Trials of the Abyss

Daylight faded as night fell.

The moon had yet to rise and the stars remained hidden behind clouds.

A massive star-shaped heart hovered in the sky above the marshlands, exuding a thick, bloody aura.

The heart shimmered with star-like specks of light.

Inside the heart, a starry golden light enveloped Pang Jian. Like a sponge soaking up water, he frantically absorbed all the nourishment within the heart––blood essence, stellar energy, and metal energy!

The lifetime accumulation of the Rank Eight Astral Golden Armor Beast flooded into Pang Jian's body, significantly enhancing his physical strength.

"Hmm?"

The ever-growing Yuan Qi turned his head and his ice-blue eyes shone with astonishment.

Even so, he did not pause in his combat.

He wielded the Celestial Phoenix's bone like a blade, striking the fleeing Silver-Scaled Python.

As the blade tore through the air, a burst of icy light, cold enough to freeze the heavens and earth, erupted from the Celestial Phoenix's bone.

The divine power of the Celestial Phoenix's bone had awakened generations of bloodline mysteries that Yuan Qi's ancestors had comprehended and passed down, transforming into arcs of lightning, fiery blazes, and icy flames.

Yuan Qi's ancestors had comprehended and mastered bloodline mysteries that extended far beyond the Dao of Cold.

He simply excelled in that particular Dao, aspiring to one day use it as a stepping stone to claim a seat among the Fey Gods.

Whoosh!

The Celestial Phoenix's bone shot into the murky lake, piercing and killing the fleeing Rank Eight Silver-Scaled Python.

The successive deaths of three Rank Eight Great Feys shattered the morale of the accompanying Lesser Feys.

They scattered in a panicked retreat when Yuan Qi's towering figure descended to retrieve the Celestial Phoenix's bone and the Silver-Scaled Python's corpse.

"This Silver-Scaled Python's bloodline attributes are closest to mine. Its heart should offer even greater wonders," he remarked, swallowing his fourth heart in a single gulp.

Meanwhile, the heart of the Astral Golden Armor Beast floating in mid-air abruptly started to shrink.

Inside, Pang Jian was using the Qi Nurturing Divine Cauldron Art in tandem with the Grand Providence Sacred Body to refine the vast blood essence.

The results were extraordinary.

Boom!

The heart burst apart to reveal Pang Jian

His skin glowed golden, looking as though his body was forged from gold.

"This feels incredible," he said, pleased.

Dozens of new stars had appeared in his dantian, each shining as brightly as diamonds.

On closer inspection, fine strands of arcane bloodline lightning could be seen within these stars.

His Primordial Chaos Spiritual Sea had extracted the Rank Eight Great Fey's comprehended stellar techniques from its heart!

The pure metal energy from the Astral Golden Armor Beast's blood had even nourished his Golden Body Realm tempering, further toughening his already resilient body. ȒåΝꝋВƐＳ

Unfortunately, his Primordial Chaos Spiritual Sea lacked any corresponding object aligned with the Dao of Metal, so the profound mysteries relating to metal energy were not imprinted.

However, if his spiritual sea had contained a mountain of metal, he believed the mysteries relating to the Dao of Metal would have also been imprinted.

Metal and stellar energies aside, vast blood essence also surged into his Providence Mystic Reservoir Acupoint.

The dense blood mist stored in the Providence Mystic Reservoir Acupoint had condensed into a small pool of blood.

This shift from mist to a pool represented a qualitative evolution in his blood essence, allowing the Providence Mystic Reservoir Acupoint to finally live up to its name.

The surge in blood essence also impacted Pang Jian's sea of consciousness, leaving him feeling refreshed, like his divine soul had become lighter.

Pang Jian's divine soul was imbued with divine consciousness and was fundamentally different from other human cultivators of this era.

The strength of his blood essence and body directly enhanced his divine soul.

Pang Jian gained a deeper understanding from this experience with the heart of the Rank Eight Astral Golden Armor Beast—breakthroughs in physical strength also bolstered his divine soul.

After some reflection, he said with satisfaction, "The Astral Golden Armor Beast's heart contained dual bloodline energies—metal and stellar—both concentrated in its blood essence!"

"The mysteries of its bloodline perfectly complement the grandeur of its name." Yuan Qi grinned in his giant ape form.

Blood dripped from his thick fur-covered lips, giving him a savage appearance.

"It's like the Ghost-Faced Sphinx. The deceased Ghost-Faced Sphinx's ancestors also comprehended multiple Daos," Yuan Qi said. "Some comprehended the Dao of Lightning and others the Dao of Fire.

"These lightning and fire techniques their ancestors created through comprehending the Dao of Lightning and Fire were imprinted permanently within their bloodline, manifesting as crystal bloodline chains in their descendants' hearts.

"If an ancestor of the Ghost-Faced Sphinx comprehended the Dao of Lightning when it was in Rank Eight, its descendants would manifest this comprehension when they reached Rank Eight.

"Similarly, if an ancestor comprehended the Dao of Fire when it was in Rank Seven, a corresponding comprehension would appear in their descendants at Rank Seven.

