Chapter 604: The Shield of the Abyss!

A fragmented land named Augury Pivot lay north of the Heaven Awakening Continent in the Second World.

Past battles had left the land scarred and pockmarked.

Floating high above this fragmented land was the Celestial Profound Mirror.

The light of the Celestial Profound Mirror reflected off the smooth surfaces of towering mountains, casting countless illusory worlds into existence.

Humans, foreign race warriors, and ancient Fey Race powerhouses moved ceaselessly within these ethereal worlds, reenacting the past.

The intricate ties, grudges, and long-forgotten histories between the human race, the foreign races, and the Fey Race unfolded one after another.

In the beginning, the Fey Race had ruled over the Abyss. Time passed, and the foreign races rose to power, seizing control from the Fey Race.

Then, came the human race. Although they were inherently weak and lacked any innate bloodline powers, they stubbornly forged a unique path of cultivation, using the spiritual qi of heaven and earth to cleanse their flesh and strengthen their souls.

Over time, the human race flourished. Only after their first True God was born did the foreign race ruling the Abyss take them seriously.

However, by then, it was already too late to stop them.

It did not take long for the human race to rise to prominence and produce even more True Gods. They forged an alliance with the Fey Race, rebelling against the foreign races' rule.

After grueling battles, the human race ultimately emerged victorious, overthrowing the foreign races to become the new rulers of the Abyss. Meanwhile, the Fey Race was forced into subjugation.

The foreign races in the Fifth World launched wave after wave of counterattacks, seeking to reclaim their lost dominion.

They forged close ties with the Outer Gods and leveraged powers from beyond the Abyss to strengthen their cause.

In the present day, their greatest bid for overthrowing the human race had been fully set in motion.

The ever-changing history of the Abyss was displayed across countless illusory worlds, where the weight of past events resonated with immense power.

Within one of these illusions, Liu Fu stood locked in battle against Sha Jia of the Celestial Race.

The Celestial Race woman's regal presence stood commandingly in the dark expanse of an illusory battlefield.

"Dawnpiercer Spear, shatter all the illusions!" she cried, piercing the sky with a single thrust of her gleaming spear.

Her ten pairs of pristine white wings burned with sacred white flames, enveloping her in a radiance so pure that she seemed like the embodiment of light itself.

Before they fell to the Fifth World, the Celestial Race had resided in the First World, the place closest to the sky.

They basked in the light of the sun, moon, and stars, living without care. The other races revered and worshiped them.

As a race born into nobility, their bloodline power was tied to the forces of light. Thus, their strength had also drastically waned after being cast down into the darkness of the Fifth World.

Sha Jia, the strongest of the Celestial Race, had broken through that endless era of darkness with a single thrust of her Dawnpiercer Spear.

Blazing like the rising sun, her spear tore through the illusory worlds, shattering them one after another.

The illusory worlds fractured like fragile mirrors and scattered into nothingness.

The conjured figures of the past disappeared.

Forced out of hiding, the otherwise unremarkable Liu Fu emerged with a bloody gash across his forehead, blood trickling down his face.

A bitter taste welled up in his heart. He knew he had suffered a grave injury.

His path to godhood was rooted in the Dao of Illusions and bore a semblance to the fallen Mirage Dragon.

Liu Fu could construct illusory worlds, with his strength corresponding to their level of realism and completion.

𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Unexpectedly, Sha Jia had obliterated them all with a single thrust of her Dawnpiercer Spear and was once again bathing in the radiance of the celestial bodies.

The terrifying power that had long lain dormant within her bloodline now swelled in its full, unrestrained glory.

Liu Fu knew he was no match for her. He could already see himself following in the footsteps of Lin Qiyang and Li Chu.

Sha Jia was destined to kill him.

At that moment of despair, he felt the Fortune in the barrier descend upon him.

A surge of power flowed from the eternal seal of the Abyss, pouring directly into the Celestial Profound Mirror.

The mirror became infused with a trace of the barrier's might.

"There's divine sense in the barrier! It's Li Zhaotian!"

Liu Fu's spirit soared.

