Chapter 171: Burning All Sentient Beings to Ash, I Am Invincible Below Ascension!

"What is he trying to do?"

"A Supreme is using his own body as a foundation, just to contain the Karma Fire and the Merit Fire!"

"This guy, this guy..."

Inside the Dragon Palace, the fear in the old Dragon King's heart reached its peak at this moment.

It was not just him; among all those who witnessed this scene, who dared not feel fear? The Merit Karma Fire, capable of shortening even a Supreme's lifespan, was simply an irresistible force for those at the Heaven and Earth Enlightenment realm.

Just watching the dozens of Enlightened old demons struggling in that sea of fire, watching those old demons turn into Dao one by one, was enough to prove what kind of immense power the Red Lotus Demon Venerable's flames possessed.

Among the Enlightened trapped in the sea of fire, more than twenty were old demons at the perfection of Enlightenment.

Yet even such old demons, despite exhausting all their skills and tricks, could not resist the burning of those golden-red flames.

In the sea of fire, only the place where Gu Jiangming stood saw a golden-red lotus flower rise; that lotus protected Gu Jiangming, allowing him to watch with his own eyes as all the great demons before him burned to ashes amidst their struggles and wails.

Although this was a scene of extreme beauty—a golden lotus growing in a sea of fire—the living beings within that picture looked at Gu Jiangming with eyes full of such resentment, such despair, and such fear.

Merely these successive scenes were enough to make even all the powerful Enlightened ones tremble.

Yet, the Supreme behind this, who disregarded his own life, made one's heart uncontrollably raise a series of thoughts: what exactly does this Supreme intend to do? "Is he trying to kill all the Enlightened in the world? Or is it aimed at me?"

"Or perhaps, constantly walking between life and death, are you trying to break through the final restriction of Heaven and Earth and truly reach the Ascension Realm?"

"Is it possible?"

In the Qilin Clan's ancestral lands, the current Kirin Emperor, Zhou Kai, was also looking toward the territory where Gu Jiangming was.

As the emperor of the Qilin Clan, Zhou Kai himself was also a being whose divine blood had undergone atavism.

It was just that Zhou Kai had never expected that none of his own offspring would inherit his atavistic divine blood, while the Liu Family members had inherited it instead.

But Zhou Kai's strength was beyond doubt, so strong that Zhou Kai even dared to call himself a being of the Ascension Realm.

It was just that Zhou Kai's Ascension Realm was not complete; at the very least, his Ascension Realm was not a true breaking of the limits of Heaven and Earth.

The Qilin Clan was inherently the strongest race among the Demon Race, and the history of the Qilin Clan spanned a long period of hundreds of thousands of years.

In such a long span of time, more than one Supreme had been born.

Among all living beings, who does not crave immortality?

But the limits of Heaven and Earth are right there; the Ascension Realm is like flowers in a mirror or the moon in the water—visible but unattainable.

Even with the four generations of Supremes in the Qilin Clan climbing upward, they had only barely managed to break open a gap, a gap leading to the Ascension Realm.

It was true that Zhou Kai's bloodline had undergone atavism, but he was ultimately not a Qilin Supreme possessing the Supreme Bone; he merely had atavistic divine blood.

With the atavistic Qilin Divine Blood, he had long ago broken through to the Supreme Realm at the limit of Enlightenment.

Coupled with the foundation left behind by the four generations of Qilin Supremes, within the Qilin Clan's ancestral lands, Zhou Kai could barely possess power that transcended the limits of Heaven and Earth; this was the reason why Zhou Kai called himself an Ascension Realm being.

In Zhou Kai's view, although the Supreme Realm was still within the category of Heaven and Earth Enlightenment, it had already transcended Heaven and Earth Enlightenment.

Since it transcended Heaven and Earth Enlightenment, why could this realm not be called the Ascension Realm?

Especially with the foundation of the Qilin Clan, Zhou Kai felt that even if it were a true Heavenly Human of the Ascension Realm, he could still fight against them.

And now that Gu Jiangming had clearly broken through to the Supreme Realm, yet was still using his body to bear such terrifying flames, how could Zhou Kai not overthink it, and wonder if this Gu Jiangming was coming for him?

"If you are coming for me, then I shall wait for you here!"

"You bear Merit and Karma, and you are invincible below the Heavenly Human; I have the foundation of the Qilin Clan, and I am also invincible below the Heavenly Human."

"If the two of us were to fight, perhaps there is truly hope, truly hope to break that limit of Heaven and Earth..."

Zhou Kai took a deep look at the place where Gu Jiangming was, and then this Kirin Emperor closed his eyes once more, as if everything in the outside world had nothing to do with him.

"Run!!!"

Gu Jiangming had a vague sense of Zhou Kai's gaze; after the Four Thousand Bureau, his Supreme-level strength allowed Gu Jiangming's senses to reach an incredibly inconceivable realm.

It was not just Zhou Kai; at this moment, Gu Jiangming clearly perceived that there were several gazes in this world, no weaker than his own, watching him.

