Trials of the Abyss

Chapter 323: The Oppressive Might of Rank Sevens

The golden bee flapped its transparent wings and flew toward the Frozen Land.

A large crimson gourd followed behind it, radiating vibrant light as it whistled through the void.

"Luo Yuan, you're going the wrong way! Aren't you supposed to lead us to Absolute Heaven where the Forsaken Expanse Sect people are? Why are we heading somewhere else?" the white crane screeched.

Zzzap!

A bright silver lightning bolt shot from a piece of withered wood clutched in the white crane's claws and shattered the incoming moon blades launched by the pursuing Bright Moon Race.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Zhuang Yuyan's mother-child swords materialized and expanded into a fiery world.

The cries of the Vermillion Bird and Fiery Qilin reverberated through the air, shattering another wave of moon blades aimed at the group.

Wu Yuan of the Demon Sect remained silent as he focused on telekinetically controlling dozens of floating boulders.

The heavy boulders emitted deep demonic light as they smashed into the Bright Moon Race's weapons, causing them to fracture and warp.

Dong Tianze wielded his Black Crow Cauldron, while Zhou Qingchen unleashed a flurry of long blades.

Qi Qingsong casually swung his sword, weaving sword intent and sword light into a blue dreamlike sea that left the Bright Moon Race warriors dazed and confused.

The incessant whining of the white crane grated on his nerves, and he could not help but snap, "Stop screeching and just follow Pang Jian!"

"You insolent brat! How dare you speak in such a disrespectful tone to your Grandpa Crane?!" The white crane's beastly eyes turned icy cold.

It flicked its left wing and sent seven lightning bolts streaking into the blue dreamlike sea, creating ripples of electric current that shattered Qi Qingsong's illusory world.

"Enough!" Zhuang Yuyan huffed, eyes burning with fury and unable to maintain her usual dignified elegance. "Qi Qingsong, hold your tongue! And you, Thunder Crane, stop your endless yapping!"

"You insolent girl! Who do you think you are to reprimand your Grandpa Crane?" the white crane sneered arrogantly. "I'm a Divine Crane from the Pure Land Sect. No one in your Sword Pavilion besides Luo Yuan deserves my respect!"

"Senior Sister, let's forget about this annoying crane and just go on our own," Qi Qingsong grumbled.

"I'd love to, but the Bright Moon Race is already targeting us. We can't escape even if we wanted to!" Zhuang Yuyan said bitterly.

A silver disc resembling a full moon suddenly flew toward them. It radiated sacred light and crashed into the fiery world of Zhuang Yuyan's spirit swords, causing it to collapse in a wave of divine power.

Zhuang Yuyan let out a muffled groan and hurriedly stowed her pair of spirit swords back into her sleeve.

"Little Junior Brother!" Zhuang Yuyan shouted at the golden bee, voice sharp with frustration. "Come here as soon as possible! These unruly mutts are fond of fighting amongst themselves. I can't control them anymore!"

Qi Qingsong and the white crane's quarrel aside, she had noticed even Wu Yuan of the Demon Sect shooting murderous glances at the white crane while fighting.

Based on his expression, he would surely kill the white crane if the opportunity arose.

Zhou Qingchen, Zhao Yuanqi, and Dong Tianze also seemed disgusted by the foul-mouthed white crane, and their expressions were equally hostile.

The foreign race warriors' relentless pursuit combined with the growing tension within the group due to the white crane left Zhuang Yuyan mentally exhausted and increasingly frustrated.

"I'm here."

Pang Jian appeared beside the golden bee and headed straight toward the sea of moon blades behind them.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The Startling Slaughter Spear emitted an awe-inspiring aura as it thrust forward, piercing through the sea of moon blades in a wave of radiant cold light.

"Ice Soul Demon Divine Scripture. Freeze."

The icy light emanated boundless cold energy from Pang Jian's ice pool, meticulously manipulated with his three thousand strands of divine sense.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

The spreading cold enveloped hundreds of moon blades as if pulling them into the frozen realm of an Ice God.

Pang Jian's sword intent unleashed the Ice Demon's arcane secrets of the cold across the sea of cold light.

The solid blades of pure lunar energy were frozen within a massive block of ice and stripped of their power.

Boom!

The Bright Moon Race's pursuing warship crashed into the enormous block of ice, forcibly stopping in its tracks.

"Who is he?"

"Why is his cold energy so terrifying?"

"Our strength has been completely sealed!"

The Bright Moon Race warriors wore grim expressions as they hurriedly activated their artifacts to break through the block of ice.

"Pure lunar energy...and it's so refined!" Pang Jian's eyes lit up.

He stepped onto the solid ice block and used the Qi Nurturing Divine Cauldron Art to absorb the pure lunar energy within.

Brilliant beams of moonlight drifted up from the block of ice and into Pang Jian like a rain of light.

The dim, rice-grain-sized moon in his dantian grew brighter as it expanded.

"Pang Jian!"

"Little Junior Brother!"

Pang Jian's unexpected appearance and overwhelming display of power had caught Qi Qingsong, Zhuang Yuyan, and the others off guard.

"Luo Yuan! You sure have a lot of tricks up your sleeve!" The white crane shouted, flapping its wings. "Those pesky Thunder Race in the Forbidden Land of the Thunder God have been mostly wiped out.

