Chapter 823: Locked in a Standoff

In the Abyss, the activation of the Heaven Ascension Tribulation Array caused the surging waves of murky energy to steadily recede. The Third World, the murky energy had nearly drained from the Fourth World as well.

Many Rank Nine Fey Kings had come to understand that their Sovereign had begun the process of nirvanic rebirth within the Seventh World. The diffusion of murky energy was none other than the scattered remnants of that Sovereign's divine power.

Across different worlds of the Abyss, Fey Kings invoked secret techniques to reach out to the Fey Gods, pleading for guidance. To the Fey Kings, the Ancient Fey Gods were naturally revered as Saints.

"Saints save us!"

"Honored Saints, what should we do?"

"Saints! The light from those Heaven Ascension Tribulation Pillars has redirected the murky energy!"

"If we hesitate any longer, the murky energy will completely disappear from the lower worlds!" The Rock Bear, towering like a mountain, glanced toward the black turtle in human form, his voice heavy with frustration. "Are we really going to just stand by and do nothing?"

After a long, heavy silence, a muted gray-yellow halo suddenly flared from the black turtle's body.

A will drifted in from the bizarre mist and slipped into the black turtle's sea of consciousness.

The colossal black turtle plunged toward the worlds below and commanded,"Black Dragon King. Yuan Qi. The two of you, follow me to the Fifth World!"

The Black Dragon King let out a sorrowful cry. His scales ignited with black flame as he shot like a bolt of lightning toward the worlds below.

A trace of helplessness flickered in Yuan Qi's heterochromatic eyes, but all he could do was follow. He, and the Black Dragon King, could sense the faint, indistinct will of the Black Empyrean Phoenix.

The Black Empyrean Phoenix gave rise to their Fey Race in the Abyss, aided in their ascension to mid-ranking godhood, and was their ultimate backer. As such, her command was not something they dared defy.

The Black Dragon King telepathically asked,

We're not fighting him, are we? Black turtle, we only need to stop the Heaven Ascension Tribulation Array, right?

I was only commanded to open the chest above Eight Trigrams City and bring him out,

the black turtle replied.

Good, good,

the Black Dragon King answered with relief.

With a slight tilt of his head, he set his gaze on the Fifth Continent and spotted the massive chest floating above the radiant Heaven Ascension Tribulation Pillar.

A piercing sword cry suddenly rang out. From high above, within the barrier of the Abyss, another sword cry seemed to respond in kind.

Then, a rotund figure swathed in blue robes descended from the sky, wielding a divine sword as he plunged toward the worlds below.

Waves of sword intent condensed into rivers of blinding sword light, which were then woven together into a distinct domain of sword light. Those trapped inside would be hard-pressed to escape.

"Sword Pavilion's Li Zhaotian." The Black Dragon King locked his emotionless obsidian eyes on the swordsman as he coldly said, "You have yet to step into the next realm. Even with the help of the barrier, you are not my match."

The dragon's massive body surged forward, his massive scales grinding like an avalanche of iron as he charged straight into the solid domain of sword light.

The Black Dragon King let out a low, guttural growl. Darkness erupted around him, twisting and churning like vortexes formed by his black scales. Each carried an aura of annihilation and ruin as he surged forward, colliding violently with the countless rivers of interwoven sword light.

As a mid-ranking God, the Black Dragon King commanded the darkness innate to his bloodline and was also capable of releasing the power of annihilation from within the murky energy.

Relying on his strong defenses, the Black Dragon King dove through the rivers of sword light unimpeded. The raging river of sword only left superficial marks upon his scales.

With each twist of his colossal form, a violent churning force erupted. Darkness spread from him like a tide that engulfed the rivers of sword light, tearing through them until he broke through the domain of sword light.

Su Wanrou and Pei Yishan, who had descended alongside Li Zhaotian, wore grim expressions as they watched the well-shaped domain of sword light on the verge of collapse.

"He's a mid-ranking Fey God!"

Nearby, Yuan Qi growled out, "Frostshell." A layer of ice formed around his massive, ten-thousand-zhang-tall body. He charged at Zhu Ji, the only one in the Ascendant God Realm among them, with the most direct and brutal force imaginable.

Zhu Ji summoned his Dharma Idol and was capable of drawing upon the various types of energies in the Abyss. He erected seven successive layers of barriers around himself from the surrounding spiritual qi, each barrier resembling an independent world.

However, those barriers shattered one after another under Yuan Qi's relentless charge. The mutated ape had a bloodline related to Yuan Yi and leveraged his rare might to brutally tear through Zhu Ji's defenses.

Yuan Qi arrived before Zhu Ji's Dharma Idol and shouted, "We came to the Fifth World to pull him out of that chest! See the light shining across the Fifth World—that must be Sovereign Luo!"

"Iceburst!" The ice encasing Yuan Qi's body suddenly detonated, exploding into tens of thousands of icy blades and jagged shards.

Zhu Ji's Dharma Idol shattered in an instant but reformed just as quickly, returning to its original state.

On the other side of the battlefield, the black turtle plunged into a resplendent starry river and called out, "Li Wang!"

Within the radiant starry river, aside from Li Wang, stood three young True Gods—Wu Yuan, Dong Tianze, and Li Yuqing.

Although the trio was still in the Fourth World, they were just one step away from the Fifth World.

Lowering his head, the black turtle could see the seven distinct artifacts floating above the seven radiant Heaven Ascension Tribulation Pillars. The Heaven-Earth Cosmos Chest was directly beneath his colossal body, but he was forced to come to a stop. Wearing a heavy expression, the black turtle said, "Li Wang, perhaps you've already sensed it. Sovereign Luo has played her hand.

"We were only ordered to pull him out from the Heaven-Earth Cosmos Chest and to stop the Heaven Ascension Tribulation Array.

"Trust me. We are not here to kill him."

For some unknown reason, the black turtle had been avoiding mentioning Pang Jian by name. Perhaps because, deep down, he found it difficult to face his savior.

Li Wang looked visibly agitated and said, "This is the first time I've witnessed the true power of the Heaven Ascension Tribulation Array. This array doesn't just force the murky energy to sink into the lower worlds; it seems capable of suppressing even the Black Empyrean Phoenix. So it turns out that only a World God like Pang Jian can fully unleash its power.

"Saint, no matter what you say, we cannot allow the murky energy to keep surging upward. That being has already planned to take over the Second World. Before long, the First World would be next.

"Tell me. Once the murky energy submerges the First World, how are we supposed to survive? Are the ordinary mortals, who've never stepped onto the path of cultivation, simply meant to be wiped out?

"You're taking worlds we lived in, one after another. We've been pushed to the brink. Are we not allowed to strike back?

"I'll admit, the human race had wronged the Fey Race back then. We oppressed you, but we never sought to wipe you out.

"So I'm sorry, but even if this is part of Sovereign Luo's plan, we will not allow the Heaven Ascension Tribulation Array to be stopped!"