Trials of the Abyss

Chapter 389: Hidden Daggers Revealed

Deep within the continent, the dreamlike Sanctum of Godly and Demonic Genesis hovered in the air.

The bizarre mist that engulfed the continent dulled everyone's senses. Despite this, the strange green stone city remained remarkably clear, the bizarre mist's shrouding veil seemingly unable to affect it.

Ling Yimo from the Ghost Sacrifice Sect drifted like a ghost within the Sanctum of Godly and Demonic Genesis, adding an eerie atmosphere to the illusory city.

As Su Li and Cao Jingbai looked toward the Sanctum of Godly and Demonic Genesis, they instinctively felt the urge to run away.

Hong Qiming's expression was dark as he glanced at Su Li and Cao Jingbai before discreetly exchanging a look with Zhou Yi.

"Only the four of us are at the Soul Wandering Realm. The others can't detach their divine souls from their bodies," Hong Qiming said.

Su Li held a significant position in the Sword Pavilion as a disciple of Great Elder Jiang Ran. Even so, he dared not act presumptuously before Hong Qiming and Zhou Yi.

Summoning a finely crafted golden cauldron, he bowed humbly and said, "I'm only in the mid-stage of the Soul Wandering Realm. My cultivation isn't as strong as Brother Cao's, and my rank is below his.

"I will have to trouble Brother Cao to send his divine soul to explore the Sanctum of Godly and Demonic Genesis.”

Cao Jingbai of the Boundless Sky Divine Kingdom was fair and clean-cut—the type that Hu Yuanfei would give the title of pretty boy to if she saw him.

"I'm not going!" Cao Jingbai flatly refused.

Zhou Yi of the Nine Tribes Sect sighed and rubbed his temples as though developing a headache. "Well, this is quite the predicament. The Sanctum of Godly and Demonic Genesis can only be entered with the divine soul. If no one goes in to question Ling Yimo, we won't know what's really happening."

"Cao Jingbai, you should be the one to take a look!" Hong Qiming of the Demon Sect said impatiently, shaking his oil lamp.

The flame on the wick flickered, releasing a force that distorted one's sea of consciousness.

"Cao Jingbai, you're from the Armor-Breaking Army of the Boundless Sky Divine Kingdom. Your surname is Cao, not Zhu or Jiang!" Hong Qiming said fiercely. "Between the four of us—myself, Zhou Yi, Su Li, and you—you're the most suitable for the job.

"If you were a Zhu or a Jiang, it would be Su Li."

Zhou Yi gave a barely perceptible nod.

The Zhu and Jiang Clans had True Gods overseeing them, making them the true rulers and the most prestigious lineages in the Boundless Sky Divine Kingdom.

Cao Jingbai was not from either clan and had no True God backing him, thus his status fell below Su Li's.

Cao Jingbai's expression changed. "Can I back out?"

Hong Qiming shook his head with a cold expression.

Cursing under his breath when he realized there was no arguing with them, Cao Jingbai resigned himself to his fate. "Fine."

Cao Jingbai steeled his mind and sent his divine soul flying directly toward the Sanctum of Godly and Demonic Genesis.

Meanwhile, Pang Jian quietly recounted how Zhou Yi and Hong Qiming had pressured Cao Jingbai from the Boundless Sky Divine Kingdom to send his divine soul into the Sanctum of Godly and Demonic Genesis to the others.

Fan Chen, Hu Yuanfei, Liu Youyu, and the others watched as Cao Jingbai's divine soul entered the Sanctum of Godly and Demonic Genesis.

Cao Jingbai's divine soul appeared within the illusory city.

After a moment, his divine soul frantically tried to return to his physical body. It was like he had seen something horrifying.

Fear and panic were etched on Cao Jingbai's face, his urgency unmistakable.

Whoosh!

Out of nowhere, the aimlessly wandering Ling Yimo appeared before Cao Jingbai's divine soul.

Those observing the Sanctum of Godly and Demonic Genesis let out startled gasps.

"Ling Yimo!"

"It's that girl from the Ghost Sacrifice Sect!"

The girl from the Ghost Sacrifice Sect smiled menacingly as she waved at Cao Jingbai's divine soul.

Although Ling Yimo's delicate physical body had been reduced to bare bones, her divine soul within the Sanctum of Godly and Demonic Genesis still appeared monstrous and terrifying, like a towering demon.

In an instant, she captured Cao Jingbai's divine soul and dragged it like a lifeless dog into a building within the city.

"I'm dying! Ling Yimo is devouring my divine soul! Save me! Hong Qiming, Zhou Yi, help me!" screamed Cao Jingbai's physical body. Blood streamed from his nostrils and eyes as he let out heart-wrenching wails.

He then abruptly fell silent.

The destruction of his divine soul had fed back into his physical body.

As he lost control of his conscious will, his protective shield dropped and his spiritual sea collapsed, leaving his body vulnerable to the corrosive effects of the bizarre mist.

Before long, all that was left of him was a skeleton in tattered clothing, just like Ling Yimo.

Those following Zhou Yi and Hong Qiming felt a chill run down their spines.

"Brother Zhou, Brother Hong, we'll be taking our leave!" cried the Spirit Condensation Realm cultivators as they fled.

Su Li leaped into the golden cauldron Jiang Ran had gifted him without a word.

The golden cauldron expanded, radiating golden light and becoming exceptionally sturdy.

Without even a glance back at the illusory Sanctum of Godly and Demonic Genesis, Su Li fled in the direction they had come from, fearing he would be next after Cao Jingbai.

In the blink of an eye, only the two masterminds were left.

"What should we do now?" Hong Qiming's expression was grim as he shook the oil lamp and watched the flames dance. "Shall we capture Su Li and have him explore further?"

