Trials of the Abyss-Chapter 577: Long Xiao

"If you can call her that, then so can I." Qi Qingsong smirked, casting a triumphant glance at Wu Sujin. "Miss Wu, that little treasure of your Pure Land Sect will have to call me 'big brother' too."

"And me! She'll have to call me 'big brother' as well!" Li Jie grinned.

Li Yujing glared at him. "You two should figure out who's actually older first."

"Wu Sujin, is she really alright?" Mu Aichuan asked, still gripping his sword token.

"She's fine. There's no need to trouble the elders," Wu Sujin reassured with a smile.

Mu Aichuan breathed a sigh of relief. "Alright."

Pang Jian was now a pillar of the Sword Pavilion. If anything happened to his sister under his watch, Mu Aichuan would have no way to answer to the Sword Pavilion.

After confirming that the changes in the Thunderclap Paradise were positive, he sent word to Guang He and the others, telling them not to come.

Crackle!

Lightning surged more densely than ever before within the clouds.

Boom!

A deafening thunderclap struck, shaking everyone to their cores.

Crack!

The jade talisman Wu Sujin used to monitor the Thunderclap Paradise shattered.

Her face drained of color. "Something's wrong!"

A suffocating force erupted from the depths of the storm clouds.

The lightning bolts that had been cascading down like rain transformed into chains that coiled around the dazzling sphere of light deep within the valley, yanking it violently into the sky.

The sphere of light tore through an icy barrier and shot into the clouds.

It all happened in the blink of an eye. When the crowd realized what had occurred, the Thunderclap Paradise was already in the grasp of a person looming within the thunderclouds.

The Thunderclap Paradise had been ripped straight out of the valley in the Resolute Expanse!

The person responsible for this was a towering old man clad in a loose cyan robe. His broad feet were bare upon the air, and a pair of prominent dragon horns jutted from his forehead.

"It's the Thunder Dragon!" Mu Aichuan unsheathed his sword and bellowed, "The Resolute Expanse is the Sword Pavilion's territory! All the Blessed Lands here belong to us! Return the Thunderclap Paradise immediately!"

The ancient Thunder Dragon of Dragon Lair Sect had stolen the Thunderclap Paradise!

Furthermore, inside that Blessed Land was Pang Lin, his rival in the Dao of Lightning!

Wu Sujin's eyes turned red, and she was the first to soar into the sky.

Li Yujing, Li Jie, and Qi Qingsong followed after her. In the distance, elders Liu Junhong and Wang Ce also shot up.

"Damn it! My little sister's still in there! We can abandon the Thunderclap Paradise, but we need to get her back!" Zhou Qingchen roared, summoning his Divine Origin Pearl as he ascended.

Whoosh!

A massive Ice Armor Eel Dragon emerged from a mist-shrouded lake, its white-gold scales glistening with a frigid light as its silver eyes locked onto the sky above.

Yuan Qi emerged from the Frozen Land with a low, guttural growl.

Howl!

A thousand-zhang-tall Gray Ape leaped into the sky, its ice-blue pupils like twin frozen stars.

The black turtle deep underground in the Resolute Expanse let out a weary sigh as he shifted into an armor-clad middle-aged man. He, too, stepped forth and flew toward the sky.

***

The ancient Thunder Dragon stood within the rolling storm clouds, his grip tightening around the Thunderclap Paradise as he wrapped it in his divine power.

"Ice Armor Eel Dragon, black turtle, Yuan Qi, you're all Rank Nine now?" He chuckled as the Resolute Expanse's strongest appeared before him.

"Thunder Dragon!" Mu Aichuan pointed his sword at the figure within the storm clouds, his fury clouding his judgment. "This Thunderclap Paradise—"

"You ought to show me proper respect," the Thunder Dragon interrupted. "Even the strongest Sword God, Lin Xuanqi, dared not speak to me like this when he was alive."

With that, the Thunder Dragon clenched his fist and struck.

It was as if he had seized the entire world in his grasp. His fist expanded a thousandfold, forming into what seemed to be a star forged from lightning.

"Thunder governs the heavens, lightning gives rise to life."

The colossal star transformed, giving rise to mountains, rivers, and nations. It birthed countless intelligent races, from the human race and the Fey Race to foreign races like the Celestial Race, the Ghost Race, and the Demon Races.

Everything on the star was molded from lightning, including the living beings.

Mu Aichuan conjured a protective shield and covered himself with sword lights in an attempt to withstand the Thunder Dragon's devastating strike.

It was not enough.

