Chapter 593: Yuan Qi's Resurrection

The night was deep and heavy.

Mournful cries faded into the distance as the Nine-Headed Bird retreated into the lower worlds.

The sheer oppressive force of the descending Chaos Firmament had obliterated six of the Nine-Headed Bird's heads.

Long Xiao had summoned this Nine-Headed Bird, infamous throughout the history of the Abyss, to the Second World in an attempt to smother Pang Jian and sever Li Zhaotian's path to godhood.

Instead, Pang Jian brutally defeated it, forcing it into a miserable retreat.

Wisps of souls flickered into existence from the six exploded heads of the Nine-Headed Bird.

𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

These were the lingering remnants of powerful human cultivators it had devoured and fused into its soul.

As long as it lived, these souls could never be freed, nor could they return to the cycle of reincarnation.

The Nine-Headed Bird was born with a bloodline inherently attuned to souls and the power to consume them. It had hurried to this battlefield to seize Mu Wentao's lingering soul.

Mu Wentao had left behind traces of his Heavenly Dao within his soul fragments, insights that could help the Nine-Headed Bird refine and perfect its own soul-related abilities.

It only extracted the insights Mu Wentao had comprehended in his early years and ignored any memories related to love and mortal emotions.

When the Nine-Headed Bird's six heads exploded, torrents of light burst forth uncontrollably, only for Gui Mu's divine power to immediately draw them in.

The light paid no heed to distance. They simply vanished from the battlefield and appeared within Gui Mu's temple in the blink of an eye.

These missing fragments of Mu Wentao's soul flowed toward the Azure Nether, returning to the original trajectory of his rebirth.

"I keep my promises. The Gray Ape's soul will soon return to its body," Gui Mu said, using the Flame Dragon's soul to emerge from the blazing demonic realm as a crimson flame.

She only dared to reveal herself after the Nine-Headed Bird had fled, no longer fearing the monstrous bird would devour her divine sense.

The flickering flame burned like a watchful eye as Gui Mu curiously studied the firmament above.

Everything that made up Pang Jian could be seen within the vast celestial expanse, from the rhythmic pulses of his heart and the ripples of his divine sense to the profound insights of the Heavenly Daos he had comprehended.

Pang Jian had transformed his Immortal Divine Soul into a radiant starry sky. This feat was so astonishing that even Gui Mu could not help but marvel.

Li Wang had forged his divine path through the Dao of Starry Skies and used it to ascend to godhood within the Abyss.

Despite that, she could not help but feel that Li Wang's Dao of Starry Skies was hazy and lacked true substance in comparison to Pang Jian's starry expanse.

Pang Jian's starry skies felt far more real, like an unaltered reflection of the true starry skies beyond the Abyss.

"Please see to the Gray Ape's soul at once," the strikingly handsome Abyssal Demon said with a faint smile as he gazed at the flickering crimson flame.

Gui Mu let out a soft snort. "I'm already working on it."

The light that burst out from the Nine-Headed Bird's six heads was already flowing into Yuan Qi's body, coalescing into a mysterious sigil that only Gui Mu could create and understand.

The sigil constantly shifted, at times resembling a deep pool, a grinding millstone, or even a bottomless chasm.

Gui Mu's divine power intertwined with the lingering fragments of Yuan Qi's soul through this sigil.

The remnants of Yuan Qi's soul, which Gui Mu had previously anchored to prevent it from dissipating, manifested as ethereal wisps of light, visible only as a hazy mist.

These wisps flowed along his hollow eye sockets and merged into his mind.

"You'll need to part with some of the vast blood essence stored within the two dragons' hearts," Gui Mu said.

The Abyssal Demon smiled. "Naturally."

The Demon God and the True God of the human race worked together to restore Yuan Qi to life.

Meanwhile, Pang Jian existed within the Chaos Firmament above.

A new firmament had replaced the original sky of the Second World, eclipsing the sun, moon, and stars that once illuminated the lands below.

This new sky was magnificent, as if the cosmos beyond had been pulled into the Abyss.

Even Li Wang could not manifest the starry skies beyond the Abyss using his divine power alone nor recreate the full extent the coexisting sun, moon, and other celestial bodies, with their myriad energies intertwining.

This was because his comprehension of Heavenly Dao was simply not deep enough to give form to the endless starry skies.

Li Wang had never stepped beyond the Abyss or wandered through the boundless bizarre mist.

Merely peering at the starry skies from within the Abyss was not enough to allow him to grasp the true nature of the starry skies, let alone recreate the depths of its mysteries.

In his battle with the Nine-Headed Bird, Pang Jian had brought into existence what Li Wang could not even depict, let alone accomplish.

Pang Jian had first used darkness as the foundation before infusing it with the chill of the void and adorning it with the sun, moons, and stars. He then pulled forth annihilating lightning.

Finally, his Immortal Divine Soul fragmented, wholly merging into the mystical firmament.

The initial inspiration for this profound technique had come from the Heaven-Encompassing Demonic Array, which had enveloped the Demon Abyss Continent in a massive sealing barrier forged from demonic energy.

The Heaven-Encompassing Demonic Array contained hundreds of layered arrays, all intricately interwoven to form a self-reinforcing structure.

Building upon this foundation, Pang Jian imprinted his insights into the firmament, slowly refining it into something far greater.

When his Immortal Divine Soul fragmented, his bones became the Heavenly Daos, his organs transformed into scattered stars, and his divine power infused the celestial expanse with the five elements of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth.

