Trials of the Abyss

Chapter 33: Worlds Within A Well

A warm breeze blew gently under the boundless clear sky.

Sun Bin watched as the countless tiny shimmering runes, resembling the stars, moons, and constellations within a radiant galaxy, flowed along Pang Lin's slender arm toward her heart.

"The Celestial Phoenix is bestowing its legacy," Sun Bin said as he struggled to sit up. His expression was still blank and dazed, and he stared at Pang Lin in disbelief. After a moment, he shook his head lightly, blank expression turned into one of incredulity. "Perhaps I was mistaken."

He had a sudden realization. When they flew to the upper world on the back of Green Condor, the long-lost remains of the Celestial Phoenix underwent a sudden change.

The unexpected attack on the Green Condor was far from a coincidence.

It was because the Celestial Phoenix sensed Pang Lin!

The sacred bone contained the inheritance of the Celestial Phoenix, and killing the Green Condor was never its true aim. Rather, its true intention was to have Pang Lin accept its inheritance!

"Her potential is limitless!" Sun Bin's eyes blazed with fervor, heart pounding heavily. He had truly discovered a rare treasure during his journey to the lower world.

Whoosh!

The tiny bright runes flowed into Pang Lin's body and converged in her heart.

A vast trove of knowledge appeared within her heart, just waiting for her to explore.

Pang Lin had thought herself destined to be killed by the bone of the Celestial Phoenix. Knowing she could not escape from the calamity, she used a finger to touch the bone of the Celestial Phoenix suspended in front of her.

As the myriad of colorful lights faded away, an unexplainable feeling swept through her...as if the bone of the Celestial Phoenix was a part of her.

After an unknown amount of time had passed, all the tiny runes inside the bone of the Celestial Phoenix finally vanished into Pang Lin's heart.

Pang Lin felt no discomfort whatsoever as she grasped the suspended sacred bone with her hand, holding it upright to examine it closely.

As she held the sacred bone, Pang Lin noticed dozens tiny dots of light scattered across its surface. Moreover, she could faintly sense their subtle movements.

As her palm made contact with the dots of light, Pang Lin got the distinct impression that each moving dot represented a living being.

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A word suddenly appeared in her heart—"Divine Guard!"

Bewildered, she scratched her head and pondered what the word "Divine Guard" meant. Just as she thought this, a plethora of information about "Divine Guard" poured forth from the depths of her heart.

She instinctively understood that each moving dot of light represented a Divine Guard that belonged to her.

Not only could she see the movements of each Divine Guard, but could also issue commands to them via the sacred bone. Furthermore, she could even determine the life and death of each Divine Guard with a single thought!

In the future, the Divine Guards would serve as her keenest eyes and most devoted retainers. They would never disobey her command.

To the Divine Guards, she was a supreme presence, someone they were duty-bound to protect with their very lives.

"Gir—Miss Pang, what did the sacred bone show you?" Sun Bin's voice trembled. He now addressed her with an honorific and no longer casually referred to her as "girl".

"A vast ocean of memories flooded into my heart," Pang Lin said as she pointed at her chest. Then, she gestured at the scattered dots of light within the sacred bone and continued, "These tiny dots of light represent my Divine Guards. They're scattered across the different worlds and appear to be eternally devoted to me."

"Divine Guard! The Divine Guard of the Celestial Phoenix!" Sun Bin exclaimed. He no longer harbored any doubts. His lips curved into a gleeful smile and he clasped his hands together, saying, "Congratulations, Miss Pang, for earning the favor of the Celestial Phoenix and inheriting its memories and secret techniques!"

Sun Bin then leaned in closer, pointing at the arm-length sacred bone held by Pang Lin, and explained earnestly, "Each dot of light in the sacred bone represents a living being. They will forever be devoted to you because you have the power to determine their life and death! Although they're currently scattered across the different worlds, like the Third or Fourth Worlds, they're all ultimately still under your command."

Though envy gnawed at Sun Bin's heart, he dared not let it show, fearing the wrath of the sacred bone.

Pang Lin murmured in wonder, "I have so many followers all of a sudden?"

"Yes, that's the way it is. Miss Pang. Your home in the Fourth World should be right here," Sun Bin said, pointing to two dots of light on the sacred bone.

One of the dots was noticeably brighter than the others, while the other dot gradually dimmed as if undergoing tempering and was teetering on the brink of fading away.

"That should be the Solitary Mountain Range. A powerful Divine Guard has already emerged there. However, I can't make heads or tails of the other dot of light," Sun Bin said, puzzled.

Sun Bin's words broadened Pang Lin's perspective, and she gained an understanding of what their worlds looked like.

"Senior Sun, why does our world look like a well?" she asked curiously.

"You're right, it resembles a well," Sun Bin agreed. "The walls of the well are what we call the boundary walls. That's where the bizarre mist can be found. So far, we've only managed to explore up to the Fifth World, which is shrouded in eternal darkness. It's unknown to this day if there exists a Sixth World as no living being that entered the Fifth World has managed to escape it.

"As for the world above us..." Sun Bin explained as he pointed to the sky.

Pang Lin looked up and saw the sun, illuminating a clear, sunny sky below it, along with four continents.

"The First World is the place closest to the sky, and those four continents of the First World are located in the four cardinal directions. They're known as the Eastern Land, the Southern Gorge, the Western Loam[1], and the Northern Ruin. The sect you're going is called Pure Land Sect[2], located in the Western Loam. Now that you've inherited the legacy of the Celestial Phoenix, you'll be able to compete with the most dazzling cultivation geniuses in the First World.

