Trials of the Abyss

Chapter 190: Pang Jian of the Sword Pavilion!

When the sun rose, Bai Guanjie transformed into a swift red shadow, leading the charge into the valley between the Fifth Peak and the Fourth Peak.

Aside from Fang Boxuan, the only ones in their group to have reached the Profound Abode Realm were him and Chen Min. Based on what he knew, Pang Jian was a cultivator in the Innate realm.

An Innate Realm cultivator should be a piece of cake. Bai Guanjie smirked.

He could vaguely see the summit of the Fourth Peak from the depths of the valley.

Their group had traveled from the direction of the Fourth Peak, following the narrow valley and using a blood-colored orb to track energy fluctuations and avoid the invading forces from the Fifth World before finally arriving at the foot of the Fifth Peak.

Thus, he knew no powerful foreign race warriors or Vicious Beasts roamed the valley between the two peaks.

"Huh?" Bai Guanjie stopped. Up ahead was a figure in blue, with their back facing him.

The black-clad Pang Jian was nowhere to be seen.

Where did he run off to? Bai Guanjie cautiously glanced around, but he could not determine where Pang Jian had gone.

Hesitating briefly, he walked toward the blue-clad figure and shouted, "Friend, have you seen a young man in black?"

As he approached, the figure entered the range of his divine sense, allowing Bai Guanjie to see their face even from behind.

"Pang Jian!" Bai Guanjie exclaimed in surprise. Pang Jian had simply changed his clothes!

"Yes, it's me." Pang Jian turned to face Bai Guanjie, with his Startling Slaughter Spear in hand.

Using this method, Pang Jian confirmed that the person before him was also in the Profound Abode Realm, as he recognized him from behind.

They were both in the Profound Abode Realm and although Pang Jian could not gauge Bai Guanjie's exact strength, he was confident he could kill him.

"Ah, you!" Bai Guanjie exclaimed again.

Earlier, he had only focused his divine sense on Pang Jian's face and had not noticed anything else. After Pang Jian turned around, he spotted the distinctive emblem of the Sword Pavilion on Pang Jian's chest and the sword-shaped token hanging from his waist.

"That's right, it's the Sword Pavilion!" Pang Jian shouted, charging forward with his spear while Bai Guanjie was still in shock.

Bai Guanjie hesitated, but Pang Jian did not waver for a moment!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Blazing meteors radiating a dazzling light and intense heat instantly surrounded Bai Guanjie!

"Explosive Dance!"

The blazing meteors erupted violently, causing Bai Guanjie's face to change dramatically.

"It's a misunderstanding! I didn't know you were from the Sword Pavilion!" Bai Guanjie cried out, trying to explain.

According to his information, Pang Jian was a hunter from the Solitary Mountain Range with no sect backing. The sight of Pang Jian wearing the Sword Pavilion's attire and carrying their identity token caught him off guard and forced him to reconsider his actions.

Bai Guanjie grew increasingly panicked as the blazing meteors continued to explode around him. Pang Jian ignored his pleas, his cold eyes filled with intense killing intent.

Whoosh!

Pang Jian leaped high into the air.

"You're not in the Innate Realm! You're in the Profound Abode Realm!" Bai Guanjie cried in terror as he desperately used his Blood Shadow Technique.

Six blood shadows emerged from where he stood and scattered like startled birds. Each blood shadow carried his blood essence and life force, making them appear real.

Boom!

The ground Bai Guanjie had previously been standing on was now filled with large, charred craters, each sinking several zhang deep into the earth!

Once he was out of the danger zone, Bai Guanjie hastily gathered his six blood shadows. Six blood talismans appeared in his palm as he frantically tried to explain again, "Pang Jian, it's really a misunderstanding!"

Although they were both in the Profound Abode Realm, Bai Guanjie no longer had any confidence in winning after learning that his opponent was a disciple from the Sword Pavilion in the Second World.

He had long since abandoned the idea of killing Pang Jian for his spirit stones.

"It doesn't matter whether it's a misunderstanding or not. Since you dared to chase after me, you'll die." The Startling Slaughter Spear thrust toward Bai Guanjie's head. Pang Jian stepped onto the silver spear and unleashed a series of attacks.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Starlight, sunlight, Lunar Edges, and ice shards cascaded onto Bai Guanjie's head like a collapsing galaxy.

Whoosh!

Gritting his teeth, Bai Guanjie once again used the Blood Shadow Technique to create blood shadows with the blood talismans and hid his true body among them.

The concentration of life force among blood shadows is different... Pang Jian noted, stepping on the Startling Slaughter Spear as he continued to rain down more destructive attacks.

Soon, the area with the blood shadows was engulfed in starlight, sunlight, and Lunar Edges, allowing Pang Jian to pinpoint Bai Guanjie's true body.

"Go!" His attacks focused on a single blood shadow, shattering the dark red protective shield around Bai Guanjie.

