Trials of the Abyss

Eighty thousand...

Pang Jian's face twitched when he saw the new price of the Grand Providence Sacred Body manual.

"How shameless!" Han Ting exclaimed. "You're blatantly raising the price!"

Her almond-shaped eyes filled with anger. The sly vendor was neither a well-known rogue cultivator like Lian Feng nor dressed in the robes of the five major sects. Sensing his cultivation realm was only slightly higher than hers, she boldly dared to criticize him,

"Haha!" The vendor laughed shamelessly, not feeling offended at all. He nodded. "You're right, I am raising the price. We can change our prices at any time before they're sold. Your friend here is rich. Eighty thousand spirit stones are just a drop in the ocean for him, so you don't need to feel bad for him.

"I'm Huang Qi, and I'm specifically reserving this incomplete Grand Providence Sacred Body for you, young friend, so it's normal for the price to be higher. Fifty thousand spirit stones is a reasonable price for this incomplete technique. Even without you, my young friend, I could still have sold it.

"However, you still need to sell the horn of the Rank Seven Ice Crystal Beast. So, to ensure this incomplete technique doesn't get taken by someone else during that time, I had to raise its price. Only such a high price can deter many people. The extra thirty thousand spirit stones are nothing if you truly want this incomplete technique."

The anger on Han Ting's face faded as Huang Qi explained. His reasoning made sense.

After thinking it over carefully, Pang Jian also felt there was no issue and said, "Alright, just wait for me for a while."

Pang Jian patiently waited, allowing the people in the trading hall to stare while he subtly observed those wearing the robes of the Blood Moon Sect and the Sinister Soul Temple.

The sect members present were just ordinary disciples, and elders like Jiu Yuan were not among them. Unfortunately, he could not detect anything unusual from their expressions.

The horn of the Rank Seven Ice Crystal Beast was priced at four hundred thousand spirit stones and was not something just anyone could afford. He grew impatient after waiting a long time without anyone approaching to trade.

Whoosh!

Lady Hua floated gracefully down from the platform with a charming smile. She stood before Pang Jian's stall and said upfront, "Young man, I'll take this horn of a Rank Seven Ice Crystal Beast."

"Lady Hua, have you already found a buyer?" Huang Qi asked with a cheeky smile.

Lady Hua frowned as she glanced at Huang Qi. Seeing he was not somebody of note, she replied curtly, "Whether I have or haven't found a buyer is none of your business."

Turning back to Pang Jian, she smiled and said, "I'll buy it for four hundred thousand spirit stones."

"Deal," Pang Jian agreed readily

Whoosh!

Pieces of spirit jade were piled onto Pang Jian's wooden stall and overflowed onto the cultivation mat.

"Four thousand spirit jades, each worth a hundred spirit stones, totaling precisely four hundred thousand. Make sure to count them carefully," Lady Hua said with a smile.

"Okay." Pang Jian stood up, preparing to count the jade when Han Ting stopped him. "Pang Jian, there's no need to count carefully."

Huang Qi chuckled. "Don't worry, young man. Lady Hua has a good reputation,"

"Alright." Pang Jian nodded and handed the horn to Lady Hua. After transferring the spirit jade into his spatial bracelet, he asked, "Do I need to pay a commission?"

"There's no need to pay commission when you trade with me," Lady Hua said with a wave. Smiling warmly, she said, "By selling the horn to me, you saved forty thousand spirit stones."

"Yes, that does save quite a bit," Pang Jian replied.

He then headed to Huang Qi's stall and took out eight hundred pieces of spirit jade to exchange for the incomplete Grand Providence Sacred Body manual.

"What about my transaction with him?" Pang Jian asked Lady Hua.

"A deal is a deal. You must pay a ten percent commission for purchasing his technique."

"Okay." Pang Jian carefully counted out eighty pieces of spirit jade. After a moment, he took out fifty more pieces of spirit jade and placed them on his wooden stall. "I have another transaction. I'll pay the commission for both deals now."

He had already seen Lian Feng raise the price of the Soul Nourishing Pills in the distance.

"I like people who follow the rules." Lady Hua smiled, watching as Pang Jian bought a bottle of Soul Nourishing Pills from Lian Feng. She then pointed to Huang Qi and Lian Feng. "You, and you. Remember to pay the ten percent commission."

Whoosh!

She then returned to the platform with the horn of the Rank Seven Ice Crystal Beast in hand.

Old Ghost Dongye has asked us to find a high-ranked, cold-attribute Vicious Beast's horn. This horn from a Rank Seven Ice Crystal Beast will be worth at least double when we sell it to him! she thought in delight.

With these thoughts in mind, she glanced over at Pang Jian again, finding him more and more pleasing to the eye.

Having acquired what he needed, Pang Jian quickly found the few people he had previously noted and bought some Nine Heavenly Profound Thunder and other consumables like Refined Ghost Miasma.

He then turned and headed out.

Han Ting still wanted to look around. Hesitating, she said, "Pang Jian, I'll continue to look around for a bit more. Let's meet later."

"Alright," Pang Jian responded indifferently.