The star came crashing down, obliterating all sword lights in its path. In a single moment, Mu Aichuan was reduced to a mist of blood, and his divine soul was erased.

"Elder Mu!"

"Brother Mu!"

Liu Junhong and Wang Ce, two elders of the Sword Pavilion, rushed forward, only to witness Mu Aichuan's brutal death at the hands of the Thunder Dragon. Their eyes instantly burned with fury.

"Don't act recklessly." The black turtle stepped in front of them, shielding them with his towering form. "I am the creator of the Resolute Expanse. I nurtured its three great Blessed Lands.

"Before Pang Jian left, he entrusted me with safeguarding this place. Everyone, please remain calm. Let me talk to the Thunder Dragon.

"Pang Jian is not here right now, and I do not want to see more lives lost," the black turtle said, shooting pointed looks at the young human race elites, the elders of Sword Pavilion, and the two Fey Kings.

Despite his words, they were above the fragmented land, beyond the effective range of the black turtle's control. Even the black turtle could not contend with the ancient Thunder Dragon here.

While attempting to calm the furious crowd, the black turtle secretly tried to establish contact with Pang Jian, hoping to inform him of the situation.

However, he sensed nine hidden lightning vortexes spread across the outer edges of the Resolute Expanse, distorting its connection to the outside world. He could not send out messages, and neither could the sword tokens. The entire area had been forcibly locked down.

The black turtle immediately understood. Before emerging to seize the Thunderclap Paradise, his old acquaintance had secretly sealed the Resolute Expanse, ensuring that no True God could interfere in time.

"It's the Fey Race again!" Wu Sujin was on the verge of losing control of her temper. "Pang Jian opened up the Resolute Expanse, hoping to provide the Fey Race with another sanctuary, only for your leader to steal the Thunderclap Paradise for no reason!"

"This is beyond my control," the black turtle said bitterly.

Wu Sujin pointed at the Ice Armor Eel Dragon and Yuan Qi, her voice sharp with anger. "You, you, and the Fey King White Lynx! Tell me, how has Pang Jian treated you?"

"With great kindness," the towering Gray Ape said solemnly. "That's why I stepped out of the Frostclad Paradise."

The Ice Armor Eel Dragon nodded. "Same here."

The two Rank Nine Fey Kings rose to meet the ruler of the Fey Race just as resolutely as Liu Junhong and the others. This was a stance of unwavering defiance, a declaration that they feared not even death itself!

The Thunder Dragon tutted with mocking amusement.

"I never thought such an unassuming place like the Resolute Expanse would house four Fey Kings. Quite the surprise." His gaze flicked toward the Frozen Land with a low chuckle. "White Lynx, are you really going to keep hiding from me?"

One of his hands held the Thunderclap Paradise while the other rested idly at his side.

"I am the reigning leader of the Fey Race. You all are remnants of an older era. Do you truly intend to stand against me?"

The Fey King White Lynx leaped gracefully out of the Frozen Land, her voice calm but unwavering.

"If I fear not death itself, then what else would I fear?" she asked in her Fey King form. "I had nowhere to go after leaving the Sacred Soul Continent, so I drifted through the bizarre mist for a time before finally settling on the Resolute Expanse.

"Pang Jian gave me a home where I no longer had to live in constant fear. That is why I am willing to come out."

The White Lynx gazed steadily at the ancient Thunder Dragon, having already steeled herself for death.

"These human juniors standing against me are one thing," the Thunder Dragon said coldly. "But you—you lot! You are the rising stars of our Fey Race, refining your bloodlines through endless trials and hardship to reach the rank of Fey Kings!

"Why aren't you striving to claim every advantage possible for our race in these chaotic times? Is a mere human whelp worth your defiance? Is he worth standing against me?"

"Long Xiao," the black turtle said softly. "Leave the girl inside the Thunderclap Paradise behind. You can take the Thunderclap Paradise with you if you wish."

The ancient Thunder Dragon's massive body trembled.

The black turtle met his gaze, calm and unwavering.

Long Xiao...

Both the Ice Armor Eel Dragon and Yuan Qi felt the name was vaguely familiar. When they dug deeper into their memories, fragmented visions of blood-drenched recollections surfaced.

They saw scenes of themselves being torn apart, crushed beneath the might of a colossal dragon.

The ancient Thunder Dragon took a deep breath.

"I will spare the girl's life for your sake," he eventually said. A rare glimmer of respect could be seen in his fierce, domineering eyes. "No matter what, I hope you live well. Especially now that the Rock Bear has ascended as a Fey God through the Dao of Earth.

"Take care of yourself."

With that, the ancient Thunder Dragon turned and left.

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