Outside the Ruin Realm, Pang Jian, wreathed in golden radiance, was pushed through the boundary wall and into the cold vacuum of space. His hands were empty, with not a single artifact in sight. The God King's skull behind him emitted terrifying light and heat like a crystalline sun. It exhaled flames and sunlight so intense that the surviving Outer Gods shuddered in fear. The four Great Demon Gods and the high-ranking God of the Ghost Race, Zi Mo, felt nothing but dread when they looked upon the God King's skull. They dared not harbor even the slightest trace of greed toward it. Fragile objects or garments near the Ruin Realm were reduced to ash, and any debris drawn in was blasted into scattering dust. The terrifying skull continued to devour the energies of the starry skies, consuming low-ranking and mid-ranking Gods. In the skull, Ling Yun, the ancient God of Life, used the vast energies absorbed to forge new stars, also planning to nurture living beings on the continents. Pang Jian frowned deeply. The World God Pendant... Many divine beings out in the starry skies held grudges against him for ruining their plans before, be it Fu Ya, Sovereign Luo, or even Zi Mo. Though he could still sense the Dao Source of Metal in the Seventh World of the Abyss or the Dao Source of Soul in the Nether Abyss without a World God Pendant in hand, he had lost the crucial medium needed to teleport. Without the ability to teleport away, there was no avoiding the looming battle. He glanced to either side, taking in the presence of the two Sovereigns and the Outer Gods. Pang Jian turned his awareness inward to his dantian, Divine Persona, and Immortal Divine Soul. Three blazing suns burned brightly in his dantian, flooding it with searing light. The Sun-Refining Art bears the profound truths of God King Yan Hao's Dao of Fire and Dao of Sun. It's a secret art I obtained by devouring stars and is of immense benefit to my mastery over these two Daos! Seeing as the two Sovereigns had yet to make a move or even speak a single word, Pang Jian took the opportunity to quickly assess his condition. The vast knowledge he had gained through the Primordial Demon Fusion Art was dissected and refined through his connection with the Soulstream in the Nether Abyss, allowing him to unravel its deeper mysteries. The only good thing going for him after being forced out of the Ruin Realm was that he could reestablish his connection with the Soulstream and the Dao Source of Metal. With the Soulstream's help, any divine technique etched into his Divine Persona and Immortal Divine Soul could be comprehended with half the effort and double the result! The Undying Soul Flames in his Immortal Divine Soul and Divine Persona seemed to transform into sparks of wisdom. The Sun-Refining Art granted him an understanding of the nature of the sun, how to command all kinds of fire, and the immense power that could be unleashed when the two were fused. These insights flowed into his Divine Persona and Immortal Divine Soul in clear streams of knowledge. His comprehension of the mysteries of fire and the sun deepened with every passing second. The three blazing suns in his dantian continued to shine with dazzling radiance. Then, understanding dawned on Pang Jian. A fierce light flared in his eyes as his gaze settled on the sun—the one Lie Yang had recently taken as his domain. This sun was real, unlike the stars in the Ruin Realm or the suns in his Primordial Chaos Starry Expanse. It was not a mere manifestation shaped from the Dao of Sun and divine power. Pang Jian's golden eyes brightened severalfold, his divine sense and divine power extending the vast distance toward the searing sun. He became acutely aware of its internal crystalline core, its surrounding flares, and the layered halos of blazing flames that encircled it. Suddenly, he sensed a connection with the sun. Pang Jian's mind trembled. It felt as though he could command all its power. When he silently activated the Sun-Refining Art, he became aware of the many searing stars scattered in this desolate starry region, each holding subterranean heat and flowing magma that he could also draw upon. Merely grasping even a portion of God King Yan Hao's Dao of Fire and Dao of Sun was enough for him to shake the celestial bodies! He quietly forged these subtle connections with the sun and searing stars, his influence rippling across the starry skies. Outwardly, however, he appeared calm and unruffled, as though unaware of his desperate situation. He even lowered his head to glance at the triumphant Ling Yun in the Ruin Realm below. Ling Yun waved mockingly back at Pang Jian. The twelve World God Pendants hovered before Ling Yun like twelve abysses. All the World God Pendants fell still except for the one corresponding to the Abyss, which