Trials of the Abyss

Pang Jian wanted to ask more questions, but he suddenly felt the world around him spinning.

It felt like the gods were turning the vortex of grayish-blue smoke like a millstone, pulling him along in its rotation.

The Star Crushing Umbrella and the Nine Suns Cauldron spun out of control.

Pang Jian and his spirit artifacts were involuntarily drawn toward the center of the grayish-blue smoke vortex.

Within moments, he disappeared.

***

Meanwhile, one of the "Luo Yuan" fakes appeared on the deck like a ghost.

Whoosh!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

He targeted those with weaker cultivation realms and exploded the bodies of Guo Hongyuan, Lu Lianchen, and Ye Fei.

A group of living dead, sitting motionless on the deck, also turned into a mist of blood.

Whoosh!

Dong Tianze stood on the Black Iron Mountain, a massive shadow of the Celestial Phoenix materialized above him, exuding a noble majesty.

Its feathers radiated divine light—the manifestation of overwhelming divine power—and surrounded Dong Tianze's stern figure.

The fake "Luo Yuan" launched a punch that seemed capable of smashing through the sky toward the radiant feathers, but he failed to destroy them.

"A Celestial Phoenix Divine Guard!" A look of surprise flashed in the man's eyes for the first time.

When his gaze landed on Zhou Qingchen, Zhao Yuanqi hurriedly took off her wine gourd, aimed it at Zhou Qingchen, and called softly, "Junior Brother Zhou!"

Zhou Qingchen looked shocked.

"Cosmic Convergence!" Zhao Yuanqi cried.

Zhou Qingchen transformed into a streak of rainbow light, which Zhao Yuanqi absorbed into the gourd.

The silver-haired girl jumped onto her gourd, which carried her away into the endless bizarre mist beyond the Sword Boat.

Pang Jian was still trapped in a swirling grayish-blue smoke vortex, and nobody knew whether he was even alive.

Lu Lingchan, Ye Fei, Lu Lianchen, and the disciples of the Black Valley Sect had all been wiped out.

The outer disciple Guo Hongyuan from the Sword Pavilion was also dead, leaving only Qi Qingsong and Zhuang Yuyan to struggle against their opponent.

Even though Zhuang Yuyan was in the Spirit Condensation Realm, she could not seem to gain any advantage against the three fake "Luo Yuans."

Zhao Yuanqi, seeing no hope to turn the tide, chose to flee with her junior brother.

"How decisive." One of the "Luo Yuan" copies chuckled wryly.

Whoosh!

The "Luo Yuan" manipulating the icebergs floated down from the balcony and merged with the "Luo Yuan" on the deck, causing their aura to surge.

Spikes of ice formed as lightning flashed around him, creating an explosive zone of ice and lightning.

"The Spirit Condensation Realm. Heh." The merged "Luo Yuans" smiled pleasantly at Zhuang Yuyan and shook his head. "You think you're the only one at the Spirit Condensation Realm? I also advanced to the Spirit Condensation Realm after entering the bizarre mist. ℟áɴộBÈs̈

"You need time to stabilize your cultivation realm, and that kind of thing can't happen overnight.

"But I don't."

The clapping thunder and ice explosions above him swelled as the area transformed into a terrifying death zone.

"You're a disciple of the Sword Pavilion, but the techniques you’ve cultivated are rather mediocre. They're hardly even worth mentioning," he sneered with a mocking smile.

"Stop spouting nonsense!" Zhuang Yuyan snapped, reaching out to grab the short sword.

The long sword darted above her head, leaving a brilliant river of flames in its wake.

A bird's cry and a beast's roar sounded from her two swords.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

A Fiery Qilin and a dancing Vermillion Bird materialized in the river of flames above Zhuang Yuyan's head and glared at "Luo Yuan."

"We're all on the Sword Boat. I would've felt you advance to the Spirit Condensation Realm!" Zhuang Yuyan said coldly.

"Who told you I was on the Sword Boat?" The man said scornfully, eyes filled with disdain. "With my abilities, I could've appeared on your Sword Boat while everything was in chaos. Nobody would've even noticed"

"What?!" A chill ran down Zhuang Yuyan's spine.

Dong Tianze was also stunned. Did this man not enter the bizarre mist with us?

A scene flashed through his mind.

Someone, like them, also drifting in the endless bizarre mist, unable to escape.

Perhaps this person's spirit stones and spirit jades had long been exhausted.

Unexpectedly, he came across the Sword Boat and saw the survivors from the Black Valley Sect and the Sword Pavilion.

He then used a secret technique to teleport onto the Sword Boat while the disciples of the Sword Pavilion and the Black Valley Sect had mental breakdowns and turned on each other.

After that, he possessed Xu Jie's body and secretly killed Han Lu in the ship's hold.

Pretending to be one of the living dead, he then coldly observed those on the third-floor balcony.

He was a venomous viper, lurking in the shadows and waiting for the perfect moment to strike!

"How terrifying." Even the ruthless Dong Tianze could not help but draw in a sharp breath of cold air.

He wanted to follow Zhao Yuanqi's example and flee the Sword Boat on the Black Iron Mountain, using the endless bizarre mist to escape.

As long as he got far enough away from the Sword Boat, it would be difficult for the man to pursue him as the bizarre mist rendered divine sense ineffective.

