Deep within the bizarre mist, a colossal World God Pendant stood upright in the darkness like a gate formed out of fresh blood. Ancient Fey Gods roared within the gate, spewing forth storms, blasts of flames, beams of ice, and torrents of stones. Beneath the gate, Yuan Yi hovered in his giant ape form. His blood-red crystalline fur bristled like a host of blades, and a vast tide of blood essence surged from him like water boiling away from a rising volcano. The ancient ape's blood essence fueled countless ancient Fey characters, crystal bloodline chains, and artifacts, sending them outward in search of a way out of the darkness. All the divine power erupting from the ancient ape's body was unable to pierce or escape the darkness, yet the boundless dark expanse stretched on endlessly. Wielding the Celestial Fey Warhammer, the ape struck in all directions. Each blow stirred a surge of crimson light strong enough to shatter a star above the bizarre mist. Despite his best efforts, those devastating bursts of crimson light were utterly ineffective inside the domain of darkness within the bizarre mist. "It's useless." Pang Lin's petite figure flickered in and out of sight as if she could appear in any spot in the dark at will. She gazed at the ferocious ancient ape with calm amusement, a faint smile playing across her lips. "Those bloodline mysteries you've grasped and the Fey Gods you've shaped from your own blood, do you really think I have never studied them before? "Yuan Yi, until you truly become a Sovereign, your understanding of the Fey Race can never compare to mine. "You should know that as long as a phoenix retains the power of nirvanic rebirth, it has never truly died. I wield the power of nirvanic rebirth and never truly fell after all these years... Did you really think I did nothing all this time?" With a light smile, she lifted her hand and pointed toward the World God Pendant. Countless droplets of dark green, purplish-blue, and pitch-black liquid rained down upon the World God Pendant. The toxin she had comprehended in the Abyss drenched the blood-red gate. Upon making contact with even a trace of the toxin, the ancient Fey Gods within the gate instantly dissolved into thick black smoke. She chuckled softly. Above the darkness, the Nine Heavens Thunder Divine Tree, hidden within the darkness, unleashed its might from high above Yuan Yi's head. Tens of thousands of lightning bolts stormed down, making Yuan Yi's scalp tingle with numbness. Even the hand with which he gripped the Celestial Fey Warhammer was engulfed in lightning, tearing his skin open, and scorching his flesh. "Destruction." Pang Lin continued unleashing her divine techniques. A vast sonic wave reverberated through Yuan Yi's mind and echoed deep within his heart. The sonic wave wore away at his divine consciousness, eroding the last traces of vitality within his heart. The ancient ape, a World God of the Fey Abyss that had once suppressed Long Di despite the constraints of the Nether Abyss, let out an agonizing roar, "If you're dead, then stay dead! If not, then step up and lead our race! You've been cowering in the Abyss for tens of millennia, and you only show yourself just as I was about to become a Sovereign! This isn't right! I won't yield to you!" "You won't yield? Then go ahead and die. I've already created a younger version of you in the Abyss. I'll train your replacement well." Pang Lin continued her relentless assault until, without warning, her strength began to wane, slipping from her grasp like water running through her fingers. "The seven Heaven Ascension Tribulation Pillars in the Abyss!" Part of her strength came from the remains of the Black Empyrean Phoenix. If she could no longer draw on the darkness sealed within that remains, then the darkness she used to imprison Yuan Yi would also collapse. "The only one who can activate the Heaven-Piercing Pillars is my brother." She had held the upper hand throughout the battle, suppressing Yuan Yi at every turn. Yet now, a subtle change crossed her delicate face. She knew she didn't have her peak strength. If the remains of the Black Empyrean Phoenix were truly suppressed, then she would not be able to draw any strength from them. In that case, she would stand no chance against Yuan Yi. He had already become a force to be reckoned with after ascending to high-ranking godhood. Brother... She called out to Pang Jian and sent her thoughts simultaneously to the black turtle and the Black Dragon King. Go to the Fifth World, to the fifth Heaven Ascension Tribulation Pillar. He's inside the chest there. Open it and bring him out! After the command was issued, a strand of her divine consciousness suddenly surfaced within the Soulstream of the Nether Abyss. Through the Soulstream, she called out to Pang Jian, Brother... High above the Nether Abyss, Pang Jian's Immortal Divine Soul was gazing at the massive radiance within the starry skies when a voice suddenly echoed within his sea of consciousness. Where are you? Who are you, really? Is my sister alive or dead? He fired off question after question. I will always be your sister, Pang Lin. Brother, you have to believe me. I'll never stop being your sister. Just see me as Pang Lin, who happens to carry a history once lived by the Black Empyrean Phoenix. I haven't been possessed by anyone. From the beginning, I was Pang Lin, yet I was also the Black Empyrean Phoenix. I chose not to be reborn as the Black Empyrean Phoenix. Instead, the path of nirvanic rebirth I took was to be reborn in a human body, one bearing the soul of the Nether Race." Brother, I have always been myself. It's just that when I awoke, I suddenly remembered that I had once been a Sovereign of the Fey Race. Pang Lin spoke with complete seriousness, explaining the full story through the Soulstream to Pang Jian. In the void of the Nether Abyss, Pang Jian was shaken to his core. He couldn't believe it was true. He suspected that the Black Empyrean Phoenix had possessed Pang Lin and fabricated this elaborate lie, all to manipulate him into serving its hidden agenda. How could his sister, Pang Lin, possibly be the Black Empyrean Phoenix? Brother, help me. I'm in the middle of hunting down that ancient ape. Heaven Ascension Tribulation Array in the Abyss suppresses and seals my remains. Activating it keeps me from accessing my power. When that array is active, I can't gather my strength from afar, and I won't be able to defeat that ancient ape. Brother, if you won't help me, I'll lose to him. Please, Pang Lin pleaded through the Soulstream, her mental voice desperate. Bai Zi, the World God of the Nether Abyss, noticed the shifting expression on Pang Jian's face and knew that something was off. "There's turbulence in the Soulstream. Another will has slipped in! Who is it? Other than you, who else has the ability to stir our Soulstream and communicate with you through it?" Long Di narrowed his eyes and said, "Who else could it be but his sister?" Brother? Are you just going to ignore me? Yes, I carry the Black Empyrean Phoenix's past, but I'm still Pang Lin! Brother, I've sent the black turtle and the others to the Fifth World. I've arranged for them to bring you out. Just don't unleash your wrath on them when they do, Pang Lin continued softly. Pang Jian, who had remained silent all this while, was overwhelmed by a storm of thoughts racing through his mind like flickering lightning. He didn't know whether he could believe this new voice. The revelations he learned from Pang Lin were so jarring that he could no longer tell fact from fiction. If what she said was true, then he should give her his full support to do everything he could to help his sister achieve her goal. But if it was a lie, then he should let Sovereign Luo proceed unhindered, allow the murky energy to return to the lower worlds, and allow Yuan Yi to defeat the Black Empyrean Phoenix. At the moment, it was simply impossible to tell what was real. In the end, he still responded to Pang Lin, The one currently working against you isn't me. It's your old rival.