Chapter 26: An Unexpected Fall from the Cliff (Part One)

Yet the joy of his breakthrough vanished in an instant. The sky suddenly darkened—Lu Yu was already upon him! Lu Yu’s form was so massive that wherever he went, he cast Jiang Feng’s entire body into a vast shadow. Panic gripped Jiang Feng’s heart; he was utterly at a loss. The sudden appearance of this formidable Lu Yu had completely upset all his plans. Although he was cultivating, he had never intended to challenge a nether deity of such caliber. As he was now, he stood no chance against this foe.

Smashing an egg against a rock—he didn’t need to imagine how tragic that would be. Jiang Feng could think of no solution; he could only struggle onward, running for his life. He didn’t even know in which direction he was fleeing; as long as there was a path ahead, he ran.

As time passed, Jiang Feng’s stamina waned, but Lu Yu pursued relentlessly, refusing to give up. Jiang Feng couldn’t fathom why this nether beast was so tenacious, actually chasing him all this way.

Suddenly, the terrain opened up before him, the underbrush and weeds no longer barring his path. Jiang Feng gathered all his strength and dashed forward, feeling the light ahead growing ever brighter, so bright it stung his eyes. With his final step, his body was launched into midair. He hadn’t even time to scream before he plummeted downward in a straight arc. The wind roared past his ears, and the biting chill of the canyon air stung his mind, but also brought a strange clarity.

Still unwilling to give up, Lu Yu dove after him, but upon reaching halfway down the mountain, the beast decisively abandoned the chase. With a few powerful beats of its wings, it soared back to the cliff top.

This place could hardly be called a cliff—Jiang Feng had no idea when this precipice had appeared. He had seen no sign of such a canyon, and if he had, he wouldn’t have been foolish enough to leap off—he wasn’t courting death. Though he desperately wanted to escape Lu Yu’s pursuit, he hadn’t meant to fall into another deadly trap.

Helpless, he tried to slow his fall by grabbing at rocks on the cliff face, hoping to cushion the impact so he wouldn’t be smashed to pieces. To fall from such a height meant certain death or, at best, crippling injury. Jiang Feng wanted neither fate, so he fought with all his strength, clinging desperately to the cliff.

Sharp stones bit into his palms, sending waves of heat and growing pain through his hands. Blood trickled down the lines of his palms, dripping onto the rough rocks and splattering his face. The blood was hot.

With a heavy heart, Jiang Feng glanced down—nothing but blackness stretched below, the bottom lost in shadow. Even if he survived this perilous fall, what awaited him in the depths would be equally arduous and fraught with danger. The distance to the top was daunting, and the abyss below was impenetrably dark. He couldn’t guess how deep it was—was it a tangle of wild grasses, a bottomless river or sea, or a natural graveyard piled with bones?

Jiang Feng neither knew nor wished to know. Compared to the canyon floor, he yearned more to return to the cliff top. But at this height, the feat seemed impossible. Trapped here, if he could not find a way up and could not descend, he would die of thirst in a matter of days.

It was a maddening predicament. He wanted to use the Twenty-Five Steps, but suspended as he was, clinging awkwardly with all his might to keep from sliding further, and searching for a foothold, he was already utterly exhausted. Employing the Twenty-Five Steps now was as unattainable as reaching the sky.

His arms finally gave out, and he slid further down. A frigid breath of air rose from the abyss below, making him shudder uncontrollably. So cold—unbearably cold!

Could there be a world of ice below? If so, he’d simply stumbled from one dead end to another—either way, it was death, and all that remained was to see if fortune would favor him.

His arms lost all sensation; both hands were raw and bleeding from scraping against the cliff, flesh torn away to expose the bone of each knuckle. His once strong hands were now nothing but bloody pulp.

Resigned, Jiang Feng ceased his resistance, surrendering his body and fate to the heavens. If the gods meant him to die here, no struggle could change it; certain destinies could not be altered by brute force or sheer will.

Without resistance, he fell faster. He had no idea how deep the chasm was, but judging by his continued descent, it was terrifyingly deep—a bottomless gorge.

He stopped struggling, closed his eyes, and let himself experience the speed, the thrill of plummeting, the wind roaring past, the stabbing cold. Unbeknownst to him, subtle changes were occurring within his body.

He was getting closer. He thought he could hear the thunderous crash of waves pounding against the rocks. The booming collision of surf and stone was so loud he instinctively covered his ears. His curiosity grew—where on earth was this place?

Biting cold, bottomless darkness, and water—was it a river, a lake, or a vast ocean? Jiang Feng kept his eyes shut, feeling everything, his brow furrowed. Despite the unknown, he felt a flicker of excitement. People were always curious about the unknown, though curiosity could kill—he’d just been punished for it.

The canyon floor was anything but simple. Jiang Feng trembled; when he finally reached the bottom, would he survive unscathed, or merely suffer minor injuries?

He clung to hope—at the very least, he did not wish to perish in this wretched place. He wanted to grow stronger, to return to the Jiang family and amaze them all.

A beautiful wish, but reality was always harsh. Even as he pondered these questions, his body crashed into the depths.

With a loud splash, his body plunged into the water, sending up a spray three meters high and drawing the attention of countless aquatic beasts.

Jiang Feng’s mind went blank. His ears, nose, and lungs filled with seawater, and he sank deeper, adrift like a solitary leaf on the vast ocean.

At that moment, a flock of sea birds—divine beasts—passed by. Using their bodies, they buoyed him to the surface and gradually ferried him to shore. They formed a protective circle around him, warding off other curious sea creatures that might attack.

Lying motionless on the shore, Jiang Feng slowly regained consciousness. With great effort, he sat up, turned his head, and spat mouthfuls of salty water—it really was the sea. After clearing his ears, and finding himself otherwise unharmed, he began to carefully observe this strange and marvelous land.