Trials of the Abyss

Chapter 156: Making Peace

"Are you done?"

Embarrassingly, a furious female voice came from the rocky ground beneath Pang Jian. Despite holding back his strength, he still disturbed the person below.

Pang Jian knew he was in the wrong and chose not to respond to the angry woman's "gentle" inquiry, hoping to quell her anger with his silence.

Bang! Bang!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The women had come to pound on the stone door of Pang Jian's cave dwelling

Pang Jian reluctantly opened the door to apologize but the beautiful woman standing outside the stone door did not give him the chance.

"Can you not practice such destructive techniques inside? Don't you know others need peace to cultivate? Where did such a wild brat come from? No sense of manners at all! My head feels like it's about to explode because of you. What're you trying to do?"

"Brat, don't think you're impressive just because you live above me! I'm only down there because I'm short on funds. Otherwise, I'd be on the upper floors too!"

The woman reprimanding Pang Jian was named Han Ting. A while back, she and a few rogue cultivators had explored a restricted area. After being seriously injured, she escaped to the Primordial Wilderness and was now recuperating on the First Peak.

She planned to seek revenge once she recovered, but the constant noise from above had disturbed her rest. She had tried to be tolerant, but the commotion had only grown louder, preventing her from healing peacefully.

"I didn't know someone was staying below me. I'm sorry." Pang Jian cupped his hands in apology.

"Brat, don't say I didn't warn you! You'll have to pay if you damage Old Monster Cao's cave dwelling!" Han Ting scolded. "You've been disturbing me for half a day now. You owe me compensation for my loss!"

Pang Jian knew he was in the wrong and quietly allowed her to vent her dissatisfaction with him.

As he was about to appease her, a person emerged from cave dwelling number fifty-seven to his left, grinning as he said, "Damaging Old Monster Cao's cave dwelling is expensive. I hope you prepared enough spirit stones for compensation."

Pang Jian turned to look at the newcomer.

His heart trembled!

Back in the cabin of the beast-hunting sailboat in Divine Fortune City, a blood shadow with a square face and the appearance of a middle-aged man had floated out of a blood barrel.

The person before him was the same as the blood shadow back then!

Though his mind was in turmoil, Pang Jian's expression remained calm and he retorted, "It's none of your business!"

Lei Kun grinned maliciously. As he was about to reply, Han Ting shoved Pang Jian into his cave dwelling and slammed the door shut.

"That kid..." Lei Kun frowned as he stared at the stone door.

A hint of surprise flickered in Pang Jian's eyes when he saw Lei Kun, but it was unclear whether this was due to Lei Kun's words or because he recognized him.

Aside from his initial surprise, Pang Jian showed no other abnormal reactions and even boldly snapped back at him. This puzzled Lei Kun even more. Logically, if Pang Jian had raided the beast-hunting sailboat and seen his new body, he likely would not have dared to retort with "None of your business."

"Was Jiu Yuan wrong? Maybe it's not him," Lei Kun muttered.

A look of surprise was insufficient to determine if Pang Jian and his sister had been involved in the Shadow Specter Sect's operation.

He decided to keep observing.

***

Pang Jian stared at Han Ting in confusion inside his cave dwelling, sizing her up properly for the first time.

The female cultivator before him wore a neat, simple purple outfit. A spatial pouch hung from her waist and her long black hair fell naturally over her shoulders. Aside from the spatial pouch, she wore no accessories, hairpins, or jewelry.

Although her appearance was only slightly above average, her figure was voluptuous, with her chest and hips seeming like they were about to burst out of her clothes.

This female cultivator appeared to be in her early twenties. When Pang Jian sensed her aura, he discovered she was naturally attuned to the spiritual qi within the cave dwelling, indicating she was in the Innate Realm.

He also noticed her blood essence was weak and her face was somewhat pale.

Perhaps she's still recovering from a severe injury.

"Brat, you really don't know what's good for you!" Han Ting's temper was reignited when she saw Pang Jian staring at her figure. Glaring at him, she angrily said, "You're about to die, yet you still dare to ogle? Do you know who you just offended?"

Pang Jian shook his head. He was curious about the square-faced man, whose new body had been killed by Luo Hongyan on the beast-hunting sailboat.

The man's new body had threatened to seek revenge but Luo Hongyan had been unruffled. Afterward, she told Pang Jian the man's soul fragment could not contact his true body at his current cultivation realm.

In other words, the man would only know his new body had been destroyed, but not who had killed him.

"That's Lei Kun! He's a renowned rogue cultivator in the Third World, known for his explosive temper and expertise in thunder-attribute techniques!" Han Ting revealed in a low voice. "Does he have a grudge against you?"

Pang Jian shook his head. "I've never met him before."

