In the grand hall within the Nether Abyss, Pang Jian listened closely to Long Di, occasionally chiming in to share what he knew of the Abyss. "Sovereigns define the rules of worlds," Long Di explained. "In our Nether Abyss, refining an Immortal Divine Soul requires a cluster of Fortune. That itself is a rule. "I believe that the will of the bizarre mist established all these rules. "These rules include the barrier that shields our Nether Abyss from the prying eyes of the Outer Gods, and even the ability of our Nether Gods to have their divine souls freely traverse the abysses. "In your Abyss, those who temper their bodies through murky energy have to absorb a refined essence of the Black Empyrean Phoenix to become low-ranking Gods. That, I suspect, is a reflection of her will. "As a Sovereign, she can define or rewrite the rules of worlds. "But..." Long Di paused. "I think that rule has been broken." "You're saying that by helping powerhouses like Sha Jia sever their connection to the Black Empyrean Phoenix while still guiding them to ascend as mid-ranking Gods, Sovereign Luo broke that rule?" "Yes." Long Di nodded. "That's what I believe. Only another Sovereign can break the rule of a Sovereign, and doing so would have required a tremendous cost. "The Rank Nine Fey Kings in the Abyss will be able to ascend as Fey Gods without relying on a sliver of her essence, though, of course, having her essence could still make them stronger." Long Di knitted his brows. "As you feared, her essence acts as her eye and can subtly influence your will, possibly even reshaping who you are. If you want to break free from her grasp, you'll have to cut it away. "With her rule broken, you'll likely be able to reconstruct your Divine Persona even after discarding her essence." In the Abyss, Pang Jian's pristine Divine Persona suddenly fractured within his sea of consciousness. Shards splintered off one after another. Threads of memory shimmered like streaks of light, glinting through a pool of his essence. The cluster of Corruption did not merely reside within him. It had merged with his essence and was even leeching his insights. All the insights he had painstakingly cultivated regarding the Daos of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Light, Darkness, Lightning, and Cold, as well as the Primeval Demon Fusion Art, were all accessible to that Corruption! In that instant, Pang Jian was jolted awake. The Black Empyrean Phoenix in the Seventh World had crafted this rule long ago, dispersing clusters of her essence across the Abyss to be reclaimed later. Every cluster of essence she reclaimed was the culmination of a Fey God's lifelong pursuit of their Dao or the hard-won insights of a foreign race powerhouse. Those Fey Gods and foreign race powerhouses could never break free of the Abyss because her essence lingered within them. When they died, those clusters of essence would return to her, transforming into a new part of her comprehension. Reaching Rank Ten meant attaining the rank of a low-ranking God and gaining immortality. One had to wonder then, if Corruption would never return if these immortal Fey Gods or foreign race powerhouses were content to remain in the Fifth World with no further ambitions, simply enduring through the ages. Naturally, the Black Empyrean Phoenix had a solution for that as well. The war of ascension and the endless probing of the worlds beyond the Abyss inevitably drove such beings to their deaths. When murky energy surged upward, war would follow, forcing the apex powers of the Fifth World to challenge the True Gods of the human race! Each time a foreign race powerhouse fell in battle, a cluster of the Black Empyrean Phoenix's essence would return to her. Back when the Fey Race still ruled the Abyss, many Rank Ten Fey Gods, unable to shatter the barrier, chose instead to explore the worlds below. They inevitably perished in the darkness, thus allowing her to reclaim her Corruption. Across eras, she had reclaimed many essences, more than anyone could count. She then assimilated the insights of these powerful Fey Gods and foreign race powerhouses into herself. This was the true nourishment fueling her cycle of rebirth. This was the foundation of her future strength. If I simply let her essence linger within me, all that I comprehend of the Heavenly Daos throughout my life will eventually become hers. One day, she could even directly seize control of me using that cluster of her essence. Pang Jian knew he had no choice but to cut it out before it festered into something far worse. With that in mind, lightning burst to life within his sea of consciousness. Threads of silvery brilliance, fine as hair and sharp as blades, surged toward the essence of the Black Empyrean Phoenix, which had been unveiled after the shattering of his Divine Persona. Leave or be annihilated! Pang Jian's will echoed like divine judgment throughout his sea of consciousness. That seemingly sentient foreign glow within him shuddered under the assault. It tore away from Pang Jian's essence as if frightened, streaking upward and bursting from the crown of his head before vanishing into the Fifth World below. "Corruption!" Dong Tianze and Wu Yuan exclaimed in hushed awe, staring after the fleeing light. The same glow abruptly appeared within the demonic stone embedded between Wu Yuan's brows. It then morphed into a gracefully soaring Black Empyrean Phoenix. The demonic stone revealed the true nature of his Corruption. Wu Yuan then saw a dazzling phoenix flare on Dong Tianze's forehead and cried out in alarm, "Dong Tianze! Your Celestial Phoenix Imprint, it bears her mark!" Eyes burning crimson, Dong Tianze let out a guttural roar, "Shatter!" Threads of blood-red light surged through his body, converging toward the Celestial Phoenix Imprint between his brows. He intended to annihilate anything that the Black Empyrean Phoenix could one day exploit. A mocking laugh that sounded eerily like Pang Lin's echoed from the Celestial Phoenix Imprint before a terrifying force ravenously pulled the blood essence from Dong Tianze's body. His vast reserves of blood essence, infused with his killing intent and will, poured into the Celestial Phoenix Imprint, turning the ethereal brand into the blazing form of a blood-drenched phoenix. Dong Tianze's body withered at a speed visible to the naked eye. His flesh, bones, and tendons shrivelled as though they were being hollowed out from within. "I—Pang Jian!" Dong Tianze cried out in terror, rallying all the power he could muster in a desperate attempt to halt the outflow of his blood essence. The same Celestial Phoenix Imprint that had been the source of his strength, enabling him to become who he was, had turned against him. It sought to devour everything from him. At that moment, a shadowy figure stirred from the demonic stone between Wu Yuan's brows. A soft, amused laugh echoed within Wu Yuan's mind. Mind if I join the fun? The foreign will emerged through the demonic stone, slipping into Wu Yuan's sea of consciousness. It sought to claim Wu Yuan's inner domain and turn him into nothing more than an extension of its consciousness. "The Primordial Demon!"