Shaking his head, Yu Ci banished the absurd thought from his mind, his consciousness sinking into the Divine Map. He carefully observed the vast world within a fifty-mile radius beneath the cliff.
In general, the brightness of the Sky Rift Valley decreased from top to bottom, obscured by layers of clouds and mist. Even the strongest sunlight could not penetrate the depths of the valley that stretched seven to eight thousand feet deep. Therefore, starting from about twenty miles deep, a strong contrast between light and dark had already appeared on the Divine Map. Below forty miles, it was a dark region devoid of sunlight, and still, the bottom of the canyon was nowhere in sight.
Yu Ci gave it a cursory glance before focusing on the details. As his thoughts shifted, the tiny world in his eyes rapidly expanded. Soon, a point he randomly chose on the Divine Map clearly presented itself before him.
He found himself staring into an eye as large as a bronze bell, its golden glint sharp as a blade.
Yu Ci almost threw a punch at it but managed to control himself in time. It was then that he realized his viewing angle was off. With a slight adjustment, he saw that it was actually a giant bird with wings spanning several yards. What he had seen was the eyeball of this giant bird. The bird's head was covered in messy dark-red feathers that couldn't hide its typical Falcon's Keen Eyes and its beak as sharp as an iron hook. The feathers spread towards its body, becoming more vibrant in color, ending up as if soaked in fresh blood. A slight ruffle of its feathers caused a layer of blood light to diffuse in the clouds.
What was this creature? A Blood Eagle?
Yu Ci's gaze circled around the bird and used it as a reference to extend his view in all directions. The Sky Rift Valley in the clouds became increasingly clear.
He quickly realized that naming the giant bird was pointless. At this moment, the valley had only revealed an insignificant part of its wonders to him.
The Blood Eagle dove through the wind and fog, its claws reaching for a gigantic lizard. This lizard, not only had horns on its head but also boasted two huge Layered Flesh Wings under its ribs. Seeing the Blood Eagle attack, it croaked and fluttered its wings, gliding away at an angle. Immediately, the two monsters began to fight in the clouds, with blood feathers and scales scattering everywhere.
Shifting his view, Yu Ci saw a huge frog-like creature spitting venom and moving freely on the cliff's edge as if it were flat ground. He saw a Giant Ape three times taller than a man, pulling out trees and hurling rocks like a demon god. But he also saw such monsters being felled by a Green Snake as thin as bamboo chopsticks and only two feet long, dying from its venom. Deeper into the foggy depths were creatures as thick as a child's arm but dozens of feet long, reminiscent of the legendary Teng Snake, barely visible as they floated around.
The surprise faded after seeing so much, replaced by uncontrollable excitement: So there are such incredible and majestic places in this universe, seemingly designed by the heavens to shatter human common sense!
Of course, Yu Ci also saw the dangers within. But these endless crises were more like spices thrown into boiling oil, adding a rich aroma that enticed his soul, plunging him straight into the bottomless abyss.
And then, he truly jumped down.
Clouds and fog rushed towards him, filled with an unfamiliar scent that struck his heart, making it burn with anticipation:
"I didn't know what was beneath before, so I didn't venture deep. Now that I have the Divine Map, how can I miss out again!"
With the Divine Map as his guide, Yu Ci quickly slid to a place just a hundred feet below the top of the valley. The light was slightly dimmer here. This was the deepest he had ventured when gathering herbs previously. However, compared to the canyon itself, such a distance was meaningless!
As he descended further, the world displayed on the Divine Map became increasingly novel and bizarre, constantly challenging Yu Ci's imagination. The ever-changing, marvelous ecosystem kept his eyes busy, generating an immense allure that drew him to continue his descent.
Unbeknownst to him, he had already delved ten miles deep. The journey was fraught with peril, and upon reaching this point, Yu Ci had barely managed to find a precarious platform to rest and catch his breath.
As he ventured deeper, the temperature in the Sky Rift Valley dropped rapidly, the bone-chilling cold carrying a hint of winter.
