The ability to completely control all the Abyssal Dust and Abyssal Beasts in this world was something Yun Wuji couldn't achieve even if he used every ounce of his power. The range of influence required to cover the entire world demanded a level of strength and soul power that defied imagination.
What was truly astonishing was that even after this giant fell asleep, the Abyssal Dust and Abyssal Beasts continued to obey its will. It was as if it had created laws that prevented them from ever touching the Land of Living.
This explains why the Abyssal Beasts never left the Endless Fog for millions of years. The reason they began to do so recently was the collapse of the laws within the Abyss, which also led to the breakdown of the 'laws' that this giant had established long ago.
If Yun Wuji wanted to replicate what this giant had done, he wouldn't be able to achieve it unless his cultivation and soul power reached a far higher level.
"Since you can sense that the laws of this world are slowly breaking down, you must also know that once they completely collapse, this world will be destroyed. Do you have the ability to repair them?" Yun Wuji asked hopefully. If this giant could fix the problem, he would have far fewer things to worry about.
Although he was confident that he would one day reach the level where he could repair them himself, he had no idea when that time would come.
"No," the giant replied, its answer firm. "I lost most of my power when I helped those people. Right now, my strength is far weaker than it once was. My original estimation was that by this time, I should have recovered at least half of my power, but because of the unexpected changes in this world's laws, my recovery has barely progressed."
It added while calmly staring at Yun Wuji, "Otherwise, you wouldn't have been able to defeat me so easily, even with me being asleep."
"...It's my fault. I shouldn't have fought you, but you attacked me without warning, so I had no choice but to fight back," Yun Wuji said, his lips twitching. It seemed the giant still held some resentment over being trashed by him.
"I set up a barrier around myself before sleeping to keep others from disturbing my rest," the giant said, its eyes fixed on him as if to say, 'You were the one who started this.'
"Anyway, I've been wanting to ask this for a while. Can you change your form? It feels strange talking to you like this," Yun Wuji said, quickly trying to change the subject as he pointed at the giant's massive body.
"Yes," the giant said, its body suddenly enveloped in black light, shrinking rapidly until it reached the size of an average human. It looked at him and asked, "Is this enough?"
Yun Wuji sized up the figure. No, it was no longer a giant. Better call it the Abyss of Death. He hadn't expected it to follow his request so easily. He descended from the sky, landing next to it, and said, "Yeah, this looks better."
"By the way, do you have any other name? Calling you Abyss of Death feels strange," he asked.
"I know what you're cooking. I've read enough novels to know exactly what you're going to do!" Hei Xiaolian's energetic voice rang in his mind.
"No, I call myself Abyss of Death because people call this place Abyss of Death," the Abyss of Death said, shaking its head. It had never really interacted with anyone, and most of its knowledge came from observing others.
"I bet on Li Suo's boobs that you're going to suggest giving it a name!" Just as Yun Wuji was about to speak, Hei Xiaolian exclaimed again in his mind.
"..." Yun Wuji's lips twitched. This woman knew him too well, but keeping his thick skin intact, he maintained a neutral expression and said, "Do you want me to give you a name?"
"Give me a name?" the Abyss of Death asked, clearly confused.
"Yes, since you don't have a name, how about I give you one?" Yun Wuji said, a gentle smile appearing on his face, the same one he used when he was about to scam someone.
"Okay," the Abyss of Death said. It didn't sense any malice from Yun Wuji and also wanted a name that suited itself. For some reason, it felt a strange excitement.
"Xiao Bei! Name it Xiao Bei! Xiao Bei is the universal name! All main characters name others Xiao Bei!" Hei Xiaolian started clamoring the moment the Abyss of Death agreed to Yun Wuji's proposal.
Having followed Yun Wuji for so long, she had read all the books he had written multiple times. She even had several copies of each of his books stored in the Sky Poison Pearl. She knew every cliché plot by heart.
"Since I'm your first friend, how about I give you my surname? I'll call you Yun Wuying from now on," Yun Wuji said after holding his chin for a moment as if in deep thought. "How does it sound?"
"Yun Wuying... Yun Wuying... Good name! I like this name! From now on, I am Yun Wuying!" Although its face showed only dark eyes, Yun Wuying's voice carried a clear sense of satisfaction with the name. After a moment, it stared at Yun Wuji again and asked, "Friend? You consider me your friend?"
"Of course. Although we fought earlier, I can tell you're not a bad person. I feel our meeting was predestined, so why not be friends?" Yun Wuji said with a gentle smile as he patted Yun Wuying's shoulder and added, "Or could it be that you don't want to be my friend?"
"No! You gave me a name, and you are the first person to talk to me. I also want to have a friend!" Yun Wuying denied quickly. It had lived in loneliness for an extremely long time, and now that it had someone to talk to, it felt strangely pleasant. Although the concept of friendship was still vague to it, it had seen many examples of 'friends' within the Endless Fog.
"Haha, good, I'll call you Wuying from now on! Since you've accepted my surname, we're not only friends but also family!" Yun Wuji laughed happily, patting Wuying's shoulder again and again. Yun Wuji wasn't dumb; on the contrary, he was exceptionally smart.
Wuying was an existence born from the Power of Extinction, possessing an innate ability to control the Abyssal Dust and, at its peak, the authority to control and modify the very Laws of the Abyss.
In the face of such an existence, Yun Wuji had only two choices, given his personality. One was to do everything possible to destroy it, since it could threaten his plans. The other was to draw it to his side.
Yun Wuji naturally preferred an ally over an enemy. From his earlier probing, he confirmed that despite Wuying's immense power, it possessed a pure and innocent heart. He therefore decided to 'trick' it into becoming his friend.
"Family? I have a family, too?" Yun Wuying muttered softly. For some reason, it felt a strange warmth in its chest despite not having a real heart. Was this what it felt like to have someone close?
"Yeah! From now on, we're one family. As friends and family, we help and support each other," Yun Wuji said with a wide grin, holding Wuying's shoulder. He was genuinely pleased to have 'scammed' it into becoming his friend.
"If you need anything, you can always tell me. I'll do my best to help you, Wuying," he said generously, patting his chest.
"Help me?" Yun Wuying stared at its new friend, feeling strange from the closeness but also unexpectedly comfortable.
"Yeah, I can help with anything I can," Yun Wuji said, nodding.
Yun Wuying suddenly took Yun Wuji's hand and spoke seriously, "I can sense a strange yet familiar aura from you. I feel that if I stay close to you, I can recover my strength faster."
"You want to use this aura to recover your power?" Yun Wuji asked, inwardly wondering why this development felt so... cliché.
"Yes, I want to stay by your side until I recover, if possible," Yun Wuying nodded affirmatively. It didn't understand what this aura was or why it came from Yun Wuji, but it could feel that as long as it stayed close to him, it would eventually recover its strength.
"Sure, you can stick close to me as long as you want," Yun Wuji said after a brief pause. He already had a Creation Goddess staying close to him to recover her power, so what was wrong with having one more person?
"I know what's going to happen next. This thing is going to ask you for closer contact, a negative contact, to recover faster! Hehehehe!" Hei Xiaolian clutched her stomach and laughed loudly.
"..." For some reason, Li Suo felt personally attacked.
"..." Yun Wuji's face twitched. He really needed to limit her exposure to all that weeb content. Why the hell had he even written those books in the first place? He suddenly asked, "Wuying, I've been wanting to ask you this for a while."
"What is your gender?"
From Yun Wuying's face, body shape, and voice, Yun Wuji couldn't discern what gender it had.
...
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