Gu Jiangming only sat in the sea of fire, only manifesting this strange scene of a golden lotus growing in a sea of fire.

But outside the Niankong Villa, those many great demons who had previously harbored luck, thinking of watching from the sidelines and waiting for an opportunity, were at this moment just like stray dogs, each showing their own magical powers, wanting to completely distance themselves from this battlefield.

But would Gu Jiangming let these demons who wanted to kill his son go?

In the eyes of Liu Moxuan, Wang Qinghe, and even the few Human Race Enlightened ones like Old Man Taicang, the three thousand li around the Niankong Villa had completely turned into a golden-red sea of fire.

Only the Niankong Villa, with a golden-red lotus flower above the heads of Liu Moxuan and the others, protected their bodies.

As for the other great demons, they were now like pieces of shredded paper, and the moment they touched the golden-red sea of fire, they struggled and turned into ashes.

In this battle, those Enlightened great demons never once displayed their own magical powers or methods from beginning to end.

In that golden-red sea of fire of Gu Jiangming's, all living beings were simply equal—equally accepting death!

"How could it come to this, how could it come to this!"

Although those seventy-plus great demons had burned to ashes before them, whether it was Old Man Taicang or the Daoist Master of Longhu Mountain, they both stood before Gu Jiangming at this moment, looking at him with faces full of melancholy and regret.

Compared to the not-yet-grown Gu Shengxi, in the eyes of Old Man Taicang and the Daoist Master of Longhu Mountain, Gu Jiangming was the most suitable Human Emperor Supreme for the Human Race.

But their ears were not deaf, and they had heard it clearly: this Supreme, Gu Jiangming, had at most a thousand years of lifespan left.

A thousand years of lifespan—for a Nascent Soul, this lifespan was not even one-third of their total.

For the Enlightened, a thousand years of time might just be the time for a single retreat with a great realization.

Yet Gu Jiangming had clearly achieved the Supreme Realm, but his lifespan was only a thousand years; how could this not make Old Man Taicang and the Daoist Master of Longhu Mountain feel regret in their hearts?

"Actually, there are only eight hundred years left..."

"I cannot control this magical power either; all sentient beings can be burned—this kind of magical power is too terrifying."

"Even with my current body, every time I use this magical power, it is a damage to my body."

Gu Jiangming knew Old Man Taicang, but this was his first time seeing the Daoist Master of Longhu Mountain.

However, Gu Jiangming was not unfamiliar with the Daoist Master of Longhu Mountain; after all, back in the era of Mount Shu, Gu Jiangming had also paid respects to the founder, and wasn't the founder of Longhu Mountain this very Daoist Master of Longhu Mountain before him? "So I say, how could it come to this!" Old Man Taicang and the Daoist Master of Longhu Mountain were dumbfounded as they listened to Gu Jiangming continuing to reduce his own lifespan, as if they could only say this one sentence.

It was Liu Moxuan who, as if remembering something at this moment, remained silent.

"Before my grandfather passed away, he left behind words saying that the Qilin Clan's Zhou Kai is suspected to be a being of the Ascension Realm!"

Gu Jiangming did not respond to the words of the Old Man Taicang and the Daoist Master of Longhu Mountain, but at this moment, Liu Moran was no longer silent, lightly speaking words that forced the Daoist Master of Longhu Mountain and the Old Man Taicang to fall silent.

"Heaven and Earth indeed have their limits, and the limit is the perfection of Heaven and Earth Enlightenment."

"Taking half a step to break the limit can be called Supreme."

"The time since the rise of the Human Race is too short, its history is too short, and it has not even birthed a single Supreme."

"But other races in Heaven and Earth are different; for instance, the Qilin Clan or the Dragon Race, their history spans hundreds of thousands of years, or even longer."

"No one knows how many Supremes have been born within their races."

"Since one has already broken the limit with half a foot, who would not want to truly break the limit and step into the Ascension Heavenly Human Realm?"

"Furthermore, are the ancient Supremes of those races truly dead?"

"If I want to accomplish what I wish to do, this is the only way, and it must be so!"

Compared to the worries of the Old Man Taicang and the Daoist Master of Longhu Mountain, Gu Jiangming was not particularly concerned about how much of his remaining lifespan he had left.

At this time, Gu Jiangming looked at the distant horizon, counting exactly how many gazes he had sensed just now.

As for fretting over how much of his remaining lifespan he had, Gu Jiangming felt it would be better to thoroughly master the Four Thousand Bureau, completely break the limit, and thereby breakthrough to the Heavenly Human Realm.

Since half a foot breaking the limit could not contain his divine ability, then he would simply breakthrough to the Heavenly Human Realm!

"This..."

Listening to the words of Gu Jiangming and Liu Moran, whether it was the Old Man Taicang or the Daoist Master of Longhu Mountain, both were inevitably silent at this moment.

They knew, they knew that their own perspectives were ultimately a bit narrow.

Yet their strength was only at this level, and even the Heaven and Earth they had encountered, as well as all the Heaven and Earth Enlightenment they understood, were all telling them that the limits of Heaven and Earth could not be broken.

