Trials of the Abyss

Han Duping narrowed his eyes as he noticed the constellations of small stars embellishing the robes of the newcomers.

"Young Zhou, they probably intend to rob the new arrivals, just like the two from the Blood Moon Sect and the Radiant Sun Sect." Han Duping chuckled coldly. The cautious demeanor of the seven individuals had given away their intentions. He said with a sneer, "They’re only holding back because those two met such a miserable end."

Zhou Qingchen grinned. "Seems like it."

Pang Jian knitted his brows as he stared at the spatial pouch Luo Hongyan had lifted with a bone fragment.

After learning of its marvelous properties, he strongly desired to have it. However, with the appearance of the seven members of the Star River Alliance, he was concerned that he would not be able to claim the spatial pouch for himself.

"Fortunately, they’re all quite old. Those are cultivators that have never accomplished anything significant in their lives," Han Duping remarked as he scrutinized the newcomers. He noticed that the leader, with his clean, fair complexion, carried himself with the demeanor of a gentle scholar.

But he looked to be around thirty years old.

The other six people behind him, both men and women, were also in their late twenties. They wore the robes of the Star River Alliance but had no valuable accessories on them.

"A bunch of paupers." Han Duping shrugged, looking visibly relieved. He chuckled lightly as he explained to Pang Jian, There’s no need to worry too much about older cultivators from the Third World. The fact that they are in Eight Trigrams City means their cultivation level is similar to ours and have at most only reached the Marrow Cleansing Realm."

He shook his head disdainfully and said, "They’re insignificant in the Third World and probably don’t have any formidable spirit artifacts."

As Han Duping said, when the seven individuals noticed that, apart from Han Duping, the rest were only fifteen or sixteen years old, they became even more cautious than Pang Jian’s group.

The leader of the seven smiled warmly as he introduced himself from a distance, "Greetings, everyone. My name is Jian Yaoyang. I’m from the Star River Alliance of the Third World. While exploring a restricted area in search of the remains of the Celestial Phoenix, we stumbled upon a Mirror Tunnel and found ourselves here in this city. We have no intention of offending anyone here."

The leader paused and stared at Luo Hongyan, His hands, concealed within his sleeves, seemed to clutch something.

The Star River Alliance... Luo Hongyan sneered inwardly. The original owner of this body, Ning Yao, had also been on track to join the Star River Alliance for cultivation.

Whenever individuals with exceptional talents appeared among their clan members, the Ning Clan and the He Clan of the Fourth World would send them to join the Star River Alliance.

Her beautiful face bore an air of indifference as she calmly replied, "I am Ning Yao of the Ning Clan from the Fourth World."

Behind Jian Yaoyang, a woman in her late twenties exclaimed, "Ning Yao, I’ve heard of you! My master is Han Huiying. She intends to accept you as her direct disciple when you join the Star River Alliance."

This woman was named Qiu Li. Qiu Li had an ordinary appearance and her words were laced with jealousy.

"The Ning Clan from the Fourth World?"

"I was so scared! I thought she was like the previous lunatic and came from the upper world."

"Thankfully, that isn’t the case."

The seven individuals breathed a collective sigh of relief. Their tense nerves eased as they quickened their pace considerably.

Jian Yaoyang’s expression softened into a warm smile as he approached the blood pool. "What a surprise, Junior Sister Ning! We all hail from the Star River Alliance. You’ll join the Star River Alliance sooner or later, so we’re all family here."

Luo Hongyan’s figure and beauty far outshone Qiu Li’s. Seeing this, Jian Yaoyang’s smile became warmer. "Junior Sister Ning, this city is eerie and strange. It would be better if we stick together as we navigate it."

While exchanging pleasantries with Luo Hongyan, Jian Yaoyang saw Pang Jian approaching with his Dragonwood Spear. Pang Jian unceremoniously picked up the fishskin pouch and the blood-stained booklet that Luo Hongyan had found earlier.

