Chapter 337: Prison

A massive fiery fragmented land shot like a meteor through the endless bizarre mist. It did not pause once, confident in its direction of travel as though following a predetermined path.

A golden bee trailed about a hundred li behind the fragmented land like a streak of golden light. Every time one bee was about to lose connection with its master, a new one would appear to bridge the gap.

The bees appeared one after another, extending their connections and creating a trail through the bizarre mist as they tracked the fiery fragmented land back to the Abyss.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The fiery fragmented land and a golden bee emerged from the bizarre mist.

The bee watched the fiery fragmented land plummet to the Third World and into the murky energy of the contaminated Fourth World. It then reentered the bizarre mist to continue acting as a guiding beacon.

Time passed, and the dutiful golden bee on the edge of the bizarre mist near the Second World of the Abyss quietly waited for its master's command.

Whoosh!

A white crane soared across the boundless bizarre mist and arrived in the Abyss in a stir of lightning.

"The Abyss! I'm back!" the white crane cried, flapping its wings as it soared into the First World.

The golden bee exited the bizarre mist behind the white crane, gazing up at the sky for a moment before returning to the depths of the bizarre mist.

Powerful cultivators occasionally arrived at the entrance of Absolute Heaven but dared not send anyone too far into its depths.

Those below the Spirit Condensation Realm wore expressions of horror after emerging from the bizarre mist.

These cultivators soon concluded that the peerless genius Fu Wangchen of the Forsaken Expanse Sect, Wu Yuan of the Demon Sect, Lu Lingchan of the Black Valley Sect, Jiang Chao of the Celestial Lagoon Sect, and Pang Jian, the personal disciple of Li Zhaotian, had all perished deep within the restricted area.

***

Pang Jian's master, Li Zhaotian; Qi Qingsong's master, Liu Junhong; Zhuang Yuyan's master, Guang He; and several other elders, including Wang Ce[1], stood solemnly in a hall within the Sword Pavilion of the Second World.

"Are we certain they all perished in the restricted area?" Li Zhaotian asked, expression dark.

"A divine crane from the Pure Land Sect is the only living creature from our Abyss to have returned." Liu Junhong, Qi Qingsong's master, sighed. “Not long ago, a fragmented land shrouded in flames emerged from the depths of the bizarre mist and descended to the Fifth World.

"No one knows what secret lies within the fiery fragmented land. We only knew it went straight to the Fifth World.

"Shortly after its arrival, the foreign races in the Fifth World seemed to gain new resolve, and many powerful beings started breaking through the barrier of the Heaven Ascension Tribulation Pillars.

"All the Heaven Ascension Tribulation Pillars seem to be having issues recently. They seem unlikely to be able to continue suppressing the powerful foreign races of the Fifth World," Liu Junhong said grimly.

Guang He, Zhuang Yuyan's master, said coldly, "Are we to face another wave of desperate attacks from the foreign races?"

Li Zhaotian frowned. "If the Heaven Ascension Tribulation Pillars stop working, the Rank Seven, Rank Eight, and even Rank Nine foreign race powerhouses will start to ascend from the Fifth World.

"The issue is likely related to that fragmented land wrapped in flames. But given the situation, it's difficult to probe deeper into the Fifth World.

"The disciple I chose as my successor for the Sword Pavilion...also died in the restricted area. Otherwise, I would prepare to break through to the True God Realm myself after bringing him to new heights." Li Zhaotian sighed heavily.

The elders looked on in surprise.

They had not realized how much hope Li Zhaotian had placed on that yet-unseen disciple until that moment.

"My Dao of Sword is extreme and radical. The road to godhood is treacherous. If I succeed, the Sword Pavilion could return to prominence in the First World, and I would rank among the top five True Gods.

"But the chance of failure is equally high, and I’m not entirely confident, so..." Li Zhaotian appeared deeply troubled. "I'll wait a little longer. I’ll only make my move when the situation becomes dire enough for me to ascend to godhood."

"Pavilion Master, can your other two disciples not fill this role?" Wang Ce asked.

Li Zhaotian shook his head. "They're not quite ready yet."

"This Pang Jian, was he truly that extraordinary?" Several elders gasped.

"His path to godhood is extremely peculiar," Li Zhaotian replied. "Only an unconventional, otherworldly approach like his could inherit my legacy and lead the Sword Pavilion to new heights."

***

Time flowed like water, passing in silence in the starless void within the bizarre mist.

Without the movement of celestial bodies, only special instruments indicated the passage of time.

It was only several months later that something finally occurred in Frozen Thunder.

Boom!

The glacier Pang Jian had been meditating beneath exploded.

Astonished gazes shot toward the source of the commotion from all across the fragmented land.

"My Lord!"

"Pang Jian!"

Excited cries erupted from the endlessly waiting cultivators and Ice Race members.

Pang Jian’s prolonged seclusion had caused them great anxiety, and their patience had nearly worn thin. The sudden disturbance brought a wave of renewed hope.

A towering figure, seemingly cast from pure gold and glowing brilliantly, rose from the glacier's peak.

The figure stood at nearly a hundred zhang tall and radiated an overwhelming divine aura similar to the projection of an Outer God.

It was unmistakably Pang Jian.

