Trials of the Abyss

Dong Tianze’s expression was as icy as ever.

"I want to know the situation in the Solitary Mountain Range," he said coldly.

Even when facing his master, Han Zhiyuan, the Vice Cult Leader of the Sinister Soul Temple, he showed little reverence.

Han Zhiyuan had been the one to take a liking to him and bestow upon him the Ethereal Ghost Token. Han Zhiyuan had also told him about Dong Qianfeng secretly joining the Shadow Specter Sect, which led to his betrayal of the Dong Clan.

His deceased foster father, Dong Qianfeng; and his lofty master, the successor of the Celestial Phoenix, were the most important people in Dong Tianze’s heart. This master of his in the Sinister Soul Temple was not one of them.

Han Zhiyuan frowned, sighing. "No one dares to enter the Solitary Mountain Range, nor can anyone come out with the bizarre mist shrouding the region.

"I arranged for Hong Tai and the others to go there. You even personally led the party on the Dong Clan’s side, but still, there were unexpected complications."

Ding!

A sudden sound came from the Ghost Altar.

His eyes widened in surprise as he skimmed the contents of the paper. "Hong Tai’s nephew didn’t die in Divine Fortune and wants to assume the position of hall master. He even handed over a list of items he wanted to purchase. Nine Heavenly Profound Thunder, Refined Ghost Miasma, Blood Circulation Pills..."

He paused, puzzled. "Does that kid plan to fight the seven major clans to the death in Divine Fortune? Even if he managed to kill Fei Zheng, with people from the Radiant Sun Sect, the Blood Moon Sect, and the Star River Alliance there it’ll be hard for him to survive."

Han Zhiyuan had already inwardly abandoned Divine Fortune and the members of the Shadow Specter Sect there.

Even the two hall masters, Meng Qiulan and Zhao Ling had bade him farewell.

"In seven days? "I won’t be free in seven days. The Cult Leader wants to discuss important matters with me and I don’t have time to deal with him," Han Zhiyuan muttered. He then handed the paper to Dong Tianze. "Tianze, you deal with him."

Dong Tianze reluctantly took the paper and asked, "What exactly should I do?"

"Just sit on the Ghost Altar the way I taught you. They can’t see your face. Also, it’s best to only meet with Hong Tai’s nephew since he’s never seen me and won’t know if you’re real or fake. The other three hall masters have seen my true face, so avoid meeting them to prevent misunderstandings," Han Zhiyuan instructed.

"Seven days..." Dong Tianze stared at the paper, brows knitted in thought.

***

Atop a majestic crimson mountain, deep in the Emberrock Mountain Range on Western Loam in the First World, was a young girl.

She sat at a table filled with delicious foods, drinking alone, and watching the fiery red sunset when a tall, handsome middle-aged man named Li Yuanli walked up.

Li Yuanli stood next to her with a helpless expression on his face. "Girl, something happened in the lower world,"

"What happened?" Li Yuqing turned her head.

Her beautiful face had a hint of baby fat, and her eyes were incredibly clear and bright.

"The fragment lands in the Ouyang Clan’s territory in the Fourth World has been contaminated by the murky energy rising from the Fifth World." The handsome Li Yuanli frowned. "Beneath the Ouyang Clan’s territory lies the Fifth Continent, where the Heaven Ascension Tribulation Pillar with Eight Trigrams City stands."

Li Yuqing was taken aback. "Father, are you saying Li Jie’s trial caused an accident?"

"Not necessarily. I believe the Celestial Phoenix’s remains and the scattering of its divine bones are the main causes of the catastrophe."

"How is it related to the Celestial Phoenix?" Li Yuqing asked in surprise.

Li Yuanli sighed. "It would’ve been difficult to erect the Heaven Ascension Tribulation Pillars in the Fifth World without the Celestial Phoenix’s assistance. The Celestial Phoenix played a significant role in their creation. Thanks to the presence of these pillars, there haven’t been any incidents in the Fifth World for many years.

"Everyone believed the Heaven Ascension Tribulation Pillars would stand eternally in the Fifth World. Because of this belief, they cast aside the Celestial Phoenix once it had served its purpose. Everyone assumed that even if it perished, it wouldn’t impact the pillars or the containment and deterrence of the Fifth World.

"Who would’ve thought..." Li Yuanli trailed off, shaking his head with a bitter smile.

Li Yuqing was lost in thought.

"Of course, it could also have something to do with Eight Trigrams City," Li Yuanli added. "You and your brother chose different paths. He focused on spirit artifact crafting, and I was worried he would run into trouble in Eight Trigrams City, so I had you secretly watch over him.

"When he returned, he mentioned that some strange things had happened in Eight Trigrams City but I didn’t pay much attention at the time. Now that there’s a catastrophe in the lower world, I feel like something isn’t quite right," Li Yuanli said while rubbing his temples.

"Father, I was the last to leave Eight Trigrams City, and I didn’t notice anything unusual." Li Yuqing was puzzled.

"Before you entered the mansion, the City Lord of Eight Trigrams City was devoured by an unknown entity in the darkness," Li Yuanli revealed. "Yuan Shishan’s soul was integral to the Eight Trigrams City. When the unknown entity devoured him, this likely caused an issue with the arrays.

"The copper chest representing the array core also disappeared after his death, and shortly after you returned, the Mirror Tunnel to Eight Trigrams City vanished.