Jian Yaoyang and the six individuals behind him were unsure who Pang Jian was. When they realized what was happening, Pang Jian had already picked up the items off the ground.

"Hm, who’s this?"

"He’s with us," Zhou Qingchen said, arriving shortly after to stand beside Pang Jian. He cast a sidelong glance at the seven individuals and grinned. "I’m Zhou Qingchen, hailing from the Zhou Clan in the Fourth World. I have made quite a name for myself at the Red Mountain Sect."

"The Zhou Qingchen from the lower world!” Surprises flashed in their eyes. It seemed most of them had heard of him before.

With an arrogant demeanor, Zhou Qingchen said, "What’s the matter? Did the fat lamb from before frighten you so badly you didn’t dare to act after that?"

Jian Yaoyang looked genuinely surprised and pretended to be puzzled. "What fat lamb are you talking about? The seven of us were scattered around, searching for valuable materials in the buildings on both sides. We didn’t notice anyone passing by."

"Is that so?" Zhou Qingchen smirked.

Jian Yaoyang remained composed, but the rest were faintly embarrassed and avoided Zhou Qingchen’s gaze in guilt.

Zhou Qingchen did not comment on their lack of response. He could not be bothered to beat around the bush with them and impatiently said, "That’s alright, we’re not interested in teaming up with you. Let’s just go our separate ways. Ning Yao, are you going with them or with us?"

Luo Hongyan responded disinterestedly, "I will only go with Pang Jian."

"Haha, we’re on the same path then." Zhou Qingchen chuckled, disregarding the surprised expressions of the seven individuals. " Eight Trigrams City has eight roads leading to the city center. This is just one of them. If you guys don’t want to take the same path as us, you’re free to choose another one."

With that said, Zhou Qingchen grabbed Pang Jian and walked away.

Luo Hongyan and the others did not linger either. They all walked past the seven individuals and headed toward the center of Eight Trigrams City.

Once Pang Jian and the others left, the seven members of the Star River Alliance rummaged through the remains of the two dead cultivators.

"Senior Brother Jian, we couldn’t find anything worthwhile."

"It seems Junior Sister Ning got to the valuable items before us. We’re too late."

The group was disappointed.

"Let’s find a place to rest. It’s not safe to linger on the streets for too long," Jian Yaoyang suggested calmly.

Not long after, they sought an empty tavern they had explored earlier to settle down.

"Senior Brother Jian, what’s the plan?" asked Lin Quanshan. His gaunt cheeks and slightly sinister visage gave him an intimidating appearance.

"I’ve observed them carefully. Only Zhou Qingchen has reached the Marrow Cleansing Realm. The rest are all at the Meridian Opening Realm," Jian Yaoyang replied with a hint of helplessness. Maintaining his pleasant demeanor, he continued, “But have you considered the consequences?”

The other six fell into silence.

"Zhou Qingchen is different from us. He’s a key figure in the Red Mountain Sect. If we were to make a move against him and fail, encountering him in the Third World afterward would be quite troublesome.

"More importantly, Ning Yao is also a member of our Star River Alliance. How could we do this?" Jian Yaoyang rubbed his temples in frustration.

Qiu Li lowered her head and whispered, "Senior Brother Jian, you and I come from ordinary families in the Third World. We’re not like Ning Yao. Although she’s from the lower world, the previous generations of the Ning Clan have established a strong foundation in the Star River Alliance.

"She has better talent than me, and my master has already prepared a welcoming gift for her. Once she arrives at the Star River Alliance, she will undergo the bone forging, marrow cleansing process."

Qiu Li wore a bitter yet helpless expression on her face. "I’ve been in the Meridian Opening Realm for nine years, and my master has never indicated that she would prepare marrow-cleansing spiritual materials for me. She told me to gather them myself, but I’ve been trying for so many years and still haven’t gathered enough!"

The other five individuals also appeared disheartened.

In the group, only Jian Yaoyang had reached the Marrow Cleansing Realm. The others were all in the Meridian Opening Realm.

