Chapter 964: Changes Brought by Breaking Through

Unlike Fu Ya and Tian Yu, Luo Hongyan had long possessed everything she needed to ascend as a God King.

She could have become a God King the moment she gathered every fragment of the Dao Source of Light and refined them into her body, but instead, she waited for the Black Empyrean Phoenix to emerge.

Her goal had always been to seize the Black Empyrean Phoenix's Dao of Darkness, fuse light and darkness within herself, and thus propel herself into becoming the mightiest God King in history. That was the only way she could become strong enough to one day stand against the supreme wills.

Regrettably, Yi Hao's assault had forced her to complete her ascension ahead of time.

"If you insist on forcing me, then I will grant your wish," Luo Hongyan said, voice and radiance spreading across the starry region as one.

Boundless light illuminated everything in the starry region, even casting down to the bizarre mist below and into the Ruin Realm. Everything became ten times brighter than before.

Her blinding radiance suffused the hearts and bodies of those basking in it, erasing any trace of shadow or gloom in them.

Even the Black Empyrean Phoenix, inside the Illusory Void Realm high above, could only rely on divine artifacts to conceal itself before Luo Hongyan's overwhelming breakthrough. The Illusory Void Realm slipped into a spatial rift, no longer daring to show itself before Luo Hongyan's radiance.

"The Sovereign of Light!"

"Sovereign Luo!"

Praise and hymns resounded in the Temples of Light across the starry skies. Those majestic temples were bathed in a blazing radiance, and the statues of Luo Hongyan within them turned to crystal.

Those statues came alive with a rippling divine aura. Luo Hongyan's will, divine power, and the profound truths she had comprehended were infused into each statue, immersing every temple in endless brilliance.

The myriad beings who knelt before these temples in daily worship were overcome with joy. They, too, sensed Luo Hongyan's transformation. Their worshiped Sovereign of Light was challenging an even higher realm, and they would share in the blessings of her ascension.

A star perfectly attuned to Luo Hongyan, known as the Star of Light, blazed with a radiance that filled all living beings with awe. Luminous halos swirled around the Star of Light as it raced through the vast starry skies.

Distance posed no obstacle. The Star of Light crossed the boundless starry skies and appeared behind Luo Hongyan in the blink of an eye.

It shone with unmatched splendor and held no living beings or divine beings upon it.

Varieties of Divine Light Crystals filled its surface and core. This was Luo Hongyan's wealth, treasures painstakingly gathered from across the starry skies in preparation for her breakthrough.

The Dao of Light flowed ceaselessly through the towering mountains, winding river valleys, and vast wildernesses of the Star of Light. This was no mere star. It was also a supreme divine artifact that Luo Hongyan had personally refined.

The Star of Light suddenly shuddered, and all the Divine Light Crystals within it shattered. Divine light and divine power from the shattered Divine Light Crystals surged into Luo Hongyan, propelling her ascension to God King.

Light flooded the entire Primordial Chaos Starry Region, and there was nothing anybody could do to stop it.

"God King!"

Pang Ling, having withdrawn back into the World Tree, felt an overwhelming pressure from that blazing light. It was more suffocating than the corrosion of fate energy.

As an Aberrant Spirit, she was not a true being of flesh and blood. She had also never forged a Divine Persona, nor did she have the bloodline of a foreign race.

Thus, when Yi Hao blanketed the starry region in the Dao of Fate, she had emerged almost completely unscathed, his fate energy having little effect on her.

In contrast, the terrifying radiance Luo Hongyan released while advancing as a God King seemed unbearable, splintering the branches and wilting leaves of the World Tree.

Deep cracks ran through its colossal trunk.

The delicate face of Pang Ling's humanoid form tightened with fear as she softly uttered, "Resonate."

In the Ruin Realm, the illusory World Tree at the center of the Sanctum of Godly and Demonic Genesis became tangible at a speed visible to the naked eye. At the same time, Pang Ling and the World Tree outside turned hazy and translucent, like the moon's reflection in water.

The World Tree at the center of the Sanctum of Godly and Demonic Genesis grew lusher than ever, its bark etched with intricate patterns. Pang Ling retreated from the starry region into the Ruin Realm, evading the raw might of the radiance emanating from Luo Hongyan.

At the heart of the seven Heaven Ascension Tribulation Pillars, atop a towering altar built from the remnants of the Hall of Gods, the Bee Sovereign's golden compound eyes flickered with uncertainty.

