Chapter 2103: Reverse "Truth"

The Divine Extremity Realm was originally the tenth level of the Divine Annihilation Realm. However, as no being in the Abyss could later achieve true godhood through cultivation, the tenth level of the Divine Annihilation Realm became the ultimate realm attainable by creatures in the Abyss. Consequently, it was separated and designated the Divine Extremity Realm.

The former Divine Annihilation Ten Realms became the Divine Annihilation Nine Realms, while the Divine Extremity Realm was further subdivided into nine minor stages. Each progression through these minor stages involved a mortal body drawing closer to a divine path that appeared within reach, yet seemed perpetually unattainable.

Consequently, while the nine minor stages of the Divine Extremity Realm were the most challenging to advance through, the disparities between them were not as vast or distinct as in other realms.

However, this certainly did not imply they could be easily overcome.

Furthermore, Yuchi Nanxing, a Level 3 Divine Extremity Realm practitioner, was confronting the Ancestral Qilin God, who was at the peak of Level 9 Divine Extremity Realm, possessing a colossal body and the inherent advantage of Abyss Dust!

Boom—Boom————

The star formations shattered upon his body repeatedly, only to reform each time. Every surge of his struggle became a colossal disaster for this world.

The Qilin scales of the Abyss Qilin God finally ruptured, forming a considerably large fissure. However, before Yuchi Nanxing could even catch his breath, he watched in despair as the crack visibly and slowly healed.

Conversely, the recoil from his own power had already caused blood-filled fissures to appear across his body and internal organs.

Although this location was at the edge of the Mist Sea, where the concentration of Abyss Dust was far lower than in its depths, it still fell within the Mist Sea's domain. The ubiquitous Abyss Dust suppressed his strength and spiritual awareness, yet it granted the Abyss Beasts boundless power and a unique "vitality."

"A pathetic struggle."

The Mist Emperor’s voice resonated once more, seeming to come from the distant sky yet simultaneously from the depths of his soul. For a moment, even Yuchi Nanxing could not pinpoint its exact origin.

"This Emperor 'awoke' merely a year ago, and has never desired to kill any living being indiscriminately. Instead, I sought to rescue countless beings from the deathly grip of the Abyss Erosion. Yet you, merely to save yourself, massacred so many innocents! Truly a knight born from a foul place, indeed a so-called 'pure land' built upon filth and wickedness!"

Every word from the Mist Emperor was an extreme blasphemy against the Abyss Knights' supreme faith. The sudden surge of fury in Yuchi Nanxing’s heart nearly overwhelmed him; profound energy surged around his body, and his eyes blazed with starlight. He was about to retort angrily when, as his vision cleared, he suddenly froze.

The ground ahead was ravaged, riddled with countless ravines, splattered with crimson blood, and strewn with fragmented bones and shattered corpses, none intact.

His pupils dilated, and he sharply turned his head... In the distance, of the hundreds of thousands of profound practitioners who had originally followed him, barely less than half remained.

Most of the remaining individuals were also wounded, their eyes filled with terror.

Even Bai Yu had blood at the corner of his lips. Despite having been thrown far back, he still persistently struggled to draw closer.

A sudden, devastating realization crashed into Yuchi Nanxing’s mind — these people had clearly perished from the Divine Extremity power he had unleashed during his desperate struggles!

As an Abyss Knight, he was bound to uphold a noble soul, embody justice, despise evil, tolerate no defilement, and, above all, never… indiscriminately slaughter the innocent!

Yet today... at this very moment... he had...

His heart shattered in an instant, and the power Yuchi Nanxing had concentrated to its near limit could no longer be released, instead dissipating rapidly.

Just then, the Abyss Qilin God, which had stood as silently as a mountain, suddenly gleamed with a deep, unusual light in its eyes. The immense and unparalleled destructive power surrounding its body abruptly surged into its colossal tail, mercilessly exploding upon Yuchi Nanxing.

Crack!—

It was as if ten thousand thunderbolts had simultaneously detonated… for it was the sound of Divine Extremity bones shattering.

"Nanxing!!" Bai Yu cried out in horror.

Abyss Beasts were commonly believed to possess no consciousness and, therefore, no cunning. Yet, this Abyss Qilin God, already vastly more powerful than him, had seized his momentary lapse of spirit with terrifying precision, delivering a nearly fatal blow.

In that instant, he felt as if every bone in his body had shattered, his internal organs ruptured, and his soul sea was overwhelmed by a deafening roar.

Crash!!

With a resounding crash, his broken body was violently slammed to the ground by the Abyss Qilin God. Yet, as a Divine Extremity Realm practitioner, his consciousness and power recovered with astonishing speed; the intention to counterattack formed the very moment his body hit the ground. However, just as his power began to surge, a force as crushing as a falling sky descended upon him.

Boom————

The Qilin claw of the Abyss Qilin God had brutally stomped upon Yuchi Nanxing’s body.

The ground ruptured with countless fissures, the longest extending hundreds of miles to Profound Desert City.

All nearby profound practitioners were sent airborne by the shockwave, hurled even further into the distance.

