Trials of the Abyss

Pang Jian could see that the treasures in the pool had captivated Luo Hongyan and no longer wasted time persuading her.

"Pang Jian, let’s go!" Zhou Qingchen shouted. He activated his Heartguard Mirror to form a crimson mountain from his spiritual energy and hurled it to the top of Pang Jian’s head.

The towering mountain hovered in midair and emitted rays of deep crimson light that formed a solid protective barrier. Wherever Pang Jian went, the mountain would follow and protect him.

Zhou Qingchen followed closely behind Pang Jian with his long saber in hand. He frequently turned his head to watch their rear.

Lin Beiye from the Black Valley Sect was now standing on his raised platform, black palms outstretched toward the violent storm formed from shattered rocks.

A thick beam of black light, filled with mysterious runes, shot toward the storm.

All the rocks were instantly pulverized, and the mysterious runes encircled Qi Qingsong one by one to ensure his safety.

Zhou Qingchen had been anxious about the possibility of Lin Beiye obstructing his and Pang Jian’s retreat. However, he soon realized Lin Beiye considered neither him nor Pang Jian worthy of his attention.

Crackle!

Golden dagger light cleaved onto the crimson mountain, scattering red and golden light everywhere.

Zhou Qingchen’s expression changed. "Dong Tianze!"

"What? Did you forget I was still here?"

Dong Tianze rose from his raised platform, clutching his golden Ghost’s Cry, and bared his teeth at Zhou Qingchen.

Swinging his Ghost’s Cry, Dong Tianze created a sea of golden dagger light that rained down on Pang Jian.

Crash! Clatter!

Both the crimson mountain and the golden dagger light shattered, showering onto Pang Jian like torrential rain and leaving him covered in wounds.

Pang Jian grunted, gaze fixed on the Mirror Tunnel before him. He gritted his teeth and stubbornly charged onward.

"You won’t get away," Dong Tianze said with a shake of his head. He mercilessly swung his Ghost’s Cry, creating more and more golden dagger light.

As Pang Jian raced toward the Mirror Tunnel, a sea of golden dagger light materialized before him. Seeing no other option, he merged with his Dragonwood Spear, transforming into a fiery meteor to stab through the sea of golden dagger light.

The ear-splitting clash of metal rang out from within the sea of golden dagger light, followed by the sharp, crisp sound of a spear shaft shattering.

The Dragonwood Spear was destroyed!

The golden dagger light pierced Pang Jian’s hand gripping his ruined spear shaft. Long, thin wounds slashed open his skin.

He discarded the Dragonwood Spear and rolled to the ground as he continued to rush toward the Mirror Tunnel.

Dong Tianze relentlessly swung his Ghost’s Cry, conjuring more golden dagger light above Pang Jian. It loomed above him like a celestial canopy, imprisoning him and preventing him from soaring into the sky.

The sea of golden dagger light blocked Pang Jian’s path, and he could not avoid the deadly dagger light if he wanted to enter the Mirror Tunnel.

As Dong Tianze watched Pang Jian rolling and struggling on the ground, he could not help but release his pent-up resentment as he sneered, "At Black Orchid Lake, you not only snatched my black turtle’s blood essence but also set up an ambush that left me heavily injured.

"I searched tirelessly for you in this bloody city for days but never saw you. Heh, perseverance truly does pay off! Little did I expect to find you within the City Lord’s Mansion."

Pang Jian acted as though he did not hear Dong Tianze’s mocking words and struggled onward beneath the sea of golden dagger light.

Whoosh!

Leng Yuan leaped down from where she stood behind Dong Tianze on the raised platform. She effortlessly leaped past the sea of golden dagger light and rushed toward Zhou Qingchen.

Once Leng Yuan confirmed that Pang Jian was Dong Tianze’s primary target, she took the initiative to confront Zhou Qingchen so that he could concentrate on killing Pang Jian.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

Colorful ribbons flew from Leng Yuan’s slender waist like a rainbow and circled Zhou Qingchen.

Leng Yuan pursed her lips and said with a faint smile, "My junior brother will take good care of your little friend. I just need to keep an eye on you."

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Daggers formed within the sea of golden dagger light, sharp edges gleaming as they shot down at Pang Jian.

These sharp daggers struck Pang Jian and left bloody wounds across his body.

Dong Tianze chuckled in satisfaction. "I’ll make sure your whole body is riddled with holes!"

Overcome with grief and remorse at the pitiful sight of Pang Jian, Zhou Qingchen cried out, "Pang Jian, I’m sorry!"

Regret filled Zhou Qingchen. He should have left with Han Duping and the others instead of trusting the girl in white.

He was willing to die for Jiang Li.

However, the only reason Pang Jian ended up in such a miserable situation was because of him. Zhou Qingchen was overwhelmed by guilt.

As he watched Pang Jian’s bloody figure struggling to even roll under the sea of golden dagger light, tears welled up in Zhou Qingchen’s eyes.

"I’m so sorry. I, Zhou Qingchen, have wronged you," Zhou Qingchen apologized. "I’m sorry, I’m so sorry..."

Through it all, he was struggling desperately against the lashing of the ribbons, and he was soon covered in wounds himself.

Zhou Qingchen was only a few years older than Pang Jian. As a young man, when he saw his beloved with half of her arm hacked off, his blood boiled, and he yearned to seek revenge on her behalf.

He was in the Marrow Cleansing Realm and also possessed many spiritual artifacts. This was why he dared to boldly shout for Qi Qingsong as soon as he entered the City Lord’s Mansion.

His confidence in his abilities, paired with Pang Jian’s capabilities, made him believe that the two of them had a chance of killing Qi Qingsong if they worked together.

