Trials of the Abyss

Chapter 382: Rapid Rise on the Leaderboard

Hu Yuanfei stood on her hovering Rocfish Sword at the Celestial Citadel in the Third World.

The Rocfish Sword's radiance shielded her from the contamination of the murky energy.

Her masculine, sword-like brows were furrowed, radiating a fierce aura.

A large Sword Boat was anchored behind her, and the Sword Pavilion disciples–Qi Qingsong, Zhuang Yuyan, and others–stared gravely into the distance.

"Vicious Beasts have completely overrun Luminous Jade. Liu Xian of the Ghost Sacrifice Sect and the cultivators stationed there..." Zhuang Yuyan sighed softly behind Hu Yuanfei. "Luminous Jade isn't too far from the Celestial Citadel. We should prepare."

Liu Xian was a Soul Wandering Realm cultivator from the Ghost Sacrifice Sect, ranked fourteenth on the Soul Wandering Realm leaderboard and the strongest in Luminous Jade.

Soul Wandering Realm cultivators from the Nine Tribes Sect, as well as Profound Abode Realm and Spirit Condensation Realm cultivators from the Demon Sect and the Skyveil Cliff Sect, had also set up camp in Luminous Jade alongside her.

No one could have anticipated that Luminous Jade would fall to a horde of Vicious Beasts in such a short time.

"Liu Xian is dead, and only a few managed to escape from Luminous Jade," Qi Qingsong said gravely. "Reports indicate that the horde of Vicious Beasts includes Rank Eights capable of partial transformation."

"Partially transformed Vicious Beasts are difficult to handle." Hu Yuanfei sighed. After some thought, she ordered firmly, "You all take the Sword Boat back to Cosmic Skies Continent. I'll stay behind to assess the situation."

"Understood!"

Qi Qingsong and the others did not attempt to dissuade her.

As fellow disciples of the Sword Pavilion, they were well aware that Hu Yuanfei could go toe-to-toe with a true Rank Eight Vicious Beast if she had the Rocfish Sword.

If not for the recent gathering of Sword Pavilion disciples in the Celestial Citadel, she would not have been restricted in her movements, and her rank on the Soul Wandering Realm leaderboard would have climbed even higher.

"Inform the noble families stationed below to withdraw as well," Hu Yuanfei said calmly. "The situation has shifted, There won't be any more one-sided victories. I've been to the Fourth World and know the true strength of the foreign races and Vicious Beasts. It seems they're mounting a large-scale counterattack."

"I'll spread the word!" Zhuang Yuyan flew down to the Celestial Citadel to relay her orders.

Meanwhile, Qi Qingsong habitually checked the Merit Leaderboard through his Mystic Eye.

Surprisingly, his rank in the Spirit Condensation Realm leaderboard had risen several places despite not gaining contribution points recently.

This could mean only one thing.

The Spirit Condensation Realm cultivators ranked above him had perished.

Names of the deceased disappeared from the Merit Leaderboard, allowing those behind them to move up.

"It's not just Luminous Jade. Other fragmented lands are also under attack, or there wouldn't be so many names disappearing from the leaderboard at once," Qi Qingsong said somberly. "Xuan Cai from the Forsaken Expanse Sect isn't in Luminous Jade, and she's no longer on the leaderboard either."

Qi Qingsong then checked the Soul Wandering Realm leaderboard.

"Pang Jian! He's ranked ninth with seventeen thousand contribution points!" Qi Qingsong cried out in shock.

Duan Jing, Song Zihe, Zeng Yulan, and the others on the Sword Boat gasped and quickly checked the Soul Wandering Realm leaderboard with their own Mystic Eyes.

Pang Jian's name, contribution points, and rank were all there.

He was indeed in ninth place!

"Ninth place!" Hu Yuanfei's heart surged with excitement, more thrilled than if her own rank had risen. Biting her lip, she murmured, "He didn't bring shame to our master!"

***

Su Li watched from his escaping Sword Boat as the cities within the smoke-filled Sunken Bei collapsed under the rampage of Berserk Beasts.

A deep sense of helplessness filled him.

"So many mindless Vicious Beasts still remain..."