The Qilin claw lifted. Beneath its shadow, Yuchi Nanxing’s body lay broken and blood-soaked. However, this was not the end of Yuchi Nanxing’s nightmare; it was merely the beginning…

Crash!!

The Qilin claw crashed down a second time, directly onto Yuchi Nanxing’s head.

Crash! Crash! Crash! Crash!—

Each stomp of the Abyss Qilin God’s claw possessed earth-shattering power. It now stomped maniacally upon Yuchi Nanxing’s body, pulverizing his already fractured bones even more thoroughly, mercilessly dragging his life and soul toward the true abyss of death.

Crash crash crash crash crash!—

For the nearby profound practitioners, each descent of the Qilin claw was nothing short of a world-ending catastrophe. They felt as if they were caught in an irresistible dimensional storm, bleeding from every orifice due to the vibrations, yet their potential screams were utterly drowned out by the colossal, world-shaking roars.

Only Bai Yu, however, continued to push forward desperately against the incessantly trembling space.

"Sir Knight, don’t… go there… ugh!" His attendant knights attempted to dissuade him, but they were scattered far away by the spatial storm.

"Nanxing! Mist Emperor… stop… stop!!"

"If you dare to kill an Abyss Knight… the Pure Land will wage an endless war against you!"

In his boundless terror and fear, he actually roared words like "endless war," which severely undermined the dignity of the Pure Land.

Boom————

The Qilin God’s claw descended once more, but when it lifted, it did not strike again. Instead, it hovered high above Yuchi Nanxing, and the colossal Qilin body came to a complete halt.

The prolonged cataclysm gradually subsided with its stillness. Hundreds of miles away, profound practitioners steadied themselves, albeit in disarray, covered in lacerations, and displaying expressions of profound terror.

Yuchi Nanxing lay prostrate on the ground, his silver armor shattered into countless shards, and even the profound light that adorned it had completely faded. His body trembled slightly, and he emitted faint, painful moans.

Ultimately, he was a Divine Extremity Realm practitioner and one of the thirty-six commanders of the Abyss Knights. Despite being stomped upon dozens of times by the Abyss Qilin God, he had not succumbed.

"Abyss Knight," the Mist Emperor’s voice echoed from the unknown depths of the Mist Sea. "This Emperor never wishes to kill living beings indiscriminately. However, you have offended me and shall receive this punishment! Now, I grant you an opportunity: bow down and offer your apology to me, and I shall mercifully permit you and your companions to depart."

"Heh… hehe…" Even in his extreme weakness, Yuchi Nanxing let out an unyielding chuckle. "In this world… the only one worthy of Yuchi Nanxing’s bow… is the Abyss Emperor!"

"With the Abyss Emperor in this world, you… are not worthy to be called an Emperor!"

"Nanxing!" Bai Yu murmured worriedly… He knew Yuchi Nanxing’s resolve and convictions well, terrified that he would completely enrage the Mist Emperor and truly meet his end here.

The Mist Emperor displayed no anger, only a majestically cold and subtly mocking laugh: "Hahahaha, indeed, foolish spirits never truly comprehend their own utter stupidity."

"Abyss Knight, I ask you, in this world, who can be Emperor? Who is worthy of that title?"

Yuchi Nanxing slightly lifted his head, giving an unhesitating answer: "Only… the Abyss Emperor!"

The Mist Emperor’s voice echoed, becoming infinitely distant: "One worthy of being an Emperor of an age is one who either rescued the world from peril or accomplished what no other being could."

"Abyss Knight, answer me: who was it that created a place for survival in this world, originally one of endless disaster and Abyss Dust, thereby gradually building this Abyss world?"

Yuchi Nanxing gnashed his teeth, his rigid will uttering the answer known to everyone in the Abyss: "Of course, it was the Abyss Emperor! Without the Abyss Emperor, this world would not exist!"

The Mist Emperor’s voice exuded endless contempt and mockery, faintly tinged with a hint of sorrow: "Ignorant perceptions, pathetic beings. Then answer me: why is all the Abyss Dust in this world concentrated within the Mist Sea, and has not consumed all the fertile lands and so-called Pure Lands?"

Yuchi Nanxing still responded with difficulty, yet with tenacity: "The core of the Mist Sea… the gravitational pull of the Primordial Dead Abyss…"

"Hahahaha!" As if he had heard the most preposterous joke, the Mist Emperor laughed more wildly and sarcastically than ever before: "So, this is your understanding! This is the so-called Pure Land and Abyss Knights!"

His laughter abruptly ceased, and his voice became suddenly heavy, like a demonic chant that struck deep into everyone’s souls: "The ancient Abyss was an eternal world of death, and only this Emperor and the Abyss Beasts became its denizens of death."

"Millions of years ago, as more and more beings descended upon this world, I could not bear to witness them struggle and perish in despair, leaving behind cries of agony and hopelessness. Thus, I expended all my abyssal power, drawing all the Abyss Dust in this world towards the center until it converged into this very Mist Sea, thereby creating a space of hope with sparse Abyss Dust, sufficient to foster endless vitality for those who fell into this realm."

