Trials of the Abyss

Chapter 262: My Strongest Battlefield!

In the following days, a small, pitch-black mountain could often be seen near the stone forests surrounding Spirit Offering.

Pang Jian used Mountain Phase to move through one stone pillar after another in search of anomalies, but despite his efforts, he found nothing.

No matter how much blood essence he expended or how many stone pillars he investigated, he only gained a more refined mastery of his Mountain Phase ability.

Pang Jian sighed in frustration. Forget it. Some things can't be forced.

As he was about to return to Snow Peak City to bid farewell to Zhou Qingchen and the others, he received a message from the black turtle.

The massive Resolute Expanse beneath the thick clouds was moving once again. The black turtle lazily stretched before bursting out from where it usually hid within the ground.

Its body had grown to over three thousand zhang!

It was now several times larger than the Rank Eight Flame Dragon that had wreaked havoc in Spirit Offering!

The three prominent ridges on its massive blackish-yellow shell looked like mountain peaks, with jet-black limbs supporting its enormous body like towering pillars.

The black turtle stood in a barren, rocky region of the Resolute Expanse, green eyes coldly fixed on the sky as if locked onto its prey.

Is the Outer God approaching? What rank are you at now? Pang Jian asked, shocked at the sight of the black turtle's true form.

Its response astonished Pang Jian.

You're Rank Six? That's the equivalent of the Spirit Condensation Realm. How are you so huge? You're even more imposing than the dragons!

The black turtle then explained that its species was among the largest in existence. Even dragons of the same rank were inferior in size.

Additionally, within the Resolute Expanse, it could exercise strength far beyond what a normal Rank Six black turtle could.

Pang Jian was stunned.

Suddenly, he saw the Outer God with the face of a human and the body of a spider descending from the clouds above.

The Outer God exuded a malevolent aura, its silver-white hair swayed like strands of seaweed in search of living creatures to ensnare.

Ripples appeared in its eyes as it scanned for traces of soul essence.

Before long, its attention turned to the Resolute Expanse below.

The Outer God's spidery limbs trembled with anticipation as it let out an excited screech.

It seems stronger than before.

After a brief discussion with the black turtle, Pang Jian stored the sword token on his waist in his spatial bracelet.

He then sent Cao Mang's Black Iron Mountain from Spirit Offering to the Resolute Expanse, where it landed near one of the black turtle's massive limbs,

Heading deeper into Spirit Offering, Pang Jian first scanned his charred surroundings before sinking into the ground with Earth Dive.

Pang Jian then willed the black turtle scute off his chest.

According to the black turtle, the scute could be used as a teleportation marker for the Gate of the Abyss.

He buried the scute deep within the ground and then used the Gate of the Abyss to teleport to the black turtle.

A mirror-like radiance enveloped Pang Jian.

Whoosh!

He appeared in the Resolute Expanse.

An overwhelming sense of control filled Pang Jian the moment he landed. It was as though everything on the fragmented land was within grasp.

Harmonizing with the Resolute Expanse massively boosts my combat prowess. I could even take on that Outer God, Pang Jian mused with growing anticipation.

Back in Spirit Offering, Pang Jian's spirit artifacts had been rendered useless, forcing him to flee at the sight of even the weakest Outer God.

However, the Resolute Expanse was essentially his and the black turtle's fortress, with Pang Jian's strength being considerably enhanced!

He felt confident enough to face the Outer God head-on on the Resolute Expanse!

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Pang Jian summoned the Star Crushing Umbrella and the Nine Suns Cauldron, both of which floated in mid-air.

The power of his spirit artifacts skyrocketed on the Resolute Expanse.

The Star Crushing Umbrella expanded, with stars and moons glowing blindingly on its canopy.

Nine blazing suns appeared on the walls of the Nine Suns Cauldron, which had also grown larger. Slender flame dragons roared within the torrents of flames spewing from the nine suns, amplifying the spirit artifact's already formidable power.

Probing the Nine Suns Cauldron, Pang Jian realized the flame dragons were nothing more than marks Long Yan had left behind, and did not contain his dragon aura or soul.

Good. Pang Jian sighed in relief and then summoned his Startling Slaughter Spear.

A dazzling light appeared on the spear's tip, faintly infused with chaos sword intent.

"Resolute Expanse truly is my strongest battlefield!" Pang Jian exclaimed as he gazed up at the clouds.

