In the void of the Nether Abyss, the imposing Ironsteel Peak, wreathed in resplendent light, slammed toward the monstrous ancient ape. The intense magnetism from the Dao of Metal influenced the entire Nether Abyss. From the deep sea to the shattered continents, countless artifacts soared into the air. Swords, bronze furnaces, blades, cauldrons, spears, and shields—artifacts one wielded by the Demon, Fey, and Nether Races alike—tore away from their owners' hands. Every artifact across the Nether Abyss that contained even a trace of gold, silver, bronze, or iron flew toward the Ironsteel Peak like moths to a flame. In an instant, the once-illusory Ironsteel Peak solidified before their eyes. What brought it from illusion into tangible form, what gave it substance, was none other than the countless artifacts it had absorbed. Fully manifested, its pull escalated with redoubled intensity. The Ironsteel Peak's magnetic grip on metal grew exponentially stronger. Even the Celestial Fey Warhammer wielded by the ancient ape began to spiral out of control. The lotus-shaped warhammer trembled violently, causing thousands upon thousands of hearts to explode, reverting once more into sigils. Long Di, Bai Zi, and several Outer Gods who knew of Pang Jian's origins stared in shock at his towering Immortal Divine Soul that shone with a blinding multicolored radiance. Pang Jian's colossal form was second only to that of the savage ancient ape. The Ironsteel Peak he had summoned, having absorbed a seemingly endless number of artifacts, was a mountainous behemoth in its own right that exuded an overwhelming sense of pressure. The Ironsteel Peak continued to fly toward the Celestial Fey Warhammer, but its speed was steadily slowing as it absorbed more and more metal. Fully corporeal, the impossibly massive mountain had grown so heavy it could crush any landmass within the Nether Abyss with its weight. As it moved through the void, more and more artifacts were pulled toward it by its immense magnetic field, each one locking firmly into place. It continued to swell at a staggering rate, like a metal monster, on the verge of taking full shape within the Nether Abyss. This was one of the miracles Pang Jian had created! The ancient ape, who had been effortlessly suppressing Long Di and shrouding Bai Zi in a blood-red veil, bared his fangs in a crooked laugh. "Brat, I didn't expect your understanding of the Dao of Metal to reach such a height. Heh, I underestimated you. I—" His mockery abruptly cut off as the Celestial Fey Warhammer, linked to him through bloodline resonance and bound to his heart, suddenly convulsed, and the gray ape within its core exploded! This gray ape was a creation he had forged with great care, the very array core of the Celestial Fey Warhammer, linked to his own mind and bloodline. Despite that, it had died violently and inexplicably. As the gray ape shattered, the ancient ape caught a glimpse of erupting shards of ice, along with the distinct presence of a powerful and familiar Heavenly Dao. It was the Dao of Cold, one that belonged to a Sovereign, albeit not one of their core Daos. An icy light was unleashed upon the gray ape's destruction, brighter than any he had ever seen, so blinding it instinctively sent a tremor through his soul. "It's Sovereign Luo!" A chill gripped the ancient ape's heart. "The Dao of Cold comprehended by Sovereign Luo!" Deep within the boundless starry skies, Sovereign Luo, one of the four Sovereigns, had built her foundation upon the Dao of Light, but had also cultivated the Dao of Cold. The Dao of Cold she wielded gleamed with a piercing, blinding brilliance. It was that very radiance, blinding and absolute in its chill, that destroyed the gray ape born of his blood essence, stripping the Celestial Fey Warhammer of its array core. In the next moment, the massive warhammer shot toward the Ironsteel Peak at a staggering speed. In no time at all, it joined the countless other artifacts that had fused to form the Ironsteel Peak. The Celestial Fey Warhammer landed at the top of the Ironsteel Peak like a crown upon the towering mass or a cherry on top. It was firmly anchored at the apex, held fast by the Ironsteel Peak's irresistible magnetic pull. All the sigils that had once swirled above it now fell like fine rain, returning to the intricate arrays the ancient ape had painstakingly inscribed. With that, the connection between the ancient ape and the Celestial Fey Warhammer was severed. The treasured artifact that had once been bound to him had been stripped from him by Pang Jian in such a strange and unexpected way, and in that instant, the ancient ape was consumed by fury. "Bastard, how dare you touch something that belongs to me?" The ancient ape licked the corner of his mouth, then raised his large, furry hand and reached through the air toward the Ironsteel Peak. A spatial rift was torn open behind him. From within, torrents of radiant light surged forth, converging on the fur of his outstretched arm. Every single strand of hair on his body transformed into brilliant crystals, each one saturated with boundless energy. Empowered by the light, his hand underwent a strange transformation, as though it were capable of crushing even divine beings with a single grasp. "Manifest!" the ancient ape growled deeply. Within the blood-colored world, the once-illusory forms of the giant elephants, qilins, serpents, and the sun-swallowing toads began to take shape, refined from his blood essence and infused with the otherworldly light. In the blink of an eye, a legion of fallen Fey Gods had taken form! "Go!" The ancient ape's arm stretched outward, growing broader and broader until it became like a colossal bridge, spanning the void of the Nether Abyss like a mountain range. The ancient Fey Gods he had manifested stormed across his outstretched hand, charging toward the Ironsteel Peak and Pang Jian. "Pang Jian!" Long Di cried out in alarm. Even the Soul Convergence Altar he commanded was being pulled toward the Ironsteel Peak, drawn by its immense