Trials of the Abyss

Chapter 46: Reunited

The next day, the veil of night gradually lifted.

Seeing that nothing strange had happened with the Divine Spirit Pagoda and that Pang Jian had yet to come out, Su Yuntian and He Rong decided to carry out their plan.

Without informing Luo Hongyan, He Rong ordered his loyal servants to harvest the spirit plants he had identified.

Meanwhile, Su Yuntian, too ashamed to explain himself, arranged for Su Meng to go in his stead.

Su Meng went around the white pagoda and approached Luo Hongyan. Su Meng's small face was filled with apologies. "Sister Ning.... My father and Uncle He have decided to leave the island. They plan to harvest some of the spirit plants before they leave."

Luo Hongyan waved her hand lazily, not bothering to respond.

She had searched the entire island with her Spirit Devils, mapping out its layout and cataloging every type and quantity of spirit plants present.

Having encountered high-ranked spirit plants before, she realized that none of the spirit plants she had observed through the Spirit Devils could help her rebuild her physical body.

As a result, her mood had soured.

Killing intent filled her heart. She had originally intended for the members of the two clans to confront the person in the deep hole to gauge that person's strength. However, she has reconsidered since then.

She had the Spirit Devils tail the members of the two clans. Before they left the island, she would kill them and take the spirit plants they had harvested for herself.

However, as she watched Su Meng's retreating figure, a hint of hesitation flickered in her eyes.

As Su Meng was about to disappear from sight, the girl turned around to wave at Luo Hongyan with a sweet smile. Luo Hongyan muttered, "You little brat, I'll spare you for now."

Having made her decision, she redirected her gaze back to the white pagoda, murmuring to herself, "Just one night. Even with the help of the spirit jades, it's unlikely that Pang Jian will be able to fill his spiritual sea in just one night."

She knew that this matter could not be rushed. Pang Jian could not possibly break through to the Meridian Opening Realm in a single night. Therefore, she instructed the Spirit Devils to carefully monitor the deep hole.

From morning to noon, the members of the Su Clan and the He Clan anxiously harvested spirit plants, only sticking to the ones they were familiar with. Satisfied with their haul, they prepared to leave.

They had no intention of getting involved with the danger lurking beside Shangguan Qin.

They had the servants carry the harvested spirit plants to where the bamboo rafts were moored.

Su Meng did not come over to bid farewell to Luo Hongyan.

Luo Hongyan remained silent. She had already sent out the Spirit Devils to carefully orchestrate the elimination of both clans.

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Luo Hongyan had everything planned out.

To avoid alerting Pang Jian or the person in the deep hole, she decided to let Su Yuntian and He Rong board the bamboo rafts first. That way, she could kill them quietly on the lake.

When the time came, the members of the Su Clan and the He Clan would not have anything to protect them. Their only option would be to dive into the lake, where the Spirit Devils would have an even greater advantage.

She waited for the two clans to transfer the spirit plants onto the bamboo rafts. She would make her move once their rafts started drifting away from Central Lake Island.

A Spirit Devil emerged from the forest and hovered in the air. Just as she was about to act, a look of astonishment flashed across Luo Hongyan's face.

Through the Spirit Devil, she saw two familiar figures emerge from the other side of Central Lake Island.

It was Zhou Qingchen and Han Duping!

The two of them seemed to have endured a long journey since escaping the clutches of the Shadow Specter Sect. As they pushed through the towering weeds, they caught sight of the serene blue waters of Black Orchid Lake and the island in its center.

Their eyes lit up with excitement.

Shortly after, Zhou Qingchen and Han Duping saw the members of the Su Clan and the He Clan on the bamboo rafts.

Han Duping waved excitedly and shouted at the top of his lungs to get their attention.

"Zhou Qingchen!"

"Han Duping!"

Su Yuntian and He Rong were overjoyed and astonished. They had not expected to encounter these two on their way back.

A bamboo raft was sent to pick up Zhou Qingchen and Han Duping.

After a round of greetings, Zhou Qingchen learned what had happened and exclaimed in surprise and joy, "Pang Jian is still alive!"

