Trials of the Abyss

The continent's edge was still some distance away from the colossal black turtle.

Although that distance surpassed the limits of perception and sight for many, Liu Youyu managed to illuminate the black turtle with the aid of her divine artifact.

"The black turtle!" The crowd exclaimed in awe.

It seemed to fill up the entirety of the Celestial Profound Mirror, and they could easily imagine how massive the real black turtle was.

The black turtle was on par with the fallen Celestial Phoenix, the old Thunder Dragon of the Dragon Lair Sect, and the mysterious Primordial Serpent whose fate was unknown.

Legend said that this black turtle had an unimaginably long lifespan and had been born in a truly ancient era.

It existed long before the human race rose to power in the Abyss, back when the other races were still offering them as sacrifices to the Outer Gods.

The combined age of all the existing True Gods in the Abyss likely did not even come close to the black turtle's.

The Celestial Phoenix, the Thunder Dragon, the Primordial Serpent, and other Rank Ten Spirit Beasts were all its juniors.

According to legend, the black turtle carried a miraculous continent on its back and drifted between the worlds of the Abyss.

Many exceptional individuals sought it out, hoping to establish a sect on it, but the black turtle and the continent it carried had long disappeared.

"Let's go take a closer look," Pang Jian suggested.

The Flying Fish Boat sailed forward through the dense bizarre mist.

Hu Yuanfei followed on her sword.

"This continent itself is also drifting outward, albeit so slowly that it's almost imperceptible," Fan Chen from the Supreme Monad Divine Kingdom observed as he gazed at the ground.

Then, turning to Zhou Qingchen, Shen Yanxi, and the other Spirit Condensation Realm cultivators, he said, "You guys best stay where you are and not rush to approach."

With that, he summoned a cluster of multicolored light and flew toward the boundary wall.

***

The Flying Fish Boat whistled through the air, and the black turtle pressed against the inside of the boundary wall soon entered the range of Pang Jian's perception.

Its massive eyes were a greenish-blue, its carapace blackish-yellow, its forehead olive-green, and its limbs pure black.

The black turtle on the Resolute Expanse was almost identical to it—though significantly smaller.

As they drew closer, Pang Jian became certain that the Rank Ten Spirit Beast was the largest living being he had ever encountered.

Although the Frost Dragon skeleton at the other edge of the continent and the strange lion-tiger hybrid creature he saw in a void rift in Cloud Lightning were both also Rank Ten, they were dwarfed in comparison.

The flying vessels in the Abyss, and even the massive warships of the three Divine Kingdoms, looked like mere willow leaves next to it.

Pang Jian had thought the one-eyed giants massive, as they resembled towering mountains when they stood up, but this black turtle was as large as an entire continent, with its shell spanning hundreds of li.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The bizarre mist around the Flying Fish Boat drifted toward the black turtle and the boundary wall.

The black turtle's enormous, greenish-blue eyes glowed faintly, like twin moons in the bizarre mist.

Whoosh!

The Flying Fish Boat shook violently.

An array of chaotic emotions surged like a turbulent sea, disrupting the Flying Fish Boat's course and forcing Hu Yuanfei to slow down.

Hu Yuanfei frowned. "The black turtle's thoughts have formed a sea. We're not in control when we're within it."

"Its thoughts have formed a sea? And this sea feels as real as any physical sea?" Pang Jian was stunned.

Steadying his mind, he tried to sense the mysteries within this sea of thoughts that were imperceptible to the naked eye.

He sensed the unimaginably deep-seated obsession of the black turtle!

The obsession permeating the sea of thoughts had existed for millions of years.

The black turtle intended to push the continent known as the Fey Spirit Continent into the Abyss to provide a new haven for the Fey Race.

Like the Sacred Soul Continent, the black turtle hoped the long-hidden continent would eventually teem with Spirit and Vicious Beasts.

For millennia, It had labored tirelessly to fulfill this desire.

It was willing to sacrifice everything for it.

The black turtle's unyielding obsession saturated the sea of thoughts, causing it to churn with immense power.

It pushed the Fey Spirit Continent outward while pulling the bizarre mist back toward the boundary wall.

But the black turtle...

Pang Jian gazed into the distance. The part of the black turtle's body pressed against the boundary wall appeared to be suffering from the erosion of both the boundary wall and the bizarre mist.

It had paid a heavy price for this endeavor.

Fan Chen sighed softly as he stopped beside the Flying Fish Boat. "The human race broke their promise to divide the continents equally with the Fey Race after the war against the foreign races ended.

"Even so, the black turtle always said he would find a way himself, and he did—he's about to succeed."

Pang Jian and the others turned to look at where Fan Chen stood in his cluster of multicolored light.

Fan Chen did not hesitate to reveal the history that the great powers of the Abyss had long tried to bury.

"After discovering our own cultivation system, the human race grew ever stronger," he explained. "Before our ancestors decided to revolt, they first formed an agreement with the Fey Race of that era.

"According to the agreement, the human race and Fey Race were to share the Abyss equally. Half of the continents, the fragmented lands, and all the resources in every world of the Abyss were to be given to the Fey Race.

"After the war, the human race and the Fey Race emerged victorious but deeply wounded.

"The human race's cultivation system allowed us to recover far faster than the long-lived Fey Race.

