Black Myth: The Legend of Tianpeng Seeking Demons

Deep within the Nether Trench, the surging darkness seemed alive, emitting a low rumble. Zhu Feifei felt a chill run down her spine, and her lips twitched: "What kind of hellish place is this? I think it's more practical to go home and have a good meal."

Coral remained unmoved. She plunged the Sea Abyss Sword into the ground, and a bluish-green light enveloped the two of them, dispelling the surrounding cold water.

"Zhu Feifei, you can leave if you want, but you have to leave the key behind," Shanhu said firmly and coldly.

"Leave? When did I say I was leaving?" Zhu Feifei immediately put on a righteous face. "How could I, a hero like Zhu Feifei, abandon my companions? But can we talk this over, at least find a less scary place to continue?"

Coral ignored him and instead stared into the dark depths of the trench in the distance, as if she had sensed some kind of movement.

Suddenly, a figure darted out from behind the underwater rocks. It was a tall, thin man, draped in a dark green cloak, with a half-metal mask covering his face. He held a trident, and his body emitted a faint, rippling light.

"You two actually managed to defeat the Deep Sea Demon King?" The man's voice was filled with disbelief.

"Who?" Zhu Feifei gripped her nine-toothed rake warily. "Another monster?"

Coral's eyes sharpened as she stared intently at the man: "Who are you? Why are you here?"

The man did not answer directly. Instead, he pointed to the key in Coral's hand and his tone turned cold: "Hand over the key, and I might consider sparing your lives."

"A way out?" Zhu Feifei snorted. "Brother, you must have made a mistake. We chased away that big monster just now. It's not certain who will give whom a way out!"

The man frowned, swung his trident, and a powerful surge of water rushed towards the two. Coral swiftly raised her Abyss Sword, and a blue barrier completely blocked the water.

Zhu Feifei seized the opportunity to circle around behind the man, slammed her nine-toothed rake down with it, and shouted, "Watch my super back attack!"

The man seemed to have anticipated the attack, and he flipped over to avoid it, but he was still affected by Zhu Feifei's divine fire, which burned a hole in his cloak.

"You bastard..." The man was clearly furious, but before he could speak, Coral's voice interrupted him.

"Wait!" Coral said coldly, "You're not an ordinary person, who are you?"

The man paused for a moment, then said, "My name is Ye Yuan. I am the guardian of the Abyss Gate. My mission is to prevent reckless people like you from entering."

“Guardians?” Coral’s gaze sharpened. “Then you should know who is imprisoned inside.”

Ye Yuan sneered: "So what if you know? Those people are imprisoned there because their existence will bring destruction to this sea area."

“Those are my people!” Coral’s voice rose slightly. “What you call ‘destruction’ is nothing but chaos stirred up by deep-sea evil.”

Ye Yuan's expression changed slightly, as if some memories had been triggered. But he quickly hardened his expression: "No matter what, you can't go in!"

Just as tensions were running high, a violent tremor suddenly came from the distant trench, accompanied by a piercing roar.

"Damn it..." Ye Yuan's expression finally changed. "The Abyss Rift has been opened!"

"Abyssal Rift?" Zhu Feifei was completely bewildered. "What is this thing? Is it even more powerful than that monster from before?"

Ye Yuan didn't explain, but turned to look at Shanhu: "Since you insist on venturing into the abyss, you have to deal with this trouble first."

Coral frowned: "What trouble?"

Ye Yuan said in a deep voice, "The evil spirits within the abyss rift have begun to overflow. If they are not sealed in time, this sea area, including your people, will be completely swallowed up."

Coral and Zhu Feifei exchanged a glance. Although they were unwilling, they had no choice but to join forces for the time being.

The three followed the direction of the tremors to the abyss rift. There, they saw a huge, pitch-black rift stretching across the seabed, emanating a strong corrosive aura. Hordes of evil spirits poured out of the rift, each with a different shape and a twisted roar.

Ye Yuan raised his trident, and a golden beam of light shot straight into the crack, forcing some of the evil spirits back.

"I'll seal the rift!" Ye Yuan shouted. "You two are responsible for clearing out the evil spirits and buying time!"

"You really think I'm just a laborer?!" Zhu Feifei shouted, but the Nine-Toothed Rake had already been swung, and a wave of flames engulfed the evil spirit.

