Trials of the Abyss

Chapter 348: Steady Progress

Dong Tianze had returned to his cave dwelling in the Sinister Soul Temple on the Dark Abyss Continent.

The Cult Leader, Han Zhiyuan, was pleasantly surprised at his mid-stage Spirit Condensation Realm cultivation.

"I've only reached the late stage of the Spirit Condensation Realm myself. I'm still one step away from advancing to the Soul Wandering Realm. And you..." The emaciated Han Zhiyuan rubbed his hands together excitedly before his expression abruptly shifted to worry. "Boy, are you still willing to stay in the temple?"

Dong Tianze was puzzled. "Master, what do you mean?"

"You're probably the most outstanding among the Celestial Phoenix Divine Guards. You're more than capable of leaving the Sinister Soul Temple to reunite with your Master. They could likely secure a place for you in the upper worlds.

"For example, as a guest elder with one of the sects in the Second or First Worlds." Han Zhiyuan's lips curled into a bitter smile. "The Sinister Soul Temple is becoming too small for someone like you.

"Not to mention, a great war is about to break out in the Third World. The foreign races will launch a fierce assault on this world once the murky energy rises.

"You're a promising cultivator with strong backing. You don't need to stay in the temple and fight to the death against those lowly foreign races from the lower worlds."

"I'm planning to remain in the temple for now," Dong Tianze replied firmly.

"The situation below is unpredictable, and I don't know what will happen. I may not be able to protect you," Han Zhiyuan admitted. "The powerhouses from the First World have arrived with their warships and I have no choice but to follow their commands. If you stay, you'll also have to follow their orders, and I'm worried you won't adapt well."

Dong Tianze nodded. "I understand."

After a brief pause, he asked, "Master, does the temple have any secret techniques for refining one's body?"

Han Zhiyuan was taken aback. "Our Sinister Soul Temple has never focused on physical body refinement. Body-refining techniques are the specialty of the Blood Moon Sect. Why do you ask?"

"The Blood Moon Sect?" Dong Tianze raised an eyebrow.

I've heard rumors that the Blood Moon Sect and the Sinister Soul Temple share a common origin. The Blood Moon Sect's body-refining techniques could be the most suitable path for me, he thought.

"Cult Leader!" Liu Yan called from outside the cave dwelling. "Someone has asked for you and Brother Dong to meet him. He's in the main hall!"

"Who is it?" Han Zhiyuan asked.

Liu Yan replied respectfully, "It's Li Wei, the Armor-Breaking Marquis from the Boundless Sky Divine Kingdom!"

Dong Tianze frowned.

Seeing this, Han Zhiyuan's face grew serious.

"You—Is his visit related to you?"

"His son, Li Yuanchen, was reported to have gone to Absolute Heaven but got lost in the depths of the bizarre mist. People from the Forsaken Expanse Sect mentioned him," Dong Tianze calmly replied.

"Will there be a problem?"

Dong Tianze shook his head. "No."

"In that case, I'll take you to meet him."

Not long after, Li Wei, the dignified Armor-Breaking Marquis, sipped fragrant tea while listening to Dong Tianze's explanation in the reception hall of the Sinister Soul Temple.

"My son got lost in the bizarre mist. The chances of his survival are slim." Li Wei sighed as he put down his teacup, handsome face filled with sorrow. "So, you're saying the Forsaken Expanse Sect encountered the Armor-Breaking Warship in the bizarre mist?"

"Yes, the Armor-Breaking Warship was empty," Dong Tianze replied, lowering his head.

"Wu Yuan of the Demon Sect said the same. So did Qi Qingsong and Zhuang Yuyan of the Sword Pavilion." Li Wei nodded. Then, staring deeply at Dong Tianze's forehead, he remarked, "A Celestial Phoenix Divine Guard, impressive."

With that, he stood up and left.

Dong Tianze successfully maintained his composure throughout the conversation.

He had convinced Qi Qingsong and Zhou Qingchen to eliminate everyone in Frozen Thunder because he knew this day would come.

They even eliminated Fang Boxuan as he had witnessed Pang Jian capture Li Yuanchen and use soul-searching techniques to kill him.

If he survived and betrayed them, they would have had to face Li Wei's wrath upon returning to the Abyss.

Fu Wangchen's master, Li Chu from the Forsaken Expanse Sect, would not have let them off easily either.

***

The same events unfolded for Zhou Qingchen and Zhao Yuanqi of the Red Mountain Sect and Wu Yuan of the Demon Sect. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Li Chu from the Forsaken Expanse Sect visited the Demon Sect to inquire about Fu Wangchen's whereabouts and learned that a Rank Eight Ice Armor Eel Dragon in Absolute Heaven had devoured Fu Wangchen and others.

The Celestial Lagoon Sect and the Black Valley Sect also questioned Zhou Qingchen but found the information they received was consistent with what Wu Yuan, Dong Tianze, Zhuang Yuyan, and Qi Qingsong had said.

The group had returned from the bizarre mist with important information about how the Outer Gods were hunting the True Gods of the human race.

This was a major contribution.

In the end, no further investigations were made as everyone's accounts aligned and no issues were found.

***

Pang Jian had since reached mastery of the Vital Blood Realm during his stay on the Resolute Expanse.

He then further refined his divine soul using the Spirit Condensation Realm techniques recorded in the Qi Nurturing Divine Cauldron Art.

However, he soon realized the techniques recorded in the Qi Nurturing Divine Cauldron Art did not benefit his divine soul.