"I'll also benefit from your success," Sun Bin added with a hearty laugh. "Miss Pang, with the inheritance of the Celestial Phoenix, you won't need a hundred years to reach the Profound Abode Ream! The Pure Land Sect will spare no effort to assist you in your cultivation. You will be the brightest rising star in the First World!

"Don't worry, as long as you're alive, your brother will also benefit from your success. The Pure Land Sect will send someone to bring him up."

Sun Bin was secretly glad he had given Pang Jian the Qi Nurturing Divine Cauldron Art he obtained from a restricted area. He was also thankful he had not spoken ill of him.

"If I can help my brother by growing stronger, then I'll be sure to cultivate diligently," Pang Lin swore solemnly as she tightened her grip on the sacred bone.

***

In the Solitary Mountain Range.

Pang Jian remained unaware that his beloved little sister had come across great fortune and had effortlessly achieved remarkable success, arriving at the sacred land that the cultivators of the Fourth World could only dream of.

Meanwhile, he was still struggling in the lower world.

In a dark stone passage within the mountain range, Pang Jian was intermittently forced awake by agonizing pain only to faint again moments later.

This cycle repeated itself several times.

As he drifted in and out of consciousness, Pang Jian felt the countless blazing Celestial Phoenixes soaring and tempering his bones.

Each blood-colored Celestial Phoenix resembled the one that had emerged from Ouyang Duanhai's body. However, these appeared to have been fully subdued, their spiritual consciousness extinguished as they transformed into pure burning energy.

During the periods of agonizing wakefulness, Pang Jian could sense that the energy tempering his bones originated from and had been refined by the bronze pendant.

The essence of the Celestial Phoenix from the bone that had devoured the Giant Abyssal Serpent had yet to be fully refined. As a result, none of that energy flowed out from the bronze pendant.

However, just the energy from the Divine Guard caused him excruciating agony.

After countless cycles of awakening in pain, only to faint again, the terrifying energy tempering his bones finally subsided.

Pang Jian's rations had long been depleted at this point. A ravenous hunger gnawed at him. He did not feel like dwelling on what happened to his body and instead focused solely on finding food to satisfy his growling stomach.

With his Dragonwood Spear in hand, he pressed on through the dark stone passage.

After what felt like an eternity, Pang Jian's eyes caught a faint glimmer of light. He immediately rushed toward the light and found a narrow fissure along the stone wall.

He immediately used his Dragonwood Spear to chip away at it. A sudden burst of strength in his hands caused the stone to split apart as easily as cutting tofu.

Pang Jian successfully escaped the dark stone passage through the widened fissure and entered another body of water.

Numerous fish swam in the water and aquatic plants dotted the surroundings. There was life everywhere he looked.

It was a stark contrast from the deathly stillness of Blackwater Pond.

"Fish!" Pang Jian's head spun from hunger. He no longer cared about anything else and frantically began spearfishing with his Dragonwood Spear.

***

On the grassy bank above the lake, a massive golden chariot lay in pieces.

Servants from the He Clan and the Su Clan surrounded the chariot to investigate it. However, they found no trace or remains of the cultivators from the Star River Alliance.

"We could not find even a single corpse from the Star River Alliance. Could it be that even their bones have been completely consumed?"

A man named He Rong, from the He Clan, was known for his timidity and excessive caution. He kept his distance from the Gilded Chariot of the Star River Alliance and instead delegated the investigation to his clan servants.

He and Su Yuntian were currently conversing near the edge of the lake. Su Yuntian of the Su Clan was not particularly tall but exuded a carefree demeanor. However, at this moment, both wore solemn looks on their faces.

Su Yuntian furrowed his brows. "The Dong Clan, the Zhou Clan, the Ning Clan, and the Shangguan Clan have all organized search parties to enter the Solitary Mountain Range. We've been exploring for some time now, but we haven't encountered any of them. We don't know what they may have discovered."

Among the seven major clans, the He Clan and the Su Clan were the two ranked at the bottom. Thus, they joined forces to venture into the Solitary Mountain Range.

They had searched the Solitary Mountain Range for a while but had yet to discover anything significant. Furthermore, they had not encountered anyone from the upper worlds, dead or alive.

Throughout their journey, they encountered no danger whatsoever. Their progress was so smooth that it bordered on the incredulous.

They had just discovered the Gilded Chariot belonging to the Star River Alliance, yet they found no trace of any of its members. Thus, they decided to wait a little longer by the broken golden chariot in hopes that someone else would arrive.

"Ah!"

While the two of them were conversing, a young girl suddenly emerged from the lake and let out a startled scream.

"There's someone at the bottom of the lake!" Su Meng cried. She had been in the middle of cleaning herself and was now in a hurry to put on her undergarments underwater. She swam frantically to the shore, loudly exclaiming, "I saw someone hunting for fish at the bottom of the lake!"

"Come back quickly!" Su Yuntian urged, waving his hands vigorously from the lakeshore.

He cared deeply for his beloved daughter and, with a menacing glare, quietly retrieved his spirit artifact, preparing to strike down the stranger once they emerged.

"Brother Su, don't be impulsive. That person might be a member of the Star River Alliance!" He Rong hurriedly advised. "Be careful, don't act recklessly!"

"Fine, I understand!"

1. Loam refers to soil that is a mix of sand, silt, and clay, with a good balance of organic matter. It is typically fertile, well-draining, and easy to work with, making it ideal for gardening and agriculture. ☜

2. The Chinese character for the sect's name is 净土 (Jìngtǔ). In Buddhism, "净土" (Jìngtǔ) refers to the Pure Land, which is a concept in Mahayana Buddhism representing a celestial realm or paradise ☜