Chapter 413: Explosive News

Dark yawning pits that seemed to reach down into the depths of the Netherworld lay in the center of the Demon Abyss Continent in the Second World.

When viewed from above, these dark pits resembled sinister demonic eyes embedded into the continent. It was enough to make any onlooker's heart race.

If Pang Jian were here, he would have found the sight reminiscent of the Observer.

In an underground chamber within one of these dark pits, Wu Yuan had just learned that Pang Jian and the others had all discarded their Mystic Eyes in support of Zhou Qingchen.

He frowned as he mulled over whether or not to depart.

The Purple Demon Eye was cradled in his hands and he was using his divine sense imbued with a divine consciousness to refine the divine image of the He Motian within.

The massive four-faced, four-armed Great Demon God within was noticeably more relaxed when he withdrew his divine sense from the Purple Demon Eye.

Whoosh!

A tall figure appeared.

"Sect Master." Wu Yuan bowed respectfully.

Xiang Shengwei waved off his formalities and asked, "Is He Motian's self-awareness beginning to awaken?"

"Yes," Wu Yuan answered truthfully. "Although slow, I can feel a force from the starry skies subtly nurturing him."

"He Motian's true body in the starry skies can sense this divine image whenever the Abyss opens," Xiang Shengwei said, gazing deeply at the prized divine artifact of the Demon Sect.

His eyes were the same eerie purple as the Purple Demon Eye.

"You managed to resist his mental corruption because your divine soul is extraordinary and filled with divine consciousness," he remarked. "As for Hong Qiming...

"When he advanced to the Spirit Condensation Realm, the Abyss had not yet opened, and he missed the chance to hunt Outer God Puppets to refine his divine soul.

"Even if he'd had the chance, his questionable moral compass would've left him vulnerable to He Motian's mental corruption."

Xiang Shengwei shook his head with a sigh.

After a beat of silence, he added, "Your contribution points have already been exchanged for pills and artifacts, and you're on the verge of breaking through to the Soul Wandering Realm. Stay out of this."

As the revered Sect Master of the various branches of the Demon Sect, he was naturally well aware of what had transpired on the Dark Abyss Continent. The main reason for his visit was to dissuade Wu Yuan from following in their footsteps.

"Zhou Yi's manipulation of Hong Qiming had already shamed us. If you were to go to the Dark Abyss Continent and discard your Mystic Eye like the others, our Demon Sect would become an even greater laughingstock."

Wu Yuan bowed, not daring to disobey. "This disciple understands."

"Ling Yimo's soul actually belongs to the high-ranking God of the Ghost Race, Zi Mo. This is well-known to Gui Mu," Xiang Shengwei patiently explained. "That girl has allowed Gui Mu to decipher many ancient mysteries that the Outer Gods have left behind and deepen her understanding of the civilizations in the starry skies.

"Gui Mu was confident she could use the Netherworld Specter Karma Art to subdue Zi Mo, bending her soul to serve her purposes.

"The tragedy on the Fey Spirit Continent indicates that Zi Mo has fully awakened and was ready with follow-up measures to counter Gui Mu.

"The struggle between the two has temporarily ended in Zi Mo's victory. For Gui Mu to publicly apologize would be for her to admit that she lost in her struggle with the Outer God, Zi Mo.

"She had unwittingly raised an Outer God." Xiang Shengwei shook his head. "With her personality, it would be nearly impossible to force her to admit her mistake."

"And Li Wang?" Wu Yuan asked.

"Li Wang..." The Sect Master of the Demon Sect smiled bitterly. "He considers himself the leader of the True Gods and even personally hosts every True God council.

"Forcing him to submit because of that boy, Zhou Yi, is as difficult as ascending to the heavens."

***

Chen Weihuang arrived with Liu Junhong, Wang Ce, Guang He, and Xu Yu at Li Zhaotian's secluded cultivation chamber on Heaven Departure Peak in the Sword Pavilion in the Second World.

Li Zhaotian sat atop a meditation mat, leaning against the wall.

"What's the matter?" He grinned at Xu Yu. "You're the one responsible for gathering news from across the Abyss. What's so important that it brought all of you here?"

"I haven't reported this news to the Sword Pavilion yet. Take a look for yourself." Xu Yu tossed a jade talisman to Li Zhaotian.

After sending his divine sense into the jade talisman, Li Zhaotian cursed, "That kid has been running around everywhere. He even took a Mountain Stream Spirit Boat down to the Dark Abyss Continent. Why hasn't he replied to my messages?"

He was not angry about Pang Jian supporting Zhou Qingchen and causing trouble at the redemption points of the Ghost Sacrifice Sect and the Nine Tribes Sect; he was mad that Pang Jian had been ignoring him.

If Pang Jian had sent even a single message through the sword token while in the Second World, it would have reached Li Zhaotian instantly.

The usually reserved Guang He frowned. "Stick to the point!”

Xu Yu cleared her throat. "Zhou Qingchen has the support of the Red Mountain Sect. The Sect Master of the Red Mountain Sect is one of your close female confidantes, so everyone assumes they have the Sword Pavilion's backing."

"What's there to hide?" Li Zhaotian chuckled shamelessly. "Liu Lingyun is my woman, so naturally, I'm the Red Mountain Sect's backer!

