Trials of the Abyss

Chapter 351: Under Control

"Pang Jian," the thin elder called out, gaze fixed on the hilt of the demonic sword. "You can choose between Lady Feng and the Abyssal Demon Sword.

"If you want the Abyssal Demon Sword, you'll have to pull it out with your own strength. If you succeed, it means you have the potential to wield it. If not, the sword stays in the Sword Pavilion."

Whoosh!

The thin elder appeared beside the Abyssal Demon Sword and sneered, "Haven't learned your lesson yet, have you?"

His body quietly became translucent, and a pale cyan spirit sword emerged from his blue robes as if part of his skeleton.

Thousands of dazzling sword lights pierced into the floor where the Abyssal Demon Sword was embedded like divine dragons or arcs of lightning, extinguishing the black demonic flames that had engulfed the Sword Pavilion.

The Sword Pavilion returned to its original state in the blink of an eye.

His sword light transformed into barely visible chains that bound the Abyssal Demon Sword.

His sword light and sword intent then seeped into the Abyssal Demon Sword, relentlessly suppressing it.

Soon, the Abyssal Demon Sword was gravely weakened.

"You old fool, you're the one who broke me in half!" it howled in fury. "If I want to blame somebody, I can only blame it on Mo Nan's failure to ascend as a True God!

"Had he successfully become a True God, and I merged with his True God body, I wouldn't have lost to you!

"Mo Nan, oh, Mo Nan, it was your wavering desire for demonic power that led to your failure to become a Demon God.

"Pang Jian, you're my true master. I'll help you ascend as a True God. Take me with you!"

The Abyssal Demon Sword's soul wailed.

Then, the wailing abruptly stopped.

Pang Jian's eyes flashed with surprise as he realized the three people before him were the sword souls of three divine swords.

The three divine swords were suppressing the Abyssal Demon Sword.

With the Abyssal Demon Sword's soul and body sealed, it could not manifest a human form.

"I can't believe you've set your sights on this kid, Abyssal Demon." A sinister female voice scoffed.

Pang Jian turned to see another strange sword with only its hilt protruding from a different corner of the first floor.

This sword seemed forged entirely from bones and exuded a dense aura of death.

"White Bone, this has nothing to do with you, so you'd best stay quiet," Lady Feng sneered. "The Abyss has that sin-ridden White Bone City because of you. You're more cursed than Abyssal Demon. You'll never escape the Sword Pavilion."

"Heh, I'm just waiting for the day the Sword Pavilion collapses, Li Zhaotian dies, and everyone else perishes." The White Bone Sword chuckled. "The humans of the Abyss may have forged me, but if no one here is worthy to wield me, I'll go and seek the Gods of the foreign races.

"I’m just a sword, not a human. I have no sense of loyalty or guilt.

"Abyssal Demon, when the time comes, I hope you can introduce me. You've mentioned that there are Gods in the outer worlds who spread death wherever they go.

"I love beings like that!" the White Bone Sword crowed.

The fat elder snorted. "I'll destroy you before that day ever comes!"

Thousands of sword lights flew from his body, striking the White Bone Sword and severing its thoughts.

The Abyssal Demon Sword and the White Bone Sword fell silent.

Pang Jian examined the other dark corners of the first floor and noticed yet another blood-soaked hilt embedded in the floor.

The sword reeked of blood, though its sword soul remained silent.

The Abyssal Demon Sword, the White Bone Sword, and the Bloodthirsty Sword all appeared to be divine-grade spirit swords.

The three swords were steeped in sin. Powerhouses from the Sword Pavilion seemed to have killed their previous wielders and sealed the swords on the first floor.

Pang Jian marveled at the Sword Pavilion’s deep reserves of power. Even though the sect had declined, they could surely rise to prominence again if a True God emerged.

At least three divine swords were before him, with three other divine-grade evil artifacts being suppressed.

Li Zhaotian's sword was surely a divine sword as well, not to mention the one in Li Yuqing's hands.

The number of divine artifacts the Sword Pavilion had was truly astonishing to Pang Jian.

"Have you made up your mind?" Lady Feng urged impatiently. "Will it be me or the Abyssal Demon Sword?"

At this point, the Abyssal Demon Sword had fallen silent.

Pang Jian hesitated. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"I'd like to know more about the origins of the Abyssal Demon Sword," he said tentatively.

"Very well." The thin elder nodded. "The sword's soul is called the Abyssal Demon and is forged from a soul that does not belong to the Abyss.

"The Abyssal Demon Sword has only ever had one master, the Sect Leader of the Demon Sword Sect, Mo Nan.

"When he attempted to ascend to the True God Realm, he failed and the demonic sword's power consumed him. Despite his failure, Mo Nan survived, and the sword greatly enhanced his power.

"He sought to communicate with the Outer Gods, intending to bring them into the Abyss.

"In the end, the Sword Pavilion's previous Sword God, my former wielder, killed Mo Nan and severed the Abyssal Demon Sword into two pieces.

