Trials of the Abyss

The rogue cultivators on Ice Rock Island fled in panic, their faces filled with terror as they cursed Dong Tianze and the Sinister Soul Temple.

Dong Tianze’s Ghost’s Cry unleashed a sea of golden dagger light across the streets of the Giant Stone Palace.

Woooooo!

The soul-crushing wails from the Ghost’s Cry tore at the souls of the rogue cultivators and filled them with dread.

Only Pang Jian and Zhu Yuanxi remained at the domeless stone hall.

Shifting to a defensive stance, Pang Jian unleashed a mixture of Lunar Edges and Silver Crescents to fend off Zhu Yuanxi’s attacks. noveℓ.com

Although they were a cultivation realm apart, Pang Jian refrained from exerting his full strength or using his Startling Slaughter Spear to avoid drawing too much attention and fought while continuously evading.

***

Meanwhile, Gao Yuan and Yuan Fei stood on Yuan Fei’s Cloud Sail outside the Giant Stone Palace.

Gao Yuan frowned as his gaze fell on the cold corpses of Zhao Ling, Meng Qiulan, and the Bai sisters. The frigid winds on Ice Rock Island preserved the bodies discarded on the pile of rubble.

"Strange..." Gao Yuan muttered as he stared at the bodies.

Pang Jian, Zhu Yuanxi of the Blood Moon Sect, and Dong Tianze of the Sinister Soul Temple had all shown unusual interest in the Shadow Specter Sect’s members from the lower world.

This made Gao Yuan suspicious.

"You saw it. I didn’t say a word about those siblings paying special attention to them," Yuan Fei said in an ingratiating tone. "Gao Yuan, when those siblings come out, remember to vouch for me!"

He had withstood Zhu Yuanxi’s pressure to help Pang Jian conceal the truth, leaving him feeling closer to the siblings.

Gao Yuan knitted his brows. "Something’s not right. The death of some small-time cultivators from the lower world shouldn’t attract this much attention.

"Why did the siblings from the upper world, Zhu Yuanxi from the Blood Moon Sect, and the little lunatic from the Sinister Soul Temple all take an interest in them? Why did Zhu Yuanxi, who killed them, continue to inquire if anyone had paid special attention to them?"

Gao Yuan could not make heads or tails of the situation.

Yuan Fei was equally puzzled. "I don’t know either."

"We should be careful. The Blood Moon Sect and the Sinister Soul Temple have never gotten along. Let’s hope they don’t clash on Maverick Ling Yun’s territory and drag us into it," Gao Yuan said anxiously.

"That won’t happen," Yuan Fei replied with a calm smile. He thought Gao Yuan was being overly concerned. "We’re just rogue cultivators. We have never provoked the Blood Moon Sect or the Sinister Soul Temple. Their conflict doesn’t involve us."

"True," Gao Yuan agreed.

They were quite a distance from the Giant Stone Palace, so they did not hear the exchange between Dong Tianze and Zhu Yuanxi and continued to chat leisurely.

Suddenly, they heard a loud commotion coming from the stone hall where Maverick Ling Yun was. Rogue cultivators participating in the trade fair howled and cursed as they fled.

Yuan Fei’s face paled.

"Something’s wrong. We should leave!" Yuan Fei decided not to wait for the rogue cultivators he was supposed to transport and urged Gao Yuan to do the same, "Something big has happened inside the Giant Stone Palace. We can’t stay here!"

Gao Yuan was also alarmed.

No longer caring about earning spirit stones from the rogue cultivators, he made to leave, but then he remembered his promise to the siblings and hesitated.

He had told the sister he would wait for them outside the Giant Stone Palace to take them to their next destination with his Cloud Sail. If his Cloud Sail left Ice Rock Island, he would miss them when they came out of the Giant Stone Palace.

"You go ahead. I’m going to wait for them. I’ll take this gamble!" Gao Yuan decided after a brief hesitation. "Old Yuan, see you later! Wish me luck! Those siblings came from the upper world. I bet they’ll be safe. I bet the Blood Moon Sect and the Sinister Soul Temple won’t dare to harm them!"

Yuan Fei saw the other Cloud Sails leaving and hurriedly started his vessel.

"Take care!" Yuan Fei yelled at Gao Yuan.

Gao Yuan leaped off Yuan Fei’s Cloud Sail and headed to his own as Yuan Fei set off.

"Wang Luhai! Dong Tianze, that lunatic from the Sinister Soul Temple, is on a killing spree on this Ice Rock Island. Take me with you!"

"Li Yun! Dong Tianze is the Sect Leader of the Shadow Specter Sect. Now that it’s exposed, he’s killing everyone to cover it up. I’ll pay three hundred spirit stones! Don’t leave me behind, Li Yun!"

"Wang Yu!"

Rogue cultivators desperately cried for help outside the Giant Stone Palace as they tried to board the departing Cloud Sails.

Wang Luhai, Li Yun, and Wang Yu were all Cloud Sail owners like Gao Yuan and Yuan Fei.

Horrified by the Sinister Soul Temple’s killing spree and Dong Tianze’s rampage, they chose to flee Ice Rock Island as fast as possible, too scared to stay and earn extra spirit stones,

However, something unexpected happened as the Cloud Sails ascended!

