"Charge into the Forbidden Land of the Thunder God?"
Outer God Puppets fell into deep contemplation.
After a long while, You Kui, the Ghost Race's worshiped Outer God, said dejectedly, "He also possesses Nether Abyss Spirit Bees. Invading his sea of consciousness with our divine consciousness would be like throwing meat buns to a dog.
"We don't have the advantage of our divine consciousness. Not to mention, he also wields the Heart of Winter and rules over the Frozen Land.
"Our true bodies cannot descend here, and I fear we won't stand a chance against him with these puppet bodies."
Silence fell among the other Outer Gods.
A hint of confusion flickered across Yang Luo's beautiful face. "That person—the one I saw rising from Spirit Offering in the Abyss and ascending to the Second World.
"She should have appeared in this land by now.
"But..." Yang Luo extended her divine sense to search.
"I already checked. She's not here." You Kui snorted. "She has noble status and overwhelming power. There wouldn't be any spoils left for us if she were here.
You Kui turned his shadowed face under the cloak toward Yang Luo.
"You once said that she changed her mind because of a human from the Abyss named Pang Jian. Even if she comes, there's no guarantee she'll be on our side—she could side with that human boy."
"Not necessarily." Yang Luo shook her head. "We both know the Lord split their divine consciousness into six independent parts to comprehend six Heavenly Daos. Each of their independent consciousnesses is a complete entity. The one associated with Pang Jian is only one of those six consciousnesses, and she's one of the weaker ones.
"As the Lord's divine power awakens, that weaker consciousness will become sidelined.
"The Lord's primary consciousness likely will not care about the past and may no longer consider that human boy significant.
"Don't forget, she was once one of the Lord Sovereigns governing the Hall of the Gods!
"Back when the other Outer Gods' negligence allowed the human race to destroy the Hall of the Gods, the Lord had been one of the most enraged Lords.
"As far as I know, the Lord personally hunted down and killed seven True Gods of the human race over the past hundred thousand years.
"The Lord hates all humans, including that human boy named Pang Jian. Even if she truly arrives, as long as the Lord regains their memories, Pang Jian will surely die!" Yang Luo shared her thoughts.
"She's here. She's always been here. You just didn't notice." An ivory-white altar flew out from a crescent-shaped ship belonging to the Bright Moon Race.
An ethereal figure clad in resplendent silver robes descended onto the altar.
It was a soul projection of the Moon God, possessing only faint divine consciousness as it lacked a puppet body to contain her full divine power.
Her gaze fell upon the body of the Fire God lying in the boiling magma.
"Yan Lie was once one of its generals. Although Yan Lie's soul was destroyed, his body remains intact.
"But she can revive Yan Lie through his blood and heart. In fact, she's doing just that right now.
"The strange laws of the bizarre mist govern this space. It only allows the bodies of perished Outer Gods to enter, and these fragmented lands only converge here during the once-in-a-hundred-millennia grand event.
"This is a peculiar space between worlds where we cannot enter with our true bodies.
"Even if we died and remained dead for tens of thousands of years, it would still take many fortuitous coincidences for the mysterious forces to bring us here at the right moment."
The soul projection of the Moon God then bowed toward the massive Outer God's body.
"It's rumored that you killed your own subordinate, Yan Lie.
"Moreover, he's been buried in this fragmented land for the thirty thousand years since he died, later pushed into the bizarre mist.
"You've been planning this for thirty thousand years. You knew this day would come. You knew this space between worlds would form.
"Will Yan Lie be the first Outer God to descend into the Abyss with his divine body?" The Moon God asked.
The other Outer Gods gazed in stunned disbelief at the body of the Fire God, Yan Lie.
"Has the Lord truly been preparing for this for thirty thousand years?"
"Did they kill their subordinate and send his dead body into the bizarre mist to be revived after thirty thousand years?"
Whispers of disbelief echoed among the Outer Gods in the fiery fragmented land.
Yan Lie's heart started to beat!
The will of a God rippled from Yan Lie's chest and spread across the fiery fragmented land.
The Outer God Puppets were momentarily stunned.
Then, they commanded their respective foreign races to throw all the looted fire crystals, crimson fruits, and Scarlet Flame Divine Iron back into the boiling magma.
They did this to restore Yan Lie's lost divine power.
The resurrection of an Outer God with a complete divine body in this space did not impact a mere few fragmented lands.
That Lord and its subordinate, Yan Lie, were aiming for the primordial Tribulation Ground of Gods and Demons—the Abyss!
Hundreds of Ice Race warriors flew across the Forbidden Land of the Thunder God on their Spirit Avians, looting the bodies strewn across the land.
Bing Ji and Bing Yun, the two Ice Race warriors, would occasionally make a trip to the glacier where Pang Jian sat to offer him ores, wood, and items infused with different energies.
