Chapter 365: The Great Elder's Return

After the Gray Ape left, the black turtle informed Pang Jian,

It's like me. One of its ancestors managed to advance to Rank Ten.

When a Spirit Beast reaches Rank Ten, its entire lineage will be elevated. Descendants with that bloodline then have the potential to follow their ancestor's path to ascend to the Rank Ten.

It and I are both one of the lucky ones,

the black turtle said gravely.

But it's a step ahead of me.

Pang Jian was taken aback.

The Gray Ape he remembered was extremely different from the one he just encountered.

It's very strong. It came because it detected the ice veins buried beneath the Frozen Land,

the black turtle added.

Are you saying its bloodline is similar to that of the Ice Race?

Pang Jian asked.

Yes,

the black turtle replied.

My bloodline is attuned to the earth, the ancient Thunder Dragon on the Sacred Soul Continent is drawn to lightning, and the legendary Primordial Serpent is said to be water-aligned. That Gray Ape's ancestor likely comprehended the Dao of Cold to ascend to Rank Ten.

What about the Celestial Phoenix?

Pang Jian asked.

According to my bloodline's memory, the Celestial Phoenix...is also known as the Virtuous Celestial Phoenix.

The Virtuous Celestial Phoenix?

Pang Jian was taken aback.

Our history in the Abyss is far older than that of your human race or the foreign races of the Fifth World. The bloodline memories imprinted from my ancestors tell me that we were once the true rulers of the Abyss.

The foreign races and human race only emerged after us,

the black turtle explained with a hint of pride.

I can feel it. That Gray Ape was drawn to the Sacred Soul Continent because something happened there

.

I need to advance to Rank Eight as soon as possible.

With that, the black turtle fell silent.

An hour later, Pang Jian released his golden divine soul to withstand the battering of the astral winds beneath the clouds.

The blade-like winds could tear apart the Blood Moon Sect's Formless Sailboat and the Sinister Soul Temple's Divine Spirit Pagoda.

As Pang Jian's divine soul floated in the astral winds, it felt as though it was being sliced apart.

Before long, his divine soul appeared like a golden statue riddled with cracks.

Pang Jian absorbed his divine soul back into his sea of consciousness before turning it into a massive golden cauldron within his spiritual sea.

Spiritual power, blood essence, and life energy were gathered to refine the golden cauldron.

As the golden cauldron bathed in these energies, it seemed like it was being reforged—its cracks vanished and it shone more brilliantly than before.

The restored divine soul then left Pang Jian's body once more to dive deeper into the astral winds below.

Pang Jian repeated this process again and again.

The astral winds shredded his golden divine soul, only for Pang Jian to reforge it using the Qi Nurturing Divine Cauldron Art, making it increasingly resilient with every iteration.

Eventually, Pang Jian could sense that his divine soul was even more solid than before.

In the Nirvana Realm, one's divine soul becomes as solid as their physical body,

he mused before using the Gate of the Abyss to return to his residence on the Heaven Departure Peak.

Back in his residence, Pang Jian sent his divine sense into his sword token and learned that Qi Qingsong and Zhuang Yuyan had gone to the Third World with their group.

They had left him messages to update him about the situation but stopped after entering the Third World.

News about the broader situation poured in like a torrent from another sword-shaped symbol within the token.

Murky energy was spreading throughout the Third World!

The war between the human race and the foreign races of the Fifth World had officially started while Pang Jian had been tempering his divine soul!

These initial clashes saw the human race reigning victorious!

The three Divine Kingdoms had deployed armies of cultivators on the Cosmic Skies Continent, the Dark Abyss Continent, and the fragmented lands in the Third World.

These armies relied on superior artifacts and flying vessels to hunt down any foreign races or Vicious Beasts alongside the teams from the other major powers.

As a result, the first wave of foreign race warriors that had emerged with the murky energy had faced a crushing defeat.

The devastating power of the killing arrays constructed across the fragmented lands, alongside the buried Nine Heavenly Profound Thunder, Ground Fissure Mines, Meteorite Firestones, and Skybane Miasma, had turned the battlefield into rivers of blood.

As the corpses of foreign race warriors and Vicious Beasts piled up like mountains, the morale of the human race soared!

Some of the Divine Kingdoms' warships even descended through the dense leaden clouds and into the fragmented lands of the Fourth World.

Driven by the desire to earn contribution points, Qi Qingsong and Zhuang Yuyan joined forces with their small clique and ventured into the Third World in search of Hu Yuanfei.

"Something's off. The foreign races aren't that weak," Pang Jian muttered as he went through the Merit Leaderboards.

He still saw no familiar names on the Profound Abode Realm leaderboard.

On the Spirit Condensation Realm leaderboard, Wu Yuan had risen to ninth place with two thousand five hundred contribution points.

Zhou Qingchen had surprisingly surpassed Dong Tianze to rank seventeenth.

Dong Tianze, on the other hand, had fallen to twenty-fifth place, while Zhao Yuanqi ranked outside the top fifty.

On the Soul Wandering Realm leaderboard, Li Yuqing had dropped to third place, with her contribution points remaining unchanged.

His senior sister, Hu Yuanfei, had fallen from fifth to sixth place.

