Trials of the Abyss

A Rank Eight Demon Armor Beast glared at Fan Chen with blood-red eyes from deep within the dense leaden clouds.

It resembled a rhinoceros covered in dark scales and exuded an awe-inspiring presence.

Huff! Huff!

Blood essence surged from its scales with each breath, gradually dyeing the surrounding gray clouds a blood red.

A tall woman from the Demon Scale Race stood atop the Demon Armor Beast's forehead, her posture straight and unwavering.

Her silver-scale armor concealed most of her face, with the exception of her dagger-sharp eyes.

Fan Chen's heart tightened at the sight.

"A Rank Seven!" he exclaimed, expression turning serious.

The Demon Scale Race woman waiting for them deep within the leaden clouds was undoubtedly a peerless prodigy of the Demon Scale Race.

After all, despite only being in Rank Seven, she was talented enough to be trusted as the final defense against them.

"True God Bone, slash!"

The "Monad" character in Fan Chen's hand transformed into a silver blade light that cleaved the leaden clouds bordering the Third and Fourth Worlds into two.

At that moment, the divine power the True Lord Supreme Monad had left within the True God Bone manifested its might.

A fierce gleam intensified in the eyes of the Rank Eight Demon Armor Beast.

After the silver blade light split open the leaden clouds, a rainbow beam infused with divine power shot forth, prompting the Demon Armor Beast to stomp its hooves and let out a mighty roar.

Whoosh!

The clouds that its blood essence had stained red writhed like sinister spirits and charged forward to meet Fan Chen's "Monad" character.

Bloodthirsty demonic entities swarmed the "Monad" character, but its divine radiance obliterated them in seconds.

Roar!

Icy black flames ignited around the Demon Armor Beast's hooves.

Whoosh!

Waves of blood-colored light rippled from the Demon Armor Beast as it used its bloodline's secret technique to conjure a bloody demonic domain.

Its body swelled larger, dark scales and black flames fusing with its blood essence to manifest its secret techniques within the blood-soaked domain.

The blood-colored waves spread outward, engulfing the leaden clouds around it and slowly transforming the Demon Armor Beast into the ruler of the bloody domain.

In its deep crimson eyes, imprints branded into its bloodline surfaced one after another, then quietly faded away.

The "Monad" character charged deeper into the blood-colored waves, momentum weakening as it slashed toward the Demon Armor Beast.

Roar! Boom!

The Demon Armor Beast's roar shattered Fan Chen's protective shield.

Whoosh!

The blood-colored waves engulfed the "Supreme" character beneath his feet.

Chain-like lights appeared, radiating with the profound mysteries of the beast's bloodline.

The strange chains restrained his strength and the divine power of the True God Bone before gradually draining them away.

The Demon Scale Race woman atop the Demon Armor Beast shook her head in disappointment. "Your divine artifact consumes too much of your strength."

As she descended from the leaden clouds, she brandished a serrated long blade taller than her and slashed down at the Divine Spirit Pagoda.

Even before the long blade struck, half of Dong Wenjian's talismans inside and outside the white pagoda turned to ash.

Dong Wenjian's face paled. "The Divine Spirit Pagoda won't hold! Get out!"

A force embodying a destructive power capable of shattering continents swelled from the leaden clouds above as the serrated long blade came down.

As a prodigy of the Ancient Law Sect, Dong Wenjian had exceptionally keen senses. The aura of the long blade alone told him it had actually once cleaved a complete continent in the Abyss into fragments.

In other words, the serrated long blade was either on par with the "Supreme" and "Monad" characters and the Celestial Profound Mirror, or possibly even a notch above them.

Without hesitation, he grabbed Lin Manhe's hand and swiftly flew out of the white pagoda. "Zhou Qingchen, since you guys are already at the top of the pagoda, seize this chance to break through the clouds and escape!"

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Wu Yuan, Dong Tianze, and Zhou Qingchen flew out from the white pagoda through the window on the top floor.

The Purple Demon Eye, the Celestial Phoenix Imprint, and the Divine Origin Pearl urged their wielders to flee without regard for the damage the artifacts would incur.

Just as they left, the serrated long blade struck the Divine Spirit Pagoda like a falling meteor.

The white pagoda and the remaining talismans on it were reduced to pieces in the blink of an eye.

The Demon Scale Race woman straightened up proudly.

She nonchalantly swung the serrated long blade at Hu Yuanfei with one hand.

The long blade flashed like lightning, slicing through the air with a sharp hiss.

Transforming her Rocfish Sword into a Roc Fish, Hu Yuanfei summoned a second spirit sword to block the Demon Scale Race woman's attack.

In a flash, her second spirit sword disintegrated into metallic dust, and the bones in her hands were fractured.

She hastily abandoned the spirit sword, blood flowing from her hands.

"Sister Hu!”

Liu Youyu fully unleashed the power of the Celestial Profound Mirror, channeling the imbued strength of the True Gods and Li Zhaotian's sword light to strike at the formidable Demon Scale Race woman.

"How troublesome," the Demon Scale Race woman muttered under her breath.

She casually waved her scaled left hand at where Liu Youyu was controlling the Celestial Profound Mirror with her divine soul.

A massive vortex spun into existence from the swirling leaden clouds.

Liu Youyu and the Celestial Profound Mirror were engulfed, leaving her disoriented and unable to stabilize herself enough to aim the mirror.

Meanwhile, the Rank Eight warriors from the Flame Race and the Ghost Race looked invigorated when they saw the Demon Scale Race woman.

