"Ling Xian!"
Both High Priests cried out at once, their voices filled with shock and panic.
"Lord Ling Xian!"
The gathered gods shouted in alarm as High Priest Liu Xiao blurred forward, catching her falling body in his arms.
"What's happening?!" Liu Xiao roared, his divine sense sweeping through her in urgency. To his horror, although her bleeding shoulder had already begun to heal, her divine soul—
It was trembling in pain. More than half of it had been corroded by dense abyssal dust!
His expression twisted with disbelief and rage. Even with her strength, the soul damage was severe… and getting worse.
"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"Her soul... it's been damaged..." Liu Xiao murmured, his voice trembling with dread. "…The abyssal dust… it's invaded her soul."
!!!!!!!!!!!!
A crushing silence fell across the battlefield. His words echoed like thunder in the ears of every god present, striking directly into their hearts.
"Impossible!" Wan Dao snapped, instantly extending his divine sense into Ling Xian's body. But soon, the color drained from his face. "…How... HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?!"
An Ancient True God… her soul invaded by abyssal dust? Just how could such a thing happen so easily?
"…That flame... the flame from earlier!" Liu Xiao's eyes lit with realization. His voice dropped, heavy with grim certainty. "It wasn't just a flame that burns the body... It plants abyssal dust directly into the soul."
"YOU! FOG MONARCH! WHAT DID YOU DO?!" High Priest Liu Xiao roared, his fury shaking the very sky. His six worlds flared behind him, divine power bursting forth as his divine sense stretched far into the darkness. But the moment it pushed past the barrier of light and into the abyss...!
"Argh!!" His body jolted as his divine sense recoiled violently—the corrosion of the abyssal dust in this place was too extreme, even for him!
"Heheheh... Hahahahahaha!" That ancient, mocking laughter echoed through the suffocating darkness. "Of course I injured her with my flame. A flame laced with the purest, most concentrated abyssal dust! What else did you expect?!"
"YOU... HOW DARE YOU!" Liu Xiao's body trembled as his fury boiled over.
"Heh... No matter what you try, you can't save her," the cold voice sneered. "Her soul will rot slowly, painfully, devoured by the abyssal dust itself. That is the price she pays for daring to harm this Monarch's vessel earlier!"
The voice of the Fog Monarch—calm, ancient, and laced with icy malice—sent a chill straight into the hearts of the gathered gods. In that moment, they realized the bitter truth: they had severely underestimated this being. What was meant to be a mission to reclaim a future pillar of the Abyss, Meng Jianyuan, might very well become the place of their downfall.
Even Yun Che hadn't expected his gray flame to injure an Ancient True God to such an extent. The sight of Ling Xian writhing in agony, her soul corroded, her body weakened—it was beyond what even he anticipated. For the briefest moment, a dangerous thought crossed his mind: Should I just kill them all now? With the gray flame, it might even be possible.
But he quickly pushed the thought away.
Now wasn't the time.
He still needed information about the Well of Samsara, and those answers could only come from the very people standing before him.
Besides, creating that gray flame wasn't easy. Long before this battle, he had spent painstaking time condensing just a few of them—each one requiring intense effort and preparation. He had even gone as far as embedding the flames inside his most powerful late-stage abyssal beasts, hiding them carefully. When the Abyssal Dragon Lord had launched its fiery breath, the moment was perfect. Ling Xian had let her guard down, assuming it to be a normal attack.
She never expected the true source to be Yun Che's hidden flame.
But next time… he knew they wouldn't be caught so easily.
"Cough... cough… Puke...!!!"
In Liu Xiao's arms, Ling Xian's body trembled violently as another mouthful of blood spilled from her lips. Her face was deathly pale, and her breathing ragged. Slowly, her quivering eyes fluttered open—only to meet Liu Xiao's bloodshot gaze, his usually stern face straining as he held back the tears welling in his eyes.
"Old bones... I'm... fine..." she whispered with a weak, crooked smile, trying to lighten the moment despite the unbearable pain coursing through her body.
"I'm... really fine—PUKE!"
