Trials of the Abyss

All inhabitants of the Abyss held an instinctive fear of the bizarre mist, and the Dragon Race was no exception.

As Long Zhan watched from the cover of the night, he was surprised to see Pang Jian step into the bizarre mist without hesitation.

The proximity of the Sacred Soul Continent to Absolute Heaven meant Long Zhan was well aware of the bizarre mist's rules––only human cultivators below the Spirit Condensation Realm and Fey Race or foreign races below Rank Six could enter.

Heavenly Daos, more formidable than those the True Gods and Fey Gods comprehended, would suppress any being above those thresholds that forcefully entered the bizarre mist.

Thus, Long Zhan grew suspicious when Pang Jian entered the bizarre mist and did not return.

He decided to reveal himself, aiming to interrogate the White Lynx while he had the chance.

However, the White Lynx's decisiveness caught him off guard.

The moment she saw the golden light emanating from Long Zhan and caught a trace of his distinctive draconic aura, she threw caution to the wind and charged into the bizarre mist without hesitation.

"Pang Jian, White Lynx, if both of you dare to enter the bizarre mist…perhaps the rules have changed," Long Zhan muttered.

Long Zhan's golden robes vanished, replaced with palm-sized golden dragon scales that covered his human form.

He then cautiously stepped into the bizarre mist.

"There's no heavenly punishment for violating the rules." Long Zhan chuckled, easing his guard.

Whoosh!

He spread his hands outward and casually waved his palms in the air, causing golden ripples to form.

The distinct dragon patterns within the golden ripples writhed about like they were sentient. They then merged with bloodline techniques capable of detecting life and soul fluctuations within a certain range.

"It's best I make my move in here" Long Zhan muttered, a carefree smirk on his face. "Sword tokens are cut off from the outside world while in the bizarre mist.

"Neither Li Zhaotian nor the elders and disciples of the Sword Pavilion can do anything to circumvent this characteristic of the bizarre mist.

"If he dies here, it'll become a dead-end case. No one can trace it back to the Dragon Lair Sect.

"Fan Chen wielded the divine artifact of the Supreme Monad Divine Kingdom and had several gold-attribute treasures.

"With those items in hand, I'll be better prepared to face Fan Ao in the future."

Greed flickered in Long Zhan's eyes.

***

"Let me go!" The White Lynx swung her sharp claws and bared her fangs, breaking out of Pang Jian's grasp.

After regaining her freedom, her eyes fell upon the golden bee hovering over his head.

The affection in the golden bee's gaze told White Lynx that it had a close bond with Pang Jian.

A golden bee, hidden in the bizarre mist and closely bonded to him. This guy…

Rumors about Pang Jian and his companions' exploits in Absolute Heaven surfaced in the White Lynx's mind.

Many of the human race's renowned geniuses, such as Fu Wangchen from the Forsaken Expanse Sect, had perished in Absolute Heaven.

Only a handful, such as Pang Jian, Zhou Qingchen, and Dong Tianze, had escaped alive.

The proximity of the Sacred Soul Continent to Absolute Heaven and the White Lynx's position as a Fey King meant even she had heard about them.

As she stared at the golden bee hovering above Pang Jian's head, she realized that his survival was far from mere luck.

"Go!" Pang Jian commanded.

The golden bee obediently flew off.

The White Lynx processed the situation before gasping in realization.

"You know spatial teleportation?"

Studying Pang Jian closely, she noticed a fluctuation in his divine soul.

It was as if he was using some kind of soul technique to communicate with other soul entities.

Despite knowing Long Zhan intended to kill him, Pang Jian seemed strangely composed and at home within the bizarre mist.

It was a stark contrast to his cautious demeanor on the Sacred Soul Continent.

Even the furrows on his brow had eased.

An air of mystery seemed to surround Pang Jian. She could not help but suspect that he had hidden a big secret within the bizarre mist that shrouded Absolute Heaven. ṝåŊȫ฿Ës

One, two, six, nine!

Pang Jian detected nine golden bees hidden within the vast bizarre mist.

Rather than calling upon the Bee Sovereign for aid, he tried to command the golden bees at the beehive himself using his divine soul. To his satisfaction, many golden bees responded and moved toward his location in the bizarre mist.

Gripping the Abyssal Demon Sword, he continued searching for its missing half, using the golden bees to aid in his search.

Long Zhan did not concern him whatsoever. After all, avoiding him would not be difficult with so many golden bees present and the beehive as his anchor point.

Soon, the first golden bee he dispatched spotted the golden ripples spreading throughout the bizarre mist.

It also saw Long Zhan, hovering near the boundary of the bizarre mist as he used the golden ripples to search for him.

Long Zhan found himself greatly constrained within the bizarre mist and dared not move about recklessly for fear he would not be able to find his way back to the Abyss.

Thus, he remained stationary after entering the bizarre mist, relying solely on the golden ripples to search the area.

He was confident Pang Jian was nearby and believed it was only a matter of time before he found him.

So, you've come in after all. Pang Jian snorted coldly.

He then commanded the golden bees to spread out even further in the bizarre mist.

With the golden bees active within the bizarre mist, Pang Jian gained a god-like perspective and did not fear getting lost.

He could also teleport with the golden bees, meaning he had no reason to fear the Rank Nine Long Zhan.

A thought crossed Pang Jian's mind.

