Trials of the Abyss

Whoosh!

Dong Tianze shot forward with a long halberd that radiated a blood-colored light.

The Sinister Soul Halberd that Han Zhiyuan had entrusted to him was an artifact that had been sealed away in the Sinister Soul Temple for many years.

Even Han Zhiyuan had never been able to unleash its full potential.

After obtaining it, Dong Tianze learned that the Sinister Soul Halberd's true name was Sinister Soul Blood Halberd, an artifact with a notorious reputation from the era of the Blood Spirit Sect.

Han Zhiyuan's inability to unleash its full potential stemmed from the Sinister Soul Temple no longer emphasizing body-tempering techniques after the Blood Spirit Sect split into the Sinister Soul Temple and the Blood Moon Sect.

After he returned from Absolute Heaven, Dong Tianze secretly scavenged for the Blood Moon Sect's body-tempering techniques and cultivated them relentlessly. With the help of the Celestial Phoenix Imprint, he cultivated the Blood Moon Sect's body-tempering techniques to a high level.

When he infused his blood essence into the Sinister Soul Halberd, its soul awakened.

Only then did he learn the halberd's true name.

The Rank Seven Lesser Feys below him were still being crushed under the rubble of the Fey King Rock Bear's bloodline abilities.

He ignored them completely, already having a target in mind.

Soon, an agile beast resembling a leopard stretching dozens of zhang in length appeared beneath Dong Tianze.

"Phantom Cloud Beast!"

Cloud-like patterns adorned the Phantom Cloud Beast's body. It glided effortlessly through the air as though soaring through clouds and mist.

It narrowly avoided the jagged rocks shooting up from the ground time and time again.

Even so, the Rank Eight Phantom Cloud Beast's tail was stained with blood, leaving a trail of fresh blood behind as it fled.

The Phantom Cloud Beast halted in mid-flight.

"You dare pursue me?"

Its massive form shrank and the cloud-like patterns on its fur contracted as it transformed into a tall, middle-aged man.

His upper body was bare of clothing. Cloud patterns swirled across his skin, and seemed to lift him effortlessly into the air.

The Rank Eight Phantom Cloud Beast calmly hovered above the fleeing Fey Race horde when he noticed the Fey King Rock Bear still had not emerged from the Greencliff Mountain Range.

"Who do you think you are? The Divine Son of the Supreme Monad Divine Kingdom, Fan Chen? Or Liu Youyu of the Primeval Pillar Divine Kingdom?" he sneered. "An ant from the Sinister Soul Temple dares to chase me? I'd love to know where you got such audacity!"

If Dong Tianze had not been traveling aboard the Sword Boat with Fan Chen, Liu Youyu, and Dong Wenjian—people with True Gods backing them—the Phantom Cloud Beast would have killed him while robbing him.

The Phantom Cloud Beast had not killed Dong Tianze when he resisted only because the other Great Feys intervened.

This time, Fey King Yuan Min's order was clear––if anyone aboard the Sword Boat dared interfere in this attack against the Fey King Rock Bear, they were to be killed.

This included Fan Chen, Liu Youyu, and Dong Wenjian.

Naturally, someone like Dong Tianze from the Sinister Soul Temple was nothing in comparison. Killing him was but a trivial matter.

Whoosh!

The Sinister Soul Blood Halberd tore through the air.

A river of blood and a river of souls appeared simultaneously, flanking the Sinister Soul Blood Halberd on either side.

The river of blood carried an overpowering stench, with floating corpses of various races faintly visible in its current.

The river of souls was filled with wandering spirits and wailing ghosts. Their piercing cries echoed in the air.

This was Dong Tianze's first time unleashing the abilities of the Sinister Soul Blood Halberd according to the instructions of its artifact soul. The power of this ancient artifact from the Blood Spirit Sect shocked even him.

As he steadied his mind, a Celestial Phoenix's cry resounded from the center of his forehead.

He gathered the divine power within the Celestial Phoenix Imprint and channeled it into the Sinister Soul Blood Halberd in his hand before finally merging it with the river of blood.

A crimson Celestial Phoenix emerged from the depths of the bloody river and glanced coldly at the Rank Eight Phantom Cloud Beast.

One look was enough for the Phantom Cloud Beast to feel like he had been struck down, his bloodline completely suppressed.

He was frozen in mid-air!

The Celestial Phoenix's gaze sealed the crystal bloodline chains in his heart and his blood churned wildly out of his control.

He could only watch in horrified despair as Dong Tianze's Sinister Soul Blood Halberd pierced his heart, drained his blood essence, and devoured his soul.

By the time the Sinister Soul Blood Halberd passed through his body, the Rank Eight Phantom Cloud Beast was nothing more than bones wrapped in skin.

