Trials of the Abyss

Dong Tianze, pacified at his Senior Brother Wang Yisen’s advice, snorted coldly. "Zhu Yuanxi, if you dare slander the Sinister Soul Temple again without evidence, don’t blame me for being rude!"

He planned to leave now that he had flaunted his power on Ice Rock Island and cleared himself of suspicion.

Wang Yisen nodded lightly in approval.

Maverick Ling Yun breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

He stood at the edge of the stone hall, watching as Dong Tianze made to leave. He glared at Zhu Yuanxi and signaled for him to stay quiet to avoid further provocation from Dong Tianze.

Maverick Ling Yun’s expression darkened as he glanced at the rogue cultivators below. He mentally noted the faces of those who had quietly mocked him and shown disrespect.

Once the Divine Spirit Pagoda left the Three Immortal Islands, he planned to teach those rogue cultivators a lesson at the upcoming trade fair.

He had never been a forgiving person.

"Sect Leader!" A heart-wrenching cry broke the silence!

Dong Tianze was stunned. The hoarse voice sounded familiar to him.

Peering down in confusion, he saw a figure emerge from behind a thick stone pillar under the stone hall.

That person appeared to have been hiding there all along, not daring to reveal himself.

It was a young man with a sallow complexion...

That’s Hong Jian! Dong Tianze’s cried out in his heart. His expression changed as his eyes wavered with uncertainty.

Wang Yisen cursed inwardly. He sensed that Dong Tianze would not be able to handle what was about to unfold.

The changes in Dong Tianze’s expression and his inability to maintain his calm demeanor did not escape the attention of others.

"Sect Leader?" Maverick Ling Yun, Zhu Yuanxi, and the rogue cultivators turned their attention to the source of the scream.

A sallow-faced young man stepped out from behind a thick stone pillar. In a quick motion, he threw several silver balls toward the subordinates of Maverick Ling Yun standing in front of the stone hall.

Boom!

The silver balls exploded, transforming into a sea of raging thunderclouds and surrounding several cultivators at the Meridian Opening Realm and the Marrow Cleansing Realm.

"Nine Heavenly Profound Thunder!"

"Who is this guy? He’s attacking Maverick Ling Yun’s men!"

"Damn it, that almost got me too!"

The rogue cultivators cursed as they hastily backed away. They eyed the young man as though looking at a lunatic.

"Who is this crazy brat?!" Two Marrow Cleansing Realm cultivators under Maverick Ling Yun’s command rushed forward angrily.

The sallow-faced young man flung out a cloud of bluish-gray smoke.

Poof!

A bluish-gray smoke twisted and condensed into a fierce ghost with a blue face and fangs, enveloping the incoming cultivators with its poisonous miasma.

The two mid-stage Marrow Cleansing Realm cultivators screamed in agony. Blood streamed from their seven orifices as though their souls were being devoured.

"Refined Ghost Miasma!"

"That’s the Refined Ghost Miasma of the Sinister Soul Temple!"

Maverick Ling Yun and Zhu Yuanxi were both shocked. Their expressions turned grim as they gazed at the sallow-faced young man.

As more of his subordinates rushed toward the young man, Maverick Ling Yun coldly ordered, "Stop!"

His three mid-stage Marrow Cleansing Realm subordinates instantly halted their advance.

"Who is he calling Sect Leader?" Zhu Yuanxi asked with a stern face.

Maverick Ling Yun paid no mind to the death of his subordinates. Instead, he focused on a crucial detail that caught his attention. "Sect Leader...if I’m not mistaken, the leader of the Shadow Specter Sect is called Sect Leader. Could it be...?"

He stared in amazement at the sallow-faced young man.

The young man’s eyes were red as he scowled at Dong Tianze and roared, "Sect Leader! Those two scoundrels, Zhu Yuanxi and Maverick Ling Yun tortured Hall Master Zhao and Hall Master Meng to death! You must avenge them!

"Sect Leader, the Ghost Altar I used to communicate with you came from Yang Yuansen. It was missing an invisibility flag, so I saw your face! You’re the leader of the Shadow Specter Sect, our Sect Leader! So please, seek justice for us!"

Luo Hongyan watched Pang Jian in astonishment from behind the stone pillar with bright eyes shining in surprise.

She shook her head lightly and sighed. "Isn’t he growing up a bit too fast? How did he become so cunning without me noticing?"

Dong Tianze gritted his teeth but did not respond.

He had assumed that Hong Jian had long perished in Divine Fortune. He never expected he would appear on Ice Rock Island and even recognize him through the Ghost Altar.

"Don’t admit it, no matter what!" Wang Yisen whispered urgently from behind Dong Tianze. He sensed that Dong Tianze would struggle to lie convincingly after being recognized by the young man below.

"Dong Tianze!"

"He’s the Sect Leader of the Shadow Specter Sect?"

The rogue cultivators erupted in chaos.

"Brat, who are you?" Zhu Yuanxi asked curiously as he looked down at the young man.

"I’m Hong Jian from the Shadow Specter Sect!" the sallow-faced young man shouted vehemently. Fearlessly looking up at Zhu Yuanxi, he cursed, "You scoundrel, you killed two of our hall masters. Do you dare to come down and fight me?"

"Hong Jian!" Zhu Yuanxi was overjoyed. Nodding repeatedly in approval, he exclaimed. "We’ve been searching for you for so long! You’ve finally shown yourself!"

Pang Jian did not use this sallow appearance when he attacked the Blood Moon Sect in Divine Fortune City and Misty Swamp. Luckily, the other Blood Moon Sect members had returned to Cloud Island on the Formless Sailboat, leaving no one to point out the inconsistency in his looks.