"Our Fey Race's strength lies in inheriting the divine abilities of our ancestors, allowing us to build upon their foundations.

"We don't need to start from scratch, wasting countless years learning the basics as the humans do.

"It's only upon reaching Rank Nine that we have to deepen our understanding of existing bloodline techniques or explore entirely new Dao," Yuan Qi explained.

Pang Jian was astonished.

Even if the Fey Race lacked intelligence in early ranks, their bloodlines allowed innate divine abilities to manifest naturally within their hearts.

No study was required and no effort was spent on comprehension as the Fey Race instantly mastered the techniques that manifested in their hearts.

Rank Nine Fey Race were known as Fey Kings and possessed intelligence on par with any other race.

At that stage, they could build upon their ancestors' comprehension to create new bloodline techniques. These newly grasped techniques would then be imprinted into their descendants' bloodlines, sparing future generations from unnecessary detours.

"The heavens truly favor the Fey Race," Pang Jian said sincerely. "It's as if you're the chosen children of nature."

"But it seems there are forces at work suppressing our greatest talent!" A cold voice interrupted.

Pang Jian and Yuan Qi turned toward the source of the voice and spotted a silver-furred lynx perched on the bare branches of a withered tree in the marshlands.

Whoosh!

The lynx turned into a slender human woman with an exquisite face.

Her long silver hair draped down to cover most of her body and her jet-black eyes glimmered with a cold, dangerous light.

Yuan Qi's eyes widened in shock. "The Fey King White Lynx!"

The Rock Bear had previously mentioned that the Fey King White Lynx was his neighbor and the master of the marshlands.

She commanded the loyalty of the Silver-Scaled Pythons, the Astral Golden Armor Beasts, and the Gale Eagles.

"I'm pleased that you know me."

The White Lynx extended a hand from within her cascading silver hair to reveal the blood-colored beast's eye in her palm.

"Yuan Min asked me to kill the Sword Pavilion brat and capture you alive," she said coldly, eyes darting between Yuan Qi and Pang Jian. "So you're Li Zhaotian's disciple. It's impressive that you could extract the bloodline mysteries from the heart of my subordinate.

"Gray Ape, you're one of us, so I can overlook you killing my subordinates—but this human…"

Boom!

Her eyes flashed and her long silver hair lit up with white flames.

She extended her other hand from within her cascading hair, withered and bony as it clawed toward Pang Jian from a distance.

A massive skeletal hand engulfed in white flames materialized between sky and ground, grabbing at Pang Jian.

Pang Jian hastily summoned a thick protective shield.

Boom!

It shattered instantly.

Pang Jian's expression shifted and his eyes turned pure gold as he attempted to counter the White Lynx's technique with his divine soul.

"What a coincidence. I also excel in this area," the White Lynx sneered, obsidian eyes meeting Pang Jian's golden ones.

One of her eyes abruptly turned a pure white and a peculiar greyscale world unfolded within the depths of her gaze.

The greyscale world seemed to predate the Abyss itself.

Two streams of eerie energy—one black and one white—flowed between their locked gazes and penetrated Pang Jian's mind.

Boom! Boom!

Pang Jian felt like his entire existence—his life, sea of consciousness, dantian, spiritual sea, body, and everything he had ever seen, perceived, or thought—was reduced to black and white.

It was like no colors existed in his world anymore.

Blood flowed from his nostrils, but even his blood had turned pitch-black. When he checked on his divine soul, he found it pale and twisted, tainted with the ominous hue of death.

The massive skeletal hand gripped Pang Jian's body and dragged him away from Yuan Qi.

"So, Gray Ape, are you willing to perform the Return to Antiquity ritual for me now?"

Yuan Qi was furious.

He swung the Celestial Phoenix's bone like a blade, intending to slice apart the White Lynx's skeletal hand. A casual wave of her hand with the blood-colored beast's eye easily nullified his attack from a distance.

She then flicked the back of her palm toward Yuan Qi.

It was as though an invisible mountain had struck the two-hundred-zhang-tall Yuan Qi. His bones cracked audibly as he was flung through the air.

Boom!

His massive body crashed into the ground, creating a deep crater and smashing through boulders.

The White Lynx's petite figure starkly contrasted the towering frames of the other Fey Kings. She stood on the withered tree in the distance, one hand manipulating the skeleton hand grabbing Pang Jian while the other countered Yuan Qi.

"You even dared to pursue my subordinates into my territory—you truly have no regard for me," she said icily. "Swear an ancient Fey Race oath to perform the Return to Antiquity ritual for me, and I'll spare both you and this Sword Pavilion brat.

"Gray Ape, the Rock Bear is still a thousand li away. He won't make it in time to save you," the White Lynx threatened.

"I'll perform the Return to Antiquity ritual for you, but only if you agree to one condition!" Yuan Qi roared. "I'll help you awaken your bloodline as long as you support Old Bear's ascension to Fey God and promise not to submit to the Dragon Lair Sect's orders!"

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