Trials of the Abyss

Chapter 19: Corrosive Water

The masked squad leader of the Shadow Specter Sect looked at the ghastly figure of Ouyang Duanhai. He could not help himself from making snickering remarks while gesturing for his subordinates to intercept. "True love does exist! Tsk, tsk. Your tragic love story is so moving."

Seeing Ouyang Duanhai in this hideous state brought him great satisfaction.

Apart from hiding his identity, the other reason he constantly wore a mask was because his face was scarred and unsightly, unfit for public view. Meanwhile, the spineless coward from the Ouyang Clan was universally recognized by the seven major clans as a handsome man and was admired by countless women.

The tall, handsome Ouyang Duanhai and the beautiful, charming Shangguan Qin could be considered a match made in heaven.

Like the Shangguan Clan, the Ouyang Clan also had connections to the Blood Moon Sect of the Third World. Moreover, they had been childhood sweethearts and had nearly pledged themselves to each other when they were young.

Unfortunately, everything changed when the people from the Blood Moon Sect came and inspected their cultivation talents.

The Blood Moon Sect had deemed it unworthy to help them shed their mortal bodies and ascend into the Marrow Cleansing Realm.

In other words, the Blood Moon Sect would not accept them.

The two had expected to marry each other after reaching adulthood but were forcibly separated by their families.

A man's handsome appearance did not count for much in worlds where strength reigned supreme. A woman's beauty, however, could still be exchanged for resources.

Therefore, the alluring Shangguan Qin was forced by her clan to marry a member of the Dong Clan with high cultivation talent.

That person had no other redeeming qualities besides his high cultivation talent and was incredibly ugly.

No matter how Shangguan Qin sought death and raised a ruckus, she was still sent to the Dong Clan, the strongest clan in the Fourth World, to please that man.

Years later, that man died during an exploration of a secret realm. The Dong Clan then arranged for Shangguan Qin to become the concubine of another member of their clan.

Her second husband tragically fell victim to cultivation deviation [1] and perished when he tried to break through to the Marrow Cleansing Realm.

Afterward, the Dong Clan regarded her as an inauspicious person and decided to send her back to the Shangguan Clan.

Back in the Shangguan Clan, Shangguan Qin was not well received by her clan members, and they often assigned her dangerous tasks like the exploration of the Solitary Mountain Range.

"A truly ill-fated couple." The masked squad leader chose not to retreat due to the earthquake and secretly instructed his subordinate to spare Shangguan Qin's life.

Understanding his intentions, his subordinates shared knowing smiles as they surrounded Shangguan Qin and the bizarrely transformed Ouyang Duanhai.

The masked squad leader noticed Ouyang Duanhai's overbearing aura was intimidating his subordinates. He reassured, "This Ouyang Duanhai is not someone worth mentioning. You don't have to—"

He abruptly frowned and fell silent, expression changing subtly.

Ouyang Duanhai's face contorted as he unleashed the most basic technique of the Blood Moon Sect, the Blood Hand Seal. However, the instant the blood-colored handprint emerged from his palm, it eerily transformed into feathers.

Ouyang Duanhai slammed the eerie blood-red feathers, which seemingly weighed over ten thousand jun[2], into one of the masked squad leader's subordinates, crushing his body with a single strike.

The blood-red feathers, full of condensed spiritual power, seamlessly disappeared into the subordinate's body to gnaw away at his flesh, tendons, and bones from within.

"Be careful, he's not the same as before," The masked squad leader of the Shadow Specter Sect warned solemnly as he stared at the Celestial Phoenix tattoo on Ouyang Duanhai's chest.

Clap! Clap! Clap!

As Ouyang Duanhai wildly clapped his hands, more blood-red feathers flew out one after the other and killed the approaching assailants.

In the blink of an eye, seven to eight mutilated corpses lay scattered on the grass around him.

The sinister and bloodthirsty blood-red feathers burrowed into the corpses. The flesh and bones of these corpses visibly shriveled at an alarming rate. Each corpse started to resemble the emaciated Ouyang Duanhai, looking as if all the flesh in their body had been drained away.

The light of self-awareness in Ouyang Duanhai's eyes was slowly dissipating.

