Chapter 771: The Ascendant God Realm

The knowledge contained within the nine clusters of Fortune left Pang Jian shaken.

He had never expected that the Fortune of the Nether Abyss would reveal knowledge of the realms beyond the True God Realm!

How is that possible? Is the path for human cultivators after the True God Realm identical to that of the Nether Gods?

A flood of questions raced through Pang Jian's mind.

The Nether Abyss and the Abyss were two distinct worlds, but both had spiritual qi and Fortune.

The Nether Race and the human race also shared many striking similarities.

Neither race had special bloodlines, and both were physically weak at birth. The only notable difference was that the souls of the Nether Race were significantly stronger than those of the human race in their early stages. Besides that, the two races were remarkably alike in both physical appearance and cultivation.

From the Spirit Condensation Realm onward, the human race's cultivation system focused heavily on the tempering of the divine soul, as though designed to accommodate the soul-based system that followed godhood.

After ascension to godhood, the path continued through the Ascendant God Realm, the Transcendent God Realm, and finally the Exalted God Realm.

The detailed descriptions of these three realms were imprinted upon Pang Jian's newly reconstructed Immortal Divine Soul in the form of memory streams, following the merging of Fortune, his divine soul, and spiritual qi.

Pang Jian had gained the guidance he needed for the next stage of his cultivation.

A torrent of pure spiritual qi poured into Pang Jian's Immortal Divine Soul. Cluster after cluster of Fortune transformed into his bones, organs, and flesh, the essential foundation for his divine soul to gain tangible form.

Before long, the skeletal frames and five viscera of his previous Immortal Divine Soul were fully reconstituted.

Back when he first ascended to godhood in the Abyss, the cluster of Fortune he had merged with had given his Immortal Divine Soul an outer shell. That shell had been filled with the spiritual qi.

Later, he extracted the five elements of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth, as well as lightning, darkness, demonic energy, and other energies from his physical body to form the bones and five viscera.

This time, however, was different.

Nine clusters of Fortune from the Nether Abyss streamed into him all at once, miraculously forming his bones and five viscera.

The Dao of Lightning coiled like serpents within his bones, with the deep etchings of the Dao of Cold scarring the marrow. Techniques of the Dao of Demon and the Dao of Darkness were inscribed upon the surface of the bone itself.

Meanwhile, each acupoint shimmered with the brilliance of stars and the radiant glow of the sun and moons.

The many profound insights into the Heavenly Daos he had comprehended surfaced with the formation of each bone.

His five viscera, likewise condensed through Fortune, radiated with renewed vitality as the five elements of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth stirred to life once more.

The Heavenly Daos he had comprehended had never truly vanished. He only needed to reconstruct his Immortal Divine Soul for these profound insights to manifest again.

My Undying Soul Flames remember it all!

Joy welled up in Pang Jian's heart at the realization. Then, focusing his thoughts, he recalled,

After attaining godhood comes the Ascendant God Realm.

Pang Jian's nascent Immortal Divine Soul radiated a prismatic light.

His path to godhood had been completed in an exceptionally short time, and he was already beginning to advance toward the next realm.

His radiant Immortal Divine Soul burst into streams of multicolored light, transforming into a mysterious arch bridge, a shimmering creek, and dreamy ribbons of light and shadow.

Among those lights and shadows were figures of the divine beings he had slain, the ancient Fey Emperors of the seven continents in the Fifth World of the Abyss, and traces of the Duke of Thunder and the Ice Demon.

Traces of where and from whom he had gained insight into the Heavenly Daos briefly revealed themselves during this special phase.

Pang Jian's Immortal Divine Soul shifted forms effortlessly, transforming into anything he could conceive, even merging and dispersing at will. This was the embodiment of the Ascendant God Realm.

My former Immortal Divine Soul was already in the Ascendant God Realm, equivalent to a mid-ranking God. I just hadn't grasped its true wonders. The Rock Devourer's teachings revealed what my Immortal Divine Soul is capable of in this realm,

Pang Jian realized.

Fortunately, after reforging his Immortal Divine Soul, he had successfully returned to the Ascendant God Realm in a matter of moments!

The mysteries of the Ascendant God Realm grew clearer in his mind thanks to the clusters of Fortune. His knowledge of this realm had been far from complete, and the power he could wield went far beyond what he had ever expected.

I have to solidify this Ascendant God Realm of mine!

Pang Jian tempered his Immortal Divine Soul in the Soulstream, in no hurry to return to the world above.

***

"Bai Zi!" Long Di's furious roar stirred the sea below into towering waves.

It's too late. He was too fast,

Bai Zi finally replied, her tone calm and detached.

He's not like us. He's already succeeded in ascending to godhood once before.

The Soulstream and the spiritual qi of the Nether Abyss are supporting him with all their might.

I couldn't stop him, nor did I intend to. After all, he is the son of my benefactor.

He, too, belongs to the Nether Abyss. As long as the Soulstream accepts him, he can ascend to godhood. That has always been the tradition,

she explained firmly.

