Trials of the Abyss

Chapter 290: Meeting the White Crane Again

Chapter 290: Meeting the White Crane Again

The golden bee claimed to be Luo Yuan.

The white crane froze before screeching sharply, "So it’s you, kid! Wait, how did you turn into a bee?"

As the white crane observed the golden bee with great curiosity, its mouth started to water. The golden bee looked like the most delectable treat and the crane desired nothing more than to swallow it in one gulp.

Its instincts told it that devouring the strange golden bee would benefit its bloodline advancement and nourish its soul.

"Luo Yuan, can I eat this little bug?" The greed in the white crane's eyes was obvious. "Where did you find this bug? How about you let me eat it first, and then you can come find me afterward?"

Whoosh!

The golden bee hurriedly fled from the lightning vortex, placing some distance between itself and the white crane.

Its very soul trembled with fear.

Pang Jian could sense the bee's horror through their shared consciousness.

He could vaguely see the golden bee's soul shivering in his mind.

Though small and weak, the golden bee possessed certain soul-related divine abilities, like devouring the divine consciousness of Outer Gods invading his sea of consciousness or consuming Li Yuanchen's silver strands of divine sense.

However, the white crane belonged to the Thunder Crane Race of the Sacred Soul Continent and had command over lightning and thunder.

Lightning and thunder were the nemeses of most spiritual and spectral beings.

The golden bee's soul-related abilities were not particularly effective when faced with its natural enemy.

If the white crane truly wished to kill it, it could only rely on its speed in the bizarre mist to escape.

"Don't scare it," Pang Jian said softly.

"Luo Yuan, is that actually you? How can you prove it?" asked the white crane skeptically.

It stretched its long neck to see if Pang Jian was hiding nearby.

Pang Jian frowned in contemplation.

The golden bees flying through the bizarre mist continuously transmitted their different perspectives into Pang Jian's mind, causing his mental strength to drain rapidly.

The connection to the twelve golden bees was similar to Pang Jian's connection to the World Eater Vine, black turtle, and Giant Abyssal Serpent.

With the bees, however, he needed to divide his attention into twelve parts for each golden bee that roamed the bizarre mist.

Naturally, this took a significant toll on his mental strength.

No wonder the beehive needed to wait so long to reveal its mysteries. Their incubation must be based on the expansion of my sea of consciousness.

Pang Jian then tried to teleport to the golden bee near the white crane using the Gate of the Abyss.

Whoosh!

He appeared where the golden bee was.

It worked! Pang Jian's eyes lit up.

The twelve golden bees in the bizarre mist each served as a coordinate point, allowing him to teleport to them using the bronze pendant.

This meant he could return to the Sword Boat whenever he wanted!

He could also appear at the Boundless Sky Divine Kingdom's warship once he found it.

Regardless of his opponent, he could teleport to a golden bee in the blink of an eye, meaning he could advance or retreat as needed!

His advantage in the bizarre mist had significantly increased with the golden bees on his side!

"Who the hell are you? You’re not Luo Yuan!" the white crane screeched when it saw Pang Jian's unfamiliar face.

It flapped its wings, ready to kill Pang Jian and the golden bee.

"What about now?" Pang Jian asked, hastily adjusting his cheekbones and changing his skin tone with the secret technique of the Illusory Bone Realm.

"You can even change your face?" The white crane became even more doubtful. A white lightning vortex formed beneath it as it cursed, "You son of a bitch! Who the hell are you? I knew you were up to no good!"

"I really am Luo Yuan! We fought back in Cloud Lightning!" Pang Jian summoned the Star Crushing Umbrella, the Startling Slaughter Spear, and his protective shields in front of the white crane.

One green and luminous, one interwoven with lightning and ice, and one fiery red.

The different protective shields appeared before the white crane one after another.

"Do you still remember how I slapped your beak?" Pang Jian asked.

"Alright, alright! Stop talking!" The white crane begrudgingly acknowledged. It grumbled angrily, "You placed your consciousness in a bug and appeared out of nowhere. What're you trying to do?"

With the dense bizarre mist restricting its vision, the white crane did not realize Pang Jian had teleported through the golden bee and simply assumed he had flown over from nearby using some strange movement technique.

"Do me a favor—let this golden bee follow you to Absolute Heaven," Pang Jian requested.

"Piece of cake." The white crane arrogantly raised its head and boasted, "Luo Yuan, I admit I owe you a favor.

"Getting you out of this damned place is easy for me. Let the little bug follow me, but remember, don't let it get too close, or I might not be able to resist swallowing it.

"By the way, what is that thing, Luo Yuan? It looks quite tasty."

The white crane's hungry eyes fell on the bee, causing it to fly further away.

Pang Jian replied with a question of his own, "Has your master arrived?"

"My master is busy." The white crane's eyes flashed with reverence. "She's already refined those lightning bolts imbued with divine power and is using them to temper her divine soul.

"The Pure Land Sect sent my master elsewhere for further training. When she comes out, she'll be at the peak of the Spirit Condensation Realm!

