Chapter 820: Heaven Ascension Tribulation Array

As Luo Hongyan, Sovereign Luo had lain down in the Heaven-Earth Cosmos Chest prior to her awakening. Through that experience, she had come to understand its mysteries.

After she had awakened, she had taken control of all seven Heaven Ascension Tribulation Pillars and refined the seven array cores. Thus, her understanding of the Heaven-Earth Cosmos Chest surpassed even Pang Jian's.

Even though her vessel had been destroyed and her subordinates were forced to retreat from the Abyss, she was able to attack Pang Jian through the chest she left in Eight Trigrams City.

"I knew this day would come." Sovereign Luo's lofty and ethereal voice echoed through the starry sky at the top of the chest and pervaded the miniature world within.

In the dim miniature world inside the chest, Pang Jian's physical body became a vessel that drew in light. The radiance of the sun, moon, and stars from the starry skies gathered into his body all at once. His bones, flesh, organs, and acupoints were filled to the brim with light. Even his sea of consciousness blazed with brilliance, and the Divine Persona he had only recently forged shone with a blinding, soul-stirring glow.

The light belonged to Sovereign Luo. Through the Heaven-Earth Cosmos Chest, she channeled her power through the stars and moons into Pang Jian's body and soul, seizing control of his body! Within his dantian, the starry sky that mirrored the starry skies beyond the Abyss was instantly taken over.

Sovereign Luo's omnipresent voice rang through Pang Jian's mind.

"Ascension. With the Heaven-Earth Cosmos Chest and the Heaven Ascension Tribulation Pillars, one can ascend to the heavens or be cast down to the depths. Now, let me show you the true power of the Heaven Ascension Tribulation Array."

As her words fell, the seven Heaven Ascension Tribulation Pillars, each rooted in a different continent, simultaneously released immense veils of radiant light that encircled and bound all seven continents, forming an enormous array that covered the Abyss!

The seven continents thundered as the foundational laws of the Abyss were shaken by a supreme and foreign will. A terrifying force of sealing and suppression was unleashed through the Heaven Ascension Tribulation Pillars and the seven continents, triggering a breathtaking celestial phenomenon.

The dense murky energy that had been surging upward toward the upper worlds was abruptly seized by a powerful force and dragged downward in a strange reversal.

The murky energy in the Fourth and Third Worlds thinned as the rising tides of corruption were forcibly dragged back down by the overwhelming power of the Heaven Ascension Tribulation Array. The Black Empyrean Phoenix's plan to flood the upper worlds with murky energy had been cut off in an instant.

Li Zhaotian's face lit up emotionally. "Pang Jian, is that you?"

Sensing the murky energy that the human race had been unable to endure, now sinking at an astonishing speed, he hurriedly asked Pang Jian via the sword token, "You're in the Fifth World. Did you just push back the murky energy that the Sovereign of the Fey Race stirred up?"

Li Wang, Zhu Ji, and Su Wanrou were all visibly shaken.

The black turtle, speaking on behalf of the Black Empyrean Phoenix, had issued a stern warning to the human race, advising their powerhouses to retreat from the Second World into the First World as quickly as possible. The Fey Race had made it clear that they would take the Second World War, and only leave the First World to the human race.

Li Wang and the others were helpless in the face of the renewed aggression because they were unable to stop the ceaseless surge of murky energy from below.

Furthermore, ignoring the uncertain status of the Black Empyrean Phoenix, the ascension of five new Fey Gods caused them to be outnumbered. A head-on fight might not end in their victory.

With no means to halt the incursion of murky energy, Li Wang and the others could only stew in frustration and helplessness.

Just when they thought they were out of options, the rising murky energy suddenly began to sink due to the activation of the seven Heaven Ascension Tribulation Pillars. To them, this turn of events was a pleasant surprise.

***

"It's those seven Heaven Ascension Tribulation Pillars."

The four Fey Gods—Yuan Qi, the Black Dragon King, the Rock Bear, and the Ice Armor Eel Dragon—hovered around the black turtle. Some were in their human forms, others in their original massive bodies.

The hulking Rock Bear, whose back was as broad as a mountain range, glanced at the black turtle that was as small as a grain of rice to it and said, "Black Empyrean Phoenix's entire plan depended on the rising tide of murky energy. Who would've thought the Heaven Ascension Tribulation Pillars in the Fifth World could actually reverse their flow? What should we do now?"

A dim gleam flickered in his ursine eyes. With mixed emotions, as he muttered heavily, "I know you all have a deep bond with him—he even played a big part in my rise to a Fey God. I've never forgotten that. However..."

The Rock Bear paused, took a deep breath, and finally voiced the concern that was weighing on him. "No matter what, he's not one of us. He's still a human. A World God of our Abyss, yes, but a human all the same.

"If we don't stop him and let him reverse the flow of the murky energy with the Heaven Ascension Tribulation Pillars, then her plan will fall apart."

The Rock Bear's tone grew somewhat forceful. "I urge all of you to carefully think this through."

The black turtle, Yuan Qi, the Black Dragon King, and the Ice Armor Eel Dragon all kept their gazes fixed on the glowing world below, well aware that the seven Heaven Ascension Tribulation Pillars, radiating with jade-like brilliance, were the source of the disruption. And yet, after hearing the Rock Bear out, none of them spoke.

Unbidden, the four Fey Gods found their thoughts returning to the past, remembering their memories with Pang Jian.

In their current lifetimes, during the early and most formative stages of their growth, Pang Jian had played a role far too significant to ignore. He had stood by them through hardship and adversity, time and again. Those memories could not be erased, nor would they ever be forgotten.

And so, even though they all knew full well that stopping Pang Jian was the only way to put their Sovereign at ease and keep the plan in motion, none of the four Fey Gods suggested descending into the Fifth World.

In the end, the black turtle broke the silence. "I can't sense him. Let's wait and see."

The Black Dragon King, Yuan Qi, and the Ice Armor Eel Dragon all nodded in agreement.

***

𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Inside the small world within the Heaven-Earth Cosmos Chest, Pang Jian felt as though his consciousness, Divine Persona, and divine power no longer belonged to him. It was as if he had been possessed.

It was in such a state that he suddenly gained profound insight into the mysteries of the seven Heaven Ascension Tribulation Pillars. He came to understand the true nature of the seven array cores and the immense forces hidden within them.

"Heaven Ascension Tribulation Pillars, the Heaven Ascension Tribulation Array, the Primordial Chaos Spiritual Sea..."

Within his dantian, seven fragmented lands began to tremble ever so slightly, resonating with the seven continents of the Fifth World.

The darkness beneath the fragmented lands, the canopy of demonic energy above it, and the continent glittering like spirit crystal in between; they were nearly identical to the real Abyss.

In that instant, Pang Jian came to a sudden, blinding realization.

"Only I can truly control the Heaven Ascension Tribulation Array. My body, my dantian, and my Divine Persona... each is an essential part of this array!

"From the moment the seven Heaven Ascension Tribulation Pillars were forged, from the moment the Heaven Ascension Tribulation Array came into being, I was its rightful master! Only a World God of Abyss like me is qualified to command it!"

Luo Hongyan had taken possession of the Heaven-Earth Cosmos Chest and briefly seized control of the Heaven Ascension Tribulation Array, so she had long known she could never truly use this peerless array.

She could not unleash the full might of the Heaven Ascension Tribulation Array. Only by seizing his body and soul could she truly claim dominion over it by using him.