Trials of the Abyss

Chapter 196: The Potential of Cultivating One's Soul

I can disrupt the flow of spiritual power in the array of a spirit artifact! Pang Jian’s eyes gleamed excitedly at the revelation that he had successfully sabotaged the Star Crushing Umbrella.

After some experimenting, Pang Jian discovered he could cause the complex arrays within Liang Ying’s Star Crushing Umbrella to malfunction when harmonizing with the land. This realization only boosted his confidence.

“In the early stages of the Profound Abode Realm, when divine sense first manifests, one can observe the intricacies of one's body and perceive one's surrounding environment...” Xie Xiwen trailed off as her delicate oval face twisted into a frown. Noticing Pang Jian's distracted gaze, she asked in displeasure, "Pang Jian, are you listening to me?"

“I’m trying out what you've told me,” Pang Jian hurriedly apologized.

"Oh, I see." Embarrassed, she added softly, "You can take your time and try it out once I'm finished. I'll explain it to you in more detail then."

She then explained that one should carefully nurture their sea of consciousness in the early stages of the Profound Abode Realm and aim to form more strands of divine sense.

Each cultivator's innate talent was different, so the amount of divine sense each cultivator could produce varied based on the individual. Only after one's brain had been fully developed and no more divine sense could be manifested, could one hope to control their divine sense and advance to the middle stage of the Profound Abode Realm.

So the initial amount of divine sense a cultivator can form depends on the individual?

Pang Jian then realized that he could not peer into the sea of consciousness of the young girl in front of him, even while harmonizing with the land. He found it similarly difficult to peer into the sea of consciousness of other nearby cultivators like Liang Ying and Fang Boxuan.

The sea of consciousness within the human brain was so mysterious that Pang Jian could not glimpse it even in his god-like state of harmonizing with the land. It was a true forbidden zone within all beings that even deities could not touch.

Unable to unravel the mysteries of the sea of consciousness, Pang Jian moved on.

"How many strands of divine sense have you manifested?" he asked.

“Ninety-three strands so far,” Xie Xiwen replied with undisguised pride. “Most cultivators in the early stage of the Profound Abode Realm can't manifest more than fifty strands. It’s said that only core disciples of the major sects in the First World have the potential to manifest more than a hundred strands.

"Divine sense, once fully cultivated to its limit in the early stage of the Profound Abode Realm, will not increase in number until the cultivator reaches the Spirit Condensation Realm. Only by refining one's divine soul can the total strands of divine sense be increased again."

She then eagerly explained that the total amount of divine sense one could form in the Profound Abode Realm indicated one’s talent and potential for soul cultivation.

Most cultivators won’t form more than fifty strands of divine sense...

Pang Jian looked into his sea of consciousness and realized his strands had already exceeded fifty. He had not paid much attention to the quantity before, but now noticed he had sixty-eight strands.

Moreover, he had recently been using the life energy from three green leaves to nourish his sea of consciousness, causing more strands of divine sense to emerge over time. This meant his number of strands was still increasing.

Only when no more strands could be produced could he try to control them and advance to the middle stage of the Profound Abode Realm.

“Thank you for enlightening me,” Pang Jian sincerely thanked Xie Xiwen. Taking out a bottle of herbal juice from his spatial bracelet, he gave it to Xie Xiwen and said seriously, “I participated in a trial with Qi Qingsong and Dong Tianze and was fortunate to obtain this herbal juice. Drinking it can help you avoid attacks from the invading forces of the Fifth World.”

Xie Xiwen held the bottle of herbal juice in her jade-white hand, bright eyes shining with curiosity.

"I heard many cultivators entered Eight Trigrams City through a Mirror Tunnel," she remarked. “Pang Jian, is Eight Trigrams City really located on a Heaven Ascension Tribulation Pillar in the Fifth World?”

Pang Jian nodded. “There are seven Heaven Ascension Tribulation Pillars in total. Eight Trigrams City is situated on the fifth pillar.”

“So it’s true!” Xie Xiwen exclaimed. She put away the herbal juice and let out a relaxed smile. "I probably won't need it. It'll be our turn to hunt and kill the invading forces from the Fifth World after the next assault on the First Peak.

With that, Xie Xiwen turned and left.

“Not necessarily...” Pang Jian murmured once she had gone.

After distancing himself from the Star River Alliance, he harmonized with the land to monitor the situation in the Primordial Wilderness.

Yu Gu of the Celestial Race had gathered the leaders of the Ghost Race, Demon Scale Race, and Wood Race to discuss the offensive that would be carried out at nightfall the next day.

Yu Gu declared he would burn his blood essence to attack the First Peak with an unwavering determination.

The other leaders also resolved to burn away their lives in the final battle. They hoped to destroy the First Peak’s grand array and seize the precious spirit materials from the Spirit Condensation Realm cultivators, paving the way for their Race members to ascend to upper worlds in the future.

