Trials of the Abyss

Chapter 331: The Threat Facing the Human Race

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The interwoven sea of lightning, the multicolored lightning bolt, and all the remaining lightning in the Forbidden Land of the Thunder God quietly flowed into the small, silvery-white Thunder Pool.

The iron tree had been reduced to dust.

The silence permeating the air was deafening, especially after the Thunderveil Godbeast's arrogant taunts and the Spider God's mocking words.

"Did Pang Jian win?"

"The lightning has vanished. Does that mean the God of the Thunder Abyss has been silenced?"

"We won! Our Lord has won!"

A tidal wave of cheers surged from the Frozen Land, resonating within the core of Winter and into Pang Jian's ears.

The Thunder Pool!

Pang Jian rushed to the pool and stood on the Duke of Thunder's artifact with his feet planted on the mysterious Dao Seals.

This iron tree was the Thunderveil Godbeast's vessel. Now that it's destroyed, it can no longer transmit its divine consciousness here.

The golden figure inside the Heart of Winter manipulated the ice shards once more.

The nine glaciers at the edge of the Forbidden Land of the Thunder God soared through the air to gather above the Thunder Pool.

Although the glaciers had once been over ten thousand zhang tall, they had since shrunk to a mere third of their previous size due to immense cold energy depletion.

The shrunken glaciers directed their smooth, glistening surfaces at the strange Thunder Pool, ready to strike at any moment.

The massive Heart of Winter above Pang Jian's head was also poised for attack.

Pang Jian then channeled his divine sense, the lightning from his lightning vortex, and his cold energy into the Thunder Pool to sever the Thunderveil Godbeast's connection and prevent its return.

"There's no need to probe further," the Spider God, Yang Luo, said. "The Observer lured you to the Thunder Pool and baited you into probing it so that your divine sense, which has the characteristics of the Nether Abyss Spirit Bee, would be absorbed into it.

"Your divine sense erased the Duke of Thunder's final soul imprint, which was meant to prevent any lightning from entering the Thunder Pool.

"When lightning enters the Thunder Pool, it nourishes the iron tree and alerts the Thunderveil Godbeast.

"Before the Duke of Thunder died, he realized the Thunderveil Godbeast had betrayed him, so he placed that imprint to stop it from taking the Thunder Pool."

Yang Luo sighed helplessly from within the faint white cold mist shrouding the fragmented land.

"What a useless fool. He's the new God of the Thunder Abyss and even wielded the precious artifact that the Duke of Thunder left behind. Despite that, he still suffered a crushing defeat.

"A low-ranking God is just a low-ranking God in the end. In the past, they wouldn't have even been qualified to step foot in the Hall of the Gods.

"Pang Jian..." Yang Luo's cold eyes fixed on him. "The Outer Gods are paying close attention to the Abyss. The Abyss is destined for destruction once the grand event that comes every hundred millennia unfolds!

"To think, this primordial Tribulation Ground of Gods and Demons produced a human aberration when it should've been destroyed long ago!

"The Hall of Gods—which your human race destroyed—is already being rebuilt. Once the Outer Gods return to their rightful places, the True Gods of the human race that fled and hid across the boundless starry sky will be captured and brought to the Hall of Gods.

"They'll atone for their sins with their deaths. The human race is destined to perish in the river of time."

With those cryptic words, Yang Luo gracefully flew out from the cold mist and escaped back into the fiery fragmented land.

The shattered Hall of the Gods is being rebuilt, the Abyss is the primordial Tribulation Ground of Gods and Demons, the Outer Gods are returning to their rightful place, and the True Gods of the human race are in hiding...

Pang Jian was shaken to his core.

The True Gods from the Abyss had likely enjoyed a glorious history in the world beyond at one point.

The Hall of the Gods sounded like the place from which the Outer Gods ruled over the many outer worlds.

It appeared the ancient True Gods of the human race had once joined forces to destroy the Hall of the Gods and suffered heavy losses in the process.

Afterward, the Outer Gods pursued the remaining True Gods, forcing them into hiding across the outer worlds.

Thus, the True Gods could no longer approach the Abyss, let alone dare attempt to return to it.

Perhaps...

A thought flashed in Pang Jian's mind, causing him to tremble at the terrifying realization.

The Abyss resembles a deep well with boundless starry skies beyond its mouth. It has a boundary wall and bizarre mist surrounding it. This cuts off the escape of the inhabitants of the Abyss while also preventing beings from the outer worlds from entering.

In other words, it was both a restriction and a protection.

Only True Gods can break through the terrifying barrier at the mouth of the well and reach the starry sea where the Outer Gods roam.

Given that the True Gods of the human race had once destroyed the Hall of the Gods and are now in exile, does that mean the Outer Gods are guarding the space beyond the Abyss?

When the True Gods of the human race break through the barrier, are they immediately confronted by hordes of waiting Outer Gods?

