Trials of the Abyss

Chapter 146: Obsessed with Cultivation

Pang Jian's heart surged with excitement.

The Innate Realm!

Unexpectedly, a single session of deep meditation had allowed him to unknowingly break through the bottleneck of his cultivation realm and advance to the Innate Realm!

Pang Jian closed his eyes and elatedly noted that the rate of his absorption of the spiritual qi of heaven and earth had increased several times over.

He was overjoyed.

Whoosh!

Whoosh! Whoosh!

He unleashed several Lunar Edges to exhaust some of the spiritual power in his spiritual sea then took out a spirit stone to replenish it. In the blink of an eye, the spirit stone was drained.

Discarding the drained spirit stone, he took a moment to marvel at the immense difference in his abilities after his breakthrough.

Every aspect of my body has improved!

Advancing from the Marrow Cleansing Realm to the Innate Realm had expanded his spiritual sea and increased the speed at which spiritual power flowed through his body several times. Additionally, his efficiency in absorbing both the spiritual qi of heaven and earth; and the spiritual power from spirit stones and spirit jades had significantly improved.

He clicked his tongue in amazement then proceeded to examine his spiritual sea.

The ice pool in his spiritual sea was several times larger than the adjacent fiery pool and contained a vast amount of cold energy.

Cold energy and lunar energy...

An idea sparked in his mind. He attempted to combine the cold energy from the ice pool with lunar energy and spiritual power, forming a new Lunar Edge.

Whoosh!

A brand-new Lunar Edge appeared among the ones he had previously unleashed. Its dazzling brilliance stood out!

Its pure, gem-like luster exuded a sense of icy elegance.

If the other Lunar Edges were ice flowers, this one was their king. It was stunningly radiant and exceptionally prominent.

Luo Hongyan's bright eyes sparkled as she watched.

Gao Yuan was also astonished, exclaiming, "What concentrated and refined spiritual power!"

Gao Yuan felt confident he could withstand Pang Jian's first round of Lunar Edges without suffering severe injury. However, this new Lunar Edge felt exceptionally sharp and emitted an icy chill that seemed capable of freezing his soul and bones!

Gao Yuan was truly amazed. He likely could not endure if several of those Lunar Edges surrounded him.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

This newest Lunar Edge cut through the previous Lunar Edges like a knife through butter. In an instant, only the dazzling Lunar Edge remained, hovering in front of his chest.

Pang Jian's eyes brightened.

Primordial Chaos Spiritual Sea. Sea of Turmoil.

He recalled Li Yujing telling him about a mysterious type of spiritual sea that could adapt to all kinds of energies: the spiritual qi of heaven and earth, Profound Yin energy, fiery energy, poisonous energy, and even the murky energy from the Fifth World.

His unique spiritual sea allowed him to diverge from the conventional approach of adhering to a single cultivation method or energy source. Instead, he could integrate multiple paths and energies seamlessly. Gathering these different energies worked to his advantage and seemed to be the key to his breakthroughs!

Despite reaching the peak of the Marrow Cleansing Realm and meticulously refining his muscles, bones, internal organs, and blood, there was no opportunity to break through to the Innate Realm.

Only after he sat on the altar and absorbed its cold energy did he advance to the Innate Realm. In other words, the true key to this breakthrough was in gathering different energies into his Primordial Chaos Spiritual Sea!

He could also utilize his Primordial Chaos Spiritual Sea to blend energies with similar attributes to elevate his offensive techniques. For instance, combining lunar and cold energy or fiery and solar energy greatly boosted his attack power.

Pang Jian finally understood the cultivation method most suitable for him.

Taking out his Startling Slaughter Spear, he rotated his wrist to draw a circular arc. He channeled a mix of lunar energy, cold energy, and spiritual power through the spear shaft.

"Silver Crescent!"

Whoosh!

A brilliant, silver full moon formed!

Despite the dismal weather hiding the bright moon and twinkling stars in the sky, a chillingly radiant moon had appeared above the Cloud Sail!

Its radiant glow caused Gao Yuan to shiver uncontrollably as a chill seeped into his body.

Luo Hongyan abruptly stood up, her beautiful eyes flashing in surprise. This silver moon contained a terrifying power and even held traces of the profound essence of the Dao.

Just as Qi Qingsong’s sword light contained a sharp sword intent, this chilling silver moon contained an innate coldness that slowed the blood circulation of those gazing at it, causing them to shiver.

"You!" Luo Hongyan exclaimed softly.

Pang Jian held the Lunar Edge and the radiant silver moon in each hand. They then disappeared into his palms.

The energies used to form the Lunar Edge and the silver moon were broken down and reabsorbed into his spiritual sea. This was something Pang Jian could not do in the Marrow Cleansing Realm!