The fragmented land stopped moving and everything fell into silence.

The Outer God that had once made Pang Jian tremble in fear within Spirit Offering finally revealed itself.

Its eyes were devoid of human emotion as it stared blankly at what lay below.

A colossal black turtle, more than three thousand zhang long, stood as its primary target.

Astonishment flashed across her alluring yet eerie face.

A man stood atop a black mountain, holding a silver spear with a giant umbrella and a flaming cauldron hovering next to him!

This man had appeared out of nowhere!

The Outer God recognized him from Spirit Offering.

He had paraded around with severed heads and successfully persuaded their leader to stop the attack.

Back in Spirit Offering, the man had fled at the mere sight of it, too frightened to even meet its gaze. In contrast, he now stared at it with an irritatingly confident expression.

He's no longer fearful. There's no panic in his eyes. Does he think I'm his prey?

Fury surged within the Outer God.

It licked its lips, silver hair thrashing wildly as divine power seeped from its spider legs and rained down on the black turtle.

Thick beams of grayish-white light descended upon the giant black turtle like a divine downpour.

Slay it, devour its flesh, and use its bones to craft a more suitable puppet, thought the Outer God as it headed down toward the fragmented land.

The black turtle's green eyes gleamed mockingly.

Boom!

Massive whirlpools of spiritual qi formed across the Resolute Expanse and swallowed the descending grayish-white beams. The black turtle effortlessly nullified the malevolent energy trying to corrupt the fragmented land.

Impressive. Pang Jian nodded approvingly. It was his first time seeing the black turtle's abilities.

Confident after neutralizing the initial attack, the black turtle arrogantly told Pang Jian it could easily deal with this weakened Outer God on its own.

"I'm already here, so I'm not going to just stand by and watch. That Outer God terrorized me several times in Spirit Offering," Pang Jian said, aiming his Startling Slaughter Spear at the Outer God.

Pang Jian's audacious attack stance enraged the Outer God.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Its spider legs transformed into sharp spears that stabbed downward in a gleam of cold metal and corrupting energy.

The spider legs churned within the massive spiritual qi whirlpools, causing them to become unstable due to the divine power within the spider legs.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The spiritual qi dispersed and the whirlpools exploded.

"Let me handle this," Pang Jian said, softly whistling as he tossed the Star Crushing Umbrella into the air.

The umbrella, which had grown to dozens of times its normal size, acted like a colossal shield that blocked the falling spider legs.

Boom! Boom!

Thunderous crashes came from the expansive canopy of the Star Crushing Umbrella, causing starlight and moonlight to cascade down like a torrential rainstorm.

Crackle!

A massive ice well sprang up on the umbrella's canopy.

Boom!

The icy crystals forming the well fractured into tiny ice shards.

The Outer God shrieked in soul-rending pain as the bone-chilling ice shards struck its falling spider legs.

The Outer God's icy eyes locked onto Pang Jian's, focusing its terrifying will on him.

Silvery-white spider webs had appeared in the Outer God's eyes.

The Outer God's silver hair manifested within Pang Jian's sea of consciousness and wove into a web.

The sinister power within the web tugged at Pang Jian's divine sense, attempting to ensnare it.

Startled, Pang Jian hastily took control of his divine sense and steered it away from the silver web.

He instantly realized his control over his divine sense was far greater in the Resolute Expanse!

The silver-hair web failed to latch onto even a single strand of Pang Jian's divine sense.

The Outer God's eyes briefly flickered with human-like confusion. It could not understand how this once-weak boy had gained such strength and resilience since it had encountered him in Spirit Offering.

After the failure of its soul attack, the Outer God resumed its assault, stabbing its razor-sharp spider legs toward the Star Crushing Umbrella.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Grayish-white light flared from the umbrella's surface.

The power it wields now is but a mere fraction of its true self. It's barely even worth mentioning.

Pang Jian then hurled the Nine Suns Cauldron forward.

The Nine Suns Cauldron shot toward the Outer God with explosive force, engulfed in raging flames and surrounded by nine blazing suns.

Boom!

The cauldron struck the arachnid Outer God and sent it crashing down from the sky.

No wonder someone like Yin Yiqing could force the Outer Gods to retreat despite having only just entered the Soul Wandering Realm.

Their power in this world is truly limited without a proper body to descend into. They can only do so much when relying on altars, statues, and carvings.

Pang Jian's spirits soared at the realization.