Trials of the Abyss

In the tunnel, the girl uncrossed her legs and straightened her slender body. She then gracefully and methodically wiped the oil stains from the corners of her mouth and each of her ten fingers using a handkerchief.

In the blink of an eye, her comportment completely transformed, embodying the image of a dignified lady from a prominent family.

"By the way, how can you see me?" The young girl asked with curiosity written all over her beautiful face.

At the same moment, she noticed the dense murky energy of the Fifth World swirling around Pang Jian like a thick wall.

Her bright eyes glimmered strangely as she studied Pang Jian. With each passing moment, Pang Jian seemed to grow increasingly enigmatic in her eyes.

Fearing she would misunderstand him, Pang Jian earnestly explained, "When I bumped into you earlier, I couldn’t see you. After enduring the contamination of the murky energy, I could see in the darkness."

He never would have imagined that the figure lurking in the darkness that filled both him and Li Jie with apprehension was a girl.

The girl appeared to be of similar age to him. She wore a black dress that blended seamlessly with the darkness. Although her face carried a hint of baby fat, she was undeniably beautiful and had an irresistible charm.

For some reason though, Pang Jian felt that if she ate slightly less and slimmed down, her face would become several times more beautiful than it already was.

Eyeing the table filled with braised pork, chicken feet, chicken wings, and the exquisite little wine pot, he concluded that the girl probably would not be slimming down anytime soon.

"Never mind. I’m feeling generous, I’ll overlook you bumping into me earlier," the girl said, waving her hand sheepishly.

She had assumed Pang Jian dead after hearing his mournful wailing before. Thus, when he appeared before her, the first words that left her mouth were "How come you’re not dead yet".

As he stood before her, alive and well, she could not help but feel embarrassed by her choice of words.

A thought crossed her mind as she recalled Pang Jian’s words.

"The tainted energy of the Fifth World isn’t something just anyone can endure. From what I know..." she trailed off with a frown before shaking her head in annoyance. "Forget it! They’re still babbling about their endless stories in there. It’s driving me crazy."

Retrieving another lounge chair from her spatial ring, she placed it at the opposite end of the table and waved Pang Jian over.

"Since you can also conceal yourself in darkness, would you like to watch together?" she invited.

"Sure."

He stood at a considerable distance away from the entrance of the City Lord’s Mansion. The tables, chairs, and the mysterious girl, blocked his line of sight into the courtyard.

Thus, Pang Jian could only make out a faint silhouette from where he stood. A familiar figure replaced Dong Tianze to sit atop the raised platform. However, he could not see much apart from that.

Upon receiving the girl’s invitation, Pang Jian wasted no time. He briskly walked toward the girl and plopped onto the newly added chair.

The table filled with food lay between him and the girl.

Pang Jian’s view of the City Lord’s Mansion was much wider from the chair, allowing him to grasp details he could not see before.

He realized the figure seated on the raised platform was none other than Luo Hongyan!

Dong Tianze, on the other hand, stood next to the pool, alongside Qi Qingsong and Lan Xi from the Demon Sect.

Only three people remained seated on the raised platforms, Luo Hongyan, Yuan Lengshan, and Lin Beiye from the Black Valley Sect.

Pang Jian was stunned.

"Do you want something to eat?" The girl beside him kindly asked.

Pang Jian’s mind was in disarray and he subconsciously shook his head, wondering what had transpired within the mansion after he retreated into the darkness.

Luo Hongyan was not involved in the two attempts on Qi Qingsong’s life. Thus, when he left earlier, Pang Jian figured that Luo Hongyan could still escape through the Mirror Tunnel.

After all, there were no deep-seated grudges between Luo Hongyan and the others remaining in the City Lord’s Mansion. Her life would not be in danger as long as she did not covet the treasures in the pool.

Pang Jian’s eyes suddenly widened in astonishment.

Luo Hongyan had her back to him, and as she moved her hand from her front to her side, the previously obscured white jade bottle entered his line of sight.

She was participating in the struggle for the treasures!

Growl!

Pang Jian had declined the girl’s invitation before, only for his stomach to betray him with an involuntary growl. The delectable aroma of the feast beside him was incredibly tempting.

Staring at the table full of delicious food, he hesitated before asking, "Can I have some?"

"Of course," The girl narrowed her eyes and smiled flippantly. "I can’t finish all this food by myself anyway. Let’s eat together, and I’ll tell you everything that happened in the mansion after you left."

"Mm, okay." Pang Jian’s "mm" was clearly articulated, but the roast chicken in his mouth muffled the "okay" that followed.

Grabbing the roast chicken closest to him, he tore off two glistening drumsticks and devoured them in the blink of an eye.

The girl mentally rolled her eyes.

In no time at all, Pang Jian finished off the entire plate of roast chicken and reached for the braised beef.

"My name is Li Yuqing," the girl introduced.

"Pang Jian," he replied shortly, too focused on the food to give a proper response.

"I already know your name is Pang Jian. I heard it earlier."

"Mm."

Pang Jian swept through the lavish feast on the table, devouring the spread of meat dishes with an unstoppable gusto.

