Facing the Abyss as a Demon Cultivator

As his body gradually turned ethereal, Chu Xiu felt the world spinning around him. It was as if he had entered a space devoid of anything at all.

All around him was nothingness, and he was suspended in the center of this space, like falling into a boundless, deep sea.

However, Chu Xiu's soul was able to guide him.

It was a strange feeling; he could sense two invisible lines connecting him to two different places.

"This should be the Awakening Space," Chu Xiu thought to himself.

Awakened ones could travel to different worlds through this strange space.

Of course, the premise was to leave an [Anchor Point] in that world, otherwise, they would be like headless flies, bumping around.

Here, space was extremely compressed, and all scales were out of balance. Taking a casual step could mean traversing a distance of hundreds of millions of kilometers. Without relying on [Anchor Points], it would be impossible to pinpoint a destination.

"Currently, I only have Anchor Points for Blue Star and the Zombie World," Chu Xiu thought to himself.

He was in no hurry to return. Instead, he first checked his settlement rewards.

[Settlement Rewards Complete!]

[Obtained Items: Karma Points *1170]

[Obtained Additional Rewards: Boots of Silent Steps (Rare)]

A satisfied smile appeared on Chu Xiu's face.

The rewards for the Awakening Trial varied greatly depending on the performance rating.

The basic reward was only 100 Karma Points plus a piece of Standard quality equipment.

Support professions like Xu Hang and Song Ziping, who barely scraped by, basically only received this reward.

And those who performed too poorly might even have their rewards deducted!

So for Chu Xiu, 1170 Karma Points plus a Rare equipment was more than satisfactory.

He was especially pleased to see that this Rare equipment was quite suitable for him. It could increase his movement speed and reduce the sound he made while moving. Coupled with his Qi Concealment Technique, he would directly transform into an assassin.

After summarizing his gains, he didn't delay any further. Taking a deep breath, he swam towards Blue Star.

With just a thought, Chu Xiu felt the space-time dimensions of the Awakening Space rapidly shrinking. Before he could swim a few more strokes, his vision blurred. By the time he reacted, he was already standing in a bustling square!

Noisy sounds poured into his ears, forming a stark contrast to the previous nothingness, making him feel a little irritated for a moment.

However, Chu Xiu quickly adapted. He looked around and found himself back on the school field. All around him were densely packed students returning from the Abyss. Further away, countless parents looked on anxiously, searching for their children among the figures.

Because of the distance and the sheer number of people, Chu Xiu couldn't immediately tell if his parents had come.

He turned to look at the crowd, wanting to know if his good brother had survived.

After searching for only a few seconds, he met a pair of large eyes that were also searching the crowd.

"A Chu!"

The moment their eyes met, Zhang Qingshan excitedly ran over and gave him a bear hug.

"You're alive!"

"Yeah," Chu Xiu nodded, a rare smile appearing on his face. He patted Zhang Qingshan's back. "Qingshan, you've gotten stronger again."

Zhang Qingshan laughed loudly, "You too! You used to be so skinny, but now you're all muscle. Your rank must be pretty high, right?"

"Definitely not as high as you geniuses," Chu Xiu chuckled, changing the subject. "Been looking for me long? How about you, what profession talent did you awaken?"

Just as Zhang Qingshan was about to answer, a surprised shout came from behind him, "Chu Xiu! You're alive!"

Chu Xiu turned around and saw Shen Zhuo and his group, all looking at him in surprise.

Zhang Qingshan smiled, "A Chu, you've made quite a few friends."

He patted Chu Xiu's shoulder, "It's crowded here, let's talk about some things when we get back. You go and have a good chat with your friends. I'm going to find my parents, they must be worried sick."

"Okay, go ahead," Chu Xiu nodded.

He noticed that not far from them, a group of people were waiting for Zhang Qingshan. They all seemed to have good equipment, and their overall quality was much higher than the people from their stronghold. They should be the companions Zhang Qingshan had survived with during the trial.

Chu Xiu was happy that Zhang Qingshan had met a group of teammates he could cooperate with.

"Qingshan not only has strong talent, but also a good heart. He just tends to think too highly of others."

"But for a genius like him, as long as he doesn't get tricked by someone like me in the early stages, once he grows up, he won't have to worry about ordinary villains."

Chu Xiu retracted his gaze and turned back to look at Shen Zhuo and the others who were excitedly walking towards him.

Their eyes were filled with surprise and disbelief, as if they hadn't expected Chu Xiu to return safely at all!

Among them, the happiest were naturally Shen Zhuo and Yun Lu. Shen Zhuo excitedly pulled Chu Xiu, asking him all sorts of questions, curious about how he had survived. Chu Xiu casually brushed him off. Yun Lu, although she didn't say anything, her watery eyes never left Chu Xiu.

And Chu Xiu could sense that the third happiest person about him being alive was actually Guan Ke, who had been suspicious of him.

As for the others, their emotions seemed to be more complicated. Besides happiness, there seemed to be a hint of evasion.

"People are like this. When faced with a kindness so great that it's difficult to repay, their instinctive reaction is to avoid it."

"Sometimes, kindness, instead of becoming a bond, becomes a burden."

However, he didn't pay much attention to it. After casually chatting for a while and adding everyone's contact information, he excused himself and left.

He walked towards the area where the parents were waiting.

