Trials of the Abyss

Chapter 47: Breaking Through

"Did Pang Jian just say that he killed all the members of the Shadow Specter Sect?" Zhou Qingchen asked.

Han Duping watched as Pang Jian disappeared into the Divine Spirit Pagoda. Then, he turned to Luo Hongyan and asked, "Is he joking?"

Su Yuntian, He Rong, and Su Meng all wore expressions of disbelief on their faces.

From what Luo Hongyan had told them, they only knew that Hong Tai had led the members of the Shadow Specter Sect to ambush them at Blackwater Pond.

Although they also knew about Ouyang Duanhai's sudden appearance and the Black and White King Python's betrayal that enabled "Ning Yao" and Pang Jian to escape, Luo Hongyan had never really explained what had happened to Hong Tai and the other members of the Shadow Specter Sect.

Now, Pang Jian claimed to have killed all the members of the Shadow Specter Sect except for Hong Tai!

How was this possible?

The group looked to Luo Hongyan for confirmation.

A strange expression crossed Zhou Qingchen's rugged, unshaven face. Part of him already believed Pang Jian's words, but he still wanted to know for certain. "Miss Ning, is he telling the truth?"

"Yes." Luo Hongyan's expression was disinterested, and she did not bother to turn around as she gazed intently at the white pagoda. She then impatiently added, "I forgot to tell you earlier, but the Black and White King Python that betrayed Hong Tai did so because of Pang Jian.

"After you two escaped, he lured the members of the Shadow Specter Sect to the bottom of Blackwater Pond and wreaked havoc while riding the giant python. Apart from Hong Tai, no one from the Shadow Specter Sect managed to escape."

Han Duping was stunned. "So he was telling the truth..."

"No wonder Sister Ning fell in love with him. It seems he saved Sister Ning's life at Blackwater Pond!" Su Meng exclaimed in revelation.

Zhou Qingchen was lost in thought. He could not help but marvel aloud, "I never imagined that he would fulfill the vow I made before leaving Blackwater Pond.

"While I was rushing to break through to the Marrow Cleansing Realm to avenge our fallen comrades, Pang Jian had already finished the job."

He knew that Pang Jian had some secrets of his own. Although he admired many qualities in Pang Jian, he had not expected Pang Jian to use Hong Tai's Black and White King Python to turn the tide and slaughter the members of the Shadow Specter Sect.

Luo Hongyan smirked, a disdainful glint in her beautiful eyes. She thought to herself, All you do is talk big. Weren't you the first to flee when things went south?

She cleared her throat and added, "That includes Dong Qianfeng, the one wearing the golden mask."

"Dong Qianfeng!" Han Duping shouted in disbelief. "Wasn't he expelled from the Radiant Sun Sect? How did he end up in the Fourth World, colluding with the Shadow Specter Sect?"

"Doesn't the Shadow Specter Sect consist of those unrecognized by the seven major clans or cast out by sects in the upper world?" Zhou Qingchen was not surprised. He calmly remarked, "The Radiant Sun Sect expelled him, and the Dong family didn't dare to take him back. With his cultivation realm, it would've been difficult to survive in the Third World, so he had no choice but to descend to the Fourth World."

***

As the others conversed outside, Pang Jian once again stood before the massive skull on the fifth floor of the Divine Spirit Pagoda. He picked up his Dragonwood Spear from where it had been left on the ground.

The spirit turtle inside the skull showed no sign of movement as countless ghostly apparitions continued to swirl around it.

Pang Jian slowly closed his eyes.

The spiritual power in his spiritual sea suddenly surged, causing colossal waves to rise like mountains and swell violently within his spiritual sea.

He carefully observed the anomaly occurring within his body, sensing the churning of spiritual power and the gradual restlessness of his spiritual sea. As he did this, core information of the Qi Nurturing Divine Cauldron Art surfaced in his mind.

Discomfort rose within him, and Pang Jian allowed the spiritual power beneath his dantian to erupt even more violently!

A sharp, throbbing pain radiated from his navel region.

The searing pain made Pang Jian feel like his spiritual sea harbored restless giant serpents and celestial dragons, all eager to break free from his spiritual sea and rampage through his meridians.

As he felt this terrifying pain, he allowed this fiery sensation to burn fiercer still as he roared excitedly in his heart.

The first stage of the Meridian Opening Realm involves opening the Eight Extraordinary Meridians and using spiritual power to connect the four limbs! Each limb has two meridians for eight meridians in total. These eight meridians act as the link between the spiritual sea and the four limbs.

As Pang Jian ran through his knowledge of how to break through to the Meridian Opening Realm, the increasingly terrifying pain caused his expression to twist maniacally.

Fervent desire blazed within him! I have to succeed!

The surging waves in his spiritual sea peaked, and just as quickly came crashing down with a resounding roar!

The immense power crashing down from above found an outlet at the bottom of Pang Jian's spiritual sea, piercing through eight deep channels.

Like floodgates that had been opened, violent spiritual power poured into the eight deep channels, rushing out from the spiritual sea beneath his dantian.

Pang Jian's abdomen let out a roar! It sounded like Celestial Gods beating drums and the Thunder Dragon soaring toward Heaven!

