Book 8: Chapter 98: Sa’s Strength
The East Spiritual Fire Sea:
The over-sixteen-kilometer-tall Zhu Qiqi pressed its imposing aura towards Gu Hai.
Gu Hai s.h.i.+elded Jingwei behind him, gripping the hilt of the Life Executioner Saber, as he gazed gravely at Zhu Qiqi across from him.
“Vermilion Bird Prime, we—Gu Hai of the Han Heavenly Dynasty—must use the nirvana core today due to a family matter. We promise to return you a valuable treasure another day to compensate for our actions,” Gu Hai declared solemnly.
“Return? Do I need you to return it? Do you think you have the right to negotiate with me? What’s mine is mine. The nirvana core isn’t something that wretched girl can enjoy. Get lost! Let me tear that wretched girl apart and re-compress the nirvana core’s energy, restoring it to its original state!” Zhu Qiqi retorted coldly.
“Tear that wretched girl apart?” Gu Hai’s eyebrow twitched. His previous amicability vanished completely, replaced by a hint of coldness.
“Hah! We originally respected you as the Vermilion Bird Prime and didn’t intend to be hostile. However, you’re h.e.l.l-bent on killing Wan’er. In that case, we will have to offend you. The nirvana core wasn’t obtained from you; we took it from Jiang Lianshan and Yinggou. Humph! Since you refuse our goodwill, let’s make it a confrontation!” Gu Hai said coldly.
“Ignorant junior. How laughable!” Zhu Qiqi sneered, swiping its enormous vermilion bird claw at Gu Hai.
“Tenth Cycle!” Gu Hai bellowed.
Boom!
The powerful manifested saber clashed with Zhu Qiqi’s sharp claw. Under the immense force, Zhu Qiqi’s figure staggered, and it failed to shatter Gu Hai’s manifested saber.
Gu Hai had not expected to block Zhu Qiqi’s talon so easily.
His eyes lit up. “Oh? So, you are also suppressed by the East Spiritual Fire Sea, unable to use the power of your three spiritual souls? You are only so-so!”
“Only so-so? If I hadn’t just spat out the nirvana core, you wouldn’t even be able to stand here talking to me,” Zhu Qiqi retorted haughtily.
“We told you, just wait there! You might not be our match with your three spiritual souls suppressed!” Gu Hai said coldly.
Since Zhu Qiqi could not use the power of its three spiritual souls, Gu Hai did not fear anyone here, given his fire deity and physical body.
Zhu Qiqi’s eyes turned red as it looked at Gu Hai. It sneered, “Do you think that with my three spiritual souls suppressed, you are on an equal footing with me? You’re not qualified!”
Gu Hai gazed coldly at Zhu Qiqi but did not respond. At this moment, his sole focus was on protecting Jingwei.
“Do you know what the East Spiritual Fire Sea is and why it burned for millions of years? It’s the energy my master bestowed upon me. It’s just that my master gave me too much, and we didn’t handle it properly. Now that I’ve been unsealed, my master’s energy should be usable!” Zhu Qiqi said with a smirk.
“Huh?” Gu Hai’s expression changed.
Not far away, Ba, Yinggou, Jiang Lianshan, and the Divine Farmer Hoe frowned. A master? Did Vermilion Bird Prime have a master?
“Master, thank you for your grace. Please bestow the supreme divine energy upon me. Master, please return the energy to my body!” Zhu Qiqi suddenly shouted.
Buzz!
Suddenly, the initially surging East Spiritual Fire Sea trembled.
Subsequently, translucent red energy surged towards Zhu Qiqi from all directions. The other flames around the vermilion bird retreated as this energy approached.
The red transparent energy’s appearance sent a mysterious ripple through the world, as if a mighty divine being had descended. A terrifying aura radiated from the East Spiritual Fire Sea into the surroundings.
Rumble…!
Inside the East Spiritual Fire Sea, countless fire-attributed animal spirits knelt down in fear. It was not limited to just the East Spiritual Fire Sea; outside, all living and dead beings in city after city dropped to their knees in a display of reverence. The atmosphere felt like the immense aura of Heaven’s eye opening, making all creatures in all directions, living or otherwise, tremble in fear as they prostrated themselves towards the East Spiritual Fire Sea.
