After Melde was injured, the Abyss Monsters not only failed to become dormant but grew even more frenzied.

A horrifically brutal war erupted in the skies above Moonlight Island, the last territory of the Winged People, and along the coastal regions. During the battle, the corpses of Winged People fell from the sky like raindrops.

Those warring against the Winged People were their former companions, the Eagle Demons who had fallen into darkness.

Leading them was a Third-Rank Evil Eye Eagle Demon, an elder once very familiar to Duma.

The Winged People, in order to protect their final territory, their last home, spared no effort in engaging the enemy in a decisive battle.

The Winged People exhausted all their strength to repel the Abyss Monster army. However, all defensive ramparts along the coast were destroyed, and many Winged People perished in this battle.

It seemed the Winged People had won, but the Abyss Monsters had likewise achieved their purpose.

They had obtained enough sacrifices.

Upon the sea, Duma withdrew her three pairs of white wings, clutching an Evil Eye Eagle Demon’s corrupted divine stone in her hand…

The decision she had hesitated over for so long finally needed to be made.

“Perhaps it truly is time to leave.”

But Duma looked into the distance, gazing at the crimson sea surface and toward the former Winged Mountains.

The Winged People indeed needed to leave. Even if they could defeat the monsters, they could never return to their former nesting grounds.

That place had been polluted by the Abyss, and they could never return to what once was.

But her mother, her deity, everything she once had—could she truly abandon it all?

Her deity remained beneath that Abyss, dragged down into corruption by her mother.

Could she really just turn and leave?

Duma did not know.

The Winged girl stood in the sea breeze as red-tinged waves soaked her dress hem.

Blood stained her dress hem, and she realized it was not the lingering sunset but the blood of fallen Winged People.

“Divine One!”

“I am Your faithful follower, yet I cannot restore Your radiance.”

“I am the Queen of the Winged People, yet I cannot give them a stable, bright future.”

“I can only watch You sink into filth, and only lead my people to seek tomorrow through the mist.”

Between the two choices, the only one she could fulfill was the latter, which offered the most hope for success.

Meanwhile, things were no better in Avel, where Snake Demons and Wing Demons formed armies that descended as if the sky itself was falling.

The Abyss Monsters had already discovered Avel City-State’s last city hidden in the mountains, but previously Melde had focused her attention primarily on the Winged People, treating the Snake People merely as livestock to be harvested periodically.

But this time the Abyss Monsters needed vast quantities of sacrifices, and the monster army showed no concern for depleting resources, appearing determined to exterminate the Snake People entirely.

Flocks of Eagle Demons circled in the sky, while countless Snake Demons approached wielding weapons.

Yafuan, the Chief Divine Servant of the Temple of Knowledge, also joined the battle. His Paper Flying Dragon was unstoppable, scattering the Eagle Demon army like waves crashing against sand.

At a critical moment, a terrifying Third-Rank fallen Wing Demon and two Second-Rank Wing Demons that had been hiding for some time swooped down from the sky, entangling Yafuan’s flying dragon. Countless Eagle Demons nearly engulfed Yafuan completely.

Yafuan’s Paper Flying Dragon was torn apart by several Wing Demons. Yafuan was nearly killed, but he was brought back by a Witch Spirit who sacrificed herself.

Niya held Yafuan as she descended rapidly from the sky, while behind her, Ghosts deployed spiritual force barriers to block the pursuing Eagle Demons.

She fell from the sky, and a group of people immediately surrounded and protected her and Yafuan.

“Yafuan!”

Niya patted Yafuan’s face, calling out to him with great anxiety.

Yafuan appeared somewhat dazed.

His Paper Flying Dragon had been attacked by one Third-Rank Wing Demon and two Second-Rank Wing Demons. The moment it was torn apart, his will also suffered a severe impact.

Afterward, he accidentally fell victim to an Eagle Demon’s Abyss Divine Technique, nearly becoming corrupted and fallen on the spot.

“Ugh!”

Yafuan awoke, vomiting a mass of filth.

He immediately opened the Book of the Witch Spirit and cast several Divine Techniques on himself, finally recovering and stabilizing his spirit and will.

