Trials of the Abyss

Chapter 109: Zhao Ling's Doubts

In the eastern district of Divine Fortune City at night, Bai Wei and Bai Zhi sat facing each other in a room on the second floor of the Formless Sailboat.

The table in front of them was filled with delicious food and snacks.

Neither of them touched it.

The beast-hunting sailboat had three floors.

The first floor housed Vicious Beasts, with people working around the clock to process their blood and meat. The residents of the first floor were not cultivators but simply workers handling the beast's blood and meat for the Blood Moon Sect.

The second floor was where the Blood Moon Sect's Meridian Opening Realm cultivators resided.

Finally, the third floor was for high-ranking members like Fei Zheng.

"Blood Moon Sect, Elder Jiu Yuan..." Bai Wei stood up and looked out the window. Seeing several Blood Moon Sect cultivators sitting on the ship's deck, she shook her head and sighed. "We can't escape."

She learned from the people delivering their food that Fei Zheng planned to offer them to Elder Jiu Yuan.

From what the Shadow Specter Sect had learned from Hong Tai, Elder Jiu Yuan had a notorious penchant for sisters who looked alike. These sisters rarely met a good end.

"I wish we had never come to Divine Fortune and never encountered the Blood Moon Sect," Bai Zhi muttered in despair.

At that moment, the drunk Fei Zheng led two seductive women onto the ship and up to the third floor.

Soon, the sounds of the women's moans echoed from above.

Bai Wei clenched her teeth in anger. "That man deserves to die. He's so drunk. Do you think we stand a chance against him?"

"Not a chance." Bai Zhi shook her head with a bitter smile. "He's only drunk because he wants to be. With his cultivation realm, he could purge the alcohol from his body in an instant. Don't even think about it. It's impossible."

Bai Wei sighed. After a long while, she said, "Let's wait and see. Maybe our master will come to rescue us out of pity."

Bai Zhi looked at her and asked softly, "Sister, do you really believe that?"

Bai Wei fell into silence. Deep down, she did not truly believe their master would come to save them.

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The Shadow Specter Sect had consistently avoided provoking upper world sects like the Blood Moon Sect. They would not make an exception for the two of them.

The sisters fell into silence.

Bai Zhi suddenly said, "Sister, I like Hong Jian. I don't know why, but I like his cold demeanor..."

"Why didn't you say so back then?"

Bai Zhi lowered her head. "You know I was too scared."

Bai Wei shook her head, a bitter smile curling on her lips. "To be honest, I like him too. It's a pity we won't have the chance to see him again and tell him we both like him."

***

In the western district, Pang Jian abruptly woke from his meditation. He set down the Earth Blaze Stone and stared at the door with a frown.

The thump of footsteps stopped at the door. "Hong Jian, it's Wu Yi."

Pang Jian opened the door to reveal both Wu Yi and Hall Master Zhao Ling of the Shadow Specter Sect.

"Let's talk inside." Zhao Ling entered the room unceremoniously, glancing at the layout and the Earth Blaze Stone on the bed. "This place belongs to the Shadow Specter Sect. It was easy for us to find you."

Pang Jian nodded.

"It's like this..." Wu Yi trailed off with a chuckle. "It's not just us. Yang Yuansen and his subordinates; Hall Master Meng and Fan Liang; and some of our Meridian Opening Realm cultivators have all entered Divine Fortune City.

"Unless there are any unexpected developments, we're planning to act tomorrow night," Wu Yi explained, excitedly rubbing his hands together.

Pang Jian was surprised. "So soon?"

"Tonight, Hall Master Meng arranged for Fan Liang to capture the family members of the Fragrance Pavilion's manager. With them as hostages, the manager will be under our control. Tomorrow night, when Fei Zheng goes to the Fragrance Pavilion to indulge again, I'll poison his wine myself!"

"Are you planning to kill Fei Zheng at the Fragrance Pavilion?" Pang Jian asked curiously.

"No, the poison is special. It'll only take effect when Fei Zheng circulates his spiritual power to purge the alcohol from his body," Wu Yi explained smugly. "We found out that Fei Zheng indulges every night and enjoys the feeling of having alcohol in his system. He won't purge it from his body unless there's danger.

"He always returns to the beast-hunting sailboat with his female companions in the dead of night. When we raid the beast-hunting sailboat, the poison will activate as soon as he tries to purge the alcohol, thus reducing his combat strength.

"Of course, I can't directly kill him with poison, but it will weaken him significantly. Riots will then simultaneously break out in various districts of Divine Fortune City.

"The beast-hunting sailboat has plenty of clean water and food, so those on board don't depend on the Shangguan Clan for that. We won't be able to tamper with the food and water on the ship, but during the raid, we could try using crossbows to shoot a few packets of poison powder over."

Pang Jian nodded repeatedly as Wu Yi outlined their plan.

