Trials of the Abyss

Chapter 131: The First Step to the Upper Worlds!

The Divine Spirit Pagoda slowly ascended into the sky.

Pang Jian stood at the pagoda's entrance, peering down at Misty Swamp and gazing at where the little tree had taken root.

Vegetation thrived for miles, spreading in every direction with the miraculous little tree at the center.

At this rate, Misty Swamp would be filled with ferocious and bloodthirsty plants within the year.

The little tree would also grow to an astonishing height!

Pang Jian realized the contaminated Misty Swamp was the most suitable place for the little tree's growth.

He would someday return, but for now, the little tree would not leave Misty Swamp.

As Misty Swamp gradually shrank in the distance, Pang Jian quietly connected to the little tree and expressed his thoughts.

Despite growing up in the Solitary Mountain Range, he had no interactions with the people of the nearby Linshan Town and had no attachments to the Fourth World.

The few people he had connections with, like Zhou Qingchen, had already gone to the Third World from Eight Trigrams City. There was no one in the Fourth World that he cared about, except for this extraordinary little tree that emerged from the bronze pendant.

"I'll stay in touch with you often," he murmured.

***

A Divine Spirit Pagoda landed on a nameless fragmented land in the Third World under the cover of the night.

"We've arrived." Luo Hongyan opened her eyes and coldly ordered, "You all need to get off now."

The meditating members of the Shadow Specter Sect obediently stood up and glanced at the entrance of the Divine Spirit Pagoda.

Zhao Ling was the most straightforward. She was the first to step out of the Divine Spirit Pagoda and stand under the night sky of the Third World.

"I can see the stars and the moon!" she exclaimed softly as she gazed at the sky.

Her face shone with a crystalline radiance as it was bathed in the soft glow of the moon and the stars.

"The night in the Third World is much brighter than in the Fourth World! The starry sky with the moon is truly moving!"

Zhao Ling spread her arms as if embracing the starlight and moonlight.

Hearing her delight, Bai Wei and Bai Zhi hurried out of the Divine Spirit Pagoda, eyes gleaming as they followed in her footsteps and peered up at the night sky.

A crescent moon hung high with tiny stars scattered around it.

They had never seen such a sight before.

"It's so beautiful!"

"I can't believe we got to see the stars and the moon in our lifetimes!"

The two sisters spun around in joy, unable to contain their happiness.

Meng Qiulan, Wu Yi, and the Shadow Specter Sect's commanders also left the Divine Spirit Pagoda.

They too looked up at the night sky and curiously took in their surroundings.

Wu Yi tried to absorb the spiritual qi and sighed. "The spiritual qi here is pure, but...it's very sparse. There's no need to refine it as there are no impurities to remove, but there's not much of it."

The others tried it for themselves and soon revealed disappointed expressions when they realized what Wu Yi said was true.

"This is a nameless fragmented land. Naturally, it doesn't have much spiritual qi," Luo Hongyan said indifferently. "The Cosmic Skies Continent and Dark Abyss Continent have ten times this spiritual qi. The nearest place with denser spiritual qi is a group of islands called the Three Immortals Island. It's a more suitable place for you all to cultivate.

"Not long from now, a Cloud Sail will arrive. You'll need to pay fifty spirit stones to travel from here to the Three Immortals Island."

With that, the Divine Spirit Pagoda flew away.

"Keeping a stern face every day makes my face stiff," Luo Hongyan complained as she massaged her cheeks. She turned to face Pang Jian, lips curving into a radiant smile. "I didn't want to get too involved with them. I had to treat them coldly to avoid giving them unrealistic hopes."

Pang Jian nodded lightly.

The Divine Spirit Pagoda stopped at the opposite end of the fragmented land.

"This fragmented land is even smaller than Divine Fortune. Cloud Sails occasionally come by because of the few volcanoes here," Luo Hongyan explained.

Pang Jian peered down and saw several medium-sized volcanoes on the hard, rocky ground.

Hot lava flowed from one of the volcanoes, winding down through the valleys of the mountains and branching out in every direction.

Surprise flashed in Pang Jian's eyes.

"I found this place specifically for you!" Luo Hongyan smiled sweetly. "I left them on the other side of this fragmented land. We'll stay in this volcanic area for a while. After some time, we'll also take the Cloud Sail to the Three Immortals Island. That place is occupied, so it's inconvenient to go with the Divine Spirit Pagoda."

As she explained, the Divine Spirit Pagoda descended.

She then let out a small chuckle and pushed Pang Jian out.

Pang Jian was startled. He hastily circulated his energy and protected himself with spiritual power.

Boom!

His feet felt numb from falling tens of meters. Surprisingly, the rocky ground beneath him did not crack.

Luo Hongyan's laughter echoed from the Divine Spirit Pagoda. "You stay here. I'll return after finding a place to hide the Divine Spirit Pagoda."

"Alright," Pang Jian acknowledged, squinting as he watched the Divine Spirit Pagoda fly away into the night.

***

On the other side of the fragmented land, Zhao Ling and the others watched as the Divine Spirit Pagoda flew into the distance.

"The Divine Spirit Pagoda left."

"They're gone."

Everybody thought Pang Jian and Luo Hongyan had left the fragmented land they were on.

