Pang Jian stood in the darkness of the "veil." Though his robe was also black, it did not blend into the inky darkness as one would expect, allowing the trio to see him clearly. Their gazes were naturally drawn to his eyes, which were like two boundless seas. Within them, black-sailed ferries seemed to drift toward the distant horizon, as if bound for the edge of the world, toward the depths of Pang Jian's sea of consciousness. Those ferries drew in anybody looking into his eyes, making it so they could not look away. As they stared, they would grow dizzy and feel as though their consciousness was slowly slipping away. Li Wang, Li Zhaotian, and Su Wanrou's expressions shifted. "Pang Jian!" they cried out in unison. A smile formed on Li Zhaotian's round face. "You little brat. How are you still alive?" When the rest of the True Gods glanced down at Pang Jian, they felt their consciousness slipping away, as if the black-sailed ferries within Pang Jian's eyes were dragging their divine souls toward his sea of consciousness. Fortunately, this feeling lasted only a second before they snapped back to awareness. Evidently, Pang Jian had released his influence on them. At Li Zhaotian's startled shout, realization sank in, and shock quickly painted the other True Gods' faces. After all, Pang Jian had faced the Sovereign Luo in the Fifth World! Luo Hongyan had drawn four clusters of Fortune to forge four Divine Personas and was considered invincible in the Abyss. How did Pang Jian survive? None of them could puzzle out a logical answer. Meanwhile, Lie Yang, Sha Jia, and Ah Man stood frozen in separate regions of the Second World. They blankly stared at Pang Jian within the swirling black "veil," unaware that their divine consciousnesses were slowly being siphoned away. Zhu Ji gathered spiritual qi into his Dharma Idol, condensing it into a massive, star-shattering fist that he hurled toward Sha Jia. Radiant ancient cities floated within Sha Jia's divine domain. Stars, suns, moons, blazing furnaces, and ice crystals were positioned throughout, each serving as a tangible manifestation of her Dao. A colossal fist slammed into the luminous cities like a meteor, obliterating the wonderful construct within. The single strike collapsed Sha Jia's divine domain, and its blinding brilliance dimmed. Sha Jia let out a muffled groan as she snapped back to her senses, no longer daring to look in Pang Jian's direction. "Lord Yan Lie, what happened down there?!" Zhu Ji was also stunned. Before this, his battle with Sha Jia had been evenly matched, with neither able to suppress the other. However, after Pang Jian's appearance, Zhu Ji's blow unexpectedly shattered her divine domain, finally tipping the balance in his favor. Peering down, he saw Pang Jian quickly approaching. Li Zhaotian's loud voice also echoed through the barrier, relaying news of Pang Jian's survival to all the True Gods. He actually made it out alive?! Zhu Ji felt a growing sense of respect for Pang Jian. Back in the Fifth World, Zhu Ji had not even been able to break through the barriers enshrouding the seven continents. The clash between Luo Hongyan and an Aberrant Spirit from the starry skies had also left him feeling utterly powerless. Luo Hongyan's almighty strength had left a lasting impression on him. In his eyes, she seemed near invincible. If I were in Pang Jian's place, would I have survived? That question stirred a bitterness in Zhu Ji's heart. It seemed his defeat in their earlier, rushed battle had not been unjust at all. "Ah Man! Lie Yang!" Yan Lie called, voice rumbling like thunder throughout the Second World. Rivers of sword light surrounded Ah Man, trapping him within a well-shaped divine domain. His tough body was riddled with deep gashes, his mind still captured in Pang Jian's gaze. Numb to pain, he had not even realized that Li Zhaotian was severely wounding him until he heard Yan Lie's voice. An accompanying streak of blazing lightning tore through the force suppressing his soul, finally allowing him to snap out of his daze. Pei Yishan had redirected his Mountain Flipping Seal, slamming into Ah Man's own back and compounding his injuries. An array of talismans further bound his arms to his broad waist, making every movement a struggle. On top of that, a newly-formed River