But looking around, he knew defeat was inevitable.

“Where is King Sidi?”

“Tell him we must first retreat to the fortress within the mountain, then prepare to evacuate.”

“If we continue to hold out, everyone will die here.”

Niya: “King Sidi has already begun preparations. He sent me to rescue you.”

Yafuan nodded: “His Majesty is rational. I didn’t expect a Third-Rank Wing Demon would come this time. I was somewhat careless.”

Yafuan was filled with self-reproach: “Yet once again, I have failed to meet his expectations.”

Niya led Yafuan toward the passageway into the mountain: “This isn’t your fault, Lord Yafuan. No one anticipated our location had already been exposed.”

Subsequently, the Avel City-State was forced to retreat once more. To escape the Abyss Monster army, they divided into four groups to break through the encirclement.

They all knew that one or even two groups would need to draw the attention of the Abyss army, meaning only three or perhaps just two groups would ultimately survive.

Before Yafuan’s return, the King of Avel had already gathered people and made a decision.

“I’ll go! After all, I am the oldest among us,” an elderly general said as he stepped forward.

“Among the divine servants here, my status is highest. Only I should go.” Everyone in the temple understood clearly that the people of Avel could lose anyone, except King Sidi and Chief Divine Servant Yafuan.

A divine servant from the temple and a general chose the deadly mission of attracting attention, leading a group of people away through other passages toward distant lands.

Countless Eagle Demons pursued them from behind, and several terrifying screeches echoed through the sky, the sounds of Wing Demons.

After the first group’s diversion, the second group began their breakout attempt.

By now, most of the Snake Demons and Wing Demon armies outside had been diverted, allowing Niya to finally lead Yafuan and King Sidi of Avel to break through in two separate directions.

“Hurry!”

“Quickly!”

They fought through layers of Snake Demon encirclement, sprinting wildly through the jungle.

Only when the pursuing monsters behind them grew fewer did Yafuan’s group finally slow their pace.

They had escaped the encirclement, and Yafuan had finally recovered from the backlash of his Paper Flying Dragon’s destruction, gradually restoring his strength.

But Yafuan’s face showed not the slightest trace of joy.

He settled the others and went alone to a corner. There, he lashed his tail, smashing a nearby rock to powder before grabbing his head and cursing loudly.

“Damn it!”

“You said things would get better? Is this what better looks like?”

“Besides making empty promises, what else can you do, Yafuan?”

“You useless waste, waste…”

“Worthless!”

Yafuan didn’t know how many times he had faced such situations, nor when this pattern would finally end.

Yafuan was tired of the constant sacrifices people made just to survive.

After a long while, he finally vented the emotions within his heart, intense enough to drive one mad.

Now he leaned against a rock, pressing his hand to his chest.

He felt the power of truth, awaiting truth’s call.

Several days earlier, he had sacrificed the reply he received from the Creator’s Domain messenger to the God of Knowledge and Truth.

According to past experience, information and knowledge involving deities and the Creator’s Domain usually brought tremendous rewards, but his previous sacrifice had not received an immediate response.

It seemed as though the Door of Truth required significant time to calculate the implications of this information for the God of Knowledge and Truth, weighing the benefits and drawbacks.

The Door of Truth was not a deity, having no emotions or hatred to influence it. It cared only for objectives, data, advantages, and disadvantages.

“Door of Truth.”

“Great God of Knowledge.”

“Please… give me, give all Your faithful followers the answers we seek!”

The Abyss.

Within the boundless black mud stood a grotesque, terrifying mountain and city, half submerged in the black mud, while the upper half was built upon densely intertwined black silk cocoons.

Throughout the city, black tumors and filthy clusters clung to buildings.

This was once the Radiant City.

“Hiss!”

A Wing Demon, its body twisted by Dark Corruption, returned through the entrance high above.

It was more terrifying and ferocious than ordinary Wing Demons. Its snake-like or worm-like body had turned completely black, with disgusting flesh tendrils hanging beneath.