"Subsequently, my abyssal power was greatly depleted, and I fell into a prolonged slumber, only awakening just over a year ago. And that very space of hope I created has now become this world’s fertile lands and Pure Lands!"

The "truth" articulated by the Mist Emperor left everyone utterly dumbfounded, as if they had just heard forbidden celestial scripture.

"That’s… utter nonsense!" Yuchi Nanxing gnashed his teeth and retorted furiously. "You dare to… maliciously slander… the Abyss Emperor’s divine act of creation…"

The moment his voice faded, the sky abruptly darkened.

Endless Abyss Dust swirled forth, instantly engulfing the space around Yuchi Nanxing. Within mere seconds, it spread for a hundred miles, completely submerging even the distant profound practitioners who had been observing.

The Mist Emperor’s voice resonated within this suddenly materialized Mist Sea: "Now, answer me: can the Abyss Emperor you speak of control Abyss Dust in this manner? Can he control the Mist Sea?"

Yuchi Nanxing’s mouth hung agape as he stared blankly at the churning Mist Sea, utterly speechless.

"If he cannot, then by what means did he establish fertile lands in this abyssal world?"

"And since I can, by what right do you question that I am the one who condensed the Mist Sea and opened up these fertile lands?"

His fractured neck repeatedly attempted to lift his head. Yuchi Nanxing’s lips quivered, his will and faith instinctively urging him to furiously denounce all disrespectful words against the Abyss Emperor. Yet, despite possessing the strength to shout, he suddenly found himself unable to formulate any rebuttal.

The Abyss Emperor could not control Abyss Dust; in fact, no one could. The most advanced interaction people of this era could achieve with Abyss Dust was to disperse or isolate it.

At least until today, this had been an eternal, unquestionable truth of this world.

Yet, he had witnessed the Mist Emperor manipulating Abyss Dust with his own eyes, watched him instantly conjure a vast Mist Sea.

This was not hearsay from others, but something he had personally witnessed and felt, leaving no room for even a sliver of doubt.

"Answer me one more question."

The Mist Emperor’s voice was close to his ear. For Yuchi Nanxing, whose convictions were wavering, the Mist Emperor’s words at this moment instilled a fear he had never known… the fear of his steadfast beliefs being undermined:

"Why do the Abyss Beasts of the Mist Sea only roam within the Mist Sea, rarely leaving it to cause chaos in your fertile lands and Pure Lands?"

Yuchi Nanxing spoke, his voice conspicuously hollow this time: "Because Abyss Beasts instinctively gravitate toward Abyss Dust."

"Is that so? Heh!"

It was still a cold mockery, but the moment that derisive sound landed, all the profound practitioners, already consumed by extreme fear, had their pupils bulge, their souls agitated to the point of near rupture.

Above the abyssal mist, vast patches of dark silhouettes and spectral glows appeared, numbering from thousands to tens of thousands, and then to hundreds of thousands…

These were, astonishingly, the shadows and abyssal eyes of Abyss Beasts, neatly arranged and densely packed, so numerous they blotted out the sky.

Yet, not a single one roared or pounced. They merely stepped out of the abyssal mist in a perfectly synchronized, slow advance, as if disdainfully surveying the trembling beings in the distance.

They had never witnessed such docile Abyss Beasts, yet this spectacle was a thousand, even ten thousand times more terrifying than the greatest perils they had ever faced within the abyssal mist.

Yuchi Nanxing’s pupils ceased trembling entirely. The dense yet orderly silhouettes of the Abyss Beasts imprinted themselves upon his vision, as if piercing his eyes and all his understanding, leaving them riddled with holes.

No matter how utterly absurd or incredible it seemed, every single one of them was forced to confront an endlessly terrifying truth: these Abyss Beasts, understood to possess only destructive instincts, were, in fact, being controlled by the Mist Emperor!

"Now, answer me again."

The Mist Emperor’s voice, at this moment, was nothing short of a devil’s whisper in Yuchi Nanxing’s soul: "Why do the Abyss Beasts of the Mist Sea only roam within the Mist Sea, and not wreak havoc upon your fertile lands and Pure Lands?"

Yuchi Nanxing did not answer, for he could not.

"It seems that even one as foolish as you has already grasped the answer." The Mist Emperor’s voice reverberated through the heavens and earth, deeply permeating every soul within this space: "Then allow this Emperor to articulate the answer that lies within your heart."

"The Abyss Beasts within the Mist Sea are all my subjects. The reason they do not leave the Mist Sea is that, before my slumber, I issued an imperial decree within the Mist Sea, commanding all abyssal subjects not to depart from it."

"Under this imperial decree, whether Abyss Beasts or Abyss Specters, whether original subjects or later ones, all would strictly comply and refrain from disturbing that land of hope I opened up for foreign beings."

"However, upon awakening from my long slumber, I discovered that the fertile land I bequeathed to you has become a supposed achievement of one who calls himself the 'Abyss Emperor,' and furthermore, a so-called Pure Land has been erected there!"

The Mist Emperor’s voice conveyed one part furious indignation and nine parts mournful pity: "And now, you poor, deluded fools are even dispatched to punish the benevolent Emperor who granted you the very world you inhabit!"