Trials of the Abyss

Luo Hongyan donned a loose gray robe that hid her figure and then applied the same dye to her forehead and neck to match Pang Jian’s appearance.

Her plain appearance was vastly different from the Luo Hongyan aboard Gao Yuan’s Cloud Sail and she no longer possessed her stunning allure.

"Pull your sleeves down to cover your spatial bracelet," she reminded Pang Jian.

Luo Hongyan had originally planned to only stay on Ice Rock Island for a few days, intending to leave on a Cloud Sail after attending Maverick Ling Yun’s trade fair. However, the deaths of the Shadow Specter Sect’s members and Pang Jian’s festering resentment meant they were now plotting an assassination.

This meant she could not attract any attention.

"Alright." Pang Jian pulled his sleeves down to cover his spatial bracelet with his cuffs.

"Let’s go pay the spirit stones to participate in the trade fair and get our tokens," Luo Hongyan said, leading the way.

Not long after, they reached the southeastern corner of the Giant Stone Palace, where many rogue cultivators had already gathered.

In front of Pang Jian stood a domeless stone hall. It was nearly fifty zhang high and towered over the collapsed stone towers and houses. Although the stone hall was also in ruins and its walls filled with cracks, it was still the most intact structure in the area.

The rogue cultivators were gathered around the stone hall and asking a gray-robed man questions. After obediently paying spirit stones, they would then receive a wooden token.

"I’ll go exchange for the tokens," Luo Hongyan said, heading toward the gray-robed man.

She no longer attracted attention in her disguise, and no one paid her any special attention while she got the tokens.

Pang Jian stopped to survey their surroundings.

Several thick stone pillars supported the grand stone hall. The dome of the stone hall had caved in, allowing faint starlight to filter through. Several people stood at the top of the collapsed dome, condescendingly gazing down in judgment at the people below.

As Pang Jian studied the stone hall, he noticed crude murals carved into the thick stone pillars.

The murals depicted many one-eyed figures conducting a solemn ceremony, placing different items on an altar to worship their deity. The stone pillars were broad, and the murals were massive, allowing Pang Jian to make out the details of the murals.

The offerings included winding serpents, spirit turtles, large fruits, and giant trees that gave off lightning.

Some offerings were tiny in comparison to the one-eyed figures. These were mostly boys and girls with exquisite appearances.

These figures seemed to be humans!

Intrigued, Pang Jian moved closer to take a better look.

He was certain he had not misinterpreted what he saw.

The captivatingly beautiful boys and girls were offerings from the one-eyed giants to their deities.

Pang Jian grew increasingly puzzled.

Did one-eyed giants live here in some bygone ancient era? Did they offer humans to their deities?

Luo Hongyan returned.

"Let’s find a place to stay. In three days, we’ll use these tokens to attend the trade fair," she said, waving two black wooden tokens at Pang Jian but did not attempt to hand one to him. "That Maverick Ling Yun is copying Old Monster Cao’s methods. All transactions at the trade fair must be conducted with spirit stones. For each transaction, the buyer and the seller must each give him a ten percent commission."

Pang Jian was puzzled.

Seeing his confusion, Luo Hongyan explained, "For example, if a bottle of elixir costs a hundred spirit stones, both the buyer and seller must give him ten spirit stones each. In addition to the fifty spirit stones paid to participate, he takes a twenty percent commission from every trade, with both sides paying ten percent each."

"That’s greedy," Pang Jian remarked.

"Yes, he learned it from Old Monster Cao," Luo Hongyan said, leading the way through the city. "According to the memories of Fei Zheng and the others from the Blood Moon Sect, there’s someone called Old Monster Cao in the Third World with a large territory of fragmented land.

"Old Monster Cao has a high cultivation realm and is highly respected by people from the Red Mountain Sect, the Blood Moon Sect, and the Sinister Soul Temple.

"Every three years, he hosts a trade fair in his territory. Participants must pay five hundred spirit stones to join. Each participant is thoroughly checked to ensure they qualify. Participants must possess at least ten thousand spirit stones or bring high-quality spirit materials or spirit artifacts for trade.

"Old Monster Cao’s trade fair is famous in the Third World. It attracts not only rogue cultivators but also members of major sects."

Pang Jian was astonished.

"His trade fair charges ten times the entry fee of Maverick Ling Yun’s trade fair?" he asked, baffled. "And he also takes a twenty percent commission from each trade?"

"Yes, the rule of taking a ten percent commission from both sides was his idea." Luo Hongyan nodded, eyes sparkling with interest. "I plan to visit Old Monster Cao’s fragmented lands. His next trade fair should be in two months. That’s the real grand event of the Third World."

"A grand event?" Pang Jian asked curiously.

"Old Monster Cao’s trade fair is renowned in the Third World because truly priceless treasures appear there," Luo Hongyan explained enthusiastically. "Rare items from the Fifth World, as well as the Second World or even the First World, can be found at his trade fair!"

