Chapter 920: The Eternal Black Empyrean Phoenix

"The Soulstream truly was its greatest creation." Ling Yun smiled, ignoring Pang Lin's question. "I'm curious. Where did you obtain that Life Crystal fragment from?"

What he truly desired was not just a single shard but every fragment of the Dao Source of Life. With the Dao Source of Life in hand, he could surpass Fu Ya and ascend as the supreme God King.

"Guess," Pang Lin teased. "Strictly speaking, Ling Yun, you're not even my senior."

Ling Yun frowned. "I don't know much about you."

"Of course not." Pang Lin's gaze drifted to the Illusory Void Realm suspended high above. "I've undergone multiple nirvanic rebirths. Each time I was reborn, my cultivation realm and divine power far exceeded the previous."

She opened her hands, revealing two orbs of condensed darkness. "The Dao of Darkness was merely one of my many experiments. I've comprehended many Daos. These Daos once allowed me to ascend to Sovereignhood.

"If I reach the limit of one Heavenly Dao without becoming a God King, I simply move on to another. After all, I can always come back after I die."

A chilling dread rose within the hearts of not only Ling Yun but all the Outer Gods.

The aura of destruction, ruin, corrosion, and toxins within the darkness embodied the various Heavenly Daos she once wielded. If her words were true, that meant she had reigned as a Sovereign for a long time.

Ling Yun's rise was comparatively brief.

Fu Ya, Luo Hongyan, the God of Space, and the God of Fate were all Sovereigns of this era, but even they were nothing in comparison to the Black Empyrean Phoenix.

Pang Lin could truly be the greatest anomaly or miracle in existence.

Ling Yun was almost certainly her junior.

"Many years ago, I struggled with Yan Hao for the position of God King. I've also lost to others in more distant eras before that. Those God Kings have all since vanished or perished in the bizarre mist. Only I remain."

Pang Lin looked around with proud defiance. Ling Yun, the World Tree, Ling Xuan, this entire starry region, and even the treasured artifact of the Void Race, the Illusory Void Realm, were nothing more than hollow trifles to her.

Only she was eternal.

She had endured across the long river of time, surviving even when God Kings perished.

Everyone in the Bewildering Dustlands stared at her like a priceless wonder.

How many Heavenly Daos has she comprehended? Could her understanding of the starry skies and the bizarre mist truly surpass all others?

How did Fu Ya and Sovereign Luo even kill her back then? Did she deliberately allow herself to be killed?

Speculations raced through the minds of those present.

"So what?!" Ling Yun growled.

The Spirit-Nurturing Hollow churned with wild currents, devouring everything in its path, including Pang Lin's darkness!

Patches of radiance flared within the domain of darkness. Even the bizarre divine powers Pang Lin had unleashed—those of destruction, corrosion, and decay—were drawn into the swirling Spirit-Nurturing Hollow. Only her soul essence and divine consciousness remained untouched by its pull.

The Spirit Race, one of the strongest races in the starry skies, had poured all their resources into forging three Spirit-Nurturing Hollows, each with a unique function.

The one in Fu Ya's hands could absorb the soul essence and divine consciousness of all living beings. That particular Spirit-Nurturing Hollow was never lent out. It was Fu Ya's ultimate weapon.

The second Spirit-Nurturing Hollow could devour and refine worlds, artifacts, and ores. It was a tool of annihilation that the Spirit Race used to wage war, capable of destroying entire starry regions and extinguishing civilizations. Whenever that Spirit-Nurturing Hollow was deployed, a race would vanish, and a starry region would fall silent.

The third Spirit-Nurturing Hollow, the one in Ling Yun's hands, had been created with the sole purpose of eliminating formidable threats. And it did not disappoint. It devoured all visible and invisible divine powers on its path toward the Life Crystal shard.

As its power accumulated, the Spirit-Nurturing Hollow expanded, and it quickly grew to dozens of times its original size.

"It's devouring everything!" Zhu Ji exclaimed, sensing the energies in the Bewildering Dustlands shifting.

He pursued the Dao of Power. The spiritual qi and murky energy in the Abyss, as well as the foreign energies in the starry skies, could all be harnessed through his divine soul.

The Spirit-Nurturing Hollow was practically a supreme divine artifact tailor-made for him!

If he could seize and refine it into his own, his cultivation realm would soar. Breaking through his bottleneck would no longer be a dream. He could ascend to the Transcendent God Realm!

