Chapter 682: Destroying the Demon God's Projection

Pang Jian found it difficult to accurately gauge his true combat prowess since stepping into the ranks of True Gods and forging his Immortal Divine Soul.

He had killed the low-ranking Gods, the Dark Bat and the Water God Naga, in the bizarre mist. Not long after, he crushed You Kui, a mid-ranking God, in the nameless star.

In other words, his Immortal Divine Soul at least had the power of a mid-ranking God.

The three Fey Gods, the unicorn, Meng Wa, and the Vermilion Bird, had never left the Thunder Abyss and had yet to condense their souls into Divine Personas.

Pang Jian knew they posed little threat to him, but they turned out to be easier than anticipated. They were far weaker than he imagined.

Meng Wa and the Vermilion Bird were dead, leaving only the unicorn behind.

Tasked with holding the line, Pang Jian stood calmly by, idly watching from the sidelines. He fully expected Li Yuqing to once again unleash her mysterious Sword of Fate and slay the unicorn with a single strike.

"I underestimated you." The unicorn sighed.

Opening its mouth, it spat out a lotus platform lined with jagged bone spurs.

He Motian's projection appeared at the center of the lotus, a Demon God with four heads, four faces, and four arms.

"Lord He Motian," the unicorn said, lowering its proud head in submission. "Forgive my failure. I was unable to lure Pang Jian outside the Thunder Abyss.

"The other two have already fallen, and I fear I will soon follow in their footsteps. So I beg you, my lord—"

"Pang Jian!" He Motian's deep and commanding voice thundered forth from the lotus platform, cutting the unicorn off.

The unicorn promptly fell silent.

Li Yuqing immediately halted her attack when He Motian's projection appeared, expression wary as she shifted into a defensive stance.

Aiming her Pearl of Fate and the Heaven-Splitting Sword at He Motian, she surrounded herself in a flurry of blinding sword light to guard against any demonic will that could surge from the projection.

He Motian was a high-ranking God with a formidable reputation even in the Abyss. He was the supreme object of worship among the Demon Races.

Even if he could not descend as anything more than a projection, Li Yuqing still dared not take him lightly.

Shifting from offense to defense was the most basic form of respect one could show a high-ranking God.

When Lei Ying saw He Motian's projection, she did not hesitate to retreat into Thunder God Mountain.

She dared not remain to watch, regardless of her curiosity.

Thunder God Mountain held the Duke of Thunder's lingering divine power—a power that even the Outer Gods feared.

He Motian had virtually no chance of breaking through with just a projection.

Thus, Lei Ying calmly and decisively retreated, not wanting to face the wrath of the Demon God and risk possession.

"I'm right here. What guidance does Your Excellency wish to impart?" Pang Jian asked sarcastically, summoning the Thunder Pool.

Several grand palaces had risen within the ever-expanding Thunder Pool.

The legendary Divine Court of Thunder, once used to rule over the Thunder Gods, pulsed with renewed vitality.

Standing atop the silver-white palace, Pang Jian stared fearlessly down at He Motian's projection on the lotus platform.

"The half-divine body you refined in the Abyss was destroyed. Your divine consciousness was also obliterated.

"My master has since fused with the barrier of the Abyss, and you can no longer even glimpse into it.

"He Motian, you and Zi Mo's schemes have already failed.

"What now? Are you only capable of throwing your weight around in backwaters like the Thunder Abyss?"

Pang Jian's words were steeped in scorn and disdain. He Motian was one of the key figures orchestrating the Outer Gods' campaign against the Abyss. There was no need for Pang Jian to show him any courtesy.

"Failed?" He Motian repeated.

His four faces morphed constantly, cycling through different genders, races, and ages alike.

He once infected the masses with his will, seizing bodies and possessing countless beings across the starry skies.

Splintering himself into a thousand forms, he lived through countless lifetimes in just as many guises, moving freely across the stars.

He Motian was steeped in history, his legends whispered throughout the vast starry skies.

"The Primordial Demon is eternal and indestructible. The progenitor of all demons is still in the Abyss.

"He is the embodiment of our Demon Races' wisdom—our destined leader. When he rises in the Abyss as the Fifth Sovereign, his presence alone will signify our greatest triumph.

"How could you consider that a failure?"

He Motian revealed the face of a mighty male demon, voice thundering with authority.

"You clearly don't understand what it means to be a Sovereign. That Sovereign born of the Celestial Race is still within the Abyss. No human can truly pose a threat to her.

"Pang Jian, the destruction of the human race is inevitable. You will not survive this."

At that moment, one of He Motian's faces turned toward Li Yuqing.

"Father!" Li Yuqing exclaimed, voice sharp.

It was unmistakably Li Yuanli's face, the True God of the Divine Treasure Sect and the Patriarch of the Li Family.

