Jiang Xuan carefully avoided it, not daring to get close in the slightest. But even from a considerable distance, he could feel his soul trembling, as if even a trace of contact would lead to his demise.

The Fire of the True Phoenix was originally auspicious, but now it was entangled with the blood of darkness, filled with endless killing intent. To be stained by it meant certain death, so even though he coveted it, Jiang Xuan chose to avoid it.

Jiang Xuan stuck close to the stone wall as he descended. Along the way, he saw some remnants, all left over from battles. There was even blood that hadn't dried, its killing intent astonishing, making it impossible to approach. Even from a distance, it felt like his body was about to explode.

When he reached a depth of 1,500 zhang, he saw another horrifying scene: a large patch of dark red bloodstains, already dried, but beyond anything an ordinary person could imagine. In that pool of blood, Jiang Xuan seemed to see a boundless hell!

Mountains of corpses and seas of blood, scattered bones – it was a living hell, containing all evil and terror. Even a distant glance made Jiang Xuan feel like his soul was about to shatter.

"Immortal blood and the true blood of darkness fused, transforming into purgatory!"

Jiang Xuan didn't dare to approach at all, and quickly avoided it.

As he descended another two thousand zhang, Jiang Xuan felt immense pressure. The stone wall made his heart palpitate, emitting increasingly terrifying fluctuations. He had to take out a life-saving treasure.

It was a black tower, which he had specifically exchanged for from the natives. It was a Zhenyi realm (True Unity Realm) treasure. With this tower protecting him, Jiang Xuan continued his descent.

After descending another hundred zhang or so, he stopped. About ten zhang below him, he saw a sword mark.

The sword mark pierced through the entire stone wall, leaving a terrifying gully. There were dark red bloodstains on it, as well as residual, unfathomable runes, suggesting that an supreme being had once been killed here.

In addition, there was supreme sword intent. In the hazy distance, he could see a sword grass rooted in the void. With a gentle flick of a leaf, it could sever the sun, moon, and stars!

"Nine-Leaf Sword Grass!"

Jiang Xuan was horrified. This was another trace of the Ten Vicious, the one who created one of the three great primordial sword techniques, the "Cao Zi Jian Jue" (Grass Character Sword Technique), whose sharpness was unmatched. Now, it had left its mark here as well.

"Unfortunately, it's just a wisp of sword intent, not the complete sword technique."

Jiang Xuan sighed. Although the sword intent was already extraordinary, and careful comprehension would surely improve his cultivation, it was a pity that this sword mark was located beneath the Black Abyss, fraught with too many dangers. He couldn't stay there for long, making comprehension too difficult.

Helpless, Jiang Xuan could only continue downward. During the descent, he saw many broken weapons and divine materials, which the years had not eroded, shimmering with crystalline light. If taken out, they could be exchanged for many resources.

After collecting these treasures, Jiang Xuan continued downward. The ripples on the cliff face became increasingly terrifying, causing the black tower to rumble incessantly.

"Even with this treasure tower, it seems I won't be able to go too far. I can only do what I can."

Jiang Xuan thought to himself. He didn't have treasures like the Thunder Emperor Armor, which could temporarily dissipate the power of the cliff face, so he could only resist it head-on.

But even with a life-saving Zhenyi realm (True Unity Realm) treasure, it would be difficult for him to go too far. This Black Abyss was too mysterious. Having descended just over two thousand zhang, he had already seen traces left by two of the Ten Vicious.

At a depth of three thousand zhang, the protective black tower began to tremble constantly, emitting a bright red light that enveloped Jiang Xuan, as if trying its best to resist some kind of power.

Jiang Xuan became more vigilant. He knew that he was approaching his limit. He stuck close to the cliff face as he descended, and along the way, he saw some remnants, all left over from battles.

There was even blood that hadn't dried, mixed with black filth, its killing intent astonishing, making it impossible to approach.

Soon, he arrived at a depth of 3,600 zhang and saw another battle scar. A severed limb caught his attention. After careful observation, he was shocked.

It looked like an insect's digging leg, about the length of a normal person's forearm, firmly embedded in the cliff face. Around it, there was a large patch of dark red bloodstains, already dried, as if it had been completely obliterated by that severed limb.

Of course, that wasn't the most shocking thing to Jiang Xuan.

On that severed limb, he could feel unimaginable time and space power, faintly forming a separate space-time, sealing that area. Although he could see it, he couldn't feel any danger.

"Could that be the severed limb of a Gu clan powerhouse?"

Jiang Xuan thought of this possibility. The Gu clan controlled the order of time and was proficient in the laws of space. They were one of the Ten Vicious of the Primordial era!

"Gu Zu is now in the foreign lands. Is this a Gu clan powerhouse left over from the Immortal Ancient era?"

Gu Zu went to the foreign lands as an undercover agent during the Immortal Ancient era, but here, the severed limb of a Gu clan powerhouse appeared, and it was clear that a great battle had broken out, once fighting against the creatures of darkness.

"Who can say for sure what happened back then?"

Jiang Xuan shook his head. Gu Zu had been ordered by the two supreme Immortal Kings, Reincarnation and No End, to go to the foreign lands as an undercover agent. Even in the final battle, the Reincarnation Immortal King, after repeated battles, was willing to die at the hands of Gu Zu.

But that was already during the final battle. By that time, the Gu clan had already "betrayed" the Nine Heavens and entered the foreign lands. What would happen before entering the foreign lands to make the powerful beings of the foreign lands believe in the Gu clan's betrayal?

There were many unclear things in this, with great secrets.

Moreover, it was also a major question why the two Immortal Kings, No End and Reincarnation, arranged for Gu Zu to go to the foreign lands. These two had once peered into reincarnation, and perhaps they really saw something. It was very likely that they saw the future Desolate killing his way into the foreign lands, or perhaps they saw something else...

In short, these secrets had long been buried, just like the "sin" mark on the descendants of the Seven Kings of the Borderlands, which was originally a symbol of glory, but had been distorted and turned into sinful blood, suffering all kinds of humiliation.

Time buried too many secrets in the world. The Immortal Ancient era was too far away from them. Who could say for sure what the secrets of that era were?

Looking at the Gu clan's severed limb in front of him, Jiang Xuan's heart stirred. It had been dead for endless years, but it could still form its own space-time. Its runes must not have been completely eroded.

If he could obtain it, perhaps he could comprehend some of the mysteries of the Gu clan's precious technique. Even if he only obtained a few scattered moves, it would be of great benefit to him now.

"It forms its own space-time. Forcibly breaking it open is definitely impossible. It might even lead to backlash and backfire on myself."

Jiang Xuan was careful. This severed limb was extraordinary, left by a former powerhouse of the Gu clan. Perhaps it had not reached the level of Gu Zu, who could be ranked among the Ten Vicious, but it was still remarkable, and billions of years had not eroded it.

He didn't dare to forcibly break open that space-time, fearing that it would trigger some kind of change. Instead, he used the same method to try to integrate into that space-time.

Now, Jiang Xuan had the Dao rhythm of both time and space flowing around him. He originally cultivated time, and his understanding of space was even stronger than time, thanks to the Wuji Jiang Xuan who had already opened up the inner world.

Although he couldn't make it as seamless as the space-time formed by the severed limb, the essence was the same. The power originated from time and space, so the possibility of mixing into it was still very high.