Chapter 914: The True Strength of the Older Generation

Ying Yue stepped off her divine platform to pace anxiously through the Lunar Divine Palace in the starry skies.

"Leng Jin has fallen," she muttered with a dazed expression.

At the center of this moon's heart lay an ancient Lunar Core, and one of the soul imprints on this Lunar Core had quietly vanished just moments ago. It was Leng Jin's soul imprint, the one he left when he first arrived in this desolate starry region.

The bizarre mist was the greatest enigma under the heavens, and all Outer Gods were naturally curious about it. Leng Jin was no exception. He had ventured to this starry region multiple times, leaving traces of his visits in this unremarkable moon.

Leng Jin had been the strongest of all Moon Gods, and his name once echoed with prestige throughout their ranks.

After Ying Yue took up residence on this moon, she meticulously examined every secret within and discovered the soul imprints that different Moon Gods had left within the Lunar Core.

Once Ying Yue finished refining the moon, she could detect even the subtlest fluctuations within the Lunar Core with pinpoint accuracy. When Leng Jin's soul imprint vanished, Ying Yue naturally understood what had happened.

"Leng Jin is the strongest Moon God in the starry skies and one of Fu Ya's most trusted generals. Who could have possibly killed him?" Han Yi murmured in disbelief. "Did he enter the bizarre mist ahead of everyone else and encounter some strange phenomenon there?"

Gods were immortal. They did not die naturally, only when struck by calamity.

Leng Jin was the strongest Moon God. Moreover, with Fu Ya's backing, he held a lofty position across the starry skies. Gods welcomed him wherever he went and sent him off with great reverence.

"Who in the starry skies would dare to kill him? And how many are even capable of doing so?" Han Yi pondered for a long while but still could not figure it out.

Unease crept into her heart.

𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

She could not help but wonder if she and Ying Yue would meet the same fate in this great upheaval. After all, they were far weaker than Leng Jin.

"I heard Leng Jin was ordered to the Bewildering Dustlands. That place is swarming with ancient True Gods of the human race. They were preparing to wipe them out," said Ying Yue, regaining her composure.

Returning to her divine platform, she linked her divine consciousness with the lunar energy imbued within it. Cleansing her divine consciousness and nurturing her Divine Persona with this lunar energy, she continued to comprehend the true essence of the moon that Sovereign Luo had previously bestowed upon her.

"This could actually be a good thing for me," she muttered.

Striving toward Sovereignhood came with its own obstacles. If a Moon God like her reached the peak of high-ranking godhood when there was already a Sovereign of this Dao, it would be impossible for them to ascend. The only path forward would be to replace that Sovereign.

Even having too many high-ranking Gods in the same Dao lowered the chances for a mid-ranking God to break through.

Conversely, the fewer high-ranking Gods there were, the greater the breakthrough probability for those beneath them.

This was a restriction imposed by the supreme will of the starry skies—a law of divine order.

As the strongest Moon God, Leng Jin had been an obstacle to advancement. Thus, for Ying Yue, his death could only be seen as good news.

"It seems even the heavens are looking out for you," Han Yi said, her eyes glinting as powerful Gods in the Dao of Cold flashed through her mind. "The number of high-ranking Gods on my path is greater than yours. I, too, am attempting a breakthrough. If they were to fall like Leng Jin, my chance of success would greatly improve."

Ying Yue chuckled. "Don't dream too much. The fall of a high-ranking God doesn't come often. Leng Jin was an exception. There won't be another."

***

Battles erupted across the Bewildering Dustlands!

The Outer Gods finally abandoned any notion of one-on-one combat, rushing forward in squads aboard their divine platforms and converging upon the World Tree.

Thus, the battle between the Outer Gods and the True Gods erupted with a thunderous roar, centering around the World Tree.

In a strange domain glittering with white jade crystals, Bai Hui of the Nine Tribes Sect unleashed his Dharma Idol, channeling stellar and lunar energies into a trove of crystals.

"Ninefold Celestial Shift!"

Dozens of crystals transformed into moons and stars, constantly shifting around his Dharma Idol.

They formed constellations in the shape of a bear, then a soaring bird, a charging bull, and finally an archer drawing his bow.

Bai Hui had studied the mysteries of stars and moons, leaving his mark on many starry regions. Having analyzed their structures and innate wonders, he replicated the celestial alignments using his divine techniques.

His Ninefold Celestial Shift encompassed nine distinct transformations, each imbued with the laws governing one of the nine starry regions he had analyzed. Its power was formidable beyond measure.

Three Gods loyal to Luo Hongyan found themselves disoriented by the ever-changing stars and moons. Their divine power was relentlessly drained, and even Bai Hui's Dharma Idol had become invisible to them.

"If not for Pang Jian selflessly passing on the mysteries of the stars and moons, I would've long since perished."

