Chapter 765: Please Pardon My Rudeness, Senior

"An enemy of Pang Jian's is an enemy of the Sword Pavilion." Li Zhaotian beamed as he spoke, his small eyes darting to Li Wang and Gui Mu. "Dong Tianze's Bloodthirsty Sword came from the Sword Pavilion. You could say he's half a disciple of ours, which means the Sword Pavilion is obligated to stand up for him."

His voice rang out loud and firm, each word like iron striking stone.

The gathered crowd was visibly shaken at his declaration.

As Pang Jian's master, it was only natural for Li Zhaotian to support him. That was to no one's surprise.

But Dong Tianze, the wielder of the Bloodthirsty Sword, had assassinated Jiang Fan. It was almost certain he had fallen under the sword's corruption. Rather than distance himself from Dong Tianze, Li Zhaotian had gone so far as to claim Dong Tianze as half a disciple of the Sword Pavilion. Why would he do so?

"Back in the Fifth World, Jiang Fan and you..." Li Zhaotian grinned, flashing a mocking smile at Gui Mu. "The two of you, along with Senior Li, were supposed to be bargaining chips for that Sovereign. So, Jiang Fan died. What's with all the outrage?"

"Li Zhaotian, don't push your luck!" Gui Mu's eyes gleamed with cold malice.

Unfazed, Li Zhaotian chuckled smugly. "Let me be perfectly honest. Dong Tianze only came to possess the Bloodthirsty Sword because of me. That so-called heretical God you all condemn? I had a hand in creating him.

"Even now, I still believe he hasn't succumbed to the sword soul's corruption. Dong Tianze has the clarity to make his own choices.

"A new era is coming. The old need to make way for the new. That's how it should be."

He glanced between Li Wang and Gui Mu, voice dripping with provocation.

"Back when you two ascended to godhood, didn't the older generation step aside for you as well?

"If your strength no longer measures up, you should've made room sooner. Jiang Fan's death? I see no problem with it," Li Zhaotian concluded with self-satisfied flair.

"Why not Yin Ji?" Gui Mu snapped accusingly. "If we're talking about being weak, she's even less capable than Jiang Fan! Why not send her to die instead?"

"Because Yin Ji will soon break through the barrier and leave the Abyss, freeing up her seat," Li Zhaotian replied coolly, as if the matter was already settled.

At those words, another wave of uproar rippled through the crowd.

With Yin Ji's strength, it was unlikely she could breach the barrier without Li Zhaotian's help, and even if she did manage to break through the barrier, the starry skies above would be a death sentence. None of them believed Yin Ji could survive out there.

In the blink of an eye, Pang Jian appeared beside the golden bee, clad in a jet-black demonic cloak.

An immense torrent of demonic energy flowed over the surface of the cloak like rippling water. Crimson demonic characters shimmered faintly, each echoing with the eerie, tormented wails of Demon Gods.

As the True Gods gazed at Pang Jian and felt the aura surging from the cloak, a stifling pressure settled over their minds. Even Zhu Ji was no exception.

This legendary figure, first among them to ascend to the Ascendant God Realm in the Abyss, felt it more acutely than the others. With the Dao of Power as his foundation, the torrent of demonic energy he sensed felt endless, vast beyond measure.

A flicker of unease stirred within him. Silently, he channeled his power to probe further and quickly realized that the strange cloak was connected to multiple Demon Realms, drawing in demonic energy from within without end.

"Yin Ji will be leaving the Abyss soon?" Li Wang suddenly asked.

Li Zhaotian nodded with a smile. "What, you don't believe me?"

"Not entirely," Li Wang replied.

"Then I'll have Yin Ji prove it to you," Li Zhaotian said with a shrug.

He and Pang Jian had already spoken privately. As long as Pang Jian was given time to grow stronger, he would soon be able to wield the demonic cloak to keep Great Demon God He Motian and the Demon Gods loyal to him in check.

When that time came, Yin Ji's departure from the Abyss would not place her in danger. Instead, she would be secretly supported by He Motian and his followers. She would be able to safely escape the perilous maelstrom beyond the Abyss and soar freely through the starry skies.

"You've come." Su Wanrou smiled gently, nodding toward Pang Jian. "The Pure Land Sect was preserved thanks in part to both Dong Tianze and Wu Yuan. Naturally, I have to speak up on Dong Tianze's behalf."

Pang Jian gave Su Wanrou a slight bow, then said, "Dong Tianze will be arriving shortly. Everyone can judge for themselves whether or not he has lost his reasoning."

"Even if he hasn't, he still killed Jiang Fan. There needs to be a price for that." Gui Mu interjected.

Pang Jian's expression darkened. His gaze locked onto Gui Mu, and his eyes turned gold. "Silence."

Deep within Gui Mu's sea of consciousness, a blazing golden sun emerged, radiating intense light and heat as it pressed down upon her dark-green divine soul.

The blazing sunlight and solar energy solidified into tangible principles of the Dao, while the word "Silence" transformed into brilliant runes imbued with the profound truths of the Dao of Soul, locking onto Gui Mu's divine soul from afar.

Within her sea of consciousness, Gui Mu's divine soul gazed at the glowing runes of "Silence" and keenly felt the suppression of a greater Dao. Her mouth opened and shut repeatedly, her tongue writhing in frustration. Her face flushed crimson, and her robes flared wildly as she struggled desperately to speak.