magnetic pull. Only by using his strong cultivation and maintaining a safe distance could he barely keep the altar under control. However, the moment the Ironsteel Peak absorbed the Celestial Fey Warhammer, the strength of its magnetic pull increased to the point that Long Di could no longer hold the Soul Convergence Altar in place. Without the Soul Convergence Altar in hand, Long Di's control over the spiritual qi of the Nether Abyss and his ability to manipulate its Fortune would weaken drastically. That would leave him even more powerless against Yuan Yi. Helpless, Long Di could only shout at Pang Jian, "Don't touch my Soul Convergence Altar!" "Huh?" Bai Zi blinked in surprise. As soon as the Celestial Fey Warhammer was pulled into the Ironsteel Peak conjured by Pang Jian, the blood-red veil that had enveloped her and the mysterious Dao of Life woven within it suddenly lost much of their potency. Seizing the moment, Bai Zi broke free. The first thing she saw was that fearsome artifact, so overwhelming it had once left both her and Long Di completely helpless, now firmly stuck to a bizarre, unnatural mountain. Then, she saw the legion of ancient Fey God manifested by Yuan Yi and heard Long Di's frantic cry. She was the World God of the Nether Abyss and had held that position long before Pang Jian had become a World God of the Abyss. In the Nether Abyss, she was second only to Long Di in strength. With all her power, she still found herself looking up at Pang Jian. Pang Jian's Immortal Divine Soul continued to absorb every kind of energy the Nether Abyss had to offer, swelling steadily until it loomed above the ancient ape. The fragmented lands in the upper layers of the Nether Abyss floated around him, some at his waist, others at his shoulders and brows. Gazing up at Pang Jian in this moment, Bai Zi felt as though she were looking upon a supreme, transcendent divine being. She couldn't help but marvel in awe. "The Transcendent God Realm is where one manifests miracles. Right now, he is the miracle himself." She and Long Di had both forged their own Immortal Divine Soul, but theirs paled in comparison to Pang Jian's. They lacked the depth to absorb such vast and varied energies. And with all their wisdom and focus, neither of them had been able to comprehend so many profound Heavenly Daos as thoroughly as he had. How had Pang Jian done it? Bai Zi wondered to herself. Could it be that the human race held some advantage over the Nether Race in this regard? Conventionally, the human race lacks refined soul aptitude, and their intellect and insight are said to plateau in the later stages of cultivation. So, how could Pang Jian, at such a young age, have grasped so many divine techniques and Heavenly Daos? A flash of realization streaked through Bai Zi's mind like lightning. "He has the soul of our Nether Race and the Undying Soul Flame. Besides, he has formed a resonance with the Soulstream!" Her eyes suddenly lit up, and she felt as though she had glimpsed the truth, as if she had uncovered the very reason Pang Jian was so different from all others. At that moment, Pang Jian, towering high in the void, lowered his gaze. He looked at the massive arm stretched across the void, at the brilliant crystalline strands of fur that shimmered like gems, and at the ancient Fey Gods charging along the arm toward him and the Ironsteel Peak. Compared to what he had become in this moment, not even those Fey Gods nor the ancient ape himself could match his vast, awe-inspiring presence. Through endlessly devouring the many forms of energy within the Nether Abyss, he had grown so immense that even he no longer knew what form he had taken. All he knew was that the energies of the entire Nether Abyss now seemed to flow at his command. It felt as though he ruled over the Nether Abyss itself, able to decide the life and death of its inhabitants, to bend and rewrite its fundamental laws at will. Seen through his eyes, the seemingly mighty ancient Fey Gods were nothing more than aberrant imitations of the ancient ape created through his blood essence and bloodline mysteries. Although they carried fragments of their original bloodline abilities, they were a pale imitation of the true ancient Fey Gods. Pang Jian couldn't help but let out a faint scoff. "Could Fey Gods like those truly make a difference?" He focused his attention, gathered his divine sense, and in that instant, established a subtle, ineffable resonance with the Ironsteel Peak he had conjured. The Ironsteel Peak trembled. Its powerful magnetic field, which had been drawing in every metallic artifact in the Nether Abyss, abruptly vanished, causing Long Di's Soul Convergence Altar to lurch to a halt. In the surrounding void, hundreds of artifacts that had been howling toward the Ironsteel Peak were suddenly halted in midair, then dipped into the deep sea below. "Scatter." Pang Jian spoke the word in a low voice, like a god whispering down from the heavens. His divine sense and will surged through the Ironsteel Peak. It was as if he spoke with the authority of Heaven itself, each word he uttered becoming a new law that reshaped reality. All at once, the blades, bronze furnace, cauldrons, anchors, and spears that had been tightly bound to the Ironsteel Peak broke free, trailing brilliant arcs of light as they shot outward in every direction. The legion of Fey Gods rushing toward the Ironsteel Peak never even got close. Before they could approach, they were torn into bloody scraps by the incoming rain of artifacts. Even the ancient ape's massive arm, stretched toward Pang Jian like a bridge, was blasted into a mangled mess by the bombardment and riddled with countless bloody holes. The ancient ape the Nether Gods dreaded had finally been wounded. Since his arrival in the Nether Abyss, since the moment he brazenly revealed himself, he had remained in complete control. He had suppressed Long Di and Bai Zi alike, plunging the Nether Gods into despair and helplessness. Out of nowhere, Pang Jian had delivered him a crushing blow.