Chapter 629: Return to Eight Trigrams City

Wisps of gray-black mist rose above the darkness, hovering in the space just beneath the sea of demonic energy.

A fusion of foreign energies could be found within the mist, from the scorching fumes of sulfuric magma and corrosive toxins that could erode flesh, to the forces of destruction and ruin.

This mix of violent energies made up murky energy.

Pang Jian drew murky energy into his dantian, and as it appeared in the darkness below, he willed it to rise upward, gradually refining it into a crystal no larger than a fingernail.

If spiritual qi could crystallize, then so could murky energy.

However, unlike spiritual power's perfectly translucent crystalline form, the crystal refined from the murky energy was riddled with impurities.

The foreign energies appeared as dark specks within the crystal's core.

Though impure, it remained a usable energy source.

As Pang Jian's dantian was no longer a chaotic blend of energies but had instead been structured into distinct regions, the murky energy crystal and fragmented land formed from spiritual power no longer came into direct contact.

Thus, Pang Jian felt no discomfort or pain from the clash of opposing forces.

His eyes lit up, and without hesitation, he drew in even more murky energy from the frozen lake below.

Murky energy rushed into his dantian, rising naturally from the darkness and merging into the steadily growing gray-black crystal.

It was as though this small gray-black crystal could one day grow to match the vast scale of the fragmented land of crystallized spiritual power above.

This has real potential!

A surge of excitement ran through Pang Jian.

Spiritual qi and murky energy were the most prevalent forces within the Abyss. If Pang Jian could refine both and store them within his dantian, his strength would undoubtedly be amplified!

He also had an unshakable feeling that his dantian would only become complete once murky energy was integrated.

After all, spiritual qi was not the only defining force in the Abyss!

The vibrant Abyss would be dull without murky energy and the powerful foreign races yearning to ascend to the upper worlds.

The ambitious foreign races and their repeated battles for ascension only drove the human race to grow stronger!

If not for them, the Abyss would be nothing but endless infighting among the human race.

Pang Jian's dantian and mystical Primordial Chaos Spiritual Sea were meant to embrace murky energy.

It was his long-standing ambition to integrate both spiritual qi and murky energy in his dantian, and now, he finally achieved it!

Without thinking, he greedily siphoned even more murky energy from the frozen lake into his dantian!

The tiny gray-black crystal suspended above the darkness steadily grew from a mere speck into a sizable stone.

Deep in the frozen lake, the Giant Abyssal Serpent suddenly sensed something amiss. The murky energy he needed to ascend to godhood was rapidly vanishing.

The Giant Abyssal Serpent voiced his frustrated displeasure. Only then did Pang Jian, lost in his own excitement, abruptly snap back to his senses.

The murky energy within the frozen lake was already insufficient for the Giant Abyssal Serpent's ascension. Pang Jian was completely out of line to compete with the Giant Abyssal Serpent for resources.

Immediately ceasing his absorption of murky energy, Pang Jian assured,

Don't worry. Leave it to me. I'll find you more murky energy.

He then established a connection with Pang Ling in the Fourth World and quickly noticed the rich murky energy surrounding the Rank Nine elder of the Wood Race.

The dominant component of the murky energy in Misty Swamp was none other than the wood energy.

This isn't quite ideal,

Pang Jian thought to himself.

Xiao Hei needs murky energy with a high concentration of darkness.

Light can still faintly filter through the leaden clouds of the Fourth World.

If I want murky energy that is rich in darkness, I'll have to look in the Fifth World.

Pang Jian's heart skipped a beat.

At this time, the Rank Ten foreign race powerhouses were either in the bizarre mist at the far north of the Fourth World or on the two intact continents of the Third World.

This left the Fifth World largely vacant and undefended.

A covert infiltration into the Fifth World to siphon murky energy was feasible.

The Heaven Ascension Tribulation Pillars!

Pang Jian channeled his divine sense into the Gate of the Abyss.

Deep in the sea of gray mist inside the bronze pendant, near where the beehive once stood, were seven slender needles.

These seven needles clearly resembled the seven Heaven Ascension Tribulation Pillars when magnified a billionfold.

Pang Jian could use these seven needles within the Gate of the Abyss to teleport to any of the Heaven Ascension Tribulation Pillars in the Fifth World.

"Eight Trigrams City," Pang Jian muttered.

In the blink of an eye, he vanished from the Resolute Expanse in the Second World, instantly arriving at the familiar Eight Trigrams City.

The endless darkness of Eight Trigrams City remained unchanged, saturated with dense murky energy. Everything within the City Lord's Mansion was also painfully familiar.

The city itself was still nothing more than an abandoned shell, devoid of living beings.

It was possible that Luo Hongyan, with her influence over the seven Heaven Ascension Tribulation Pillars, had sensed his arrival. Fortunately, she appeared to still be preoccupied with exploring the darkness.

On arrival, Pang Jian instinctively continued absorbing murky energy, carefully monitoring the changes within his dantian.

The gray-black crystal was now the size of a stone and continued to grow at a visible pace.

Pang Jian vigilantly maintained an active connection with the black turtle and the Giant Abyssal Serpent.

