Chapter 339: World God

An hour later, a severely wounded Ice Armor Eel Dragon lay sprawled on the muddy lakeshore, growling and howling as it divulged everything it knew.

"Bizarre mist surrounded Absolute Heaven in the past. There was nothing outside this fragmented land besides bizarre mist.

"Then, one day, the bizarre mist slowly dispersed, creating an empty void around this fragmented land.

"The three other fragmented lands appeared soon after that."

The Ice Armor Eel Dragon panted heavily, glancing over at where Pang Jian hovered in mid-air.

Pang Jian gestured for it to continue.

"With those three fragmented lands came warships of the outer worlds' foreign races. It seemed they had sailed a long time to reach those fragmented lands.

"Some warships ventured into Absolute Heaven and started fighting those already present on the fragmented land.

"I sensed something was amiss with those three fragmented lands, so I hid deep in the lake and suppressed my urge to explore them.

"But then there was that warship, crafted from the bones of a Golden-Winged Giant Roc, and still containing its blood!

"The blood of a Rank Nine Golden-Winged Giant Roc was too tempting to resist, so I came out and dragged the warship into the lake."

Pang Jian nodded. "And the palace?"

"This land once belonged to a human sect called the Absolute Heaven Sect. The bizarre mist engulfed the fragmented land when the sect was destroyed.

"After I grew stronger, I took the palace from above ground and moved it to the bottom of the lake."

"What about the forest?" Pang Jian asked. "And the soul remnants?"

"Oh, that could be due to some forbidden arrays buried beneath the ground that the Absolute Heaven Sect left behind. I don’t know the details," the Ice Armor Eel Dragon said weakly. "I just want to return to the Abyss."

Whoosh!

The Heart of Winter and the three glaciers returned to Frozen Thunder, and the fragmented land resumed its advance toward the bizarre mist.

Pang Jian descended near the Ice Armor Eel Dragon, deep in thought.

His sensitivity to the environment had increased drastically with the refining of his divine soul and he could sense if the Ice Armor Eel Dragon harbored any ill intentions.

Earlier, he had sensed the Ice Armor Eel Dragon's bloodline fluctuations, allowing him to teleport to safety in time.

In other words, he no longer feared an ambush from the Ice Armor Eel Dragon.

"Let me ask you again. The person who took you from the Fifth World—are you certain that person resembled me?" Pang Jian questioned coldly.

The Ice Armor Eel Dragon's eyes became unfocused as it tried to recall.

After a moment, it replied, "I honestly can't remember clearly, but I'm fairly certain they looked like you. I wouldn't lie about something like this."

Pang Jian pondered for a while, then pulled out the Gate of the Abyss from beneath his robes and held it up. "Have you seen this before?"

The Ice Armor Eel Dragon's eyes widened in shock, massive nostrils flaring and spewing icy lightning as a surge of wild energy built up within it.

"I have! I may not remember much about that person's appearance, but I remember that pendant!

𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

"It's the same gate-shaped bronze pendant! That person wore it around their neck!

"You!"

Boom!

A violent clap of thunder reverberated from the Ice Armor Eel Dragon, shaking the entire Absolute Heaven.

It had lost control of its emotions and wanted to unleash its power in a rage. Not wanting to provoke Pang Jian, it instead slammed its gathered energy into the ground.

"He called himself the World God!" The Ice Armor Eel Dragon shrieked, a flood of memories rushing back to it at the sight of the bronze pendant. "I remember now! He said he was the World God of the Abyss!

"He could travel freely between the worlds within the Abyss and said he would never get lost, even within the bizarre mist!

"Who are you?! You-you—

"You're the one he said would come to take me back to the Abyss, aren't you?"

The Ice Armor Eel Dragon's roars echoed throughout Absolute Heaven.

"The World God..." Pang Jian took a deep breath.

The Solitary Mountain Range, the World Eater Vine, the Giant Abyssal Serpent, the beehive, and now the Ice Armor Eel Dragon...

Pang Jian suspected his father was this World God the Ice Armor Eel Dragon spoke of.

His father had disappeared into the far northern reaches of the Solitary Mountain Sect—likely into the bizarre mist.

With this revelation, many things started to make sense: his innate Primordial Chaos Spiritual Sea, his sister's innate lightning vortex, the fracturing of the Celestial Phoenix's remains when his sister stepped out from the Fourth World, and her inheriting the legacy of the Celestial Phoenix.

The World God, capable of traveling freely between the worlds within the Abyss and exploring the bizarre mist without losing their way...

Pang Jian squeezed the bronze pendant tightly in his fist, deep in thought.

"Take me with you! I want to return to the Abyss but I'm scared I'll get lost in the bizarre mist. But you won't because you have that thing!" the Ice Armor Eel Dragon pleaded desperately. "The World God promised me! You're the one destined to come here and lead me out of this hell!"

Annoyed, Pang Jian teleported back to the forest with the massive beehive.

