Trials of the Abyss

Chapter 295: Deploying Cannon Fodder

Fu Wangchen sat on the skull of the giant mystical bird, as still as a stone statue, eyes shut and his body exposed to the bizarre mist.

Hiss!

A strange force tried to corrode his exposed skin but his robust physique kept it at bay.

Suddenly, a golden bee appeared!

Fu Wangchen stubbornly kept his eyes shut and did not react to its arrival.

"I'll guide you out of this bizarre mist," the golden bee unexpectedly said in human tongue.

The motionless Fu Wangchen knitted his brows.

Opening his eyes, he calmly looked at the bee and said, "Tell me who you are first."

"I'm Jiang Chao."

"Where are you from?"

"The Celestial Lagoon Sect in the Second World."

"Did you lure that other person here earlier using the golden bee?"

"Yes."

Fu Wangchen's expression shifted slightly. He had not anticipated such straightforward answers.

"The Celestial Lagoon Sect..." he muttered under his breath.

The Celestial Lagoon Sect was less well-known than the Demon Sect or the Sword Pavilion, and although Fu Wangchen had heard of it, he had little impression of it.

Moreover, he had never heard of Jiang Chao.

"Who was the person I wounded?"

Pang Jian answered unhesitatingly, "Li Yuanchen, from the Boundless Sky Divine Kingdom on the Eastern Land. He's the son of Li Wei, the Armor-Breaking Marquis."

"Is he dead?"

"He is."

Fu Wangchen fell silent.

"Is Li Yuancheng's death attributed to me or you?" he asked after a while

"Does that matter?"

"My Forsaken Expanse Sect sometimes has dealings with the Boundless Sky Divine Kingdom. It could be troublesome if his death is pinned on me," Fu Wangchen admitted.

"Then pin it on me," the golden bee replied simply. "You and everyone in the pavilion behind you will die here without my guidance. Do you have the luxury to worry about the future?"

"They may die, but I won't. I can hold out for decades. My master will eventually send someone to find me," Fu Wangchen said with a steady gaze. "I believe my master will find a way to bring me out alive."

"Go ahead and wait for your master then."

With that, the golden bee flew away.

"Jiang Chao, wait!" Fu Wangchen called, standing up abruptly. Glancing back at the pavilion, he said dejectedly, "I can hold on, but they can't, so..."

He stared hopefully at the bee.

"Beg me."

Fu Wangchen was taken aback. "What?"

Fu Wangchen was a proud person, but he never expected the master of the golden bee to get angry over his usual arrogance.

Everyone in the Northern Ruin had indulged him since he could remember and treated him as the future leader of the Forsaken Expanse Sect.

They were all confident he would become the leader of the Forsaken Expanse Sect.

His path to godhood had long been laid out at his feet. All he needed to do was follow it step by step. In other words, his ascension to the True God Realm was set in stone.

Fu Wangchen had never needed to ask anyone for anything, let alone beg someone for a favor.

The golden bee said coldly, "Beg me. Beg me to take you to Absolute Heaven."

Fu Wangchen squinted his eyes and his once steady heart rippled with reluctance.

Meanwhile, the golden bee drifted further and further away.

Squeezing out the words with an almost pained tone, he relented, "Consider this my plea. Please lead us out of here..."

Fu Wangchen collapsed, gasping in labored breaths. To him, begging almost felt worse than death.

"Alright, follow me," the golden bee said before flying ahead.

The stationary giant mystical bird was enveloped in a hazy glow as it made to follow the golden bee through the dense bizarre mist.

"Jiang Chao of the Celestial Lagoon Sect. I'll remember this," Fu Wangchen murmured.

***

Meanwhile, on the Mountain Stream Spirit Boat, the enchanting Chen Lushi leaned wearily against the broken windowsill. Her eyes gazed blankly at the living dead on the deck.

The light in her eyes had long since faded.

The once-vibrant lake of her heart had become still and lifeless and she no longer struck seductive poses or flaunted her charm.

Wu Yuan's resilience when it came to enduring hardships and tempering her heart was not something she possessed.

She knew she did not have much time left.

"I'll become one of the living dead soon," she muttered in self-pity.

At that moment, a peculiar golden bee descended from the vast bizarre mist above and flew toward her broken window.

Chen Lushi's expression changed. "An Outer God?"

"I've come to guide you out," said the golden bee.

Chen Lushi's delicate frame trembled and she instinctively pulled away to assume a defensive stance.

The intricate patterns and black "Demon" characters embroidered on her purple dress came alive.

"Who are you?!"

"I'm Fu Wangchen of the Forsaken Expanse Sect," the bee coldly replied.

Chen Lushi had been about to call for Wu Yuan and Jiang Chao when she heard the bee's claim. Calming down slightly, she asked, "The Forsaken Expanse Sect in the Northern Ruin?"

"Yes."

