Trials of the Abyss

Thick, blood-like walls enclosed the blood-colored world of the beast's eye.

Yuan Qi grinned at the slender, pale Great Fey. "You two are far too weak. Let me show you the true power of a Great Fey with a complete bloodline."

The pale Rank Eight Great Fey's face transformed. A visage covered in ghastly, spectral patterns emerged as his human-like body swelled before Pang Jian's eyes.

Howl!

As the Rank Eight Great Fey transformed, it revealed itself as a Ghost-Faced Sphinx—a creature resembling a hybrid of tiger and leopard, bearing a terrifying ghostly face that struck fear into all who gazed upon it.

The giant Black Elephant did not hesitate to follow suit and revert to its original form as well.

Fey King Yuan Min's two loyal Great Feys were on guard against Yuan Qi and entirely ignored Pang Jian.

The Ghost-Faced Sphinx attacked first, letting out a howl as it swung its claws.

A crimson veil of blood descended upon Yuan Qi as though fragments of the blood-colored world were crumbling on his head.

The raindrops expanded a thousandfold and merged with the veil, transforming it into a boundless sea of blood.

A massive, serpentine figure loomed within the sea, flashing Yuan Qi a cold smile.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Towering waves surged with destructive force toward Yuan Qi as if intent on tearing his body apart.

"This Fey Race artifact is only something Yuan Min lent to you. The artifacts that he's refined carry his bloodline's secret techniques. It's too bad you can only tap into a fraction of its power," Yuan Qi said with disdain.

Boom!

As his Gray Ape form grew, each strand of his fur seemed to exude an aura of the ancient wilderness.

His ice-blue eyes gleamed like cold moons in the distant starry skies, with strands of frigid lightning weaving through them.

Then, cold mist streamed from his pores.

The chilling mist instantly suppressed the sea of blood descending from the sky of the blood-colored world.

Yuan Qi's towering body stepped forward, closing the gap with the Ghost-Faced Sphinx in a single step. As he gently pressed his massive hand downward, he unleashed a burst of icy rock.

Although they were both Rank Eight Great Feys, the Ghost-Faced Sphinx did not even get the chance to react as it was trapped within a frigid land.

The icy rocks around the Ghost-Faced Sphinx became towering glaciers tens of thousands of zhang high. Dozens of bloodline mysteries rooted in the Dao of Cold existed within the crystalline ice.

A single move was all it took for the Ghost-Faced Sphinx to be subdued.

"It wouldn't have been so easy to subdue you if Yuan Min had fully bestowed this Fey Race artifact onto you for you to refine properly.

"Unfortunately, it seems you're no different from that Black Stork to Yuan Min."

The Gray Ape delivered cutting, demoralizing remarks even during battle.

Seeing this, the giant Black Elephant did not attempt to join forces with the Ghost-Faced Sphinx and stomped its massive feet toward Pang Jian.

Its descending hoof resembled a fragment of black sky.

"Yuan Qi's right. Neither of you compare to the Rank Eight Scarlet-Eyed Demon Wolf from Northern Qi," Pang Jian said with a shake of his head.

He deployed his protective shield and then used his finely attuned divine sense to discern the Black Elephant's blood essence. It was neither pure nor refined.

Even its bones bore unhealed fractures—a sign that this Rank Eight Great Fey had suffered grievous injuries in past battles and never fully recovered.

As Yuan Qi said, its bones were crudely tempered, and Rank Eight was likely the limit of its bloodline. It would take a miracle for it to reach the level of a Rank Nine Fey King.

It has impure blood essence, flawed bones, and…

Pang Jian smiled.

Whoosh!

His golden divine soul emerged from his sea of consciousness, bypassed the Black Elephant's massive hoof, and slipped into its mind.

"Your soul is weak while my divine soul far surpasses that of a typical Spirit Wandering Realm cultivator. I'll use this disparity to kill you."

Pang Jian's golden divine soul sliced through the Black Elephant's soul as effortlessly as cutting tofu.

Although the Rank Eight Great Fey's body remained unharmed, its soul had been utterly destroyed.

Its colossal body collapsed beside Pang Jian mid-stomp, sinking through the floor of the blood-colored world.

The Black Elephant's body expanded a hundredfold as it left the world of the beast's eye.

Boom!

Her corpse plunged into a canyon in the fractured ground.

Hundreds of li away, the Rock Bear had been chasing the Rank Nine Black Stork from deep underground when it sensed the Black Elephant's death.

Realizing his territory had been invaded, he narrowed his eyes and sneered, "Yuan Min doesn't dare come confront me himself and only sends these Great Feys. What does he hope to achieve?"

The Rock Bear was confident that Yuan Qi could handle the situation with his awakened bloodline and saw no need to help.

Thousands of li away, Yuan Min stood on a green mountain near the coast in his human form with a crystal ball floating before him.

A drop of his blood essence had manifested the blood-colored world within the crystal ball, clearly displaying Yuan Qi, Pang Jian, the Ghost-Faced Sphinx, and the Black Elephant.

