Chapter 32: The Girl of Destiny

Pang Jian descended into the depths of Blackwater Pond on the back of the python. He wanted to leave as soon as possible.

As he approached the floor of the pond, he saw shimmering silver light, like crystals sprinkled on the ground.

Upon closer examination, he discovered a silver net strewn on the pond's floor.

The masked squad leader's bamboo flute also emitted a faint glow.

Pang Jian glanced toward the surface. As he did not see Hong Tai following after them, he commanded the python to alter their course.

The Giant Abyssal Serpent sensed his thoughts and dutifully accompanied him as they combed the floor of the pond for valuable items.

Pang Jian approached the silver net first. Lifting it, he marveled at its lightness. Despite Ouyang Duanhai's prolonged struggle within it, not a single tear marred the silver net.

After bundling up the net, Pang Jian went on to retrieve the bamboo flute before searching the bodies of the three Meridian Opening Realm cultivators.

This search yielded some silver coins, along with a handful of lower-quality spirit stones, which he put away in the leather bag previously used by Jin Yang.

Pang Jian also grabbed the cracked Hornless Ice Dragon Jade Pendant, but it unexpectedly disintegrated in his hand when he went to put it away. Therefore, he indifferently discarded it.

He also eyed the Cicada Wing Swords scattered across the floor of the pond, but he soon realized that most of them were now deformed and worthless.

Sighing softly, he lamented to himself. Had he known he could reap such rich rewards, he would have restrained himself.

Resolved to depart from Blackwater Pond, he made one final sweep of the bottom but found no further valuables.

Somewhat disappointed, he rode the python back to the stone door, and after making sure Hong Tai was nowhere to be found, he opened the stone door.

Once inside, he placed the sack of spirit stones he retrieved from Ning Yao and the items he found at the bottom of the pond into his bamboo basket.

Carefully securing the cover on the bamboo basket, he ensured everything was in order before hoisting the heavy load onto his back. He glanced at the python from behind the stone door. It had been his steadfast companion throughout these various battles.

As Pang Jian stared at the python, the Giant Abyssal Serpent within the Black and White King Python also silently stared back at him with its pitch-black eyes.

After a moment of hesitation, Pang Jian reached out from behind the stone door and affectionately patted the python's head. A thought echoed in his mind as he asked,

Would you like to leave Blackwater Pond with me?

The python looked blankly back at him, unsure how to respond.

Pang Jian chuckled inwardly as he spoke,

Though the stone passage may be narrow, if you leave the python's body and revert to your beast soul form, you should be able to pass through.

He knew that the true master of Blackwater Pond resided within this python.

The giant serpent slain by the bone of the Celestial Phoenix was far from benevolent. Over the years, countless creatures and hunters fell victim to its highly toxic and corrosive venom.

Even so, though he remained uncertain as to why the Giant Abyssal Serpent aided him, it was undeniable that Pang Jian's success in defeating the cultivators of the Shadow Specter Sect was largely owed to it.

Its physical body had been consumed by the bone of the Celestial Phoenix, leaving only its beast soul behind.

Pang Jian could not help but feel that the Giant Abyssal Serpent had already received its rightful punishment. Therefore, he wanted to help this Giant Abyssal Serpent break away from this sea of bitterness.

However, his goodwill was met with rejection.

Despite sensing his intention, the Giant Abyssal Serpent's pitch-black eyes ultimately fell on the door-shaped bronze pendant hanging on Pang Jian's chest.

It had obeyed Pang Jian's many commands and had succeeded in reclaiming many fragments of its lost beast soul. Now, it was immersed in a flood of memories.

Many complex emotions flickered across its eyes.

Through the warmth of the young man's palm, it sensed his thoughts and intentions, understanding that his invitation was genuine.

The young man had forgiven many of its misdeeds at the bottom of the pond and sincerely wished to help it escape Blackwater Pond. This evoked a strange feeling of...attachment within it.

However, it remained unable to accept the young man's goodwill.

The Giant Abyssal Serpent glanced at Pang Jian and shook its head before swimming away from the stone door.

