Trials of the Abyss

Chapter 237: Lei Kun's Aspirations for his Son

Lei Kun's Cloud Sail drifted tirelessly through the sea of clouds as it made its way toward the Dark Abyss Continent.

The journey was long and arduous, but Pang Jian had settled in comfortably.

Lei Kun would occasionally call him out to the deck, where they would drink together under the setting sun or the starry night sky.

For the most part, however, Pang Jian stayed in his cabin and concentrated on his cultivation.

He focused his mind and attempted to simultaneously control as many strands of his divine sense as possible.

According to the Qi Nurturing Divine Cauldron Art, the peak of the middle stage of the Profound Abode Realm was hallmarked by the skillful control of every single strand of one's divine sense.

At the moment, Pang Jian could only control about a dozen strands at once.

The feeling of Ye Fei's dragonfish invading his sea of consciousness was vividly etched into his memory.

Back then, Pang Jian could only control the few strands closest to the dragonfish to evade their attacks instead of manipulating all his strands of divine sense at once.

Once he could fully control all his strands of divine sense, he could cultivate soul techniques revolving around his divine sense, allowing it to undergo intricate transformations.

He could then easily intercept external spiritual entities invading his sea of consciousness.

With this goal in mind, Pang Jian spent most of his days on Lei Kun's Cloud Sail honing his control over his divine sense.

Whenever he cultivated for too long and felt mentally exhausted, he would take a few Mind Soothing Pills to recuperate. Soon, the amount of divine sense Pang Jian could control increased to thirty strands.

One day, the Ghost Altar beside Pang Jian flickered and a piece of paper flew out.

The paper bore a familiar handwriting.

Pang Jian, I've killed that middle-stage Profound Abode Realm Divine Guard. I also broke through to the Profound Abode Realm and have started condensing my divine sense!

Pang Jian smiled. He quickly penned a response beneath the message and sent it back.

Congratulations. Remember to return my Black Iron Mountain.

Not long after, a new piece of paper appeared.

This spirit artifact is quite handy. I'll return it later. I learned from my fallen opponent that there's another, stronger Divine Guard nearby. I don't stand a chance of winning without Old Monster Cao's Black Iron Mountain.

Although they were exchanging messages in real-time, Dong Tianze did not activate his Ghost Altar and instead opted to communicate through papers. It seemed he was not yet ready to properly face Pang Jian.

Pang Jian frowned.

Are you planning to steal my Black Iron Mountain?

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Dong Tianze's response was quick and dismissive.

It's not stealing; it's borrowing! I need to refine my divine sense further, so I don't have time to argue with you. I'll talk to you later.

Pang Jian snorted and thought, This guy's become rather shameless. He actually dares to hold onto my Black Iron Mountain without returning it.

Even so, he decided not to pursue the matter further as Dong Tianze would one day be a powerful ally for Pang Lin.

Pang Lin was the heir of the Celestial Phoenix's legacy and was destined to clash with the old Thunder Dragon of the Dragon Lair Sect, so Pang Jian wanted to give her the best odds possible.

Pang Jian willingly offered his help because he believed Dong Tianze would be a valuable asset to Pang Lin in the future.

The sky glowed gold with the evening sun.

Lei Kun took out a table and chairs from his spatial bracelet and set them up on the deck. He then laid out some braised meat and cooked dishes on the table.

"Luo Yuan, come out and have a drink with me," he called loudly. After taking out two porcelain jars of white wine, he noticed Pang Jian still had not come out and shouted, “You're not going to master your divine sense overnight. Come out and eat something."

"I'm coming." Pang Jian pushed open the door.

"You could just jump out of the window. Why bother walking all the way here?" Lei Kun asked curiously.

"Jumping out of the window would be too disrespectful. I'd rather take a few extra steps since I'm riding on Senior Lei's Cloud Sail," Pang Jian lied.

The truth was, he was too lazy to constantly take apart and set up the Ghost Altar, and leaving the window open risked exposing it to others.

Lei Kun chuckled. "Haha, I don't care about those kinds of rules."

Tearing open the seal on the wine jar, he poured it into two large drinking bowls.

"Old Lei, we want to drink too!"

"Master, let us out to drink with Brother Luo!"

"Tiger Lei, you only know how to enjoy yourself. You don't care about us at all!"

The discontent voices of beautiful women could be heard from an open window on the first-floor cabin.

“What business do women have at the table? I’m not starving you. Just eat something in the room,” Lei Kun scolded playfully.

As soon as Pang Jian sat down, Lei Kun raised his bowl and took a drink before settling down to share some news.

"Luo Yuan, while you were cultivating in your room, I visited an old friend on a fragmented land.

"Strange events have been occurring in the restricted areas and spiritual lands across the various worlds. I’m not sure what’s going on, but even some ancient sacred sites in the First World have begun displaying terrifying anomalies."

Pang Jian was familiar with Lei Kun's temperament and would occasionally flatter him to encourage his enthusiastic sharing.

Unfortunately, what Lei Kun knew was limited, and he could not detail the specifics of these strange events.

From what he gathered, the upward spread of murky energy from the Fifth World to the Fourth World had triggered major changes throughout the Abyss. This caused unusual phenomena in many restricted areas and spiritual lands in the First and Second Worlds.

The regions near the boundary wall and bizarre mist experienced abnormalities more frequently, and the major sects of the upper worlds were overwhelmed with addressing them.

"Anomalies are appearing more and more frequently...it seems the Abyss itself is changing," Pang Jian muttered with a frown.

He instinctively recalled the fearsome being he had seen through the void rift in Cloud Lightning.

