Chapter 589: The Death of a True God

A vast, crimson fragmented land lay north of the Western Loam in the First World.

This fragmented land was known as the Crimson Sun and belonged to Lin Qiyang, the second-ranked True God of the Pure Land Sect.

It was covered in volcanoes, with rivers of lava carved through its ground, making it inhospitable for ordinary beings.

Only those mastering the arts of fire and with an exceptionally high cultivation realm could hope to survive here.

Even if one met these qualifications, they still required the approval of True God Lin Qiyang to enter the Crimson Sun.

At that moment, a brilliant cloud of fiery radiance appeared over the Crimson Sun and surged skyward toward the barrier.

A Dharma Idol, shaped like a blazing volcano, disintegrated in mid-air, breaking apart into hundreds of falling meteoric flames.

True God Lin Qiyang had fallen.

Resolute faces appeared within the lava lakes, volcanic craters, and boiling pools all across the Crimson Sun.

Some were forged from flame while others were sculpted from lava, but all bore an identical visage. As the fiery meteors of Lin Qiyang's shattered Dharma Idol rained down, these faces opened their mouths, devouring the fragments falling across the fragmented land.

The bubbling magma of the volcanoes fell silent, rivers of lava dried up, and molten pools withered away into nothingness.

The Crimson Sun, which Lin Qiyang had painstakingly cultivated for years, became drained of fire energy. Not a trace of heat or flame remained. This once-scorching fragmented land had turned into a cold wasteland.

It was only then that the Fire God, Yan Lie, revealed himself, emerging from within a volcanic crater.

He had completely restrained his presence, not allowing even a single wisp of heat to radiate from his body.

Sitting atop the now-frozen crater in his human form, he gazed curiously at the invisible barrier above.

"Truly fascinating." His eyes gleamed with awe.

Fire God Yan Lie was filled with questions about the Fortune of the Abyss, the divine seats, and the barrier.

Once, he had been a high-ranking Outer God, but had willingly died to fulfill the Sovereign's will, with his body, soul, and blood scattered.

He had endured over thirty thousand years to return from death in Absolute Heaven.

Thirty thousand years ago, the human race was still locked in fierce struggles against the foreign races in the Fifth World and had yet to rise to dominance over the Abyss.

This was also before the human race had ever ascended to the starry skies.

Back then, the Sovereign had ordered Yan Lie to feign death and have his corpse secretly transported into the Abyss.

High-ranking Outer Gods like Zi Mo of the Ghost Race and Great Demon God He Motian had also conspired with the goal of annihilating the human race.

However, their efforts only came after the human race rose to power, seized control of the Abyss, and destroyed the Hall of Gods.

The Sovereign, on the other hand, had made preparations for the once-in-a-hundred-millennia grand event long before the human race ever rose to dominance in the Abyss.

Yan Lie now understood that the Sovereign's true intentions lay elsewhere.

As he followed the Sovereign, he started to notice that her attention was fixated not on the wars or the Fifth World, but on the endless darkness beneath.

What lies beneath that darkness?

Yan Lie wondered.

What is it that captivated the Sovereign's attention?

This was the greatest mystery in Yan Lie's heart.

While the Sovereign was undoubtedly the mastermind behind the ascension attempts of the foreign races and their continuous assaults against the human race, she also often seemed disinterested.

Yan Lie knew her goal was likely far greater than the extinction of the human race. There had to be something more.

On this occasion, he had been commanded to assist the foreign race powerhouses in eliminating Lin Qiyang.

Though Yan Lie had reclaimed his true body, his resurrection was still incomplete, and he had yet to restore his full divine power. This was because fire energy was severely lacking in the Fifth World.

Lin Qiyang's death allowed him to accumulate a vast reserve of fire energy.

Seizing the Fire God's accumulated strength and absorbing the boundless flames of the Crimson Sun allowed him to regain some of the power of a God. Unfortunately, despite this, his strength was only between a low-ranking and mid-ranking God.

The Fortune of the Abyss has created the miracles that are the True Gods of the human race. Perhaps I can absorb and refine it as well.

Yan Lie expanded his divine sense, attempting to lock onto the Fortune forming after Lin Qiyang's death and draw it into himself.

A brilliant strand of the Fortune was abruptly pulled away toward a True God in the Second World before he could seize it.

It's near the Sacred Soul Continent.

Yan Lie hesitated briefly. Just as he decided to descend and investigate, a transmission from Jing Sha arrived.

The newly ascended Rank Ten powerhouse of the Dark Shadow Race urgently requested his aid.

Her evident distress left him with no choice. Suppressing his curiosity, Yan Lie turned away from the anomaly and headed toward the Northern Ruin.

***

Beside the well-shaped domain of sword light, a crystalline radiance descended into Pang Jian's Immortal Divine Soul and embedded itself in his chest.

The darkness shrouding his wound receded as the radiance fused seamlessly with the edges of his injury. New flesh formed, rapidly knitting together his wound.

Pang Jian's Immortal Divine Soul was fully healed in the span of a single breath.

His divine form could once again shift at will, expanding to the size of mountains or shrinking a thousandfold with a thought.

A blazing heat lingered within the crystalline radiance.

Lin Qiyang of the Pure Land Sect.

Pang Jian peered up at the sky.

At that moment, visions flashed through his mind.

He saw the terrifying Fire God from Absolute Heaven descending upon a flaming fragmented land.

The Outer God had seized complete control of the fragmented land with his superior Dao of Fire before ambushing and killing the second-ranked True God of the Pure Land Sect.

Pang Jian had never been close to Lin Qiyang of the Pure Land Sect. Their first and only meeting had been at the Stargazing Platform not long ago.

Still, his sister had told him about her during past conversations through the Ghost Altar. The second-ranked True God of the Pure Land Sect had always treated his sister kindly, offering her guidance and protection.

Thus, Pang Jian had always held a deep sense of gratitude toward her and had intended to repay the favor one day.

How lamentable.

We didn't even get to exchange more than a few words before she was slain.

A cold, sinister voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Nether Serpent, Qilin, Golden Elephant, are you just going to stand there? You already watched him slay two Rank Nine dragons! Aren't you going to do anything about that?"

Pang Jian and the three Fey Kings turned toward the voice with a frown.

A massive Nine-Headed Bird tore through the astral winds bordering the Second and Third Worlds as it ascended.

It dragged a thousand-zhang-tall Gray Ape with it.

The Gray Ape was battered and bruised. Dark streams of blood oozed from its empty eye sockets.

"Yuan Qi, you're a member of the ancient Fey Race! I can't believe you actually begged for mercy on behalf of a human," the Nine-Headed Bird spat. "It doesn't matter if that human brat is this generation's World God; he cannot stand in the way of our Fey Race's rise!"

The Nine-Headed Bird's elegant body exuded an aura of ancient power. Fresh blood dripped from the beaks on each of its nine heads.

Long Xiao's earth-shaking roar had summoned this member of the ancient Fey Race from Northern Qi to aid in the battle in the Second World.