Pang Jian let out a sigh as he watched the Giant Abyssal Serpent swim away from the stone door and come to rest beside its skeleton.

It circled its skeleton, scattered in a ring shape around the bone of the Celestial Phoenix, swimming back and forth.

It seemed hesitant to leave its physical body behind as if struggling to comprehend its current situation.

Pang Jian was moved.

You've already died,

he said mentally.

Separated by distance, the Giant Abyssal Serpent could no longer hear Pang Jian's thoughts.

Pang Jin sighed.

Forget it.

He understood that when the Giant Abyssal Serpent shook its head, it had already rejected his goodwill. It had swum away and would not be returning to his side.

Filled with regret, the young man did not linger any longer. He firmly shut the stone door behind him and proceeded toward the dark, narrow stone passage.

After Pang Jian closed the stone door and disappeared behind it, the Giant Abyssal Serpent quietly swam back from where it had just settled down by the head of its skeleton. With its mysterious pitch-black eyes, the Giant Abyssal Serpent stared motionlessly at the camouflaged stone door.

For a long time, it showed no signs of movement.

Disregarding their past animosity, the young man, unaware of what the serpent had experienced, had disappeared into the stone passage. Perhaps they would never meet again.

However, the young man's kindness and sincerity had left a deep impression on the Giant Abyssal Serpent.

***

In the dark stone passage, Pang Jian passed through the stone chamber. However, with the stone door now shut, he was unable to see the stone table, chair, and bed, leaving the passage in pitch-black darkness.

Using the Dragonwood Spear to feel ahead, he navigated his way through the unknown depths of the stone passage.

At this moment, he recalled the time when he shared a horse with Shangguan Qin only to collapse from the heat emitted from his chest.

Based on his experiences in Blackwater Pond, he hypothesized that he had previously been attacked by the essence of the Celestial Phoenix while standing in front of the bone of the Celestial Phoenix near the Formless Sailboat.

It was thanks to the bronze pendant his father had left behind that he managed to emerge unscathed. The bronze pendant absorbed the essence of the Celestial Phoenix that would have otherwise turned him into a monster.

Just as it did with Ouyang Duanhai.

Shortly after the incident, he succumbed to a high fever and collapsed from his warhorse.

This new essence of the Celestial Phoenix and the Divine Guard that escaped from Ouyang Duanhai's body will likely be even more aggressive. I can only hope that this time the flare-up will occur more gradually, allowing me to endure it.

As he moved forward in the stone passage, Pang Jian pondered the origin of the bronze pendant. He wondered if his father knew about the wonders of the pendant.

Where did his father even get this bronze pendant?

His mind was abuzz with thoughts as he continued to use his spear to prod ahead, pressing forward through the dark, narrow passage.

Time flew by quickly.

𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Pang Jian felt like he had been in the stone passage for an eternity. Throughout his trek, he had yet to see even a single glimmer of light. The long, dark passage seemed endless, stretching on without end.

As he pondered the passage of time, Pang Jian once again felt an itchy, burning heat on his chest.

Mentally prepared, Pang Jian distinctly felt streams of strange energy leaking from the bronze pendant pressed against his skin!

These streams of strange energy permeated through his ribcage and flowed toward his waist with his ribcage as the anchor.

The bone-chilling, tingling pain akin to the gnawing of countless ants reappeared, accompanied by a steadily rising body temperature and a throbbing, head-splitting migraine.

Pang Jian knew that he would not be able to endure this flare-up for long and that he would probably faint like last time.

However, he was not confident he would be able to wake up once he fainted.

Restless, Pang Jian reassured himself. After all, he could breathe through the skin on his arm and chest, so he would not drown. Furthermore, no creatures should be able to enter the stone passage.

Thus, when he fainted, he should be safe.

Hmm!

Having braced himself for the worst, Pang Jian abruptly felt a cold sensation near his heart. As he reached up to touch it, his fingers brushed across the jade-like green lotus leaf.

The cold, refreshing lotus leaf quietly emitted a green light that illuminated the dark stone passage. Its coldness also caused Pang Jian's high temperature to drop by a few degrees.

A pleased expression spread across Pang Jian's face.

