They hailed from the Dengxian Sect, currently the foremost sect in the Eastern Barrens.
It was tens of thousands of years ago when a spatial rift suddenly appeared near their sect.
They, cultivators at the tribulation-transcending, late-stage, were thus swallowed by the rift.
When they awoke again, they were already here…
In the Human Realm, they were tribulation-transcending, late-stage cultivators, considered top-tier by all others.
But upon arriving in this accursed place, they discovered how terrifying it was!
Monsters with strength comparable to their own were everywhere!
And these monsters were merely the most basic inhabitants of this realm!
Initially, these monsters relentlessly attacked them.
Facing a torrent of opponents at their own level, they were utterly incapable of resistance.
There were originally hundreds of them, and more than half were wiped out in an instant.
Later, a more terrifying entity appeared, its mere aura nearly causing them to perish on the spot.
Strangely, that monstrous entity did not attack them.
After shouting a couple of times in the surroundings, all the monsters departed.
In the days that followed, they suffered countless attacks, though the number of monsters each time was never overwhelming, always just enough for them to barely cope.
It seemed as if it were deliberate…
As the battles continued, their numbers dwindled further.
Then, their bodies began to undergo a terrifying transformation.
Perhaps due to prolonged exposure to this environment, some cultivators' bodies started to slowly turn into those monsters…
Once transformed into monsters, they turned and attacked their former companions!
Possibly due to their recent transformation, the monsters' full strength was not yet realized.
Although they were eventually dealt with, the survivors found it unbearable.
Ending the lives of their former comrades with their own hands was a torment!
As days turned into weeks, a shadow of dread enveloped every cultivator’s heart.
For no one knew if they would become a monster the next moment…
If they could hold on long enough to escape this place…
They didn't even know if an escape was possible…
The confrontation that Erha and the others witnessed earlier was a new batch of companions who had been corrupted and transformed.
The reason for the delay in action was that their companions had only recently transformed and still retained a sliver of rationality.
Those who remained were not faring any better.
On each of them, partial signs of transformation had already appeared…
"Senior, could you… take us away from here?"
After finishing their account, the leading cultivator asked tentatively.
They were utterly fed up with this cursed place.
Countless nights had been spent fantasizing about returning home.
"Do you still remember where the entrance you came in from is?"
Ye Fan didn't answer, instead turning to ask the group of five.
The entrance he had fallen through earlier had already closed.
He was unsure if it could be found again.
"We remember!"
The group of five nodded in unison.
"Let's go!"
With Ye Fan leading the way, they returned to the first level of the abyss with ease.
Ye Fan didn't even need to act; the demons fled far from him upon seeing him…
As for exploring the abyss further, that could wait for another time.
He had been in the abyss for several days, and Xiao Monü must be worried.
Upon reaching the first level, the group of five led Ye Fan and the others in a certain direction.
In the air, a faint spatial rift could be seen.
"Woof—!"
Erha tilted its head up and barked at the spatial rift.
The next moment.
A black shadow darted out from Erha and shot towards the rift!
Its speed was so great that even Ye Fan couldn't discern its trajectory!
After the shadow entered, the spatial rift suddenly widened!
A few breaths later.
They passed through the spatial rift and appeared in the Demon Realm.
The Demon Realm was still in chaos, but Ye Fan and the others couldn't be bothered to get involved.
Ye Fan first took them to find Xiao Monü, and then they returned to the Human Realm together.
The Human Realm.
Upon seeing the familiar surroundings, those cultivators were immediately moved to tears!
After so long…
They had finally come home!
The Dengxian Sect's encampment.
The appearance of these cultivators completely stunned the original disciples of the Dengxian Sect!
Because these cultivators bore a striking resemblance to the portraits of their ancestors!
Leaving them to reunite, Ye Fan retreated to the side and happily petted his pets.
While petting them, he pondered a serious question.
Theoretically, his actual combat strength had already reached the level of an immortal.
However, he didn't seem to have any signs of ascension at the moment…
He had previously felt good about Heaven's Dao no longer sending down heavenly tribulations, as if he were above Heaven's Dao.