of Fate drew from his past experiences, deliberately amplifying his past pains and forcing him to relive them with agonizing clarity. Ah Man roared in fury, blood streaming from his eye as he struggled upward toward Yan Lie. Lie Yang stood dazed while his Solar Divine Palace, conjured from his comprehension of the Divine Sun Scripture, was shattered. A giant ape whose body radiated both overwhelming frost and surging vitality smashed it to pieces. A chilling wind swept through Lie Yang's divine domain as his palace crumbled. Yan Lie's call awakened him just in time to feel the full force of Yuan Qi's strength. A crushing helplessness filled Lie Yang. He could not stand against the giant ape, even with his Rank Eleven bloodline. The giant ape's strength also left Yan Lie shaken. Probing his bloodline rank, he cried out in shock, "He's advanced!" Not long after leaving the Sacred Soul Continent, Yuan Qi had broken through for a second time, becoming a mid-ranking Fey God, just like the Black Dragon King and the black turtle! Fey Gods had always stood above their counterparts, superior to other divine beings of similar ranks. Thus, it was no surprise that Lie Yang's Solar Divine Palace had been crushed. Neither Sha Jia, Ah Man, nor Lie Yang could stand against Yuan Qi now. Only Yan Lie, a high-ranking God, could suppress Yuan Qi. "Go!" Yan Lie shouted. "We're breaking through the barrier and heading for the starry skies!" Below, Pang Jian was rapidly approaching the astral winds bordering between the Second and Third Worlds. "What about Lord Sovereign?" Lie Yang asked anxiously. "Her vessel was destroyed in the Fifth World," Yan Lie replied with a bitter sigh. Blazing light surrounded him as he soared upward. "Whatever she has planned for the Abyss won't come into fruition, at least, not anytime soon." Hearing this, Ah Man, Lie Yang, and Sha Jia no longer dared to even glance at the pitch-black "veil." The three foreign race powerhouses did not hesitate to abandon their battles. Ignoring their severe injuries, they hurriedly chased after the blazing meteor soaring into the sky. "Infernal Divinity! Heaven-Earth Resonance!" Yan Lie cried. Fiery regions across the Second World came to life. Dormant volcanoes erupted without warning, and scorching forests burst into roaring flames. Cries of anguish and terror rose like a tide from these fire-scorched territories. Yan Lie's divine power also drew in flaming meteors from the starry skies beyond. Disasters broke out across the continents and fragmented lands as flaming meteors hurtled down from the sky. Yan Lie poured his rage into his divine techniques, channeling all his hatred toward Pang Jian and the human race into a single blazing act of vengeance. The consequences of his actions mattered little to him. He just wanted to unleash devastation upon the human race one last time before leaving the Abyss. Li Wang, Zhu Ji, and Li Zhaotian watched helplessly as the meteors descended. At that moment, Li Yuqing's voice rang out. "Lord Yan Lie, the calamity you've unleashed upon the humans of the Abyss, we can also unleash upon the Flame and Radiant Races in the Fifth World. We can wipe out every race whose bloodline is connected to yours! We can treat them the same way you treated us!" Her words brought Yan Lie back to his senses. He looked down at the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Worlds; at the foreign races residing within. Familiar faces caught his eye: Yu Xin and Yu Qing of the Celestial Race, Xuan Ying of the Demon Scale Race, and several other promising young warriors from various races. These warriors once gazed upon him with the utmost reverence. Now, their faces were clouded with despair. He could break through the barrier and into the starry skies beyond with Sha Jia, Lie Yang, and Ah Man, but the same could not be said for the others. The foreign races' ascension had ended in a crushing defeat. They had once believed in him and Luo Hongyan. Now, they could only watch hopelessly as he fled. Will the human race take vengeance on my Flame Race because of my actions? As Pang Jian arrived in the Second World, the pitch-black "veil" returned to its original form, draping itself over his shoulders as a cloak. "Yan Lie, stop this madness. I promise to let you leave in peace."