Trials of the Abyss

Chapter 223: The Restricted Area, Cloud Lightning

The man in black was none other than Pang Jian.

Having achieved some success in his cultivation of the Illusory Bone Realm, he had subtly altered his cheekbones to conceal his true appearance and hid himself among the rogue cultivators.

He had learned the identities and backgrounds of He Hui and Ning Wei by secretly eavesdropping on their conversations and confirmed that He Hui was actually the father of He Ziren.

Pang Jian had killed He Ziren in the Solitary Mountain Range.

The twists of fate were truly unpredictable.

Pang Jian had reached the Profound Abode Realm since leaving the Solitary Mountain Range, making him the most powerful individual on the Cloud Sail.

If he wanted, he could summon his Startling Slaughter Spear and the Star Crushing Umbrella to slaughter everyone on this Cloud Sail.

The only thing stopping him was the fact that he was afraid to expose his identity.

In contrast, the once high and mighty He and Ning Clans did not dare to meet his gaze, appearing humble and fearful.

The discussions of some noble family disciples could be heard on the Cloud Sail.

"Pang Jian disappeared on the Black Iron Mountain after killing public enemy number one of the human race, Cao Mang the dwarf."

"This young man from the lower world is truly extraordinary, just like Dong Tianze."

"The Sword Pavilion must already consider him as an inner disciple. After all, they granted him powerful spirit artifacts capable of killing Cao Mang the dwarf!"

"Even armed with a powerful spirit artifact, his cultivation realm is still only in the Profound Abode Realm. Cao Mang the dwarf was a cultivator in the Spirit Condensation Realm!"

"That's why it's so remarkable!"

Ning Wei listened intently to their conversation and remarked with eyes sparkling in admiration, "This young hunter also hails from the Fourth World like us. He is truly extraordinary.

"Every few decades, our Fourth World produces one or two extraordinary individuals who shine in the upper worlds. This Pang Jian must be one of them."

He Hui nodded in agreement.

The noble family disciples did not mention that Pang Jian was the same as Hong Jian from the Shadow Specter Sect or that he had wreaked havoc on Ice Rock Island.

Thus, He Hui and Ning Wei had no clue that the supposedly commendable Pang Jian was actually the young Shadow Specter Sect Hall Master who had raided the Blood Moon Sect's beast-hunting sailboat in Divine Fortune.

Both of them wore expressions full of admiration.

My identity as the Shadow Specter Sect hall master has been completely overlooked; no one even mentions it, Pang Jian thought, growing tired of listening to discussions about himself.

Closing his eyes, he established a connection with the black turtle.

The black turtle was maneuvering the Resolute Expanse through the thick clouds toward the edge of the Third World, planning to hide near the bizarre mist.

Cao Mang's Black Iron Mountain was on the Resolute Expanse and could be summoned to Pang Jian as he pleased.

He had yet to accustom himself to the spirit artifact and it could not be stored inside his spatial bracelet. Additionally, the Black Iron Mountain was extremely conspicuous.

Thus, he chose not to use it to leave the Resolute Expanse and instead waited for a Cloud Sail to approach and obediently paid fifty spirit stones to board.

My next stop is the restricted area, Cloud Lightning. I hope it'll be the key to my breakthrough.

His cultivation realm had been stagnant for a long time.

Despite diligently tempering his body and advancing his cultivation of the Grand Providence Sacred Body from the Jade Body Realm to the Illusory Bone Realm, he had yet to move a strand of his divine sense.

The stars shone brightly in his dantian, and the radiance of the sun and moon floating there was also exceedingly brilliant.

But none of this helped him break through to the middle stage of the Profound Abode Realm.

After much contemplation, he realized that his breakthrough to the Innate Realm had occurred in the underground palace of Ice Rock Island. There, he had absorbed the cold energy from the one-eyed giants' altar to condense an ice pool in his spiritual sea.

It was through the formation of this ice pool that he had advanced to the Innate Realm.

Therefore, he suspected that his prolonged stagnation was due to the unique nature of his Primordial Chaos Spiritual Sea.

Back on the Resolute Expanse, he had attempted to absorb different energies from the spirit materials that he possessed, such as lightning and water, but to no avail.

Nothing resembling the ice pool or fiery pool formed in his spiritual sea.

Out of options, he decided to try his luck in a restricted area.

The restricted area, Cloud Lightning, was rumored to have constant lightning storms in its basin, so Pang Jian wanted to go and have a look for himself.

Wang Ying's Cloud Sail soared across the Third World.

Half a month later, Wang Ying finally announced, "We've arrived."

She then glanced at He Hui, Ning Wei, and the other migrants from the Fourth World with cold eyes.

"The plateau and hills surrounding the restricted area, Cloud Lightning, are shrouded in faint spiritual qi. This is the place the Star River Alliance found for you to settle," she explained. "The basin in the center is a well-known restricted area in the Third World. If you don't want to die, don't go in there.

"Though, I'm sure the Star River Alliance has also warned you of this already."

The Cloud Sail descended as she spoke.

Pang Jian followed the others' lead to stand up and peer down from the edge of the Cloud Sail.

The sight was shocking.

Cloud Lightning was a large square area nestled into the thick leaden clouds below the Third World, unlike the Primordial Wilderness or the Three Immortals Island, which floated above the clouds.

The towering plateaus and hills around Cloud Lightning emerged from the depths of the clouds.

Occupying the largest area in the center was the basin, which was shrouded in thick, gray mist.

