Chu He’s face was pale, showing no reaction, until the shell exploded and the Buddha ash rushed towards him, a sharp pain instantly sweeping through every nerve in his body.
Countless specks of dust, smaller than air molecules, carrying highly explosive substances, invaded his flesh and blood, causing a chain reaction of invisible explosions deep within his blood vessels and bone marrow, piercing into the depths of his soul and causing his divinity to tremble violently.
It all happened in just a few short seconds.
Chu He coughed up a mouthful of blood, clutching his throat in agony, and stared straight at Zhou Hui before kneeling down after a long moment.
In reality, his vision had already blurred. He could only vaguely see Zhou Hui’s figure, completely unable to make out the expression on his face.
—If you leave, I won’t want you anymore.
So it was true.
—At this very moment, Asura King Baḍin arrived from behind. He caught a glimpse of Chu He painfully half-kneeling in the turbulent high-altitude air, blocking his path to rescue the Demon Lord Fan Luo.
The Phoenix Wisdom King had always been a very complex existence for the Asura clan. On the one hand, when he had cleared the sea of blood back then, he had killed the previous Great Asura King with a single arrow, indirectly causing a thousand years of turmoil in the Four Evil Paths. On the other hand, he had once betrayed Zhou Hui, the greatest enemy of the Four Evil Paths, and saved the current Great Asura King, Fan Luo.
He was known to all as the King of Light with the strongest divinity of the Heavenly Dao, and his malice towards Asuras and hell demons was something he barely bothered to conceal. But it was undeniable that he was also one of the important aids in the revival of the Asura clan.
Under the effect of this complex attitude, many Asuras held great vigilance and hostility towards the Phoenix Wisdom King. Asura King Baḍin, who had once strongly advocated for killing the Phoenix Wisdom King and refining his divinity, was one of them. From the moment he descended to the human world, he had been monitoring Chu He’s every move—and as expected, Chu He did not remain docile forever. He had made a move when the Demon Lord was severely injured by the Buddha ash.
Someone else might not have been able to immediately discern Chu He’s deeply hidden true intentions, but Asura King Baḍin had realized at that moment that the Phoenix Wisdom King’s target was not Zhou Hui.
—He was going to strike at the Demon Lord!
Asura King Baḍin raised his giant hand, and in an instant, a vajra hammer weighing over a thousand jin appeared in the void. He gripped it and, with a roar, brought it crashing down on Chu He’s back!
At this time, the white bone black cloud that the Demon Lord’s Dharma form had transformed into was churning violently, coiling upwards like a ferocious giant dragon, tightly enveloping Zhou Hui within. Electrical currents flashed in the black cloud, white bones exploded, and the continuous, deafening roars shook the heavens and the earth.
Chu He clutched his chest, panting heavily, when suddenly, a swift wind brushed past his ear.
Even if he was severely injured and ill, his tens of thousands of years of combat experience were not fake. The fighting instinct deeply ingrained in his blood made his body move faster than his reactions. In an instant, he ducked his head, and the giant hammer whistled past, grazing the top of his head.
Chu He turned his head, his eyes widening and then narrowing, and said sharply, “Asura King Baḍin!”
Asura King Baḍin retracted his giant hammer. The muscles in his arms twisted and bulged, exceeding the length of his body, forming an extremely bizarre and terrifying silhouette.
Then he flipped his wrist and swung horizontally. The vajra hammer, wrapped in a hurricane, once again struck heavily at Chu He’s chest!
If he were hit by this, even if it just grazed him, having his sternum crushed into bloody mud would be a light outcome. His entire person might be instantly reduced to half.
Chu He’s figure retreated explosively. His sideburns and collar were all blown forward. At the critical moment, he dodged the blow by a hair’s breadth, brushing past the hurricane. However, Baḍin was indeed worthy of being the head of the four Asura Kings of the Asura clan. His massive, mountain-like body was extremely agile and swift. In a flash, he swung the vajra hammer and pounced again, reaching Chu He in an instant!
At this time, the ground had been swept by a sea of fire. In mid-air, the six-syllable mantra Buddhist scripture was reflecting tens of thousands of sharp lights, and the flesh and blood of the deep black hell demons were exploding and splattering. The pouring rain from the sky didn’t have time to fall to the earth; it was evaporated into white steam by the high-heat energy in mid-air. The black death qi seawater was mixed in the rampaging streams of fire. Wherever it touched something, it began to corrode, making a grating, sizzling sound.