"You never cease to amaze me," Luo Hongyan said, staring blankly at Pang Jian.

His natural talent sent a wave of defeat through her and she sat down dejectedly.

She had once been a dazzling cultivation genius in the upper worlds, nurtured with all the resources her sect could muster, with dedicated protectors accompanying her.

Despite this, her cultivation insight back when she was at this stage of her cultivation was hardly comparable to Pang Jian's. In terms of combat prowess, she was only further outclassed!

"Is everybody from the upper worlds this terrifying?" Gao Yuan muttered.

Gao Yuan had doubted Pang Jian's identity earlier when he addressed Dong Tianze as Sect Leader and said he avenged the members of the Shadow Specter Sect. He suspected that Pang Jian also came from the lower world like Dong Tianze.

However, these doubts had been erased after witnessing Pang Jian's abilities. Even if Pang Jian had been to the lower world, it would have been because his elders assigned him a training arrangement there.

Advancing to the Innate Realm by becoming one with the world, effortlessly controlling his power, and even reabsorbing the Lunar Edge and silver moon at will were all techniques far beyond what the seven major clans of the Fourth World could teach.

Even the geniuses of the Third World from the Radiant Sun Sect, the Blood Moon Sect, the Red Mountain Sect, and the Star River Alliance were unlikely to display such breathtaking prowess upon advancing to the Innate Realm.

"Advancing to the Innate Realm has brought me significant improvement," Pang Jian said with a smile.

He’s smiling again... Luo Hongyan's beautiful eyes lit up. Fondly rolling her eyes, she thought, He's truly obsessed with cultivation.

The first time Luo Hongyan had ever seen Pang Jian smile was when he infused the silver moon with lunar energy and created a new silver moon.

This time, Pang Jian smiled because he had created an even more wondrous silver moon by infusing it with cold energy.

Both times he had grasped the subtleties of a new technique and discovered a combination of different energies that affected the silver moon. Mastering a stronger offensive technique was the only thing that brought him true joy.

Killing enemies such as Zhu Yuanxi, being gifted the sisters by Meng Qiulan, receiving praise from Zhao Ling, or acquiring a mountain of spirit stones did not move his heart or make him genuinely smile.

I should find him more exquisite techniques to make his combat prowess even more formidable, so he can continue to be happy, Luo Hongyan thought to herself.

Glancing down at the Three Immortal Islands below, Pang Jian noted how the edges of the three islands appeared to align perfectly with one another.

The Three Immortal Islands.

Ice Rock Island, Gold Stone Island, Cloud Island.

Ice Rock City, Gold Stone Mountain Range, Cloud Wilderness.

Pang Jian's eyebrows twitched as he realized the strange visions he saw while becoming one with the world were real events from the past!

The Gold Stone Mountain Range became Gold Stone Island and the Cloud Wilderness became Cloud Island. These three fragmented lands were originally one whole piece!

When the Thunder Dragon killed Chieftain Yan Shan, it also destroyed the land the one-eyed giants lived on, splitting it into three lands now known as the Three Immortal Islands.

The Thunder Dragon... Pang Jian frowned.

He wanted to ask Luo Hongyan if a terrifying Thunder Dragon was active in the Dragon Lair Sect of the Second World but held himself back. Gao Yuan was under the impression they were from the upper world and Pang Jian did not want to ruin their cover.

Sitting down, Pang Jian then took out a Mind Soothing Pill and swallowed it. He intended to check on the discussions between the Celestial Maiden and the one-eyed giants in Split Sky City through the traitor in the Fifth World.

As he activated the Qi Nurturing Divine Cauldron Art, a strong sense of fatigue came from the black turtle. It seemed like the black turtle had expended a lot of energy and desperately wished to fall back asleep but had stubbornly waited for him to initiate contact!

Confused, Pang Jian established a connection with the black turtle and noticed the spiritual qi of that nameless fragmented land had become much thinner.

Astonishment briefly filled him before he remembered the black turtle could transfer him spiritual qi through the bronze pendant.

Pang Jian had not only absorbed the spiritual qi from Ice Rock Island when breaking through to the Innate Realm but also the spiritual qi from the black turtle!

His spiritual sea was much larger than those of the same cultivation realm, thus the spiritual qi required for his breakthrough was also much greater!

If he had relied solely on the sparse spiritual qi of Ice Rock Island and did not have the black turtle's assistance, he likely would not have succeeded in his breakthrough. Even if he did succeed, it would have taken far longer than five days!

He vowed to repay the black turtle.

I'll remember this. Rest well.

The black turtle fell into a deep sleep.