, light had color. Light was also not something that usually hung in the sky. Chi Ji had lived in the Demon Abyss since she was a child and had never been out.
Naturally, she did not know that in the world outside the Demon Abyss, everything was the opposite.
Chi Ji greedily basked in the light of the Great Sun, lingering on that unique warmth. Then, with great reluctance, she withdrew her gaze and looked back at the path they had come.
It was a boundless sea of clouds that stretched as far as the eye could see. She looked forward again and saw another sea of clouds, though within it stood a tall, grand hall, standing lonely in the distance.
Solemn.
Majestic.
Chi Ji remained silent, but she knew very well that this must be the legendary Nether Hall.
Looking further back, the mist grew thinner. Aided by the light of the Great Sun above, Chi Ji saw a vast desert growing under the light.
It was as desolate as the Black Sand Sea. If she used her sixth stage divine sense, she could see even further.
In the distance stood a very tall black stone gate.
It seemed to connect heaven and earth. Behind the gate was another patch of grey fog, though that fog looked cleaner and more transparent than the clouds in the sky of the Demon Abyss.
The Nether Gate!
The Fog Realm!
Chi Ji knew of them. Her father had told her when she was very young that the Fog Realm behind the Nether Gate was the true end of the world.
It was not just the end of the Demon Abyss, but also the westernmost end of all Fanzhou.
No one had ever gone inside, and no one knew what it was like.
He had also said.
Inside were imprisoned great evil and wicked things from ancient times—the Nether Beasts.
A type of creature even more terrifying and brutal than humans.
"Father."
"Yes."
"I know why the Demon Abyss is called the Demon Abyss now."
"Oh?"
Chi Ji said with downcast eyes, "An abyss is deep and heavy... the Demon Abyss really is inside a pit, a very, very deep pit."
Chi Ming lowered his gaze, unsure how to respond.
Chi Ji noticed her father's somber mood, yet she couldn't help but ask, "Can we, the demon race, fly out of this great pit?"
Chi Ming frowned, his gaze instinctively drifting downward. Fly out of this pit?
He replied meaningfully, "Aren't you flying up now?"
Chi Ji lowered her eyes. Yes, wasn't she flying up right now?
Chi Ji suddenly smiled. "It is very beautiful here."
Chi Ming was taken aback, then he shook his head and laughed, comforting her, "Don't be nervous. In a moment, if they ask you anything, simply speak the truth."
Chi Ji nodded heavily. "Yes, I know!"
The giant dragon dived, descending toward the Nether Hall.
The towering hall was like the palace of an ancient god.
There were no luxurious decorations or extravagant designs; there was only solemnity, gravity, and sternness.
The hall gates were magnificent.
On the square leading to the gates, two rows of stone-carved giants stood on either side.
They wore armor and helmets, their palms resting on greatswords. Even though they had stood there for countless years, they remained lifelike.
They were like the kingdom's most loyal guards, protecting this place for a lifetime.
As she walked through them, Chi Ji's mind remained in turmoil—there was alarm, awe, and also trepidation.
Looking up at the peak of the hall, sunlight spilled down through the thin mist, plating the pitch-black temple in a layer of divine radiance.
Perched atop it was another giant dragon, only this one looked even larger and was golden in color.
It was like the golden giant dragon from mythical stories, slumbering there like a golden statue.
Just as humans differed in strength, beasts differed in rank.
In the entire Demon Abyss, the strongest demonic beasts were the demon dragons, and among the three existing demon dragons, the strongest was this golden giant dragon.
It was like a king among demon dragons. Even her family's black demon dragon would have to lower its proud head upon seeing it.
She followed her father into the hall, where the atmosphere grew even more solemn. They had only walked a few steps when a lazy and casual tease echoed through the hall.
"Brother Chi, you're late..."
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