Another surge of blood painted her already crimson-stained robe even darker. The sight of her like this—so broken, so helpless—struck deeply into the hearts of all the gods present. And from the way Liu Xiao gently cradled her, holding her as if she'd shatter, it was obvious to everyone: there was a past between them.
A past that mattered.
Perhaps it was that melodrama the Monarch found too tedious. Or perhaps he simply no longer had interest in watching it unfold.
Because just then, his cold, mocking voice echoed once more through the darkness—cutting into the moment like a dagger:
"How about this..."
Every god tensed.
"If you tell me what I want to know, I'll erase that corrosion from her soul."
His voice was calm, almost lazy. But beneath it was a terrifying weight. An offer—and a threat.
"..."
The gods fell into a heavy silence. One by one, their gazes shifted toward one another—uncertainty, confusion, and growing tension reflected in their eyes.
The Fog Monarch's words… they caught everyone off guard.
He didn't demand a ransom. He didn't boast or threaten to burn them all to ash. No, instead… he made a request. A bargain.
Even if it sounded simple, none of them took it lightly. Because they all knew—without question—that the Fog Monarch truly could remove the abyssal dust corrosion from High Priest Ling Xian's soul.
No matter how terrifying or vile he was, he was still the ruler of the Endless Fog Sea. The god who once killed the previous Divine Regent of Boundless. The existence who'd possessed Yun Che and danced beneath the gods' noses for years.
His power was strange, unfathomable, and deadly.
And now, out of nowhere… he was offering mercy?
A favor in exchange for an answer?
The gods' expressions twisted with suspicion. Just what was it that the Fog Monarch wanted to know so badly… that he'd offer to cure an Ancient True God in return?
"What do you want to know?"
Liu Xiao's voice was rough, trembling with emotion, but steady enough to ring across the darkness.
For a moment, there was only silence. Then, the cold and ancient voice of the Fog Monarch echoed once more—slow and clear.
"Tell me about the Well of Samsara."
"—?"
"The Well of Samsara?"
The name struck them all like a cold wind. One by one, the gods turned to each other in confusion. Their eyes searched, their divine senses probed—yet none of them responded.
"...I don't know of such a thing."
Liu Xiao finally answered, his voice low and sincere. "In all my years of life, through all my cultivation and study, I've never heard of such a place. Is there anything else you'd like to know?"
His response was not a lie. In the countless eras he had lived, across all the divine scriptures he had studied and secrets he'd uncovered, the Well of Samsara was nothing more than an unknown term… a name lost to time—or one never recorded at all.
And yet, deep in the shadows, the Fog Monarch's silence lingered... thicker and colder than before.
"Then how about…"
The Fog Monarch's voice trailed off, poised to ask his next question. But he never finished.
Suddenly, he fell silent.
Every god present froze, puzzled—until an invisible pressure, vast and ancient, surged through the air. Their expressions shifted instantly, not just in confusion, but in growing horror. A dread unlike anything they had ever experienced crept into their bones… colder and heavier than the abyss itself.
Even the terrifying gray flames of the Fog Monarch paled in comparison to this.
The air within the Endless Fog Sea stirred. Slowly. Deliberately.
And with it came a cold so absolute it bypassed even their godly resistance, seeping directly into their souls. The aura wasn't merely powerful—it was ancient, filled with cracks and distortions in the very laws of existence. Something fractured. Something forbidden.
Crack...
A low sound echoed across the void—like space itself groaning in pain.
"...What is that?"
The gods turned, eyes wide, toward the origin of the dreadful aura. It came from deeper still, from a place far beyond even the depths they had dared enter.
Even Yun Che—who had taken on the persona of the Fog Monarch, who had danced upon the nerves of gods and toyed with the Ancient True Priests—stay his hand.
A chill raced down his spine, not from the cold... but from instinct. A primordial instinct that whispered one clear thing into his soul:
Danger.
True danger.
"BOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!"
A terrifying explosion erupted from the depths of the Endless Fog Sea, louder and heavier than anything before it. The very void trembled as a shockwave surged outward, crashing into the gods like an invisible tidal wave.
"Ugh!"
Even the gods were forced back—some staggering, others lifting barriers in reflex. The ground cracked, the air distorted, and their formation poles hummed violently as if on the verge of collapse.
And yet… they knew.