“Tomorrow’s battle will be brutal,” Pang Jian muttered emotionlessly.

After calming his mind, he took out spirit jades to cultivate, channeling his spiritual power and the life energy from three leaves into his brain’s acupoints and nerve fibers.

Exhausting the life energy from the leaves had allowed him to form two more strands of divine sense in his sea of consciousness.

The life energy from the little tree has greatly aided me in manifesting my divine sense!

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Two new green leaves suddenly formed in his heart.

The World Eater Vine in Misty Swamp had never forgotten about Pang Jian and would always surprise him at unexpected moments.

Establishing a connection with the World Eater Vine, Pang Jian saw that Misty Swamp was now covered in plants and trees.

The tallest tree had already exceeded ten zhang in height!

Misty Swamp was continuing to slowly expand outward!

The World Eater Vine had sent a batch of seeds and saplings to Misty Swamp Village and Divine Fortune City, allowing strange plants and flowers to grow in every nook, cranny, and crevice.

Divine Fortune appeared lush and verdant when viewed from above as it brimmed with a sinister vitality.

Bang!

Vicious Beasts roamed Misty Swamp Village and Divine Fortune City, breaking wooden and stone doors to scavenge.

He also heard the cries of birds.

Many flying beasts could be seen carrying wounded Vicious Beasts as they returned from distant fragmented lands.

The flying avians and Vicious Beasts had clearly been engaged in fierce combat. Bloody holes resembling arrow wounds marred the golden eagles, gray falcons, and dark blue hawks. They were all heavily injured, with some even having severed limbs.

The giant roc's horde had engaged in bloody battles against those in the uncontaminated fragmented lands and they had suffered heavy casualties.

Many cultivators had likely also died in the human cities they attacked.

I wonder which clan's fragmented lands they attacked, Pang Jian wondered.

Pushing the question to the back of his mind, he shifted his attention to the World Eater Vine and informed it about the Wood Race members from the Fifth World. They would revere it as a deity, so he asked the little tree to be mindful of their arrival.

In response, the World Eater Vine told Pang Jian that the Wood Race members were already descending and had long sensed their presence.

Pang Jian was astonished. The Wood Race members had reached Divine Fortune unexpectedly fast. He also marveled at how smooth his communication with the little tree had become.

It was unclear whether this was due to his newly manifested divine sense or the little tree’s growing intelligence.

After exchanging a few more words with the World Eater Vine, Pang Jian severed the connection.

He habitually reached for a Mind Soothing Pill only to realize he did not feel tired.

A quarter of his divine sense in his sea of consciousness had slightly thinned, but his usual exhaustion and drowsiness were absent.

After swallowing a Mind Soothing Pill, some of the thinned strands of divine sense slowly regained their fullness, and Pang Jian realized his mental strength was responsible for replenishing them.

His strands of divine sense became thicker when his mental strength was abundant and thinner when he was mentally exhausted.

I wonder how many strands of divine sense I can form.

Pang Jian once again started to nourish his sea of consciousness with spiritual power and the life energy from five leaves.

The next day, at nightfall, an ear-piercing voice rang out from the summit of the Primordial Wilderness's Second Peak.

"Cao Mang, today is the day you die!"

Everyone within a radius of several miles heard the shout.

Pang Jian stood up and gazed at the darkening sky.

The sun had just set, and the moon and stars had yet to appear. Neither the members of the Radiant Sun Sect nor the Star River Alliance could enhance their powerful spiritual artifacts and techniques with the power of the sun, moon, and stars.

Yu Gu flapped his six pairs of wings as he flew toward the summit of the First Peak. His wings grew visibly larger and radiated dazzling blue divine light.

Whoosh!

Clusters of azure flames spewed from Yu Gu's wings and transformed into a sea of fire. Yu Gu's body rapidly withered. It seemed he was burning his very blood essence to unleash the attack.

“He's doomed to die, no matter how this battle ends,” Liang Ying sneered at the sight. “It’s useless. He can’t break the Spirit Slaughtering Astral Array. The foreign race warriors are doomed!

“Everyone, be ready. Once this Celestial Race leader dies, we’ll hunt down the invading foreign races!”

The members of the Star River Alliance responded with a resounding affirmation.

"The foreign races are desperate, but their fate is sealed. They'll all perish in the Primordial Wilderness!"

The rogue cultivators, elders from the noble families of the Third World, and other cultivators all emerged from their hiding spots.

Their gazes were fixed on the summit of the First Peak, watching as the Rank Six powerhouses from the Demon Scale Race, the Wood Race, and the Ghost Racefollowed Yu Gu's lead to launch their attack.

Colossal one-eyed giants, Ghost Race warriors riding Ghost Apes, and surviving Rank Four and Rank Five Vicious Beasts gathered at the foot of the First Peak to attack the human cultivators who had finally come out of hiding.

“Kill them!”