Chapter 843: The Predicament of the True Gods in the Starry Skies

In a hidden region of the starry skies lay a mist-shrouded expanse veiled in sand and dust. It was a place seldom visited, nestled among a field of dim, lifeless stars.

Lacking in resources, devoid of mineral deposits, and with energy scarce to the extreme, this place had been left untouched for ages. Even the lifeless stars bore no trace of living beings, as if the gods themselves had forsaken this place.

Jagged boulders floated silently in the dust-laden space.

Intense spatial fluctuations flared above a massive gray-white boulder, and a narrow, blade-like spatial rift tore open.

One by one, powerful beings with distinct features, clearly from different races, emerged from the rift.

They hailed from distant starry regions. Upon arriving atop the gray-white boulder, each immediately activated their secret techniques to alter their bones, skin, and facial features, transforming into humans.

These beings were all clearly familiar with one another. A single exchanged glance brought sighs and somber expressions, each burdened with heavy thoughts.

Among these was a man named Du Tianyan. His once burly and imposing figure looked noticeably gaunt, his physique shrunken by half.

"Elder Lin, you seem even weaker than before," said Du Tianyan, clasping his fist in salute toward the seated Lin Baixiang. "Another century has passed in the blink of an eye. Only nine of us remain."

"The fact that we haven't been wiped out from the starry skies is a kind of victory in and of itself," Lin Baixiang replied with a light cough. His long white brows, thin as snow-dragons, hung naturally along the sides of his cheeks, his vitality visibly depleted.

Cloudy eyes swept over the arrivals before he turned to Xu Ling, also from the Sword Pavilion, and asked, "How have you been?"

Xu Ling, a graceful Sword God, had just arrived in the guise of the Ghost Race. Restoring his human appearance, he let out a bitter smile and said, "The starry region I roam happens to lie within the territory of the Spirit Race, under the rule of the God of Wisdom, Fu Ya.

"Their high-ranking Gods are constantly searching for me. I don't dare reveal my strength at all.

"I've barely managed to stabilize my cultivation realm after ascending to the Transcendent God Realm. Without divine elixirs or treasures, it's all I can do just to hold my ground." Xu Ling sighed. "Still, I've fared better than most. Senior, your injuries still haven't healed?"

Lin Baixiang, idly pinching one of his long white brows, smiled faintly. "I doubt they ever will."

The True Gods in the starry skies, like Lin Baixiang, Du Tianyan, and Xu Ling, had long since learned to alter their appearance, disguising themselves as members of the foreign races. Unless fellow Gods of equal or greater power confronted them, their identities remained tightly under wraps. After all, in most cases, exposure meant death.

Among the four Sovereigns in the starry skies, only the God of Fate remained indifferent to matters of race. The other three had long since reached a silent consensus when it came to the True Gods of the human race.

Whenever a True God appeared, the Sovereigns would dispatch their subordinates to hunt them down. None were more relentless than Sovereign Luo.

Since the fall of their former leader, the True Gods in the starry skies had steadily lost companions over time. Only nine remained of their original group of dozens. Their numbers had dwindled with each passing era.

Later generations of Outer Gods laid traps right outside the barrier of the Abyss, striking down the newly escaped True Gods almost immediately. Leaving the Abyss became synonymous with death.

The scattered older generation was hunted like rats, while the newer generation could not even leave the Abyss.

With no access to cultivation resources and unable to reveal their identities, the True Gods in the starry skies could only live in hiding, clinging to survival.

"The once-in-a-hundred-millennia grand event has started in the bizarre mist," said Du Tianyan, leaning against a rock. "Every abyss will be swept into it. I wonder what will become of our homeland."

Many of the True Gods wore wistful, distant expressions.

"The Abyss..."

They had once been the most powerful beings in the Abyss, leaders of top factions, their names echoing far and wide. None of them had imagined that stepping beyond the Abyss to roam the boundless starry skies would lead to this miserable fate.

Even after all this time, the surviving True Gods could not understand why their former leader had insisted on destroying the Hall of Gods. That act had enraged the Sovereigns, causing them to regard the human race of the Abyss as a blight to be eradicated.

Their leader had long since perished, and the reason behind that decision remained a mystery. All they could do now was continue hiding, moving from place to place.

