Chapter 726: Disaster in the Nether Abyss

"Did the Rock Devourer come from your Nether Abyss?" Pang Jian asked the envoy of the Nether Abyss. "How much do you know about the previous World God of the Nether Abyss? How did she die?"

Unfortunately, his persistent questioning appeared to make the envoy cautious. Instead of answering, it fell silent, offering no response.

When pestered for too long, the envoy eventually brushed Pang Jian off, saying he could ask their leader once they met.

The Rock Devourer's warning about Long Di echoed in Pang Jian's mind, and a wariness crept into his heart as they drew closer to the Nether Abyss.

Suddenly, the envoy of the Nether Abyss grew tense. The ghostly blue flames flickering in its eye sockets wavered with unease. "Something's not right."

"What's wrong?" Pang Jian asked.

"We're close to the Nether Abyss, within the range of patrolling Spirit Bees, yet I can't sense a single one," the envoy mumbled anxiously. "This isn't normal."

The envoy shot forward at incredible speed, darting deep into the bizarre mist.

Pang Jian quickly channeled his power to keep pace.

Soon, a massive silver beehive loomed into view, towering like a mountain range riddled with holes.

Silver bees floated lifelessly around the beehive. Whatever attacked them had devoured both their soul and their minds, leaving them as empty husks.

The sight struck Pang Jian like a blow to the chest, filling him with a suffocating unease. As he gazed at the dead bees, his thoughts naturally turned to the golden beehive in Absolute Heaven, and the golden bees that carried fragments of his will.

The envoy of the Nether Abyss paled.

"This is bad. Something terrible has happened! Our Nether Abyss has always been the strongest of the abysses! Few creatures in the bizarre mist dare lay a hand on our Spirit Bees!"

The envoy glanced skyward.

"A powerful Outer God from the starry skies above likely hid near the Nether Abyss and struck down the Spirit Bees!"

The Spirit Bees of the Nether Abyss served as the eyes of the Nether Gods and acted as sentries for their leader to observe the outside world.

More than a dozen of these silver beehives were scattered just beyond the Nether Abyss, silently monitoring the comings and goings of the Nether Gods themselves.

Long Di, the leader of the Nether Abyss, could imbue the Spirit Bees with his divine consciousness and could have spoken directly to Pang Jian through them.

Attacking the beehives was the same as declaring war on the Nether Abyss itself. Divine beings from other abysses rarely had the courage or confidence to make such a move.

"Let's check the others!" the envoy cried, rushing to the next closest beehive it knew of.

An hour later, they came upon another beehive, just as massive, and just as ruined. It was sliced apart like paper, the fragments of which drifted through the bizarre mist. Tens of thousands of silver bees lay dead, devoid of vitality and soul.

"This is truly a catastrophe," the envoy murmured, its voice tight with disbelief. It darted onward once more, with Pang Jian following in silence.

They discovered six more silver beehives, all ripped to pieces, their remains scattered across the bizarre mist. The bodies of Spirit Bees surrounded each beehive like an endless tide of death.

A quiet fury burned in Pang Jian's chest with every beehive they came across. After all, he, too, had Spirit Bees of his own.

He had gained much from the Nether Abyss Spirit Bees that came from the World God Pendant. Many of the unique qualities of his divine soul were closely tied to the golden honey they produced, and he felt a natural affinity for the Spirit Bees of the Nether Abyss.

The sight of the slaughtered bees and ruined hives caused a rage to simmer within him.

His divine sense surged forth, transforming into a sea of multicolored radiance that blanketed the beehive and the silver bees. He searched carefully, seeking traces of any energy that did not belong.

"There's a lingering trace of demonic energy!" Pang Jian cried, having caught a faint scent of demonic energy inside the cracked skulls of some of the Spirit Bees.

"Could it be Great Demon God He Motian? Or perhaps Great Demon God Tian Wei?" the envoy snarled.

Flames roared as the envoy's divine soul burst forth from Pan Di's eye sockets, condensing into a figure wreathed in blue light. It dove straight into the beehive, attempting to confirm Pang Jian's claim for itself.

