Trials of the Abyss

The sight behind the bronze doors of the pendant left Pang Jian dumbstruck.

He could never have imagined the tightly closed bronze doors would unexpectedly open to reveal such a spectacle!

The strange serpent in the depths of the bizarre mist looked exactly like the beast soul of the Giant Abyssal Serpent.

It was a new Giant Abyssal Serpent!

Aside from the serpent, there was also a beehive, a vine, and a black turtle.

The beings killed by the bones of the Celestial Phoenix had reappeared within the mysterious space behind the bronze door and were floating in the dense bizarre mist.

Cultivators feared the bizarre mist. This same bizarre mist permeated the inner world of the bronze pendant, exuding an aura of endless mystery.

The strange serpent, beehive, vine, and black turtle appeared to have been reborn within the bizarre mist!

Pang Jian’s mind spun.

It was deeply shocking.

The peculiarities within the pendant impressed him more than the sight of the Green Condor!

Thoughts flashed through his mind like a flurry of lightning.

Thinking back to the ferocious vines that had violently emerged from the fissures in the ground, Pang Jian concluded that the bone of the Celestial Phoenix had killed a terrifying vine plant residing deep underground.

Back then, a drop of Celestial Phoenix’s essence had inadvertently come into his possession and was absorbed by the bronze pendant.

His first round of body tempering was achieved because of that first drop of the Celestial Phoenix’s essence.

In Blackwater Pond, he obtained another essence of the Celestial Phoenix condensed from the corpse of the Giant Abyssal Serpent.

The bronze pendant had also absorbed the blood-colored Celestial Phoenix that emerged from Ouyang Duanhai’s body.

The blood-colored Celestial Phoenix from Ouyang Duanhai had been formed from the beehive and bees in Insect Valley.

His second tempering was done through that blood-colored Celestial Phoenix.

At that time, in his hazy state, he could feel fiery Celestial Phoenixes soaring within his bones.

Not long ago, when the murky energy had ravaged his meridians, the black turtle’s blood essence had aided him, causing his meridians to rupture and heal repeatedly.

Only the essence of the Celestial Phoenix formed from the Giant Abyssal Serpent remained inactive.

Did that essence of the Celestial Phoenix facilitate the rebirth of a new Giant Abyssal Serpent? But then, why did the beehive, vine, and black turtle also appear? Questions overwhelmed Pang Jian’s mind.

Pang Jian forced himself to calm down. He carefully studied the mysterious space within the bronze pendant.

The bronze door of the pendant was only partially open and he could not enter.

He studied the newly born Giant Abyssal Serpent. Floating slightly further away were the beehive, vine, and black turtle.

The latter three were much smaller than the Giant Abyssal Serpent and did not yet exude an extraordinary aura.

Pang Jian had no idea how big the space inside the bronze door was or what other mysteries the bizarre mist concealed.

He noticed the Giant Abyssal Serpent was staring at him from the mysterious space inside the bronze door.

The dark obsidian eyes of the newly born Giant Abyssal Serpent showed fear and restlessness. It seemed it wanted to come out and be close to Pang Jian.

Huff! Huff! Huff!

A complex mix of emotions flashed in the Giant Abyssal Serpent. As it watched him, it continued to devour the murky energy from Pang Jian’s spiritual sea.

It only absorbed the densest, most unique energies of corrosion and destruction.

A small sharp horn slowly grew on the Giant Abyssal Serpent’s forehead.

This newly born Giant Abyssal Serpent appeared to be growing astonishingly fast. Even from birth, it differed from the one at the bottom of Blackwater Pond.

Pang Jian held the bronze pendant up, looked at the Giant Abyssal Serpent inside, and asked tentatively, “Can you come out?”

The Giant Abyssal Serpent’s black eyes brimmed with confusion. It did not understand his words.

Unlike the one inhabiting the Black and White King Python at Blackwater Pond, this Giant Abyssal Serpent was much less intelligent, like a naive infant.

In Pang Jian’s eyes, this Giant Abyssal Serpent’s starting point seemed comparatively higher as it was born with a sharp horn on its forehead.

Unfortunately, its wisdom and sentience were not as remarkable.

It seemed the serpent still needed time to improve in that regard.

Pang Jian hesitated.

Holding the bronze pendant with one hand, he beckoned the Giant Abyssal Serpent to come out with his other.

The Giant Abyssal Serpent stared blankly at him. As it watched Pang Jian gesture from outside the bronze door, it tried to move toward him.

It instinctively sensed that the world of the beckoning man held the power it urgently needed.

That power was crucial for its growth!

Whoosh!

It crossed the threshold of the bronze door and entered Eight Trigrams City.

Snap!

The bronze door crisply snapped shut.

The serpent in the dark tunnel was three meters long, much larger than Pang Jian had imagined.

