Chapter 908: The Shattered Dao Source of Life

The old man radiated a sense of deep dejection. A desolate aura spread outward from him, silently permeating the Fallen God Ruins.

The deathly silent region of broken stars became filled with visions of lost wonders. Countless shimmering scenes sprang to life, summoned by his mood.

Pang Jian watched as Outer Gods on gleaming divine platforms and war chariots, wielding long blades, divine swords, spears, and axes, locked in fierce battle across the one prosperous starry region.

The waves of destruction from their battles reduced entire kingdoms and cities to rubble.

High-ranking Gods produced enormous shockwaves with every attack. Blasts rose from the stars in mushroom clouds, tearing fissures into the ground as mountains and rivers crumbled away. The stars, unable to withstand slaughter on this scale, collapsed and exploded one after another.

Towering figures strode across the brutal battlefield, drawing from the radiance of the sun, moon, and stars, leaving this once-brilliant starry region dim and darkened.

These beings had to be Sovereigns. The gray-robed old man, in a form much like the one before Pang Jian now, also appeared on that battlefield, as one of the few supreme powers!

A Sovereign!

Pang Jian's heart trembled.

Three other beings of equal rank surrounded the gray-robed old man. The old man fought desperately until his body finally succumbed to the onslaught.

Like Ling Yun, he's also a Sovereign born in the bizarre mist, sent to wage war in the starry skies,

Pang Jian realized.

In the end, outnumbered and outmatched, he met his end on this battlefield.

An incredibly radiant crystalline star, radiating boundless life energy, healed the wounds of the battered Outer Gods and fueled the Sovereigns besieging the old man.

That crystalline star seemed to embody the ultimate Dao of Life. It was a treasure surpassing even the Sanctum of Godly and Demonic Genesis, above all other sources of life and creation. It was the key to birthing the foreign races.

This crystalline star was one of the miraculous Dao Sources that existed in this universe. The Dao Source of Soul lay in the Nether Abyss, and the Dao Source of Metal in the Abyss. This crystalline star, on the other hand, was the Dao Source of Life—the key to nurturing all living beings!

"At the very least, I shattered that thing and severed its foundation," the gray-robed old man said, his voice lifting with a hint of excitement. "I didn't fully succeed, but it wasn't a complete failure either!"

All of the scenes abruptly vanished, but before they disappeared completely, Pang Jian saw that the crystalline star shatter. Its fragments, almost aware and alive, were scattered throughout the starry skies.

The Dao Source of Life had been destroyed.

"I...I am..."

Some twisted will suddenly welled up from within the gray-robed old man's projection, erasing the memories that had just resurfaced.

"Who are you? Where did you come from? How did you break through my seal and enter the Fallen God Ruins?"

The old man had forgotten everything that had just happened. He asked the empty air the same questions in a mechanical, repetitive tone, clearly not realizing they had already done this song and dance before.

This Sovereign of the ancient era did not remember who he was, nor why he had fallen.

Far in the distance, a floating fragment of star exploded, revealing a dazzling crystal shard. Intricate arcs of lightning were woven together inside that shard, bearing the imprint of the profound truths of life.

It was a fragment of the Dao Source of Life, the Life Crystal. This was the strange energy that had lured Pang Jian to this place.

The Sanctum of Godly and Demonic Genesis can sense these Life Crystal fragments! If I collect these fragments, perhaps the sanctum could reforge the Dao Source of Life!

If a God of Life like Ling Yun could gather all the scattered fragments and refine the Dao Source of Life, they would undoubtedly ascend to Sovereignhood—they could even become a God King!

"Go! Leave this place! Never come back again!" yelled the gray-robed old man. He pressed his hands downward, struggling against the twisted will within him. "It's coming!"

Despite having only a fragment of his will left, the old man found a brief gap in that corrupting will and managed to revive a sliver of his lost memories.

A crack appeared in the dark void of space. A cold, silvery eye peered through the gap, its pupil containing shifting laws and lights that mirrored the vast order of the starry skies.

𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

It was the embodied will of the starry skies, a being above all Gods, the source that had created divine beings and all life.

It did not unleash any terrifying power. It merely appeared for an instant, but even that brought Pang Jian an instinctive fear.

Pang Jian's physical body shuddered awake in the Sanctum of Godly and Demonic Genesis within the Ruin Realm.

It felt as though that silvery eye's gaze had followed his strand of divine sense all the way back from the distant Fallen God Ruins and had tried to descend into his body. Fortunately, the supreme will within the vast bizarre mist intervened, blocking its corruption.

These two unfathomable forces had briefly clashed, resulting in the bizarre mist's will cutting off the infiltration of the starry skies' will.

