Trials of the Abyss

Chapter 207: Please Die First!

The Wood Race leader observed Pang Jian for a while before informing Yu Gu in a secret language, "Lord Yu Gu, he once drank the herbal juices bestowed by the Celestial Maiden. He was never someone we should've been dealing with. The effects of the herbal juices on him have merely dissipated."

A strange look appeared in Yu Gu's eyes.

"Pang Jian, how dare you kill Elder Lou?!" Cao Mang exploded, unable to contain his fury.

Pang Jian looked calmly at the former owner of the Primordial Wilderness. "Yes, I killed him."

"How dare you incite internal conflicts among the human cultivators?" Cao Mang roared from atop the Black Iron Mountain.

Jiu Yuan, Yang Rui, and other Spirit Condensation Realm cultivators like Wei Wenhan, temporarily cast aside their opponents to stare at Pang Jian in shock.

During a desperate battle between humans and the foreign races, Pang Jian dared to incite internal conflict. There could be no greater atrocity.

Pang Jian's open admission to this act meant he had become the public enemy number one of the human race!

"Why wouldn't I dare?" Pang Jian retorted.

Scorn flashed in his eyes as he recalled how he had questioned Cao Mang in the trading hall about his right to capture Luo Hongyan. Cao Mang's domineering response was still fresh in his memory.

"I, Pang Jian, can do as I please in my territory. Not even the five major sects of the Third World can intervene!" he mockingly repeated Cao Mang's words, replacing Cao Mang's name with his own.

With the black turtle here, Pang Jian could harmonize with the Primordial Wilderness, making him the rightful new master of the Primordial Wilderness!

His declaration of the Primordial Wilderness as his territory was legitimate.

In the past, Cao Mang had merely dominated the First Peak and constructed the Spirit Slaughtering Astral Array. This was nothing compared to the authority that Pang Jian now possessed.

"Your territory?!" Cao Mang's chest wound burst open from rage at Pang Jian's words, causing him to vomit a mouthful of blood.

His face flushed crimson and he pointed fiercely at Pang Jian, so furious he could only breathe heavily.

Jiu Yuan, Yang Rui, Wei Wenhan, and many other powerful cultivators were also in shock.

The Primordial Wilderness is his territory?

How dare he say that?

Their bewildered gazes fell on Pang Jian. The cultivators on the summit of the First Peak could not help but feel like Pang Jian had gone insane and was simply spouting nonsense.

"Your territory?!" Cao Mang bellowed.

This is my Primordial Wilderness. I spent nearly a century building up the First Peak. I've painstakingly organized countless trade fairs here!

I've poured my heart and soul into the Primordial Wilderness and invested half my life into it. My cultivation and future are intertwined with it!

So, when did the Primordial Wilderness become someone else's territory? Cao Mang was beyond furious.

Lady Hua also regarded the Primordial Wilderness as a part of her life. Pang Jian's claim momentarily distracted her, allowing a withered branch to stab through her waist.

Splurt!

Blood trickled down from the corner of her mouth as she flew away from the Wood Race powerhouse.

"Pang Jian!" Lady Hua screamed hysterically. "You despicable little wretch. Wearing the robe of the Sword Pavilion does not make you a real Sword Pavilion disciple! Remember this! Until you reach the Sword Pavilion and are officially recorded in its registry, you're not a real Sword Pavilion disciple!

"Even if you were a true Sword Pavilion disciple, you've incited internal conflict during a fight against the foreign races. Your actions are no different from a death sentence!"

Lady Hua seemed angrier than Cao Mang.

She rode a multicolored carpet toward Pang Jian, intending to kill him on the spot.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Towering trees hovering in the air intercepted her advance. The Wood Race leader, suspecting Pang Jian possessed rich life energy, did her utmost to help him.

"The Primordial Wilderness is my territory. Besides, Lou Yunming tried to kill me first. I merely retaliated," Pang Jian explained indifferently. He then turned his attention to Jiu Yuan. "Luo Yunming provoked me first, so he deserved to die. As for you? You'll die regardless.

"You've heard me say more than once now that I'll make sure you die in the Primordial Wilderness. So, it's time for you to die."

The Star Crushing Umbrella shot toward Jiu Yuan. Pang Jian followed, dragging the Startling Slaughter Spear behind him. The sharp spearhead created sparks as it scraped along the hard ground.

The invading forces from the Fifth World stood motionless as they allowed Pang Jian to pass. As if fearing Pang Jian's distrust, the bloodied warriors of the Demon Scale Race even retreated as he approached, hoping to show him they had no intention of attacking.

The strange behavior of the foreign race warriors and Vicious Beasts made Pang Jian's actions seem even more bizarre.

"He actually dares!" Lian Feng's expression dramatically changed.

When Pang Jian explained that Lou Yunming's death was his own fault for attacking first, rogue cultivators like Lian Feng believed that Pang Jian would not act against his own race unless provoked.

Then, Pang Jian suddenly pointed his spear at Jiu Yuan with the intent to kill, completely disregarding the foreign races' invasion or the unspoken pact against internal conflict among human cultivators during this challenging time!

Pang Jian was determined to kill Jiu Yuan, and the invading forces were even going out of their way to make it easier for him!

"Pang Jian, you're courting death!" Jiu Yuan laughed.

Having freed himself from his fight with the troublesome Demon Armor Beast, Jiu Yuan floated in a sea of blood, watching as Pang Jian released the Star Crushing Umbrella and charged at him with his silver spear.

