Trials of the Abyss

Qi Qingsong, Zhuang Yuyan, Dong Tianze, Zhou Qingchen, Zhao Yuanqi, and a golden bee were scattered casually across the uneven mountaintop of a mountain ridge near the edge of Absolute Heaven.

Zhao Yuanqi and Zhou Qingchen kept an eye on the three strange fragmented lands floating in the void.

Meanwhile, Qi Qingsong and Zhuang Yuyan focused on observing the many lake-filled regions within Absolute Heaven.

Several days ago, a warship shaped like a colorful seashell emerged from the vast bizarre mist.

The warship was known as the Sea God's Warship and the foreign race on board was the Sea Race.

Warriors from the Sea Race did not hesitate to engage in battle against Fu Wangchen and the human cultivators from the Abyss.

Qi Qingsong and his group did not participate in the battle. Instead, they watched the situation closely from the mountaintop.

The combined onslaught from the Forsaken Expanse Sect, the Demon Sect, the Celestial Lagoon Sect, the Skyveil Cliff Sect, as well as the noble families and rogue cultivators from the Second World, had initially overwhelmed the Sea Race warriors.

Many Sea Race warriors perished in the battle, and upon realizing they could not hold their ground, the survivors sought refuge in the water of the surrounding lakes.

Relying on their mastery of the water, Jiang Chao led the members of the Celestial Lagoon Sect to pursue the Sea Race—avoiding the deep lake where the Ice Armor Eel Dragon had previously emerged.

The other cultivators also entered the lakes to hunt down the foreign race invaders under Fu Wangchen's orders.

They never resurfaced.

Zhuang Yuyan had been watching the situation unfold and noticed that neither the human cultivators from the Abyss nor the Sea Race warriors left the lakes.

It was as if all the living beings that entered the lakes had been swallowed whole.

"Do the true horrors of this restricted area lie in those lakes?" Qi Qingsong glanced at the silent golden bee with a heavy heart and said, "According to Pang Jian, the Frozen Land is home to the Ice Race. They possess a divine artifact called the Heart of Winter, which the Ice Demon left behind.

"The Forbidden Land of the Thunder God is the battlefield where the Duke of Thunder from the Thunder Abyss fought several other Thunder Gods.

"Finally, the fiery fragmented land contains the body of a fallen Fire God.

"These three fragmented lands originated from different worlds. They once drifted in the bizarre mist and were only recently gathered here due to some unknown force.

"Each of the other three fragmented lands has its own mysteries, and Absolute Heaven is likely no exception.

"Perhaps..." he trailed off, expression turning grave. "Those who entered the lakes to pursue the Sea Race are probably doomed."

Zhuang Yuyan's face was clouded with worry as she added, "I have an even more pessimistic thought."

Dong Tianze, Zhao Yuanqi, and Zhou Qingchen turned to listen.

"Senior Sister, speak your mind," Qi Qingsong sighed. "There's nothing we can't handle. If worse comes to worst, we'll just retreat to the Sword Boat."

"Everyone avoided the lake with the Ice Armor Eel Dragon, but my concern is that similarly deadly creatures lurk in the other lakes as well," Zhuang Yuyan explained. "The Sea Race and those following Fu Wangchen likely encountered such creatures in those lakes."

"Fu Wangchen truly deserves to die!" Zhou Qingchen snorted coldly. "The Sea Race are from the Heavenly Sea World and are adept at water combat.

"They retreated into the lakes when they saw they couldn't win on land because they're confident in their ability to fight in the water. Jiang Chao and Fu Wangchen foolishly pursued them despite this.

"They're the ones who got everyone else killed!" Zhou Qingchen snapped with palpable fury.

"Someone's coming!" Zhuang Yuyan shot up into the air on her sword and used her Spirit Condensation Realm cultivation to scan the area below.

Wu Yuan from the Demon Sect emerged from behind some green pines and purple vines. When he saw Zhuang Yuyan, he visibly relaxed and ascended the mountain ridge.

Dong Tianze had feared it was the other Divine Guard and returned to his meditation once he realized it was Wu Yuan.

"That golden bee..." Wu Yuan peered at the bee under the watchful eyes of the group. "Can it communicate with Pang Jian?"

"What're you doing here?" Qi Qingsong asked with a sour expression.

"I entered one of the lakes but didn't dive to the bottom. I floated on the surface for a few hours and saw many corpses when I eventually dived back under.

"None of the corpses were Sea Race warriors, only human cultivators like us. Something felt amiss and I didn't want to go down any further, so I resurfaced.

"No one—not a single Sea Race warrior or anyone else—came out of any of the lakes after I did.

"I think Pang Jian was right. Something's wrong with Fu Wangchen of the Forsaken Expanse Sect. There's something off about every lake in this restricted area. The Sea Race also seems quite at ease underwater.

"So..." Wu Yuan added tentatively, "I want to either join your search for Pang Jian in the other fragmented lands or stay here for mutual protection."

"You trust that an Outer God hasn't corrupted Pang Jian?" Zhou Qingchen asked in surprise.

