Trials of the Abyss

Chapter 121: Counterattack!

The Blood Moon Sect's beast-hunting sailboat hovered in the night sky.

Pang Jian prepared himself as he waited for the arrival of Ni Chen and the other two Marrow Cleansing Realm cultivators.

He planned to kill all his pursuers with Luo Hongyan's assistance and support.

Zhao Ling's and Wu Yi's loud voices caused him to knit his brows.

"The Shadow Specter Sect..." Pang Jian muttered softly.

From the beginning, he never had a good impression of them.

Back at Blackwater Pond, he slaughtered many members of the Shadow Specter Sect. He had killed Jin Yang, Xu Rui, and many more.

If the Shadow Specter Sect realized he had been the one to kill Jin Yang and ruin their Sect Leader's plans, they would not let him off so easily. Therefore, he guarded against everyone from the sect.

Pretending to be Hong Tai's nephew in Misty Swamp was purely to take advantage of the Shadow Specter Sect's resources.

He maintained an aloof front when interacting with Meng Qiulan and Zhao Ling as he did not wish to get involved with them.

Unexpectedly, in this dire situation, with the Blood Moon Sect cultivators on his tail, these members of the Shadow Specter Sect were rushing over to help him.

This left Pang Jian with mixed feelings.

"Let them come!" Ni Chen laughed loudly, voice echoing through the dense grass. "We'll catch them all in one go!"

The other two Blood Moon Sect cultivators at the Marrow Cleansing Realm stopped trying to intercept Zhao Ling's group, allowing them to reach Pang Jian.

Zhao Ling was dressed in a light purple robe. Her piercing eyes sparkled under her sharp brows.

"Hong Jian!" she yelled, staring intently at Pang Jian.

Pang Jian stood tall, his silver spear planted in front of him, and his chiseled face calm and composed.

He and the spear seemed to have fused into one and exuded an extremely fierce aura.

Even after pulling the spear from the muddy ground, his eyes showed neither fear nor nervousness. Far from being a lamb at the mercy of the Blood Moon Sect, he instead appeared as if he were the hunter.

"Even in the face of death, you're still so confident," Zhao Ling mocked outwardly. In her heart, however, she felt drawn to his composed demeanor.

No wonder Bai Wei and Bai Zhi are so infatuated with him. He has a unique charm... she thought to herself.

"Hong Jian!" Bai Wei and Bai Zhi appeared next, their beautiful eyes fixed on Pang Jian.

Meng Qiulan was guarding the rear and appeared last. When she saw Pang Jian covered in dried blood, her brows knitted as she asked, "Can you still hold on?"

"I'm fine." Pang Jian said with a shake of his head. "Why did you come?"

The last time they met, he had rudely criticized Meng Qiulan. Surprisingly, she not only held no grudge against him but also showed up with Zhao Ling and Wu Yi.

"We thought we could kill more Blood Moon Sect members if we fought alongside you," Meng Qiulan replied without hesitation. "We don't expect to survive this ordeal. If we're going to die in Divine Fortune, we'd rather die fighting a glorious battle with you than be humiliated and killed in the end."

Pang Jian glanced at Zhao Ling.

Zhao Ling smiled wrily in response. "My thought process is different from hers. I have a feeling you'll get through this catastrophe safely. I know it's unrealistic, but I still want to take the risk. At worst, I'll just die a little sooner than expected."

Pang Jian nodded wordlessly at her before turning his attention to the muddiest part of the swamp.

There lay the Divine Spirit Pagoda of the Sinister Soul Temple.

"Is this all that's left of the Shadow Specter Sect?" Ni Chen taunted as he emerged from the tall grass with his two fellow cultivators.

Ni Chen tossed the blood-red crystal ball in his hand into the sky.

"Blood Moon Rising!"

Crimson blood streamed from the beast-hunting sailboat and swirled around the blood-red crystal ball.

The thick blood floated in the air, emitting a pungent smell.

As the blood-red crystal ball was encased in thick blood, it slowly transformed into a crimson full moon, casting an eerie blood-red light.

The Shadow Specter Sect members felt restless after the full moon formed.

"Under the blood moon, our combat strength increases by ten to twenty percent, while yours decreases by the same amount," Ni Chen said, stroking his sparse long beard. Squinting at the Bai sisters, he praised, "Fei Zheng had good taste. He knew Elder Jiu Yuan's preferences and found such fine goods in the lower world."

Bai Wei bit her lip, moving closer to her sister, as she whispered, "Birds of a feather."

"In the eyes of those upper world folks, everyone in the lower world, aside from the members of the seven major clans, are just resources to be plundered," Bai Zhi whispered back.

