The suffocating, light gray mist of the Abyss swirled and coiled like an ancient serpent, while a chilling, faint wind rattled the colossal, gnarled profound trees, imbuing the air with a trace of desolate nostalgia.
Outside of the occasional wind, the very air of the Abyss was unnaturally still. Unlike the days and nights before, when the perpetual fighting and desperate struggle for survival echoed in every corner of the Abyss, today, an absolute, profound silence reigned.
From the majestic Divine Kingdoms to the desolate, farthest reaches of the survival lands, the terrifying clamor had ceased. Only the primal roar of the Abyssal Beasts and the mournful wail of the Abyssal Ghosts in the Endless Fog Sea truly broke the universal quiet.
This profound stillness existed for a singular, monumental reason: Millions upon millions of figures, the entire populace of the Abyss, had converged upon the hallowed gate before the Pure Land. Numerous Profound Ships were moored in silent, expectant formation beneath the eternal, oppressive gray skies.
Today, was the day of absolute liberation—the final departure toward the Eternal Pure Land of the Primal Chaos. The atmosphere was thick with overwhelming excitement, boundless happiness, and a fervent, almost delirious fever-dream of hope. Every being awaited the arrival of the supreme Lords who would lead them out of this forsaken, corrosive realm.
Yet, a terrifying gulf of emotion separated the masses outside from the powerhouses within. While the Abyss's populace feverishly awaited their Lords, inside the tranquil sanctity of the Pure Land, every single being—from the Divine Limited Realm masters to the ancient, paralyzed True Gods—was utterly consumed by a deeply complicated, crippling dread.
As a cultivator reached the peak of profound power, sleep was merely an option, and true dreaming was a phenomenon that grew vanishingly rare. Yet, at this very moment, these supreme, terrifyingly powerful beings all wished with the entirety of their shaken souls that the horrific truth they had witnessed yesterday was nothing more than an absurd, fleeting nightmare. A desperate dream, so that they could simply wake up; a false image, so that the nightmare would remain forever contained within the illusory prison of a dream.
No wonder Emperor Yun Che had suddenly settled his monumental grievance with the Abyss. No wonder he had been able to set aside the profound, soul-scorching pain and enmity the Abyss had inflicted upon him. No wonder his entire mind had shifted from a trajectory of absolute annihilation to one of supreme benevolence. It was all for that reason!
All because of the terrifying, unseen truth the Goddess, Qianye Ying'er, had witnessed.
Had Qianye Ying'er not descended into the Abyss, the inevitable end for both Yun Che and the entire realm would have been mutual, completed annihilation. Yet, the entire, colossal fate of the Abyss—and perhaps even the Primal Chaos—had been utterly altered, all due to the actions of a single woman. No, it was due for the decision of the people back in Eternal Pure Land!
Just yesterday, the Abyss's top powerhouses were consumed by the glorious fever dream of the ultimate legend: the Eternal Pure Land! A land promised to be free of the crippling Abyssal Dust corrosion, a realm where their lifespan would stretch unbound for millions upon millions of years, a singular place where every being could finally taste true freedom. Yet, before they could even step foot into this hallowed realm, a cruel, unavoidable truth had been violently thrown into their very faces.
After the prolonged, intense talks, the formal introduction of the new faces, and the shocking revelation of identities, backgrounds, and intricate stories that seemed to span forever—all before Emperor Yun and the Goddess showed everyone their memories, plunging the gathered Gods and the supreme beings into their darkest nightmare—the conclusion reached was singular and terrifying.
The being, or beings, violently breaking through the Wall of the Primordial Chaos and into the Eternal Pure Land were almost certainly the Ancient True Devils... or perhaps, even the Heaven Smithing Devil Emperor herself...
Based on the chilling memories Emperor Yun had shown, if the returning force was merely the Devil Emperor herself, their chances of survival were deceptively high. At the very least, she possessed reason, and the Emperor's established, friendly relationship with the Devil Emperor was a monumental factor that increased their odds of survival exponentially.
But the dark truth was this: if it the other way, the sheer number of Devil Gods was close to a hundred! And the fact that these primordial Devil Gods had survived in the hostile chaos outside the Primal Chaos for millions of years meant one thing: their profound strength ensured they were, without exception, all Ancient True Devils.
With the current, collective profound strength the Abyss could muster, the number of True Gods and Ancient True Gods at their disposal was not even one-fifth of the enemy's terrifying headcount! How could they possibly hope to wage a war against such an absolute, primordial imbalance?