Bai Guanjie could not escape the chaotic barrage of different energies and could only brace himself.

Whoosh!

The Startling Slaughter Spear stopped above Bai Guanjie's head, then abruptly plunged downward.

As Pang Jian landed smoothly on the ground, the expertly controlled spear cleaved through the Profound Abode Realm cultivator from head to toe.

Having completed its lethal task, the bloodstained spear once again hovered in the air like a crimson vessel of death.

"Senior Brother Bai!" The other Blood Moon Sect disciples arrived just in time to see the bloody spear leave Bai Guanjie's split head.

They had no time to process the sight before they saw Pang Jian, dressed in the Sword Pavilion's attire, flying toward them on the spear.

"Sword Pavilion!"

Their expressions drastically changed. Like Bai Guanjie, all the disciples of the Blood Moon Sect held a deep reverence for the Sword Pavilion. Thus, their first thought was not to fight but to explain.

"Pang Jian, it's a misunderstanding!"

"We didn't know you were an outer disciple of the Sword Pavilion!"

"It was Bai Guanjie who misled us!"

Unfortunately, Pang Jian had already marked them for death the moment they had shown intent to kill. Moreover, they were all from the Blood Moon Sect!

It did not take long for Pang Jian to kill all the Blood Moon Sect disciples pursuing him.

Not a single one escaped alive.

Apart from the slightly challenging Bai Guanjie, the rest were dispatched with little effort.

When Chen Min reached the valley, she saw Pang Jian wiping his bloody spear on the robes of her dead senior brothers and sisters. She also noticed the prominent Sword Pavilion insignia and the sword-shaped token on Pang Jian.

"S-Sword Pavilion!" Chen Min's voice trembled as she paled with fear, deeply regretting her decision.

"Another one at the Profound Abode Realm," Pang Jian muttered, interest piqued as he casually threw the Startling Slaughter Spear.

The dazzling silver streak immediately locked onto Chen Min.

***

After some time, Fang Boxuan went in search of his senior brother and sister, having grown impatient waiting for their return. He soon arrived at the valley, which reeked of blood.

His senior sister, Chen Min, lay on the ground with a gaping wound through her chest and abdomen. Her eyes were wide open in disbelief and the surrounding grass was stained red with her blood.

In front of her, several of his senior brothers and sisters in the Innate Realm lay with their throats slit. Their corpses were surrounded by a chilling aura and the blood that had flowed from their wounds had congealed into blood-colored crystals on the ground.

Further ahead, his senior brother, Bai Guanjie had died standing upright with blood flowing in a line from the top of his head down to his lower body.

Six of his senior brothers and sisters lay dead in the valley. Both Bai Guanjie and Chen Min had been in the early stage of the Profound Abode Realm, while the other four had been in the Innate Realm. Despite this, they had all been gruesomely killed.

Fang Boxuan carefully examined the scene and confirmed a spear-like weapon was used in killing Chen Min and Bai Guanjie.

Was it really him? Doubt flashed in Fang Boxuan's eyes and a look of apprehension appeared on his face.

Fang Boxuan was in the middle stage of the Profound Abode Realm. As the genius of the Blood Moon Sect, he was armed with treasures and superior techniques, but he still lacked the confidence to deal with someone who had so effortlessly killed Chen Min and the others in such a short time.

"Elder Jiu Yuan has provoked a formidable opponent, and he's still so young," Fang Boxuan said seriously.

He did not plan to seek revenge on Pang Jian. Instead, he stayed in the valley and took out a blood talisman. "Elder Jiu Yuan, are you still alive on the First Peak?"

"Fang Boxuan, I'm not dead yet!" Jiu Yuan's panting voice rang out from the blood talisman. "You, along with those senior brothers and sisters and a few commanders, did you all manage to seize a Formless Sailboat?"

"You know we didn't reach the Fourth Peak in time. The two Formless Sailboats seized by the foreign race warriors have already flown away," Fang Boxuan replied coldly.

One of the Formless Sailboats belonged to him, while the other belonged to Jiu Yuan. Unfortunately, both had been seized by the foreign race warriors.

"Useless, how do you even have the nerve to contact me?" Jiu Yuan sneered. "We've reached a stalemate with the foreign race warriors thanks to the arrays here so we're not losing ground! If they dare to linger in the Primordial Wilderness, they'll find it impossible to escape! Kid, you'd better keep hiding like a turtle for as long as possible!"

"I mean no harm. I just wanted to inform you that Pang Jian is still alive and his combat prowess has skyrocketed," Fang Boxuan said into the blood talisman. "He killed both Bai Guanjie and Chen Min when they tried to hunt him down. Given his current strength, in a few years, he will be strong enough to seek revenge on you."

"What?! Both Bai Guanjie and Chen Min were killed by him? Those useless fools!" Jiu Yuan roared furiously.