Amidst the intense pain, he sensed as the four meridians linking his arms to his spiritual sea were flooded by the raging tide that rushed toward his palms with a momentum that could swallow mountains and rivers!

Pang Jian's meridians were like a narrow river inundated by a majestic flow of river water. His arms went numb and his entire body shook uncontrollably.

Clang!

The Dragonwood Spear fell to the ground. Pang Jian could no longer hold onto it.

Pang Jian sat down. His shoulders shook uncontrollably and his trembling arms felt as though they had been electrocuted.

With great difficulty, he slowly rolled back his sleeves, staring wide-eyed at his arms.

Holding up his bare arms, he noticed small streams of light rushing from his shoulders to his palms as they flowed along the four meridians.

These streams of light were boundless spiritual power.

The surge of spiritual power rushing through Pang Jian's narrow meridians resembled flood water reclaiming barren fields, washing away accumulated debris at the bottom of dry riverbeds.

Unfortunately, this process of opening up the meridians was accompanied by an intense stabbing pain, causing Pang Jian to grit his teeth in agony.

Gritting his teeth, he forcefully controlled the flood-like spiritual power with his mind while keeping a close eye on his arms.

Below his spiritual sea, the four meridians linked to his legs were also opening up. However, he forcefully suppressed it.

Pang Jian wanted to focus solely on opening the four meridians in his arms.

For the majority of people, the limited spiritual power in their spiritual sea made it exceedingly difficult to open all eight meridians at once when breaking through from the Qi Practicing Realm to the Meridian Opening Realm.

Only a few individuals were able to open all eight meridians at once, with most opting to open just one or two. Of these, most chose to open the meridians in their hands.

The capacity of one's spiritual sea when first filled is limited. Generally speaking, the stored spiritual power is often insufficient to fully open even one meridian in either the left or right hand.

Reaching the initial stage in the Meridian Opening Realm of unblocking the Eight Extraordinary Meridians often required continuous and gradual accumulation over time.

The reason was that most people's spiritual seas were simply not spacious enough. A single filling of the spiritual sea with spiritual power did not go far, so the opening of the meridians had to be carefully planned out.

This was not a task that could be accomplished in one fell swoop.

Pang Jian initially planned to open one of the two meridians in his dominant right hand, allowing spiritual power to flow to his palm. Then, with the Dragonwood Spear to enhance his strength, he could attempt to break the array.

However, after the eight meridian channels appeared, he felt he had enough spiritual power stored in his spiritual sea to open up the four meridians connecting to both arms in one go.

He decided to trust his intuition!

So he opened four meridians at the same time. He kept his eyes open to see if his plan would succeed.

As he endured the intense pain, he could distinctly see the streams of spiritual power slowly advancing through the four meridians.

Pang Jian also carefully monitored his spiritual sea. If the spiritual power within his spiritual sea depleted too fast, he would promptly adjust his strategy and focus on only opening up one meridian.

However, every time he checked his spiritual sea, he felt that the spiritual power within it remained abundant.

At this moment, he realized that his spiritual sea was likely larger and could store more spiritual power than other cultivators at the same level.

Blackwater Pond! The corrosive energy in the black water helped to expand my spiritual sea! Pang Jian realized.

Pang Jian's thoughts wandered as he endured the intense pain. He no longer needed to focus his mind or activate the Qi Nurturing Divine Cauldron Art.

Time passed in this way.

Whoosh!

A tiny green light appeared on his left palm, like a firefly in the night.

At the sight of the green light, Pang Jian snapped awake and exclaimed, "I succeeded!"

That was the light emitted by the overflow of spiritual power!

The color of this light varied based on one's cultivation method. Pang Jian cultivated the Qi Nurturing Divine Cauldron Art, and the color of his spiritual power was green.

To avoid wasting spiritual power, he gently exerted his will and cut off the flow of spiritual power into that meridian.

Spiritual power no longer flowed through the open meridian, and the corresponding channel in his spiritual sea closed off.

It was a truly miraculous sensation. Once all eight meridian channels were opened, he would be able to control them as he pleased.

Pang Jian focused his energy on the remaining three meridians, continuing to open them methodically.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

One hour later, the remaining three meridians connecting his palms to his spiritual sea successfully opened, with each marked by the appearance of the green light on his palms.

Pang Jian had reached the Meridian Opening Realm and had even successfully opened four meridians all at once.

And one-third of his spiritual power still remained in his spiritual sea!

If he did not have an array to destroy, he could have used the remaining spiritual power to open two of the meridians connected to the soles of his feet.

However, he did not do that.

Destroying the skull array required spiritual power, and he could not afford to squander it. He had to reserve his strength for more important matters.

"It's about time," he finally said.

Pang Jian did not waste time to feel the changes in his body. After casually moving his arms around a few times, he lifted the Dragonwood Spear.

He aimed the spearhead at one of the stones on the hollow skull imbued with Profound Yin energy.

With the slightest thought, his previously calm spiritual sea in his dantian surged once more. Spiritual power rushed out like a waterfall, coursing through the meridians in his right arm and flowing into the Dragonwood Spear.