Trials of the Abyss

Chapter 302: A Smile to Resolve Old Grudges

The Providence Mystic Reservoir Acupoint in Pang Jian's body surged violently as thick blood essence was drawn to nourish the newly formed bee pupae.

Nether Abyss Spirit Bees, Pang Jian mused as he gazed at the translucent golden bees in his sea of consciousness.

The Forest God Ka Zi worshiped had previously attempted to corrupt Pang Jian's sea of consciousness while possessing a wooden carving.

When the bees appeared back then, the Forest God did not utter the words "Nether Abyss Spirit Bees."

However, in Absolute Heaven, the Outer God revealed the name and possible origins of the golden bees.

It was suspicious.

Did the Forest God not recognize them back then? Or did it simply not know back then?

Did it learn what they were since our last encounter and only realize the golden bees were Nether Abyss Spirit Bees in Absolute Heaven?

Could the Nether Abyss be a world similar to the Abyss?

If these golden bees came from the Nether Abyss, why were they in Insect Valley inside the Solitary Mountain Range?

It’s one thing to bring in a Giant Abyssal Serpent from the Fifth World to the Fourth World. The black turtle and the World Eater Vine, while formidable, are also beings native to the Abyss. But these golden bees...seem to originate from another world entirely.

How terrifying.

The longer Pang Jian thought about it, the more shaken he became.

He subconsciously reached up to touch the Gate of the Abyss on his chest. He suspected the pendant could breach not only the Abyss' barriers but could also reach other worlds similar to the Abyss.

In the sky above, a heavily damaged black warship flew toward the fragmented land with erupting volcanoes and rivers of molten lava.

The hunched soul projection of the Outer God cradled the warship in one hand.

The Outer God's black cloak flapped furiously despite the absence of wind. The cloak acted as a connection through which the worshippers of the Outer God could channel their power across worlds.

With a casual flick of its silver trident, streaks of radiant galaxies materialized, stretching across the vast void surrounding the four fragmented lands.

The sky twisted, making it look like the brilliant galaxies had folded the sky into endless layers.

This made it impossible for Fu Wangchen and Zhuang Yuyan to lock onto the Outer God's soul projection despite being in the Spirit Condensation Realm.

"Rise!" the Ghost Race commander shouted.

Hundreds of bizarrely shaped foreign races were drawn into the expanded black clock from the forests, swamps, plains, and valleys of Absolute Heaven like iron to a magnet.

The foreign race warriors clung to the cloak like a swarm of insects, drifting away along with the Outer God's soul projection and the warship.

When the Outer God's soul projection, the black warship it carried, and the foreign race warriors clinging to its cloak entered the volcanic fragmented land, they vanished.

It was as if they had stepped from one world into another.

"What we’re seeing here might not be real," Qi Qingsong reminded with a stunned expression.

Even so, no matter how hard he stared at the volcanic fragmented land, he could not find the black warship or the Outer God's soul projection.

Zhuang Yuyan hovered on her sword and turned to stare at the peerless genius of the Forsaken Expanse Sect.

"Fu Wangchen, did you notice anything unusual?" she asked.

Fu Wangchen had since withdrawn his ancient god Dharma Idol and closed his third eye. The golden roc riders from the Forsaken Expanse Sect also descended, with each golden roc becoming droplets of golden blood that merged into the massive mystical bird's crystalline bones.

"I didn't see anything." Fu Wangchen shook his head. After a quick headcount, he noted grimly, "We lost thirteen people in battle."

A burly man with a robust physique leaned on a green iron pillar and said with a voice as thunderous as a landslide, "But we killed several times more Ghost Race warriors! Still, these were far stronger than the Ghost Race we hunted in the Fifth World."

The Forsaken Expanse Sect was a dominant faction in the Second World of the Abyss and often organized expeditions to the Fifth World.

Most of their disciples had fought against foreign races before. Thus, they had not expected to lose thirteen members in what they had perceived as a simple fight against the Ghost Race.

"This is the true strength of the Ghost Race," a woman with long black hair bound with bird bones interjected. "The Ghost Race in the Fifth World has been trapped in eternal darkness and starved of resources. They could never reach their true potential in terms of combat power."

The cultivators from the Forsaken Expanse Sect had come to the realization that they were not the center of the universe after this encounter with other worlds.

"If the Second and Third Worlds were to fall to the invading lower world foreign races, the warriors of the Celestial Race, the Ghost Race, and the Demon Scale Race would likely regain their original strength."

"Our Abyss is simply one of many worlds in the vast universe."

"You're right, we're not unique, nor are we the darlings of the heavens."

Members of the Forsaken Expanse Sect discussed this revelation among themselves, voices overlapping in a chorus of reflections.

"Junior Brother Fu, what’s our next move?" Lu Jie of the Forsaken Expanse Sect asked, glancing at the other three fragmented lands. "Should we investigate them one by one?"

Fu Wangchen thought for a moment, then replied, "Let's thoroughly explore this fragmented land first."

