Chapter 610: Homeland

A high concentration of murky energy permeated Northern Qi.

Pang Jian overlooked the fragmented land from the skies, his divine sense unfurling to scan every detail of the landscape, imprinting it into his mind.

This was his and his sister's homeland. Before the bizarre mist had swallowed this fragmented land, he had often gazed up at the eternally overcast skies of the Fourth World, imagining a future where he could one day take his sister to the Third World.

Only from the Third World upward could one see the sun, moon, and stars.

The years had passed in a blur.

His sister had since become the cherished disciple of Su Wanrou of the Pure Land Sect.

Pang Jian, on the other hand, had ascended to godhood from the Nirvana Realm after enduring numerous trials.

Unfortunately, the one thing that remained unchanged was the fact that their father was still missing.

The only thing his father had left behind was a bronze pendant, which revealed its miraculous abilities as Pang Jian grew stronger, ultimately becoming his greatest aid in ascending as a True God.

It's time to venture into the depths of Northern Qi's bizarre mist.

With that thought, Pang Jian raced through the sky at full speed.

Pang Jian cast a fleeting glance at the vast wasteland below, where the Fey Race had erected stone cities, then moved on without a second thought.

Northern Qi had long been devoid of human cultivators, let alone non-cultivators.

Only the Fey Race, capable of fluidly adapting to both spiritual qi and murky energy, remained on this fragmented land.

Pang Jian held no attachment to any of the Fey Race below.

When he reached the wilderness at the edge of the Solitary Mountain Range, he abruptly halted, his gaze lowering to where three stone houses once stood.

The only thing left there was scattered rubble.

A few wolves with low bloodline ranks prowled the desolate wilderness, weaving through the ruins as they foraged for scraps.

The wolves froze when they sensed an icy gaze on them. Glancing up, they whimpered and fled into the distance.

Though Pang Jian's Immortal Divine Soul was a normal human size, it was still undeniably eye-catching, wreathed in prismatic radiance. A protective shield also enveloped him, preventing the murky energy from slowly corroding his divine body.

To those wolves, he appeared as an incomprehensibly towering divine being, and rightfully so.

It's gone. Everything's gone. But perhaps that's for the best. This way, there's nothing left to dwell on.

Pang Jian let out a soft sigh of melancholy before soaring past the wilderness and entering the Solitary Mountain Range.

"A human has intruded!"

Many Rank Eight Great Feys roared in fear when they caught sight of Pang Jian soaring through the sky.

These Great Feys had come from the depths of the bizarre mist and had lingered in Northern Qi under the orders of the Nine-Headed Bird.

The Solitary Mountain Range was home to many of these powerful Fey Race, each with their own marked territory.

They were all preparing to emerge from Northern Qi and wage war against the outside world.

Their mission was to join forces with the foreign races from the Fifth World and the Fey Race on the Fey Spirit Continent to launch an assault on the humans.

Li Bai of the Demon Scale Race and the ancient Thunder Dragon had visited this fragmented land before.

Naturally, they were aware that the Fey Race was switching sides in the upcoming war against the human race.

The sudden appearance of a True God sent waves of panic through their ranks. They feared their plans had been exposed and that this was merely the beginning of the human race's counterattack.

Unexpectedly, the human cultivator never even acknowledged them, soaring past without a second glance.

Pang Jian flew past familiar landmarks within the Solitary Mountain Range, from Blackwater Pond and Insect Valley to Central Lake Island.

However, he never once paused.

His divine sense rippled outward like a wave, skimming across these places, scanning every detail.

Blackwater Pond teemed with serpents and monstrous fish. Meanwhile, Insect Valley had been overrun with swarming insects.

The Fey Race had also long since claimed Central Lake Island.

The Solitary Mountain Range remained as vivid as ever in his cherished memories, yet somehow its significance within his heart was starting to fade into nothingness.

I never truly cared about this fragmented land or the stone houses where we once lived,

Pang Jian realized.

My sister and my missing father have always mattered most to me.

His sister was safe and thriving.

Although he did not know what happened to his father, he held out hope that he was still alive, just waiting to be found.

Pang Jian had become one of the True Gods of the human race and was blessed with a supportive master. In time, when the ancient Thunder Dragon fell, his sister, Pang Lin, would likely ascend to godhood through the Dao of Lightning.

If he could find his father and reunite their family, he would truly have no regrets left in this life.

I am well, and so is Pang Lin. I hope you're alive and well too.

A prismatic radiance streaked toward the northernmost region of the Solitary Mountain Range and into the bizarre mist.

Pang Jian's Immortal Divine Soul instantly sensed the Bee Sovereign, the swarm of bees, and his physical body.

The boundary walls between abysses did not affect his connection with his physical body while in the bizarre mist.

He could also sense that he was not as far from the Bee Sovereign and the golden bees as he had imagined.

If he flew upward, he could reach Absolute Heaven from the northernmost region of the Fourth World.