Pang Jian had extended his hand in preparation to catch the Giant Abyssal Serpent in his palm. However, it was larger than anticipated, and Pang Jian’s expression shifted.

Huff! Huff! Huff!

After landing on the stone tiles, the Giant Abyssal Serpent instantly started gorging on the murky energy of the darkness. It no longer needed to rely on Pang Jian.

Dense murky energy carrying an aura of corrosion and destruction rushed toward its open mouth.

Hard green scales appeared on the Giant Abyssal Serpent’s body, gleaming like refined iron.

Pang Jian dazedly stared at it.

He could feel a close connection with the Giant Abyssal Serpent.

It felt like he now had two extra eyes.

When Pang Jian closed his eyes, he was amazed to find he could see through the eyes of the Giant Abyssal Serpent!

"Pang Jian!” Luo Hongyan screamed from within the brightly lit City Lord’s Mansion. She feared for Pang Jian’s safety.

The strange phenomenon of the bronze door had distracted Pang Jian. At Luo Hongyan’s scream, his eyes flew open, and he could no longer see through the Giant Abyssal Serpent’s eyes.

He looked toward the mansion.

Luo Hongyan conjured dazzling starlight and summoned blood-red lightning as she effortlessly destroyed the semi-transparent entities in the pool water.

It was not difficult for Luo Hongyan to deal with the souls Yuan Shishan had summoned, and they dissipated one after another as she attacked.

However, the attacks using the scattered spirit artifacts caused Luo Hongyan significant trouble and she had already sustained several injuries.

Meanwhile, Li Jie, the Trial Master, sat calmly in a pile of rubble. The Qilin Bell floated above his head, allowing him to face Yuan Shishan’s overwhelming offensive with remarkable composure.

Li Jie had known what he would face and was well-prepared.

Based on his demeanor, the Qilin Bell alone seemed sufficient to sustain him indefinitely.

Pang Jian knew Li Jie had numerous treasures at his disposal. It seemed unlikely Yuan Shishan could break through his formidable defenses.

"There’s no need to worry about him,” Pang Jian muttered under his breath. He looked at the beleaguered Luo Hongyan before glancing back down at his feet.

The Giant Abyssal Serpent seemed content to absorb the murky energy of the Fifth World.

Pang Jian nodded in relief, then confidently rushed out with his spear.

Swish!

His Startling Slaughter Spear unleashed another black halo, intercepting the many rocks Yuan Shishan was hurling.

Luo Hongyan looked at him with joyful surprise at the sight of him alive and well. “You’re okay?”

"Yeah, I was held up by something,” Pang Jian replied.

"If you’re fine, you should’ve said something!” Luo Hongyan scolded.

"Even if I had, you wouldn’t have been able to hear it.”

Meanwhile, Yuan Shishan stood on a raised platform with his hair disheveled as he muttered hysterically, “A soul, they saw me as a necessary soul for the array core of Eight Trigrams City...”

Unable to accept reality, he used all his power to bombard the Trial Master, Li Jie, with spirit artifacts.

Li Jie stayed composed. The Qilin Bell floated above his head and effortlessly fended off the onslaught of spirit artifacts.

Boom!

The invisible barrier at the entrance of the dark tunnel was unexpectedly destroyed.

The previously restrained darkness now spread into the mansion.

Even the usually composed Li Jie stood up and stared in shock at the sight.

"How is this possible?” As the Trial Master, he controlled the lights within Eight Trigrams City.

He could activate or extinguish the lights from the stone tiles and walls of the city at will.

The darkness outside the city was eternal, but as long as there was light in Eight Trigrams City, it would not be able to enter.

The encroachment of darkness toward the City Lord’s Mansion had been Li Jie’s doing as he gradually extinguished the lights.

The lights could only be extinguished from outside in, forcing everyone toward the City Lord’s Mansion, then the pool in the courtyard

The darkness would only engulf everything after his trial ended and everyone left Eight Trigrams City.

After many years, when the Heaven Ascension Tribulation Pillar needed new souls and sacrifices, a new Trial Master would come to Eight Trigrams City.

When that happened, Eight Trigrams City would light up again.

However, Li Jie’s trial was not over. He was still in Eight Trigrams City.

The darkness was entering the mansion early!

This was the second anomaly Li Jie had encountered since his arrival in Eight Trigrams City.

"Ah!” Pang Jian saw the Giant Abyssal Serpent swim toward him. It seemed to have broken through an invisible barrier.

The moment the Giant Abyssal Serpent emerged from the tunnel, the darkness spread rapidly into the mansion.

It could not be stopped!

The darkness spread like black ink into the mansion, and the souls within the pool water corroded away as it engulfed them.

Li Jie’s expression changed dramatically as he shouted in alarm. “Pang Jian, who exactly is hiding in the alley?”

He suspected that the anomaly in the darkness had come from an enemy faction of his family and was intentionally disrupting his trial to plunge him into an inescapable doom.

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