Everlasting Immortal Firmament

With great sorrow and rage, Ji Dihong retreated from Great Desolation City, having suffered heavy losses.

Previously, he came in high spirits. Although he claimed it was to lay a trap for Gu Hai, inside, he had felt some anticipation for Great Desolation City, hoping Ba was just all bark and no bite. Perhaps he could not only trap Gu Hai but also take Ba down in one fell swoop.

How could Ji Dihong have imagined losing so badly?

Even without driving the power of the Yan Nation, Ba could suppress him into impotency. His heavenly eye ended up benefiting Ba. Ao Ying and Xiong You died, and Limu suffered severe injuries. Besides the perfectly intact Fengbo, his side got wiped out.

He left in high spirits and returned ashen.

Ji Dihong could not believe this. Previously, he felt he was a mere step away from dominating the land of the living. Why did he feel he was so far from it now?

The words that Gu Hai said in the Hungry Ghost Path Secret Realm echoed in his mind.

Ji Dihong, you’ve lost!

It was not just Gu Hai’s voice. Ji Dihong seemed to hear Ba’s voice, too.

Ji Dihong, you’ve lost!

Gu Hai’s and Ba’s voices echoed endlessly in Ji Dihong’s mind, making his head buzz.

“Argh!” Ji Dihong roared in fury.

“Your Holy Eminence, are you alright?” Fengbo asked worriedly as he carried the severely injured Limu.

“We are fine. We just want to return immediately and tear Gu Hai to ten thousand pieces!” Ji Dihong snarled.

“Yes!” Fengbo and Limu answered, both feeling furious.

It is all because of Gu Hai. He captured Cangjie, causing Ao Ying, Xiong You, and His Holy Eminence to suffer a great defeat in Great Desolation City. He must be in Xuanyuan City now, right? We must take him down!

With the three’s strength, it did not take them long to traverse the Divine Continent. They arrived outside Xuanyuan City after a while.

However, when the three arrived, an infuriating sight greeted them.

The blessings in the sky were still there, and the dragon vein was still in the ground.

However, Xuanyuan City was gone.

Before they left, the three never expected Xuanyuan City to disappear. Besides Blood Maple Forest, there were many other traps targeting Gu Hai. Unexpectedly, even the city was gone. What use were those traps, then?

“The Gu’s Immortal Firmament?” Fengbo was wide-eyed in shock.

The Gu’s Immortal Firmament swallowed up the entire Xuanyuan City, leaving only a deep pit?

There were some scattered officials and citizens who had managed to escape in the distance.

“Your Holy Eminence, you finally returned! Your Holy Eminence!” several citizens in the surroundings cried out in pleasant surprise.

There was also one person who stood out in this crowd. It was Emperor Kong.

Seeing Ji Dihong return, Emperor Kong immediately flew over with great joy on his face. “Your Holy Eminence, Gu Hai is in there! He’s in there!”

Near the deep pit was a region covered with vast fog.

“Blood Maple Forest is still there! Gu Hai has not taken Chiyou’s head yet!” Limu’s eyes lit up.

“Blood Maple Forest has the laws ritual array His Holy Eminence laid. The Gu’s Immortal Firmament cannot take it in! Emperor Kong is right. Your Holy Eminence, I hear fighting coming from there. It must be the Dark Guard’s envoy commander blocking Gu Hai!” Fengbo shouted.

Ji Dihong’s eyes flashed with hostility as he extended his hand and waved.

Boom!

The surging fog suddenly scattered.

This revealed a hundred large blood maple trees. The blood maple trees moved slowly, appearing to form a bewildering ritual array that would prevent anyone who entered from escaping.

At this moment, Gu Hai had already entered the bewildering ritual array and was currently fighting a black-clad man.

There was a huge pillar on the side, with Chiyou’s head hanging from it.

Like Eight Trigram Mountain, Blood Maple Forest had a force suppressing the two, preventing space from shattering.

Gu Hai fought the Dark Guard envoy commander under the pillar with Chiyou’s head. No victor seemed clear. It was not that the Dark Guard envoy commander was as strong as Gu Hai but that he could hide well.

The Dark Guard envoy commander moved unpredictably, like a puff of smoke. Gu Hai swung his saber several times but failed to land a blow.

The two fought for a while with no victor emerging.

Now, Ji Dihong scattered the fog with a wave of his hand.

This informed the Dark Guard envoy commander that Ji Dihong had returned. He rejoiced at completing his mission. He should pursue steady progress rather than get greedy.

However, Gu Hai was stunned, looking shocked at Ji Dihong’s return. He appeared flustered.

This presented a big opening.

This opening was a great opportunity; this was the first time in this fight Gu Hai showed such a big opening, something fatal.

Acting practically on instinct, the Dark Guard envoy commander lunged, thrusting his scarlet sword.

Shing!

This was the sword strike of a consummate Upper Heavenly Palace Realm assassin. How powerful would it be? Even an opponent of the same level would get skewered.

His Holy Eminence returned, so Gu Hai became flustered and revealed an opening. This is the call of the grim reaper!