"The Demon Races and their Demon Gods would not normally dare to approach the Nether Abyss," the envoy muttered doubtfully, voice echoing from within the beehive. "Our leader has strength rivaling a Sovereign.

"Even outside the Nether Abyss, in the bizarre mist, he can still defeat the likes of Great Demon God He Motian with ease. He Motian would never dare set foot near the Nether Abyss.

"There are several Great Demon Gods among the Demon Races, but our Nether Gods have never been their inferiors. I doubt a mere squad of Demon Gods would have the audacity to attack our beehives outside the Nether Abyss.

"He Motian only dared move against the Abyss because the True Gods of the human race have been struggling so pathetically in the starry skies. The same cannot be said about our Nether Gods. Why would he ever dare to go against us?"

The envoy of the Nether Abyss clearly did not view He Motian or any other high-ranking God as a match for its leader. No matter how it tried, it could not make sense of the situation.

"Pang Jian, I think..." the envoy's voice trailed off uneasily. "How about this? Let me enter the Nether Abyss and check the situation inside first. You can decide whether or not to proceed after."

Pang Jian's expression shifted. "You suspect something's happened inside the Nether Abyss as well?"

"I don't know! I truly don't!" The envoy's voice trembled with both agitation and fear. "Our leader is incredibly powerful! Nothing less than a Sovereign can threaten him within the Nether Abyss! And a Sovereign can't possibly enter the Nether Abyss with their true body! In theory, our leader is supposed to be invincible within the Nether Abyss!"

Suddenly, the envoy of the Nether Abyss, having separated from Pan Di's skeleton, erupted into unnatural flames within the beehive. It let out a shrill scream as its divine soul crumbled into gray ash and faded to nothing.

A chill ran down Pang Jian's spine.

The ruined beehive, the slaughtered swarm of Spirit Bees, and the spontaneous combustion of the envoy's divine soul pointed to a calculated massacre targeting the Nether Abyss and its Nether Gods.

He suspected that many Nether Gods and Nether Race warriors had already perished. The Nether Abyss itself could be on the brink of chaos.

Did the laws of the Nether Abyss change as well? Just like the Abyss?

Does that mean the powerful outsiders and high-ranking divine beings can now slip into the Nether Abyss and start their campaign of extermination?

Who would dare to strike at them when their leader is strong enough to rival a Sovereign?

Pang Jian's gaze flickered as he instinctively reached out to establish a connection with his physical body.

A quiet spatial rift opened behind him. Its appearance was enough to make him breathe a little easier. As long as his connection to his physical body remained intact, he could always retreat into the Abyss.

Do I take the risk and go into the Nether Abyss?

The thought rose unbidden, impossible to suppress.

The mysteries surrounding disturbances within the Nether Abyss and Pang Jian's own unanswered questions tugged at him, filling him with a strong desire to uncover the truth.

Even the envoy's death and the massacre of the Spirit Bees could not deter him. Conversely, they made him more determined than ever to find out what had happened within the Nether Abyss.

"Pang Jian," a deep voice suddenly called out.

Pang Jian's expression morphed into one of disbelief. Turning, he stared at Pan Di's skeleton. The envoy of the Nether Abyss had left it to investigate and had perished in the ruined beehive.

The skeleton was supposed to be empty. However, this new voice undeniably came from Pan Di's remains, and it clearly did not belong to the envoy that had escorted him here!

It could only mean that another consciousness had been hiding within Pan Di's skeleton all along!

A mysterious being had not only slipped past Pang Jian's notice but had even evaded the envoy's detection.

This mysterious being hid in the skeletal remains, journeying silently with them through the bizarre mist and overhearing every exchange between Pang Jian and the envoy. It followed them into the Rock Devourer's territories, waited patiently in the shadows, and stumbled upon the ruined beehives alongside them.

There was a high chance that the death of the envoy was this hidden being's doing. It was likely also the true culprit behind Pan Di's death! It had never left!

The sound of that voice swiftly extinguished every ounce of curiosity Pang Jian had about the Nether Abyss and its secrets. He unhesitatingly transformed into a stream of prismatic light and fled from the hidden entity's gaze with all his might.

He was desperate to find somewhere to tear open a spatial rift and make a quick escape.