"Luo Yuan, I'll introduce you to my master if you ever visit the Pure Land Sect. My master is of noble status. It wouldn't be fitting for her to lower herself to visit the Sword Pavilion just to meet someone like you," the white crane said arrogantly.

A rare smile appeared on Pang Jian's face.

He felt genuine happiness when he learned his sister was progressing smoothly and was at a crucial stage in the Spirit Condensation Realm.

He was as proud of her as the white crane.

"You keep flying. I'll let this bee follow you." With that, Pang Jian cheerfully vanished into the depths of the bizarre mist and said from a distance, "That bee is my eyes. I'll follow you to Absolute Heaven."

"Alright, see you at Absolute Heaven!" The white crane agreed.

It slowed its flying speed but soon noticed the golden bee could keep up.

"This tasty little treat sure flies fast," the white crane muttered as it accelerated.

Whoosh!

The bee followed closely behind, keeping the same speed as the crane.

"There's no way!" The white crane dashed forward at full speed, turning into a streak of white lightning in the bizarre mist and covering a thousand li in a flash.

Whoosh!

The golden bee remained in the distance and never fell behind, which greatly startled the white crane.

"This is no ordinary treat. This little thing is faster than me!" it repeatedly exclaimed. "Looks like I won't be able to eat it when we reach Absolute Heaven."

***

Several different scenes flashed through Pang Jian's mind.

He watched as Zhou Qingchen, Zhao Yuanqi, and Fang Boxuan headed back to the Sword Boat under the guidance of the golden bees.

Qi Qingsong, Dong Tianze, and Zhuang Yuyan had all returned to the Sword Boat thanks to Zhuang Yuyan's spirit sword.

I'll leave the Mountain Stream Spirit Boat alone for now. That guy with a third eye also seems tough. I should focus on Li Yuanchen.

The handsome man on the skeleton of the mystical bird had caused even Pang Jian to feel apprehensive.

Pang Jian felt that even Zhuang Yuyan, a cultivator in the Spirit Condensation Realm, and Li Yuanchen, with his considerable background, were likely no match for that man.

Most importantly, he had no personal enmity with that man. There was simply no need for them to fight to the death.

Pang Jian continued to monitor the situation through the golden bees.

About an hour later, a golden bee successfully located the Boundless Sky Divine Kingdom's warship.

Li Yuanchen, back in his true appearance, sat on the dilapidated warship after taking out a black stone statue several zhang tall.

The black stone statue had clearly been sculpted in the likeness of an Outer God, with sharp horns on its head and a lizard-like tail extending from its tailbone.

"The situation doesn't look good. I must advance to the Spirit Condensation Realm as soon as possible. I can't wait any longer," Li Yuanchen muttered.

The disappearance of his silver divine sense made Li Yuanchen feel like an Outer God had secretly set its sights on him.

Thus, he needed to quickly refine his divine soul and advance to the Spirit Condensation Realm to face the looming danger.

Crackle! Crackle!

Two lightning vortexes appeared deep in Li Yuanchen's eyes.

He stared quietly into the eyes of the Outer God statue and extracted strands of divine consciousness attached to the statue.

A silver lightning vortex refined the divine consciousness of the Outer God deep within his sea of consciousness.

His silver divine sense the golden bees devoured had also been refined using the divine consciousness within the black stone statue.

Crack!

The imposing black stone statue crumbled once its divine consciousness was drained.

"Rise!"

A prismatic-shaped slot hidden within the warship rose from the dilapidated deck at Li Yuanchen's soft command.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Tens of thousands of spirit jades, with star-like spirit crystals mixed in, poured into the array slot.

A Boundless Sky Spirit Gathering Array, the most common array in the Boundless Sky Divine Kingdom, formed.

Dense, fluid spirit power rippled gently from within the prismatic-shaped array. Li Yuanchen floated into it, letting go of the silver hammer and the square seal in his hands.

A lightning vortex slowly formed. The silver hammer hovered in the lightning vortex, guarding the area above his head.

The square seal solidified into nine icebergs, which were then dispersed around the warship, making the warship appear as though it was submerged in a frozen sea.

With his preparations finished, Li Yuanchen started refining his divine soul.

Strands of silver divine sense merged in his sea of consciousness to form a small silver head.

His silver divine sense, infused with divine consciousness, would become the brain of his divine soul, while his normal divine sense would become its body.

It's too bad I couldn't gather more Outer God Puppets and refine more strands of divine sense infused with divine power, Li Yuanchen lamented.

Time passed, and the refinement of his divine soul had progressed to about one-third of the way.

It had reached a point where he absolutely could not be disturbed. His state of mind had to remain perfectly stable.

As Li Yuanchen concentrated on breaking through, he unexpectedly felt someone quietly appear out of thin air to watch him.

Li Yuanchen could not help but open his eyes.

A man stared down at him from atop the mast with the flag bearing the characters "Boundless Sky Divine Kingdom."

The person wore a simple black robe, had a sallow face, and a tall, refined build.

"Luo Yuan!"