Trials of the Abyss-Chapter 1004: Mountain of Origin

A mysterious region lay deep within the bizarre mist.

There, a colossal mountain floated in silence, encircled by stars, as though it had remained unmoved since the dawn of time.

Arcs of Dao-infused lightning danced on its ashen-gray slopes.

The mountain itself gave off no radiance, but the arcs of Dao-infused lightning shone brilliantly as they twisted about.

Slender silver threads stretched from its body like tendrils, fastening themselves to the stars encircling it and tugging them ceaselessly up and down.

It was like a living entity, dwelling within the densest layers of gray mist, perceiving every abyss and every lifeform born within the bizarre mist.

Mortals, Gods, and even grass and trees fell beneath the shroud of its will.

It was the architect of order within the bizarre mist, the foundation upon which each abyss was shaped, and the creation of myriad inhabitants within them.

This was the incarnation of the supreme will of the bizarre mist. Its place of residence had always remained a mystery to the outside world—a forbidden area forever beyond the reach of even the World Gods.

This region was the greatest mystery of the bizarre mist and the reason for its existence.

A radiant silver spear, still bound to a colossal blade, tore through the dense mists above and plunged into this forbidden area.

The colossal blade continuously shrank as streams of light flowed from the Dao Source into the Spear of Creation. The sharpest of all Dao Sources was on the verge of being devoured entirely.

"You and I are the same, born of a single origin. You are but the part I once cast away. Today, I will bring about our reunion,

"Mountain of Origin!"

The thunderous voice of the supreme will of the starry skies shook the dense mists until they scattered wildly outward. The region hollowed into a realm of nothingness, with not a single wisp of mist remaining.

A golden radiance took over the silver Spear of Creation as it grew a hundredfold. Arcs of Dao-infused lightning crackled across it, causing it to bear a startling resemblance to the ashen-gray mountain below.

Then, a second resplendent sea of argent light came into being.

The starry skies were already falling under Pang Jian's dominion. God Kings such as Yi Hao and Luo Hongyan, vessels through which it could descend and wield its complete might, had all perished.

Deprived of a fitting fleshly vessel and unable to rouse the energies from the starry skies, it had but one way forward: assimilate its counterpart.

The Mountain of Origin—the manifestation of the supreme will of the bizarre mist itself—was its last hope of overturning its fate.

Having refined most of the Dao Source of Metal through the Spear of Creation, it believed it could shatter the Mountain of Origin, devour its counterpart, and gain the strength to contend against Pang Jian.

A rugged, weary voice echoed from the Mountain of Origin. "I've been defeated countless times while waiting for this day. I will not lose again."

The voice carried the fatigue of one sick of endless battles, tired to the point of apathy, unable to rouse interest in anything after all this time.

The silver threads binding the stars around the mountain shuddered violently. Spatial fluctuations erupted from the mountain's peak, and an archway poised between illusion and reality flashed into being.

"Pang Jian," called the weary voice.

"I'm here," Pang Jian answered immediately. "I have always been here. You've finally summoned me."

His towering Immortal Divine Soul teleported from the highest reaches of the starry region to the summit of the Mountain of Origin through the archway.

Stepping through, he beheld the Spear of Creation adrift in the new sea of argent light, ravenously devouring the Dao Source of Metal as it slowly descended toward the mountain below.

The spear had not yet struck the Mountain of Origin, for it had not finished refining the Dao Source of Metal.

"Origin," Pang Jian said softly.

He had never before come into contact with this sacred mountain, yet the instant he set foot upon its peak, he felt as though he and it were one—he belonged to the Mountain of Origin.

Everything from the arcs of Dao-infused lightning woven through the mountain and the silver threads that stretched from its core, to even the stars bound to it, all felt like extensions of his body. The profound feeling stirred a wellspring of emotion within him.

"You—" Pang Jian stammered uneasily. "I—"

"I am not you, but perhaps you could be me," the tired voice of the Mountain of Origin said with a calm that belied its exhaustion. "Energy is the foundation of the material world. Even beings like myself or it, products of laws and orders, rely on the myriad energies to manifest.

"Without soil, water, mountains, or rivers, there could not be worlds or stars. How can life survive without energy? Even divine beings need energy to forge domains or ascend.

"Pang Jian, do not trouble yourself with how you came to be. Know only this: You are the root of all existence. Even incarnations of the Heavenly Daos, such as myself and it, cannot stand above you.

"Please, help me kill it."

"Very well!"

With that, Pang Jian leaped upward and pierced through the resplendent sea of argent light.

This Sea of Creation, woven from the remaining strength of the supreme will of the starry skies, became overlaid with Pang Jian's divine authority.

The supreme will's remaining divine power and energies became the bricks and mortar with which Pang Jian forged the celestial bodies. The stars, suns, and moons rose, the argent radiance dimming with every one.

Eventually, the sea of argent light vanished, taking with it the last vestige of the supreme will's resistance.

Pang Jian's Immortal Divine Soul grew to towering heights. Stretching out his hand, he grasped the Spear of Creation and claimed it for his own. Beams of divine radiance, interwoven with Pang Jian's will and insights, surged from his palm into the spear.

A vast yet unfamiliar world unfolded before his eyes.

At its heart lay yet another resplendent Sea of Creation. Its surface rippled with verdant waves, while beneath the waters rested the fallen Dao Sources.

There lay the Dao Sources of Light, Darkness, Space, Time, Destruction, Ruin, Poison, Lightning, and more. These were not mere imprints left behind, but the Dao Sources themselves.

They lay sunken in different forms within the Sea of Creation of the Spear—the foundation upon which the supreme will of the starry skies had wrought its creation and the crutch by which it ruled over the starry skies and its inhabitants.

"If I shatter this sea, you die." Pang Jian's voice rang out with inevitability.

The manifestations within his Immortal Divine Soul flowed along the divine radiance streaming from his palm into the Sea of Creation in the spear.

The Dao Sources in his Immortal Divine Soul worked alongside his divine power and his domains of laws and orders to reshape the inner world of the spear.

Suns, moons, and stars rose up one after another within the Sea of Creation.

The influence and self-awareness of the supreme will of the starry skies diminished with each emergence.

"The worlds you created across the starry skies are already under my control. You're next."