Trials of the Abyss

Pang Jian set up the Ghost Altar in front of the wooden hut to notify Dong Tianze of his location on the Resolute Expanse.

In turn, Dong Tianze told him about the deaths of the Sect Master of the Red Mountain Sect and the Cult Leader of the Sinister Soul Temple.

The brutal interracial war in the Third World raged on, destroying everything in its path.

Meanwhile, the four most powerful Fey Kings were still locked in fierce combat on the Sacred Soul Continent, vying for the position of Fey God.

The Abyss was in utter chaos.

Pang Jian sat cross-legged beside the Ghost Altar with the Heaven and Earth Cosmos Chest resting at his left.

He was at a loss for what to do next.

His master, Li Zhaotian, was still in seclusion, attempting to break through to the True God Realm. With no guidance, Pang Jian felt adrift in this violent, blood-soaked world.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The dense spiritual qi in the Resolute Expanse gathered and flowed into Pang Jian's void-like spiritual sea, causing the dark green fragmented land to grow slightly.

At that moment, Pang Jian realized that his foundation in the Nirvana Realm had not yet fully stabilized.

He could still take advantage of the residual benefits of his breakthrough to absorb another wave of spiritual qi and grow the fragmented land further.

The larger the fragmented land in his spiritual sea, the more spiritual power he could store and wield in battle.

Pang Jian forced himself to remain calm.

I have no choice but to wait patiently.

As he awaited contact from the black turtle, he used the spiritual qi in the Resolute Expanse to stabilize his cultivation realm.

So far, only he knew that the Rank Eight black turtle in the Dragon Lair Sect was, in fact, the legendary Rank Ten black turtle.

Even the ancient Thunder Dragon and the other Rank Nine dragons in the Dragon Lair Sect were unaware of this fact.

In other words, the imprisoned black turtle was likely safe for now.

The black turtle would teleport to Pang Jian when he found an opportune time to establish contact.

As the anchor point, Pang Jian could not act recklessly.

Before long, the black turtle reached out.

I sensed the ancient Thunder Dragon secretly leaving the Sacred Soul Continent. The Dragon Lair Sect is no longer keeping me locked up. I am free.

The black turtle was hiding underground, thousands of li from the Dragon Lair Sect.

Pang Jian snapped out of his meditation, startled.

It's because of Long Zhan! he realized.

A chill ran down his spine.

The ancient Thunder Dragon has left the Sacred Soul Continent even though the four Fey Kings are still in bitter battles. What does it intend to do?

To kill Fan Ao? Or perhaps to target me?

Pang Jian's thoughts ran wild.

We killed Long Zhan in the bizarre mist, Pang Jian informed the black turtle. There was also a masked True God besides True God Fan Ao.

The masked True God sided with Long Zhan. The ancient Thunder Dragon had been planning for Long Zhan to ascend as a Fey God!

The black turtle's soul was in turmoil at the news. The revelation that Pang Jian had taken advantage of the Five-Clawed Gold Dragon's injuries and had teamed up with the Ice Armor Eel Dragon and the Bee Sovereign to kill it, left the black turtle in shock.

After a long silence, the black turtle said, Long Zhan's death means the ancient Thunder Dragon's plans have failed. He no longer cares who becomes the next Fey God.

His departure may be to confront Fan Ao, but anything is possible. I can't predict what he'll do.

With the ancient Thunder Dragon gone, there is little danger to me on the Sacred Soul Continent as nobody knows my true identity.

I can sense the Black Turtle Shield. I'll remain on the Sacred Soul Continent to assist the Rock Bear in ascending to the position of Fey God.

Once the Rock Bear becomes a Fey God, the Dragon Lair Sect will no longer dominate the Sacred Soul Continent.

You were involved in Long Zhan's death, so be extremely careful. The ancient Thunder Dragon is far more volatile than you can imagine. He won't hesitate to turn against anyone.

If given the opportunity, he could even attack the True Gods of the human race, the black turtle warned.

The black turtle then sent a surge of spiritual qi into Pang Jian's spiritual sea.

Despite being on the Sacred Soul Continent, the black turtle could still channel spiritual qi to Pang Jian.

***

The ancient Thunder Dragon had concealed its aura and left the Sacred Soul Continent for an unknown destination.

Fan Ao, you must come to the Stargazing Platform immediately! Li Wang of Nine Tribes urged through a secret technique.

He had witnessed the ancient Thunder Dragon's madness before and knew that the enraged Rank Ten Thunder Dragon had the strength to kill Fan Ao.

With Long Zhan's death, he could not help but fear that it would attack Fan Ao in a mad frenzy.

Fan Ao's ethereal projection appeared on a white jade pillar.

"I'm not in the Supreme Monad Divine Kingdom. It won't find me. Don't worry," Fan Ao assured. "Li Wang, instead of worrying about my safety, why not investigate who secretly entered the bizarre mist to stop me from killing Long Zhan?"

"I'm already looking into it."

"Good. Let me know when you find out."

***

In Blackwater Pond in the Solitary Mountain Range of Northern Qi, a massive Giant Abyssal Serpent with pitch-black eyes stared at a Celestial Phoenix bone embedded in a skull's forehead.

Not far from the Giant Abyssal Serpent lay the lifeless body of a Black and White King Python.

The soul that was once in the python's body flew directly toward the Giant Abyssal Serpent.

The Giant Abyssal Serpent braced itself, believing the soul intended to possess and devour it.

Instead, something strange occurred.

The soul invading the Giant Abyssal Serpent's sea of consciousness was also that of a weaker Giant Abyssal Serpent.

As the Giant Abyssal Serpent prepared to devour the weaker soul, it was shocked to find the soul seamlessly merging with its own.

Memories flooded its mind and were imprinted in the Giant Abyssal Serpent's consciousness.

The Giant Abyssal Serpent glanced back at the Celestial Phoenix bone.

This time, it could not shake the feeling that the skeleton the bone had pierced was actually its own.

It recalled someone capturing in the Fifth World and bringing it to Blackwater Pond.

However, it still had no memory of anything before, such as its parents or the origins of its bloodline.

It vaguely remembered possessing the body of a Black and White King Python and fighting alongside a spear-wielding youth.

The youth invited it to leave with him after the battle.

Although tempted at the time, it had ultimately refused.

Not long after, it was reborn in the boundless darkness of Eight Trigram City. The youth from Blackwater Pond had also been there when it was reborn.

The Giant Abyssal Serpent remained at the bottom of Blackwater Pond, trying to piece together the truth of its background as it slowly sorted through these memories.

One day, it seemed to reach a revelation and underwent a transformation at the bottom of Blackwater Pond.

The Giant Abyssal Serpent now took the form of a cold and strikingly handsome young man.

That same day, while staring at his skeleton at the bottom of the pond, he felt his bloodline tremble.

Every drop of his blood boiled and his heart pounded wildly.

"The Dragon Lair Sect…the ancient Thunder Dragon has descended upon this fragmented land!"

The Rank Eight Giant Abyssal Serpent suddenly became aware of a certain fact.

"I—There was another time I died. I was killed," he murmured as if in a dream. "It was that ancient Thunder Dragon! It once ventured into the Fifth World and killed me there!"