Trials of the Abyss

Chapter 385: The Sanctum of Godly and Demonic Genesis

Ling Yimo hovered above the dragon's chest cavity, skin as pale as porcelain and body seemingly weightless and without bone.

Her flowing white dress was adorned with mysterious sigils on its hem, each in shades of blue and purple.

As the hem of her dress fluttered in the air, the blue and purple sigils seemed to move with it as if spectral phantoms inhabited them.

Pointing to the thick ice, she explained, "Underneath the dragon's ribcage are ancient characters buried beneath a layer of frost. I'd like you to draw out the cold energy from within the ice so the ancient characters can emerge undamaged.

"I could shatter the frost myself, but I worry it'll damage them."

Pang Jian gently nodded.

When the girl from the Ghost Sacrifice Sect gazed at him, he felt strangely like she could see right through his thoughts.

Pang Jian's mind raced as he realized that Ling Yimo's blood essence was remarkably low—so low, in fact, that it resembled an ordinary cultivator in the Marrow Cleansing Realm.

This indicated that the Ghost Sacrifice Sect prodigy had hardly tempered her body after the initial bone forging, marrow cleansing process.

Moreover, she was not only physically weak, but the spiritual power circulating within her also felt unrefined and impure.

One's physique, spiritual sea, and divine soul were the foundations upon which one's true strength was measured. Thus, the unnatural weakness of the first two struck Pang Jian as particularly strange.

Pang Jian then tried to probe Ling Yimo's divine soul in her sea of consciousness and was met with intense pressure!

Despite Ling Yimo only being in the Spirit Condensation Realm, Pang Jian's golden divine soul, which he took great pride in, could not discern the profound mysteries of her divine soul. Instead, he felt an inexplicable sense of suppression, as if something was subtly holding him back.

Even those in the Soul Wandering Realm had never exerted such pressure on his divine soul.

Pang Jian stopped when he noticed her looking at him.

"You—" After a brief hesitation, he reluctantly said, "Your soul is...quite formidable."

"Yes, my soul has always been different," Ling Yimo replied softly, then gestured at the thick ice, indicating that Pang Jian could begin.

"Oh."

Still in shock, Pang Jian summoned the Heart of Winter from his spiritual sea and used the Ice Demon's secret technique to draw the cold energy from the dragon's chest cavity.

Strands of cold energy slowly seeped into the Heart of Winter, and the thick ice melted.

The dragon's skeleton, which stretched over ten thousand zhang, gradually ceased to emit its faint white luster and took on a mottled, rusted appearance.

It was as if millions of years had passed in the blink of an eye, weathering away the dragon's skeleton.

"The skeleton has likely endured years of erosion within the bizarre mist. Only the cold energy left within its heart cavity kept the bones smooth as jade," Hong Qiming of the Demon Sect remarked indifferently. "But now, the corrosion has finally set in." n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Wu Yuan remained silent.

"You didn't tell me he had a divine artifact from an Outer God." Hong Qiming frowned.

Hong Qiming, fourth on the Soul Wandering Realm leaderboard, was significantly older than Wu Yuan and saw himself as the future pillar of the Demon Sect.

In his eyes, the young Wu Yuan was a promising talent worth cultivating.

In private, he regarded Wu Yuan as his right-hand man, hoping that Wu Yuan would one day support him in seizing the position of Sect Master.

"Outer world artifacts are sensitive matters and Pang Jian didn't want anyone to know," Wu Yuan explained.

Hong Qiming stared at Wu Yuan for a long while and said with deliberate emphasis, "Wu Yuan, remember, you're from the Demon Sect, not the Sword Pavilion.

"We and the Sword Pavilion have been vying to return to the First World. The Pavilion Master of the Sword Pavilion, like our Sect Master, will always act in the best interests of their own sect."

"I have no interest in the position you're after," Wu Yuan replied coolly.

Hong Qiming snorted. "I know. It's why I've always looked out for you. I'll secure whatever benefits I can for you. I only hope you'll stand by me in the future."

Hong Qiming had subtly sensed that Wu Yuan had developed a faint but noticeable trust in Pang Jian, Zhou Qingchen, Dong Tianze, and Qi Qingsong's small group since returning from Absolute Heaven.

Lately, Wu Yuan had brought up Pang Jian and Dong Tianze more than his fellow Demon Sect disciples.

Sensing that things were taking a concerning turn, Hong Qiming decided to remind Wu Yuan about where his true loyalties were supposed to lie.

"I will," Wu Yuan replied indifferently.

***

Drip! Drip!

Drops of icy water steadily dripped down and the strange ancient characters buried in the thick ice gradually became visible.

Crack!

Without the support of the ice, the Frost Dragon's ribcage started to fracture.

Cracks fissured across the skeleton before the whole thing collapsed with a thunderous crash.

Pang Jian and Ling Yimo leaped out together, ancient characters firmly etched in their minds.

However, Pang Jian could not grasp the meaning behind them.

"Little Sister Ling, what did you find?" Shen Yanxi hastily asked.

The group of high-ranking individuals all turned their attention to Ling Yimo.

Even the couple from the Ancient Law Sect curiously looked over.

