Ling Yun's scheme for the Ruin Realm ultimately ended in failure, and he could only grit his teeth as he escaped. The moment he fled, Bai Zi, Xing Huan, Fa Ji, and Mu Duo, the four World Gods, found their connections with their World God Pendants restored. The four World God Pendants, seized from their original owners, turned into four brilliant streams of light, landing one after another in the hands of their respective World Gods. When Mu Duo received his World God Pendant, his face, like weathered tree bark, showed an expression of deep shame. "Pang Jian..." he mumbled as quietly as a mosquito's buzz, "A being like Ling Yun, who dominates the Dao of Life, naturally restrains us from the Wood Race. I had no choice." Mu Duo had surrendered without hesitation when he realized Ling Yun, the ancient God of Life, was about to succeed in resurrecting within the Ruin Realm. He firmly believed that Ling Yun would step into Sovereignhood and return to his former glory. However, in the end, even with all his preparations, Ling Yun had failed to suppress Pang Jian and was forced to flee in bitter defeat. "I don't expect you to forgive me. I only hope you won't take it out on other members of the Wood Race. I'm truly sorry." Tender green branches shot out from the World God Pendant in his hand, wrapping around his withered body and fusing him completely with the pendant. At a glance, he looked like a strange old tree growing from the World God Pendant. Mu Duo then flew off with the World God Pendant, breaking through the boundary wall and escaping like Ling Yun. "Why did you let him go? He betrayed you the instant things turned south! You could have stopped him!" Bai Zi complained. In truth, Pang Jian had not stopped Mu Duo because he assumed Mu Duo's cultivation realm was not strong enough to break through the boundary wall as easily as Ling Yun had. "The restriction the Ruin Realm placed upon us World Gods no longer applies," Xing Huan said, looking at Pang Jian. Mu Duo's escape meant the laws of the Ruin Realm had changed yet again. World Gods like them could once again leave this world with ease. "Spineless fence-sitters!" Fa Ji roared from within the still-surging "sky" of demonic energy. His body towered over even He Motian and Luan Ji like a jagged mountain of darkness. Holes opened across his body, devouring the vast evil thoughts and demonic energy from the "sky." Unlike He Motian and Luan Ji, Fa Ji was a Demon God in the truest sense and had already gained tremendous benefit from the demonic energy of Demonheaven's cloak. Fa Ji let out an uncontrollable howl as countless lost demonic techniques and the insights of Sovereign Demonheaven poured into his soul. "I can go out there and hunt down Mu Duo! I don't need Lord Demonheaven's cloak, nor the aid of this demonic energy. I'm confident I can kill Mu Duo on my own!" This Great Demon God, commander of the Demon Races in the bizarre mist, felt his respect for Pang Jian growing by the day. For one, Pang Jian did not begrudge Fa Ji for drawing power from the sea of demonic energy that made up the sky of the Ruin Realm. For another, he had actually managed to stop Ling Yun from becoming a Sovereign within the Ruin Realm. Like all Demon Gods, Fa Ji revered strength above all. Pang Jian had clearly proved himself as one of the strongest beings in existence. Even if he could not compare to beings like Sovereign Luo, the God of Wisdom, or the God of Space quite yet, Fa Ji believed he would one day stand on equal footing with them! "Don't bother chasing him. As long as he can't bring himself to discard his World God Pendant, I can easily locate and control him at any time," Pang Jian said calmly. The three remaining World Gods in the Ruin Realm finally understood why Ling Yun had not taken the World God Pendants when he fled. Any World God holding their pendant could have their whereabouts tracked by Pang Jian, the World God Paragon. With Pang Jian's array of demonic techniques and his understanding of the soul, it was possible he could even use the World God Pendants to possess their holders! Pang Jian truly could deal with Mu Duo anytime he wanted! Xing Huan wore a bitter expression, frowning deeply as he said, "If that's true for Mu Duo, then...what about us?" Unlike Fa Ji and Bai Zi, his interests were not tightly bound to Pang Jian's. He could not help but wonder if he would end up suppressed under Pang Jian's control as well. "At least we're alive," Bai Zi said coolly. "I think Ling Yun intended to wipe out all the current World Gods and pick new successors from the various races." Fa Ji snorted. "Xing Huan, since you stayed loyal during the battle, we'll let you leave freely as long as you give up your World God Pendant." "If you won't give up your World God Pendant, then naturally, Pang Jian can track your movements and summon you whenever he wants," Fa Ji sneered. "Wielding something as extraordinary as a World God Pendant comes with a price. You didn't think you could just take advantage of it without contributing anything, did you?" "I—" Xing Huan faltered, unable to continue. At that moment, the three blazing suns suspended behind Pang Jian flared. Get full chapters from novelꜰire.net A strange light flickered in Pang Jian's eyes, and a thought stirred in his mind as he watched the three suns spontaneously draw in Yan Hao's lingering Dao. As one of the blazing suns passed over a pale-yellow star, a canyon on that star lit up brightly. The rocky layers around the canyon burst apart, releasing streams of orange-red sparks that seemed to possess intelligence, joyfully merging into the sun. Memories burst into radiant fragments in Pang Jian's mind, forming crystalline shards that shone like stars. The mysteries of celestial fire and earthflame. With just a split second of analysis, Pang Jian grasped arcane techniques tied to the Dao of Fire, learning how to refine blazing meteors and flames hidden within the continents and stars. Another blazing sun sank toward a dark red continent. The deep red sea on that continent started to boil, its surface bubbling violently. A dark red sun formed at the bottom of that sea. Then, as if pulled upward by the blazing sun above, it shot out from the sea floor. The number of suns under Pang Jian's control grew from three to four. A scripture titled "Great Sun Scorches the Heavens" also transformed into an explosive cluster of radiant memories that slowly unfolded in Pang Jian's mind. He immediately gained a deeper understanding of celestial fire, earthflame, and the sun in the starry skies. God King Yan Hao's profound insights into the mysteries of the sun and fire were being unearthed one by one under the guidance of Pang Jian's blazing suns.