But now that Heaven's Dao ignored him, it seemed he couldn't open the heavenly gate to ascend either…
Damn it…
Did he really need to reach the Great Perfection of Tribulation Transcension in his superficial cultivation too?
If that were the case, he would have to return to the abyss to farm more dungeons…
Just then, two figures appeared before Ye Fan.
Second Elder.
Master Xie Yan.
Upon their arrival, they said nothing, but stared intently at Ye Fan from all angles, examining him from head to toe many, many times.
Ye Fan felt a chill run down his spine from their scrutiny…
The two elders furrowed their brows.
"Strange?"
"We clearly sensed it?"
"Two seniors…" Ye Fan said with a pained expression, "Is something wrong…"
Before he could finish, Ye Fan quickly shut his mouth!
He even wanted to slap himself!
Damn it!
He was being too glib!
What if the two suddenly said to him, "You're sick"…
Wouldn't that be asking for trouble?!
Ye Fan still couldn't fathom the true strength of these two elders.
He could only say that their combat power was definitely not inferior to his own!
If they wanted to kill him, it would be incredibly easy!
They were simply monsters…
"We clearly sensed a familiar aura just now," the Second Elder said curiously, pinching Ye Fan's right arm. "It was emanating from you."
"Indeed," Master Xie Yan said, touching Ye Fan's thigh. "But upon closer inspection, we can't feel it anymore."
Ye Fan shivered and quickly dodged to the side…
What the hell!
You can talk, but why are you groping me?!
Damn it!
You two spend your nights together, what are you fiddling with? Could you be gay lovers…
"Ah, I remember!" Master Xie Yan slapped his forehead. "It was the aura of the abyss!"
"So that's it!" The Second Elder nodded in realization, then looked at Master Xie Yan doubtfully. "What is the abyss?"
"The abyss is…" Master Xie Yan clearly paused. "That's right… what is the abyss?"
Then, they both looked at Ye Fan simultaneously.
"Ye Fan, what is the abyss?"
"I don't know…" Ye Fan replied perfunctorily.
One of Ye's survival principles: try to talk less to strong mental-type cultivators…
After all, explaining things to these two elders, given their mental state, would be troublesome.
Even if he explained, they might not understand.
They might even bombard him with a barrage of questions that would drive him insane.
And then, as expected, it would lead back to the fact that he was sick!
Whether he was sick or not was no longer important!
As long as the two elders wanted to, they could make him sick even if he wasn't!
In fact, by now, Ye Fan could guess quite a bit.
Most likely, the situation of the two elders was similar to his own.
That is, they were missing a part of their memories!
For example, when the Murong clan revolted, Master Xie Yan recognized the curse at a glance.
And just now, he mentioned the abyss.
And the diary found in the Xie Yan ruins earlier.
Ink made from World Tree leaves – was that something an ordinary person could get?
However, their situation was clearly much more severe than his. They seemed to remember nothing about their past.
Only occasionally, in specific circumstances, could they recall a single noun or two.
Although it was frustrating, Ye Fan had to admit a fact.
If he had to fight the owner of those evil giant eyes in the future, he would still need the help of these two elders.
Ye Fan couldn't explain the exact reason, but he had a strong intuition about it.
…
Ye Fan suddenly noticed that the environment seemed to have become brighter, and he instinctively looked up.
He saw that a golden light had appeared in the sky at some point.
Suddenly!
A golden beam of light descended, enveloping Ye Fan within it!
Ye Fan's body floated uncontrollably towards the sky!
Everything happened too quickly.
It took a good two or three seconds before Ye Fan realized what was happening.
Holy crap!
This familiar feeling…
Wasn't this ascension?!
He had previously thought he would need to reach max level in the abyss before this happened, and now it had arrived so suddenly?
"Swoosh swoosh swoosh—!"
As Ye Fan was lamenting, several shadows shot towards him!
Erha and the little fox sat on Ye Fan's shoulders, one on each side, hugging his neck.
The two elders, one on each side, hugged Ye Fan's thighs!
