A lush and sprawling Nine Heavens Thunder Divine Tree had taken root in a pool of lightning at the summit of Thunder God Mountain in the Thunder Abyss. It grew at an astonishing rate as it greedily absorbed the boundless lightning swirling through the skies. The petite Pang Lin sat quietly beneath its canopy, her expression calm and serene. From time to time, a crystalline bolt of lightning would arc into her brows and merge with her sea of consciousness. Pang Lin was deciphering the laws that governed the Thunder Abyss—laws that were woven into lightning—to further refine and complete her Dao. The Dao she had chosen demanded not only a vast accumulation of thunder and lightning but also a comprehension of the Dao of Lightning no less profound than the Duke of Thunder himself. Thus, the Thunder Abyss and Thunder God Mountain, in particular, were a sacred place she had to visit. Not far away, the withered Yuan Yi had come to accept the truth. The savage ancient ape, originally born in the Fey Abyss, had realized shortly after bringing Pang Lin into the Thunder Abyss that she was no longer bound to her Dao of Darkness. It seemed she truly intended to surpass her former self as a human cultivator. "Perhaps..." Yuan Yi murmured, a glimmer of hope flickering in his weary eyes. As if sensing his thoughts, Pang Lin opened her eyes and shot him a faint smile. "If I fail to ascend through this path, I'll return to my phoenix body in the Seventh World of the Abyss." Yuan Yi tensed. "And if you succeed?" Pang Lin had chosen the path of cultivation characteristic of the Nether Race and the human race, where one progressed through the Ascendant God Realm, the Transcendent God Realm, and the Exalted God Realm. Of significance to Yuan Yi was the fact that Pang Lin was not of the Fey Race. Only one Sovereign could emerge from each race in a given era, each mastering a distinct Dao. When the Black Empyrean Phoenix held the title of Sovereign, no other Fey Gods of the Fey Race could ascend to that same realm until her fall, regardless of how powerful they were. This same exclusivity applied to the Celestial, Spirit, and Demon Races as well. If Pang Lin had remained as the Black Empyrean Phoenix and attempted to ascend through her original Dao, Yuan Yi would have had no hope whatsoever. He would have had to abandon the idea of ascending entirely. However, she had chosen to be reborn as a human. That fact alone ignited hope within Yuan Yi. "My original soul was that of a Fey God. If I can ascend to the Exalted God Realm using a human body, well," Amusement curved Pang Lin's crystal-bright lips as she looked toward Yuan Yi, her eyes brimming with encouragement. "Truthfully, I do hope another Sovereign rises among the Fey Race, one capable of surpassing my past life. "Yes!" the ancient ape answered hastily. "If you help me now, I'll help you out in the future. What do you say?" Pang Lin asked with a gentle smile. "Of course! Of course!" The ancient ape nodded eagerly. At that moment, Pang Jian's voice suddenly echoed from the World God Pendant and in Yuan Yi's mind. High-ranking godhood... Yuan Yi's heart trembled. "My Lord...he—he seems to have broken through again within the Abyss. He's ascended into high-ranking godhood." Pang Lin smiled. "I'm not surprised." "Is the Exalted God Realm limited to only one among the human race?" the ancient ape asked, visibly anxious. "His Immortal Divine Soul has already reached the Transcendent God Realm in the Nether Abyss. If you both walk the same path, won't there be a conflict?" A flash of blood-red light flickered in the ancient ape's eyes, his murderous intent rising. "My Lord, you ought to eliminate him while you still can!" he urged. "Watch your words. He is my elder brother, born of the same father and mother," Pang Lin said coldly. Has the former leader of the Fey Race, once the embodiment of darkness across the starry skies, changed after her nirvanic rebirth? In the bizarre mist, the towering spirit body of the God of Wisdom, sensing an anomaly, shifted her curious gaze to the pendant attached beneath the Thunder Pool. The space she had sealed using the Divine Void Crystal was perfectly stable. Nothing ought to have been capable of disrupting its structure. Despite this, an eerie power stirred from Huo Ji's World God Pendant, one that ignored the suppression of the Divine Void Crystal entirely. A dense sea of bizarre mist surged from the pendant's depths. The modest Thunder Pool suddenly grew beneath Fu