Chapter 639: The Abyssal Demon's Departure

Fey Emperor Jin Yu was a Golden-Winged Giant Roc, a legendary bird known to feast on dragons.

Jin Yu had devoured the hearts of many dragons to fuel its rise to Rank Ten.

Even the mighty Dragon Race of the Abyss lived in perpetual terror and despair under Fey Emperor Jin Yu's rule.

As the first Fey God in the history of the Golden-Winged Giant Roc lineage, it was undisputedly the strongest of its kind.

Its mastery of the Dao of Metal had elevated its entire lineage.

New bloodline mysteries emerged within the hearts of newborn Golden-Winged Giant Rocs, dormant and concealed, waiting for the day they grew strong enough for them to awaken.

The birth of a mighty Fey God could strengthen an entire lineage and leave an indelible mark within their bloodline.

Jin Yu was one such transcendent existence.

Tens of thousands of years had passed, but even to this day, no being in the Abyss had yet to surpass Jin Yu in the pursuit of the Dao of Metal.

This Fey Emperor was the ultimate embodiment of the Dao of Metal in the Abyss.

Once Jin Yu's Heavenly Dao became clear, Pang Jian quickly transformed his Immortal Divine Soul into its likeness. He then fused Jin Yu's Dao of Metal with his own insights into the two Heavenly Daos he was most attuned to—the Dao of Lightning and the Dao of Cold.

This combination of the three Heavenly Daos enabled him to tear apart You Kui's divine domain with a single strike.

Although You Kui's divine domain resembled reality, it was not actually real.

It also could not compare to the barrier or the boundary wall of the Abyss.

Thus, Pang Jian effortlessly tore You Kui's divine domain apart when he fused Jin Yu's Dao of Metal with his Dao of Lightning and Dao of Cold. He also cleaved You Kui's black cloak and his body in half.

You Kui's green divine soul emerged from his halved body, his face frozen in shock.

As a God of the Ghost Race, his body was naturally more fragile than the Gods of other races. Despite this, he had not expected such an outcome.

Without his physical body, he felt exposed, like he had been stripped bare.

"Pang Jian!"

In You Kui's perception, he saw a Golden-Winged Giant Roc wreathed in multicolored radiance. The razor-sharp golden brilliance of its gently flapping wings faded as it let out a cry!

A single thunderclap boomed, setting off a cascade of detonations!

Violent bolts of lightning flooded the cavern!

You Kui's torn black cloak and body were scorched to ash in the blink of an eye.

The divine sense he had frantically released in an attempt to seek aid was immediately reduced to wisps of dissipating smoke.

At this point, Zi Mo would not sense his plight until his divine soul was obliterated.

"Pang Jian, take the Star Devourer! Spare me, and I will immediately leave this desolate star. I swear to never take part in the hunt against the human race in the Abyss again!

"If you kill me, Lady Zi Mo, the high-ranking God of my race, will know the moment my divine soul is extinguished!

"The Gods stationed above the bizarre mist of the Abyss will undoubtedly hunt you down!

"There is no unresolvable blood feud between us. You seek the Star Devourer, right?

"How about this—"

You Kui desperately laid out the stakes, hoping to persuade Pang Jian.

Almost the entire underground cavern was engulfed in raging lightning. Only the small space where You Kui's divine soul hovered remained untouched.

With his black cloak and physical body destroyed, only his exposed divine soul remained. One mere brush of lightning meant certain death.

He did not have any secret technique for instant teleportation, and the teleportation array had been destroyed. There was no escape.

"I came for you, not the Star Devourer."

Pang Jian fluidly shifted forms once more.

A massive, blazing furnace materialized amid the flashing lightning and roaring thunder. Scorching flames radiated outward, and a vortex of magma churned within the furnace's depths.

Shadowy Demon Gods of deep azure and black, condensed from demonic energy, took form beside the furnace.

"Fuse!" the illusory Demon Gods roared as they lifted the blazing furnace.

You Kui's divine soul was powerless to resist, dragged into the swirling depths of the furnace like a mayfly caught in a whirlpool.

The underground cavern trembled as boulders tumbled and rolled like Earth Dragons bursting free from their restraints.

You Kui's looming demise had allowed the Star Devourer to break free from his weakening soul-binding techniques.

Its severed limbs and soul fragments across the star's core reconnected, forming a complete whole once more.

The Star Devourer pulled itself free from the star, wrenching its limbs from deep underground in a decisive motion.

Farewell!

it cried, uncaring if Pang Jian truly heard it.

The entire star trembled, its interior rumbling with the sound of shifting earth.

The Star Devourer resembled a radiant star as it desperately fled from its nightmare as fast as possible.

Han Yi and Ying Yue had been closely monitoring the situation from a distance when they saw its escape.

"The Star Devourer!"

"It's escaping!"

Their eyes gleamed with unmistakable excitement.

