Trials of the Abyss

Chapter 301: Raising New Bees

Chen Lushi criticized Pang Jian with a displeased expression.

After venting her complaints, she took a moment to assess the situation around her, eyes sweeping across Chang Li, Xiao Yu, and the others.

"The Demon Sect!"

"The Celestial Lagoon Sect!"

Chang Li, Xiao Yu, and the others rushed to greet them and establish rapport.

"The Skyveil Cliff Sect and the Xiao Clan..." Chen Lushi's lips curled, assuming an air of superiority as she coldly brushed Chang Li and Xiao Yu off.

The Skyveil Cliff Sect and the Xiao Clan of the Heaven Awakening Continent lacked the Demon Sect's profound legacy, which meant her status was higher than theirs.

"The Wood Race." Wu Yuan frowned as he glanced at Ka Zi's body.

On their way over, they had seen hundreds of dried-up corpses impaled on branches in the bloodthirsty forest.

Shockingly, there was only a single corpse of a Wood Race warrior at the center of the forest.

Could a single Wood Race warrior really have killed so many Spirit Beasts and human cultivators? Wu Yuan's heart sank.

Absolute Heaven was truly filled with bloodshed at every turn.

"The one called Jiang Chao, is he still alive?" Pang Jian asked.

Chen Lushi's face turned cold. "You wish he were dead?"

"Yes."

Pang Jian sent out a golden bee to quietly observe the area where Jiang Chao had been earlier.

Water splashed on the riverbed as Jiang Chao struggled against the possessed living dead.

"Why are you here instead of helping Jiang Chao?" Pang Jian asked again.

"It was Wu Yuan's idea to come here." Chen Lushi gave a light snort. Then, in a chastising tone, she added, "Pang Jian, the next time an Outer God is corrupting someone, you should point it out more clearly."

Lu Xiangyi meekly interjected, "It was our fault for not believing him..."

In Cloud Lightning, she had acted like the big sister to the other Celestial Lagoon Sect disciples, but was much more timid in Absolute Heaven, not daring to speak up in front of Wu Yuan, Jiang Chao, and Chen Lushi.

"This isn't your place to speak!" Chen Lushi snapped. "Jiang Chao is still tangled up with those living dead and the Celestial Lagoon Sect is without a leader. Just listen to us and keep your opinions to yourself."

Lu Xiangyi pursed her lips in grievance but dared not say anything more. Although the other disciples from the Celestial Lagoon Sect were similarly indignant, they also dared not speak out.

They all resented Chen Lushi for her overbearing demeanor.

The Celestial Lagoon Sect disciples had rescued the survivors of the Demon Sect from the wreckage of the Demon Incursion Ship and brought them into the bizarre mist aboard the Mountain Stream Spirit Boat.

Despite this, Chen Lushi acted ungratefully and even audaciously rebuked them when Jiang Chao was in trouble.

The only reason they reluctantly swallowed their bitterness was because of Wu Yuan.

Wu Yuan had slain many of the Carapace Race and Earth Scorpion Race, saving many of their lives.

"We'll wait for Brother Jiang to return!" one Celestial Lagoon Sect disciple muttered resentfully.

"Let me tell you, anyone can die here in Absolute Heaven. Jiang Chao is no exception." Chen Lushi said dismissively. "If he doesn't survive, it just means he isn't competent enough to make it.

"Just look at Fu Wangchen. He was holding back the strongest Ghost Race warrior all by himself before the arrival of the Sword Pavilion. If Jiang Chao isn't careful and dies at the hands of the living dead, he'll only have himself to blame."

"More of you would've died if not for Pang Jian's warning and Wu Yuan's prompt action. And yet, you still dare to blame Pang Jian? Ridiculous!" Zhou Qingchen sneered. Then, recalling how Chen Lushi had used the astral winds to toy with them, he could not help but add snarkily, "Don't blame others for your own stupidity."

Chen Lushi, wounded and in a foul mood, coldly retorted, "A mere disciple from the Red Mountain Sect of the lower world dares to speak to me in such a way?"

Part of her displeasure stemmed from Pang Jian's indifference toward her despite being Li Zhaotian's personal disciple.

Chen Lushi was accustomed to men admiring her and was full of grievances.

Who does Zhou Qingchen think he is? A mere early-stage Profound Abode Realm disciple from the Red Mountain Sect in the Third World dares to criticize me?

She was eager to vent her frustrations on Zhou Qingchen and wanted nothing more than to teach him a lesson.

Whoosh!

A rainbow-colored ribbon shot out from Chen Lushi's sleeve.

"You dare!" Zhao Yuanqi prepared to intervene.

Chen Lushi was in the late stage of the Profound Abode Realm and a genius of the Demon Heart Sect.

Naturally, Zhao Yuanqi was worried she would seriously injure Zhou Qingchen.

Whoosh!

Blinding silver lightning surged out of Pang Jian's palm.

The arc of silver lightning coiled around a cold, misty white haze and radiated with the brilliance of the stars and the moon as it enveloped Chen Lushi.

Boom!

Chen Lushi's ribbon was instantly shredded as if an ancient beast with a bloodline of ice, lightning, stars, and moon had bitten it.

"You!" Chen Lushi was struck with horror.

Summoning more ribbons, she started to perform the Heavenly Demon Dance.

