Trials of the Abyss

Chapter 350: The Abyssal Demon Sword

"Is he truly going to be Li Zhaotian's final disciple?"

"Does Li Zhaotian seriously plan to make him the next Pavilion Master of the Sword Pavilion?"

"I don't see anything special about him."

"Li Zhaotian, that coward, has lingered in the Immortal Realm for so long. He refuses to advance to the True God Realm, claiming he hasn't found a suitable successor. I think he's just making excuses out of fear!"

"Well, he's finally chosen a successor. Does that mean he'll try to become a True God?"

"Can this kid shoulder the responsibility of leading the Sword Pavilion?"

The Sword Pavilion was as noisy as a marketplace.

Pang Jian was stunned.

The nine-story Sword Pavilion was shaped like an inverted sword. Its ninth floor was the most spacious, with a central staircase leading to the lower floors.

There were a variety of spirit swords on the ninth floor—made from black iron, treasure crystal, gold, and other rare materials.

Some swords looked dull or like scrap metal, while others gleamed dazzlingly.

Some were displayed on wooden stands, some rested in sword cases, while others were embedded in wooden platforms.

There were over a hundred spirit swords on the ninth floor.

However, the voices of criticism did not come from the spirit swords on this floor.

A spirit sword without a sword soul is merely a high-grade spirit artifact and isn't very valuable.

With that thought, Pang Jian descended the stairs.

The nine-story Sword Pavilion was structured with its sharp tip pointing downward, with the grade of the spirit swords increasing the further down one went.

The eighth, seventh, and sixth floors were also filled with spirit swords, but none had sword souls. Thus, Pang Jian ignored them and continued heading down.

The number of spirit swords dwindled from the fifth floor onward, with only about twenty or thirty spirit swords on each floor.

The spirit swords here were displayed in slightly different ways—some rested in cabinets or were encased in special crystal, while others were embedded in wooden platforms.

The spirit swords on the fifth floor could make faint, chattering sounds.

Pang Jian casually touched a spirit sword as narrow as two fingers, three feet long, and as thin as a cicada's wing.

A young maiden in the prime of her youth, dressed in vibrant robes, snapped angrily, "Take your filthy hand off me!"

She glared fiercely at Pang Jian.

The sharp light of the spirit sword flared, nearly cutting Pang Jian's finger and forcing him to let go. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"A forced match is never sweet." A lead-gray sword embedded in the wooden wall laughed. "Come over and pull me out. I'll go with you!"

Woong! Woong! Woong!

A sword hummed loudly as if trying to pull itself free from the wall, but did not seem to have the power to do so.

"Young master, take me with you! Together, we'll conquer the world!"

"Choose me, young master, choose me!"

"You're Li Zhaotian's personal disciple and is the future Pavilion Master. If you conquer the Abyss with me, I'll surely become famous across the heavens!"

"I can sense it—you cultivate the Dao of Cold. I'm the perfect match for you!"

Woong! Woong!

The spirit swords on the fifth floor either cursed him or invited him to choose them.

Instead of physically touching the spirit swords, Pang Jian reached out with his divine sense and faintly saw the sword souls within each one.

Some sword souls appeared as humans, beasts, or spirits, while others were clouds of mist or crystalline gems.

They seemed to come in all sorts of bizarre shapes and sizes.

However, none of them could leave their swords or move freely.

None of these are good choices.

Pang Jian moved down to the fourth and third floors, only to find much of the same.

The spirit swords on the third, fourth, and fifth floors were saint-grade and had sword souls, but none were top-tier.

Descending once more, he found only twelve spirit swords on the second floor, all floating in mid-air.

The twelve spirit swords rushed toward Pang Jian, flying around him and chattering nonstop as they evaluated him from head to toe.

Pang Jian sensed profound Dao mysteries from the twelve swords.

It felt like selecting any of them could lead him to godhood in the future.

"Blue Dream was given to that boy, Qi Qingsong. It's been gone ever since."

"He's the same as that guy, trying to choose a spirit sword to assist them in their path to godhood. But his aura is all mixed up—he's not suitable for any of us."

"He doesn't have the qualifications to ascend to godhood. I don't think much of him."

"Yes, with his aptitude, he should choose a sword from above. He's not welcome here."

The twelve spirit swords on the second floor formed a little clique and unanimously dismissed Pang Jian.

They then returned to their places and steadfastly ignored Pang Jian.

Realizing he could not win them over, Pang Jian headed straight to the first floor.

The moment he entered, his expression changed.

He did not see any spirit swords—instead, he saw three people!

Two old men wearing blue robes, one fat and one thin, were clearly from the older generation of the Sword Pavilion.

The pair were playing a game of chess while a fiery Celestial Phoenix floated in the air.

Neither of the elders noticed Pang Jian's arrival as they were too engrossed in their game.

The Celestial Phoenix, on the other hand, transformed into a stunning woman in blue robes.

