Trials of the Abyss

Chapter 52: Setting a Trap

The viscous blood of the black turtle flowed along the small water vortex and entered the bronze pendant.

In the blink of an eye, the pool of the black turtle's blood seemed to have reduced.

Pang Jian wore a strange expression on his face as he recalled the occasions when he had obtained the essence of the Celestial Phoenix.

The essence of the Celestial Phoenix emitted a radiant white light and had a tangible form.

The blood-red Celestial Phoenix that emerged from Ouyang Duanhai's body was also refined from thick, viscous blood, and also had a tangible form.

The blood essence of the black turtle was the same!

The bronze pendant that his father had left behind seemed to be able to absorb these strange, special entities with tangible forms.

Meanwhile, the Qi Nurturing Divine Cauldron Art was limited to the spiritual qi of heaven and earth, the spiritual power within the spirit stones, and bizarre energy like Profound Yin energy.

Be it qi or energy, none had a tangible form as they were pure forms of energy.

The Qi Nurturing Divine Cauldron Art was unable to absorb tangible objects like the essence of the Celestial Phoenix and the blood essence of the black turtle.

However, the bronze pendant could.

Hands supporting the back of his head once more, Pang Jian listened to the clash of combat and Zhou Qingchen's shouts echoing from outside the deep hole. However, there was no sound of Dong Tianze's alarmed cries, nor did he reappear at the mouth of the pit.

The enchanting scarlet lotus at the mouth of the deep hole blocked most of his field of view.

Luo Meng hovered in a corner between the bone of the Celestial Phoenix and the scarlet lotus, staring at Pang Jian with a hollow and wooden expression and seemingly observing his every move.

The evil woman is probably lurking nearby and using the Spirit Devil to spy on me, Pang Jian mused with a frown.

Before long, he noticed that a significant portion of the black turtle's blood in the deep hole had been absorbed by the bronze pendant.

As the pool of blood continued to reduce, a tiny gap became visible on the bronze door-shaped pendant that Pang Jian had left outside his clothing.

"The door on the pendant does open!" Pang Jian cried, having finally noticed the tiny crack between the doors of the mysterious bronze pendant!

Pang Jian's eyes brightened. He realized that the two essences of the Celestial Phoenix and the blood-red phoenix had all been absorbed into the bronze pendant through the crack in the bronze door. He simply had not noticed at the time.

Having noticed the tiny gap between the doors, he focused intently to take a closer look. However, to his surprise, his gaze could not penetrate the slit. He could not see what lay beyond the bronze doors, leaving him curious about its contents.

Pang Jian recalled Luo Hongyan's words, Those in the Profound Abode Realm can refine their divine sense. Divine sense acts as an eye, allowing one to perceive even the tiniest details.

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It seemed that only after he had broken through to the Profound Abode Realm and refined his divine sense would he be able to explore the mysteries inside the bronze door.

At his present cultivation realm, he would not be able to perceive anything.

Lost in his thoughts, Pang Jian noticed that the blood at the bottom of the hole was almost depleted. Without contact with the blood, the bronze door could no longer continue its absorption.

Thus, Pang Jian removed the bronze pendant from his neck and pressed the side adorned with patterns and copper rings against the area with the thickest blood.

Sure enough, the blood of the black turtle flowed into the bronze pendant once again.

It absorbed the blood at the bottom of the hole like a sponge soaking up water.

It was only when not a single trace of blood remained that Pang Jian carefully refastened the necklace around his neck.

A drop of the Celestial Phoenix's essence, formed from devouring the Giant Abyssal Serpent, remained in the bronze pendant.

Now, with the black turtle's blood essence in the bronze pendant as well, Pang Jian had two mysterious items at his disposal.

Unfortunately, he could neither see nor access the secrets behind the bronze door. All he could do was wait passively, anticipating the same intense heat that had engulfed him twice before.

Looking at the bright red scarlet lotus at the mouth of the deep hole, Pang Jian pondered whether to climb out and assist Zhou Qingchen in dealing with Dong Tianze.

