"Divine Son Dian, get up! We have to move!"
Among the countless figures whose knees had buckled into the desolate earth of the Abyss, Dian Jiuzhi was no exception. The news of his father's death—the strongest True God of all the Divine Kingdoms—had struck him like a thunderbolt, leaving him paralyzed with shock.
An elder, one who had been close to both father and son, watched the scene unfold. Despite the despair etched deeply into his aged features, he still found the strength to call out, his voice firm yet tinged with urgency.
Reaching out a trembling hand toward the young man whose body quivered uncontrollably, the elder's eyes were filled with deep concern. He had always cared for Dian Jiuzhi, especially knowing that he was the biological sibling of the Boundless End Divine Regent.
"…Yes…"
Dian Jiuzhi's voice was hoarse, almost lifeless, as he slowly extended his hand, grasping onto the elder's for support. Bit by bit, he forced himself to his feet.
The other elders, despite their own shock and horror, also began to rise. Though the weight of grief pressed heavily upon them, they had no choice but to leave the Endless Fog Sea. Even though they had only been stationed at its outermost edge, they now knew—this place was no longer safe. They would return to their Divine Kingdom.
Yet, as they departed, their eyes were clouded with despair, their faces streaked with tears, their hearts drowned in grief. None of them noticed the madness brewing within Dian Jiuzhi's gaze—the silent storm of fury and darkness beginning to take root within his soul.
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There were countless reactions to the news—some filled with shock, others with horror, pain, or fear. After all, this declaration was not confined to a single talisman—
The monarch's decree resonated across many communication talismans, its echo rippling across the Endless Fog Sea, spanning millions upon millions of miles!
Every force of the Divine Kingdoms, members of Pure Land Guards and Abyssal Knight's Commanders, whether stationed in the abyss or marching toward the battlefield where Shen Wuyi was reported to be captured, heard it.
Like a divine decree, it descended upon them all—an unshakable truth that sent shockwaves through the very fabric of the abyss!
"What…"
"WHATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!"
"IMPOSSIBLE!!!!"
Disbelief exploded in the hearts of all who heard the proclamation.
A True God had perished—
Dian Rahu, the Boundless End Divine Regent, had fallen!
The sheer impossibility of such an event sent shockwaves through the Divine Kingdoms. No one had even considered that a True God—one of the absolute rulers of their world—could die.
And yet, the decree of the Abyssal Monarch had left no room for doubt.
"Everyone, wait here!"
A towering figure, radiating godly might, surged forward like a meteor, tearing through the abyssal void. He had previously restrained his speed, staying alongside his daughter and the forces of his kingdom. But with this earth-shattering news—
He no longer hesitated.
Without another word, he abandoned his retinue, leaving them behind in an instant, and propelled himself forward at full speed!
His divine power shattered the surrounding space, distorting the gray abyss with each breath he took.
He crossed millions of miles in a mere two hours, tearing through the endless void like an unstoppable force of nature.
Were it not for the suppressive force of the Abyssal Dust and the severely limited visibility of this wretched world—
He would have arrived even sooner.
Yet, when he finally reached the site, another figure was already there—waiting in silence.
"Brother Kongchan…"
A voice broke through the thick, oppressive air.
"They fought here."
Meng Kongchan stood motionless, his gaze fixed on the vast, devastated land before him. His godly senses swept across the area again and again, tracing every fragment of destruction left in the wake of an unimaginable battle.
Even though he had just arrived, the signs were unmistakable.
The earth was ruptured, massive scars carved deep into the terrain. The very fabric of the abyss bore wounds from the clashes of the god.
Beside him, Hua Fuchen arrived, his expression just as grim. Their eyes met for a brief moment—an exchange that required no words.
Both men nodded in silent agreement.
And without hesitation—
They ascended into the sky, vanishing into the Endless Fog Sea, following the lingering traces of divine devastation that stretched across the abyss.
With each passing mile, the evidence of battle only grew more terrifying.
The world here had not just been scarred—
It had been shattered.
