Trials of the Abyss

All the elders were gathered in the main hall of the Sword Pavilion in the Second World.

Great Elder Jiang Ran sat in the upper seat of the hall.

"Su Li is dead," he said, sorrow flashing in his eyes. "The golden cauldron I bestowed him was destroyed and his soul lamp extinguished."

For once, the elders, usually prone to arguments among themselves, maintained a rare silence.

After a long while, Jiang Ran asked solemnly, "Where is Chen Weihuang?"

"In seclusion, consolidating his Nirvana Realm cultivation," Wang Ce replied in a low voice.

Jiang Ran's face darkened. "When did he break through?"

"A few days ago." Wang Ce paused. Temporarily setting aside his past grievances with Jiang Ran, he added, "Zhou Yi of the Nine Tribes Sect and Hong Qiming of the Demon Sect invited Hu Yuanfei and Pang Jian to the Fourth World.

"This information came from Cheng Rutang of the Primeval Pillar Divine Kingdom.

"Those ranked at the top of the Soul Wandering Realm and Spirit Condensation Realm leaderboards have all quietly ventured into the Fourth World.

"Something had almost certainly happened in the Fourth World, and Su Li is not the only one involved.

"The conflict in the Third World has also escalated. Only the Cosmic Skies and the Dark Abyss Continents remain under our control.

"The situation with the foreign race warriors and Vicious Beasts on the fragmented lands has spiraled out of control.

"It may be time for the Nirvana Realm cultivators to join the battle," Wang Ce said.

Jiang Ran remained silent for a long moment before finally replying, "My first disciple, Zhou Wenhao, will go to the Cosmic Skies Continent."

***

Flying vessels from various sects and factions arrived at the Dark Abyss Continent from the fragmented lands in the Third World.

The human cultivators on board wore grim expressions, with the robes of some stained with blood.

It was a stark contrast to their carefree spirits from the early stages when the human race had dominated every battle.

The Armor-Breaking Marquis, Li Wei, stood at the peak of Saddle Ridge Mountain and gazed into the distance with a deep frown.

"The foreign races have launched a full counterattack. The fragmented lands have become treacherous and are no longer a domain where we, the human race, can roam freely."

The loyal Armor-Breaking Army soldiers at his side, all in the Nirvana Realm, remained silent and solemn.

Two weeks ago, Rank Eight foreign race warriors and Vicious Beasts started to appear in the fragmented lands, joining forces with Berserk Beasts to hunt down human cultivators.

Casualties among the human race had surged, forcing them to retreat to the two continents to regroup.

The grave situation weighed heavily on everyone's hearts.

Unfortunately, the higher-ups were still assessing the true strength of the foreign races and Vicious Beasts and were hesitant to commit more Nirvana Realm cultivators to the battle.

This made the Armor-Breaking Army wary of advancing. They could only hold their ground on the two continents, awaiting orders from above.

"The missing cultivators at the top of their leaderboards have yet to return, and none can be contacted." Li Wei sighed heavily.

Behind him was a redemption point with prisms displaying scenes from the Mystic Eyes.

Cultivators from the Boundless Sky Divine Kingdom kept a watchful eye on the prisms, monitoring the images within.

Unlike before, they had grown idle in recent days.

Their newfound idleness reflected the dire state of the human cultivators' hunting operations.

Whoosh!

An image appeared within one of the large prisms.

Dong Wenjian of the Ancient Law Sect sat atop a talisman that had transformed into a carpet and flew swiftly above the dense leaden clouds.

"Wu Yuan of the Demon Sect!"

"Dong Tianze of the Sinister Soul Temple!"

"Zhou Qingchen of the Red Mountain Sect!"

The observers cried in surprise.

"Give me their location!" Li Wei ordered before departing from the Dark Abyss Continent and heading swiftly toward the quartet's approximate location.

***

Two days later, news spread across the Abyss that a complete continent named the Fey Spirit Continent was slowly emerging from the bizarre mist in the Fourth World.

The treachery of Zhou Yi from the Nine Tribes Sect and Hong Qiming of the Demon Sect shook the major factions.

Ling Yimo of the Ghost Sacrifice Sect was also revealed to be an Outer God, and her action of leading the foreign race warriors and Vicious Beasts also came to light.

In contrast, Pang Jian's name became renowned throughout the Abyss!

Zhou Yi's name was erased from the Soul Wandering Realm leaderboard.

The names of the deceased Hong Qiming, Cai Shaoheng, Cao Jingbai, and Shen Yanxi were also removed.

Using the Celestial Profound Mirror's recording function, Liu Youyu displayed the scenes of Pang Jian killing Zhou Yi, slaying the Rank Eight Demon Bull Race warrior with his divine soul, and cutting down many Rank Six and Rank Seven foreign race warriors and Vicious Beasts.

Pang Jian's contribution points skyrocketed to thirty-five thousand, second only to Li Yuqing's thirty-seven thousand points.

He was second on the Soul Wandering Realm leaderboard!

Pang Jian's name shook the Abyss.

Zhou Yi's and Hong Qiming's infamy, combined with the reveal of Ling Yimo's true identity, stirred public attention, which only caused Pang Jian's fame to surge further.

The disgraceful actions of Zhou Yi of the Nine Tribes Sect, Hong Qiming of the Demon Sect, and Ling Yimo as an adopted child of Gui Mu from the Ghost Sacrifice Sect in turn tarnished the reputations of their respective sects.

Gui Mu, Li Wang, and the leader of the Demon Sect faced harsh criticism for their lack of discernment in choosing disciples.

In comparison, Pang Jian had slain Hong Qiming, fought Xuan Ying of the Demon Scale Race to a stalemate, and sacrificed himself to kill Zhou Yi so his companions could escape.

