Chapter 618: Unusual Changes in the Thunder Pool

Many truths remained beyond reach until one achieved godhood.

The information Jiang Fan revealed to Li Zhaotian was ancient knowledge that only True Gods were privy to.

"How did the departed True Gods send their messages back to us? And in what era did they instruct us to build the Heaven Ascension Tribulation Pillars to stabilize the seven continents?" Li Zhaotian was utterly confused.

"Ten thousand years ago, the True Gods outside the Abyss entrusted an individual with a keepsake to return to the Abyss," Jiang Fan explained. "I'm sure you can guess who this was."

"The previous World God? Pang Jian's father?"

Jiang Fan nodded. "His name was Pang Qi. Perhaps he had other names, but we only know him as Pang Qi.

"I became a True God much later, so I never had the chance to meet him. Among the existing True Gods, only Li Wang and Gui Mu had the fortune of meeting him. Even Zhu Ji never had the opportunity.

"He rarely stayed in the Abyss, spending most of his time wandering beyond. Sometimes, he explored other abysses. Other times, he drifted through the starry skies beyond the bizarre mist."

"He mainly returned to the Abyss when the foreign races sought to ascend upward.

"At one point, he served as the bridge between us and the ancient Fey Race. We received the instructions of the departed True Gods through his return.

"The departed True Gods prearranged the fundamental components of the seven Heaven Ascension Tribulation Pillars, the engraved arrays, and every intricate detail of the design. We merely used our divine power to inscribe them upon the pillars."

Jiang Fan pointed at the six artifacts.

"That Sovereign likely deciphered a great deal of the Heaven Ascension Tribulation Pillars' mysteries.

"These six artifacts are intricately linked to six of the Heaven Ascension Tribulation Pillars and their corresponding continents. Destroying even one of them could cause a pillar to explode.

"If a pillar explodes, it could obliterate the continent it stands upon, reducing our centuries of effort to nothing."

Jiang Fan's expression darkened.

"For all these years, the seven Heaven Ascension Tribulation Pillars have ensured that the seven continents in the Fifth World would always be restored to their original state, regardless of how fiercely the foreign races fought among themselves or how much destruction they wrought upon the continents.

"If not for the warnings from the departed True Gods, our human race would have annihilated all the foreign races in the Fifth World when we were at our peak.

"Of course, doing so would have inevitably resulted in the complete collapse of all seven continents," Jiang Fan explained with a sigh.

"Could the integrity of the seven continents be connected to the endless darkness beneath the Fifth World? What exactly lies within that darkness? Is there something down there?" Li Zhaotian asked curiously.

Jiang Fan shook his head. "I don't know."

Fatty Li, Sha Jia of the Celestial Race has abandoned the battle and returned to the lower world!

Li Zhaotian, Fire God Yan Lie, Li Bai, and Jing Sha have lost interest in fighting. They've all retreated to the Third World.

Jiu Luo of the Ghost Race has fled.

Liu Fu, Dong Shangqing, and Li Yuanli relayed their situations to Li Zhaotian through the barrier.

Not long after the ancient Thunder Dragon retreated back into the Sacred Soul Continent, the foreign race powerhouses suddenly ceased their assault and left, having received an order to withdraw.

Not a single foreign race powerhouse had fallen in this battle.

Meanwhile, three True Gods of the human race—Mu Wentao, Lin Qiyang, and Li Chu—had perished.

The Fey Race had lost a Fey God, the Nine-Headed Bird from Northern Qi.

Three True Gods had fallen, and a Fey God had perished, but the foreign race powerhouses remained unscathed. The foreign races' manipulation of the ancient Thunder Dragon had led to a resounding victory on their part.

The fiercest battles had been between Long Xiao and Su Wanrou, as well as Long Xiao and Li Zhaotian.

The Rock Bear, the Nine-Headed Bird, and Pang Jian had also been embroiled in the chaos.

Fire God Yan Lie had taken the opportunity to kill Lin Qiyang while Luo Hongyan had killed Li Chu.

"The human race and the Fey Race ended up suffering. Not a single foreign race powerhouse has fallen." Li Zhaotian rubbed his forehead, then turned his gaze to the specks of light that were Zhu Ji, Li Wang, and Gui Mu. "Not to mention, those three are still trapped. The only thing we've gained is my ascension to godhood."

Jiang Fan sighed. "The worst part is we have no way to free them."

***

In the bizarre mist, Pan Di recounted his encounters to Pang Jian.

"Aside from the Thunderveil Godbeast, two other Thunder Gods have fallen. I killed one, and the Thunderveil Godbeast took advantage of the chaos to slay another while no one was watching.

"The Thunderveil Godbeast isn't from the Ancient Fey World and has no affinity for me. It hunted me down for a long time."

Pan Di then turned his envious gaze toward the Thunder Pool in Pang Jian's grasp.

At the center of the Thunder Pool, intricate lightning inscriptions wove together, forging an exquisite silver-white palace.

The delicately crafted palace had hallways lined with streaks of lightning, intertwining like creeping vines, and spires that seemed to reach for the heavens.