His golden divine soul could already withstand the elements and freely leave his body.

The simple techniques recorded in the Qi Nurturing Divine Cauldron Art had little effect.

I'll either need to comprehend the Lightning Dao Seals in the Thunder Pool or go to the Sword Pavilion to get the complete manuals.

Pang Jian hesitated for a while.

During this time, the eight Leaves of Life also manifested a new ability, which he decided to explore.

Whoosh!

The trees, flowers, and plants within several dozen miles became his eyes, even without extending the perception of his divine soul.

He could borrow the leaves, branches, and grass to survey everything within a certain range.

This gave him a tremendous advantage during battles within dense forests.

Additionally, he could now extract life energy from trees, flowers, and grass to heal himself even without the World Eater Vine to replenish the Leaves of Life,

If Pang Jian had this ability back in the bizarre mist—when he could not communicate with the World Eater Vine—he could have drawn energy from the forests of Absolute Heaven to replenish his strength.

"It's too bad that it came a little too late," Pang Jian muttered softly.

According to the World Eater Vine, its next evolution would enable Pang Jian to control plants directly through the Leaves of Life, just like a true member of the Wood Race.

Several days later, Pang Jian once again found himself exhausted and with little gain after another attempt to comprehend the Lightning Dao Seals in the Thunder Pool with his divine soul.

Thus, he finally decided to head to the Sword Pavilion to seek the later stages of the Grand Providence Sacred Body and Qi Nurturing Divine Cauldron Art.

Discreetly flying up from the Resolute Expanse beneath the clouds, he settled on an empty boulder in the sea of massive boulders.

"Pang Jian!"

A voice called out just as Pang Jian was about to take out his sword token to send a message.

Pang Jian frowned and looked at the unfamiliar rogue cultivator approaching him. "Have we met?"

He had chosen a secluded boulder with no other cultivators nearby and the person was still quite far away. Despite the distance, the stranger had instantly recognized him.

"It seems you've forgotten about your old friends now that your status has risen." The stranger smiled mischievously, appearance shifting until he looked like a shifty, rat-faced man.

"Huang Qi!" Pang Jian exclaimed.

"It's been years since we parted in the Primordial Wilderness. You became a disciple of the Sword Pavilion and later a personal disciple of its leader," Huang Qi said with a sigh. "But I'm still just a small rogue cultivator without a sect to support me.

"The Third World is about to become a bloody battlefield where the powerful figures from above will clash with the foreign races. I can't stand the arrogance of those powerhouses, so I've been hiding here instead.

"Tsk, tsk, they think they can get people to fight for them just by offering high-grade pills and spirit artifacts, but I'm not buying it."

Huang Qi moved closer, gave Pang Jian a once-over, and frowned.

"I heard you went into the bizarre mist and that you've been dead for over two years. But a few days ago, I heard you came back alive. What happened?

"Fu Wangchen from the Forsaken Expanse Sect; Li Wei's son, Li Yuanchen; and Lu Lingchan from the Black Valley Sect—how did those top geniuses from the First and Second Worlds die?" Huang Qi questioned.

Pang Jian asked curiously, "What have you heard?"

"They say that Li Yuanchen got lost and died in the bizarre mist.

"Lu Lingchan and the members of the Black Valley Sect turned into some sort of living dead and eventually turned to dust.

"And a Rank Eight Ice Armor Eel Dragon devoured Fu Wangchen, Chen Lushi from the Demon Sect, and Jiang Chao from the Celestial Lagoon Sect," Huang Qi replied.

Pang Jian was taken aback.

It seemed he had been worried for no reason. Qi Qingsong and the others—surprisingly including Wu Yuan of the Demon Sect—had hidden anything that could have worked against him.

"Boy, what cultivation realm are you in now?" Huang Qi asked.

"I recently advanced to the Spirit Condensation Realm."

"The Spirit Condensation Realm? So fast? You were only in the late stage of the Innate Realm when I first met you in the trading hall at the Primordial Wilderness!" Huang Qi sighed. "No wonder the Pavilion Master of the Sword Pavilion took you as his personal disciple. It's truly maddening to compare oneself to others."

The two chatted for a while.

Through Huang Qi, Pang Jian learned that factions from the First World had already taken root in the Dark Abyss and Cosmic Skies Continents, the two major continents in the Third World.

The five major sects of the Third World—the Radiant Sun Sect, the Red Mountain Sect, the Blood Moon Sect, the Star River Alliance, and the Sinister Soul Temple—were now all under the command of these factions.

Powerful figures had also claimed some of the more unique fragmented lands to construct battle arrays.

Those from above had brought high-grade spirit artifacts, pills, and even saint-grade treasures, which they planned to use as incentives for those fighting.

Rogue cultivators with significant contributions during the battle would be rewarded with said items and granted guest elder status in one of the sects.

Many rogue cultivators seeking official recognition, such as the Old Ghost Dongye, Lian Feng, and Lei Kun, had already gone to pledge their allegiance, hoping to climb the ranks.

Others, fearing they would be used as cannon fodder, chose to retreat into desolate fragmented lands.

"Ugh, I came down from the Second World to settle my grudge with Cao Mang and got caught up in this mess as I was about to return," Huang Qi said with a frown. "In the past, the flying vessels that took us between the Second and Third World wouldn't hesitate to transport us. Now, they won't even look at us. There's no way back up."

"I can take you up," Pang Jian said.