Trials of the Abyss

"Luo Yuan?" Qi Qingsong turned to Nie You with a puzzled look. "Is there an outer sect disciple named Luo Yuan?"

The small-framed Nie You thought for a moment and shook his head. "There are many outer sect disciples and I don't know them all, but I've never heard of such a person."

Shen Dong was stunned.

According to Ye Fei, Luo Yuan is extraordinary. He can't possibly be an obscure figure in the Sword Pavilion. How could Qi Qingsong and Nie You not know him?

"Did this Luo Yuan do something?" Qi Qingsong curiously asked.

"Oh, nothing." Shen Dong laughed it off, then turned to Pang Jian. "If I'm not mistaken, you must be Pang Jian?"

Pang Jian nodded.

"I've heard of your exploits! It's impressive to have slain several Spirit Condensation Realm experts while still in the Profound Abode Realm!" Shen Dong praised generously.

Pang Jian gave a few perfunctory responses as he glanced at where Ye Fei was eagerly awaiting news from Shen Dong.

Meanwhile, the Mountain Stream Spirit Boat from the Celestial Lagoon Sect had come across the destroyed Demon Incursion Ship and picked up all the Demon Sect disciples.

The Celestial Lagoon Sect disciples invited Wu Yuan and Chen Lushi to the upper floor.

Jiang Chao, the leader of the Celestial Lagoon Sect's expedition, was pouring tea for himself inside a spacious cabin. When the pair entered, he beamed and hurriedly invited them to sit.

Once Wu Yuan and Chen Lushi were seated, Jiang Chao waved his hand to dismiss the others, turned his gaze to Chen Lushi, and inquired with a hint of concern, "How was the Demon Incursion Ship destroyed?"

Chen Lushi smiled charmingly, drawing attention to the alluring beauty mark at the corner of her lips, before pursing her lips,

"We had some bad luck, but fortunately, we came across you all. Thank you, Brother Jiang, for lending a helping hand." Then, her eyes turned cold, and she snorted. "Before you arrived, a Sword Boat from the Sword Pavilion also happened to pass by. They not only refused to help us, but they also humiliated us."

"Qi Qingsong didn't give you face?" The handsome Jiang Chao slapped his forehead in understanding. "I almost forgot, Wu Yuan once defeated him in a duel back in the day. He must still be holding a grudge.

"Ugh, how petty. How many years has it been?" Jiang Chao said, deliberately trying to stir things up.

"Make sure the Mountain Stream Spirit Boat stays clear of those white clouds," Wu Yuan sternly advised.

"Why?"

"That's how the Demon Incursion Ship was destroyed."

After their brief exchange, Jiang Chao set down his teacup and left the room to instruct those steering the ship to stay vigilant.

"That cloud!" someone shouted from the deck of the Mountain Stream Spirit Boat.

Wu Yuan and Chen Lushi exchanged a glance.

Neither waited for Jiang Chao to return, instead pushing open the windows and directly flying out.

Wu Yuan headed up to the mast.

A cluster of white clouds, spanning several mu, was drifting close to the Mountain Stream Spirit Boat. Following Jiang Chao's instructions, the Mountain Stream Spirit Boat stopped just as it was about to sail over the clouds. RАＮọβƐS̈

As the Mountain Stream Spirit Boat shifted to change directions, the cluster of white clouds rapidly approached the boat.

"It's that damned Spirit Beast again!"

"Damn it! Can't we catch a break?"

The Demon Sect disciples cursed loudly.

The Celestial Lagoon Sect members were in a panic.

Wu Yuan snorted when he saw the white clouds approaching.

A dark blue banner suddenly flew out from the center of his forehead, fluttering violently in the wind.

The banner enlarged a thousandfold!

Three ominous entities appeared on the banner before rushing toward the white clouds.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The three ominous figures plunged into the depths of the white clouds in a blaze of fire and demonic light.

"The Demon-Sealing Banner!"

"That's the sacred artifact of the Heavenly Demon Sect!"

The members of the Celestial Lagoon Sect shouted in surprise.

"We were caught off guard last time. That won't happen again," Chen Lushi said coldly as she watched the three terrifying entities enter the clouds.

She was confident in the powers of the Demon Sealing Banner and felt secure in the knowledge that the Mountain Stream Spirit Boat would remain unharmed.

Crackle!

Silver lightning appeared deep within that cluster of white clouds, forming a massive lightning vortex.

The lightning rapidly struck the three terrifying figures, forcing them back into the Demon Sealing Banner.

The cry of a crane echoed through the air.

The Spirit Beast had initially planned to ambush and destroy the Mountain Stream Spirit Boat. Realizing its plan had been foiled, it swiftly enveloped itself in white clouds, flew into the distance, and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Wu Yuan, still perched on the mast, turned slightly pale as he pulled the Demon-Sealing Banner back into his sea of consciousness and nurtured it with his divine sense.

"A crane's cry..." Lu Xiangyi, an inner disciple of the Celestial Lagoon Sect, hurriedly sought out Jiang Chao. "Senior Brother Jiang, we encountered a vicious white crane during our trial in Cloud Lightning. I told you about it before.

"I suspect the mysterious white crane didn't die and is among these white clouds!"

She had suffered great losses at the hand of the white crane and could not help but shiver when she thought of that foul-mouthed creature.

The crane had slaughtered many disciples from the Demon Sect, the Black Valley Sect, and the Celestial Lagoon Sect.

