Trials of the Abyss

The eternal sun hung high above the Abyss, radiating boundless light and heat.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Visible strands of solar radiance cascaded down to illuminate the towering figure hovering in the air.

It was like the bald young man of the Radiant Race was the source of the light itself.

A faint smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he basked in the sun's radiance.

It seemed a mighty God was watching over him beyond the Abyss, ceaselessly infusing his body with the sun's divine solar radiance.

This man was Lie Yi, the Divine Son of the Radiant Race, a promising candidate to ascend to godhood in the future.

His father, Lie Yang, was a Rank Ten warrior akin to Li Bai, a sovereign of a continent in the Fifth World.

In terms of lineage and personal potential, Lie Yi was on par with Xuan Ying.

His arrival caused a stir among the Demon Scale Race's powerhouses aboard the bone ship. The Demon Scale Race grumbled in annoyance and scolded him for his recklessness.

The expressions of the Immortal Realm human cultivators hovering in the air also darkened.

"Lie Yi! The Divine Son of the Radiant Race!"

The gazes of the human cultivators and the Rank Nine foreign race warriors simultaneously fell upon Lie Yi and Pang Jian.

Pang Jian, still standing at the foot of the mountain, glanced up at the young man from the Radiant Race.

The young man's aura was blisteringly hot and his body resembled a golden molten rock radiating light and heat.

This was clearly a prodigy on par with Xuan Ying in combat prowess and renown.

"Pang Jian, one of the girls I offered as a sacrifice to the Sun God mentioned that she knows you," Lie Yi said with a bright smile.

Although it was their first meeting, Lie Yi spoke to Pang Jian like they were old friends, with no hint of awkwardness or reserve.

A golden-red radiance unfolded behind Lie Yi and transformed into a mystical realm.

Within, a round-faced girl knelt with her head hung low atop an altar of golden obsidian and precious gems, an unknown force sealing her body.

It was Su Meng.

An aura of death lingered around her as she and six other young disciples of the Radiant Sun Sect knelt on the altar, enduring the scorching solar radiance as if awaiting judgment.

Their souls were slowly dissolving under the terrifying solar radiance, but their expressions remained vacant, seemingly unaware of pain or the approach of death.

Pang Jian's eyes grew cold as he took a slow, deep breath, eyes fixed firmly on Lie Yi.

Lie Yi was obviously trying to provoke him using Su Meng.

Lie Yi sought to use Su Meng's suffering and the impending annihilation of her soul to push Pang Jian into making irrational decisions.

"Su Meng..." Pang Jian narrowed his eyes as memories of the young girl raced through his mind.

Her father and the elders of her clan died on Central Lake Island at Dong Tianze's hands.

Su Meng had devoted herself wholeheartedly to her cultivation, striving to break through to higher cultivation realms in her quest for vengeance against Dong Tianze.

However, she could only watch helplessly as Dong Tianze rose to prominence, becoming a new powerhouse among the human elite in the Abyss.

She likely felt powerless, sinking deeper into despair as she realized she would never be able to avenge her late father with her own strength.

The Heavenly Daos were never fair and fate had a habit of playing cruel tricks.

Although she was once a genius of the Radiant Sun Sect, her failure to avenge her father had left her broken, and she ended up as a sacrificial offering for the foreign races of the Fifth World.

Pang Jian pitied her, but harsh reality had tempered his perspective.

All he could do was focus on saving those closest to him, such as Qi Qingsong and Zhuang Yuyan, and ensuring they escaped from this doomed Third World.

After all, they still had a chance of survival.

Su Meng was already trapped on the foreign race's altar. Her death seemed imminent, and there was nothing Pang Jian could truly do to save her.

"We're offering their souls and flesh as sacrifices to communicate with the exalted Sun God," Lie Yi said cheerily. "Pang Jian, did you know? The Radiant Sun Sect's cultivation methods are derived from the bloodline of our Radiant Race.

"Thirty thousand years ago, after our Radiant Race was defeated and forced to seek refuge in the Fifth World, human race cultivators tore open the chests of my ancestors, extracted their hearts, and discovered the methods of harnessing solar energy from the crystal bloodline chains unique to our race.

"Only then did your humans learn how to gather the solar energy from the solar radiance and discover the means to strengthen yourselves through it."

Lie Yi chuckled as he glanced at Zhu Jinghong of the Boundless Sky Divine Kingdom and the two Sword Pavillion elders atop the Sword Boat.

"Today, I'm offering the souls of these Radiant Sun Sect disciples to our Sun God. I promised him that I would sacrifice more souls of human cultivators capable of harnessing solar energy.

"Pang Jian, earlier, I sensed pure solar energy from your spiritual sea.

"If I could offer you as a sacrifice to our Sun God, I'm certain he would be pleased and grant me even more bloodline mysteries."

Lie Yi then clasped his hands together and murmured an incantation.

The souls of seven Radiant Sun Sect disciples on the altar in the mystical realm behind him, including Su Meng, dissolved in the blink of an eye.

A sudden, abnormal spatial ripple surged from the direction of the Radiant Sun Sect.