However, as soon as he thought about Dong Tianze's speed and the eerie nature of the spirit artifact, Ghost's Cry, he hesitated.

It's better to wait for him to come in. If he rushes in and sees that not a drop of black turtle's blood remains, he'll surely lose his cool. Pang Jian contemplated how he could better leverage the timing and the terrain at the bottom of the deep hole.

With his Dragonwood Spear in hand, Pang Jian paced around slowly. He scrutinized the deep hole for anything that could be used to his advantage and pondered the plans he could implement.

Pang Jian used the Dragonwood Spear to measure the distance between the two walls, assessing the range of his attack based on the length of the spear's shaft before considering where he should position himself when the time came.

With the limited space at the bottom of the deep hole and the relatively long Dragonwood Spear, his range of movement during intense combat would undoubtedly be limited. He could not afford to accidentally hinder himself with the spear at a crucial moment.

He continuously adjusted his position, carefully considering the most strategic places to stand if Dong Tianze were to be in a certain location.

He meticulously went over every detail and repeatedly weighed his options.

Not long after, he retrieved the silver net from the bamboo basket on his back. It appeared small when folded but was large when unfurled.

The threads of this silver net were extremely resilient. Even the possessed Ouyang Duanhai had not been able to break free.

If Dong Tianze were to inadvertently fall into this silver net, there was no guarantee that he could instantly break free either.

Pang Jian unfurled the silver net and stared at the "walls" of the deep hole.

He pierced the "wall" with his Dragonwood Spear to create a few new holes. Holding one corner of the silver net, he nimbly climbed up seven to eight meters and secured the corner of the silver net on the wall with the bamboo flute.

He moved around the walls of the deep hole.

He alternated between climbing up to the bright red blood lotus to peer down into the deep hole and descending into the deep hole and gazing upward.

The Spirit Devil Luo Meng stared blankly at Pang Jian the whole time. Whenever Pang Jian approached, he always moved to avoid him.

The Spirit Devil was actively avoiding coming into conflict with Pang Jian. To prevent any misunderstandings, it always observed him from a distance.

Pang Jian paid it no heed and busied himself with his own tasks.

After a while, the giant silver net was anchored to the "wall" above Pang Jian with several sharp impure spirit stones as well as the bamboo flute.

He meticulously confirmed that he could see the silver giant net through the dim light from above when looking up from below.

From above, the bottom of the deep hole appeared pitch black, making it difficult to discern the silver net without closer inspection, especially from beneath the bright red scarlet lotus.

If one were to stand at the mouth of the deep hole, their view would be obscured by the eerie red glow of the enchanting blood lotus, making it even more challenging to perceive the net.

"You may be a wolf from the Dong Clan, but I am the master of this forest. I want to see how you'll avoid this net when you break through that scarlet lotus and descend to the bottom of the deep hole!"

With a calm and composed mind, Pang Jian set the Dragonwood Spear within arm's reach and patiently waited for Dong Tianze to walk right into his trap.

When the scarlet lotus was struck, he would be alerted and would be able to react promptly.

While waiting for Dong Tianze, Pang Jian took out pure spirit stones from the upper world and replenished his spiritual sea.

In this way, he silently waited.

***

Above the deep hole, Dong Tianze endured the torment of the Spirit Devils' self-immolation. Wisps of faint black smoke enveloped his body, and he had no strength to attack the array in the deep hole.

While Dong Tianze quelled the soul-burning flames ignited by the Spirit Devils, blood oozed out from his eyes and nose, causing his appearance to become even more sinister and terrifying than before.

Clang! Clang!

Zhou Qingchen and Luo Hongyan continuously threw stones and sharp spirit artifacts like steel needles or silver pitchforks at Ghost's Cry, causing it to veer off course.

Ghost's Cry wobbled unsteadily as if about to collapse in the middle of the many ghostly apparitions. Even after a long time, it had failed to reach Dong Tianze.

Finally, Dong Tianze wiped away the last remnants of ash from the last Spirit Devil off his body. He knitted his brows as he cast a glance at the nearby Shangguan Qin.

