Trials of the Abyss

A group of one-eyed giants knelt in reverence as they addressed the mysterious woman they called the Celestial Maiden. They remained kneeling throughout the exchange, showing utmost respect to the mysterious woman.

Pang Jian could hear their conversation through the Giant Abyssal Serpent as the mysterious woman was still mounted on it.

The mysterious woman was preparing to ascend to the upper world. The powerful seal of the fifth Heaven Ascension Tribulation Pillar had weakened and both foreign races and Vicious Beasts below Rank Five could now ascend safely.

She had come to Split Sky City to prepare a group of one-eyed giants below Rank Five to become the first to ascend to the upper worlds alongside four other groups from different races.

She also mentioned that the first group to ascend would most likely die.

Although the Fourth World was filled with murky energy, she was unsure if the human experts in the upper world would send people to the Fourth World.

The first group to ascend to the Fourth World were essentially sacrificial soldiers.

But the ascension had to happen.

The upper worlds had vital spirit materials they urgently needed. Obtaining these key spirit materials was their only hope of breaking the seals on the other Heaven Ascension Tribulation Pillars, ending the eternal suppression of their world.

Pang Jian listened thoughtfully. Unfortunately, it was not long before he felt mentally exhausted. He knew the effects of the Mind Soothing Pill were wearing off, making it impossible to maintain his connection with the Giant Abyssal Serpent for much longer.

Breaking the connection, he opened his eyes and took another Mind Soothing Pill.

Taking another look at the ruins around him, he realized the one-eyed giants had undeniably been the previous inhabitants of the Giant Stone Palace.

The majestic city he saw through the eyes of the Giant Abyssal Serpent was extremely similar to the Giant Stone Palace. The main difference was that the Giant Stone Palace was in ruins, while Split Sky City in the Fifth World was still intact.

Boom!

A tremendous noise erupted from beneath the icy rock.

Luo Hongyan stopped playing dead, moving aside the corpses on top of her as she stood up. "The Sinister Soul Temple cultivator was defeated."

Pang Jian looked at her in surprise.

"The Divine Spirit Pagoda has stopped moving. The connection was severed. Something must have happened to him underground." Luo Hongyan's eyes flickered with surprise. Frowning, she said, "They're both in the Profound Abode Realm, yet Maverick Ling Yun, a mere rogue cultivator, managed to kill a member of the Sinister Soul Temple."

Pang Jian asked worriedly, "Will you be alright?"

"Don't worry, I'll be fine," Luo Hongyan said with a light smile. "Although Maverick Ling Yun won, I can sense that he's used up most of his energy and is injured. Pang Jian, you shouldn't be getting involved in battles between those at the Profound Abode Realm right now. Don't come. You'll just complicate things for me."

Whoosh!

She floated away gracefully.

"Profound Abode Realm..." Pang Jian muttered softly.

Moments later, Zhu Yuanxi of the Blood Moon Sect fell from the domeless stone hall and crashed heavily to the ground.

Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth as he panted heavily. His torn clothes revealed wounds on his back so deep the white of his bones could be seen.

A massive eight-armed Demon God hovered above him and let out an ear-piercing scream.

The deadly scream caused fresh blood to flow from Zhu Yuanxi's ears.

Noticing the stillness of the Divine Spirit Pagoda, Zhu Yuanxi's eyes brightened.

It no longer harvested the souls of rogue cultivators and the oppressive force suppressing his soul had vanished.

He knew exactly what this change meant!

I underestimated Maverick Ling Yun. I didn't expect him to be able to kill Wang Yisen! Zhu Yuanxi marveled inwardly.

Zhu Yuanxi no longer wanted to fight Dong Tianze to the death. Although his cultivation realm was higher than Dong Tianze's, his combat power was inferior.

Regardless, there was no need to continue battling Dong Tianze now that Maverick Ling Yun had emerged victorious. It would be a grievous waste if he accidentally died at Dong Tianze's hands.

After all, once Maverick Ling Yun appeared, Dong Tianze's fate would be sealed!

"Zhu Yuanxi!" A deep, cold voice rang out.

Zhu Yuanxi turned in surprise to see Hong Jian, the new hall master of the Shadow Specter Sect, approaching him.

The young hall master wore a stern expression. His eyes were filled with killing intent, and he stared at Zhu Yuanxi as though looking at a corpse.

Pang Jian's gaze greatly displeased Zhu Yuanxi.

"Brat, are you here to die?" Zhu Yuanxi grinned, holding a ruler made of blood jade as he coldly watched Pang Jian approach.

Zhu Yuanxi no longer felt any sense of urgency or fear.

Wang Yisen was dead, and Dong Tianze did not have the strength to kill him before Maverick Ling Yun appeared.

Once Maverick Ling Yun emerged from beneath the Giant Stone Palace, the Sinister Soul Temple's massacre would end and Dong Tianze would be captured alive.

Even if they could not kill him, they could still take him back to the Blood Moon Sect. The Blood Moon Sect had plenty of ways to use Dong Tianze to make the Sinister Soul Temple pay a heavy price.

Meanwhile, when Dong Tianze saw Zhu Yuanxi fall to the ground he did not rush to pursue him as he sensed something was amiss.

