Trials of the Abyss

Qi Qingsong tossed his Blue Dream Sword aside and flew up with Lu Jie.

Dong Tianze's Celestial Phoenix Imprint had already shattered the golden light barrier that had previously blocked them, allowing Lu Jie and Qi Qingsong to cross through without issue.

They landed not far from Pang Jian on the Heavenly Roc Warship.

"Junior Brother Fu, he wants to watch as you probe Pang Jian's sea of consciousness," Lu Jie informed. "The Sword Pavilion worked with us to kill the Ghost Race before. We'll likely need to fight together again in the future. So, we have to be transparent and show everyone we're doing the right thing."

Fu Wangchen nodded. "Very well."

He continued wrapping Pang Jian's body with the black gauze he called the God-Blocking Divine Shroud, leaving only Pang Jian's face exposed.

"Pang Jian, I don't believe an Outer God has corrupted you!" Qi Qingsong shouted, casting a cold glare at the members of the Forsaken Expanse Sect. "Yes, Pang Jian is the master of those golden bees. However, Fu Wangchen wouldn't have been able to enter Absolute Heaven without those bees!"

Qi Qingsong pointed at the survivors from the Forsaken Expanse Sect. "All of you! If you hadn't entered Absolute Heaven, you'd still be unconscious. The power protecting you would've eventually run out, and you would've all died in the treacherous bizarre mist!"

Lu Jie and the others frowned.

"Pang Jian! Do you have any way to prove you have nothing to do with the Outer God from the Nether Abyss?" Qi Qingsong asked anxiously.

Prove it?

He had seen everything through the eyes of the golden bees—Dong Tianze's severe injuries, Zhou Qingchen being absorbed into Zhao Yuanqi's gourd, and Qi Qingsong's two desperate charges into the sky.

It no longer mattered whether or not it was a misunderstanding.

The seed of enmity between him and Fu Wangchen had already taken root.

Pang Jian was imprisoned and restrained. No amount of explaining would make any difference as he had no control over the situation.

So, he shook his head, unwilling to say another word.

"I'll know the truth soon enough," Fu Wangchen said coldly, holding up one end of the black gauze as he stared into Pang Jian's eyes. "Once the God-Blocking Divine Shroud wraps around your head, you'll lose all sense of the outside world. I'll then enter your sea of consciousness to uncover the truth.

"Do you have any last words?"

Pang Jian ignored Fu Wangchen and addressed Qi Qingsong, "Tell Senior Sister Zhuang to keep an eye on Dong Tianze. A Divine Guard is hiding in the shadows, waiting for an opportunity."

Pang Jian feared the hidden Divine Guard would take the opportunity to kill the heavily wounded Dong Tianze.

"Another Divine Guard?" Qi Qingsong was startled. "Don't worry, I know what to do! Pang Jian, he's just going to peer into your sea of consciousness and examine what you've experienced recently."

Pang Jian shook his head and remained silent, focusing on mobilizing the black turtle scute and the Leaves of Life.

His heart pounded wildly.

A blackish-yellow halo appeared around Pang Jian.

It was just as quickly snuffed out like a dying candle flame.

"It's useless, Pang Jian. Your struggle is futile. Don't worry, I only need to know the origin of those Nether Abyss Spirit Bees and see if there's any trace of an Outer God," Fu Wangchen said.

Whoosh!

Pang Jian tried to harness the power of the Leaves of Life, wondering if he could manipulate the ancient trees in the forest like Ka Zi had done.

"There's clearly something wrong here!" Fu Wangchen snorted.

He slapped Pang Jian's chest, sending a surge of spiritual power through the black gauze and destroying the life energy Pang Jian had been gathering.

"The abundant life energy in the Wood Race warrior you killed has also been refined into your body," Fu Wangchen said. "Pang Jian, you haven't just absorbed the divine consciousness of the Forest God—you've also been using its divine power! Don't you realize that power's been subtly influencing you?"

Fu Wangchen then finished wrapping Pang Jian's head with the black gauze, leaving only his eyes exposed.

The third eye hidden on Fu Wangchen's forehead slowly opened and fixed onto Pang Jian.

"I know you possess a pair of golden eyes formed from your golden divine sense. I'll use your golden eyes as a conduit to invade your sea of consciousness and extract your recent memories to determine whether you have colluded with the Nether Abyss.

"Now, open your eyes!" Fu Wangchen commanded in a low voice as a blinding light shot out from his third eye.

Even with his eyes tightly shut, it still felt like Pang Jian's deepest secrets were about to be unearthed and thoroughly dissected.

Fu Wangchen's third eye was clearly far superior to Dong Tianze's soul-searching technique!

My spiritual sea, Providence Mystic Reservoir Acupoint, black turtle scute, Leaves of Life, spatial bracelet…

Pang Jian ran through everything he had before finally directing his attention to the Gate of the Abyss.

