"To think… a world without the Abyss truly exists… it's… it's so beautiful..."
A woman's voice trembled as she whispered, each word laced with disbelief and quiet wonder. Slowly, she walked through the field of untouched flowers—not a single trace of abyssal dust marred their petals. Every bloom she passed shimmered with vibrant colors, shades she had never seen in her entire life—not even in dreams.
"Wuyi... no, Qingyue..." she spoke again, her voice soft and fragile. "The place you came from… is it really like this? Everywhere?"
From behind, Xia Qingyue walked silently, her gaze serene and distant. After a moment, she answered—not with words, but with memory.
"Instead of asking me, why don't you see it with your own eyes?"
As she spoke, her divine memories stirred to life, illuminating the space between them. A projection of her past unfolded:
The snow-covered serenity of Frozen Cloud Asgard, the endless flames of the Divine Phoenix Empire, the blue skies of Blue Pole Star, and the vast, glorious expanse of the God Realm—untouched by abyss, pure and brilliant in their own light.
In this protected space within the Primordial Profound Ark, Yun Che had sealed them away—far from the reach of gods, hidden behind countless formations. Even if gods roamed nearby, they wouldn't be able to find it. Only Yun Che could access this place.
As the woman watched everything unfold before her—those distant lands, that impossible beauty—her eyes began to glisten. A single thought bloomed in her heart.
"If only… if only I could live in that place with you, Buwang...
Just a single lifetime… that would be enough.
----------
Present Day, Abyss
"BOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!"
"ROARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!"
"BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!"
The Nine Gods tore through the Endless Fog Sea like heavenly calamities unleashed. Abyssal beasts and ghosts were obliterated in their wake, reduced to dust beneath the full might of unrestrained godly power.
No longer did they restrain their auras. The time for caution had long passed.
Previously, they traveled at speeds one might consider fast—even by divine standards. But now, they were like blazing meteors streaking across a darkened sky, each one radiating terrifying majesty. Their godly light cleaved through the gray haze of the abyss like a blade through silk.
Why?
Because as they surged outward, further and further from the depths of the Endless Fog Sea, the truth became crystal clear. Millions of miles… turned into tens of millions… then into hundreds of millions. And only now did they understand just how deep they had been dragged.
That suffocating suppression, that weight that made even the Ancient True Gods feel like they were shackled—it was because they had been cast into the extreme depths of the Endless Fog Sea. A place where even gods were not welcome.
All because of that damned Fog Monarch!
But now that the Fog Monarch had vanished without a trace… now that they were ascending from the abyssal chokehold…
There was no need to hold back.
There was another reason the gods were pushing themselves to the limit in their desperate escape.
It wasn't just the fury of being toyed with by the Fog Monarch.It wasn't just the suffocating pressure of the abyss.
It was High Priest Ling Xian.
Thanks to the gray flame the Fog Monarch used on her earlier, her divine aura continued to weaken—faster and faster with every passing breath. Even the strongest among them, High Priest Liu Xiao, couldn't stop it.
"Hold on, Ling Xian!" Liu Xiao's roar cut through the void like a wounded beast. His voice was thick with pain—not just frustration, but helplessness, the kind that gripped even gods in silence.
It was a pain that sank into the hearts of everyone who heard it.
Just how powerful were those gray flames?!!
To think... that even the mightiest Ancient True God could be reduced to such a fragile state in such a short time! Not only was Ling Xian's aura fading like a dying ember—her soul itself was on the verge of collapse!
Her breath grew shallow. Her divine pulse flickered. It was like watching a star fall from the heavens.
"..." In Hua Fuchen's arms, Yun Che's body twitched slightly. His half-conscious form didn't speak, but behind those closed lids, a storm was raging.
Even in his wildest dreams, he could never have imagined just how monstrous his flame had become.
He didn't dare to believe it—And yet...
It had happened.
Right in front of his very eyes.
"Lord Liu Xiao, please don't worry about us—please, make haste with Lord Ling Xian!" Among the fleeing gods, Hua Fuchen suddenly called out, his voice sharp and resolute.