As the palace took shape, it continuously absorbed the lightning that the Thunderveil Godbeast had previously infused. The momentous aura it radiated carried an undeniable sense of dominion over all Thunder Gods across the starry skies, stirring a natural reverence within Pan Di.

"This palace is a remnant of the ancient Divine Court of Thunder!" Pan Di approached, staring at the small yet imposing palace within the Thunder Pool, admiration evident in his voice. "According to legend, there were once many such palaces, with the Thunder Pool originally located within the main one.

"If I'm not mistaken, this newly formed palace is the main palace, the one the Duke of Thunder once resided in.

"When the Divine Court of Thunder still existed, every Thunder God across the starry skies could feel its presence.

"Moreover, they were required to journey there and kneel before the Duke of Thunder.

"With the Divine Court of Thunder, the Duke of Thunder could sense all beings who attained godhood through the Dao of Lightning, no matter where they were in the starry skies.

"If they dared to defy his summons or failed to offer their loyalty and tribute, the Duke of Thunder would strip them of their divinity, crippling their godhood.

"I can't believe a palace from the Divine Court of Thunder has started to reform using the lightning accumulating within the Thunder Pool!

"At this rate, the Thunder Pool could one day fully restore the Divine Court of Thunder!" Pan Di exclaimed, growing increasingly excited with every word.

For Thunder Gods, the Thunder Pool was the most powerful divine artifact they could ever obtain.

Had it not been in Pang Jian's possession, Pan Di would have risked everything to seize it and roam the starry skies, gathering lightning to restore its former glory.

"I can feel the Thunder Abyss."

Pang Jian, cradling the Thunder Pool in his palm, had originally intended to search for other Thunder Gods within the bizarre mist when he faintly detected another abyss.

This abyss appeared within Pang Jian's perception through the miniature palace within the Thunder Pool.

The vast distance and the palace within the Thunder Pool still being in its infancy meant the scene before him remained shrouded in a slight haze.

Even so, he could make out an endless surge of lightning that saturated the skies and the earth of that abyss. This lightning even saturated the bizarre mist within its boundary walls, dancing and flickering wildly within.

He saw the Thunder Race, low-ranked Thunderveil Beasts, and various lightning-attribute Fey Race, including serpents, Thunder Birds, and unicorns.

The intelligent beings of that world predominantly possessed bloodlines attuned to lightning.

Some races bore lightning-compatible attributes, such as ice, or elemental affinities tied to the five elements of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth.

As Pang Jian extended his perception through the palace, he was surprised to find that many powerful beings within that world had sensed his distant gaze and were scanning their surroundings in confusion, searching for the source of the disturbance.

Their figures remained indistinct as they deliberately concealed their presence. However, from what Pang Jian could discern, these entities were no weaker than the True Gods of the human race or the foreign race powerhouses in the Fifth World.

𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

It was evident that the inhabitants of the Thunder Abyss possessed far greater combat prowess than those of the Shadow Abyss.

There were at least five or six Rank Ten powerhouses among them, a level of strength the inhabitants of the Shadow Abyss could only dream of attaining.

Pan Di's eyes widened in shock as he gazed intently at the palace within the Thunder Pool.

"The Thunder Abyss is said to be the most violent, lightning-filled world in the entire starry skies and the bizarre mist.

"Even though the Thunderveil Godbeast despised its bloodline, it was still the strongest of the Thunder Gods in its rank.

"It's said that Thunder Gods from the Thunder Abyss far surpass all other Thunder Gods within the same rank."

"Not necessarily." Pang Jian shook his head. "In the Abyss I live in, there's an ancient Thunder Dragon with strength far surpassing that of the Thunderveil Godbeast. He could leave at any time, but chooses to remain instead of breaking through the barrier."

Pan Di fell silent.

"Are you certain?" he finally asked.

"Neither you nor the Thunderveil Godbeast are a match for him. Put bluntly, he could single-handedly defeat both of you, even without relying on any divine artifacts.

"He was born with a lightning-attribute bloodline and holds an unwavering devotion to it. For tens of thousands of years, he's immersed himself in the Dao of Lightning, striving to comprehend everything related to the Dao of Lightning within the Abyss.

"He's a ruthless dragon, but his obsession with the profundities of lightning is undeniably fanatical.

"If he ever leaves the Abyss, he will undoubtedly be the strongest Thunder God in the starry skies.

"Of course, I will do everything in my power to kill him before he ever gets the chance to leave."

Pang Jian chuckled when he saw the flicker of gloom in Pan Di's eyes.

"You can't enter the Abyss anyway. Why not stop wandering aimlessly and leave the bizarre mist sooner rather than later?" Pang Jian suggested. With a casual wave of his hand, he added, "Farewell."

***

Seven fragmented lands lay deep in the northern reaches of the bizarre mist of the Fourth World.

Lie Yang of the Radiant Race, Qi Xu of the Flame Race, Jiu Luo of the Ghost Race, and Li Bai of the Demon Scale Race lingered near the lifeless husk of the World Tree.

The White Fox, the Rock Python, and the Scarlet-Eyed Demon Wolf trembled in fear.

Four foreign race powerhouses had gathered here, awaiting Pang Jian's return.

Barring any unexpected developments, a battle of cataclysmic proportions would erupt the instant Pang Jian reentered the Abyss.