Chapter 622: The Death of Li Bai

A green-black sun burned within Qi Xu's Fire World.

At its core was a pool of molten lava, its outer layer radiating scorching demonic flames.

Its light and aura carried an unmistakable air of eerie corruption.

This Demon Sun blocked the solar halos rippled from the Primordial Sun Diagram, even while within Qi Xu's Fire World, relieving the pressure on Pang Jian.

S

olar energy, earthflame energy, demonic energy, and something else...

Pang Jian's brows twitched.

A sphere of darkness pulsed in the chest of his Immortal Divine Soul like a heart composed entirely of darkness—the result of his devouring of the Dark Bat.

The Demon Sun, refined outside Pang Jian's body from a fusion of energies, resembled an external manifestation of a black, demonic heart.

Inspiration struck Pang Jian.

Strands of darkness from the sphere of darkness merged into the Demon Sun.

Black roses, ravens, vultures, gravestones, and broken crosses manifested above the boiling pool of molten lava at the center of the Demon Sun.

The Demon Sun took on a new form, its outer layer darkening while its crimson core exuded an even stronger aura of evil.

It suddenly turned against Qi Xu's Fire World, igniting it with its own chaotic, all-consuming flames.

The green-black flames sliced through the Fire World like swords.

Qi Xu's Fire World was reduced to ruins in seconds.

Pang Jian burst out of the Fire World, swinging Five Thunder Annihilation with his left hand, smashing it toward the expanding solar halos.

Faint projections of stars and worlds flickered within those solar halos, only for a storm of Metal Thunder, Wood Thunder, Fire Thunder, Earth Thunder, and Water Thunder to obliterate them upon contact with Five Thunder Annihilation.

The lightning within Five Thunder Annihilation bore the five elements, the fundamental forces that shaped and sustained the fabric of existence.

They were primal forces that governed all creation, be it worlds in the starry skies or abysses in the bizarre mist.

Five Thunder Annihilation resembled a pillar supporting the heavens as Pang Jian used it to smash through the radiant halos.

Before long, the ninety-nine layers of solar halos from the Primordial Sun Diagram were all shattered under his relentless assault.

Pang Jian strode forward, drawing ever closer to the Primordial Sun Diagram. The Demon Sun blazed above his head, while his hands firmly gripped Five Thunder Annihilation and the Thunder Pool.

The golden toad and the four Three-Legged Golden Crows in the Primordial Sun Diagram let out eerie cries that grew increasingly shrill and piercing.

However, their effect on Pang Jian was negligible.

Lie Yang dove down from the bizarre mist above and landed atop the golden toad's forehead at the center of the Primordial Sun Diagram, appearing as small as a grain of rice upon the massive creature.

The vast Primordial Sun Diagram curled inward, enveloping Lie Yang like divine robes, causing his tiny frame to expand a millionfold. In the blink of an eye, the Patriarch of the Radiant Race grew to match Pang Jian in stature, towering at a colossal ten thousand zhang tall.

A colossal golden toad crouched at his waist while Three-Legged Golden Crows took flight from his back and shoulders.

After wrapping the Primordial Sun Diagram around himself, the golden toad and the four Three-Legged Golden Crows seemed to come alive, transforming from mere inanimate objects on the diagram into living entities.

The twelve golden leaves within the Primordial Sun Diagram morphed into twelve hazy Sun Gods, standing behind Lie Yang in a straight line.

The twelve Sun Gods that the Radiant Race once worshiped had become Lie Yang's attendants!

This was an act of blasphemy against the Sun Gods. Despite this, it felt perfectly natural on Lie Yang, almost preordained.

It was like Lie Yang was destined to manifest this vision in the starry skies after breaking free from the Abyss.

Lie Yang's boundless ambition was laid bare for all to see!

One day, he would become the king of all Sun Gods, ruling over every divine being the Radiant Race had ever worshiped!

He firmly believed that there would be a day when every Sun God across the starry skies would stand in formation behind him, just as they did now!

"God's Fall."

Lie Yang unleashed another Divine Solar Fist.

This time, his punch carried the weight of a divine being's demise!

With every punch, a Sun God was forcibly fused into Lie Yang's fist, as if sacrificing an ancient divine being to fuel his punch.

Twelve Divine Solar Fists crashed down, striking the Demon Sun, the Thunder Pool, and Five Thunder Annihilation.

The Demon Sun sank but did not collapse. The silver-white palace within the Thunder Pool erupted with lightning bolts, effortlessly obliterating the power of the Divine Solar Fists. Meanwhile, Five Thunder Annihilation stood firm, withstanding the onslaught and grinding each Sun God into nothingness.

"Again!"

With the Five-Element Starry Rivers surrounding him, Pang Jian wielded his two divine artifacts and the Demon Sun against the deafening cries of the golden toad and four Three-Legged Golden Crows.

He clashed fiercely with Lie Yang, fists and kicks colliding in a relentless exchange of divine power.

At a glance, neither seemed likely to gain the upper hand anytime soon.

Although the Fire World had long since been destroyed, Qi Xu still guarded the boundary wall.

The recently ascended Rank Ten foreign race powerhouse stood in a sphere of flames, her beautiful eyes glazing over in intoxicated fascination.