But an even darker dread stemmed from the primal aura the Godess had detected—what, exactly, was it?!!! What if the threat was something else entirely? Something that lay beyond the ancient, inherited, primordial knowledge of every being in the entire Primal Chaos? Something utterly transcendent... If that were true, how could they even begin to conceive of a way to fight it?!
If that dreadful truth held, it was a nightmare that transcended all boundaries of power and allegiance.
As for their option of not going to the Eternal Pure Land? That path was sealed. The Abyss itself was visibly crumbling, a fate sealed by the prolonged, law-defying existence of the Cradle that the Abyssal Monarch had created for his beloved Pan Xiaodie. Staying here was no option as the sky could collapsed even now! They had no true choice left.
Of course, their pervasive fear could be nothing more than the panicked overthinking of broken minds, and perhaps whatever catastrophe was currently unfolding in the Eternal Pure Land was entirely different from their dread.
But no matter the inner turmoil of every gathered being, one thing was undeniable: the Abyss, once a source of despair and threat to the Eternal Pure Land, had now become the entire world's only hope—their single, terrifying hope to break free from the shared, universal nightmare!
-----
"Are... you truly certain about this... this decision...?" In the absolute, crushing darkness of the Endless Fog Sea, within the deepest, most primordial region where even the desolate roar of the Abyssal Beasts and the wail of the Abyssal Ghosts could not penetrate, Yun Che's voice finally rang out. It was heavy, weighted with finality, as though he had posed the agonizing question countless times before.
"Emperor Yun, you will require every shred of strength you can gather, will you not?" Hua Qingying's calm, steady voice cut through the void as she replied, her resolution unbreakable. "My decision is absolute; you no longer need to waste profound words attempting to dissuade me." With that final declaration, she calmly closed her eyes, fully preparing for the profound sacrifice to come.
"....Thank you, Auntie Qingying," Yun Che finally spoke after a vast, echoing silence. This time, the title was genuine, spoken from the absolute bottom of his soul. He understood the monumental nature of the sacrifice Hua Qingying was making.
Though he knew, with chilling clarity, that this ultimate offering was all for her beloved Caili, his gratitude was forever sealed. He would be eternally indebted.
After a strained, pregnant pause, her voice returned, soft but laced with desperate command. "Just... take care of Caili for me... Do not let her cry anymore."
"I will," Yun Che stated, his voice now ringing with firm, unshakeable promise. With a single, imperial thought, the primordial surrounding energy—an energy so pure and terrifyingly potent that it vastly eclipsed all profound energy across the entire Abyss—instantly swirled and condensed into a titanic storm vortex.
With the final threads of hesitation ripped from his mind, Yun Che ruthlessly directed the catastrophic power into Hua Qingying's delicate body, causing her latent cultivation to roar violently to life!
RUMBLEEE!!!!!
A deafening, profound thunderclap shook the deepest Void. Hua Qingying's aura, already at the precipice of Peak Divine Limited Realm, surged violently toward the dark heavens as the colossal profound energy vortex was brutally guided into her.
Every single profound entrance, every meridian, and every cell within her being screamed in agonizing protest, experiencing a cataclysmic injection of pure power that surpassed anything it had ever known.
"Ugh...!"
A small, strangled groan of pain escaped her lips before she instantly bit down on her tongue, forcing her focus onto channeling the overwhelming, titanic energy. Her single, absolute goal was clear: to ruthlessly shatter her current mortal shackles and force a breakthrough into the boundless Realm of the Gods!
As the strongest prodigy of the entire previous Divine Children generation, she was the one closest to shattering the profound shackles of mortality and ascending to a True God.
Yet, no matter how ruthlessly she pressed, no matter how desperately she pushed, the final barrier remained eternally impassable. The failure was not due to a lack of supreme will or insufficient cultivation base, but something else entirely: the very profound energy of the Abyss!
The absolute reason no True God had been born in the Abyss for the past million years was that the Abyss's Heavenly Law itself had degraded, becoming infinitely weaker than its power in the Primordial Era.
Even though the Abyss's current Heavenly Law was many times mightier than the Heavenly Law of the current God Realm, compared to the ancient, supreme era, it was still vastly and fatally insufficient! But this was only true for the corrupted lands of the living.