The Sinister Soul Blood Halberd had devoured his flesh, blood, and soul!

Bang!

The Phantom Cloud Beast's skin and bones fell to the ground, its skeleton puncturing through his skin to unfurl like a white bone flower in full bloom.

His death was both hauntingly beautiful and shockingly gruesome.

***

Dong Tianze grasped the Sinister Soul Blood Halberd and retracted the Celestial Phoenix Imprint on his forehead, arm slightly trembling.

He had not expected the Sinister Soul Blood Halberd that his master had entrusted to him to be so brutal. It had mercilessly devoured the Rank Eight Phantom Cloud Beast's flesh, blood, and soul in a single strike.

The artifact soul of the Sinister Soul Blood Halberd, on the other hand, was indifferent to Dong Tianze's success.

It would've been laughable if we failed to kill a Rank Eight Great Fey with your Celestial Phoenix Imprint and this Blood Spirit Sect artifact! it claimed arrogantly.

Dong Tianze grinned, white teeth flashing like a predator preparing for a hunt.

"In that case...next!

"There's another Rank Eight Great Fey that treated Zhou Qingchen the way that Phantom Cloud Beast treated me. I'm not doing this for Zhou Qingchen. It's just that you need blood essence and souls!"

Dong Tianze charged toward his next target.

The Sword Boat whistled through the air behind him.

Fan Chen and the others saw Dong Tianze successfully kill a Great Fey through the Celestial Profound Mirror.

"It's too late to turn back now! Dong Tianze has already made his move. The enmity is set in stone—there's no chance for reconciliation!" Fan Chen pulled out a handkerchief, casually wiping his hands as he prepared for battle, and shouted, "Kill!"

***

Pang Jian stood with the Gray Ape atop the highest peak of the Greencliff Mountain Range, gazing at the distant battlefield.

The Rock Bear had quietly disappeared into the ground after the battle erupted.

Meanwhile, the fleeing Great Feys above ground mysteriously died one after another.

Pang Jian could sense the shifting gravitational forces of the earth through the blackish-yellow fragmented land above his spiritual sea.

Raising an eyebrow, he asked, "Does the Rock Bear's bloodline relate to the Earth element?"

"Yes, after the Rank Ten black turtle perished in the bizarre mist, he became the strongest Fey Race with the Earth element." Yuan Qi sighed. "The strongest of the Fey Race and the True Gods of the human race felt Lord black turtle's passing. They simply don't know where he met his end.

"In the past, the black turtle and the Celestial Phoenix shared the same vision, advocating for peaceful coexistence between the Fey Race and the human race.

"The Fey Race was left leaderless after the passing of both the black turtle and the Celestial Phoenix, and the ancient Thunder Dragon of the Dragon Lair Sect naturally rose to dominance.

"Thus, the Dragon Lair Sect became the commanding authority of the Fey Race.

"Yuan Min's ancestor, the also deceased Primordial Serpent, had a close relationship with the Thunder Dragon.

"Because of this, the Dragon Lair Sect strongly supports Yuan Min, hoping he will eliminate all the other Fey Kings vying for the position of Fey God.

"Yuan Min dares to act arrogantly because he has the backing of the ancient Thunder Dragon."

Yuan Qi clenched his teeth in resentment when he mentioned the ancient Thunder Dragon in the Dragon Lair Sect.

Pang Jian abruptly changed the subject. "Yuan Qi, have you seen my father after he disappeared into the bizarre mist?"

The Rank Eight Gray Ape froze, lowered his head, and contemplated deeply before replying, "An ancient Fey Race from the fragmented lands in the bizarre mist told me he appeared in the depths of the bizarre mist but suddenly vanished.

"The ancient Fey Race was deeply wary about matters regarding your father and shared little information."

"An ancient Fey Race? Were they Rank Ten?" Pang Jian pressed.

This time, perhaps due to the absence of the Rock Bear, the Gray Ape hesitated for a moment before ultimately nodding.

Pang Jian's mind raced.

He was certain the fragmented lands hidden near the boundary wall in the far northern reaches of the Fourth World existed because of his father.

Generations of World Gods had assisted the ancient Fey Race's growth, even bringing them secret techniques to awaken their bloodlines.

The unnamed Rank Ten ancient Fey Race that Yuan Qi hinted at surely knew his father's identity and fate!

"Wait until you ascend to the Immortal Realm—no, better yet, until you become a True God!" Yuan Qi advised solemnly. "At the very least, wait until you possess the power of a True God before returning to your homeland to investigate.

"I'm just here under orders, tasked with awakening the dormant bloodline of the Fey King Rock Bear.

"There's much I don't know, as I'm not yet one of their core members."

