Trials of the Abyss-Chapter 533: Objective Achieved

In the southern region of the Imperial Dominion, a black stone coffin slowly ascended from the depths of the earth and into the sky.

Boundless waves of deathly aura radiated from the southern barren wasteland and soon blanketed the entire fragmented land.

An ethereal figure appeared atop the coffin.

Though her pale face was vastly different from Luo Hongyan's, it was no less breathtaking in beauty.

Her eyebrows were more delicate and her cheeks sharper, with eyes that carried an unparalleled coldness and indifference.

A Sovereign like her possessed multiple facets, each aligned with a corresponding Dao and bearing an independent consciousness.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Ripples spread across the skies beyond the fragmented land.

Six radiant, swirling halos took shape in the empty space.

At the center of each halo stood a towering figure emanating an overwhelming aura.

Li Bai of the Demon Scale Race, Lie Yang of the Radiant Race, Ah Man of the one-eyed giant, Sha Jia of the Celestial Race, Jing Sha of the Dark Shadow Race, and Qi Xu of the Flame Race appeared in the reformed Mirror Tunnels.

These six Rank Ten warriors silently watched Li Wang and the other True Gods as they patiently awaited the return of their Sovereign.

Above the abandoned well, Gui Mu hovered in the sky with her arms crossed over the chest of her azure robes.

The Pool of Reincarnation loomed faintly behind her, ready to manifest at a moment's notice.

Despite being prepared, she dared not act rashly, her expression heavy as her gaze remained fixed on the black stone coffin.

Li Wang, Li Yuanli, Dong Shangqing, Jiang Fan, and Liu Fu also stayed silent.

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Their eyes followed the black stone coffin's ascent. Perched atop it was the woman who had ascended to godhood using the Dao of Death.

Only now did they realize that the Sovereign's true goal had been to ascend to godhood through the Dao of Death.

The deaths of Wu Bi from the Ghost Race and Chi Feng from the Blackhorn Race were sacrifices she had been prepared to accept, much like the True Gods' own willingness to sacrifice seven thousand rogue cultivators in the Imperial Dominion and Jiang Fan of the Sword Pavilion.

At that moment, the Mirror Tunnels resumed operation, allowing the six foreign race powerhouses to appear in the Imperial Dominion as they pleased.

All earlier schemes and strategies were rendered useless.

None of the True Gods would willingly step through the Mirror Tunnels and into traps the Sovereign had prepared specifically for them, nor would the powerhouses of the Fifth World enter the Imperial Dominion.

If the Rank Ten warriors were to come, they would undoubtedly arrive as a group with Flame God Yan Lie.

There would be no retreat, only a battle to the death.

It would likely be the final battle.

Gui Mu dared not rashly initiate combat under such circumstances. Even Li Wang hesitated.

Thus, they could only watch as the black stone coffin slowly ascended, carrying the woman atop it until she arrived before Gui Mu.

Gui Mu could not help but ask, "How could you be certain that I wouldn't simply destroy your vessel during your ascension to the True God Realm?"

After all, any attack on her vessel would have rendered the entire ascension process futile, regardless of how meticulously the plan had been crafted.

Would the outcome have been different if I had suppressed my curiosity and acted decisively? Gui Mu wondered.

"How can you be so certain that thought was truly your own?" the pale woman replied coldly.

The black stone coffin beneath the woman's feet continued its ascent, floating toward the nearest Mirror Tunnel under the watchful eyes of the True Gods.

Gui Mu's towering figure shuddered slightly.

The meaning behind the woman's words was clear.

Gui Mu's desire to see whether the pale-skinned woman could ascend to godhood through the Dao of Death was likely not born entirely of her own curiosity.

If this were true, it meant that the Sovereign could influence Gui Mu even before she had ascended with her vessel.

This also implied that, regardless of which True God stood guard by the dried well, the Sovereign's powerful will would have still overridden their resolve. In other words, the outcome would have always turned out like this.

All the Sovereign had needed was for the True Gods not to interfere with her vessel's ascension.

The entire scheme in the Imperial Dominion had been meticulously constructed to seize the human race's Fortune and allow this woman to ascend to godhood through the Dao of Death.

In the end, the Sovereign had achieved her true goal.

Furthermore, she had also orchestrated Zi Mo and He Motian's downfalls as the forging of their half-divine bodies in the Abyss could have interfered with her plans.

Wu Bi and Chi Feng were dead, and the dominant forces in the Fifth World appeared to have been weakened.

However, the birth of this God of Death vessel was enough to overturn everything.

Whoosh!

Another of her vessels emerged from the Mirror Tunnel, an ethereal figure shrouded in a veil of blood-colored mist.

The God of Death vessel advanced toward Luo Hongyan, only to dissolve into nothingness before she could make it all the way.

A tangible divine entity embodying the Dao of Death, meticulously refined from the souls of the dead and a divine seat, slipped into Luo Hongyan's brow and became part of her.

Boom!

An overwhelming aura flared out from Luo Hongyan, suppressing the True Gods and the six foreign race powerhouses alike.

Nodding in satisfaction, she cast a final glance at Imperial Dominion City and said, "We will meet again when the murky energy rises."

