Trials of the Abyss

Chapter 322: Chance Encounter in the Void

The golden bee in Absolute Heaven abruptly addressed the group gathered on the mountaintop, "Prepare to head for the Forbidden Land of the Thunder God. We'll be joining the fight for the fragments of the Divine Court of Thunder."

Qi Qingsong jumped up and exclaimed, "Pang Jian, what have you discovered?"

"Pang Jian, why did it take so long for you to respond?" Zhou Qingchen asked.

"Has it been that long?" the golden bee asked in surprise.

"Yes, we haven't been keeping track of the exact time, but it feels like it's been at least a month," Zhuang Yuyan said with a forced smile. She pointed toward the lakes below. "None of those who entered the lakes, be it from the Sea Race or the cultivators from the Abyss, have come back out."

After briefly summarizing the situation to Pang Jian, she gestured to Wu Yuan. "He chose to believe in you and came to join us."

The young genius of the Demon Sect eyed the talking golden bee with a mix of curiosity and wariness.

He knew the golden bee was called Nether Abyss Spirit Bee, a fearsome creature that fed on the divine consciousness of Outer Gods and was feared as a great scourge across the many different worlds.

The golden bee went silent.

"Forget about Absolute Heaven for now. Set out as soon as possible. I'll join you when you're close," it finally said, offering no comment about Wu Yuan's arrival.

Zhao Yuanqi tossed out her large crimson gourd and leaped onto it.

"Let's go."

***

Outside of the Frozen Land.

"Absolute Heaven, the Forbidden Land of the Thunder God, and the fragmented land with the body of the Fire God..."

Second Elder Bing Yuan, Fifth Elder Bing Ying, and over a dozen Rank Six Ice Race warriors excitedly took in the sight of the outside world for the first time.

They rode on Spirit Avians and held ancestral artifacts passed down through generations, eyes wide with wonder as they eagerly looked around.

"He's shown us the way. He wants us to go to the Forbidden Land of the Thunder God," Bing Ying murmured.

After breaking through to Rank Seven, Bing Ying's lifespan extended and the wrinkles on her face vanished, leaving her looking like a stern woman in her fifties.

"Bing Yuan, should we listen to him?" she asked, eyes gleaming with excitement. "According to the outsider, the invaders in Forbidden Land of the Thunder God only have bloodlines up to Rank Six. None of them are Rank Seven, so there'll be nothing to worry about if we two Rank Seven go there. We just need to be careful of the Outer God Puppets."

"I know," Bing Yuan replied. "Bing Ying, you and I both know that he caused the changes in the Frozen Land.

"The Ice Demon has died, and the Frost Crystal God now occupying our homeland is still searching for this fragmented land and the Heart of Winter!"

Bing Yuan gripped the Frost Scepter that once belonged to the Grand Elder and took a deep breath.

"With the barrier gone, she may sense our existence," he said gravely. "Her loyal followers will surely come looking for us soon.

"We must grow stronger as quickly as possible!

"The fact that we're both Rank Seven is a major advantage for us right now! If we delay, the foreign races in the Forbidden Land of the Thunder God, the fiery fragmented land, and Absolute Heaven could also experience breakthroughs.

"So, let's listen to him! Let's first charge into the Forbidden Land of the Thunder God and search for anything that will make us stronger!"

The dozens or so Rank Six Ice Race warriors beside them were equally eager. They clenched their fists in anticipation of the battle ahead.

Bing Ying nodded firmly. "Very well, I'll gather the others!"

An hour later, five elders and several hundred Rank Five and Rank Six Ice Race warriors soared into the sky on their Spirit Avians, setting off in a grand procession toward the Forbidden Land of the Thunder God.

***

Stop producing new bees. I'm about to run out of Vicious Beast meat, Pang Jian said to the Bee Sovereign.

He sat quietly at the altar and took out spirit jades to absorb more spiritual power.

As he peered up at the thinning mist in the sky, he reached out to the golden bees he had sent out and knitted his brow.

"Elder Bing He, don't perform the old rituals used to communicate with the Ice Demon from now on. You could attract the attention of the Frost Crystal God."

The Sixth Elder, Bing He, was a stout Ice Race elder who had been left behind to serve Pang Jian at the altar.

"Th-the Frost Crystal God can sense us through this?" Bing He stammered, turning pale with fright.

Pang Jian nodded. "If you continue to use the altar to try and reach the Ice Demon with the barrier gone, you'll likely reach her instead."

He strongly suspected the cold gaze he had sensed in the ruined altar in Spirit Offering—the one that had pierced straight into his soul and nearly froze his sea of consciousness—had come from the new God of the Mystic Frost World, the Frost Crystal God!

As for the one-eyed giants in Ice Rock City, he could not be certain if they had communicated with the Ice Demon or the Frost Crystal God all those years ago.

"Understood! We won't hold any rituals from now on!" Bing He vowed.

The Sixth Elder hurriedly left the altar where the Heart of Winter had once rested, trembling with fear and unable to feel safe enough to compose himself until he was far down within the ice fortress.

"Sir, if you need anything, just give the order. We'll do whatever we can for you," Bing He shouted from below.