Each time he used the Blood Hand Seal to produce blood-red feathers, his self-awareness seemed to diminish, allowing his inner demon to grow stronger.

"Little-Little Qin, hurry...run away!" Ouyang Duanhai roared, blood flowing from his eyes. "I can't hold on much longer!"

Shocked at his vicious methods, Shangguan Qin stared dumbfoundedly at Ouyang Duanhai as a sense of estrangement filled her. She could not believe her usually timid lover had such a savage side to him.

Although she and Ouyang Duanhai had conspired against her two previous husbands, she had been the one carrying out the plans.

Ouyang Duanhai was a timid man, gentle to his core, with an aversion to filth and a distaste for bloodshed.

She never imagined that Ouyang Duanhai could one day be so ruthless and bloodthirsty!

"Quick!" Ouyang Duanhai urged, howling madly as he charged toward the masked man.

Blood-red feathers flew out of the corpses and returned to his chest to become part of the tattoo of the Celestial Phoenix.

With each feather, the self-awareness in Ouyang Duanhai's eyes lessened. He looked to be on the verge of collapse.

Shangguan Qin stared at Ouyang Duanhai, eyes lingering on the tattoo of the Celestial Phoenix on his chest. Finally gritted her teeth, she fled and shouted, "Duanhai, I'll wait for you at the agreed-upon location!"

"Get her!"

As soon as she moved, the other hidden members of the Shadow Specter Sect lurking in the forest attempted to chase after her.

Clap! Clap! Clap!

Ouyang Duanhai clapped his hands in the air. The Blood Hand Seals once again transformed into blood-red feathers, killing those chasing after Shangguan Qin.

Driven to madness from the slaughter, he stood amidst the scattered corpses, watching with a pair of demonic red eyes as his lover fled into the distance. "As you survive, that's enough for me. I couldn't do much for you in this lifetime, but this demonic possession has unexpectedly granted me the strength and courage to finally do something for you."

A sense of liberation emerged in the depths of his bloodthirsty eyes.

Ouyang Duanhai was no longer afraid of dying.

Meanwhile, Han Duping had originally intended to take advantage of Ouyang Duanhai's display of power to escape with Shangguan Qin.

After witnessing the swift demise of the assailants from the Shadow Specter Sect, however, he was unsure of Ouyang Duanhai's condition. Fearing that a misunderstanding on the latter's part would lead to fatal consequences, he remained rooted to the spot, not daring to move.

Rumble!

The earth continued to tremble. The fissures stretched out and grew steadily with Blackwater Pond as their epicenter.

Han Duping's heart was torn with anxiety. While he dreaded the possibility of strange creatures emerging from the widening fissures, he also feared provoking Ouyang Duanhai. Therefore, he could only helplessly scan his surroundings.

Before long, he realized that nearly all the servants of the Zhou Clan had perished.

Ning Yao had also been unable to escape and was caught in a large net woven from silver threads.

The other squad leader of the Shadow Specter Sect bound her over the net with a length of rope. Using the rope as a leash, he dragged Ning Yao toward Blackwater Pond, carefully navigating around the widening cracks along the way.

As Han Duping surveyed his surroundings, he realized the rumbling of the ground was subsiding.

His face paled. When the trembling stopped, something terrifying would surely emerge from the fissures on the ground.

Clang! Clang!

He suddenly heard the clashing of swords coming from Blackwater Pond behind him.

Turning his head, Han Duping saw Jin Yang's seven Cicada Wing Swords whistling around the protruding bone on the surface of Blackwater Pond. Pang Jian, however, was nowhere to be seen.

That kid, could he still be alive? Han Duping wondered in surprise.

***

Pang Jian's face was flushed red from holding his breath underwater. The divine light released by the bone of the Celestial Phoenix allowed him to see his surroundings and the Cicada Wing Swords flying above him.

If he did not resurface, he would eventually drown, but if he did, he would be attacked by the Cicada Wing Swords.

Conflicted, he endured.

He hoped that whatever emerged from the fissures would have the ability to obliterate those from the Shadow Specter Sect!

But the fearsome creatures did not appear.

A sense of helplessness and despair overcame him.

