Chapter 240: A Minor Distraction

Chapter 240: A Minor Distraction

"A third one!"

"And it's also a Soul Nourishing Pill!"

"He must be filthy rich!"

The eyes of all the rogue cultivators aboard the Cloud Sail gleamed with greed. Some even rubbed their hands in anticipation.

Ma Feng grinned wickedly. The fiery glint of desire in his eyes became increasingly hard to hide.

The owner of the Cloud Sail, Wang Ying, took a deep breath and forced herself to look away from Pang Jian. She feared the temptation would bring out an ugly side of her.

Interesting. Pang Jian chuckled inwardly when he noticed their gazes.

His deep eyes fell on the rogue cultivators eyeing him suspiciously from where they stood beside Wang Ying.

Disregarding their gazes, he calmly closed his eyes.

An hour later, Wang Ying's Cloud Sail came to a halt atop a barren mountain peak.

Wang Ying's gentle voice announced, "We've arrived at Golden Peak. I'll be anchored here for two hours. Those getting off, do so quickly and clear some space for others. Don't waste my time and hold me up."

Some passengers immediately disembarked.

The rogue cultivators already waiting on Golden Peak approached Wang Ying to ask about her Cloud Sail's next destination. A few rogue cultivators paid their spirit stones upon learning the final stop was at Spirit Offering.

However, most rogue cultivators turned away the moment they heard the words Spirit Offering, shaking their heads as if it was a place of ill omen.

"Gao Song, aren't you going to take a look around? Golden Peak has a small marketplace that sells cultivation materials. You might find something you need," Wang Ying "kindly" suggested.

Pang Jian stood up, gave her a cold glance, and nodded. "Alright."

"You've already paid your spirit stones, so I'll take you to your final destination. Just be sure to get back within two hours," Wang Ying said with a nervous smile.

Ma Feng and the others had promised her a share if they managed to rob Pang Jian of his spatial bracelet. However, the way Pang Jian looked at her sent chills down her spine and had her hair standing on end.

"Understood." Pang Jian then leaped down from the Cloud Sail.

Using his divine sense to survey the area, he noticed several smaller Cloud Sails anchored along the elongated mountain peak.

The marketplace Wang Ying had told him about was even cruder than she described. Six or seven small stone huts dotted the street, each with signboards hanging out front indicating what they were selling.

The lower mountain peaks surrounding Golden Peak were sharp and covered by lush forests, making them unsuitable for Cloud Sails to dock.

Several haphazardly dug-out caves could be seen on those lower mountains, likely the work of rogue cultivators. Most of these caves were unoccupied.

The spiritual qi on Golden Peak was far less concentrated than the Primordial Wilderness before its spirit vein was extracted.

Along the way, Pang Jian had noticed the distribution of spiritual qi across the Dark Abyss Continent was uneven. The thin spiritual qi of this region was likely the reason no noble families or sects had claimed the land, allowing it to become a haven for rogue cultivators.

"The spiritual qi here is thin, but it's still better than nothing," Pang Jian muttered as he watched Ma Feng and a few other rogue cultivators disembark.

He grinned when they followed him.

An hour later, Pang Jian summoned his green protective shield, allowing Ma Feng and the others to attack as they pleased.

The thick barrier absorbed every strike without even cracking once.

Not long after, five cold corpses littered the ground. Pang Jian snatched up their spatial pouches, peeked inside, and shook his head in disappointment.

The wealth of these five late-stage Profound Abode Realm rogue cultivators was not even worth his attention. He casually exchanged all the effects at a small shop for just over 300 spirit jades.

The amount of spirit jades needed for the Resolute Expanse is enormous. This is merely a drop in the ocean, he thought with a troubled frown.

Along the way, Pang Jian established his connection with the little tree in Misty Swamp. Divine Fortune and Divine Fortress had successfully merged into one larger fragmented land.

The Wood Race now populated Divine Fortress, planting seeds and saplings around to spread the influence of the little tree throughout the fragmented land.

Pang Jian felt a surge of anticipation.

Everything's on track.

The little tree's growth would undoubtedly accelerate after taking over Divine Fortress.

Soon, the Divine Fortress would also be filled with trees and plants capable of nourishing the World Eater Vine, just like Divine Fortune.

The World Eater Vine would only grow stronger as it annexed more and more fragmented lands.

Everything seems to be on track with the little tree. I wonder how things are progressing with the black turtle.

Pang Jian then shifted his attention to the Resolute Expanse, hidden beneath a sea of clouds and slowly drifting toward the edge of the Third World.

Massive boulders floated above the thick leaden clouds concealing the Resolute Expanse.

Some of the largest boulders had straight, sword-like withered bones embedded in them!

Pang Jian was shocked.

"This must be where the Celestial Phoenix's bones originally shattered!" His loud exclamation echoed through the stone forest.

It was no longer a secret that the Celestial Phoenix's remains had exploded in a restricted area near the bizarre mist in the Third World. Its bones had been scattered, with some even falling into the Fourth World.

Pang Jian heard the restricted area had turned into a sea of massive boulders.

Thus, when he saw the familiar bones embedded in those boulders, he was certain that the land above the Resolute Expanse was where the Celestial Phoenix's remains had originally shattered!

Whoosh!

A black mountain suddenly streaked across the sky above the massive boulders.

Pang Jian was startled once more.

The figure atop the black mountain was none other than Dong Tianze!

Dong Tianze had tracked down where the Celestial Phoenix's remains shattered and was hunting down a fellow Divine Guard there.

Whoosh!

A scar-faced man flew toward the Black Iron Mountain on an ancient zither.

Useless! Even with the Black Iron Mountain, he's still being chased. Pang Jian scoffed.

The entirety of the Resolute Expanse was like a massive eye to Pang Jian when harmonizing with the land, allowing him to observe the surrounding area around the Resolute Expanse as well.

The two figures flashed by in quick succession. Dong Tianze fled as the scar-faced man on the ancient zither hunted him down.

Wake up, Pang Jian said to the black turtle. The Black Iron Mountain you once watched over is above you. I want the guy being hunted to win this battle. Think of a way.

In response, the Resolute Expanse trembled as it slowly soared upward, locking onto the two combatants above.

A powerful gravitational force suddenly acted on the Black Iron Mountain under Dong Tianze's feet, causing it to plunge straight down.

The Black Iron Mountain plummeted through the thick clouds and hit the ground with a loud bang.

"How did a fragmented land appear beneath the sea of massive boulders?" Dong Tianze glanced around the desolate fragmented land below the clouds with a bewildered expression, still dazed and disoriented from the fall.

He looked as though he had seen a ghost in broad daylight.