In her ears, the BGM of “Snowflakes Fluttering” played.
Qu Weichen’s already heavy steps became even more pitiful and desolate thanks to No.
9’s mischief.
She hurried back to her own courtyard, then gritted her teeth and said telepathically, “Enough already!”
[Okay, sweetie~] No.
9 switched to a gentle female voice.
After saying this, it saw Qu Weichen clench her fists.
But, well, it wasn’t afraid—she couldn’t hit it anyway.
Qu Weichen felt like Chen Qingjue was just teasing her, but she had no proof.
Of course, things like this didn’t need proof.
As for the things Chen Qingjue said and the instructions she gave, Qu Weichen still took them seriously and memorized the map, which No.
9 had also scanned.
Once she entered the Abyss, she could have No.
9 help guide her.
With a map, No.
9’s directions shouldn’t be too off.
“Study the map carefully and don’t make any more mistakes.
The passage below is the territory of the Ancient Serpent.” Qu Weichen didn’t want to end up, under No.
9’s guidance, going to find the succubus tribe only to suddenly face the big boss Ancient Serpent.
Even in a game, it made no sense for a level 20 newbie to go fight a level 99 boss right out of the starter village.
[Trust me, how could I ever hurt you!] No.
9 was full of confidence.
Wasn’t it just reading a map and pointing the way? That Beastcall Mountain incident was ages ago, but Qu Weichen, this petty host, just couldn’t let it go.
Most of the time, it was actually pretty reliable.
Since Qu Weichen didn’t want to listen to “Snowflakes Fluttering,” No.
9 played her a quiet instrumental track instead.
Qu Weichen returned to her courtyard, took out a longsword from her spatial ring, and started practicing.
She tried many times and felt that daggers weren’t great for slashing out “qi”—it even felt a bit off.
But slashing with a longsword and sending out sword energy looked really cool.
Qu Weichen thought her imagination about weapons was holding her back, so she decided to try the longsword instead.
Well, even though Constance could use her big hammer to send out shockwaves of “qi,” Qu Weichen still thought it looked weird.
After practicing for a while, Qu Weichen tried to channel the “qi” circulating between the longsword and her body and strike it outward.
She slashed hard at the air—a whoosh, but no sword energy appeared.
This is so hard.
Qu Weichen let out a deep sigh.
She glanced at her Yuanlang balance, then suddenly remembered she was missing something! Ranged attacks! She wanted a ranged weapon—a bow and arrow would do, or even those magic crystal bombs, but she clearly didn’t have enough Yuanlang to buy any.
After thinking for a bit, Qu Weichen decided to go see the Hall Master again tomorrow and mention her needs.
After all, even though the Hall Master didn’t seem very reliable, she’d never been stingy with support and help.
[Heh, told you so.jpg] No.
9 sent a meme sticker and immediately disappeared, leaving Qu Weichen speechless.
……
The next day, Qu Weichen easily got a large silver bow from Chen Qingjue.
She had to use “qi” in both hands just to barely draw it fully.
As for arrows, Chen Qingjue gave her ten black iron arrows and told her to use them sparingly.
Qu Weichen accepted them, thinking that if there were all kinds of fruits in the Abyss, there should be fruit trees too.
She could cut some branches and whittle them into arrows if needed, though they probably wouldn’t be very accurate.
After getting her gear and leaving Chen Qingjue’s place, she saw Constance looking exhausted.
But when Constance saw her, that tired look faded.
The giant woman strode over and gave her a supportive pat on the shoulder.
“Why’d you suddenly decide to travel the continent? You’ve only been stuck at the second tier for a little while, and you’re already getting impatient? …But it’s good to get out and see more.
With a new mindset, maybe you’ll break through to the third tier.”
“Yeah, that’s what I was thinking too.” Qu Weichen gave a shy smile, but inside she was a bit speechless: So this is how Chen Qingjue could send her into the Abyss so openly—turns out she told everyone she was going to travel the continent? Well, in the Prison Sanctuary, probably only the two of them had unusual backgrounds.
Qu Weichen looked at Constance, but didn’t dare imagine how she’d react if she found out Qu Weichen was a necromancer.
“I just want to get stronger as soon as possible.”
“Take it one step at a time, don’t rush.” Constance still cared a lot about this disciple.
“Do you have enough Yuanlang?” “The Hall Master gave me three hundred thousand Yuanlang, it’s enough.”
“That’s good.” Constance smiled.
“The Hall Master really thinks highly of you.
Keep it up, young one—the future is yours!” Qu Weichen smiled too.
Constance gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze, then said nothing more and turned to leave.
The Abyss, the Abyss… After learning about the Abyss passage, Qu Weichen had thought she might one day guard the Abyss herself.
Of course, what she thought about most was joining the Prison Army to fight off the invading Abyssal army and the Gate of Hell.
She never expected that before even reaching the third tier of Warrior, she’d be heading to the Abyss for training.
[The Abyss is great! You always complain I’m not much help, but just wait till we get there! You’ll see what I can do!] Unlike Qu Weichen’s anxiety and anticipation, No.
9 was absolutely thrilled.
As a necromancer growth system, what did it fear most for its host? Being exposed on the continent and hunted down before growing strong enough.
Now that they were being sent straight to the Abyss, it was like a fish in water.