Although she had assumed that Luo Yuan from the Sword Pavilion had killed it after it escaped from the lake, the sound of that familiar cry had caused her to suspect otherwise.

She had a feeling that the white crane had actually survived and was now lurking outside Absolute Heaven, plotting to harm them.

"Yes, I've heard about that white crane before." Jiang Chao's face grew serious. There is a race of Thunder Cranes on the Sacred Soul Continent who were once staunch followers of the Celestial Phoenix.

"The Thunder Crane Race has always been at odds with the Thunder Dragon Race of the Dragon Lair Sect. After the Celestial Phoenix passed away, the Dragon Lair Sect heavily suppressed them, and the surviving cranes migrated from the Sacred Soul Continent.

"But…" Jiang Chao frowned. "Our Celestial Lagoon Sect has no grudge against the Thunder Crane Race. Why would this white crane act so viciously?"

Lu Xiangyi shook her head.

"A Thunder Crane…" Chen Lushi from the Demon Heart Sect said hesitatingly, "If the Thunder Crane Race were once under the Celestial Phoenix, then it makes sense. After all, our Demon Sect was involved in the demise of the Celestial Phoenix."

***

The Sword Boat reached a thick sea of bizarre mist.

"We've arrived," Qi Qingsong said solemnly. "This region has been explored before, and the higher-ups believe it to be relatively safe, but no one knows what has changed inside after the Abyss opened.

"Before going in, we should all summon our protective shields and closely guard our seas of consciousness.

"Remember, this restricted area is shrouded in bizarre mist that only allows Profound Abode Realm cultivators and below to enter. Even so, cultivators can still break through to the next realm once already inside.

Shen Dong from the Black Valley Sect and others familiar with Absolute Heaven also gave their own warnings.

Pang Jian took a deep breath. Excitement surged through him as he stared at the bizarre mist.

He had long suspected that his missing father had vanished into the bizarre mist. Even the bronze pendant he wore around his neck appeared connected to it.

When he left Northern Qi, he had been unconscious and had no idea how the Divine Spirit Pagoda had escaped the bizarre mist.

Years later, he stood in front of a restricted area covered in bizarre mist in the Second World of the Abyss.

He also knew many Outer God Puppets, Vicious Beasts, and malevolent spirits roamed this restricted area.

Outer God Puppets, the mystery of the bizarre mist, the restricted area…

A quiet anticipation was building within him.

"Brother Qi, don't all the cultivators in the Abyss fear the bizarre mist? Why are so many people being allowed to enter?" Zhou Qingchen asked in confusion.

"The closer the bizarre mist is to the boundary wall, the more dangerous and terrifying it becomes," Qi Qingsong explained. "Absolute Heaven is similar to Northern Qi in the Fourth World, which you've explored before.

"It's shrouded in a thin layer of bizarre mist that seeped out of the boundary wall, but we only need to pass through that thin layer to enter Absolute Heaven.

"We aren't exploring the bizarre mist, and Absolute Heaven, although on the border of the Second World, is still relatively far from the boundary wall of the Abyss. Others have ventured in and returned safely in the past."

Then, lowering his voice, Qi Qingsong added, "A fair few in our Abyss have already figured out some of the bizarre mist's mysteries and patterns. How else would Eight Trigrams City reappear at the top of a Heaven Ascension Tribulation Pillar even though it was swallowed in the bizarre mist?

"Those in the Third and Fourth Worlds are too far removed from the most powerful figures and sects in the Abyss to know much about the secrets of the bizarre mist.

"To put it simply, prominent figures in the First World have spent immense effort exploring the bizarre mist, and have managed to gain some insight."

With that, Qi Qingsong raised his voice to everybody on the boat.

"Prepare yourselves!"

Everyone, including Pang Jian, activated their protective shields and guarded their seas of consciousness.

Whoosh!

The Sword Boat plunged into the dense bizarre mist.

Feeling slightly uneasy, Pang Jian cautiously sensed his surroundings and found no strange energy seeping into his green protective shield.

He noticed the smooth back of the bronze pendant against his skin had turned rough when he entered the bizarre mist. The characters "Gate of the Abyss" had reappeared.

Pang Jian also tried to establish connections with the little tree, the black turtle, and the Giant Abyssal Serpent from within the bizarre mist.

Nothing happened.

Even in Spirit Offering, he could establish connections with and borrow help from the black turtle and World Eater Vine.

But not within the bizarre mist.

As the Sword Boat sped forward with a whistling roar, Pang Jian felt an increasing sense of distance from the Abyss.

The black turtle scute and the Leaves of Life.

Pang Jian tried activating the two mystical items.

Fortunately, the black turtle scute's abilities could still be used.

The Leaves of Life could also still provide Pang Jian with life energy, but without a connection to the World Eater Vine, the life energy was no longer infinite.

This meant Pang Jian's combat prowess was diminished inside the bizarre mist as he could no longer rely on the black turtle or World Eater Vine for support.

"There's no strange force trying to invade the body."

"There seems to be no danger aside from being unable to extend our perception. It's just like traveling through a sea of mist."

"Seems like there's no need to maintain the protective shield indefinitely."

The disciples of the Sword Pavilion and Black Valley Sect gradually relaxed and lowered their protective shields.

They died violently, one after another!

Their sudden deaths happened inexplicably and without warning.

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