Pang Jian nodded slightly before going back to restoring his strength.

Despite his efforts, his spiritual sea had only been replenished to about sixty percent of its original spiritual power.

The sun and moon were still no larger than a grain of rice, and the tiny stars were dim and dull.

Only the fiery pool and the lightning vortex had recovered slightly, thanks to the hidden earthflame energy and lightning in the Vicious Beast meat he had consumed.

The eight Leaves of Life drooped lifelessly, completely drained of life energy.

Only his sea of consciousness, with its three thousand strands of golden divine sense hanging like waterfalls, exuded a feeling of infinite grandeur and power.

If I could recover my strength, I could use the three thousand strands of golden divine sense to refine my divine soul. Unfortunately... He sighed to himself.

Pang Jian sent strands of golden divine sense surging into his ice pool–now nearly ten times larger than the fiery pool—to probe the crystal core of the Heart of Winter at the bottom.

This is the true core of Winter. There must be something extraordinary within.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Strands of golden divine sense shot toward the crystal core, attempting to unravel its secrets.

However, the tiny crystal core was as hard as refined iron, and even his golden divine sense could not pierce through it.

Master, you're having difficulties because you have yet to refine your divine soul. Once you've refined your divine soul, you should be able to unlock the secrets of the crystal core.

I suspect it contains the complete method of the Ice Demon's ascension to godhood. But that path isn't suitable for you, Master. It'll only work for those like him—members of the Ice Race, the Bee Sovereign informed telepathically.

The path to godhood? Pang Jian was taken aback.

Yes, the path to godhood for other races is likely different from the method the human race in the Abyss uses to ascend to True God, the Bee Sovereign mused. Other races draw their power from their hearts, blood, and soul seas, but the human race in the Abyss uses their spiritual seas and seas of consciousness.

Soul sea and sea of consciousness are essentially different terms for the same thing. The main difference lies between the heart and the spiritual sea.

Other races grow stronger through the transformation of their physical bodies and the secrets imprinted in their bloodlines.

Master, you're human, not a member of the Ice Race from the Mystic Frost World. Therefore, you cannot follow the Ice Demon's path to godhood.

At most, you can only comprehend the Dao of Cold from it.

The Bee Sovereign had awakened many new memories after consuming a large amount of divine consciousness and was about to hibernate his large beehive.

Master, I need to sleep for a while to undergo another evolution. The little ones will assist you while I'm sleeping.

With that, the Bee Sovereign fell silent.

Pang Jian continued to restore his strength.

***

A screeching, injured white crane flew out from the Forbidden Land of the Thunder God, covered in wounds and cursing, "Damn you, Bright Moon Race!"

Following closely behind the white crane was a crescent-shaped warship carrying over a dozen white-robed foreign race warriors. Their eyes blazed with killing intent as they glared at the white crane.

"Kill that white crane!"

"Hand over the fragment of the Divine Court and we'll grant you a swift death!"

"Stop wasting your breath! That foul-mouthed white crane doesn't deserve a whole corpse!"

The Bright Moon Race warriors naturally had crescent or full moon marks on their foreheads, and as they swung their radiant weapons, cold moonlight was unleashed at the white crane.

The white crane darted through the cold moonlight, wreathed in lightning. Despite its injuries, it kept shooting longing glances at the Forbidden Land of the Thunder God and was unwilling to flee.

After a prolonged struggle, the heavily injured white crane reluctantly flew toward Absolute Heaven, abandoning its pursuit of more fragments of the Divine Court.

"That white crane!" Wu Yuan of the Demon Sect growled.

"Scum from the Abyss!" The fleeing white crane shouted back, beaming at the sight of familiar human cultivators. "I'm a Divine Crane from the Pure Land Sect. I'm here to collect divine thunder for my master! You lot, come help me kill these foreign race scum!"

It had long forgotten what it had done to the Demon Sect's Demon Incursion Ship outside the bizarre mist and strutted haughtily around as though Qi Qingsong and the others were obliged to listen to it.

"A Divine Crane from the Pure Land Sect?" Zhuang Yuyan hummed.

Summoning her spirit sword, she left the gourd and scanned the pursuing Bright Moon Race warriors with her divine sense.

Her face paled.

"There's more than one Rank Six foreign race warrior on that ship!" she cried in alarm. "Zhao Yuanqi! Avoid the white crane, or we'll be dragged down with it! We can't handle those foreign race warriors. It doesn't matter whether or not this white crane is from the Pure Land Sect, we need to prioritize our survival!"

The white crane's sharp eyes spotted her sect emblem and shrieked, "You're with the Sword Pavilion? I'm with Luo Yuan and Pang Jian! You brats found your way here thanks to me!

"Where's Luo Yuan? Where is he?"

The Injured and desperate white crane refused to let Zhuang Yuyan's group leave and incessantly flapped around Zhao Yuanqi's gourd.

The pursuing Bright Moon Race warriors drew closer.

"Luo Yuan, Pang Jian..." The group's attention shifted to the golden bee leading them.

"Follow me," the golden bee finally said with a hint of resignation.