He had been closely monitoring every move of those inside the blood-colored world ever since Yuan Qi and Pang Jian had been pulled inside.

"Great Feys with complete bloodlines truly are exceptional," Yuan Min said admiringly.

Beside him, stood the Fey King Golden Carp in the form of a stunning woman. "Yuan Min, did we miscalculate? That Fey Race artifact doesn't seem to be enough for those two to deal with the Gray Ape."

"Other Great Feys will offer assistance once they leave the Rock Bear's territory," Yuan Min replied, unconcerned. "Several of my old Fey King friends are in the surrounding mountains.

"Golden Carp, there are dozens of Rank Nine Fey Kings like you on the Sacred Soul Continent and many more outside, but only six are qualified to compete for the position of Fey God.

"Fey Kings without such qualifications almost all listen to the Dragon Lair Sect. The Dragon Lair Sect backs me!

"One message from me, and those Fey Kings know what to do. The choice is clear between supporting me or the ancient Rock Bear.

"With the Dragon Lair Sect's help, even if I can't become the Fey God, none of the other five contenders will either! They'll all die in this competition!

"That position has been mine since its inception, and no one can change that!"

As he finished speaking, the crystal ball showed Pang Jian's golden divine soul flying from between his brows and into the Black Elephant's head.

The Black Elephant's corpse was cast out of the blood-colored world in the time it took for Pang Jian's divine soul to return to his sea of consciousness.

"That kid!"

A chill ran down the spines of all the surrounding Rank Eight Great Feys.

The Fey Race on the Sacred Soul Continent were known for their tough hides, robust flesh, and overwhelming destructive power.

Their weakness, however, lay in their souls, which were far inferior to the divine souls of human cultivators of the same level.

The Fey Race had prioritized body tempering since ancient times. Their intelligence fell far short of humans and other races, often requiring them to reach Rank Seven or Eight before their intellect significantly developed.

This disparity meant that, by the time they started refining their souls, it was already too late to catch up.

In contrast, humans cultivated their divine sense from the Profound Abode Realm and tempered their divine souls throughout the Spirit Condensation Realm and Soul Wandering Realm.

This disparity made the divine soul a distinct advantage for the human cultivators compared to the Great Feys of the same level.

Similarly, the Fey Race's terrifyingly durable flesh was their inherent strength.

Not to mention, the human advantage of a divine soul did not guarantee a decisive, one-hit-kill.

Although the Great Fey had a higher cultivation realm, Pang Jian's unique divine soul had left the giant Black Elephant powerless to resist.

"He's just a Soul Wandering Realm cultivator. How could his divine soul be this terrifying?" the Golden Carp Fey King exclaimed in shock.

Yuan Min's face darkened as he hurriedly sent messages to other Fey Kings, hoping to salvage the situation.

***

"I can't believe you killed her faster than I dealt with the Ghost-Faced Sphinx," Yuan Qi said as he tore the Ghost-Faced Sphinx apart, casually extracted its fresh heart, and swallowed it in one gulp.

Ripples of blood-colored light spread through his chest, revealing fine strands of arcane bloodline lightning.

Yuan Qi used a secret technique to analyze the Rank Eight Ghost-Faced Sphinx's bloodline mysteries through its heart.

Bloodline mysteries similar or compatible with his own were absorbed and refined as he consumed the heart, directly integrating into his own heart and becoming a source of strength.

The Fey Race thrived by amplifying their strength through brutal but effective means.

"Her soul was weak and my divine soul is strong," Pang Jian replied. "Her weakness was my strength. It made the fight much easier."

"Indeed, a weak soul is a major flaw of our Fey Race, one we've yet to fully overcome," Yuan Qi admitted, sharp fangs gleaming ominously. "This blood-colored beast's eye is still under Yuan Min's control. I suspect he's watching our every move right now."

"I'll have to destroy this artifact."

Yuan Qi sighed regretfully.

"Yuan Min, if you truly value the few ancient Fey Race artifacts our race has left, then let us leave peacefully," he said to the air. "The ability to craft such artifacts in this era is increasingly rare. I'd hate to destroy it.

"Yuan Min, don't force me!"

As he spoke, Yuan Qi retrieved a fragment of a bone from beneath his tongue.

The blood-stained bone emitted a faint, shimmering light, with a speck of amber-colored glow flickering within.

Pang Jian was stunned. "A Celestial Phoenix 's bone!"

"It's a fragment of one of the Celestial Phoenix's bones that fell into the Third World. Someone found it and sealed it, intending to sell it to the Fey Race on the Sacred Soul Continent," Yuan Qi explained, holding the bone as he waited for Yuan Min to release them.

The blood-colored world remained unchanged.

"Very well," Yuan Qi said, shaking his head.

The blood-colored world was torn open with a swing of the Celestial Phoenix's bone, allowing Yuan Qi and Pang Jian to fly out.

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