Trials of the Abyss

"A third one!"

"And it's also a Soul Nourishing Pill!"

"He must be filthy rich!"

The eyes of all the rogue cultivators aboard the Cloud Sail gleamed with greed. Some even rubbed their hands in anticipation.

Ma Feng grinned wickedly. The fiery glint of desire in his eyes became increasingly hard to hide.

The owner of the Cloud Sail, Wang Ying, took a deep breath and forced herself to look away from Pang Jian. She feared the temptation would bring out an ugly side of her.

Interesting. Pang Jian chuckled inwardly when he noticed their gazes.

His deep eyes fell on the rogue cultivators eyeing him suspiciously from where they stood beside Wang Ying.

Disregarding their gazes, he calmly closed his eyes.

Wang Ying's gentle voice announced, "We've arrived at Golden Peak. I'll be anchored here for two hours. Those getting off, do so quickly and clear some space for others. Don't waste my time and hold me up."

Some passengers immediately disembarked.

The rogue cultivators already waiting on Golden Peak approached Wang Ying to ask about her Cloud Sail's next destination. A few rogue cultivators paid their spirit stones upon learning the final stop was at Spirit Offering.

However, most rogue cultivators turned away the moment they heard the words Spirit Offering, shaking their heads as if it was a place of ill omen.

"Gao Song, aren't you going to take a look around? Golden Peak has a small marketplace that sells cultivation materials. You might find something you need," Wang Ying "kindly" suggested.

Pang Jian stood up, gave her a cold glance, and nodded. "Alright."

"You've already paid your spirit stones, so I'll take you to your final destination. Just be sure to get back within two hours," Wang Ying said with a nervous smile.

Ma Feng and the others had promised her a share if they managed to rob Pang Jian of his spatial bracelet. However, the way Pang Jian looked at her sent chills down her spine and had her hair standing on end.

"Understood." Pang Jian then leaped down from the Cloud Sail.

Using his divine sense to survey the area, he noticed several smaller Cloud Sails anchored along the elongated mountain peak.

The marketplace Wang Ying had told him about was even cruder than she described. Six or seven small stone huts dotted the street, each with signboards hanging out front indicating what they were selling.

The lower mountain peaks surrounding Golden Peak were sharp and covered by lush forests, making them unsuitable for Cloud Sails to dock.

Several haphazardly dug-out caves could be seen on those lower mountains, likely the work of rogue cultivators. Most of these caves were unoccupied.

The spiritual qi on Golden Peak was far less concentrated than the Primordial Wilderness before its spirit vein was extracted.

Along the way, Pang Jian had noticed the distribution of spiritual qi across the Dark Abyss Continent was uneven. The thin spiritual qi of this region was likely the reason no noble families or sects had claimed the land, allowing it to become a haven for rogue cultivators.

"The spiritual qi here is thin, but it's still better than nothing," Pang Jian muttered as he watched Ma Feng and a few other rogue cultivators disembark.

He grinned when they followed him.

An hour later, Pang Jian summoned his green protective shield, allowing Ma Feng and the others to attack as they pleased.

The thick barrier absorbed every strike without even cracking once.

Not long after, five cold corpses littered the ground. Pang Jian snatched up their spatial pouches, peeked inside, and shook his head in disappointment.

The wealth of these five late-stage Profound Abode Realm rogue cultivators was not even worth his attention. He casually exchanged all the effects at a small shop for just over 300 spirit jades.

The amount of spirit jades needed for the Resolute Expanse is enormous. This is merely a drop in the ocean, he thought with a troubled frown.

Returning to Wang Ying's Cloud Sail, he sat back on the deck and closed his eyes to meditate once more.

In his eyes, killing and looting were nothing more than a minor distraction that was not worth dwelling on.

Wang Ying and a few rogue cultivators stared at him in silence. They had previously harbored ill intentions toward Pang Jian but dared not act due to their lower cultivation realms.

They had watched as an icy spirit sword soared through the air, slaughtering Ma Feng and the others on a remote mountain.

After killing Ma Feng and the others, Pang Jian appeared deep in thought, visiting a nearby shop before returning to the Cloud Sail. It was as if killing them had not fully satisfied him and had instead left him disappointed.

"Gao Song..." Wang Ying muttered guiltily.

She suppressed her wicked thoughts and greed, not daring to entertain any more treacherous intentions for the rest of the journey.

Seven days later, Wang Ying carefully anchored her Cloud Sail in an open area.

"We've arrived," she announced. Pointing ahead, she said to Pang Jian, "Beyond this stone forest lies the restricted area, Spirit Offering. Sorry, but I don't dare go any further. This is as far as I can take you."

Pang Jian nodded and leaped down from the Cloud Sail.

Summoning the spirit sword Lei Kun gifted him, he slashed the Cloud Sail behind him.

A dazzling bolt of lightning with a chilling aura cleaved the dozen-zhang-long Cloud Sail into two halves.

