Trials of the Abyss

Chapter 94: The Eeriness of the Pool

"Shut up already." Li Jie snorted, annoyed by Qi Qingsong's incessant rambling. "If you keep yelling, I'll throw you into that darkness."

Qi Qingsong immediately fell silent.

He had not paid much attention to Li Jie before, but now it was different.

Li Jie had not only rescued Dong Tianze from Pang Jian, but he had also mentioned that his family had deep ties with the sect that had taken in the inheritor of the Celestial Phoenix's inheritance.

Li Jie's image in Qi Qingsong's eyes changed and he no longer dared to offend him.

Pang Jian squatted down, preparing to pick up the severed arm to show Zhou Qingchen later. If Zhou Qingchen was unsatisfied, they could join forces again to kill Qi Qingsong.

However, as he reached out, Qi Qingsong's arm sank into the stone floor and vanished.

Pang Jian was shocked.

He then remembered that corpses and severed limbs in Eight Trigrams City did not remain on the ground for long.

"It seems I won't be able to explain to Young Master Zhou after all." Pang Jian frowned.

Qi Qingsong, still sweating from the pain of cutting off his arm, felt his scalp tingle as if sensing danger, and hurriedly said, "Pang Jian, I have ways to regenerate severed limbs. If I can regrow mine, so can that girl!"

"No wonder you were so decisive. You planned to grow your arm back once you got out," Pang Jian replied.

"I'll make sure the girl does too!" Qi Qingsong said, stepping backward warily. "I promise you! When I get out, I'll find a way to help that girl with her arm. That Zhou guy is from the Red Mountain Sect of the Third World. I can easily find him. I swear!"

"Forgive and forget." Li Jie was soft-hearted, and the sight of Qi Qingsong cutting off his arm and making such a vow filled him with pity. "Pang Jian, I'll watch him for you. If he swears it, I'll ensure he keeps his word."

Qi Qingsong raised his hand and swore an oath without hesitation.

"Alright, that should do." Li Jie nodded, before heading toward the place where the Mirror Tunnel had previously been.

He then seemed to grab some invisible thing at the edge of the pool and gently pulled it back.

It was like an invisible curtain was being drawn.

The Mirror Tunnel reappeared.

It seemed it had never disappeared in the first place and had merely been hidden behind an invisible curtain.

After Li Jie restored the Mirror Tunnel, he glanced at the pool, expression serious.

Pang Jian turned to see that the once bloody pool had become clear.

He had long noticed that the pool was the most special place in the City Lord's Mansion and Eight Trigrams City.

When cultivators died outside the pool, their souls and bodies disappeared into the ground.

But the pool was an exception.

Lan Xi, Qi Qingsong, and Lin Beiye had killed those coveting the treasures in the pool. Those cultivators had dived into the pool in an attempt to seize the treasures, only to die there.

Their corpses had floated in the pool and did not disappear, leaving it stained with blood.

The seemingly normal pool was also unexpectedly exhibiting the same unusual behavior now.

This caught Li Jie off guard as well.

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"It cleared up after Yuan Lengshan died," Dong Tianze said from the corner. "After she had become a bloody mist and rained down into the pool, all the corpses and blood started disappearing. And...and, even the souls of the deceased are gathering in one place.

"I first sensed the movement of the souls with my Ghost's Cry, and noticed the strangeness of it all after observing more closely."

He pointed at the bottom of the pool, where a copper chest entwined with golden and silver threads emitted a yellow light. "They're all heading toward that chest."

Everyone stared at the copper chest in surprise.

Sure enough, they could see fine threads of blood drifting toward it.

The belongings of the deceased lay scattered in the now-clear pool, devoid of any luster.

Only the copper chest continued to emit a faint glow.

Li Jie paled in realization. "Yuan Lengshan! It must be because of Yuan Lengshan!"

Whoosh!

Taking advantage of everyone's shock, Dong Tianze shot toward the Mirror Tunnel.

He had been prepared to seize any opportunity to leave Eight Trigrams City and did not waste time.

Pang Jian moved to unleash the Startling Slaughter Spear's spear technique, but Li Jie stopped him. "Pang Jian, let him go!"

Heeding Li Jie's instruction, Pang Jian quietly watched as Dong Tianze stepped into the Mirror Tunnel and disappeared.