A tan man named Qi Yue licked his lips as he stared captivated at Zhao Ling's long legs. "Brother Ni, Brother Zhao, I—This is my first time in the lower world. I didn't expect to find such outstanding people among the Shadow Specter Sect members!"

His throat trembled as if wanting to swallow Zhao Ling whole. His eyes burned with intense desire.

"Her name is Zhao Ling, a hall master of the Shadow Specter Sect. She's in the same cultivation realm as you," Ni Chen said indifferently.

"A hall master who is also in the Marrow Cleansing Realm!" Qi Yue's body trembled excitedly. "No wonder that bastard Fei Zheng insisted on taking the mission to hunt Vicious Beasts in the lower world! For us, the lower world is a wonderful paradise. I really hope nothing happens to it!"

As they had this conversation, the blood-red full moon above them absorbed the beast blood flowing from the beast-hunting sailboat, readying a forbidden technique to target the blood of those below.

Ni Chen and his two companions were in no hurry to attack and continued chatting leisurely.

The blood in Qi Yue's body seemed to boil in response to the blood moon above. He gulped audibly, utterly enamored with Zhao Ling. "Brother Ni, Brother Zhao, I want this hall master alive! You can name any condition afterward!"

Ni Chen nodded. "I'll be careful, but if she resists too much, I won't hold back."

The third Marrow Cleansing Realm cultivator, the usually quiet Zhao Muye said, "I want that spear the kid is holding!"

Zhao Muye had looked into it earlier and learned that the spear-wielding youth had shattered Fei Zheng's hexagonal shield before killing him. That spear was undoubtedly an extraordinary weapon.

He was not interested in beauty. He only wanted to find a suitable high-grade weapon that could unleash the full potential of his combat power.

"I can give it to you right now." Pang Jian's hand on the Startling Slaughterk Spear radiated fiery energy that filled his surroundings with the scent of sulfur.

He shuddered, and the dried blood on his body flaked off. There were no visible wounds underneath!

"How is this possible?!" Zhao Muye shouted in disbelief.

Zhao Muye's blood-colored beams had struck Pang Jian several times, and the blood arrows and blade lights from the Blood Moon Sect members in the sky had also pierced him many times.

He assumed that Pang Jian had been riddled with bone-deep wounds and thought he had stopped because he was bleeding out and could no longer hold out.

Whoosh!

Fiery meteors flew toward Zhao Muye before he could react.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Zhao Muye hastily used his Blood Shadow Technique, splitting into three blurry blood shadows that dodged in different directions.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The fiery meteors exploded all three blood shadows.

The Explosive Dance's wide-area attack completely overwhelmed Zhao Muye.

"You dare covet my spear when you're weaker than Fei Zheng?" These were the last words Zhao Muye heard before he died.

Zhao Muye had been blown to pieces.

"Hong Jian!" Bai Wei and Bai Zhi cheered, waving their fists around in excitement.

Zhao Ling was also shocked by the bloody scene. She watched in amazement as the three blood shadows exploded, leaving only gruesome chunks of flesh.

Even though Zhao Muye was also in the late-stage Marrow Cleansing Realm, he died much faster than Fei Zheng!

This meant Pang Jian's combat power had increased significantly during his disappearance!

"He was in the mid-stage Marrow Cleansing Realm when he killed Fei Zheng, but now he's at the late stage!" Wu Yi exclaimed. "From what I've seen, we're not the ones who should be afraid, these arrogant Blood Moon Sect members are!"

"Attack!" Meng Qiulan, Zhao Ling, and Wu Yi coordinated their attack on Qi Yue, leaving the toughest opponent, Ni Chen, for Pang Jian. They believed Pang Jian could kill any Marrow Cleansing Realm cultivator without difficulty.

"Blood Moon Suppression!" Ni Chen screamed at the deep red full moon in the sky and hastily retreated into the tall grass.

The blood around the deep red full moon rippled and waves of blood-colored light spread out, casting a light that suppressed those below.

Meng Qiulan, Zhao Ling, and Wu Yi had just surrounded Qi Yue when they all groaned simultaneously.

The circulation of their blood became sluggish. The deep red full moon suppressed the abundant vitality in their chests and internal organs, preventing them from gathering their strength.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Flaming spears, blood arrows, and beams of light rained down from the beast-hunting sailboat, leaving a myriad of wounds on the trio's bodies.

Qi Yue took the opportunity to escape their encirclement.

In the tall grass, Ni Chen held up a blood talisman capable of transmitting messages and shouted into it, "Old Zhu, Zhao Muye is dead! There's a troublesome kid named Hong Jian here. I need you to come in person! Also, have the Cloud Sails of the seven major clans rendezvous with our beast-hunting sailboat as soon as possible!"