Trials of the Abyss

Chapter 222: Migrants from the Lower World

On a fragmented land named Astral Pearl within the Zhou Clan's territory in the Fourth World stood Zhou Qingchen, conjuring a crimson protective shield.

He had recently advanced to the middle stage of the Innate Realm with the help of the Divine Origin Pearl.

Seven blades of varying lengths hovered above his head, releasing dazzling lights that slashed through the dense packs of Vicious Beasts.

The Divine Origin Pearl hovered a hundred zhang in the air, letting off brilliant rays of light that caused Vicious Avians to screech and plummet from the sky.

Members of the Zhou Clan, led by Zhou Huaian, were resisting the onslaught of Vicious Beasts with the assistance of the Divine Origin Pearl.

Mutated venomous pythons and giant lizards slithered among the rocks, while Ice Armor Beasts and one-horned rhinoceroses with scales as tough as iron worked with the golden eagles, gray falcons, and giant rocs to launch wave after wave of attacks on Astral Pearl.

The battle had been raging for several days with both sides locked in a deadly stalemate.

Whoosh!

A young girl in a green dress appeared in the sky riding a massive silver sword.

The girl was leisurely eating a bunch of grapes and reluctantly stood up from the sword as large as a ship.

Peering down at the fierce battlefield below with eyes as bright as gemstones, she murmured, “How troublesome.”

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Dazzling sword lights shot out from the massive silver sword beneath her feet, transforming into brilliant rivers of sword light and cutting through even the strongest Vicious Beasts in sprays of blood.

With one effortless move, the girl had resolved Zhou Clan's crisis in Astral Pearl.

As the silver sword floated away, Zhou Huaian hurriedly shouted up at her from the ground below to express his gratitude.

However, the girl ignored him.

"She's truly a divine being," Zhou Huaian said as he watched the giant sword disappear into the distance.

Heaving a sigh of relief, he turned to face Zhou Qingchen. Zhou Qingchen's face was covered with a full beard and he exuded a fierce aura.

"That girl roams the fragmented lands of both our Zhou Clan and the Dong Clan with her sword," Zhou Huaian explained, voice full of admiration and gratitude. "She goes to areas with the fiercest Vicious Beast attacks and often resolves everything with a single strike.

“Without her, many fragmented lands would've fallen, and the Vicious Beasts would've devoured many people.”

"She truly is admirable," Zhou Qingchen agreed, swallowing a pill to restore his spiritual power.

He then called on Han Duping and the remaining members of the Zhou Clan to eliminate the weaker Vicious Beasts.

Only once he saw the Vicious Avians carrying the surviving Vicious Beasts away did Zhou Qingchen finally relax.

Not long after, several Cloud Sails rose from Astral Pearl to head toward the Zhou Clan’s main city.

Scarlet Dawn Boats from the Red Mountain Sect were waiting there to take the Zhou Clan to the Third World.

“The murky energy will eventually spread to this place; the Fourth World will fall sooner or later.” Han Duping sighed.

Han Duping had recently broken through to the early stage of the Innate Realm after a prolonged period of arduous battle.

With a bitter laugh, he asked, "Are the higher-ups planning to send more powerful cultivators down here to solve the contamination problem?"

“If they could solve it, it would already be resolved,” Zhou Huaian said, slightly frazzled and distressed. He gazed in the direction the Vicious Beasts had retreated with a heavy expression. “Almost the entire Fourth World is contaminated, with the exception of the fragmented lands under the Dong Clan and our Zhou Clan.

"It's only a matter of time before these fragmented lands are also covered in murky energy. All I can hope for now is to migrate as many of our clan members as possible.”

The Fourth World had changed dramatically in just over a year, becoming a world of widespread devastation and sorrow. Human cultivators and mortals alike were suffering all over the Fourth World.

To make matters worse, hordes of Vicious Beasts—mutated by the murky energy and hostile to the human race—seized the opportunity to attack the yet-untainted lands, causing bloodshed as the humans took refuge in the uncontaminated cities.

The remaining human cultivators would have long been overwhelmed if not for the girl with the massive silver sword.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Two Scarlet Dawn Boats landed in Astral Pearl like two streaks of rainbow.

“Senior Sister Jiang, Senior Sister Zhao!” Despite having become more reserved due to his clan's ordeal, Zhou Qingchen stood up and shot them a now rare smile. “Why have you come?”

“Junior Brother Zhou...” Jiang Li softly called, her gentle eyes filled with deep affection.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Elders and disciples of the Red Mountain Sect descended from the other Scarlet Dawn Boat, dressed in red robes. They nodded in greeting to Zhou Qingchen, Zhou Huaian, and the others.

“Elder Qi! Senior Lin, Senior Qin!” greeted Zhou Qingchen.

“Sorry for the delay. There was an issue in the Primordial Wilderness, so we had to head there first," explained Qi Wei, a Spirit Condensation Realm elder of the Red Mountain Sect, gesturing for Zhou Huaian, Zhou Qingchen, and the others to be at ease. "However, before we arrived, the problem at that fragmented land was miraculously resolved, so we instead made our way to the Fourth World.

"Qingchen, leave the rest to us. You can return to the Third World on Zhao Yuanqi’s Scarlet Dawn Boat.

"Wei Wenhan from the Radiant Sun Sect is leading a team to support the Dong Clan. Some elders from the Star River Alliance and the Blood Moon Sect originally headed for the Primordial Wilderness have also come down to help resolve the Vicious Beast crisis in the Fourth World.”

