Chapter 574: The Bizarre Mist is My Home

A flying vessel with distinct Ghost Race features lay wrecked in the bizarre mist. The bodies of dozens of Ghost Race warriors were scattered around it, their flesh and blood gruesomely consumed.

Hovering over Dong Tianze's head was a slender sword radiating a crimson glow. This sword exuded a murderous aura as deep as the sea, a perfect match for Dong Tianze's temperament.

Even with the endless bizarre mist and the boundary walls of two worlds separating them, Pang Jian—gazing through the bronze pendant—could not help but feel the sword had been made for Dong Tianze.

Dong Tianze stood tall and lean, his spine straight as if trying to embody the Bloodthirsty Sword.

This was the first thing Pang Jian saw through the bronze pendant.

A flicker of golden light abruptly appeared.

It was the perception of a golden bee.

Then, countless golden lights flooded Pang Jian's vision as the sights of thousands of golden bees emerged like stars.

Every golden bee in the bizarre mist shrouding Absolute Heaven became an extension of Pang Jian's eyes. Naturally, this also included the Bee Sovereign.

The Bee Sovereign radiated a brilliance like the sun within the "Abyss" character engraved in the bronze pendant, deepening Pang Jian's connection to that world.

A mysterious power then started guiding Pang Jian. Clutching the bronze pendant, Pang Jian leaped from the shoulder of his Immortal Divine Soul, flying to the boundary wall of the Shadow Abyss to stare out at the endless bizarre mist on the other side.

The bronze pendant in his hand allowed him to traverse boundary walls as long as he was in the bizarre mist.

The bizarre mist acted as his bridge, linking the many abysses together, regardless of the presence of the boundary walls.

Whoosh!

A portal, condensed from the essence of the bizarre mist, formed before him.

This portal mirrored the design of the bronze pendant and seemed to bear the weight of time, as though carrying the glory of abysses past and future.

Peering down, Pang Jian noticed that the "Gate" character on the back of the bronze pendant was glowing brightly. The light from this "Gate" character illuminated the gray mist ahead, carving the portal into existence with the bizarre mist as its foundation.

The portal opened with a gentle push like a set of double doors. Beyond it lay the world he had glimpsed earlier, where the Bee Sovereign shone like a golden sun.

***

In the bizarre mist shrouding Absolute Heaven, Dong Tianze had destroyed the Ghost Race's warship, the Black Ghost, and was using the blood of the slain Rank Seven and Rank Eight Ghost Race warriors to nurture his Bloodthirsty Sword.

Suddenly, something behind the Bee Sovereign caught his attention.

The Bee Sovereign turned, his peculiar golden compound eyes gleaming.

A radiant rift appeared in the bizarre mist.

Catching a faint trace of Pang Jian's aura, the Bee Sovereign tentatively asked, "Where are you?"

"Pang Jian?" Dong Tianze asked in surprise.

In response, the rift slowly widened, and a towering divine figure stepped out.

The towering figure had a large section of skin torn from its chest, exposing a stunning spectacle within that resembled starry skies. It was Pang Jian, though not his physical body.

"I encountered a mid-ranking Outer God named Yang Luo in the bizarre mist and got injured," said Pang Jian.

After some consideration, he had opted to travel to the Abyss with his Immortal Divine Soul, leaving his physical body and the bronze pendant in the Shadow Abyss.

Pang Jian glanced at the sword emitting an ominous hum above Dong Tianze's head.

"Is that the Bloodthirsty Sword?" he asked.

The Bloodthirsty Sword's hum grew louder at his inquiry, and the Abyssal Demon Sword in his hand responded with a resonant cry. Both divine swords had previously been confined to the lowest level of the Sword Pavilion and had never expected to reunite outside its walls.

"Yes, it's the Bloodthirsty Sword."

𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Dong Tianze grasped the blood-soaked divine sword and casually plunged it into his body, nourishing it with his own blood. His body itself seemed to serve as the sword's sheath.

"Are you capable of fighting mid-ranking Outer Gods now?" Dong Tianze asked, his earlier pride at massacring the Ghost Race warriors shattered. "Pang Jian, I'll also claim a divine seat of my own and ascend as a True God through the Dao of Blood. I don't care if they label me a heretical God!"

Although his initial tone held traces of dejection, he quickly regained his confidence.

Dong Tianze had unwavering faith in his strength. Once he ascended to godhood, he was certain he would rank among the strongest.

He and Pang Jian would then rise against the Outer Gods, fighting alongside each other as before.

"You will. Fortune will surely descend upon you, Dong Tianze, to aid your ascension as a True God," Pang Jian said with a smile.

Pang Jian then asked Dong Tianze and the Bee Sovereign about updates on recent events and soon learned about the six rifts on the boundary wall.

"Return to the Abyss if you need to recover. I alone am enough to guard this place," Dong Tianze said, glancing at the Ghost Race warriors' corpses. "I need their remains to nourish my sword. Once the Bloodthirsty Sword is fully nurtured and I'm ready, I'll seek my path to godhood."

Pang Jian's smile deepened as he nodded at Dong Tianze. "Very well."

Although Pang Jian's Immortal Divine Soul could sense the scattered golden bees, he could not teleport directly to them without the bronze pendant. So, he spent some time navigating the familiar sea of bizarre mist with the golden bees as his guides.

It only took him an hour to traverse the sea of bizarre mist and step into the Abyss with his Immortal Divine Soul.

Whoosh!

Even with the gaping wound in his chest, the starry spectacle within his Immortal Divine Soul meant the injury did not look gruesome but rather awe-inspiring.

Divine seats, Fortune...

Closing his eyes, he attempted to sense the flow of Fortune in the Second World. He wanted to see if he could draw some into his Immortal Divine Soul to heal the injuries.

Pang Jian's divine sense surged like a tidal wave as it spread out. Fragmented lands entered his perception, imprinting themselves deeply in his mind.

The auras of powerful beings on these fragmented lands were laid bare to Pang Jian. He could even sense the fusion of life energy and spiritual qi within their bodies, as well as their every action and word.

Despite this, he still could not sense any trace of Fortune.

"Pang Jian!"

A deep voice echoed from a continent in the First World.

Moments later, a radiant figure with flowing robes descended, gracefully coming to a halt before Pang Jian.

"You're injured?" Li Wang's eyes widened in surprise as he glanced at the bizarre mist behind Pang Jian. "Did you return from the bizarre mist surrounding Absolute Heaven?"

He had assumed that Pang Jian had retreated to the Resolute Expanse to stabilize his cultivation in seclusion after his battle with Li Chu. Thus, he had not expected Pang Jian to emerge from the bizarre mist with an injury.

Who could possibly injure Pang Jian? Was it a Rank Ten foreign race warrior from the Fifth World, or perhaps the Flame God Yan Lie?

Li Wang's mind swirled with questions.

Nodding, Pang Jian pointed to the exposed wound in his chest and asked, "How do I heal an injury like this?"

"What caused it?" Li Wang asked instead of answering.

"An Outer God named Yang Luo."

"Be specific. What's their rank?"

"She's a mid-ranking Outer God."

Li Wang fell silent.