Imperial God Emperor

Cracks swiftly appeared on that shield.

With every collision, Ye Qingyu's figure would shake violently and blood would flow afresh from the wounds that covered his body. He looked like he was about to collapse at any moment and the sounds of bones cracking could be heard from his body. He was clearly under immense pressure.

Boom! Boom!

The silver moon disc continued its relentless attack on the shield.

Ye Qingyu coughed up huge mouthfuls of blood.

He was completely drenched in his own blood as it spilled across the floor at his feet like little rivulets. He was no longer able to control his blood qi for he had lost too much blood.

"I will spare your life if you move aside," the Four Stars holy girl's voice rang out again. "The words I said earlier remain valid."

Ye Qingyu paid no heed to her and stood tall where he was, his expression calm. He clenched his jaw and there was a determined glow in his eyes that did not exist before. He stood there like a lone wolf and looked at her with a trace of scorn and disdain in his gaze.

The Four Stars holy girl could not help but sigh to herself when she caught sight of that gaze.

Some people might be blessed by the gods or doted on by fate, so they were born with things that most people could only dream of having – status, background, power, talent... but in this world, regardless of power or wealth, there were some things that just were not meant to be yours. No matter how much one pursued it, it just was not meant to be. The same rule applied to the Immortal gods, deities, and demons as well as those almighty heaven's pridelings.

She could tell from Ye Qingyu's gaze that the man who stood upright in front of her was someone she would never have.

Therefore, she stopped trying to persuade him.

Since she couldn't have him, he must be killed.

Bright yuan qi surged around her.

The silver moon disc became even more dazzling, as though it was about to break free from the heavens.

Crack!

As a corner of Ye Qingyu's chaotic lightning hexagon shield shattered and fell apart, a chilly glow that burst forth from the silver moon disc entered through this corner and brushed past his left shoulder. Then, his left shoulder completely disappeared as though erased from a painting.

His expression did not change.

"Heavenly lightning and earthly fires, everything returns to its origins... take that!"

He shouted clearly and used the five fingers on his remaining arm to tap out a formation technique. His fingers moved as quickly as soft lotus petals, the barely discernible afterimage left by his fingers transforming into a mysterious formation in front of his chest.

The lightning domain within a hundred kilometers suddenly disappeared and surged into his body, which turned purple as lightning surrounded him. He used the power of thunder and lightning to replace his missing arm, then slowly raised both of his hands as he lifted the crashed silver moon disc up in the air.

"Ahhhhh..."

Roaring wildly, he grabbed the silver moon disc to everyone's surprise.

The Four Stars holy girl's expression changed slightly.

In the distance, the Third Prince of the Mizar Race's expression suddenly became complicated like no other. His gaze as he looked at Ye Qingyu was one of pure respect. If he had met such a person or an opponent under normal circumstances, he would have shared a drink with him before engaging in a fair battle. However, at this time...

"Sigh!" Finally, the Third Prince shook his head slightly. "He's a brave fighter; it's such a pity..." he said admiringly.

By his side, a shocked and complex expression crossed the face of Yang Wanqu, who did not know what to say and could not but feel helpless and jealous at the same time.

On the ground.

Like parched soil or shattered glass, Ye Qingyu's skin started to split open inch by inch and ooze blood. It seemed as if a gust of wind could instantly cause him to become as tattered as a broken porcelain doll.

Nonetheless, he still managed to hold his ground in spite of the silver moon disc's repeated attacks.

The purple lightning surged wildly within him and held together his body, which could shatter at any moment.

The silver moon disc's power finally started to wane.

"Haha, ahhhhh…" Ye Qingyu laughed madly before growling angrily. The muscles on his arms tensed and there was a loud crack as the golden disc shattered. He had destroyed the silver moon disc with his bare hands.

The Four Stars holy girl's expression changed once again.

Yu Qingyu's maniacal laughter had shaken the high heavens.

"You'll never be able to take one step further as long as I'm here," he said with his eyes filled with purple lightning. The heavy injuries he had sustained had failed to force him to retreat. Instead, he became even more tenacious and savage, as though he was a fiendgod bathed in fire and blood, and resolutely held his ground.

It would not be long before the Celestial Phoenix Maiden woke from nirvana.

Ye Qingyu saw a glimmer of hope.

A flicker of impatience flashed past the Four Stars holy girl's eyes.

"I'd never imagined that someone from the younger generation could force me to use my [Red Lotus Hellfire]... You should be proud of being the first."

She opened her palm.

A delicate, shallow vase appeared in her beautiful hand, as white as snow. It was glossy and slightly lustrous, and although there were no engravings on it, it had the simple, pure beauty of a natural embellishment.

What was surprising about it was that it gave off a savage aura, as though a terrifying fiendgod was trapped within it.

"Wildfire lotus, a holy source. Red lotus hellfire, burn everything!"

Her mouth opened slightly as she chanted some kind of ancient scriptures.

Then, she lifted her hands.