The solar radiance in that area flared intensely, as though a God in the sky had devoured the souls of the seven individuals through the altar.

The golden-red mystical realm behind Lie Yi abruptly vanished.

"The Demon Scale Race intends to let you go, but I, Lie Yi, will not allow it!"

He raised his arms into the air as if embracing the world.

Blinding solar radiance descended from the sky and rained down on Pang Jian in a storm of golden-red blades!

Lie Yi, the Divine Son of the Radiant Race, used his secret bloodline techniques to harness the solar radiance, transforming it into deadly blades to strike down his foes.

Golden-red blades poured down all around Pang Jian, leaving no room for him to dodge.

He could only reinforce his protective shield as much as possible with spiritual power, cold energy, and lightning.

Whoosh!

Pang Jian summoned the Heart of Winter and infused its boundless icy radiance into his protective shield, blocking the descending golden-red solar radiance.

Spurt!

Pang Jian spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.

Despite this, his protective shield grew denser and sturdier as he fended off the relentless solar radiance.

"Pang Jian!" Qi Qingsong, Zhuang Yuyan, and the others cried out from the mountain peak.

The Immortal Realm elders above the Sword Boat, Shi Bingyun and Cai Xin, glared at the Rank Nine Demon Scale Race warriors.

Rumble!

A warship of the Boundless Sky Divine Kingdom, carrying some disciples from the Sword Pavilion, started ascending into the sky.

On board, Zhou Wenhao bellowed furious protests, but Zhu Jinghong calmly assured, "I've seen the scenes within the Celestial Profound Mirror. Pang Jian can escape on his own.

"If he chose to stay behind and not ascend the peak, it means he has a means of self-preservation."

Hearing this, Qi Qingsong and Zhuang Yuyan also fell silent.

They had fought alongside Pang Jian in Absolute Heaven and were well aware of his extraordinary capabilities.

"Trust me, Pang Jian is more than capable of protecting himself.

"Furthermore, this is a battlefield where Immortal Realm cultivators and Rank Nine foreign race warriors cannot intervene.

"Pang Jian wields the Abyssal Demon Sword and has his Nirvana Realm cultivation. He can easily leave the Cosmic Skies Continent and fly to any destination on his sword.

"As long as we're not there to hold him back, he can escape anytime."

As one of the three Divine Marquises of the Boundless Sky Divine Kingdom, Zhu Jinghong could naturally tell Pang Jian still had hidden strength.

He was confident that Li Zhaotian's personal disciple had the strength and skill to break through Lie Yi's attacks.

As if in response to his words, Pang Jian suddenly disappeared into the ground like a fish diving into the sea.

With the earth as his shield, the descending solar brilliance could no longer harm him.

The blinding solar radiance only carved shallow gashes into the ground, unable to penetrate deeply.

"He went into the ground!"

"Pang Jian has such a technique?"

"No wonder he wasn't in a rush to leave!"

The Blazing Rainbow Army, the Zhu Clan, and the Jiang Clan marveled as they watched from the Boundless Sky Divine Kingdom's warship.

They all secretly heaved a sigh of relief.

Xuan Ying had slain many of their closest allies, leaving them feeling helpless and despondent.

Despite knowing Xuan Ying's formidable combat prowess, Pang Jian had descended from the upper world to open a path for Zhou Wenhao and the others.

This battle had earned Pang Jian their utmost respect.

On the Sword Boat, Elder Cai Xin's eyes lit up. "The Pavilion Master's choice of disciple is truly remarkable!"

"Let's hope the Pavilion Master successfully ascends to the True God Realm and that our Sword Pavilion can once again stand as a pillar in the chaos and slay countless foreign race powerhouses!" Elder Shi Bingyun said earnestly.

After exchanging messages with Jiang Ran, the two learned that even Jiang Ran eagerly anticipated Li Zhaotian's ascension to the True God Realm.

The harshness of this chaotic era had brought an end to the infighting within the Sword Pavilion.

After all, they now shared common enemies and a unified goal.

***

Five hundred zhang below ground, Pang Jian consumed a Soul Enriching Pill and calmly activated the Grand Providence Sacred Body while harnessing the power of the Leaves of Life.

He had refrained from utilizing the life energy from the World Eater Vine to avoid exposing his identity to the Wood Race powerhouses in the sky.

Now that he was underground, he unleashed all his abilities without restraint, drawing life energy from Pang Ling to heal the severe damage to his chest.

He also replenished his spiritual power through the black turtle on the Sacred Soul Continent.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Spiritual qi surged into his spiritual sea, where the green fragmented land absorbed it and transformed it into pure, dense spiritual power.

"The Radiant Race worships the Sun God. That Outer God residing on the sun directed Lie Yi to sacrifice Su Meng..." Pang Jian muttered coldly.

His mind drifted to Spirit Offering on the Dark Abyss Continent as he recalled the many altars and statues of the Outer Gods.

When the foreign races dominated the Abyss, humans were treated like livestock and sacrificed as sustenance for the Outer Gods.