"I've finally found you!" Jin Yang exclaimed. When the divine light illuminated the water, he spotted a figure clinging to the bone of the Celestial Phoenix for support. Narrowing his eyes, he sneered coldly, "Do you really think you can continue to hide from me now that I've spotted you?"

One of the Cicada Wing Swords shot toward Pang Jian's shoulder. He planned to compel Pang Jian to resurface so that he could interrogate him.

Seeing the spirit sword approaching, Pang Jian shifted his body in an attempt to avoid the attack.

Splash!

The moment the Cicada Wing Sword pierced the water, it encountered a thousandfold resistance, slowing its momentum to a crawl.

In an instant, the spirit sword, which had been radiating a bright light, lost all its brilliance. It then sank toward the bottom of the pond like a piece of scrap iron.

Pang Jian could not have evaded that spirit sword attack had it pierced through the water as intended. He watched in bewilderment as the sword sank past him.

After considering his options for a moment, he quickly stuck his head out, gulped down a few deep breaths, and swiftly dove back into Blackwater Pond before Jin Yang could react.

He then hid himself by the bone of the Celestial Phoenix as before.

"My Cicada Wing Swords!" Jin Yang was shocked. Then, seeing Pang Jian resurface, he moved to attack, only for Pang Jian to dive back into the water once more.

Frowning, he moved to the edge of Blackwater Pond and crouched down, peering into the inky water.

When the spirit sword entered the water, the spiritual power he infused into it eroded, and the connection between him and the sword was severed.

He was uncertain if this effect was caused by pond water or the divine light of the withered bone, so he decided to test it out himself.

"I've inspected it thoroughly. Aside from being cold and dark, there doesn't seem to be anything unusual about the pond water. As for the withered bone, there shouldn't be any mystery to it. This doesn't make any sense," Jin Yang muttered to himself.

He extended his left hand toward the pond, wanting to examine the water one more time.

His left palm grazed the surface of the water and he instantly flinched, pulling his arm back as though he had just been electrocuted as he broke out into a cold sweat from the intense pain.

The skin of his slender left hand had been stripped of flesh and skin from just that brief touch, leaving nothing but bone. The skin, muscles, tendons, and blood that once made up his left hand had been corroded away in an instant.

Staring at the stark white bones of his hand, Jin Yang gritted his teeth and shivered as he drew in the chilly air.

He then glanced over at Pang Jian.

Pang Jian's whole body was submerged in the water as he clung to the bone of the Celestial Phoenix bone for support.

But he was alive and well.

"Jin Yang, the useless trash from the Ouyang Clan is heading toward you!" The masked squad leader of the Shadow Specter Sect shouted. Even the masked man was no longer a match for Ouyang Duanhai after he lost his self-awareness.

Ouyang Duanhai completely ignored the masked man. He could no longer remember Shangguan Qin. All he could think of was going to Blackwater Pond.

Something in Blackwater Pond was calling out to Ouyang Duanhai.

At this point, the tremors had stopped for a long while and no terrifying beings emerged from the fissures on the ground.

The other squad leader of the Shadow Specter Sect had been dragging the ensnared Ning Yao as the other members of the Shadow Specter Sect trailed after him. However, fearing that Jin Yang would be harmed, he abandoned the net.

"Intercept and kill Ouyang Duanhai!" he yelled. Then he ordered his subordinates behind him, "Take care of the girl for me!"

This squad leader of the Shadow Specter Sect and the masked man flew toward Jin Yang.

Jin Yang stood with his back to them, so the two of them were unaware that his left hand had already been reduced to bone.

They were also unaware of Jin Yang's contorted expression as he stared at Pang Jian's figure clinging to the bone of the Celestial Phoenix.

1. "走火入魔" (zǒu huǒ rù mó) refers to a situation where a martial artist's cultivation or use of internal energy goes awry, leading to a state of being possessed by demons or evil spirits. This term is often used to describe when a practitioner loses control of their power, leading to negative consequences such as insanity, corruption, or even death. It's a common trope in martial arts novels where characters face internal struggles or external temptations that threaten their mental and physical well-being. ☜

2. In traditional Chinese units of measurement, "钧" (jūn) refers to a weight unit equivalent to fifteen kilograms ☜