Pang Jian felt a deep admiration and respect for Old Monster Cao.

After leaving the stone hall, they found a broken stone wall and carved out a spacious cave to hide in.

Luo Hongyan then explained Maverick Ling Yun’s rules to Pang Jian, "Fighting is prohibited in and around the Giant Stone Palace. Once we leave Ice Rock Island, you can fight as you please."

Pang Jian snorted derisively. If that were true, Zhao Ling and the others would not have died in the Giant Stone Palace.

"Maverick Ling Yun is at the late stage of the Profound Abode Realm. I should be able to handle him as long as he doesn’t have external help." Luo Hongyan paused in thought then continued, "Zhu Yuanxi from Blood Moon Sect is currently on Cloud Island. I don’t know if he’ll join the trade fair in three days.

" Zhu Yuanxi is in the Innate Realm. He came with another Innate Realm cultivator and several Marrow Cleansing Realm cultivators.

"Jiu Yuan’s not on the Three Immortal Islands. He’s a Spirit Condensation Realm expert. Jiu Yuan...he’s a tough opponent even for me. I heard he might attend Old Monster Cao’s trade fair in two months. He’s been searching for some rare spirit materials that might appear there."

Lately, she had been wandering near the Three Immortal Islands disguised as Dong Tianze, robbing rogue cultivators along the way but not killing them. This allowed her to gather a lot of useful information.

"Innate Realm, Profound Abode Realm, and Spirit Condensation Realm..." Pang Jian murmured to himself.

Even the weakest, Zhu Yuanxi, was an entire cultivation realm above him. At Pang Jian’s cultivation level and combat strength, he could only kill Zhu Yuanxi. Without Luo Hongyan’s help, he could not take on Maverick Ling Yun. Jiu Yuan was tougher still and was someone he could not afford to provoke at the moment.

"I still don’t know how many rogue cultivators are gathered on Ice Rock Island or if there is anyone stronger than Maverick Ling Yun," Luo Hongyan said thoughtfully. "Let’s attend the trade fair in three days and assess the situation then. If we decide to take action against Maverick Ling Yun, we should do it after the trade fair ends."

Pang Jian nodded. "Since fighting is prohibited in the Giant Stone Palace, I’ll wander around and return later."

Luo Hongyan smiled. "If anything happens, just shout, and I’ll hear you."

"Alright," Pang Jian said as he left the cave.

He habitually scouted the terrain in advance, wandering alone through the Giant Stone Palace and imprinting the layout of the ruined city into his mind.

As he explored, he saw many murals depicting the former glory of the one-eyed giants. Some murals showed the sun, moon, and stars in the sky, indicating that the one-eyed giants once lived beyond the perpetual darkness of the Fifth World. Based on the size and clarity of the sun, moon, and stars, it appeared they had once lived much closer to the sky.

Most of the rogue cultivators Pang Jian encountered during his exploration were either in the Meridian Opening Realm or the Marrow Cleansing Realm. Maverick Ling Yun’s rule prohibiting fights meant no one caused trouble for Pang Jian.

Four hours later, Pang Jian returned to the cave after thoroughly mapping out every corner of the Giant Stone Palace.

As he entered the cave, he commented questioningly, "I saw many murals related to the one-eyed giants. They seemed to use humans as offerings. Could it be that they once roamed our world?"

Luo Hongyan was taken aback.

She considered his question for a long while, then said with a troubled expression, "I’m not sure. I only know that a long time ago, beings from the Fifth World attempted to rebel against the upper worlds. Those beings were either killed or suppressed, and have long since vanished.

"Powerful figures from the upper worlds sealed and suppressed the inhabitants of the Fifth World. It’s said that the stronger they are, the harder it is for them to break free. I don’t know the specifics though, as these old events are too far removed. Nowadays, there aren’t any beings like that active in our world and only some powerful figures will occasionally descend to the Fifth World."

That night, Pang Jian decided he would try to connect to the Giant Abyssal Serpent.

Now that he had Mind Soothing Pills, he did not have to worry about exhaustion. Furthermore, he had not checked on the Giant Abyssal Serpent in a long time. He also had burning questions about the Giant Stone Palace.

After calming his mind, he connected to the Giant Abyssal Serpent, and its vision was shared with him.

The first thing he saw was a tall woman with six pairs of white wings!

The woman stood with her back to him at the peak of a high mountain, seemingly gazing into the distance.

Villages and towns inhabited by non-humans lay scattered in the plains below the mountain. These beings knelt devoutly toward the mysterious woman, voices rising in thunderous reverence.

The woman with six pairs of white wings appeared to be something akin to a deity for them.

Pang Jian was taken aback.

The mysterious woman with white wings had once appeared near the top of the Heaven Ascension Tribulation Pillar, attempting to fly up toward Eight Trigrams City, which sat at its peak.

She was a being on par with the one-eyed giant and the silver-white skeletal dragon.

How did the Giant Abyssal Serpent become involved with her?

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