The ancient True God from the Nine Tribes Sect was still at the Ascendant God Realm and had yet to break through like Fang Jiu. Even so, his evolved Ninefold Celestial Shift was enough to trap two mid-ranking Gods and one high-ranking God, wreathing them in bitter-cold radiance.

He had regained his confidence after the World Tree healed his wounds and transferred the mysteries of the stars and moons to him.

Elsewhere on the battlefield, Huang Yin of the Eastern Land stood tall atop a cluster of palaces adorned with dragons and phoenixes. A colossal scroll painting unfurled behind him.

Within the scroll lay an imperial capital, tens of thousands of kneeling subjects, and vivid silhouettes of dragons and phoenixes in motion.

He had once been a legendary emperor of a Divine Kingdom in the Abyss, and his glorious deeds were passed down across the Eastern Land for generations.

Before he left the Abyss, his Divine Kingdom not only dominated the Eastern Land but even outshone transcendent sects such as the Nine Tribes Sect, the Ghost Sacrifice Sect, and the Pure Land Sect.

Only the Sword Pavilion had stood above his Divine Kingdom back then.

When the Outer Gods laid siege to the Abyss and prepared ambushes for the True Gods, he had been the first to break through and escape the encirclement, enduring their relentless pursuit.

He was a legend from a time after Lin Baixiang but before Pang Jian. Unlike the others, he had actually stepped into the Transcendent God Realm long ago, but years of brutal battles had left him heavily injured, causing his cultivation realm to drop back to the Ascendant God Realm.

With the nourishment from the World Tree, he had returned to his peak once more. Also, unlike the others, he received no guidance from Pang Jian, for his Dao was not one Pang Jian could provide insights into.

"Rise," Huang Yin shouted, raising his hands.

Radiant palaces, mountains, rivers, and entwined dragons and phoenixes emerged from the scroll behind him, each steeped in imperial majesty so intimidating that the Outer Gods felt their hearts tremble in trepidation.

When Huang Yin summoned his Dharma Idol and draped himself in an imperial robe, the Outer Gods could sense a terrifying ambition radiating from his towering figure.

Huang Yin intended to enslave the Outer Gods!

He sought to make the Outer Gods into subjects of his Divine Kingdom, obedient to his will and bound by his decree!

This oppressive vision left the Outer Gods shaken.

A mere emperor from the Abyss had the audacity and ambition to subjugate the Outer Gods. For him to harbor such thoughts meant he held no fear—the Outer Gods were nothing to him.

"If I break through to the Exalted God Realm," Huang Yin's voice boomed like thunder, "I will build a Divine Kingdom of the Gods. When that time comes, all of you will be ministers in my court, paying homage to me each day, kneeling in ritual obeisance."

His proclamation reverberated across the battlefield, leaving the Outer Gods dumbfounded.

Such tyrannical arrogance was rare not only in the abysses but also across the starry skies.

Pei Lin of the Forsaken Expanse Sect sat calmly in a single emerald leaf of the World Tree, a faint smile tugging at his lips.

Dust and debris cast up from the chaos of battle below gathered under his will.

A hazy domain silently formed near the World Tree. Any Outer Gods daring to approach the World Tree found themselves caught in this strange domain, feeling as though they were plummeting straight into the bizarre mist.

"I'll guard you," Pei Lin assured the World Tree.

Taking out a blank sheet of paper and using his fingertip as a brush, he started inscribing runes imbued with the Heavenly Dao.

The densely packed runes spread outward, etching the structure of order into that swirling domain, reinforcing its stability.

Those inside soon found a foreign Dao seeping into their bodies and Divine Personas.

Every Outer God trapped within felt the suppression pressing in, as if the supreme will of the bizarre mist itself were targeting them, relentlessly draining their divine power.

Pei Lin had comprehended two Heavenly Daos. One, rooted in dust and mist, had carried him into godhood. The other was the ancient art of runes and talismans that the Ancient Law Sect once practiced.

After reaching the starry skies, he had immersed himself in the two Daos for ten thousand years, ultimately merging them into one and forging his own unique style of combat.

"Any Outer God daring to approach will find themselves shedding a layer of skin first," Pei Lin said coolly. His gaze fell upon the younger generation of True Gods, and he cracked a faint grin. "No need to rush. I'll lure in more of them first. Once I've worn down their divine power, it'll be your turn."

"Mister Pei's divine techniques truly command our admiration." Su Wanrou sighed admiringly.

She had once believed the new generation of True Gods surpassed the old ones in every way. However, after witnessing the might of Fang Jiu, Huang Yin, and Sword God Xu Ling, she realized none of these surviving older True Gods were weaklings.

The unremarkable ones had long perished in the Outer Gods' endless hunt. The survivors were the elite.

For the first time, Su Wanrou felt a spark of hope that they would not lose the war unfolding within the Bewildering Dustlands.