Yan Lie did not summon his towering divine form. Instead, he remained in his regular state, with a tiny ember burning at his fingertip.
That ember, fueled by a single drop of his blood, was enough to imprint his dominion over the Dao of Fire into Pang Jian's being, sinking him under the overwhelming weight of countless fiery worlds.
Yan Lie radiated a suffocating pressure in the Fifth World. Every Rank Ten powerhouse and True God felt an inescapable force emanating from him, as if crushing them beneath a thousand erupting volcanoes.
The oppressive might that a high-ranking God held over a low-ranking God could be felt in this profoundly heavy presence.
Meanwhile, Pang Jian continued to plunge toward the Sixth World, the crimson motes of flame in his body burning like miniature fiery worlds.
Zhu Ji, Gui Mu, and Li Wang steadied themselves after their initial shock.
Pang Jian had brought them out of the Sixth World, and within that peculiar world, he was neither subject to the suppression of the Heavenly Daos nor the corruption of murky energy.
The Sixth World was friendly to him. It would not reject or destroy him.
The three True Gods even felt it likely that returning to the Sixth World would actually resolve the anomalies within Pang Jian's body, purging Fire God Yan Lie's influence over him.
Thus, even after taking in the situation following their emergence from the Heaven-Earth Cosmos Chest, the three True Gods made no attempt to stop Yan Lie or slow Pang Jian's descent.
"Get it over with," Yan Lie lazily instructed the Rank Ten powerhouses, tone laced with boredom.
He glanced at Zhu Ji, Li Wang, and Gui Mu, but almost immediately lost interest.
In his eyes, they were not even worth his attention.
Lie Yang was the first to step forth from the Forbidden Land of the Fire God, his many crimson braids billowing as he moved.
A colossal golden palace rapidly took form behind him.
This grand structure, known as the Solar Divine Palace, was a manifestation of the divine technique he recently comprehended from the Divine Sun Scripture.
Yan Lie had given him the sacred manual, and the Patriarch of the Radiant Race developed a deep reverence for the Fire God after receiving it.
Every command from Yan Lie carried immense weight in his eyes.
The Solar Divine Palace was a monument of opulence, built from glazed crystal, gold, and gemstones, adorned with luminous pearls and ivory railings, all wreathed in solar flames.
Its magnificence was comparable to the Sun Temple of the Sun God, forged within the heart of the blazing sun.
Zhu Ji frowned, a flicker of surprise flashing through his eyes as he muttered, "Lie Yang of the Radiant Race."
Seeing the impending battle ahead, Li Wang, clad in his starry celestial robe, transformed into a streak of starlight and shot straight toward the sky of the Fifth World.
The starlight flickered in and out of existence as it pierced through the skies of the Fifth World, disappearing from view in the blink of an eye.
This action left the Rank Ten powerhouses stunned.
None of them expected the renowned leader of the True Gods to be such a coward.
Although Li Wang had ascended to godhood through the Dao of the Starry Skies, he was also profoundly attuned to the intricacies of spatial techniques. There was no one capable of stopping him while Luo Hongyan was absent.
They could only watch as he departed with effortless grace.
Surprisingly, Li Wang's departure did not appear to faze Zhu Ji or Gui Mu.
The two had fought side by side with him for years. No one understood Li Wang better than them.
That calculating man always made the most rational choice, no matter the situation. His departure was not out of fear but simply out of recognition that he was too weakened to contribute. If he stayed behind, he would only become a burden.
His departure was undoubtedly because there was something far more important he needed to accomplish.
Zhu Ji and Gui Mu had unwavering trust in him.
Gui Mu summoned her Dharma Idol.
"Azure Nether. Pool of Reincarnation."
Threads of profound yin energy and wisps of wandering souls were drawn toward her from across the continents of the Fifth World.
Behind her towering Dharma Idol, a vast, ethereal pool slowly filled with liquid.
The pool itself remained ethereal, but the waters within, a liquified profound yin energy, were undeniably real.
Freed from the Sixth World, Gui Mu wasted no time reestablishing her connection with the Azure Nether and using the Pool of Reincarnation to restore her strength.
Gui Mu could replenish her strength in any place with wandering souls. The Fifth World was no exception.
Only in the void of the Sixth World was she rendered truly powerless, unable to gather the energy needed to restore her strength.
Zhu Ji, you take on the Fire God. I'll try to engage the others and keep them at bay. I need time, and so does Li Wang. Gui Mu's voice echoed softly through Zhu Ji's mind.
Zhu Ji gave a barely perceptible nod in response before locking his sharp eyes onto Yan Lie.
Yan Lie was mildly surprised.
Zhu Ji's gaze carried an oppressive weight, heavy enough that even the Fire God could feel the pressure.
The sheer force Zhu Ji could imbue into something as intangible as a look piqued Yan Lie's curiosity and drew his full attention.
At that moment, a savage roar echoed from the bizarre mist of the Fifth World.
Everyone instinctively turned toward the sound.
A colossal Black Dragon, spanning over ten thousand zhang in length and cloaked in scales resembling dark iron, emerged from the bizarre mist.
Its tail dragged behind it like a swath of black sky, coiling toward them with overwhelming force.
That eerie black sky appeared as though it sought to engulf the Fifth World in its darkness.
The natives of the Fifth World were already accustomed to a dark world where the radiance of the sun, moon, or stars could not reach. Still, the gloom of the Fifth World could be alleviated through illumination.
The darkness behind the Black Dragon, on the other hand, was different. It not only resisted light, it devoured it.
"The Black Dragon King!" Sha Jia exclaimed.
Having regained consciousness after Yan Lie's rescue, she had since taken a healing elixir and was resting atop Ah Man's shoulder.
Glaring at the menacing Black Dragon, Sha Jia growled through clenched teeth, "He's ascended to the rank of Fey Gods."
Her anger was directed not at the Black Dragon but at Yan Lie.
Although Yan Lie had saved her, it did not change her belief that he was mistaken in letting the Black Dragon King go unchecked. Allowing him to ascend as a Fey God was a decision she could not accept.
"I said it doesn't matter," Yan Lie replied indifferently, unconcerned. "Neither the Black Dragon King, Pang Jian, nor Zhu Ji can change the outcome of today."
Yan Lie flicked a finger toward the Black Dragon King.
Streaks of flame transformed into blazing meteors as they shot through the sky.
Hundreds of meteors, each thousands of zhang long and wide as rivers, streaked forth in overwhelming waves.
The Black Dragon King had emerged from the bizarre mist after sensing that Pang Jian was in danger, only to find himself caught in the heart of this devastating assault.
Left with no choice but to face the onslaught, the Black Dragon King charged forward, using his powerful dragon body to break through the meteor shower.
Meanwhile, Pang Jian was pulled back into the depths of the Sixth World.