Trials of the Abyss

Chapter 172: Opening the Providence Mystic Reservoir Acupoint!

Qi Qingsong was extremely frustrated. Even though his cultivation had advanced to the Profound Abode Realm and he had regained his position as an inner disciple of the Sword Pavilion, he could not obtain rare spirit materials from Rank Seven Vicious Beasts or Spirit Beasts.

He would need to break through to the Soul Wandering Realm to hunt a Rank Seven Vicious Beast alone and, even then, it would be better to have one or two people assisting him.

He knew Pang Jian's character. The precious spirit materials were undoubtedly in Pang Jian's possession!

He has spirit materials from a Rank Seven Scarlet-Eyed Demon Wolf, a Rank Seven Double-Faced Ghost Spider, and a Rank Seven Blood Lizard!

After some thought, he concluded Pang Jian had likely obtained the rare spirit materials from Eight Trigrams City!

Rank Seven Vicious Beasts and Spirit Beasts were almost nonexistent in the Third and Fourth Worlds. Even if Pang Jian had somehow located some, his cultivation realm was not high enough for him to be able to hunt them.

Qi Qingsong took a deep breath and cursed, "I would've staunched my bleeding and stayed in Eight Trigrams City for longer if I'd known. It would've been great to get a share of the loot too!"

He had been pressed for expensive cultivation resources since advancing to the Profound Abode Realm. Even after accumulating spirit stones for a long time, he only had about three hundred thousand.

Even one of Pang Jian's rare spirit materials was worth more than that!

Moreover, a spirit sword he recently set his sights on cost well over a million spirit stones. He had been hanging around in the Third World as of late, trying to find ways to gather more spirit stones.

"Well, kind of," Pang Jian replied ambiguously before tossing the token into his spatial bracelet.

Five hundred thousand, four hundred thousand, and three hundred fifty thousand spirit stones... Pang Jian mentally noted as he placed the rare spirit materials into his spatial bracelet.

He carefully separated the barrels of Vicious Beasts' blood and the venom of the Double-Faced Ghost Spider to avoid accidentally mixing them up, leaving a single barrel of the Scarlet-Eyed Demon Wolf's blood out before him.

The blood of a Rank Seven Vicious Beast...

Ignoring the pungent smell, Pang Jian lifted the large barrel of blood and gulped it down. The sensation of a volcano erupting within his internal organs filled him as the thick Scarlet-Eyed Demon Wolf's blood entered his stomach.

The wave of blood essence surged forth with an energy infused with sulfurous magma!

Pang Jian was unaware that the Scarlet-Eyed Demon Wolf, also known as the Scarlet Flame Demon Wolf, resided near volcanoes. A Rank Seven Scarlet-Eyed Demon Wolf could dive into scorching magma pools, tempering its body with the unique energy of the magma, enhancing its bloodline and internal organs.

Luckily, this is me we're talking about...

Rather than being frightened like most people, Pang Jian was actually excited.

He activated the Qi Nurturing Divine Cauldron Art and directed the violent fiery energy into his spiritual sea.

The fiery pool instantly started to expand!

The violent infusion of fiery energy was filling the pool!

At the same time, the rich blood essence within the Rank Seven Vicious Beast's blood was rampaging through his flesh and internal organs like ferocious scarlet wolves.

The Grand Providence Sacred Body!

Pang Jian focused the rampaging blood essence into streams to target the acupoint beneath his heart. It felt like a pack of Scarlet-Eyed Demon Wolves were relentlessly battering the fortress of his acupoint with unstoppable ferocity.

His face twisted in pain as he let out an involuntary hiss of agony.

Opening the Providence Mystic Reservoir Acupoint was as painful as the marrow-cleansing process he had endured in the endless darkness of Eight Trigrams City. However, he knew it was necessary to cultivate the Grand Providence Sacred Body.

He had to endure!

The veins on his chest bulged and streams of scarlet light converged on the acupoint beneath his heart. If a Soul Wandering Realm expert were to take a closer look, they would have seen miniature scarlet wolves in the streams of scarlet light.

Pang Jian roared in pain.

Boom!

A thunderous sound reverberated from his chest, and the surging blood essence madly poured into the newly opened acupoint.

The Providence Mystic Reservoir Acupoint has been opened!

Despite the horrific expression on his face from the excruciating pain, he could not help but grin in satisfaction.

Pang Jian probed a blood mist within the Providence Mystic Reservoir Acupoint beneath his heart.

It was the blood essence!

The blood mist grew thicker and denser as streams of scarlet light poured into the Providence Mystic Reservoir Acupoint.

Before Pang Jian could fully comprehend the mysteries of the Grand Providence Sacred Body, an urgent knocking came on the stone door.

Bang bang bang!

"Pang Jian!" Qi Qingsong called anxiously. "Today's the second day of the trade fair. You'd better hurry if you want to sell your spirit materials! Half the day's already gone, and you're still holed up in your cave. What're you thinking?"

Qi Qingsong realized Pang Jian had likely tossed the token back into his spatial bracelet after several failed attempts to contact him through it. With time running out, Qi Qingson eventually decided to call on him in person.

"It seems quite some time has passed," Pang Jian muttered, frowning as he hurriedly got up and opened the stone door.

