Trials of the Abyss

Chapter 157: Luo Hongyan's Disappearance

"Well done," Han Ting praised after Pang Jian shut the stone door. "After you realized you couldn't provoke him, you did not hesitate to apologize and even offered a gift. You'll be able to live a long with that cautious approach."

"Yes, if I can't afford to provoke someone, I should stay low-key," Pang Jian replied calmly. He sat on the meditation mat and looked up at Han Ting's voluptuous figure. "I'll be careful from now on and won't disturb you again."

"Good." Han Ting nodded, satisfied at his sincere acknowledgment of his mistake, and did not pursue the matter further.

Knock knock!

"Little Brother!" Gao Yuan called from outside the stone door.

Having just sat down, Pang Jian sighed before standing to open the door.

"Little Brother, I've gathered a lot of information. Old Monster Cao's trade fair has brought together the talented cultivators of the Third World in one pla—uh...Han Ting!" Gao Yuan exclaimed in surprise, "Han Ting, what're you doing here?"

A lone man and woman in a closed cave dwelling conjured inappropriate images in Gao Yuan's mind.

"Han Ting, I heard your companions attacked you during your recent exploration of a restricted area because you wanted to take all the gains for yourself. What-what are you doing with Little Brother?" Gao Yuan asked.

Glaring coldly at the nosy boatman, Han Ting snapped, "Who said I wanted to take everything for myself? After a Vicious Beast wounded me, they tried to take advantage of me. I found their advances disgusting, so I fought them off and escaped with serious injuries."

"Calm down, calm down! I just heard those rumors from others." Gao Yuan laughed awkwardly. Glancing at the attractive and hot-tempered rogue cultivator, he licked his lips and asked, "Han Ting, what're you doing in the Little Brother's cave dwelling?"

Gao Yuan's lecherous expression betrayed his thoughts.

Seeing this, Han Ting could not help but curse, "I live below him! He made so much noise that I couldn't concentrate. Can't I come up and ask about it?"

"Oh, you live below him, and he disturbed your peace, so you came up..." Gao Yuan maintained a respectful tone with Pang Jian and Luo Hongyan but bantered freely with Han Ting, a fellow rogue cultivator. "I get it."

Han Ting glared coldly at Gao Yuan and retorted, "Your scoundrel friend got skinned and hung on the mast by Jiu Yuan. Why are you still alive?"

Gao Yuan fell silent. When he recalled Yuan Fei's miserable fate and the fact that Jiu Yuan was here in the Primordial Wilderness, he no longer felt like joking around with Han Ting.

"That'll teach you to mess with me!" Han Ting glowered before stepping out of Pang Jian's cave dwelling and returning to her own.

Gao Yuan took a deep breath and forced a smile. "Little Brother, besides Zhao Yuanqi from the Red Mountain Sect, Yang Rui from the Radiant Sun Sect, Xie Xiwen from the Star River Alliance, and Fang Boxuan from the Blood Moon Sect are also here in the Primordial Wilderness.

"These individuals are all exceptionally young cultivators at the Profound Abode Realm and are considered prodigies in their respective sects."

Gao Yuan then described the elders and the talented young cultivators from the major sects present in the Primordial Wilderness for the trade fair. He also mentioned renowned rogue cultivators like Lei Kun.

"Lei Kun is staying in cave dwelling number fifty-seven," Pang Jian casually mentioned. "He left just before you arrived."

Gao Yuan was startled. "Lei Kun? Living next to us? How is that possible?"

Like Han Ting, he also found Lei Kun's presence strange.

"I suspect he's trying to investigate me and my sister," Pang Jian said solemnly.

Gao Yuan nodded in understanding. "He and Jiu Yuan are old friends, but unlike Ling Yun, Lei Kun is in the Spirit Condensation Realm and has equal status with Jiu Yuan, so Jiu Yuan doesn't have the authority to order him around."

Pang Jian shook his head, indicating he did not know the reason.

"Why isn't your sister back yet?" Gao Yuan asked in puzzlement as he glanced inside the cave dwelling. Frowning, he said, "Going to the thirty-fifth floor to register with Old Monster Cao's subordinates shouldn't take this long."

Pang Jian's expression darkened.

They had already been here for two days. There was no reason why paying the spirit stones and receiving the participation token would have taken so long. Under normal circumstances, Luo Hongyan would have returned by now.

Pang Jian thought it over, then offered a lackluster excuse, "Maybe she's gathering information about the Primordial Wilderness, just like you did."

"Mm, that's possible." Gao Yuan nodded and said no more on the matter. "The trade fair is in ten days, so there's no rush. Don't worry."

With that, he went back to his cave dwelling next door.

