Trials of the Abyss

Chapter 141: Stirring Up a Storm

Just as Zhu Yuanxi had the mind to be bewildered by Pang Jian's behavior, Pang Jian abruptly leaped down from the domeless stone hall and broke off their confrontation.

Pang Jian's voice rang out from below. “Our Sect Leader is here. He's your true opponent.”

Zhu Yuanxi was taken aback. Looking down, he saw Dong Tianze charging at him with his charged Ghost's Cry.

“Sect Leader, avenge them!” Pang Jian pleaded as he passed the ascending Dong Tianze in mid-air.

“Leave it to me.” Dong Tianze snorted. His usually fierce eyes gleamed with a hint of respect as he looked at Pang Jian.

Despite only being in the Marrow Cleansing Realm, Pang Jian had held his own against Zhu Yuanxi for a long time, greatly impressing Dong Tianze.

Though Dong Tianze considered Pang Jian his subordinate, he was not all that concerned about whether he lived or died. However, Pang Jian boldly confronted Zhu Yuanxi, buying precious time for Dong Tianze to hunt rogue cultivators and gather strength for his Ghost's Cry.

Not only had Pang Jian survived, but he also decisively jumped down from the stone hall upon seeing Dong Tianze fully charged.

His timing was perfect.

This subordinate of his had potential.

“Thank you, Sect Leader!” Pang Jian landed with a thud, his eyes brimming with gratitude.

Dong Tianze lightly nodded and responded with a grunt.

Whoosh!

As Dong Tianze ascended, a towering green Demon God loomed over the army of ghostly apparitions and floated above his head.

Seeing the familiar Demon God appear, Pang Jian knew that Dong Tianze's Ghost's Cry had absorbed enough souls.

The secret technique of Ghost's Cry allowed the imposing green Demon God to be formed. This Demon God had also made an appearance on Central Lake Island.

Thus, Pang Jian could tell from experience that Dong Tianze was about to unleash his full strength to kill Zhu Yuanxi of the Blood Moon Sect.

Relief washed over Pang Jian. He had successfully pitted Dong Tianze and Zhu Yuanxi against each other.

Glancing around, he saw the corpses of rogue cultivators littering the streets. Seas of golden dagger lights pursued the remaining rogue cultivators and slaughtered them mercilessly.

There were no more onlookers present.

Whoosh!

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Having halted the escaping Cloud Sails in their tracks, the Divine Spirit Pagoda returned to hover above the Giant Stone Palace.

Looking up, Pang Jian saw someone step out of the Divine Spirit Pagoda and slowly float down.

“The soul array needs some souls to activate...” Wang Yisen muttered, tossing a talisman with ghostly images to Pang Jian. “Junior Brother Dong has something to ask you later. Hold onto this Soul Suppressing Talisman.”

Alright." Pang Jian nodded, not fully understanding the purpose of the talisman.

The white pagoda gave off a faint ethereal light as the soul array on its fifth floor activated. It created an ominous fluctuation that suppressed the souls of the living and absorbed the souls of the weak.

Pang Jian felt like his soul was about to be ripped out. Before the bronze pendant on his chest could react, the Soul Suppressing Talisman activated, holding his soul firmly in place.

Wooo!

The rogue cultivators running from Dong Tianze’s seas of golden dagger lights felt their souls being twisted.

The seas of golden dagger lights killed some. The rest had their weak souls sucked into Divine Spirit Pagoda’s soul array. Strands of gray souls flew up and entered the soul array through the fifth-floor window.

Pang Jian's expression turned peculiar.

He recalled how he had destroyed the soul array on Central Lake Island that imprisoned the soul of the black turtle. At that time, everyone feared what would happen once the owner of the Divine Spirit Pagoda returned and activated the array.

After seeing the results of Wang Yisen activating the soul array, Pang Jian now knew the importance of destroying it back then. The consequences would have been unimaginable if Dong Tianze had gained control of the Divine Spirit Pagoda after stepping out of the deep hole.

“Ling Yun, did you think I could not sense you if you hid underground?” Wang Yisen sneered. “I know you don’t want to be our enemy, but we can't turn back now that things have come to this.

"If you want to blame somebody, you should blame Zhu Yuanxi for being unreasonable and revealing this secret! He doesn’t realize the Radiant Sun Sect, the Star River Alliance, and the Red Mountain Sect aren't willing to concern themselves with this.

“Did he really think those three sects would join forces with the Blood Moon Sect to destroy our Sinister Soul Temple if he revealed this secret? Ridiculous!

"Without this Divine Spirit Pagoda, my victory would not have been guaranteed. But now that I’ve activated the soul array, Ling Yun, you’re doomed!”

With that, Wang Yisen also disappeared.

Maverick Ling Yun did not respond to Wang Yisen's taunts. His whereabouts remained unknown.

The ground beneath Pang Jian turned frigid.

Bone-chilling air surrounded the fallen rubble in the ruined stone hall and the weather across Ice Rock Island worsened as the temperature dropped.

Maverick Ling Yun’s grim voice finally rang out from the depths of the earth, “Wang Yisen, don’t force me! I’ve been cultivating on this land for years. I know all its wonders! If you and Dong Tianze leave now, I’ll pretend nothing happened. But no one will come out unscathed if you force me to fight!”

