Chapter 517: The Gathering of the Heretical

Heretical sects not only cultivated methods that diverged from orthodoxy but also secretly communicated with Outer Gods in the outer worlds.

After the human race claimed dominance over the Abyss, they either eradicated or banished the foreign races worshiping these Outer Gods to the Fifth World. The altars and temples the foreign races built were destroyed, severing the mediums connecting the Outer Gods to the Abyss.

This was done to prevent the influence of these otherworldly beings from further infiltrating the Abyss.

Humans largely did not worship any gods.

Those who embarked on the path of cultivation saw no reason to revere or offer devotion to the Outer Gods in the outer worlds.

However, outliers inevitably existed, parasites within the human race secretly seeking to communicate with the Outer Gods.

They mimicked the ways of foreign races, erecting altars and hidden shrines, beseeching the Outer Gods for unorthodox cultivation methods.

Whenever such individuals were discovered, all the other sects and factions worked together to eradicate them.

The White Bone Sect, the Blackwood Sect, and the Blood Prison Sect were all known heretical sects.

The most powerful factions in the Abyss had once purged these sects from existence.

Unexpectedly, these three infamous sects suddenly reappeared in the Imperial Dominion, a haven for rogue cultivators.

The Imperial Dominion was still part of the Second World and was a territory under the human race's control. These sects would not normally reveal themselves so openly in such a place.

Pang Jian knew something was gravely wrong.

His divine sense slipped into his sword token, intending to immediately notify the Sword Pavilion's Immortal Realm elders of the upheaval in the Imperial Dominion.

The emergence of the White Bone Sect, the Blackwood Sect, and the Blood Prison Sect could only mean that some terrifying force was working behind the scenes.

𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

A single misstep could tip the very balance of the Second World.

The factions with True Gods had to pay serious attention to this matter and descend without delay, using their overwhelming strength to crush the arrogance of the heretical cultivators.

Crack!

The sword token unexpectedly shattered when Pang Jian infused it with divine sense, and the sword-shaped symbols within blinked out like extinguished flames.

Some unseen force was severing all connections to the outside world, destroying communication tokens and transmission stones.

"Pang Jian, it's like she's not in the Abyss. I can't reach her at all!"

The Celestial Phoenix Imprint on Dong Tianze's forehead transformed into a radiant Celestial Phoenix.

Although the dark forces sabotaging the sword token, transmission stones, and communication talismans did not affect its aura of divine majesty, for some reason, Dong Tianze could not sense Pang Lin at all.

"We need to leave the Imperial Dominion now," Pang Jian said, scanning his surroundings.

Battered flying vessels descended in the distance.

Crude altars, strange wooden shrines, and statues carved from unusual stone decorated the decks of these flying vessels.

Heretical cultivators knelt devoutly beside the altars, their heads bowed as they murmured silent prayers toward these objects capable of communicating with the Outer Gods.

Ripples of sinister power emanated from the altars, shrines, and statues.

The Outer Gods had turned their attention to the Imperial Dominion.

The Imperial Dominion had transformed into a gathering, and the heretical cultivators were the hosts.

Those secretly cultivating forbidden techniques had emerged from secluded corners of the Second World and even the First World, traveling vast distances to converge on the Imperial Dominion.

They no longer hid in the shadows, fearful of being discovered.

What are they planning?

Are they using Dong Tianze as bait to lure the Sword Pavilion's Immortal Realm elders here? Gathering them in one place to annihilate them all at once?

Pang Jian wondered.

He could not help but doubt his own theories. After all, it was unlikely to be that simple.

Whoosh!

A stone statue of a spider-bodied, human-faced figure drifted into the air from within a distant flying vessel.

Its exquisitely sculpted face swayed gently as it searched for a target.

Before long, it caught sight of Pang Jian and Dong Tianze.

Yang Luo, the mid-ranked Outer God, had once again manifested in the Abyss, anchoring her divine consciousness to a puppet vessel.

Her cold eyes settled silently on Pang Jian, a strange smile creeping across her lips.

Pang Jian frowned.

He grew increasingly certain that this gathering concealed a far greater conspiracy, something far more sinister than merely luring the elders of the Sword Pavilion into a trap.

"We could try choosing a random point to break through?" Dong Tianze suggested.

Pang Jian remained silent.

Heretical cultivators guarded the north, west, and east of the fragmented land.

It was safe to assume the southern region was similarly blockaded.

Even the sky directly above them was unlikely to be overlooked.

Pang Jian instinctively peered up to check. Sure enough, a flickering speck of light resembling a black star could be seen high above the Imperial Dominion.

The evening glow had faded, leaving the sky dim as night fell.

The black speck of light stood out starkly on the dusky horizon, clearly visible to anyone looking up from the Abyss.

As Pang Jian stared at the black speck of light, he felt an overwhelming weight press down on him as if an evil eye had locked onto him.

Terrified rogue cultivators scattered, trying their luck in the east, west, and north.

Despite this, not a single person dared to take to the sky. No one risked breaking through from above.

The black speck of light instilled an instinctive urge to retreat in all who lay eyes upon it.