Yuan Qi had shared everything he could. What remained was either beyond his knowledge or too dangerous to reveal.

At that moment, Pang Jian saw Dong Tianze slay the Rank Eight Phantom Cloud Beast from his high vantage point on the Greencliff Mountain Range.

The Sword Boat sailed after him, with Fan Chen, Liu Youyu, and Dong Wenjian targeting several other Rank Eight Great Feys.

Concerned, Pang Jian put aside other thoughts for the time being. "The friends who came with me..."

"This isn't Yuan Min's territory, nor is it the deep sea," Yuan Qi replied calmly. "Don't worry, that Rank Nine Black Stork will die here.

"Once he dies, the Great Feys will flee in desperation.

"None of your friends are ordinary Soul Wandering Realm cultivators.

"These Rank Eight Great Feys here are nothing like the ancient Fey Race of Northern Qi. Their bloodlines are all flawed—you don't need to worry."

The Gray Ape then sat cross-legged.

"Ever since my intelligence awakened, I've hoped to speak with you like this—as friends," he reminisced, ice-blue heterochromatic eyes glimmering as he turned his head to gaze deeply at Pang Jian. "Although I came here under orders, I can't deny that I hoped to meet you again in this vast world."

He opened his furred hand to reveal several spatial rings in his palm.

A faint icy-blue light flashed as cultivation methods, pills, and cauldron-like spirit artifacts emerged from the spatial rings.

"I've prepared these for you over the years, hoping to help you become a powerful cultivator. I didn't expect you to have fortuitous encounters of your own…"

Only Yuan Qi knew how much he had done for the ancient Fey Race to obtain these human cultivation resources.

Years ago, he silently watched from the shadows as Pang Jian entered Eight Trigrams City and eventually left the bizarre-mist-shrouded Northern Qi.

At that time, he thought he would have gifts for Pang Jian when they met again.

He had not expected that Pang Jian would be fortunate enough to become a personal disciple of Li Zhaotian.

During their brief meeting outside the Sacred Soul Continent, Yuan Qi realized that Pang Jian carried a terrifying artifact rivaling divine artifacts.

This made his painstakingly prepared items seem insignificant.

A warmth flowed through Pang Jian's heart as he said softly, "You prepared all this for me?"

"I've been preparing these gifts for years in the hopes that we could grow stronger together," Yuan Qi said with an earnest smile.

A mocking laugh cut through the warm atmosphere. "What a touching friendship, tsk tsk."

Neither Pang Jian nor Yuan Qi had sensed anything unusual, but a massive blood-colored beast's eye resembling a crimson sun had drifted closer without their noticing.

The blood-colored eye gradually expanded, its radiance illuminating the rocky peaks below.

The beast's eye seemed like a world unto itself, and within it stood two Great Feys in human form that Pang Jian had previously encountered in Yuan Min's underwater palace.

A small, pale Great Fey with sharp white teeth was the one who spoke. He had also been the first to feed on the blood of a human girl in the underwater palace.

The other was a dark-skinned female Fey Race Black Elephant.

The two Great Feys had used the beast's eye that Dong Tianze had discovered to conceal their aura.

"Lord Yuan Min was merely using the Rank Nine Black Stork to lure out the Rock Bear. His fate matters little." The smaller Great Fey grinned. "What Lord Yuan Min truly values is you, the Gray Ape who came from afar to awaken the ancient bloodline of the Rock Bear!

"Lord Yuan Min demands your presence!"

The blood radiance illuminating the mountain range condensed like viscous blood, abruptly pulling Pang Jian and Yuan Qi into the massive blood-colored beast's eye.

"Those Great Feys below are unaware of the larger scheme, but they can slaughter freely now that we've secured you as our guests," the smaller Great Fey said gleefully. "Lord Yuan Min requests that you perform the Return to Antiquity and awaken his dormant crystal bloodline chains."

With that, the blood-colored beast's eye shrank and carried them beyond the Greencliff Mountain Range.

Yuan Qi showed no fear inside the blood-colored beast's eye and acted as if the two Great Feys were not present.

"We've known each other for so many years, but we've never fought side by side," he commented offhandedly. "My bloodline is complete and flawless, just like the Scarlet-Eyed Demon Wolf you met outside Northern Qi.

"These Great Feys have incomplete bloodlines and crudely tempered bones. Without the support of powerful artifacts, they're nothing more than helpless prey in my eyes."

His words brought subtle expressions of unease to the faces of the two Great Feys loyal to Yuan Min.

Although Pang Jian rarely smiled, he could not help but grin at Yuan Qi's confidence.

"It seems I can rest easy with you around," Pang Jian said, casually taking out the Abyssal Demon Sword. "You can pick a target first."

Yuan Qi smiled. "Killing both is no trouble at all for me."

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