Trials of the Abyss

Above the pond, Luo Hongyan stared at the Giant Abyssal Serpent through Ning Yao’s eyes.

Meanwhile, in the pond, the Giant Abyssal Serpent stared coldly back at Luo Hongyan through its pitch-black eyes from within the Black and White King Python’s body.

She knew that its beast soul had inhabited the Black and White King Python, and the Giant Abyssal Serpent knew that her ethereal form had inhabited Ning Yao’s body.

Having devoured all the Spirit Devils, the Giant Abyssal Serpent secretly drooled over her superior ethereal form. However, recognizing her extraordinary nature, it did not dare to rashly rush out from the pond.

Luo Hongyan shared the same thought. She sensed the Giant Abyssal Serpent’s covert gaze, akin to a tiger fixating on its prey. Therefore, she refrained from hastily merging with the essence of the Celestial Phoenix.

Both sides found themself in a delicate balance.

After killing Jin Yang, Pang Jian pressed the lotus leaf against his heart, feeling a chilly sensation enveloping the area where it made contact with his skin.

Jin Yang regarded this lotus leaf as a treasure, intending to use it to protect his heart to obtain the essence of the Celestial Phoenix, Pang Jian thought to himself. He swam toward the python, which had cautiously distanced itself from the bone of the Celestial Phoenix, and casually mounted it.

Following the python’s line of sight, Pang Jian noticed "Ning Yao" above the pond.

Peering up through the now clear water, he glanced at Ning Yao’s alluring drenched body and let out a snort under his breath.

While Pang Jian was preoccupied with pursuing Jin Yang, Ning Yao, freed by Xu Rui, seized the chance to flee from the pond. Surprisingly, she did not leave, and instead boldly lingered atop the bone of the Celestial Phoenix as if oblivious to the concept of danger.

Pang Jian did not have a favorable impression of Ning Yao and promptly averted his gaze to scour the area for the essence of the Celestial Phoenix.

He quickly located the essence of the Celestial Phoenix, floating within the bone of the Celestial Phoenix near the pond’s surface.

The essence of the Celestial Phoenix possessed its own spirit consciousness. Though it initially intended to rush out from the bone of the Celestial Phoenix, it now hesitated.

Is it worried about Ning Yao? Is it thinking about entering her body, or perhaps weighing other possibilities? Pang Jian mused. He once again ordered the python beneath him to bring him closer to the essence of the Celestial Phoenix.

The python remained motionless.

It averted its gaze from Ning Yao. Its pitch-black eyes were filled with fear and unease.

The source of its dread was the bone of the Celestial Phoenix.

It seems I’ll have to go there myself. As Pang Jian thought this, he noticed a disturbance in the water below him.

Lowering his head, Pang Jian saw the flushed face of Xu Rui, the squad leader of the Shadow Specter Sect. Xu Rui had abandoned his silver net to desperately swim toward the surface of the pond.

Hong Tai and the other masked squad leader had trapped the strange figure in the giant net and surrounded it, buying time for Xu Rui.

After being underwater for so long, Xu Rui was nearing his limit. If he did not resurface for air soon, he risked drowning.

Intercept and kill him.

The instant the thought appeared in Pang Jian’s mind, the python beneath him surged into action.

It seemed the python was willing to obey his orders as long as it did not involve approaching the essence of the Celestial Phoenix.

Pang Jian fell back onto familiar tactics.

Relying on the python’s agility, Pang Jian descended from above and thrust his spear toward Xu Rui.

Having expended all his energy dealing with Ouyang Duanhai, Xu Rui’s sole desire was to swiftly surface for air. Thus, he swam desperately toward the pond’s surface.

It was only when he approached the surface that he realized Jin Yang had been killed, his corpse slowly sinking downward.

Xu Rui realized how unfavorable the situation was for him.

Shortly after, he caught sight of Pang Jian astride the serpent, descending upon him with a spear in hand.

Alas, his performance paled in comparison to Jin Yang’s. With just a few thrusts, Pang Jian pierced Xu Rui’s heart.

Another Meridian Opening Realm member of the Shadow Specter Sect met the same fate at Pang Jian’s hands.

Even while going after Xu Rui, Pang Jian still had the luxury of observing the essence of the Celestial Phoenix. He saw it float up and down within the bone of the Celestial Phoenix instead of rushing out as he had anticipated.