In this chaotic situation, Chu He could no longer retreat. He stopped abruptly in mid-air and drew the Buddha’s bone knife.
However, just as he was preparing to face the attack head-on, a figure descended from the sky like lightning, straddling the neck under Asura King Baḍin’s huge head. With a swift motion of his hand, a snowy light flashed, and the tip of his blade plunged deep into the Asura King Baḍin’s throat.
—It was Jia Louluo!
The bandages on the young man’s side profile fluttered, revealing a handsome, expressionless face. Asura King Baḍin roared in pain, but Jia Louluo’s figure was as steady as a rock. His legs clamped onto his neck without wavering, while at the same time, his hands gripped the hilt of the knife and he suddenly exerted force horizontally.
Black blood shot out like a sharp arrow for more than ten meters. That single cut had severed Asura King Baḍin’s head!
Chu He said sharply, “Jia Louluo, move aside—”
Jia Louluo leaped up like lightning. Below him, Asura King Baḍin’s head fell to the ground with a boom!
However, at that moment, his bizarre body stood without falling. He even lifted his own head with one hand and swung the vajra hammer madly with the other, missing Jia Louluo’s rapidly leaping heel by a mere fraction!
“Why isn’t he dead?!” Jia Louluo flashed to Chu He’s side and shouted.
Chu He patted his son’s shoulder. “That’s not how you kill a king-level Asura.”
·
At the same time, in the center of the white bone black cloud, Zhou Hui felt as if he were in the middle of a vast sea during a storm, surrounded by circles of dazzling, ring-shaped lightning.
The electrical current struck his body mercilessly, each flow bringing with it splattering flesh and blood. And all around him, the Demon Lord’s face transformed into white bone masks, appearing in tens of thousands from the void, countless black, empty eye sockets staring at him from all directions.
“Can you finally realize it now, you foolish demon?” Fan Luo’s voice came from the bared-teeth mouths of countless skull masks, echoing in the enclosed space.
“You thought a lowly hell demon could climb up to the Heavenly Dao’s King of Light and challenge the authority of my Asura clan. Do you finally realize your foolishness now? You thought the Asura clan would forever submit to the rule of the Heavenly Dao, be trampled under your feet for thousands of years, and still be able to resist tearing you to pieces?!”
Countless Demon Lord Fan Luos extended their bodies from all directions, their blades as numerous as a downpour, the dense tips of their swords all aimed at Zhou Hui, who was surrounded by lightning in the center of the void. “Hell demon, today is the day you pay the price!”
In the void, the Demon Lord’s roar was a deafening, earth-shattering sound, causing the countless white bones in the black cloud to tremble in unison. “Your bones will turn into a sea of blood, never to be reincarnated, forever watching my Asura clan, in the nine heavens and ten earths, reign over the six paths—!”
As his voice fell, the countless Demon Lords released their sword hilts, and the tens of thousands of sword tips, as if guided, all stabbed towards Zhou Hui, who was surrounded by lightning in the center of the void!
However, at this very moment, Zhou Hui raised his head.
His handsome side profile was stained with blood, but there was no trace of pain, only his pupils shone with a chilling, scarlet light.
“I don’t even kneel to Buddhas,” he said coldly. “What the hell is an Asura?”
—The next second, Zhou Hui’s figure, in the hurricane, suddenly transformed into a colossal demonic beast that could hold up the heavens. Its giant paws stepped on the ground, its shoulder height almost equal to the sky. Its face was like a lion and a tiger, its black mane bristling in the wind, exuding a terrifying, majestic aura.
It opened its blood-basin mouth and charged against the rain of swords and blades. Among the tens of thousands of identical Demon Lord Dharma form phantoms, it accurately pounced on one of them!
The torrent of converging sword tips cut countless bloody marks on the colossal body of the demonic beast. Fresh blood exploded like a continuous series of explosions, spreading from the ferocious beast’s head to its entire body. Countless blades even chopped off the pale white, sharp claws of its hind legs.