Thus, the Chaos Firmament was born.

The creation of this technique relied entirely on Pang Jian's Immortal Divine Soul. It was also the first time he discovered that his extraordinary Immortal Divine Soul could be split into thousands of separate parts.

His Immortal Divine Soul could transform at will. This was not only limited to growing and shrinking but also splitting into fragments.

This boundless transformation bore a striking resemblance to the nature of demons. Just as demonic souls, flames, and mist could exist as separate manifestations while also being able to merge into a singular true form, so too could his Immortal Divine Soul fragment and recombine at will.

As the Chaos Firmament took shape and descended, Pang Jian unexpectedly sensed the barrier assisting him.

The eternal structure atop the Abyss, which had long suppressed all beings below while barring the Outer Gods from entering, now faintly carried his master's aura.

In the process of ascending to godhood, his master had influenced one of the deepest mysteries of the Abyss: the barrier!

Pang Jian felt as though he finally understood the boundless vision behind his master's Heavenly Dao.

Grand Elder Jiang Ran sought to conjure a gate with his sword to break through the barrier that enshrouded the Abyss. His goal was to grant ultimate freedom to all the beings trapped within.

If Jiang Ran succeeded, it would not only allow True Gods but also low-level cultivators and ordinary non-cultivators to escape their imprisonment.

His Dao of Sword was ambitious but unrealistic.

Jiang Ran had overlooked a crucial fact.

After all, the existence of the barrier was what allowed the Abyss to flourish as it had. The barrier that confined the inhabitants of the Abyss also protected them, allowing them to grow without interference from the Outer Gods.

Only when one had the power to soar through the starry skies could they break through the barrier and leave.

While the barrier seemed like a shackle upon the Abyss's inhabitants, the truth was that it was also a painstakingly crafted shield.

Forming a gate in the barrier would only draw the attention of the Outer Gods.

If the Outer Gods descended in their true bodies, the human race within the Abyss would have no hope of survival.

The Heavenly Dao Jiang Ran pursued and the Heavenly Dao of his master, Li Zhaotian, were fundamentally opposed.

The Sword God of the previous generation had clearly chosen to pass the position of Pavilion Master to Li Zhaotian instead of his personal disciple Jiang Ran because he recognized that the former's Heavenly Dao was the one that would truly benefit the Abyss.

Even now, while still in the process of ascending to godhood, his master's presence had already started to influence the barrier.

If he succeeds in reaching godhood, will the barrier itself become his sword?

Pang Jian wondered.

His Dao of Sword is built upon the barrier, and his pursuit is perfectly aligned with its existence.

Doesn't that mean he'll be granted the barrier's recognition and approval upon ascending?

Does that mean my master could break past the barrier and step into the boundless starry skies beyond with just a single step?

Perhaps the grand future my master envisions is one where he stands beyond the Abyss, feet firmly planted upon the barrier as he faces the Outer Gods with his sword in hand.

A roar of grief and fury from the thousand-zhang-tall Gray Ape snapped Pang Jian out of his thoughts.

"Condense!"

The Chaos Firmament shrouding the Second World's sky rapidly contracted. The five divine viscera of Pang Jian's Immortal Divine Soul were the first to return to their rightful places.

His bones then descended one after another, settling like mountain ranges around his organs.

The stars, moons, lightning, and chill were all drawn back into the enveloping darkness and sealed within his chest.

With that, the Chaos Firmament completely vanished, and his majestic Immortal Divine Soul reformed.

Pang Jian then shrank his Immortal Divine Soul to human size and stepped forward to face the resurrected Yuan Qi.

"Pang Jian, I failed to convince the leader of the Fey Race in Northern Qi," Yuan Qi said. "He's determined to restore the glory of the Fey Race and has long since allied with the foreign races in the Fifth World."

The Nine-Headed Bird had gouged out Yuan Qi's icy-blue eyes, responsible for awakening the Gray Ape's divine abilities, and left them in Northern Qi to refine into an artifact.

Thus, Yuan Qi could only perceive Pang Jian's presence through his aura and soul fluctuation.

He stared at Pang Jian with hollow sockets crusted in dried blood.

The thick fur covering his face settled into an unnervingly calm expression.

In the brief moments since his resurrection, the Abyssal Demon had already told him about how he had died and been brought back to life. He also learned that Li Zhaotian had long since rescued Pang Lin from the ancient Thunder Dragon's grasp.

The knowledge that Pang Lin was safe set his heart at ease.

Pang Jian had saved Yuan Qi back when the Celestial Phoenix's bones crashed into Northern Qi and the major factions of the Fourth World had rushed in to investigate.

Later, the ancient Fey Race hidden in the bizarre mist had taken him in as one of their own.

Yuan Qi felt indebted to the Nine-Headed Bird. Even after dying once and having his eyes gouged out, he did not see the Nine-Headed Bird as an enemy.

This was because he was a part of the Fey Race.

The Nine-Headed Bird and Long Xiao sought to reclaim the Fey Race's rightful place in the Abyss. Their goal was to take back what had been lost to the human race and the foreign races.

Their choices had been made for the revival of their race.

Yuan Qi had no right to condemn them for that.

He did not know how to distinguish right from wrong anymore, nor could he foresee where the Fey Race would end up after their leaders' decisions.

As war between the races loomed, Yuan Qi no longer knew where he belonged.

"Pang Jian, could I go to Absolute Heaven?"