Trials of the Abyss

"Heh." Su Li let out a cold laugh. "Junior Brother Bai Chuan is in the late stage of the Spirit Condensation Realm!

"Pang Jian has just recently advanced to the Spirit Condensation Realm! How could he possibly search through the memories of Junior Brother Bai Chuan's divine soul?"

The three elders loyal to Jiang Ran voiced their doubts as well.

Zhou Wenhao wore a grim expression as he said coldly, "Elder Wang Ce, you're in charge of the Sword Pavilion's laws. How should we deal with Pang Jian forcibly invading a fellow disciple's sea of consciousness?"

The two senior brothers shifted the blame back onto Pang Jian in the blink of an eye.

"Pang Jian..." Xu Yu frowned slightly.

Although they knew Pang Jian's divine soul harbored mysteries, it was still hard to believe that he could see through the memories of Bai Chuan's divine soul despite being in a lower cultivation realm.

Still, the seed of doubt had been planted, and Liu Junhong, Guang He, and Wang Ce's suspicious gazes fell on Bai Chuan.

The frightened Bai Chuan shook his head frantically in response to Pang Jian's accusations. "He's making things up! I went mad from cultivation deviation. This has nothing to do with Senior Brother Su Li."

Moments earlier, a majestic golden divine soul had appeared within Bai Chuan's sea of consciousness like an ancient God from the outer world.

When that ancient God gazed at him, it felt like its piercing eyes could see through every secret he had ever held, and even embarrassing moments from his childhood seemed to be laid bare before it.

This made Bai Chuan suspect his secrets had truly been exposed to Pang Jian's divine soul. Despite this, he still firmly denied the accusations.

"He and those claiming the Abyssal Demon Sword influenced them to commit evil deeds…" Pang Jian turned to face the four elders. "Elders, I believe you have ways to make them tell the truth."

His divine soul's entry into Bai Chuan's sea of consciousness was merely to intimidate him, and the time spent had been too brief for him to see through Bai Chuan's memories.

However, Bai Chuan's flustered behavior and the Abyssal Demon's firm denials made Pang Jian certain Bai Chuan was hiding something.

"Su Li is the mastermind behind it all!" Pang Jian declared confidently.

"There are ways to find out," Wang Ce said, exchanging glances with Guang He and Liu Junhong. He sent out a thought transmission before saying aloud, "Wait a moment."

Zhou Wenhao and Su Li felt slightly uneasy.

"I've interrogated many people before. I can always tell if someone's lying," Wang Ce said as he glanced at Bai Chuan. "Earlier, I couldn't be sure whether the Abyssal Demon was involved because it does have such capabilities, but Bai Chuan...your story has too many holes."

Meanwhile, those loyal to Wang Ce had quietly apprehended those claiming the Abyssal Demon had influenced them. After being imprisoned in hidden chambers, they were given a special potion which forced them to confess the truth.

A quarter of an hour later, Wang Ce nodded lightly to Chen Weihuang.

"We have both witnesses and confessions. The clues all point to one person." Wang Ce coldly snorted. "Su Li is the true instigator."

"Understood," Chen Weihuang said and touched his forehead.

Seven fiery swords embedded themselves in Su Li's body, imprisoning him on the spot.

Chen Weihuang pointed toward the exit and said to Pang Jian, "You may leave. This matter no longer concerns you."

Pang Jian paused for a moment, casting a strange look at his senior brother.

At that moment, he realized the cold, expressionless man had likely had to do quite a lot behind the scenes to prepare for Pang Jian's arrival.

It seemed Wang Ce and the other elders were also quite inclined to listen to him.

"Go on. We just needed you to confirm that the Abyssal Demon wasn't involved," Liu Junhong said with a smile.

Pang Jian nodded.

Wang Ce, Liu Junhong, Guang He, and Xu Yu had avoided direct action because they were unsure whether the Abyssal Demon was truly involved. They feared digging deeper into the matter would reveal that it was actually responsible and complicate matters further.

The real power in the Sword Pavilion still rested in the hands of the four elders. Zhou Wenhao, Su Li, and the three other elders were no match for them.

Pang Jian left peacefully.

Back in his cave residence, Pang Jian gazed thoughtfully at the Abyssal Demon Sword before trying to extend his divine soul's perception through the cave walls.

To his surprise, his divine soul's perception could not penetrate the walls, and even the black turtle scute's Mountain Phase failed to pass through!

Astonished, he asked Qi Qingsong about the situation.

"All the cave residences in the Sword Pavilion are like this. No one from the outside can sense anything, whether by divine sense or spiritual power.

"Rest easy, no one can tell what you're doing inside your cave residence.

"But what are you planning to do anyway?" Qi Qingsong asked curiously.

Pang Jian did not respond.

After some consideration, he retrieved the copper chest and opened the lid.

"You stay in here for now."

Pang Jian then tossed the Abyssal Demon Sword inside.

The Abyssal Demon's presence vanished as soon as the lid shut.

The mysterious copper chest from Eight Trigrams City was an enigma.

Although the bronze pendant enabled the wearer to see the starry skies while inside the chest, anyone else would be plunged into absolute darkness and silence.

There was no light, no energy, and no sound.

It was a desolate void.

