Trials of the Abyss

Pang Jian stood in a pool of blood at the bottom of the deep hole and stared upward with cold eyes.

He adjusted his breathing in a way that relaxed his body but kept his mind focused. He tightened his grip on the Dragonwood Spear as he waited for Dong Tianze’s descent.

Pang Jian’s body had undergone tempering by the essence of the Celestial Phoenix. He also had experience in killing cultivators with a higher cultivation realm than him, such as Jin Yang. Now that he had broken through to the Meridian Opening Realm, he dared to confront Dong Tianze.

He had carefully observed Dong Tianze before and was confident he would be able to withstand Dong Tianze’s barehanded attack after witnessing how he killed He Rong and Su Yuntian.

The mental attack using the ghostly apparitions from Ghost’s Cry dagger also would not affect him.

Dong Tianze’s speed advantage would be greatly reduced within the narrow space in the deep hole. Having jumped into the deep hole ahead of Dong Tianze, he would have ample opportunity to attack Dong Tianze when he descended.

As long as he could withstand one wave of attacks from Dong Tianze, once Zhou Qingchen and the others arrived, they would be able to kill Dong Tianze in the narrow space!

He had jumped into the deep hole after this careful consideration.

Thoroughly prepared for the battle ahead, Pang Jian patiently waited for Dong Tianze to land in the deep hole but a beautiful scarlet lotus appeared out of nowhere and blocked Dong Tianze’s descent.

It was an astonishing sight.

***

Above the deep hole, Dong Tianze rubbed his head. The sudden appearance of a barrier in the empty deep hole perplexed him.

He leaned over the deep hole formed by the bone of the Celestial Phoenix and saw a scarlet lotus appear out of thin air.

In the deep, dark hole, a stunning scarlet lotus bloomed, giving off a deep red glow.

This was an extremely complex and mysterious array. Numerous complex and mysterious lines made up the exquisite lotus, with a red spiritual power acting as its ink.

The eerie lotus exuded a gruesome beauty, instilling a sense of awe in all its beholders.

Dong Tianze quickly calmed down, staring at the eerie lotus as he contemplated its significance.

The strange lotus completely covered the opening of the deep hole and acted as a barrier preventing his descent. Seeing this, Dong Tianze did not try to descend into the deep hole again.

Spirit Devils have appeared on the island. The seven major clans don’t know how to refine Spirit Devils.

As the Dong Clan’s designated blade against the outside world, he was familiar with the seven major clans in the Fourth World. However, as he racked his brain, Dong Tianze still could not figure out the person behind the Spirit Devils.

He concluded that another expert was manipulating the Spirit Devils on Central Lake Island.

Surveying his surroundings, he let out a cold snort. He could not see or sense any hidden expert.

His heart was set on obtaining the blood essence of the black turtle, so he once again gathered his strength and charged into the deep hole with the beautiful deep red blood lotus.

Meanwhile, Luo Hongyan slowly retreated with a faint smile.

Boom!

Dong Tianze collided once again with the scarlet lotus with a resounding boom, like a heavy object striking a drum.

The beautiful scarlet lotus at his feet rippled with waves of scarlet radiance.

A sinister, bloodthirsty energy surged along the soles of Dong Tianze’s feet and rushed to his legs.

Dong Tianze was startled. He hurriedly leaped away from the blood lotus and returned to the edge of the deep hole. noveℓ.com

After steadying himself, Dong Tianze’s fierce gaze fell upon "Ning Yao" and he asked, "Are you behind this? After he went down, only you’ve approached to peer into the deep hole. Did you put the scarlet lotus there?"

"That’s right, it was me!" Luo Hongyan answered. Still smiling, she continued to retreat, as if afraid that Dong Tianze would chase after her.

"It wasn’t you. If you had the ability to put the scarlet lotus in the deep hole, you wouldn’t be afraid of me." Dong Tianze coldly snorted. Glancing at Ghost’s Cry, that had released countless ghostly apparitions to restrain Zhou Qingchen, he said, "That scarlet lotus can stop me, but can it stop my Ghost’s Cry?"