However, this did not even slow down the demonic beast’s charge by a thousandth of a second.
It was as if it disappeared in one place and appeared in another at the same time, the process in between so fast that it was impossible to capture with the naked eye. In the blink of an eye, it landed with a roar in front of one of the countless Demon Lord Dharma forms in the sky.
—The Demon Lord had never expected the demonic beast to recognize his true body among the tens of thousands of phantoms with a single glance. But at this point, it was too late to either flee or defend. He saw the demonic beast suddenly raise its paw and slam the Demon Lord heavily under its sharp claws!
The white bone black cloud roared and then rapidly dispersed. The scattered skeletons fell to the earth like a hailstorm.
“So what if you’re the Great Asura King,” the demonic beast said in a low voice.
It opened its mouth, revealing three rows of sharp beastly teeth, top and bottom. Then, a scene that made all who witnessed it unable to believe their eyes occurred. It lowered its head and fiercely tore a bloody piece of raw flesh from the Demon Lord’s body!
The Demon Lord’s Dharma form’s white bone mask fell off. Amidst his incredulous expression, the demonic beast raised its neck, flicked its tongue, and swallowed the raw flesh!
At that moment, the trembling raw flesh and the splashing fresh blood, together with the crisscrossing, torn flesh on its own body, constituted the most bizarre, most terrifying, and most explosive scene on the high-altitude battlefield.
“Your divinity is mine,” the demonic beast lowered its head again, revealing its dense, sinister sharp teeth.
·
At the same time, not far away in mid-air, Jia Louluo said in astonishment, “Father, he…!”
Chu He pushed Jia Louluo’s head down, and just then, the vajra hammer swung past, grazing his scalp. Asura King Baḍin’s headless body lunged forward. “Ahhhhh—”
Chu He pulled Jia Louluo back rapidly, and at the critical moment, they circled around the headless giant corpse, dodging the storm-like swings of the heavy vajra hammer!
“What’s wrong with Father!” Jia Louluo asked loudly in the strong wind.
Chu He did not answer. His gaze shifted from Asura King Baḍin to Zhou Hui. He was panting slightly, his face very pale.
The most evil Asuras could only withstand heavenly lightning when their divinity was full. So, Chu He’s original plan was for Zhou Hui to weaken the Demon Lord Fan Luo, and even cause limited damage to his divinity, so that he could successfully intercept, kill the Demon Lord, and trigger the thunder tribulation.
Once the tribulation began, the roaring, surging sea of thunder would follow him from the highest heavens to the lowest yellow springs. At its most intense, it could even shatter the sealed gates of the Thirty-Three Heavens, allowing him to ascend smoothly from Mount Buzhou to the Formless Heaven.
However, what he had never expected was that the situation had now taken an unpredictable turn—Zhou Hui was actually using the most ancient, most bloody method of devouring the Dharma form to seize the Demon Lord’s divinity as the Great Asura King!
This was a forbidden technique only recorded in ancient texts. Because it was too bloody and barbaric, it had long been listed by the Heavenly Dao as a crime of the Asura clan and was forbidden. Chu He had no idea where Zhou Hui had learned of this method, but he knew that if he allowed Zhou Hui to continue devouring, Fan Luo’s divinity would have a hard time fusing with Zhou Hui’s soul as a hell demon. The most likely outcome was that the divinity would be completely destroyed and then utterly perish.
What is he trying to do?
What on earth is Zhou Hui trying to do?!
Chu He’s pupils trembled slightly. Jia Louluo asked hoarsely, “Mother?!”
“…” Chu He panted, reached out and ruffled Jia Louluo’s messy short hair, and said, “Go down to the ground and help Hu Qing and the others. Protect yourself.”
Jia Louluo asked angrily, “Then what about you!”
Chu He looked at him, a long-lost emotion flashing through his eyes.
It was the emotion Jia Louluo had often felt from the phoenix’s gentle gaze when he was still young, a feeling as soft as water yet scorching hot. On many cold nights, he had curled himself up in the phoenix’s magnificent and beautiful tail feathers and would feel the phoenix gently combing his and the peacock’s fledgling feathers with its beak, looking at them with that love-filled gaze until they fell into the pure white, carefree dreams of their childhood.