Pang Jian let out a long breath, feeling as though his head were splitting open. When he looked inward at his sea of consciousness, he discovered that his Divine Persona had lost its glow. The insights into the Heavenly Daos that he had stored within his Divine Persona appeared to have been partially copied and stripped away.

A wave of soul-deep exhaustion washed over Pang Jian.

The divine sense he had sent to roam the Fallen God Ruins had not actually returned at all. The supreme will of the starry skies had wiped it out. Worse still, it had tried to use the connection to his physical body to seize control of his Divine Persona as well.

If not for the intervention of the bizarre mist's supreme will, it would have fully corrupted his Divine Persona. Instead, it had merely stolen some insights Pang Jian had spent years comprehending, along with a portion of his memories.

The will of the starry skies created the path of ascending to godhood through forging a Divine Persona

.

That is the ultimate destination of this path.

Anyone ascending to godhood through a Divine Persona will eventually face its influence, regardless of whether they're a mid-ranking God, a high-ranking God, a Sovereign, or even a God King.

The higher one's cultivation realm, the stronger the resistance, but as it is the creator of this path, all who walk it are subject to its influence to some degree.

The exception is the path of forging an Immortal Divine Soul! Only by reaching the ultimate realm through the Exalted God Realm can one completely ignore its influence!

These supreme wills of the starry skies and the bizarre mist both stand above the Dao Sources, Aberrant Spirits, and the Gods. They both hold a portion of those Dao Sources, Aberrant Spirits, and Gods within themselves!

Earth-shattering revelations raced through Pang Jian's mind.

Pang Jian did not know whether this information came from the Dao Source of Soul in the Nether Abyss, or perhaps the will of the bizarre mist itself. Regardless, he now understood why the will of the bizarre mist had chosen to forge a new path to godhood, as well as why it had ultimately abandoned Ling Yun and chosen him instead.

Those were lessons learned through bitter failures!

That opposing will from the starry skies had relentlessly suppressed the gray-robed old man, Ling Yun, Demonheaven, and many other Sovereigns born within the bizarre mist. Though they each achieved some measure of success, in the end, each of them saw a miserable defeat.

Thus, the supreme will had no choice but to search for a new path. It created the Nether Race and the human race, hoping to forge a different path.

Forging my Immortal Divine Soul is the main cultivation path for me. My Divine Persona is merely the support. I'll have to use my Immortal Divine Soul to keep my Divine Persona free of corruption. That's likely the only way to resist that will's influence in the future.

Anyone relying solely on their Divine Persona is doomed to suffer the same crushing defeat. They were doomed to fail from the beginning.

Pang Jian felt a moment of clarity. This appeared to be a warning from the Soulstream in the Nether Abyss, the Dao Source of Metal in the Abyss, and the supreme will of the bizarre mist.

What other Dao Sources could still be hidden within the bizarre mist?

Some Dao Sources chose that will in the starry skies, but there have to be others that chose the will of the bizarre mist.

Could there be any in the other abysses?

Pang Jian gained a new sense of direction.

***

All the powerful beings active in the Abyss simultaneously looked up.

The bright daytime sky had suddenly fallen dark.

A majestic hall had appeared in the place of the sun, stars, and moon, hanging high above the barrier, so close it felt within reach. Even just looking at it filled all the inhabitants of the Abyss with a soul-deep pressure that made them instinctively want to kneel.

"What is that?"

"How did a hall just appear out of nowhere? What exactly is that thing?"

"Those Outer Gods usually remain in the distant starry skies, merely answering the prayers of their followers. But this thing feels more terrifying than all the Outer Gods combined! It's like you can't even fathom the thought of resisting at all!"

The Fey Gods and human cultivators in the First, Second, Third, and Fourth Worlds were deeply shaken.

An instinctive fear filled everyone's hearts.

"The Hall of Gods!" cried a golden bee on the Resolute Expanse.

In the next instant, Pang Jian's Immortal Divine Soul appeared next to the bee from the Seventh World.

Qi Qingsong, Zhou Qingchen, and several Sword Pavilion elders watched as he flew alone into the sky, peering up at the Hall of Gods from just beneath the barrier.

The war in the Bewildering Dustlands had not even started, but the Hall of Gods had already arrived high above the Abyss. It was enough to leave even him terrified.

"Pang Jian!" cried the black turtle, Black Dragon King, Rock Bear, and Ice Armor Eel Dragon as they rushed toward him. Before long, all the ancient Fey Gods of the Fey Race, except Yuan Qi, were gathered at his side.

"The Abyss."

Fu Ya's indifferent voice drifted down from above. Though soft, like a whisper, her words resonated throughout the entire Abyss.