Trials of the Abyss

A soft, ethereal voice broke the silence in the quiet, deserted city.

"He's really worried about you."

Pang Ling stood gracefully on a lotus leaf in the pond, delicate features curving into a sweet smile.

Her increase in intelligence as she advanced meant she could now read all of Dong Tianze's notes and empathize with the writer's anxiety and concern.

Although she knew the time for parting was rapidly approaching, she could not help but feel slightly reluctant.

"Father..." She lowered her head and played with the fabric of her dress before asking hesitantly, "Are you leaving soon?"

Pang Jian shook his head. "Not yet."

He gazed at the girl before him, lost in thought as his emotions surged.

Pang Ling not only shared a similar name to his younger sister, Pang Lin, but had also started to resemble his younger sister more and more as her spirit body took shape.

As he stared at the girl standing gracefully on the lotus leaf, it almost felt like his younger sister had never left his side.

"Nothing major has happened, so I don't plan on leaving anytime soon," Pang Jian assured softly.

Pang Ling's eyes brightened.

In an instant, all the flowers, plants, and trees in Divine Fortress City brimmed with cheerful energy.

Even Misty Swamp, a thousand li away, was swept up in a wave of exuberance.

"I just need to send a message," Pang Jian said with a gentle smile.

He then scribbled a note and carelessly tossed it into the Ghost Altar.

I'm fine. Don't worry, and stop bothering me.

Pang Jian then dismantled the Ghost Altar and stowed it back in his spatial bracelet.

He had avoided using his sword token because it would transmit his exact location.

Li Zhaotian and his fellow Sword Pavilion disciples would know his whereabouts the moment he removed the sword token from his spatial bracelet.

As Pang Ling was the World Eater Vine, the so-called source of corruption in the Fifth World, he preferred not to reveal her existence.

I need to cultivate more.

Pang Jian started tempering his physical body according to the Grand Providence Sacred Body.

The Rank Ten black turtle's gift had allowed him to reach the Golden Body Realm, and he was now focusing on the Providence Realm—the highest realm the creator of the Grand Providence Sacred Body had ever reached.

Streams of pure life energy flowed from the Leaves of Life covering his heart and blended with the potent blood essence of a Great Blood Enhancing Pill as they surged through his meridians and internal organs.

A sudden disturbance rippled through his spiritual sea.

Whoosh!

The murky energy surrounding him poured into his spiritual sea.

Under the pull of his Primordial Chaos Spiritual Sea, it gradually mixed with his blood essence and life energy to temper his flesh.

The corrosive murky energy eroded every weak spot he had, from his blood vessels and joints to the walls of his internal organs.

However, within this corrosive murky energy was also a force capable of tempering and strengthening Pang Jian's flesh.

Murky energy could actually be superior to pure spiritual power when it comes to tempering one's physical body, Pang Jian mused.

His spiritual sea had been nearly depleted when he escaped the Fey Spirit Continent. So, rather than trying to replenish his spiritual power, he exhausted it and filled his Primordial Chaos Spiritual Sea with murky energy instead.

The murky energy made him feel like he had become a powerful foreign race warrior, and he no longer needed to protect his body with a protective shield.

His body, his spiritual sea, and even the pores all over his skin felt more at ease in murky energy than they ever did in a place saturated with spiritual qi.

The murky energy, life energy, and blood essence complemented each other perfectly when tempering his body according to the Grand Providence Sacred Body.

Pang Jian now understood why the Fifth World's beings were all so physically strong—it likely had to do with the nature of murky energy.

The constant destruction of one's flesh and bones worked in tandem with the nourishing forces that repaired and strengthened them.

It was no wonder the bodies of the Fifth World's inhabitants were as resilient as steel when they were forged through this cycle of destruction and repair.

Unlike others, my divine soul relies heavily on blood essence and a strong physical body.

This was the main reason Pang Jian was in no rush to leave after recovering from his injuries. He planned to use the abundant murky energy here to temper his body further.

He stored away both the Abyssal Demon Sword and his sword token in his spatial bracelet to avoid being found.

Time passed without Pang Jian noticing.

He soon noticed the plants and trees near Divine Fortress City were withering after every cycle of tempering his flesh and internal organs with murky energy, life energy, and blood essence.

More and more of the plants and trees around him would become wilted each time he awoke from tempering his body to replenish his life energy.

When he first arrived beneath the little tree, heavily injured and relying on its life energy to recover, the menacing trees and plants within a dozen li of it had also withered rapidly.

"Has healing my injuries and my recent tempering of my body been draining you?" Pang Jian asked.

The girl on the lotus leaf smiled brightly and shook her head. "Not at all!"

"Then why have so many plants and trees wilted?"

"It doesn't matter. Let them die, they'll grow back soon enough. More trees and plants will grow in time."

"All this life energy you've poured into me…won't it hinder your growth?"

"No!"

Pang Jian fell into silence.

"A sinister Forest God is lurking beyond the Abyss," he said quietly. "When the Abyss opens, that Outer God will return, relentless in his pursuit of Misty Swamp.

"You can't delay your growth because of me."

