Trials of the Abyss

Chapter 155: Self-Created Technique

A lavishly decorated Cloud Sail descended, stopping mid-air at the Fourth Peak occupied by the Blood Moon Sect. A burly man named Lei Kun, with a square face and rugged features, laughed heartily as he flew out from the Cloud Sail and landed beside Jiu Yuan.

"Brother Jiu Yuan!"

The members of the Blood Moon Sect on the Fourth Peak sat down in silence when they recognized the newcomer.

Jiu Yuan shifted his attention from Gao Yuan's Cloud Sail to his comrades-in-arms. He and Lei Kun had explored many restricted areas together.

"Lei Kun, what brings you to Primordial Wilderness?" he asked curiously. "Is there something you need among Old Monster Cao's treasures?"

Before Lei Kun could reply, the coquettish voices of several beautiful women came from within his Cloud Sail.

"Master Lei, we also want to take a look around."

"Old Lei, we want to explore the summit."

A beautiful woman poked her head out, glanced at the Blood Moon Sect cultivators, and quickly retracted her head.

"All of you, stay inside!" Lei Kun's stern gaze swept over the pampered women. He then turned back to Jiu Yuan with a cheerful smile. "I don't know what exactly Old Monster Cao has available. However, his men have a list of spirit materials from the participants, and the lightning attribute spirit materials I need are on it.

"I've obtained the Black Thunder True Art but don't dare to guide heavenly thunder into my body to cultivate. You know how domineering the Black Thunder True Art is. One mistake and I'll be obliterated."

Lei Kun sighed with a bitter smile.

Jiu Yuan and Lei Kun were cut from the same cloth. Thus, Jiu Yuan tacitly understood the hidden meaning behind his words.

"I understand. I'll refine a new body for you as a backup," Jiu Yuan replied and gazed lustfully at the beautiful women within the Cloud Sail.

Lei Kun laughed heartily. "Feel free to take your pick if any of them catch your eye!"

When Lei Kun's words reached the ears of the previously clamoring women, their faces paled as they realized the hard truth. Despite his displays of affection, they were merely disposable in Lei Kun's eyes.

A sense of dread settled over them. Jiu Yuan's notorious reputation and tales of the grim fates of the women unfortunate enough to cross his path only heightened this feeling.

"I'm not interested in your playthings." Jiu Yuan shook his head. The ordinary, vulgar women in the Cloud Sail were not his type, and he could not be bothered to ask Lei Kun for them.

"By the way, how did the new body I asked you to refine get into trouble in the lower world? How did the insignificant Shadow Specter Sect from the Fourth World dare to attack your Blood Moon Sect's beast-capturing sailboat?" Lei Kun's face turned cold. "Even if the new body only contained a fragment of my soul, it shouldn't have been something a Marrow Cleansing Realm cultivator could handle!"

Jiu Yuan frowned as he recalled a minor detail from the surviving members of the Blood Moon Sect's reports.

When the Shadow Specter Sect had attacked the beast-hunting sailboat and were fighting the members of the Blood Moon Sect on the deck, a mysterious woman appeared.

This mysterious woman had destroyed the Eye of Imprint, and her immense power had struck fear into the hearts of the Blood Moon Sect cultivators, causing them to flee the sailboat in panic.

Some disciples had seen her entering the cabin where Lei Kun's new body had been kept.

"A stunning woman and the younger brother of a pair of siblings addressing Dong Tianze as the Sect Leader and claiming to avenge the members of the Shadow Specter Sect..." Jiu Yuan muttered, thoughtfully stroking his chin.

After contemplating for a moment, he explained his suspicions to Lei Kun, "I suspect a pair of siblings from the upper world participated in the attack on the beast-hunting sailboat. The destruction of your new body might be the sister's doing, but I haven't figured out their names yet."

Lei Kun snorted coldly. "Are they in the Primordial Wilderness?"

"Yes, they just moved into a cave dwelling on the First Peak. I'm uncertain about their backgrounds, and as a Blood Moon Sect's elder, I have to consider the consequences of my actions.

"But you...you're just a rogue cultivator. Even if they come from a noble family or a powerful sect, you won't bring trouble to your sect," Jiu Yuan hinted.

"I'll check them out."

"Good. I only know that the rogue cultivator accompanying them is called Gao Yuan. Be careful." Jiu Yuan's eyes flashed with violence as he grinned. "If they're confirmed as the attackers and aren't actually from the upper world, I'll make them wish they were dead."

"Got it, I know your temper." Lei Kun nodded with a bitter smile. "You still need to continue refining a new body for me. Without a new vessel to transfer my soul into, I don't dare cultivate the Black Thunder True Art."

"I understand. I'll make the necessary arrangements."

***

"Two hundred spirit stones for a single day?" Pang Jian clicked his tongue as he stood at the entrance of the cave dwelling number fifty-six.

Their assigned cave dwelling was on the nineteenth floor of the First Peak in the Primordial Wilderness.

Gao Yuan stood at the entrance of cave dwelling number fifty-five to his right.

