Trials of the Abyss

Chapter 124: Activating the Ghost Altar

A few days later, Pang Jian was setting up the Ghost Altar in the cave where he and Luo Hongyan had been cultivating.

Next to the blood pool was a small cave newly carved with the Startling Slaughter Spear. Inside the hollow, Pang Jian carefully retrieved the materials for the Ghost Altar and arranged them according to Zhao Ling's instructions.

"Be careful," Luo Hongyan reminded softly from the blood pool. "I can only help you alter your appearance. You must watch your voice and expressions to avoid giving yourself away."

"Got it," Pang Jian replied, before sealing off the small cave with a large stone.

The sealed cave had several luminous pearls embedded in the ceiling, preventing it from being plunged into darkness.

After sealing off the entrance to the small cave, Pang Jian picked up the small flags and arranged them around the Ghost Altar.

Once everything was ready, he channeled his azure spiritual power into the Ghost Altar.

With Luo Hongyan's help, he now appeared as a young man with a sallow complexion.

His eyebrows, eyes, and cheekbones had been subtly altered to make him look like a completely different person.

Pang Jian deliberately hunched his back when he sat down to contrast with his usual upright posture.

After finishing his preparations, he watched silently as his green spiritual power flowed through the Profound Yin Stones and Ethereal Spirit Jades on the Ghost Altar, activating the hidden arrays and causing spatial ripples to emerge.

Whoosh!

A familiar figure materialized in the center of the Ghost Altar.

The figure asked hoarsely, "Is that you, Hong Jian?"

Pang Jian instinctively lowered his head.

A storm raged within him. He had not expected the person appearing on the Ghost Altar to be Dong Tianze!

Although Dong Tianze likely thought his appearance was concealed, the "hidden" flag when setting up the altar meant he was actually visible.

Pang Jian did not reply, keeping his head down as his thoughts spun.

Dong Tianze stared coldly at Pang Jian in a dim cave in the Third World.

The limited light from the luminous pearls and Pang Jian's altered appearance meant Dong Tianze did not recognize him.

"I asked you a question!" Dong Tianze snapped, speaking in a deliberately hoarse voice.

Pang Jian kept his head down, adopting a strange, muffled voice as he said, "It's me. About the items I requested, Sect Leader—"

"They're ready," Dong Tianze interrupted impatiently. He placed Pang Jian's requested materials in the depression before him. "As per the rules, you'll need to provide items of equal value in exchange."

Pang Jian placed the prepared spirit jades, spirit stones, and several spirit artifacts looted from Fei Zheng, Ni Chen, and Zhao Muxie, into the depressions on the altar.

"Sect Leader, do these suffice?" Pang Jian asked in his faux muffled voice, head still ducked down, avoiding eye contact with Dong Tianze.

This was Dong Tianze's first time presiding over the ritual of the Ghost Altar. He assumed Pang Jian was simply showing him respect and did not pay much attention to his behavior.

Dong Tianze's gaze fell upon a bracelet with blood-colored patterns and a bloodstained long saber. "These items...Why are they all Blood Moon Sect's spirit artifacts?"

"It's because I recently raided a beast-hunting sailboat from the Blood Moon Sect," Pang Jian explained.

Dong Tianze said nothing as he turned his attention to the spirit jades and spirit stones and mentally calculated their worth.

He had visited the Sinister Soul Temple's treasury and auction market on the Dark Abyss Continent to gather the requested materials, spending a considerable amount of his resources to obtain them.

This is a profitable exchange, Dong Tianze soon concluded.

The spirit jades, spirit stones, and the Blood Moon Sect spirit artifacts were worth far more than the requested materials.

"Yes, their value is sufficient," he confirmed, satisfied. Dong Tianze sized up the hunched figure of Pang Jian projected in front of him and said indifferently, "Unfortunately, the situation in Divine Fortune is dire. You won't be able to hold out for long."

His implication was clear. There likely would not be a second trade through the Ghost Altar.

"That'll be all," Dong Tianze said, triggering the spatial array with the Ethereal Spirit Jade that exchanged the presented items.

Whoosh!

Dong Tianze's and Pang Jian's items disappeared.

Before Pang Jian could react, his requested spirit materials appeared. Each item was exceptionally rare in the lower worlds.

Dong Tianze had also disappeared.

Pang Jian sat dumbfounded.

"It worked? Just like that?"

He reached out to touch the spirit materials with a dazed expression to confirm they were the items from Luo Hongyan's list.

After a while, he removed the small flags and dismantled the Ghost Altar.

Rumble!

Pang Jian moved the stone blocking the cave entrance and stepped out. He then placed the Nine Heavenly Profound Thunders, jars of Refined Ghost Miasma, Blood Circulation Pills, Serenity Elixir, Bone-Casting Paste, and other materials next to the blood pool.

Luo Hongyan was sitting atop the white jade porcelain bottle and beamed at him when he emerged.