Meanwhile, Qi Qingsong, Dong Tianze, Zhuang Yuyan, Zhou Qingchen, Zhao Yuanqi, and Wu Yuan were refining their divine sense with the pure divine essence in the puppet bodies.
"Two hundred! My divine sense has reached two hundred strands!"
"I'm at one hundred and ninety strands!"
"What about you? How many do you have now?"
"A bit over two hundred strands!"
The six tried to suppress their excitement but found it hard to contain their joy, and their voices gradually grew louder as they discussed their progress.
Lu Jie, Fang Boxuan, Chen Lushi, Jiang Chao, Xiao Yu, and the rest were on a nearby hill, gazing forlornly at the ruined city where the six were refining their divine sense.
"I should be among them," Fang Boxuan said with a bitter smile. "Wu Yuan belongs here, and I should be in that pit, absorbing the pure divine essence."
"Fate is a strange thing. Sometimes, a single choice can determine the course of a person's life," Xiao Yu said with a sigh.
Chen Lushi reluctantly turned away, unable to bear the sight any longer.
Biting her lip, she glanced at Fu Wangchen and coldly said, "The so-called unparalleled genius of the Forsaken Expanse Sect is nothing but an empty title. He couldn't deal with a single Ice Armor Eel Dragon, even with so many treasures in his possession!"
The sight of the Ice Armor Eel Dragon deferring to Pang Jian was something she would never forget.
The helplessness she and the others had felt in the face of the Ice Armor Eel Dragon caused her to realize that the so-called genius of the Forsaken Expanse Sect was not that special after all.
Lu Jie sighed. "How could we have known that all the lakes were connected? And that no matter which one we entered, we would eventually end up in the Ice Armor Eel Dragon's lair?"
"What's the point of discussing this anymore?" Jiang Chao snorted coldly. "At least there's still you and Wu Yuan from the Demon Sect. I'm the only survivor left from the Celestial Lagoon Sect."
His gaze swept across Lu Jie, Xiao Yu, and the few remaining survivors.
"Also, Fu Wangchen may still be right. Look at how the Ice Race treats Pang Jian. How could he have gained such power without aligning himself with an Outer God?" Jiang Chao added maliciously.
Everybody's expressions changed.
"Keep your voice down!" Lu Jie hissed.
Even Jiang Chao seemed slightly frightened, and he lowered his voice as he continued, "The Outer God of the Nether Abyss has likely influenced Pang Jian into becoming its follower. That's probably why he was granted divine artifacts and immense power.
"He could very well be planning to guide the foreign races into the Abyss to free more of them from the Fifth World!"
The others grew nervous and could not help but fear what lay ahead.
Jiang Chao's words roused Fu Wangchen of the Forsaken Expanse Sect from his deep contemplation.
"You're right," he agreed, giving Jiang Chao an approving look. "It's rare for someone to remain clear-headed and not lose themselves after escaping the Ice Armor Eel Dragon's jaws."
"I have a plan..." Fu Wangchen said, glancing at the glacier where Pang Jian sat.
Unfortunately for him, Pang Jian now controlled the merged fragmented lands and immediately sensed Fu Wangchen's gaze.
He stared back at Fu Wangchen with narrowed eyes.
"A petty clown who's not even worth mentioning," Pang Jian sneered, shaking his head.
A cold light beam pierced and killed the future leader of the Forsaken Expanse Sect like the casual thrust of a sword from a God.
A tiny figure identical to Fu Wangchen flew out of the third eye on his forehead and yelled in horror, "Pang Jian!"
Several golden bees appeared, swarming the tiny figure fleeing from Fu Wangchen's lifeless body and tearing at his divine soul.
As the golden bees ripped Fu Wangchen's divine soul apart, they uncovered an eight-armed soul shadow within the third eye of Fu Wangchen's divine soul!
It was the Outer God known as the Skull Crusher!
Like his real body, Fu Wangchen's divine soul also had a third eye, refined from divine consciousness.
The Skull Crusher had corrupted that divine eye and was hiding within it!
"How dare you hide in the shadows and meddle behind the scenes? Did you really think I couldn't see you?" Pang Jian scoffed.
The bees devoured the Skull Crusher's eight arms and gnawed on its skull.
"Pang Jian! The Outer Gods have already marked you for death!" the Skull Crusher roared. "Sooner or later, the boundary wall of the Abyss will be breached, and when that happens, you'll be the first to fall!
"Pang Jian, your atrocities will not go unpunished! The Outer Gods will never forgive you! Your cruelty and brutality have enraged the Outer Gods—you won't escape!"
The Skull Crusher's piercing voice deafened all who heard it.
The rumors of Pang Jian colluding with the Nether Abyss Outer God were instantly discredited and Jiang Chao's malicious speculations became an utter joke.