Trials of the Abyss

Outside the City Lord’s Mansion, the killing continued.

After the announcement that the bloodshed was still not enough, the remaining cultivators once again raised their spirit artifacts and resumed battle.

Deafening roars resounded through the plaza. Spirit artifacts danced in the air. Dazzling beams of light lit up all around.

Those who could not react in time fell into pools of blood.

Pang Jian’s group was no longer a target, and no one dared to approach them.

Heaving a sigh of relief, Pang Jian surveyed the battlefield, watching the reckless fight of the other cultivators.

He soon realized that those in the Meridian Opening Realm were the first to be attacked and killed. Those willing to serve the people within the City Lord’s Mansion and act as their "killing sword" were predominantly in the Marrow Cleansing Realm.

Pang Jian recalled Jian Yaoyang and his group.

If Jian Yaoyang’s group of seven had survived and made it to the plaza, the six Meridian Opening Realm cultivators would not have lasted long.

Given Jian Yaoyang’s cultivation realm and combat prowess, he would have been fit to carry out the killings outside, but he would not have been qualified to enter the City Lord’s Mansion.

A keen realization of the cruelty of the cultivation world sank into Pang Jian.

Most of the corpses on the ground belonged to those in the Meridian Opening Realm, with a few Marrow Cleansing Realm ones mixed in.

In Northern Qi, or even the Fourth World, cultivators in these cultivation realms were regarded as exceptional figures. Marrow Cleansing Realm cultivators were treated as honored guests in the seven major clans.

However, in Eight Trigrams City, cultivators in the Marrow Cleansing Realm like Jin Yang or Dong Qianfeng were nothing more than cannon fodder.

Not even Hong Tai was an exception to this.

Sighing, Pang Jian turned to Zhou Qingchen.

"I’ll go and have a look at the front entrance," he said, before heading to the front entrance where the girl clad in white stood.

He wanted to take the opportunity to survey the battlefield once more.

As Pang Jian approached the main entrance, he saw the white-clad girl standing alone in front of the intersection.

A veil covered the lower half of the girl’s face, but her eyes conveyed a cold apathy toward life. Several bodies were strewn haphazardly on the ground around her.

None of these bodies were intact.

When Pang Jian arrived at the front entrance, she turned her head to gaze blankly at him.

Pang Jian came to a halt and nodded at her before turning his gaze toward the cultivators fighting around the main entrance.

The cultivation realm of these cultivators was mostly in the Marrow Cleansing Realm, with few in the Meridian Opening Realm. They seemed to be waiting for the barrier inside the City Lord’s Mansion to be lifted, so they could be the first to rush in.

Pang Jian finally understood the situation.

The back entrance was sealed off, so it had become where the weakest cultivators were gathered.

There was no guarantee that the back entrance would open even after the quota for killing had been met, so those eager to enter the City Lord’s Mansion had no choice but to gather around the main entrance.

No wonder she came to the main entrance, Pang Jian thought after observing for a while.

Having seen what he had wanted to see, Pang Jian continued in the same direction, to fully circle the plaza.

Many battling cultivators noticed the indifferent young man strolling along the wall while carrying a blood-stained spear.

These cultivators were in other sections of the plaza and had not seen the slaughter at the back entrance. However, despite being eager to reach the killing quota, no one dared to attack.

Pang Jian did not encounter any trouble as he arrived at the intersection with the previously lively darkness.

Coming to a halt, he stared into the darkness. However, it no longer exhibited any peculiar movements and lay still like the darkness at the other intersections. Whatever had been lurking within seemed to have long departed.

Li Jie lounged on his recliner and leisurely sipped his green fruit juice. He seemed oblivious to the bloody slaughter happening around him. Seeing Pang Jian’s actions, he chuckled and said, "There’s nothing interesting to see anymore. Even if there was some mysterious creature in the darkness, they wouldn’t reveal themselves now."

Meanwhile, Luo Hongyan, Zhou Qingchen, and the others spotted Pang Jian. They waved and called for him to return, "Pang Jian!"

Pang Jian nodded and walked toward them.

As Pang Jian was about to walk past Li Jie, Li Jie smiled and said, "Little Brother, when the pillar of light retracts into the pool in the City Lord’s Mansion, the departing Mirror Tunnel will open. When that happens, you will have two options.

"You could suppress your desires for the treasures in the pool and leave through the Mirror Tunnel for the highest chance of survival, or you can stay behind to seize the treasures in the pool. I wonder what you’ll do."

Zhou Qingchen and the others had also heard Li Jie’s words, prompting them to contemplate this decision.

"We’ll decide once we’re inside and see the situation for ourselves," Pang Jian replied decisively to Li Jie.

"True. You can only let go and make the best choice after seeing it with your own eyes." Li Jie shot him a friendly smile and retrieved three glass bottles of green fruit juice from his spatial ring. Sitting up, he handed one to Pang Jian. "Let me treat you to some fruit juice."

Pang Jian was bewildered. "Why would you treat me?"

Li Jie pointed at Zhou Qingchen and Su Meng. "I’m also treating them. That’s why I’m giving you three bottles."

Before Pang Jian could inquire further, Li Jie took the initiative to explain, "I’ve wandered each of the eight streets of Eight Trigrams City, but only three people, upon seeing how I’m dressed, did not covet my treasures and had no intention of killing me for them. You three showed neither greed nor hostility toward me, so I’m treating you to my fruit juice."

"Oh, alright then." Pang Jian accepted the bottles of green fruit juice and left, a puzzled expression still on his face.