He was celebrated as a hero of exceptional moral character and unyielding resolve—a true pillar of the human race and a talent of extraordinary caliber.

The Sword Pavilion's prestige once again soared with Pang Jian's brilliance.

Unfortunately, Pang Jian himself was seen as a tragic hero, presumed dead after falling into the Fey Spirit Continent.

After all, no matter how heroic Pang Jian was, it was largely assumed he could not escape from the army of foreign race warriors and Vicious Beasts surrounding him.

The appearance of a new continent rich with spirit veins and murky energy in the Fourth World was bound to attract foreign races.

The Fey Spirit Continent would undoubtedly become their stronghold.

Pang Jian could not possibly escape alive.

***

Late into the night, Ling Yimo was commanding the Ghost Race warriors to cast the souls of human cultivators into the illusory Sanctum of Godly and Demonic Genesis.

The Ghost Race had harvested the souls from the fragmented lands of the Third World.

Ling Yimo forged a semi-real replica of the Sanctum of Godly and Demonic Genesis by refining earth energy and sacrificing the souls of hundreds of human cultivators.

The replica city allowed her to finally sense the true Sanctum of Godly and Demonic Genesis high above in the starry skies.

The high-ranking God of the Ghost Race had since solidified her divine soul again and floated high above the city as she muttered incantations, "The wheel of reincarnation, the final resting place of departed souls, the origin and rebirth of Gods and Demons..."

Expansive rivers of souls circled her one after another. They seemed to contain the souls of all beings in the starry skies,

A satisfied smile appeared on her face when all nine rivers of souls from the Netherworld[1] fully manifested.

My true body cannot descend into the Abyss, but with a little more time to refine my divine soul that, won't matter. I can use this replica of the Sanctum of Godly and Demonic Genesis to resonate and forge a new body for myself.

The Fey Spirit Continent would become her divine domain once her divine body was perfected. All of the Rank Ten black turtle's arduous efforts would only serve to elevate her.

"Revitalize the Fey Race? Pure delusion." Ling Yimo scoffed.

The Outer Gods had long since written off the Fey Race after the war they had orchestrated against them using the other races.

The Fey Race had been demoted to mere beasts ever since.

It did not matter how powerful the Fey Race once was. As long as they never rose to the height of a fully developed race again, they would always remain nothing more than a primitive civilization left behind by the passing of time.

The Fey Race had failed to establish themselves in the Abyss even after the human race had defeated the Outer God's nurtured races.

While some Spirit Beasts managed to eke out an existence on the Sacred Soul Continent, most Vicious Beasts and Spirit Beasts had either scattered across the fragmented lands or lived in the dark Fifth World.

Though they shared the same ancestors, their cultivation and intelligence led to their classification as Vicious Beasts or Spirit Beasts.

Vicious Beasts cultivated with murky energy or impure spiritual qi, resulting in a lack of intelligence.

On the other hand, Spirit Beasts typically either cultivated with pure spiritual qi or knew how to purge the impurities from impure spiritual qi, allowing them to gain intelligence earlier than Vicious Beasts.

Even so, as Vicious Beasts advanced their bloodlines, their intelligence inevitably developed and they eventually transformed into Spirit Beasts.

Most Vicious Beasts were unaware of their glorious past and ancient history due to their lack of intelligence.

Those thriving on murky energy gradually aligned themselves with the foreign races of the Fifth World.

Leaders of the foreign races in the Fifth World were aware of the Vicious Beasts' origins and ultimately refrained from cultivating their intelligence, treating them as mere mounts.

The foreign races did not allow Vicious Beasts to advance to Rank Ten like the Celestial Phoenix, black turtle, the Primordial Serpent, or the Thunder Dragon.

The Celestial Phoenix and black turtle had once persuaded Rank Eight Vicious Beasts to defect in the heat of the battle against the human race.

This had only succeeded because Vicious Beasts awakened their intellect at Rank Eight.

Rank Tens were naturally far more dangerous and would have almost certainly transformed into Spirit Beasts by then.

As soon as they learned of their race's tragic history through their bloodline memories, they would inevitably rise in rebellion.

Naturally, the foreign races would never raise a tiger that could turn on them.

The foreign races had no intention of handing over the Fey Spirit Continent to the Fey Race, regardless of the black turtle's intentions.

"The Fey Race will always remain beneath us, forever reduced to our mounts."

Ling Yimo's divine consciousness surged like a rising tide as she infused her power into her divine soul.

She imprinted it with her secret soul techniques, aiming to eventually transform her divine soul into a living body with flesh and blood.

A sword light descended from the sky.

The sword light appeared to be composed of rivers of souls that floated with corpses of billions of foreign races.

It struck the Sanctum of Godly and Demonic Genesis.

The Sanctum of Godly and Demonic Genesis had only just taken shape. It had finally established a connection with the real Sanctum of Godly and Demonic Genesis, only to be sliced into pieces with a single sword strike.

Earth energy scattered in radiant showers across the Fey Spirit Continent.

Ling Yimo's recently solidified divine soul once again dissipated into wisps of smoke. She fled from the destroyed city, slipping through the cracks in the ground like a swarm of mosquitoes.

The sword light faded to reveal a rotund man in blue robes hovering in the sky with his sword.

His divine sense blanketed the entire Fey Spirit Continent.

"Pang Jian!" he shouted.

His resonant voice echoed through the vast Fey Spirit Continent, shaking Ling Yimo's consciousness and causing the foreign races and Vicious Beasts to spurt blood from their mouths.

His sword intent permeated every corner of the continent, from the sky to its core.

"The divine sword, Tempest Fiend!"

"Li Zhaotian!"

1. While not directly referencing it, the river of souls (魂河) appears to draw inspiration from the Yellow Springs (黄泉), symbolizing the journey of souls through the afterlife. ☜