Chapter 902: The Return of the Black Empyrean Phoenix

On a star ringed with black light in the Ancient Fey World stood a massive black stone archway, surging with fierce spatial ripples.

The star trembled as a supreme will, perfectly attuned to heaven and earth, descended out of nowhere.

Feverish light blazed within the pupils of the high-ranking Fey Gods on the star, each staring unblinking at that black stone archway.

"The Dark Star."

A cool, ethereal voice echoed across the star, even spilling out into the surrounding rings of black light.

The high-ranking Fey Gods broke out into excited howls as the petite figure of Pang Lin stepped out of the archway.

A jet-black phoenix, refined from foreign energies, appeared behind her small human form.

Her slender human body gracefully jumped atop the black phoenix's head, her cold gaze fixed on the mountain-sized Fey Gods.

"Huh? What is this?" a Vermilion Bird muttered, fiery eyes flashing with bewilderment. Though its wings of fire did not move, it hovered motionless in the air, staring hard at Pang Lin. "Divine Saint, is that you?"

The one stepping through the black stone archway was not a member of the Fey Race and carried no obvious bloodline aura. They were not the king of avians that the Vermilion Bird had expected.

Still, the darkness coiling around her was unmistakable. Moreover, the black phoenix beneath her bore the unmistakable mark of that Divine Saint's power—something no being could ever imitate.

"Divine Saint, when did you forge a human body?" a colossal elephant asked in astonishment. Its body loomed like a golden mountain and radiated piercing light. "Is it that your true body can't leave the Abyss, leaving you with no choice but to create a human body?"

"Divine Saint!" cried a giant serpent with silver scales, slithering through the air toward Pang Lin. "You've finally returned! It doesn't matter what form you take. You're still the leader of our Fey Race! Please, as this grand event erupts, guide us once more so that our race may stand atop the starry skies again!"

A white one-horned wolf howled its dissent from a mountain peak, "How can our Divine Saint be in a human body? If she's no longer of the Fey Race and hasn't yet reached Sovereignhood, can she still be considered our leader?"

This one-horned wolf was a newly risen high-ranking Fey God and had not even been born when the Black Empyrean Phoenix dominated the Fey Race. Proud by nature, it was convinced that the Fey Race would rise again, even without the Black Empyrean Phoenix. In its heart, it believed it would become the new leader of the Fey Race.

Other new generation Fey Gods backed up the one-horned white wolf.

"That's right! We'll only acknowledge her as our leader if she reappears in her original form!"

"A human has no right to rule over our Fey Race!"

"Anyone who isn't of our race has divided loyalties! If she's abandoned her Fey Race bloodline, that means she's no longer one of us!"

These young Fey Gods had only ever heard of the Black Empyrean Phoenix's legendary might and remained skeptical of her true abilities.

"Silence!" the Vermilion Bird screeched, coldly glaring at the younger generation of the Fey Race. "The Divine Saint's decisions are not something you are qualified to question! She was the strongest Sovereign in the entire history of our Fey Race. Her era was also our most prosperous period!"

The silver-scaled serpent also rebuked them, "You all just need to obey orders without any thought of defiance!"

These loyal Fey Gods had once followed the Black Empyrean Phoenix in campaigns across various worlds and were fully aware of their leader's cold-blooded ruthlessness. Thus, when they saw the black phoenix refined from darkness beneath her, they immediately dismissed their doubts. After all, only the Black Empyrean Phoenix could easily create such a body with darkness.

"Perhaps I've been gone too long..." Pang Lin sighed.

The older Fey Gods knew her temperament well. Souls trembling at her words, they hastily cried out, "Don't!"

She paid them no heed, coldly pointing at the one-horned white wolf—the first to raise objections.

The black phoenix, refined from pure darkness, stirred the rings of black light surrounding the Dark Star, condensing them into terrifying laws that took form as innumerable crystalline sparks.

An aura of destruction, the corrosion of all wills, world-shattering laws, and a poisonous force that tainted everything were all concentrated into a single streak of light.

Sensing this terrifying attack, the one-horned white wolf on the mountaintop let out a howl, trying to beg for mercy at the last second.

The streak of light pierced straight through its body before it could get a word out, obliterating its soul, crushing its bones to dust, and devouring all its flesh and blood.

It died on the spot.

A high-ranking Fey God died at Pang Lin's hand without so much as a scream.

The other Fey Gods previously backing the white wolf immediately lowered their heads, trembling violently and not daring to make a sound.

"My decisions are not something any of you are qualified to question," Pang Lin said, striding through the air toward the tallest mountain on the star.

Atop the darkness-shrouded mountain was the palace she had built in the past. She was headed there to choose from the divine artifacts she had left behind.

"I will allow the older generation of Fey Gods to enter, but they need to have achieved high-ranking godhood."

***

At the Darkcloud Realm, the handsome Abyssal Demon released his divine consciousness to scan the lifeless starry region, but did not sense any soul fluctuations.

"There's no sign of them, Pang Jian," the Abyssal Demon said toward some surging demonic energy. "Ling Yun and Can Ye aren't here."

A manifestation of Pang Jian formed from divine sense appeared in the demonic energy. "They're not there? Did you notice anything unusual on your way to the Darkcloud Realm? I'm certain Ling Yun intends to refine the World Tree to reach Sovereignhood. Did you hear anything about that in the Wood Race's territory?"

"No, everything in the Wood Race's territory was normal." The Abyssal Demon also found it strange.

"Then, do you know the whereabouts of the True Gods?" Pang Jian pressed.

"I don't." The Abyssal Demon thought briefly, then added, "I can try to make contact with that Bronze-Masked God you mentioned, but I have no idea if he'll respond."

"Give it a try."

***

A group of True Gods from the Abyss discussed cultivation realms on a massive boulder in a dust-choked starry region. Lin Baixiang and the other elders generously shared their understanding of the cultivation realms with the younger generation.

"Each new wave surpasses the last. You juniors are all more outstanding than we were!" Sword God Xu Ling sighed with emotion.

Zhu Ji, for instance, had advanced by harmonizing with all the worldly energies and ascended into godhood through the Dao of Power. This left them all in awe.

Li Zhaotian's merging of his Dao with the barrier of the Abyss—shaping his Dao of Sword into a prison resembling a well that confined all beings—also amazed these elders.

Dong Tianze's cultivation of blood, Wu Yuan's pursuit of the supreme Dao of Demon despite being human, and Li Yuqing's comprehension of the mysteries of fate had all made rapid breakthroughs under the guidance of their seniors.

"Perhaps our human race truly does have a chance to stand firm again in the starry skies!" Lin Baixiang exclaimed excitedly.

The older True Gods were helping the juniors unravel difficulties in their cultivation realms when a long, narrow spatial rift suddenly split open.

From it stepped an otherworldly God with a half-transparent body.

"The Void Race!"