11 The Copper Bell in the Darkness (1/2)

The cliffs that bordered the chasm were very steep and not a lot of light could reach the bottom. In fact nearly nothing could be seen from high above.

It gave the place a dark and mysterious feeling that conferred no want to go explore it.

But just as she decided to retreat, Shin Sumi caught a light from way down in the chasm.

It was a fleeting light that only lasted a second. Intrigued by it, Shin Sumi decided to wait around a bit longer while she calmed down from her earlier fright.

She didn't have to wait for long before the light shone deep down once again. This time Shin Sumi knew where to look.

”There is no mistaking it ! That is the reflection of the sun on water !”

Observing the other side of the chasm, Shin Sumi saw a number of big trees that plunged into the abyss in almost constant shadows. With the wind, sometimes the leaves would part enough for a tiny ray of sunlight to reach the bottom a few hundred meters below.

As the waters below scintillated in rhythm, Shin Sumi caught a glimpse of a rainbow.

”There is definitely a waterfall down there !”

***

Circling around the borders of the chasm for half a day, Shin Sumi finally found what she was looking for.

There, between the roots of an ancient tree with a trunk the size of a small house, she found a passageway that reached inside the ravine by a steep slope.

It was a tedious process to climb down, grabbing roots and stones here and there, and Shin Sumi was starting to wonder whether it was really a good idea or not. Any wrong step she took could be her last.

It took almost four hours for her to reach the bottom of the chasm. She had stopped a few times to rest sitting on boulders but the further down she went the longer it took to progress.

The cause behind this was because of the light. As it dimmed progressively it became harder and harder to find climbing holds. Added to that the fact that the day was reaching its end soon, it was night time when she finally reached the bottom.

”At least I'm sure that this place is not often visited by disciples !”

Shin Sumi was completely blind during the night and decided to rest in a large anfractuosity a few meters from the bottom.

She could only sit against the hard wall and it was very uncomfortable but she didn't want to risk her safety by exploring without light.

The whole time the nut had stayed out of her wrist, installed between her breasts as usual, ready to warn her of any danger to come.

Shin Sumi couldn't sleep for the entire night, the noises of the jungle above her reminding her at all times of the beasts lurking in the vicinity.

***

The sun had already been out for a few hours before it was high enough for its light to reach the bottom of the chasm. Shin Sumi could see the clouds bright in comparison to the dark rocks that made the cliff sides.

When she was confident enough in her sight to explore a bit, she left her resting cave to go South.

She had walked a long time to find a way down after she had seen the waterfall and she knew it would take at least an hour to find it.

Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please clickfor visiting.

Thankfully the chasm was in the form of a line and there was only one possible direction in which to walk.

There were two reasons why Shin Sumi had decided to enter the ravine instead of leaving, each one as good as the other.

The first reason was because of her quests. She had selected the ones with the name of plants she knew, and White Cloud Lotus was one of them.

White Cloud Lotus were small flowers that had leaves in the shape of lotus petals but the flower itself was round and white. It's appearance could definitely described as soft and cloudy. Shin Sumi had seen one or two of them in the market of the lower valley while she was shopping with Xiao Yue.

She had found the flowers beautiful and had asked the stall owner about it. Shin Sumi remembered him clearly saying that although not too rare, the White Cloud Lotus were hard to find because they only grew in dark places with a lot of humidity.

The plant required a lot of Yin Shinsoo energy to grow and was useful in the cultivation of spirit arts with cold attributes. A lot of Liquid Realm disciples adepts of such arts would pay a good amount of spirit stones for these flowers.

The second reason why Shin Sumi was excited to find waters was because of her own plans. She had come to the training grounds to use the little nut to refine seeds and plant them.

”I was careless the first time and the plants absorbed a lot of Shinsoo from the high grade spirit stone in the pond” she had thought, ”this time I will plant them after they are refined and keep the spirit stone for myself !”

She needed as much Shinsoo as possible to cultivate and although it was nice to have spirit plants grow in just one night, Shin Sumi felt that it was a huge waste of resources.

According to her senses, Shin Sumi felt it strange that the darkness of the chasm didn't seem to go away as the sun rose higher above the clouds.

Even in the Dark Sky Starry Sect valleys obscured from the sun by the grey clouds as always, a difference could be seen between hours of the day.

But not here, not in the ravine.

”This darkness is strange. I can barely see a few meters in front of me even though the clouds are bright.” said Shin Sumi with furrowed brows.

She walked for two incense sticks worth of time, comforting herself in the feeling of the little nut between her breasts.

”The nut will tell me if there is any danger. I don't have to worry, it has never failed me so far ! I just have to trust it again and keep going.”

Shin Sumi felt that something was off without knowing what. The further along she went the more the feeling grew inside her.

She could hear her heart thumping a little bit quicker than before and ...

”My heart ! I can hear it beating !”

It was nothing too strange, she was alive after all. But it made her understand what was wrong all this time.

”Why is everything so silent ? I can't hear any beast nor the sound of the wind entering the ravine. Even the rustling of the leaves is gone... What is going on here ?”

Shin Sumi took out the little nut from her robes. There was no mistaking it, the nut was still alert but judged that nothing was dangerous.

That helped Shin Sumi calm down a bit.

She was walking in nearly a straight line, only changing directions when she needed to avoid a tree or a rock. The whole ravine was only a few meters wide but since she couldn't see the sides, just the opening above her head, Shin Sumi was under the impression of it being way larger.

At one point she stopped to observe the sky above her. It looked like a giant scar in the earth with ragged edges, traced like a lighting bolt towards her horizon on both sides.

”I recognize the shape of the opening there. This is where I saw the trees. And right on the other side is where I almost fell the first time !”

Speaking out loud just to hear sound, she said ”I should be right where I saw the waterfall. It must be on this side !”

Shin Sumi had been keeping the middle of the chasm as her reference during her journey in the darkness but now she needed to find the wall.

The reason she had been avoiding the borders was something she had picked up during the last trial for entering the Dark Sky Starry Sect.

In the Foggy Maze the normal technique of following a wall didn't work. It was due to the strange magic at work but here her thoughts were similar.

”Who knows what kinds of caves there are in the rocky walls ? Maybe some animals like the darkness and silence better and sleep in the shadows.”

Maybe she was being overly careful but that was still better than being reckless. The brave version of her was courageous, not stupid !

Shin Sumi advanced with small steps, turning her head all around before advancing again.

That was all she could do to progress safely, but it still wasn't enough as suddenly the ground seemed to disappear under her feet.

Splash !

The sound of the water receiving her body off balance was almost non existent.