Chapter 730: The Sovereign of the Demon Races

The inner darkness of any being dwelling in or even passing through the Fourth or Fifth Worlds of the Abyss appeared to have been drawn out. These thoughts were like minuscule droplets within this raincloud of demonic energy, seemingly infinite in number.

By attempting to sense those malicious thoughts, Pang Jian was essentially gazing into the darkness buried in the hearts of living beings. His Divine Persona, once pristine and translucent, felt as if it had been tainted by the experience.

If he were to devote himself completely to the Dao of Demon, he could absorb the evil and corruption within the demonic energy. After all, wicked thoughts and dark desires were a source from which the Demon Races could draw strength to ascend further.

What gave rise to this sea of demonic energy above the Fifth World? I nearly lost myself here. What kind of terrifying force could wield such overwhelming influence?

Pang Jian wondered, unease filling his heart.

The first thing that came to Pang Jian's mind was the Black Empyrean Phoenix in the Seventh World.

While the Black Empyrean Phoenix's core affinity was darkness, it also wielded powers of destruction, corrosion, annihilation, toxins, and a host of sinister Heavenly Daos linked to the soul and spirit.

The murky energy permeating the seven continents of the Fifth World was likely tied to the Black Empyrean Phoenix. With that in mind, it was not a stretch to assume this demonic energy also originated from it.

However, even the demonic energy in the territories of the Demon Scale Race or the Demon Bull Race never reached a level where it could rival the murky energy.

Despite this, demonic energy gathered into a terrifyingly dense sea in the sky of the Fifth World, one capable of drawing in the wicked thoughts of nearby living beings.

Pang Jian's instinct told him that these evil thoughts had been quietly accumulating for tens of thousands of years.

The Primordial Demon would no doubt find this place to his liking. Was this sea of demonic energy his creation?

Pang Jian wondered.

As he considered this possibility, he quickly realized it made little sense.

The demonic stone, also known as the Demon Lair, had fallen from the starry skies into the Abyss and was where the Primordial Demon's embryonic form had taken shape. While the Primordial Demon had long chosen the Abyss for its rebirth, it had only emerged from the Demon Lair fairly recently.

Before stepping out of the Demon Lair, only a splinter of its soul, the Abyssal Demon, had wandered the Abyss through the Abyssal Demon Sword.

In other words, it could not have laid down such a vast sea of demonic energy, capable of separating the Fourth and Fifth Worlds from one another.

The Primordial Demon carried the weight of great expectations. The Great Demon Gods and Demon Gods all pinned their hopes on it, believing it would one day ascend as a Sovereign. It bore the hopes and the future of all the Demon Races.

Why was its embryonic growth, development, and eventual emergence tied to the Abyss?

What if this sea of demonic energy separating the Fourth and Fifth Worlds is actually ancient? In that case, those Demon Gods likely knew about it all along.

What would I have done if I were He Motian or one of those Demon Gods, seeking to nurture the Primordial Demon into a Sovereign?

I would've cast the Demon Lair containing the embryonic form of the Primordial Demon straight into the Abyss, just as they did.

Perhaps the demonic stone was supposed to descend like a meteor from beyond the heavens, merging with this sea of demonic energy, the most fitting environment for the Primordial Demon's rebirth.

But maybe things didn't go as smoothly as they hoped.

What if, instead of falling into the sea of demonic energy as originally intended, a fragmented land obstructed its path? That unexpected collision led to the birth of the greatest human sect devoted to demonic cultivation, the Demon Sect.

In Pang Jian's mind, this was the only logical explanation for this situation.

He eyed the turbulent sea of demonic energy, a sense of unease growing within him.

Why would an ideal cradle for the Primordial Demon's rebirth end up within the Abyss? What exactly is this place?

Pang Jian stood on the Thunder Pool and drifted through the sea of demonic energy. He then slowly steered it toward the Fourth World.

A suppressive force descended from the sky of the Fifth World, extinguishing the lightning surrounding Pang Jian.

His Divine Persona trembled violently. Every ounce of energy within him tied to the Duke of Thunder's Dao of Lightning suffered a heavy blow.