Zhou Yi shook his head. "Su Li's treasure won't do. Even if we force his divine soul to leave his body, he likely won't survive."

"The fleeing will spread the word..." Hong Qiming's eyes flashed with killing intent.

"There's no rush—they won't get far that quickly." Zhou Yi thought it over. "You left a trace of that oil lamp's flame on Wu Yuan. The lingering aura of that flame allowed us to track our way here. That means Wu Yuan should still be nearby, correct?"

Hong Qiming nodded. "He's not far from here."

"Find Wu Yuan and that first group. We can have them explore the Sanctum of Godly and Demonic Genesis instead."

***

Pang Jian had heard the entire conversation between the two through the extensive perception range of his divine sense,

Narrowing his eyes, he informed the others, "Zhou Yi and Hong Qiming are playing good cop, bad cop. They worked together to lure us in, and...they'll be here any second."

He quickly explained the matter of the oil lamp's flame.

"I knew those two were up to no good!" Hu Yuanfei drew her Rocfish Sword and readied herself for battle. "They won't get away with this—not once word reaches the higher-ups!"

"Do they think we're easy prey?" Fan Chen snorted.

He ranked just below Hong Qiming on the Soul Wandering Realm leaderboard and had even been ranked above him before the Berserk Beast hordes struck.

In his eyes, Hong Qiming of the Demon Sect or Zhou Yi of the Nine Tribes Sect were not worthy of his regard.

The only person he truly respected was Li Yuqing.

Thus, Fan Chen showed no fear when he heard that Zhou Yi and Hong Qiming were scheming against them.

" I'd like to see what tricks they think they can pull with Liu Youyu, Hu Yuanfei, and me working together!" Fan Chen scoffed.

A bolt of inspiration suddenly struck Pang Jian.

"You guys distance yourselves a bit first. Let Wu Yuan and I stay behind to expose them," Pang Jian suggested. "If we're all together, they could hesitate and end up not revealing their true intentions."

"You and Wu Yuan?" Fan Chen looked at him in surprise.

"Pang Jian, Wu Yuan is Hong Qiming's junior brother. He can survive this, but you'll undoubtedly be forced into the Sanctum of Godly and Demonic Genesis!" Hu Yuanfei warned.

Pang Jian continued to urge, "Don't go too far—just stay within range of my signal! Hurry! Get some distance from Wu Yuan and me. Those two will be here any moment!"

"Let's go. He'll be fine." Liu Youyu hurriedly took off on her Flying Fish Boat, taking Hu Yuanfei and Zhou Qingchen with her.

Fan Chen and the others soon followed suit.

Not long after, the scheming pair appeared.

"We've found you at last!" Zhou Yi said, looking thrilled. "I encountered a Rank Eight warrior of the Flame Race while dealing with the foreign races. To prevent the continent from being exposed, I had to lure him away to a remote area before finishing him off.

"It took longer than expected, and by the time I returned, you guys were gone. I spent days searching the continent and finally ran into Hong Qiming in the bizarre mist."

Zhou Yi acted as though he could not contain his joy.

Pang Jian chose not to expose him and responded calmly, "Hong Qiming's message brought us in, but we got lost in the bizarre mist. So far, only Wu Yuan and I have made it here.

"Ling Yimo from the Ghost Sacrifice Sect is wandering within the Sanctum of Godly and Demonic Genesis, but the location of her physical body is unknown.

"Even if she's a prodigy of the Ghost Sacrifice Sect, she's still only in the Spirit Concentration Realm. Her body and divine soul can't be too far apart,” he said, knitting his brows in faux confusion.

"You didn't see Ling Yimo's corpse?" Hong Qiming asked, staring intently into Pang Jian's eyes.

Pang Jian looked shocked. "She's dead?"

Zhou Yi and Hong Qiming exchanged glances.

The two schemers were accustomed to viewing others with suspicion. They scrutinized Pang Jian's words and expressions, hoping to spot any flaws, but still could not tell if Pang Jian was lying.

Hong Qiming tried a different approach.

"Junior Brother Wu, you haven't seen anyone else either?"

Wu Yuan expressionlessly shook his head, not even bothering to respond.

Since Wu Yuan was typically taciturn and poker-faced, Hong Qiming could not press him further in front of Pang Jian without arousing suspicion, and the two masterminds were left without clear answers.

Pang Jian said timidly, "I just saw a divine soul enter. It seemed like Ling Yimo..." n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Yes, that was Cao Jingbai. Ling Yimo tried to harm him," Zhou Yi nodded. "Luckily, he managed to return safely. He mentioned seeing some strange patterns and symbols within the Sanctum of Godly and Demonic Genesis, which seem connected to the origins of the Abyss.

"We were about to send our divine souls in to investigate further. Since Ling Yimo from the Ghost Sacrifice Sect dares to harm one of us, I have no choice but to confront her about it!

"Pang Jian, why don't we go together?" Zhou Yi invited with an earnest expression.

"Both of you have higher cultivation realms. It's best if you two go in to investigate. I'll stay outside to guard your bodies," Pang Jian declined, shaking his head.

Zhou Yi frowned but did not push further.

Hong Qiming, on the other hand, sneered. "You're not planning to harm our bodies while we're inside, are you?"

"How could I?" Pang Jian exclaimed in shock. "We're all members of the human race. We should help each other in this time of great turmoil in the Abyss. Why would I harm either of you?"

Hong Qiming took a deep breath and decided to drop the pretense. "Pang Jian, will you enter of your own accord, or do I have to force your divine soul out?"

The panicked facade on Pang Jian's face gave way to a calm, confident look. "I'd like to see you try."