However, for Yu Ci, the most challenging aspect was not the temperature but the disorienting sense of space. At his current position, he could see nothing but a vast fog in all directions except for the sheer cliff behind him. If he stayed too long, he would start to feel as if the world was upside down or tilted at an angle. If he continued to be in this daze, he might mistake the cliff for the ground, step into the bottomless abyss and fall to his death.
Fortunately, he had the Divine Map. He could constantly monitor the changes on the map and use this small world centered around him to adjust his senses.
In addition to this, the constant emergence of ferocious beasts and strange birds posed a significant threat. For instance, the Blood Eagle that had just flown past him.
This creature looked familiar; it seemed to be the one he had observed through the Divine Map earlier. It appeared victorious from a previous battle and had just enjoyed a hearty meal. As it flew past him, brushing against the cliff wall, the gust generated by its blood-red wings almost blew Yu Ci off.
Yu Ci wasn't angry; instead, he observed the creature's flight path with interest through the Divine Map, intending to understand its habits during his rest.
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The Blood Eagle circled in the canyon's fog, but its flying altitude kept decreasing. It descended from ten miles to twenty and then thirty before ascending again. From this, Yu Ci deduced that this twenty-mile range was the Blood Eagle's primary habitat.
He wanted to understand more, but his attention was diverted from the Blood Eagle by something else.
It was a slope located about twenty miles into the canyon, or three thousand feet into the dark region.
The top of the slope was extremely steep, while the bottom was relatively flat and extended about several dozen feet along the cliff. Yu Ci initially thought that the Sky Rift Valley would gradually narrow at this point. However, upon further exploration, he realized that it was an isolated protrusion with a bottomless abyss underneath.
There were no noticeable plants on the slope, which was normal as it was shrouded in thick fog year-round with no sunlight reaching it. Apart from some mosses and fungi, it was difficult for any plants to survive here. However, Yu Ci trusted the functionality of his Divine Map and believed in his own eyes. He clearly saw that when the Blood Eagle spread its wings and flew past earlier, the wind it brought along stirred up countless thin grass blades.
Shrimp Whisker Grass!
It had to be Shrimp Whisker Grass. Although he didn't understand why Shrimp Whisker Grass could grow in a place without trees, Yu Ci trusted his own eyes and the effectiveness of the Divine Map.
Now, Shrimp Whisker Grass was not a matter of importance to him, but it was an extremely clear goal. Yu Ci, feeling invigorated, took the slope as the end point of today's adventure and continued his climbing journey.
This was no easy task. Not every cliff in Sky Rift Valley was suitable for climbing; some places were as smooth as mirrors, and even the most skilled climber, the Mountain Monkey, would only meet its death if it attempted the ascent.
Thanks to the Divine Map, which captured all the surrounding terrain, Yu Ci could avoid dangerous areas in time. Even so, it took him a full three hours to find a path through the slope. By the time he set foot on the soft soil of the slope, it was completely dark.
Sky Rift Valley was too vast. The seven or eight acres of land that sloped down were just an inconspicuous protrusion on the entire cliff face, utterly insignificant. And Yu Ci, in this place, was a tiny insect on this protrusion, even more unworthy of mention.
However, this did not affect Yu Ci's great harvest. The Divine Map proved to be accurate, and his judgment was not wrong. This place was indeed a special medicinal garden bestowed by heaven for Shrimp Whisker Grass.
There were no large trees on the slope, but there was a remnant of a large root system. In the Divine Map, it could be clearly seen that most of the twisted roots were buried under soil and rocks, spreading in all directions, occupying the entire slope and even spreading into the surrounding cliff walls. Yu Ci found it hard to imagine how such a large tree could grow in this place, and what a colossal creature a tree with such a root system would be if it still existed!
For some reason, the tree had broken off and most likely fallen into the abyss. Most of the remaining root system had died, but a small part remained, becoming a unique parasite that helped thousands of Shrimp Whisker Grass obtain nutrients.
This was the reason for the existence of Shrimp Whisker Grass.