Enchanting demon shadows swirled in the air, flowing garments twisting seductively. Each movement of the dance embodied the most alluring aspects of feminine grace.

"What nonsense." Pang Jian snorted coldly, unfazed.

He quietly gathered his strength in the shadows, infusing a single strand of golden divine sense into the Startling Slaughter Spear to form a connection with his spiritual sea before sending it soaring through the air.

The uses of true divine sense are truly boundless!

Pang Jian used the spear to unleash the Explosive Dance.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Massive spheres of ice and lightning exploded among the dozens of seductive demon shadows and hundreds of colorful ribbons.

A storm of ice and lightning wreaked havoc on everything in its path!

"Pang Jian!" Chen Lushi screamed in pain.

She was skilled in manipulating people's hearts and was deeply versed in illusionary mind techniques. The mesmerizing demonic shadows she summoned were meant to captivate Pang Jian's mind, but he had destroyed them like popping bubbles.

The Demon Gauze Dress Chen Lushi had procured from the Heavenly Demon Sect was also shredded in the swirling storm of ice and lightning.

By the time Pang Jian's attack ended, Chen Lushi's face had already lost color.

She glared at Pang Jian, eyes filled with disbelief, seemingly unable to comprehend how he dared to strike at her with such ferocity.

The shards of ice and arcs of lightning had slashed open her form-fitting purple dress, and her slender legs bore thin, bleeding cuts.

Thin tears ran along her waist and back, down to the edges of her hips, revealing tantalizing glimpses of her smooth, fair skin.

"You!" Chen Lushi clutched the hem of her dress at her thigh to prevent further exposure and hastily retreated behind an ancient tree.

The disciples from the Celestial Lagoon Sect looked on with schadenfreude.

The eyes of the male survivors from the Skyveil Cliff Sect and the Xiao Clan gleamed as their gazes greedily wandered over her exposed white skin.

Chen Lushi's enchanting Heavenly Demon Dance did not affect Pang Jian's mind, but it certainly captivated the young men of Skyveil Cliff Sect and the Xiao Clan.

These young men were under the bewitching influence of Chen Lushi's technique and their minds were filled with her seductive visage.

Her torn dress only caused them to become even more entranced as they itched to tear off her remaining clothes and ravish her.

"Wu Yuan! Are you just going to watch him hurt me?" Chen Lushi shouted angrily from behind the ancient tree.

"I warned you not to provoke him, but you didn't listen," he said indifferently.

"You're a member of the Demon Sect! How could you just watch one of your own get bullied? How could you just stand by and do nothing?" Chen Lushi grumbled while changing her clothes behind the tree.

Wu Yuan was no longer interested in responding.

Lu Xiangyi and several other Celestial Lagoon Sect disciples looked at Pang Jian with renewed respect.

"Li Zhaotian's disciple is quite similar to him," they remarked.

Pang Jian's decisive and ruthless handling of Chen Lushi left a deep impression on them.

"Li Zhaotian's disciple?" Chang Li and Xiao Yu's faces changed dramatically.

They had entered the bizarre mist early on to explore Absolute Heaven and were unaware the Sword Pavilion's Pavilion Master had taken in a new disciple from the lower world.

A newfound respect swiftly took hold of everyone when they learned about Pang Jian's background.

"Pang Jian, my cultivation realm is too low. I still need your help," Zhou Qingchen said with an embarrassed smile.

"No wonder Junior Brother Zhou was determined to recruit you into the Red Mountain Sect. I see why he went to such great lengths to find you when you went missing," Zhao Yuanqi said appreciatively.

Chen Lushi was an inner disciple of the Demon Sect and her seductive nature had garnered her many admirers in the Demon Sect, the Celestial Lagoon Sect, and the Black Valley Sect.

However, Pang Jian did not hold back when Zhou Qingchen was humiliated!

Pang Jian's decisive actions greatly pleased Zhao Yuanqi.

"This is for you. I prepared something for you inside. If you refine it into your sea of consciousness, you'll be able to reach the limit of your divine sense very quickly. Remember, your total number of divine sense won't necessarily be lower than others," Pang Jian said as he handed over the Black Crow Cauldron.

"A way to quickly reach the limit of my divine sense?" Zhou Qingchen accepted the Black Crow Cauldron without hesitation. Seeing the six peculiar Soul FIames inside, he asked skeptically, "Are you sure it'll work?"

Pang Jian nodded. "You can start refining them now."

"Now?" Zhou Qingchen peered up at the sky.

"The foreign races are withdrawing from Absolute Heaven," Pang Jian explained.

Without another word, Zhou Qingchen sat behind Pang Jian and started refining the Soul Flames from the Black Crow Cauldron.

"The foreign races are retreating?"

"Were we just too weak?"

"The foreign races that slaughtered us are now choosing to leave. Doesn't that just mean we're useless?"

The disciples of the Xiao Clan and the Skyveil Cliff Sect felt rather dejected.

At the same time, eight golden bee souls left the deceased Ka Zi's mind and manifested in Pang Jian's sea of consciousness.

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

The well-fed golden bees flew to the acupoints at the bottom of Pang Jian's sea of consciousness and each spat out two drops of golden honey—double the normal amount.

They had clearly absorbed a significant amount of divine consciousness!

With that, sixteen new bee pupae formed in the beehive within the Gate of Abyss!