Chapter 959: Father and Daughter

Tian Yu's composure faltered.

His divine domain crumbled. Vast shards of space drifted aimlessly through the desolate starry region.

These shards of space clashed uncontrollably, bursting into erratic beams of light that filled their surroundings with a chaotic maelstrom of spatial energy. If there had been others around, this wave would have obliterated every God beneath Sovereignhood.

"Tian Yu, you can't escape," Pang Lin said scornfully.

The Illusory Void Realm suspended above her reflected a temple. It floated above a fragmented land adrift in shifting light and filled with prismatic crystals.

Raw, unmistakable fear was etched into the faces of the Void Race on the fragmented land.

"The Sovereign of Wisdom has fallen!"

News of Fu Ya's death had reached their ears as well.

The death of a Sovereign carried deep repercussions. It shook the Spirit Race's standing in the starry skies and stoked the Void Race's fears that their leader would suffer the same fate.

"The Void Temple!" the Fey Gods exclaimed with fervor.

If their Divine Saint could project Tian Yu's Void Temple in the Illusory Void Realm, it meant that she could drag him out even if he fled there.

There was nowhere for him to run!

Massive prismatic crystals appeared within the Illusory Void Realm, each reflecting scenes from the different starry regions.

In one corner of the Void Temple was a crystal encasing a man.

His figure was rendered with startling clarity, his eyes visibly brimming with relief as he whispered, "Pang Jian...Pang Jian..."

The Illusory Void Realm carried his voice, thick with emotion, into the desolate Primordial Chaos Starry Region.

"Pang Qi!" True Gods like Lin Baixiang, Mu Qingya, and Du Tianyan exclaimed in astonishment.

Pang Qi had been the World God of the Abyss before Pang Jian and had been the most enigmatic prodigy of his time.

He had mediated tirelessly between the human race and the Fey Race, persuading the black turtle and the Celestial Phoenix to help drive the foreign races into the Fifth World.

When the foreign races attempted to return to the upper worlds, he united the Fey Race to block them.

Even the seven Heaven Ascension Tribulation Pillars had only been forged because of him.

Moreover, he was the father of the monstrous sibling pair: Pang Jian and Pang Lin!

Father!

Both Pang Jians stared fixedly at the man encased in the prismatic crystal.

The sight immediately brought long-buried memories to mind. He recalled how his father would lead him on hunts through the Solitary Mountain Range, teaching him how to survive.

Before his father left, he had entrusted Pang Jian with the solemn duty of protecting his younger sister.

He had never imagined that Tian Yu had actually sealed away his missing father in the Void Temple.

The reflection in the Illusory Void Realm was proof that his mother's death was inextricably tied to Tian Yu.

Both Pang Jians roared in unison, "Tian Yu!"

The stars streaked forward, and the nine blazing suns aligned, unleashing annihilating light and fire toward Tian Yu.

The massive God King's skull trembled violently. Luan Ji's Dao of Oblivion within its eye sockets flared to life, seeking to scatter Tian Yu's memories and plunge him into confusion once more.

A bitter expression crept across Tian Yu's face at Pang Jian's onslaught.

"There's no need to make him forget," Pang Lin said, her tone calm and decisive. "He can't escape this starry region. His death is inevitable."

A tide of darkness laced with destruction, decay, and death rushed out, disrupting Luan Ji's Dao of Oblivion. At the same time, the Illusory Void Realm sealed shut every spatial rift in the starry region.

Tian Yu's expression shifted.

Streams of light converged around his body. He desperately attempted to wield his Dao of Space to carve open a new spatial rift to escape this perilous battlefield, but quickly realized he could not.

The fabric of space had turned as unyielding as steel. No matter how hard he tried, he could not tear open even the smallest spatial rift.

There was truly no path of retreat for him.

A jolt of dread shot through Tian Yu's heart.

How has she gained such mastery over the Illusory Void Realm?