An overwhelming resistance clashed against the Duke of Thunder's Dao of Lightning.

The twisted thoughts within the surging tide of demonic energy turned into a storm of spiritual assaults, crashing toward Pang Jian's sea of consciousness. Even a high-ranking God would have struggled to withstand such an assault, let alone a mere mid-ranking God like him.

Pang Jian immediately retracted the Thunder Pool and any trace of lightning back into his body, emptying his mind of anything related to the Duke of Thunder. He even concealed any resentful thoughts regarding the Demon Gods, instead circulating the Primeval Demon Fusion Art and recalling various demonic techniques.

The sea of demonic energy above the seven fragmented lands in his dantian surged. Insights into the Dao of Demon, inherited from Demon Gods and Great Demon Gods, were deliberately put on display.

In that moment, Pang Jian seemed to embody the essence of a Demon God!

The torrent of sinister thoughts, poised to ravage his sea of consciousness and shatter his Divine Persona, seemed to lose their mark, veering past his body in eerie silence.

Pang Jian was like a lone wooden skiff adrift on a raging demonic sea. The unrelenting tempests of demonic energy battered against him, threatening to capsize him and snuff out his life, leaving behind nothing but a soulless husk.

He endured this barrage in silence, repeatedly going through the divine techniques tied to the Dao of Demon in his mind.

Time became a blur.

Eventually, he felt as if he was one with this vast sea of demonic energy. The suppression of the Heavenly Dao no longer weighed down upon him. The terrifying waves of wicked thoughts ceased their attempts to invade his sea of consciousness.

Instead, the malevolence swirling within the sea of demonic energy appeared to him like ripe, fragrant fruit, ready to be plucked and devoured.

It was as if he had truly transformed into a Demon God, capable of rapidly advancing his cultivation by feeding on the demonic energy and wicked thoughts around him. In the depths of it all, an unseen force seemed to be watching, waiting, eager to see him lose himself in the pursuit of power.

This definitely isn't the Primordial Demon.

Pang Jian kept his composure as he continued his quiet comprehension of the demonic techniques.

There once emerged a Sovereign among the many Demon Gods and Great Demon Gods of the various Demon Races. While that Sovereign lived, the Demon Races and the Demon Gods held a status far above that of the Ghost Race and its divine beings.

This was because the Sovereign of the Demon Races stood as equals with the Celestial Race.

Unfortunately, that Sovereign ended up passing away in the starry skies. The cause of death remained unknown.

There were few in the starry skies capable of slaying a Sovereign—only the God King or another Sovereign.

The God King had vanished long ago, so long, in fact, that even the tales of their deeds had faded into legend. Only the oldest of the Outer Gods in the starry skies retained some impression of him, fragments of memory about a brilliant yet tumultuous life.

That only left another Sovereign as the culprit.

Could it have been the Black Empyrean Phoenix?

Pang Jian found it highly plausible.

As a member of the Fey Race, the Black Empyrean Phoenix's individual combat prowess would have surpassed that of other Sovereigns, giving it the power to kill the Sovereign of the Demon Races alone.

If the Sovereign of the Demon Races perished at the hands of the Black Empyrean Phoenix, the latter could have stolen a portion of its power. If that were true, this strange sea of demonic energy could have taken shape after the Black Empyrean Phoenix's remains appeared in the Abyss.

***

In the bizarre mist outside the Nether Abyss, Pang Jian abruptly turned to the World God possessing Pan Di's remains.

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but do you happen to know how the Sovereign of the Demon Races met his end?" Pang Jian asked.

The World God stared at him with hollow eye sockets. "If I tell you the truth, will you stop stalling and enter the Nether Abyss?"

Pang Jian nodded. "I was planning to go in anyway."

"Good." The older World God, clearly growing impatient with Pang Jian's dithering, said plainly, "The Sovereign of the Fey Race—a mysterious and wicked Black Empyrean Phoenix—killed him."

"Much appreciated. I have no further questions." Pang Jian gave a slight bow and signaled for him to lead the way.