【During the few years you were in seclusion, your second son, Gu Shengxi, was born.】

【Your second son, Gu Shengxi, was born with a Supreme Bone; possessing the Supreme Bone, he was coveted by countless great demons from birth.】

【You vaguely felt that this world was not just as it appeared to you; in the shadows, there might be even deeper hidden existences waiting to act.】

【Can the limits of Heaven and Earth truly not be broken?】

【Heaven and Earth have existed for countless ages; who could know how many Supremes have been born in the world?】

【How could those Supremes be willing to be bound by Heaven and Earth, and how could they not want to break the final limit and breakthrough to the true Ascension Realm?】

【You understood that having just stepped into the Supreme Realm, you were facing a group of true immortals.】

【You knew your strength was insufficient, but having already stepped into the Supreme Realm, what way was there to increase your strength in a short time?】

【You turned your gaze to Merit, and you turned your gaze to Karma Fire.】

【Through your constant study and personal experimentation, you successfully fused Merit and Karma Fire, two types of flames that were completely impossible to combine, in a crude manner.】

【You created a new kind of flame, and you named it Red Lotus Fire!】

【Red Lotus Fire: All sentient beings can be burned, and all below the Heavenly Human Realm can be incinerated.】

【Fusing the Red Lotus Fire placed a terrifying burden on your body, and your lifespan was significantly reduced under the pressure of the Red Lotus Fire.】

【Please note: If you cannot further fuse the Red Lotus Fire, every time you use it, it will cause greater damage to your body, thereby shortening your own lifespan.】

【When you emerged from seclusion, you vaguely felt that Niankong Villa, which has ties to you, was under attack.】

【Over seventy great demons of Enlightenment were eyeing your offspring, Gu Shengxi and Gu Nianmo, covetously; please make a choice as soon as possible.】

【You chose to step into the battlefield of Enlightenment without hesitation; you used the Red Lotus Fire to ignite the hundreds of thousands of Demon Race troops surrounding Niankong Villa, and the Red Lotus Fire incinerated all sentient beings, turning those burned into Red Lotus fire seeds.】

【You began a war against more than thirty great demons of Perfected Enlightenment; you released all your Red Lotus Fire and ignited the Red Lotus fire seeds you had previously left behind.】

【You manifested the vision of a golden lotus growing in a sea of fire; because of the characteristics of the Red Lotus Fire, all sentient beings below the Heavenly Human Realm were ignited.】

【This was a crushing battle; as the Red Lotus Demon Venerable, your reputation will become a lifelong nightmare for countless Demon Race.】

【You attracted the gazes of existences hidden in the shadows; in the long history of this Heaven and Earth, there are always incredible sentient beings who break the so-called limits, and you attracted the attention of these people.】

【The Kirin Emperor of the Qilin Clan, Zhou Kai, developed a fighting intent toward you; he is waiting for your next move, longing for a battle with you.】

【Due to special reasons, the Kirin Emperor Zhou Kai is a pseudo-Ascension Realm existence; he hopes to fight you to truly break through that final line and breakthrough to the Ascension Realm.】

Following the anticlimactic end of the great battle, lines of text began to refresh on Gu Jiangming's Seek Immortality Interface.

The Old Man Taicang and the Daoist Master of Longhu Mountain had already left; at this moment, Gu Jiangming sat in Niankong Villa, feeling nothing but discomfort all over.

Clearly, he had just suppressed and killed hundreds of thousands of demon troops with a wave of his hand, and clearly, he could incinerate dozens of great demons of Enlightenment when facing them directly, but at this moment, facing the gazes of the two women beside him, Gu Jiangming only felt a great terror lingering nearby.

"I still have some injuries on me that haven't recovered; how about I go and tend to my wounds first?"

Gu Jiangming held his son, Gu Shengxi, and facing the curious gaze of Gu Nianmo, as well as the two gazes from Wang Qinghe and Liu Moran that were filled with indescribable resentment, Gu Jiangming really wanted to escape at this moment.

He was only thinking now, why didn't he leave with the Old Man Taicang and the other one just now? If he had left with the Old Man Taicang and the Daoist Master of Longhu Mountain, he wouldn't have to be making up such a lame excuse now, right?

It was just that Gu Jiangming also knew that these were merely words he was using to comfort himself.

His son was born, and it was one thing that he wasn't by his side, but he couldn't let Gu Shengxi grow up as a child who had never seen his father, could he?

But facing the gazes of Wang Qinghe and Liu Moran, Gu Jiangming still couldn't help but feel his scalp tingle! "Dad, is your injury serious?"

Gu Jiangming's lame excuse couldn't fool Wang Qinghe, nor could it fool Liu Moran, but it could at least fool his son, who seemed a bit dim-witted.

Gu Nianmo was very thoughtful in caring for his old father's injuries, not noticing the fire in the eyes of his mother and aunt at all.

However, it was hard to say whether Gu Nianmo was truly not very bright, or if he had already seen through everything and was silently helping his old father, assisting him in temporarily escaping the Shura field.

(End of this chapter)