Trials of the Abyss

Chapter 202: Fang Boxuan Forced to Give False Testimony

Boom!

The Nine Heavenly Profound Thunder in Liang Ying's body exploded, leaving only scattered pieces of flesh and broken limbs behind. The evidence of her spear wound had now been covered up.

Pang Jian's cold gaze then landed on Fang Boxuan.

A meaningful smile curved the corners of his mouth.

Fang Boxuan froze.

"I didn't see anything!" he screamed, turning to flee in a crimson streak. All he wanted was to get as far away from Pang Jian and this nightmarish valley as fast as possible.

The corpses of Bai Guanjie, Chen Min, and his other senior brothers and sisters were still in the valley. He had also previously suffered from Pang Jian's vicious schemes here, and now, he had witnessed Pang Jian brutally kill Liang Ying in the same place.

Fang Boxuan vowed never to return to the valley between the Fourth Peak and Fifth Peak. He did not even want to think about it.

Jiu Yuan, you've provoked someone you shouldn't have. Tough luck for you but don't bring disaster upon the rest of us in the Blood Moon Sect! he cursed.

Before, he had used a blood talisman to communicate with Jiu Yuan and inform him of Pang Jian's growing potential and combat prowess. That had been solely to provoke Jiu Yuan and psychologically burden him.

Now that Fang Boxuan had witnessed Pang Jian kill Liang Ying, a cultivator in the Spirit Condensation Realm, he resolutely decided not to utter a single word about it.

Fang Boxuan had always been at odds with Jiu Yuan and was eager to see the expression on Jiu Yuan's face when Pang Jian eventually fought him.

Perhaps Pang Jian can help me get rid of Jiu Yuan! Fang Boxuan could not help but feel slightly excited at the thought.

"He sure ran away quickly." Pang Jian scoffed.

After testing his skills on Liang Ying, a cultivator in the Spirit Condensation Realm, Pang Jian no longer regarded geniuses like Fang Boxuan as a threat.

With the black turtle's assistance, all the Profound Abode Realm cultivators in the Primordial Wilderness were merely lambs for slaughter in his eyes.

Pang Jian tossed the Meteorite Pearl into his spatial bracelet and used his divine sense to check the contents of Liang Ying's spatial bracelet. He only found about three thousand spirit jades, some pills, some ores, and other spirit materials he could not name.

Liang Ying had mainly relied on the Star Crushing Umbrella and the Meteorite Pearl for combat.

"I can also use this umbrella. I can even display its intricacies better than Liang Ying could," Pang Jian said, unceremoniously claiming the Star Crushing Umbrella as his own.

Mysterious patterns covered the umbrella's canopy when he experimented with channeling stellar energy, spiritual power, lunar energy, and cold energy into it.

Returning to the Ghost Race leader's corpse, Pang Jian saw that most of the murky energy had flowed back into the snake skin on the ground.

After examining it, he curiously picked up the snake skin and confirmed it could store the murky energy from the Fifth World.

Pang Jian's eyes lit up. "In my hand, this item could be quite useful."

He had used the murky energy in Eight Trigrams City to cleanse his bones and marrow, and advance to the Marrow Cleansing Realm. Although his spiritual power still conflicted with murky energy, his body could adapt.

If he were ever in a situation where his spiritual power was exhausted, he used the snake skin to switch to murky energy and kill his opponents using the energy from the Fifth World. The snake skin could also create an area rich in murky energy, giving him an advantage over human cultivators.

"This is a good item," Pang Jian murmured as he put the snake skin away.

Looking around and finding no other valuable items, he returned to the Fourth Peak.

Along the way, he used the god-like perspective to check on the members of the Star River Alliance. They had successfully eliminated the remaining Ghost Race warriors, Ghost Apes, and Vicious Beasts.

***

"Fang Boxuan, where did you run off to?" Xie Xiwen asked suspiciously. Swallowing a Mind Soothing Pill, she carefully washed the blood off her star disk with clean water and glanced at Fang Boxuan. "Did you take the opportunity to escape while we were fighting against the foreign race warriors and Vicious Beasts?"

"How could I escape? I was worried something had happened to your master so I went to check the valley between the Fourth Peak and the Fifth Peak," Fang Boxuan replied with a false casualness.

An older disciple named Shen Lei noticed his distracted demeanor. "Fang Boxuan, your face is pale. Did something happen? Elder Liang shouldn't have had any trouble. What did you see? Did Elder Liang kill the Rank Six Ghost Race leader?"

"I didn't see anything." Fang Boxuan shook his head guiltily, not wanting to recall the disturbing scene. "I didn't see Elder Liang and didn't want to go further so I came back."

Shen Lei's expression darkened. Something seemed off with Fang Boxuan but he could not pinpoint what it was.

A Star River Alliance disciple in the Innate Realm was slumped in front of his fallen companion and weeping sorrowfully when he looked up and saw the Star Crushing Umbrella approaching them. "The Star Crushing Umbrella! It's Elder Liang's Star Crushing Umbrella!"