Pang Jian was so young.

It had only been a dozen or so years since he first made his mark in the upper worlds and became Li Zhaotian's personal disciple.

In such a short span of time, he had already gained the strength to go head-to-head with Lie Yang.

One could only imagine how strong he would become in the future.

Qi Xu sighed in awe.

The human race in the Abyss is truly the most terrifying existence in the vast starry skies.

As Pang Jian clashed bitterly against Lie Yang, her impression of him became etched even deeper into her heart.

Comparing Pang Jian to the so-called geniuses of the Fifth World, she quickly realized that not a single one could stand on equal footing with him.

Strength was the greatest attraction for the women in the Fifth World, and Qi Xu was no exception to this.

The realization that Pang Jian was the strongest young male among all the races in the entire Abyss caused him to appear incredibly charismatic in her eyes.

The Flame Race and the human race have no real physical differences. We simply possess a naturally powerful bloodline compared to humans. A member of the Flame Race and a human could probably bear children together...

Qi Xu's thoughts drifted uncontrollably.

In that moment, she found herself overlooking the millennia of enmity between the human race and the foreign races in the Fifth World. She even forgot that the Outer Gods above the bizarre mist lurked for the sole purpose of exterminating the human race.

Lowering her head, she examined her tall, graceful figure before glancing at Pang Jian's powerful yet agile body.

If the two of them bore a child, that child would surely reign supreme over the starry skies.

Her attention remained fixed entirely on Pang Jian, leaving her completely oblivious to the battle between Li Bai and the Abyssal Demon.

That was, until a sword stabbed Li Bai straight through the chest.

The merciless Abyssal Demon had struck down the Patriarch of the Demon Scale Race, a legendary figure she deeply revered,

Sword light obliterated Li Bai's heart, organs, and flesh the instant the Abyssal Demon Sword was thrust through his chest.

The six demonic realms devoured Li Bai's body, soul, and his conjured ancient demon. They all became nourishment for the Abyssal Demon's ever-growing power.

"What a pity. You never had the chance to leave the Abyss and so knew nothing of the true power of a Demon God. He Motian deceived you into believing that he alone represents the Demon Races.

"Killing you would've been far more difficult had you ventured beyond, seen the myriad demons, and traversed the demonic realms.

"As a Demon God, the demonic arts I command are far beyond your imagination. And so, this is how it must end."

The Abyssal Demon emotionlessly flicked his wrist, shaking off Li Bai's blood on the Abyssal Demon Sword into one of the demonic realms.

Then, with effortless grace, the Abyssal Demon turned, narrowing his eyes as he observed Pang Jian's battle with Lie Yang. To his surprise, a bizarre Demon Sun floated in the air.

What a strange Demon Sun.

At the core of that Demon Sun is the Primeval Demon Fusion Art. That art is the purest, most fundamental embodiment of the Dao of Demon, and it alone is enough to elevate the Demon Sun to new heights.

I never expected this old man of the Radiant Race to be so formidable.

The Abyss truly breeds miracles. If this man ever escapes, he will undoubtedly ascend as a high-ranking Sun God. Perhaps, one day, he could even rival the likes of the Duke of Thunder.

The more the Abyssal Demon observed, the more astonished he became. Even he found himself in awe of Lie Yang's sheer might.

***

Liu Fu, Li Yuanli, Su Wanrou, Yin Ji, and Wanderer Tian Du soon joined Jiang Fan and Li Zhaotian in the skies outside the Eastern Land.

The group gazed at the trapped Zhu Ji, Gui Mu, and Li Wang, flitting around in the middle of the six artifacts.

"Fatty Li, we're all here. Where's Pang Jian?" Wanderer Tian Du asked as he approached.

"He went to the lower worlds to kill that Nine-Headed Bird," Li Zhaotian casually replied. "After that, he went beyond my range of perception. I don't know where he went."

"The foreign race powerhouses all retreated to the lower worlds, yet Pang Jian still dared to descend. Could they have surrounded him?" Su Wanrou asked with concern.

𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Li Zhaotian pondered briefly, then closed his eyes and focused.

Since harmonizing with the barrier, he had discovered he could intercept communications between the foreign races and the Outer Gods.

The foreign races used altars and special artifacts to seek aid and receive instructions from the Outer Gods. However, this exchange inevitably traveled through the barrier.

After a long moment of careful sensing, Li Zhaotian said, "Li Bai is dead. The newly ascended Ghost Race powerhouse, Jiu Luo, is also dead."

"Who did it? Could it have been Long Xiao? Maybe he realized he was being played and killed them in a fit of rage?" Li Yuanli speculated, face filled with astonishment. "In any case, it wasn't any of us."

"Long Xiao has been holed up in the Sacred Soul Continent this whole time. He hasn't made a single move. There's no way it was him," Su Wanrou stated with certainty.

"Then who could it be?" Jiang Fan asked, visibly shaken. "Jiu Luo, maybe, but Li Bai? Even I'm not confident I could take him down."

Li Zhaotian grinned. "Would you believe me if I told you it was my little disciple, Pang Jian, who killed them both?"

Everyone froze.