An unfathomable battle had torn through this place, leaving nothing but destruction in its wake.
Yet, the deeper they ventured, the more they could feel it—
The suffocating weight pressing down on their bodies.
The Abyssal Dust that filled this cursed world grew denser, sinking its unseen claws into their profound energy. It gnawed at their strength, devouring their divine auras like a ceaseless, insatiable tide.
What lay ahead…
Would be even more treacherous.
"It seems another battle broke out here," Hua Fuchen remarked, his sharp gaze sweeping across the ruined landscape. His voice was calm, but beneath it lay a heavy undertone of unease.
His eyes narrowed as he extended his soul senses, reaching into the vast abyss in search of even the faintest trace of Dian Rahu.
"And it seems to have ended here as well," he added, his voice lowering as he probed deeper.
Yet—
In the depths of the Endless Fog Sea, where the Abyssal Dust reigned supreme, even the remnants of a True God's soul were not spared.
The corrosive force that governed this place was absolute, devouring all traces of existence, leaving behind nothing but a void of silence.
Even Meng Kongchan—the Dreamweaver Divine Regent, a True God whose mastery of soul power was unparalleled—found nothing.
"….."
"….."
The two Divine Regents locked eyes, their gazes flashing with a storm of emotions—shock, pain, and disbelief.
Even now, even with all the evidence before them, their minds refused to accept the unthinkable.
"With the suppression of the Abyssal Dust limiting our strength here, Brother Rahu still shouldn't have had any trouble against an opponent at the peak of the Divine Limit Realm… unless…"
Meng Kongchan's voice faltered, his words trailing into silence. His thoughts raced, desperately piecing together the impossible.
Unless…
His opponent was also a True God.
Not just any True God—
One capable of controlling the Abyssal Dust as well.
"..."
"Let us leave for now."
Without hesitation, both figures shot into the sky, their divine auras flaring as they sped away from the inner region of the Endless Fog.
They did not hesitate. They did not look back. They did not need to.
As they tore through the abyss, traveling at blinding speed, the oppressive weight of the Endless Fog slowly began to lessen.
Yet, the silence between them remained heavy.
After some time, Hua Fuchen finally spoke.
"It's most likely that Brother Rahu encountered the Fog Monarch and the Qilin."
His voice, though calm, carried a deep undercurrent of grief.
His reddened eyes betrayed the pain he refused to show, yet his words remained steady, rational.
"Both of those beings must have lured him deeper into the abyss… then used its suppression to kill him."
Beside him, Meng Kongchan nodded grimly.
"It seems that way."
Though Dian Rahu stood as the strongest True God, even his unparalleled might had its limits. Within the deepest depths of the Endless Fog, where the very fabric of profound energy unraveled and the fundamental laws of existence fractured into chaos, even a being of his stature would find himself vulnerable. No amount of strength could overcome an environment that eroded one's very essence, where the heavens and earth themselves conspired against all who dared to trespass.
If the Fog Monarch and the Qilin had indeed joined forces, sealing him within that abyssal prison, then no matter how overwhelming his power was, the outcome had already been determined. In a battlefield where one side possessed an inexhaustible well of strength while the other was cut off, left to wither with no means of replenishment, sheer might alone could not tip the scales.
Even the greatest of True Gods, no matter how supreme, could fall.
They pressed forward in solemn silence, traversing millions of miles without pause.
Only when they finally emerged into the outer region of the Endless Fog Sea did their pace ease, their divine senses expanding in all directions, scanning for any lingering threats.
One by one, they sent messages to their respective forces, commanding them to regroup at a designated location beyond the reach of the Fog Sea's ominous grasp.
It was only then—when the churning abyssal mist lay far, far, far behind them—that the crushing weight upon their chests began to lighten.
A quiet sigh of relief escaped into the vast, empty expanse.
Even now, the lingering tension refused to fully dissipate, the weight of uncertainty pressing heavily upon them.