Whoosh!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The Divine Spirit Pagoda crashed into the departing Cloud Sails, smashing them into pieces like delicate glass. The Cloud Sails were incredibly fragile compared to the pagoda and could not compete in durability.

The Cloud Sails exploded. When those on board fell from the sky, their souls were instantly sucked into the soul array on the fifth floor of the Divine Spirit Pagoda.

"The Sinister Soul Temple!" Yuan Fei watched in horror.

A chill ran down his spine. He quickly halted his Cloud Sail, no longer daring to leave Ice Rock Island.

"It’s over. The Sinister Soul Temple has truly gone mad! Everyone on Ice Rock Island is being hunted!" Yuan Fei muttered in despair.

As his Cloud Sail ascended, he saw the chaos inside the Giant Stone Palace. He watched as Dong Tianze used his spirit artifact to unleash a sea of golden dagger light and directed fierce ghosts to hunt down the fleeing rogue cultivators.

He also saw an unfamiliar young man fending off Zhu Yuanxi’s attacks with countless Lunar Edges.

Maverick Ling Yun, the overlord of Ice Rock Island, was nowhere to be seen.

When Yuan Fei docked, Gao Yuan once again boarded his vessel.

Yuan Fei shot him a bitter smile. "Gao Yuan, we’ve become collateral damage in this mess. It looks like we won’t escape this disaster. We’re truly unlucky. We’re going to be silenced even though we didn’t even go into the Giant Stone Palace."

Gao Yuan was also devastated.

"I heard it too," he said helplessly. "Dong Tianze is the Sect Leader of the Shadow Specter Sect. He’s avenging the dead Shadow Specter Sect’s members. To keep this secret, he’ll slaughter everybody who knows about the connection between the Sinister Soul Temple and the Shadow Specter Sect."

Both felt an overwhelming sense of frustration and helplessness.

The situation had nothing to do with them. They were just Cloud Sail owners. All they did was transport people here and now they were caught up in the Sinister Soul Temple and Shadow Specter Sect’s exposed secrets.

***

Boom!

Zhu Yuanxi’s punch shattered another Lunar Edge.

He was at the mid-stage of the Innate Realm and could not be bothered to summon his treasured spirit artifact to deal with a mere hall master of the Shadow Specter Sect.

A casual strike from him sent Pang Jian retreating as Zhu Yuanxi shattered round after round of his Lunar Edges.

Zhu Yuanxi’s protective shield effortlessly deflected the seemingly sharp Lunar Edges, leaving them unable to breach his defenses. The shield shrouded him in a dark red glow, and despite the relentless attacks from the Lunar Edges, the light shield remained unbroken.

As he casually fended off Pang Jian’s attacks, Zhu Yuanxi’s attention frequently shifted to Dong Tianze and the Divine Spirit Pagoda crashing into Cloud Sails above. His eyes also searched the island for the missing Maverick Ling Yun.

He had many things and people to watch out for.

Pang Jian was not one of them.

"You’re nothing compared to Hong Tai, and even he couldn’t even defeat me back then," Zhu Yuanxi sneered, smashing another Lunar Edge with his fist. "The only reason you’re still alive is because I want to pry the secret of how you escaped Divine Fortune from you.

"Those two female hall masters were tough. Even when I broke their bones and crushed their internal organs, they didn’t reveal a thing. I wonder if you’re as tough as they are."

Zhu Yuanxi was used to demoralizing and provoking others during combat.

Pang Jian stopped at the edge of the stone hall, moderating his breathing and spiritual power. He did not summon his Startling Slaughter Spear or use his full strength.

Pang Jian responded to Zhu Yuanxi’s taunts with stony silence.

Zhu Yuanxi evidently did not see him as a worthy opponent, facing Pang Jian’s attacks with casual indifference and instead focusing on Dong Tianze, the Divine Spirit Pagoda, and the missing Maverick Ling Yun.

Now that Pang Jian had successfully instigated the conflict, he knew he could not reveal his true strength as wielding his Startling Slaughter Spear would only expose him to Dong Tianze.

The battle between both sides had erupted. Dong Tianze’s actions forced Wang Yisen from the Sinister Soul Temple to assist in eliminating everyone on Ice Rock Island, including Maverick Ling Yun.

Given the circumstances, the life and death of Wang Yisen and Maverick Ling Yun were the crucial matters that would determine the overall outcome. As long as one died and the other was injured, Luo Hongyan could deal with whoever remained.

Pang Jian aimed to avoid displaying too much strength and simply focus on preserving his life. The less attention he drew and the less he got involved, the more effective his strategy would be.

Thus, when faced with Zhu Yuanxi’s provocations, Pang Jian remained silent.

He tried to convey a mix of rage over the Shadow Specter Sect members’ deaths and a fear of Zhu Yuanxi’s strength through his eyes.

Zhu Yuanxi snorted. "Forget it. It seems there’s no point in keeping you alive to testify that Dong Tianze is the leader of the Shadow Specter Sect."

Even as he said those words, part of him felt like something was amiss. Pang Jian had mysteriously appeared, shouting accusations and fearlessly charging at him, only to become docile and adopt a defensive stance.

Zhu Yuanxi tried to provoke Pang Jian with words, thinking he would lose control and expose weaknesses out of recklessness, but he had unexpectedly maintained his composure.

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