He grinned fiercely. His uncontrollable rage far surpassed his initial surprise.

Even Jiu Yuan found the situation before him hard to accept.

Regardless of his cultivation realm, how could he raise his weapon against me during an invasion from the Fifth World and display such an intense killing intent?

Pang Jian said icily, "After I kill you and settle our old grievances, I'll deal with the invading forces from the Fifth World. Jiu Yuan, I can't focus unless you're dead. If I can't focus, I can't deal with the invading forces. So, please die first."

With that, the Star Crushing Umbrella came crashing down, hovering over the dense sea of blood where Jiu Yuan stood while Pang Jian charged forward with his spear!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The Star Crushing Umbrella enveloped Jiu Yuan and his dense sea of blood in a dazzling radiance as tiny stars, a pristine moon, and threads of icy crystalline lightning appeared in its canopy.

Whoosh!

Pang Jian rushed into the radiance with his spear.

Bang!

The Star Crushing Umbrella expanded once again, covering the entire area below it and isolating it from the rest of the summit.

All the living beings on the summit of the First Peak—human cultivators, foreign race warriors, and Vicious Beasts alike—stared at the Star Crushing Umbrella.

They could only vaguely see the outlines of Jiu Yuan and Pang Jian underneath.

"Continue the slaughter!" Yu Gu suddenly shouted in human language.

The battles, which had paused for a moment, erupted in bloodshed once again as the brutal clashes between the foreign races and human cultivators resumed.

Cao Mang, Lady Hua, Yang Rui, and the others were forced to engage their opponents once more, but their attention frequently drifted toward the Star Crushing Umbrella.

"Pang Jian..." Yang Rui from the Radiant Sun Sect frowned, expression somber.

Unexpectedly, the young hunter from the Fourth World had not only survived the chaotic situation in the Primordial Wilderness but had also seized Liang Ying's Star Crushing Umbrella.

Yang Rui could hardly believe that Pang Jian dared to climb to the summit of the First Peak to enact his revenge against Lou Yunming of the Sinister Soul Temple, completely disregarding the unity of the human race against external threats!

He even said Jiu Yuan's death was necessary for him to focus on dealing with the foreign races.

He asked Jiu Yuan to die first... Yang Rui subconsciously rubbed his forehead as though to smooth out the wrinkles. The things I did to retaliate against him in the trading hall have probably earned his hatred. He'll likely target me as well. I need to be cautious. I can't let my guard down.

Yang Rui was the top Profound Abode Realm cultivator in the Third World. Even so, he regarded Pang Jian as his most formidable opponent.

In the small world under the umbrella, the irritable Jiu Yuan floated in his sea of blood and roared, "An ant trying to shake a tree. You're overestimating yourself!"

Jiu Yuan then flicked his finger.

Whoosh!

A drop of crimson blood, infused with divine sense, spiritual power, and blood essence, shot toward Pang Jian.

A dense trail of light dragged behind it, transforming into a ferocious one-horned blood beast. Its horn aimed straight at Pang Jian's heart.

Whoosh!

Pang Jian gathered his spiritual power, stellar energy, lunar energy, and cold energy to summon a protective shield far thicker than that of others in his cultivation realm.

As soon as the green protective shield appeared, the one-horned blood beast shattered as if it had collided with an iron wall.

How can a Profound Abode Realm cultivator's protective shield be so solid? Jiu Yuan was taken aback.

Slash!

Pulling a scarlet longsword from the sea of blood, Jiu Yuan used his divine sense to propel it toward Pang Jian.

The blade radiated an enchanting glow that seemed to reverse the flow of blood within Pang Jian's body.

Most cultivators with cultivation realms lower than Jiu Yuan's would lose control of their blood before the Blood Reversal Blade struck them. Jiu Yuan would then bring down the longsword to leave his opponents decapitated or sliced in half.

However, Pang Jian's blood was unaffected and he thrust his Startling Slaughter Spear at the scarlet longsword before it could even get close.

A chilling light beam struck the Blood Reversal Blade with pinpoint accuracy.

Clang!

It was like a massive weight had struck the longsword, causing it to fall back into the sea of blood.

Pang Jian noticed the sea of blood was actually the blood flowing from Jiu Yuan's crimson cloak. Jiu Yuan stood on an enlarged version of the cloak and so appeared to be floating on a sea of blood. When Jiu Yuan unleashed his power, thick blood continuously flowed out from the cloak.

"Jiu Yuan. You, Lou Yunming, and Liang Ying are all in the early stages of the Spirit Condensation Realm. All of you have similar combat prowess. Liang Ying is dead. Lou Yunming is also dead. Do you honestly think you can escape the same fate as them?

"I've stated multiple times that I'd kill you. Even if you had wings, you can't escape from me in my territory, the Primordial Wilderness.

"The Blood Moon Sect's body tempering technique seems inferior to the Grand Providence Sacred Body. The blood essence you've accumulated with your Spirit Condensation Realm cultivation isn't much richer than mine."

Interwoven beams of spiritual power emerged from beneath the sea of blood and sliced the crimson cloak under Jiu Yuan's feet. Blood splattered and the crimson cloak disintegrated into pieces, causing Jiu Yuan to scream in agony as if his own flesh was being torn apart.

"The Spirit Slaughtering Astral Array!" Jiu Yuan let out a horrified scream similar to Lou Yunming's.