Returning to Zhou Qingchen’s side, he handed the bottles to Zhou Qingchen and Su Meng. "He said these are for you to drink."

"What a strange fellow," Zhou Qingchen muttered under his breath. He then seemed to recall something as he turned to shout at Li Jie, "Hey, did my Senior Sister Jiang show any interest in your treasures?"

Li Jie was dumbfounded. He shook his head. "She hasn’t seen me. She was hiding the whole time and didn’t have the opportunity to covet my treasures."

"Didn’t she meet you just now? She didn’t covet your treasures then, so why didn’t you offer her a bottle?" Zhou Qingchen questioned, glaring at Li Jie.

"Junior Brother Zhou, why are you like this?" Jiang Li tugged at his sleeve, silently telling him not to cause trouble.

"Ah, you’re quite the character." Li Jie sighed. He tossed another bottle of fruit juice toward Zhou Qingchen and said with a hint of amusement, "Consider it an oversight on my part."

Zhou Qingchen took a few steps forward and caught the bottle of green juice. He handed the bottle to Jiang Li and said with a grin, "This thing isn’t important. Senior Sister Jiang is a kind person. I couldn’t let him tarnish your reputation like that."

Jiang Li’s eyes gleamed as she looked at Zhou Qingchen’s earnest face. Her heart overflowed with gratitude.

Taking the initiative to hold Zhou Qingchen’s hand, she took a moment to muster her courage and said, "Junior Brother Zhou, can you promise me something?"

"I’ll promise you anything!" Zhou Qingchen exclaimed, puffing out his chest.

"Later, when we enter the City Lord’s Mansion, can we just leave immediately through the Mirror Tunnel? I’m exhausted and drained. I just want to escape this dreadful city as soon as possible. Junior Brother Zhou, can you promise me this?" Jiang Li pleaded, gently shaking his arm.

Seeing her delicate and frail demeanor, Zhou Qingchen’s heart softened. He was about to agree when his expression abruptly turned serious. "No! I have to kill the person who severed your arm before leaving! I may forsake the treasure inside, but that person needs to die!"

Zhou Qingchen firmly refused her plea.

Luo Hongyan found it hard to continue watching them and bluntly voiced Jiang Li’s concerns. "You fool. She’s worried that person will kill you, so she wants you to escape through the Mirror Tunnel. She believes the one who severed her arm is too powerful, and that you’re simply no match for him."

"No, that’s not it," Jiang Li explained in a low voice.

Zhou Qingchen snorted. "Even so, I still want to give it a try!"

"I’ll accompany you," Pang Jian said softly.

Zhou Qingchen let out an odd chuckle and gave Pang Jian’s shoulder a firm pat.

"What a good brother!" he declared before staring at Han Duping. "Old Han, why aren’t you taking a stand and declaring that you’ll face life and death with me too?"

Han Duping drooped his head, resigned. "If there’s even a glimmer of hope, I’ll naturally stand by you. But if there’s no chance and it’s clearly a death trap, we should just part ways."

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A lazy voice rang out from the City Lord’s Mansion. "All right, that’s enough."

As the person said this, the pillar of light coming from the City Lord’s Mansion gradually retracted.

Pang Jian stared at Li Jie.

Li Jie seemed to know about the many mysteries of Eight Trigrams City and the City Lord’s Mansion. Everything he mentioned appeared to be true. The retraction of the pillar of light, for instance, had indeed come to pass.

"This guy, he..." Pang Jian appeared to be lost in thought.

Noticing Pang Jian’s gaze, Li Jie smiled, raised the glass bottle in his hand, and gave it a playful shake in his direction as he reminded, "Remember to drink the fruit juice."

Pang Jian did not reply. He knitted his brows as he stared at the bodies scattered outside the City Lord’s Mansion.

The severed limbs and pools of blood were vanishing into the stone tile at an accelerated pace!

He had a hunch that the more bodies vanished into the stone tile, the faster they disappeared, and the more quickly the pillar of light within the City Lord’s Mansion retracted.

The fiercely battling cultivators hastily composed themselves upon hearing the voice from the City Lord’s Mansion. Realization finally sank in as they stared at the retracting pillar of light and the disappearing bodies.

"We’ve reached the threshold!"

"The treasures within the City Lord’s Mansion will be revealed!"

"We can finally enter the City Lord’s Mansion!"

Everyone converged at the main entrance.

"Zhou Qingchen, the person who just spoke is the one who severed your Senior Sister’s arm," Luo Hongyan bluntly revealed. She no longer helped Jiang Li conceal the truth. "That person is called Qi Qingsong. Once you’re inside, remember to find and kill him."

Zhou Qingchen took a deep breath and nodded firmly. "I will!"

"You guys should go in now," Li Jie said, stowing his reclining chair into his spatial ring. He winked at Pang Jian and advised. "I’ll remind you once again, you should drink the green juice I gave you sooner rather than later. Don’t worry, I, Li Jie, am an upright and honest person. I didn’t put poison in it or anything like that."

Zhou Qingchen had just finished drinking the fruit juice. He gripped his empty glass bottle and looked at Li Jie with a terrified expression.

Li Jie rolled his eyes. "Don’t you understand human language? I said I wouldn’t poison it. Why do you still look like you’ve drunk a bellyful of poison?"

Zhou Qingchen’s face contorted into a bitter expression as he openly acknowledged his oversight, "I didn’t think about the possibility of you poisoning it earlier. I felt a chill down my spine at your words. Old Han has always emphasized the importance of staying vigilant against others!"

Li Jie glared at Zhou Qingchen before ignoring them and proceeding toward the main entrance.

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