In their eyes, this trip to Eight Trigrams City was their only chance to accumulate enough wealth to exchange for marrow-cleansing materials when they left.

Lin Quanshan noticed his hesitation and added, "Senior Brother Jian, Ning Yao hasn’t officially joined us yet, so she doesn’t really count as a member of our Star River Alliance. She also chose to accompany Zhou Qingchen instead of us."

Jian Yaoyang continued to shake his head in indecision.

"Senior Brother Jian, your master has passed away, and you don’t have any strong backing in the Star River Alliance. Opportunities like entering a mysterious realm through a Mirror Tunnel don’t come by often in our lifetime. If we don’t seize this opportunity, we might regret it for the rest of our lives," Qiu Li persuaded.

Jian Yaoyang only sighed in response.

As their senior brother and the only one in the Marrow Cleansing Realm, the final decision rested in Jian Yaoyang’s hands. No one dared to act rashly until he made up his mind.

"Senior Brother, I know that you like young girls. Ning Yao meets all your requirements. Furthermore, she’s the Ning Clan’s young mistress. How about we let you have your way with her before she dies?" the youngest woman in their group said through gritted teeth.

The others fell silent at her words, too apprehensive to gauge Jian Yaoyang’s reaction.

They were all aware their youngest junior sister was using her body to curry favor with Jian Yaoyang and gain the chance to team up with everyone.

Jian Yaoyang shot her a cold glare, eyes flashing with killing intent. He snorted disdainfully. "You all forced my hand! If this matter leaks out and any of them survive, none of us will have a foothold in the Third World. We’ll be forced to join the Shadow Specter Sect in the lower world."

"We understand!" The others shouted in unison, murderous intent palpable.

***

Further up the street, Han Duping shook his head and chuckled with disdain. "The seven paupers wanted to team up with us. They’re all pushing thirty, but they’re all still in the Meridian Opening Realm. Their leader looks older than me, but he’s only in the Marrow Cleansing Realm!"

Han Duping did not consider the seven individuals worthy of his attention.

"Young Zhou, when will you finish gathering the materials for my bone forging and marrow cleansing?" he questioned angrily.

"Soon. It’s almost done," Zhou Qingchen replied nervously, offering some empty reassurances, "Don’t worry, once I go to the Red Mountain Sect, I’ll gather everything as quickly as possible for you. You know how difficult it is to acquire quality bone forging and marrow cleansing materials in the Fourth World."

"I’ve already passed thirty, I can’t wait that long," Han Duping said despondently.

"Old Han, count on me! You have my word!" Zhou Qingchen promised, slapping his chest confidently.

At this moment, Pang Jian halted his steps.

On one side of the wide street, under the eaves of a stone building, he spotted a water tank containing some clear water.

Retrieving the palm-sized fish-skin pouch, made from a material similar to the handle of Dong Tianze’s Ghost’s Cry, Pang Jian cleaned it with the water.

Once clean, he reached inside.

His eyes lit up in excitement.

It was as Luo Hongyan had said. Although the spatial pouch appeared no larger than his palm, its holding capacity exceeded his expectations. It was easily equivalent to four of the bamboo baskets he normally carried.

The spatial pouch proved incredibly portable. It could be attached to his waist or discreetly concealed within his clothing. Its convenience far surpassed the bamboo baskets, offering unmatched ease of use.

Reaching inside the spatial pouch, Pang Jian was surprised to find dozens of spirit jades, some spare clothing, assorted bottles and jars, and numerous strange dark-red stones.

A quantity of the strange stones lay at the bottom of the spatial pouch and were warm to the touch. Unlike the clear and translucent spirit jade, these stones were cloudy, with clusters resembling fiery clouds within.

Pang Jian did not know what the strange stones were and instead opted to dampen the spare clothing within the spatial pouch with water and use it to wipe away the bloodstains from the small booklet.

As he listened to Zhou Qingchen’s and Han Duping’s conversation, he cleaned off the bloodstains from the booklet before finally turning his attention to its title.

"Earth Blaze Technique."

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