Coral wielded the Abyss Sword, its light surging like waves, turning the surrounding evil spirits into nothingness.

As time passed, Ye Yuan finally sealed the rift, and the evil spirits stopped pouring out. However, the instant the seal was completed, a deep voice suddenly came from the depths of the rift:

"Who dares to trespass into my territory...?"

Ye Yuan's expression changed drastically: "That's the voice of the Abyss Ruler! It has awakened!"

Zhu Feifei was stunned for a moment, then smiled wryly: "Why is this adventure getting more and more difficult?"

Coral gripped the key tightly, a resolute glint in her eyes: "No matter what lies ahead, I must keep going."

"Lord of the Abyss? That name sounds incredibly imposing!" Zhu Feifei said, using her nine-toothed rake to clear away a piece of rubble blocking her path. "Much more impressive than my name!"

Coral glanced at him but didn't reply, only quickening her pace. She was filled with anxiety, worried about the safety of her people and deeply uneasy about the unknown ruler of the abyss.

Ye Yuan walked at the front, the trident in his hand emitting a faint golden light, illuminating the road ahead.

His expression was grave, clearly indicating his deep concern about the journey ahead.

"Brother Ye Yuan, just who is this Abyss Overlord? Is he very powerful?"

Zhu Feifei couldn't help but ask. He felt a little scared. There were earthquakes, scorpions, and fire demons, and now an abyss overlord. The "monster encyclopedia" of this place was a bit too abundant!

Ye Yuan sighed: "The Abyss Ruler is an ancient god of this sea, possessing unimaginable power. It has been sealed behind the Abyss Gate for thousands of years, and now that the seal is weakening, it... is probably about to break free."

"Breaked out of the seal?!" Zhu Feifei nearly jumped up in shock. "Then...then shouldn't we run away right away?!"

"Run? Where do you think you can run?" Little White's voice echoed in his mind. "The power of the Abyss Ruler is enough to destroy the entire sea. Do you think you can escape?"

"Then... what should we do?" Zhu Feifei was on the verge of tears.

"What else can we do? Of course, we'll just have to deal with whatever comes our way!" said Little White, the Ringwraith. "What's there to be afraid of! Don't you have your nine-bead bracelet? And I'm here too!"

Zhu Feifei gritted her teeth, steeled her resolve, and decided to go all out!

"Coral, Brother Ye Yuan, let's fight it!" he shouted.

Coral and Ye Yuan exchanged a glance, both seeing the determination in each other's eyes.

"Alright! Let's fight it!" the two replied in unison.

The three continued onward, passing through an underwater forest, and arrived at a huge black gate.

The towering gate, majestic and imposing, was adorned with intricate runes and patterns, exuding an ancient and mysterious aura.

"This... is... the Gate of the Abyss..." Ye Yuan said solemnly, pointing to the black gate.

“This door…why…looks familiar…” Zhu Feifei stroked his chin, feeling that the style of this door…somewhat resembled Laozi’s alchemy furnace.

"Stop thinking nonsense!" Little White Ringwraith interrupted his thoughts. "Open the gate quickly and rescue Coral's people!"

Coral stepped forward and inserted the blue stone in her hand into a groove on the gate.

The stone instantly emitted a dazzling light, and the runes on the gate began to flash.

With a loud rumble, the gate slowly opened, revealing a dark and bottomless abyss.

“My people… are… inside…” Coral said, pointing to the abyss, her voice trembling.

“Let’s go!” She took a deep breath and then stepped into the abyss first.

Zhu Feifei and Ye Yuan followed closely behind.

The abyss was pitch black, so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face, with only the faint light from the blue stones providing a little illumination.

"This place... is so dark..." Zhu Feifei complained, "I... I'm a little... scared..."

"Coward!" the Ringwraith sneered. "Didn't you say you weren't afraid of anything?"

"I...I'm not afraid at all!" Zhu Feifei stubbornly insisted. "I'm just...just...a little uncomfortable..."

He followed closely behind Coral, not daring to relax for a moment.

Suddenly, he felt something touch his foot.

He looked down and was terrified.

A huge tentacle was wrapped around his ankle...

(to be continued)