This was only the beginning.
The pressure was rising—fast. The cold grew deeper. The ancient lawless aura now surged like a flood breaching its dam.
"Th-This…!" one of the gods gasped, eyes wide with disbelief.
"How… how can it be this fast?!" Liu Xiao murmured, his voice hoarse. His hands trembled slightly as his six worlds spun violently behind him, reacting to the power pressing in.
---------
In the Pure Land, the atmosphere, once calm and eternal, shifted with an invisible weight.
The Abyssal Monarch, Mo Su, who sat silently upon his obsidian throne, suddenly stood. His eyes, deep and endless, narrowed as a faint crackle of energy pulsed through the very air.
"…Heavenly laws are crumbling," he murmured, his voice low and ancient, carrying with it a weight no mortal could bear.
Without another word, his figure blurred and vanished—reappearing above the Endless Fog Sea in a swirl of void essence. He stood there, arms behind his back, robes flowing like black tides under the oppressive sky.
Moments later, two shadowy figures appeared at his side. Their forms were barely distinguishable from the void itself—faceless, ancient, and terrifying.
"The laws… they're trembling. Some of them have already begun to collapse," one shadow said, its voice like the whisper of a dying world.
"The time wheel… it's beginning to move forward," the second added, its tone void of emotion, but heavy with consequence.
Mo Su did not answer immediately. He stared into the depths of the Endless Fog Sea. After a long silence, his voice rang out.
"It seems… we no longer have much time."
The first shadow shifted. "Then… your plans?"
"Plans can be changed," Mo Su replied calmly, turning his gaze away from the sea and back toward the heavens.
And with that, his figure dissolved once more, reappearing upon his throne in the heart of the Pure Land. His presence returned, but the Pure Land no longer felt the same—it felt heavier, older, as if time itself was bending under some great, invisible weight.
If anyone had understood their cryptic exchange, it would have sent ripples through the hearts of even the mightiest gods. For the words spoken revealed a dreadful truth:
The time wheel of the Abyss was stirring. The abyss, whose balance had been tainted by the presence of life, now heavily resists them. The very laws that kept it still… now sought to return the Abyss to what it once was.
A realm of destruction. A realm without life.
----------
BOOOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!
A terrifying shockwave, brimming with pure destruction, exploded outward—an unstoppable tide of power that blasted the gods backward, hurling them into the suffocating darkness of the dense abyssal dust.
"Ughhh!!!"
Pained groans rang out from every direction as the gods tumbled through the air, blood churning from the impact. But there was no time to recover, no moment to check their wounds. The abyss wasn't merciful.
In an instant, every god ignited their divine auras, forming barriers around themselves to resist the soul-eroding corrosion of the abyssal dust that rushed in like a hungry tide.
Then—BOOOOOMMMMMMM!!!
A second wave followed. Even more devastating. It rippled across the void like the wrath of a forgotten world, the sheer force distorting space and cracking the air itself.
"FLEE! FLEE WITH ALL YOUR MIGHT!!"
High Priest Wan Dao's voice roared through the chaos, filled with urgency and desperation. Taking advantage of the momentum from the explosions, he bellowed his command. "If we can make it to the outer regions, even the edge where the suppression lessens—WE CAN ESCAPE!"
"GO!!!" he roared again, his voice echoing through the void like the tolling of a war bell.
Without hesitation, divine figures burst outward in following the Ancient True Gods—flashes of power tearing through the gloom like meteors in the night. They didn't look back.
They simply fled. Each one burning through their divine essence, pushing their godly might beyond their limits. Even so, deep in this abyss, their vision extended only a hundred of miles at best. Still—they didn't stop.
As long as they could still see…
As long as they could still resist the corrosion gnawing at their bodies and souls…
That was enough!
-----------
"What's happening?!!!"
"What's going on?!!!"
"Are the Lord Gods fighting nearby?!!!"
Panic erupted across the Abyss as countless cultivators raised their heads toward the sky. Horror gripped their hearts as they witnessed a sight they had never seen in their entire lives—fractures appearing across the heavens, like cracks on a fragile mirror. The void itself tore open in several places, and space began to crumble as if the world was coming to an end.