This was Sa’s aura. This aura suppressed every being into kneeling.
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Even in Everlasting Nether Capital, countless citizens and officials knelt in submission.
Gu Hai and the other powerful experts managed to endure the pressure.
“Your Holy Eminence, what is this aura? Why do I feel like the Six Paths Immortal has arrived?” Kong Xuan asked in astonishment.
The Mosquito Daoist and Long Shenying arrived from different directions, both with horrified expressions.
Gu Hai and Long Wanyu exchanged a knowing glance.
“Is this Sa’s aura?” Long Wanyu exclaimed in surprise.
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Yin Tiger Deity Hall:
Many animal spirits and ghosts in the Heavenly Demon Holy Land knelt down.
The Divine Scorpion Heavenly Demon and the Bellowing Griever Heavenly Demon stared in disbelief at the Unrestrained Heavenly Demon.
Whoos.h.!.+ Whoos.h.!.+
Then two more figures flew over, one in black robes and the other in white robes.
“Number One, Number Two, you both came out of closed-door cultivation?” The Bellowing Griever Heavenly Demon’s eyes gleamed with excitement.
“Number Three, Number Four, what’s going on? Where is this aura coming from?” The white-robed figure was bewildered.
The black-robed figure looked at the Unrestrained Heavenly Demon. “Milord, is this the energy Zhu Qiqi gained from her ritual?”
“Sa’s energy! So, her ritual wasn’t a failure back then but a success? Sa isn’t dead yet?” The Unrestrained Heavenly Demon’s voice trembled with panic.
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The East Spiritual Fire Sea:
The red translucent energy turned from an energy state to a gas, then to a liquid as it hovered in the air like a lake. This lake had a gap in it, which channeled the liquid towards Zhu Qiqi. It slowly absorbed this energy bit by bit, but its aura grew over twentyfold. A powerful aura that could shatter s.p.a.ce immediately pressed towards Gu Hai.
Under the weight of this aura, resistance seemed futile, even if one wanted to resist.
Boom! Boom!
Not far away, Vairocana and Hou Yi suddenly emerged from the Dreamscape Field.
“Mister Gu, is this… Is this Sa’s energy?” Vairocana exclaimed.
“Yes, things are about to get complicated,” Gu Hai sighed.
The nearby Hou Yi was perplexed.
“That’s not right. This energy lacks Sa’s mark. It’s simply his energy. Mister Gu, I once faced this sort of energy with Laozi; this kind of energy can belong to anyone who obtains it,” Vairocana explained.
“What did you say?” Gu Hai’s eyes widened.
“It can be s.n.a.t.c.hed, Mister Gu!” Vairocana said with excitement.
Gu Hai’s eyes lit up. “How can we s.n.a.t.c.h it?”
“I don’t know! Laozi never said back then!” Vairocana said with a wry smile.
“He never said? I might have a way!” Gu Hai’s eyes gleamed.
“What?” Vairocana asked in astonishment.
“Hou Yi, Vairocana, protect Jingwei’s body and don’t disrupt her revival. I’ll deal with Zhu Qiqi!” Gu Hai instructed, his eyes hard with determination.
“Alright!” Vairocana and Hou Yi responded promptly.
Gu Hai instantly charged Zhu Qiqi.
“Tenth Cycle!”
“You’re seeking death!” Zhu Qiqi snorted coldly.
It reached out, its claw swiping towards Gu Hai.
Boom!
Gu Hai’s manifested saber exploded upon impact, and Zhu Qiqi’s claw struck him.
If it were someone else, they would have been instantly shredded before the force of Sa’s energy. However, Gu Hai was different; his physical body was unmatched in the world.
With one enormous report, Gu Hai was sent soaring into the sky.
The intense pain didn’t incapacitate Gu Hai; rather it sharpened his focus.
As he flew into the sky, he suddenly felt the suppression on his three spiritual souls dissipate. His three spiritual souls trembled but became usable.