"While the Fey Race needed centuries to rebuild their strength and numbers, the human race did not, and human cultivators in the Nirvana Realm, Immortal Realm, and True God Realm emerged in large numbers.

"As a result, the initial agreement was never honored, with powerful human sects and individuals claiming the vast continents and fragmented lands for themselves.

"And then..." Fan Chen lightly coughed. "In the ensuing eras, the foreign races in the Fifth World recovered. They launched repeated counterattacks, leaving the human race and the Fey Race with no choice but to join forces to suppress them, regardless of any old grudges.

"Ten thousand years ago, the Celestial Phoenix agreed to collaborate with the True Gods of our human race to forge the seven Heaven Ascension Tribulation Pillars that would permanently suppress the mightiest beings of the Fifth World.

"Thus, the Fey Race once again made a pact with the True Gods—one continent in the First World would be given to the Fey Race, with two more in the Second World.

"But once again, we broke our word, and only the Sacred Soul Continent was ceded.

"This led to conflict between the Celestial Phoenix and the True Gods of the human race, with it ultimately ending in a bitter split.

"The black turtle, steadfast and patient, declared it would use its own strength to find a continent for the Fey Race. The True Gods of that time agreed that any continent it found would belong to the Fey Race.

"Who could have thought that all these years, it had been exploring the depths of the bizarre mist in search of this long-lost continent."

With that, Fan Chen respectfully bowed to the distant black turtle, his heart was heavy with guilt.

On the Flying Fish Boat, Pang Jian's expression darkened with frustration.

The demise of the Celestial Phoenix and the black turtle's desperate efforts were because the True Gods repeatedly broke their promises.

"The oath-breaking True Gods had to have come from the Divine Kingdoms in the Eastern Land, the sects in the Southern Gorge and Northern Ruin, or perhaps even the Western Loam.

"But it certainly did not include the Sword Pavilion!" Hu Yuanfei declared confidently.

Although she knew little about the Abyss' forgotten history, she was certain that the generations of Sword Gods of the Sword Pavilion would never commit such betrayal.

The Sword Gods of each era always had a straightforward nature, with a strong dislike for schemes and political intrigue.

Their reputation had been built solely on formidable combat prowess.

While Hu Yuanfei was not knowledgeable about the history of the Abyss, she was familiar with the Sword Gods of past eras.

She firmly believed the esteemed elders of the Sword Pavilion would never do something as dishonorable as burning bridges after crossing them.

"Uh…" Fan Chen lowered his head in shame. "This is why the Spirit Beasts don't attack the disciples of the Sword Pavilion when they roam around or within the Sacred Soul Continent."

Hu Yuanfei, though unaware of the deeper truth, was not wrong in her assessment.

The Sword Pavilion had actively supported the agreed distribution of continents. As a result, the powerful Spirit Beasts dominating the Sacred Soul Continent regarded the disciples of the Sword Pavilion with special respect.

High-ranked Spirit Beasts despised the Sword Pavilion the least among all the sects and factions.

"I can't get close to the black turtle," Liu Youyu said dejectedly from within the Flying Fish Boat. "The black turtle's sea of obsessive thoughts is repelling my divine soul."

"My divine soul also feels discomfort," Hu Yuanfei echoed.

Fan Chen, too, had the same feeling.

Pang Jian, on the other hand, did not feel anything.

Stepping out of the Flying Fish Boat, he attempted to traverse the void alone.

There was no gravity in the strange sea of thoughts, and when Pang Jian circulated his spiritual power, he could glide forward at an exceptional speed.

His golden divine soul in his sea of consciousness continued to remain unaffected.

"My junior brother's divine soul must be similar to Ling Yimo's. It's different from ordinary cultivators," Hu Yuanfei remarked in surprise. "When I try to move forward, my divine soul sways with the sea of thoughts, It feels like it's going to be shaken out."

"Mine too," Fan Chen whispered as he stepped back.

Whoosh!

The part of his divine soul that had drifted out from his forehead snapped back into his sea of consciousness.

Fan Chen could not help but hold Pang Jian in high regard as he watched him steadily advance. "Senior Li's personal disciple is truly exceptional."

"Of course!" Hu Yuanfei proudly responded. "Little Fish, use your Celestial Profound Mirror to illuminate my junior brother! You can protect him as long as he's reflected in the mirror!

"The path ahead is fraught with danger, and since he took the initiative to venture forward to investigate, it's only right that we lend a hand!"

"Understood."

The Celestial Profound Mirror hovered in the air as Liu Youyu used it to protect Pang Jian.

Whoosh!

The strange sea of thoughts stirred silently.

When the trio tried to move closer, their divine souls would waver.

Their physical bodies relied on the perception of their divine souls to guide them, and the faltering meant they would unwittingly return to where they had previously stood.

The reflection within the Celestial Profound Mirror became murky, and nothing could be seen in the mirror.

Two hours later, Pang Jian stopped above the black turtle's forehead and carefully studied it.

Although half of the imposing black turtle was still intact, there were no signs of blood or vitality.

There were also no soul fluctuations from the olive-green head of the black turtle.

A portion of its blood essence still lingered—its intense obsession to bring the Fey Spirit Continent into the Abyss continuing to fuel it—but the black turtle itself had long since perished.