Trials of the Abyss

On the other end of the campsite.

Inside the tent, Ning Yuanshan lowered his voice and asked with a frown, "Little Yao, are you dissatisfied with the brat from the He Clan? He was chosen for you by your family. They asked around to make sure that he had a commendable cultivation talent. And just like you, he has the potential to go to the Star River Alliance to cultivate. Moreover, our Ning Clan and the He Clan have been friends for a long time—"

"I didn’t choose him," said Ning Yao impatiently. My family did." She then shook her head and sighed. "But as the daughter of the Ning Clan, I have no choice in the matter. Once I’ve reached the Third World and I have proven myself in the Star River Alliance, I’ll be able to make my own choice."

"It won’t be so easy." As someone with experience, Ning Yuanshan bitterly laughed before he patiently explained, "In our world, both you and the He Clan brat can be considered to have outstanding cultivation talent. However, in the Third World, the spiritual qi of heaven and earth is much more abundant and pure. There are many children your age with superior cultivation talent."

What Ning Yuanshan meant was that even if Ning Yao and He Ziren were to be recommended to join the Star River Alliance, they would not stand out.

Ning Yao’s eyes shone brightly. "Cultivation talent is not the only criterion. Our effort also matters."

Watching the bright light of her eyes, Ning Yuanshan remembered the vigor of his youth. "That’s true. I’m happy that you’re confident. The He Clan brat was quite satisfied with you. He traveled a great distance just to see you. He is pampered by the He Clan, and since the elders of both families have reached an agreement, if he insists...."

Ning Yuanshan paused. "Besides, you should be aware that two others from the Ning Clan are also competing against you for the opportunity to enter the Star River Alliance."

After a moment of silence, the corner of Ning Yao’s lips gradually revealed a cold smile. "He shouldn’t have come to the Solitary Mountain Range."

Ning Yuanshan was stunned. He looked at Ning Yao for a moment before he anxiously said, "Don’t do anything stupid."

However, it seemed that Ning Yao had made her decision a long time ago. "Many cultivators from the Star River Alliance, the Blood Moon Sect, and the Sinister Soul Temple have died in the Solitary Mountain Range. Liu Qi has already died, and even the two of us might not be able to leave this place alive. What’s so strange about him dying here too?"

Ning Yuanshan rubbed his temple and sighed. "It seems you’ve grown up while I wasn’t paying attention."

Having made her point, Ning Yao urged him to leave. "Alright, Uncle Yuanshan. You better go and keep watch outside. There was something fishy about that stone pile."

It was at this moment that they heard the whistling wind outside. Without hesitation, both of them immediately rushed out of the tent.

In the darkness of the night, the first thing they saw were a few hazy, pale gray beast shadows, accompanied by the ear-piercing whistling wind from the stone pile, flying toward Pang Jian, who was sitting nearby.

The beast shadows were blurry, with no real flesh or body. They seemed to be made up of gray mist, overflowing with impetus and ruthlessness.

Pang Jian had also noticed the abnormalities in the stone pile and was already on guard, with a cautious expression on his face.

"Those are the lowest-level Beast Devils, formed from the souls of dead beasts in the mountain," Ning Yuanshan shouted.

During this time, He Ziren, Zhang Heng, and several others recuperating in their tents also rushed out one after the other. Like Ning Yao and Ning Yuanshan, He Ziren was a cultivator in the Meridian-Opening Realm.

Catching sight of the blurry gray beast shadows, He Ziren exclaimed, "Beast Devils!"

His tent was the closest to Pang Jian. However, he had no intention of rescuing Pang Jian despite seeing the Beast Devils flying toward him. He even sneered mockingly, looking forward to Pang Jian’s suffering.

Ning Yao softly called out, "Uncle Yuanshan, we need Pang Jian alive."

Ning Yuanshan immediately flew out.

He arrived in front of Pang Jian in a few flashes. He took out a silver stone pillar engraved with a flame dragon from behind his back and placed it on the ground.

"Flame of the Scorching Sun!" A blazing flame suddenly rushed out from the top of the stone pillar on the ground.

Under the fierce flames, the engraving of the flame dragon suddenly seemed to come to life, assuming a ferocious, threatening pose.

The flames, which had surged out several meters, were supported by the divine power of the flame dragon, forming a raging sea of fire above Ning Yuanshan and Pang Jian’s heads.

As they approached this sea of fire, the lowest-level Beast Devils evaporated like water long before they could even lay a hand on Pang Jian.

Ning Yuanshan lowered his head to look at the meditating Pang Jian.

"What happened?" He narrowed his eyes slightly before saying coldly, "When we first met, there wasn’t even a trace of spiritual qi fluctuation in your body. I simply took you for an ordinary hunter. But now that we’ve entered this mountain range, I can sense a subtle presence of spiritual qi in your navel region. Care to explain?"