The clamor of before suddenly resumed.

"Spirit food!"

"Haha, the City Lord has finally gathered enough spirit food!"

"Congratulations, City Lord!"

The ancient figures reappeared once again, like shadows projected from another world.

These ancient figures were all looking at the pool and engaging in enthusiastic discussions.

However, this time, their discussion was not about events from three thousand years ago or their tributes to City Lord Yuan Shishan.

They were talking about what was happening right now!

Li Jie looked deeply troubled as he glanced between the ancient figures and the now-clear pool.

Feeling uneasy, Qi Qingsong pleaded, "Everyone...can I leave now?"

"Go on." Li Jie waved his hand impatiently.

Qi Qingsong stared at Pang Jian, not daring to move yet.

"Remember your promise," Pang Jian said coldly. "If Jiang Li's arm isn't restored, I will find you."

"Understood." Qi Qingsong nodded before hastily leaving through the Mirror Tunnel as well.

"Li Jie, how much do you know about the secrets of Eight Trigrams City?" Pang Jian asked.

Li Jie stared at the copper chest in the pool, watching as the last wisp of blood finally entered it.

Li Jie sighed and turned to Pang Jian. "Pang Jian, the two of you should leave. This time, I'm the Trial Master of Eight Trigrams City. I can send you to whichever world you want through the Mirror Tunnel.

"I've already sent Han Duping, Zhou Qingchen, and the others to the Third World. If you want, I can send you two there as well. What happens next isn't your concern. You don't need to stay.

"I don't know what's going to happen next. It could very well be a trial aimed at me."

"Pang Jian, the two of you should hurry up and leave," he said with a wave.

The term Trial Master confused Pang Jian. More perplexing still was the many privileges Li Jie could exercise in Eight Trigrams City.

"I have a feeling that whatever's going to happen next won't be good." Luo Hongyan said with a frown. Tugging on Pang Jian's sleeve, she persuaded, "Let's listen to him and leave. I don't fully understand the situation, but I feel he's saying this for our sake."

"Pang Jian, trust me. You need to leave now," Li Jie repeated.

"Hold on." Pang Jian shook Luo Hongyan off and ignored Li Jie. He then turned to head back down the dark tunnel.

He wanted to bring the girl hiding in the darkness along with him.

When he entered the tunnel, the tainted energy of the darkness surged toward him as before and filled his depleted spiritual sea.

However, Li Yuqing was nowhere to be found.

Pang Jian paused, then rushed out of the tunnel to stand outside the mansion.

His eyes darted to each of the eight streets connecting to the square, only to find them all empty.

"Li Yuqing!" he shouted into the darkness. "It'll be dangerous in Eight Trigrams City soon. You should also leave and stop hiding."

His voice echoed through the darkness, reverberating through the eight streets and growing louder and louder.

No one responded.

He even went to the intersection of each street and yelled at them the same way.

Li Yuqing still did not respond.

"Could something have happened to her?" He knitted his brows in concern. He feared the girl had encountered some kind of misfortune in the darkness.

"Pang Jian, come back! We need to go!" Luo Hongyan called impatiently from inside the mansion.

Luo Hongyan had noticed an invisible force prying open the golden and silver threads entwining the ancient copper chest.

The shimmering threads twisted and broke.

The ancient copper chest at the bottom of the pool seemed to be breaking free from some kind of seal and was about to burst open.

Pang Jian sighed, reluctantly returning to the mansion.

As he passed through the tunnel, he recalled his fight with the girl over food and instinctively glanced at where he had fallen when he first entered the tunnel.

A row of crooked characters had been hastily carved there.

Don't tell them who I am, and don't come looking for me.

Pang Jian stared at the words in astonishment

"She doesn't want me to look for her..." He looked puzzledly around the darkness, then nodded and returned to the light.

***

Li Yuqing reappeared in the corner where Pang Jian had once curled up and screamed in agony as he endured the invasion of the tainted energy into his body.

She silently stared at the tunnel leading to the mansion.

Watching from the shadows, she had seen Pang Jian shout her name, warning her of the coming danger and rushing to each street intersection to call for her.

She chuckled at the thought of Pang Jian's foolishness and muttered to herself, "He actually came back to look for me. He seemed genuinely worried about me. Heh, as if anything could happen to me."