The cries of confusion and dread swept through every region. Children cried. Beasts howled. Even seasoned elders, hardened by centuries of cultivation, felt a chill seep into their bones.
But just as quickly as it began, the chaos halted.
Without warning, the shattered sky began to mend itself. The cracks vanished. The voids sealed. The heavens returned to their original, pristine form—silent and still, as if nothing had ever happened.
And yet…
That eerie calm only deepened the fear. The shock carved itself into their souls. Something… something terrifying had taken place. Something powerful enough to shake the very laws of the Abyss.
And none of them could understand it.
---------
As they sped through the endless fog, countless miles vanishing behind them, the crushing pressure on their bodies gradually lightened. With each passing moment, their suppressed godly might surged back—first stabilizing within a few hundred miles, then growing exponentially as they neared the outer regions of the Abyss. From hundreds to thousands, tens of thousands of miles, the strength of the gods flared back to its former brilliance.
Nine divine figures tore through the darkness like radiant stars streaking across a night sky. Under their lead, the abyssal dust was parted like waves before a storm, unable to stop their advance.
"ROARRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!"
"BOOOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!"
Every abyssal beast that dared to obstruct their path was obliterated instantly under the wrath of the Ancient True Gods. At the front of the group, Liu Xiao's six worlds spun with dazzling majesty, their divine power roaring in full force. The gods behind him could feel the sheer pressure of his strength—overwhelming, unstoppable, divine.
"That Fog Monarch… why isn't he chasing after us?" one of the twin gods muttered in disbelief, glancing behind with furrowed brows.
Pan Buwang, flying beside them, narrowed his eyes, a thoughtful glint flashing in their depths.
"Do you think he went toward the source of the earlier commotion?" he asked, his voice low and grim.
The others fell into silence. None dared to answer, but deep down, every god wanted to say—Fuck the Fog Monarch! If that bastard isn't chasing after them, then thank the heavens! Who cares where he is or what he's doing! Just let them get the hell out of here!
"Hmph! Whatever that thing's trying to do, I couldn't care less. If not for the suppression, I would've killed that so-called Fog Monarch with one strike!" Dian Jiuzhi growled, his eyes burning with frustration and madness. He had come here ready to dominate, to prove his strength and let the world witness the might of the newly risen Perfect God. But in the end? He was reduced to a background character—forced to follow orders and retreat. The humiliation burned in his chest like fire.
"..." In Meng Kongchan's arms, Yun Che remained silent, pretending to be unconscious. But he heard everything—every single word.
By now, his skin had nearly returned to normal. Under his "father's" relentless healing, even the most brutal burns and scars had vanished without a trace. His divine veins flowed smoothly, and his strength was stabilizing. On the surface, he appeared pale and weak, but only Yun Che knew—he was already fine.
Meng Kongchan, however, was a different story. Exhaustion was etched deep into his face. The near-constant effort to shield Yun Che from the abyssal corrosion, while healing his body at the same time, had drained him to the bone. His aura flickered faintly with fatigue, but he never stopped—not for a single breath.
Even now, his arms trembled slightly, but they never loosened their hold. He held Yun Che close, like something infinitely precious.
Yun Che remained quiet, but inside… something stirred.
"Hand him over! And put some of your damn power back into yourself too!" Hua Fuchen snapped, scolding sharply as he reached over and snatched Yun Che from Meng Kongchan's arms. "Look at your face—pale as a ghost! Are you trying to die from exhaustion?!"
Meng Kong Chan was hesitant but after a long look from Hua Fuchen, he didn't argue and finally hand Yun Che over. He simply gave a faint nod, then he finally began circulating his divine energy to restore himself.
"Thanks..." he murmured, his voice weak but sincere.
"What's there to thank? He'll be my future son-in-law anyway." Hua Fuchen huffed as he adjusted Yun Che's position in his arms, being surprisingly gentle despite his gruff tone.
"..." Yun Che, who was still pretending to be unconscious, twitched slightly.
"..." Dian Jiuzhi, off to the side, looked like he'd just swallowed a fly.
"Hahaha..." Meng Kongchan chuckled softly, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips despite his exhaustion. The weight on his shoulders—just for a moment—felt a little lighter.