The copper chest could isolate everything. Even Pang Jian could not communicate with the black turtle or the World Eater Vine when inside it. Thus, he concluded that the Abyssal Demon would certainly be the same.

Having temporarily solved the problem of the Abyssal Demon, Pang Jian stashed the copper chest under his bed and sent his divine sense into his sword token.

Within the sword token were three bright sword-shaped symbols used for communication.

The three lights represented Qi Qingsong, Zhuang Yuyan, and Li Zhaotian.

After a moment of hesitation, Pang Jian sent a message to the light representing Li Zhaotian.

I don't know how to refine the Abyssal Demon Sword.

Pang Jiane did not have to wait long before a soul projection of Li Zhaotian emerged from the tiny light.

His large, robust figure seemed ready to burst out of his loose robes as he laughed heartily. "The Abyssal Demon Sword counts as a divine sword. Divine swords cannot be treated as mere weapons because they possess a soul.

"To deal with a divine sword, we must treat it like our most important companion.

"You cannot forcibly imprint your will upon a divine sword. It's only through shared ideals, beliefs, and aligned goals—by demonstrating the strength and character it respects—that you can earn a divine sword's recognition," Li Zhaotian advised.

Pang Jian frowned. "But it's a demonic sword."

"Then give it a lure. Promise it, for example, that you'll help it recover its missing blade. The Abyssal Demon Sword's purpose has always been to slay the Outer Gods.

"You need to make it understand that you can and will help it find its other half. You also need to make it believe you will slay the Outer Gods.

"The Abyssal Demon is skilled at corrupting the hearts of others, but as long as you can remain true to yourself and not let it erode your mind or soul, you can trick it into behaving the way you want.

"Divine swords and demonic swords aren't meant to be forcibly refined. They must accept you," Li Zhaotian patiently explained.

His soul projection then entered a sword-light symbol and imprinted his recent insights regarding the mysteries of the Dao of Sword.

"I recently gained some new insights into the Chaos Sword Technique. Make sure to study them carefully."

Li Zhaotian's soul projection then flew out of the sword-shaped symbol.

"How did Fu Wangchen of the Forsaken Expanse Sect die?" he abruptly asked.

Pang Jian was startled.

"The sword token I left you contained a trace of sword intent. When you sent out a message with that sword token from the Third World, I sensed through that sword intent that Fu Wangchen intended to kill you," Li Zhaotian sneered. "His master, Li Chu, is someone I once defeated.

"That brat only dared to target you because the Forsaken Expanse Sect has two True Gods.

"At our Sword Pavilion's peak, we had five Sword Gods. We were the strongest sect in the First World!

"Whenever the Outer Gods descend through their followers or puppet bodies, our Sword Pavilion is always the one leading the charge in slaying them!

"The prosperity and stability of the Abyss is thanks to generations of our Sword Gods paving the way. The Sword Pavilion may have declined and we no longer have a Sword God, but that doesn't mean I'll allow my disciple to be bullied," Li Zhaotian said fiercely.

Five Sword Gods! Pang Jian felt a deep sense of admiration.

Sword Gods ascended to godhood through the Dao of Sword and were known as True Gods of the Sword.

At present, even the three Divine Kingdoms in the Eastern Land had only four True Gods combined—also known as the Four Divine Kings.

Meanwhile, the sects in the Southern Gorge, the Western Loam, and the Northern Ruin had only one or two True Gods each.

At its peak, the Sword Pavilion had five True Gods of unparalleled power, undoubtedly making it the strongest human race sect at the time.

"Did the Ice Armor Eel Dragon eat Fu Wangchen? Or did the foreign races kill him?" Li Zhaotian asked again.

"I killed him," Pang Jian replied.

"You?"

"Yes."

Li Zhaotian grinned.

"Well done." His soul projection laughed. "Don't worry. The Sword Pavilion will return to the Western Loam in the First World once I ascend to the True God Realm.

"Between the Pure Land Sect and the Divine Treasure Sect is a sacred land that still belongs to our Sword Pavilion. It's been vacant for ages, just waiting for our Sword Pavilion to rise back up to claim it."

In the following days, Li Zhaotian's soul projection remained in Pang Jian's sword token, carefully guiding and chatting with him when he had time.

"I asked that girl, Zhuang Yuyan, about this. Dong Tianze, Qi Qingsong, and Zhou Qingchen eliminated Lu Jie of the Forsaken Expanse Sect, Jiang Chao of the Celestial Lagoon Sect, and a few others while you were away.

"Dong Tianze from the Sinister Soul Temple is quite a good lad. He helped you remove some future troubles.

"Oh, by the way, your Spirit Condensation Realm is different from others. The Spirit Condensation Realm exists because newly refined divine souls are weak and require gradual tempering.

"But your divine soul is brimming with divine essence and is already solid and robust. So you've essentially skipped that realm entirely.

"In other words, you're already in the Soul Wandering Realm," Li Zhaotian informed.

His soul projection often conveyed any new information he received to Pang Jian.

He also openly shared his insights into swordsmanship and recounted several perilous periods in his life.

Most of the time, Li Zhaotian talked while Pang Jian quietly listened.

However, Pang Jian could not help but sense a growing urgency from his master.

Li Zhaotian seemed eager to pass on all of his knowledge and wisdom—not just about swordsmanship, but also life.

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