Chapter 840: The Leader of the World Gods

The God of Wisdom, Fu Ya, blocked Pang Jian's escape with her spirit body.

She made no effort to deny what she had done, freely admitting to causing the death of Pang Jian's mother and grievously wounding his father.

Though she was held in high esteem across the starry skies, she seemed indifferent to the regard others had for her.

Even as Pang Jian seethed with rage, she continued with composed grace, "I didn't expect you to establish a connection with the Soulstream of the Nether Abyss. I thought Bai Zi was the one it had truly acknowledged, but to think that you were able to..."

Bluish-black shadows stirred like whirlpools in Fu Ya's hollow eyes, and a glimmer of soul-piercing light locked onto the space between Pang Jian's brows.

Far away, in the lowest depths of the Nether Abyss, the Soulstream stirred stormy waves.

If you and I were to unite, with you becoming the sea within my sea of consciousness, I could rise as a God King while you could transform into the ultimate Dao Source. Would that not be the best of both worlds?

Fu Ya asked the Soulstream.

Her thoughts and will had been channeled to it through Pang Jian. Pang Jian's Immortal Divine Soul had become a bridge she could exploit to converse with the Soulstream.

I need you, and in your own way, you need me. In a sense, you're the Dao Source of Soul within the bizarre mist, while I'm the Dao Source beyond it. If we were to join forces or mirror one another, it would bring immense benefit to us both.

What do you say?

Fu Ya coaxed gently.

After her attempt to establish resonance with the Soulstream through Ling Jia failed, she spent a long time contemplating what approach to take the next time she reconnected, what words could finally move it.

She had prepared countless arguments, knowing that the Soulstream, as the Dao Source of Soul, had its own consciousness and independent will.

Descending into the Nether Abyss and forcefully seizing the Soulstream through coercion was, in her eyes, a last resort—one she hoped to avoid at all costs.

What she truly desired was to win the Soulstream's genuine acknowledgment, to have it willingly share its accumulation of insights across the ages. That, to Fu Ya, was the ideal outcome.

However, despite her eloquence and sincerity as she painted a future bright with promise, the Soulstream remained utterly silent. It gave not even the faintest ripple of response.

Still, Fu Ya showed no sign of impatience. She simply continued exercising her persuasive powers, hoping to charm the Soulstream even slightly.

***

Pang Jian's Immortal Divine Soul atop the Thunder Pool had long since become immobile.

What sealed his Immortal Divine Soul was not one of Fu Ya's divine techniques, but rather the spatial laws of the bizarre mist itself.

The areas surrounding him resembled solid amber, and he was the insect frozen within, caught in a trap he could neither see nor understand.

The God of Wisdom's comprehension of the spatial laws naturally surpassed Mu Ya's by several times. Behind her spirit body floated a small polyhedral crystal, slowly rotating.

It was a divine artifact attuned to spatial laws. With it, Fu Ya could forcibly construct spatial structures where none existed, even within the most enigmatic region of all, the bizarre mist.

This divine artifact also enabled the wondrous linking of worlds, allowing the God of Wisdom to channel her divine power into this space and descend in person whenever she wished.

I have to break through the fabric of space to seize the initiative,

thought Pang Jian, still frozen atop the Thunder Pool with Sovereign Demonheaven's cloak around his shoulders.

Even the birth of such a thought was a monumental struggle. Thoughts born in defiance of Fu Ya's will often scattered like mist before they could take root.

Within the mind of Pang Jian's Immortal Divine Soul, clouds of mist condensed again and again, only to disperse just as swiftly.

These clouds, the materialization of his turbulent thoughts and will, dissolved under Fu Ya's overwhelming interference.

Pang Jian did not relent in his resistance, even as she used him as a medium to persuade the Soulstream in the Nether Abyss. Unfortunately, as a Sovereign, her might was simply beyond comprehension.

Fu Ya could perceive his every thought and counter them precisely, dissolving his defiant will before it could form, causing each thread of resistance to unravel on its own.