"I died within the Abyss, my child." The face of "Li Yuanli" wore a bitter smile, his eyes brimming with regret. "I had hoped to see you ascend to godhood. I wanted to watch you and your brother become the pride of our Li Family.

"I couldn't keep up. Everything changed far too quickly."

Pang Jian's expression shifted slightly at those words.

Li Yuanli died after Master fused with the barrier, so how could He Motian possibly know of it?

Did Master lose control over the barrier after being trapped in the Fifth World with Luo Hongyan's aura of death?

Or has the Primordial Demon already grown strong enough to bypass the barrier and establish contact with the Demon Gods beyond?

"My father is far too cautious to die so easily." Li Yuqing snorted coldly, quickly regaining her composure. "You're trying to shake my mental state. Don't bother trying to break me with shoddy manipulation.

"You're a mighty Demon God. Is that really the best you can do? You'll have to try harder if you want to break me."

"You don't know, but Pang Jian does," He Motian replied coolly.

"I don't need anyone to tell me if my father's dead," Li Yuqing snapped. "I can see it for myself, with the power of fate."

A single drop of her blood seeped into the Pearl of Fate in her hand. With it, Li Yuqing tried to establish a connection with Li Yuanli.

The Pearl of Fate responded with...nothing.

There was no trace of her father.

Her father's divine soul was truly gone.

"Father!" she cried, heart shattering.

One of He Motian's faces faded from his projection as a strand of his will rushed toward Li Yuqing.

The thunderous crackle of lightning, powerful enough to annihilate ghosts and demons, surged around Li Yuqing, forming a radiant shield that halted He Motian's invading will.

Pang Jian invoked the heavenly might of the Divine Court of Thunder.

Dao Seals burst out from within each towering palace, fusing into the lightning and imbuing every clap of thunder with the Duke of Thunder's unyielding Dao.

Lightning vortexes and seas of lightning materialized around Li Yuqing, annihilating He Motian's invading will.

"Go!" Pang Jian shouted, sending the palaces within the Thunder Pool flying toward Li Yuqing.

Pang Jian stepped forward, barehanded. The starlight, moonlight, lightning, and frost surrounding him caused his Immortal Divine Soul to shimmer like prismatic glass.

Appearing abruptly before the menacingly bone-spiked lotus platform, he shifted, transforming into the Chaos Firmament.

"A mere altar and a simple projection. Do you truly believe yourself to be omnipotent?" he mocked.

A massive stormy vortex materialized out of thin air, surging with rampant lightning, searing solar rays, blazing meteor fire, dazzling golden radiance, and soul-annihilation divine techniques.

Everything effective against Demon Gods was fused into the heart of that storm.

Blinding golden radiance tore the grotesque lotus platform to pieces.

Lightning, solar rays, and blazing meteors all hurled themselves at He Motian's projection in a relentless barrage, obliterating every thread of his will.

Beyond the storm, Pang Jian used You Kui's divine technique to form a barrier, preventing He Motian's demonic will from slipping free.

The grotesque lotus platform was reduced to utter nothingness in less than the time it took for a single incense stick to burn[1], taking the Great Demon God's projection with it.

"Do you rely on scraps like this whenever your true body can't descend?" Pang Jian scoffed, voice echoing from the heart of the storm. "Even You Kui was better than this."

The unicorn attempted to flee when it saw the tides turning, only for the raging storm to lock its soul in place.

Its soul froze for a fleeting moment, but that was more than enough for Pang Jian.

***

In the Fifth World of the Abyss, Li Zhaotian's suggestion to descend into the Sixth World and seek out Yan Lie was met with silence from Li Wang.

It was a clear refusal.

Li Wang intended to remain in the Fifth World and keep searching for another way out.

The nominal leader of the True Gods harbored deep fear toward the Sixth and Seventh Worlds.

Gui Mu and Zhu Ji trusted Li Wang's judgment and chose to stay behind in the Fifth World as well.

Li Zhaotian was not confident he could face the foreign race powerhouses and Outer Gods without those three at his side. Thus, he could only choose to remain with them.

Suddenly, the two clusters of Fortune from Li Yuanli and Wanderer Tian Du hurtled straight toward the Fifth Continent.

"Eight Trigrams City!" Li Wang's expression changed. "Zhu Ji, perhaps your judgment was right all along!

"That Sovereign needs more Fortune to complete her other Divine Personas. She'll only become more powerful with every cluster of Fortune she absorbs!

"We need to break through her defenses, get inside the Fifth Continent, and stop her before she succeeds!

"Everyone, focus your strength on the barrier surrounding the Fifth Continent!" he commanded urgently, feeling the pressure of looming catastrophe.

"This could cause the continent to fracture," Gui Mu warned.

"We no longer have the luxury to care!"

1. A single incense stick took roughly fifteen minutes to burn. ☜