Trials of the Abyss

Chapter 212: A Night of Relentless Slaughter

Cao Mang rose to his feet on the Black Iron Mountain, eyes glinting with a bone-chilling intensity as he glared at Huang Qi.

Throwing his head back, Cao Mang let out a furious roar. Jet-black demonic light shot out from the depths of his pupils and clusters of black demonic flames surged from the Black Iron Mountain.

Dead Demon Armor Beasts, Ice Sculpture Beasts, and Blood-Marked Pythons appeared within the black demonic flames.

The Vicious Beasts thrashed wildly in an attempt to escape from the eerie Black Iron Mountain. Unfortunately, no matter how hard they tried, they could not break free from the black demonic flames. They let out mournful howls at the realization.

Cao Mang's face twisted into a grimace, resembling a creature that had fallen into the path of evil.

"Huang Qi!" Cao Mang bellowed before swallowing a few pills, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, and forcing himself to calm down. His glare remained fixed on Huang Qi as he contemplated his next move.

Whoosh!

The eerie Black Iron Mountain changed directions to rush straight toward the Wood Race leader.

Cao Mang prioritized the jade-white spatial bracelet containing precious spirit materials over avenging his wife. Huang Qi could always be killed at a later date. The spatial bracelet, on the other hand, could not fall into the hands of the foreign races!

Roar!

The bloodthirsty Vicious Beasts from the Fifth World roared at the Wood Race leader from within the black demonic flames. It was as if the Black Iron Mountain had twisted their minds and wills after they were absorbed.

"It's the Primeval Demon Illusory Beast Art, a technique from the Demon Sect!" Wei Wenhan exclaimed, face darkening. "Cao Mang actually obtained and cultivated the Demon Sect's techniques! And it looks like he's reached a high level of mastery as well!"

The souls of the howling Vicious Beasts erupted from the black demonic flames, and the weakened Wood Race leader clutched the jade-white spatial bracelet as she desperately summoned ancient trees to resist Cao Mang's attacks.

The Vicious Beasts' souls destroyed the giant trees one after another.

Almost there. I must hold on. That Gilded Chariot is on its way. The Wood Race leader thought anxiously, heart burning with worry.

She then reluctantly threw out her thorny crown.

The crown transformed into a lush forest before the advancing Vicious Beasts' souls.

Clusters of black demonic light exploded, crushing all the giant trees as they approached the Wood Race leader.

"It's too late." She stared at the jade white spatial bracelet in despair.

All their deaths would be worthwhile as long as she could get the spatial bracelet to the Fifth World. If Cao Mang reclaimed the spatial bracelet, their efforts in the Primordial Wilderness would be in vain. The future generations of her race would face many more obstacles on their path to ascend to the upper worlds.

"This is fate. I can only accept it." She sighed bitterly.

Whoosh!

A giant umbrella floated up from below the summit of the First Peak and positioned itself in front of her, separating her from the Black Iron Mountain.

Snap!

Tree branches snapped and a loud boom reverberated through the air

The Black Iron Mountain beneath Cao Mang collided with the giant umbrella and was brought to an abrupt halt

The radiance of the stars and moon enveloped the roaring Vicious Beasts, causing their souls to flicker like candle flames in the wind.

No matter how hard the Vicious Beasts tried, they could not penetrate the thick, solid radiance of the stars and moon, nor could they breach the canopy of the Star Crushing Umbrella.

A tall, blood-soaked figure appeared in front of the Wood Race leader. The figure, gripping a spear with his right hand and the handle of the umbrella with his left, used the ever-expanding umbrella to block Cao Mang's Black Iron Mountain.

"It's him!" The Wood Clan leader exclaimed in shock.

"Pang Jian!" Cao Mang roared furiously.

Pang Jian tossed his gleaming spear, and it soared over the giant umbrella like a silver dragon to strike Cao Mang.

The Primordial Wilderness, with its vast spiritual energy, greatly amplified the power of the spear and created a towering wave of mystical energy.

Cao Mang and the Black Iron Mountain were swept up by an abnormal spiritual qi like a ship on the open ocean forced to endure the onslaught of a violent storm.

The arrays within the Black Iron Mountain suddenly went haywire and Cao Mang felt an abrupt but deep malice from the Primordial Wilderness.

"This..." Cao Mang was overwhelmed with fear. He could not help but feel like a deity was targeting him.

Pang Jian turned around, eyes cold, and charged toward the Wood Race leader.

The Wood Clan leader was stunned. She assumed the young human cultivator was also after the jade white spatial bracelet in her hand.

Although a race member had previously informed her that the young man possessed life energy, she was not in a position to care about his possible connection to their Sacred Tree. Thus, she stretched out her withered, vine-like arm to block his attack.