"The Red Mountain Sect may be in the Third World, but I won't just stand by and watch if someone dares to cause her trouble!"

Xu Yu, a fellow woman, gritted her teeth and said, "You have quite a few women!"

"Isn't it only natural for many women to admire a man like me?" Li Zhaotian boasted shamelessly. He let out a hearty laugh and added, "I know what you're all worried about."

The smile on Li Zhaotian's face abruptly faded and his demeanor turned serious.

"It's fine. Zhou Qingchen can represent the Sword Pavilion alongside Pang Jian and Hu Yuanfei.

"Let me ask you this: have they done anything wrong?

"Gui Mu has been harboring an Outer God and Li Wang knowingly taught that treacherous boy the Spatial Mirror Technique. This led to the death of numerous talents.

"Why shouldn't they apologize publicly?" Li Zhaotian snorted. "Cultivation realm doesn't determine right and wrong.

"Zhou Qingchen may only be in the Spirit Condensation Realm, while Gui Mu and LI Wang are True Gods, but to me, his actions are entirely justified!"

Chen Weihuang and the four elders fell silent.

After a long pause, Xu Yu said, "The foreign races and Vicious Beasts are advancing upon us. A brutal battle is imminent. With this issue arising at this time—"

𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"I'll say it again. They did nothing wrong. If they can make the mistake, they can bear the responsibility!" Li Zhaotian declared sternly.

Xu Yu nodded with a wry smile. "Understood."

"Chen Weihuang, go to the Dark Abyss Continent and represent the entire Sword Pavilion in supporting your junior brother and sister," Li Zhaotian ordered.

Chen Weihuang turned to leave.

"And tell Pang Jian to respond to my messages!"

***

A shocking piece of news spread from the Sinister Soul Temple on the Dark Abyss Continent.

The ancient Fey Race had supposedly emerged from Northern Qi in the Fourth World, the northern region shrouded in bizarre mist.

A Rank Eight Scarlet-Eyed Demon Wolf had captured Yu Xin of the Celestial Race, and Xuan Ying of the Demon Scale Race had gathered powerhouses from the Demon Scale Race, the Radiant Race, and the Wood Race to investigate Northern Qi.

This news quickly spread to the foreign races and Vicious Beasts.

A new rumor also accompanied this news.

It was said that the foreign races of the Fifth World had deliberately suppressed the bloodlines and intelligence of Vicious Beasts for tens of thousands of years, preventing them from coming into their true power and keeping many powerful bloodline techniques from manifesting.

However, the ancient Fey Race based in Northern Qi could allegedly awaken the suppressed bloodlines of these Vicious Beasts.

This rumor clearly aimed to incite the Vicious Beasts to rebel against the foreign races.

Cultivators from the major factions had recently been struggling against Vicious Beasts that had been fed Bloodthirst Elixirs.

So, when they heard this advantageous rumor, they gladly spread it.

Before long, the Vicious Beasts and foreign races entering the Third World also heard this rumor.

The result was a temporary pause in the advance of the foreign races and Vicious Beasts toward the Cosmic Skies and Dark Abyss Continents.

***

Hu Yuanfei sat carefreely on a new Flying Fish Boat docked in the outer stone forest at Spirit Offering.

"Fan Chen, what brings you here?" she asked, accepting the wine flask Zhou Qingchen handed her. "Does the Supreme Monad Divine Kingdom even allow you to join us?"

"The Divine Kingdom is the Divine Kingdom, and I am myself."

The prodigy of the Supreme Monad Divine Kingdom had first gone to the Sinister Soul Temple in search of Pang Jian, Zhou Qingchen, and the others, only to learn from Han Zhiyuan that they were gathered at the stone forest outside Spirit Offering.

Glancing at the comrades from the Fey Spirit Continent, Fan Chen let out a carefree smile and asked, "Pang Jian, why did you call us here?"

"Wu Yuan didn't come. The Demon Sect...hmph!" Dong Wenjian huffed coldly.

Fan Chen rolled his eyes. "He used up all his contribution points and has long since returned to the Demon Sect to prepare for his breakthrough to the Soul Wandering Realm. Did you really expect him to join us in our reckless antics?"

"The news I released through the Sinister Soul Temple, you're all aware of it, right?" Pang Jian asked.

"Yes."

"Are the ancient Fey Race truly alive and in Northern Qi?"

"Pang Jian, how strong is the ancient Fey Race?"

"You're not spreading false information, are you? Northern Qi is your homeland...you're not just making up stories, right?"

Dong Wenjian, Fan Chen, and Lin Manhe asked skeptically.

Pang Jian had earned their respect with his risky act of killing Zhou Yi after suffering Xuan Ying's heavy blow to save them.

However, they did not know him well and could not help but hold some doubts.

"The combat prowess of the ancient Fey Race..." Pang Jian's expression was grave. "It would take several foreign race warriors and human cultivators working together to have a chance at killing just one Fey Race warrior in a similar cultivation realm!"

Everyone was stunned.

Pang Jian stared at the upright stone pillars. "There may be ancient Fey Race corpses within this towering stone forest outside Spirit Offering."