slowly rotated in a ring-like pattern. The Abyss was dynamic, allowing its denizens to see the celestial bodies shifting and experience the cycles of day and night. In contrast, the Shadow Abyss, the Thunder Abyss, and the Fire Abyss were motionless with unchanging skies. The ancient God of Life used the twelve World God Pendants to emulate the movement of the twelve abysses in the bizarre mist. "They're very important to me." Ling Yun pointed at the World God Pendants with a brilliant smile. Outside the skull, divine souls and Divine Personas continued to stream into the Ruin Realm. Most of the Outer Gods in this starry region had already been devoured, leaving mainly those under the protection of the Sovereigns remaining. The skull only seemed to consume divine souls and Divine Personas with even greater efficiency after all twelve World God Pendants fell into Ling Yun's hands. "Pang—" Great Demon God Luan Ji cut himself off. Luan Ji, He Motian, Tian Wei, and Qi Ling, the four Great Demon Gods, all wore expressions of gloomy resignation. They felt both shocked and proud of what Pang Jian had accomplished within the Ruin Realm. They regarded Pang Jian as one of their own and had hoped that he would carry the true teachings of the Dao of Demon forward. Ideally, Pang Jian would ascend to become a Sovereign through the Dao of Demon and rekindle the glory of the Demon Gods as Demonheaven once did. When they saw the massive whirlpool formed by the Primordial Demon Fusion Art devouring a star in the Ruin Realm, they believed Pang Jian was actually a better choice than the Primordial Demon. Unfortunately, Ling Yun crushed that hope almost instantly. None of them truly understood what had happened. All they saw was Pang Jian being expelled from that strange realm without his artifacts. Sovereign Luo and the God of Wisdom were both present. Though the four Great Demon Gods wanted to help, without the cloak in Pang Jian's hands, they could not do so without revealing their true allegiances. Choosing to stand at Pang Jian's side at this time meant going against the Sovereigns and the Orthodox Outer Gods. Thus, the four Great Demon Gods could only keep a close watch on Sovereign Luo's and Fu Ya's movements. Surprisingly, these two Sovereigns seemed to be ignoring Pang Jian. Fu Ya continued to repair the Hall of Gods with the Rock Marrow extracted from the Rock Devourer, only occasionally glancing at that massive skull. Sovereign Luo, on the other hand, simply watched as the Outer Gods were fed to Yan Hao's skull like fodder. It was as if neither of them even saw Pang Jian at all, as if they had not noticed Ling Yun had flung him out, stripped of everything. "Hm..." Luan Ji rubbed his forehead thoughtfully. The black-clad Pang Lin hovered like a tiny spot of darkness beneath the barrier of the Thunder Abyss. Beyond it lay the eternally present starry skies. "Brother," she called softly. A frown marred her sweet face, setting it in a look of cold severity. She gazed up at the starry skies from within the Thunder Abyss, staring at the Ruin Realm in the distance. The barrier was no true shackle for her. She could cross it in a single breath. If she wished, she could leave the Thunder Abyss and enter the starry skies above in an instant. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ novel_fіre.net Her mood was exceedingly foul. Before Pang Jian's physical body entered the Ruin Realm, she had given him everything she could, including the Nine Heavens Thunder Divine Tree, believing he would be able to stop Ling Yun from resurrecting fully. She had not expected Ling Yun to push the Ruin Realm out of the bizarre mist for all to see. Images flickered in her eyes as she searched her memories for everything she knew about Yan Hao. Exhaling slowly, she calmed her breathing, quietly attuning herself to her fallen body in the Abyss. In the Seventh World of the Abyss, a strange surge of vitality emerged in the pitch-black darkness that surrounded the Black Empyrean Phoenix. A wing on the long-dormant Black Empyrean Phoenix twitched. The Fifth World trembled violently. The ground of the seven continents quaked as the Heaven Ascension Tribulation Array activated, attempting to keep the Black Empyrean Phoenix in check. A massive black turtle, so large it blotted out the sky, crashed down onto one of the continents. Channeling the power of a mid-ranking Fey God, it used its innate strength to try to destroy the continent itself. The Heaven Ascension Tribulation Array relied on the combined stability of all seven continents to function. If even one was shattered, the entire array would collapse. Without the restraint of the Heaven Ascension Tribulation Array, Pang Lin could abandon her human body and resurrect in her true form as the Black Empyrean Phoenix.