As the Black Empyrean Phoenix was not known for mastery over the Dao of Space, he had assumed that she would not be able to seal off a starry region well enough to prevent him from tearing through.

He had been certain he could force his way through its restriction if the need ever arose, but now he was realizing just how wrong he had been.

Tian Yu had not accounted for the Black Empyrean Phoenix's ability to revive fallen Gods and Sovereigns.

This was the true reason she had resurrected Ta Fei of the Titan Race!

Ta Fei had been the Sovereign of Space millions of years ago. Naturally, his understanding of the mysteries of space was in no way inferior to Tian Yu's.

This ancient Sovereign of Space was hidden in the tide of darkness, lending his mastery of the Dao of Space to the Black Empyrean Phoenix, allowing her to drive the Illusory Void Realm to its absolute limits.

That was why the Illusory Void Realm could reflect the Void Temple and seal this stretch of the starry skies so completely that even Tian Yu found it impossible to escape.

"A long, long time ago, Fathe—" Pang Lin cut herself off, switching instead to speaking as the Black Empyrean Phoenix. "He, a World God born in the Abyss, ventured into the Seventh World and had a long discussion with me."

Pang Jian's expression froze.

Father ventured into the Seventh World of the Abyss to converse with the Black Empyrean Phoenix?

And why did her tone change? Pang Lin is sincere toward me, her older brother, so why is she being cold when referring to our father?

Pang Jian wondered.

"We came to an agreement," Pang Lin continued, maintaining a firm detachment in her voice. "I told him the secrets of the Abyss and revealed the mysteries of the bizarre mist. In return, he promised to help me be reborn as a human.

"In the end, I chose to be born as the second child of him and that Nether Race woman. My innate lightning vortex and Dao of Soul were paths I had long since paved for myself."

Her eyes glimmered as she reminisced.

"I prepared extensively for my rebirth as a human, and the union between him and that Nether Race woman showed me a new and unorthodox path. However..."

Pang Lin paused to glance at Pang Qi through the Illusory Void Realm. There was no affection in her eyes.

"Our father-daughter bond in this life was nothing more than a transaction," she finished flatly. "He knew exactly who I was and that I would awaken one day."

Pang Qi heard Pang Lin's words from within the crystal in the Void Temple, and the comfort and pride he felt for Pang Jian quickly faded into a calm stillness.

His brows knitted as he stared silently beyond the crystal toward Pang Lin, eyes free of deep sentiment. The way he regarded her was entirely different from the way he looked at Pang Jian.

Meanwhile, Tian Yu had ceased his futile attempts to escape. Luo Hongyan, still battling the encroaching tide of darkness and the strange forces lurking within it, occasionally lifted her head to peer at the Illusory Void Realm.

The onlookers glanced between Pang Lin and Pang Qi in the Illusory Void Realm in astonishment. This peculiar father and daughter treated each other like strangers, showing not a trace of familial warmth.

Pang Qi, having known her true identity from the beginning, had always regarded her as the Black Empyrean Phoenix rather than his daughter.

He had simply abided by their agreement to make her his second child and had Pang Jian look after her so she could survive long enough to awaken.

None of his actions toward her were born of affection, for he knew that she was the result of a transaction, nothing more.

However, Pang Jian was different. He knew nothing of his sister's past, so his love for her was genuine and pure.

This was the root of Pang Lin's sincerity toward him. Even after awakening and learning that she was, in fact, the Black Empyrean Phoenix, she continued to acknowledge Pang Jian as her brother.

"As agreed, I've ensured that the human race of the Abyss endured, and that the Abyss was not destroyed. I've fulfilled that."

Her gaze lingered on the Illusory Void Realm, her tone contemplative.

"But our deal never included rescuing you from the Void Temple. Whether you can escape will depend on your own ability and on whether Tian Yu dies here.

"I—"

A flicker of shock suddenly surfaced in the pitch-black eyes of the Black Empyrean Phoenix.