Wu Yuan nodded.

"What about Fang Xuan?" Zhuang Yuyan casually asked.

"Like the others, he entered a lake to chase down the Sea Race and hasn't come out."

"He's probably dead," Zhuang Yuyan said flippantly. After a moment of thought, she turned to ask the rest of the group, "He wants to join us. What do you all think?"

"That's fine by me." Zhou Qingchen, Zhao Yuanqi, and Dong Tianze nodded in agreement.

Qi Qingsong had past disagreements with Wu Yuan due to sect rivalries and was more reluctant to give in so readily.

After a brief silence, he asked coldly, "If Fu Wangchen survives and Pang Jian returns, whose side would you take if the two of them were forced into a life-and-death battle?"

"Pang Jian," Wu Yuan replied.

"Swear it upon the names of the long-lost True Gods of your Demon Sect! Only if you swear will I consider you one of us," Qi Qingsong demanded.

"Alright," Wu Yuan agreed before solemnly taking the oath.

Qi Qingsong's attitude softened.

Pointing at the fragmented lands in the distance, he explained, "That one is called the Frozen Land, that's the Forbidden Land of the Thunder God, and the third contains the corpse of a Fire God."

He then shared the information Pang Jian had relayed to them via the golden bee.

"The ruins of the Divine Court of Thunder, the Heart of Winter, and the body of a Fire God!" Wu Yuan exclaimed with a trembling heart.

He suddenly felt extremely fortunate that he had abandoned Fu Wangchen of the Forsaken Expanse Sect and instead chose to seek Pang Jian out.

***

Meanwhile, Pang Jian finally opened his eyes in the Frozen Land.

"I..." Pang Jian's voice rasped weakly.

"You've finally awakened."

Bing Yuan and Bing Ying, the two Rank Seven elders, stood at the lead before the other Ice Race elders and gazed at Pang Jian with hopeful, reverential eyes.

"The Ice Demon is dead." Pang Jian dropped a bombshell. "I saw the final remnants of the Ice Demon's divine soul within the Heart of Winter. I learned the truth about the Frozen Land through it, but its power was completely exhausted after.

"Allow me to tell you what happened."

Pang Jian narrated the past events while pulling out large quantities of Vicious Beast meat to replenish himself.

Scarlet-Eyed Demon Wolves, Bloodstreak Beasts, Goldrock Beasts, and Fiery Solar Beasts—Pang Jian indiscriminately tore into their meat without care for rank.

His priority was replenishing his severely depleted blood essence.

The fiery blood of the Scarlet-Eyed Demon Wolf and Fiery Solar Beast filled Pang Jian's fiery pool.

Pang Jian also took out spirit jades to absorb spiritual power while monitoring the now massive ice pool in his spiritual sea.

The Heart of Winter rested at the bottom of the ice pool. The crystal core inside the crystalline heart remained intact, but the golden bees had devoured the dense mist surrounding it—the divine consciousnesses stored for millennia.

He gazed at the enormous beehive in the Gate of the Abyss with a satisfied smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

"The God we worshiped has fallen."

"So, the Ice Race was born in Winter, in a world called the Mystic Frost World. But the Ice Race there has already been wiped out."

"The Frost Crystal God killed the protector of our race and took the Ice Demon's place as the new God."

The devastating news left the once-hopeful Ice Race elders stunned and lost.

As Pang Jian contemplated the changes within his body, his gaze shifted to the six towering ice pillars and the intricate patterns adorning them.

He could not help but feel strangely connected to the Frozen Land.

The Frozen Land would remain forever bound to him. After all, the Heart of Winter now resided in his ice pool and his Primordial Chaos Spiritual Sea was engraved on the six ice pillars.

This place seemed destined to be forever intertwined with him.

The wonders of his Primordial Chaos Spiritual Sea would likely cause further transformations in the Frozen Land, gradually restoring its missing laws of the Heavenly Dao.

Moreover, the Ice Race had also formed a close bond with him.

"Bing Ji!" Pang Jian called. "Try to leave the Frozen Land with your Spirit Avian."

Bing Ji stared at Pang Jian in shock.

The six Ice Race elders also eyed him in confusion.

Second Elder Bing Yuan was the first to react, repeating Pang Jian's command, "Do as he says! Bing Ji, try breaking through the barrier!"

"Understood!" Bing Ji mounted his Spirit Avian and shot toward the sky.

All the members of the Ice Race watched nervously, eyes fixed on Bing Ji as he approached the pale mist.

He then passed straight through it!

The Ice Race warrior and his Spirit Avian miraculously vanished from sight.

"The barrier is broken!"

"We're free!"

"From now on, our Ice Race can soar across the vast starry sky and witness the wonders of the outside world!"

Cheers erupted throughout the Frozen Land.

"You..."

Tears streamed down the faces of the elders as they gazed at Pang Jian with deep gratitude.

The death of Grand Elder Bing Lan was now seen as his own undoing.

"Prepare yourselves. We'll conquer the other fragmented lands outside one by one, starting with the Forbidden Land of the Thunder God," Pang Jian ordered.

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