The Divine Spirit Pagoda under Wang Yisen's control was behaving abnormally, indicating Wang Yisen was either in dire straits or was already dead. If Wang Yisen was dead, it meant the plan to kill everyone on Ice Rock Island had failed and there was no hope of its success.

If that was the case, the best course of action was to leave Ice Rock Island as soon as possible as staying longer would only bring trouble for him.

Thus, he did not bother with Zhu Yuanxi and instead focused on establishing a connection with the Divine Spirit Pagoda.

However, Zhu Yuanxi's words caught his attention.

Looking down, he saw the new hall master of the Shadow Specter Sect walking toward Zhu Yuanxi.

Dong Tianze knitted his brows and said coldly, "Don't go seeking death. Stay where you are. I'll take you away with the Divine Spirit Pagoda"

Dong Tianze had a good impression of the new hall master and thought he was a worthy subordinate. Therefore, he intended to bring Pang Jian with him when he left Ice Rock Island.

A familiar silver spear suddenly appeared as the hall master approached Zhu Yuanxi!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Blazing suns exploded one after another under the dark sky!

The violent fluctuations of spiritual power and the heat of the scorching sun surrounded Zhu Yuanxi.

The familiar explosive energy and spear left Dong Tianze momentarily stunned and unable to react.

He watched as the heavily injured Zhu Yuanxi frantically retreated, trying to block Pang Jian's attacks with his ruler as he did.

His attempts at blocking were ineffective.

Boom!

The blazing suns blasted Zhu Yuanxi's ribs and the familiar silver spear pierced his chest.

"Pang Jian!" Dong Tianze roared, finally snapping out of his daze.

"Sect Leader, thank you for injuring him so severely I could kill him in one strike," Pang Jian said, looking up to express his gratitude. Staring at Dong Tianze's crazed expression, Pang Jian calmly added, "And thank you for the rare spirit materials you provided during our two transactions."

"Sect Leader..." Dong Tianze repeated in humiliation. His face twitched with rage.

Rumble! Rumble!

The ground shook violently as a battle raged underground.

The Divine Spirit Pagoda remained motionless.

It became apparent to Dong Tianze that the new combatant was not Wang Yisen but someone else.

Dong Tianze assumed the person fighting Maverick Ling Yun was Pang Jian's accomplice as Pang Jian no longer seemed to fear exposure and was boldly wielding his Startling Slaughter Spear.

Whoosh!

Dong Tianze unleashed the Nine Ghost Melodies Technique and flew toward the Divine Spirit Pagoda. Entering the pagoda, he took control of it and made it ascend once more.

The Divine Spirit Pagoda hovered in the sky and the soul-devouring array was reactivated.

At the same time, Pang Jian used his Startling Slaughter Spear to sever Zhu Yuanxi's head. Glancing at the Divine Spirit Pagoda above, he picked up Zhu Yuanxi's head and started to make his way out of the Giant Stone Palace.

The soul array of the Divine Spirit Pagoda did not affect him, especially since he still held the Soul Suppressing Talisman given by Wang Yisen.

Dong Tianze appeared at a fifth-floor window of the Divine Spirit Pagoda, fierce eyes filled with manic fury as he roared, "Pang Jian!"

Pang Jian could not fly. Unhurriedly walking toward the entrance of the Giant Stone Palace, he glanced up at the sky and asked, "Sect Leader, is there anything else?"

Dong Tianze's temples throbbed with rage at the sound of Pang Jian calling him Sect Leader. His frustration and anger had reached a boiling point.

The fuming Dong Tianze desperately wanted to know what happened in Eight Trigrams City after he left. He also wanted to know how Pang Jian had emerged from the Solitary Mountain Range when it was shrouded in bizarre mist.

Not to mention why he had taken the name Hong Jian and why he had been operating in Misty Swamp as a member of the Shadow Specter Sect.

More importantly, he wanted to know how Pang Jian had come to the Third World.

He had many questions but knew asking them would be pointless and instead chose to remain silent after his angry roar.

Even though he had advanced to the Innate Realm, refined an eight-armed Demon God with the souls of the rogue cultivators, and successfully taken back control of the Divine Spirit Pagoda, he still did not dare to face Pang Jian head-on in a fight.

The memory of Pang Jian emerging from the darkness at the City Lord's Mansion and killing Yuan Lengshan with three beams of light still haunted him.

Zhu Yuanxi's instant death at the hands of the Startling Slaughter Spear also terrified him.

Dong Tianze had only ever felt insecure or lacked confidence in his abilities when facing Pang Jian. Despite being one cultivation realm above Pang Jian, he still dared not act rashly.

Thus, the Divine Spirit Pagoda merely followed Pang Jian as he walked out of the Giant Stone Palace.

He watched Pang Jian leave the Giant Stone Palace and toss Zhu Yuanxi's severed head to the ground.

Pang Jian kicked Zhu Yuanxi's head as he walked toward the rubble.

Thud!

Zhu Yuanxi's head rolled on the ground like a ball.

Bright red blood stains appeared on the cold rocky ground, trailing from the Giant Stone Palace to the rubble where the remains of Zhao Ling, Bai Wei, Bai Zhi, Meng Qiulan, Wu Yi, and the others lay.

Stopping before the rubble, Pang Jian stepped on Zhu Yuanxi's head and turned it so that his bloody face was gazing at their bodies.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!