Li Yuan's body throbbed with residual pain from Phase Two reconstruction, every nerve screaming in protest. His breath came in shallow, ragged gasps, his chest rising and falling unevenly. But for the first time since the fall, he felt a flicker of control—tiny, fragile, but undeniable.
The crimson glow of the abyss pulsed in irregular patterns, illuminating jagged rocks and pools of stagnant water. Faint ripples in the darkness suggested movement far below, perhaps dozens of meters away. The first creature had been an apprentice compared to whatever lingered in these depths.
Li Yuan dragged himself forward slowly, one agonizing inch at a time.
Each movement sent sharp reminders through his reconstructed body, every bone, ligament, and tendon protesting violently. Yet his mind was clear. Pain had become a measuring stick, a gauge for how much he could endure.
Host survival probability: 7.2%
Recommendation: Avoid further combat until body stabilizes
The system's voice was calm, indifferent, but the words carried weight. Avoid combat. Survive. That was the foundation of every forbidden cultivation path: no unnecessary mistakes.
Li Yuan's eyes scanned the abyss. The walls were lined with veins of crimson qi, thin streams that pulsed like blood in the rock. Every ripple of qi hinted at lifeforms, predators, or worse: traps left by the abyss itself.
Warning: Abyssal predators detected — minor movement sensed
Li Yuan froze. His senses, sharpened by the system, picked up subtle vibrations: a dragging sound along the stone, faint breathing, the scent of decay and metal. It was watching. Waiting. Judging.
He pressed his palms against the jagged stone floor, feeling the fine tremors of movement in the rock. His muscles protested, but he remained steady. The system was alive in his mind now, calculating possibilities, analyzing threats, and feeding him critical information.
Recommendation: Do not engage unless provoked. Utilize stealth and environmental advantage
Li Yuan let out a low breath, almost a sigh, and crawled forward again. Every step required focus, patience, and calculation. The system analyzed his body with every movement, noting weaknesses, recommending minute adjustments to balance and posture.
Body adaptation ongoing — minor improvements detected in stability and pain resistance
The shadows in the abyss shifted suddenly. Li Yuan's heart skipped a beat, but his face remained expressionless. He had survived Phase Two, survived the first creature, survived the fall itself. He would survive this.
A low, wet sound echoed from deeper in the abyss. It was slow, deliberate, and unnervingly intelligent. Not the random scuttling of mindless beasts—this was the deliberate approach of a predator that had learned patience.
Li Yuan's gaze followed the movement. Faint outlines shimmered in the distant crimson glow: multiple figures, indistinct, but humanoid in shape. They moved silently, shadows elongated and grotesque, flowing over the jagged rock like liquid darkness.
Observation: Lifeforms detected — humanoid, hostile, adapted to abyssal qi
Li Yuan's lips curled slightly. "Good," he whispered to himself. "The abyss begins to test me properly."
The system pulsed with awareness in his mind.
Stage One Desire Energy: Available — minor enhancement possible
He flexed his fingers. Desire energy could augment his body, increase reaction speed, and sharpen senses—but at a cost. Each use risked backlash, fatigue, or permanent mental corruption.
Warning: Overuse may create Heart Demons. Proceed with caution
Li Yuan's eyes narrowed. Heart Demons or not, he could not wait.
Every second here was a gamble. The predators were intelligent, attuned to movement, capable of sensing both qi and sound. To do nothing was death.
He allowed the residual energy of anger, hatred, and hunger to flow, burning in tandem with pain. His senses sharpened. The shadows in the distance became clearer: elongated limbs, ragged claws, and faces twisted in featureless malice.
Enhanced perception active — reaction time increased by 25%
Li Yuan raised a trembling hand, testing the newfound control. A pulse of energy emitted from his body, faint, distorted, and unstable. It was enough to nudge a loose stone, sending a small shower of rubble cascading into the darkness.
The predators reacted instantly, shifting and recoiling. They had felt the pulse, recognized it as foreign—a disturbance in the abyss they did not understand.
Desire Conversion — minor expenditure detected. Host fatigue: elevated
Li Yuan swallowed hard, his body screaming in pain again. But the calculation was correct. Even a minor display of power now was enough to gauge his surroundings, probe the movements of predators, and assert a fraction of dominance.
A faint sound reached him, a whisper carried on the currents of the abyss: a voice, low, guttural, and alien.
"Intruder… why do you breathe?"
Li Yuan froze. The voice was not merely heard; it was felt. A pressure in his chest, a tug on his mind, a weight of centuries-long intelligence behind it.
He could not see the speaker. But he did not need to. The system fed him every tremor in the ground, every heartbeat, every subtle displacement of qi in the abyss.
Analysis: Sentient abyssal lifeform detected — unknown level
Li Yuan's lips curled into a small, dangerous smile. "I breathe because I refuse to die. And I will survive, even if this entire abyss conspires against me."
The shadows shifted again. Not attacking yet—simply watching. The balance of predator and prey had been momentarily disturbed.
Li Yuan rose to his knees, the effort sending jagged pain up his spine, yet he kept focus. Every nerve, every thought, every ounce of desire funneled into control. Phase Two reconstruction had granted him a fragile body, but the system allowed him tiny advantages, calibrated to his current survival capacity.
Warning: Host energy reserves critical — recommend rest after engagement
He ignored the warning. There was no rest in the abyss. Rest was death.
And somewhere in the distant shadows, something larger than any previous predator stirred, its awareness stretching across the darkness like a living tide.
The Fallen Heaven Abyss was watching back.
And it had just noticed Li Yuan.