"Dong Tianze, what do you have to say for yourself?" Zhu Yuanxi shouted angrily. "Nine Heavenly Profound Thunder aside, the Refined Ghost Miasma is exclusive to your Sinister Soul Temple!

"Hong Jian, a hall master of the Shadow Specter Sect, was using the Refined Ghost Miasma in his attacks. Where else could it have come from besides your Sinister Soul Temple?"

Dong Tianze’s face twitched.

The person he traded with using the Ghost Altar was now on Ice Rock Island, exposing his identity. He had personally selected the Nine Heavenly Profound Thunder and the Refined Ghost Miasma for trade. It would be difficult to deny it with both eyewitness and material evidence present.

Given his twisted and murderous nature, he would rather kill everyone than do as Wang Yisen suggested.

"Sect Leader! You must avenge them!" Pang Jian’s voice was hoarse and filled with rage. "Don’t you want to know how we got up here?"

Dong Tianze irritably rubbed his forehead.

Beneath his brow lay the brilliant Celestial Phoenix Imprint.

Dong Tianze was now in the Innate Realm and was confident he could kill Zhu Yuanxi with the aid of the mystical imprint!

He could probably take Maverick Ling Yun on as well!

"Senior Brother Wang, I can’t lie through my teeth, so..." Dong Tianze trailed off, taking a deep breath as his eyes flashed with murderous intent. "No one in the Giant Stone Palace or Ice Rock Island can live.

"Every rogue cultivator who heard him call me Sect Leader must be killed. As long as we wipe out all living beings on this island, my involvement in the Ghost Altar affair will be covered up."

Wang Yisen stood up from his seated position behind him and sighed deeply.

"You’re truly a complete madman. Our Sinister Soul Temple took you in, but I don’t know if that was a blessing or a curse," Wang Yisen said with a heavy heart.

Despite having a higher cultivation realm than Dong Tianze, his plans still left Wang Yisen slightly fearful of his bloodthirsty nature.

"Thank you, Senior Brother."

After gaining Wang Yisen’s approval, Dong Tianze took out his spirit artifact, Ghost’s Cry, then swallowed a pill filled with blood essence.

He then admitted loudly, "It was me. I traded with him under the guise of the Shadow Specter Sect’s Sect Leader. What do you want to do about it?"

The fierce light in Dong Tianze’s eyes grew more intense.

"You actually dare to admit it? The Sinister Soul Temple’s done countless dirty deeds over the years but they’ve never owned up to any of them!" Zhu Yuanxi sneered, still unaware of Dong Tianze’s plans.

He thought the inexperienced Dong Tianze had ruined the Sinister Soul Temple’s grand plans, and that he could seize this opportunity to earn great merit.

With Dong Tianze’s admission in front of so many witnesses, the Radiant Sun Sect, the Red Mountain Sect, and the Star River Alliance could no longer feign ignorance!

The Blood Moon Sect and the Sinister Soul Temple were mortal enemies. If Zhu Yuanxi could borrow the power of those other sects to eliminate the Sinister Soul Temple from the Third World, the Blood Moon Sect would surely favor him!

"This is bad," Maverick Ling Yun said, feeling his temples throb as Dong Tianze admitted his identity.

The feathered crown on his head suddenly exploded.

Maverick Ling Yun gaped in horror at the Divine Spirit Pagoda. A soul-crushing pressure emanated from its fifth floor and bore down on him. If the feathered crown had not blocked part of it, his soul would have suffered severe damage!

"Zhu Yuanxi, you’ve ruined my plans!" Maverick Ling Yun glared at Zhu Yuanxi and hurriedly flew away from the stone hall.

Pang Jian stomped his foot and shot up from below like a sword when he saw that only a stunned Zhu Yuanxi remained above the stone hall.

As he landed, he unleashed a barrage of dazzling Lunar Edges and shot them toward Zhu Yuanxi from all around.

Dong Tianze was also about to attack and could not help but praise Pang Jian for his fearless attack on Zhu Yuanxi.

In his heart, Dong Tianze felt a slight pang of guilt for the deceased. After all, he had presided over several Ghost Altar trades as the Sect Leader of the Shadow Specter Sect.

Zhao Ling, Meng Qiulan, and other hall masters in the lower world had always treated him with utmost respect, not daring to show the slightest bit of negligence.

After Dong Tianze took on the role of the Sect Leader, a part of him felt like they were under his command. Deep down, seeing their bodies earlier had left him unsettled.

Thus, when he saw the new hall master bravely challenge Zhu Yuanxi to avenge his fallen friends, Dong Tianze could not help but admire him.

"Senior Brother Wang, I’ll leave Maverick Ling Yun to you. I’ll take care of the others," Dong Tianze said before leaping down from the Divine Spirit Pagoda. With a swing of his Ghost’s Cry, a piercing screech rang out and the souls of those killed by Pang Jian flew directly toward him.

Whoosh!

Dong Tianze unleashed a sea of golden dagger light that swallowed the rogue cultivators. In the blink of an eye, dozens of rogue cultivators were killed, only for Ghost’s Cry to also absorb their souls.

Dong Tianze started to slaughter indiscriminately to amass more strength!

"This lunatic Dong Tianze is killing us too!"

"It seems he wants to silence everyone on Ice Rock Island to hide the truth!"

"Run!"

The rogue cultivators screamed in horror as they ran away.

At that moment, they finally believed Dong Tianze’s words. If he had been the one robbing the Cloud Sails, he would not have left any survivors to testify against him!

This lunatic really would do anything!

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