"So what if I force you?" Wang Yisen called back. "If you don't come out, I’ll go into the ground and find you myself!”

The stone hall shook violently like something was burrowing into the earth.

The Divine Spirit Pagoda continued to draw in gray soul shadows with its sinister soul-devouring ability.

The Soul Suppressing Talisman in Pang Jian's hand allowed him to remain unharmed.

“You’ve truly grown up,” Luo Hongyan’s relaxed voice came from beneath the corpses of two female cultivators.

Pang Jian turned to see her lying under the two corpses, pretending to be dead.

Luo Hongyan lifted the hair covering her eyes, winked at him, and smiled. “As long as one of the two Profound Abode Realm cultivators dies, I can handle whoever remains.”

Her voice was so quiet it was barely audible. Even if someone had been standing nearby, they likely would not have been able to hear it.

"Alright."

Now that he had accomplished his goal of inciting conflict between the two parties, Pang Jian casually sat down to wait for the outcome between the two sides.

After stirring up trouble, he silently observed as others got caught up in the ensuing storm, struggling and fighting for their lives.

This was a novel experience for him.

Boom!

Bang!

Collisions and explosions continued outside the Giant Stone Palace.

Whenever someone tried to leave on a Cloud Sail, the Divine Spirit Pagoda floating above the Giant Stone Palace would smash it to pieces.

Wang Yisen thoroughly carried out Dong Tianze's orders. Even after disappearing into the ground, he used his divine sense to control the Divine Spirit Pagoda to kill anyone who dared to leave the island.

The rogue cultivators near the Giant Stone Palace had their souls ripped out and absorbed by the Divine Spirit Pagoda. Those attempting to leave on Cloud Sails had their vessels destroyed, losing their lives in the process.

Aside from Luo Hongyan, even the other rogue cultivators faking death had their souls sucked away by the Divine Spirit Pagoda's terrifying soul array.

Ice Rock Island had turned into a death trap.

It was a slaughterhouse for rogue cultivators.

Gao Yuan and Yuan Fei stood next to the pile of rubble, watching in fear as the Divine Spirit Pagoda and Dong Tianze’s seas of golden dagger lights mercilessly harvested the lives of rogue cultivators inside the Giant Stone Palace.

The pair had yet to be targeted as they were on the outskirts of Ice Rock Island and were temporarily safe as long as they did not attempt to leave on their Cloud Sails.

However, once the Divine Spirit Pagoda finished devouring the souls of those within the Giant Stone Palace, it would eventually expand its range of attacks.

In the end, regardless of whether or not they attempted to escape on their Cloud Sails, they would still be killed.

It was simply a choice between an immediate death or a slow one.

The two were on the verge of tears. They could angrily curse the Sinister Soul Temple and Dong Tianze all they wanted but it did not change anything. They could only passively wait for death to come.

“Gao Yuan, do you think those siblings from the upper worlds are dead too?” Yuan Fei asked with a sigh.

“I don't think they'll be able to escape. Despite their powerful origins, the Sinister Soul Temple has shown they intend to leave no survivors. Unless their cultivation realms surpass Wang Yisen, he won't hesitate to kill them." Gao Yuan paused in thought. “They seemed like they were in the Marrow Cleansing Realm. Not strong enough to cause Wang Yisen any trouble.”

Yuan Fei could only sigh in despair.

Pang Jian sat inside the Giant Stone Palace with a spirit stone in each hand as he replenished his spiritual power.

As he meditated, he was surprised to find thick spiritual qi streaming from the bronze pendant into his dantian.

When he probed the bronze pendant, he sensed the black turtle!

The black turtle had detected his abnormal consumption of spiritual power and was transferring him rich spiritual qi through the bronze pendant

The little spiritual power Pang Jian had expended while defending against Zhu Yuanxi was gradually being replenished.

The black turtle could unexpectedly serve as an additional reservoir of spiritual power!

Even during combat, it could transfer some spiritual power to help him recover. Although it was slow, Pang Jian felt hopeful.

The black turtle was still in its infancy. The fragmented land it occupied could also only absorb limited spiritual qi. However, once the black turtle grew stronger and gained better control over the fragmented land, it could potentially provide enough spiritual power in critical moments to turn the tide of battle!

Pang Jian thought of the Giant Abyssal Serpent.

The World Eater Vine gave me life energy and the black turtle can replenish spiritual power. But that guy...

He snorted internally. After swallowing a Mind Soothing Pill, he tried to communicate with the traitor in the Fifth World.

Majestic stone buildings, each hundreds of feet tall, appeared before him.

Dozens of massive giants stood in front of a hall with no walls. They seemed to be waiting for someone.

The towering stone buildings and dozens of one-eyed giants made Pang Jian feel incredibly small.

“Welcome, Celestial Maiden, to Split Sky City!” The one-eyed giants cried out, kneeling and bowing their heads in reverence toward Pang Jian.

“No need for such formalities.”

A soft female voice came from above Pang Jian and he became abruptly aware of someone straddling his back.

The speaker was the mysterious woman with six pairs of white wings. At this moment, the Giant Abyssal Serpent was acting as her mount.