"It worked?" she asked. "The Nine Heavenly Profound Thunders and Refined Ghost Miasma were decoys to mislead the Shadow Specter Sect's Sect Leader into thinking we were planning a major operation in Divine Fortune. The Blood Circulation Pills, Serenity Elixir, and Bone-Casting Paste were what we truly needed."

Her eyes gleamed excitedly as she glanced at the now petalless Crystal Snow Lotus.

"With these materials, I can reforge my body with just one more trade!" she exclaimed.

They had planned to use this as a test run before negotiating a second deal.

"Are you okay?" Luo Hongyan asked, noticing Pang Jian's strange expression. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing went wrong. The exchange went smoothly, but..." Pang Jian shook his head. "But the person I spoke with wasn't the Sect Leader. It was Dong Tianze."

"Dong Tianze?!" Luo Hongyan was momentarily stunned. She then burst into a charming laugh. "You two are destined to cross paths! At the bottom of the deep hole on Central Lake Island, you nearly assassinated him. I remember how your spread was lodged in his butt when he flew out!

"You would've finished him off in Eight Trigrams City if it hadn't been for that kid from the Divine Treasures Sect's Li Family protecting him.

"Fate truly works in mysterious ways. He's now become our supplier, searching for various spirit materials for us in the Third World!"

"Pang Jian, he didn't recognize you, did he?" Luo Hongyan asked, flying gleefully around the cave like a blood-colored fairy.

"He wasn't paying much attention so he didn't notice. He knows of the situation in Divine Fortune and assumes I'll be dead soon, so he thinks this is the last trade we'll ever make," Pang Jian replied.

"Let's give him a surprise then!" Luo Hongyan laughed, finding the situation increasingly amusing. "We need to perform at least one more exchange with him. Pang Jian, remember not to reveal your identity. It won't matter if he finds out after we get everything we need."

"Got it." Pang Jian nodded. After a moment of hesitation, he asked, "You seem to know a lot about the Sinister Soul Temple's methods for refining Spirit Devils and the many secret arts of the Blood Moon Sect. Who were you before?"

Luo Hongyan's mirth abruptly vanished. Her red lips curved into a bitter smile. "I have a few enemies who have become powerful individuals, I'll keep my background to myself for now.

"As for how I can forge a new body using the Blood Moon Sect's secret art and understand the Sinister Soul Temple's methods for refining Spirit Devils, that's because..." she trailed off, pausing to gather her thoughts.

"A long time ago, there was a sect called the Blood Spirit Sect in the Second World. This sect was once as renowned as the Demon Sect, the Sword Pavilion, and the Dragon Lair Sect. However, due to internal strife, it declined and lost its foothold in the Second World."

"Its name eventually disappeared from the Second World. But two sects emerged in the Third World following its fall: the Blood Moon Sect and the Sinister Soul Temple."

Pang Jian was shocked. "I didn't expect the Blood Moon Sect and the Sinister Soul Temple to share a common origin."

"Yes, I was caught in the middle of that internal strife. After the Blood Spirit Sect disappeared, my body was destroyed, and I was imprisoned in that paper fan." Luo Hongyan recounted with a sorrowful sigh.

"I see." Pang Jian did not press further.

The two then continued with their respective cultivation.

Two days later, Luo Hongyan prepared a new list for Pang Jian to transmit through the Ghost Altar and arranged another trade for seven days later.

Pang Jian sent the list as instructed and prepared to reactivate the Ghost Altar in seven days.

Three days later, Luo Hongyan received a message from her Spirit Devils.

"Pang Jian, the fire has been spreading inward for several days. The flames will soon reach both this cave and the one underground."

Pang Jian nodded. "Neither cave will be affected by the fire."

Luo Hongyan smiled gently. "That's true, but I was trying to say it won't be long before murky energy seeps in from the lower world. I can retreat into the white jade porcelain bottle and you have no issue reabsorbing the tainted energy, but the members of the Shadow Specter Sect won't be able to escape this catastrophe."

Her eyes met Pang Jian's.

Pang Jian was silent for a long while. Finally, he said, "I've thought about it, but I can't save them."

The members of the Shadow Specter Sect needed to leave Divine Fortune before the murky energy arrived. They would need to escape using flying vessels to survive. However, the sky was constantly being monitored and patrolled. If they launched the Divine Spirit Pagoda now, they would only become a target.

Pang Jian's and Luo Hongyan's true identities would be exposed when the Divine Spirit Pagoda appeared. If Dong Tianze realized, it could even prompt an attack from the Sinister Soul Temple.

"Mm, I'm glad you're not as impulsive as before. You've become much more composed." Luo Hongyan revealed a satisfied smile. "It's best for us to wait until everyone has left Divine Fortune and everything has settled down. Only then can we launch the Divine Spirit Pagoda without anyone noticing."