He stood atop the beehive, gazing out at the boundless bizarre mist.

His father could still be drifting somewhere in the depths of the bizarre mist, like that creature he saw in the void rift in Cloud Lightning.

You knew the Celestial Phoenix's remains would break apart and pierce the black turtle, the beehive, the World Eater Vine, and the Giant Abyssal Serpent.

You also knew I would eventually enter Absolute Heaven.

If you knew all of this, why didn't you tell me?

Pang Jian's mind was in turmoil.

Four hours later, Pang Jian returned to where the Ice Armor Eel Dragon lay on the lakeshore after gathering his thoughts. "I need resources rich in blood essence. I know you have some."

"I do," the Ice Armor Eel Dragon replied, having calmed down since their last exchange. "Will you take me out of this restricted area and lead me into the Abyss?"

"Are you sure you want to return?" Pang Jian asked seriously.

The Ice Armor Eel Dragon froze, then said hesitantly. "Can I think about it?"

"You have a new neighbor now. It's sleeping in that forest. It'll be your guide when you're ready to return. I'll be going ahead to check on the Abyss.

"I can tell you what's happening once I know the situation there and you can decide whether or not to return.

"How does that sound?"

The Ice Armor Eel Dragon let out a sigh of relief. "That sounds much better, very reasonable! I'm willing to wait for a better time! After all, that fiery fragmented land and that terrifying being have entered the Abyss.

"Pang Jian, you must take responsibility for me! I was living peacefully in the Fifth World when that World God came out of nowhere, captured me, and threw me into this horrible place. You have to take responsibility!" The Ice Armor Eel Dragon howled.

"Living peacefully in the Fifth World?" Pang Jian rolled his eyes. "I've been to the Fifth World before, and I doubt there's any sort of peace to be found in the endless darkness of that world."

Even after being exposed, the Ice Armor Eel Dragon continued to complain. "Regardless, you have to take responsibility!"

***

Pang Jian returned to the beehive an hour later.

Feasting on the exotic Vicious Beast meat the Ice Armor Eel Dragon had obtained from the foreign races, he used the Grand Providence Sacred Body to gather blood essence to nourish the bees in the beehive.

Many bees had been eagerly awaiting the nourishment of dense blood essence to emerge from their cocoons.

Pang Jian had prioritized preparing for his fight against the Thunderveil Godbeast and conserving his strength for his upcoming advancement.

Thus, the nourishment of the bees had gone to the wayside.

However, now that he had advanced into the Spirit Condensation Realm and obtained plenty of resources rich in blood essence, he could finally supply the bees with the blood essence they needed.

***

Qi Qingsong and the others watched as the Heart of Winter flew across the sky of Absolute Heaven and returned to the Ice Race's altar, allowing Frozen Thunder to continue its journey.

"It seems the Ice Armor Eel Dragon wasn't being cooperative." Qi Qingsong chuckled.

"Be careful, we're about to enter the bizarre mist!" Zhuang Yuyan reminded.

The group activated their protective shields.

Chen Lushi, Jiang Chao, and the others in the pit below followed suit in preparation for the corrosive effects of the bizarre mist.

Frozen Thunder slowly drifted into the endless bizarre mist and arrived at the Sword Boat.

Zhuang Yuyan flew off the fragmented land and looked around in surprise. "How strange, the bizarre mist hasn’t seeped in. The cold mist surrounding the fragmented land keeps the bizarre mist out."

It seemed everyone could continue their journey without fear of the bizarre mist’s corruption.

She then flew onto the Sword Pavilion's Sword Boat, activated it, and piloted it onto Frozen Thunder.

"The Sword Boat!"

"The Sword Pavilion's Sword Boat was hiding in the bizarre mist all along!"

"Pang Jian sabotaged us! He first led the Heavenly Roc Warship out of the bizarre mist for the Ghost Race to target, then made our Celestial Lagoon Sect charge in with our Mountain Stream Spirit Boat," Jiang Chao muttered to himself in the pit below.

Atop the glacier, Dong Tianze's expression was dark as he approached the golden bee. He tried asking it a few questions but received no response.

It appeared Pang Jian was not paying attention at the moment.

Moving to the edge of the glacier, he peered down at the pit where Lu Jie, Chen Lushi, Jiang Chao, and Fang Boxuan stood, and said, “Qi Qingsong, Zhou Qingchen, let's go into the Sword Boat and have a private conversation."

"Alright." Qi Qingsong immediately flew into the Sword Pavilion's Sword Boat.

Zhou Qingchen looked confused. "About what?"

"I'll explain in the Sword Boat," Dong Tianze replied.

The three of them were soon gathered inside the Sword Boat.

"I've merged my Celestial Phoenix Imprint into my divine soul and have advanced to the middle stage of the Spirit Condensation Realm. It won't be difficult for us to kill Lu Jie and Jiang Chao!" Dong Tianze said viciously.