At the edge of the Endless Fog, Bai Yu and his retinue of knights halted their steps. The increasingly dense Abyssal Dust swept over them, eroding their life force and spiritual senses.

"Begin," Bai Yu commanded coldly, gazing ahead.

There was no turning back. Mo Xifeng clutched the Abyss Stone given to him by the Fog Monarch. Gritting his teeth, he crushed it with a swift motion.

A faint crack sounded as fragments scattered from his hand, releasing wisps of thin gray mist.

Bai Yu frowned slightly. His expression remained calm and unyielding, but his spiritual senses were already extended to their maximum. Yet, despite the shattering of the Abyss Stone, he perceived no trace of a soul's presence.

It seemed no different from an ordinary stone.(Indeed, that was the case.)

Mo Xifeng, however, had already dropped to his knees, his voice trembling with despair. "Mo Xifeng, King of the Xuanmo Realm, seeks an audience with the Fog Monarch!"

His voice spread into the distance, but layer upon layer of Abyssal Dust muffled it until it dissipated entirely, leaving no response in return.

Bai Yu cast a sidelong glance at the fragments of the Abyss Stone scattered on the ground. Suddenly, he let out a cold laugh.

"Heh! King of the Xuanmo Realm, it seems you've been deceived. This was merely a common Abyss Stone, devoid of even a trace of soul essence. How could it possibly…"

Before he could finish, the sky abruptly darkened, and startled exclamations echoed around him.

Bai Yu whipped his head forward. His pupils, gradually narrowing and reflecting an ashen gray, fixed on a massive rolling fog surging toward the heavens.

The gray fog advanced rapidly, rolling closer and closer, occupying almost the entirety of their vision and devouring the already dim light of the heavens and earth.

Bai Yu's firm and resolute demeanor began to crack... This sight, a marvel beyond imagination, was something even a high-ranking Abyss Knight like him had never witnessed.

Yet what truly shook him to his core—near to the point of terror—was that this scene was eerily identical to the seemingly absurd legends he had heard.

The Fog Monarch?

The vastness of the Endless Fog had never been traversed in all of history. How had this seemingly ordinary Abyss Stone summoned him amidst this boundless fog? And how had he appeared in mere moments?

The gray mist surged closer, covering hundreds of miles in the blink of an eye. Its oppressive aura, the unmistakable density of Abyssal Dust, obliterated any doubt that it might merely be an illusion.

Fine cracks formed in Bai Yu's pupils. He had yet to see the Fog Monarch's form, but the sheer presence of the rolling fog crushed his certainty, pride, and the fundamental beliefs he had held all his life.

Within the abyssal mist, a pair of gray eyes opened slowly. A voice reverberated across the world—belonging to the Fog Monarch:

"Mo Xifeng, why do you seek an audience with this Monarch?"

Mo Xifeng, his entire body trembling, responded in a quivering voice: "This humble king had no intention of disturbing your slumber, but... the knight from the Pure Land wishes to meet with you."

Even in uttering this short phrase, he seemed to exhaust every ounce of willpower. Both sides represented forces he could not afford to provoke. Trapped between them, he felt as if his soul might shatter at any moment.

Bai Yu, however, did not speak immediately. His wavering gaze revealed the turbulence within his heart.

"Pure Land? Hahaha..." The Fog Monarch's voice carried a palpable disdain, mocking and derisive:

"That place, the so-called most sacred of realms, is in truth the filthiest and most corrupt of all. How laughable that they dare call themselves 'Pure Land'!"

These heretical words sent shockwaves through all the nearby Abyssal practitioners. For Bai Yu, a knight of the Abyss sworn to the Pure Land, the affront to his faith ignited a surge of anger.

"Silence!"

With a thunderous roar, Bai Yu drew his pale sword, its frosty glow swirling with icy energy as he pointed it toward the gray eyes in the mist.

"No one below the Abyssal Monarch dares claim the title of 'Monarch'! By declaring yourself the Fog Monarch, you have committed an offense of the highest degree. By defiling the Pure Land, you have earned a thousand deaths!"

"Show yourself! Whatever you are, the judgment of the Pure Land is upon you! Submit, and the Abyssal Monarch may yet show mercy!"

The oppressive aura of an Abyss Knight could make countless beings bow in submission, but under the gray mist that enveloped hundreds of miles, it seemed pitifully insignificant.

The Fog Monarch's gray eyes seemed to distort slightly. Then, he laughed, the sound echoing with unrestrained mockery.

"Hahaha! Without me, there would be no living world! Without me, there would be no Pure Land! And now, you dare turn your blade against the one who saved this realm! How pitiful. How absurd!"

The words pierced Bai Yu's mind like a blade. "Ridiculous!" he roared inwardly, his anger boiling over.

"Enough of this madness. There is nothing more to say!"

"Let me reveal your true form and bring the Pure Land's judgment upon you!"

With that, Bai Yu charged forward, his white sword blazing with icy light. But before he could strike, an overpowering aura descended.

His heart sank as a terrifying presence filled the air.

From the distant sky, a star fell, carrying an overwhelming pressure that sealed all sound in the world. Within that star, a silver-armored figure descended, his eyes shining like radiant stars.

"Commander..." Bai Yu whispered in shock.

The silver-armored figure extended a jade-like hand, encircled by a dazzling astral array. As he plunged his hand into the gray mist, his aura obliterated everything in its path.

"One of the Thirty-Six Commanders of the Abyssal Knights, Yuchi Nanxing!"