Yu Ci had solved a small mystery, and what awaited him was an even greater surprise. Because he had overlooked the surrounding cliff walls, the number of Shrimp Whisker Grass far exceeded his initial estimate. By visual estimation alone, there were at least two to three thousand plants near the slope, a truly astonishing number. These Shrimp Whisker Grass, together with his existing stock, could be exchanged for more than four three Yang Talisman Swords.
In the trade at Sheer Cliff City, it was destined to be a one-off deal. Yu Ci didn't have the patience for a slow trickle of profits. Apart from some dangerously located ones, he planned to clear all the Shrimp Whisker Grass around the slope.
Of course, that would be tomorrow's task.
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After nightfall, Sky Rift Valley truly became pitch black. The dense fog almost blocked all light, and even those trained in night vision could barely see a few feet ahead. Yu Ci didn't want to find a treasure trove only to fall to his death; he found a wind-protected spot on the slope, sat down, and endured the long night.
This was Yu Ci's first time spending the night in Sky Rift Valley. After encountering ferocious beasts like the Blood Eagle and other Birds of Prey, he couldn't possibly sleep or meditate. Out of boredom, he simply opened the Divine Map to see what Sky Rift Valley looked like in the darkness.
At this moment, the Divine Map took on an almost perfect hemispherical shape. The hemisphere stood upright, with the cliff wall behind it only extending a hundred feet deep. Compared to the boundless void of a fifty-mile radius, it was merely a shallow layer that could be entirely disregarded.
The color of the hemisphere had also changed, influenced by the heavenly light. Overall, it appeared grey-black, emitting a faint cyan glow. It wasn't overly conspicuous in the night, sparing Yu Ci the trouble of concealing its luminescence.
Fifty miles... No, wait, how could it be fifty miles? Yu Ci suddenly recognized a problem.
He was now located about twenty miles deep in the Sky Rift Valley. From here to the sky's limit as displayed by the Divine Map, at most, it was only thirty miles. The Divine Map clearly showed that the height of the sky had not changed. Yet, such a complete hemisphere could not possibly have formed under these circumstances.
Since it had appeared, it could only mean one thing: for some reason, the scope of heaven and earth displayed by the Divine Map had been reduced. Now, the diameter of the territory he could control was not fifty miles, but thirty miles. It seemed as if an invisible behemoth had opened its mouth and swallowed the surrounding space.
Was this a natural decay of the Divine Map's power, or was it related to the night? Yu Ci leaned towards the latter, but whether this was due to the unique environment of the Sky Rift Valley or a universal phenomenon still required time for verification.
Of course, for now, thirty miles was also acceptable and sufficient for Yu Ci to utilize.
He discovered that the Sky Rift Valley at night was far more lively than during the day. The number of creatures swimming in the fog was at least fifty percent more than during daylight hours. Some massive beings roamed deeper within the clouds, revealing just a hint of their presence, which was enough to make him, an observer, hold his breath.
In fact, Yu Ci had already consciously slowed his breathing. The Sky Rift Valley at this time was more dangerous, bloodier, and more unpredictable. The beasts here did not seem to possess the strong territorial instincts of those on the ground, constantly moving around and causing frequent conflicts.
Within the thirty-mile radius that Yu Ci could perceive, three extremely brutal battles had occurred in just two hours. Each ended with one or both parties dying horribly. The smell of blood permeated the canyon, mixing with the mist to become part of its unique aroma.
While holding his breath, Yu Ci felt his inner fire burning even brighter. This was the world a cultivator should encounter: endless ferocious beasts, escalating power, bloody collisions of life. More importantly, there were constant variations of excitement. These elements refreshed his existing knowledge every moment; every moment was absolutely different from the last.
Yu Ci felt like a toad that had jumped out of a dry well, dazzled by the boundless world outside. It was a kind of blissful bewilderment.
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If brother fish bone is the toad that has jumped out of the well, then I am still looking up at the narrow sky. Clicks, bookmarks, give me a hand!
I have also posted the following more chapters [All free] on: https://www.readgates.com/article/74a39e