"Just now, I sensed the presence of qi and absorbed a small amount of spiritual qi into my body," Pang Jian explained calmly.

Ning Yuanshan propped the stone pillar up with one hand as the sea of fire continued to burn above Pang Jian’s head.

Feeling the intense heat all around him, Pang Jian added, "Whether or not you believe me is up to you."

Ning Yuanshan sneered. "What a coincidence! Did you really just start cultivating?"

Pang Jian did not give any further explanation.

"How long have you been cultivating?" Ning Yao asked from a distance, gracefully swaying her exquisite figure as she slowly walked over.

Looking at her graceful figure and dignified appearance, Pang Jian replied, "Three years."

Ning Yao’s thick eyebrows knitted, and a strange expression could be seen on her distinctively charming face. "It took three years for you to sense the presence of qi and absorb a bit of spiritual qi into your navel region?" Arriving in front of Pang Jian, she retrieved a round, finger-sized white jade bead from her waist and pointed it toward Pang Jian’s navel region. The bead cast light on Pang Jian. Then she said to Ning Yuanshan, "It seems that it really is just a tiny bit of spiritual qi."

Hearing her words, Ning Yuanshan let out a cold snort and dropped his guard. He then gathered the sea of fire above their heads back into the stone pillar.

The blazing temperature that had enveloped Pang Jian suddenly disappeared without a trace.

"Don’t blame me for being suspicious of you. Among the many hunters in Linshan Town, your family is the only one that is independent and also the one that stays closest to the Solitary Mountain Range," Ning Yuanshan said with a straight face. "There have been a lot of strange occurrences in the mountains lately. Apart from the members of the seven major clans, others with ulterior motives might have also infiltrated, so we have to be on guard."

"Oh," Pang Jian replied.

"In my opinion, we should just tie him up and put him in a cage," He Ziren suggested maliciously. "If he acts suspiciously, we can kill him immediately."

Pang Jian’s heart sank. His gaze immediately fell on the eerie pile of rocks. He’d rather risk rushing into the stone pile to escape them than allow them to hold him prisoner.

"There’s no need for that. His strength and cultivation realm are very low. He doesn’t pose a threat to us," Ning Yao countered.

"It’s up to you," He Ziren responded carelessly.

Pang Jian’s cultivation realm was truly very low. If he did something fishy, it would only take He Ziren a split second to kill him.

Pang Jian silently sighed in relief. As he looked at the pile of rocks, he noticed that the light from the white paper fans, bronze hammers, and bells had vanished, leaving only the ear-piercing whistling of the wind.

Just now, Pang Jian had noticed some abnormal, invisible entities floating toward him. Those entities were likely what Ning Yuanshan and the others called the lowest-level Beast Devils.

Under Ning Yao’s instruction, Ning Yuanshan intervened, saving him and destroying the Beast Devils. However, he felt that those Beast Devils...did not seem to be trying to harm him.

Rather, they seemed to be involuntarily drawn to the Spirit Cauldron Pang Jian had visualized, almost as if they wanted to be absorbed into his navel region.

Unfortunately, even if what he felt was true, Pang Jian was unable to verify it because the Beast Devils had already been eliminated by Ning Yuanshan.

While Pang Jian was lost in thought, Ning Yao was observing the abnormalities in the pile of rocks and discussing the emergence of the Beast Devils with Ning Yuanshan and the others.

Pang Jian secretly explored his navel region again.

His navel region was like a secret miniature world nestled within his body. According to the Qi Nurturing Divine Cauldron Art, cultivators who had not reached the Profound Abode Realm and could not refine their divine sense were incapable of seeing the true scope of their navel region. Their perception of this world would remain vague at best.

As Pang Jian explored, he realized that many cotton-like entities were floating within his navel region.

These cotton-like entities hindered Pang Jian’s perception, making it difficult for him to grasp the full scope of his navel region.

He was like a blind man navigating a room and finding himself frequently obstructed by a strange cotton-like substance that prevented him from discerning the general outline of the room.

He also gradually became aware that the small amount of spiritual qi he had absorbed earlier would quickly disappear as soon as it came into contact with this cotton-like substance. It was like the spiritual qi was a faint nether fire that melted away a tiny portion of the cotton-like substance and caused it to shrink slightly.

Before long, the small amount of spiritual qi he had accumulated within his body was depleted.

"Your navel region is extremely polluted, filled with impurities and dregs. If you want to cultivate, you must first gather spiritual qi to purge these impurities from your body. This step is like clearing the dust and debris from a room that has been sealed for a long time. Once your navel region is clean, you’ll be able to retain spiritual qi and become a true qi practitioner."

Seeing Pang Jian’s confusion, Ning Yao answered his unspoken questions with an indifferent expression.

She still needed Pang Jian’s help to traverse the mountain range. Although she believed her attitude toward Pang Jian was good, her ingrained sense of superiority remained. Her act of dispelling Pang Jian’s confusion was like giving alms to a beggar, much like when she threw him the cloth bag containing the pieces of silver.