When he glanced at the grayish-blue smoke vortex, however, Dong Tianze could not help but hesitate for a second before ultimately gritting his teeth and piloting the Black Iron Mountain forward.

"Qi Qingsong, keep him at bay. I'll go into the smoke vortex to find Pang Jian!" Dong Tianze activated the hidden power within the Celestial Phoenix Imprint.

The manifested shadow and feathers of the Celestial Phoenix unleashed even stronger divine might, shielding the Black Iron Mountain as it charged into the grayish-blue smoke vortex.

"Another one." The "Luo Yuan" on the third-floor balcony smiled faintly.

He did not attempt to stop Dong Tianze, allowing him and the Black Iron Mountain to slip inside, shrouded in the divine might of the Celestial Phoenix.

Only Qi Qingsong, Zhuang Yuyan, and Fang Boxuan remained on the Sword Boat.

Fang Boxuan had been shrinking into a corner and not daring to make a move. When the Black Iron Mountain disappeared into the grayish-blue smoke vortex, he prepared to activate his secret escape technique.

"You two, I'll be going first!"

With a flash of blood-colored light, Fang Boxuan also vanished.

"Heh, just you two left." The man clicked his tongue. "You're so bent on killing me even though we're all fellow disciples of the Sword Pavilion. What a tragedy. Alas, you two are inner disciples, and I'm an outer disciple. Today, let this outer disciple have the honor of experiencing the swordsmanship of my senior brother and sister."

***

In a different part of the bizarre mist, a hundred-zhang-long ship, five times larger than the Sword Boat, stood battered and broken.

The once magnificent ship was riddled with holes and had clearly been through a fierce battle.

A nine-story structure as grand as a heavenly palace also stood on the luxurious ship, and a purple brocade flag with golden edges fluttered on the broad golden mast.

On the flag were four large, ancient characters that wrote "Boundless Sky Divine Kingdom."

A swirling vortex of grayish-blue smoke appeared on the deck of the ship.

Crack!

The violent turbulence of the vortex caused the damage to the giant ship to worsen.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Two figures emerged from the swirling smoke one after the other.

Pang Jian and Dong Tianze appeared on the giant ship, with only a few seconds between their arrival.

Pang Jian stared in shock at the four characters on the flag. "The Boundless Sky Divine Kingdom!"

Dong Tianze stood on the Black Iron Mountain and retracted the shadow of the Celestial Phoenix back into his Celestial Phoenix Imprint.

"What is this?" he asked, looking around in confusion.

There was no one on the giant ship.

Like their Sword Boat, the grand ship was anchored deep within the bizarre mist. The ship was so large they could not see its entirety under the shroud of the bizarre mist.

The pair could not see the ship's bow from where they stood at the stern.

"The person impersonating me as Luo Yuan likely came from this giant ship. The Boundless Sky Divine Kingdom." Pang Jian knitted his brows and said, "Boundless Sky is one of the Divine Kingdoms in the Eastern Land of the First World!"

Dong Tianze was taken aback. "Divine Kingdom?"

"This ship is from the Boundless Sky Divine Kingdom in the Eastern Land of the First World," Pang Jian said solemnly.

When he, Qi Qingsong, and Zhou Qingchen were drinking and chatting in his room early on in the journey, he learned the Eastern Land of the First World worked differently from the Western Loam, the Southern Gorge, and the Northern Ruin.

The Western Loam, the Southern Gorge, and the Northern Ruin were filled with sects, with cultivator factions being the main forces on these three continents.

The Eastern Land, on the other hand, was a unique place where kingdoms stood above sects. It was home to three Divine Kingdoms—Boundless Sky, Supreme Monad, and Primeval Pillar.

Each of the three Divine Kingdoms housed at least one True God, with some having more than one.

The three Divine Kingdoms often waged wars among themselves, though they also occasionally worked together to attack the Western Loam, the Southern Gorge, and the Northern Ruin.

The offspring of the True Gods in these Divine Kingdoms were known as Divine Sons and Divine Daughters.

A giant ship from the Boundless Sky Divine Kingdom floated in the depths of the bizarre mist outside Absolute Heaven with no living beings on board. The people on this ship had faced the same problem as they did—they were lost in the bizarre mist.

The man claiming to be Luo Yuan was likely the sole survivor of this giant ship.

"How did you get here?" Pang Jian asked when he came back to his senses. He stood on top of the Black Iron Mountain, facing Dong Tianze. "What's the situation on the Sword Boat?"

"When I left, Zhao Yuanqi had taken Zhou Qingchen away in her gourd, leaving Qi Qingsong, Zhuang Yuyan, and Fang Boxuan behind," Dong Tianze replied. "The rest were all killed."

Dong Tianze peered at the swirling grayish-blue smoke vortex below them.

"That man used this vortex to bring you in. He must be planning to deal with the others on the Sword Boat, before coming here to deal with you."

"Let's try to go back and join forces with Qi Qingsong and the others to kill him!" Pang Jian declared resolutely.

"Alright."

The Black Iron Mountain descended into the smoke vortex.

Waves of spatial turbulence crashed over them.

Their vision inside the grayish-blue smoke vortex was more limited than in the bizarre mist, and the Black Iron Mountain swayed dizzyingly, causing them to become disoriented and unable to tell north from south.

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