"Half of the sword vanished into the bizarre mist, never to be seen again, while the other half was sealed here in the Sword Pavilion.

"Its sword soul's strength has been significantly weakened. Even so, the sword remains dangerous. The Abyssal Demon isn't of the Abyss and will constantly attempt to corrupt its wielder.

"Mo Nan couldn't resist its influence and it ultimately controlled him during his attempt to ascend to True God." The thin elder paused. "I advise you to choose Lady Feng."

Pang Jian's eyes lit up when he heard the Abyssal Demon was not from the Abyss. "I choose the Abyssal Demon Sword!"

He stepped over to the black crystal-like hilt, firmly grasped it, and gathered his strength.

Power surged from his body as he channeled his energy into his palms and gave a forceful pull.

The Abyssal Demon Sword did not even budge!

Instead, hundreds of strange sword intents surged along Pang Jian's blood vessels and rushed toward his sea of consciousness.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The sword intents transformed into bizarre demonic entities from the outer worlds.

They took the form of stunningly beautiful women, monstrous beasts gnawing on humans, grotesque creatures of many fused souls, demonic eyes, and even dark purple carnivorous plants.

"My new master, let me show you my power!"

The sword intents gleefully roamed Pang Jian's vast sea of consciousness in the form of bizarre demonic entities.

Although the demonic entities rushed toward the edges of his sea of consciousness, a faint thread still connected each one to Pang Jian's golden divine soul.

Pang Jian's golden divine soul towered ten thousand zhang tall in his sea of consciousness and watched coldly as the hundreds of bizarre entities darted about.

The demonic sword intents appeared to be studying his innermost thoughts.

Some demonic entities quietly descended toward the acupoints at the bottom of his sea of consciousness and tried to corrupt his thoughts.

Pang Jian's golden divine soul smirked.

"What are you laughing at? My new master, your aura feels strange. Your divine soul—"

Boom!

Hundreds of demonic sword intents suddenly surged toward Pang Jian's golden divine soul!

The Abyssal Demon Sword had intended to lull Pang Jian into a false sense of security, first distancing the demonic sword intents before charging at Pang Jian's golden divine soul without warning.

Hundreds of chaotic and violent wills assaulted Pang Jian's golden divine soul.

It was like hundreds of streams of chaotic thought were rushing into his soul, trying to overwhelm his consciousness and leave a foreign soul imprint.

"Is this the extent of your power?" Pang Jian shook his head with a mocking smile.

He pictured himself as the Thunder Pool, capable of obliterating the souls of gods and demons, before summoning the divine power of lightning from his lightning vortex.

Crack!

Bolts of soul-crushing lightning crackled from Pang Jian's three thousand strands of divine sense and shattered the Abyssal Demon Sword's chaotic soul technique.

Pang Jian then activated the inherent power of his golden divine soul and coldly commanded, "Eradicate"

The soul-erasing power capable of destroying the wills of Outer Gods quietly emerged from his divine soul and wiped out the demonic entities.

The bizarre entities invading Pang Jian's sea of consciousness were all dealt with in the blink of an eye.

The Abyssal Demon Sword's soul grew faint and its presence was barely detectable.

Sensing something unusual, the thin elder released his suppression of the Abyssal Demon Sword.

Frowning, he said, "Pang Jian, it seems you've wounded the sword soul. You—"

"Old fool! I-I don’t want him as my master anymore! I've changed my mind! I'll stay in the Sword Pavilion!

"After spending so many years with you, I've grown fond of you all. I can't bear to leave. Let Lady Feng go with him instead!

"I’m not going anywhere!" the Abyssal Demon Sword cried weakly.

Pang Jian casually pulled and the broken sword slid smoothly out of the floor.

"You old fool! Keep suppressing me! Why didn't you stop him?!

"I don't want to leave, so why did you let go?

"Aren't you worried I'll come back and tear this place apart after finding my other half in the bizarre mist?" the Abyssal Demon Sword screeched frantically.

"I have a feeling you won't be able to deal with him, even if you do find your other half and regain your full power," the thin elder sneered. "Good luck conquering the Abyss together!"

With a wave of his sleeve, the thin elder flung Pang Jian out of the Sword Pavilion with the black broken sword in hand.

The fat elder squinted at the hole where the Abyssal Demon Sword had been embedded. "Did you notice his divine soul is quite similar to the souls of the Outer Gods?"

The thin elder nodded. "Yes, it's brimming with divine essence."

"He's only recently reached the Spirit Condensation Realm. Are you really comfortable with him taking the Abyssal Demon Sword?" Lady Feng asked, face pale.

"I'm not concerned because the Abyssal Demon can't corrupt him. If he does something heinous in the Abyss, it won't be because of the Abyssal Demon—it'll be his true nature at work," the thin elder said gravely. "Li Zhaotian's choice is risky, but it does offer the Sword Pavilion a glimmer of hope."

"What hope?" Lady Feng and the fat elder asked in unison.

"To take the Sword Pavilion from the Second World to the First World—or even out of the Abyss entirely!" the thin elder said with a low voice.