Trials of the Abyss

Chapter 6: The Seven Major Clans

The wind whistled like weeping ghosts, echoing from the stone pile and sending shivers down the spines of all who heard it.

Pang Jian stayed silently in the corner, blank gaze fixed on the stone pile as he waited for the newcomers to resolve the predicament before them.

"Old Han, can you break the formation?" Zhou Qingchen asked as he dismounted from his one-horned rhinoceros.

Zhou Qingchen reached the stone pile and looked around curiously. With nothing blocking his path, he could clearly see Liu Qi's body in the middle of the stone pile. Astonished, he asked, "Did one of your people die?"

Realizing he had failed to mention it earlier, Ning Yuanshan awkwardly explained, "He coveted the artifacts left behind by the cultivators from the Blood Moon Sect. We also hadn't realized that the pile of rocks formed an array, that's why..."

Zhou Qingchen laughed in understanding. "If we had arrived first without Old Han here, our people likely would've been unable to resist the temptation of those artifacts as well."

After he finished speaking, Zhou Qingchen turned toward the chubby Han Duping.

Han Duping observed the surroundings of the stone pile. Stepping forward with a gentle expression on his face, he said, "Breaking the array shouldn't be a problem, but it'll take some time. Once the array is broken, the cold yin energy converging in the stone pile will disperse, causing the small, weak Beast Devils to scatter and disappear with it."

After a moment, a thought seemed to have occurred to Han Duping.

He approached Ning Yuanshan and Ning Yao to inquire about the specific form of the Beast Devils.

Ning Yuanshan earnestly explained that the Beast Devils were just common wild beasts typically found in the mountain range. Pointing at Pang Jian, he said, “He's a hunter native to the Solitary Mountain Range, so he's very familiar with the wild beasts in this area and their general strengths."

"Little brother, what do the wild beasts you've come across in this canyon look like? How strong and aggressive are they?" Han Duping asked with a polite smile.

Pang Jian briefly described the wild beasts he had encountered before, like the pack of white wolves and the pythons.

Han Duping nodded as he listened to Pang Jian. Feeling relieved, he said, "Those are all normal wild beasts, not Vicious Beasts or Spirit Beasts. The Beast Devils formed from their souls should be easy to deal with, so there's nothing to worry about."

Wild beasts, Vicious Beasts, and Spirit Beasts.

Pang Jian stilled. He knew of wild beasts, but he had never heard of Vicious Beasts or Spirit Beasts before.

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Han Duping noticed the confusion on Pang Jian's face and explained, "The spiritual qi of heaven and earth exists throughout the many regions of the Fourth World. However, the spiritual qi of this world is full of impurities. These impurities can be poisonous and even cause hallucinations, making it very dangerous.

"Human cultivators like us gather spiritual qi and use it to strengthen our bodies. Some wild beasts can also channel spiritual qi into their bodies, causing them to transform. After absorbing the spiritual qi, one must purify the impurities in it to avoid causing harm to their body and mind.

"The wild beasts that cannot purify the impurities in the spiritual qi may get stronger, but not more intelligent. These are known as Vicious Beasts. Vicious Beasts are savage and murderous, making it difficult for us to interact and communicate with them.

"Spirit Beasts are like us. These are the wild beasts that can purify the impurities in their bodies. As they become stronger, they also become more intelligent, often to the point of having an unusually high intellect. Spirit Beasts can communicate normally with us humans."

Hearing this, Pang Jian realized that the divine bird that had hovered above his home was probably one of these Spirit Beasts.

"Alright. Now, give me some time. I'm going to break the array." Han Duping walked forward alone. Making sure not to directly enter the stone pile, he tinkered with the smaller rocks as he tried to figure out the rules that formed the array.

Meanwhile, Zhou Qingchen discussed the changes in the upper world with Ning Yuanshan and Ning Yao. In doing this, he also intentionally ignored He Ziren, acting as though the young master of the He Clan did not exist.

In the face of such an important figure, the previously domineering and arrogant He Ziren was composed and did not get angry at Zhou Qingchen.

"The Zhou Clan..." Pang Jian's mind spun as he thought of the seven major cultivation clans that dominated the Fourth World.

In terms of influence, the Zhou Clan was second only to the Dong Clan. The Ning Clan fell behind the Dong Clan, Zhou Clan, Shangguan Clan, and Ouyang Clan, but was still ranked ahead of the He Clan. Meanwhile, the He Clan was only slightly stronger than the last-ranked Su Clan.

The ranking of the seven major clans was not set in stone. When a strong cultivator emerged from a clan, their ranking would rise. However, this usually only happened to the clans at the lower end of the ranking, like the Shangguan Clan, Ouyang Clan, Ning Clan, He Clan, and Su Clan.

The top-ranking Dong Clan and Zhou Clan held the first and second ranks and had not changed their rankings for hundreds of years.

Given that Zhou Qingchen came from the Zhou Clan, it was unsurprising that he paid no attention to He Ziren of the He Clan, nor was it surprising that He Ziren held his tongue.

"The skeletal remains of the Celestial Phoenix have broken apart. One of the bones is rumored to contain a mysterious inheritance. Most of its smaller bones were scattered throughout the Third and Fourth World. Many sects in the upper world have been searching for the sacred bone that may contain the inheritance," Zhou Qingchen said. "However, I think it's unlikely that one of the smaller bones in the Solitary Mountain Range will be that sacred bone."

