Trials of the Abyss

Chapter 336: Vast Divine Might

A shadowy, graceful figure in black emerged from the chest of the Fire God, Yan Lie.

She stood atop the protruding red scales of Yan Lie's chest, as though standing in a celestial palace of the Gods and gazing down on its followers in the worlds below.

It was like all beings could only kneel in reverence under her gaze, singing praises and calling upon its true name.

“My Lord,” Yan Lie softly said.

She gently shook her head.

Yan Lie and all the Outer Gods fell silent.

She knitted her brows, expression cold and distant. Her deep ocean eyes were eerily calm.

A beautifully intricate black robe and stern expression had replaced her usual crimson gown and charming smile.

It was like she had become someone entirely different.

Her eyes landed on Pang Jian.

Yan Lie and the Outer Gods remained silent.

The foreign races' warships were also deathly still.

No one, not even an Outer God, dared to disturb the tranquility she had willed into existence.

"Luo—" The word caught in Pang Jian's throat.

Seeing this familiar figure with a cold and distant expression on her flawless face, the words he wanted to say would not come out.

A complex mix of shock, confusion, and other conflicting emotions he could not name flooded his heart.

He could not understand why Luo Hongyan had emerged from the resurrected Fire God's chest or what she intended to do.

However, the Fire God's respectful demeanor and the cautious reverence of the Outer Gods, made one thing clear—she was in complete control of the situation.

None of the beings on the fiery fragmented land dared to stand as Luo Hongyan's equals.

They were simply unqualified.

"I—" Pang Jian's lips quivered as he struggled to speak. “I want to..."

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The Ice Race's six repaired warships, Zhao Yuanqi's gourd, and the wing of a golden massive roc took off from Frozen Thunder.

The warships were filled with the weaker members of the Ice Race; Qi Qingsong, Zhuang Yuyan, and others were on Zhao Yuanqi's gourd; while Lu Jie and Chen Lushi were on a golden roc's wing.

Many Ice Race warriors also flew away from Frozen Thunder on their Spirit Avians.

"Pang Jian!"

"My Lord!"

"Let's go!"

"Let's escape into the bizarre mist. It's our only chance at survival!"

They called at the top of their lungs.

None dared to look directly at the Fire God as they urged Pang Jian to escape.

Luo Hongyan narrowed her eyes.

The warships halted, the wings of the Spirit Avians froze mid-flap, and the arrays within the golden roc's wings were rendered powerless.

A mysterious force instantly sealed the strength of the Ice Race warriors, Qi Qingsong, and the others.

Everyone was frozen in place outside of Frozen Thunder.

"Luo-Luo Hongyan!"

"Luo Hongyan!"

Qi Qingsong, Zhou Qingchen, and Dong Tianze cried out in shock.

The black-clad figure on the Fire God's chest grew larger and larger, eventually surpassing even the ten-thousand-zhang-tall Fire God.

Her presence was everywhere.

It almost seemed like the world itself could not contain her!

"She..." The Ice Rade elders trembled.

Her massive figure dwarfed the four fragmented lands, blanketing the void between them and stretching into the bizarre mist.

"Who is she?"

"Who could she possibly be?"

"How could such a terrifying existence exist in this world?"

Lu Jie, Jiang Chao, Chen Lushi, and the other survivors trembled under Luo Hongyan's immense divine might and could not help but kneel in the void.

Like a contagious wave, the Ice Race, Wu Yuan, Zhuang Yuyan, Zhao Yuanqi, and Dong Tianze fell to their knees one after another.

All those leaving Frozen Thunder knelt before Luo Hongyan in the vast void, including the Spirit Avians!

Only Qi Qingsong and Zhou Qingchen were spared.

Her divine might permeated the void, compelling every soul that felt it to bend their knees.

It was like she embodied the ultimate laws of the universe, etched into the souls of all living beings.

Only those she spared could avoid kneeling.

"I—"

"We—"

Qi Qingsong and Zhou Qingchen exchanged panicked glances, terrified and unsure of what to do.

Even the foreign races on the warships floating above the fiery fragmented land bent their knees in worship while the Outer Gods bowed in reverence.

Only the two of them and Pang Jian had been spared from the compulsion of Luo Hongyan's divine might.

Luo Hongyan's ethereal voice seemed to echo from everywhere at once—the fragmented lands, the void, and even the depths of the bizarre mist.

"We shall meet again in the Abyss." She nodded gently at Pang Jian before disappearing back into the Fire God's body.

Her immense divine might vanished.

The Fire God's colossal body fell back onto the fiery fragmented land and absorbed the overwhelming fiery energy from the volcanoes.

Boom!

The fiery fragmented land shot into the bizarre mist like a blazing meteor.

The foreign races and the Outer God Puppets were all taken along with it.