He understood the situation better than most. The Ancient True Gods could travel far faster, but because of them—mere True Gods—they were being forced to hold back. It was a burden they could no longer afford.
"Don't worry about us! The corrosion here is manageable!" another god echoed, his voice filled with urgency. "Please take Lord Ling Xian to safety—before it's too late!"
They were nearing the outer edges of the Endless Fog Sea now. The suffocating pressure and soul-crushing erosion were fading bit by bit. For them, survival was within reach.
But High Priest Ling Xian…
Her aura was fading fast—too fast. Like a candle flickering in a storm, barely holding on. The longer they waited, the slimmer her chances became.
And that thought alone made their blood run cold.
"Go, Liu Xiao! I'll stay with them—just take Ling Xian and get her out of here!" High Priest Wan Dao shouted, his voice firm but laced with urgency.
He understood.
With Liu Xiao's cultivation, he could've long since escaped this place. His speed, his strength—it was unmatched. Yet he had been holding back, dragging his feet, burdened not by weakness, but by the weight of the people around him.
"...Then be safe..." High Priest Liu Xiao's voice was low, calm—but behind that calm, a turbulent sea of emotion roared. His grip on Ling Xian's trembling body tightened slightly, as if afraid she would slip away at any moment.
Wan Dao gave a sharp nod. In that split second, the two Ancient True Gods exchanged a glance that said more than words ever could. Regret. Urgency. And something else... something more personal.
Yun Che, still pretending to be unconscious in Hua Fuchen's arms, caught it. The way their eyes briefly shifted to him—measured, heavy, filled with unspoken thoughts.
Then,
"BOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM!!!!"
The pressure of the Ancient True God with six Divine Worlds flaring his full power cracked the air like a thunderclap. Space warped, and the endless abyssal fog around them was pushed aside as if forced to kneel. Carrying Ling Xian, the Ancient True God shot forward like falling stars in reverse—ascending from the depths with speed that defied imagination.
In an instant, he was gone.
The only thing left behind was the ripple of silence, and a subtle ache in the hearts of those who remained.
Yun Che wanted to keep Liu Xiao within the reach of his divine sense, but he feared that releasing it might alert the gods to the faint fluctuations of his aura. So, for now, he stayed his hand.
-------
With the suppression on their godly power weakening by the moment, the Ancient God Liu Xiao burst forth with terrifying speed and overwhelming might. The Endless Fog Sea trembled in his wake—beasts and wailing spirits that dared block his path were reduced to nothingness, obliterated by the sheer force of his presence.
Within a single hour, he had torn through the Endless Fog Sea.
But his journey was far from over.
He had escaped the Fog Sea, yes—but instead of heading toward the Pure Land, his direction took a shocking turn.
He was flying straight toward the Eternal Night Divine Kingdom.
"BOOOOOOMMMM!!!"
Backed by the will of the Six Divine Worlds, Liu Xiao tore across the vastness of space—and in just a few minutes, he descended from the heavens, arriving in the skies above the Eternal Night Divine Kingdom.
"Crack! As he stepped out of the void, he concealed every trace of his aura. Not even the Lightless Divine Regent at her peak could sense the Ancient True God.
Liu Xiao glanced down at Ling Xian in his arms as he descended into the ancestral land of the Eternal Night Divine Kingdom—no, the ancestral land of the Vermilion Bird Divine Kingdom, for that was its true name long before it became Eternal Night!"
In Liu Xiao arm, Ling Xian face was pale—far paler than ever before. Her once-flawless body now marred with dark veins of abyssal corrosion that pulsed faintly under her skin. Her divine soul, the soul of one of the greatest gods to walk the Abyss, was trembling… flickering…
Fading.
He pressed his palm gently against her chest, channeling his godly power into her—again and again—each time more desperate than the last. But in the end… it was all for nothing.
Even as an Ancient True God, he was powerless to cleanse the abyssal corrosion that devoured her soul.
"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..." he whispered, voice cracking beneath the weight of helplessness. Perhaps it was the sorrow in his voice, or the deep, aching regret that bled into his divine aura—something reached her.
