Trials of the Abyss

Chapter 115: Late-Stage Marrow Cleansing Realm

Meng Qiulan glanced calmly at the furious Yang Yuansen and said, "Hong Jian hasn't shown up yet. The deaths of your two capable subordinates and your being hunted by the two clans are because of your own carelessness. Don't blame us.

"Also, you didn't contribute much to the raid on the beast-hunting sailboat, so my previous promise is naturally void."

Yang Yuansen sneered. He opened his mouth to speak when Zhao Ling interrupted, "Old Yang, to be honest, even if Hong Jian were here, I don't think you're his match."

Wu Yi added, "It's strange. This was the agreed-upon location, yet he hasn't come."

The words of the three Marrow Cleansing Realm experts caused Yang Yuansen's face to darken further.

His gaze fell on the two sisters standing behind Meng Qiulan. Suppressing his fury, he said, "Elder Meng, I don't need the beast blood and meat, or the spirit stones and jades you obtained. But those two girls were promised to me! I came to Divine Fortune specifically for them. They must come with me as compensation for the deaths of my two Marrow Cleansing Realm subordinates."

"Master..." Bai Wei and Bai Zhi clung to Meng Qiulan, tearfully shaking their heads.

Even though Pang Jian had not taken them, they still felt more inclined toward him. Especially after learning that Pang Jian not only persuaded Meng Qiulan and Zhao Ling to continue the operation but also took on the responsibility of killing Fei Zheng.

The sight of Pang Jian battling Fei Zheng on Musical Instrument Street was deeply etched in their hearts. To them, Pang Jian was a beacon of hope that had rescued them from a life of suffering under Jiu Yuan.

"Sorry, I already promised them to Hong Jian. I'll be handing them over to him when he appears," Meng Qiulan said, dismissing Yang Yuansen's anger with a shake of her head. "We gained quite a bit from this operation. We have two hundred spirit jades, nearly seven thousand pure spirit stones, and a lot of blood and meat from Rank One and Rank Two Vicious Beasts. The Sect Leader is very pleased with us."

Yang Yuansen calmed down slightly at the mention of the Sect Leader.

"The Sect Leader is extremely pleased that I recruited Hong Jian into our Shadow Specter Sect," Meng Qiulan continued, tapping the ground lightly with her cane. "The Sect Leader wants me to step down as the hall master of the fragmented lands of Divine Fortune and have Hong Jian replace me."

"What?!"

Yang Yuansen, Zhao Ling, and Wu Yi stared at her in shock.

Meng Qiulan nodded. "I performed a Ghost Altar ritual and communicated with the Sect Leader before coming here. I didn't have time to tell you two."

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"This kid made a name for himself overnight in our Shadow Specter Sect by killing Fei Zheng. It's a meteoric rise." Wu Yi sighed. He glanced at Zhao Ling and added, "We've never had such a young hall master in the history of our Shadow Specter Sect."

Zhao Ling nodded in agreement. "Given his combat ability and meticulous mind, he's fully capable of assuming the role of a hall master."

With the trio's mention of the Sect Leader, Yang Yuansen was left with no way to argue. He could only look longingly at Bai Wei and Bai Zhi, helpless to do anything.

Knock knock!

Fan Liang entered, bowing to the three hall masters before he said with a grave expression. "Something terrible has happened! In just one morning, all our contacts in Divine Fortune City were either killed or captured by the Shangguan Clan and the Ouyang Clan.

"This afternoon, the guards and advisors of the two clans will sweep the surrounding towns. Within two or three days, all our branches and strongholds in Divine Fortune City and the nearby towns will be discovered!"

Zhao Ling frowned. "Elder Meng, perhaps we should leave. We have a Cloud Sail. We don't need to rely on the seven major clans."

"Hall Master Zhao, the location of the Cloud Sail seems to have been exposed," Fan Liang reported bitterly. "Moreover, all Cloud Sails entering and leaving Divine Fortune City are being checked. I heard the other clans have also arrived and are gathering in Divine Fortune City."

Zhao Ling was shocked. "Does that mean we're trapped in Divine Fortune?"

Meng Qiulan's expression changed. "I feel like something major has happened that we're unaware of."

***

Half a month later.

Pang Jian was submerged in the blood pool absorbing the abundant blood essences. A white porcelain bottle floated next to him

The blood crystals around the pool's edge filtered out the impurities in the blood.

Pang Jian had no intention of rejoining the Shadow Specter Sect now that he had an ample reserve of beast blood. He stayed in the blood pool for half a month, using the blood essence to temper his internal organs.