Perhaps...

He sent a strand of his divine sense into the golden bee hovering unnoticed a hundred zhang above Long Yan.

"Long Zhan, who are you looking for?" the golden bee asked.

"Pang Jian!" Long Zhan raised his head, his sharp gaze locking onto the golden bee.

He had initially intended to strike but dismissed the thought when he realized it was merely a golden bee.

Killing the golden bee instead of Pang Jian was meaningless.

"I'm looking for the White Lynx. The Dragon Lair Sect gave a new order. They're hoping she'll return to the Sacred Soul Continent," Long Zhan said with a calm smile. "Pang Jian, have you seen her?"

"No," the golden bee said in Pang Jian's deadpan voice. "The Divine Son, Fan Chen, from the Supreme Monad Divine Kingdom entered the Sacred Soul Continent at my invitation. You killed him right in front of me. I'll remember that."

Long Zhan burst into laughter. "And then what? Even your master, Li Zhaotian, could not say for certain that he was my match while in the Immortal Realm.

"It doesn't matter if he successfully advances to the True God Realm either. As long as I also advance to the rank of Fey God, I'll have no reason to fear him.

"Pang Jian, I dared to kill Fan Chen because his elder, Fan Ao, blocked my Dao.

"That True God, Fan Ao, wouldn't normally dare to set foot in the Dragon Lair Sect or challenge our slumbering Patriarch in battle.

"I only spared the Liu girl and Dong brat because I didn't want to provoke three True Gods at once.

"Fan Ao doesn't dare to set foot on the Sacred Soul Continent, so what do I have to fear?" Long Zhan mocked arrogantly.

At that moment, Pang Jian became acutely aware of just how overbearing the Dragon Race of the Dragon Lair Sect truly was.

Meanwhile, in a different part of the bizarre mist, a man dressed in gold-embroidered robes sat atop a golden platform, his curious gaze fixed on a golden bee.

"A golden bee?" His gentle voice rang out in the silence of the bizarre mist. The man's brow twitched in realization as he exclaimed, "It's a Nether Abyss Spirit Bee!"

His divine sense penetrated the golden bee's mind and discovered a hidden thread linking the golden bee's soul to someone else's divine soul.

Fan Ao prepared to follow the thread and trace it to its source, only for his overwhelmingly powerful divine sense to accidentally crush the golden bee's soul.

The Nether Abyss Spirit Bee, although capable of devouring the divine consciousness of the Outer Gods, could not withstand his razor-sharp divine sense and died instantly.

The death of the golden bee alarmed the slumbering Bee Sovereign. The hard shell of its cocoon cracked audibly, and its consciousness connected with Pang Jian's.

A message came through.

A human True God has entered the bizarre mist, informed the Bee Sovereign. His divine sense is imbued with the Dao of Metal and it killed one of the bees.

Pang Jian's heart trembled.

A True God that advanced with the Dao of Metal!

The Supreme Monad Divine Kingdom's True God, Fan Ao, had decided to act in response to Fan Chen's death.

Fan Chen's spatial ring had likely ended up in his possession because Fan Ao knew the divine artifact within it would strongly tempt Long Zhan.

Pang Jian was Li Zhaotian's personal disciple and the one most likely to inherit his legacy, meaning he was already a target Long Zhan wanted to eliminate.

With Fan Chen's divine artifact in his possession, the likelihood of Long Zhan attempting to kill him skyrocketed. This was likely why Long Zhan had secretly tailed him, waiting for the perfect time to strike.

Fan Ao had planned to use him and the spatial ring to lure Long Zhan out of the Sacred Soul Continent all along.

The mantis stalked the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.

In this case, Pang Jian was the cicada, Long Zhan the mantis, and Fan Ao the oriole.

Having grasped the situation, Pang Jian decisively commanded the golden bee speaking with Long Zhan to fly toward Fan Ao.

"Leaving before finishing our conversation?" Long Zhan chuckled, leaving a golden dragon scale behind as a marker to ensure he would not lose his way.

He then confidently set off in pursuit of the golden bee, assuming it was heading back to Pang Jian.

Meanwhile, Fan Ao remained seated atop the golden platform after accidentally killing the golden bee. Placing his palm against the runes engraved on the platform, he softly uttered, "Seek out Long Zhan."

Beams of golden light poured into the runes like a torrential downpour.

Fan Ao's perception expanded outward like a vast ocean, covering hundreds of li and extending further.

"One, two…there are actually three more golden bees?" he muttered in astonishment.

Curiosity about the origins of the golden bees ate away at him, but just as he was preparing to capture one for closer examination, the third golden bee led Long Zhan to him.

He instantly lost interest in the golden bees at the sight of Long Zhan.

The golden platform beneath him shot toward Long Zhan without hesitation.

Krik's Thoughts

The title of the chapter is an idiom, describing a situation where someone is so focused on their target or immediate goal (like the mantis stalking the cicada) that they fail to notice a hidden threat or someone plotting against them (the oriole behind). It's often used to illustrate short-sightedness, overconfidence, or the idea of being outwitted by a third party. The idiom originates from a story in "Strategies of the Warring States" (战国策). In the tale, a mantis is focused on catching a cicada, unaware that an oriole is waiting to pounce on it. Meanwhile, a man observes the entire scene, using it as a metaphor for understanding timing and strategy.

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