Vicious Beasts had destroyed flying vessels from the Supreme Monad Divine Kingdom and the Ancient Law Sect of the Northern Ruin. Cultivators in the Soul Wandering Realm, Spirit Condensation Realm, and Profound Abode Realm died one after another.

Deep down, he knew neither he nor his junior brothers and sisters—disciples of Elder Lu Xiaolin and Elder Cai Xin—could turn the tide.

All he could do was safely lead his loyal followers out of Sunken Bei.

"Senior Brother Su, Pang Jian's rank in the Soul Wandering Realm leaderboard has risen to ninth place!" someone shouted in surprise.

Su Li froze.

For over a month, he had roamed far and wide, hunting Vicious Beasts and foreign races, and had finally managed to climb to thirteenth place on the Soul Wandering Realm leaderboard.

He felt a quiet sense of pride in his accomplishment.

The fact that Pang Jian's name had not even appeared in the top hundred only bolstered his confidence.

However, during this period of fierce attacks from the foreign races and Vicious Beasts, Pang Jian's name unexpectedly appeared directly among the top ten on the leaderboard.

Su Li felt like he had been struck over the head and his expression darkened.

"How could this be?"

"That's impossible!"

The junior disciples were similarly in disbelief, each struggling to accept the news.

Cries of despair echoed across the fragmented lands. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

In a time when names were continuously vanishing from the Soul Wandering Realm and Spirit Condensation Realm leaderboards, Pang Jian's name had conversely shot up like a comet, standing out with extraordinary brilliance.

***

Dong Tianze of the Sinister Soul Temple; Spirit Condensation Realm rogue cultivators Lei Kun and Lian Feng; and Profound Abode Realm rogue cultivators Gao Yuan and Han Ting stood in a Divine Spirit Pagoda that had just escaped from the Primordial Wilderness.

They all wore grim expressions, each more solemn than the last.

The Primordial Wilderness had fallen.

Nearly a thousand bloodthirsty high-ranking Vicious Beasts had surged into the Primordial Wilderness.

Despite having traps like the Ground Fissure Mines, the Berserk Beast horde still broke through the many defensive lines of the Armor-Breaking Army.

A half-transformed Scorchfire Bird had almost killed everyone inside the Divine Spirit Pagoda, but Dong Tianze had unleashed the Celestial Phoenix Imprint on his brow in time.

The sudden manifestation of the awe-inspiring Celestial Phoenix struck fear deep into the forcibly advanced Rank Eight Scorchfire Bird.

As the Scorchfire Bird dared not continue its pursuit, they narrowly escaped and safely departed from the Primordial Wilderness.

Lian Feng broke the silence, feigning a light tone. "Liu Tianchao, the late-stage Soul Wandering Realm leader of the Armor-Breaking Army, and Han Feng[1] have died in the Primordial Wilderness. It seems your revenge has been fulfilled, Han Ting."

Han Ting sighed softly.

"It doesn't matter anymore. The elders of the Blood Moon Sect and the Star River Alliance are nearly all dead, and many elite Spirit Condensation Realm and Profound Abode Realm cultivators have perished." Gazing at the sky, she said with a heavy tone, "I had a feeling the battles ahead would no longer be as easy."

"Check the Merit Leaderboard! Look at the Soul Wandering Realm leaderboard!" Gao Yuan abruptly exclaimed. "Look at ninth place!"

"Pang Jian of the Sword Pavilion!"

Lei Kun, Lian Feng, and several other Sinister Soul Temple cultivators gasped in surprise.

Having learned that Pang Jian was Luo Yuan in the time since they had last met, Lei Kun let out a few excited, low growls before saying, "I knew he'd rise to the top!"

Dong Tianze had anticipated this outcome and was unfazed, only casting a brief look at the leaderboard.

"Zhou Qingchen has risen to seventh on the Spirit Condensation Realm leaderboard!" a Sinister Soul Temple protector exclaimed with a glance at Dong Tianze. "It's the first time someone outside the First and Second Worlds has broken into the top ten of the Spirit Condensation Realm leaderboard!"

Dong Tianze immediately checked the Spirit Condensation Realm leaderboard.