Yet it was as if someone had gripped her throat. No matter how she tried, she could no longer utter a single word. Not even a muffled whimper escaped her lips. It was as though Pang Jian had cursed her into silence.

"This..." Dong Shangqing, Su Wanrou, and Li Wang all paled.

Pei Yishan, the strongest cultivator of the Forsaken Expanse Sect, had remained silent until now, but his expression had grown deeply grave.

He and Gui Mu were roughly equal in cultivation realm and combat prowess. At least, he had always thought so. After all, Gui Mu was one of the older generation's True Gods. Despite this, when Pang Jian simply told her to be silent, she became truly unable to utter a single word, revealing just how terrifying Pang Jian had become.

When the ancient Thunder Dragon had been captured alive, Pei Yishan had assumed it was only because of Pang Jian's use of the Thunder Pool. He never believed Pang Jian's strength had reached such a level. However, even Gui Mu fared worse than that Thunder Dragon.

A storm surged within Pei Yishan's heart. With great effort, he pulled his gaze away from Gui Mu and looked toward Zhu Ji.

Can even Zhu Ji suppress Pang Jian?

That was what Pei Yishan found himself wondering.

He, Li Wang, and the others were all still at the True God Realm. Only Zhu Ji had broken past that limit.

Only Zhu Ji still stood a chance of contending with Pang Jian.

"Pang Jian, she's still your junior. Do you have to go this far?" Li Wang sighed softly.

"Junior?" Pei Yishan and Dong Shangqing were both surprised.

Pang Jian let out a cold laugh. "I don't recognize someone like her as my junior."

Escorted by a swarm of golden bees, the blood-red mist enveloping Dong Tianze was brought into the outer reaches of the Eastern Land.

In an instant, the piercing gazes of the assembled True Gods locked onto him. Countless strands of divine sense wove through Dong Tianze, flowing ceaselessly through his sea of consciousness.

Zhu Ji growled, "Liu Fu's death is tied to him as well!"

"What?!" Upon hearing this, several True Gods focused their divine senses. Sure enough, deep within Dong Tianze, they could detect the taint of foreign races' blood essence.

It was Liu Fu who had long been tasked with overseeing and suppressing the foreign races and Fey Race in the Fifth World through the blood essence extracted just before their deaths. After his death, the Blood Vault vanished along with him. Now that traces of those foreign races and the Fey Race's blood essence were found within Dong Tianze, it became clear he was deeply involved.

"Killing Jiang Fan was one thing, but now you're linked to Liu Fu's death too? Don't blame me for getting to the bottom of this!" Zhu Ji could no longer hold back once he realized Dong Tianze was likely complicit in Liu Fu's death.

The spiritual qi of the surrounding void surged into Zhu Ji in an instant. He unleashed his Dharma Idol and drew a deep breath in Dong Tianze's direction, seeking to pull him in for strict examination and ascertain the truth of Liu Fu's death.

"He's not insane! His mind is still intact!" Su Wanrou cried out.

"He is indeed lucid," Dong Shangqing said after a deep breath, "But Liu Fu's death is undeniably connected to him. The aura on him doesn't lie."

"Hahaha!" Li Zhaotian burst into laughter as he drew his divine sword. "In the end, it all comes down to whose fist is stronger!"

"Master, let me handle this. Just stand by and hold the line for me."

As those words fell, Pang Jian appeared between Zhu Ji's Dharma Idol and Dong Tianze. The vast stream of spiritual qi binding Dong Tianze immediately collapsed without a trace.

A divine domain unique to Pang Jian unfurled with him at its center. It was a starry expanse, where the brilliant sun blazed and moonlight shimmered with crystalline clarity.

The starry expanse above the bizarre mist, distant to onlookers within the Abyss, now appeared to have been drawn down by Pang Jian, becoming part of his divine domain.

And it was only part of it, for within this expansive domain, seven distinct starry rivers gradually emerged, each representing the five elements of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth, as well as lightning, and cold. Each of these seven regions glittered with countless stars, radiating the essence of their respective Daos.

In one shadowy, chilling region, pitch-black "black holes" began to manifest, each seeming to lead into different Demon Realms.

"Even the Outer Gods don't have divine domains like this!" Dong Shangqing cried out in disbelief.

Only then did he understand why Pang Jian dared to stand so forcefully against Li Wang, Zhu Ji, and Gui Mu. So this was the terrifying height Pang Jian had reached!

"Please pardon my rudeness, Senior Zhu!" As Pang Jian's divine domain expanded, engulfing Zhu Ji's towering Dharma Idol. In an instant, Zhu Ji vanished from the sight and perception of everyone present.

***

Deep within a self-contained starry expanse in the Abyss, Zhu Ji hovered in silence. In the span of a heartbeat, he felt as though he had been torn from the Abyss and cast into the boundless starry skies.

In the dark and frigid expanse of the starry expanse, myriad energies surged—solar energy, stellar energy, lunar energy, cold energy, lightning, blood essence, and wood energy. Yet all of them, he realized, were already under someone's control. None of it responded to the Dao he had comprehended.

"Senior, this is more or less what the starry skies looked like. What do you think?" Pang Jian asked, suddenly appearing