The name Yuchi Nanxing alone was enough to leave everyone in a state of near shock.

The Abyssal Knights were already seen by the world as beings of unparalleled prestige, the swords of order and the blades of judgment of the Pure Land.

Among the Abyssal Knights, thirty-six were of a special rank, known as the Thirty-Six Commanders. Rarely appearing before the public, they had no need to personally enforce order or judgment, for they each commanded their own retinue of Abyssal Knights. These individuals stood far above ordinary Abyssal Knights and, within the hierarchy of the Pure Land, were second only to the Abyssal Monarch and the Four Divine Priests.

It was said that all Thirty-Six Commanders of the Abyssal Knights possessed cultivation at the Divine Limit Realm.

Even without their titles as commanders, the mere mention of the words Divine Limit Realm would position them as legends in the eyes of the world—beings surpassed only by the True Gods themselves.

And now, one of these mythical figures had appeared here in person, enacting judgment upon the Fog Monarch, who was stirring strange waves within the abyss.

"Yuchi Nanxing, the legendary 'Southern Abyss Emperor Star'! Today, not only do we witness the Fog Monarch but also behold the divine majesty of such a being!" a practitioner exclaimed, his voice trembling with excitement.

"Such power… I can hardly fathom it. Has the Fog Monarch already been torn apart?"

"So, is the Fog Monarch real or not? Is it someone masquerading with some arcane method? Or… is it truly the Abyssal Dust of the Endless Fog, as some legends claim?"

Bai Yu remained unshaken, standing at the edge of the Endless Fog. He raised his gaze to the scene ahead, a slight smirk forming at the corner of his mouth. "As expected, you came in person after all."

The might of Divine Limit Realm power was utterly terrifying, yet none of the practitioners fled. Even those who were gravely injured held their ground to observe from afar. They all wished to witness the true form of the Fog Monarch—whether it was a person or something else entirely.

Starlight pierced through the abyssal mist, and the gray eyes belonging to the Fog Monarch had vanished.

But what awaited them was not the Fog Monarch held captive in Yuchi Nanxing's grasp. Instead, a dull, pained groan resounded.

Bai Yu's expression abruptly changed.

Because that groan unmistakably came from… Yuchi Nanxing?

Boom!

Boom!!

Boom!!!

Terrifying footfalls resounded, like the earth splitting apart and the heavens collapsing.

As the starlight dimmed, the abyssal mist continued to churn. Then, a massive shadow emerged slowly from within.

The moment this colossal shadow appeared, an oppressive force beyond comprehension or willpower overwhelmed the area. It was as though ten thousand mountains bore down upon everyone, sealing their limbs, internal organs, and even their very blood. Only their eyes and souls quivered uncontrollably.

The Ancestral Qilin God!

Its massive tail swung forward, coiling tightly around a human figure whose face twisted with fury.

Bai Yu's face turned ashen, and he let out a panicked roar: "Commander!!"

The vast space fell into dead silence as countless shocked gazes fixated on the scene.

Just moments ago, the knight commander, descending with divine majesty, had struck directly at the Fog Monarch with earth-shattering force. Yet now, instead of emerging with the Fog Monarch's true form, he himself was tightly bound. The face that should have exuded endless divine authority was instead drained of color and filled with terror.

"Ancestral… Qilin God!" Yuchi Nanxing gritted his teeth, letting out a low groan.

It was rumored that when the Fog Monarch first appeared, the Ancestral Qilin God accompanied them. According to legend, the Ancestral Qilin God was under the control of the Fog Monarch.

That had always been the most laughable tale he had ever heard. Even as subsequent stories about the Fog Monarch grew increasingly absurd, none surpassed the ludicrous notion of controlling the Ancestral Qilin God.

But now, a commander of the Abyssal Knights, standing at the pinnacle of the Divine Limit Realm, was shaken to the point of near-collapse… More terrifying than his astonishment was the complete overturning of his understanding, even the collapse of his beliefs.

The Ancestral Qilin God was one of the most fearsome abyssal beasts deep within the Endless Fog.

When abyssal corruption overtook a profound beast, regardless of its previous rank or form, it would degrade into an abyssal beast, retaining only the instinct for destruction. Such creatures could not possibly be controlled—let alone the Ancestral Qilin God!

Moreover, the Ancestral Qilin God was only ever seen in the depths of the Endless Fog. There was no reason for it to appear at the fog's edge…

He had clearly sensed nothing earlier. Even after unleashing his divine power to suppress the Fog Monarch, there had been no indication of the Ancestral Qilin God's presence.

It was the overwhelming abyssal dust, far too dense to penetrate, that had obscured the existence of both the Fog Monarch and the Ancestral Qilin God.

"Urgh… Ah!!"

His bloodshot eyes widened as he let out a thunderous roar. The overwhelming force of his Divine Limit Realm power exploded in all directions.

The cataclysmic energy shook the earth, sending Bai Yu flying backward as he barely avoided coughing up blood. The practitioners behind him were thrown into chaos, many of them severely injured or dead.

Yet the Ancestral Qilin God's massive tail remained unyielding. Even as the devastating divine energy clashed against its body, it only emitted the sound of clashing metal, resonating with a deafening ring.

Boom!

He struggled desperately, unleashing his strength in wave after wave. Cracks began to appear on the Qilin Armor protecting him, but the crushing force binding him never loosened—not even by the slightest degree. It was a terror so absolute that it began to erode even his will to fight.