Above the water, Ning Yao crouched on the bone of the Celestial Phoenix as she patiently awaited further developments.

A sense of relief washed through Pang Jian as he realized he had no remaining opponents. The serpent still refused to approach the bone of the Celestial Phoenix, so Pang Jian prepared to dismount and swim over himself.

However, before Pang Jian could move, he saw Hong Tai rushing up from the bottom of the pond.

Witnessing Jin Yang’s lifeless body sinking to the bottom of the pond, the cunning and crafty Hong Tai surmised that Xu Rui was unlikely to escape either. Thus, he tasked the masked squad leader with restraining Ouyang Duanhai and swam upward alone.

With his cultivation in the Marrow Cleansing Realm, he believed he could swiftly deal with Pang Jian.

Is he coming to fight me? Pang Jian wondered.

He dismissed his previous thought of parting ways with the python.

The Giant Abyssal Serpent obeyed Pang Jian’s commands, paying no heed to Hong Tai as it swam forward.

It circled to the opposite end of the pond, diving to the bottom to kill the masked squad leader currently occupied with restraining Ouyang Duanhai.

Despite Hong Tai’s superior battle prowess, he found himself unable to keep up with the python’s, and by extension, Pang Jian’s speed.

After much effort, he finally caught sight of Pang Jian. However, before he could react, Hong Tai watched in astonishment as Pang Jian swiftly descended toward the bottom of the pond.

No! Hong Tai had not foreseen this twist. He cursed internally before swiftly turning back to rescue his subordinate.

But he was too late.

Just as Hong Tai caught sight of the massive silver net, he noticed that Pang Jian’s spear had pierced through the mask of the masked man.

The mask shattered, revealing a face marred by criss-crossed scars.

The spearhead of the Dragonwood Spear was lodged in the man’s left eye, skewering him to the ground. The sight was reminiscent of how the bone of the Celestial Phoenix pierced through the skull of the Giant Abyssal Serpent.

So, he wears a mask because his face is ugly and full of scars. Pang Jian observed, forcefully wrenching the Dragonwood Spear from the man’s eye socket.

Fresh blood spurted from the wound. At that moment, Pang Jian noticed the iron chains in the man’s hand connected to the silver net.

Pang Jian knew the strange figure trapped within the silver net would free itself soon and hurriedly instructed the python to leave.

As expected, just as he and the python had left, and right before Hong Tai arrived, Ouyang Duanhai freed himself from the silver net and rushed directly toward the essence of the Celestial Phoenix.

As Hong Tai descended, Ouyang Duanhai ascended.

After being locked in a bitter battle for a long time, both sides had long since reached a point of no return. Seeing Hong Tai draw closer to him, Ouyang Duanhai did not hesitate to launch an attack on Hong Tai.

It’s chaos! Everything’s gone haywire! Hong Tai seethed as he saw Xu Rui’s lifeless body drift past him and sink into the bottom of the pond.

The corpses of Jin Yang, the masked man, and the Qi Practicing Realm members were strewn across the floor of the pond.

Hong Tai’s gloomy, savage gaze searched the water before finally locking onto Pang Jian, still riding on the python.

Damn it! That’s the spirit beast that I raised for years!

Hong Tai cursed in his heart.

Pang Jian! Hong Tai’s eyes blazed with fiery intensity as he silently screamed the name in his mind. Ignoring Ouyang Duanhai, he swiftly pursued Pang Jian.

Hong Tai pushed aside thoughts of the Giant Abyssal Serpent’s priceless skeleton, the enigmatic lights within the bone of the Celestial Phoenix, and the ramifications of Jin Yang’s demise, relegating them to the back of his mind.

At that moment, his sole desire was to end Pang Jian’s life and unleash the torrent of anger that surged within him.

This old fool has lost his mind. Pang Jian shook his head as he watched Hong Tai abandon all reason in his single-minded pursuit of vengeance.

Pang Jian was riding on the swiftest creature in the water. It obeyed his every command. No matter how formidable Hong Tai might be, what could he do if he could not catch up?

The disdain on Pang Jian’s face and the mockery gleaming in his eyes only fueled Hong Tai’s rage, pushing him further into a frenzy, thoroughly obliterating any semblance of reason.

