Trials of the Abyss

Only four Immortal Realm cultivators remained after Huang Xi of the Goldstone Sect descended into the Demon Abyss. They gazed at the greenish-black sky in awe.

"He's truly worthy of being Li Zhaotian's disciple."

"No wonder he managed to kill the Radiant Race's Divine Son in the lower world. He has some remarkable abilities!"

Pang Jian had effortlessly breached the barrier confining them to the Demon Abyss Continent. This filled them with a newfound sense of hope.

They all knew that Pang Jian would undoubtedly relay the details of this calamity to the True Gods.

The True Gods would then be more equipped to come up with a solution for the situation.

"Pang Jian!" Li Jie cried in exhilaration.

Ducking fully into the Qilin Bell, he retrieved all the exotic treasures and talismans capable of protecting his divine soul. He then carefully affixed them to his forehead, the back of his head, and his chest.

"Huang Xi dares to venture deep into the Demon Abyss and approach the demonic stone. Do you seniors dare to investigate it yourselves too? I am merely in the Soul Wandering Realm, but I dare to enter and face the demonic stone directly!" he declared.

Sweat beaded on Li Jie's forehead as he cautiously inched closer to the demonic stone.

The four Immortal Realm cultivators exchanged uneasy glances before steeling themselves and descending with visible reluctance, with Duan Yun leading the way.

***

The sun shone brightly outside the Demon Abyss Continent, but its intense radiance could not penetrate the barrier that shrouded the continent.

The greenish-black barrier enveloping the Demon Abyss Continent of the Second World was shaped like an egg.

The barrier, which Dong Shangqing referred to as the Heaven-Encompassing Demonic Array, not only shrouded the sky above the continent but also extended beneath it, fully enclosing the continent within.

This extinguished any hope of using earth-attribute techniques to sneak inside.

Dong Shangqing, the True God of the Ancient Law Sect, stood atop a compass, scattering talismans from his sleeves as he attempted to analyze the composition of the arrays on the barrier.

The arrays, which had previously flickered intermittently, had manifested more clearly over time.

Liu Fu of the Primeval Pillar Divine Kingdom used the Celestial Profound Mirror floating behind her to illuminate the strange patterns on the greenish-black barrier.

Li Yuanli, the father of Li Jie and Li Yuqing, stood with a massive white paper fan unfurled above his head. Glowing specks of divine sense rained down from the fan.

Each glimmering speck of light sent ripples coursing across the greenish-black barrier as it landed.

Li Yuanli probed the ripples with his divine sense, studying the complex arrays within.

Dong Shangqing, Liu Fu, and Li Yuanli were all True Gods of the Abyss and among the most proficient in arrays. They positioned themselves at different regions of the barrier, working tirelessly to decipher its mysteries.

After gaining a full understanding of their respective sections of the array, they planned to cross-reference their findings to devise the best method to break it.

Whoosh!

A figure shot out from the region Li Yuanli was studying.

The figure wore the standard blue robes of a Sword Pavilion disciple with a sword token hanging from his waist. His tall, well-built figure and chiseled features exuded an unyielding aura.

"Pang Jian!" Li Yuanli exclaimed in shock.

The divine artifact above Li Yuanli's head stopped its shower of light as he paused his analysis of the barrier below.

"And you are?" Pang Jian glanced at Li Yuanli in surprise, feeling a vague familiarity.

He quickly realized that the handsome man was undoubtedly a relative of Li Jie and Li Yuqing. The three bore a striking resemblance that only close family members like parents or grandparents could share.

"I am Li Yuanli of the Divine Treasure Sect, Li Jie and Li Yuqing's father!

"Pang Jian, Li Jie is tempering his heart in the Demon Abyss below. Have you seen him?" Li Yuanli asked anxiously.

As a father, his foremost concern was Li Jie's safety. The details of the Demon Abyss Continent's calamity could wait. Nothing was more pressing than his son's well-being.

"Uncle Li." Pang Jian bowed respectfully. "Li Jie is unharmed. He's organized a group of clear-minded cultivators, intending to enter the Demon Abyss and uncover the source of the calamity."

Pang Jian held nothing back and recounted everything he knew in precise detail.

"How foolish! He's merely in the Soul Wandering Realm. What qualifications does he have to meddle in a calamity of this scale? The best thing he can do is stay as far away as possible from that demonic stone!" Li Yuanli sighed in frustration.

Whoosh!

Li Wang of the Nine Tribes Sect approached wearing a feathered crown.

The sun, moons, and stars embroidered on his robes moved in a precise rhythm, radiating brilliant light.

Pang Jian stared at him. It was like Li Wang had draped the starry skies above the Abyss over his body.

There was a blazing sun, two moons—a crescent and a full moon—and countless stars on his robes.

It was a representation of the ancient starry skies!

The True God of the Nine Tribes Sect was aware of the original appearance of the starry skies outside the Abyss.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Liu Fu, wielding the Celestial Profound Mirror, and Dong Shangqing, standing atop his compass, arrived shortly after.

