Trials of the Abyss

As the Sword Boat soared through the bizarre mist, new strands of golden divine sense emerged from the acupoints in Pang Jian's sea of consciousness.

The six new strands of divine sense combined with his original one hundred and forty-four to make one hundred and fifty strands.

The twelve strands of golden divine sense that previously had withered after staring at the sun and moon through the copper chest had since been restored to their original state.

They had recovered using the weak traces of divine consciousness the Observer had left within the green ants.

The restoration of his golden divine sense meant Pang Jian had finally reached the late stage of the Profound Abode Realm.

Unfortunately, his sea of consciousness had not expanded further.

Just one more strand. I only need one more strand of divine sense to break into one hundred and fifty-one strands and expand my sea of consciousness.

Even so, Pang Jian was in no hurry.

They were headed to Absolute Heaven where many more Outer God Puppets had gathered. His total divine sense was far from his limit.

The more Pang Jian pondered, the more eager he became to reach Absolute Heaven.

The strength of his divine soul—and by extension, his future potential in cultivation—would depend on his number of golden divine sense.

At that moment, the perspective of the farthest golden bee in Pang Jian's mind became disjointed and blurry.

He had been maintaining his connection with the bees and was still constantly receiving the broadcasts of the perspectives.

However, there were limits to this.

The Bee Sovereign told Pang Jian that the golden bee had flown too far away, and he could lose contact with it if it continued exploring the bizarre mist.

Thus, the Bee Sovereign immediately recalled the distant golden bees.

Absolute Heaven will soon appear if we follow that white crane. There's no need for the golden bees to explore that far.

Pang Jian shifted his attention to the bees' perspectives.

Fu Wangchen of the Forsaken Expanse Sect sat unmoving on the giant mystical bird.

On the Mountain Stream Spirit Boat, only a few disciples of the Demon Sect still retained their self-awareness.

Even disciples from the Celestial Lagoon Sect looked ashen, becoming withdrawn as they no longer communicated with each other.

What happened on the Sword Boat was now repeating on the Mountain Stream Spirit Boat.

That has nothing to do with me, Pang Jian thought with an indifferent shake of his head.

He recalled how the Demon Sect sent the Scarlet Dawn Boat violently swaying in the astral winds, not to mention the actions of Yuan Lengshan and Lan Xi in Eight Trigrams City.

These memories left him with no goodwill toward the Demon Sect.

"What are you thinking about?" Qi Qingsong asked, tossing Pang Jian a wine jar. "Don't scare us! You're our hope. When you shake your head, it feels like something's wrong."

"Junior Brother, is there any girl you fancy?" Zhuang Yuyan smiled as she pushed a plate of fruits toward Pang Jian.

The Sword Boat sped in the direction Pang Jian had pointed them, and the group drank and chatted on the third-floor balcony with high spirits.

"I don't eat those," Pang Jian declined, not touching Zhuang Yuyan's offered fruits.

Instead, he pulled over a stack of dried meat in front of Fang Boxuan.

As Pang Jian chewed on the tough dried meat, a scene from the dark tunnel in Eight Trigrams City flashed through his mind. It was the ridiculous memory of him and Li Yuqing fighting over food.

"The genius girl of the Li Family—the one with incredible combat prowess—seems to have a bit of a spark with Pang Jian." Zhou Qingchen chuckled.

"Li Yuqing?" Zhuang Yuyan clicked her tongue in surprise and said seriously, "Junior Brother, it must be a lot of pressure to admire her."

Pang Jian did not respond.

"The Divine Treasure Sect has maintained good relations with most of the sects in the Abyss," Zhuang Yuyan remarked. "That prodigious girl from the Li family once visited the Sword Pavilion and resonated with the Heaven-Splitting Sword.

"Can you believe it? The Heaven-Splitting Sword!

"All divine artifacts have soul, and that sword soul acknowledged her on the spot. Even our Pavilion Master could not suppress it and had to let the Heaven-Splitting Sword choose her as its master.

"She truly is formidable. I heard she's never been defeated in inter-sect competitions in the First World since obtaining the Heaven-Splitting Sword.

"That girl is destined to achieve godhood in the future. There's no doubt about that.

"Junior Brother..." Zhuang Yuyan trailed off with a pause.

"If you want to be with her, you can't be weaker than her. At the very least, you'll need to become our generation's foremost Immortal Realm cultivator like our Pavilion Master to have a chance with her.

"But that's still only a chance." Zhuang Yuyan gently shook her head. "Becoming the Pavilion Master of the Sword Pavilion only gives you the qualification to pursue her. In the end, it still depends on what that girl thinks."

"Pang Jian, you can do it! I'm sure she likes you!" Zhou Qingchen exclaimed as he tore a piece of jerky in his hands. "Her attitude toward you in Spirit Offering was completely different from how she treated others. I think she looked at you differently because she’s taken a fancy to you!"

"Really?" Zhuang Yuyan was surprised.