"This-this treasure!"

Zhu Ji suppressed the excitement in his heart and quietly attempted to establish a connection with the Spirit-Nurturing Hollow, sorting through the many profound insights into the Dao of Power etched into his divine soul.

A magnetic pull radiated from Zhu Ji, anchoring itself beside the World Tree and capturing part of the chaotic energies nearby.

Some of the myriad energies flowing toward the Spirit-Nurturing Hollow became drawn toward Zhu Ji instead.

Ling Yun, stunned, found his attention shifted away from Pang Lin to Zhu Ji.

"The human race of Abyss indeed produces incredible talents. To think someone among them could comprehend this rare and unconventional Dao, and to such a degree..."

He could not help but regard Zhu Ji with newfound respect as he stroked his chin in thought.

"Had you been born in the starry skies, you'd no doubt have become a dominant force in your own right. What a shame. I've already chosen to sever ties with that will of the bizarre mist, so I won't be offering you guidance.

"Absorb."

The rate at which the Spirit-Nurturing Hollow devoured the surrounding energies accelerated.

The leaves on the colossal World Tree trembled violently under its pull, and the life energy within them poured out at an even more terrifying rate than before.

As the crystalline shard of the Life Crystal was about to descend upon the World Tree, it abruptly halted, then shot back into the sky, vanishing into the Spirit-Nurturing Hollow.

"Pang Ling's hopeful gaze dimmed.

That shard of the Life Crystal had stirred a deep yearning within her. With a fragment of the Dao Source of Life, Pang Ling would have likely been able to ascend to Rank Thirteen. It was the key to contending with Ling Yun in the battles yet to come!

Ling Yun's Spirit-Nurturing Hollow snatched the shard and her hope away in one fell swoop.

"It's over. You haven't yet reclaimed your place as a Sovereign. This shard of the Life Crystal will empower me like no other. I could even surpass Fu Ya to become a God King!

"The gap between realms isn't easily bridged. You know this well. It doesn't matter if you were a Sovereign in your past life. All that matters is that the you before me now isn't one yet."

A faint smile tugged on the corners of Ling Yun's lips.

His Dao of Life in the Spirit-Nurturing Hollow was already parsing and refining the Life Crystal fragment.

"Oh? Is that so?" Pang Lin narrowed her eyes.

A thunderous roar echoed from her delicate human body. Then, a deafening explosion could be heard, this time from deep within the Spirit-Nurturing Hollow itself.

Lightning vortexes surged from within the mysterious Spirit-Nurturing Hollow, tearing through the structure. The hundreds of runes lining its interior walls were ripped apart.

The most vital functions of this Spirit-Nurturing Hollow were destroyed, causing it to lose the overwhelming force that once subdued all.

"I knew you would covet the Life Crystal. This was merely a test to see if you were still as reckless as before," Pang Lin said, shaking her head. "You haven't changed at all. You lose all caution the moment a chance to ascend as a God King appears. Ling Yun, have you already forgotten how you died?"

As the Spirit-Nurturing Hollow collapsed, the lightning and thunder from within even reached out to engulf Ling Yun's towering body as well.

"You're right, it's over." Pang Lin flashed him a mocking smile.

Peering over her shoulder at the still-open tunnel behind her, she commanded the shadowy figures within, "Come on through. I've dealt with the tough one. What's left is yours."

The thunderous roars of the waiting Fey Gods shook the Bewildering Dustlands.

"Kill!"

High-ranking Fey Gods crossed over from the Dark Star into the Bewildering Dustlands in waves, launching a ruthless slaughter upon the Outer Gods like Ling Xuan and Zi Wu.

"The ancient Fey Gods of the Fey Race!"

"There's no hope left for this battle!"

𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

The Outer Gods fell into immediate despair upon seeing the swarm of Fey Gods charging out of the tunnel behind Pang Lin.

"Lord Ling Xuan, contact the God of Wisdom! Quickly!"

"Zi Wu! Where is that Patriarch of your Void Race?! Even the Illusory Void Realm has appeared here. Don't tell me he remains unaware!"

"Run!"

All will to fight vanished from the Outer Gods, and they scattered in frantic retreat.

They were all too aware of the fate that awaited them.

The battle in the Bewildering Dustlands had become a one-sided massacre with the Outer Gods being crushed without mercy.