Here, in the ultimate, terrifying depths of the Endless Fog Sea, before the colossal, hidden gate of the Well of Samsara itself... the profound energy was of the same untouched, primordial purity as in the Primordial Era!
This was the secret of Emperor Yun Che's Heaven-defying ability to seemingly transform Xia Qingyue and others into True Gods!
This was how he was able to ruthlessly push his disciple and his loved ones into a new, terrifying height, allowing them to touch and even reach the hallowed Realm of the Ancient True Gods!
He acted as the ultimate, sovereign medium, connecting them all directly to this purest form of primordial profound energy while simultaneously shielding them from the crushing, corrosive density of the Abyssal Dust.
Of course, not every cultivator, no matter their ambition, possessed the innate profound roots to shatter their limits and become a God.
But for Hua Qingying? If she did not possess the absolute qualification for True Godhood, then no one else in the entire Abyss could ever hope to!
-------
For supreme cultivators, a day was a mere, insignificant flash of light. Yet, today, with every single living being in the Abyss having gathered since the day before, leaving not a single living soul in any desolate corner of the vast realm, this final day felt monstrously, exceptionally long.
Every minute, every single second, was a profound eternity as their collective hearts pounded in anticipation of the arrival of their Lords.
From the earliest glimmer of dawn, through the silent stillness of high noon, and eventually, as their beating hearts and fever dream of hope reached its absolute peak, the light of the day began its slow, agonizing decline...
...RUMBLE!
The colossal, supreme gate of the Pure Land finally groaned open with a sound of Heaven-shattering thunder.
Hundreds of figures instantly emerged, streaks of brilliant, blinding light that rushed toward the six front-most Profound Ships.
These leading Profound Ships had already been filled with cultivators possessing the highest Profound Power in the entire world of the Abyss, but with the sudden, collective appearance of these new, powerful individuals, the overall profound strength of the vanguard instantly soared to a terrifying, absolute height!
Who else could they be but the venerable elders, masters of the Divine Limited Realm, the elders of the Divine Kingdoms and the former Divine Regents themselves?
The moment the elders and former Regents materialized onto the ships, after receiving the reverent bows from the surrounding crowd, they immediately cast their gazes high into the vast, oppressive sky. These powerful beings—entities that the majority of the Abyss populace had no right to ever come into contact with—instantly knelt.
Just as the gathered populace wondered in stunned confusion why their venerated leaders had knelt, eleven absolute, blinding beams of divine light suddenly shot out from the gate of the Pure Land! The moment these eleven divine lights appeared in the heavens, the very air, the ships, and the world itself visibly shuddered, submitting instantly as a catastrophic, crushing Divine Aura spread out, enveloping and suppressing the entire realm!
"Lord Gods!"
"It's the Lords!"
"We welcome the Divine Regents and Lord High Priests and the Divine!"
A cataclysmic chorus of shouts erupted, one after another, as the entire gathered populace—millions of souls—simultaneously prostrated themselves.
Those in the vanguard, the true upper echelons of the Abyss, instantly recognized the absolute, chilling power: who else could these eleven brilliant lights be but the Gods and the Ancient True Gods themselves?!
Even the common cultivator, who could never hope to recognize an individual God, could not possibly fail to recognize the primal, natural suppression and absolute sovereignty radiated only by beings of the highest profound echelon!
The eleven brilliant lights ascended toward the dark sky, their blinding illumination soaring up to form a celestial, shimmering path. As the light faded, eleven supreme figures were unveiled. From the left, the majestic Three High Priests, Meng Jianxi, and the formidable Twin Gods were the first to materialize—and instantly, they, too, knelt.
Though the Godly auras of the kneeling figures were powerful and absolutely commanding, not a single gaze remained fixed upon them. Every eye across the millions of souls was utterly drawn toward the other side of the celestial path. There stood Shen Xi, Qianye Ying'er, and Hua Caili. Though the three peerless Goddesses had respectfully veiled their faces with profound masks, their figures alone were like three divine swords, violently impaling the heart and soul of every spectator, rendering them utterly unable to look away.
Following the three Goddesses stood Pan Buwang and the newly ascended True God, the Divine Regent of the restored Vermillion Bird Divine Kingdom, Shen Wuqing!
Yet, an intentional, vast space was deliberately left open between Hua Caili and Pan Buwang, a sacred space reserved for one other figure. Hua Caili cast a fleeting, longing glance toward that empty space before slowly turning her exquisite gaze to the highest sky, waiting for him.