The Star Devourer would not have been able to break free unless You Kui was in dire straits.

Its escape signified that You Kui had lost control of the situation. In other words, Pang Jian was, at the very least, not on the losing side of the battle.

"I'll go after the Star Devourer. You keep an eye on Pang Jian!" Ying Yue called, her divine power flowing into the platform beneath her feet like water. "Remember not to interfere in his battle with You Kui. Don't reveal yourself! Not a trace of your presence or divine power can appear on that star!"

With that stern reminder, Ying Yue departed, shining like a radiant full moon as she pursued the fleeing Star Devourer.

***

Deep within the underground cavern, an overwhelming torrent of knowledge and soul essence poured into Pang Jian's furnace-like body as You Kui's divine soul was refined using the Primeval Demon Fusion Art.

Soul Extraction, Soul Restraint, the refinement process of the Ghost Rivers, and knowledge of countless other soul-related techniques cascaded onto him like a torrential downpour.

The vast memories of You Kui's long existence also surged in a flood of flickering recollections.

Sifting through the sea of memories to extract anything useful was an arduous task.

This left Pang Jian with no time to concern himself with the Star Devourer's escape.

The Abyssal Demon, having long since retreated into the Abyssal Demon Sword, manipulated the blade to lift a green spatial ring.

The ring did not enter the sword's inner world but rested on the tip of its gleaming blade.

That prey is still within reach. I'm going after it,

the Abyssal Demon declared, sword shooting out from the cavern and streaking toward the vast starry skies beyond.

Once the Abyssal Demon left the star, his body flickered into view, and he slipped You Kui's spatial ring onto his finger.

Everything You Kui hid within the ring became known to the Abyssal Demon with a single thought.

The Abyssal Demon let out a dissatisfied snort. "You've been with Zi Mo for ages. Not to mention, you're a mid-ranking God. How can you be this poor?"

Frowning, he turned his gaze toward the distance.

The Star Devourer was still within sight, but another figure, radiating the brilliance of a full moon, had emerged from the shadows to hunt the Aberrant Spirit down.

"The Moon God and the Frost Crystal God, two mid-ranking Gods." The Abyssal Demon stroked his chin in thought.

His green-black eyes gleamed, the playful warmth with Pang Jian replaced with a murderous light as he carefully calculated his odds.

He wondered if he could kill Ying Yue in a short amount of time with his strength.

"It'll be difficult. There's no chance at all with the Frost Crystal God around," he muttered, quickly abandoning the idea.

Then, staring out into the starry skies, he sighed.

The Abyssal Demon had planned to do this since leaving the bizarre mist.

Glancing back at the star riddled with deep chasms, he noted that the distance was close enough for his connection with Pang Jian to remain intact.

Pang Jian...

After hesitating briefly, the Abyssal Demon decided to offer a proper farewell.

I've been thinking about how to break free from the Primordial Demon ever since I recalled my past.

Despite mulling it over for a long time, I found only one possible path forward. Even now, I don't know if I'll succeed.

I'm one of the nine souls that split off from the Primordial Demon. The Primordial Demon's plan was always to have each of us ascend as mid-ranking or even high-ranking Gods before reabsorbing us.

This is the road it paved for itself long ago, the inevitable path it has to take to become a Sovereign.

Under normal circumstances, I would have no chance of escaping. I'm destined to become part of it. When it finds and absorbs me, I will cease to be.

Fortunately, it remains trapped in the Abyss, but this is still a short-term solution.

I got out of the Abyss first and have regained my strength as a low-ranking Demon God. Even though I was originally a mid-ranking God, it won't take long to reclaim my lost strength once I return to the starry skies.

I plan to hunt down and devour the remaining eight soul fragments while it remains trapped!

It's only after all nine fragments are reunited under my will that I'll have even the slightest chance of challenging it!

Even then, it's a mere chance, nothing more. There's no guarantee I'll succeed, but I have to try!

If I do nothing, I will never escape my predetermined fate. So, Pang Jian, I have to leave now. I truly hope we see each other again.

May we meet again in the starry skies.

With the Abyssal Demon Sword in hand, the Abyssal Demon departed, heading in an entirely different direction from the one the Star Devourer had taken.

As he soared away on the divine sword, he also used a secret technique to alter his appearance.

His figure became shrouded in a multicolored radiance, face resolute and gaze piercing.

The Abyssal Demon had taken on Pang Jian's appearance.

Zi Mo would realize what Pang Jian had done the instant You Kui's divine soul was extinguished.

At that point, the many Outer Gods stationed above the Abyss would relentlessly hunt Pang Jian down, regardless of where he fled.

By assuming Pang Jian's appearance and departing from this area under his guise, the Abyssal Demon could mislead some of the pursuers.

Some of the Outer Gods would be thrown off track, lured away toward distant starry skies.

This was the one act of goodwill the Abyssal Demon could offer Pang Jian before their paths diverged.