"Sovereign Luo and the God of Wisdom have both gone to the starry region above the bizarre mist," said Pei Lin. He was from the Forsaken Expanse Sect and was in the Ascendant God Realm. "I've been lying low in a Demon Realm, pretending to worship a Demon God. I've managed to gather quite a bit of information lately."

Pei Lin then shared that an unusual being called the Abyssal Demon had broken free from the Abyss and was roaming about, hunting Demon Gods to strengthen itself.

"The Abyssal Demon..." Xu Ling's expression shifted. "If I'm not mistaken, that's the sword soul of the Abyssal Demon Sword from the Sword Pavilion. Who released it? Who allowed it to ascend to become a Demon God and escape from the Abyss?"

"Apparently, it was one of your Sword Pavilion disciples. His name is Pang Jian, and it seems he's ascended to the True God Realm as well," Pei Lin explained.

"Oh?" Lin Baixiang's eyes lit up. "I heard the Sword Pavilion was relegated to the Second World after we left the Abyss due to the lack of a True God. If a junior like Pang Jian has ascended, perhaps that means our Sword Pavilion can return to its ancestral land."

This was one of the few pieces of good news Lin Baixiang had received in recent years.

"The grand event has already started, but we're powerless to intervene," Du Tianyan said with a frown. "If this continues, we'll be picked off one by one. What troubles me most is our homeland. The Outer Gods could overturn the Abyss entirely. We humans could lose our foundations in the end."

A long silence settled heavily over the True Gods.

Lin Baixiang sighed, breaking the silence. "What we lack are resources and a Sovereign. Those with the potential to break through to the Exalted God Realm perished during the destruction of the Hall of Gods. A few more tried later on, but they all failed. It was a devastating blow to us.

"But perhaps the once-in-a-hundred-millennia grand event is our chance."

His eyes swept over the faces of Du Tianyan, Xu Ling, Pei Lin, and the other True Gods.

"As long as one of you can succeed in stepping into the Exalted God Realm, then there's still hope for us."

"Elder Lin, you were the one with the best chance," Pei Lin said in a low voice.

Lin Baixiang shook his head with a bitter smile. "I'm too gravely wounded. Healing is no longer possible. How could I even dream of breaking through?"

"Perhaps in our homeland, a rising star of this new era will one day break through the shackles and accomplish what we could not." Xu Ling murmured.

Everyone started speaking at once, voices overlapping in doubt and dismissal.

"It's hard, almost impossibly so."

"The Outer Gods are stationed in the starry skies above the bizarre mist. Stepping out of the Abyss is a death sentence. Who could possibly survive?"

"Xu Ling, that's quite a stretch."

No one truly believed that the Abyss could produce someone capable of achieving the impossible.

***

A striking man with black hair and black eyes stood at the ancestral land of the Sword Pavilion on the Western Loam of the First World in the Abyss. Even his brows seemed to exude a bold, unrestrained spirit. A wooden sword hung at his waist, a bronze mask grasped in one hand.

Standing beneath a towering, inverted nine-story pavilion, he yelled, "Sword Pavilion! I'm home!"

The sword soul within the wooden sword let out a trembling hum of resonance, as if announcing its arrival as well.

The windows at the bottommost floor of the Sword Pavilion flung open.

"Mu Qingya!"

"The Heavenwood Sword!"

A fat elder, a thin elder, and a sword soul named Lady Feng appeared at the windows to peer down at the unexpected visitor.

Mu Qingya, also known as the Heavenwood Sword, was a Sword God from generations past. He was also the forefather of Mu Aichuan's lineage.

For this legendary Sword God to reappear at the Sword Pavilion after tens of thousands of years naturally stirred up a commotion.

Li Zhaotian, along with elders Guang He, Wang Ce, and Liu Junhong, all dropped what they were doing and rushed back upon hearing the news.

Before long, they stood before Mu Qingya at the Sword Honing Peak.

"You're Li Zhaotian, yes? Is Pang Jian your disciple?" Mu Qingya asked with a meaningful look.

"That's right." Li Zhaotian grinned. "He's my disciple."

Mu Qingya nodded lightly. "You've taken in a fine disciple."