Chapter 791: Return to Battle in the Nether Abyss

In the Nether Abyss, a prismatic figure emerged from the depths of the deep sea, rising high above the scattered fragmented lands and floating continents.

His aura was ethereal and vast, like the unfathomable sea that filled the bottommost layers of this world.

The sun, moon, and stars above cast their light across every layer of the Nether Abyss, but the multicolored radiance flowing from him outshone even the brilliance of the celestial bodies.

A strange, starry expanse unfolded beneath his feet. Within were starry rivers that raged with howling hailstorms or crackled with lightning that ravaged all in its path.

The figure seemed like a supreme deity as he stood atop that starry expanse, presiding over a world of his own making.

"Pang Jian!" Great Demon God Fa Ji cried out in shock

This ancient Demon God, born within the bizarre mist, felt a suffocating pressure at the sight of Pang Jian.

Fa Ji's eyes widened. "Lord Demonheaven!"

The figures and names of Pang Jian and Demonheaven blurred in his mind, leaving him unable to distinguish one from the other.

The banners floating behind Fa Ji fluttered.

"Is it really Lord Demonheaven?"

"Has he anchored himself to Pang Jian and been reborn through him?"

"That's my guess."

The Observers within the banners whispered in hushed tones.

Ancient Demon Gods in hidden corners of the bizarre mist, long forgotten by the passage of time, channeled their strength into Fa Ji, trying to bolster his confidence.

Despite this, Fa Ji himself felt none.

Pang Jian's image was merging with his memory of the long-fallen Sovereign Demonheaven, the only leader Fa Ji had ever wholeheartedly followed.

A thunderous howl echoed across the Nether Abyss as the colossal ape tore free from the radiant chains that bound it. Its twisted grin stretched wide as it fixed its gaze on Pang Jian.

"He actually survived? Heh!" Blood-red stars, pulsating with a soul-stirring light, emerged in the depths of the giant ape's crimson eyes.

Even from tens of thousands of li away, Yuan Yi attempted to unleash a technique upon Pang Jian that could tear through flesh and extinguish vitality.

"You, like Long Di and that Bai Zi, carry the aura of this Nether Abyss. But that's perfect. Your return has weakened Long Di's control over this world. I had to be wary when the energies of this world were concentrated in him alone, but now..."

The giant ape hurled his World God Pendant, which erupted with endless coppery light. Dao Seals etched with his insights into the mysteries of life surged from it. They floated down like drifting clouds, descending toward the Soul Convergence Altar under Long Di's control.

This altar, which could gather Fortune and draw upon the Nether Abyss's spiritual qi, saw many of its Dao Seals suppressed beneath the weight of those coppery, cloud-like ones. The pendant's coppery light also tainted the pool of deep blue concentrated seawater beneath the altar.

The World God Pendant suppressed Long Di's connection to the Nether Abyss, his mental links with the Nether Gods, and even his communication with Bai Zi.

At the same time, a bloody tide surrounded Pang Jian.

Remains from races both familiar and unknown drifted aimlessly in that bloody tide, each wreathed in a faint crimson glow.

Pang Jian caught glimpses of the Thunderveil Godbeast and Pan Di among the bodies as they flashed past.

Yuan Yi had slaughtered innumerable living beings, both within the bizarre mist and far beyond it. Every formidable creature that perished by his hand had left a trace within this bloody tide. His secret techniques had even stripped away the profound truths hidden deep in their bloodlines.

This ancient ape, born in the long-destroyed Fey Abyss, truly was the strongest being outside of the four Sovereigns.

Fortunately, Pang Jian's Immortal Divine Soul was not a body of flesh and blood. The oppressive pressure of the boundless tide was hardly a threat to him.

Pang Jian's Immortal Divine Soul in the bloody tide remained seamlessly connected to his physical body back in the Abyss.

One Pang Jian gazed at the ancient ape in the distance, while the other stared at Yuan Qi in the bizarre mist of the Abyss.

Yuan Qi bears a striking resemblance to this ancient ape,

he observed.

Yuan Yi was a high-ranking Fey God, born of the Fey Abyss, and the strongest beneath the four Sovereigns. Yuan Qi, on the other hand, had since ascended as a mid-ranking Fey God and had been reborn through the blood of the Celestial Phoenix.

When the Black Empyrean Phoenix died in the bizarre mist, she carried with her the Bloodline Repository of the Fey Race, a collection that encompassed the vast majority of the Fey Race, from both within the bizarre mist and the starry skies beyond.

Pang Jian could not help but wonder if Yuan Qi's bloodline could be traced back to Yuan Yi.

Yuan Yi likely had not yet reached his current strength when the Black Empyrean Phoenix was still alive.

But is it possible that Yuan Yi had offered a drop of his blood essence to the Black Empyrean Phoenix, the same way the Demon Gods were required to leave their names on Demonheaven's cloak?

Pang Jian's imagination ran wild.

"Pang Jian, our Soulstream helped you reform your Immortal Divine Soul. Your Undying Soul Flame now bears its mark. You owe it to the Nether Abyss to stand against that ancient ape!" Bai Zi said sharply. "And don't forget, he was the one who destroyed your Immortal Divine Soul in the first place!"

The World God of the Nether Abyss sensed that Pang Jian's cultivation realm had likely reached the Transcendent God Realm, the same level as her own. Reaching the Transcendent God Realm meant becoming a high-ranking God, a rarity even in the Nether Abyss.

This meant he could be powerful enough to face Yuan Yi.

"That's right. A single roar from him shattered my Immortal Divine Soul," Pang Jian said from within the bloody tide.

Putting aside his lingering questions surrounding his sister, Pang Lin, he reached out to his physical body and tore open a spatial rift.

A narrow spatial rift split open before him.

Several powerful artifacts flowed into the Nether Abyss: the Thunder Pool, Ghostflare, and finally, a pitch-black cloak.

The pitch-black cloak settled onto Pang Jian's Immortal Divine Soul, causing his aura to surge dramatically.

Pang Jian stood within the Thunder Pool and pressed a single finger to Fa Ji's name on the cloak.

Fa Ji!

Lightning burst from Pang Jian's fingertip, crackling with growing intensity. As it surged, it merged with his insights into the Heavenly Daos, ready to pierce Fa Ji's name with a single thought.

Great Demon God Fa Ji wore an expression of utter despair.

He could feel the lightning sphere nearing detonation. The force contained within it far surpassed anything he had encountered before, enough to damage his soul. Even if he somehow survived the blast, he would be left half-dead.

You and every Demon God under your command stay out of this battle. Or else,

Pang Jian threatened.

The ancient Demon Gods and Demon Race elites connected to Fa Ji all trembled with fear.

Not only did Pang Jian have the demonic cloak, he also wielded the Thunder Pool, the divine artifact most capable of annihilating Demon Gods.

Any Demon God whose name was inscribed upon the cloak, aside from Luan Ji, had no means of escaping Pang Jian's wrath.

"Lord Yuan, please forgive me! I truly have no choice!" Fa Ji pleaded to the colossal ape. Then, to Pang Jian, he vowed, "I, Fa Ji, will forever be loyal to Lord Demonheaven, no matter the circumstances, no matter his will!"

He halted his battle against Bai Zi.

"Withdraw from the battlefield with me!" he commanded. "This is an order from Sovereign Demonheaven!"

Fa Ji had already thoroughly confused Pang Jian for Sovereign Demonheaven.

Since emerging from the Soulstream, Pang Jian had used the soul-related techniques he had comprehended to subtly infiltrate Fa Ji's consciousness, blurring the line between past and present, memory and reality.

Bai Zi was stunned.

"That's it?"