The young man released his hold on the umbrella, clenched his empty fist, and delivered a powerful punch.

Boom!

The violent force from the punch knocked the exhausted Wood Clan leader back.

However, after gritting her teeth and enduring the blow, a faint green light appeared in the depths of the Wood Race leader's eyes, which had turned from a gray-brown to a dark brown.

She stared incredulously at Pang Jian.

"She's mine." Pang Jian snorted coldly. The rogue cultivators looking to take advantage of the situation stopped in their tracks. "Anyone who dares to take my loot will meet the same fate as Jiu Yuan and Lou Yunming—death."

His voice was as icy as glaciers and deterred the rogue cultivators from approaching.

"We're just here to check the situation, don't get the wrong idea, young man," a rogue cultivator in the Spirit Condensation Realm hurriedly explained.

Pang Jian's back was to the rogue cultivators as he said frostily, "Take another step, and it won't be a misunderstanding."

With that, Pang Jian returned to unleashing heavy punches capable of splitting mountains against the arms of the Wood Race leader.

The injured Wood Race leader screamed in agony as she blocked Pang Jian's punches. With every strike, the green light in her eyes grew stronger, and her body was gradually pushed toward the edge of the summit of the First Peak.

Pang Jian then delivered a final punch.

Boom!

The dying Wood Race leader was sent tumbling down from the two-thousand-zhang-high summit into the valley below.

As she fell, her now bright green eyes stared fixedly at the young man atop the First Peak.

Then, the Gilded Chariot descended from the sky, caught her falling body, and carried her away.

"My life's possessions!" Cao Mang roared hysterically. "Pang Jian, I'll tear you to pieces!"

The Wood Race leader now knew the young man's name.

"Pang Jian..." she softly whispered, still clutching the jade-white spatial bracelet.

Her cracked skin mended and the fractured bones in her chest slowly healed as a surge of life energy flowed through her body.

"Elder Mu said that our Sacred Tree has reappeared and is flourishing in the Fourth World. Pang Jian must be a follower of our Sacred Tree, he has to be!" Her green eyes shone with excitement.

***

"What a pity." Pang Jian frowned as he turned to look at Lian Feng and several other noble family elders. "She was lucky to have escaped from me. I wanted that jade-white spatial bracelet."

"She fell off into the valley only to be caught by the Gilded Chariot. She was indeed fortunate." Lian Feng sighed regretfully.

The others were equally disappointed at this turn of events.

Pang Jian remained silent as he watched the Gilded Chariot depart, knowing the Wood Race leader would survive.

The Wood Race in the Fifth World regarded the World Eater Vine as the pillar of their faith. Their race's rise and fall was closely linked to the little tree in Misty Swamp. Thus, Pang Jian could not help but regard the Wood Race as his vassals.

The little tree's vassals were also his vassals and their survival would benefit the little tree.

Pang Jian guessed the Rank Six Wood Race leader's next stop would be Divine Fortune in the Fourth World.

"Pang Jian!" Cao Mang's frantic roar was deafening.

Pang Jian let out a cold snort as he recalled the Star Crushing Umbrella, which had been blocking Cao Mang this entire time.

Whoosh!

The Startling Slaughter Spear also returned to Pang Jian.

"Pang Jian, you caused me to lose that jade-white spatial bracelet!" Cao Mang raged, panting heavily as he stared toward where the Gilded Chariot had disappeared. He felt like the sky was falling.

His wife was dead, he was accused of colluding with the foreign races, and now, he had also lost the jade-white spatial bracelet.

All of this pushed Cao Mang to the brink of a mental breakdown.

"I would've taken that spatial bracelet if I had succeeded in killing the Wood Race leader. It would've had nothing to do with you either way, Cao Mang." Pang Jian looked calmly at Cao Mang and added, "When you captured my sister without reason and took her spatial bracelet, did you ever think this day would come?"

Cao Mang hacked up blood in his fury before screaming, "She was just a remnant of the Blood Spirit Sect! The materials in her spatial bracelet were only worth a few thousand spirit stones! How can that spatial bracelet compare with all my life's possessions?!"

"In my eyes, the two of you are worth less than her spatial bracelet," Pang Jian responded coldly.

Faint beams of light suddenly streaked through the sky, signaling the end of a long night.

"It's over," Wei Wenhan of the Radiant Sun Sect said, looking at the sea of corpses on the summit of the First Peak.

There were no more foreign race warriors or Vicious Beasts in sight.

"We made it through the deadly calamity! We annihilated the invading forces!" he cheered excitedly.

Many of the noble family elders broke into delighted smiles like clouds parting to reveal a clear sky. They started to scavenge valuable spirit materials from the bodies of the invading forces.

Rogue cultivators like Lian Feng did not hesitate to join in.