Though the slumbering black turtle did not respond, his presence still served as a stable anchor.

The Giant Abyssal Serpent's presence on the Resolute Expanse provided a secondary coordinate, ensuring Pang Jian had an escape route if the need arose.

Pang Jian was prepared to flee Eight Trigrams City if Luo Hongyan suddenly appeared. If that happened, he would simply head straight to Misty Swamp to gather more murky energy.

Keeping his senses sharp, he waited cautiously, but Luo Hongyan did not appear.

He let out a quiet sigh of relief.

Emboldened, he started openly and ravenously absorbing the murky energy in Eight Trigrams City, channeling it through the Gate of the Abyss to the Giant Abyssal Serpent.

The dense murky energy, brimming with the aura of destruction and ruin, the sulfuric fumes of magma, and saturated with darkness, was funneled directly into the Giant Abyssal Serpent's maw.

A deep, satisfied groan rumbled from the Giant Abyssal Serpent.

The Giant Abyssal Serpent exhaled waves of murky energy as he lay in the cold, dark depths of the frozen lake, quickly saturating the waters with it.

Wisps of murky energy even rose through the thick ice of the lake.

Fortunately, the black turtle had sealed off the region beforehand, containing the rising murky energy within the vicinity of the frozen lake.

Pang Jian and the Giant Abyssal Serpent each gorged themselves on murky energy in two different parts of the Abyss.

After some time, Pang Jian noticed the darkness within his dantian expanding outward.

The darkness, first formed when he devoured the Dark Bat, was filtering out the darkness within the murky energy, causing it to grow even larger and darker.

***

While Pang Jian ventured alone into the Fifth World, a tense gathering was simultaneously taking place in the outer reaches of the Eastern Land.

A group of True Gods stood with knitted brows as they gazed at the six artifacts trapping Zhu Ji, Li Wang, and Gui Mu.

Although the three trapped True Gods were in the forms of their normally colossal Dharma Idols, from the outside, they appeared small and distant.

𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Gui Mu drifted like a headless fly, lost in an endless, erratic flight. Zhu Ji and Li Wang, on the other hand, had already ceased moving, hovering in the air like two minuscule stars.

"Something is draining their power," Li Yuanli observed solemnly. "Look at the edges of Li Wang's Dharma Idol. Occasionally, tiny flashes of light flicker outward. There's something we can't perceive, but what it is, it's attacking them constantly, wearing them down bit by bit."

Liu Fu nodded in agreement. "That seems likely. Otherwise, they wouldn't need to maintain their Dharma Idols as they have been."

"So, does anyone have any other ideas?" Dong Shangqing asked, his voice heavy with concern.

Yin Ji, Wanderer Tian Du, Jiang Fan, and Su Wanrou remained silent.

Li Zhaotian shook his head with a bitter smile.

The True Gods had already spent a long time trying every method imaginable to free the trapped trio without damaging the six artifacts.

They had attempted blood essence resonance, divine sense probing, artifacts, sword souls, talismans, and even alchemical pill infusions.

Anything thrown into the hazy space initially maintained a faint connection with its sender, only for that link to abruptly sever when it entered that strange domain.

Blood essence dissipated, divine sense was obliterated, and physical objects simply disappeared.

They had exhausted every possible method, yet Zhu Ji, Li Wang, and Gui Mu remained stuck.

Wanderer Tian Du slapped his thigh as an idea struck him. "Fatty Li, where's that kid Pang Jian?

"He's the World God of the Abyss! He can leave and return to the Abyss at will! He's probably the only one capable of bringing Zhu Ji and the others out!"

His words caused everyone to feel as though the clouds had parted to reveal the blue sky.

They had heard plenty of legends about World Gods.

Pang Jian's miraculous feats, both before and after ascending to godhood, had also left them in awe.

The longer they thought about it, the more they felt that only Pang Jian could ensure Zhu Ji and the others' safe return.

"Fire God Yan Lie also went to Northern Qi," Liu Fu suddenly recalled.

"Don't worry, Pang Jian's unique Immortal Divine Soul has already escaped from the Abyss," Li Zhaotian replied. "He left his physical body outside the Abyss this whole time and has yet to return with it. Even if we want his help, there's nothing we can do but wait."

Even Li Zhaotian did not know when Pang Jian would return.

"Gui Mu's stopped. She's finally stopped running around aimlessly." Jiang Fan leaned in, squinting for a closer look. "Huh? Wait, something's off!"

A brilliant gleam flashed in everyone's eyes.

Gui Mu had long lost her connection to the Azure Nether and could no longer sense the Pool of Reincarnation.

However, at that moment, she appeared to become aware of something.

Her shrunken Dharma Idol shot toward the heart of the strange domain at full speed!

A barely perceptible figure slowly emerged from the nothingness at the center of the six artifacts.

Gui Mu's Dharma Idol, no bigger than a grain of rice, stared at the minuscule figure a million times smaller than her.

This figure was insignificant as a mere speck of dust.

Even the True Gods outside had to channel divine power into their eyes to make out the illusory silhouette.

"It's Pang Jian!"

"That's Pang Jian!"

"Why's he in there?"

"When did he enter?"

The True Gods erupted in astonishment.