To ensure absolute security, they raised their hands in unison. Divine power surged forth, intertwining as it wove into an immense barrier, sealing off their surroundings from all external forces. Within its impenetrable embrace, not even the faintest whisper of the outside world could intrude.
Only when the barrier was fully formed—when they were certain that nothing could reach them—did Hua Fuchen finally break the silence.
"Do you think the Lord can bring Brother Rahu back?"
His voice, though steady at first, wavered ever so slightly. Beneath the grief weighing down his heart, a sliver of hope remained—fragile, yet unwilling to die.
Meng Kongchan remained silent for a moment before finally speaking.
"It's not entirely impossible..."
Hua Fuchen's expression brightened, a flicker of hope breaking through the heavy gloom.
But after a brief pause, Meng Kongchan let out a bitter sigh and continued—
"If Yuan'er hadn't given the Primordial Flame Crystal to High Priest Ling Xuan, then bringing Brother Rahu back would have been..."
His voice trailed off, his expression darkening.
"But now that High Priest Ling Xuan has already used it… I'm afraid—"
He stopped, his words left hanging in the air, unfinished.
Then—
"Wait..."
Meng Kongchan's eyes flickered with sudden realization, a long-buried memory surfacing in his mind.
He had nearly forgotten—
The very reason Shen Yanye, the Lightless Divine Regent, had been so willing to offer up Shen Wuyi for an engagement battle was because the Boundless Divine Kingdom possessed a Primordial Flame Crystal!
"It's not impossible… rather… it's just a matter of time."
His words hung in the air, weighty yet unshaken, as if the very notion of impossibility did not apply to them.
Had anyone outside their sealed barrier overheard this conversation, they would have scoffed, laughed, or perhaps even called them mad—
Bringing someone back to life? Not just anyone, but a God. And not just any God, but the strongest True God in all of the Six Divine Kingdoms!
To mortals and even lesser deities, such a thing was unfathomable. Life and death were absolute. Once a being of that level perished, their existence should have been reduced to nothingness, their essence scattered across the vast cosmos. This was a truth as old as creation itself.
And yet—
Their voices held no hesitation, no doubt.
This was not arrogance.
This was not wishful thinking.
This was not a delusion born from grief.
They truly believed it.
No—more than that.
They knew it was possible.
If Yun Che—still deep within the Endless Fog—had heard this conversation, he would have smashed his own head open in sheer frustration, horror, and disbelief at the realization.
Because if Dian Rahu could return…
Then death itself had lost its meaning.
Everything he had done—all of his carefully laid plans, every sacrifice, every desperate struggle—
Might not have meant anything at all!
Because among the gods, there existed truths that were never spoken, mysteries concealed beyond the reach of mortals. Not even the Divine Children, the Elders, or the rulers of the Divine Kingdoms were privy to these secrets.
Only the Gods knew.
Only those who had transcended the limits of mortality, who had stepped beyond the threshold and become True Gods, were allowed to know of this forbidden truth.
The truth of immortality beyond death.
For every being who attained godhood, who was recognized by the heavens and accepted the power of a True God, underwent an irreversible transformation. Their body, their soul, their very existence itself was forever changed.
They were no longer bound by the limitations of the living. They were no longer mortal.
And with that transformation—
A piece of their very essence was severed.
A fragment of their divine soul, containing the core of their existence—their divinity, their will, their very identity—was separated from their being.
This fragment was not lost. It was preserved.
Taken to the Divine Soul Hall, hidden deep within the sacred Pure Land, where only the Gods could reach it.
A sanctuary beyond the eyes of the world.
A place where the fallen could rise again.
This soul fragment held no power.
No memories of the past.
No visions of the future.
No will of its own.
It was an empty vessel, a dormant ember of existence.
And yet, it served a single, absolute purpose.
As long as that fragment remained intact—a True God could never truly be erased.
If a God were to pass from the world through the slow decay of time—if they perished naturally from the eternal wear of existence—then their soul would simply dissolve, dispersing into the great cycle, lost forever. There would be no return, no second chance. Their fate would be sealed in finality.