"Luo Yuan, we brothers need to join forces! First, we'll deal with these Bright Moon Race warriors, then we can go back to collect the fragments of the Divine Court!"

"Brothers?" Zhou Qingchen scratched his head in confusion. "When did Pang Jian become brothers with a creature like this?"

"Why do you even care?" Zhao Yuanqi said as she accelerated her gourd. Her face suddenly paled with fear. "How can this be? Pang Jian, you're not leading us into a dead-end, right?"

"Senior Sister, what nonsense are you spouting?" Zhou Qingchen asked, annoyed.

"Are you blind? Can't you see what's ahead of us?" Zhao Yuanqi scolded before realizing. "Oh, right. Your cultivation realm is too low to see as far as I can."

She turned to look at Pang Jian.

"Pang Jian!" she cried out in despair, drawing confused looks from Qi Qingsong, Wu Yuan, and the others. "There's another group of foreign race warriors right ahead of us! They're at least ten times more terrifying than the Bright Moon Race!"

The others looked into the distance and spotted a group of foreign races riding Spirit Avians. Their auras were cold and sinister as they charged toward them with murderous intent.

The man and woman leading the way were like two towering glaciers in an eternal frozen land. The very sight of them sent a wave of cold fear rippling through their hearts.

The foreign race leaders they had encountered earlier in Absolute Heaven—the Ghost Race commander, Ka Zi from the Wood Race, and even the Sea Race warriors—were nothing compared to these two.

"They're not in Rank Six! A Rank Six wouldn't have this kind of oppressive power!" The white crane was shaken. It hesitated briefly, then gritted its teeth and said, "Luo Yuan, I'll avenge you another day! I have urgent business, so let's part ways here. Farewell and good luck!"

The white crane tapped into the last of its bloodline power, withdrew the overflowing lightning from its wings, and concentrated all its energy on escaping.

It then fled in a flash of silver lightning.

"Rank Seven!"

Zhuang Yuyan and the others were as pale as ash.

"Pang Jian, did you lead us in the wrong direction?" Qi Qingsong stamped his foot in frustration, causing the gourd to shake violently. "We need to change directions!

"Let's head for Absolute Heaven instead! If that's not an option, we can charge into the Forbidden Land of the Thunder God and deal with the Bright Moon Race!

"Anything but facing these terrifying Rank Seven Ice Race warriors! And there are even two of them!"

Qi Qingsong's scalp tingled with fear.

"We can't outrun or hide from them," Dong Tianze said grimly, gripping the Black Crow Cauldron. "Rank Seven foreign race warrior's power is far beyond us. Unless we use some secret technique, there's no way..."

An overwhelming feeling of helplessness filled him.

Zhuang Yuyan turned to see the Bright Moon Race's warship changing course and fleeing toward the bizarre mist.

"The Bright Moon Race is retreating!" Zhuang Yuyan yelled.

They dared not even return to the Forbidden Land of the Thunder God!

"Don't worry, just stay put," Pang Jian said calmly, absorbing the last strand of lunar energy into his dantian.

He then pointed his Startling Slaughter Spear at the fleeing Bright Moon Race's warship and instructed the approaching Ice Race warriors, "Let's deal with them first."

Meanwhile, Second Elder Bing Yuan was still in shock.

They had traveled a long distance from the Frozen Land to reach the Forbidden Land of the Thunder God, and he simply could not comprehend how Pang Jian had arrived before them.

"Second Elder?" Bing Ji and Bing Yun whispered.

Bing Yuan snapped out of his daze. "Kill the Bright Moon Race!"

The Ice Race had encountered these foreign race invaders before in the Frozen Land. Thus, Bing Yuan did not hesitate to jump off his Spirit Avian and give chase.

A radiant river of cold light surged from the Frost Scepter, swiftly appearing in the sky as he flew.

Bing Yuan was full of confidence because of his Rank Seven bloodline. The scepter's power allowed him to catch up with the fleeing Bright Moon Race in an instant.

"Ice Cleave!"

Bing Yuan swung the Frost Scepter, causing the long river of cold light to crash into the warship just as it attempted to enter the bizarre mist.

Crack!

The Bright Moon Race's warship split into two and the terrified warriors scrambled to escape.

"Freeze!" Bing Yuan shouted again.

The river of cold light unleashed a chilling mist that froze the fleeing Bright Moon Race warriors like insects trapped in amber.

"I've completed my task." Bing Yuan turned around and respectfully bowed to Pang Jian with a slight smile. "I broke through the limit of my bloodline thanks to your presence and the incredible changes in the Frozen Land."

"Rank Seven..." His face glowed with excitement. "Killing them was effortless with the advantage of my bloodline!"

"Good," Pang Jian responded calmly as he flew toward the shattered remains of the Bright Moon Race's warship using the black turtle scute.

"They listen to Pang Jian?" Zhou Qingchen could hardly believe his eyes. "Why does this foreign race obey Pang Jian's orders?"

Zhao Yuanqi bit her lip as a terrible thought surfaced in her mind.

Has an Outer God actually corrupted Pang Jian? Did the Nether Abyss Outer God take over Pang Jian's body to walk among us?

The more she thought about it, the more terrified she became.

"Come over here, all of you." Pang Jian waved them over to the warship.