Trials of the Abyss

Chapter 55: Minor Argument

"Sister Ning, is this why you fell in love with him?" Su Meng kneeled beside her father's corpse as she looked at the headless bodies of her clan members. She asked dejectedly, "How can I become like Brother Pang Jian and leave a few gaping wounds in Dong Tianze's body?"

When Dong Tianze had left the deep hole, she suppressed her sorrow to look, hoping to see Dong Tianze meet his demise.

When she saw Dong Tianze fly out from the deep hole, there were several terrifying bloody wounds on his body, and even the Dragonwood Spear stuck to his behind.

She knew that in the strange deep hole, Pang Jian had inflicted severe wounds on Dong Tianze.

She also knew that, if not for Pang Jian jumping into the deep hole, she would have likely met the same fate as her father.

Pang Jian's incredible display left a deep impression on her. Therefore, when Luo Hongyan claimed that only Pang Jian could rival Dong Tianze, she neither doubted it nor thought it was an exaggeration.

She wished to become like Pang Jian. She wanted to have the power to severely injure Dong Tianze, or even kill him.

"That's something that you have to be born with and not attainable through effort alone. Don't take him as your role model," Luo Hongyan responded callously, recalling what she had observed in the deep hole through the Spirit Devil Luo Meng.

Pang Jian's calm and meticulous demeanor amazed her. He set up traps, took his time to carefully pick out where he would stand, and kept his cool before dealing the heavy blow on Dong Tianze.

She knitted her brows in deep thought. "Is he born with it, or was he taught? If all these characteristics were taught, then the one who taught him..."

After a brief silence, she turned her back to the heartbroken Su Meng and added, "When you're ready to move on from your grief, I can teach you how to harvest the truly valuable plants on this island.

"Tsk tsk, the stuff your father and He Rong harvested wouldn't have fetched much in the upper world. Remember, if you want to become powerful, you will need those spirit plants."

After leaving those words for Su Meng to mull over, Luo Hongyan vanished into the white pagoda to search for the Profound Yin stones.

***

On the foot of the small hill.

"She still died in the end," Han Duping said, staring at Shangguan Qin's corpse. He sighed, "In the end, she didn't manage to wait for Ouyang Duanhai."

Han Duping felt grateful to Ouyang Duanhai. If not for his timely appearance, Han Duping would have fallen into the hands of Dong Qianfeng from the Shadow Specter Sect and would not have been able to leave the Blackwater Pond alive.

Ouyang Duanhai had been willing to sacrifice himself for Shangguan Qin, an act which earned Han Duping's admiration. Unfortunately, this affectionate couple did not have a happy ending, and each of them lost their life next to different bones of the Celestial Phoenix.

"She didn't contribute much during the battle, but when the time came to reap the rewards, she became quite energetic," Zhou Qingchen said as he watched Luo Hongyan enter the white pagoda. He snorted, then said to Pang Jian, "Dong Tianze's severe injuries were because of your hard work. The most valuable things on this island belong to you."

"I already took it," Pang Jian answered.

"You already took it?" Zhou Qingchen and Han Duping were surprised.

The spirit jades at the bottom of the white pagoda and the remaining blood essence of the black turtle in the deep hole," Pang Jian explained before adding, "Although, I've lost the silver net."

"That silver net isn't worth much." Zhou Qingchen was speechless. He did not ask about the whereabouts of the black turtle's blood essence, instead patting Pang Jian on the shoulder as he said, "You should rest. I'll explore the island with Old Han to see if we can locate the evil woman."

After that, he and Han Duping went off to search the island.

The two of them were tense. The evil woman had killed several members of the Zhou Clan in the stone pile, and they could not help but feel that she was hiding somewhere and waiting for an opportune moment to make her move.

They also wanted to see if they could find out where Dong Tianze went.

After Zhou Qingchen and Han Duping had left, Pang Jian jumped into the cold water of the Black Orchid Lake to wash away the blood on his body.

He dove down and sure enough, he saw four thick, wide stone pillars supporting Central Lake Island.

Central Lake Island really was on the back of the black turtle.

He then swam toward the direction of the turtle's head, only to find that the small rocky island that should have been there had disappeared.

He vividly remembered that a small island previously protruded from Central Lake Island. It was probably the head of the black turtle.

The small island was originally piled with rocks, which likely served as camouflage for the black turtle's head. Now, there was nothing left.

Pang Jian originally thought that Dong Tianze had hidden himself there. However, as he did not discover anything, Pang Jian decided to return to the base of the small hill. He then took the spirit stones from his bamboo basket and filled his spiritual sea with spiritual power.

It was easy to transition from frugality to luxury, but difficult to transition from luxury to frugality. Having experienced the wonders of spirit jades, the spirit stones from the upper world felt incredibly slow.

He could previously fill his vast spiritual sea with spiritual power so quickly because of the spirit jades used to power the Divine Spirit Pagoda.

Unfortunately, there are no spirit jades left. Pang Jian sighed as he entered his cultivation state.

He could sense that the pure spiritual qi of heaven and earth on the island was slowly draining away.

The black turtle had died and its beast soul had flown to the other side of the Solitary Mountain Range. Central Lake Island was no longer as extraordinary as before.

