Chapter 460: The Fury of the Dragons

Five colossal dragons with imposing horns entered a massive stone cavern in the Dragon Lair Sect on the Sacred Soul Continent.

The cavern, spanning hundreds of mu[1], seemed cramped with these colossal dragons inside.

"A Crystal Log!"

The five Rank Nine dragons fixed their mesmerizing eyes on the scenes flickering within the fire crystal.

They watched as Pang Jian wielded the Abyssal Demon Sword to kill the Divine Son of the Radiant Race, Lie Yi.

The dragons' breaths crackled like lightning and rumbled like thunder, carrying with them the profound truths of the Daos.

These dragons were the ones responsible for overseeing the Dragon Lair Sect and the Sacred Soul Continent while the ancient Thunder Dragon slumbered.

"The composition of that Abyssal Demon Sword has changed," said a Wind Dragon, voice labored as if struggling to breathe. "Long Zhan's horn and claws transformed it.."

The Wind Dragon's head was covered in sword marks and his broken nose collapsed downward. After a moment of silence, his eyes flashed with realization, then seething hatred.

"I recognize this Abyssal Demon Sword! I once fought with its former master, Mo Nan, Mo Nan inflicted these wounds and scars on me!" the Wind Dragon roared. "That sword was originally black. Its newfound sharpness and golden brilliance come from the Abyssal Demon absorbing Long Zhan's horn and claw!"

The other four Rank Nine dragons' massive bodies stretched into connected chambers, with only their heads extended into the main cavern.

These Rank Nine dragons, all older than Long Zhan, were enraged at the revelation.

"It seems that human, Fan Ao, conspired with the Sword Pavilion's brat to kill Long Zhan. I initially thought the Sword Pavilion brat had no involvement in his death."

"The transformation of the Abyssal Demon Sword proves he played a part."

"Exactly! There's no way Fan Ao would relinquish Long Zhan's horn unless he contributed."

"The Sword Pavilion can't blame us for our future actions, they were the first to move against us this time!"

The four Rank Nine dragons roared, murder in their eyes as they denounced the Sword Pavilion.

"I'll notify our Ancestor right now!" said the Rank Nine Wind Dragon.

With that, he ignited a drop of his dragon blood essence to communicate with the ancient Thunder Dragon.

The Wind Dragon's eyes lit up.

"Ancestor has left the bizarre mist. He's received my message and knows Pang Jian's Abyssal Demon Sword contains traces of Long Zhan's horn and claws!"

The other dragons trembled and hastily asked, "What should the Dragon Lair Sect do next?"

"Ancestor said not to make our stance clear yet and asked us to wait."

"What are we waiting for?"

"Ancestor wants to see if Li Zhaotian succeeds in ascending to the True God Realm before deciding on our next move."

"Is Ancestor actually worried about Li Zhaotian's ascension into the True God Realm?" the other Rank Nine dragons asked, visibly shocked.

Their Ancestor had dominated the Dao of Lightning for tens of thousands of years and regarded many contemporary True Gods with indifference,

Thus, the Rank Nine dragons had not expected him to place such importance on Li Zhaotian, especially not to the point that his advancement to the True God Realm would dictate the Dragon Lair Sect's next move.

"I recently caught wind of something," the Wind Dragon said coldly, swaying his massive scarred head. "The Pure Land Sect of the First World has been zealously protecting a young girl—the heir of the Celestial Phoenix's legacy.

"This young girl supposedly possesses a rare innate lightning vortex and is considered a prodigy with the potential to ascend to the Immortal Realm."

A Rank Nine Flame Dragon exclaimed in shock, "An innate lightning vortex? What is the Pure Land Sect's intention with her? Are they hoping she'll surpass our Ancestor and ascend to godhood through the Dao of Lightning?"

"Perhaps the Pure Land Sect is waiting for Ancestor to leave the Abyss. Or perhaps they're waiting for him to die," growled another Rank Nine dragon.

"The lightning vortex itself is not concerning. What's dangerous is the legacy of the Celestial Phoenix!" the Rank Nine Flame Dragon exclaimed with a trembling heart. "That Celestial Phoenix once suppressed our Ancestor and was a supreme that all Fey Race revered.

"Could this be a scheme that the Celestial Phoenix orchestrated against our Ancestor?"

A mix of reverence and dread filled the air at the mention of the deceased Celestial Phoenix.

"The human race has never treated us with genuine sincerity." The Wind Dragon roared, fury mounting with every word, "It's evident in their involvement in Long Zhan's death, their secret nurturing of a junior to defy our Ancestor, and their usurpation of the Daos that rightfully belong to us!

"We can no longer place even a shred of trust in the promises of the human race's True Gods!"

"Not a single word!" the other dragons agreed.

They all vehemently condemned the despicable acts of the True Gods.

***

Two months later, Zhou Qingchen left the Resolute Expanse to visit the Sword Pavilion on Pang Jian's behalf, explaining that Pang Jian was occupied with consolidating his cultivation realm.

Zhou Qingchen then reunited with his Zhou Clan—they had migrated to the territories under the Sword Pavilion's control.

Jiang Li was also there and the pair took the time to catch up as they had not seen each other in a long time.

Zhou Qingchen sipped wine in Jiang Li's room, expression somber as he said, "Old Han is dead."

"What about Junior Sister Zhao? Is she...still alive?" Jiang Li asked anxiously.

Zhou Qingchen shook his head and said in a low voice, "I don't know, I truly don't. I haven't received any messages from her.