"Xuan Ying of the Demon Scale Race!”

"So Xuan Ying was the last line of defense in the clouds!"

The pair exclaimed in excitement.

Although they had higher bloodline ranks than her, these two warriors from the Fifth World regarded her as superior to them.

"You guys head up to the Third World and handle things above. I'll take care of matters down here," she instructed.

Xuan Ying paid no more attention to the trapped Liu Youyu nor the injured Hu Yuanfei, instead descending toward Pang Jian with a posture as sharp and straight as a sword.

Pang Jian sensed an overwhelming surge of blood essence approaching where he stood atop the Heart of Winter. The aura of the Rank Seven Demon Scale Race woman was no less formidable than that of the Rank Eight Demon Armor Beast.

Moreover, her blood essence was exceptionally pure.

"I heard human race warriors with the Primordial Chaos Spiritual Sea can perfectly attune to the murky energy of the Fifth World," Xuan Ying remarked as she descended. "It's also said that such individuals could become the ruler of the Fifth World if they didn't care about their identity as a human.

"The Primordial Chaos Spiritual Sea..."

Her eyes gleamed with interest.

Whoosh!

Blinding silver blade lights flew out from the massive serrated long blade.

Pang Jian swung the soulless Abyssal Demon Sword to meet the oncoming attacks.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Sword lights imbued with cold energy and lightning clashed with Xuan Ying's blade lights.

Blinding rays of blade lights and sword lights lit up the gloomy sky like dazzling fireworks.

Powerful foreign race warriors on flying vessels and fragmented lands near the Fey Spirit Continent were shocked.

"It's Xuan Ying!"

"Xuan Ying's joined the fight!"

Warriors from various foreign races had since arrived on flying vessels to investigate the situation and could not tear their eyes from the Demon Scale Race woman's every move.

The name Xuan Ying was well-known in the Fifth World. She was renowned among the foreign races for her ferocity and strength.

"Pang Jian! Be careful!" Zhou Qingchen, Wu Yuan, and Dong Tianze cried out in alarm as they stepped out of the leaden clouds and entered the Third World,

The Rank Seven Demon Scale Race Xuan Ying had blocked the sword of ice and lightning that even the Rank Eight warriors from the Flame Race, the Demon Bull Race, and the Ghost Race had avoided.

Xuan Ying's formidable strength caused them to worry for Pang Jian's safety, and they hesitated over whether to descend and assist in the fight.

"I said it before. I always have a way to protect myself! Don't come down—don't make me lose focus!" Pang Jian shouted up at them.

He feared Dong Tianze and the others would turn back despite reaching the Third World and ending up trapped again.

"Protect yourself? Are you joking?" Xuan Ying sneered, eyes as sharp as her serrated long blade. "You have a Primordial Chaos Spiritual Sea and are the personal disciple of Li Zhaotian of the Sword Pavilion.

"I know of you, Pang Jian. You pose a great threat to us, and I won't let you escape.

"I've carefully studied the ancient texts and know that whenever the murky energy surges, a prodigy from the Sword Pavilion always appears alongside it, without exception.

"I think you're that Sword Pavilion prodigy of this era. Therefore, I can't let you leave alive."

Xuan Ying calmly brandished her long blade and leaped forward.

Pang Jian channeled the energies within the Heart of Winter and the Thunder Pool into the Abyssal Demon Sword as he met her strikes blow for blow.

Meanwhile, Ling Yimo reappeared a distance away, where Zhou Yi was recovering his strength with medicinal pills in mid-air.

"Zhou Yi, the Fifth World has its share of prodigies like you," she said. "Xuan Ying is the daughter of the Demon Scale Race's Patriarch. If she survives this calamity, she could become a God, just like me."

Zhou Yi gently nodded. "Xuan Ying of the Demon Scale Race…"

Despite the Demon Scale Race woman's face being covered except for her eyes, he could not help but feel that she had suddenly become incredibly captivating.

Her tall, lean figure and gleaming silver-scale armor exuded a razor-sharp aura.

The colossal serrated long blade, strikingly oversized compared to her body, pulsed with powerful surges of blood essence as if it was truly an extension of herself.

Zhou Yi squinted his eyes to study Xuan Ying.

Shock ran through him.

"She can draw on the immense blood essence of that Rank Eight Demon Armor Beast with her long blade?"

Ling Yimo nodded indifferently.

"No wonder," Zhou Yi remarked in awe. "Her physique is already remarkably powerful and her blood essence refined to an extraordinary purity. With the Rank Eight Demon Armored Beast at her disposal, she can wield her immense strength effortlessly.

"I'd wager that even Pang Jian with his Primordial Chaos Spiritual Sea won't be able to outlast her."

Zhou Yi clicked his tongue in amazement.

Ling Yimo nodded again.

She watched as Liu Youyu and Hu Yuanfei soared further into the depths of the leaden clouds. She also noticed that Zhou Qingchen, Wu Yuan, and Dong Tianze had already left the cloud layer.

"If you've recovered, use your Spatial Mirror Technique to hunt down those in and above the cloud layer," Ling Yimo ordered. "Above is the sea of massive boulders at the edge of the Third World

"No one will notice the commotion for a while, so act without hesitation.

"Those down below will also assist you."

As she spoke, the three Rank Eight warriors from the Flame Race, the Ghost Race, and the Demon Bull Race tactfully avoided the fierce battle between Pang Jian and Xuan Ying as they made their way into the leaden clouds of the Third World.