"Everyone, keep this in mind. We must keep the Divine Spirit Pagoda and those siblings a secret!" Meng Qiulan reminded solemnly. "We owe them a debt of gratitude!"

Wu Yi nodded. "That's right. Without their help, we would've died in Divine Fortune. They saved our lives and brought us to the Third World. We don't want to cause them any trouble."

"Yes, let's take this time to get familiar with our surroundings. When the Cloud Sail arrives, we'll head to the Three Immortals Island," Zhao Ling said.

The group started to survey the fragmented land.

"Master, we've reached the late stage of the Meridian Opening Realm," Bai Zhi softly whispered to Meng Qiulan.

Meng Qiulan was stunned. "You two have finally shown some promise."

"Hall Master Zhao, we've also reached the late stage of the Meridian Opening Realm. We're just missing one ingredient for the bone forging, marrow cleansing process," One of Zhao Ling's loyal commanders said softly.

Zhao Ling was taken aback. Unexpectedly, it seemed everyone's cultivation had advanced in the two months they had hidden in Misty Swamp.

She, Meng Qiulan, and Wu Yi had all broken through to the late stage of the Marrow Cleansing Realm and were in the process of refining their blood.

They had obtained the beast blood, beast meat, spirit jades, and spirit stones from the Blood Moon Sect beast-hunting sailboat. These they sent to their Sect Leader, Han Zhiyuan, through the Ghost Altar, in exchange for him protecting the people they cared about.

Believing they were doomed, they had traded most of their spirit material, leaving almost nothing behind for themselves. Little did they know they would escape and arrive in the Third World.

"I know all of you need spirit materials for the marrow cleansing process." With an embarrassed expression, Zhao Ling said, "After giving what I had to our Sect Leader, I'm now short on resources myself. I don't even have enough beast blood for my own cultivation."

Wu Yi shook his head and sighed. "Who would've thought we'd survive!"

"Let's go to the Three Immortals Island first," Meng Qiulan suggested. "Once we're there, we can figure out how to get spirit stones."

***

Several days passed in the blink of an eye, with Pang Jian eventually finding a cave inside a volcanic crater to cultivate the Earth Blaze Technique.

The volcano's crater resembled a sharp spire and had boiling lava below. Fortunately, the lava did not bubble violently, making it relatively safe.

Lining the sides of the crater were several man-made caves, indicating many others had been here before.

Luo Hongyan told Pang Jian that this nameless fragmented land attracted many rogue cultivators due to its volcanoes and the presence of minerals like Earth Blaze Stones.

Some rogue cultivators came to mine these minerals to sell on the Three Immortals Island. Others, like Pang Jian, came to cultivate their special offensive techniques that required this unique environment.

Once they had mastered their techniques and filled themselves with earthflame energy, they would leave with the Earth Blaze Stones.

Whoosh!

Luo Hongyan landed gracefully.

"The members of the Shadow Specter Sect have boarded a Cloud Sail to the Three Immortals Island," she informed. "The Three Immortals Island consists of three larger fragmented lands connected by stone bridges. It attracts many rogue cultivators and has a decent trade fair selling various spirit materials."

Pang Jian mulled over her words for a long moment, then said, "Soon, I'll attempt to break through to the Innate Realm."

Luo Hongyan's eyes sparkled, and she smiled brightly. "Now that we're in the Third World, we can purchase cultivation materials ourselves without using the Ghost Altar. You can focus on your cultivation. I'll find the spirit materials and techniques suitable for you."

She then took out three technique manuals and tossed them to Pang Jian.

"I found these three techniques for you over the past few days. They involve the Radiant Sun Sect and the Star River Alliance. They're all related to the sun, moon, and stars, so take some time to study them.

"Don't worry about me. I've been going around at night with the Divine Spirit Pagoda to rob people."

Whoosh!

A hazy blood-colored mist surrounded Luo Hongyan, transforming her into a person with a cold face and fierce eyes.

She looked like Dong Tianze!

Luo Hongyan laughed mischievously, returning to her normal appearance as she explained, "This is a rudimentary Mirage Flower Technique. I've been using the Divine Spirit Pagoda to wander around as Dong Tianze so everyone will think it's the work of the Sinister Soul Temple. I'm deliberately causing trouble and putting them in a difficult situation!"

Luo Hongyan's gleeful laughter could still be heard as she flew away.

Pang Jian was dumbfounded.

Luo Hongyan left him here and then used the Divine Spirit Pagoda to rob nearby cultivators while disguised as Dong Tianze. This would undoubtedly cause misunderstandings for the Sinister Soul Temple.

"Just ignore her," Pang Jian muttered to himself.

He picked up the manuals and looked over the titles: Primordial Sun Technique, Starflow Technique, and Lunar Edge Technique.

Luo Hongyan had carefully selected these techniques to help him harness the power of the stars, sun, and moon within him.

Pang Jian opened a manual and started to read.

***

On the Dark Abyss Continent, Han Zhiyuan approached Dong Tianze.

"Go to the Three Immortals Island and find out who's robbing rogue cultivators in your name," he ordered with a frown. "The rogue cultivators controlling the Three Immortals Island are extremely resentful and are causing trouble for the Cult Leader."

Dong Tianze looked utterly bewildered.