"Yes, it costs two hundred spirit stones for a single day," Gao Yuan said with a pained expression. "The First Peak of the Primordial Wilderness has thirty-six floors, each with cave-dwellings like these. The cave dwellings on the nineteenth floor, where we are, are considered higher tier, so the price is naturally higher."

Their late arrival meant the cheaper cave dwellings below the nineteenth floor had long since been taken. Rogue cultivators from the Third World and descendants of noble families from the Cosmic Skies Continent and the Dark Abyss Continent all gathered at Old Monster Cao's Primordial Wilderness to broaden their horizons.

Those fearing ambushes and attacks could only spend spirit stones to stay at the First Peak, ensuring their safety while in the Primordial Wilderness.

"I live next door. If you need anything, come and find me. I saw some familiar rogue cultivators just now, also staying on the First Peak, so I'll try to gather some information."

With that, Gao Yuan left.

In front of the row of cave dwellings was a stone pathway leading to stone steps on each end. Gao Yuan descended one of these steps and headed to the lower floors.

His rogue cultivator friends must be staying below us.

Pang Jian watched as Gao Yuan stopped at a lower floor and entered a few cave dwellings on the left.

He went to the seventh floor.

After noting Gao Yuan's location, Pang Jian entered his cave dwelling and gently closed the stone door.

The cave dwelling was tidy and simply furnished with a table, chairs, and a bed. A meditation mat was placed for cultivation, and the walls were inlaid with luminous pearls, brightly lighting up the space. Despite the lack of arrays, the place was rich with natural spiritual qi.

"It's a nice place," Pang Jian said softly.

Of all the places he had been since leaving the Solitary Mountain Range, the fragmented land of the Primordial Wilderness had the richest spiritual qi.

Divine Fortune, Ice Rock Island, and the nameless fragmented land where the black turtle resided all paled in comparison to the Primordial Wilderness in terms of size and spiritual qi.

It was no wonder Cao Meng, the number one rogue cultivator in the Third World, had chosen to make the Primordial Wilderness his territory.

"I wonder if she's doing well," Pang Jian muttered, staring at the empty cave dwelling.

After spending so much time with Luo Hongyan, he felt unsettled to be in the cave dwelling alone.

Luo Hongyan had only gone to pay to participate in the trade fair. Old Monster Cao's men would check the amount of spirit stones and exchange them for a participation token.

Jiu Yuan wouldn't dare to cause trouble with her cultivation realm. Not to mention, we're on the First Peak of the Primordial Wilderness.

Still slightly worried, Pang Jian sat on the meditation mat and took out a stack of cultivation technique manuals.

Profound Yang Technique, Divine Star Art, Yellow Star Technique, Blazing Fire Art, Lunar Eye...

Each manual contained low to mid-level cultivation techniques and offensive arts related to fire, the sun, the moon, and the stars. These had all been salvaged from the deceased rogue cultivators on Ice Rock Island.

He deliberately kept hold of these relatively basic cultivation techniques and offensive arts because of his unique dantian and spiritual sea, which could accommodate different energies.

His cultivation path differed from that of regular cultivators due to the extraordinary nature of his spiritual sea as he did not need to stubbornly focus on mastering a single profound and intricate technique.

Rather, the key to significantly enhancing his combat prowess and breakthrough in his cultivation lay in the fusion of different energies.

These low and mid-level techniques could all exhibit extraordinary power when executed with combined energies.

Pang Jian had his own unique path in cultivation.

***

That same day, Pang Jian stood by the dome-shaped rock wall in his cave dwelling and moved both hands in unison to form a brilliant river of stars.

This magnificent river of stars appeared to be filled with the sun, moon, and stars and seemed to contain the profound mysteries of the starry sky.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Dazzling starlight, solar rays, and Lunar Edges shot out from the radiant river and descended like meteors. The ground of cave dwelling number fifty-six crackled as craters formed.

Pang Jian had harnessed the unique capabilities of his Primordial Chaos Spiritual Sea to combine the Primordial Sun Technique, the Profound Yang Technique, the Earth Blaze Technique, the Lunar Edge Technique, the Divine Star Art, and several other low to mid-level cultivation techniques and offensive arts to forge a powerful offensive secret technique.

"I'll call it...Cosmic Fission," Pang Jian said with satisfaction.

This offensive technique was inspired by the Starflow Technique, which refined stellar energy into meteors. With this as his foundation, he first integrated solar energy and earthflame energy, then cold energy, and finally incorporated lunar and stellar energies to form a relatively complete cosmic construct.

A true cosmic construct made of not only the stars but also the sun and the moon. The term "fission" came from the first move of his Startling Slaughter Spear, the Explosive Dance. When combined with his improved Starflow Technique, they formed Cosmic Fission.

He was well aware of the uniqueness of his spiritual sea and did not rigidly adhere to a single technique. Instead, he worked with his Primordial Chaos Spiritual Sea to experiment and fuse different techniques together.

Seeing the resulting power, he felt quite satisfied.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Angry pounding suddenly came from the rocky ground beneath his feet.

The person beneath his cave dwelling on the eighteenth floor below was dissatisfied with his commotion and was angrily cursing and pounding on their ceiling.