Vairocana died, the Divine Farmer Hoe died, Jiang Lianshan died, and Yinggou escaped. Only Gu Hai, Ba, Zhu Qiqi, and Hou Yi remained.
Hou Yi was busy protecting Jingwei and could not spare time. Gu Hai continued to absorb the vast lake of Sa’s energy. In a short while, he had absorbed one-third of it.
After breaking free, Zhu Qiqi was furious.
“This is mine!” it roared and lunged at Gu Hai.
As Zhu Qiqi advanced, the Southern Bright Li Flame again covered the East Spiritual Fire Sea.
In the raging inferno, Zhu Qiqi tore through space with its sharp claws, heading straight for Gu Hai.
Whoosh!
Ba stepped forward, shielding Gu Hai.
“You again? Do you want to protect him? Then die together!” Zhu Qiqi’s claws reached for Ba.
Ba’s eyes narrowed, and she responded with a punch.
Boom!
Claw and fist clashed, tearing a vast area of space. A huge black hole immediately enveloped Ba and Zhu Qiqi.
Ba’s fist blocked Zhu Qiqi’s attack.
Zhu Qiqi’s expression changed as it looked at Ba in astonishment.
“The ancient Vermilion Bird Prime? Is this all you’ve got?” Ba remarked coldly.
Screech! Zhu Qiqi cried out in frustration.
With a flap of its wings, an immense wave of flames surged towards Ba like a collapsing heavenly river.
Fire?
Ba was not afraid of fire.
Back in the ancient times of the war between the shamans and animal spirits, Zhu Qiqi represented the animal spirit race, but Ba now stood at the peak of a shaman race’s branch. How could she be weaker than Zhu Qiqi?
Boom!
Amid the raging flames, their fists and claws clashed once more. Ba again blocked Zhu Qiqi. As both of them brought out all their strength, the deafening upheaval seemed to resonate throughout the nether realm.
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Yin Tiger Deity Hall, the Heavenly Demon Holy Land:
The Unrestrained Heavenly Demon watched in silence as flames engulfed the East Spiritual Fire Sea in the distance once more.
“Milord, even though it’s covered by fire, the voice is unmistakable. Is that Ba?” the Bellowing Griever Heavenly Demon exclaimed in surprise.
The Unrestrained Heavenly Demon nodded.
“This Ba is formidable. She’s fighting evenly with Zhu Qiqi,” the Divine Scorpion Heavenly Demon said in horror.
“I wonder how many Great Dao she has grasped?” someone on the side asked.
“We’ll find out soon!” the others said in unison.
Buzz!
Suddenly, two towering fiery-red images of Great Dao trees emerged abruptly in the East Spiritual Fire Sea. Their swaying motion triggered more flames, which filled the surroundings.
------
“That is the Great Dao Zhu Qiqi has grasped. Is that Ba’s Great Dao?” The Bellowing Griever Heavenly Demon squinted.
------
Boom!
The collision of the two Great Dao caused a resounding explosion that reverberated throughout the nether realm.
Buzz! Buzz!
Two more Great Dao appeared, clashing like the other two, intensifying the savagery of the battlefield.
“Ba has also grasped a second Great Dao? How did she manage to cultivate them at such a young age?” the Divine Scorpion Heavenly Demon exclaimed.
Screech!
Suddenly, ten more Great Dao appeared beside Zhu Qiqi’s two Great Dao. The Dao might soared, shaking the entire eastern area.
------
“Twelve? Milord, didn’t you say that Zhu Qiqi could control only two Great Dao at most?” The Bellowing Griever Heavenly Demon was astonished.
“She absorbed some of Sa’s energy to achieve this. Her strength now surpasses that of ordinary cultivators at the consummation of spiritual souls!” the Unrestrained Heavenly Demon said in a deep voice.
------
The East Spiritual Fire Sea:
As Zhu Qiqi exerted all its strength, the twelve fire-attributed Great Dao overwhelmed Ba’s two Great Dao.