But if a God was slain…
Then the laws of existence could be defied.
As long as the right conditions were met—
As long as the necessary price was paid—
Resurrection was possible.
Even the fallen True God, Dian Rahu, could return to the world.
Though the conditions for reviving a True God were unimaginably demanding—requiring an unfathomable price, a sacrifice so vast that it could drain the wealth of an entire Divine Kingdom—it did not matter.
Because no cost was too great.
No sacrifice was too steep.
No effort was too excessive.
To restore a True God meant restoring the very foundation of a Divine Kingdom.
And for the Six Divine Kingdoms, for the balance of the heavens themselves—Dian Rahu's return mattered more than anything.
There was a reason why every Divine Kingdom, no matter how vast or powerful, pursued the Abyssal Stones with relentless desperation.
These divine stones were not mere treasures, nor were they simple conduits of power. They were formed from the very fabric of divinity itself—crystallizations of the fundamental laws that governed the heavens.
Each Abyssal Stone contained a fragment of divine authority, an essence of primordial truth, woven into existence at the dawn of creation. Their purpose far exceeded that of ordinary artifacts, for they were not simply tools for enhancing cultivation—
They were miracles given form.
And among these sacred relics, few were as coveted as the Primordial Flame Stones.
These legendary stones burned with an eternal fire, but unlike mortal flames that reduced all to ash, the Primordial Flame carried an aura of pure, undying life. It possessed the power to suppress and counteract even the most absolute of cold elements—forces so terrifying that they could consume even the bodies of Gods.
But that was not the true extent of its miracle.
The greatest and most terrifying power of the Primordial Flame Stone was its ability to reconstruct a body from nothingness.
Even if all that remained of a fallen God was a mere fragment of their soul, as long as the stone's flames embraced it, the impossible would become reality. The divine fire would rebuild what was lost, reshaping flesh, reforging a divine body, reigniting the shattered essence of a True God.
Body, soul, divinity—everything would be reborn.
As long as the process was completed, the fallen would stand once more, as if death had never touched them.
A power that defied the heavens. A force that reversed the ultimate fate of all living beings.
This was why the Primordial Flame Stones were beyond value. They were not treasures.
They were the keys to resurrection.
High Priest Ling Xuan had spent countless years scouring the realms in search of a Primordial Flame Stone, enduring unimaginable suffering along the way. She had ventured into forbidden lands, waded through tribulations that shattered both body and soul, and faced agony that would have driven lesser beings to madness—all in pursuit of that singular divine relic.
Yet fate, ever fickle, had intervened in the most unexpected way.
By sheer coincidence, Yun Che—without knowing its true significance—had gifted her the very Divine Stone she had spent millions of years desperately seeking. The moment it fell into her hands, the torment she had endured felt almost laughable, as if the heavens had mocked her by delivering salvation through an accident of fate.
But then—she learned the truth.
The Boundless Divine Kingdom had always possessed such a stone.
Not for centuries.
Not for millennia.
But for millions of years.
They had held it in secret, hoarding it away while she suffered in excruciating pain. And they had never once offered it to her.
At first, it had made perfect sense.
A Divine Kingdom would never part with such a priceless artifact unless absolutely necessary. The weight of resurrection, the power to reverse death itself—such a thing was not to be given away lightly. Even she, as a High Priest, understood this logic.
But understanding did not erase the resentment.
It did not change the fact that while she had suffered soul-wrenching agony for millions of years, they had simply chosen not to help. They had let her endure it.
That silent refusal had tainted the once-neutral relationship between the High Priest and the Boundless Divine Kingdom.
What could have been goodwill had become a cold and distant indifference.
But the past was the past.
What was done—was done.
There was no changing it.
And now, that very Divine Stone would serve a different purpose—
For the Boundless Divine Kingdom still possessed one.
And this time—its use was undeniable.
For with it, the Abyssal Monarch could wield the power of resurrection.
With it—Dian Rahu could rise once more.