Whoosh!

Zhao Ling's slender leg lashed out from beneath her tight dress. It came at Pang Jian with such speed he could almost hear the crack of thunder.

Pang Jian reacted instantly, channeling his strength into his arm and raising his right forearm to block.

Boom!

The force shook Pang Jian's arm, causing it to go numb. He staggered back a few steps.

Once he regained his balance, he looked at Zhao Ling with confusion.

Zhao Ling slowly lowered her leg with a nod. She wore a satisfied expression on her beautiful face. "Not bad. You reacted in time, and your physical strength is impressive."

Pang Jian continued to stare at her in bewilderment.

"Tomorrow night, you'll be our comrade in battle. I need to know your combat abilities. When a Blood Moon Sect's Marrow Cleansing Realm cultivator attacks you, I need to know how many strikes you can withstand so I can prepare accordingly."

With that, Zhao Ling turned to address Wu Yi, "Let's go. He has some combat ability, but I don't know if he's experienced real bloodshed. Let's hope he doesn't get scared."

Wu Yi nodded. He patted Pang Jian's shoulder, and cautioned, "After the raid tomorrow night, we'll all leave separately and meet up at the stronghold in Misty Swamp. Remember, don't return to Misty Swamp Village and avoid all the towns outside the city."

"Understood."

***

Not long after, in a dilapidated building not far from Pang Jian, Wu Yi was astonished to see Zhao Ling applying ointment to her snow-white knee.

"What happened?" Wu Yi asked in disbelief.

After applying the ointment, Zhao Ling pulled down her pant leg with an annoyed frown. She gingerly massaged the spot where her knee had collided with Pang Jian's forearm.

"I wasn't planning to seriously injure him, so I didn't put much force into my leg. But who would have thought—" She cut herself off with a curse. "That kid's arm bones are harder than refined iron. I've never encountered anyone in the Marrow Cleansing Realm with bones tempered to such an extent!"

"That can't be!" Wu Yi exclaimed in shock.

"Do you think I'd lie to you?" Zhao Ling snorted coldly. "It's said that the best material for marrow cleansing is the blood essence of strong Spirit Beasts. But in our Fourth World, such high-ranked Spirit Beasts don't exist, and neither does their blood essence."

Wu Yi was speechless. He shook his head with a strange expression. "You don't seriously think his Marrow Cleansing Realm was achieved using the blood essence of top-tier Spirit Beasts, do you? Such materials are even beyond the reach of geniuses in the Second and Third Worlds. Even if Hong Tai had great divine powers, he couldn't have gotten his hands on such rare materials."

"Didn't Hong Tai go to the Solitary Mountain Range? Didn't the bones of the Celestial Phoenix fall there?" Zhao Ling speculated.

"Stop overthinking. Hong Tai is dead. Jin Yang is dead. Everyone we sent there was wiped out. The entire Northern Qi region is shrouded in bizarre mist. No one dares to enter, and no one can come out."

"I'm just saying," Zhao Ling replied. "I noticed he doesn't say much around us, probably due to long-term secluded cultivation. He might not have experienced real bloodshed. I truly hope he can bring out his strength in our fight with the Blood Moon Sect."

Wu Yi nodded. "That kid is talented. I like him. It'd be a shame if he died."

***

After they left, Pang Jian thought over Wu Yi's strategy, combining it with his mental map of Divine Fortune City and refining the details in his mind.

In the latter half of the night, Pang Jian used the Qi Nurturing Divine Cauldron Art to calm his spirit and attempted to communicate with the sapling in Misty Swamp.

Surprisingly, he found that the sapling had taken root in a new location.

It appeared the sapling had exhausted the essence of the plants nearby and had moved to find more.

The sapling had grown significantly since he had last checked on it and his field of vision when connected to it was different as well.

I wonder what happened to the Giant Abyssal Serpent.

He tried to connect with the Giant Abyssal Serpent in the Fifth World.

The Giant Abyssal Serpent had successfully escaped its pursuers and was continuing to devour similar creatures in the deep mountains and valleys of the Fifth World.

Pang Jian breathed a sigh of relief.

He instinctively felt that there was more to his connection with the sapling and Giant Abyssal Serpent than met the eye.

These two wonders were rapidly growing stronger and would stabilize with time. Once that happened, Pang Jian speculated they could reciprocate the connection and respond to him.

It's still unclear what the beehive needs to emerge from the bronze pendant. The black turtle, on the other hand, likely requires a lot of blood essence. I must secure as much beast blood and meat as possible during tomorrow night's operation!

Pang Jian felt no camaraderie with Zhao Ling, Meng Qiulan, and Yang Yuansen from the Shadow Specter Sect.

If he could achieve his goal on this mission, he would no longer need to rely on the Shadow Specter Sect's connections, and it would not matter if he completely broke away from them.