High Priestess Ling Xian's body trembled. Slowly, painfully, her eyes fluttered open. But the clarity that once shone in them was gone, swallowed by the thick abyssal dust swirling in their depths.
And yet… she looked at him with all her might.
Soon, before a vast, ancient formation hidden within layers of void and folded space beneath the ancestral land of the Vermillion Bird Divine Kingdom, Liu Xiao appeared, carrying the gravely injured Ling Xian in his arms. Her divine aura flickered weakly, barely holding on.
He stopped before the concealed seal—an intricate array etched into the bones of space itself—and gently let Ling Xian's golden-crimson blood drip onto the formation. The moment her divine blood touched the surface, a low hum echoed through the void.
Crack...
The sealed space shattered open, revealing a hidden path forward. Without hesitation, Liu Xiao stepped through the breach, entering a hidden grand hall veiled from the eyes of all beings.
Within stood a colossal Vermillion Bird statue, ancient and majestic. Even with the erosion of endless time, it radiated overwhelming grandeur, sacred warmth, and deep sorrow. As he approached the altar, Liu Xiao's steps grew heavier.
Finally, he knelt and gently placed Ling Xian's withered, dust-corroded body before the divine statue—her ancestral guardian, the source of her bloodline. His hands trembled, and as he lowered her, tears began to fall freely from his weathered face.
He was a Supreme Ancient True God—one of the mightiest beings to ever exist.
But at this moment... he was just a man, holding onto the last breaths of someone he loved.
He had known long before they left the Endless Fog Sea. That it was too late.
The corrosion had already begun to consume not only her body, but her divine soul.
He didn't take her to Pure Land.
He brought her home, her Abyss's home.
"Xiao..." Ling Xian's broken voice drifted into the air like wind through a dying flame. Her trembling fingers reached upward, barely lifting from her side.
Without hesitation, Liu Xiao took her frail hand in both of his and pressed it against his aged, tear-streaked face.
"I'm here, Xian'er... I'm right here."
He whispered to her with aching tenderness, yet—
Her hand... had no warmth left.
With a fading smile, Ling Xian forced herself to condense a single drop of blood. It floated gently from her chest, pulsing with a deep crimson-gold light—her blood essence, the purest and most sacred form of the Vermillion Bird's lineage. Liu Xiao's tear-filled eyes locked onto the drop as it hovered before him. The moment it left her body, Ling Xian's condition visibly worsened—her breath shortened, her face paled, and her divine aura dimmed.
"Give... this... to Meng Jianyuan..." she murmured, her voice no louder than a whisper carried on the ashes of flame. Her trembling hand reached out, and Liu Xiao, without hesitation, grasped it gently and pressed it against his weathered cheek. Her fingers were cold. Too cold. His heart clenched.
"I... owe him... once... and I'm... repaying it..." she breathed.
Long ago, she had been tormented by the imbalance of elemental forces within her—a body blessed and cursed with unrivaled affinity to fire, yet fractured by chaotic instability. For millions of years, she suffered. That is, until the day a boy—Meng Jianyuan—gifted her something that stabilized her body, allowing her a fleeting few years of peace. Years that felt like a lifetime. Years she never thought she would experience. She never forgot that kindness.
And now, this drop of blood was her answer.
As an Ancient True God, the daughter of the Vermillion Bird, and the one who bore the strongest fire affinity in the Abyss, she could sense the traces of divine fire in Yun Che—Golden Crow, Phoenix… she saw it all within him. She knew her Vermillion Bird essence could survive inside him. She trusted that it would.
More than that—she had wanted to see it with her own eyes. She had hoped, with all her heart, to one day witness the marriage between Hua Caili, the child she viewed as her own granddaughter, and Meng Jianyuan, whom she had slowly come to place her trust and hope in. It was this vision of a future that had led her to the Endless Fog Sea, risking her life to save him from the Fog Monarch.
But fate… fate had other plans.
Her chest tightened. Her soul frayed at the edges. Her vision blurred as Liu Xiao knelt before her, holding both her hand and the radiant drop of her blood essence.