Even without lifting a single finger, the collective, sovereign aura radiating from these newly revealed Divine Beings was enough to utterly suppress and command every living soul in the world! Yet, at this moment, all of these supreme, glorious entities were patiently, reverently waiting for the arrival of their true Lords!
Aboard the command vessel belonging to the Heaven Breaker Divine Kingdom, Hua Fuchen was kneeling at the forefront, his mighty fist clenched so tight his knuckles shone white. His gaze was fixed, agonizingly, on the empty, reserved space between Pan Buwang and his beloved daughter, Hua Caili.
"Qingying..." he muttered, his profound nerves stretched to their absolute, breaking limit. Although he had confirmed with his daughter countless times that under Emperor Yun Che's direct guidance, Qingying's breakthrough to the True God Realm was an absolute guarantee, but how could he possibly cast aside this profound, soul-deep worry?
Every God currently present was either a figure from the primordial era or someone who had used a God Source to ascend. Only Yun Che and his Divine Empress, Xia Qingyue, had managed to shatter the bounds and ascend to the God Realm purely with their own, monstrous strength.
Yun Che's absolute power and his notorious Divine Inheritances were no longer a secret; his ascent to True God was merely a matter of time and course.
Xia Qingyue, possessing the legendary Nine Profound Worlds Exquisite Body and the Heart of Glazed Glass, had the natural, cosmic foundation for True Godhood, her speed only accelerated by the Emperor's aid.
But his sister? Qingying possessed none of those Heaven-defying advantages!
Right now, Hua Fuchen was consumed by a dark, crippling certainty: his deep worry for her safety was paramount, even if the one guiding her through the ultimate profundity was the sovereign Emperor Yun Che himself.
RUMBLE!!!!
Yet, just as his anxiety reached its breaking point, a sound of profound thunder echoed across the entire vast Abyss, as a piercing, catastrophic Sword Aura tore through the void at terrifying, unthinkable speed.
The aura's sheer, cutting sharpness violently broke the trance of the gathered millions, who felt their very bodies and souls being agonizingly sliced apart. Just as swiftly as the pain began, the Three High Priests instantly raised their hands, and the horrifying sensation instantly faded away.
"QINGYING!"
"AUNT!"
The moment the terrifying new aura appeared, the few who knew her instantly recognized the profound signature. While the informed few quickly accepted the profound reality, those who did not understand the situation immediately plunged into a state of chaotic frenzy!
"True God!" Above the command ship of the Dreamweaver Divine Kingdom, the stunned Meng Kongchan involuntarily roared, his voice thick with disbelief as he felt the sheer, boundless power.
How...
What's truly transpiring here...
"Lord Sword Fairy... she... SHE...!!!"
"TRUE GOD?!!!"
Exclamations and cries of profound shock exploded across the entire vanguard of Profound Ships!
BOOOOMMMM!!!!
The terrifying distance was closed in an instant. The immense sharpness of the Sword Aura culminated in a final, shattering explosion, and a solitary figure materialized before the millions, her terrifying aura instantly receding.
Soon as her profound aura vanished, the weaker cultivators could finally glimpse her true form, and her divine figure instantly imprinted itself upon the very heart and soul of every spectator. She wore a simple, elegant blue robe that stretched all the way to her ankles.
Her hair was a profound, flowing blue, soft as pure water, and the only adornment was the matching blue sash wrapped around her slender waist. She possessed not a single trace of jewelry or makeup; her appearance was as utterly simple as it could possibly be.
Yet, despite her seemingly mortal simplicity, the aura now encompassing her was as chillingly divine as any of the Gods currently present. Hua Qingying's ascent into the Divine Way had mercilessly refined her features, turning her unadorned appearance into one of peerless beauty.
As the first true member of the Abyss to cross into the realm of the Divine purely through her own Heaven-defying strength, she had finally become as devastatingly beautiful as her niece, the True God Hua Caili.
And most profound of all: once, her eyes had been absolute, terrifyingly cold ice, a void no one dared to gaze into for too long. Yet, now, a subtle, profound warmth and a trace of palpable emotion finally radiated from them as she looked upon the supplicating populace below and the powerful Gods who knelt above.
Then, with a respectful bow directed at the High Priests and a measured nod to the other kneeling Gods, she ascended. She came to rest exactly at the sacred, reserved spot her niece, Hua Caili, had left for her.