Pang Jian closed the stone door behind Gao Yuan and paid no more attention to Luo Hongyan's disappearance. Though he did not know the full extent of Luo Hongyan's combat prowess, he knew she had not suffered any significant losses since reforging her body.

Luo Hongyan herself had said that the only cultivators she would have issues dealing with were those in the Spirit Condensation Realm and above. Moreover, they were in Old Monster Cao's Primordial Wilderness.

The registration site was also on the First Peak, so she would not have encountered any dangers.

With this in mind, Pang Jian continued studying his low and mid-level cultivation techniques and offensive arts. This time, he refrained from experimenting with his new ideas to avoid provoking Han Ting.

One day, a new green leaf appeared in his chest after establishing a connection with the World Eater Vine.

The three green leaves emitted a constant flow of life energy, nurturing his flesh and organs. If Pang Jian were to be seriously injured again, his injuries would heal faster than before. If he directly harnessed the life energy from the three leaves, his healing ability would reach another level.

The little tree knows how to show its gratitude. Pang Jian nodded to himself.

His efforts had not been in vain. The appreciative World Eater Vine always kept him in mind and reciprocated after each growth spurt.

As the days passed, Pang Jian grew more and more anxious.

Luo Hongyan still had yet to return.

Feeling restless, Pang Jian pushed open the stone door and stepped outside. From the nineteenth floor of the First Peak, he stared out at the surrounding lower peaks.

His gaze swept over the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Peaks, taking in the flying vessels from the major sects anchored to their summits. The valleys and forests between the peaks were dotted with Cloud Sails.

Could something have happened? he wondered.

Feeling uneasy, he hesitated before heading up to the thirty-fifth floor.

A rogue cultivator loyal to Cao Mang frowned at Pang Jian and said sternly, "Stop right there! Registration time is over! You're too late. Be better prepared next time and come back in three years!"

"I'm not here to register. My sister came to register a while ago and then disappeared." Pang Jian then described Luo Hongyan's appearance, mentioning her red dress and veiled face.

"I remember her," The man said as he recalled Luo Hongyan's graceful figure. "She paid the spirit stones, and after we checked her spirit stone reserves, we gave her the participant token. I'm sure she left right after. Didn't she go back to your cave dwelling?"

Pang Jian shook his head.

The man thought for a long while then said sternly, "Any form of conflict or fighting is strictly prohibited on the First Peak. I can assure you that no deaths have occurred here! If she's not in your cave dwelling, perhaps she went to one of the other peaks."

"I see." Pang Jian did not press further.

Returning to his cave dwelling, he closed the stone door and sat silently, tightly knitting his brows.

Pang Jian had grown accustomed to being with Luo Hongyan at all times of day, and his mood grew increasingly gloomy due to her unexplained disappearance. He was worried about Luo Hongyan's safety but had no idea who to ask for information.

Was it Jiu Yuan from the Blood Moon Sect? Or someone else?

His mind wandered.

It could be dangerous to leave the First Peak if Luo Hongyan had encountered trouble.

Old Monster Cao's subordinates had dismissed him, and the only people he knew in the Primordial Wilderness were Gao Yuan and Qi Qingsong, the honored guest of Old Monster Cao.

Pang Jian thought back to how he forced Qi Qingsong to sever his own arm in Eight Trigrams City. He did not consider Qi Qingsong a friend.

Jiang Li from the Red Mountain Sect?

She could not even gather a set of marrow cleansing materials, so her status in the Red Mountain Range could not be high. Pang Jian doubted she could help.

After much deliberation, he knocked on Gao Yuan's door and asked him to gather information through his rogue cultivator friends.

Gao Yuan was startled when he heard Luo Hongyan was still missing. "Don't worry, Little Brother. This is the First Peak of the Primordial Wilderness. She won't be in danger as long as she doesn't leave! Wait for me, I'll ask around. Don't panic!"

He then hurried toward the lower cave dwellings.

Half a day later, Gao Yuan knocked on Pang Jian's stone door with a grave expression. "Someone saw your sister fly down from the eighth floor of the First Peak and into the valley below."

Pang Jian's expression changed. His worst fear had come true.

According to Old Monster Cao's rules, nothing would happen to Luo Hongyan as long as she did not leave the First Peak.

However, private fights or assassinations in other areas of the Primordial Wilderness were not Old Monster Cao's concern.

"My friends are too afraid to leave the First Peak, so they can't find out more," Gao Yuan said helplessly. "The trade fair is in a few days. Maybe something distracted her and she'll return after."

"Alright, I understand." Pang Jian waved Gao Yuan away and closed the stone door.

The luminous pearls in the cave walls had not dimmed, but as the door shut, Pang Jian felt like the cave and his mood had darkened.