"Spirit Condensation Realm?"

“Pang Jian's refined his divine soul!”

“How could his divine soul emerge from his body so soon after being refined?”

Qi Qingsong and the others gasped in disbelief.

A newly refined divine soul was usually weak and vulnerable, unable to withstand even the slightest exposure to the elements.

The Spirit Condensation Realm involved the gradual tempering of one's divine soul, preparing it for the eventual ability to leave one's physical body and roam freely.

Despite this, Pang Jian’s divine soul could immediately separate from his physical body upon being refined and even appeared to be as solid as iron.

This completely contradicted everyone's understanding of the Spirit Condensation Realm!

"My Lord!"

Bing Yuan, Bing Ying, and the other Ice Race elders hurried over on their Spirit Avians and were just in time to see Pang Jian's physical body emerge from the ice cavern.

"Hmm." Pang Jian responded coolly, pointing at his forehead.

Whoosh!

The golden divine soul shot back into his body.

Glancing at Fourth Elder Bing Jing, Pang Jian said offhandedly, "If you don't wish to go to the Abyss, you may take one of the warships and lead those willing to follow you elsewhere."

Bing Jing started to explain, "My lord, I—"

Pang Jian waved his hand impatiently, and the nine towering glaciers in Frozen Thunder exerted an overwhelming force upon him.

The Rank Seven Bing Jing's body was frozen and transported to a warship above one of the glaciers.

"Those wishing to seek another world for the Ice Race with him are all free to go," Pang Jian announced. "But only those who remain in this fragmented land and follow me to the Abyss will continue to receive my protection."

The other five Ice Race elders stared at Pang Jian in stunned silence. In their eyes, it was like he had become a completely different person.

"I'll follow you."

"I am willing to go to the Abyss with you."

The five elders declared their loyalty one after another.

Pang Jian nodded slightly. "Good."

Whoosh!

The enormous Heart of Winter flew out from Pang Jian's spiritual sea and returned to the altar in the Frozen Land.

Boom!

The Frozen Land trembled as a force surged from deep underground, pushing both it and the attached Forbidden Land of the Thunder God into motion.

Although the movement was slow at first, it soon picked up speed as it flew toward the Sword Boat in the bizarre mist.

Whoosh!

Zhao Yuanqi steered her gourd toward Pang Jian and the Ice Race elders.

Qi Qingsong, Dong Tianze, Zhou Qingchen, and Zhuang Yuyan jumped off the gourd and gathered around Pang Jian, exchanging uncertain looks.

Pang Jian seemed different. He appeared to have changed after refining his divine soul.

"Are you alright?" Zhou Qingchen asked, concern bleeding through his voice.

"I'm fine." Pang Jian took a deep breath and calmed himself. Then, waving the Ice Race elders off, he continued, "Luo Hongyan's reappearance and identity—I can't fathom it, and it makes me..."

"Have some wine." Zhou Qingchen tossed Pang Jian a flask. Instead of questioning Pang Jian about his peculiar divine soul or his plans, he asked, "How do you feel about her?"

"She's just—It's like she's suddenly become so distant from me. So distant that I have to look up to her, and I don’t like that." Pang Jian took a large swig of the wine, expression dazed. "I don’t know what she intends to do, but whatever it is, it's probably not good for the Abyss.

"Her actions could turn the entire Abyss upside down, and I don’t know how to face her anymore."

Zhuang Yuyan, Zhao Yuanqi, and Wu Yuan of the Demon Sect were surprised at Pang Jian's honest confessions.

As far as they could recall, Pang Jian rarely opened up to anyone and seldom talked about his feelings.

This was the first time Pang Jian had ever appeared lost when speaking about a woman.

However, when they thought of Luo Hongyan's overwhelming divine might, they also found themselves reaching for wine flasks with a heavy sigh.

They felt pessimistic not only for themselves but for the future of the Abyss.

"Is there no future for the human race?" Zhao Yuanqi wondered aloud, head lowered dejectedly. "We all heard the words of that Outer God with the bone spurs when she left Frozen Thunder.

"The Outer Gods hunt down those who ascend to godhood as soon as they step beyond the Abyss, and the True Gods from long ago can only hide in the vast starry skies.

"Meanwhile, the foreign races worshiping these Outer Gods are closing in on us, exploiting the rising murky energy to reclaim their territory.

"Where are the human race supposed to go?"

The human race was gradually being pushed upward from below toward the slaughter above.

The group could not help but feel the end of the human race was drawing near after hearing Yang Luo's words and witnessing Luo Hongyan's terrifying power.

They once took pride in their identity as part of the human race.

After all, they were the true rulers of the Abyss.

They controlled the First, Second, Third, and Fourth Worlds, suppressing any foreign races that dared rebel.

They had believed themselves to be the darlings of this world, exceptional even beyond the Abyss.

The humbling realization that the Abyss was not only a prison but also a protective barrier preventing their extinction, turned their former pride and arrogance into a joke.

The human race had simply been indulging in self-delusion like frogs in a well, unaware of the greater world beyond.

1. In case anyone forgot, Wang Ce is Nie You's master, with Nie You being one of the inner disciples the Sword Pavilion sent into Absolute Heaven. ☜