As nightfall approached, Pang Jian looked toward the northernmost region of the Solitary Mountain Range. Once he crossed the mountains, he would face the bizarre mist that every cultivator feared.

That was also a forbidden zone he had never ventured into during his many years in the Solitary Mountain Range.

The northernmost region was more dangerous than Blackwater Pond, Insect Valley, and Central Lake Island, and was shrouded in mystery.

Maybe the reason Father forbade me from exploring the northernmost region of the Solitary Mountain Range was because I was not a cultivator and my battle prowess was too weak.

Since Pang Jian had survived the three forbidden zones, he believed he could also investigate the bizarre mist more closely if he wanted to.

The sky grew darker and darker.

After absorbing the spiritual power from the spirit stones in his hand, Pang Jian took out a bundle made from animal hide and retrieved the dry clothes within. Once he had changed, Pang Jian headed to the mouth of the deep hole.

On the way, he saw Su Meng digging deep pits in the bushes.

She buried the bodies of Su Yuntian and He Rong, along with members of both clans who had been decapitated, in the deep pits. Despite her fear, she also bravely returned the decapitated heads to their rightful places.

Finally, she kneeled in front of her father's grave. Her lips moved inaudibly.

After watching for a while, Pang Jian wielded the Dragonwood Spear and leaped into the deep hole. He then retrieved the bamboo flute and the spirit stones he had used to secure the silver net to the walls of the deep hole.

He meticulously inspected the grooves on the walls of the deep hole, and after ensuring that Dong Tianze had not hidden anything there, he climbed out.

Once outside, he saw Su Meng.

The delicate and petite Su Meng looked timidly at him as she pointed at Shangguan Qin's corpse and asked, "Big-Big Brother Pang, can I bury her too?"

Pang Jian nodded.

The little girl once again grabbed a spirit sword and started to dig nearby.

The kind-hearted Su Meng's face was filled with sorrow. Despite having no connection with Shangguan Qin, Su Meng could not bear to leave the woman's body exposed in the wilderness.

Han Duping had once coveted her beauty, but after her untimely demise, did not even spare her another glance.

Meanwhile, the naive and compassionate Su Meng suppressed her grief over her father's death to ensure that all the deceased were laid to rest.

***

Night fell.

Central Lake Island and Black Orchid Lake were engulfed in darkness, and Pang Jian heard the sounds of arguing coming from the Divine Spirit Pagoda.

The argument was between Luo Hongyan and Zhou Qingchen.

Pang Jian knitted his eyebrows. After pondering for a moment, he said to Su Meng, "Don't stay here on your own. If Dong Tianze comes back, you won't be able to survive."

Su Meng had since finished burying Shangguan Qin. She trembled slightly.

She had a clear understanding of her own limitations. With her cultivation realm, If Dong Tianze were to truly return, she did not doubt that she would be instantly killed.

"Then..." Su Meng's wide eyes flickered with panic.

"Let's go and see what they're arguing about," Pang Jian said, leading the way to the top of the small hill.

With the word plunged into darkness, Su Meng hastily followed Pang Jian, fearing he would vanish from her line of sight.

The pair soon arrived at the white pagoda and noticed the light flickering from the fifth floor. Thus, they headed straight for the fifth floor.

"You've arrived just in time," Zhou Qingchen said. With a stern expression, he pointed at the scattered Profound Yin stones from the collapsed soul array and said, "These Profound Yin stones might be the most valuable spirit material on this island. They should rightfully belong to you."

Pang Jian was taken aback. He never thought that Zhou Qingchen was arguing with Luo Hongyan on his behalf.

With a cold expression, Luo Hongyan argued, "Pang Jian already took the most useful things for him."

She was displeased because Pang Jian had taken the spirit jades on the ground floor of the Divine Spirit Pagoda, as well as the blood essence of the black turtle in the deep hole.

Luo Hongyan had contributed the most and suffered the greatest loss in the battle with her sacrifice of her Spirit Devils.

Profound Yin stones were used as materials in constructing soul arrays. If she refined the Profound Yin energy within them, she could use it to reforge her physical body.

She had to obtain it no matter what!

Zhou Qingchen, you ignorant fool. Despite knowing nothing, you still insist on arguing with me over the Profound Yin stones, only to hand them to Pang Jian on a silver platter.

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. She contemplated standing up to him and giving him a piece of her mind.

Pang Jian's gaze swept across the Profound Yin stones as he nodded thoughtfully. Glancing at Luo Hongyan, he asked, "Do you have use for these stones?"

Luo Hongyan nodded. "Yes."

"Young Master Zhou, let her have these stones as I do not have a use for them." With that, he turned and walked away. "Let's go down so she can have the floor to herself. Let's talk about other matters downstairs. For instance, what have you and Han Duping experienced after we parted ways."

Zhou Qingchen was stunned. He never thought Pang Jian would be generous enough to concede all the Profound Yin stones.

Puzzled, he suddenly noticed a strange look in Su Meng's eyes. He smacked his head in realization. "Oh, I see, my bad. It seems that during our time apart, you two..."

He did not finish his sentence. Chuckling, he pulled Han Duping and descended the Divine Spirit Pagoda.