Horrifying flesh nodules grew from its wings, and its mouth dripped liquid capable of corroding steel.

The Abyss Wing Demon returned with a flock of Eagle Demons. The Eagle Demons flew back to their nests made of black silk strands outside the city, while the Wing Demon landed in the city square.

It used its wings as feet, alternating them as it moved forward to the temple.

The Wing Demon offered something resembling a ball of flesh, a corrupt divine mythic blood obtained through plundering and sacrifice.

It made a whimpering sound from its mouth, like a dust-sealed wooden door suddenly pushed open, unbearably grating.

It acted like a humble servant, offering its tribute to the being within the temple, its movements conveying unmistakable fear and subservience.

Inside the temple, the divine statue of old was long gone, and on the walls once adorned with paintings of sacred light, a woman was now attached, encased in layers of black mud.

She stretched out her arms, her four pairs of wings also spread to their fullest extent, but those wings bore marks of severe burning.

Despite the passage of time, golden sparks could still be seen bursting from the wounds, with only the black mud wrapping delaying the agony.

“Ah!”

The woman let out a painful groan, the terrible power from the Divine Boat continuing to torture her.

Thus, when she saw the Wing Demon offering the “flesh ball,” she immediately spoke with desperate impatience.

“Give it to me!”

“Give it to me!”

Previously, Melde had directly faced the Divine Boat, sustaining injuries that could hardly be healed from this legendary entity of the previous era.

Even though Melde was a Fourth-Rank apostle and possessed power enhanced by the Abyss, before this Sequence Number 2 divine vessel, she was no more than an ant.

The higher the sequence number, the more unimaginable the power gap became.

Even a difference of just one number represented a world of difference.

Melde’s chanting voice emanated from within the temple, her tone filled with seduction, desire, and evil.

“Will of the Abyss.”

“Dark aspect of god and world.”

“Please accept your servant’s offering, bestow upon me the power of darkness, that I may stand against the light.”

The black mud at the bottom of the Abyss churned violently, like a gushing spring.

With Melde’s continuing chant, the black mud’s reaction grew increasingly violent.

Gradually it began to boil like a pot of oil.

“Boom.”

A tremendous sound erupted as the black mud gathered and solidified, undergoing a terrifying transformation.

From beneath the black mud emerged a horrifying and enormous shadow.

It was a deformed, nauseating massive lump of flesh.

It could no longer be called a lump of flesh, but rather a mountain of flesh.

This was the manifestation of the Abyss, or perhaps its core.

“Screech!”

Thousands upon thousands of Eagle Demons circled around this flesh mountain, fanatically surrounding it, undeterred even as some were devoured by the mountain for coming too close.

Black-scaled Snake Demons and even Four-Armed Snake Demons emerged from the sludge, dancing around the flesh mountain in a scene that would shatter the will and mind of any mortal, driving them to madness and corruption.

“Splash!”

“Splash splash splash.”

“Thump thump thump!”

The enormous flesh mountain moved toward the temple, black mud constantly seeping and falling from its body, dropping in puddles.

Finally, it swallowed the Wing Demon and the “offering” before the temple.

The flesh mountain began to change, emitting a terrifying radiation, its ripples altering the surrounding environment.

“Hummmm~”

The black mud of the Abyss grew thicker, expanding in size and depth.

The corrupt divine blood and sacrificial power merged with this flesh mountain, enriching the source of the Abyss, until finally the mountain secreted the purest Abyss power.

After completing the sacrifice, the flesh mountain dissipated and vanished, only to appear again when next summoned.

But as the flesh mountain dispersed, it formed a shower of black rain, the Abyss’s reward for the sacrifice, bathing all the Abyss monsters.

The Eagle Demons let out screech after screech, charging toward the sky, sometimes colliding and overlapping with each other.

The Snake Demons rushed toward where the flesh mountain had dispersed, even slaughtering one another to compete for the black rain.

One after another, Eagle Demons and Snake Demons underwent metamorphosis.

Yet above all others, Abyss Queen Melde claimed the greatest reward of the ritual.

The dark power of the Abyss directly enveloped the temple, with most of the flesh mountain’s returning power flooding into Melde’s body.