Pang Jian felt a twinge of guilt at the thought.

"It won't!" The girl on the lotus leaf shot him a sweet smile. "That Outer God…visited here once. She lounged on that chair and told me the Forest God would not return to Misty Swamp again."

"Luo Hongyan?"

"Yes."

Surprise flashed across Pang Jian's eyes.

After all, he knew that Luo Hongyan had a powerful true body somewhere in the starry skies and a status so high that even other Outer Gods would look up to her.

She visited Misty Swamp. Pang Ling attended to her right here in this peaceful courtyard.

Luo Hongyan made a promise to Pang Ling?

Does that Forest God not dare to defy her?

As Pang Jian pondered, the black turtle sent him a message from the Resolute Expanse in the Second World.

It had left a black turtle scute in the cottage in the Cloud Wilderness to serve as an anchor for the Gate of the Abyss.

The black turtle's bloodline had advanced to Rank Eight, and the black turtle departed the Resolute Expanse to travel to the Sacred Soul Continent under the cover of night.

The giant Gray Ape, Li Yuqing, and even the black turtle have all gone to the Sacred Soul Continent.

Could something have happened there? Pang Jian wondered.

***

In the Sinister Soul Temple, Dong Tianze gritted his teeth as he held the paper note, a look of annoyance darkening his handsome, brooding face.

"He told me not to bother him…"

After a few seconds, he picked up his brush and furiously wrote dozens of notes before tossing them into the Ghost Altar in a fit of rage.

All the notes were filled with curses.

Despite his childish show of frustration, the long-standing tension between his brows had eased.

He left his cave residence and used the Spirit Soul Temple's channels to inform Wu Yuan and Zhou Qingchen that Pang Jian was alive.

Zhou Qingchen, in turn, relayed the news to Hu Yuanfei and Liu Youyu.

The threats on the fragmented lands meant that the young elites of the major factions had been forced to stay on the Dark Abyss Continent after escaping the Fourth World, and they all soon learned that Pang Jian had survived.

Words swiftly spread across the Abyss to reach all the major powers—Pang Jian was still alive.

***

Towering grand fortresses stood upon the mountain ranges on the Fey Spirit Continent.

Members of the Demon Scale Race had come from across the Fifth World to build fortresses on the orders of their Patriarch, Li Bai.

The fierce Demon Scale Race spanned the seven continents of the Fifth World, with Li Bai as their sole ruler.

A single command from Li Bai was enough for every member of the Demon Scale Race to gather from all corners of the Fifth World.

In a grand hall built with limestone and stone pillars, five warriors of the Demon Scale Race knelt before Li Bai.

All of them had Rank Nine bloodlines.

"Go and join the battle in the Third World," Li Bai said with a wave of his hand.

The five warriors immediately rose and bowed before departing.

"Xuan Ying."

His daughter stepped forward from behind him.

"In the northernmost reaches of the Fourth World lies a place called Northern Qi, shrouded in the bizarre mist," Li Bai said. "Yu Xin of the Celestial Race ventured there a while back and has yet to come back out.

"I've also just received word that the young man from the Sword Pavilion also hails from Northern Qi."

"Northern Qi is his homeland in the Fourth World?" Xuan Ying's gaze sharpened.

"Yes." Li Bai nodded. "Someone on the Dark Abyss Continent in the Third World received confirmation of his survival a few days ago.

"They don't know where he is, but if he's still in the Fourth World, he's likely in Northern Qi.

"Even if it weren't for him, it would still be worth investigating Northern Qi for Yu Xin's sake.

"I have to remain stationed here on the Fey Spirit Continent to prevent Zi Mo from claiming it as territory for the Ghost Race," Li Bai explained, expression full of concern.

"I'll go to Northern Qi right away! I also want to see what mysteries are hidden in that bizarre-mist-covered land!"

Xuan Ying's interest was thoroughly piqued upon learning that Northern Qi was Pang Jian's homeland.

An unrelenting fury filled her whenever she recalled how Pang Jian had held back against her, only to unleash his full strength to kill Zhou Yi.

She had secretly ordered Demon Scale Race warriors to search the fragmented lands of the Fourth World for signs of Pang Jian, but they had found no trace of him.

After learning that Northern Qi was Pang Jian's homeland, Xuan Ying was naturally eager to go there herself.

***

A battered, shuttle-shaped flying vessel emerged from the gray bizarre mist shrouding Northern Qi in the Fourth World.

A Giant Abyssal Serpent coiled its massive serpentine body high, blood oozing in thick, foul streams from its cracked scales.

It called out with its mind, seeking help from the only person it knew.

Before long, Pang Jian appeared on the shuttle-shaped flying vessel through the Gate of the Abyss.

Hiss hiss!

The Giant Abyssal Demon lowered its head to the deck and pleaded mentally, Master, please save her. She's been seriously injured in Northern Qi.

Its bestial eyes shone with grief at the thought of Yu Xin's grievous injuries.

It had no way of contacting the warriors of the Celestial Race and could only think of its other master.

Pang Jian was shocked. "What happened?"

Large numbers of the Fey Race have appeared inside Northern Qi.