“Hahaha! Little brat, you’re done now, right? This is a portion of my master’s power. You can never surpass my master!” Zhu Qiqi grinned maliciously.
Ba’s mouth curled coldly, a flash of anger in her eyes.
Rumble…!
The crimson clouds in the sky regathered, about to open the heavenly eye.
“Here it comes again. I told you, my master’s power is useless against me!” Zhu Qiqi shouted.
Zhu Qiqi shot a golden light towards the red clouds, attempting to seal them again.
“No one can stop me from using what I want! Open!” Ba shouted coldly.
Boom!
The force from parting the red clouds shattered the golden light Zhu Qiqi had emitted, and the heavenly eye opened abruptly.
As the heavenly eye opened, a destructive aura descended, prompting even Zhu Qiqi’s expression to change.
Boom!
The heavenly eye emitted a golden-red Divinity Destroying Light, like a waterfall crashing towards Zhu Qiqi.
Zhu Qiqi’s expression changed, and it spread its wings wide as it drove the power of four Great Dao, forming an energy shield to resist the attack.
Boom!
The Great Dao shield exploded, and the power of the Divinity Destroying Light was far from negated. It continued to pour towards Zhu Qiqi.
“You scoundrel! That’s my master’s power! Break!” Zhu Qiqi shouted angrily.
Ten Great Dao trembled, manifesting an even stronger giant shield that reached for the sky.
Boom!
With a loud report, the Divinity Destroying Light finally halted.
However, the Divinity Destroying Light seemed endless, and even though the initial burst had not been effective, it continued to pour forth, engaging in a relentless battle with ten Great Dao.
Ba’s fists and Zhu Qiqi’s claws kept clashing. These two supreme experts were evenly matched for the moment, neither able to overpower the other.
The surrounding space had long been shattered into fragments. Hou Yi protected Jingwei, preventing the shock waves from crushing her. Ba and Zhu Qiqi wore grim expressions as they remained deadlocked.
“I never thought that besides Jiangchen, the shaman race had such a powerful shaman. To think you can really hold your own against me?” Zhu Qiqi exclaimed in frustration.
“I’m not of the shaman race; I’m just me,” Ba retorted coldly.
“Humph! I don’t care who you are. Today, you must die along with Gu Hai. How dare you steal my master’s energy?! You’re asking for death, and I won’t spare you!” Zhu Qiqi roared with a menacing scowl.
On the other side, Gu Hai was absorbing Sa’s energy faster and faster. His Worldly Sorrowful Endowment had reached the fifth layer.
Ba blocked Zhu Qiqi, buying precious time for Gu Hai. Finally, after a while, Gu Hai finished absorbing all of Sa’s energy.
The heavenly eye on his forehead had disappeared, and the churning dark clouds in the sky rumbled.
Suddenly, a crack formed at the center of the dark clouds.
Boom!
The crack widened, transforming into a vast eye—a heavenly eye that belonged to Gu Hai.
The heavenly eye flashed with a black light, with its pupil appearing pitch-black. When it opened, it seemed to release an immense force that could shake souls.
Not far away, even Hou Yi could not help but shudder.
“Gu Hai’s heavenly eye? It seems different from Her Holy Eminence’s? My spiritual souls are trembling?” Hou Yi exclaimed in surprise.
Gu Hai’s heavenly eye had a pitch-black iris, but there were seven miniature energy cores in the white, resembling seven planets orbiting a star.
The two heavenly eyes high in the sky instantly amplified the vast heavenly might several times over.
------
“Gu Hai’s heavenly eye? It’s actually come to fruition?” The Unrestrained Heavenly Demon on the distant horizon had a somber tone in his voice.
“He absorbed Sa’s energy? He formed a heavenly eye? He benefited from this too easily!” the Divine Scorpion Heavenly Demon said with a grim expression.