"We won't have to wait until tonight after all. Let's visit him now," Zhao Yuanqi said to Jiang Li as she watched Pang Jian leave. "Let's go, Senior Sister Jiang."

Jiang Li nodded gently.

Back in his cave dwelling, Pang Jian was preparing to study the Grand Providence Sacred Body manual when he heard a knock on the stone door.

When he opened the door, he saw the silver-haired Zhao Yuanqi with Jiang Li standing beside her.

"Zhao-Zhao Yuanqi!" Gao Yuan exclaimed from the adjacent cave dwelling. He had heard Pang Jian's return and opened his stone door to ask about the situation, only to see Zhao Yuanqi from the Red Mountain Sect.

Baffled, Gao Yuan stared at Zhao Yuanqi in disbelief.

"Come in," Pang Jian invited, stepping aside to allow Zhao Yuanqi and Jiang Li in and closing it behind them

Gao Yuan stood in the corridor, staring at the shut stone door in bewilderment.

Inside Pang Jian's cave dwelling, Jiang Li bit her lips and bowed. With heartfelt sincerity, she said, "Pang Jian, thank you for everything you did for Junior Brother Zhou and me in Eight Trigrams City.

"After Junior Brother Zhou returned, he was depressed for a long time because of you and lost interest in cultivation. Han Duping and I were also worried about you and Sister Luo but didn't know how to help with our limited abilities.

"When Junior Brother Zhou heard Dong Tianze was going to Three Immortal Islands, he left me behind and went there. Along the way..."

Jiang Li continued to recount what happened to Zhou Qingchen and Han Duping.

Pang Jian learned Zhou Qingchen and Han Duping had planned to ambush Dong Tianze at the Three Immortal Islands, but decided to instead rush to the Fourth World after hearing of the terrifying catastrophe there.

"Where is Sister Luo?" Jiang Li asked, glancing around the cave. "Qi Qingsong told me Sister Luo was inhabiting the body of the Ning Clan's young lady. She took care of Su Meng and me and I want to see Sister Luo so I can thank her personally."

Sitting on the cultivation mat, Pang Jian glanced between Jiang Li and Zhao Yuanqi.

"Senior Sister Jiang's matter is my matter," the aloof girl declared.

Jiang Li and Zhou Qingchen had frequently brought up Pang Jian over the past few months. This youth from the lower world dared to attack Qi Qingsong from the Sword Pavilion for Zhou Qingchen's sake, and she could not help but admire his actions.

Jiang Li's attachment to him meant Zhao Yuanqi was willing to help with whatever matter arose.

"On our first day here in the Primordial Wilderness, I stayed in this cave dwelling while Luo Hongyan went to get a token for the trade fair. On her way back, she disappeared. A rogue cultivator saw her leave the First Peak." Pang Jian hesitated briefly. "We have some enmity with the Blood Moon Sect and the Sinister Soul Temple. I suspect they had a hand in it."

"Junior Sister..." Jiang Li looked expectantly at Zhao Yuanqi.

"You guys chat, I'll go ask around." The girl with the large wine gourd swiftly left the cave dwelling to inquire about Luo Hongyan.

"Pang Jian, don't be fooled by her young age. My junior sister is a capable person. Even the elders in the Red Mountain Sect listen to her," Jiang Li said earnestly.

"Yes, I've heard a lot about her." Pang Jian nodded, feeling hopeful. Zhao Yuanqi's status and connections were beyond him. She could uncover what he could not.

After that, he and Jiang Li engaged in casual conversation. He kept his guard up, only mentioning that he and Luo Hongyan arrived in the Third World through the Mirror Tunnel, and had wandered around the fragmented lands.

After they heard about Old Monster Cao's grand event, they came on a Cloud Sail.

Outside, Gao Yuan stared at Pang Jian's cave dwelling with a complex expression and muttered, "Zhao Yuanqi stayed in his cave dwelling for a long time before leaving. There's still another girl from the Red Mountain Sect inside. I wonder what they're talking about."

Suddenly, Gao Yuan heard someone counting as they approached from a distance.

"Fifty-three, fifty-four, fifty-five..." The young man stopped and looked at Pang Jian's cave dwelling with a bright smile. "Cave dwelling number fifty-six!"

"Are you also here to see Little Brother Pang?" Gao Yuan asked tentatively.

The blue-robed young man had a lazy demeanor and a handsome face. He nodded with a smile. "Yes, I'm here to see my...good friend Pang Jian."

At the word "friend", a hint of pain appeared in his eyes as if recalling some unpleasant memories.

As expected, Gao Yuan thought, not noticing the changes in Qi Qingsong's expression.

As he was about to say there were people inside, he noticed the emblem on the young man's chest. On the emblem was a tower resembling a sharp blade pointing downward. The blade was split into nine segments, with each also doubling as a floor of the tower.

"Qi Qingsong from the Sword Pavilion!" Gao Yuan cried out in shock.

Qi Qingsong smiled faintly. Touching his face, he said smugly, "It seems my reputation for being handsome has spread throughout the Third World. Even rogue cultivators like you know me."

Qi Qingsong then knocked on the stone door.

"Pang Jian!"

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