However, Qi Qingsong had easily neutralized their initial attack.

At that moment, Zhou Qingchen realized there was a significant gap between his Marrow Cleansing Realm and Qi Qingsong’s Marrow Cleansing Realm.

The harsh reality dampened his eagerness and impulsivity, bringing him back to his senses.

If the girl in white had not instigated him and had not claimed to be on par with Qi Qingsong in combat prowess, Zhou Qingchen would never have dragged Pang Jian into another fight.

While the girl in white ultimately proved capable of standing toe-to-toe with Qi Qingsong, nobody could have expected Lin Beiye and Qi Qingsong to have already established a tacit understanding.

Consumed by guilt, Zhou Qingchen ignored the lashing of the multicolored ribbons and tore the Heartguard Mirror from his chest before hurling it toward the sea of golden dagger light.

"Pang Jian!" Zhou Qingchen roared. "Promise me you’ll get out of here alive!"

Tiny cracks appeared on the surface of Zhou Qingchen’s precious Heartguard Mirror as if a long-sealed power was about to be unleashed.

Crack!

The Heartguard Mirror shattered. The bright fragments of the mirror fell into the sea of golden dagger light looming over Pang Jian.

Raising his head, Pang Jian watched as fragments of the mirror fell from the sky like stars.

Each mirror fragment radiated a dazzling light, brimming with a strange power that seemed to tear through space and shatter the sea of golden dagger light above him.

"Go!" Zhou Qingchen yelled.

Swinging his cold iron long saber, Zhou Qingchen conjured a series of faint, undulating mountains with his dense spiritual power.

The faint mountains disregarded the tangle of colorful ribbons and instead charged straight at Leng Yuan.

Zhou Qingchen’s ferocious attack caused Leng Yuan to hesitate.

In the end, she decided not to unleash her trump card or engage in a battle of life and death with Zhou Qingchen.

Zhou Qingchen only wanted to leave with Pang Jian, not kill her and Dong Tianze. Leng Yuan did not want to risk her life just for that.

Not to mention, Lin Beiye and Qi Qingsong were still present, and Lan Xi of the Demon Sect had yet to take action. This caused Leng Yuan to become even more reluctant to seriously battle Zhou Qingchen.

Thus, she did not unleash the true extent of her spiritual power through the colorful ribbons.

Zhou Qingchen freed himself from her grasp and redirected the faint mountains to Dong Tianze.

Appearing within the sea of golden dagger light, he grabbed Pang Jian and said, "Let’s go!"

Dong Tianze’s sea of golden dagger light shattered. As he swung his dagger to strike down the approaching mountains, he scowled at Leng Yuan.

"Useless."

A chill ran down Leng Yuan’s spine. Gathering her spiritual power, she pursued Zhou Qingchen.

Pang Jian and Zhou Qingchen were covered in blood, but still, they pressed on toward the Mirror Tunnel.

After dealing with the approaching mountains, Dong Tianze wielded his Ghost’s Cry and flew down from the raised platform toward Pang Jian and Zhou Qingchen.

Zhou Qingchen stopped and raised his head to look at Dong Tianze. However, Dong Tianze’s attention was entirely fixed on Pang Jian.

Both of them had expended all their strength in trying to get to the Mirror Tunnel, and their chance of winning a fight against the formidable Dong Tianze was slim.

"Pang Jian, you go first! I’ll hold him off!" Zhou Qingchen smiled bitterly. "Remember to avenge me!"

Circulating his remaining spiritual power, Zhou Qingchen tightly gripped his long saber, preparing to soar into the sky and intercept Dong Tianze.

"Big Brother Zhou, please live on well."

This was the first time Pang Jian had addressed Zhou Qingchen as Big Brother Zhou instead of Young Master Zhou.

Zhou Qingchen grinned through a face full of tears and a trembling heart. "I won’t make it. All that matters to me is that you survive!"

He felt overwhelmed with emotion. He knew that Pang Jian had called him Big Brother Zhou to show his sincere affection for him.

Hearing that, Zhou Qingchen felt like he could die with no regrets.

That was when Pang Jian suddenly pushed him toward the Mirror Tunnel.

The brute force of the shove seemed to be done with all the strength Pang Jian could muster. It was more fierce and powerful than Zhou Qingchen could have imagined.

Before Zhou Qingchen could process the situation, he was already flying toward the Mirror Tunnel.

He stared blankly at Pang Jian.

Dong Tianze swooped down from above, Ghost’s Cry aimed directly at Pang Jian’s head.

Turning to face Zhou Qingchen, Pang Jian’s lips quirked as he muttered a quiet, "Goodbye."

He then rolled backward to evade Dong Tianze’s attack.

Any hope of Pang Jian’s escape was lost as he moved further away from the Mirror Tunnel.

Zhou Qingchen felt like his heart was being torn apart. Before he hit the Mirror Tunnel, he unleashed a beast-like roar.

"Pang Jian!"

He disappeared without a trace.

Crack!

The hard white stone tile was split open on the ground where Pang Jian previously stood, revealing a deep crack.

Dong Tianze cast a disdainful glance at the retreating Pang Jian. He then sneered and swung his Ghost’s Cry once more.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

A new sea of golden dagger light appeared above the Mirror Tunnel.

Dong Tianze did not care about Zhou Qingchen’s escape. After ensuring the Mirror Tunnel was once again blocked off, he turned his attention back to Pang Jian and said, "No matter whether Zhou Qingchen hides, be it in the Zhou Clan in the Fourth World or the Red Mountain Sect in the Third World, I will find and kill him.

"Back at Black Orchid Lake, you were the one who inflicted the most damage upon me! My intuition tells me that you’re a greater threat than Zhou Qingchen, so I must kill you!"

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