Trials of the Abyss

The Sword Boat sailed aimlessly in the bizarre mist.

Without the sun, moon, or stars, it was impossible to distinguish between day and night. The passage of time became as elusive as the workings of the human heart.

Pang Jian often stood by the window on the third floor, watching the dramatic shifts in everyone's emotions.

At first, the Sword Pavilion and Black Valley Sect disciples below directed their blame at him.

They claimed his unnecessary actions of pursuing the green ants had led the boat off course.

The accusers believed they would have already arrived at Absolute Heaven if not for his interference.

Time passed slowly, but it was hard to tell if it had been a few days or half a month without the cycle of day and night.

The Sword Boat continued to drift through the bizarre mist.

Both the route to Absolute Heaven and the way back felt distant.

The passing time wore on everyone's patience, and even those sitting to cultivate with spirit jades grew increasingly agitated.

"Everyone, stop cultivating. Just maintain your protective shields. What's the point of advancing in our cultivation realms if we can't escape this bizarre mist?" shouted an outer disciple of the Black Valley Sect.

His eyes were filled with despair and he let out a bitter smile.

"Qi Qingsong, there's no point in letting the Sword Boat sail aimlessly anymore. It's just a waste of spirit jades.

"We've tried countless times, but we've still failed to break through this bizarre mist and reach Absolute Heaven

"If our directions are wrong, it won't matter how long we fly the Sword Boat for, we'll still be wandering within the bizarre mist," the outer disciple despaired.

Qi Qingsong stood on the third-floor balcony, frowning at the outer disciple's words.

The man responsible for refilling the array with spirit jades and charting the course of the Sword Boat came out of the ship's hold after hearing this.

"What he said isn't without reason," the middle-aged Han Lu told Qi Qingsong, "We've consumed nineteen thousand spirit jades since entering the bizarre mist. I have thirty-one thousand left, but they'll inevitably be consumed if the Sword Boat keeps moving.

"And, eventually, they will run out." He shook his head bitterly.

Qi Qingsong also had no solution for the problem they were facing."Then let's stop for now."

"We should all try and see if any of our communication talismans can reach those outside the bizarre mist," shouted Nie You of the Sword Pavilion.

"We've already tried. There's no response."

"We lose all five senses once we enter the bizarre mist. How can we possibly communicate with the outside world?"

"It's useless."

The disciples of the Sword Pavilion and Black Valley Sect sighed despondently.

Inside Pang Jian's room on the third floor, Pang Jian leaned against the window to observe the Sword Pavilion and Black Valley Sect disciples on deck. He saw a mix of helplessness, confusion, disappointment, and deepening despair on their faces.

"Big Brother Zhou, how many spirit jades do you have left?" he asked. "How long can you last?"

Zhou Qingchen smiled wryly. "If it's just to maintain my protective shield, I can probably last another two months."

His face had become unkempt again and he had grown a full beard.

"Who would have thought that the Sword Boat would get lost in what was supposedly a relatively safe bizarre mist?" Zhou Qingchen sighed.

"Big Brother Zhou, if you don't have enough spirit jades, let me know in advance."

"Sure, I won't be polite with you."

Pang Jian nodded.

He still had several thousand spirit jades and a large number of spirit stones in his spatial bracelet.

To conserve his precious spirit jades, he had instead opted to set up small-scale spirit gathering arrays with his spirit stones.

As his green protective shield was solely for guarding against the bizarre mist, he only used spiritual power and did not infuse it with any other energies. ȑ𝘈ŊÖʙĘ𝙎

The seven possessed individuals that Nie You and Ye Fei killed had crumbled to ashes long ago.

Even without the brain-eating green ants, prolonged exposure to the bizarre mist had gradually eroded their flesh and blood.

Pang Jian shifted his attention to his sword token.

The thousands of blue-clad afterimages demonstrating sword techniques within the world inside the sword token had disappeared.

Even the powerful Li Zhaotian could infuse his spiritual power into the sword token after it was cut off from the Abyss, causing the afterimages to vanish.

Time flowed by like water.

No one knew how long had passed.

The Sword Boat remained anchored in the dense bizarre mist.

Everyone on board could only hope another group would happen upon them, such as the Demon Sect, the Celestial Lagoon Sect, or perhaps even an expedition group from the First World.

Whoosh!

The protective shield of a reserved outer disciple of the Black Valley Sect vanished like a candle flame snuffed out by the wind.

Lu Lianchen, another outer disciple of the Black Valley Sect, rushed over. "Wang Ji, you—What happened?"

"I've exhausted all my spirit jades," Wang Ji muttered, lowering his head. "I'm the first to run out, but I won't be the only one. Senior Brother Lu, there's no need to waste your time on me. We're all going to die anyway. We're all going to perish in this bizarre mist.