As he regained his composure after the agonizing ordeal earlier, Pang Jian realized his transformed body required a large amount of food to replenish his exhausted strength.

This hunger was similar to when he crawled out of the stone passage beneath Crescent Moon Lake after the essence of the Celestial Phoenix had tempered his body.

After introducing herself, the girl stayed silent.

She had invited him to join her because she thought it would be awkward to eat alone while Pang Jian watched from the sidelines.

But how could she have known that Pang Jian had no intention of being polite?

Pang Jian polished off the majority of the braised meat, roast chicken, and beef on the table in a short span of time.

Despite this, he showed no signs of stopping!

Li Yuqing glared at him in annoyance. "Aren’t you curious about what happened in the mansion after you left?"

"Yes, please go ahead," Pang Jian mumbled through a mouth full of meat.

The girl sighed. "Never mind, I’ll tell you later."

If she were to take the time to tell him, he would completely devour her food by the time she finished her explanation.

Falling silent, she irritatedly began to compete with Pang Jian for the food.

Inside the City Lord’s Mansion, Yuan Lengshan continued to tell her story. Meanwhile, in the dark tunnel, the young man and the girl were using both hands to grab food from the table.

The girl stuffed the food into her mouth, causing her cheeks to bulge. Pang Jian had been doing the same from the beginning.

Before long, the two had devoured the food closest to them and reached for the braised chicken feet and chicken wings in the center of the table.

Their greasy hands collided as they reached for the same chicken wing.

Pang Jian was taken aback, however, he soon returned to his senses.

His eyes met Li Yuqing’s fierce glare as he peered up at where she sat across from him. Despite her mouth full of grease, she still managed to give off an aura of intimidation.

Pang Jian sheepishly withdrew his hand.

The girl let out a snort. Triumphantly picking up the chicken wing, she thought, At least he knows when to back off.

Burp!

Pang Jian let out a satisfied burp. The intense hunger from before was easing, so he stopped reaching for more food.

Cough! Cough!

Her frenzied eating caused the girl to choke on a piece of food. She had never fought so voraciously for food before, and after coughing a few times, she shot Pang Jian a fierce glare and said, "This is your fault!"

"I was really hungry," Pang Jian replied awkwardly.

"Forget it."

Now that Pang Jian admitted his mistake and was no longer competing with her for food, she could finally slow down her pace.

Li Yuqing had kept a close eye on the situation both within and around the City Lord’s Mansion from within the darkness and her impression of Pang Jian was not bad at all.

He had protected Luo Hongyan, Su Meng, and Jiang Li at the back entrance of the City Lord’s Mansion as he single-handedly killed more than a dozen cultivators with his spear.

That had been the moment when she took notice of Pang Jian.

Later, within the City Lord’s Mansion, Li Yuqing was surprised to see that Pang Jian, despite only being in the Meridian Opening Realm, dared to attack Qi Qingsong for Zhou Qingchen. He then used the last of his strength to send Zhou Qingchen through the Mirror Tunnel while risking his own life by charging into the darkness.

Watching this had deeply moved Li Yuqing.

Thus, when Pang Jian collided with her and knocked her to the ground, she did not hold it against him.

However, she could not save Pang Jian from being contaminated by the murky energy in the darkness. Despite feeling sympathy and pity for his agonizing screams, she could not do anything for him.

She willingly offered him a seat and invited him to watch the battle with her when he unexpectedly reappeared because his actions had left a favorable impression on her.

Even the invitation to eat was driven by that good impression.

Unfortunately, she had not anticipated just how much Pang Jian could eat.

Eating at a much more leisurely pace, Li Yuqing recounted the happenings within the mansion, "There’s another soul inhabiting the body of the woman in your group. The one who didn’t leave. She willingly revealed herself after you charged into the darkness."

Pang Jian nodded in acknowledgment. "I know she has another soul within her. The soul is that of an evil woman..."

"Evil woman?" Li Yuqing knitted her brows and earnestly searched her memories. "From what I’ve seen, she genuinely cares about you. Her actions seem motivated by the desire to seek revenge on your behalf. The worry on her face when you escaped into the darkness seemed authentic to me."

Pang Jian was taken aback. He stared at Luo Hongyan with a complicated expression.

Luo Hongyan was still seated on the raised platform, engaging in feigned civility with the others in the City Lord’s Mansion.

After finishing her explanation, Li Yuqing placed a copper basin full of water on the table and prepared to wash the grease from her hands.

"Wash your hands first," she instructed. "We’ll talk more later."

Pang Jian stood up, reaching over to do as instructed when Li Yuqing stopped him.

"Wait a minute!" She glared. "Let me wash my hands first!"

"Oh." Pang Jian obediently halted.

Pang Jian watched Li Yuqing meticulously wash her greasy hands in the copper basin and wipe them thoroughly with a towel. He waited until after she was done to wash his own hands in the same basin.

"So, how did you break through to the Marrow Cleansing Realm after stumbling blindly through the darkness?" Li Yuqing asked curiously.

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