"Sounds good." Lu Jie then signaled toward the Black Iron Mountain. "Come aboard our Heavenly Roc Warship."

They had fought alongside Qi Qingsong and the others aboard the Ghost Race's black warship, destroying black crystal cannons and taking down Ghost Race warriors together.

Although this was their first meeting, the shared battle had forged a close bond.

"No thanks, we're heading down," Qi Qingsong said with a smile. "We have friends in the forest below."

The Black Iron Mountain then descended toward the dense forest.

"How are you holding up?" Zhuang Yuyan asked when she saw Fang Boxuan's stomach was bleeding profusely. "Why don’t we leave you on the Forsaken Expanse Sect's Heavenly Roc Warship? They'd probably take you in."

A Ghost Race warrior's blade had stabbed Fang Boxuan's stomach and he was in the process of channeling the Blood Moon Sect's secret technique to heal himself.

"Is that supposed to be funny?" Fang Boxuan said with a grim expression.

Li Chu of the Forsaken Expanse Sect, the Demon Sect, and the Black Valley Sect all bore some responsibility for the destruction of the Fang Clan.

The thought of receiving treatment aboard the warship of his enemies was unbearable, especially when he knew that Fu Wangchen was a disciple of Li Chu.

To him, it was a fate worse than death.

"I have something to tell you and my Little Junior Brother." Zhuang Yuyan swallowed a Soul Nourishing Pill. Noticing Fang Boxuan's puzzled expression, she added, "I'll explain later."

Qi Qingsong glanced at the pale-faced owner of Black Iron Mountain. "Dong Tianze, are you alright? A Ghost Race warrior attempted to invade your mind with dark arts and you seemed unsettled after."

Dong Tianze's expression darkened.

"I'm fine." Then, after a brief hesitation, whispered, "Thanks."

"Don't mention it," Qi Qingsong responded brightly. "Let's consider the incident at Eight Trigrams City water under the bridge."

"Agreed," Dong Tianze replied.

During the battle, Qi Qingsong used his Dream Sword Technique to drag the Ghost Race warriors attempting to invade Dong Tianze's mind into a nightmarish dreamscape.

He had saved Dong Tianze.

Dong Tianze had always acted as a lone wolf and never got along well with others. This was the first time he had fought alongside so many people and had been rescued by a companion in battle.

The strange, unfamiliar feeling left him bewildered.

Dong Tianze lightly shook his head to cast away his distracting thoughts before scanning everyone around him with menacing eyes.

Who could it be? Dong Tianze wondered uneasily.

During the battle, he sensed another person with the Celestial Phoenix Imprint directing a strong killing intent toward him.

Although he had no idea who it was or where they were hiding, he was certain that person was also from the Abyss.

"We came here together on the Sword Boat. I hope we all leave together on it too." Qi Qingsong shot him a casual smile in an attempt to ease Dong Tianze's tension. "The Ghost Race and strange foreign races weren't as terrifying as we initially thought."

Dong Tianze nodded, but his restlessness lingered as he continued to peer around warily.

"There are still three more fragmented lands to explore, each with more unknown dangers," Fang Boxuan commented with a bitter smile.

"Yeah, I know. Let's take them one at a time," Qi Qingsong said as the Black Iron Mountain descended into the forest.

Zhuang Yuyan leaped down from the Black Iron Mountain.

"Little Junior Brother, are you alright?" she asked, taking in the dried-up corpses impaled on tree branches before her eyes finally settled on Ka Zi. "Just one Wood Race warrior managed to kill hundreds in this forest?"

Chang Li nodded. "That's right."

"He's a Rank Six Wood Race warrior," Xiao Yu added quietly.

"Hmm, that explains why he was so difficult to deal with."

Zhuang Yuyan walked over, squatted down, and examined Ka Zi's face before releasing a strand of her divine sense to probe his mind.

She had hoped to find some lingering soul fragments for Dong Tianze to perform a soul search but could only shake her head in disappointment when she found none.

"Little Junior Brother, did you discover anything?" she asked Pang Jian.

"No." Pang Jian replied between gulps of Vicious Beast blood.

He examined the strange properties of the black gauze clutched in his hand as he drank.

Wu Yuan from the Demon Sect and Chen Lushi, dressed in new clothes, approached from a distance.

After the earlier altercation with Pang Jian, Chen Lushi had composed herself somewhat while behind the tree and now acted like nothing had happened.

She had since learned that Pang Jian had ended the bloody carnage in the forest on his own.

He had single-handedly slain Ka Zi, the Wood Race warrior responsible for the slaughter of hundreds in the forest.

When Chen Lushi recalled the assault she had endured earlier, a wave of overwhelming resentment filled her heart, but she forced herself to suppress it as she dared not provoke Pang Jian again.

Boom!

Fu Wangchen from the Forsaken Expanse Sect suddenly jumped from the sky and landed on the ground like a heavy boulder.

Clad in a cloak woven from white feathers, the tall and handsome Fu Wangchen fixed his attention on the black gauze in Pang Jian's hand and asked, "Is there any chance you'd be willing to part with that?"