After taking a few steps, he suddenly saw a group of people rushing towards him. They bypassed Chu Xiu and ran straight towards someone behind him.

Chu Xiu glanced back and saw a tall and slender young man, dressed in a well-crafted armor engraved with a ferocious beast, with a hint of wickedness on his face, descending upon the square. As soon as he appeared, he was surrounded by a large group of people.

Reporters, teachers from the school, even the principal came.

"Ye Junlin."

Chu Xiu recognized the guy.

Withdrawing his gaze, Chu Xiu blended into the crowd and left the school field.

At the entrance, gathering points for various schools were set up. Countless parents waited anxiously, some bursting into tears of joy upon seeing their children, while others were burning with anxiety.

Looking at the anxious faces, Chu Xiu couldn't help but sigh inwardly. The difficulty of this trial world was extremely high, and the death rate was likely to be much higher than before.

Letting out a soft breath, Chu Xiu continued walking and soon arrived at the gathering point for his school. His eyes scanned the crowd, but before he could find his target, he heard an excited and hoarse cry, "A Chu!"

Chu Xiu followed the sound and saw a middle-aged woman looking at him with tears streaming down her face. It was as if her long-tense nerves had finally relaxed, and she couldn't even stand straight, her legs giving way as she squatted down.

"Mom," Chu Xiu quickly called out, stepping forward to help his mother up. He couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion in his heart.

Although he had only transmigrated into this world for three months, with the original owner's memories, he quickly integrated into his new life and accepted his parents' love.

Since he occupied this body, naturally, he had to bear its karma as well.

Reaching out to wipe the tears from his mother Li Xiu's face, Chu Xiu smiled and said, "Mom, I'm fine. Let's go home."

"Okay, okay," Li Xiu nodded repeatedly, but perhaps she was too emotional, her legs were still weak. Chu Xiu smiled and simply helped his mother walk.

Li Xiu tightly gripped his arm, asking about the trial along the way. Chu Xiu didn't want her to worry, so he didn't mention the thrilling hunts. Instead, he picked out some of the peaceful moments from his life in the stronghold.

Upon hearing that Chu Xiu had awakened as a Support profession, Li Xiu repeatedly said, "Good, good, Support profession is good. You don't have to enter the Abyss anymore, you can just stay at home and slowly gain experience."

A mother wouldn't care if her son could become the most powerful Awakened. She only cared if her son could live a good life.

And Chu Xiu didn't want his family to worry, so it wouldn't hurt to keep it a secret.

The two chatted along the way. When they passed by the market, they bought a freshly killed fish, wrapped in a red plastic bag. Chu Xiu carried it in his hand, and from time to time, he could still feel the fish twitching.

Passing through the market, they arrived at Chu Xiu's home. It was an old residential complex, and Chu Xiu lived in apartment 602 of the second building on the left.

Pushing the door open, they entered a clean living room, though sparsely furnished. Apart from the dining table and chairs, there was only an old-fashioned TV.

A middle-aged man without legs sat on the sofa, watching TV. However, his mind didn't seem to be on the program at all. Hearing the sound of the door opening, he immediately turned his head. When he saw Chu Xiu, he finally let out a sigh of relief. He stared at Chu Xiu for a long time, tears welling up in his eyes. After a long while, he finally said, "Dinner's ready. Come and eat."

"Okay." Chu Xiu nodded with a smile.

Unlike his emotional mother, his father, perhaps to maintain his dignity as the head of the family, always seemed to put on a stern front. But Chu Xiu knew that his father's love for him was no less than his mother's.

Both his father and mother were ordinary people. They had always lived frugally, just to be able to buy Chu Xiu good starting equipment for the Awakening Trial.

However, half a year ago, his father had an accident at work. His legs were crushed by a steel beam that lost its balance. The heartless boss found all sorts of excuses to refuse compensation, and in the end, they could only resort to legal action. But the factory was a shell company, and the legal representative was a scoundrel with no assets, so the lawsuit dragged on and on.

If they insisted on fighting, they would definitely win in the end. But this was the tactic of these unscrupulous companies. The lawsuit could drag on for a year or half a year, but could they afford to wait that long for medical expenses? Could a person even survive that long?

At that time, his father's condition was critical, and the expenses in the intensive care unit were thousands per day. This forced Chu Xiu's family to settle privately at an extremely low price to relieve the urgent need.

In the end, his father's life was saved, but he lost his legs, and their savings were depleted. The family relied solely on his mother to support them.

This was why they could only afford to buy Chu Xiu a set of clothes when he entered the Abyss.

Looking at his parents, who had aged considerably, Chu Xiu gently touched his chest and said silently, "Don't worry, I will take good care of your parents for you."

Then, he smiled and said, "Dad, Mom, you have no idea how amazing the profession I awakened is. I made tens of thousands this time. Our family will never have to worry about money again!"

"A Chu, you mustn't risk your life in the Abyss for a little money. This family doesn't need you to earn money!" Li Xiu immediately exclaimed in alarm.

His father also said, "That's right. Although your dad has lost his legs, I'm not useless. I received interview invitations from three companies today. I should be able to find a job soon. You don't have to worry about this family."

Chu Xiu smiled and said, "Dad, Mom, don't worry. From now on, I'll just use my talent to work for those combat professions. I promise I won't let you worry."

Hearing this, his parents were finally relieved. The family ate their meal, and the small room was filled with a warm atmosphere.

(End of Chapter)