Deep within the bizarre mist, Yuan Yi maintained his form of a gaunt old man as he crouched atop his World God Pendant. Eyes flickering like ghostly flames, he fixed his gaze upon the translucent boundary wall of the Nether Abyss. Behind him hovered several other World Gods and divine beings born within the bizarre mist. They were all staring in the same direction. "Elder Yuan, do you think Long Di and Pang Jian will really fight each other over the Nether Abyss?" asked a god of the Ghost Race. Yuan Yi grinned, baring his incisors. "I know Long Di. He won't surrender everything he's built without a fight. If he continues to let Pang Jian replace him, that world will have a new master soon. "Without the nourishment of the Nether Abyss, Long Di will never be able to ascend to the Sovereign realm. He won't allow Pang Jian to strip away his authority, so all we need to do is wait," the ancient ape revealed confidently. "But when you destroyed Pang Jian's Immortal Divine Soul with a roar, he was just some nobody. How did he suddenly become so terrifying?" A god of the Ghost Race exclaimed in disbelief. Yuan Yi chuckled, unconcerned. "It's to be expected. Based on my understanding of the bizarre mist, a few so-called miracles are bound to appear whenever a great calamity of this scale erupts. Many of those dazzling miracles don't end well in the end. Sometimes, they get strangled by old gods like us. Erasing those miracles and seizing the power behind them can be the very opportunity we need to break through." Yuan Yi's eyes suddenly flickered with surprise. Cloaked in darkness and multicolored radiance, a majestic figure emerged through the boundary wall of the Nether Abyss without warning, charging into the depths of the bizarre mist. All the invading forces that had just withdrawn from the Nether Abyss at Yuan Yi's command turned to look. Pang Jian had left the Nether Abyss? Had he truly abandoned control of the world and chosen to walk away? What was he thinking? To those divine beings born within the bizarre mist, Pang Jian looked like a reckless fool who had made the most absurd decision imaginable. "Heh!" Yuan Yi let out a strange, mocking laugh. He waved a hand, signaling the others to disperse, then guided his World God Pendant to approach Pang Jian. "You don't seriously believe you're worthy to fight me in the bizarre mist, do you? How dare you follow me out here without the power of the Nether Abyss propping you up!" A vast surge of blood essence burst from Yuan Yi, spreading outward at terrifying speed, instantly engulfing tens of thousands of zhang of the bizarre mist. Following closely behind Pang Jian, a mountain of countless artifacts crossed the Nether Abyss boundary wall as well. "Excellent!" The ancient ape bared his fangs in a savage grin. "You brought my Celestial Fey Warhammer too!" He had always intended to reclaim his fearsome weapon. His calm demeanor in the bizarre mist was only a mask to conceal his eagerness to charge back into the Nether Abyss at any moment. Now that the Ironsteel Peak and his Celestial Fey Warhammer were within his reach, his mood soared. The ancient ape brandished a furry palm and shouted, "Return!" His palm suddenly expanded tens of thousands of times in size, unleashing a storm of blood-colored gusts toward the incoming mountain of artifacts. His Celestial Fey Warhammer broke free of the Ironsteel Peak's magnetic pull and streaked through the void into the ancient ape's waiting palm like a swallow returning to its nest. The fearsome weapon swiftly vanished into the swirling storm of blood-colored gusts. The ancient ape sneered coldly. "Did you really think you could keep the artifact that I personally forged, trapped forever?" The ancient ape had scarcely reclaimed the warhammer when a burst of lightning and extreme frost tore through his palm and the sanguinary currents of wind. Before Yuan Yi retrieved his artifact, Pang Jian had secretly imbued enough energy within it to deal the ape a crushing blow. "Back in the Abyss, the clash between the Black Empyrean Phoenix and Sovereign Luo has already ended. Sovereign Luo's vessel was destroyed by a cluster of Fortune and she lost everything." Pang Jian said calmly. He had taken inspiration from the fourth current of Fortune, infusing the warhammer with devastating cold energy and crackling lightning. Yuan Yi failed to sense change within his artifact because the gray ape within its core was already dead, allowing Pang Jian's plan to unfold flawlessly. Yuan Yi, now fully transformed into his monstrous giant ape form, gripped the Celestial Fey Warhammer in a shredded hand and disregarded the pain to say, "A Sovereign's path of resurrection isn't as simple as you think. Even one as powerful as the Black Empyrean Phoenix can't regain her full strength within the Abyss. Moreover, Sovereign Luo's true body is watching from the starry skies above the bizarre mist. If the Black Empyrean Phoenix ever steps beyond the Abyss, she'll know." Yuan Yi scattered the dense, gray bizarre mist with nothing but his voice. "I'm free of the Nether Abyss's shackles in the bizarre mist. But you, you have been stripped of its power here!" In that moment, a savage crimson light flickered in his eyes, striking fear into the hearts of the surrounding gods. "Did no one ever tell you? Outside the abysses, in the open bizarre mist, there is nobody stronger than me. Even Long Di wouldn't dare face me out here... so what chance do you have?" Within the Celestial Fey Warhammer, a new gray ape abruptly took form, instantly restoring the shattered array. Hefting the warhammer, the surging blood essence made every strand of fur on his arms look like they were made from fresh blood. The lotus-shaped warhammer came crashing down toward Pang Jian's head, creating the apparition of mountains of corpses rising from crimson seas. Countless sigils burst forth like a swarm of flies before transforming into blood-drenched worlds teeming with howling Fey Gods. Yuan Yi's World God Pendant vanished from beneath his feet, only to reappear in the void behind Pang Jian. A massive, ancient-bronze gate unfolded from it, cutting him off from the Nether Abyss's boundary wall. At the same time, it locked down the bizarre mist's spatial laws, sealing off any chance of escape. The ancient ape laughed wildly, his mirth echoing the bizarre mist. "Brat, you can't escape this." Pang Jian looked up, gazing into an endless crimson expanse. "Escape?" Countless blood-soaked worlds loomed above him, vast as mountains, boundless as seas, pressing down upon his Immortal Divine Soul with a suffocating weight. In that moment, it felt as if he were the only one left in the void, smaller than a speck of dust. Yuan Yi, an ancient Fey God renowned for his savage might and merciless slaughter, strode forward atop countless blood-drenched worlds, drawing nearer with each step. With every step he took, the pressure upon Pang Jian multiplied tenfold. It was undeniable that Yuan Yi's current strength was far greater than what it had been within the Nether Abyss. "Ironsteel Peak, rise!" Pang Jian summoned the full might of the mountain he had conjured, sending it hurtling toward the worlds of blood. The vast reserves of metal energy Pang Jian had gathered from the Nether Abyss surged wildly into the Ironsteel Peak, causing every artifact embedded within to radiate light and sharpen to a deadly edge. "Ice, lightning, blazing sun, flame!" More divine power surged into the Ironsteel Peak, galvanizing a breathtaking transformation. The Ironsteel Peak did not grow any larger, but its interior churned with a warped, chaotic field of raw energies. The Ironsteel Peak shuddered violently, and once more, all the artifacts burst forth in every direction. This time, each artifact seemed to move as if they were wielded by an unseen master. Swords carved glacial rivers of light, cauldrons erupted with towering flames, shields loomed with mountain-like weight, and spears danced with coils of lightning. Pang Jian had imbued each artifact with his divine techniques, magnifying their collective power a thousandfold!