Although Ling Yimo from the Ghost Sacrifice Sect was only in the Spirit Condensation Realm, no one dared to show any sign of disregard.

They all knew she had limitless potential and could one day surpass Gui Mu, the True God of the Ghost Sacrifice Sect.

Her origins were shrouded in mystery and even their elders only knew a fraction of the truth.

"The Sanctum of Godly and Demonic Genesis; Third-Generation Dragon; Frost Dragon; Rank Ten," Ling Yimo said softly, "I saw those words. The characters aren't from our Abyss. None of the known foreign races use such characters in their writing.

"Yet, I was able to understand it."

She looked at everyone with a calm certainty.

Pang Jian glanced between her and the others in surprise.

Strangely, none of the powerful figures from the First and Second Worlds seemed shocked.

Pang Jian then turned to Hu Yuanfei.

Hu Yuanfei coughed, took out her sword token, and pressed it to Pang Jian's.

Sending his divine sense into his sword token, he saw Hu Yuanfei's name had been added to the sword-shaped symbols.

Through the sword token, Hu Yuanfei explained, "Her soul has been unusual since childhood and can perceive the profundities that the Outer Gods left in the Abyss.

"Even Gui Mu of the Ghost Sacrifice Sect suspects her soul may not be of this world."

The matter surrounding Ling Yimo was sensitive enough that even the usually outspoken Hu Yuanfei resorted to using the sword token.

A human body with a soul from the outer world? If that's true, then what exactly is Ling Yimo? The longer Pang Jian thought about it, the more his astonishment grew.

"There are countless extraordinary mysteries in this world. If you can't understand them, don't dwell on them. Take the boundary wall, or the bizarre mist for example—their true nature has puzzled both us and the former ruling races of the Abyss."

Pang Jian gently nodded.

“The Sanctum of Godly and Demonic Genesis?!” Shen Yanxi exclaimed.

The expression of the Black Valley Sect's Cai Shaoheng shifted. "Third-Generation Dragon? Rank Ten?"

"Rank Ten!" Lu Yanshu from the Pure Land Sect stepped out from the fractured bones to hover above the collapsed skeleton. "Does a Rank Ten dragon only appear after the third generation? Is there a fourth generation? A fifth?"

"The Sanctum of Godly and Demonic Genesis and the Tribulation Ground of Gods and Demons..." Zhou Yi took a deep breath, expression turning grave as he looked toward the distance.

The dense gray bizarre mist still concealed much of the continent's vast territories.

A hunch told him that an ancient Sanctum of Godly and Demonic Genesis lay somewhere on the landmass—a place once home to the third-generation dragons.

"This continent's history could be older than our entire human race civilization," remarked Fan Chen from the Supreme Monad Divine Kingdom, face filled with wonder.

"We've all heard that the Outer God refers to our Abyss as the Tribulation Ground of Gods and Demons. Over the years, I've visited fragmented lands and restricted areas to investigate the history of the foreign races, Vicious Beasts, and Spirit Beasts, and I've reached some conclusions."

Fan Chen paused and looked at the others with a grave expression.

"The foreign races are likely not native to the Abyss. It's as if they were abruptly thrown into our world at some point.

"The Vicious and Spirit Beasts, alongside other monstrous creatures—seem to be the true inhabitants of the Abyss.

"As for our human race..." Fan Chen knitted his brows. "Our origins remain unknown."

"You all stay here; I'll go explore the depths myself," Ling Yimo of the Ghost Sacrifice Sect said abruptly.

Whoosh!

Despite her mere Spirit Condensation Realm cultivation, she drifted toward the far side of the continent like a spectral wraith and suddenly vanished from sight!

It was as though she had teleported from the dragon's skeleton to the depths of the continent shrouded in bizarre mist in the blink of an eye!

"She–she went into the bizarre mist!" Zhou Qingchen exclaimed.

Born in the Fourth World, Zhou Qingchen had an ingrained respect and fear of the bizarre mist. All the knowledge he had received from a young age painted the bizarre mist and the boundary wall as a forbidden zone for all beings.

Although he had entered and exited the bizarre mist before, Zhou Qingchen still feared it deeply and could hardly believe how decisively Ling Yimo had entered.

Zhou Yi of the Nine Tribes Sect remained unfazed. "We'll wait for her return."

The Nine Tribes Sect shared a continent with the Ghost Sacrifice Sect, meaning he was familiar with Ling Yimo's peculiarities.

The True God Gui Mu had invested a lot in Ling Yimo and viewed her as her key to understanding the mysteries of the starry skies beyond the Abyss.

"Zhou Yi, there are foreign races nearby," Hong Qiming warned, expression darkening. "Didn't you say the surrounding area was clear?"

"They're probably new arrivals," Zhou Yi said with unruffled confidence. "This is a remote edge. Foreign races and Vicious Beasts won't deliberately come here. I believe, for now, that no powerful foreign races have taken notice of this place."

"Shouldn't we report this matter to the higher-ups?" Fan Chen asked.

"No need," Zhou Yi replied calmly. "I'll handle it."

With that, he quietly vanished and did not reappear even after a long time had passed.

Ling Yimo had also seemed to have gotten lost in the bizarre mist, with no sign of her re-emergence.