"First Place in the Soul Wandering Realm: Zhou Yi from the Nine Tribes Sect."

"Second Place in the Soul Wandering Realm: Fan Chen from the Supreme Monad Divine Kingdom."

"Fourth Place in the Soul Wandering Realm: Liu Youyu from the Primeval Pillar Divine Kingdom."

"Fifth Place in the Soul Wandering Realm: Hong Qiming from the Demon Sect."

Pang Jian softly muttered, committing their names to memory.

Li Yuqing had terrifying combat power. The stagnation of her contribution points made Pang Jian feel like something was amiss.

Pang Jian simply did not believe that fellow Soul Wandering Realm cultivators like Zhou Yi and Fan Chen could be stronger than her.

Worry arose in Pang Jian's heart.

I hope she's alright.

Just then, a message from Chen Weihuang arrived. "Jiang Ran is back."

"The Great Elder?"

"Since you're here, come to the summit."

"Alright."

Pang Jian left his residence and headed to the summit of the Heaven Departure Peak.

Chen Weihuang stood with his back to Pang Jian and looked toward the Celestial Gate Peak with a somber expression. "He brought outsiders with him."

Pang Jian followed his gaze and saw a warship similar in design to the Armor-Breaking Warship anchored at the summit of the Celestial Gate Peak, the characters "Boundless Sky Divine Kingdom" inscribed on its hull.

Zhou Wenhao and Su Li excitedly stepped forward to greet a tall man with white hair and a youthful face.

That man appeared younger than Zhou Wenhao, but his eyes conveyed a deep sense of age and experience. He spoke warmly with his two disciples and wore a gentle smile on his face.

Lu Xiaolin, Shi Bingyun, and Cai Xin stood further back, waiting respectfully for their turn to greet the man after his conversation with his disciples.

"How have you all been?" the man called out with a booming voice.

"Well! Everything is well!"

"We've missed you, Senior Brother!"

"We're glad you're back."

The three elders hastily replied.

Their reactions made it clear the white-haired man was Great Elder Jiang Ran.

Jiang Ran laughed heartily in response.

Then, turning to look at Liu Junhong, Xu Yu, Guang He, and Wang Ce on nearby peaks, he asked, "What, are you not pleased to see me return?"

"You're the Great Elder of our Sword Pavilion. You're always welcome back, but that doesn't mean you can let an outside flying vessel into our territories!" Liu Junhong said with a stern expression.

"Senior Brother Jiang, one of our core rules is that no outside flying vessels may enter the Sword Pavilion's territories!" Wang Ce added. "Especially not near our sacred peaks, where no outside flying vessels are allowed to dock!"

Xu Yu and Guang He glared with disapproval as well.

"I decide which flying vessels can dock at my Celestial Gate Peak," Jiang Ran replied with a faint smile, undeterred by their objections. "Please, come forth, Brother Jinghong, Brother Tunyun!"

"The Blazing Rainbow Marquis! The Cloud Devourer Marquis!" The Sword Pavilion disciples observing the scene from the various mountain peaks gasped.

The Blazing Rainbow Marquis and the Cloud Devourer Marquis were two of the three most powerful marquises from the Boundless Sky Divine Kingdom.

They were on par with Armor-Breaking Marquis, Li Wei, and held immense influence in Boundless Sky Divine Kingdom.

A tall man clad in a purplish-golden dragon robe stepped out from the warship.

"Brother Jiang, you're too kind," the man said as he stood beside Jiang Ran. He looked at Elder Wang Ce with a stern expression. "I am Zhu Jinghong."

He offered no further introduction besides his name.

A figure in golden armor leaped from the warship and landed heavily with a grin. "I'm Huang Tunyun."

The newcomer was shorter in stature, His golden armor emanated a strong scent of blood and his pale golden eyes carried the predatory gaze of a beast.

A group of noble young elites leaned over the warship's railing and surveyed the Sword Pavilion.

"So, this is the Sword Pavilion?"

"Look, the floating building over there—that’s the famed Sword Pavilion of the Abyss!"

"According to legend, when the Sword Pavilion was in its prime, it was the strongest sect in the Abyss, stronger than all the Divine Kingdoms of the Eastern Land combined."

"That's right! When the Sword Pavilion was at its peak, it had five Sword Gods and none of the Divine Kingdoms could rival them."

"It's a pity to see such a mighty sect fall so far."

The group whispered and pointed as they took in the sights.

Zhu Jinghong and Huang Tunyun glanced back at the young nobles and exchanged a wry smile.

"Senior Brother Jiang!" Wang Ce shouted, unable to hold back his anger. "The Sword Pavilion is not some sightseeing spot! Those entering or leaving need to abide by our rules! And you—"

"Li Zhaotian is absent. As the Great Elder, I'll naturally be making all the major decisions in the Sword Pavilion while he's gone," Jiang Ran said with a calm smile, completely ignoring Wang Ce's reprimand.

After a brief moment of contemplation, he added, "Elders, proceed to the main hall for a meeting immediately! I'll be taking charge now."

He then took out a broken sword tip and raised it.

A dazzling sword light erupted from the sword tip.

Wang Ce and the others' expressions turned peculiar at the sight.

The eyes of those aligned with Jiang Ran lit up with hope.