Of course, the northernmost region of the Fourth World was not directly aligned with the restricted area in the Second World, but it was close enough.

Near the boundary wall of the Abyss in the Fourth World, Pang Jian found a region reminiscent of Absolute Heaven.

Pang Jian's Immortal Divine Soul beheld the seven fragmented lands hidden within the bizarre mist.

A lifeless World Tree, long dead for countless years, stretched its bare branches outward, limbs piercing into the seven fragmented lands.

These fragmented lands were all smaller than Northern Qi and completely saturated with murky energy.

Ruins of ancient Fey Race fortresses stood on the seven fragmented lands, with dense forests, towering mountains, and winding rivers around them. Lesser and Great Feys roamed cautiously, eyes filled with wary vigilance.

The dead World Tree appeared to have once supported these seven fragmented lands. Its branches had once nourished them with a vast supply of murky energy.

Some of the Fey Race had lingered on these seven fragmented lands for years, living in isolation from the outside world.

They were the fortunate ones. The World Gods' protection spared them from the wars and chaos beyond.

"Pang–Pang Jian!" A Rank Eight Scarlet-Eyed Demon Wolf gaped in shock and disbelief, body shuddering as he morphed into a red-haired man. "Why are you here?!"

This Rank Eight Scarlet-Eyed Wolf had once crossed paths with Pang Jian outside Northern Qi. Back then, he had informed Pang Jian about the Giant Abyssal Serpent's noble bloodline of the Black Dragon and told him that Yuan Qi was his friend.

He had even asked Pang Jian to spread the word that the ancient Fey Race still survived in Northern Qi and could awaken their dormant bloodlines.

"Did Yuan Qi return here recently?" Pang Jian asked, voice cold and unyielding.

"A human!"

Pang Jian's intrusion had jarred the Great Feys and Fey Kings on the six other fragmented lands awake.

Their colossal bodies rose in full vigilance.

Three Rank Nine Fey Kings, an Ice Sculpture Beast, a Rock Python, and a White Fox, took to the skies from different fragmented lands.

Their towering bodies, each thousands of zhang tall, loomed like mountains before Pang Jian.

As the Scarlet-Eyed Demon Wolf was a rank below them, he had no choice but to stay behind them in human form, crimson pupils filled with guilt.

Briefly meeting Pang Jian's gaze, he lowered his head in silence.

"Did Yuan Qi return here recently?!" Pang Jian asked again.

The Scarlet-Eyed Demon Wolf avoided Pang Jian's gaze, but Pang Jian did not relent, ignoring the three Rank Nine Fey Kings, piercing eyes fixed firmly on the Scarlet-Eyed Demon Wolf.

"You once told me that Yuan Qi was your friend. When I last saw him, his eyes had been gouged out. Tell me, where are Yuan Qi's eyes now?"

The Scarlet-Eyed Demon Wolf opened his mouth, struggling to speak. "I—"

"Yuan Qi disgraced himself for a mere human girl!" the Ice Sculpture Beast coldly interrupted. "He begged Forefather to spare her and even tried to persuade Forefather to reason with the ancient Thunder Dragon of the Dragon Lair Sect!

"Forefather already chose to sever ties with the human race! Why would he plead on behalf of a human?!"

An icy storm churned behind the Ice Sculpture Beast.

Yuan Qi's bloodline was rooted in the cold, and his eyes held his insights into the Dao of Cold.

Like the Giant Abyssal Serpent and the Ice Armor Eel Dragon, Yuan Qi had once been a Fey God, reborn through the bronze pendant using his blood.

When he was guided to this place, his extraordinary talent and rapid bloodline advancement had shaken the entire Fey Race.

Yuan Qi and the Ice Sculpture Beast had long been rivals in the Dao of Cold, constantly competing for supremacy. At one point, Yuan Qi had even earned the high regard of the Nine-Headed Bird and was granted a mission to head to the Sacred Soul Continent to aid the Rock Bear in awakening its latent bloodline.

When Yuan Qi returned, he was already a Rank Nine Fey King, an achievement that put immense pressure on the Ice Sculpture Beast.

Fortunately for the Ice Sculpture Beast, Yuan Qi's latest return was to plead for the life of a human girl. Even after the Nine-Headed Bird's firm refusal, Yuan Qi relentlessly pursued the matter, enraging the Nine-Headed Bird.

The Ice Sculpture Beast felt nothing but satisfaction when the furious Nine-Headed Bird drove its talons deep into Yuan Qi's eye sockets and ripped out his ice-blue eyes.

His greatest rival had eliminated himself.

"Yuan Qi said it himself, that human girl is the child of the World God," said the Scarlet-Eyed Demon Wolf, voice barely above a whisper as he stole a glance at Pang Jian, then just as quickly, lowered his gaze. "The only reason we've survived here...is because the World God sheltered us. Even Forefather never denied this."