The white vase in her hands gently tipped over in a smooth arc, just as though she was a deity in her abode watering plants. The fiery red, viscous liquid slowly flowed out from the vase; it shone as brightly as a blood-colored glass before it landed on the grass below.

Boom!

The surrounding plants immediately caught fire.

The temperature rose rapidly at a terrifying speed. This red liquid was the fire from the red lotus and, unlike an ordinary flame, it contained the power to kill gods and demons. Instantly, its blood-colored demon fire licked across the area, covering an area of a hundred kilometers.

An invisible, treacherous power spread across the area alongside the demon fire.

The wind only served to fan the flames as it billowed across the skies.

The flames surged wildly, blotting out the sun.

"This is… hellfire?" There was nothing left in Ye Qingyu's shocked eyes but the blood-red glow of the flames.

Hellfire was a fire that could kill gods and demons and was known to be able to burn anything, including Immortal beings. Every organism in this universe was born with karma and because of this principle of causation, once they faced hellfire, even a Great Emperor of the martial way would go up in flames.

This flame was known as the god-killing demon-slaying fire, a terrifying name.

There were also various kinds of hellfire.

These red flames were from one of the four legendary hellfires – [Red Lotus Hellfire].

Ye Qingyu had not expected the Four Stars holy girl to be in possession of such a violent fire.

In an instant, the terrifying demon fire spread across the area like a huge blood-colored red lotus, turning the area surrounding the mountain into a sea of fire and the grassy plains into a sea of blood. The plants that caught fire did not even have time to burn before they turned into nothingness.

Ye Qingyu was even more surprised by the fact that this demon fire did not just affect the mountain and the grass, but even the wind, clouds, and the natural forces seemed to be burning.

A fiery force that had the power to destroy everything came toward him.

He felt like he was about to be burnt to ashes himself.

"Oh no…"

He was extremely shocked and knew that he was now truly in danger.

He had already sustained heavy internal injuries and could only burn his own physical force to create formation techniques. He finally activated his final hidden card and tiny lightning formations appeared all over the Void, frantically absorbing primeval power. The lightning formation scattered all over the mountain before releasing a blinding purple light.

From the very beginning, he had laid out three layers of lightning formations. He laid the first layer outside, buried the second under the earth, and hid the third in the Void. These three layers were his final resorts, of which the third layer, in particular, was his trump card which he did not even activate when his physical form was almost destroyed by the [Waxing Moon Strike].

But now that he was facing the god-killing demon-slaying [Red Lotus Hellfire], he was left with no other choice.

Instantly, a defensive lightning shield containing one hundred and eight ancient characters reappeared and encircled the mountain, protecting him and the ancient parasol tree.

The [Red Lotus Hellfire] was just like a maggot and swiftly swept forward like a tidal wave, wrapping itself around the purple lightning on the formation. It enveloped all the lightning within it and relentlessly swallowed and eroded the formation.

Under Ye Qingyu's control, hundreds of lightning formations, each about the size of a palm, surged wildly, like purple divine snakes trying to wriggle their way out.

He was astonished.

His ultimate move had failed to stop the [Red Lotus Hellfire].

The [Red Lotus Hellfire’s] attacks increased in intensity when it sensed that the ancient lightning formation was about to collapse.

The situation was extremely dangerous.

Ye Qingyu sensed that the power of thunder and lightning was not able to block this terrifying hellfire. Even if he used the power of wind and the [Supreme Ice Flame], he would probably not be able to stop this hellfire. This did not mean that these three forces were not as powerful as the [Red Lotus Hellfire], but showed that he was not powerful enough to unleash the true potential of these powers.

"Since that's the case…. I'll have to give it a shot."

He muttered an ancient character.

The [Cloud Top Cauldron] within his dantian world suddenly shook slightly, then started to operate automatically.

He did not have the ability to move the bird's egg on the parasol tree, so there was no way he could escape now. However, since this [Cloud Top Cauldron] had saved his life a few times, even managing to shield him from the curse at the Fallen God Abyss, he reckoned that he should at least give it a shot.

This was his final attempt.

The next moment.

The [Cloud Top Cauldron] that had been slowly operating in his dantian world suddenly flew out and stood suspended in the Void, buzzing and vibrating.

As if it had just been awakened, it expanded from the size of a fist to a three-legged cauldron that could only be lifted by fifty or sixty people. At the same time, all across the area, a mysterious formation light beam started blinking, releasing a powerful, ancient aura of the Great Dao.

The mysterious laws of the universe started to flow out from the bronze cauldron.

Simultaneously, the primeval yuan qi and power of laws seemed to have been attracted by a mysterious power, surging forth wildly from all areas. The ancient divine beasts engraved on the cauldron suddenly released a dazzling golden ray as though they had come to life.

The bronze cauldron shook violently, just like it had come back to life.

Yellow mist rose from the [Cloud Top Cauldron] and floated downwards like thousands of weeping willows, or a golden curtain.

As the golden mist continued to flow out of the cauldron, it enveloped the entire mountain, parasol tree, and Ye Qingyu himself within it.