Smiling calmly at Pang Jian, she commented, "How interesting. You've refined the essence of the Celestial Phoenix, but didn't become a Celestial Phoenix Divine Guard."

Pang Jian was startled.

"Your divine soul..." She frowned, studying Pang Jian for a few seconds before her expression grew serious. "I've never felt such a vast amount of divine essence in any Spirit Condensation Realm cultivator from the human race!

"In previous eras, when the Abyss opened, cultivators also captured Outer God Puppets and used their divine essence to refine their souls, but none are comparable to you."

She shook her head solemnly.

The two old men finally shifted their attention from the chessboard to glance curiously at Pang Jian.

"Lady Feng, are you sure?" the thin elder asked.

"I am. In the past, cultivators also infused their divine sense with divine essence to refine their divine souls, but none had as much divine essence as him."

Lady Feng smiled faintly and gave a slight bow. "Well then, I feel a connection with him. I've taken a liking to him. So, this is farewell."

"Lady Feng, when you leave, don't pursue your sister's death any further. Otherwise, I'm afraid even this soul of yours will be annihilated. It could even bring the Sword Pavilion down with it!" the thin elder sternly advised.

"Don't worry, I won't cause trouble for the Sword Pavilion," Lady Feng replied halfheartedly.

Boom! Crack!

A sound suddenly echoed from the corner of the first floor.

Pang Jian turned in surprise and saw the black crystal hilt of a sword struggling to pull itself free.

The entire blade of the sword was embedded in the wooden floor, with only the black, crystal-like hilt visible, making it easy to overlook.

"Abyssal Demon!" The two elders and the fiery Celestial Phoenix's expressions changed.

Black demonic flames rose from the black crystal hilt, and a twisted, violent aura rapidly spread throughout the Sword Pavilion.

The entire nine-story Sword Pavilion turned pitch black as if drenched in ink.

"The Abyssal Demon Sword!"

"Why's that sword reacting?"

"What's going on?"

The aura spilling from the first floor terrified every sword soul in the Sword Pavilion.

Meanwhile, the Immortal Realm elders on the mountains outside were equally shocked.

Some disciples turned to their elders for an explanation.

"That sword doesn't belong to the Sword Pavilion. It was the sword of the last Sect Master of the Demon Sword Sect, a branch of the Demon Sect."

"That Sect Master and the Abyssal Demon Sword led to the Demon Sect erasing the Demon Sword Sect from existence."

"The Demon Sword Sect and the Abyssal Demon Sword haven't appeared in the Abyss since."

"That sword hasn't moved in almost three hundred years! Instead of awakening the divine swords, that kid stirred the Abyssal Demon Sword!"

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh

The four Immortal Realm elders, Liu Junhong, Guang He, Wang Ce, and Xu Yu, surrounded the outside of the first floor and adopted a defensive stance.

Chen Weihuang frowned and sent a message with his sword token, "Master, he's disturbed the Abyssal Demon Sword."

Li Zhaotian was in the middle of a discussion about the fight against the foreign race with several True Gods when he received the message.

"If the Abyssal Demon Sword chooses him, let him take it," he replied.

"But that's not even a sword from our Sword Pavilion!" Chen Weihuang protested.

"As long as it's a sword, it belongs to the Sword Pavilion! What does it matter if it's a righteous, evil, or demonic sword? If it's a sword, it aligns with our Dao!" Li Zhaotian responded confidently before resuming his discussion.

Back on the first floor of the Sword Pavilion, a voice filled with madness and violent rage echoed from the demonic sword embedded in the wooden floor.

"I want him! The new era has arrived and the most terrifying trial of the Abyss is about to begin. Only by merging with me can he bear the responsibility of revitalizing the Sword Pavilion!

"The Abyss is on the brink of destruction, and this world will be destroyed. The Sword Pavilion, the Demon Sword Sect, and every sword sect in the Abyss will soon be reborn!

"You three old fools, release me! Let me out!

"I can smell it—the blood on him. It's the smell of karma! I'll use his body and my Dao of Sword to slaughter the Outer Gods!

"I'm the soul of an evil demon, but he can carry my Dao!"

The Abyssal Demon Sword hummed violently.

Its soul's crazed shrieks were so loud that even the three divine sword souls were getting headaches.

Pang Jian stared at the strange sword in shock. Its hilt rattled violently but it remained firmly embedded in the floor.

"Li Zhaotian has replied!" The fat elder's face darkened as he glanced at Lady Feng. "He said that if the Abyssal Demon Sword is willing to be wielded by him, we're not to continue suppressing it."

"Has Li Zhaotian gone mad?" Lady Feng snapped.

"Let him try to pull the sword. If he can pull it out, the Abyssal Demon Sword is his to take." The thin elder grunted. "Li Zhaotian hasn't successfully ascended to godhood yet. We can be slightly flexible with his orders."

"Fine, let him pull the sword!" The fat elder and Lady Feng reluctantly agreed.