His ascension will endanger the Nether Abyss!

Long Di snapped, agitated.

I have to seize full control of the Nether Abyss's power to defeat the invading ancient ape and ensure that the Nether Race remains the true master of this world!

That's your problem,

Bai Zi replied coolly.

Bai Zi, you're the World God of the Nether Abyss! How can you shield an outsider?

If the Soulstream acknowledges him, then he is no outsider,

Bai Zi replied coldly.

What's done is done. Stop overthinking it. Once he emerges from the Soulstream, he will be one of us. He will stand against that ancient ape alongside you and me. That is his rightful duty.

With that, Bai Zi paid Long Di no further heed.

***

Two colossal members of the Fey Race were locked in fierce battle on the towering mountains of the Sacred Soul Continent in the Abyss. Their battle plunged the continent into chaos.

"Yuan Qi, do you really have to fight me over this?" the Ice Armor Eel Dragon cried, its massive body surging through a domain of water, locked in a brutal clash with a Gray Ape wreathed in icy, ghostly lightning.

The two were old acquaintances, having once lived together on the Resolute Expanse as mutual friends of Pang Jian.

Now, they were locked in a battle to the death.

The death of the tyrannical Thunder Dragon had opened up a Fey God seat, igniting a fierce struggle among the major Fey Kings.

Both Yuan Qi and the Ice Armor Eel Dragon had slain two fellow Fey Kings, devouring their hearts in an attempt to ascend as a Fey God, but neither had succeeded.

The cruel rules of ascension left these two strongest Fey Kings with no other option but to settle it through one final battle.

Yuan Qi's ice-blue eyes were calm and indifferent. "Even if I withdraw now, you still won't become a Fey God. You and I have set foot on this path. In the end, only one of us will survive."

"Why were that Giant Abyssal Serpent and black turtle allowed to ascend to godhood using Corruption without going through a brutal trial?" the Ice Armor Eel Dragon roared, spitting volleys of hail and lightning.

"I don't know, but your body carries multiple bloodlines. You're actually better suited to become a Fey God through Corruption."

"But I want to leave this cursed place. I don't want to remain in the Abyss any longer!" The Ice Armor Eel Dragon twisted its massive body, narrowly avoiding Yuan Qi's assault. "I remember now—after I became a Fey God through Corruption, I couldn't leave the Abyss!"

Yuan Qi's large, fur-covered hand tore through the hail and lightning, ripping into the Ice Armor Eel Dragon's scales as he said coldly, "Sorry. I want to leave too."

Howling in pain, the Ice Armor Eel Dragon hastily pulled away, creating distance from Yuan Qi.

The Rock Bear, the White Lynx, several weaker Rank Nine Fey Kings, and dragons in human form silently observed the battle from the peaks of distant mountains.

"That mutated ancient ape is terrifyingly strong," the White Lynx muttered, perched on the Rock Bear's shoulder.

"His bloodline is extraordinary," the Rock Bear said with a sigh. "His vitality borders on monstrous. You noticed it too, right? Even Rank Nine dragons can't match the toughness and regenerative power of his body."

The White Lynx shook her head in amazement. "I don't think anyone aside from the legendary Celestial Phoenix ever reached such a level while still in Rank Nine."

"What's strange is, I've never seen this mutated ape before," the old Rock Bear said.

Several Rank Nine Fey Kings on the nearby mountain peaks suddenly cried out in alarm, their gazes snapping toward the sky.

A colossal tree bathed in lightning drifted into view, thick storm clouds carrying it aloft. Atop its towering canopy stood a graceful, upright figure.

"The Nine Heavens Thunder Divine Tree!"

"It's Pang Lin from the Pure Land Sect!"

Furious roars erupted across the mountain range from the gathered Fey Kings.

Everyone on the Sacred Soul Continent knew that the former leader of the Fey Race, Long Xiao, had provoked Li Zhaotian's assault on the Dragon Lair Sect—an attack that claimed the lives of several dragons—because he had kidnapped a young girl.

Later, Su Wanrou of the Pure Land Sect unleashed the merciless Poison Scourge that led to the deaths of even more members of the Fey Race.

In the end, just before leaving the Abyss, Long Xiao, enraged beyond reason, struck out at the Pure Land Sect and paid with his life, becoming nourishment for the Nine Heavens Thunder Divine Tree.

Long Xiao's death left a vacant seat among the Fey Gods, sparking the fierce struggle between the Ice Armor Eel Dragon and Yuan Qi.

Right at the peak of this battle, Pang Lin, the arguable root of all this, appeared on the Sacred Soul Continent!

The struggle for the position of Fey God was sacred, and interference from outsiders was strictly forbidden.

When the Li Family of the Divine Treasure Sect was discovered meddling in the previous battle, Long Xiao had ordered Long Yan to kill Li Jie in retaliation.

At least the Li Family had moved in secret, keeping their involvement hidden. Pang Lin, on the other hand, had arrived openly.

This was nothing short of a direct provocation against the Fey Race!