Trials of the Abyss

Chapter 162: Nurturing the Black Turtle

Pang Jian examined the ice crystal horn inside cave dwelling number fifty-six and nodded in satisfaction. It was twice the length of his arm and came together with several buckets of thick, ice-blue blood.

The cave was now bone-chillingly cold, and Pang Jian felt like he was once again sitting on the altar in Ice Rock City.

What rich, pure cold energy! Pang Jian clicked his tongue and involuntarily shivered, his eyes brightened.

A Rank Seven Vicious Beast!

Having sensed the value of the horn, Pang Jian had instructed the Giant Abyssal Serpent to swallow and deliver it to him.

Rank Seven Vicious Beasts possess combat strength comparable to a cultivator in the Soul Wandering Realm, a level above the Spirit Condensation Realm.

Even the sect leaders and elders of the five major sects in the Third World were only in the Spirit Condensation Realm.

This thing must be worth a fortune.

Pang Jian was exhilarated.

He was short on funds because of Luo Hongyan's sudden disappearance. Even if he found rare spirit materials, he could not afford them.

If Han Ting had not been there today, he would not have been able to get even a single bottle of Mind Soothing Pills.

Therefore, after sending the Solar Essence Stones, Gold Obsidian, and Thunderstruck Wood to the Celestial Maiden, he had the Giant Abyssal Serpent swallow the horn of a Rank Seven Ice Crystal Beast alongside a large amount of its blood.

He could now exchange these items for spirit stones.

After some thought, he placed the Ice Crystal Beast's horn and five buckets of light blue blood into his spatial bracelet, causing the intense cold in the cave to disappear.

Glancing at the remaining half-bucket of blood, Pang Jian hesitated briefly before picking it up and drinking it in large gulps.

Pang Jian turned into an ice sculpture after drinking most of the blood, reminiscent of when he sat on the altar in Ice Rock City. The bone-chilling cold energy, mixed with abundant blood essence, dispersed from his stomach.

Activating the Qi Nurturing Divine Cauldron Art, the strange ice pool in his spiritual sea expanded rapidly as the cold energy from the Rank Seven Ice Crystal Beast's blood flowed into it, and the ice on his body gradually melted.

His flesh and blood were also slowly refined due to the large amount of blood essence. However, his body only absorbed a small fraction of it as he quickly encountered a bottleneck.

Pang Jian did not have a sophisticated body-strengthening technique, so he could not fully utilize this abundant blood essence, and the surplus wandered his body without being absorbed.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The excess blood essence flowed into the bronze pendant on his chest.

Elsewhere, the half-asleep black turtle took a deep breath, eagerly absorbing the blood essence from Pang Jian.

The black turtle...

Pang Jian had a sudden epiphany.

Placing the bronze pendant on his palm, he connected to the black turtle while silently calling forth the Mirror Tunnel in his mind. Radiant light rippled out, and he threw the bucket with the remaining Rank Seven Ice Crystal Beast's blood into the light.

Crack!

He heard the wooden bucket split as the light blue blood materialized within the black turtle's mouth.

The previously hibernating black turtle was invigorated as it eagerly gulped down the blood of the Rank Seven Ice Crystal Beast.

Rocks cracked deep within the black turtle's fragmented land, splitting apart as it started to grow at an astonishing rate.

So, the abundant blood essence in the blood of a Rank Seven Vicious Beast is actually extremely beneficial to the black turtle.

Pang Jian was astonished.

The Celestial Maide had slain the Rank Seven Ice Crystal Beast to gift it to the Giant Abyssal Serpent out of guilt for causing it to lose weight.

The Giant Abyssal Serpent's new owner could slay Rank Seven Ice Crystal Beasts, so Pang Jian knew it would not lack food in the future. Given he had provided many spirit materials, taking a portion of the Rank Seven Ice Crystal Beast's blood from the Giant Abyssal Serpent as compensation only seemed fair.

Hm?

Dense cold energy and pure spiritual qi appeared in his spiritual sea. The ice pool rapidly expanded once more!

The black turtle only needed the abundant blood essence and had returned the unused cold energy from the blood to Pang Jian.

You're quite considerate. Pang Jian nodded in satisfaction.

Although he had exhausted all the Rank Seven Ice Crystal Beast's blood he had, the size of the ice pool in his spiritual sea had doubled!