Wu Yuan, third; Zhou Qingchen, seventh; Qi Qingsong, sixteenth; Zhuang Yuyan, twenty-first; Zhao Yuanqi, thirty-fifth, Dong Tianze mentally noted with a grim expression.

Not long after, he sent the others onto a Formless Sailboat bound for the Dark Abyss Continent and turned back alone on the Divine Spirit Pagoda.

***

A small Sword Boat docked in the southern part of Auspicious Light, within an estate that a rogue cultivator once built.

Boom!

A Primeval Pillar Divine Kingdom warship arrived from the Cosmic Skies Continent to hover like a giant beast over the fragmented land.

"The Primeval Pillar Divine Kingdom!"

Cultivators on Auspicious Light breathed a sigh of relief, staring up at the warship with renewed hope.

Zheng Guowang stepped out, glanced at the Sword Boat, and shouted, "Pang Jian, please come up for a discussion!"

"Very well."

Reverent eyes from throughout Auspicious Light followed him as he flew to the Primeval Pillar Divine Kingdom's warship.

Unlike before, everyone on Auspicious Light now held a newfound respect for Li Zhaotian's personal disciple.

He was ninth on the Soul Wandering Realm leaderboard!

Pang Jian had returned from the blood-soaked battlefield of Brocade Cloud with the head of a Rank Eight Ghost Race powerhouse, a white serpent above Rank Seven, and a similarly-ranked magpie.

These remarkable achievements dispelled all doubts about Pang Jian, causing his name to resound throughout the Abyss.

An elegant woman with brows as finely drawn as a painting smiled and asked as Pang Jian boarded the ship, "Where's Yu'er? Why didn't she return to Auspicious Light with you?"

"You are?" Pang Jian asked curiously.

"I'm an acquaintance of your master." The elegant woman looked at Pang Jian with an affectionate gaze that one reserved for a promising young disciple. Smiling, she handed Pang Jian a thin booklet and added, "Information about the Primal Sphere's functions and usage are all here."

Pang Jian accepted the booklet with a quick thank you.

"Her Flying Fish Boat is probably still nearby," he said in response to her earlier question. "She believes the Bloodthirst Elixir has also been used on the Vicious Beasts on the other fragmented lands and wants to save the people there."

The woman gently nodded. "She's always been inclined to help others,"

Zheng Guowang[2] interjected solemnly, "Similar hordes have appeared on eight other fragmented lands besides Brocade Cloud. Of those, seven have fallen, with the frenzied hoarder slaughtering the stationed forces. The worst was the Primordial Wilderness.

"An Armor-Breaking Army unit and three Soul Wandering Realm cultivators all perished in the Primordial Wilderness.

"The other fragmented lands suffered similar fates. The human race has suffered devastating losses. The rampaging Vicious Beasts have truly trampled on us," Zheng Guowang sighed deeply.

"Only Brocade Cloud and White Tiger Grove[3], guarded by the Hong Qiming of the Demon Sect, achieved victory and killed the Rank Eight foreign race warrior behind it," the woman said softly.

Hong Qiming of the Demon Sect, Pang Jian noted.

Glancing at his Mystic Eye, Pang Jian saw that Hong Qiming had risen from fifth to fourth place, surpassing Fan Chen from the Supreme Monad Divine Kingdom to rank just below Liu Youyu.

Li Yuqing, Zhou Yi, Liu Youyu, Hong Qiming, and Fan Chen were the top five on the Soul Wandering Realm leaderboard.

Judging by the contribution points, it would not be long before Li Yuqing was overtaken as she had temporarily withdrawn to the Sacred Soul Continent,

"Pang Jian, please help me relay a message to your master," the woman said suddenly. "Tell him not to rush his advancement to the True God Realm."

1. This is the person who captured Gao Yuan and Han Ting. ☜

2. This is the person who registered Pang Jian at the redemption point. ☜

3. In traditional Chinese astronomy, 奎 in White Tiger Grove(奎木) represents one of the 28 lunar mansions (二十八宿), specifically associated with the Kui mansion in the western quadrant of the White Tiger constellation. It often embodies themes of strength and endurance. ☜