Chapter 437: The Broken Sword is Reunited

A towering golden figure stood atop a massive golden platform, soaring through the gray bizarre mist.

Sizzle!

Strands of world-distorting Dao radiated from the Divine Dharma Idol and thinned the dense bizarre mist.

The Divine Dharma Idol's meridians, hair, bones, and even thoughts were imbued with the Heavenly Dao that Fan Ao had comprehended.

Such was the power of a True God of the Abyss—a being who had mastered a Heavenly Dao to perfection.

If Fan Ao were to unleash this awe-inspiring presence in the Abyss, any fragmented land he passed by would undoubtedly collapse.

Fragmented lands simply could not withstand the overwhelming power of a True God.

The True God Fan Ao of the Supreme Monad Divine Kingdom!

Shock filled Pang Jian as he watched Fan Ao's transformation through the golden bees.

As Fan Ao's divine power gathered and spread, his physical body and divine soul fused to form the Divine Dharma Idol.

The Divine Dharma Idol rivaled the true body of an Outer God, comparable in scale to the body of the Fire God that had once been submerged in the fiery fragmented land.

At its pinnacle, the human race's cultivation path rivaled even the combat prowess of the Outer Gods!

Pang Jian's heart surged with emotion.

Howl!

"Fan Ao!" Long Zhan roared in a panic as he reverted to his original form of a Five-Clawed Gold Dragon.

Long Zhan's dragon form stretched over a thousand zhang, with his dazzling golden scales shimmering like the walls of a winding fortress.

Wave after wave of golden ripples radiated with every twitch of his claws.

Although the Five-Clawed Gold Dragon appeared to be flying toward Fan Ao, the golden ripples were actually reversing the flow of space-time as the massive dragon frantically retreated.

When Long Zhan saw Fan Ao, he knew without a doubt that the True God blocking his path to godhood intended to kill him in the bizarre mist.

If he were Rank Ten, even newly ascended, he would have dared to face Fan Ao head-on.

But he was only in Rank Nine!

There was an insurmountable gap between Rank Nine and Rank Ten. No matter how powerful a Rank Nine Five-Clawed Gold Dragon was, it was nearly impossible for him to contend with a True god.

Therefore, he had no choice but to flee—desperately.

Unfortunately, while he could still sense the golden scale he had left behind as a marker, his lack of spatial technique meant he could not directly teleport to it and escape from the bizarre mist.

"Fan Ao, you only harm the inhabitants of the Abyss by occupying the Dao of Metal!

"You should've relinquished your hold on the Dao of Metal long ago and allowed me, Long Zhan, to ascend to the rank of Fey God!

"As a Fey God, I would undoubtedly be the Abyss's sharpest blade!

"I alone could shatter the barrier shrouding the Abyss!

"Fan Ao, you deserve to die!"

The frantic Five-Clawed Gold Dragon vented its inner frustration and resentment.

Boom!

Fan Ao's golden platform crashed into Long Zhan, causing him to let out a dragon's roar.

Strands of the Dao of Metal emerged from the golden platform beneath Fan Ao, suppressing Long Zhan's bloodline and sealing his divine abilities.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The massive dragon scales on Long Zhan's body, each as large as a house, cracked under the pressure.

Long Zhan howled in pain.

At that moment, he realized he had no chance of breaking through the golden platform, nor any hope of reaching his golden scale marker.

All he could do was choose a random direction and use the Dragon Race's blood escape technique to flee.

Golden blood rained down.

By the time it dissipated, Long Zhan had disappeared.

The fluctuations from Long Zhan's blood escape technique were so powerful they instantly obliterated a nearby golden bee.

Pang Jian, alarmed, hastily commanded the remaining golden bees to distance themselves as much as possible, only staying just close enough to catch faint glimpses of their figures.

The commotion Fan Ao and the Rank Nine Long Zhan caused was infused with Heavenly Dao capable of destroying everything.

The Heavenly Dao in their every action could devastate all surrounding life.

If the golden bees ventured too close, the shockwaves from their clash could easily destroy them.

"Even the Dragon Race's blood escape technique has limits within the bizarre mist. You cannot escape," Fan Ao declared.

His Divine Dharma Idol stepped onto the golden platform, activated his secret technique, and pinpointed Long Zhan's location.

"I may perish in this great calamity, but Long Zhan, you must die first.

"I won't allow the Dragon Lair Sect to produce a Rank Ten Five-Clawed Gold Dragon," Fan Ao vowed as he pursued Long Zhan on the golden platform.

***

Pang Jian and the White Lynx teleported repeatedly within the bizarre mist.

With each teleportation, a new golden bee appeared before the White Lynx.

Shock filled her pitch-black eyes. "How many golden bees are hidden in this bizarre mist?"

"Plenty," Pang Jian replied, gripping the Abyssal Demon Sword tightly as he used its resonance to sense the location of its other half.

He could no longer see Fan Ao's pursuit of Long Zhan through the golden bees, and could only vaguely sense their movements.

It seemed they were drifting further and further away from Absolute Heaven.

