In a grand palace on the moon, Han Yi sighed despairingly. "He's coming."
Ying Yue's expression changed. "The one who's been threatening you all this time?"
"Yes." Han Yi nodded. "Though he's not coming here just because of me. He seems to have taken an interest in one of the abysses within the bizarre mist. Someone invited him here, but since I'm here too, he'll surely come looking for me once he arrives. When that happens..."
A weight lay heavily on her chest just from the thought of that high-ranking God.
"Ying Yue, you still haven't been able to reach Pang Jian?"
"Why are you still thinking about him?" Ying Yue rolled her eyes, her voice cold. "Worry about your situation first. I'll take care of the body of the Star Devourer and Yang Luo's spatial ring as quickly as possible.
"Hopefully, we'll have everything in place to help you weather this storm before that God arrives. Han Yi, stop thinking about anything else. It won't change anything," the Moon God advised.
"Pang Jian once told me he'd find a way to deal with my troubles," Han Yi murmured, head lowered as she thought back to Pang Jian's single-handed killing of Yang Luo. His cultivation realm would likely have risen significantly by the time her tormentor arrived.
The Moon God shook her head. "It's impossible for him to gain such strength that quickly."
Just then, a faint ripple of light silently flared from one of the moon's shadowed regions.
"Who's there?!" Ying Yue's divine consciousness and divine power instantly locked onto the disturbance.
The radiant moonlight above the lunar surface condensed into visible streams of silvery energy, engulfing the disturbance. Brilliant arcs of ghostly lightning crackled, while Dao Seals embedded beneath the moon's crust flared to life. The entire moon briefly blazed with intensity.
"Don't be nervous. I'm a friend. I come with no ill intent," a tall figure with a bronze mask said, emerging from the shadows. "I happened to be passing by, so I thought I'd stop and say hello. I have a few things to share with you."
"The Bronze-Masked God!" Ying Yue and Han Yi exclaimed in unison.
The enigmatic master artifact refiner quietly arrived at the Lunar Divine Palace. "Thank you for helping Pang Jian."
"Don't say his name out loud," Ying Yue said cautiously.
"Understood." The Bronze-Masked God nodded gently. "I understand what the two of you are concerned about. You mentioned wanting to sell the body of the Star Devourer and the items from Yang Luo's spatial ring before.
"You can leave that to me. Rest assured, it's completely secure on my end. You can trust me.
"I'll be entering the bizarre mist after this. I plan to visit the Rock Devourer, then take a look around the borders of the Nether Abyss," the Bronze-Masked God explained patiently.
"What happened in the Nether Abyss?" Ying Yue asked.
"This has nothing to do with the two of you, so don't concern yourselves with it," the Bronze-Masked God advised. "Strange but significant events are about to unfold in the bizarre mist below. I suggest you both leave as soon as possible. Sovereign Luo's true body has departed from her domain and is making its way toward this region."
"What?!" The Frost Crystal God and the Moon God were gripped with fear.
Sovereigns rarely wandered about with their true bodies. Their fragments of divine soul and divine consciousness were more than enough to carry out their will, especially with the assistance of their loyal high-ranking God subordinates.
Gods and worshipers alike revered Sovereigns as existences far above all others. Only under earth-shattering circumstances would one leave their domain with their true body.
"Some catastrophic events are already unfolding," the Bronze-Masked God said. "These things are beyond your qualifications to take part in, and it's best if you don't try to understand them either. I wouldn't even be telling you this if not for the help you gave Pang Jian and your past dealings with our human race in the Abyss. Please, take care of yourselves."
Li Yuqing hovered over the mouth of a volcano at the Divine Treasure Sect. Below her, magma bubbled like a roaring dragon, surging against the crater's rim before falling back into the molten lake below.
The spiritual qi, fire energy, magma, and even the scorching air around the Divine Treasure Sect were all drawn to her like a magnet.
A mysterious force swirled at her side, distorting the air around her as it assisted in purifying the gathered energies.
Li Jie, the elders of the Divine Treasure Sect, and the most senior members of the Li Family watched her with expressions of eager anticipation. They could all feel the immense power radiating from Li Yuqing!
None of the other True Gods from this continent, be it Li Yuanli, Su Wanrou, Lin Qiyang, or even those from earlier generations, had held as much power in the Immortal Realm as Li Yuqing did now.
The senior members of the Li Family and the elders of the Divine Treasure Sect were convinced that Li Yuqing would ascend to godhood without issue, and that she would far surpass Li Yuanli once she did.
As Li Yuqing said, the status of both the Li Family and the Divine Treasure Sect within the Abyss would only grow stronger and more unshakable once she entered the ranks of True Gods.
"Come!" Li Yuqing gazed up at the barrier, calling out for a cluster of Fortune with her divine soul.
The barrier did not respond.
Those at the peak of the Immortal Realm with the opportunity to ascend could almost always detect the presence of Fortune and draw it in with ease.
There was no reason for Fortune not to gather obediently around Li Yuqing, especially given her cultivation realm and her connection to the Dao of Fate. Fortune itself could not possibly forsake a genius like her.
"Something's wrong," Li Yuqing realized. "The fifteen clusters of Fortune in the Abyss have already been completely divided up."
"How could that be? Your father, Li Yuanli, and Wanderer Tian Du have died. There should be two clusters of Fortune available," an elder said urgently. "At the beginning of this turmoil, we had fifteen True Gods: Zhu Ji, Jiang Fan, Fan Ao, Liu Fu, Li Wang, Gui Mu, Mu Wentao, your father, Su Wanrou, Lin Qiyang, Pei Yishan, Li Chu, Dong Shangqing, Yin Ji, and Wanderer Tian Du.
"The deaths of Fan Ao, Liu Fu, Mu Wentao, your father, Lin Qiyang, Li Chu, and Wanderer Tian Du cleared up seven clusters of Fortune. Pang Jian claimed one, Li Zhaotian another, then Dong Tianze and Wu Yuan each obtained one in succession. That woman on the Imperial Dominion also managed to secure one.
"There have to be two clusters of Fortune left. How could they be gone? Girl, do you want to try again?"
Li Yuqing shook her head and replied with certainty, "My father's and Wanderer Tian Du's clusters of Fortune never returned."