The group of five lined up behind them, hugging the elders' thighs…
The semi-human, semi-demon spirit beasts, three in total, were dragging the group of five by their thighs…
Xiao Monü, who reacted a step too late, rushed towards him, but was blocked by the golden beam of light.
She stubbornly tried to ram into the golden beam of light, but only succeeded in bouncing herself away.
"Ye Fan, where are you going!" Xiao Monü shouted up at the sky.
"I'm guessing I'm heading to the Immortal Realm," Ye Fan's voice echoed from above. "I'll be back."
Ye Fan's figure ascended higher and higher.
His mood grew increasingly agitated.
He could tolerate the two elders clinging to his thighs!
But the key was that they kept rubbing their faces against him, with incredibly perverted expressions!
As for the guys dangling below…
While this wasn't a major concern for Ye Fan, he still felt a sense of revulsion…
"Don't you guys know how to fly?!" Ye Fan shouted helplessly. "Why are you all clinging to me?"
"Ye Fan…" The two elders looked up, their faces pathetic. "We're scared…"
After speaking, they each rubbed their faces against Ye Fan's thigh again, appearing to enjoy it…
Ye Fan was almost cursing!
You guys are acting so perverted, and then you tell me you're scared?!
Damn perverts!
"Senior Brother Ye, we're scared too…"
As the five spoke, their bodies trembled, seemingly genuinely afraid…
Ye Fan suddenly lost the desire to speak.
These guys had probably been around Erha for too long; their mental states were clearly abnormal!
"Waaah waah waah—!"
The three spirit beasts let out a series of cries, not knowing what they were trying to express…
Ye Fan had a question in his heart.
His own ascension was understandable; he was almost at that stage anyway.
What was with these guys?
If you talked about strength, the two elders had long surpassed the low-level game of the cultivation world.
Why didn't they ascend earlier or later, but chose to join the fun now?
As for the group of five…
These individuals were clearly beyond his comprehension as well…
Was Heaven's Dao just ignoring them, letting them run amok?
This was gross negligence and they should have their pay docked!
Suddenly!
As if in response to Ye Fan, several golden lightning bolts struck down!
Except for Ye Fan, each person received one!
Those who had been clamoring earlier suddenly had their eyes wide open!
Their eyes were filled with excitement!
"Swoosh swoosh swoosh—!"
Everyone suddenly darted out, heading for the golden lightning bolts striking from the sky!
A familiar scene unfolded.
The two elders each took a golden lightning bolt and started playing with them.
One moment it was coiled into an 'S', the next into a 'B'.
The group of five also joined in the fun, using the lightning bolts to poke each other.
While poking, they shouted loudly.
Erha and the little fox were more straightforward, swallowing them in one gulp.
The three spirit beasts followed suit, even letting out satisfied belches afterward.
Soon, several more golden lightning bolts struck down.
Not only were they thicker than the previous ones, but the energy they contained seemed even more terrifying!
However, the result was no different; they were quickly "played out" by a group of perverts.
Then, the third wave of golden lightning bolts descended.
But it stopped halfway down.
Heaven's Dao seemed to be hesitating.
Then, these golden lightning bolts retracted at a speed faster than they had descended.
Heaven's Dao: MMP, goodbye!!!
Just as Ye Fan was about to reach the top of the golden light.
Suddenly!
A layer of ink-black color emerged from the center of the golden light and rapidly spread outwards!
The golden light began to dim, and the golden beam enveloping Ye Fan showed signs of collapse!
It looked as if something was blocking the ascension channel!
Ye Fan quickly calculated.
At this rate, his ascension this time was likely to fail!
Damn it, he couldn't stand for this!
Ye Fan gathered all his strength and punched towards the sky!
Even when fighting the Four Great Demon Kings and the demons of the abyss, Ye Fan had never used his full power!
This was the first time he had unleashed his full strength since reaching the Tribulation Transcending stage!
An invisible fist force erupted, slamming into the golden clouds!
Those ink-black substances disintegrated and vanished upon impact!
Finally!
Ye Fan and the others flew to the highest point and disappeared from everyone's sight!
Xiao Monü lowered her head, clenching her fist secretly!
Ye Fan…
I'll wait for you to come back!