“I will be back soon,” his forehead gently touched Jia Louluo’s. It was a very intimate and affectionate farewell. “You and Zhou Hui must both protect yourselves well. After I have cleared away all the shadows on the path ahead… I will come back.”
Chu He pressed on Jia Louluo’s shoulder and gave his son a gentle push.
Jia Louluo had no time to react. He just saw him turn around and charge into the air towards the headless Asura King Baḍin, his figure igniting in a magnificent golden-red flame in the void.
The next second, he drew his sword from its sheath. The Buddha’s bone knife burst forth with brilliant light in the phoenix’s true fire, as if the first ray of light that created the world had descended from high above to the human world.
—He swung his sword horizontally with abandon, the blade diagonally cutting the Asura King Baḍin body into two from bottom to top!
The headless giant corpse froze for a moment, then separated, top and bottom, blood spraying madly from the severed parts.
With a huge roar, the Asura King Baḍin fell to the ground in several pieces and immediately burst into towering flames!
At that instant, in the ancient, dark sky that no one could see, it was as if a second hand ticked and reached its end.
The Phoenix Wisdom King’s book of merits was full. The thunder tribulation descended from the heavens, and an ominous electrical light flashed faintly in the clouds.
Chu He knelt on one knee, spattered with blood, and slowly closed his eyes, maintaining his posture of holding the knife with one hand.
Not far away, the demonic beast Zhou Hui seemed to sense something. He suddenly raised his head and roared, “Phoenix—!”
However, his voice was just out of his mouth when it was drowned out by the rumbling thunder that came crashing down. Everyone’s vision was instantly filled with a world of intertwined bright blue and snow-white electrical arcs. A sea of ten thousand acres of thunder filled the heavens and the earth, erupting with a strong light that was enough to burn one’s retinas!
The sea of rolling thunder was boundless, turning the world into a vast expanse of white silence.
In this almost frozen dead silence, Chu He’s figure went against the current, passing through the sky battlefield that had turned to dust, and came before Zhou Hui.
At that moment, Zhou Hui changed back to his human form, seeming to want to raise his hand towards Chu He—however, the sea of thunder, chasing the tribulation-goer, seemed to sense it. It turned around from a distance and caught up with Chu He. The immense pressure rushed past his back and continued to charge forward, instantly hitting Zhou Hui and causing blood to spray from his mouth and nose.
“Don’t be like this…” Zhou Hui forced out a few words with difficulty and pain, although in the midst of the ten thousand acres of rolling thunder, even he himself could not hear this voice.
“…I lied to you…” he said, trembling. “I didn’t abandon you…”
In the strong light, he couldn’t see Chu He’s face clearly. His retinas were a blank haze. He couldn’t even feel if he was making the right mouth shape. The next moment, an even stronger round of heavenly thunder descended from the sky. The entire world was filled with a dense forest of electrical pillars, and Zhou Hui was finally sent flying by the huge electrical current!
·
In a daze, Chu He finally held on until Zhou Hui left. He held the Buddha’s bone knife tightly above his head and, in the roar, let out an inaudible cry of excruciating pain.
His body was covered with fine bloody marks. The fresh blood evaporated before it could flow out, and the wounds, struck by lightning, emitted white smoke. He was in so much pain that his whole body spasmed. He trembled and knelt on the ground, pressing down on the struggling Demon Lord who wanted to get up and escape.
Even his fingernails were filled with blood, yet the strength in his fingers was desperate, allowing no escape.
“You’ve been… waiting for this moment… for a long time… haven’t you?!” The Demon Lord Fan Luo roared amidst the sky full of electrical currents, his face even a little distorted. “You deliberately triggered the thunder tribulation, what on earth do you want—you—”
Chu He knelt beside him, braving the ten-thousand-ton thunder tribulation, almost pressing him down completely. At first glance, it was a very intimate posture, like lovers kissing to the death in the apocalypse.
“—If only one person born from the demon’s eye can survive in the end, that person is Zhou Hui.”
He gasped and smiled, fresh blood flowing down his pale cheeks in streams. He looked so wretched, yet there was a breathtaking beauty to him, causing a shiver to erupt from the depths of one’s soul. “And you will ascend to the Formless Heaven with me, along with the fake Buddha… and fall forever into Avīci Hell.”
