Trials of the Abyss

Whoosh!

Pang Jian took out his Startling Slaughter Spear, drank a bottle of Yu Xin's gifted herbal juice, and accelerated to his maximum speed!

Before he left Emerald Lake, he sensed a faint, thread-like energy settling onto him. This trace of foreign energy quietly lingered on his body and seemed capable of pinpointing his location and movements.

Pang Jian snorted. Liang Ying from the Star River Alliance!

Liang Ying was using her Spirit Condensation Realm cultivation to release a trace of divine sense to follow his every move.

He was well aware of Liang Ying's intentions. Any guilt he had felt from the death of an elder from the Star River Alliance had completely disappeared.

Liang Ying had performed impeccably in front of her sect members and disciples. By the end of their conversation, her expression had gentled and she had shown considerable concern for him.

Unexpectedly, once Pang Jian left Emerald Lake, a trace of divine sense had locked onto him.

If not for Liang Ying pursuing him under the pretense of questioning him, he would have suspected that someone else was secretly observing him. After all, if Liang Ying truly wished to ask him something, all she needed to do was call out to him.

But she did not call out. Instead, she silently pursued him, and Pang Jian immediately knew what this seemingly kind elder had in mind.

Jiu Yuan revealed my background as a hunter from the Solitary Mountain Range in the Fourth World. In other words, a rogue cultivator without the protection or backing of a sect.

The situation in the Primordial Wilderness is chaotic now, and the prospect of killing me to seize my million spirit stones was too tempting for her to resist. She could easily attribute my death to the invading forces from the Fifth World.

All of them are cut from the same cloth! Pang Jian sneered.

"Pang Jian, there's one more thing I don't understand. Please stop and explain!" Liang Ying shouted, using a thread of her divine sense to lock onto Pang Jian's position. Even though they had already left Xie Xiwen and the other's sight, she still spoke with a gentle tone. "Also, I hope you can join us. After all, with my Spirit Condensation Realm cultivation, I can protect you."

Whoosh!

Pang Jian did not stop. Instead, he fled at an even greater speed.

Liang Ying was taken aback. A flash of coldness appeared in her eyes as she muttered, "Stubborn brat. You insist on doing this the hard way, huh?"

Whoosh!

Circulating her spiritual power, she formed a thin protective shield around her that radiated with bright starlight. After summoning the thin, cicada-wing-like shield, Liang Ying rose into the air and glided over the plants around Emerald Lake with ethereal grace.

As a cultivator in the Spirit Condensation Realm, she could rapidly close the distance by flying, though it was extremely draining.

However, Liang Ying did not care about using up her spiritual power. Her priority was to catch up and deal with Pang Jian as swiftly as possible.

Damn it! Pang Jian's heart turned cold.

Liang Ying had resorted to flying, meaning she was preparing for a quick and decisive battle.

I can't fly, and running is too slow. She'll definitely catch up.

Pang Jian desperately racked his brains for a plan. His eyes lit up as he thought of his newfound ability to manipulate his spear.

Frantically infusing the intricate arrays within the Startling Slaughter Spear with his spiritual power, stellar energy, lunar energy, and cold energy, Pang Jian hastily stepped onto the spear.

His tall figure clung firmly to the spear as he propelled himself forward, expending a massive amount of his internal energies to achieve brief flight using the miraculous properties of the Startling Slaughter Spear.

This Startling Slaughter Spear from Eight Trigrams City is a truly remarkable spirit artifact, he marveled joyously.

He glanced back, only for the triumph on his face to be quickly overshadowed by gloom. Despite his efforts, Liang Ying was still rapidly closing the distance, leaving Pang Jian in shock.

I still couldn't shake her off even after flying!

"Pang Jian, are you hiding something? Is that why you won't stop?" Liang Ying shouted as she pursued him. "What's your connection to those foreign races that emerged from Emerald Lake? Stop and explain everything to me!"

Even while chasing him, Liang Ying did not forget to slander Pang Jian, branding him as a traitor colluding with the foreign races.

Although what she said was not entirely false—Pang Jian did bring the invading forces from the Fifth World into the Primordial Wilderness—he knew she was just looking for an excuse to attack him in case other human cultivators had seen her actions.

Human cultivators are truly my worst enemy. In this situation, the foreign race warriors and the Vicious Beasts are my allies!

Spotting a one-eyed giant in the distance, Pang Jian's spirits lifted and his eyes shone brightly as he charged toward the giant with all his might!

Whoosh!

The sharp tip of the Startling Slaughter Spear pierced through the air and its speed increased!

"You're courting death!" Liang Ying furiously cursed from behind him.