He had not anticipated that the lotus leaf would unexpectedly become handy at such a crucial moment. It kept him from fainting and allowed him to sense the various changes within his body.

Pang Jian gradually sensed the streams of strange energy from the bronze pendant spreading throughout the bones of his entire body.

It felt as if numerous blazing Celestial Phoenixes were soaring through his bones, relentlessly tempering them and causing sparks to fly within.

As he endured pain equivalent to thousands of hammers striking him all over, Pang Jian unexpectedly did not faint. This was all thanks to the lotus leaf.

Pang Jian felt an unexpected sense of gratitude toward Jin Yang. Even in death, Jin Yang had left behind such a valuable treasure for him.

Before he could revel in his happiness for much longer, Pang Jian noticed that the light emitted from the lotus leaf was slowly fading.

It could not withstand the changes in his body, and would not allow him to maintain his current state for much longer.

Before long, the energy within the lotus leaf was depleted. When the light of the lotus leaf completely disappeared, it shattered into pieces underwater.

At that moment, Pang Jian realized that Jin Yang's plan would not have succeeded.

The profound lotus leaf was unable to withstand the energy coming from the essence of the Celestial Phoenix. If Jin Yang had truly absorbed it, he would have transformed into a monster sooner or later.

The blazing heat within Pang Jian's body rapidly became more and more intense.

Pang Jian once again fainted.

***

In the Second World, the exhausted Sun Bin once again teleported with Pang Lin before collapsing onto a suspended solitary island, limbs sprawled in all directions.

The azure sky above them stretched endlessly without a single cloud in sight.

Four immense landmasses hovered at the four corners of the sky, shining brightly and prominently.

Gazing at the sky, Sun Bin sighed softly. "Girl, I did everything I could."

On this bright and sunny day, Sun Bin was filled with despair. He was prepared to meet his end as he reluctantly stared at the azure sky.

"I've exhausted all my life-saving spirit artifacts and secret arts, including my blood essences and other things I shouldn't use! I truly don't have any other way. I can't reach out to anyone and I've depleted all my spiritual power."

Sun Bin explained as he continued to stare at the sky, as though trying to prove to someone in the upper world that he had not neglected his duty.

"Senior Sun, I don't blame you. I just can't bear to leave my brother. With me gone, he has no one else in this world."

There was a profound sense of reluctance on Pang Lin's beautiful face. The only thing going through her mind was the thought of how lonely her brother must be in the lower world. She wondered what he would do in the future.

"My brother does not even have the chance to come up here and admire this azure sky. I originally thought that I had to work hard to cultivate and bring him up here..." Pang Lin murmured, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. Much like Sun Bin, her heart was filled with despair.

In the upper world, one could occasionally catch a glimpse of the sun. A radiant moon often also graced the night sky, accompanied by countless twinkling stars.

Everything was so pretty.

Both days and nights in the upper world were incredibly elegant and vibrant. It was a pity that his brother would not have the opportunity to see it.

She regretted that Pang Jian could not be here.

Whoosh!

The withered bone that had been chasing her and Sun Bin once again made its appearance.

This time, Sun Bin was too exhausted to escape.

The bone of the Celestial Phoenix emitted a radiant light. Countless tiny runes shimmered like diamonds within it as it came to a gentle halt right in front of Pang Lin.

The tiny runes, resembling the stars, moons, and constellations within a radiant galaxy, flew away from the bone of the Celestial Phoenix, drifting and whistling before Pang Lin as if it wanted to unveil endless wonders and mysteries to Pang Lin.

The bone of the Celestial Phoenix not only showed no intention of harming Pang Lin, but it even slowly approached her as if gently encouraging her to touch it.

Pang Lin was stunned.

Under Sun Bin's bewildered gaze, she curiously extended her right index finger and lightly touched the bone of the Celestial Phoenix.

A vast ocean of knowledge flowed from the tip of Pang Lin's finger into her body.

The countless tiny runes within the bone of the Celestial Phoenix rapidly faded away.

Sun Bin was shocked. It took him a long time to finally react as he muttered to himself, "So, it wasn't after the both of us. It was interested in the girl."