Those kneeling under Luo Hongyan's compulsion returned to their senses, sweat-drenched and minds still slightly dazed.

"Who-who is she?"

"Who was she talking to before she left?"

"She mentioned meeting in the Abyss—does that mean she's going to the Abyss?"

“Can the True Gods stand against her?"

Lu Jie, Jiang Chao, and Chen Lushi were terrified.

The six Ice Race elders wiped the sweat from their foreheads, necks, and armpits, staring intently in the direction the fiery fragmented land had headed and silently vowing never to set foot in the Abyss.

They had a growing sense that their worshiped Ice Demon was at best on par with the resurrected Fire God.

However, the mysterious woman in black was far beyond even that!

"Pang-Pang Jian, is that really her?" Zhou Qingchen asked in a trembling voice.

"Who else could it be?" Zhao Yuanqi replied, rubbing her stiff neck from her awkward kneeling posture. "Wasn't that the same person from Spirit Offering?"

"When did she become so terrifying?" Zhou Qingchen asked in shock.

Zhao Yuanqi smiled bitterly. "I'd like to know that myself."

"Is she the woman you mentioned before, the one with a complicated relationship with Little Junior Brother?" Zhuang Yuyan asked nervously, wiping her sweat-drenched forehead. "This one is far more...extraordinary than the girl from the Li Family of the Divine Treasure Sect. Even the Outer Gods seem to look up to her. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Little Junior Brother, you..." Zhuang Yuyan shook her head, unsure of what to say.

"That last sentence...was she speaking to Pang Jian?" Chen Lushi of the Demon Sect finally realized, alluring body trembling as she stared blankly at Pang Jian.

In her eyes, a boundless divine aura seemed to envelop him.

"I need to refine my divine soul as soon as possible," Pang Jian said firmly. Glancing at Bing Yuan, he added, "It's up to you whether you want to follow me into the Abyss or seek refuge in another world.

"Give them"—he pointed at Lu Jie's group— "a warship and let them leave."

Pang Jian then dove into Frozen Thunder and buried himself beneath one of the nine glaciers.

Roar!

The trembling Ice Armor Eel Dragon emerged from a lake on Absolute Heaven and floated in the void.

It had cowered in terror at the lakebed when the Fire God, Yan Lie, rose from the fiery fragmented land and only dared to surface after the fiery fragmented land departed.

Whoosh!

It flew toward Frozen Thunder.

The group of dazed individuals stared at it with trepidation.

The Ice Armor Eel Dragon gazed at Qi Qingsong. "What just happened?"

"You didn’t see?" Qi Qingsong asked solemnly.

"It was too scary. I didn't dare poke my head out and sneak a peek," the massive Ice Armor Eel Dragon said, eyes filled with confusion and fear. "This place is unbearable. I can't stay here any longer. I thought Outer Gods couldn’t reach this place.

"But that aura was undeniably that of a real Outer God!” the Ice Armor Eel Dragon whimpered tearfully.

"A dead Fire God was resurrected. And another Outer God, stronger than even the Fire God, emerged from his body and led him into the Abyss," Qi Qingsong explained.

"What? They went to the Abyss?" The Ice Armor Eel Dragon shook its massive head in denial as it drifted back toward Absolute Heaven in a daze. As it flew it muttered absentmindedly to itself, "I was planning to return to the Abyss, but what do I do now?

"How chaotic will the Abyss become if Outer Gods can manifest their true bodies there? There'll be war everywhere! Where will I hide when I get back? Maybe I should just..."

The Ice Armor Eel Dragon's mumblings faded as it sank into a lake in Absolute Heaven.

The Ice Race and human cultivators silently descended from the skies above Frozen Thunder. No one had the heart for conversation, and nobody brought up leaving anymore.

Everybody was uncertain about what to do and where their future lay.

Luo Hongyan's terrifying image had been etched into their minds and was not something so easily shaken off.

It was like time could not fade or erase Luo Hongyan's lingering presence, and though she had departed, the ripples of her profound divine might could still be felt.

Meanwhile, bright luminous pearls illuminated the massive ice cavern beneath the glacier.

Pang Jian eyed the collection of gold and iron artifacts, precious crystals, ores, and tree trunks infused with life energy spread out before him.

The Duke of Thunder's Thunder Pool was also in the cavern.

What should I do first? Refine my divine soul or absorb the Thunder Pool? Pang Jian pondered.

An old friend had suddenly transformed into the leader of the Outer Gods and possessed earth-shattering divine might.

A chasm as wide as the heavens now separated him from Luo Hongyan, making it nearly impossible for them to speak on equal terms again.

Pang Jian was left stifled and frustrated at his lack of strength.

Memories of the past are not so easily forgotten. I'll see you in the Abyss.

A newfound resolve filled Pang Jian and he firmly set his mind on refining his divine soul.