Trials of the Abyss

Chapter 259: Unexpected Windfall!

In high spirits after their brief exchange, Pang Jian continued sending waves of life energy to Yu Xin and the Giant Abyssal Serpent and only stopped at Yu Xin's signal.

Yu Xin closed her eyes and spent several hours silently recovering in this way.

Whoosh!

A colossal black bat appeared on the distant black sea and flew toward Yu Xin and the Giant Abyssal Serpent with several Bat-Winged Race warriors perched on its wings.

The slightly fatigued Pang Jian perked up at the sight of the black bat.

As expected, it's one of the Outer Gods that vanished after leaving Spirit Offering.

The warriors from the Bat-Winged Race on the bat-like Outer God's wings had the heads of humans and the bodies of bats.

Standing up, they pointed at the Giant Abyssal Serpent and shouted, "Capture that Giant Abyssal Serpent and offer it as a vessel for our god!"

Despite them speaking in a different language, Pang Jian found he could understand every word. He quickly realized it was because the Giant Abyssal Serpent understood their language.

Are you the source of this mess? Pang Jian wondered, surprised the Outer God was after the Giant Abyssal Serpent.

"Kill!"

"Kill the Celestial Maiden!"

The short Bat-Winged Race warriors screeched as they flew off the Outer God's wings.

Pang Jian watched the bat-like Outer God closely and noticed it was seriously injured.

Deep gashes riddled its enormous wings, revealing dark brown stone beneath the shredded flesh.

The black bat was evidently not a true living creature but a stone statue brought to life. In its battle with Yu Xin, it had failed to secure a decisive victory and was severely wounded.

Yu Xin flapped her wings to hover above the black sea.

"You will all die here, and the Bat-Winged Race will be wiped out," she declared, eyes filled with killing intent as she gently grasped the black iron rod.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Yu Xin's wings churned the inky waters into towering waves that transformed into bizarre sea creatures and charged forward as her vassals.

Her white robes, embroidered with patterns of flowers, birds, insects, and fish, lit up with dazzling light.

Four different mystical energies flowed from the designs on Yu Xin's robes into her body as she swung the black iron rod toward the approaching Bat-Winged Race warriors and the Outer God.

Howl!

A thousand-zhang-tall black giant ape clad in chainmail appeared above the black sea while the black iron rod expanded a thousandfold.

The giant ape firmly grasped the black iron rod and swung the massive weapon, smashing it down onto the Bat-Winged Race warriors.

Its ferocious aura and the crashing waves from the black sea unleashed an overwhelming force that reduced the incoming warriors to a rain of blood.

The giant ape dominated the sky, wielding the black iron rod like a scaled-down Heaven Ascension Tribulation Pillar. It struck the bat-like Outer God with a thunderous crash.

Crack!

The massive black bat was crushed into tiny stone fragments, blowing like dust into the black sea.

After the strike, the ferocious giant ape vanished back into the black iron rod.

Yu Xin, the Giant Abyssal Serpent, and Pang Jian were all dumbfounded.

None of them had expected the black iron rod to display such terrifying power and destroy the Outer God with a single swing.

The first to recover was the Giant Abyssal Serpent.

With a splash, it dove into the black sea, swallowed the remnants of the Outer God into its body, and eagerly absorbed the divine-power-infused dark energy seeping from the stone fragments.

The Giant Abyssal Serpent only emerged from the sea once it was satisfied.

Meanwhile, Yu Xin remained in the air, still in a daze as she stared at the brutally powerful weapon in her hand.

Descending in front of the serpent, she placed her hand on its forehead and asked, Do you want this rod back?

No need. Just make sure you have enough spirit jades ready. That's all for now, Pang Jian replied before severing the connection.

Back in Snow Peak City, Pang Jian swallowed another Soul Nourishing Pill and sat quietly in his dark room with a gloomy expression.

I can't use the black iron rod as it's not meant for a human cultivator, but it's unbelievably terrifying in her hands!

Slightly disheartened at this revelation, Pang Jian left his room and walked to the courtyard, which was filled with pavilions, artificial hills, and flowing water. Standing on a stone bridge, he gazed at the night sky in deep thought.

Maybe I should check all the stone pillars in the stone forests around Spirit Offering.

The shocking power of the seemingly insignificant black iron rod caused Pang Jian to reconsider his earlier decision.

Creak!

A door was pushed open.

Zhao Yuanqi walked into a pavilion and waved at Pang Jian. Her silver hair draped freely over her shoulder, glowing a faint silver under the moonlight.

A loose gray cotton robe and a bunch of crystal-clear grapes in her hand contrasted her usual black robes and large red wine gourd on her back.