Dong Tianze summoned Ghost’s Cry to his side with a single thought. He wanted to use the spirit artifact to pierce through the lotus-shaped array.

Whoosh!

A withered Spirit Devil leaped out from the pile of corpses and lunged at Dong Tianze’s back.

Sensing the impending danger, Dong Tianze turned, only to witness the Spirit Devil, Hong Tai, vanish into his body.

"Hong Tai!"

He recognized the captain of the Shadow Specter Sect. He roared angrily as he struggled against the Spirit Devil, trying to prevent Hong Tai’s tainted and malevolent thoughts from corrupting his mind.

The ruthless and uncompromising Dong Tianze had a heart as unyielding as iron. He was extremely resistant against the encroachment of entities like Spirit Devils and swiftly regained his composure and steadied himself.

Surprisingly, despite Hong Tai being in the Marrow Cleansing Realm, the Spirit Devil refined from his soul did not have much impact on Dong Tianze.

Dong Tianze even had spare energy to summon Ghost’s Cry.

Woo! Woo!

Ghost’s Cry floated among the ghostly apparitions. Their wails echoed like a sea of souls lamenting in the depths of the netherworld, cries piercing the eardrums of all who heard them.

Ghost’s Cry drifted away from Zhou Qingchen’s head, dragging along many unrefined ghostly apparitions back toward Dong Tianze.

Apart from Luo Hongyan, every living being suffered excruciating headaches from the wailing of ghosts.

The wailing of the ghostly apparitions also affected the Spirit Devil Hong Tai in Dong Tianze’s body, and the suppression he exerted over Dong Tianze was greatly reduced.

Dong Tianze raised his head and let out an angry roar, "Who is secretly manipulating the Spirit Devils? I can control the Divine Spirit Pagoda of the Sinister Soul Temple! If it weren’t for the damage to the pagoda, I would’ve instantly captured and slain all the Spirit Devils!

"Those who can control ghostly entities in the Fourth World are mostly affiliated with the Sinister Soul Temple! And I, Dong Tianze, have been bestowed the Divine Spirit Pagoda by them. I’ve been designated an official member by the Sinister Soul Temple!"

Dong Tianze made his affiliations known, retrieving a jet-back triangular token adorned with ghostly images and raising it high into the air.

He suspected that the person hidden on Central Lake Island was also a member of the Sinister Soul Temple. Thus, he boldly revealed his status to intimidate the other party.

When Dong Tianze raised the token into the air, the Spirit Devil Hong Tai in his body ignited in a self-immolating blaze.

Black smoke streamed from Dong Tianze’s seven orifices as he clutched his head in agony and cursed.

"Sinister Soul Temple!"

Luo Hongyan wore a satisfied expression as she watched Dong Tianze’s suffering from a distance. She was willing to sacrifice the strongest Spirit Devil in her possession just to torment him.

For hundreds of years, the Sinister Soul Temple had imprisoned her in the white paper fan, fostering a deep hatred within her toward them.

The Ethereal Ghost Token Dong Tianze had raised up was reserved for core disciples of the Sinister Soul Temple. Seeing it, Luo Hongyan realized that the Sinister Soul Temple regarded Dong Tianze as a seedling to be nurtured.

"All of you, get over there!" Seizing the opportunity, Luo Hongyan summoned her Spirit Devils to attack Dong Tianze. At the same time, she instructed the recovered Zhou Qingchen, "Intercept that black-gold dagger!"

As she said this, she picked up a stone from the ground and hurled it toward Ghost’s Cry hovering in the air.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

She threw the stones with great force and precision. Each one successfully hit Ghost’s Cry hovering among the ghostly apparitions.

Ghost’s Cry swayed among the countless ghostly apparitions as though intoxicated. Unable to maintain a straight line, its speed toward Dong Tianze slowed significantly.

