Chapter 451: Di Wu Ceng

Primordial Immortal Realm, Supreme Immortal Palace.

The chaotic region belonging to the Holy Lord of Jade Pool and the Thunder Emperor Ancestor had not yet fully subsided; deep in the side hall, a crisp 'crack' sound rang out again.

This time, it was the twelve-grade merit golden lotus hovering in the void, illuminating myriad ages, that suddenly trembled; the Buddhist soul lamp burning atop it extinguished at once, and the lamp bowl was covered in spiderweb-like cracks.

On the base, the three characters 'Jin Tuo Zi' lost all their light.

"Amitabha... my Buddha!!!"

A roar utterly unlike that of a Buddhist monk, filled with endless violence and madness, exploded from the merit golden lotus.

The Buddha light, originally solemn and compassionate, seeming able to relieve all worldly suffering, turned pitch black as ink in this instant, brimming with resentment and slaughter!

"Hahaha! Retribution! Truly retribution!"

The Holy Lord of Jade Pool's gleeful mad laughter rang out again; he unabashedly mimicked the other's tone, mocking with a yin-yang inflection,

"Buddhist friend, your hatred is too heavy, easily giving rise to inner demons! Your disciple's fate bears this calamity; it is the karmic cycle, so why insist? Better let go of obsession and let this seat see how you attain instant Buddhahood! Hahaha!"

"Jade Pool! You're courting death!"

The leader of the Western Heaven Buddhist Sect went completely berserk; the entire merit golden lotus began to burn fiercely, a terrifying will no weaker than the Thunder Emperor Ancestor's tore through the void, about to forcibly descend onto the true immortal battlefield.

However, the eternally suspended golden blazing sun once again blocked his path.

"Step back."

The Supreme Immortal King's cold, merciless voice rang out; a supreme power that obeyed his words crashed down, forcibly pressing the berserk Buddhist will back into the golden lotus.

"Supreme! You would even block this seat?!"

"Rules are rules."

The Supreme Immortal King's voice carried not a shred of emotion.

After forcibly suppressing the Buddhist sect leader, inside the golden blazing sun where the Supreme Immortal King resided, an uncontrollable frenzy of endless irritation and violent rage suddenly erupted; the sound echoed within his own law-space, making the river of time ripple.

"Madmen! A bunch of madmen! All damn madmen!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill! Besides killing, what else can you do?! Idiots! Being used as pawns and still unaware, you idiots!"

The Supreme Immortal King cursed madly, yet could not name names, as if venting at empty air.

After a long while, he finally stopped, panting heavily; for the first time, a deep weariness and powerlessness flickered in his eyes formed of golden fluid.

If this continues, next time even he might not be able to suppress it!

……

……

And in the fourth layer of the Sending Heaven Hall.

Gu Yuan's clone casually kicked Jin Tuo Zi's desiccated corpse into the volcano crater, then turned and handed the Vermilion Bird Secret Key to the already dumbfounded Hun Yuan Xue.

"Miss, the second one."

Hun Yuan Xue instinctively took the secret key, but her hand trembled slightly.

She looked at the man before her, radiating terrifying demonic might like a death god descended, and for the first time felt an irrepressible fear.

Too ruthless.

Too brutal.

Lei Qianjie, Mo Wuxin, Jin Tuo Zi—these once peerless geniuses who stood shoulder to shoulder with her, even giving her headaches, were in this man's hands as easily crushed and drained as chickens.

Hun Yuan Xue may be arrogant and domineering, but she is not stupid.

She clearly knew that the power this man displayed had far surpassed the scope of a mere 'henchman'.

She even wondered, if she were not backed by the title of 'master,' if she still had no use value, would this man not drain her as well?

"Yuan..."

Hun Yuan Xue swallowed, forced out a trembling smile, her voice shaking,

"Well done. Now we have two secret keys. With just one of the Four Symbols Secret Keys, we can guide divine light into the fifth layer. We… we don't need to keep fighting over them, do we?"

She really was afraid.

She feared that if Gu Yuan's clone kept killing, he would slaughter everyone in the fourth layer; even if she escaped, the Hun Tian Sacred Land could not protect her!

However, upon hearing her words, Gu Yuan's clone merely tilted his head slightly, his gray-black eyes gazing at her in silence.

"No need to fight over them?"

Gu Yuan's clone's voice was hoarse and icy, revealing a kind of natural cruelty,

"Miss, have you not heard the saying? If you don't pull out the roots when cutting grass, it will grow back when the spring wind blows."

"With four secret keys, if even one falls into another's hand, the fifth layer gains another person. Another person means another rival for fortune, another variable."

Gu Yuan's clone slowly approached Hun Yuan Xue, looking down on her from above, a flicker of heart-pounding madness flashing in his eyes:

"Isn't it necessary? I think it is. As long as we kill everyone holding a key and seize all four keys, the fifth layer's Pool of Ascension and its core inheritance will be entirely yours, Miss."

"Don't you want to monopolize this tremendous opportunity, Miss?"

Hun Yuan Xue felt a chill run through her body under Gu Yuan's clone's gaze, and she instinctively stepped back.

Although the temptation to monopolize the opportunity was immense, reason told her that if she really slaughtered everyone, what awaited her upon leaving would surely be a joint reckoning by all the major immortal king clans!

"No… no!" Hun Yuan Xue shook her head repeatedly, "Yuan, listen to me! Two are enough! Let's activate the secret keys now and go to the fifth layer! \"

Gu Yuan's clone looked at her frightened expression and coldly sneered inside.

This Hun Yuan Xue, usually arrogant and overbearing, really at this moment still had too little courage.

But he was merely trying to scare her.

His true purpose was not really to kill everyone.

After all, he still needed to leave a few alive to spread the word, pinning this black pot firmly on the head of Zang Tian Ge.

Furthermore……

Just moments ago, Gu Yuan's clone, through a soul link with his true self, sensed some news that made him extremely pleased.

The true self also already got the key.

"Since Miss said so, Yuan will naturally obey."

Gu Yuan's avatar suddenly restrained the violent demonic aura on his body; the madness on his face instantly disappeared, and he returned to a stiff, respectful appearance.

He bowed slightly, the corner of his mouth curling into a meaningful smile.

"No need to fight over it; we can set off."

Hearing that, Hun Yuan Xue felt as if pardoned and let out a long sigh of relief.

She quickly took out the White Tiger and Vermilion Bird secret keys, infusing them with immortal essence.

Hum!

Two brilliant divine rays shot up into the sky, converging in midair to form a guiding light pillar leading to the Fifth Layer's True Transmission Realm.

"Go!"

Hun Yuan Xue pulled Gu Yuan's avatar and eagerly stepped into the light pillar.

Not long after they disappeared,

In the other two directions of the Fourth Layer Continent, guiding divine light also rose.

Feng Lingyun

She held the Black Tortoise secret key in her hand, looked up at the light pillar on the Heavenly Dome, and her clear, cold eyes flickered with extremely complex light.

"Zang Tian Ge... Yuan... this game is getting more and more interesting."

Feng Lingyun whispered softly, her form flickered, and she vanished into the light pillar.

At this moment, Gu Yuan's true self, hidden in the void, watched as all four guiding divine lights lit up, and he clapped his hands in satisfaction.

"The Fifth Layer, it's time for the show to begin."

He pulled the hood of the Heaven-Deceiving Cloak, his form turning into a dark shadow, silently following behind the guiding divine light toward the Place: Sheng Xian Chi, sneaking onward.