The black mud slowly receded.

Abyss Queen Melde emerged from the defiled temple, her injuries now completely healed.

Melde’s four pairs of wings, which had dissolved under the Divine Boat’s power, had regrown, still half divine white and half evil darkness.

Melde knelt before the temple, facing the boundless sea of black mud, her face showing self-satisfaction and intoxication.

“Divine One!”

“Thank you for your bestowal, thank you for your grace.”

“Your faithful follower, Melde, will continue to carry out your will as always.”

Though Melde still called it divine, its true name was the Abyss, or it could also be called the Will of the Abyss.

After a devout prayer, Melde stood up.

This time, after her injury, Melde had not only recovered but her power had advanced even further.

The Abyss Queen Melde suddenly performed an action resembling suicide, reaching out and digging from her brow the emblem that once marked her as a Sky Messenger.

Her mythic organ, the core of all her power.

She offered her angel divine stone to the Abyss, giving herself completely without reservation.

“Go! My past, all that I once was.”

“Abandon the light, embrace the darkness, embrace the great Abyss.”

The light of law surged from her body, her Divine Technique Imprints mastered after breaking through to Third-Rank, and her mythic organ mastered after breaking through to Fourth-Rank, all now merged with the Abyss.

The aura surrounding Melde transformed instantly, emanating a pressure approaching that of a divine being.

Though the pressure and aura were corrupt and chaotic, within this Abyss, she had indeed transcended mortality.

Perhaps only those who had entered the Path of Wisdom and been reborn multiple times could give others such a feeling.

She had truly become one with the Abyss, though this power was borrowed, resulting from controlling part of the Abyss’s authority.

Abyss Queen Melde spoke, her voice echoing throughout the entire Abyss.

“I am Abyss Queen Melde, and by my decree, all Abyss races shall possess desire and the power to reproduce.”

“This is the power bestowed upon Abyss races by the Will of the Abyss, the law of the Abyss.”

As her words fell, a law manifested within the Abyss, radiating outward and affecting all monsters.

Eagle Demons and Snake Demons, under the influence of this power, began to intertwine, eventually laying monster eggs within the Abyss.

The spirits within these monster eggs were twisted from birth, born as monsters, a part of the Abyss.

At this moment, the detailed information about the Abyss on the Divine Cup in the Creator’s Domain was fully revealed, this powerful artifact beginning to perfect itself.

【Abyss】

【Sequence Number 4】

【Ability 1 Dark Corruption: The Abyss possesses immense corrupting power, able to spiritually pollute and corrupt other life forms, transforming them into Abyss races. Abyss races are influenced and controlled by the Abyss, eternally becoming part of it, but higher Abyss races can in turn control part of the Abyss’s authority.】

【Ability 2 Abyss Sacrifice: The Abyss can transmit power through sacrifice, any intelligent species can form contracts with the Abyss through the spirit realm.】

【Ability 3 Abyss King: Higher Abyss races can sign contracts with the Will of the Abyss to master a portion of the Divine Artifact Abyss’s authority, establishing certain Abyss laws.】

【Ability 4 Abyss Law: The Will of the Abyss represents chaos, evil, and corruption, an existence without any wisdom, purely longing for the evil of this world; but the Abyss King possesses will and can master a portion of the Abyss’s authority, the Abyss King can establish Abyss laws by merging mythic organs into the Abyss.】

【Law of Desire: Abyss Monsters possess powerful and uncontrollable desire, Abyss Queen Melde bestows upon them the power of reproduction, allowing them to give birth to new Abyss monsters through the Abyss. (This Abyss law was created by Melde, master of the first layer of the Abyss)】

Melde stimulated the desires of all monsters, watching them fall into depravity through pleasure, going mad with desire.

“Fall!”

“Express your desires freely.”

“Display your ugliness without restraint.”

“Merge with the dark side of the world.”

“This is reality. This is the true nature of life. Tear away that ridiculous covering and clothing. Pursue the power of corruption without any constraints.”

Melde stood naked before the temple, proclaiming corruption to this world.