Trials of the Abyss

Strange-looking flying vessels hovered over the Fey Spirit Continent.

Many foreign race warriors, mounted on flying avians and Vicious Beasts, scanned their surroundings with cold, watchful eyes.

When Pang Jian and the others emerged from the bizarre mist, the murderous gazes of the searching foreign race warriors instantly honed in on them.

The foreign race warriors had been waiting for them.

"There they are!"

The waiting foreign race warriors and Vicious Beasts charged toward Pang Jian and the others like a flood.

Liu Youyu gripped the Celestial Profound Mirror tightly in her hand and directed its light at the incoming wave.

Through the mirror, she could gauge each of the foreign race warriors' and Vicious Beasts' bloodline rank and overall combat strength at a glance.

"There are several Rank Eight foreign race warriors and some Rank Eight Vicious Beasts," Liu Youyu murmured, biting her lip with unease. "And the Rank Eight Vicious Beasts here aren't like those in Brocade Cloud."

The more she surveyed, the more apprehensive she became.

"There are too many of them and too many strong ones. We're in serious trouble," she said tensely.

The hundreds of foreign race warriors and Vicious Beasts before them all had either Rank Six, Rank Seven, or Rank Eight bloodlines. She even detected four Rank Eight foreign race warriors—each as powerful as a human at the Nirvana Realm.

Although one of the most outstanding among the Primeval Pillar Divine Kingdom's new generation, Liu Youyu had no guarantee she could easily defeat a Rank Eight foreign race warrior, even with the divine artifact, the Celestial Profound Mirror.

"Should we retreat into the bizarre mist or charge into the sky?" Dong Wenjian of the Ancient Law Sect asked urgently.

Those were their only two options. If they retreated into the bizarre mist, they could use its mysteries to navigate the predicament.

On the other hand, if they successfully broke through the encirclement and made it back to the Third World, they could contact their respective sects or a redemption point.

Fan Chen's face turned solemn as he formulated a strategy. "If you ask me—"

Boom!

Thunderous booms echoed from the murky sky above.

A storm was approaching!

"It's them—the young elites of the human race!" yelled a foreign race warrior with natural armor covering his shoulders.

He was an imposing Rank Eight Flame Race warrior from the Fifth World with eyes like pools of molten lava.

Sitting astride an Earthflame Beast with flames flaring up around him, he hurled a burning spear at Pang Jian's group.

"Kill!"

Boom! Crack!

The Earthflame Beast charged forward, crushing the bones of Vicious and Spirit Beasts beneath its hooves.

The Flame Race warrior then used his bloodline to form thousands of flaming arrows from the bone fragments.

Before Pang Jian and the others could react, a barrage of flaming arrows streaked toward them like falling stars.

"They were prepared for us!" Fan Chen said as he stomped his foot.

Streaks of golden and silver light sank into the ground, grinding the rocks to gold and silver dust that drifted into the air.

The swirling dust disrupted the Flame Race warrior's perception, disorienting him and causing his flaming arrows to lose their marks.

However, the burning spear continued to widen before their eyes, transforming into a fiery river that cut through the gold and silver dust.

"Go!"

The ancient "Supreme" character appeared from Fan Chen's brow like a towering golden mountain, blocking the burning spear.

"Only by charging into the sky and returning to the Third World can we escape this disaster!" Fan Chen shouted, taking on the mantle of leadership. "Though only those in the Nirvana Realm can travel freely between worlds without a flying vessel, I know you all have techniques and artifacts to help you.

"Even without a flying vessel, we can make it to the Third World! Hurry and take to the sky! I'll hold off anyone who dares to pursue us!

"Let the Divine Spirit Pagoda go first. Dong Tianze, take Zhou Qingchen, Wu Yuan, and Lin Manhe from the Ancient Law Sect with you," Fan Chen commanded.

The Flying Fish Boat had been destroyed in the fight against Ling Yimo and Zhou Yi, leaving the Divine Spirit Pagoda as their only viable transportation.

Although Fan Chen and Liu Youyu had initially looked down on the Divine Spirit Pagoda, the modest flying vessel was now their only means of transport.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Wu Yuan, Zhou Qingchen, and Lin Manhe entered the floating Divine Spirit Pagoda without delay.

Dong Tianze decisively activated the pagoda, positioning himself at the top with the Celestial Phoenix Imprint on his brow activated.

A magnificent Celestial Phoenix hovered quietly above his head, gazing down at the foreign race warriors and Vicious Beasts.

"Don't let any of them escape alive!"

A small Ghost Race commander on a flying vessel crafted from white bones waved a black banner.

An eerie scene of wandering souls appeared on the black banner's surface.

Ghostly entities from the outer worlds' race drifted along a blue-black river, spectral bodies merging into the waters.

The soul imprints of the ghostly entities slowly dissolved into nothingness within the river.

Sizzle!

Golden smoke rose from Fan Chen's "Supreme" character, dimming its radiant glow as the Ghost Race's foul energy contaminated the pure spiritual power within.