Hong Tai only had a faint understanding of the significance behind the faint light within the bone of the Celestial Phoenix. Thus, he did not put much importance on it and did not care about Ouyang Duanhai. His glare remained stubbornly fixed on Pang Jian, determined to give chase even if catching up seemed impossible.

Pang Jian was unfazed. He knew that as long as he stayed within the confines of Blackwater Pond, he could leverage the python’s speed to maintain an advantage.

With the help of the python, Pang Jian easily evaded Hong Tai’s relentless pursuit while steadily ascending. He stared intently at the strange figure bearing the tattoo of the Celestial Phoenix on its chest, curious as to how it would acquire the essence of the Celestial Phoenix.

This situation persisted for a while, and Hong Tai’s breathing grew labored, causing bubbles to stream from his mouth.

Meanwhile, Pang Jian noticed that when the strange figure approached the bone of the Celestial Phoenix, the essence of the Celestial Phoenix would swirl around as if attempting to evade the strange figure.

The essence of the Celestial Phoenix appeared slightly agitated as though it could sense the imminent threat of being captured and assimilated by the strange figure.

Gradually, the essence of the Celestial Phoenix moved closer and closer to the surface of the pond.

Luo Hongyan had been patiently waiting atop the bone of the Celestial Phoenix this whole time. Seeing this, she felt a mix of joy and apprehension when she saw the essence of the Celestial Phoenix, cornered and forced into a dead end, finally taking notice of her presence.

Happiness surged through her. She would soon be able to refine the essence of the Celestial Phoenix and take a crucial step forward in her journey to reconstruct her physical form.

Yet, her elation was tempered by worry. Refining the essence of the Celestial Phoenix would leave her incredibly vulnerable, especially considering that the python Pang Jian rode housed the spirit of the Giant Abyssal Serpent, which posed a significant threat to her very existence.

Furthermore, she remained uncertain whether those responsible for raising the Giant Abyssal Serpent were presently lurking at the bottom of the pond.

Pang Jian had been entangled by Hong Tai for quite some time and also approached the essence of the Celestial Phoenix. A thought suddenly arose in his mind, prompting him to gauge the opinion of the python.

Damn old coot! Dark serpent, if you believe we can slaughter him, then we shall no longer retreat!

The Giant Abyssal Serpent inhabiting the Rank Two Black and White King Python merely paused before continuing to circle Hong Tai.

Pang Jian was not disheartened. He dismissed the idea of battling it out with Hong Tai.

Forget about it. I’ll think of something else.

At this moment, under Ouyang Duanhai’s relentless pressure, the essence of the Celestial Phoenix started to waver. Above the water, Luo Hongyan continued to weigh her options. Meanwhile, Pang Jian drew closer and closer to Ouyang Duanhai and the essence of the Celestial Phoenix.

Suddenly, the bronze pendant hanging from Pang Jian’s chest surged with an intense heat!

The blazing heat enveloped the Giant Abyssal Serpent, bolstering its resolve and helping it overcome its fear of the essence of the Celestial Phoenix.

Driven by this mysterious force, the Giant Abyssal Serpent went into a frenzy, charging recklessly toward the essence of the Celestial Phoenix!

Pang Jian felt countless tiny Celestial Phoenixes, no larger than specks of dust, stirring restlessly within the bones of his arms and ribcage.

Ouyang Duanhai had been chasing after the essence of the Celestial Phoenix and had also noticed the changes in Pang Jian’s body. He threw a glance at Pang Jian as the tattoo of the Celestial Phoenix on his chest swelled with a menacing aura.

With a sharp crack, the tattoo of the Celestial Phoenix fractured Ouyang Duanhai’s bone. Its head extended toward Ouyang Duanhai’s neck as if wanting to engulf his entire head.

The Celestial Phoenix tattoo underwent its final metamorphosis. Its bizarre new bird body was fashioned from Ouyang Duanhai’s skeletal frame, and crowned by the majestic head of a Celestial Phoenix.

At this moment, atop the bone of the Celestial Phoenix, Luo Hongyan also noticed the changes in Pang Jian’s aura.

His aura closely resembled Ouyang Duanhai’s, yet the circumstances for both were vastly disparate.

Ouyang Duanha’s heart was completely devoured by the essence of the Celestial Phoenix, transforming him into a Divine Guard of the Celestial Phoenix.

Meanwhile, Pang Jian had refined the essence of the Celestial Phoenix and then used it to temper his body.

"How is this possible?"

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