When Pang Jian heard “Celestial Phoenix” and “sacred bone,” his ears immediately pricked up. He confirmed that the huge withered bones that fell from the upper worlds into the Solitary Mountain Range were part of the Celestial Phoenix's skeletal remains.

"A sacred bone that contains the inheritance of the Celestial Phoenix?" Pang Jian could not shake the feeling that the translucent white bone that had killed the Green Condor was likely the sacred bone that contained the inheritance of the Celestial Phoenix.

Unfortunately, all he had seen was countless bright diamond-like runes whistling through the sky when the sacred bone killed the Green Condor. He had no idea where the sacred bone went after that.

Zhou Qingchen continued, "The cultivators from the Star River Alliance, the Blood Moon Sect, and the Sinister Soul Temple in the Solitary Mountain Range either died because of the sacred bone or the bizarre mist!"

At the mention of the bizarre mist, the faces of the Ning and Zhou clan members, as well as He Ziren, darkened.

It appeared that the bizarre mist, which had been gradually spreading toward the northern part of the Solitary Mountain Range, instilled more fear than the deaths of the cultivators from the Star River Alliance, the Blood Moon Sect, and the Sinister Soul Temple.

Pang Jian's brows raised. "Bizarre mist."

The northern part of the Solitary Mountain Range, rumored to be closest to the boundary wall, was an area his father had explicitly prohibited him from entering. After his father disappeared, Pang Jian had to look after his sister, Pang Lin. Therefore, he avoided taking unnecessary risks and did not venture into the forbidden areas.

He also vaguely understood that the bizarre mist was something the vast majority of cultivators in this world seemed to be afraid of.

This was true for both the lower world and the upper world.

Han Duping suddenly shouted from the pile of rocks, "It's done!"

Then, there was a resounding bang as if he had knocked over a huge rock.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The cold gale trapped within the pile of rocks rushed out from the newly formed crack, emitting an increasingly harsh whistling sound.

As the gale dispersed, it blew past Pang Jian, enveloping him in a cold, gloomy feeling that caused him to shiver involuntarily. At the same time, the bronze pendant under his clothes became hot, and his cultivation of the Qi Nurturing Divine Cauldron Art quietly activated.

Probing his navel region, Pang Jian noticed that his visualized Spirit Cauldron seemed to be gradually turning dark green.

The cold, eerie wind that blew past Pang Jian seemed to be forcefully drawn back by a magnetic force, causing a trace of cold energy from the wind to seep into his navel region.

Pang Jian was shocked.

He secretly explored his navel region and found fragments of ice crystals mixed in with the cotton-like entities. These ice crystals had a strange power. When they came into contact with the cotton-like entities, both would melt away.

Pang Jian slowly closed his eyes. He could sense that the cold energy contained a portion of spiritual qi.

The cold energy resembled airborne pollutants in the way that it settled and flowed, and seemed to be what everyone referred to as impurities.

"Everyone, please be careful. The Profound Yin energy in the dissipating spiritual qi is not something you can withstand. Those who recklessly try to channel the Profound Yin energy into their bodies without cultivating special techniques will suffer immeasurable pain," Ning Yuanshan warned.

Even if Ning Yuanshan had not warned them, no one aside from Pang Jian dared to absorb the spiritual qi in the cold wind. They knew that the risks would outweigh the potential benefits.

Profound Yin energy? Pang Jian thought.

The strange energy in the ice crystals melted away the cotton-like entities in his navel region, making it clear and clean. He did not suffer the immense pain Ning Yuanshan had described.

Qi Nurturing Divine Cauldron Art!

Pang Jian secretly praised the wonders of the cultivation manual. He even felt a sense of gratitude toward Sun Bin.

In a secluded area far from the others, Pang Jian quietly guided the cold energy into his body.

As the chilly aura spread outward with the wind, everyone's attention shifted to the stone pile and Han Duping. No one paid much attention to Pang Jian.

"It's about time." With the sound of shifting rocks, Han Duping finally mustered up the courage to step into the pile of rocks.

The harsh whistling sound coming from the rocks suddenly stopped.

Soon, Han Duping arrived before Liu Qi's dead body. He glanced at the bloody hole in Liu Qi's forehead, then at the white paper fan.

The once green bamboo on the white paper fan had turned blood red.

As Han Duping's gaze fell on the corpse holding the white paper fan, he said, "The cultivation level of these Blood Moon Sect cultivators...is comparable to ours, at the Meridian Opening Realm. The sacred bone is said to contain the inheritance of the Celestial Phoenix and is most likely to appear in the upper world, so all the true talents are searching there."

Han Duping stared at the white paper fan for a long moment as though pondering whether or not to reach out and grab it. However, Zhou Qingchen's voice broke him out of his reverie.

"I believe in your ability and judgment, Old Han." The tall, strong Zhou Qingchen wore a relaxed smile. "The deceased are in the same cultivation realm as us and have been dead for a long time. Even the Profound Yin energy has dissipated now. There's nothing to be afraid of."

Once he was done speaking, Zhou Qingchen mounted his one-horned rhinoceros and took the lead into the stone pile. The servants of the Zhou Clan followed in his footsteps without hesitation.

"Ning Yao, it might be dangerous inside," He Ziren cautioned.

Ning Yao ignored him. She exchanged a look with Ning Yuanshan and led the Ning Clan into the stone pile.

He Ziren and Pang Jian were the only ones left behind.

Pang Jian was huddled in a corner. He cultivated with the overflowing Profound Yin energy to purge the dregs and impurities in his navel region, aiming to become a real qi cultivator as soon as possible.

"Hey, do you think they're all going to die like Liu Qi?"