Boom!

Thunder rumbled and lightning flashed in the darkened sky.

Whoosh!

Torrential rain fell from the leaden clouds at the bottom of the Third World as if the heavens were collapsing.

The sight of the pitch-black sky, pouring rain, and blinding lightning, brought Pang Jian a strange sense of deja vu.

He felt like he was back in Northern Qi, seeing a Green Condor hovering over the courtyard of his home.

With the Rocfish Sword in hand, Hu Yuanfei shouted, "Pang Jian, can you fly on your own?"

"I can carry you with the Celestial Profound Mirror," Liu Youyu said urgently.

"I can!" Pang Jian called.

The blackish-yellow fragmented land floating in his spiritual sea allowed him to tap into the black turtle's innate abilities even though the black turtle scute had been destroyed.

He could shift between Mountain Phase, Earth Dive, and Gravity Shift at will.

When he activated Gravity Shift, the blackish-yellow fragmented land floating in his spiritual sea released earth energy that gently lifted him into the air.

"That's a relief!" Hu Yuanfei relaxed.

She and Liu Youyu flanked the Divine Spirit Pagoda, ready to shield it from attacks that those on board could not repel.

Dong Wenjian shouted, "I'll assist you with talismans!"

"Swift Flight!

"Rapid Lightning!

"Spirit Rise!"

He attached talismans all over the Divine Spirit Pagoda.

Each talisman contained intricate arrays, imbuing the pagoda with their powers, and instantly transforming it.

Despite initially lacking speed and durability, the empowerment of the talismans had surprisingly made the Divine Spirit Pagoda faster and sturdier than even the small Sword Boat Pang Jian had brought from the Sword Pavilion.

It soared into the stormy sky amid fierce winds, rain, and lightning.

Boom!

Lightning struck the white pagoda.

The talismans absorbed it, increasing the pagoda's speed.

"Your Ancient Law Sect sure has a lot of tricks up its sleeve," Hu Yuanfei remarked.

A bone-chilling ghostly howl echoed from the crumbling mountains on the Fey Spirit Continent.

"The earth cracks, mountains collapse, and evil ghosts shake the heavens!"

A chieftain led the Mountain Ghost Race warriors—a branch of the Ghost Race with the ability to manipulate rocks and earth—to activate their bloodline secret arts.

A sea of grayish-green light spread across the collapsed mountains to envelop the loose rock debris.

"Rise!" shouted a Rank Eight Mountain Ghost Race warrior, raising his arms.

Hundreds of massive boulders rose into the air with a rumble. It was like an Earth Dragon had awakened.

Enormous boulders shot skyward like rain droplets in reverse, aiming at the white pagoda and the figures around it—Dong Wenjian, Hu Yuanfei, Liu Youyu, and Pang Jian.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Foreign race warriors from the Flame Race, the Ghost Race, the Blackhorn Race, the Earth Scorpion Race, and the Demon Scale Race leaped onto the airborne boulders.

"Dark clouds bear down!" invoked a Blackhorn Race warrior, calling upon an ancient dark art to draw black clouds from the sky.

A dark, sinister force churned within the clouds, releasing a growing wave of thick murky energy.

"Slash!"

The "Monad" character beneath Fan Chen's feet transformed into a silver blade, cleaving through the dark clouds, boulders, and several Rank Six and Seven foreign race warriors in one fell swoop.

"Dance of the Rocfish!" Hu Yuanfei swung her sword.

Her sword light transformed into a school of Rocfish that struck down the pursuing foreign race warriors.

Liu Youyu's method was simpler. Any foreign race warriors reflected in her Celestial Profound Mirror would burst into a mist of blood within seconds.

Dong Tianze, Wu Yuan, Zhou Qingchen, and Lin Manhe remained vigilant inside the Divine Spirit Pagoda and refrained from joining the fight.

Pang Jian did the same.

The torrential rain poured down and lightning roamed the sky like serpentine dragons. A white pagoda slowly rose into the gloomy sky of the Fourth World.

Flying vessels, screeching avians, and foreign race warriors atop boulders closed in on the pagoda.

Each unleashed the secret techniques of their bloodline, encircling and attacking the young elites of the human race.

Foreign race warriors were continually forced back to the Fey Spirit Continent during the fierce assault.

Howl!

An earth-shaking roar reverberated as a massive stone platform shot from a skeletal warship.

A ten-zhang-tall Demon Bull Race warrior stood atop it.

His muscular bare upper body was as dark as iron, and an ancient stone ax lay by his feet.

The stone platform and ax were ancestral artifacts passed down through the Demon Bull Race.

As the strongest Demon Bull Race warrior of this era, he was entrusted with wielding both ancestral artifacts in battle.

Whoosh!

As the stone platform drew near, he picked up the stone ax and swung it toward the white pagoda, as if intending to split the sky and shatter the seal of the Abyss in a single blow.

Whoosh!

Ghostly white light rippled from the stone ax as the Demon Bull Race's strongest warrior unleashed his explosive might.