As he stared at Luo Hongyan, sensing the aura of the Star of Light and the strange stirrings of the Illusory Void Realm, he could not help but feel that something was amiss.

"This...it shouldn't be like this," the Bee Sovereign muttered softly.

The swarms of golden bees flitting around the beehive abruptly withdrew inside. The seven Heaven Ascension Tribulation Pillars, with the altar and beehive between them, shot toward the God King's skull and vanished inside.

The Bee Sovereign had also chosen to avoid the storm of Luo Hongyan's ascension.

Meanwhile, the True Gods above the bizarre mist finally broke free from their petrified state with the help of Luo Hongyan's divine power.

Faced with the boundless might of the Sovereign of Light, the True Gods found themselves overwhelmed with a feeling of insignificance. A primal fear rose within their hearts, urging them to flee from the looming danger.

They instinctively sought refuge in the shrouded depths of the bizarre mist below. Strangely, when they descended, they felt a barrier below them.

Like wanderers returning home, they passed straight through the barrier and reentered the Abyss.

"The will of the bizarre mist and the will of the Abyss drew us in!" Lin Baixiang exclaimed in a daze, hovering beneath the barrier with the Duke of Thunder, Bai Zi, Xing Huan, the black turtle, and other high-ranking Fey Gods around him. "The Sovereign of Light is about to become a God King. Even the supreme will of the bizarre mist is treating the matter with the utmost caution, helping us escape this calamity!"

Du Tianyan and the other ancient True Gods could not hold back their tears as they took in the familiar landscape.

"The Abyss! We've actually returned!"

"Our homeland!"

Tens of thousands of years ago, they had broken through the barrier of the Abyss, believing they would soar freely across the boundless starry skies.

Reality had been a far cry from their dreams.

They became nothing more than gutter rats in the starry skies—scorned and hunted, forced to watch their companions fall one by one.

An inevitable desire for home often surfaced during those tough times. Had they known the fate that awaited them above, they would have much rather remained in the Abyss forever. If they had stayed, they would not have had to suffer such wretched fates, nor would they have ended up in their sorry states.

Unfortunately, the barrier of the Abyss imposed severe restrictions outside of the grand event, and only Pang Qi, the previous bearer of the World God Pendant of the Abyss, could return.

True Gods like Du Tianyan and Mu Qingya had wandered the bizarre mist many times, finding the boundary walls of the Abyss and attempting every method they could think of to cross through.

Their efforts had always ended in vain. For them, returning to the Abyss and escaping the pursuit of the Outer Gods had been nothing but an impossible dream.

Mu Qingya heaved a long sigh. "How lamentable. With the Sovereign of Light ascending, we can do nothing but flee back to our homeland, once more becoming turtles hiding in their shells."

"We may be cowards, but that doesn't mean everyone is!" Dong Tianze snorted coldly, pointing at Pang Jian. "He's still out there, standing in the blazing radiance of the Sovereign of Light. He hasn't retreated into the Abyss!"

"Pang Jian!"

All eyes in the Abyss turned toward where Pang Jian stood atop the colossal God King's skull.

The blazing skull had since hardened into metal, still drifting unsteadily through the starry region.

Pang Jian, his Immortal Divine Soul and physical body merged as one, could be seen bracing himself against the Sovereign of Light's radiance atop the skull.

The powerhouses on the continents of the First World remained disheartened.

"So what if he hasn't retreated?"

"That Sovereign of Fate has slaughtered nearly every God and almost breached the Ruin Realm. Now, Sovereign Luo is about to become a God King. He's better off returning to the Abyss!"

"Agreed! The Abyss is the safest refuge right now!"

"Better to preserve the green hills so there'll be firewood for another day. He should return to the Abyss first."[1]

"Will there be any green hills left after the Sovereign of Light becomes a God King? At that point, the Abyss and the other abysses will all be destroyed!"

Grim words could be heard throughout the Abyss.

Yi Hao was already terrifying. Luo Hongyan would be even more dreadful after ascending. Even the Black Empyrean Phoenix had withdrawn. No one believed Pang Jian could stand against those two.

In the starry region above, Pang Jian's Immortal Divine Soul, seated atop his Divine Persona, sensed something shift.

The spread of Sovereign Luo's boundless light had allowed the Primordial Chaos Starry Region to shake free from the Sovereign of Fate's fate energy.

Pang Jian's Divine Persona was no longer under the influence of that gleaming silver eye.

He was free.

1. This is a Chinese idiom often used to justify retreat, strategic withdrawal, or avoiding unnecessary risk in order to fight another day. ☜