"So why did he abandon us?" the Ice Sculpture Beast screeched. "He swore he'd return for us! He promised to take us away from these fragmented lands in the bizarre mist!

"But he never came back! He left the Abyss with the power of the World God and left us all behind! His promises and guidance were all a lie!"

The Ice Sculpture Beast flapped its massive wings, stirring up a storm of piercing cold winds and swirling frost.

"He was human too! Have you all forgotten how humans persecuted us? Have you forgotten the suffering they inflicted upon us?"

The Rank Nine Rock Python and White Fox said nothing.

Pang Jian coldly watched the ranting Ice Sculpture Beast, ready to strike him down. The only thing holding him back was the mention of the World God.

𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

"I came for Yuan Qi's eyes. After that, I—" Pang Jian's gaze shifted to the Scarlet-Eyed Demon Wolf.

"His eyes? Forefather has already promised them to me! They'll be given to me after being refined into an artefact!" the Ice Sculpture Beast interrupted once again. "Forefather also said that a new position for Fey God would open up soon, and that I would be the one worthy to claim it!"

Isolated within the bizarre mist and ignorant of the true happenings in the Abyss, the Ice Sculpture Beast still clung to the Nine-Headed Bird's false promises.

Pang Jian's patience had reached its limit.

"A new position for Fey God will indeed open up soon, but you're not worthy to claim it." Glaring at the ranting Ice Sculpture Beast, he said coldly, "You're an ancient Rank Nine Fey King. Yuan Qi would probably enjoy having your Heart."

A blinding sword light slashed through the air, suppressing the Ice Sculpture Beast's bloodline.

Crackling lightning spheres surged from the radiant river of ice-blue swordlight and crashed into the blizzards.

The blizzards the Ice Sculpture Beast had condensed through his bloodline collapsed instantly.

Sensing something amiss, the Ice Sculpture Beast frantically flapped his wings to flee, but the river of sword light severed his head clean from his neck before he could escape.

"Your so-called Forefather lost all nine of his heads to me. What made you think you'd fare any better?"

Pang Jian's towering Immortal Divine Soul materialized, its giant hand reaching out to seize the Ice Sculpture Beast's falling head.

With a slight squeeze, the Ice Sculpture Beast's head burst apart in his fist, reduced to nothing but a spray of blood.

Pang Jian then thrust his sword forward, slicing away chunks of the Ice Sculpture Beast's torso to reveal its heart.

Chillingly cold energy spread, freezing the bloodied heart into a massive block of glacial stone.

The Scarlet-Eyed Demon Wolf stood in silent terror. The Rank Nine Ice Sculpture Beast he admired had been dealt with in the blink of an eye.

The Ice Sculpture Beast had been doomed the moment Pang Jian had unleashed his first strike.

Eyeing Pang Jian's towering Immortal Divine Soul, the Scarlet-Eyed Demon Wolf trembled in shock.

It hasn't been that long. How has Pang Jian already ascended to a True God of the human race?

The Fey God Nine-Headed Bird had always kept his followers in the dark regarding major events about the human race of the Abyss.

Although the Nine-Headed Bird was aware of Pang Jian's meteoric rise and his ascension to godhood, it had never revealed the matter to his Fey Kings or Great Feys.

Boasting the enemy's achievements only undermined his authority, and the Nine-Headed Bird would never do such a thing.

Thus, the Scarlet-Eyed Demon Wolf remained utterly unaware that Pang Jian had long since become the new Sword God of the Abyss.

He only realized the truth when he saw Pang Jian swing his sword and beheld the towering divine figure before him.

"Forefather...you cut off his heads?" The Fey King White Fox's massive body shrank, shifting into an alluring woman.

She had wisely remained silent during the Ice Sculpture Beast's arrogant rants, having sensed the sheer danger radiating from Pang Jian, instinctively knowing that he was not someone to be underestimated.

Even then, she had not expected the young man to be a True God!

More shocking still was the fact that this same young man had apparently hunted down and decapitated their revered Nine-Headed Bird in the Abyss!

A chill crawled down the White Fox's spine.

Pang Jian nodded with an undeniable finality. "All nine heads. Not a single one was spared."

The White Fox let out a long, weary sigh.

Waving her hand, she gestured for the Rock Python to retreat and the Scarlet-Eyed Demon Wolf to remain.

"I know you've come for Yuan Qi's eyes, but is there anything else you want?"

The dismissed Rank Nine Rock Python slithered back toward one of the fragmented lands, his massive body twisting and coiling as he moved. Still, it could not help but glance back at Pang Jian and the lifeless corpse of the Ice Sculpture Beast, still suspended in the air.

"I also want the last head of your so-called Forefather. It isn't truly dead unless that last head is destroyed. A new position for Fey God won't open up until then." Pang Jian's eyes narrowed, locking onto the retreating Rank Nine Rock Python with unsettling precision. "If my guess is correct, that final head is inside you."

The Rock Python's massive body stiffened, as if struck by a bolt of lightning.