Standing on a fragment of a shattered continent adrift upon the sea within the Nether Abyss, Long Di gazed up at the barrier suspended high above the sky with a dark and brooding expression. His mood was foul beyond words. The fundamental laws, the flow of the spiritual qi, and the Fortune of the Nether Abyss felt sluggish and foreign to him, as though resisting his will. Even though Pang Jian had voluntarily departed, Long Di's situation did not get any better. Even though he was the strongest remaining, he had still lost the authority of the Nether Abyss. "Leader." A dozen Nether Gods still loyal to Long Di hovered in the air above the fragment of a shattered continent, their gazes heavy with conflicting emotions. Farther away, Bai Zi stood atop a golden bee, her slender figure poised and aloof, her face emotionless. This time, both the Nether Abyss and members of the Nether Race had suffered grievous wounds. Many continents had been blasted apart, some fragmented lands had disintegrated, and much of the Fortune had been lost. Countless Nether Gods and powerful Nether Race warriors had fallen in the war. For all their severe losses, everyone knew that the war was far from over. The ancient ape was infamous throughout the bizarre mist for his savage brutality. He did not gain that reputation from simply giving up. At this very moment, he was undoubtedly lurking just beyond the Nether Abyss, somewhere in the bizarre mist, waiting for an opportunity to strike. After a prolonged silence, Bai Zi could not help but ask, "Long Di, now that Pang Jian has left, how much confidence do you have in your hold over this world's authority? If that ancient ape were to come charging in now, how confident are you in holding him off?" Long Di furrowed his brow, feeling the depth of his estrangement with the Nether Abyss. His heart was filled with bitter helplessness. Of all the spiritual qi, Fortune, and the fundamental laws of the Nether Abyss he had sensed, none of it had rushed back to him just because Pang Jian had left. Unlike before, none of it followed his commands. He realized at that moment that some things can never go back to the way they were. The moment the will of this world sensed a better choice, it began to shift away from the old. Even if that choice departed, it changed nothing. "Forcing the world's will to bend to you will only drag the Nether Abyss into further ruin!" Bai Zi's tone was not sharp and cold. "After Pang Jian leaves the Nether Abyss, he might encounter that ancient ape out there, and he won't stand a chance against it! "He will die, and all of us will die with him! Long Di, your selfishness is going to doom our entire race!" The World God of the Nether Abyss no longer held back her words, nor did she offer a shred of courtesy. The surviving Nether Gods dared not utter a word. None of them even had the courage to look at Long Di. Their heads were lowered, hiding their dark and uncertain expressions. It was impossible to tell what churned in the back of their minds. Another moment passed in utter silence. "What are you suggesting?" Long Di whirled around, his gaze calm as he looked at Bai Zi. "You want me to leave the Nether Abyss, join forces with him to face Yuan Yi, and save him from Yuan Yi?" "I want you to be the one who invites him back to the Nether Abyss!" Bai Zi demanded. As soon as the words left her mouth, the Nether Gods, who had lowered their heads, looked up, their faces filled with disbelief. Knowing Long Di's temperament, they felt this demand was even crueler than asking him to lay down his life. Long Di was the ruler of the Nether Abyss, the leader of all the Nether Gods, and the most proud and arrogant man in the bizarre mist. If Pang Jian had never stepped into the Nether Abyss, had he not taken away Long Di's authority over the world's will, then Long Di might not have been any weaker than that ancient ape. The only reason Long Di had fallen to such a state was because Pang Jian, while reforging his Immortal Divine Soul, had begun to wrest control of the Nether Abyss from Long Di. Asking someone as proud as Long Di, whose power and authority had been stripped away by Pang Jian, to go out and invite him back? For Bai Zi to suggest such a thing was unspeakably cruel. The Nether Gods thought Long Di was selfish, believing that he shouldn't have fought with Pang Jian for dominance while their race was undergoing such a crisis. However, they could not help but feel a touch of sympathy for him when they heard Bai Zi's demand. Long Di wore a dazed and hollow expression as he whimpered, "You want me to be the one to invite him back..." "Forgive me for being blunt, but your rule over the Nether Abyss is already a thing of the past. If Pang Jian doesn't return, none of us will be able to stop that ape if he breaks in again. "Of course, you might be able to leave. You're free to retreat from the Nether Abyss if you wish. But what about those who still follow you? What about the barrier and the Soulstream? The moment you're gone, everything will fall into Yuan Yi's hands. In the end, your selfishness will turn the Nether Abyss into a new Fey Abyss!" Bai Zi's every word struck like a blade. With a sharp and resounding voice, she declared, "That's why you must bring him back, and fast! If you're too late, there'll be no saving any of us!" Suddenly, Bai Zi and several other powerful Nether Gods saw, beyond the boundary wall of the Nether Abyss, a great bronze gate had appeared where Pang Jian and Yuan Yi had vanished into the bizarre mist. The gate sealed off everything beyond the boundary wall while cutting off all perception and completely obscuring their view. "Yuan Yi's World God Pendant!" Bai Zi cried out, her voice sharp with alarm. That cry stabbed straight into Long Di's chest like a blade. In that instant, the proud and self-assured leader of the Nether Gods made the most difficult decision of his life. "Fine! I'll go and bring him back! Let's hope he truly can save the Nether Abyss and stop that ancient ape." The Soul Convergence Altar rose into the air, transforming