"Now that you mention it, it did seem that way," Fang Boxuan agreed. "That girl from the Li Family looked at us like we were mere pebbles, but she looked at Pang Jian as if he were a person."

"I think another person—or rather, Outer God—has her eyes set on him," Zhao Yuanqi interjected. "If Luo Hongyan is truly an Outer God and not a puppet being possessed, then that means she's taken a true interest in Pang Jian."

Zhao Yuanqi remembered how Pang Jian's display of severed heads had made that terrifying Outer God change her mind.

If not, the prodigy girl from the Li Family could have died, and the rest of them would not have escaped alive.

Zhuang Yuyan was horrified. "An Outer God herself? How could a mortal body belong to an Outer God?"

"We're not sure either, but that's what Li Yuqing said. She flew into the Second World and is likely in Absolute Heaven," Zhao Yuanqi pondered aloud. "If we encounter her there, our only option might be to pray she retains her sanity and remembers her past feelings for Pang Jian."

"Is it really that terrifying?" Qi Qingsong asked, having not been in Spirit Offering to experience it firsthand.

Fang Boxuan and Zhou Qingchen nodded grimly.

"She casually killed the Sect Master of the Blood Moon Sect and the Cult Leader of the Sinister Soul Temple. They were both in the Soul Wandering Realm," Zhao Yuanqi said, voice trembling. "If she's in Absolute Heaven, she'll surely be the most terrifying nightmare there."

When Qi Qingsong and Zhuang Yuyan saw the intense fear in her eyes, they immediately lost the mood for conversation.

They all drank in silence.

Time passed slowly, and one day, while Pang Jian quietly cultivated, he sensed that the golden bee following the white crane had emerged from the bizarre mist.

The golden bee and the white crane entered a vast space where four large fragmented lands floated in the depths of the void, with bizarre mist surrounding the area.

One of the fragmented lands was shrouded in dazzling lightning that obscured the view of its inner landscape.

A massive lightning vortex seemed to envelop the entire landmass, with flashes of lightning and thunder roaring within.

Another fragmented land had a surface dotted with towering volcanoes, each spewing flames and soaring fire pillars like massive fiery dragons.

Streams of magma flowed on the cracked ground, lighting everything ablaze.

The third fragmented land was covered in snow-capped peaks and glaciers, creating a frozen world of ice.

The only fragmented land of the four that appeared somewhat normal was the one closest to the golden bee, with lush valleys, mountains, forests, lakes, and swamps.

Scattered across this fragmented land were the wreckages of warships and boats.

Thousands of corpses of humans, Vicious Beasts, Spirit Beasts, and foreign races, lay strewn across the land.

A pitch-black warship hovered in the air, with powerful Ghost Race members commanding foreign warriors to hunt down survivors on the fragmented land below.

The small Ghost Race members on the warship wore luxurious clothing and held exquisite artifacts.

They looked exactly like the Ghost Race warriors Pang Jian had seen in the Primordial Wilderness and the Fifth World.

However, unlike those from the Fifth World, these Ghost Race members had a noble demeanor and seemed to have lived a life of luxury and high status.

They're not the Ghost Race from the Fifth World! Pang Jian noted with surprise.

Suddenly, the piercing cry of a crane rang out.

The white crane rushed toward the fragmented land engulfed in lightning with reckless abandon.

It seemed impatient.

Meanwhile, on the pitch-black warship, a Ghost Race warrior coldly watched the departing white crane.

The Ghost Race warrior was smaller than a dwarf and wielded a silver trident. He was gaunt and skeletal, with fangs that protruded from the corners of his mouth.

"A visitor from the Abyss..." the Ghost Race warrior muttered.

He threw the silver trident at the crane.

Crackle!

Three dazzling arcs of lightning shot out from the silver trident like blinding rivers of light.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The arcs of lightning soon caught up to the white crane, striking its wings in a shower of sparks and feathers.

"You little bastard, I'll settle the score with you later!" the white crane screeched as it flew away.

The imposing Ghost Race warrior snorted as he summoned the silver trident back to his hand before turning to look in the direction the white crane had come from.

His green, glimmering eyes landed on the golden bee.

"A golden bee..."

His eyes gleamed with a peculiar light as they projected images of gruesome slaughter and mountains of bones into the golden bee's mind.

The golden bee gave a sharp buzzing cry and retreated into the bizarre mist.

Pang Jian shivered. Grabbing a wine flask, he took several gulps to steady his mind before he asked, "Is Absolute Heaven just one fragmented land or four?"

Zhuang Yuyan was taken aback. "It's just one fragmented land."

Pang Jian's expression changed. "The Outer God known as the Observer was probably telling the truth. What we're going to face next isn't just the beings from our Abyss, but also beings from other worlds."

Thousands of humans, Spirit Beasts, and Vicious Beasts had already perished.

Those already in Absolute Heaven appeared to be in dire straits.

Pang Jian had not had long to observe the situation through the golden bee and was uncertain if the Ghost Race warriors were also hunting the inhabitants of the Abyss in other parts of that fragmented land.

After considering for a moment, Pang Jian made a decision.

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