Wang Ying screamed and desperately tried to defend herself, but the chilly bolt of lightning still managed to leave a deep wound on her chest.

Pang Jian's cold gaze bore down on her.

"You, the owner of the Cloud Sail, harbored malicious intent and plotted to rob your passengers. You were the one who broke the rules first."

Blood gushed from the wound on Wang Ying's chest.

She wept bitterly as she stared at her destroyed Cloud Sail. It had cost her a fortune, and Pang Jian had split it in two with a single strike.

It was apparent now that Pang Jian had long seen through her scheming, but had not made a move simply because they had yet to reach their destination.

"I—" Wang Ying sobbed, trying to plead for life.

Pang Jian ignored her. He turned around and entered the stone forest.

Once in the stone forest and out of sight from the other rogue cultivators, Pang Jian retrieved the sword token from his spatial bracelet and sent a message to Li Yuqing. "I've arrived at Spirit Offering."

Pang Jian continued onward as he waited for a response from the sword token.

Half an hour passed, then an hour, but Li Yuqing still did not reply.

Pang Jian came to a halt, frowning as he slipped the sword token into the inner pocket of his robe. This way, if any response came from the token, he would notice it immediately.

Could something have happened to her in Spirit Offering? She has the power to wipe out an entire fragmented land with a single sword strike. Even the leaders of the Blood Moon Sect, the Star River Alliance, and the Sinister Soul Temple shouldn't be a match for her...

Pang Jian's thoughts raced.

Since he left Saddle Ridge Mountain, he had been worrying about how to explain the existence of the World Eater Vine once he met Li Yuqing.

Unexpectedly, now that she was failing to respond as promised, he was not relieved but instead worried about her safety.

Even he could not understand why his mindset had changed so drastically.

It must be because of the peculiarities of Spirit Offering.

Pang Jian speculated that there was some kind of barrier in the restricted area ahead, preventing him from communicating with Li Yuqing through the sword token.

So, he ventured deeper into the stone forest.

Along the way, Pang Jian established his connection with the little tree in Misty Swamp. Divine Fortune and Divine Fortress had successfully merged into one larger fragmented land.

The Wood Race now populated Divine Fortress, planting seeds and saplings around to spread the influence of the little tree throughout the fragmented land.

Pang Jian felt a surge of anticipation.

Everything's on track.

The little tree's growth would undoubtedly accelerate after taking over Divine Fortress.

Soon, the Divine Fortress would also be filled with trees and plants capable of nourishing the World Eater Vine, just like Divine Fortune.

The World Eater Vine would only grow stronger as it annexed more and more fragmented lands.

Everything seems to be on track with the little tree. I wonder how things are progressing with the black turtle.

Pang Jian then shifted his attention to the Resolute Expanse, hidden beneath a sea of clouds and slowly drifting toward the edge of the Third World.

Massive boulders floated above the thick leaden clouds concealing the Resolute Expanse.

Some of the largest boulders had straight, sword-like withered bones embedded in them!

Pang Jian was shocked.

"This must be where the Celestial Phoenix's bones originally shattered!" His loud exclamation echoed through the stone forest.

It was no longer a secret that the Celestial Phoenix's remains had exploded in a restricted area near the bizarre mist in the Third World. Its bones had been scattered, with some even falling into the Fourth World.

Pang Jian heard the restricted area had turned into a sea of massive boulders.

Thus, when he saw the familiar bones embedded in those boulders, he was certain that the land above the Resolute Expanse was where the Celestial Phoenix's remains had originally shattered!

Whoosh!

A black mountain suddenly streaked across the sky above the massive boulders.

Pang Jian was startled once more.

The figure atop the black mountain was none other than Dong Tianze!

Dong Tianze had tracked down where the Celestial Phoenix's remains shattered and was hunting down a fellow Divine Guard there.

Whoosh!

A scar-faced man flew toward the Black Iron Mountain on an ancient zither.

Useless! Even with the Black Iron Mountain, he's still being chased. Pang Jian scoffed.

The entirety of the Resolute Expanse was like a massive eye to Pang Jian when harmonizing with the land, allowing him to observe the surrounding area around the Resolute Expanse as well.

The two figures flashed by in quick succession. Dong Tianze fled as the scar-faced man on the ancient zither hunted him down.

Wake up, Pang Jian said to the black turtle. The Black Iron Mountain you once watched over is above you. I want the guy being hunted to win this battle. Think of a way.

In response, the Resolute Expanse trembled as it slowly soared upward, locking onto the two combatants above.

A powerful gravitational force suddenly acted on the Black Iron Mountain under Dong Tianze's feet, causing it to plunge straight down.

The Black Iron Mountain plummeted through the thick clouds and hit the ground with a loud bang.

"How did a fragmented land appear beneath the sea of massive boulders?" Dong Tianze glanced around the desolate fragmented land below the clouds with a bewildered expression, still dazed and disoriented from the fall.

He looked as though he had seen a ghost in broad daylight.

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