It made sense; the East Spiritual Fire Sea had suppressed his three spiritual souls with Sa’s energy. However, as Zhu Qiqi drew on Sa’s energy, condensing it into that enormous, translucent energy, the suppression on his three spiritual souls vanished.
With the suppression gone, Gu Hai could now use his three spiritual souls.
“Divinity Destroying Light!” Gu Hai said firmly.
His heavenly eye appeared on his forehead, and a beam of Divinity Destroying Light shot towards Zhu Qiqi.
“Divinity Destroying Light? You also know Jiangchen’s cultivation technique? Humph!” Zhu Qiqi’s eyes turned cold.
Suddenly, it spread its wings wide.
Boom!
Immediately, roaring flames countered and extinguished the Divinity Destroying Light.
The suppression on Gu Hai’s three spiritual souls vanished, and so did that on Zhu Qiqi’s. Zhu Qiqi was the Vermilion Bird Prime and had long reached consummation in its spiritual souls, making it incredibly formidable.
The East Spiritual Fire Sea was initially on the brink of collapse due to the extraction of Sa’s energy. However, it was now engulfed in Southern Bright Li Flame as Zhu Qiqi’s wings unfurled.
As Zhu Qiqi blocked the Divinity Destroying Light, it peered at Gu Hai. Just then, he opened his mouth and inhaled. The energy that initially belonged to the Vermilion Bird Prime formed a second stream, surging straight towards Gu Hai and entering his body. He absorbed it?
Gu Hai drove the Worldly Sorrowful Endowment.
Of the five types of cultivation—lifespan, blessings, divine, cultural, and spiritual—heavenly gift cultivation techniques were for spiritual cultivation.
Spiritual referred to spiritual light. This was the cultivation method Sa created back then. Just like how Heaven Cang had created blessings cultivation, and f.u.xi had created lifespan cultivation, Sa had created spiritual cultivation.
The heavenly gift cultivation technique aimed to cultivate spiritual light, which meant cultivating Sa’s energy.
Now, Gu Hai exerted his full effort to absorb Sa’s energy with the Worldly Sorrowful Endowment. Lacking Sa’s will, the energy naturally sought an outlet and surged madly towards Gu Hai.
This deluge of power was faster and more urgent than the one flowing towards Zhu Qiqi.
“It’s impossible! The energy my master gave me can only be absorbed by me alone. I must be mistaken!” Zhu Qiqi mumbled in disbelief, rubbing its eyes.
It rubbed its eyes with its wings, but the amount of Sa’s energy flowing to Gu Hai continued to increase.
Is he—Gu Hai—really s.n.a.t.c.hing my energy?
“You scoundrel! That energy belongs to my master. How dare you touch it? You’re seeking death!” Zhu Qiqi roared, flapping its wings and sending a torrential blaze rus.h.i.+ng towards Gu Hai.
Naturally, Gu Hai defended himself with the Life Executioner Saber. His energy surged exponentially, and he swung his saber down.
Boom!
Zhu Qiqi’s strength was overwhelming, and Gu Hai again went flying. However, his physical body was impervious; despite the intense pain, he endured. While absorbing Sa’s energy, he charged Zhu Qiqi once more, disrupting it and preventing it from seizing the nirvana core.
At this moment, Zhu Qiqi was in a state of extreme frustration.
It had conducted the ritual for its master with great difficulty, only to mishandle it, leading to its own sealing for countless millennia. After finally breaking free, it found that the energy its master had lent it was being s.n.a.t.c.hed away.
“No one should dare take my master’s energy! It’s all mine! Roar!” Zhu Qiqi lunged at Gu Hai ferociously.
Gu Hai was prepared for the confrontation, and at the same time, he felt a surge of excitement within.
The energy I just absorbed is helping me make a breakthrough with the Worldly Sorrowful Endowment?
The Worldly Sorrowful Endowment was an exceedingly difficult cultivation technique. Gu Hai had not made much headway in it and had reached the fourth layer only by a stroke of luck.
He had already given up on any hope for further advancement, but to his surprise, Sa’s energy was helping him. His heavenly eye was scorching hot, and he realized it was on the brink of a breakthrough.