The bloody scar on her face had been inflicted by Dong Tianze. Seeing his miserable new appearance after being tormented by the Spirit Devil's self-immolation, Shangguan Qin felt satisfaction rise within her.

The hatred in her eyes was almost palpable. Her sole purpose of surviving seemed to be to witness Dong Tianze's demise.

"Auntie, do you really want to see me dead?" Dong Tianze asked with a smirk.

Shangguan Qin hurriedly lowered her head. "No, I don't!"

"I've said it before, I hate when people lie to me. If you want me dead, at least have the courage to say it outright, or else it'll be your demise."

Freed from the torment of the Spirit Devils, Dong Tianze's hand flew out like a bolt of lightning and snapped Shangguan Qin's neck with a resounding crack.

Just like that, Shangguan Qin died.

Dong Tianze rushed toward Ghost's Cry and appeared among the ghostly apparitions.

The moment he grasped Ghost's Cry, Dong Tianze's demeanor underwent a sudden transformation. With a swift motion, he swung Ghost's Cry at Zhou Qingchen.

With the mournful wailing of tens of thousands of ghosts, the ghostly apparitions amalgamated into a ferocious, colossal Demon God. Its malevolent figure threatened to tear Zhou Qingchen to pieces.

"Take this!" Han Duping cried, hastily throwing the Heartguard Mirror down from the mountainside and at Zhou Qingchen's head.

A towering crimson mountain materialized above Zhou Qingchen's head, blocking the attack of the colossal Demon God.

With a cold snort, Dong Tianze gently pulled on Ghost's Cry to manipulate the colossal Demon God while he dealt with Luo Hongyan first.

The astute Luo Hongyan had somehow appeared beside Han Duping and was standing next to the sobbing Su Meng. She kindly reminded Dong Tianze from afar, "Your black turtle's blood essence is still at the bottom of that hole."

Dong Tianze suddenly came to his senses. He spared the evasive Luo Hongyan and had no intention of fighting Zhou Qingchen to the death. Instead, he carried Ghost's Cry and dashed toward the mouth of the deep hole.

With Ghost's Cry in hand, he was confident he could break through the blood lotus and eliminate Pang Jian at the bottom of the deep hole.

He worried that Pang Jian possessed the ability to refine the remaining blood essence of the black turtle, or worse, maliciously contaminate it, rendering his subsequent marrow cleansing unsuccessful.

"Pang Jian is still down there!" Zhou Qingchen's face darkened with anger as he glared at Luo Hongyan.

Luo Hongyan remained indifferent, pursing her lips and chuckling lightly. "Of course, I know he's still down there."

"Old Han, follow me into the deep hole. Let's join forces and kill Dong Tianze! Ning Yao, can't you do anything besides stir up trouble?!" Zhou Qingchen shouted angrily.

He brandished the long saber forged from cold iron and headed straight for the deep hole.

However, Dong Tianze was simply too fast. He had reached the mouth of the deep hole before Zhou Qingchen could even catch up.

"Damn it!" Roaring furiously, Zhou Qingchen hurled his cold iron long saber toward the deep hole to reduce his weight before leaping into the towering crimson mountain suspended above his head.

The massive mountain transformed into crimson clouds, carrying Zhou Qingchen through the air, and heading straight for the deep hole below.

"I'm coming!" Han Duping shouted. He transformed into a massive silver ball and rolled down the mountain, following Zhou Qingchen to the deep hole.

Even though he knew full well the ferocity of Dong Tianze, when Zhou Qingchen called, Han Duping followed without hesitation, ready for a battle to the death.

"Sister-Sister Ning, Pang Jian, he..." Su Meng's sight was blurred by her tears. Luo Hongyan's figure in her eyes appeared hazy, seeming to simultaneously possess both a divine and a demonic aura. She muttered, "My father and Uncle He are dead. Please don't let Pang Jian die too."

Luo Hongyan tucked her hands into her sleeves. She looked down from the top of the small hill with an impassive look on her face. "We'll see who's the one to die."