Qi Wei then abruptly changed the subject as he asked, "Qingchen, are you acquainted with Pang Jian?"

Zhou Qingchen’s eyes reddened, and he replied without hesitation, “He’s a brother I’ve shared life-and-death experiences with!

“Elder Qi, do you have news about Pang Jian? Has he left the Solitary Mountain Range?”

Zhou Qingchen had been seeking news about Pang Jian since leaving Eight Trigrams City but could not find anything about Pang Jian's situation or whereabouts.

Qi Wei’s sudden mention of Pang Jian gave him a glimmer of hope.

“Your brother is truly remarkable.” Qi Wei glanced at the sky with a look of admiration. “He’s currently in the Third World, though his exact location is unknown. His deeds have spread throughout the Third World. Ask anyone up there and they'll be able to tell you just how famous your brother is now!”

"What?!" Zhou Qingchen exclaimed in surprise.

***

A Cloud Sail departed from the Cosmic Skies Continent in the Third World, passed by the Three Immortals Island and the Primordial Wilderness, and sailed toward the Dark Abyss Continent under the scorching sun.

The captain of the boat, Wang Ying, was an attractive middle-aged woman. She glanced around at the three distinctly different groups on the deck with her seductive, shimmering eyes.

Of the three groups, she treated the noble family disciples previously stranded in the Primordial Wilderness the most warmly.

The destruction of their own Cloud Sail forced these pampered young noble family disciples to take hers instead.

They frequently complained about her Cloud Sail’s poor condition and found fault with everything.

Even so, Wang Ying dared not offend them, so she kept a smile of faux enthusiasm on her heavily powdered face.

She acted colder toward the groups of rogue cultivators who were simply roaming the fragmented lands in the Third World.

The final group consisted of those from the Fourth World. The Star River Alliance was sending them to the desolate fragmented lands. Rumor had it that two of the group were actually core members of the He Clan and the Ning Clan.

Wang Ying's attitude toward the people from the Fourth World was by far the worst of the three groups and she often responded to their questions with irritation.

“Alas, the world is growing more chaotic. Even lowly migrants from the Fourth World are coming up to compete for our territory," lamented a young man from a family allied with the Star River Alliance as he glanced at the He Clan and the Ning Clan. “The major families in the Third World may soon be forced to give up cities for them.”

He then smiled mockingly at the group of rogue cultivators. "The fragmented lands where you rogue cultivators roam will also be forcibly taken over, and the space you can operate will only shrink."

Hearing this, many of the rogue cultivators could not help but glare at the migrants from the lower world with resentful eyes.

He Hui of the He Clan and Ning Wei of the Ning Clan could only smile wordlessly in the face of these mocking remarks and Wang Ying's preferential treatment from Wang Ying.

They had realized just how unwelcome they were upon arriving in the Third World.

He Hui and Ning Wei had recently broken through to the Marrow Cleansing Realm. Their accompanying clan members were of even lower cultivation realms, with most being in the Qi Practicing Realm and Meridian Opening Realm.

Some were even ordinary mortals who had yet to cleanse their spiritual seas.

Their group had previously been left in a desolate fragmented land, with the Star River Alliance instructing the two leaders to wait for passing Cloud Sails. The Gilded Chariots that had brought them up to the Third World then left to descend back to the Fourth World.

The pair knew the Gilded Chariots were in limited supply and were operating at full capacity to shuttle people between the Fourth and Third Worlds.

They were aware that the Gilded Chariots were going to the Fourth World to fetch more of their clan members, so they dared not complain.

However, they did not expect those on the passing Cloud Sail to have such high cultivation realms, with none below the Marrow Cleansing Realm.

Several imposing figures even appeared to be in the Profound Abode Realm, causing them to act even more cautiously.

Unnervingly, a sallow-faced rogue cultivator in black was casting meaningful glances toward them, leaving He Hui and Ning Wei terrified.

“The Star River Alliance is backing us. The rogue cultivators wouldn't dare act recklessly with that in mind. And those noble family disciples are either allied with the Star River Alliance or the Blood Moon Sect!” He Hui whispered.

Ning Wei nodded bitterly. “I just hope we can safely reach the fragmented land that the Star River Alliance arranged for us. Neither the rogue cultivators nor the noble family disciples dare to act rashly there with the elders of the Star River Alliance in charge.”

He Hui sighed. “I wish our Fourth World was not contaminated. I'd rather stay in the lower world than come up here.”

“Who wouldn't?” Ning Wei agreed.

As the vassals of the Star River Alliance, the He and Ning Clans were like local tyrants in the fragmented lands they governed in the Fourth World.

In their territories, they were revered, and every clan member roaming their cities did so with pride and had never faced any kind of humiliation.

However, after the Star River Alliance brought them to the Third World, they faced disdain and contempt everywhere.

The other people on board the Cloud Sail were either noble family disciples of higher status or rogue cultivators with superior cultivation realms. They could not afford to offend any of them.

The stark contrast from being revered in the lower world to being humbled in the upper world was too great for them to accept all at once.

The sallow-faced black-clad man glanced at He Hui once more.

That's He Ziren's father, thought the man in black.

He Hui dared not meet the man's gaze, instinctively looking away in fear of inadvertently offending him.

He could not help but feel that this black-clad man was the most formidable person on this Cloud Sail.