Jie Ming descended rapidly.

He didn’t cast any slow-fall spells, yet it felt like an eternity before he reached the bottom.

The pit blasted open by his earlier bombardment was unimaginably deep. He estimated he’d fallen over ten kilometers before touching down.

Yet, even at this depth, the lower ground still exuded increasingly pure yin baleful qi!

Drawing a wisp of the qi, Jie Ming sensed its upward drift and shook his head helplessly.

Its rootless nature meant the source of the yin baleful qi lay even deeper!

These ten-plus kilometers were still just the “surface”!

Without pause, he hovered slightly above the ground, unfurled the Great Radiance Form, and resumed bombarding the rock below!

The energy bolts from his talisman artifacts tore through the rock like drills.

He repeated this process several times, delving kilometers deeper each time, but the source of the yin baleful qi remained elusive.

No matter how far he dug, the qi surged endlessly from even greater depths!

A chill ran down his spine, his hair standing on end!

This meant that the terrifying surge of yin baleful qi he’d witnessed was merely a fraction of the source’s overflow!

How vast must that source be?

How terrifying?

The immense pressure and unknown fear began to replace his initial curiosity with a bone-deep chill.

Yet, he was too invested to stop.

This unprecedented phenomenon ignited his wizardly and truth-seeker’s insatiable curiosity and thirst for exploration!

He continued the cycle of bombarding, descending, bombarding, and descending, losing track of time.

The temperature grew colder, the yin baleful qi denser. Even with the Mysterious Astral Mortal Dust Barrier protecting him, Jie Ming felt a faint discomfort!

The surrounding chill was like tangible blades, slicing at his skin, even slowing his consciousness.

Finally, at a depth where his body neared its limits, he sensed a change.

The yin baleful qi no longer surged upward unchecked.

It grew thicker, with a slight sluggishness.

He was extremely close to the source.

Heart pounding, Jie Ming intensified the Great Radiance Form’s output, blasting through the final stone barrier blocking his view and path.

Boom…

As the wall collapsed, an indescribably colossal wave of frigid malice, laden with boundless baleful qi, rushed toward him like a beast awakening from an ancient abyss!

Jie Ming’s body was flung back by the shockwave.

Stabilizing himself, he realized he’d entered a vast… void!

At least, that’s how it would appear to others.

“What in the world…?” Jie Ming couldn’t help but exclaim.

In his true essence-enhanced vision, this was no mere “void” but a churning Sea of Baleful Qi formed from supremely pure, condensed yin baleful qi!

This “sea” was majestic and boundless, its depth unfathomable to Jie Ming.

Its boundaries were beyond estimation; his vision could only barely discern new yin baleful qi forming from older qi in the far distance.

The entire “ocean” was pure black—not like ink, but like the light-devouring void of deep space.

No waves stirred, yet it roiled, boiled, and spun, emitting a silent roar.

Countless faint black shadows flickered within, as if the sea’s deathly power had taken form, or as if they were wails of absorbed soul fragments.

The yin baleful qi’s density was unimaginable, solidified into a tangible state!

No longer gaseous, it was a viscous black liquid, forming visible, mysterious black vortices with eerie glimmers that drifted around Jie Ming!

He instinctively flew higher.

The mere stray aura of this qi was enough to make him uncomfortable.

His Mysterious Astral Mortal Dust Barrier trembled constantly; even brief contact with the stray qi caused its astral qi to surge rapidly.

But this rapid growth destabilized the barrier.

The barrier’s absorption and protection had limits. Even without direct manipulation, this level of yin baleful qi could pierce its defenses instantly.

Even without contact, lingering here would erode him!

Unexaggeratedly, with his current cultivation, he wasn’t even qualified to touch this qi.

If he dared try, he’d be corroded into a puddle of blood in seconds.

Before seeing this Sea of Baleful Qi, Jie Ming had speculated about its source.

But witnessing this suffocating, majestic sea, he was at a loss!

Its scale and concentration far exceeded what any “war relic” could produce.

He began to question what incomprehensible “event” had occurred in this plane to form such a terrifying phenomenon!

To create a sea like this, not only would the number of dead creatures be unimaginable, but its formation likely dated back hundreds of thousands, even millions of years!

The creatures’ levels likely far surpassed those of modern lava giants and snow monsters!

As the qi continued to grow, its fluctuations intensifying, Jie Ming felt a stinging pain in his soul.

It was an oppressive sensation, as if his soul might collapse at any moment.

He knew he couldn’t stay long without risking permanent damage.

Despite his awe and reluctance, Jie Ming’s wizardly calm and decisiveness prevailed.

He abandoned greed and further probing.

Turning sharply, he raced back to the surface at full speed along the original path!