Ch. 1332 - Radiant Gold, Sacrifice of Hellfire Asura

“What is this guy doing?” The man in battle armor frowned, a bad feeling stirring inside him. Divine energy surged through his hands as he attacked Hellfire Asura.

Hellfire Asura, however, ignored him completely. He buried the heart in his hand deep into the ground. The earth seemed to come alive, as if it had gained a heartbeat of its own. A heavy thump-thump-thump echoed through the air, shaking the heavens themselves.

The armored man’s fist landed, blasting Hellfire Asura backward. His body slammed into a nearby mountain, and with a deafening crack, the entire peak split cleanly in two. But Hellfire Asura didn’t care. He slowly stood, glancing down at his empty chest. Without a heart, his life force was fading fast.

He raised his right hand, his infernal energy now gone, replaced by a thick, primal aura. Moments later, thunderous sounds echoed through the world, like the opening of countless spirit gates. The lands of the Ancient Demon Realm were swallowed by monstrous energy, sealing off the heavens and the void like an unbreakable barrier.

“What is this?” The armored man’s eyes narrowed. “Hellfire Asura, what exactly are you trying to do?”

“To kill you,” Hellfire Asura said flatly.

He lifted his right hand, and within a hundred million square miles, it was as though a colossal invisible hand rose from the ground and grasped the armored man and his army.

The man stiffened in shock. Despite the enormous distance between them, he was being effortlessly restrained.

“Damn it!” he growled, struggling desperately. His right hand struck out over and over, yet every attack missed, the invisible hand could neither be seen nor touched. None of his techniques worked.

Seeing the armored man trapped, two figures leapt down from the nearby celestial ship, one male and one female, both dressed in white immortal robes. Each held a longsword, though their auras were not among the strongest. Even so, they were not ordinary cultivators, they were Sword Slaves.

Within the Heavenly Court, powerful cultivators often raised sword slaves, children trained from birth to nourish divine blades with their own lifeforce. Each time such a sword was drawn, it would be in perfect, razor-sharp condition. These two were such sword slaves.

They stood on either side of the descending steps from the celestial ship, bowing respectfully. Their robes were white as snow, their presence sharp as the sun.

The stairway from the ship unfolded, and a white-robed figure slowly stepped down. As he did, the two swords beside him resonated in response. Sword cries filled the sky, and sword intent pierced the heavens.

“Disciple of the Lord of Heaven, Radiant Gold.”

Hellfire Asura’s expression hardened when he saw the man. Radiant Gold, one of the Heavenly Court’s most renowned Sage Monarchs. In the past several millennia, his fame had risen like the sun. After the older generation of Sage Monarchs withdrew from worldly affairs, he had become the standard-bearer of the new era. He was now among the upper echelons of the Heavenly Court.

“Didn’t expect you’d come in person,” Hellfire Asura said gravely.

“For something this significant, of course I’d come,” Radiant Gold replied calmly. “Where is the Infernal Lord?”

“I don’t know,” Hellfire Asura said coldly. “And even if I did, I wouldn’t tell you.”

“Why make this so difficult, Archon?” Radiant Gold said. “For so many years, it was the Heavenly Court that gave your Ancient Demon Realm its peace. You should learn to be content. We should be allies. Kill the Infernal Lord, and the Ancient Demon Realm will be peaceful again.”

“You think I’d still believe your bullshit?” Hellfire Asura asked, his tone icy. “To the Ancient Demons, the moment the Infernal Lord dies, your Heavenly Court would flatten our realm.”

“You never believed us anyway,” Radiant Gold said with a faint smile. “You think the Heavenly Court didn’t know about your Lich Project?”

“Enough talk,” Hellfire Asura replied. “I, Hellfire Asura, may not have accomplished great deeds in my life, but I’ve always been loyal to the Ancient Demon Race. If I must die, then let my death at least serve them.”

He raised both arms toward the sky, his stance like a pillar holding up heaven. The ground and the heavens turned blood-red, an eerie light swallowing all.

“So it’s true,” Radiant Gold said calmly. “You tried to turn your Ancient Demons into Liches. You must have acquired something ancient to do that.”

“At this point, there’s no harm in telling you,” Hellfire Asura said, his voice tinged with madness. “The truth is, you’ve been mistaken all along. The Lich race wasn’t my invention. They really existed in ancient history, an entire race that vanished with time. And I once obtained the heart of their progenitor.”

He grinned wildly. “I’ve nurtured this heart for ten million years. Now it’s time to let the Lich return to the world!”

As if responding to his words, the earth began to quake violently, and the sky deepened into a sea of blood. Radiant Gold could sense Hellfire Asura’s life force waning rapidly. Even as a Sage Monarch himself, he could feel that the other’s power was slipping away.

“What the hell are you doing?!” Radiant Gold shouted, finally showing a trace of unease.

“You’ll find out soon enough,” Hellfire Asura laughed darkly.

“Retreat from the Ancient Demon Realm!” Radiant Gold barked to the two sword slaves. They transmitted the command to the celestial ship.

The massive vessel roared to life, engines blazing with twin flares of light as it surged toward the domain’s edge.

Then... BOOM!

A tremendous explosion echoed as the ship suddenly crashed against empty space. The void remained untouched, but the ship shattered in several places.

Radiant Gold’s eyes widened. This ship was a Heavenly Court masterpiece, capable of tearing through the void and outracing the speed of light itself. Yet now, it had collided with invisible walls and was crumbling apart.

“This space is sealed,” Hellfire Asura said with a grin. “No one leaves.”

His life force dimmed again, his body growing translucent, almost ghostlike.

“Archon, you’re insane!” Radiant Gold shouted. “Utterly insane! Is there no one with a normal brain among your demon kind?!”

He knew what this meant.

To become a Sage Monarch required unimaginable effort, patience, and sacrifice, every such life was priceless. And now, Hellfire Asura was sacrificing his own life essence to summon something far beyond mortal control.

“Perhaps death is... just another kind of freedom,” Hellfire Asura murmured.

A few tears slid down his cheeks.

The next moment, his body dissolved completely.

And from deep beneath the earth of the Ancient Demon Realm, something vast and ancient began to awaken.

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