into a dazzling stream of light as it shot toward the boundary wall. After a moment's hesitation, Bai Zi also took flight, heading toward the stretch of bizarre mist now obscured by the World God Pendant alongside Long Di. Her heart was burning with anxiety. She knew full well that Long Di, Pang Jian, and herself all benefited from a certain degree of power amplification when fighting within the Nether Abyss. Among them, Pang Jian was favored by both the Soulstream and the barrier, so he would receive the greatest power boost. That increase in strength had been enough to make even the ancient ape feel threatened, which was likely why it feigned defeat and withdrew. The ancient ape was the strongest high-ranking God beneath the four Sovereigns. Even figures like He Motian, Fa Ji, and Zi Mo, other exalted high-ranking Gods, could not compare to that savage brute. Bai Zi was worried that the ancient ape would strike Pang Jian down after he stepped beyond the Nether Abyss and into the open bizarre mist, reducing him to nothing but a bloody mist. She feared they were already too late. She feared the Nether Abyss would fall after all, and that every last Nether God would perish with it. Long Di's Immortal Divine Soul gleamed like a crystal as it shot from the Soul Convergence Altar, piercing through the boundary wall and entering the bizarre Sea, followed closely behind by Bai Zi's. These two strongest Nether Gods had just stepped into the bizarre mist when they saw it, a bronze World God Pendant inexplicably shrinking and fading from view. They also saw Yuan Yi, now in the form of a gaunt old man, standing atop the shrinking pendant as it carried him away into the distance. Both Bai Zi and Long Di could see unmistakable signs of panic and defeat emanating from Yuan Yi's retreating figure. Bai Zi froze, her gaze drifting toward Pang Jian in stunned disbelief. "He...?" Long Di's Immortal Divine Soul remained silent, eyes fixed on Yuan Yi's departing figure. Belatedly, he saw legions of Fey Race warriors scattering like a broken tide. They had seemed so dominant while invading the Nether Abyss, but they were now fleeing in disorder. The retreat spread like a wildfire, consuming the ranks of the Fey warriors in all directions. All at once, the Gods of the Ghost, Sea, Celestial, and Flame Races suddenly came to the same realization that the long-planned invasion of the Nether Abyss had ended in complete failure. After all their efforts, it had failed in the most inexplicable way. "Pang Jian. Yuan Yi... did he"—Bai Zi subconsciously licked the corner of her lips—"just retreat? Did he really leave, or is this just another one of his underhanded tricks?" It was precisely because she understood how terrifying that ancient ape was that such doubt lingered in her mind. "He has likely retreated." Pang Jian looked up. Above him, boundless bizarre mist obscured everything. Yet, he felt a presence beyond the bizarre mist. Somewhere within the starry skies, a pair of indifferent, merciless eyes stared down coldly at him and the fading figure of the ancient ape. Yuan Yi shone with a strange, intense radiance as he drifted away, his posture eerily stiff. No ordinary light could do such a thing. Only an attack from Sovereign Luo, one of the Four Sovereigns, could have shaken Yuan Yi to such a degree! Only her light could force a ferocious being like Yuan Yi to abandon the fight before he reached the limits of his strength. Facing such a foe, he panickedly retreated. You guessed right. That Sovereign intervened. From deep within the pitch-black cloak, a voice echoed out from the name that belonged to Luan Ji. You and I can wound Yuan Yi, but we never could have killed him. But Sovereign Luo? She has that strength, and she has always despised Fey Gods. What's more, she was channeling light through you. There are two invisible connections within you that have become her eyes. Luan Ji's voice gradually faded into silence, and the two demonic characters that were his name began to dim, showing that the Great Demon God had retracted his divine consciousness. Although Bai Zi was still shaken by the turn of events, she remained calm and rational. She had not forgotten why they had left the Nether Abyss in the first place. "Right now, no matter what that ancient ape plans to do, you must immediately return to the Nether Abyss! Only within the Nether Abyss will you have the strength and means necessary to face that ancient ape!" She still could not bring herself to believe that Yuan Yi had retreated simply because he had been outmatched. Pang Jian looked slightly surprised. "Return to the Nether Abyss?" His gaze, heavy with meaning, settled on Long Di, who had remained silent since arriving. "I'm not part of the Nether Race, nor did I grow up in the Nether Abyss. The burden of that world's fate shouldn't fall on me." "Lord Long Di, when you invited me into the Nether Abyss for the first time, just what was it you intended to say to me back then?" Pang Jian's expression gradually turned cold and sharp. He could choose not to fight for control over the Nether Abyss with Long Di, but along this journey, he had heard many mentions of his mother and father. Over and over, Long Di's name had come out of the mouths of beings like the Rock Devourer and even by that ancient ape. If he wanted answers on how his mother died and about his father's current state, he would have to get them from Long Di. That was the true reason he had insisted on entering the Nether Abyss. "Let's return to the Nether Abyss first," Long Di said, sighing listlessly. Without waiting for Pang Jian's response, he turned and passed back through the boundary wall. "Pang Jian, after you left, the will of the Nether Abyss has never returned to him. There's no one left now who can restrain or oppose you within that world," Bai Zi revealed after a pause. "I didn't think there would be," Pang Jian replied calmly. Bai Zi did not need to say anything more. As soon as the words left Pang Jian's mouth, he stepped through the boundary wall and returned to the Nether Abyss.