"And you're not some scheming Outer God?"

"No."

"Hah, you scared me to death." Chen Lushi patted her ample chest and sat her shapely hips on a stone bench. Her beautiful eyes gleamed as she said coquettishly, "So, tell me, what are your conditions? And how do you know the way out of this bizarre mist?"

"All you need to do is follow me. There's no need to ask anything else," the bee said impatiently. "You have no other choice. If you don't want to die, just do as I say."

Whoosh!

The golden bee flew away.

"I'll be waiting for you in the distance while you activate the Mountain Stream Spirit Boat," it called.

Chen Lushi was so relieved she could not even find it in her to be angry at the blatant dismissal. Once she found Jiang Chao and Wu Yuan, she hurriedly explained the situation to them.

"Fu Wangchen has a terrible temper and is quite annoying, but he's given us hope!" she exclaimed.

"Fu Wangchen?" Jiang Chao was filled with joy. "I know him! If he's guiding us, then we're saved! Fu Wangchen is almost guaranteed a place as a True God in the Forsaken Expanse Sect of the Northern Ruin!"

***

At the same time, Pang Jian had already informed everyone on the Sword Boat about what they would face once they left the bizarre mist and entered Absolute Heaven.

"The Mountain Stream Spirit Boat and Fu Wangchen's giant mystical bird will serve as our vanguard," Pang Jian said calmly.

"Junior Brother, you're quite devious." Zhuang Yuyan stood at the edge of the third-floor balcony and stared out at the unchanging sea of bizarre mist. "The Ghost Race from another world and other foreign races. The races we've driven to the Fifth World could still be the masters of another world."

"We just don't know if the beings on the other three fragmented lands are the same," Qi Qingsong said with a grave expression.

The atmosphere had become solemn after everyone heard about the three mysterious fragmented lands in Absolute Heaven.

"Pang Jian, how much longer until we arrive?" Zhao Yuanqi asked uneasily.

She could not help but feel pessimistic about their journey when she thought about how Absolute Heaven was littered with corpses and teeming with powerful foreign races and Outer Gods,

"Soon."

***

After a long while of traveling, the Sword Boat came to a halt.

Everyone stared at a golden bee hovering in the distant bizarre mist.

Behind the golden bee was a faint white light, like the pale belly of a fish.

If they continued forward, the Sword Boat would break through the bizarre mist and enter the void containing the four fragmented lands.

"By my estimation, Fu Wangchen's giant mystical bird skeleton will break through the bizarre mist roughly six hours from now," Pang Jian informed. "He'll appear in direct view of the Ghost Race warriors.

"I've synchronized their travel times so the Mountain Stream Spirit Boat will leave the bizarre mist soon after the mystical bird skeleton.

"As for us..." Pang Jian glanced at the others. "I'll use the golden bees to observe the situation first."

"Fu Wangchen is a Spirit Condensation Realm cultivator and is the future leader of the Forsaken Expanse Sect. He'll surely cause significant trouble for the Ghost Race," Zhuang Yuyan said.

"Wu Yuan and Jiang Chao are not simple either," Qi Qingsong added.

Six hours later, the massive hundred-zhang-long skeleton of the giant mystical bird reached the edge of the bizarre mist.

Whoosh!

It radiated a strong vitality as it shot out of the bizarre mist like an arrow.

Whoosh!

The Celestial Lagoon Sect's Mountain Stream Spirit Boat emerged from the bizarre mist right after the mystical bird.

"Pang Jian! What's happening over there?"

"Junior Brother, what's the situation?"

Fang Boxuan and Zhuang Yuyan asked anxiously.

"I'm looking!" Pang Jian snapped.

***

In Absolute Heaven, the Ghost Race warrior wielding a silver trident stared up at the giant mystical bird skeleton with an eerie light dancing in his green eyes.

"The Abyss!" He raised his arm and ordered, "Attack!"

Rows of cannons made of black crystal on the sleek, pitch-black warship he was on all fired simultaneously.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The cannon fire shot straight at Fu Wanchen's giant mystical bird skeleton, like cascades of pitch-black waterfalls.

Fu Wangchen had no time to prepare, assess the situation, or wake his fellow disciples.

The first thing he saw when he emerged from the bizarre mist was a sky filled with cannon fire hurtling toward him.

"Heavenly Roc!" he hurriedly shouted.

The mystical bird's skeletal wings twitched, causing golden rocs to fly out and fearlessly charge toward the incoming black cannon fire.

Boom!

The cannon fire struck a golden roc, turning it into a drop of golden blood that fell onto the bones of the mystical bird.

The appearance of the golden rocs bought Fu Wangchen some time.

At the same time, the Mountain Stream Spirit Boat had also left the bizarre mist.

Chen Lushi, Jiang Chao, and Wu Yuan saw brilliant explosions in the sky when they emerged.