The massive ape, its monstrous body still swelling in size, hovered in the upper layer of the Ruin Realm, eyes blazing like twin blood-red stars. When he grinned widely, rows of fangs could be seen gleaming like cold steel. "In the Nether Abyss, you had the will of that abyss and that mysterious Soulstream aiding you. "But here in the Ruin Realm, there is no transcendent will that stands above all living beings, no strange force to lend you strength! "While I"—the ancient ape spread its arms wide as if to embrace the world itself—"I am half a master of this place! The stars and continents move at my will!" Blood-colored lightning writhed in the center of the thirty-six stars and the twenty-four continents, churning into a vast tide of blood-red vitality. The ancient ape's grin was savage. The Dao of Life he had secretly inscribed earlier started converting the spiritual qi and stellar energy of the continents and stars into raw nourishment, fuel to restore his vitality. At that moment, the Ruin Realm transformed. It was no different from the ancient Fey Abyss before its destruction. Primal power welled up from deep beneath the surface of the continents and stars. It was a force that once belonged to the mighty Fey Gods of the past. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ novel⸺fire.net The ancient ape let out a piercing howl as he hurled his World God Pendant into the sky. Above the stars, a crimson expanse emerged from the pendant. The Ruin Realm had no barrier, only a boundary wall at its dome. The crimson expanse now mimicked the missing barrier, exerting a powerful suppression on all living beings of flesh and blood. Crimson brilliance poured down from above, illuminating both the stars and the continents, washing over the intruding World Gods. As Bai Zi, Fa Ji, Yu Hang, Xing Huan, and Mu Duo were bathed in the crimson brilliance, a wave of lethargy swept through them. Their vitality and bloodline abilities became difficult to rouse. Aside from Bai Zi, the remaining four had always relied on the strength of their bloodlines. Restricting that source caused their combat prowess to plummet drastically. Meanwhile, the tear that the Celestial Fey Warhammer opened in the pitch-black canopy allowed the twenty-four continents below to resume their extraction of vitality from those present. The ancient ape, one of the most notorious high-ranking Gods in and beyond the bizarre mist, revealed his full might. "I-I can't hold on much longer!" Fa Ji cried, his once towering body shriveling rapidly as his blood essence drained away. The banners Fa Ji had refined were almost damaged to the point of no repair. Tattered and powerless, the banners were unable to channel their intended strength due to the severed connection with the Observers. The demonic blade in his grasp had been dulled from repeated clashes with the Celestial Fey Warhammer. Even the protective scales covering his body had been torn away in large patches. Beneath them, the coiling blood-colored serpents were ripping into and devouring his flesh. "Pang Jian..." Lowering his head, Fa Ji glanced at the gaping hole in the pitch-black canopy above and said in a strained voice, "The Lord I revered most left behind that cloak. It's a supreme divine artifact. How could you allow it to suffer even the slightest damage? "And Yuan Yi, how dare you damage the divine artifact my Lord left behind! Know that the Demon Races will never forgive you!" A violet crystal pillar deep within Fa Ji's sea of consciousness blazed to life. The ancient infernal runes engraved upon it transformed into fiery infernos, drifting stars, falling rain, chunks of ice, and shards of refined metal. Fa Ji was igniting his divine soul, preparing to unleash the Divine Immolation Demon Art, a suicidal technique meant to take everything down with him. High above, the ancient ape bared his fangs in a wicked grin, grip tight on his Celestial Fey Warhammer. "There's nothing even Demonheaven himself could do to me once I fully refine this Ruin Realm as my own and ascend as a Sovereign. What could you possibly do? "Divine Immolation?" he sneered dismissively, bringing his warhammer swinging down. "Let me shatter your Divine Persona and destroy your body. We'll see how you plan to immolate your divine soul then!" Blinding bolts of lightning charged along the path of the falling Celestial Fey Warhammer, obliterating the illusory ancient Fey Gods propelling it forward. Yuan Yi's Ancient Fey Sky-Rending Art had been shattered. Palaces wreathed in boundless lightning suddenly appeared ahead of the massive warhammer, halting its descent. "It's just a cloak. It's not like it can't be repaired." Pang Jian's towering Immortal Divine Soul could be seen high above the palaces, gleaming with prismatic light. Calmly reaching down, as if picking up something trivial, he retrieved the pitch-black canopy and casually tossed it to Fa Ji. "Wrap your body with it. You'll bleed out otherwise." Sovereign Demonheaven's cloak draped over Fa Ji. The immense demonic energy and years' worth of accumulated malice and sinister will within the cloak poured unrestrained into Fa Ji. Demon Gods thrived on demonic energy and drew strength from the wicked thoughts of all beings. Bathed in a flood of demonic energy and malice, Fa Ji was instantly revitalized. His gaunt, battered body healed rapidly under the nourishment. Even the demonic blade in his hand regained its razor edge, shrieking with piercing wails from the hollows along its spine. "You—" Fa Ji stared wide-eyed at Pang Jian, gaze filled with confusion and disbelief. Sovereign Demonheaven's cloak carried immense meaning for any Demon God, but especially for Fa Ji. Having once fought Bai Zi and Pang Jian in the Nether Abyss, he had long regarded them as his enemies. Fa Ji never expected that Pang Jian would intercept the devastating blow of the Celestial Fey Warhammer and toss him the cloak to protect his body from destruction. "As the Demon Gods are willing to aid me, I'm more than willing to shield you and keep you alive with this demonic cloak." Pang Jian's expression was calm as he stared at the Celestial Fey Warhammer, still advancing through the thunder and lightning. He could sense the overwhelming will behind the warhammer's force. His divine sense silently seeped into the stars and the continents. Woven into every strand of it was his insights into the Dao of Life. Invisible and formless, his divine sense collided with Yuan Yi's Dao of Life embedded within the stars and continents. The stars flared with brilliance, and the twenty-four drifting continents also halted all at once. "I have the life energy I got from Pang Ling, Sovereign Luo Hongyan's insights into the mysteries of life, even your own comprehension into the Dao of Life, Yuan Yi. I refuse to believe that the Dao of Life I command can't suppress the one you planted throughout this realm!" Pang Jian hovered above the Divine Court of Thunder with his hands behind his back. Behind him, a resplendent starry expanse took shape, as if propelled into existence by a god of creation. This starry expanse existed independently of the Ruin Realm. As it formed, a myriad of wonders started to reveal themselves. There were regions embodying the five elements of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. Oceans of lightning crackled, and distant lands teemed with malice and corruption. Before that radiant starry expanse stood Pang Jian, his multicolored Immortal Divine Soul towering like the master of the cosmos. "The Transcendent God Realm of the human race represents the manifestation of divine miracles. I once invoked it in the Nether Abyss. Now, I'll attempt it again here in the Ruin Realm. "I want to see just how far your Dao of Life has progressed and whether you've truly seized control of this realm." Pang Jian peered up at the blood-colored "barrier" overhead. The brilliant starry expanse behind him rose toward the Ruin Realm's firmament, surging forth to meet the divine domain that the ancient ape conjured through his World God Pendant.