"I heard it's due to issues with the Heaven Ascension Tribulation Pillars," Lei Kun continued. "The Celestial Phoenix could have repaired it, but the True Gods of the First World and the old Thunder Dragon have already killed it.

"Now that it's dead, there's no one left who can fix the Heaven Ascension Tribulation Pillars. Even if we kill the Vicious Beasts and invading foreign races pouring into the Fourth World, more will keep coming, and the problem will never truly be solved."

Pang Jian was taken aback.

After pondering for a while, he asked, "Is it possible for the heir of the Celestial Phoenix's legacy to repair the Heaven Ascension Tribulation Pillars?"

"Perhaps."

A strange light flickered in Pang Jian's eyes.

According to the white crane, the naturally existing lightning vortex in Pang Lin's spiritual sea was the reason the Celestial Phoenix's skeletal remains shattered when she left the Fourth World.

Afterward, the sacred bone of the Celestial Phoenix pursued her and bestowed a mysterious inheritance upon her.

Pang Lin would need to reach an extremely high cultivation realm if she were to repair the Heaven Ascension Tribulation Pillars in the future.

She could even be required to achieve godhood!

The fallen Celestial Phoenix harbors an intense hatred for the Thunder Dragon. Did it choose Pang Lin because she was the ideal candidate to defeat the old Thunder Dragon?

If Pang Lin fails to become a True God, she may not be able to descend to the Fifth World and repair the Heaven Ascension Tribulation Pillars, even with the Celestial Phoenix's inheritance.

Anyone who seeks to ascend to godhood through the Dao of Lightning in the Abyss must first kill the old Thunder Dragon.

Does that mean that powerful figures of the First World would be forced to protect Pang Lin to ensure the successful repair of the Heaven Ascension Tribulation Pillars? Wouldn't they have to prevent the old Thunder Dragon from killing her?

The Celestial Phoenix's plans are truly meticulous if that's true.

Perhaps the changes to the Heaven Ascension Tribulation Pillars are the Celestial Phoenix's way of getting retribution after dying at the hands of the Thunder Dragon and the human race.

No wonder the Pure Land Sect hasn't announced Pang Lin's existence. They probably don't want to prematurely provoke the Dragon Lair Sect, Pang Jian mused.

"Ahem, Luo Yuan..." Lei Kun suddenly lowered his voice, sounding a bit embarrassed. "We'll reach the Dark Abyss Continent in about ten days, and I have a small favor to ask."

"Please, Senior Lei, feel free to ask!" Pang Jian responded solemnly. He had a favorable impression of the prideful rogue cultivator.

"My son...he's in his early teens and his cultivation is at the Meridian Opening Realm. I'd like to send him to one of the upper-world sects for cultivation once he cleanses his marrow.

"When that time comes, could you put in a good word for him?" Lei Kun's face darkened as he sighed. "In Cloud Lightning, the disciples from the Demon Sect, the Black Valley Sect, and the Celestial Lagoon Sect kept attacking me just because I’m a rogue cultivator.

"My cultivation is higher than theirs, but I was still too afraid to fight back.

"I don't want my son to end up like me, a sect-less, drifting rogue cultivator who is constantly being bullied by others.

"Luo Yuan, I promise I'll train him well over the next few years. I know the Sword Pavilion has limited slots for outer disciples each year, so I hope..." Lei Kun trailed off, voice pleading.

"As long as the talent of Senior's son isn't too lacking, I'll do my best to help him secure a spot as an outer disciple," Pang Jian solemnly reassured.

Even if I don't have much influence, I can always rely on Qi Qingsong.

Despite Jiu Yuan's attempt to kill him, Lei Kun had not turned against him in the Primordial Wilderness.

He had even gifted him a spirit sword in Cloud Lightning and allowed Pang Jian to hitch a free ride on his Cloud Sail.

Thus, Pang Jian would do what he could to lend Lei Kun a hand.

“Luo Yuan, let me, Old Lei, raise a jar in your honor!” Lei Kun cheered, face flushed with excitement as he took out another jar of wine and drank in celebration.

***

Half a month later, Lei Kun's Cloud Sail finally reached the Dark Abyss Continent and hovered over Saddle Ridge Mountain.

"Luo Yuan, this is a rest stop," Lei Kun informed. Standing at the front of the descending ship, he glanced downward and saw a makeshift town filled with cultivators from the lower world. "Huh, it seems many clans from the lower world have settled on the barren Saddle Ridge Mountains.

"Luo Yuan, unlike other rogue cultivators, I don't need to stop here. I have an estate in Cloudy Skies City. I'm friends with the city lord there. You're welcome to visit Cloudy Skies City with me."

Lowering his voice, he whispered, "My son, and the woman who bore him, both live in Cloudy Skies City."

He then glanced toward his room.

"A bunch of useless women. They've been traveling with me through the Third World for years, but none have given me another child. It's not like I can't afford to raise more kids, damn it!"

In his heart, the woman who gave him a child was the only one he had to take seriously.

Ding!

The sword token hanging at Pang Jian's waist made a sound.

As he took hold of the token, Pang Jian cleared his throat, and Lei Kun, sensing the need for privacy, tactfully stepped back.

"Pang Jian, where are you right now?"

It was not Qi Qingsong!

An oddly familiar female voice came through the token, but Pang Jian could not figure out where he had heard it before.

Caught off guard, Pang Jian hesitated before asking tentatively, "Who is this?"

"You ate my food and drank my wine in Eight Trigrams City, and now you've forgotten me?" demanded the voice, laced with barely suppressed anger.

Pang Jian's scalp tingled with shock.