"Now, we can no longer descend to Eight Trigrams City through the Mirror Tunnel, so we can’t even investigate where the problem lies. We also don’t know what devoured Yuan Shishan. The fact that it appeared in Eight Trigrams City, where the murky energy is so dense, and moved freely in the darkness, indicates that it can adapt to that environment.

"Oh, and Li Jie also said he suspected you were the entity in the darkness."

Hearing this, Li Yuqing was troubled. "Father, you didn’t tell him it was me?"

"I was afraid he would resent me for not trusting him, so I didn’t tell him the truth," Li Yuanli admitted. "If there’s no issue with the Fiffth Heaven Ascension Tribulation Pillar, the tainted energy of the Fifth World wouldn’t be able to seep into the Fourth World.

"This problem started because of Li Jie but he has recently been focusing on new spirit artifact crafting techniques. You should go to the lower world in his place and check it out."

Li Yuanli’s daughter possessed a rare treasure that protected her from the contamination of the murky energy and allowed her to see clearly in the dark.

With this treasure, Li Yuqing would have no issues investigating in the lower world.

Li Yuanli was confident in his daughter’s abilities and combat strength!

"Alright, I’ll go to the Fourth World and have a look." Li Yuqing nodded in agreement. Suddenly recalling the boy in the dark tunnel, she asked, "By the way, Father, has anyone come out of the Solitary Mountain Range shrouded in bizarre mist?

"There was a boy named Pang Jian in Eight Trigrams City who was very special. Li Jie said he should’ve returned safely to the Solitary Mountain Range in Northern Qi through the Mirror Tunnel. Did he ever come out?"

Li Yuanli shook his head.

Recently, both his children had brought up the name Pang Jian, which greatly piqued his curiosity.

A boy from the Fourth World had accidentally entered Eight Trigrams City and caught the attention of his proud children.

Li Yuanli asked, "Is there something you two are hiding about this boy?"

"Nothing, nothing. You don’t need to get involved in the matters of us young people," Li Yuqing said nervously, shaking her head and packing up the table in a rush.

She then soared into the sky, leaving Western Loam and descending to the lower worlds without the aid of any flying vessels or special spirit artifacts.

***

The sky was starting to brighten in Divine Fortune in the Fourth World.

Meng Qiulan watched Pang Jian’s figure disappear with a complicated expression before turning to Bai Wei and Bai Zhi. "As your master, what happened in the past is my fault. I just wanted to scare you to motivate you to cultivate diligently..."

"We understand." Bai Zhi nodded, biting her lips.

The two sisters’ gazes were still fixed on the faint white mist where Pang Jian had left.

After learning how to use the Ghost Altar from Zhao Ling, Pang Jian packed up the materials needed to set it up and left, claiming that everyone should disperse and hide.

He seemed oblivious to the pleading looks from Bai Wei and Bai Zhi.

"He’s only sixteen or seventeen years old. He probably doesn’t yet understand the allure of women. He may have refused now, but in the future, he might not," Wu Yi comforted the two sisters.

"The future? What future?" Yang Yuansen sneered. As soon as Pang Jian left, his arrogance returned. "The Sect Leader has abandoned us. We’re all destined to die in Divine Fortune. There’s no future for anyone here!"

Meng Qiulan was silent for a long while before she finally said, "I feel like he came purely for the Ghost Altar."

"I think so too." Wu Yi nodded. "He seems confident he can survive in Divine Fortune. I really don’t know where he gets his confidence."

Zhao Ling smiled bitterly. "So, what do we do now?"

"Let’s take it one step at a time. We should try to stay hidden for as long as we can." Meng Qiulan sighed.

***

Pang Jian returned to the cave and reported the good news to Luo Hongyan, "I managed to obtain a Ghost Altar. In seven days, I’ll have the chance to meet the Sect Leader of the Shadow Specter Sect."

"Good. Obtaining some rare spirit materials and sinister spirit artifacts will benefit both of us. We can use our spirit jade and spirit stones to trade with the Sect Leader, as long as he appears at the Ghost Altar." Luo Hongyan’s eyes lit up in anticipation as she said, "Pang Jian, it won’t be long before I can appear fully before you."

With that, the pair spent their days cultivating in the blood pool and prepared to activate the Ghost Altar on the seventh day.

Even though forces from the upper worlds were active in Divine Fortune, Pang Jian was not nervous.

After all, he and Luo Hongyan still had a Divine Spirit Pagoda they could use.

They could always activate the Divine Spirit Pagoda and escape Divine Fortune at a speed far exceeding that of a Cloud Sail.

Even if Divine Fortune became contaminated, he could simply have Luo Hongyan enter the white jade porcelain bottle and seal it with the stopper.

He had advanced to the Marrow Cleansing Realm using the dense murky energy in Eight Trigrams City and did not fear the thin wisps of tainted energy drifting upward from the Fifth World.

In the worst-case scenario, he could convert the spiritual power in his body into murky energy and transform the Earth Blaze Technique into the Earth Demon Technique.

Furthermore, his combat strength drastically increased when his peculiar spiritual sea was filled with murky energy.

One day, Luo Hongyan received some critical information from her Spirit Devils. "Pang Jian, the people from the Radiant Sun Sect are preparing to drench the perimeter of Misty Swamp with oil and burn down the entire swamp."

Pang Jian’s face changed dramatically. "The sapling!"

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