Chapter 727: The Previous Generation of World Gods

An invisible wall appeared in Pang Jian's path as he fled, bouncing him back.

This harsh repulsion was eerily familiar to when his physical body tried to breach a boundary wall after fusing with Corruption in the Fifth World.

"What are you so afraid of?" The voice of "Pan Di" drifted out slowly.

Pan Di's skeleton stirred to life once more, though its eye sockets remained hollow.

There was no light, flame, or any trace of color in them—only deathly stillness and emptiness.

The skeleton's joints produced a dry, creaking sound as it moved through the bizarre mist.

"There was a spatial rift here a moment ago, before I called out to you. It connected you to the Abyss. Let me take a look at it."

The bone-white skeleton approached where Pang Jian had previously opened the spatial rift. It raised a sharp, blade-like finger and stabbed the air, tearing through space in a downward motion.

A brand-new spatial rift was sliced open, with streams of radiant light flickering within. The being leaned in, hollow eye sockets peering into the swirling depths, then slowly shook its head in disappointment.

"It's too late. The spatial coordinates have already dissipated. It can no longer connect to the Abyss."

Pang Jian frantically spread out his divine sense, searching for a gap in the invisible wall that he could escape through.

"You killed Pan Di, didn't you?" he asked, trying to keep it busy.

"I was," the being answered. "You returned to his remains more than once."

𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

A weight sat heavily in Pang Jian's stomach.

When he first emerged from the Thunder Abyss and laid eyes on Pan Di's remains, he considered entering the skeleton to investigate the cause of Pan Di's death. However, something instinctively warned him to stay away.

Filled with unease, he had opted to return to the Thunder Abyss, but in hindsight, that feeling had been a warning.

Afterward, Zi Mo, the high-ranking God of the Ghost Race, sent Outer Gods to the outside of the Thunder Abyss. These Outer Gods dismantled most of Pan Di's remains, taking away anything valuable.

Only a few discarded pieces remained, parts the Outer Gods had deemed useless.

This was the state in which Pang Jian saw the skeleton for the second time.

The envoy of the Nether Abyss then used these scraps to reconstruct a smaller version of Pan Di.

Pan Di's true killer had stayed hidden through it all, watching quietly as the Outer Gods dismantled the skeleton and as the envoy of the Nether Abyss rebuilt a body from what remained.

It had remained hidden in the skeleton, following Pang Jian and the envoy through the bizarre mist, listening to every conversation, and even accompanying them to the Rock Devourer's territories. Not even the Rock Devourer had detected its presence.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Pang Jian demanded.

The figure did not reply. Its hollow eye sockets remained fixed on the spatial rift it had just torn open, as if trying to discern where it led.

Suddenly, the flames that had consumed the envoy's divine soul spread to the enormous silver beehive, igniting it in roaring flames. This blaze even jumped to the remains of the Spirit Bees.

The remains of thousands of Spirit Bees were reduced to ash alongside the beehive, flames swallowing it all.

"I didn't attack the beehive and the Spirit Bees," the mysterious figure said, turning away from the spatial rift to glance at Pang Jian. Its hollow eye sockets remained devoid of light or color. "I'm a World God of an abyss, just like you. The difference is I became one a very long time ago.

"Your father, your mother, and I were old acquaintances. We often met during gatherings of the World Gods. They were figures I deeply admired."

Only abysses within the bizarre mist could produce World Gods, with their succession being passed from one generation to the next. If a World God perished without choosing a successor, that lineage of World Gods would be lost.

This could be seen in abysses like the Shadow Abyss and Thunder Abyss, where even the most powerful beings knew nothing of the World Gods. That proved that the number of World Gods had grown dangerously scarce.

The mysterious being in Pan Di's skeleton claimed to be a World God from the older generations. After killing Pan Di, he concealed himself and silently shadowed Pang Jian through the bizarre mist, only revealing his presence when Pang Jian was about to enter the Nether Abyss.

What is he really after?

Pang Jian wondered.

What does he intend to do?

"We World Gods have always harbored deep hatred for the Nether Abyss," said the mysterious figure. "You already know that Long Di, the leader of the Nether Abyss, and the other Nether Gods treat the conquest of the other abysses as their sport.

"This is not a recent development either. The previous leaders of the Nether Abyss and the past generations of Nether Gods were no different.

"All the other abysses, apart from the Abyss and the Thunder Abyss, have fallen under the rule of the Nether Abyss at some point. The Nether Gods oppressed them for years.

"Why? What gives the Nether Abyss the right to rule over the inhabitants of other abysses? Why do the Nether Gods get to dictate their futures?

"A war against the Nether Abyss was launched through the united will of us World Gods, with many factions joining the cause. All we seek is justice. The Nether Abyss needs to pay for the sins of its past!"

The hatred in this World God's voice was evident, each word overflowing with bloodlust and injustice.

"Those of us residing in the abysses share the same races and lineages as the Outer Gods, but we bear no hatred toward the human race of the Abyss. The battlegrounds of the True Gods have always been in the starry skies beyond, not among the other abysses.

"The Nether Abyss, on the other hand, has spent ages oppressing and slaughtering the other races within the bizarre mist."

The World God of an undisclosed abyss took a breath to compose himself.

"Pang Jian, you're a World God too. I can lead you into the Nether Abyss, so you can witness its downfall with your own eyes. We want you to witness the fall of Long Di and the Nether Gods firsthand," the World God invited.

Any World God could freely enter other abysses so long as they wield a World God Pendant. The laws of the bizarre mist simply did not affect them, regardless of their cultivation realms or combat prowess.

However, with the abysses gradually being unsealed, even Rank Nine warriors and low-ranking Gods would soon be able to enter the abysses as well.

The grand event that occurred once every hundred millennia had come around once again, and the Abyss was not the only one destined to endure the trials that came with it. The Nether Abyss faced its retribution as well, for all the conquest and cruelty it wrought upon the other abysses.

Powerful World Gods had rallied the strongest allies and divine beings capable of entering the Nether Abyss under the new rules to enact vengeance upon the Nether Abyss.

They had slaughtered the Spirit Bees and destroyed the beehives outside the Nether Abyss, effectively removing Long Di's eyes. The Nether Gods and warriors of the Nether Race were undoubtedly being ambushed the instant they crossed the boundary wall as well.

"So I was one of those invited?" Pang Jian asked, doing his best to stay calm.

"Of course. You're one of us, a World God. I remained hidden only to observe what kind of person you are." The World God turned and flew toward the direction of the Nether Abyss. "Follow me. Let me be the one to lead you into the Nether Abyss, to witness its downfall."