Have any of those who left survived the ambush of the Outer Gods?

Questions flooded Pang Jian's mind, each more terrifying than the last. The more he thought about it, the more overwhelmed he became.

He could not help but feel like there was no path forward for the human race of the Abyss.

What the human race should truly fear isn't the foreign races in the Fifth World, but what lies beyond. The victories the human race has achieved in the Abyss mean nothing compared to the vastness of the outer starry skies.

Without the bizarre mist, the boundary wall, or the barrier at the well's mouth, the human race would've long been extinct.

A suffocating despair washed over Pang Jian.

Yang Luo's words had filled him with an overwhelming sense of pressure.

The grand event has already started, and the catastrophe is underway. Is there truly no way out for the human race of the Abyss?

After stressing over the matter for some time, Pang Jian ultimately decided to move on.

Let's deal with the Thunder Pool first! he thought, circulating the Qi Nurturing Divine Cauldron Art and activating the small lightning vortex within his spiritual sea. If the Heart of Winter can be absorbed, the same should also apply to the Thunder Pool!

Crackle!

The lightning vortex in Pang Jian's spiritual sea crackled with chaotic flashes of lightning.

In contrast, the stars and the two moons in his dantian had been completely exhausted and even his spiritual sea had little spiritual power left.

Pang Jian used all his strength to absorb the silvery-white Thunder Pool, and although it trembled slightly, he failed to draw it into his lightning vortex.

It's possible to absorb the Thunder Pool, but I'll have to recover my strength first.

After pondering for a while, Pang Jian attempted to toss the Thunder Pool into his spatial bracelet but it refused to go in.

Pang Jian sighed softly. Using his golden figure, he placed the nine glaciers down on the ground of the Forbidden Land of the Thunder God before stowing away the Heart of Winter.

Suddenly, he noticed a sharp dragon horn sticking out from a nearby pit.

Hm? Oh, it's the Ice Armor Eel Dragon!

Pang Jian had nearly forgotten about its existence. Soaring through the air with the black turtle scute, he hovered above the pit where the dragon horn had appeared.

"How long do you plan to keep hiding?"

"I'm not hiding!" The Ice Armor Eel Dragon growled, using its dragon horn to crush the rocks at the bottom of the pit.

It neither soared into the sky nor fled the Forbidden Land of the Thunder God. Instead, it twisted its enormous head to peer around, then asked, "The Thunderveil Godbeast is dead?"

"Dead?" Pang Jian shook his head, "That was the God of the Thunder Abyss. Its true body and soul never descended. How could it die? What was destroyed was merely one of its puppet bodies."

"You say that but it was still quite powerful!" The Ice Armor Eel Dragon's voice was hoarse. "I was too arrogant. I would be the strongest if the Outer Gods couldn't fully descend."

It then spat out the survivors on its tongue with a dispirited expression.

"What Sea God? It's all a lie—I'm far from it!" It shook its massive head in frustration, crushing the surviving Sea Race warriors from the sheer force of the movement. "I belong to the Abyss. I'm not some sea creature of the Heavenly Sea World. In the end, I will always return to the Abyss."

Lifting its head, it gazed at Pang Jian with its enormous eyes.

"Long, long ago, someone resembling you captured me from the eternal darkness of the Fifth World and brought me to this cursed land shrouded in bizarre mist," it muttered. "I haven't left since.

"He said that one day, someone would come and take me back to the Abyss.

"But I didn't know who that person would be, nor did I believe him. I vowed to leave this damned place with my own strength. I didn't need anyone's help!"

The Ice Armor Eel Dragon roared in frustration.

Pang Jian stood in a daze as he watched the Ice Armor Eel Dragon rant.

Someone captured the Ice Armor Eel Dragon from the Fifth World of the Abyss. It isn't just the Giant Abyssal Serpent. Was it the same person who left the black turtle, the World Eater Vine, and the beehive in the Solitary Mountain Range? Pang Jian frowned in deep thought.

"Pang Jian!"

"Sir!"

Qi Qingsong and the Ice Race called, having hurried over from the Frozen Land after the battle ended.

"Pang Jian..."

The survivors of the Ice Armor Eel Dragon's maw gazed up at the person in the sky in confusion.

Their memories were fragmented, and they could not fully recall everything that had happened.

However, what they did remember was deeply etched into their minds.

The vivid memory of Pang Jian controlling nine towering glaciers in battle against a sea of lightning was truly unforgettable.

"Pang Jian is alive, but that sea of lightning has vanished. Is the Thunderveil Godbeast...dead?" Lu Jie, a survivor from the Forsaken Expanse Sect, muttered in shock.

She had retained most of her memories and could not help but shoot a confused look at Fu Wangchen.

"Pang Jian and Junior Brother Fu—who was right and who was wrong?

"If Junior Brother Fu was wrong, that would mean he's responsible for all those deaths!"