After reaching the Innate Realm, most cultivators abandon the pursuit of refining and strengthening their physical bodies and instead focus on expanding their spiritual sea, attuning themselves more closely to the spiritual qi of heaven and earth, and refining their divine sense, Pang Jian mused.

The Qi Practicing Realm, Meridian Opening Realm, and Marrow Cleansing Realm were the three essential stages for cultivators to build a solid foundation.

Body refinement was no longer a priority after advancing to the Innate Realm, though some sects like the Blood Moon Sect still emphasized the benefits of a strong body. These sects had secret techniques for body refinement that allowed cultivators to continue strengthening their bodies even after reaching the Innate Realm.

Pang Jian's Qi Nurturing Divine Cauldron Art did not include techniques for body refinement after the Innate Realm, as it adhered to mainstream cultivation methods.

However, his body had been tempered by the essence of the Celestial Phoenix and the life energy in the three leaves in his chest. Thus, he felt he had unlimited potential for further physical enhancement and had no intention of giving up on body refinement.

I need to find a body refinement technique in the coming days.

Pang Jian realized then that he had been cooped up in his cave dwelling for quite some time, and Han Ting had not appeared for her daily healing session. Feeling stifled, he pushed open the stone door and stepped out of his cave dwelling.

The night sky was bright with the light of the moon and stars. As Pang Jian gazed at the clear sky, he tried to use the Qi Nurturing Divine Cauldron Art to draw in stellar and lunar energy. Unfortunately, like his previous attempts on Gao Yuan's Cloud Sail, the efficiency was significantly lower than cultivating inside the copper chest.

"Han Ting, you'll regret this," Zhang Bin's voice rang out from the adjacent cave dwelling.

Looking over in astonishment, Pang Jian saw Zhang Bin step out of cave dwelling number fifty-seven with a sullen expression on his face.

"Regret? I'll never regret anything because of you, Zhang Bin!" Han Ting followed after him. Smiling coldly, she said, "I wish Fang Xin could hear what you just said about her throwing herself at you and how you reluctantly accepted. And about how you don't truly like her.

"Fang Xin risked everything for you, even sneaking an attack on me from behind, yet you have the nerve to say such things! Disgusting! Get lost, I'll never let someone like you have your way!"

Han Ting spat in disdain, her eyes filled with loathing.

"Good! Very good!" Zhang Bin nodded heavily, eyes brimming with murderous intent. "Take good care of yourself then!"

With that, he turned, intending to leave before his pride was wounded further.

"Zhang Bin!" Han Ting called out, making him pause.

She sensuously walked over to Pang Jian and warmly wrapped her arms around his to press her soft, firm chest against his arm.

Zhang Bin's eyes flared with rage.

Han Ting beamed. "What you desire but can never have, I gave him a few days ago. Pang Jian comes from a noble family in the upper world, a status you could never match. I would rather be his concubine, or even be used by him for nothing than let a scum like you have me!"

"Han Ting, you're such a—a slut!" Zhang Bin was audibly grinding his teeth.

"You're absolutely right. I'm a slut for Pang Jian! I like it. What're you going to do about that?" Han Ting laughed. Her lips curved into a smug smile as she pressed closer to Pang Jian. "I like being his slut. I enjoy sleeping with him and serving him. I would never let a disgusting dog like you touch even a single toe on my foot!"

"Bitch, let's see how you survive after leaving the First Peak of the Primordial Wilderness!"

With that, Zhang Bin turned and walked away. He feared his rage would drive him to break Old Monster Cao's rules if he stayed.

"Come on, let's get intimate in your cave." Han Ting pulled Pang Jian toward his cave dwelling and slammed the stone door shut.

After Pang Jian and Han Ting were gone, the stone door of cave dwelling number fifty-five next door was pushed open.

"Pang Jian, so Little Brother's name is Pang Jian. I've served those siblings for so long, and they never told me their real names. A woman's charm is truly something." Gao Yuan sighed enviously.

He had long suspected something between the two and had quietly opened his door to eavesdrop when he heard Han Ting shouting. What he overheard had confirmed his suspicions.

The coveted Han Ting had given herself to Pang Jian and even openly admitted she enjoyed being with him.

Little Brother is from a noble family in the upper world. With such a background, it's no wonder Han Ting willingly threw herself at him. Gao Yuan nodded sagely. Han Ting is quite clever. She knows exactly how to secure a connection with a disciple from a noble family.