She was using the same methods Pang Jian had used to influence Fa Ji, sway He Motian, and take over Huo Ji against him.

Through it all, she made no move to destroy Pang Jian's Immortal Divine Soul or erase his presence, not because she could not, but because she needed him to act as a conduit to reach the Soulstream.

***

Deep within the Seventh World of the Abyss, Pang Jian's physical body had transformed into a colossal golden titan under the nourishment of life energy and the essence of metal.

Even his Divine Persona had turned entirely golden. It pulsed with the profound essence of the Soulstream and exuded a power capable of devouring all souls.

"High-ranking godhood..." Pang Jian murmured, voice echoing endlessly through the dark void of the Seventh World.

His voice had become a storm that resonated through the bronze expanse beneath his feet, reverberating through every World God Pendant in existence and shaking the minds of the World Gods.

Yuan Yi, Fa Ji, Bai Zi, and every World God scattered across the abysses within the bizarre mist heard his utterance.

High-ranking godhood...

Pang Jian's voice resounded from the World God Pendants and through the minds of every World God like a divine proclamation.

"Pang Jian!"

"Another Pang Jian has ascended as a high-ranking God!"

"He already has an Immortal Divine Soul in the Transcendent God Realm! For his physical body to also reach the level of a high-ranking God...he won't be easily suppressed!"

"All this time, we, the World Gods, have never had a true leader. Not even Yuan Yi could fill that role. I don't know why, but right now, I feel like we finally do."

The World Gods of various races and abysses all felt the same stirring deep within.

A will seemed to pass through the World God Pendants, declaring that a leader had arisen among them.

World Gods across the abysses heard the unmistakable sound of laws breaking. The rise of a leader among the World Gods was causing the ancient laws from time immemorial to collapse.

The boundary walls encasing each abyss loosened, allowing the admittance of even stronger beings.

***

The Bronze-Masked God had long since arrived at one of the six unique rifts on the boundary wall of the Abyss.

He had already tried numerous ways to get inside, but each attempt was met with failure. No matter what he did, he could not break through the rift to enter the Abyss.

"You're in the Transcendent God Realm, which is equivalent to a high-ranking Outer God. If you could pass through, it would mean the high-ranking Outer Gods could enter as well," the golden bee explained with a hint of helplessness. "You needn't worry too much. Our master is doing well in the Abyss. He's tempering his body in the Seventh World and will soon reach a new cultivation realm."

The Bee Sovereign had embedded a wisp of his will within this golden bee and sent it out after noticing the Bronze-Masked God's repeated failures.

Unfortunately, despite the guidance, the Bronze-Masked God still could not breach the rifts and return to the Abyss.

As the Outer Gods were unable to enter the Abyss, a True God of the human race found it nearly impossible to return after breaking through the barrier.

"Has the crisis in the Abyss really passed?" the Bronze-Masked God asked, finally giving up after repeatedly failing to enter. "I recall you mentioning that the Fey Race entered a period of resurgence within the Abyss. Did their Sovereign truly succeed in achieving nirvanic rebirth? Did the Heaven Ascension Tribulation Array we asked Li Wang to forge fail to serve its purpose?"

"I'm not entirely sure," the golden bee replied after some thought. "Our master suspects that the Sovereign has indeed been reborn, but he hasn't verified who it is for certain. He suspects that she's taken over the body of his sister, Pang Lin, and has been looking to confirm it."

"Possessed? Pang Lin?" the Bronze-Masked God murmured in thought.

He had encountered Pang Lin on his return journey to the Abyss and had sensed something extraordinary about the girl, though he had not been able to place it at the time. After hearing the golden bee's words, however, everything seemed to fall into place.

Suddenly, a strange sound rang out. It sounded like the crumbling of the Heavenly Dao.

The Bronze-Masked God, standing beside one of the unique rifts, instinctively sensed the thinning of the boundary wall and immediately tried to charge through once more.

The boundary parted like water, allowing him to slip through.

"I've returned!"

The Bronze-Masked God had finally returned to his homeland after years hiding in the starry skies with his tail between his legs.