Ch. 1295 - Hellfire Asura & Celestial Devourer

He was a direct descendant, carrying the bloodline of Hellfire Asura himself.

From birth, he never lacked cultivation resources. His appointment as an official in the Dragon God Imperium was merely part of a trial, a means to strengthen ties with the empire and secure future benefits.

The Ancient Demon Realm lay at the center of the Godfiend Abyss Heaven, deeply concealed within an inner world. Ordinary people could never find it, and even Saint Sovereigns dared not enter.

Endless demonic energy surged into the heavens.

The Godfiend Abyss Heaven, also known as the Lesser Godfiend Abyss Heaven, was the true homeland of the demons.

Hundreds of billions of Ancient Demons lived here, though none could leave without express command. Only demons like Demon Minister Wei, who held external posts, had that privilege.

At the very heart of the Ancient Demon Realm, the demonic energy grew denser and more vast, so thick it resembled storm clouds that completely blotted out the sky.

Beneath that shroud of darkness stood two great Demon Mountains.

This was forbidden ground. Unless one held a transcendent status, no demon was allowed to enter. Even Demon Minister Wei had to request permission before he could see if he was qualified.

Upon returning to the Ancient Demon Realm, Demon Minister Wei reported everything that had happened with Xu Zimo to the demon hierarchy.

But even the high council could not handle the matter, Xu Zimo had specifically requested to meet with the two ancient Demon Patriarchs.

With no other option, the high council relayed his message word for word.

Between the two Demon Mountains, which had lain silent for countless ages, a single sigh broke the stillness.

The air was warm, the grass lush, the breeze gentle.

“How many years has it been?” came a voice from the left mountain.

“Six hundred eighty-five million, nine hundred forty-eight thousand years... (685,948,000 years)” answered the voice from the right, calm and precise.

“Seems you wake up every year to keep count, Celestial Devourer,” the left mountain’s voice said with a faint laugh.

“The master has returned,” replied the right mountain’s voice coolly.

“Celestial Devourer, do you still recognize him as our master?” The left mountain’s voice fell silent for a moment before continuing.

“If he were truly the same master, I would acknowledge him. But after 600 million years, everything has changed. This master is not the one we once followed.”

“His blood still flows the same. His conviction remains unbroken. If that is so, he is our master,” the right voice insisted.

“That depends on whether he deserves it. I, Hellfire Asura, will never bow to mediocrity,” the left voice replied coldly. “I’ve schemed for countless ages to secure the peace we now have. Do you expect me to throw that all away and let us be destroyed again?”

“You’ve forgotten your original purpose,” the right voice, Celestial Devourer, said softly, without anger.

“My original purpose?” Hellfire Asura asked, his tone defiant.

“Indeed. After all these eons, even the strongest conviction can be corroded by time,” Celestial Devourer sighed.

“What do you mean by that?” Hellfire Asura snapped. “Are you suggesting I have forgotten?!”

The Demon Mountain trembled. The demonic energy surged violently, as Celestial Devourer’s voice echoed through the air.

“Hellfire, don’t say I didn’t warn you. The corruption of the Mortal Ascension Heaven and the rise of the liches, was that your doing? I may have slept through the ages, but there’s nothing that escapes me. Shall I list every detail?”

“So what if it was me?” Hellfire Asura sneered. “Don’t forget, in the beginning, our Ancient Demon Race only sought freedom, not domination. We never wished to become the enemies of the world. Yet now, somehow, we stand against the heavens themselves. There’s a being who has promised us acceptance, that as long as we don’t betray him, we can coexist peacefully within this world. Why should we follow someone to defy the heavens again?”

“You fool,” Celestial Devourer snapped. “The only reason we’ve been spared is because the Heavenly Dao wants to divide us, to make us turn on each other. If our master were truly dead, we’d be the first to be slaughtered.”

“Celestial Devourer, spare me the fearmongering,” Hellfire Asura laughed coldly.

“Fearmongering? Then why did you raise the liches and the undead? You’re preparing a fallback path, aren’t you?” Celestial Devourer mocked.

Hellfire Asura fell silent.

Indeed, he trusted neither the Heavenly Dao nor anyone else.

To leave oneself a way out, that was wisdom.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Hellfire Asura said. “I’ve investigated that man since his days in the mortal realm. Now he’s just an ordinary human, he probably couldn’t even defeat us. And you expect him to lead a war against the heavens? Ridiculous.”

“No matter what, he remains my master,” Celestial Devourer replied.

“Have you forgotten the Demon Oath we swore?”

“I haven’t,” Hellfire Asura said flatly. “But Celestial Devourer, you do as you wish. As for me, I like the peace we have now. Tell him to stay away, I won’t interfere with him if he leaves me be. If he insists on opposing me, I’ll fight him to the death.”

“Hellfire Asura, millions of years of slumber seem to have emboldened you,” Celestial Devourer sneered.

“I remember when you didn’t even dare look the master in the eye.”

“Celestial Devourer, I’ll say this once, this is not the Ancient Era anymore. Understand?” Hellfire Asura said sharply.

Yet even as anger stirred, a strange calm followed.

After all these endless years, nothing in the world should have been able to provoke such emotion from him.

And yet, today, he felt it.

Then, the demonic energy surrounding the mountain grew still.

“I’ve been overthinking it,” Hellfire Asura sighed.

“Celestial Devourer, what do you intend to do?”

“So long as he is the master, I will follow him,” Celestial Devourer said simply.

“To me, beyond the dreams of our race, I wish only to see the peak of this world. And in all existence, only the master has the power to reach it.”

“He cannot,” Hellfire Asura retorted.

“At least he makes the Heavenly Dao tremble,” Celestial Devourer replied with a faint smile. “Tell me, is there anyone else in this world who can do that?”

“I have no wish to fight him,” Hellfire Asura said at last. “Tell him he may walk his path to defy the heavens. I will walk... my own path of peace.”

Celestial Devourer said nothing more.

The mountain that had lain sealed for untold eons began to quake.

Rocks fell and shattered as the massive peak split open.

From within surged a storm of demonic energy, and through it, a shadowy figure shot into the sky.

“Celestial Devourer, you’ll regret your choice today,” came Hellfire Asura’s voice.

But the world was already silent once more.

No one answered.

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