"But even the Sect Master is dead, so it's unlikely she survived.

"I wasn't there when the battle broke out. I'd gone to the Sacred Soul Continent at Pang Jian's invitation.

"I should've been on the Cosmic Skies Continent, at the Red Mountain Sect, fighting against the foreign races alongside Sect Master and the others."

A deep sense of guilt and sorrow weighed heavily on him whenever he thought about the foreign races and Vicious Beasts slaughtering Sect Master Liu Lingyun and the caring elders of the Red Mountain Sect.

"You're still alive. At least you're still alive..." Tears streamed down Jiang Li's face as she stroked Zhou Qingchen's bearded cheeks with her small hands. "It's a blessing you followed Pang Jian to the Sacred Soul Continent.

"I hope you live well, not just for the Zhou Clan, but also for me."

𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Zhou Qingchen let out a bitter smile and continued to drink heavily.

He knew the Sacred Soul Continent was equally perilous, having barely escaped being killed like Fan Chen.

No place in the Abyss was safe anymore—not even the Heaven Awakening Continent under the Sword Pavilion's rule. It would, in time, become another ravaged battlefield, just like the Cosmic Skies Continent and the Red Mountain Sect.

I hope Senior Li successfully ascends to the True God Realm. I hope the human race produces a true Sword God. Only a supreme Sword God can intimidate those in the Dragon Lair Sect with divided loyalties.

Zhou Qingchen silently prayed.

***

Pang Jian had secretly left the Resolute Expanse.

In Pang Jian's and Zhou Qingchen's absence, Dong Tianze, having lost direction following the Sinister Soul Temple's fall and the death of Han Zhiyuan, cultivated tirelessly day and night.

He pushed his body to its limit, tempering his physique with unyielding determination.

Dong Tianze was still in the middle stage of the Soul Wandering Realm.

In other words, Pang Jian's recent ascension to the Nirvana Realm had left him far behind.

Thus, Dong Tianze entered a nearly obsessive state of cultivation, driven by his determination to catch up and advance to the Nirvana Realm.

One day, the Celestial Phoenix Imprint on his brow suddenly turned searingly hot.

While in his trance-like state of cultivation, he faintly heard a gentle voice whispering, "Come to the Pure Land Sect in the First World."

"My master, the one I serve, is summoning me to the Pure Land Sect," Dong Tianze murmured with a strange expression.

Dong Tianze's cultivation realm and the myriad fortuitous encounters he had experienced allowed him to resist his master's will.

He was no longer just a submissive Celestial Phoenix Divine Guard and could think independently, weighing the pros and cons before taking action.

Even the master he owed his loyalty to was someone he now had the qualifications to negotiate with.

"My name is Pang Lin. I was born in Northern Qi. Pang Jian is…my elder brother," the voice revealed.

Dong Tianze's mind raced.

Without hesitation, he left the Resolute Expanse with his Sinister Soul Blood Halberd and headed straight for the Pure Land Sect in the First World.

***

On a night when a bright moon hung high and the stars sparkled like diamonds, a lone figure quietly approached Star Moon Valley on the Demon Abyss Continent in the Second World.

"The Star Moon Sect was a faction of the Second World that has since been erased," Pang Jian murmured. "Although the spiritual qi here isn't particularly abundant, the starlight and moonlight cascading down are absorbed and retained here."

He stood outside the valley, dressed in a blue robe with his sword token hanging from his waist.

As he extended his divine sense into the depths of Star Moon Valley, he soon detected hundreds of soul fluctuations—rogue cultivators from the lower worlds were occupying the Star Moon Sect's territory.

I'm just here to extract whatever mineral veins exist beneath the Star Moon Valley. There's no need to enter the valley and deal with those rogue cultivators.

With that thought in mind, Pang Jian activated his Earth Dive ability and descended into the ground.

The rare Gold Obsidian mineral veins beneath the Radiant Sun Sect had enlightened him to their incredible benefits.

A small golden mountain representing metal energy had formed on the fragmented land in his dantian.

The miniature, illusory sun in his dantian had also solidified thanks to the solar energy extracted from those Gold Obsidian mineral veins, significantly enhancing his combat prowess.

He had come to Star Moon Valley hoping to replicate this method, drawing on the stellar and lunar energies from potential mineral veins here to make the stars and moons in his dantian more tangible.

Pang Jian had learned of this unique valley in the Demon Abyss Continent of the Second World thanks to Hu Yuanfei's help.

This valley was said to be able to absorb and store the radiance from the stars and moon, hinting at the possible presence of rare mineral veins underground.

His intuition proved correct.

Before long, he spotted shimmering veins deep beneath the surface, resembling blood vessels coursing through the depths of Star Moon Valley.

The stars and moon adorning the night sky seemed to favor Star Moon Valley, with beams of stellar and lunar radiance converging on the valley before seeping into the ground below.

When Pang Jian squinted, he could see tiny, rice-grain-sized specks of stellar and lunar energies condensing within the Stellar-Lunar Veins, slowly settling into the depths from above.

One has to absorb, purify, and refine the stellar and lunar energies to make them pure.

Pang Jian ventured closer to the Stellar-Lunar Veins before quietly activating the Qi Nurturing Divine Cauldron Art and extracting energy from the unique veins with great care.

In his dantian, the stars and the two moons—one round, one crescent—gradually solidified.

Pang Jian's lips stretched into a smile as he absorbed the stellar and lunar energies, observing the transformations within his dantian as he did.

He knew this was the correct path for him to advance his Nirvana Realm cultivation.