Pang Jian focused his mind and divided it into four streams.

Black turtle, Pang Ling, golden bees, Xiao Hei,

he called.

The hibernating black turtle stirred slightly and responded with a faint, subtle thought.

Father!

Pang Ling exclaimed.

Several golden bees lingering in the Cloud Wilderness beat their wings with a soft hum.

Even the Giant Abyssal Serpent begrudgingly replied,

What is it?

A sense of calm settled over Pang Jian.

"There's no need to force our way through. Let's return to the Imperial Dominion and find a secluded spot to observe the situation."

Pang Jian headed toward the southern region of the fragmented land.

Dong Tianze followed without hesitation, wielding his Sinister Soul Blood Halberd as he silently trailed behind Pang Jian.

On the ground, Huang Qi and Lin Miaojin stared at Pang Jian and Dong Tianze high above.

Other rogue cultivators had soared into the sky, fleeing toward the east, north, and west.

Scattered figures dotted the sky.

Huang Qi and Lin Miaojin ignored the others, eyes fixed solely on Pang Jian and Dong Tianze.

They watched as the two hesitated briefly in the air before abruptly turning and descending toward the southern region of the fragmented land.

"We just need to follow Pang Jian!" Huang Qi decisively headed in the same direction as Pang Jian, flying low along the forest.

Lin Miaojin hesitated, then gritting her teeth, she followed after him.

"South...?" The hook-nosed old man watched them vanish into the distance in confusion. "There's no way to escape from the Imperial Dominion. What good will heading south do?"

***

The remnants of stone buildings in the southern region of the Imperial Dominion lay scattered and crumbling.

Rolling waves of sand and dust rippled across the barren landscape.

A structure brought to reality stood silently in the darkening sky of the southern region.

The Sanctum of Godly and Demonic Genesis!

At that moment, Pang Jian realized that the southern region of the Imperial Dominion was under the control of heretical cultivators devoted to the Ghost Race's Outer Gods.

The threat of the Sanctum of Godly and Demonic Genesis was no less than that of the White Bone Sect, the Blood Prison Sect, or the Blackwood Sect.

Pang Jian simply could not figure out why so many heretical cultivators had gathered in the Imperial Dominion.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Landing in the ruins of the barren wasteland, Pang Jian concealed his aura.

Dong Tianze mirrored him.

"I can get you out of the Imperial Dominion," Pang Jian said bluntly. "The black turtle deep underground in the Resolute Expanse has responded to me. I can send you there right now if you wish."

"What about you?" Dong Tianze asked.

"I can leave at any time." Pang Jian lifted his robe to reveal the Gate of the Abyss. "This bronze pendant can teleport us back to the Resolute Expanse. The sky hasn't been fully sealed, nor is there a barrier keeping us in. I can get you out immediately."

A flicker of surprise flashed through Dong Tianze's eyes.

"In that case, I suppose I'm not in such a hurry to leave after all." He took out the Blood God Technique, sat against a crumbling wall in the ruins, and said, "Someone handed me this technique back at the old location of the Blood Spirit Sect.

"The Ghost Sacrifice Sect cultivators were relentlessly pressuring me, seemingly trying to force me into practicing the Blood God Technique.

"The more they pushed, the more I refused to comply. I didn't want to give them the satisfaction.

"But now..." The veins on Dong Tianze's forehead bulged as he said coldly, "Now that you've offered me a way out, I feel the urge to take a closer look at this Blood God Technique.

"I don't know why, but I no longer feel any rush to leave this place."

Dong Tianze opened the Blood God Technique in front of Pang Jian.

When Dong Tianze's eyes dropped to the first character in the manual, his divine soul abruptly burst from the Celestial Phoenix Imprint at the center of his forehead before being yanked directly into the manual!

The manual was forcibly extracting his divine soul!

Whack!

The manual clung to his face like a crimson mask.

Tiny, fly-sized characters crawled out from the manual, racing to sink into his skin.

It all happened so quickly that Pang Jian had no time to react.

By the time Pang Jian made to act, the Blood God Technique manual had already fused inseparably with Dong Tianze's divine soul.

This was not a matter of just tearing the Blood God Technique manual apart.

If the manual were destroyed, Dong Tianze's divine soul would likely be destroyed along with it.

The process of impartation from the manual had already started and could not be halted.

Any attempt to stop or interrupt the process would result in Dong Tianze's death.

Therefore, Pang Jian not only had to refrain from interfering but also had to guard against others trying to seize the manual to ensure Dong Tianze's divine soul was not obliterated mid-process.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The spiritual qi of the Imperial Dominion surged abnormally.

Two terrifying forces pulled them toward the eastern and western regions of the fragmented land.

Pang Jian's heart trembled as he finally understood the purpose behind the gathering of heretical cultivators in the Imperial Dominion.

Two peak Immortal Realm cultivators of heretical sects sought to ascend to the True God Realm in the Imperial Dominion.

The divine seat the True Gods had left vacant for his master, Li Zhaotian, and the one newly opened with Fan Ao's death had caught the attention of these heretical cultivators.

The Outer Gods and the powerhouses of the Fifth World were behind this scheme!