"As they say in the legends, those lost in the bizarre mist will die in the bizarre mist. They'll eventually vanish forever."

Wang Ji looked up calmly as Lu Lingchan tried to hand him a spirit jade.

"It's useless," he said quietly. "Without a way out, it's only a matter of time before we all die. Junior Sister Lu, don't waste your resources on me. I've accepted my fate."

Wang Ji then lowered his head and fell into silence.

Everyone stared at him with mixed emotions.

Zzt!

Golden light flickered in Pang Jian's eyes before quietly receding.

From the third-floor window, he shouted, "No green ants appeared."

"Wang Ji, tell us what you're feeling!" Ye Fei of the Black Valley Sect shouted. "You're the first to be exposed to the bizarre mist without green ants eating your brain! If you survive, it'll mean we don't have to keep up our protective shields! That way, we could hold out longer—maybe until someone finds us!"

Disciples from the Sword Pavilion and the Black Valley Sect also chimed in.

"That's right! Wang Ji, you must hold on!"

"No matter what, tell us exactly how you feel. We need to know how to survive!"

"Hang in there, Wang Ji!"

Many female disciples choked on low sobs as they encouraged him.

These female disciples were not genuinely concerned for Wang Ji's safety, but rather overwhelmed by a shared sense of impending doom.

After all, whatever happened to him would eventually happen to them.

If Wang Ji did not make it, then neither would they.

Wang Ji quietly probed his own body, carefully examining the eerie sensation of the bizarre mist enveloping his flesh.

"I—"

Before he could utter another word, he passed away.

Pang Jian watched closely, but no brain-eating green ants appeared.

The omnipresent bizarre mist slowly seeped into Wang Ji's skin and pores, filling his lungs with every breath.

Wang Ji slowly withered away. His flesh disintegrated bit by bit, and his bones crumbled into nothingness, becoming one with the gray, hazy bizarre mist.

The atmosphere on the Sword Boat grew unbearably heavy.

Wang Ji's death snuffed out the last glimmer of hope in everyone's hearts.

"He was right. We're all going to die in the bizarre mist. It's just a matter of time."

"Haha! The elders said the bizarre mist in Absolute Heaven was safe. What nonsense!"

"The enigmatic bizarre mist blanketing the Abyss is the most terrifying thing in this world! It's beyond anyone's comprehension!"

"No matter how many spirit jades we have, we'll eventually run out. Prepare yourselves to die."

More and more pessimists vented their negative emotions.

They desperately drained the spiritual power from anything they could find—spirit artifacts, armor, and accessories. All anyone could do was take it one day at a time.

Fang Boxuan approached the expedition leader of the Black Valley Sect, Lu Lingchan.

"Lu Lingchan," he greeted with a calm smile before addressing the elderly woman behind her, "Huang Ying, you're right—I am Fang Xuan."

With the situation as it was, Fang Boxuan no longer bothered to hide.

"I knew it was you!" Huang Ying sneered.

"You're a slave of the Lu Clan. You never had the guts to speak to me like this before." Looking at Lu Lingchan, he said, "My Fang Clan, before it was annihilated, was superior to your Lu Clan. Do you agree?"

Lu Lingchan gently nodded, gestured for Huang Ying to be quiet, and said, "The reason the Demon Sect purged your Fang Clan has always been a mystery to me. Can you tell me why?"

"Because of you." Fang Boxuan shot her a smile that did not reach his eyes.

Lu Lingchan was puzzled. "Me?"

"You and I were engaged, but your cultivation talent was so exceptional that it greatly pleased the Valley Master of Black Valley Sect. After taking you as his personal disciple, he decided to betroth you to someone from the Forsaken Expanse Sect of the Northern Ruin in the First World.

"That person's master even came down from the First World to assess your innate potential and aptitude. Satisfied, the master proposed a condition to the Demon Sect—to have me assassinated, thereby ending our engagement once and for all.

"The master feared that if I was alive, his disciple would harbor grudges and affect his cultivation.

"My grandfather loved me very much and refused to agree to my execution, so he sent me away. This is why the Demon Sect purged my Fang Clan," Fang Boxuan revealed with a smile.

Lu Lingchan quietly looked at Fang Boxuan, then sat down and closed her eyes. She said nothing for a long time.

"Aunt Huang, is what he said true?" Lu Lingchan finally asked, back facing Huang Ying.

"More or less."

Lu Lingchan nodded and sighed. "Fang Xuan, I didn't know anything about this. I—"

"I don't blame your Lu Clan. Our clans have been allies for generations. This matter wasn't up to your Lu Clan. It was your master, that person from the Northern Ruin, and the Demon Sect that caused my clan's demise."

Fang Boxuan's smiling facade faltered, and a look of bitter resignation took its place.

"It's infuriating. I've endured for so long, but it all seems meaningless in hindsight."

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