"I'm sorry... I won't see that day..." she whispered, tears leaking from the corners of her eyes. "But please... make sure he receives it..."
With trembling hands, Liu Xiao carefully took hold of the glowing drop of blood essence. It pulsed faintly with divine light—her final gift. Slowly, reverently, he stored it within his personal spatial ring, sealing it with layers of formations. Yet, the act brought him no comfort. His fingers quivered uncontrollably as he turned back to the woman lying before him.
Her pale, withering hand reached once more, brushing weakly against his cheek. The motion was slow, fragile… desperate to feel something—his warmth, one last time. But her touch was cold. Far too cold.
"Thank you… for bringing me back here… to…" her voice cracked, fading like the final glow of a dying flame.
"Yes… yes… I'll bring you back, as many times as you want, Xian'er," Liu Xiao choked out, forcing a smile that couldn't hold. His tears had already fallen, some splashing gently onto her face—yet she no longer felt their warmth. Her skin didn't react, didn't twitch. His tears, once so cherished by her, now felt like droplets on stone.
"Don't cry… I'm just… tired…" Ling Xian whispered. Her gaze never wavered from him. Those eyes, once radiant with divine power, now dimmed with exhaustion—but still, they held affection, tenderness… and farewell.
"If you're tired… then rest… please… rest well…" Liu Xiao's voice trembled, every word heavier than the last. His heart ached so deeply it felt like it would shatter under the weight of his sorrow.
Her fingers, weak and barely moving, reached up to brush the tears from his eyes. They lingered there for a moment, before dropping.
"In my life… I have no… regrets… to have… met you…" she breathed. Her voice was softer than falling ash, yet it echoed louder in his soul than any roar of thunder. The words pierced deeper than any blade.
Then, in that very moment, his entire body froze. He felt it.
Her hand had gone completely still.
Cold.
Lifeless.
And then, her skin, once so fair and warm, turned completely black as the abyssal dust corrosion finally claimed what little life remained. Her divine aura vanished into silence, never to rise again.
From this day forward… the Abyss had one less god.
His breath caught in his throat. Crimson welled in his eyes—not from any wound, but from sorrow far too vast to hold. Bloody tears slipped down his weathered cheeks, carving silent rivers of anguish across his face. They fell without end, as if trying to wash away the weight of what he had just lost.
Because he had made a choice. A choice he still believed had been the right one.
But gods… if only he had stopped her…If only he had said something—anything—to hold her back…
She would still be alive.
And now, that choice had cost him everything.
Liu Xiao held her close, tighter than he ever had, as if the strength of his embrace could draw her soul back from the void. As if raw, howling regret alone could undo fate.
But the Abyss knew no mercy.
It did not care for love, nor loss.
The dust that lingered within her—a silent, patient poison—had already hollowed out the very core of her divine soul. Now it consumed what little remained. Piece by fragile piece, her form began to fade. No grand explosion. No final surge of divine might. Just a slow, silent crumbling… like ash carried away by a breath of wind.
Unlike the gods who fell in ages past—whose deaths tore the heavens and shook the laws of the world—Ling Xian's death brought no such storm. No cataclysm. No reverent silence. Only decay.
Maybe it was the Abyss.Maybe it was the dust that gnawed away at her until not even divinity remained.Maybe it was because her death, in the end, belonged to no grand fate—but to love, and choice.
Within Liu Xiao's arms, she dissolved into nothing. No body to bury. No flame to honor. No trace of the goddess she once was.
Only a broken man, left alone with the ghost of what could have been.
He trembled.
Then whispered, "Xian'er… rest well… my beloved wife." Her name lingered on his lips like the final note of a forgotten song.
And then—
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
A roar of soul-wrenching pain tore free from his chest. A wail that shattered the silence, ruptured the stillness, and rose beyond grief—into madness.
His divine power erupted like a tidal wave, shaking the very bones of the Vermillion Bird Divine Kingdom. The land quaked. The skies trembled. Every living being across the realm felt the force behind it—a pain so immense, it could only belong to one who had lost everything.