When hungry, he cooked and ate the beast meat Luo Hongyan had collected from the sailboat's cabin. His spatial pouch was also filled with clean water. Thus, there was no need for them to go outside.

At this moment, he was refining strands of blood essence, mixing it with his spiritual power, and circulating it through the twelve meridians connected to his internal organs. Some blood essence dispersed into his muscles, making him even stronger.

His entire body brimmed with vitality. He seemed to have boundless strength.

Now and then, he would connect with the sapling, which occasionally moved from place to place. This little plant resembled the surrounding vegetation and knew how to blend in well.

Wherever it took root, it would nearly exhaust the vegetation essence in the area before moving again.

Luo Hongyan's ethereal figure flew out of the bottle to hover above the blood pool. Her brows knitted in concern as she said, "Pang Jian, something's not right. Through the Spirit Devils, I saw the Shangguan Clan and the Ouyang Clan killing many rogue cultivators. The Shadow Specter Sect have also retreated into the depths of Misty Swamp to avoid pursuit."

Pang Jian opened his eyes to look at her jade-like figure. "They raided the Blood Moon Sect's beast-hunting sailboat and obtained substantial resources. They should've left Divine Fortune a long time ago."

"Yes, they should've expected that the Ouyang Clan and the Shangguan Clan wouldn't let them go easily," Luo Hongyan agreed with a nod.

"We have plenty of beast blood. We don't need to worry about them," Pang Jian said before closing his eyes again.

"Alright." Luo Hongyan floated around the stone cave, stretching her limbs within the crimson mist. She noticed fine blood vessels forming on her crystal-like arms and smiled with satisfaction.

Soon, I'll be able to reveal my true appearance to the world. It'll surely leave him speechless. With that thought, she turned into a crimson mist and re-entered the white porcelain bottle.

Like Pang Jian, she paid no more attention to the outside world and concentrated solely on absorbing the abundant blood essence from the blood pool.

***

One day, after changing the blood in the pool, Pang Jian activated the Qi Nurturing Divine Cauldron Art to absorb the blood essence as usual.

Suddenly, some of the blood essence started to flow toward the bronze pendant on his chest.

It seemed like something inside the bronze pendant was absorbing the blood essence in his body.

The black turtle!

The tiny black turtle floating in the bizarre mist within the pendant was likely starting the process of being reborn, just like the Giant Abyssal Serpent and the sapling!

Before long, the blood essence in the blood pool was depleted. Pang Jian retrieved more chunks of coagulated beast blood from his spatial bracelet and added them to the pool.

However, the blood essence in the pool soon drained once more.

Luo Hongyan, perched on the Crystal Snow Lotus within the porcelain bottle, looked at him in surprise. "Pang Jian, you're a mid-stage Marrow Cleansing Realm cultivator. Do you really need so much blood essence to refine your organs and body? It feels like you need more blood essence than I do to forge a whole new body."

"You mentioned that my marrows had been tempered by the essence of the Celestial Phoenix, making them far stronger than those of an ordinary Marrow Cleansing Realm cultivator. Perhaps that's why I need more blood essence at this stage," Pang Jian replied.

"Very well." Luo Hongyan nodded.

From then on, Pang Jian was constantly busy. Every day, he had to repeatedly add chunks of beast blood to the pool to supply himself and Luo Hongyan with the necessary blood essence.

As time passed, Luo Hongyan soon noticed that the blood essence was flowing in an abnormal direction. Smart as she was, she quickly realized a third entity was sharing the blood essence with them but chose to say nothing about it.

A few days later.

Whoosh!

Luo Hongyan gracefully flew out of the porcelain bottle and hovered in the cave. Her exquisite face twisted in confusion. "Many cultivators from the upper worlds are flooding into Misty Swamp."

Using her Spirit Devils, she saw Meng Qiulan and the others from the Shadow Specter Sect hiding like lost dogs. The two sisters now had eyes full of despair and helplessness.

She then eavesdropped on their conversations.

After some time, Luo Hongyan softly called out, "Pang Jian..."

Pang Jian had successfully refined his inner organs and muscles and was in the middle of recalling the key points of the Qi Nurturing Divine Cauldron Art as he prepared to refine his blood.

He had finally reached the late stage of the Marrow Cleansing Realm.

"What is it?" Pang Jian asked.

Luo Hongyan was still listening in on the Shadow Specter Sect's conversations when her eyebrows lifted.

She burst out laughing, hands clapping in delight. "The Shadow Specter Sect wants you to become a hall master! Pang Jian, I think you should consider it. From what I know, hall masters of the Shadow Specter Sect can communicate with the Sect Leader by performing a ritual with the Ghost Altar. You could use it for bartering."