Trials of the Abyss

Chapter 173: Commotion in the Trading Hall

"Jiu Yuan!"

The crowd murmured in awe, and many cultivators stepped aside to make way for him.

Pang Jian was slightly shaken, but his expression remained unchanged as he continued to sit unmoving on the cultivation mat.

The image of Bai Wei clutching the torn scrap of a spatial pouch appeared in his mind. She had committed suicide by poison, and her body had been tossed into the rubble on Ice Rock Island.

The gruesome images of Zhao Ling, Meng Qiulan, and Wu Yi, and their tragic deaths also flashed through his mind.

Jiu Yuan was the instigator of their deaths.

"Little Brother, we meet again." Jiu Yuan laughed from a distance. He had a commanding presence about him as he approached. To the unknowing observer, it appeared as though Jiu Yuan and Pang Jian were old friends.

"Jiu Yuan, you..." Lady Hua knitted her brows.

Jiu Yuan grinned wickedly. "Pang Jian, or should I say Hong Jian?"

He had since confirmed the person impersonating Hong Tai's nephew was none other than Pang Jian!

His old rival, Lou Yunming from the Sinister Soul Temple, had told him that the paper fan imprisoning Luo Hongyan had been brought to the Solitary Mountain Range on a Divine Spirit Pagoda.

The paper fan was an extraordinary treasure intended for Dong Tianze.

The Sinister Soul Temple held Dong Tianze in high regard, seeing him as a peer to Zhao Yuanqi and Fang Boxuan. Thus, the Sinister Soul Temple provided him with many treasures for protection even before he officially joined them.

With his Ghost's Cry, Dong Tianze could suppress the soul within the paper fan and fully utilize its power. However, the paper fan had splintered apart in the Solitary Mountain Range, allowing the imprisoned Luo Hongyan to escape.

After learning this, Jiu Yuan quickly realized the new hall master of the Shadow Specter Sect, Hong Jian, was actually the person standing before him—Pang Jian.

"Little Brother, you're quite impressive. I'm very curious about how you obtained these spirit materials from Rank Seven Vicious Beasts," Jiu Yuan said with a sinister laugh. His dark red eyes gleamed with a bloodthirsty light, and his crimson robe gave off a strong stench of blood.

"No comment," Pang Jian replied coldly.

Jiu Yuan chuckled in response.

Staring maliciously at Pang Jian, he took on a demeanor of faux surprise. "Oh, where's your sister?"

Pang Jian's face remained as still as water as he replied indifferently, "If you're not here to buy anything, don't block my stall."

"That's right, don't cause trouble here," Qi Qingsong interjected, positioning himself behind Pang Jian. With a lazy smile, he said, "Everyone here is busy. No one has the time to listen to your nonsense."

Remembering Pang Jian's recklessness in Eight Trigrams City, Qi Qingsong feared Pang Jian would be goaded into losing his temper and would attack Jiu Yuan impulsively.

Pang Jian was two cultivation realms below Jiu Yuan, and if he dared to rashly launch an attack, he would be killed on the spot!

The Primordial Wilderness had its rules and even Jiu Yuan had to follow them. He would not dare cause trouble in the First Peak's trading hall.

But if Pang Jian lost control and attacked Jiu Yuan first, even Old Monster Cao could not say anything if Jiu Yuan killed Pang Jian.

"I'll buy!" Jiu Yuan laughed loudly. He glanced at the emblem on the young man's chest and realized he was the Sword Pavilion genius Elder Cao was hosting. "I'll buy this Blood Lizard skin!

"I do need this Blood Lizard skin. I could snatch it from you after you leave the Primordial Wilderness, but I'm afraid someone else will buy it first. Three hundred fifty thousand spirit stones it is!

"Honestly, it doesn't matter. Even if I give you the three hundred fifty thousand spirit stones now, I can always take it back once you leave the Primordial Wilderness," Jiu Yuan threatened shamelessly, laughing heartily the whole time.

Based on the information he had obtained from Old Monster Cao and the Sinister Soul Temple, Jiu Yuan was certain Pang Jian was not a disciple of a noble family from the upper worlds and therefore had no reservations about threatening him.

"Do these two have a personal grudge?"

"What's the conflict between Jiu Yuan of the Blood Moon Sect and this young man?"

Hearing Jiu Yuan's words, the surrounding cultivators drew closer in curiosity.

Today was the last day of the trade fair, and there were not many good spirit materials left. Those wandering around had not found anything special ever since noon had passed.

Pang Jian's rare spirit materials from Rank Seven Vicious Beasts had been enough to cause a stir.

Now, with Jiu Yuan's words, it was inevitable that everyone in the trading hall was paying close attention to Pang Jian's stall.

As Pang Jian was about to speak, he felt Qi Qingsong behind him lightly pat his shoulder.