Pang Jian squinted, catching sight of occasional flashes of lightning illuminating the basin, with claps of thunder reverberating through the land.

“The surrounding plateaus and hills have pure but thin spiritual qi. The central basin is considered a restricted area and is filled with various types of energies, predominantly those of lightning,” Wang Ying explained as the Cloud Sail descended.

Her eyes suddenly widened in horror.

"A Mountain Stream Spirit Boat from the Celestial Lagoon Sect!"

A giant sailboat, with a sail resembling a scroll of ink wash painting of landscapes, floated leisurely in the depths of the misty basin.

Pang Jian looked over the rail of the Cloud Sail. The enormous sailboat Wang Ying called the Mountain Stream Spirit Boat resembled a giant Vicious Beast wandering through the sea of clouds.

Some cultivators on board wore clothes that resembled landscape paintings, some had the character "Demon" engraved on the chests of their clothes, and others wore the distinctive insignia of the Black Valley Sect.

Wang Ying was taken aback.

"The Demon Sect and the Black Valley Sect are also on the Celestial Lagoon Sect's Mountain Stream Spirit Boat. They must all be here to explore Cloud Lightning."

She stopped her Cloud Sail and called for the members of the He and Ning Clans to disembark. She then urged the rogue cultivators who had paid fifty spirit stones to do the same.

"Fifty spirit stones only get you to the Cloud Lightning. Pay another fifty if you want to go to the Dark Abyss Continent. Otherwise, get off my ship!" Wang Ying shouted aggressively.

Like Pang Jian, Wang Ying was a cultivator in the Profound Abode Realm. This allowed her to act more domineeringly than Gao Yuan when it came to running her Cloud Sail.

Even so, when facing Pang Jian, a fellow cultivator in the same cultivation realm as her, she behaved much more politely.

"My friend, I suggest you avoid Cloud Lightning as the Mountain Stream Spirit Boat of the Celestial Lagoon Sect is here," she advised Pang Jian. "While their presence indicates that something unusual is happening, it also means that others won't have a chance."

Pang Jian remained silent.

"Fifty!"

"Damn it, what bad luck!"

"I was hoping to try my luck in Cloud Lightning, but there's no point in staying with those from the Second World here."

"Let's go. Let's head straight for the Dark Abyss Continent."

Most of the rogue cultivators forked out another fifty spirit stones and decisively gave up on exploring the basin.

None of the noble family disciples disembarked from the Cloud Sail.

They had been on the road for a long time and had experienced the massacre in the Primordial Wilderness. All they wanted now was to return home as soon as possible.

Bang!

Pang Jian leaped from the Cloud Sail and landed on the plateau below.

Wang Ying shook her head and snorted inwardly.

To think having Profound Abode Realm cultivation would make him so reckless, she thought as she piloted her Cloud Sail upward and disappeared from sight.

Pang Jian saw a Profound Abode Realm elder of the Star River Alliance rushing over from afar as he passed by He Hui.

Unbeknownst to He Hui, the black-clad man passing him by was not only his son's killer but also the Shadow Specter Sect's Hong Jian he had wanted to kill in Divine Fortune.

The rogue cultivators who had opted to stay behind sighed and cursed the presence of the Mountain Stream Spirit Boat as they made their way down to the basin.

Pang Jian glanced at the simple stone and wooden houses hastily built along the edges of the restricted area.

He had not expected the Star River Alliance to arrange for the He and Ning Clans to settle down in such a place.

"This place is far inferior compared to the Resolute Expanse," Pang Jian muttered as he headed toward the basin.

As he walked, he took a deep breath, drawing in the strange energies of Cloud Lightning into his chest to discern their different types. He also silently observed his surroundings.

There is abundant water energy permeating the mist.

There are also some mild toxins, but they aren't significantly harmful.

Lightning and thunder can randomly appear anywhere in the basin. They must be handled with great caution.

Unlike in the Primordial Wilderness, Pang Jian no longer had the assistance of the black turtle, and could only use crude methods to explore Cloud Lightning.

The restricted areas in the Third World differed from contaminated fragmented lands. They simply contained an amalgamation of different types of energies.

Unlike spiritual qi, these energies were not suitable for every cultivator and normal cultivators needed to purify them once they absorbed them into their dantian.

Boom!

A mysterious bolt of lightning struck the cultivator ahead of Pang Jian as they descended from the plateau into the mist below.

The cultivator was blasted to pieces right before Pang Jian's eyes!

Crackle!

Slender bolts of gleaming white lightning eerily appeared at the impact point and then disappeared just as quickly.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The rogue cultivators in front and behind Pang Jian summoned their protective shields before continuing their descent with pale faces.

Bang!

Lightning struck a rogue cultivator's protective shield, causing it to shine brightly. The cultivator frantically gathered their spiritual power to withstand the strike, and the lightning disappeared after a few seconds.

"I'm not risking my life anymore!" The cultivator, feeling particularly unlucky, turned to head back to the plateau and gave up on his original plan to explore the basin.

Pang Jian was taken aback.

If I absorb the lightning and improve my Primordial Chaos Spiritual Sea, I wonder if I'll advance to the next stage of the Profound Abode Realm.

Two days later, the Mountain Stream Spirit Boat flew away from Cloud Lightning.

Whoosh!

Many cultivators in the restricted area breathed a sigh of relief when the Mountain Stream Spirit Boat left.

Pang Jian was among them.