The one-eyed giant had been tasked with roaming the surrounding forests and destroying any Cloud Sails that took flight. Not long ago, the Star River Alliance disciples and Liang Ying had encountered this very one-eyed giant. After a fierce battle, they barely escaped, with the one-eyed giant having crushed several disciples to a pulp.

He refused to stop no matter what I said. Instead, he charged toward the one-eyed giant with a spatial bracelet containing a million spirit stones. Isn't he just throwing himself into the fire and handing over his spirit stones to the foreign races?

Although furious, Liang Ying did not dare to approach, unwilling to engage in another fierce battle after already suffering losses. Thus, she had no choice but to stop her pursuit.

Gritting her teeth, she glared at Pang Jian from a distance, watching as he rode the silver spear under the one-eyed giant.

The one-eyed giant's single eye clearly noticed the silver streak flying by as it peered down at Pang Jian in confusion.

"Not only is he dead, he's also wasted a spatial bracelet filled with spirit stones!" Liang Ying lamented as she turned to leave, assuming Pang Jian would soon be overwhelmed by the one-eyed giant's mental attack now that he had been targeted.

If his spear even stalls for a second, the one-eyed giant will smash him into a pulp.

It was not Pang Jian she cared about but rather the loss of the spirit stones to the foreign races.

Frustrated, Liang Ying deactivated her protective shield and returned to Emerald Lake.

She regretfully informed the members of the Star River Alliance, "He entered the range of that one-eyed giant and was locked onto by its single eye."

"Ah! Those locked onto by the eye of the one-eyed giants will have their minds scrambled and their wills confused!"

"Why did he have to go to where the one-eyed giants roam?"

"He's doomed!"

The disciples of the Star River Alliance exclaimed.

Sadness shone in Xie Xiwen's bright eyes as she asked, "Elder Liang, why didn't you save him?"

"I—" Liang Ying shook her head and sighed bitterly. "I was heavily injured trying to save you all in our battle against the one-eyed giant. If I tried to save him, I could've been severely injured and might not have made it back. If something happened to me, all of you..."

"We understand," the disciples assured.

Although they felt sorry for Pang Jian, they knew their chances of surviving in the Primordial Wilderness would be slim if something happened to Liang Ying. Therefore, they could not blame her for not saving him.

***

Whoosh!

Pang Jian glanced upward as he passed under the one-eyed giant with a pounding heart.

The one-eyed giant's head filled most of his vision. Its massive, bewildered eye was fixed on him and its nose twitched slightly.

Nothing happened.

Pang Jian passed beneath the one-eyed giant without incident and continued flying on his spear until he reached a densely forested area.

In a tree dozens of zhang tall, a Wood Race warrior quietly activated his bloodline power to calm all the trees under his control. He silently watched as Pang Jian rode his silver spear over the treetops.

This person has a strange aura that makes me want to worship him. It seems like the purest form of life energy! How strange. Is it possible for a human to also exude such rich life energy?

The Rank Five Wood Race warrior had never left the Fifth World before this and was now in an unfamiliar land. Due to his unique bloodline, he could detect the presence of life energy within Pang Jian, which puzzled him.

Not long after, Pang Jian used the tip of the Startling Slaughter Spear to carve out a small cave at the foot of the Fifth Peak and blocked the entrance with uprooted trees. After carefully concealing the entrance, he hid inside, sealing it behind him with rocks.

Liang Ying of the Star River Alliance. Pang Jian noted, letting out a sigh of relief.

Had it not been for the one-eyed giant wandering nearby, he would have had to use the bronze pendant to escape to the black turtle's nameless fragmented land.

Even an innocent man would find trouble because of his wealth. A million spirit stones were tempting to even experts in the Spirit Condensation Realm, like Liang Ying. His background as a rogue cultivator without the backing of a powerful sect and an ordinary hunter from the Fourth World only made him an easier target.

I must reach the Profound Abode Realm as soon as possible. Only after advancing to that realm and manifesting my divine sense will I have the confidence to face the dangers ahead.

Pang Jian continued to temper his brain using the spirit jades and the life energy from the three green leaves in his carved-out cave. He cultivated relentlessly, day and night, seemingly oblivious to the passage of time.

Whenever the life energy in the three leaves was depleted, he would request more from the little tree in Misty Swamp.

Time passed in this manner, and Pang Jian gradually started to sense his sea of consciousness. Many acupoints lay beneath the hazy sea of clouds, appearing like springs in his sea of consciousness.

One day, a few slender threads flowed out from these mystical springs. These slender threads drifted aimlessly in Pang Jian's sea of consciousness.

Although Pang Jian sensed a mysterious connection with those slender threads, he could not yet control them and could only watch passively as more threads emerged, drifting around like fish in his sea of consciousness.

That’s my divine sense!

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