Pang Jian gave Qi Qingsong a slight nod, recognizing his concern, then turned to address the woman beside Jiu Yuan, "Lady Hua, I can decide who I sell to, right?"

"Of course," Lady Hua replied with a bright smile.

Pang Jian placed both his hands on the wooden platform in front of him and gazed calmly at the grinning Jiu Yuan. "I'm not selling these spirit materials to anyone from the Blood Moon Sect or the Sinister Soul Temple. That includes disciples and elders."

Jiu Yuan's smile dropped. "Brat, are you looking to die?"

Pang Jian ignored him and looked at Lady Hua. "Is that acceptable?"

"Of course!" Lady Hua reaffirmed. She then added seriously, "This doesn't violate Old Man Cao's rules. Since the items are yours, you can sell them to whomever you choose. You can also set any price you want before the official transaction. We only take a ten percent commission when the final transaction amount is confirmed."

"Little Brother!" Huang Qi, the seller of the Grand Providence Sacred Body manual, appeared out of nowhere. Squinting at the Scarlet-Eyed Demon Wolf's eyes, he said, "I'll take these eyes!"

"Hold on," Pang Jian said.

Snap!

Breaking the price tag into two, Pang Jian then picked up a new tag and changed the price from five hundred thousand to six hundred thousand spirit stones.

"Done." He raised the new price tag and showed it to Huang Qi. "This is the new price."

Huang Qi's face twitched, and he said bitterly, "Little Brother, isn't that too harsh? I only raised the price of the Grand Providence Sacred Body by thirty thousand, but you—"

"I'll take it for six hundred thousand spirit stones!" A young voice cut in.

Many people were surprised by the owner of the voice.

Lady Hua turned her head to see a tall figure hurrying over. "Yang Rui!"

At one of the wooden doors of the trading hall stood a towering young man with a radiant sun emblem on the chest of his robes. His body radiated with the residual glow of the sun, exuding an awe-inspiring aura.

Whoosh!

In an instant, he appeared between Lady Hua and Jiu Yuan in a dazzling streak of light.

Standing directly in front of Pang Jian, he pointed at the Scarlet-Eyed Demon Wolf's eyes and said firmly, "I want these!"

"Yang Rui, did you come here after hearing the news?" Lady Hua was taken aback.

"Yes." The imposing young man drew everyone's attention. Countless eyes were secretly observing him.

Yang Rui of the Radiant Sun Sect. He's in the late stage of the Profound Abode Realm, just a step away from the Spirit Condensation Realm, Pang Jian recalled.

"Six hundred thousand it is!" Huang Qi hastily said, stomping his foot in defiance as he hurriedly prepared to pay. "First come, first served, you know that, right?"

Doesn't he know who Yang Rui is?

Lady Hua found this situation strange. Huang Qi was just a rogue cultivator in the Profound Abode Realm. Even rogue cultivators in the Spirit Condensation Realm would not dare compete with the young master from the Radiant Sun Sect for spirit materials.

"Little Brother, you have the right to decide who to sell to," Yang Rui said, crossing his arms over his chest with an air of superiority. Locking eyes with Pang Jian, he added, "However, if you sell to me, you'll gain a new ally."

"Little Brother!" Huang Qi anxiously said. "The Grand Providence Sacred Body is an incomplete manual. I could find the remaining part in the future!"

"Sorry, first come, first served. I'm selling to him." Pang Jian nodded at Huang Qi, placing his hand over the Scarlet-Eyed Demon Wolf's eyes as he waited for him to produce the spirit stones.

Huang Qi breathed a sigh of relief and said sheepishly, "The other day was my fault. Thank you for your generosity, Little Brother!"

Yang Rui nodded. Without looking at Pang Jian again, he turned to Lady Hua and asked, "What's his name?"

"Pang Jian."

"Alright, I'll remember that." Yang Rui then transformed into a rainbow light and left just as quickly as he had arrived.

"You dare to offend Yang Rui of the Radiant Sun Sect?" Jiu Yuan raised a thumb at Pang Jian, smirking. "I was worried you would sell to Yang Rui and I would've had to give him some face. But now...haha!

"You're not really from a noble family in the Second World. You're just a lowly hunter from the lower world who got lucky in a hidden trial and obtained some rare spirit materials. Honestly, the fact that you've survived this long is already a miracle.

"If you want to blame someone, blame Dong Tianze. After returning from that trial, he searched everywhere for someone named Pang Jian. A little digging revealed the Pang Jian he was looking for six months ago was just a young hunter from the Solitary Mountain Range in the Fourth World.

"You caused some trouble in the lower world under the protection of the remnants of the Blood Spirit Sect, but that doesn't change your fate!"

Lady Hua was filled with doubt. She stared at Pang Jian and then at Qi Qingsong. A lucky hunter from the Fourth World?

Meanwhile, hidden in the crowd, Zhang Bin and Lei Kun were also staring intently at Pang Jian.