"Oh," Pang Jian responded indifferently.

It turned out that Ning Yao had been secretly observing Pang Jian while talking to Ning Yuanshan and He Ziren. It was obvious that she did not fully trust him.

With a trace of ridicule in her tone, Ning Yao continued, "Only then will you be able to perceive the size of your navel region. However...cultivators with filthy navel regions often have poor cultivation talent. Even if their navel region is purified, it will still be smaller than normal."

She paused for a moment before adding coldly, "In the future, the space you can open up will be very limited."

Like Sun Bin, she also judged Pang Jian’s cultivation aptitude to be mediocre.

No wonder it took him three years to sense the presence of qi. Ning Yao thought to herself.

In her mind, Pang Jian was no longer a subject of suspicion. She neither cared about Pang Jian nor did she even bother to ask where Pang Jian had learned to cultivate.

No further words were exchanged that night.

***

The next morning, the sky was brightening, but the clouds remained dim and gloomy.

Boom!

The sound of wild beasts galloping could be heard from the entrance of the canyon. Soon after, a group of men on dark gray rhinoceros entered the canyon.

The hide of the strong, one-horned rhinoceros resembled natural armor, emitting a cold, metallic gleam.

"Zhou Qingchen!" Many servants of the Ning Clan shouted in surprise when they saw the group of one-horned rhinoceros approaching with a vicious aura.

Leading the group was a tall man dressed in green, sat upright on top of the largest rhinoceros.

Zhou Qingchen was handsome and had an imposing and overbearing aura. He was half a head taller than the people behind him, making him stand out from the crowd.

Riding his one-horned rhinoceros, Zhou Qingchen’s eyes seemed to flash with light when he blinked. The sight of Ning Yao only lit his eyes up more.

He laughed heartily. "Miss Ning, what a surprise! Long time no see!"

Ning Yao’s demeanor immediately became more elegant. She pursed her lips and smiled faintly before nodding in greeting.

Pang Jian noticed that she was much more polite to the incoming party than she was toward He Ziren.

When Zhou Qingchen glanced over at He Ziren, he appeared not to notice his presence. He clasped his fists at Ning Yuanshan and shouted, "Uncle Yuanshan!"

Ning Yuanshan smiled and waved warmly, "I knew that the Zhou Clan would be arriving soon."

When the incoming group stopped, Ning Yuanshan took the initiative to tell them about the abnormalities surrounding the pile of rocks, expressing the Ning Clan’s confusion and worries.

Zhou Qingchen, who had an elegant and graceful name but a rough appearance and temperament, said to a bloated old man dressed in yellow clothes behind him, [1] "Old Han, go ahead and take a look."

"Alright!"

A man wearing a bright yellow robe with a copper coin pattern embroidered on the hem slipped off his one-horned rhinoceros. He then approached the pile of rocks and took out a special compass.[2]

He did not immediately go into the stone pile; instead, he just walked around the edge of the pile of rocks, carefully inspecting it.

This man was Han Duping, the one that Ning Yao and Ning Yuanshan had been waiting for. They appeared to be aware of his abilities and did not warn him of the dangers. Instead, they allowed him to mutter to himself about the geomantics of the terrain. [3]

Pang Jian also curiously observed Han Duping.

After a while, Han Duping returned to the crowd. His plump face was solemn.

"The scattered rocks form a kind of array that can seal off yin energy. As a result, the souls of the creatures who died nearby, be it human or beast, will not dissipate. Instead, they will be attracted to this pile of rocks."

Raising his head, he glanced at the walls of the canyon and said in confusion, "The rocks fell from the walls of the canyon, and they should be scattered around randomly. Yet somehow they’ve formed a perfect Yin-energy-Sealing array. It’s really strange, I can’t tell if this array is natural or man-made."

Hearing this, everyone immediately started to discuss among themselves, making various guesses and conjectures.

Pang Jian’s mind trembled and he could not help but recall his father’s behavior from back when he used to follow his father to hunt in the Solitary Mountain Range as a child.

Every time they passed by this area, his father would kick the scattered stones. He did not move the larger and heavier rocks, but he did kick a lot of the small rocks further away.

According to his father, these rocks blocked the road and hindered their progress.

1. His surname, Zhou (周) is the tenth most common Chinese surname. The character Qing (卿) can be translated as "honorable," while the character Chen (尘) literally means "dust" and is a Buddhist term for the mundane world. The name sounds rather scholarly, in contrast with the man’s bearing. ☜

2. The term used here is luopan, which is a geomantic compass commonly used in Feng Shui and other similar practices. ☜

3. Geomancy translates literally to "earth divination," and the term is used for methods of divination that interpret geographic features, markings on the ground, or the patterns formed by soil, rocks, or sand. ☜

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