Chapter 827: The Dao Source of Metal

The Seventh World of the Abyss was a world shrouded in darkness that held the remains of a colossal Black Empyrean Phoenix in absolute stillness.

Time meant nothing to the remains. They had existed for an unimaginably long span of time, drifting in this world through countless eras.

The deceased Black Empyrean Phoenix released its power and drew it back in. It cyclically unleashed bursts of its essence and reabsorbed them, steadily amassing the strength required to undergo nirvanic rebirth.

At this moment, its eyes remained tightly shut and its entire body was wreathed in a dense, majestic aura. The corpse hovered with an elegant posture, creating an incongruous but strikingly beautiful picture.

Pitch black feathers shimmered with pure black light, each emanating forces of destruction, corrosion, toxin, death, and other tainted energies. The various forces were all interwoven upon its body in the form of Dao Seals and markings.

Though long dead, the Black Empyrean Phoenix exuded an unsettling aura that paradoxically pulsed with life.

The Pang Jian descended and appeared before the remains of the Black Empyrean Phoenix.

"Pang Lin..." he softly called out, feeling the tremors stirring within it.

There was no response.

Nevertheless, the darkness seeping from the remains, along with the vast torrents of murky energy, vanished into thin air around it. Invisible channels formed in the energy pooling around it, receiving the power it released and delivering it to Pang Lin, far away in the bizarre mist.

"If you truly are Pang Lin, if you are her past life, then I hope..."

Even though he was in the Seventh World, Pang Jian could still activate the seven Heaven Ascension Tribulation Pillars through his Divine Persona. The moment his divine sense stirred, the seven towering pillars in the Fifth World once again burst with light.

In an instant, the Abyss's will reappeared!

It manifested as countless fine strands that came together like a net and enveloped the Black Empyrean Phoenix's remains. They closed off the invisible channels and severed the immense flow energy that had been flowing to Pang Lin.

Then suddenly, from within the deathly still remains of the Black Empyrean Phoenix, a faint ripple of soul fluctuations stirred, small, yet unmistakable.

"Brother..." An unfamiliar voice rang out.

It was cold, austere, imbued with a commanding, imperious majesty. In its tone, there was something oddly reminiscent of Sovereign Luo.

Pang Jian's heart jolted. He immediately halted the operation of the Heaven Ascension Tribulation Array, causing the tightly interwoven Heavenly Daos to vanish.

That single word was enough to cause him to hesitate. In the end, he decided to stay his hand and hold off reimposing the seal on the Black Empyrean Phoenix for now.

"Please forgive me. I need to focus my strength on the bizarre mist, on the human body that carries me now."

The voice echoed once more, as the Black Empyrean Phoenix in the midst of nirvanic rebirth spoke calmly, "Brother, there's no trace of me left on you. Why not descend into the bronze expanse below? You may perceive... something new.

"Although the Abyss accepts me, it also suppresses and restrains me. Anyone who carries my essence is bound by its restraints. They can't break through the barrier or escape through the bronze expanse below.

"That is how this world keeps me in check.

"You no longer carry any fragments of my essence now. You have obtained true freedom."

The remains of the Black Empyrean Phoenix, a Sovereign of the Fey Race, remained motionless, but her voice rippled through the Seventh World, allowing Pang Jian to understand her with perfect clarity.

"The bronze expanse..."

Raising his brow, Pang Jian made his choice and began to descend. Soon enough, he landed upon the bronze expanse that stretched across the lower depths of the Abyss once again.

The World God Pendant he carried suddenly flared with an intense bronze glow. One by one, the various abysses and countless World God Pendants flashed into his consciousness.

Yuan Yi was the first he saw!

In the bizarre mist not far from the Abyss, Yuan Yi, in the form of a towering ape, had turned his World God Pendant into a massive shield, wielding it in battle against Pang Lin. Shield in one hand, the Celestial Fey Warhammer in the other, Yuan Yi stood amidst a vast ocean of blood.

Elsewhere, ancient Fey Gods, conjured by Yuan Yi's blood essence, were attempting to destroy the Nine Heavens Thunder Divine Tree and obliterate Pang Lin's human body.

Pang Lin stood there with a playful smile, as petite as a speck of dust compared to the monstrous ape, relentlessly taunting the ancient ape.

"As long as I establish a connection and extract the power from my Fey body, you'll never be my match.

"Little Yuan Yi, if you obediently submit to me again, as you once did and offer up that vast vitality of yours, I'll allow you to live.

"As long as I still exist, only I can be the Sovereign of the Fey Race. Just give up."

Endless darkness, laden with the terrifying forces of destruction, decay, death, and toxin, swept over the sea of blood Yuan Yi had manifested, erasing the many Fey Gods he had created with his blood essence.

Power restored, Pang Lin had regained the upper hand. It was only a matter of time before Yuan Yi was gravely wounded or killed.

At this moment, Pang Jian could see through Yuan Yi's World God Pendant as clearly as he could through his own eyes.

Pang Jian could clearly feel that every World God Pendant forged from the bronze expanse was open to his perception.

With a flicker of thought, Pang Jian's perception shifted to Great Demon God Fa Ji.

Besides having the title of the leader of the Demon Races in the bizarre mist, Fa Ji was also the World God of the Demon Abyss, and likewise had a World God Pendant.

Fa Ji was with his fellow Great Demon Gods, He Motian, Tian Wei, and Qi Ling. All of them were visibly anxious as they discussed whether Sovereign Luo, in her foul mood, would seriously injure Luan Ji for daring to seek an audience at a time like this.

Sovereign Luo, who had released a surge of radiant light in an attempt to do something in the abysses within the bizarre mist, seemed to have failed yet again.

If that was the case, she undoubtedly filled with frustration. However, was it not normal for Luan Ji to walk into disaster at the worst possible time?

As he stood in his physical body upon the bronze expanse, Pang Jian opened himself to its subtle resonance.

"So long as I stand upon this bronze expanse, my World God Pendant reigns supreme, for every pendant originates from this very bronze expanse, the Dao Source of the Metal Dao. My Divine Persona and my World God Pendant are deeply attuned to it!"

The Dao of Metal he had comprehended, along with the fragmented land in his dantian that attuned to it, and other phenomena resonating with its essence, began to swiftly evolve.

In depths unseen, he sensed something faint. It was a nascent and indistinct will.

It was nestled within the bronze expanse itself, a sliver of sentience belonging to the Dao Source. Compared to the Soulstream, this will was barely perceptible. Communicating with it was incredibly difficult.

And yet, Pang Jian's Divine Persona was unique and carried a trace of the Soulstream, so he could just barely sense the will of the Dao Source of Metal beneath his feet.

Only a Dao Source like the Soulstream could bridge such a connection and guide another Dao source's consciousness toward awakening.

Suddenly, the smooth, seamless surface of the bronze expanse rippled. Faint engravings emerged, and a single, clear character that read "I" emerged.

At the very bottom of the Abyss, the Dao Source of Metal sensed that Pang Jian no longer bore the Black Empyrean Phoenix's essence and even carried the presence of the Soulstream.

It chose, for the first time, to reveal itself.