Ya's very nose. Magnificent palaces unfurled, stretching out across a vast metal expanse. Profound Dao Seals interwoven with the mysteries of metal, life, lightning, frost, the sun, moons, and stars were etched into its surface. The Divine Court of Thunder had emerged once again! Bizarre mist densely wreathed the Divine Court of Thunder, which had grown to the size of a continent, casting it in a solemn, imposing aura. The entire domain radiated majesty and grandeur. "The bizarre mist..." Fu Ya's expression shifted. Crackling sounds filled the air. A small azure Thunder Dragon burst out from the Thunder Pool at the heart of the Divine Court of Thunder, its claws flailing and fangs bared. When it met the surrounding lightning, it swelled to an immense size in the blink of an eye. Its scales gleamed with metallic radiance, its claws resembled iron anchors, and its serpentine body twisted and coiled with effortless agility. Had Fan Ao of the Supreme Monad Divine Kingdom still been alive, he would have noticed that the Rank Nine Five-Clawed Gold Dragon had seemingly fused with this ancient Thunder Dragon—its flesh, tendons, and bones now forged of metal. The Thunder Dragon's eyes flickered with the brilliance of crackling lightning and wisdom. Fu Ya snorted coldly. Only now did she realize that the other Pang Jian, far away in the Abyss, had used the World God Pendant to project his divine sense into the Thunder Dragon. The Divine Void Crystal had failed to block the World God Pendant's transmission of Pang Jian's divine sense. Naturally, this azure Thunder Dragon, refined from Mou Qi's blood, soul essence, and divine soul, was far more than just a mere dragon. The Divine Court of Thunder quaked. The majestic palaces within trembled, unleashing shockwaves that splintered the fabric of space. Bursts of azure, gold, silver, and pale green lightning shot in every direction, weaving together as they tore apart the fractured space, causing it to collapse. The area the Divine Void Crystal had sealed started to cave in. Massive sinkhole-like fissures formed in the once-stable pocket of space, turning it warped and uneven. The layers of overlapping space within the Divine Void Crystal floating behind Fu Ya, each as thin as paper, fragmented under the flickering strain of broken spatial laws. Brilliant white light flared from the many facets of the polyhedral crystal. The sealed pocket within the bizarre mist shattered like a mirror, breaking into countless jagged shards before vanishing into the expanding fissures. Genuine surprise flickered across the face of Fu Ya's spirit body. "A mere World God Pendant alone isn't enough to shatter the sealed space." She frowned. "You've seized control of all the World God Pendants?" The God of Wisdom's thoughts raced. "Has a World God Paragon been born? Your physical body...is the World God Paragon?" The Sovereign was prepared to summon her true body to the bizarre mist. The smaller Rock Devourer streaked through the bizarre mist. Fu Ya's divine power had already rebuilt the fragmented lands that made up his colossal body. The moment this smaller version of him was captured and sealed into the heart-shaped fragmented land, he would truly fall into Fu Ya's grasp. "How troublesome," the Rock Devourer cursed. He had no idea where Fu Ya was hiding, but he could keenly sense a gaze tracking him from the shadows. Knowing full well the terrifying might of a Sovereign, he dared not linger for even a second. His only thought was to flee as far as possible. This smaller form of the Rock Devourer was the condensed essence of its soul. Even without its colossal body, if given time to gather strength once more, he could always forge a new body of fragmented lands just like before. A slender figure in flowing robes of bluish-black appeared in the Rock Devourer's path. The Rock Devourer let out a long, sorrowful sigh. Realizing that escape was impossible, he obediently halted in his tracks. "You're giving up that easily?" Fu Ya's true body, minuscule compared to her vast spirit body, licked her lips and said, "Very well. Return to your body of your own accord, and leave the bizarre mist with me. "Rest assured, there will be a place for you in the starry skies beyond. I will give you the respect you deserve. Fu Ya turned to lead the way, unconcerned about whether the Rock Devourer would resist. The instant she turned, a burst of dazzling light appeared, so brilliant that it was impossible to hide. Fu Ya's expression darkened.