The other members of the Star River Alliance turned their gaze toward the Star Crushing Umbrella in unison.

"Elder Liang!"

Fang Boxuan felt a chill in his heart. He stubbornly refused to turn around and instead chose to stare in the direction of the Third Peak.

As expected, he soon heard the startled cries of the members of the Star River Alliance.

"Pang Jian!"

Please don't come after me, it's none of my business, I didn't say anything, I know nothing, Fang Boxuan prayed.

Pang Jian had single-handedly killed Liang Ying, and so had become a terrifying figure in Fang Boxuan's mind.

The fact that Pang Jian dared to kill Liang Ying meant he had no reason to be concerned about the remaining members of the Star River Alliance as he could easily kill them all.

"Pang Jian, why do you have the Star Crushing Umbrella? Where's Elder Liang?" Fang Boxuan heard Xie Xiwen ask.

He still refused to turn around, pretending to know nothing as he resolutely stared at the Third Peak.

"She was killed by the Ghost Race leader in the valley between the Fourth Peak and the Fifth Peak. When I arrived, the Ghost Race leader was barely alive, so I finished him off and avenged her." Pang Jian's indifferent voice reached Fang Boxuan's ears.

Fang Boxuan's face twitched. You liar!

"What?"

"Elder Liang is dead? How's that possible?"

"How could Elder Liang be dead? The Star Crushing Umbrella is an advanced-grade spirit artifact. The Ghost Race leader couldn't break through its defense before!"

"Pang Jian, stop talking nonsense!"

The members of the Star River Alliance glared at Pang Jian in agitation, urging him not to make such reckless statements. Only Xie Xiwen solemnly took in his words as she stared intently at the Star Crushing Umbrella in his hand.

If Liang Ying isn't dead, why is the Star Crushing Umbrella in his hand? Xie Xiwen did not know what to believe.

"If you don't believe me, you can ask Fang Boxuan. He saw everything." Fang Boxuan heard Pang Jian's voice ring out again.

Fang Boxuan had been determined to remain uninvolved and had not even turned his head after the Star Crushing Umbrella appeared. He did not want to be associated with Pang Jian in any way, but Pang Jian had dragged him into the matter uncaring of his desires.

Thus, Fang Boxuan had no other choice but to turn around, repeatedly cursing Pang Jian in his mind.

Glancing at Pang Jian's indifferent expression and cold eyes, Fang Boxuan's heart could not help but tremble.

Sighing and forcing a smile, he confirmed, "I didn't want to make all of you sad. I was afraid you couldn't bear the blow, so I didn't dare to reveal the truth."

"What!"

As the Star River Alliance disciples recalled Fang Boxuan's distracted demeanor and pale face, they started to believe him.

"If Elder Liang is dead, her Star Crushing Umbrella, Meteorite Pearl, and spatial bracelet must be brought back to the sect!" Shen Lei's expression darkened, extending his hand toward Pang Jian with a frown."Those items belong to the Star River Alliance. Please hand them over."

"They're my reward for avenging her," Pang Jian said bluntly before turning to head to the Third Peak.

"Pang Jian! You can leave, but you must leave Elder Liang's belongings behind!" Shen Lei shouted coldly. Summoning a protective shield that radiated faint starlight, he chased after Pang Jian. "Judging by your attitude, there's something suspicious about Elder Liang's death!"

Whoosh!

A bright moon and a sea of tiny stars appeared on the Star Crushing Umbrella. Their pristine light illuminated the valley. Sharp shooting stars, like spears refined from stardust, shot out from the edges of the umbrella and shattered Shen Lei's protective shield.

Crack!

The shooting stars broke Shen Lei's ribs, causing him to spit out a mouthful of blood and fall heavily on the ground as he stared at Pang Jian in an uncomprehending daze.

Pang Jian had activated Liang Ying's Star Crushing Umbrella and had even unleashed such astonishing power!

The appearance of the shooting stars indicated Pang Jian not only had full control over the umbrella but also possessed stellar energy!

How could Pang Jian, a prospective disciple of the Sword Pavilion of the Second World, possess such incredible stellar energy?

The members of the Star River Alliance were all stunned.

Advanced-grade spirit artifacts, when used correctly, can unleash extraordinary power. Pang Jian marveled as he held the Star Crushing Umbrella.

As he walked away, he tried infusing it with different energies and considered alternative ways of harnessing its potential.

Pang Jian ignored the members of the Star River Alliance. After all, he could easily kill them with the Star Crushing Umbrella, even without the black turtle's help. They simply were not worth his attention.

His true targets were Jiu Yuan from the Blood Moon Sect, Lou Yunming from the Sinister Soul Temple, and Cao Mang, the master of the Primordial Wilderness.

Pang Jian planned to climb to the summit of the First Peak and kill them.