With the growth mission suddenly going from hard mode to easy, how could No.
9 not be happy?
Qu Weichen just smiled.
No matter where she went, no matter how unfamiliar the place, at least… she still had No.
9 to talk to, so she wouldn’t be completely alone.
……
That night, after packing up, Qu Weichen followed Chen Qingjue out of the Prison Sanctuary.
They left the city gates of Uweino and headed for Beastcall Mountain.
They didn’t hire a magic beast carriage—right after leaving the city, Chen Qingjue just picked Qu Weichen up, just like last time, and dashed toward Beastcall Mountain with her in tow.
Qu Weichen felt a little uncomfortable, but time was tight, and they couldn’t make a big show of going to the Abyss.
If the Hall Master didn’t carry her like this, what, was she supposed to piggyback her? The thought alone gave Qu Weichen goosebumps, so being carried like this wasn’t so bad after all.
“Can you sense my location, Hall Master?” As Beastcall Mountain drew closer, Qu Weichen asked.
“Can’t bear to leave me?” Chen Qingjue chuckled, teasing her again.
“Of course I can.
With your blood as a locator, unless you swap bodies, I’ll always know where you are.”
“What if I die?” “Then I won’t be able to locate you.” Chen Qingjue said, “So after you enter the Abyss, you need to find my tribe as soon as possible.”
“Okay.” Qu Weichen replied.
She didn’t know what secret technique Chen Qingjue was using, but it was probably something only Abyssal demons had.
She even suspected that once she reached the succubus tribe, Chen Qingjue could descend directly through her.
Otherwise, how could she know if her people would follow her plan without returning to the Abyss? The Beastcall Mountain passage had only been stable for a short time, and this Hall Master had always been in Uweino, hardly any chance at all.
She couldn’t help but glance up at Chen Qingjue’s profile, wondering if she’d also collected her hair.
[Why think so much? Even if you knew how, you couldn’t do it.
Abyssal magic is still just magic!] Well, that’s true.
They soon reached the depths of Beastcall Mountain.
Now, the mountain’s interior didn’t look like a mountain at all—just a huge blasted crater, with no greenery having grown back.
The elders of the Prison Sanctuary and the dragons guarding the passage hadn’t built any houses, just set up a few tents to sleep in.
The dragons had reverted to their true forms, coiled up and sleeping at the edge of the crater.
As Chen Qingjue led Qu Weichen closer, the sleeping dragons all opened one eye to peek at them.
Seeing it was Chen Qingjue, they closed their eyes and went back to snoring.
“Hall Master!” The elder on night watch hurried over.
“The passage is stable.
The undead only launched a few small attacks at first, but haven’t come back since.”
“Good, but stay alert.
The undead won’t give up so easily—they’re just waiting for us to let our guard down.
Our defenses here aren’t as strong as other passages, so we need to be extra careful… I’ll start working on expanding the Prison Sanctuary, so I’ll have to trouble you all to keep a close watch.” Chen Qingjue helped the elder up with both hands, speaking sincerely.
This was the first time Qu Weichen had seen Chen Qingjue like this.
The elder was clearly pleased, saying it was their duty and an honor to serve the Hall Master.
He also mentioned how the Prison Sanctuary had grown stronger under Chen Qingjue’s leadership, which made them very happy.
After a bit more small talk, the elder finally asked, “And you are…?” “I just want to check on the Abyss passage.
Don’t worry, I won’t go far, just in and out.” Chen Qingjue looked the elder in the eye and spoke softly.
“It’s late, you should get some rest.”
“Yes, yes, thank you for your concern, Hall Master.” As he spoke, he actually yawned.
Chen Qingjue took Qu Weichen straight down to the passage.
Everyone who made eye contact with her started yawning and looking sleepy.
Some even fell asleep for a moment, only to snap awake after Chen Qingjue left—What just happened? Must’ve been too tired on duty, couldn’t help but doze off.
“If your ability is this strong, why not use it directly on the imperial family? Or those generals and war gods?” Qu Weichen had never seen Chen Qingjue use suggestion like this before—it was basically hypnosis! “Whether it works depends on strength, and also on whether the other person trusts me or lets their guard down.” Chen Qingjue patiently explained, “If it was really that unstoppable, I’d have unified the continent already.
Why bother taking it step by step? And suggestion is still just suggestion—it always wears off.”
So, for someone as weak as Qu Weichen to be immune to her suggestion and charm was… pretty unbelievable.
When she first brought Qu Weichen back, she hadn’t even awakened as a warrior, but the suggestion still failed.
The passage connecting the two worlds was a lot like the Gate of Hell—a huge black hole that appeared out of nowhere, surrounded by chaos and debris.
Just looking at the entrance gave you the illusion of staring into the universe.
It seemed empty, yet as if it contained everything.
Stepping into the black hole, Qu Weichen had no idea which direction she was going—probably forward? But she kept feeling like she was moving through dimensions.
The ground beneath her feet was void, neither hard nor soft, with a floating, unsteady feeling.
All around was deep darkness, but if you stared at any one spot, it seemed you could glimpse countless colors within.
“Don’t stare at the space, and don’t touch the chaotic areas,” Chen Qingjue warned.
“Be careful not to get sliced into pieces by the space.”
Qu Weichen steadied her mind, stopped looking around, and followed closely behind Chen Qingjue.
