Chapter 829: The God of Wisdom's Descent

Within the bizarre mist, Pang Jian's Immortal Divine Soul stood atop the heart-shaped fragmented land on the body of the Rock Devourer.

"There's no need to search for that ancient ape any longer," said Pang Jian.

The smaller Rock Devourer halted the howling chunks of its body scattered through the bizarre mist. "Did you sense something?"

"That ancient ape is finished," Pang Jian said calmly.

"Finished? Did one of the Sovereigns up above find him here in the bizarre mist? Was it Sovereign Luo? Or the God of Wisdom?" the Rank Twelve Aberrant Spirit asked, visibly shaken. "If it was Sovereign Luo...I—then I—"

The Rock Devourer sighed in frustration. It was starting to regret what it had done to the seven Heaven Ascension Tribulation Pillars back when Pang Jian tore a spatial rift leading toward the Abyss.

"Tell me, do you think that Black Empyrean Phoenix of the Fey Race could undergo nirvanic rebirth as a human?" Pang Jian asked in lieu of a response.

The Rock Devourer was taken aback. "Reborn as a human? Changing her race entirely?"

It mulled over the thought for a long while.

"A normal Fey God probably wouldn't have that kind of ability," the Rock Devourer finally said. "But if it's that Black Empyrean Phoenix...anything's possible.

"Still, how could a human body compare to the noble bloodline of the Phoenix Race?

"So long as she's reborn as a phoenix, she'll retain her innate gift of nirvanic rebirth. She would have multiple lives. Returning as the same race would also allow her to rapidly regain her peak strength.

"Her combat prowess was unmatched when she was alive. She was more powerful than Sovereign Luo or the God of Wisdom.

"She had the potential to become a God King. Why would she throw that away to reincarnate as a human?"

The Rock Devourer simply could not wrap its head around that possibility.

After grumbling to itself for a while longer, the Rank Twelve Aberrant Spirit recalled what Pang Jian had said earlier and asked again, "Who? Who in the bizarre mist could possibly defeat that ancient ape?"

"My sister, Pang Lin," Pang Jian replied, his expression darkening. "Right now, I can't tell whether she's still Pang Lin or the reincarnation of the Black Empyrean Phoenix."

"Pang Lin?!" The Rock Devourer was shocked.

It proceeded to ask for details and soon learned that Pang Lin had drawn upon Fortune within the Abyss, and that her divine soul remained a rare form of a deep blue sea.

"Only the Soulstream of the Nether Abyss can reveal Pang Lin's true nature," said the Rock Devourer.

Pang Jian let out a thoughtful hum. "The Soulstream..."

As long as he focused, Pang Jian's Immortal Divine Soul could sense that mysterious Soulstream, even from the depths of the bizarre mist.

With a thought, he felt as though he had been plunged into a surging sea. Clusters of radiant light drifted by, each inscribed with the profound truths of the Dao of Soul.

His connection with the Soulstream felt as intimate as the link to his own physical body.

The Dao Source of Soul has a will of its own. Perhaps I could just ask it directly,

thought Pang Jian.

Releasing a strand of will through his connection to the Soulstream, he asked,

Is my sister Pang Lin still herself? Did that Black Empyrean Phoenix possess her, or was she the Black Empyrean Phoenix all along?

Suddenly, the Soulstream surged violently, an unseen force severing their connection. His link with his physical body was also cut off.

The gray bizarre mist started to thin around him.

A fragmented voice echoed through the empty stillness.

"World God. The Abyss.

"Pang Jian. Son of Pang Qi."

An ethereal force swept in, saturating the space where Pang Jian and the Rock Devourer stood.

"Aberrant Spirit. Rock Devourer."

The voice was faint and intermittent.

"I am the God who spreads wisdom. Worship me as the one true God, and you shall unlock greater wisdom. Your soul will be uplifted, and your race will ascend to a higher plane of existence.

"Rock Devourer...

Wait for me..."

The eerie voice sounded as though it was simultaneously echoing from the far reaches of the starry skies, while also whispering right in their ears.

The bizarre mist around Pang Jian and the Rock Devourer was rapidly thinning, as if an invisible force was sweeping it away.

"Fu Ya!"

"The God of Wisdom!"

Both Pang Jian and the Rock Devourer paled.

Pang Jian had regarded Fu Ya as a sworn enemy since learning the truth behind his mother's death. He had planned to one day engage her in a battle of souls, once his cultivation realm had reached greater heights, and within the bounds of the Abyss or the Nether Abyss.

Unexpectedly, she had made the first move long before he could start his preparations!

The God of Wisdom had not appeared in the starry skies above the bizarre mist as he had anticipated, nor did she concoct a careful scheme to seize control of the Soulstream.

Instead, Fu Ya had manifested directly within the bizarre mist!

"Pang Jian, run! Return to the Nether Abyss, or the Abyss. Any of the abysses will do!

"Only within an abyss, with their barriers and boundary walls, will she be restricted in her actions!"

With that cry, the Rock Devourer's bizarre body, formed from countless fragmented lands, broke apart into pieces.

Hundreds upon hundreds of these fragmented lands either shot toward the starry skies above or plunged deeper into the bizarre mist.

The Rock Devourer did not have the courage to fight Fu Ya. The moment he realized the God of Wisdom was targeting him, he decisively split apart his unique body, hoping to let as many fragments escape as possible.

"Why flee? Ling Jia is not your destined master. Why don't you serve me?

"After all this time, Ling Jia still hasn't helped you become a Rank Thirteen Aberrant Spirit. Doesn't that show her incompetence? Serve me instead.

"I will greatly enhance your intellect and guide you into evolving into a Rank Thirteen Aberrant Spirit.

"At Rank Thirteen, your power would rival even mine. Do you not long for such strength?"

Unlike before, the voice now flowed smoothly, no longer halting or broken.

At the same time, a surge of foreign energies crashed into Pang Jian's majestic Immortal Divine Soul. Prismatic radiance erupted across his body in response.

The many energies he had seized from the Nether Abyss burst forth all at once, manifesting into a vast, unfathomable starry expanse that enveloped the pocket where he stood.

"Soulstream. My physical body." Pang Jian's voice echoed repeatedly across the resplendent starry expanse as he attempted to reach out for powerful allies.

"Mou Qi, Cang Feng, Mu Ya..." whispered the God of Wisdom.

"At your service!"

"Your subordinate answers!"

"We stand ready!"

The three high-ranking Gods of the Spirit Race responded in unison.

"Descend through my soul imprint and capture the child of Pang Qi," Fu Ya instructed. "Remember, I want him alive."

A sigil-like mark appeared alongside her command in the bizarre mist. Pure, concentrated soul essence crystallized into a special token that opened up a passage in the fabric of space.

As a fellow Sovereign, Fu Ya had always maintained close ties with the God of Space, granting her deep mastery over the mysteries of spatial teleportation.

"As you command."

With that, the three high-ranking Gods of the Spirit Race descended through the special passage.

As soon as Mou Qi emerged, his expression darkened, having sensed the frigid star in Pang Jian's starry expanse.

It emanated a chill unmistakably unique to Han Yi.

"Pang Jian!

"You know Han Yi! I can sense her divine aura on you!

"Han Yi consorted with a human in secret?!"