"I am Liu Fu."

"I am Dong Shangqing of the Ancient Law Sect."

The two briefly introduced themselves.

Dong Shangqing then cut straight to the chase. "Pang Jian, tell us everything you know."

As the only successful escapee since the Demon Abyss Continent was sealed, they naturally regarded Pang Jian with the utmost importance.

"The situation is like this..."

Pang Jian recounted his experiences in the Demon Abyss to the two elders of Liu Youyu and Dong Wenjian.

"As expected, it's that demonic stone from the starry skies," Liu Fu said with a faint sigh.

Dong Shangqing frowned and nodded in agreement. "The previously departed True Gods warned us that the demonic stone posed a significant risk and urged us to find a way to destroy it.

"But the demonic stone involves the Demon Sect, and the implications are immense. We..."

He cast a glance at Li Wang but said nothing.

Li Wang had close ties with the Sect Master of the Demon Sect, Xiang Shengwei, as well as many of the previous Sect Masters.

The True God used the Demon Sect and the demonic stone from the starry skies to study the Demon Gods, hoping to understand the civilizations of the outer worlds.

The continued preservation of the demonic stone could largely be attributed to Li Wang and the previous Sect Masters of the Nine Tribes Sect.

This was also the reason Li Wang was the first to rush to the scene and summon the other True Gods to devise a solution.

To put it bluntly, if they were to dig deeper, Li Wang would not be able to entirely absolve himself of responsibility for the calamity on the Demon Abyss Continent.

"If it's the demonic stone..." Li Wang's eyes narrowed as he pondered.

The three other True Gods were also in deep thought.

Meanwhile, Pang Jian used his sword token to contact his senior brother and senior sister and soon learned about Li Zhaotian's failed attempt to ascend to the True God Realm.

"So, he didn't succeed."

Pang Jian trembled as a wave of disappointment flooded him.

After a moment, he steadied his mind and sent his divine sense into the sword-shaped symbol representing Li Zhaotian. "Master, are you alright?"

As usual, there was no response from Li Zhaotian.

Hu Yuanfei's replies, on the other hand, flooded the sword token.

"Junior brother, where are you? Are you still in Star Moon Valley? What on earth happened on the Demon Abyss Continent? How are you contacting us through the sword token?"

Hu Yuanfei had directed Pang Jian to Star Moon Valley and thus knew he was on the continent when the upheaval occurred.

She had worried day and night about his safety since hearing about the situation.

His message filled her with relief and she could not hold back her endless stream of questions.

"I'm fine. I just left the Demon Abyss Continent. I'm with Li Wang, Liu Fu, Li Yuanli, and Dong Shangqing," Pang Jian said.

He then briefly explained the situation to her.

"The calamity involving the demonic stone is not something you can handle!" Chen Weihuang said sternly. "Pang Jian, return to the Sword Pavilion immediately!"

This was the only thing Chen Weihuang said after hearing news of Pang Jian's return.

"I want to see if I can do anything to help," Pang Jian replied.

With that, Pang Jian withdrew his divine sense from the sword token.

At that moment, the black turtle, the World Eater Vine in Misty Swamp, and a bee that had left the bizarre mist all expressed a desire to establish contact with him.

Pang Jian hesitated, not wanting to communicate with the beings reborn in the Gate of the Abyss in front of the True Gods.

He adopted the demeanor of a junior wishing to respectfully avoid eavesdropping and quietly distanced himself from the group of conversing True Gods.

"The Heaven-Encompassing Demonic Array imposes the greatest restrictions on us. It's nearly impossible to infiltrate. Pang Jian found a way out, so perhaps he can also get back in." Dong Shangqing glanced at Li Wang. "You brought it, didn't you?"

Li Wang nodded.

"We can't get inside, and breaking the array in a short time seems unrealistic," Dong Shangqing said with a deep sigh. "Why don't you let Pang Jian take it into the Demon Abyss Continent and try instead?"

Li Wang hesitated.

"Only that artifact could resolve the anomalies of the demonic stone. Li Wang, why don't you hand it over to Pang Jian and let him try?" Li Yuanli urged anxiously.

His son, Li Jie, was still trapped inside, and he had no way of knowing when the demonic stone would unleash a third wave of tremors.

Li Yuanli wanted to act immediately, hoping they would make it in time to bring Li Jie back safely.

Li Wang sighed deeply.

"I'm afraid Pang Jian will be killed if he enters the Demon Abyss Continent with that item," he revealed. "I suspect the problem doesn't just involve the demonic stone.

"It likely also involves Xiang Shengwei of the Demon Sect.

"A while back, I noticed something off about Xiang Shengwei. His instances of cultivation deviation have significantly increased.

"A few days ago, he even contacted me, saying he's been having recurring dreams of being a Great Demon God from the starry skies.

"He also mentioned he was losing his sense of self."