Peering into the sky with the Celestial Profound Mirror, he caught sight of a colossal azure dragon rushing from the Sacred Soul Continent to the First World, its serpentine body coiled around the Sword Pavilion.

Gratitude welled up within Liu Fu.

The barrier's blessing would allow him to turn the tide against Sha Jia.

***

Fire God Yan Lie hovered in the skies of the First World beyond the Northern Ruin like a burning mountain, his divine domain expanding outward.

Two Rank Ten powerhouses, Li Bai and Jing Sha, flanked him on either side.

Searing flames were devouring a desolate world of cold silence and overgrown weeds.

This was a domain belonging to True God Pei Yishan of the Forsaken Expanse Sect.

A sea of talismans attempted to halt the advancing flames to no avail, with their runes harmlessly crumbling into ash.

Dong Shangqing fought with all his might. Summoning his Dharma Idol—a colossal form woven from endless converging talismans—he ceaselessly refined new talismans, channeling the power of heaven and earth through the intricate tapestry of ancient inscriptions.

Even that was not enough to stop the Fire God's relentless inferno.

The sea of talismans and Pei Yishan's barren divine domain neared total collapse beneath the advancing flames.

Then, the True Gods felt something peculiar.

The barrier seemed to be gazing upon them.

The eternal, omnipresent barrier had always remained formless, but now they could sense a divine sense within it.

"Li Zhaotian!"

Dong Shangqing's sea of talismans abruptly underwent a drastic transformation.

The divine talismans transformed into glacial ice, then a vast, frigid ocean, before finally condensing into frozen stars adrift in the starry skies.

Divine techniques, many of which Dong Shangqing had never studied or understood, manifested through his talismans, radiating an unfamiliar power.

The same talismans that had failed to hold the raging inferno back now forcefully held it at bay.

With the support of the barrier, Pei Yishan and Dong Shangqing were no longer completely overpowered and could stand their ground against Yan Lie, Li Bai, and Jing Sha.

***

A profound shift took place across the Eastern Land, the Southern Gorge, and the two fragmented lands belonging to the two rogue True Gods.

At the critical turning point of their battles, the True Gods of the human race felt a surging will emanating from the barrier.

It was Li Zhaotian's will!

The "Tian" in Li Zhaotian's name seemed to signify none other than the barrier itself, as if he were the "sky" of the Abyss![1]

With his power alone, he stirred the might of the barrier, mobilizing the power that sealed the Abyss in support of the True Gods, Su Wanzhou included.

The Sect Master of the Pure Land Sect, crushed motionless beneath the overwhelming force of the Ah Man's ten thousand mountains and the Rock Bear's ten-thousandfold gravity, suddenly broke free from her shackles.

"Li Zhaotian!"

Joy danced in Su Wanrou's clear eyes.

At this moment, she finally understood the true essence of Li Zhaotian's Dao.

His Dao was to become the "sky" of the Abyss itself, harmonizing with the barrier and endlessly fortifying it against the prying eyes of the Outer Gods.

He sought to become the Abyss's strongest bulwark—to become its shield!

Li Zhaotian had dedicated his entire existence to this pursuit. For someone like that, there was almost no possibility of failure when forging their path to godhood.

Failure could only come from outside interference.

Master, where exactly are you?

Pang Jian asked in concern, even as his Chaos Firmament continued its relentless destruction of Long Xiao's lightning vortexes,

Long Xiao was flying toward the barrier while wrapped around the Sword Pavilion. What is he trying to do?

He seeks to shatter the barrier while still remaining within the Abyss

, Li Zhaotian replied.

If the barrier breaks, even for a fleeting moment, my path to godhood will be severed.

But you need not worry. He won't be able to lay a finger on the barrier because Gui Mu has already left the Southern Gorge.

Li Zhaotian let out a carefree chuckle laced with unshakable certainty.

1. In Li Zhaotian's (厉兆天) name, "Tian (天)" means "sky" or "heaven", symbolizing something vast, unshakable, and all-encompassing. Here, it draws a parallel between Li Zhaotian and the barrier (天禁), suggesting that he is not merely bound to it but has become the embodiment of it. ☜