Meanwhile, another Spirit Devil took the opportunity to infiltrate Dong Tianze’s body like Hong Tai. Once inside, it promptly ignited in self-immolation, further exacerbating Dong Tianze’s injuries.

Luo Hongyan was well aware that once Dong Tianze managed to get hold of Ghost’s Cry, all the Spirit Devils’ attacks would be ineffective against him.

Rather than compliantly allowing the Spirit Devils to be devoured, she used them to launch a devastating attack on Dong Tianze before he could get hold of Ghost’s Cry.

"Coming!" Zhou Qingchen understood the stakes. Although he did not know why the Spirit Devils were attacking Dong Tianze, he still joined Luo Hongyan with his cold iron saber in hand.

***

In the deep hole, Pang Jian bitterly waited in the pool of blood.

He had witnessed Dong Tianze gather his strength and descend into the deep hole, only to be once again obstructed by the strange scarlet lotus. Shortly after, he vanished without a trace.

After that, Dong Tianze did not attempt to descend into the deep hole again.

Pang Jian wanted to lure Dong Tianze into the deep hole and fight him in the narrow space. However, he waited for a long time but saw no sign of the enemy. With nothing else to do, he casually surveyed his surroundings.

Looking down, he saw his calves were submerged in viscous blood. Beside him was withered flesh that resembled old tree bark.

The "wall" of the deep hole resembled cured meat, confirming Luo Hongyan’s suspicion that Central Lake Island was on the body of the black turtle!

The bone of the Celestial Phoenix had pierced through the body of the black turtle!

He stood inside the black turtle’s body, atop the bone of the Celestial Phoenix.

The viscous blood beneath him brimmed with tremendous energy.

Not long ago, Dong Tianze submerged his naked body in this pool of blood and used the tremendous energy in the blood of the black turtle to undergo the bone forging, marrow cleansing process.

Hmm!

Pang Jian suddenly saw Luo Meng appear in the space above him.

When he activated the Qi Nurturing Divine Cauldron Art in the stone pile, he was able to absorb Spirit Devils refined from the souls of wild beasts.

He was even able to ignore the soul array on the top floor of the Divine Spirit Pagoda. Therefore, he was not afraid of Spirit Devils.

Pang Jian stared at the Spirit Devil Luo Meng and silently waited for it to attack. However, the Spirit Devil remained motionless.

Luo Meng hovered above Pang Jian, seemingly acting as the eyes of the evil woman and showing no intention of engaging him in battle.

The black turtle’s blood essence... Pang Jian looked at his calves submerged in the viscous blood. He hesitated. Should I climb out now or should I continue to wait for Dong Tianze here?

He soon made up his mind to stay and wait for Dong Tianze in the deep hole. He also decided to collect the black turtle’s blood essence, which was capable of cleansing marrow.

When Pang Jian activated the Qi Nurturing Divine Cauldron Art, he could more clearly sense the tremendous energy emanating from the viscous blood beneath him.

However, he could not absorb it.

He recalled Dong Tianze’s blood-soaked state when he climbed out of the deep hole.

Perhaps it’s absorbed through the body? With this thought in mind, Pang Jian promptly lay in the pool of blood like Dong Tianze.

Supporting the back of his head with both his hands, he laid down, leaving only his head exposed while the rest of his body was submerged in viscous blood.

Adjusting his posture, he once again activated the Qi Nurturing Divine Cauldron Art. But he still could not refine the energy in the black turtle blood essence.

Despite being submerged in the black turtle’s blood, his chest, limbs, internal organs, muscles, and bones did not undergo any changes.

Do I have to be in the Marrow Cleansing Realm? Can I not use the blood essence of the black turtle to temper my body if I haven’t reached the Marrow Cleansing Realm?

After several attempts, he shook his head in regret and moved to stand.

At this moment, he was astonished to discover a small water vortex had formed in front of his chest.

The blood of the black turtle flowed rapidly toward the bronze pendant on his chest so quickly that it created a water vortex!

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