“There’s something off about Gu Hai’s heavenly eye. It seems different from Ba’s and Essence Genesis’s.” The Unrestrained Heavenly Demon furrowed his brow slightly.
“What’s different?” the Bellowing Griever Heavenly Demon asked in confusion.
“Gu Hai’s heavenly eye appears to carry a hint of… It’s reminiscent of the Heaven Splitting Ax,” the Unrestrained Heavenly Demon replied, perplexed.
“A heavenly eye? The Heaven Splitting Ax?” Everyone looked bewildered.
“The Heaven Splitting Ax belonged to Long Zhanguo, and it’s already been destroyed,” Divine Scorpion Heavenly Demon said, puzzled.
The Unrestrained Heavenly Demon shook his head, indicating his own incomprehension.
------
The East Spiritual Fire Sea:
Ba also noticed the strangeness of Gu Hai’s heavenly eye, as if it possessed the power to reshape the world. It was truly bizarre.
Gu Hai was unaware of any anomaly. He was familiarizing himself with the heavenly eye and felt as though it could sense hundreds of Great Dao, connect with them, and even borrow power from these Great Dao. At this moment, the heavenly eye seemed to possess boundless energy.
“Gu Hai! Hurry up!” Ba shouted.
Gu Hai nodded and turned to look at Zhu Qiqi.
Zhu Qiqi gazed in astonishment at Gu Hai’s heavenly eye.
“This isn’t right. Besides Master’s energy, there’s something else inside you,” Zhu Qiqi said, surprised.
However, Gu Hai was in no mood to converse with Zhu Qiqi. Instead, he narrowed his eyes.
The energy from hundreds of Great Dao surged into the heavenly eye, rapidly transforming into Divinity Destroying Light.
Boom!
Gu Hai’s heavenly eye shot Divinity Destroying Light at Zhu Qiqi.
“Huh? What kind of Divinity Destroying Light is that?” the Unrestrained Heavenly Demon, who was observing from afar, exclaimed in astonishment.
Gu Hai’s Divinity Destroying Light was not a typical column of Divinity Destroying Light. Instead, it was a translucent energy shaped like an ax head as it headed straight for Zhu Qiqi.
Zhu Qiqi suddenly felt its mind and spiritual souls shudder.
It shrieked and drove its ten Great Dao with all its might, hardening the Great Dao shield even further to block the second heavenly eye’s attack.
Boom!
Gu Hai’s axe-shaped light column collided with Zhu Qiqi’s defenses, but strangely, it did not touch the Great Dao shield. Instead, it penetrated the shield and directly struck the vermilion bird.
“What is this?” Zhu Qiqi cried out in surprise, its face changing.
“Argh!”
In the next moment, Zhu Qiqi let out a miserable, agonized scream. The ensuing scene left Ba wide-eyed.
Zhu Qiqi’s physical body bore not a single mark, but its spiritual souls had been sent flying from its body.
Gu Hai’s Divinity Destroying Light does not target matter; it exclusively attacks souls?
As Zhu Qiqi’s spiritual souls went flying, it trembled with shock. It looked desperately at its physical body nearby, attempting to repossess its physical body. However, devoid of spiritual souls, its physical body instantly lost all control, causing all the Great Dao it had harnessed to scatter.
Boom!
Ba’s Divinity Destroying Light slammed Zhu Qiqi’s physical body, sending it flying.
“No, my body!” Zhu Qiqi’s spiritual souls cried out, desperately trying to reach its physical form.
Boom!
At that moment, another ax-shaped Divinity Destroying Light descended from Gu Hai’s heavenly eye, crashing into Zhu Qiqi’s spiritual souls.
“Argh!”
Boom!
Zhu Qiqi’s spiritual souls instantly exploded, scattering.
Ba abruptly turned her head, her eyes wide in astonishment as she stared at Gu Hai’s heavenly eye. Can it be that this heavenly eye only targets souls? Is the Vermilion Bird Prime really going to die like this?