"Then why's he in the cave dwelling next to you?" Han Ting asked suspiciously. "He's in the early stage of the Spirit Condensation Realm, and though he's not as famous as Old Monster Cao, he's still a noteworthy rogue cultivator in the Third World.

"Furthermore, he has a good relationship with Jiu Yuan, an elder of the Blood Moon Sect. As long as he doesn't provoke the geniuses and elders of the Star River Alliance, the Red Mountain Sect, or the Radiant Sun Sect, he can do as he pleases in the Primordial Wilderness.

"He has no reason to stay on the First Peak. Even if he wanted to stay here, he should be on the uppermost floor, not the nineteenth floor."

Han Ting saw Pang Jian did not know Lei Kun's status and feared he would run his mouth, inadvertently bringing unnecessary trouble upon himself. Thus, she pushed him inside the cave dwelling to explain.

A famous rogue cultivator in the early stage of the Spirit Condensation Realm who is also acquainted with Jiu Yuan... Pang Jian silently pondered.

He soon concluded Lei Kun's presence was likely related to the Blood Moon Sect's Jiu Yuan. It appeared related to the raid on the beast-hunting sailboat, with Jiu Yuan likely suspecting them and sending Lei Kun to investigate.

Jiu Yuan and Lei Kun were both Spirit Condensation Realm cultivators.

Pang Jian felt a headache looming.

He knitted his brows as he contemplated how to dispel Lei Kun's suspicions against himself and Luo Hongyan.

If I were truly from the upper worlds with no prior connection to him, my reaction after learning who he is should be... Pang Jian deliberated.

Meanwhile, Han Ting had switched tracks to warn him against damaging the cave dwelling or causing further disturbances.

"Wait here for a moment," Pang Jian interrupted.

Han Ting was taken aback. "What?"

Ignoring her, Pang Jian left the cave dwelling and headed straight to Lei Kun's adjacent cave dwelling.

Lei Kun had been eavesdropping on their conversation with his Spirit Condensation Realm cultivation. He had left his stone door, wanting to keep an eye out for Luo Hongyan and catch her off guard to observe her reaction to him.

He suspected she had destroyed his new body on the beast-hunting sailboat without her brother present. If Pang Jian had not been at the scene and had not seen his true face, it made sense that he had not shown any noticeable signs of fear or recognition.

Unexpectedly, Pang Jian had appeared at his door.

"Senior Lei," Pang Jian greeted, bowing respectfully. "I just learned that Senior Lei is a Spirit Condensation Realm master. I deeply regret my disrespectful words earlier and hope you won't hold it against me.

"Here are some spirit jades as a small token of my apology."

Revealing the spatial bracelet on his wrist, Pang Jian calmly retrieved ten spirit jades and placed them on the stone ground at the entrance of Lei Kun's cave dwelling.

Lei Kun was stunned. He let out an involuntary grunt of surprise at the sight of the spirit jades being laid out in front of him.

He has a spatial bracelet, spirit jades, and a steadfast demeanor...

Lei Kun could not help but associate Pang Jian with the noble families and major sects from the upper worlds.

Cultivators in the Third World typically used spirit stones while cultivators in the Second World normally used spirit jades when conducting transactions.

Pang Jian's use of spirit jades to apologize, spatial bracelet, and his lack of fear after learning about Lei Kun's cultivation realm, convinced Lei Kun that Jiu Yuan had set him up.

Would he dare approach me like this if he destroyed my new body? Shouldn't he be avoiding me at all costs?

Lei Kun became increasingly convinced that Jiu Yuan had maliciously sent him to provoke these siblings from a prominent upper-world family.

"I won't disturb you any longer, Senior." As Lei Kun pondered, Pang Jian turned and returned to his cave dwelling after leaving the spirit jades.

Whoosh!

Lei Kun raised his hand and sucked the ten spirit jades into his palm.

Tracing the smooth surface of the spirit jade with a finger, he muttered with a frown, "It's probably not them. Even if they did kill Ling Yun and Zhu Yuanxi, why would they have ties to a sect like the Shadow Specter Sect?

"They have the bearing of someone from a large, prominent family and are equipped with spatial bracelets and spirit jades. Why would they covet the blood and meat of Vicious Beasts?"

With that in mind, Lei Kun decided there was no longer any need to keep an eye on Pang Jian.

This courteous young man from the upper worlds had apologized and even offered him spirit jades. Standing up, Lei Kun headed over to Pang Jian's cave dwelling, hoping to use this opportunity to befriend him.

When he reached the tightly closed stone door, Lei Kun remembered the voluptuous female cultivator was also inside.

Lei Kun hesitated before deciding not to spoil the young man's fun. He then left the nineteenth floor without bothering to knock or eavesdrop.