Learning that Pang Jian was still among the living filled him with genuine happiness.

"Let's go to the island!" Zhou Qingchen said with renewed vigor, shaking off his previous despondency. Turning to Su Yuntian and He Rong, he said, "To be honest, after escaping from the clutches of the Shadow Specter Sect's Hong Tai, I put myself through rigorous training and officially entered the Marrow Cleansing Realm!"

"You've advanced to the Marrow Cleansing Realm?" Su Yuntian asked in astonishment.

Han Duping sighed. "It was a bit hasty. He should've waited until the exploration of the Solitary Mountain Range was over. Then, we could've asked the Red Mountain Sect to come to the lower world and guide him to the Marrow Cleansing Realm properly. Alas, by entering the Marrow Cleansing Realm early, you'll have to undergo further refinement when you go to the Red Mountain Sect."

Zhou Qingchen chuckled bitterly. "Old Han, the situation wouldn't allow it. I couldn't afford to wait!"

Hearing that Zhou Qingchen had advanced to the Marrow Cleansing Realm to become one of the top experts in the Fourth World, Su Yuntian and He Rong were filled with confidence.

Despite originally intending to retreat, the pair changed their minds and turned back.

The group returned to the area around the white pagoda.

Zhou Qingchen knitted his brows, his expression turning grim as he stared at the five-story white pagoda. Suppressing his anger, he admonished, "Miss Ning! Pang Jian is only in the Qi Practicing Realm. Even if there's something special about him, you still shouldn't have asked him to break the array!"

Luo Hongyan was surprised. She had not expected Zhou Qingchen to genuinely care about Pang Jian.

Han Duping rubbed his hands together, face filled with curiosity as he asked, "Miss Ning, how did you two manage to come out of Blackwater Pond alive?"

Back then, Blackwater Pond had been guarded by Hong Tai. Several members of the Shadow Specter Sect were also in the Meridian Opening Realm. Both he and Zhou Qingchen could only escape amidst the chaos. With Ning Yao's and Pang Jian's cultivation realm, it was truly a miracle that they had survived.

Han Duping had pondered this question throughout their journey to the island, but the more he thought about it, the more confused he became.

"It was all thanks to that madman named Ouyang Duanhai and the unexpected betrayal of Hong Tai's Black and White King Python. Their actions allowed us to escape by the skin of our teeth."

After answering Han Duping's question, Luo Hongyan turned her cold gaze to Zhou Qingchen and snorted, "Nobody aside from Pang Jian has the ability to enter the Divine Spirit Pagoda. Not even you, Zhou Qingchen. So what if you're in the Marrow Cleansing Realm? You'll still die if you try to enter.

"Not to mention, if the array remains intact, do you honestly believe you'll survive when that person emerges from the deep hole and regains control of the Divine Spirit Pagoda? " Luo Hongyan did not sugar-coat her words at all. She completely disregarded Zhou Qingchen's recent cultivation breakthrough, and her tone was extremely harsh.

Zhou Qingchen opened his mouth to retort.

Han Duping interjected, "The Divine Spirit Pagoda is indeed no trifling matter! If someone were to take control of this pagoda, even a person in the Marrow Cleansing Realm would find it difficult to withstand its might. That's not to mention the person of unknown background and cultivation realm in the deep hole."

Zhou Qingchen was not aware of the true dangers of the Divine Spirit Pagoda, but he trusted Han Duping's words wholeheartedly. Shocked, he asked, "Is the Divine Spirit Pagoda truly that formidable?"

"It's extremely terrifying!" Han Duping answered gravely. He patted Zhou Qingchen's shoulder and urged him not to lose his composure, "She's right. If we want to deal with the other person on the island and obtain the essence of the Celestial Phoenix, it's best to destroy the Divine Spirit Pagoda first!"

Hearing him say this, Zhou Qingchen ceased his opposition and no longer argued.