Her delicate face held none of its usual aloofness and instead carried a hint of worry.

"In a little while, a brand-new Scarlet Dawn Boat will be delivered from the Red Mountain Sect," she said once Pang Jian approached.

The surrounding courtyard housed only their group—Zhou Qingchen, Jiang Li, and Han Duping—so she was not concerned about outsiders overhearing their conversation. Biting her lip, she said softly, "Our Sect Master sent word, asking me to...get closer to you."

Pang Jian was taken aback. "My connection with Big Brother Zhou and Miss Jiang means my relationship with the Red Mountain Sect will always be strong."

"That's not what the Sect Master meant!" Zhao Yuanqi spat out a grape seed in annoyance and lowered her voice. "I asked around, and the Pavilion Master of the Sword Pavilion is exactly as you described!"

Pang Jian coughed and lowered his voice too. "But last time you said—"

"That's what our Sect Master told me!" Zhao Yuanqi glared at Pang Jian and continued in a hushed tone, "The Pavilion Master's name is Li Zhaotian. He's known for being a notorious playboy! I'm pretty sure something's going on between him and our Sect Master since she described him as charming!"

Why are you glaring at me? Even if something is going on between them, it has nothing to do with me, Pang Jian thought, dumbfounded.

"She told me to get closer to you!" Zhao Yuanqi grumbled with a cold look.

Pang Jian was speechless, He recalled how Li Zhaotian had urged him to pursue Li Yuqing and Luo Hongyan, as well as how he insisted Pang Jian's character matched his own.

Now, with Zhao Yuanqi's suspicions and her Sect Master's strange instructions...

"No way. You are not my type."

Pang Jian vigorously shook his head, turned around, and hurried back to his room, slamming the door behind him.

The silver-haired girl was left standing alone in the pavilion. The grapes in her mouth now seemed tasteless. Although initially embarrassed, she gradually felt her anger building at Pang Jian's reaction.

Zhao Yuanqi ground her teeth. "I'm not your type?"

The good impression Pang Jian had left on her in the Primordial Wilderness instantly vanished.

Meanwhile, Zhou Qingchen had been staying in Jiang Li's room, teasing her until her face flushed red with embarrassment.

Hearing voices in the courtyard, the pair had quietly leaned toward the window to peek through the gaps and eavesdrop.

"Senior Sister Jiang, what just happened?" asked Zhou Qingchen. "I didn't catch everything they said."

Jiang Li, struggling to restrain Zhou Qingchen's rough hands and breathing heavily, replied, "Junior Sister Zhao was self-conscious as a child. Even though she's now the chosen of the Red Mountain Sect, she still hides behind a cold exterior. She's really just a little girl at heart. Don't let Pang Jian bully her."

"She's already at the late stage of the Profound Abode Realm. Who could bully her?" Zhou Qingchen chuckled softly, then patted his forehead. "But come to think of it, Pang Jian might just be capable of it!"

Two days later, Pang Jian once again received a message from the Giant Abyssal Serpent. The first thing he saw after establishing a connection was a mountain of spirit jades!

Piles of spirit jades were stacked on a remote island in the black sea.

Flying above them was a majestic man with eight pairs of wings, wielding the black iron rod Pang Jian had sent over and destroying the Bat-Winged Races' islands one after the other.

Shadows of the black iron rod multiplied in the sky, with the fierce black giant ape occasionally appearing within.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The islands sunk into the depths of the sea.

That's my brother, my blood brother, Yu Xin said, gently pressing her slender finger against the Giant Abyssal Serpent's forehead.

She had fully recovered since the last time Pang Jian had seen her.

Gesturing to the pile of spirit jades, she said, All the spirit jades we obtained from the Primordial Wilderness in the Third World are all here. The key contributor was a woman named Lady Hua.

Her spatial bracelet alone held three hundred thousand spirit jades. The rest add up to about a hundred and fifty-seven thousand spirit jades.

I didn't bother gathering spirit stones since you didn't ask for spirit stones.

You saved both my life and Xiao Hei's. Not to mention, that miraculous rod is priceless. But this is all I could gather for you.

Guilt flashed across Yu Xin's beautiful face.

Pang Jian stared at the mountain of spirit jades and simply said, That'll do for now. I wish you the best of luck in the Fourth Continent.

Thank you for your kind wishes!

An hour later, a dazzling rain of spirit jades cascaded onto the spirit vein in the Resolute Expanse.

The once-thin spirit vein swelled with vitality, significantly boosting the fragmented land's ability to absorb the surrounding spiritual qi.

The black turtle in the depths of the Resolute Expanse stretched its body comfortably and sent Pang Jian a message.

It was preparing to hunt an Outer God.