With those parting words, she vanished into the Mirror Tunnel.

The distortions outside the fragmented land calmed, taking the Mirror Tunnels and the images of the foreign race powerhouses of the Fifth World with it.

Li Wang had remained silent since her vessel emerged from the southern barren wasteland.

Only Gui Mu had spoken throughout it all, but the answer to that single question had been enough to deal a mental blow, leaving her struggling to compose her racing mind after the Sovereign's departure.

If Gui Mu failed to regain control of her mind, the next confrontation with Luo Hongyan would inevitably result in her decisive defeat.

"She..." Dong Shangqing of the Ancient Law Sect finally broke the silence, his voice rough and strained. "What she truly desired was to seize our divine seat and use it to ascend through the Dao of Death within the Abyss. All the others were just potential sacrifices."

"What's the significance of her vessel embodying the Dao of Death?" Li Yuanli asked curiously.

Li Wang offered no answer. Instead, his gaze turned to where Gui Mu was approaching from the dried well.

Gui Mu had seized a wealth of memories and information after forcing the high-ranking God of the Ghost Race, Zi Mo, to give up her half-divine body in the Sunken Crypt.

Thus, Li Wang believed that Gui Mu likely held the answers.

Liu Fu sighed. "I feel that even Lin Xuanqi, the strongest Sword God of the Sword Pavilion in the past, would not be able to kill her."

"Her path as a Sovereign in our Abyss has truly begun after this," Gui Mu said with a troubled expression. "That divine seat and the Dao of Death have granted her an opportunity."

Li Wang was stunned. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

"The fragmented memories and information I received from Zi Mo still need to be sifted through and analyzed," Gui Mu said hesitantly. "All I know for sure is that she's become like us.

"From this point forward, her position as an Outer God will no longer subject her to the restrictions of our Abyss.

"Her vast knowledge and Sovereign-level intelligence will be her strongest support.

"As for us..." Gui Mu lowered her head. "Unless a miracle occurs, I fear we stand little chance of defeating her."

"A miracle?" Li Yuanli of the Divine Treasure Sect turned his gaze toward the crystalline radiance still pouring into Pang Jian in the center of the fragmented land. "Pang Jian is attempting to ascend to godhood while still in the Nirvana Realm. Doesn't that count as a miracle?

"No one has ever embarked on the path to godhood while still in the Nirvana Realm.

"Not to mention, he's also the new World God of our Abyss and is cultivating the deadliest Dao, the Dao of Sword.

"Could he be the miracle we need?"

The eyes of the other True Gods also fell on Pang Jian, watching as he worked tirelessly to merge with the divine seat under the protection of Wanderer Tian Du.

"His path to godhood hasn't even been fully formed yet," Jiang Fan said with a frown. "How can you speak of miracles?"

Liu Fu interjected, "I don't know why, but I have a feeling that his path to godhood will be an unusually long one. It'll be our duty to watch over him during that time."

***

Time flowed swiftly, and soon half a month had passed.

News of Li Wang and the other True Gods killing Wu Bi and Chi Feng spread rapidly throughout the First and Second Worlds of the Abyss.

Morale soared, and praises for Li Wang and his allies echoed throughout the Abyss.

The successful ascension of the pale woman through the Dao of Death was carefully concealed from the public.

Nearly all the righteous rogue cultivators and heretical cultivators in the Imperial Dominion at the time had perished, leaving only the True Gods aware of the truth.

Thus, the entire incident was widely regarded as a resounding victory.

A Sword Boat was docked at the outskirts of Imperial Dominion City.

Wanderer Tian Du, Li Yuanli, and Liu Fu had remained behind to guard Pang Jian.

Pang Jian continued his laborious attempt to ascend through his Dao of Chaos.

Each time his spiritual qi, blood essence, and soul essence were on the brink of depletion, they would inexplicably replenish, allowing him to methodically fuse with the divine seat.

"He's still at it after half a month," Elder Liu Junhong remarked from aboard the Sword Boat. Beside him were Elders Guang He, Wang Ce, Xu Yu, Lu Xiaolin, Cai Xin, and Shi Bingyun.

All the elders of the Sword Pavilion had gathered here.

"Half a month isn't a particularly long time. There are records of True Gods taking even longer to establish a connection with their divine seat," Xu Yu said, flipping through an ancient tome in her hands. "According to the records of our Sword Pavilion, the longest ascension took as much as nine months."

Guang He added, "Only one divine seat remains for our human race."

The other elders frowned.

Fan Ao's death had vacated an additional divine seat. However, the woman ascending through the Dao of Death had claimed it.

The divine seat Pang Jian was fusing with was the last one that had been intended for Li Zhaotian.

If Pang Jian successfully claimed this divine seat, there would be none left for Li Zhaotian.

At that moment, a streak of sword light descended from the sky and landed beside the Sword Boat, materializing into a rotund man in a blue robe.

"You're all worrying for nothing. Mu Wentao of the Ghost Sacrifice Sect is bound to die eventually," he said coldly. "Once he's gone, a new divine seat will naturally be freed up. My ascension to the True God Realm won't be delayed at all."