Qi Qingsong cast him a long look. "What were you doing holed up in there?"

"Cultivating," Pang Jian calmly replied.

Peering inside the cave to find nothing unusual, Qi Qingsong said, "Come on, I'll go with you to make sure no one swindles you."

"Who would swindle me?" Pang Jian was baffled.

"Lady Hua! Well, it's not exactly swindling. It's more about an information imbalance between the two of you," Qi Qingsong explained as they made their way up to the trading halls. "She plans to sell your Rank Seven Ice Crystal Beast horn to a rogue cultivator named Old Ghost Dongye double the original price.

"Old Ghost Dongye instantly started making his way over from the Cosmic Skies Continent when he heard the news. Not that you'll meet him. Even if he hurries, it'll take him half a month to reach the Primordial Wilderness. By then, we'll have traveled far away."

Pang Jian was astonished at this information. It seemed spirit materials from high-ranked Vicious Beasts could fetch higher prices when sold to the right buyers.

The pair arrived at the trading hall just past noon.

"It's Qi Qingsong from the Sword Pavilion!"

"Pang Jian!"

Many cultivators exclaimed in shock when they saw the two arriving together.

The elegantly dressed Lady Hua approached them with a charming smile and greeted them cheerfully, "Qingsong, are you acquainted with this young man?"

"Is there anything you don't know about in the Primordial Wilderness?" Qi Qingsong teased with a playful grin, sneaking glances at the fair skin on Lady Hua's chest. "Didn't you figure it out when I went to look for Pang Jian on the First Peak?"

Although aware of Qi Qingsong's roguish glances, Lady Hua did not get angry. Instead, she simply continued to smile warmly as she guided them.

"Nonsense. I don't have time to pry into your private matters. You're late today. All the good stuff has already been sold. What's left might not interest you." She then added coquettishly, "Qingsong, tomorrow's trade fair will be personally hosted by Old Man Cao, so make sure to come early."

Qi Qingsong smiled. "I'm just here to accompany Pang Jian. I'm not looking to buy anything in particular."

I'm not well-off. Even if I found some rare treasure I liked, I likely couldn't afford it, Qi Qingson thought, casting a slightly resentful glance at Pang Jian with a quiet sigh.

He was an inner disciple of the Sword Pavilion in the Second World. It was deeply frustrating that he was not as wealthy as a young hunter from the Fourth World.

"Accompanying Pang Jian..." A peculiar light flashed in Lady Hua's eyes.

She had looked into Pang Jian's background after he sold the horn of a Rank Seven Ice Crystal Beast and bought the Grand Providence Sacred Body manual and Soul Nourishing Pills.

She learned Pang Jian had arrived at the Primordial Wilderness with the captured woman. He was staying in cave dwelling number fifty-six on the nineteenth floor of the First Peak and was set to leave on a Cloud Sail after tomorrow's trade fair if nothing unexpected happened.

According to her sources, Pang Jian was a disciple of a noble family from the upper worlds and was acquainted with Jiang Li, Zhao Yuanqi's senior sister. Qi Qingsong even went out of his way to visit him.

The corners of Lady Hua's lips tilted down slightly. Old Man Cao captured that woman and is going to let the Blood Moon Sect and the Sinister Soul Temple draw lots to have her for a million spirit stones. There shouldn't be any problems, right?

With these worries racing through her mind, Lady Hua pulled Qi Qingsong aside, and raising an alluring eyebrow, asked, "Qingsong, are you close with Pang Jian? Old Man Cao and I have treated you well during your time here. You know how reckless Old Man Cao can be..."

She blinked expectantly, wordlessly hinting at Luo Hongyan being captured by Old Monster Cao.

"I'm very close with Pang Jian." Qi Qingsong smiled brightly.

Rogue cultivators like Old Monster Cao and Lady Hua in the Third World did not matter much to him.

It would not take him long to reach the Spirit Condensation Realm at his pace, and with the Sword Pavilion backing him, his future achievements would far surpass those of these rogue cultivators.

Thus, although his cultivation and wealth were currently inferior to theirs, he still did not regard them highly.

Pang Jian, on the other hand, was different.

Qi Qingsong intended to treat Pang Jian as a key companion on his long cultivation journey. Pang Jian was someone he planned to keep in contact with throughout his life.

"Qingsong, let's talk more later," Lady Hua said softly.

Qi Qingsong nonchalantly hummed in response.

At that moment, a racket rippled through the trading hall.

"The eyes of Rank Seven Scarlet-Eyed Demon Wolf!"

"Silks, legs, and venom of Rank Seven Double-Faced Ghost Spider!"

"The skin of Rank Seven Blood Lizard!"

"It's him again!"

The cultivators had been stirred into a frenzy!

Qi Qingsong could not help but laugh. During his brief chat with Lady Hua, Pang Jian had put his rare spirit materials on display, instantly causing a commotion in the trading hall.

"It's him again!" Lady Hua's eyes also shone with astonishment. She no longer paid attention to Qi Qingsong as she appeared before Pang Jian.

"Haha! I was just about to leave. I wasn't expecting such a wonderful surprise!" A loud voice boomed from the other end of the trading hall.

A burly man in a crimson cloak, with shoulders as broad as a mountain, strode toward Pang Jian with his head held high.

"Jiu Yuan!"