Every other method he had racked his brains for had failed, and all his other artifacts had either been sealed or suppressed.

The only thing he had left to rely on was the bronze pendant!

His achievements and the ability to rear the four peculiar beings had all been thanks to the Gate of the Abyss his father had left for him.

Bee Sovereign! Pang Jian called out.

Shockingly, the Bee Sovereign replied to Pang Jian with clear, distinct words for the first time.

That man has absorbed too much of the Skull Crusher's divine consciousness without fully refining it. That divine consciousness is slowly corrupting him, though he remains unaware.

It's an extremely slow process, which is why he can retain his self-awareness. Truthfully, the real problem here lies with that man, regardless of corruption.

Master, please be cautious.

You have something on you that can break this situation.

A golden lump the size of a fist landed on the beehive floating in the bizarre mist of the bronze pendant.

The golden lump was nearly ten times larger than the golden bees, which were only the size of fingernails.

It folded its transparent wings and gazed at the world outside the bronze pendant with its wise compound eyes.

Golden bees appeared one after another in the bizarre mist surrounding Absolute Heaven.

Due to their small size, none of those in Absolute Heaven, nor the other three fragmented lands, noticed their presence.

I'm not strong enough right now, and the little ones can't help much either…

Master, you can use that item.

At that moment, Pang Jian abruptly realized the Bee Sovereign was referring to the sword token hanging at his waist!

Pang Jian's consciousness surged into the sword token.

The blue-robed rotund men were no longer in the silent world within the sword token, but Pang Jian could still sense a faint, yet overwhelmingly fierce sword intent.

Although the sword intent was barely detectable, it was incomparably domineering.

Help me, Pang Jian willed.

A hair-thin streak of brilliant sword light formed in the silent world within the sword token!

The deeply hidden, fierce sword intent swelled a thousandfold in the blink of an eye, transforming the thin streak into a vast river of blazing sword light!

Whoosh!

The sword token at Pang Jian's waist seemed to turn into an unmatched divine sword, radiating a light capable of shattering the heavens and tearing through all barriers!

Rip!

The radiant sword light pierced through the black gauze covering the sword token!

Brilliant streams of sword light burst out, tearing the God-Blocking Divine Shroud to shreds and slicing Fu Wangchen's hand holding the end of the black gauze.

Fu Wangchen's palm split open in a flow of blood. The droplets of blood shimmered like red crystals as he waved his hand.

"Li Zhaotian's leftover sword light!"

"That's a life-saving sword light!"

Lu Jie and the other members of the Forsaken Expanse Sect all stared at the terrifying sword intent emanating from Pang Jian with wide eyes.

"It's an ancient Outer God!" Fu Wangchen roared, summoning the hundred-zhang-tall ancient god Dharma Idol.

Screeches rang out across the Heavenly Roc Warship as hundreds of golden-winged rocs, formed from golden blood, flew out from the glowing mystical bird's bones.

They rushed toward the sword light surrounding Pang Jian, only to be reduced to fragments of golden light.

"God Suppression!" Fu Wangchen threw a punch at Pang Jian.

Boom!

The air around Pang Jian trembled with Fu Wangchen's explosive force.

The fabric of reality seemed on the verge of collapse.

More golden-winged rocs screeched as they launched themselves toward the sword light surrounding Pang Jian.

The ancient god Dharma Idol—sat on a lotus platform burning with karmic fire—started to crush the sword light.

Waves of immense divine power rippled outward as the Heavenly Roc Warship, Fu Wangchen, and the ancient god Dharma Idol simultaneously pressed down on Pang Jian.

Boom!

The black turtle scute's blackish-yellow defensive barrier crumbled.

Bang!

Pang Jian's hastily summoned protective shield shattered.

Waves of overwhelming force struck him, and Pang Jian was hurled into the sky like a lone leaf on a stormy sea.

"Pang Jian! Leave!" Qi Qingsong cried, summoning a spirit sword and slashing it across the sky to create a dreamlike sea.

Those gazing upon the azure sea were momentarily entranced as if falling into a dream.

Even Fu Wangchen could not resist the sea's dreamy allure.

It only took one glance at the illusory azure sea for Qi Qingsong's Dream Sword Technique to have Fu Wangchen in its captivating clutches.

Pang Jian's ribs creaked audibly as blood flowed from the corners of his mouth and nostrils.

"The one corrupted by Outer Gods isn't me—it's Fu Wangchen," Pang Jian choked out from high in the sky.

"Pang Jian!" Dong Tianze, Zhuang Yuyan, and Zhao Yuanqi cried in shock.

"Take care."

With that, Pang Jian used the black turtle scute to transform into a black streak of light and shoot toward the outer edges of Absolute Heaven.

Mustering up his remaining strength, he accelerated.

"Get out of my way!" Fu Wangchen sent a wave of golden light crashing down on Qi Qingsong, causing him to plummet toward a lake in Absolute Heaven like a kite with its string cut.

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