After that, the members of the Su Clan and the He Clan, along with Zhou Qingchen and Han Duping, gathered a distance away from the Divine Spirit Pagoda. As they awaited the news from Pang Jian, they discussed how to deal with the Divine Spirit Pagoda.

Han Duping spread his hands helplessly. With a wry smile, he said, "Don't look at me, I don't have any good solutions either. I'll only know if I can break it when I'm in front of the array, and that's only if I can ignore the entanglement and torment the array inflicts on my soul.

"Not to mention, from my understanding of the Divine Spirit Pagoda, my soul would be extracted once I'm within ten steps of it."

Even Han Duping could not find a solution. The rest of them found themselves even more helpless.

He Rong could not help voicing his doubts, "Can Pang Jian really do it?"

He Rong found Luo Hongyan to be an eyesore. However, he felt a sense of kinship toward Zhou Qingchen, the young master of the Zhou Clan, so he asked, "Qingchen, we haven't had much contact with Pang Jian. What's his background? He's able to enter the Divine Spirit Pagoda and come out unscathed, and he actually saw that array..."

Zhou Qingchen did not answer He Rong's question. He recalled how the Eye of Imprint had chosen Pang Jian, as well as how Pang Jian had killed He Ziren amidst the turmoil in the stone pile.

Instead, he said, "Maybe he'll succeed!"

On the way here, Su Yuntian and He Rong had told him that He Ziren was also killed by the Shadow Specter Sect. Zhou Qingchen opted not to disclose the truth to He Rong and pretended not to know anything.

Seeing that even the genius of the Zhou family had confidence in Pang Jian, He Rong became even more suspicious. He could not fathom what kind of power Pang Jian possessed.

With no other solutions at hand, the group could only continue to wait.

In the blink of an eye, another day flew by.

During this time, both Zhou Qingchen and Han Duping had gone to the top of the small hill to have a look at Shangguan Qin. They were treated in the same manner by her as she urgently gestured for them to leave.

Seeing the deep hole formed by the bone of the Celestial Phoenix and witnessing Shangguan Qin's behavior, they believed Luo Hongyan's assessment and understood the hidden danger lurking there.

Zhou Qingchen also learned from the gossiping Su Meng that Luo Hongyan now took great interest in Pang Jian, tending to his every need and treating him with special care. She even suggested that they might be a couple.

Zhou Qingchen was shocked. "Old Han, what happened at Blackwater Pond? When did Miss Ning take a liking to Pang Jian?"

Han Duping was also bewildered. "I have no idea."

***

In the darkness of the night, Pang Jian woke up from his cultivation. The spirit jades beneath him had all lost their luster and were devoid of spiritual qi.

His limbs were stiff. Realizing he had been sitting cross-legged for a long time, he stood up to stretch.

Sensing his spiritual sea beneath his dantian, he discovered his spiritual sea brimming with vast spiritual power. Pang Jian could no longer absorb any more energy through the Qi Nurturing Divine Cauldron Art.

He had reached the bottleneck in the Qi Practicing Realm and was now qualified to try to break through to the Meridian Opening Realm.

After mulling it over, he did not rush to the fifth floor of the Divine Spirit Pagoda and instead decided to leave the white pagoda to inform everyone of his situation.

As he stepped out, he spotted Zhou Qingchen and Han Duping.

"Pang Jian!" Zhou Qingchen waved his hand excitedly.

Pang Jian's eyes lit up. He thought Zhou Qingchen to have fallen victim to the Shadow Specter Sect and had not expected him to still be alive.

Not one for words, he nodded gently and waved in response before saying. "I'll try to destroy the array on the fifth floor first. Once it's destroyed, I'll catch up with Young Master Zhou."

"I can't go over there. You have to be careful!" Zhou Qingchen warned.

Pang Jian nodded, then said earnestly, "Young Master Zhou, aside from Hong Tai, I've helped you kill all the members of the Shadow Specter Sect who participated in the assault at Blackwater Pond."

After saying these words, Pang Jian stepped back into the white pagoda.

Zhou Qingchen had been waving his hand and abruptly froze. His expression changed to one of bewilderment.