The sun, moon, and stars could not be seen within the gray bizarre mist, making it nearly impossible to gauge the passage of time.

After an indeterminate amount of time spent teleporting, Pang Jian and the White Lynx eventually arrived at the wreckage of a small ship, weathered by the passing of time.

The ship vaguely resembled the Demon Sect's Demon Incursion Ship, though far smaller in scale.

On its deck lay a long-decayed skeleton.

The skeleton lay face-up with a hole in its sternum. Its bones resembled black jade, not unlike the material used to forge the Abyssal Demon Sword.

Hum! Hum! Hum!

Two faint sword hums echoed—one from the Abyssal Demon Sword in Pang Jian's hand, the other resonating from the hollow cavity in the skeleton's chest.

"Mo Nan..."

"Pang Jian..."

One half uttered the name of its previous wielder, while the other called out to its current master.

The other half of the Abyssal Demon Sword slowly rose from where it had been pierced through the skeleton's chest and embedded into the deck, revealing that it was only about half an arm's length.

It called out the name of its previous wielder as it approached Pang Jian.

With a crisp crack, it merged seamlessly with the Abyssal Demon Sword in Pang Jian's hand.

The fractured Abyssal Demon Sword was now whole again, looking as though it had never been broken in the first place.

Black lightning danced on the blade, flawlessly fusing the invisible cracks and joining the two halves of the sword into one.

"You came here just to find the other half of the Abyssal Demon Sword?" the White Lynx asked with a tremble in her voice. "This sword corrupted and consumed its former master—to the point where even his bones were transformed into the same material as the sword.

"This sinister demonic sword placed an immense burden on its wielder. One misstep and you'll meet the same end as him."

As a Fey King, she had naturally heard the legends of the Abyssal Demon Sword.

Mo Nan, the Sect Master of the Demon Sword Sect, had a notorious legacy in the Abyss. However, even he met with a grim ending, with his sword broken and his life extinguished.

"I advise you—" The White Lynx's eyes constricted in terror.

Boom!

The skeleton with black jade bones exploded into black ash once the other half of the Abyssal Demon Sword left it.

Demonic flames, demonic lights, and demonic clouds clashed furiously within the inner world of the sword.

The two halves of the Abyssal Demon Sword were locked in a relentless struggle across the six mysterious realms of the Demon God Lamp as they devoured each other's consciousnesses.

It seemed its past and present selves were battling for dominance.

The spectacle felt utterly nonsensical.

Pang Jian, the current master of the Abyssal Demon Sword, could not decide whom to aid.

So, he simply left them alone, allowing the two powerful sword souls within the sword to fight to the death.

***

The white jade pillars at the Stargazing Platform in the Nine Tribes Sect shimmered faintly as True Gods appeared within their translucent interiors.

These True Gods debated the merits of deploying higher cultivation realm cultivators to join the battles on the Cosmic Skies and Dark Abyss Continents.

They also deliberated whether to abandon the two continents in the Third World and shift the battlefield further upward.

Human cultivators and foreign race warriors were perishing on the Cosmic Skies and Dark Abyss Continents with every passing second.

Foreign race warriors could enhance their strength with the murky energy contaminating the Third World, thus giving them a distinct advantage in these battles.

In contrast, human cultivators were forced to divert part of their attention to resist the murky energy.

"The ancient Fey Race in Northern Qi of the Fourth World has allied with the foreign races. Vicious and Spirit Beasts with awakened intelligence are actively cooperating with the foreign race warriors, greatly enhancing their combat prowess as mounts," Liu Fu said, voice heavy with concern.

"Weren't you responsible for the inscription on the Heaven Ascension Tribulation Pillars that suppressed the bloodlines of the Fey Race?" Zhu Ji of the Boundless Sky Divine Kingdom asked coldly. "How did their bloodlines start awakening after a trip to Northern Qi? Shouldn't you be held accountable?"

Liu Fu said solemnly, "The problem started when the Heaven Ascension Tribulation Pillars malfunctioned, which led to these consequences."

"Enough. I called everyone here to discuss another matter," Li Wang dismissed. He sat in the middle of the white jade pillars, not focusing on any specific projection as he continued, "The Dragon Lair Sect has finally responded to our messages.

"The ancient Thunder Dragon said that the Five-Clawed Gold Dragon, Long Zhan, has the potential to break the barrier sealing the skies of the First World once he ascends to the rank of a Fey God because of his unique bloodline.

"In other words, Long Zhan can open the path for us to enter the starry skies after becoming a Fey God.

"Fan Ao will never have such ability."

The True Gods fell into silence at these words.

It was clear Li Wang had deliberately convened this council without Fan Ao's knowledge.

"The Dragon Lair Sect's proposition is simple. If we eliminate Fan Ao and allow Long Zhan to become a Fey God, the Dragon Lair Sect will lead the Fey Race in the Sacred Soul Continent into battle.

"The Dragon Lair Sect is also willing to step in and attempt to resolve the issue with the ancient Fey Race in Northern Qi.

"Now, I want to hear what everyone thinks."

Li Wang turned to each white jade pillar, studying the projections of the True Gods one by one.