The Dark Guard envoy commander’s sword approached swiftly. Gu Hai had no time to defend himself. The Dark Guard envoy commander smiled malevolently, as the sword tip had already reached Gu Hai’s chest.

However, the Dark Guard envoy commander was suddenly startled. It was not that Gu Hai did not have time to defend himself, but he just did not bother to mount a defense. Why?

Bang!

The sword tip struck Gu Hai’s chest but just produced a sound reminiscent of metal striking rock. The sword did not pierce Gu Hai’s flesh; it seemed unable to.

“How can this be?” The Dark Guard envoy commander’s expression changed.

Gu Hai appeared slightly excited. “Tenth Cycle!”

This time, the Dark Guard envoy commander could no longer avoid.

“What?” The Dark Guard envoy commander’s expression changed dramatically.

Did Gu Hai reveal this opening intentionally, allowing himself to be stabbed, just so I could not avoid his attack? He did this only to harm me?

“No!”

Boom!

An overwhelming report rang out. The entire Blood Maple Forest shook as a massive explosion took place. Blood maple branches flew all over the place.

All this happened in the time it took for a spark to fly. Everything happened too quickly—so quickly that by the time Ji Dihong realized Gu Hai’s scheme, it was already too late.

“Gu Hai, how dare you?!” Ji Dihong roared, his expression changing dramatically.

Along with the thunderous report, the Dark Guard envoy commander got bisected vertically. The two halves of his body flew apart.

Fengbo, Limu, and Emperor Kong were shocked.

Although the Dark Guard envoy commander might not necessarily be that strong, no one could compare to him in assassination skills. If he wanted to hide, even the Huang Heavenly Emperor would need a lot of effort to deal with him. However…how did things turn out like this?

Ji Dihong, Fengbo, Limu, and Emperor Kong charged towards Blood Maple Forest.

After striking the Dark Guard envoy commander with his saber, Gu Hai immediately grabbed Chiyou’s head.

“Gu Hai, you are seeking death!” Ji Dihong threw a punch.

Gu Hai’s face sank as he executed the Tenth Cycle again.

Boom!

A loud report rang out, and Gu Hai stepped back. The Life Executioner Saber trembled intensely as an immense force traveled through the saber and into Gu Hai’s arm.

Rip! Rip!

Gu Hai’s sleeves immediately ripped as the immense force shook his body. If he were another person, this force would have shattered his body. However, the strength of Gu Hai’s physical body was no weaker than Ji Dihong’s. Thus, Gu Hai merely shook for a while before he steadied himself.

Nearby, Ji Dihong seemed to be paying attention to the Dark Guard envoy commander.

Fengbo and Limu brought the Dark Guard envoy commander’s two halves together, trying to rescue him.

“There’s no need to try. No one can rescue the people we killed,” Gu Hai said coldly.

Fengbo and Limu shuddered upon hearing Gu Hai’s words. Ba had said the same thing earlier.

Ji Dihong gazed at Gu Hai with a stony expression.

“Your Holy Eminence, the Lord Envoy Commander’s three spiritual souls and seven physical souls have all been destroyed,” Fengbo reported with a bitter expression.

“Thoroughly dead? Is it really like Ba earlier? The people they kill are destroyed to their core?”

Ji Dihong glared at Gu Hai, who was holding Chiyou’s head, with overwhelming hatred on his face. “Gu Hai? Hah! Excellent! Excellent! Excellent! Even before you die, you killed our beloved official? Excellent! Excellent! How very excellent! We will not let you have an easy death. You killed our beloved official, right? Well, we will kill your son! We will let you witness your son get destroyed!”

“Our son? Which one are you talking about?” Gu Hai sneered.

Ji Dihong waved his hand. Then a spatial tear appeared in front of him.

“Oh? Blood Maple Forest is actually an immortal firmament? These blood maple trees are the laws? You released them to the outside to drive the Great Dao? So, that’s what’s happening! Your one hundred blood maple trees are one hundred Dao, right?” Gu Hai said, his eyes widening in shock.

Ji Dihong ignored Gu Hai. Instead, he extended his hand into the tear and pulled out a green soul body.

“Let go of me! Let go of me! Argh!” the green soul body yelled in horror.

“Gu Hai, do you recognize him? Which son do you think he is?” Emperor Kong asked fiercely.

“Father, save me! I’m Gu Tang! I’m Gu Tang! Father, save me!” the green soul body yelled in horror.

Ji Dihong sent his energy to his hand. A hot energy engulfed the green soul body, which quickly turned scarlet as pain appeared on its face. “Argh! Save me, Father! I’m Gu Tang! I’m Gu Tang!”

“How about that? Your son’s souls are with us. What do you have to say?” Delight flashed in Ji Dihong’s eyes.

“Gu Tang? Haha! He is not Gu Tang!” Gu Hai shook his head.

Emperor Kong said with a cold smile, “Humph! Don’t remember? Back then, His Holy Eminence sent Ao Ying, Mister Starless, and myself to the Hell Path Secret Realm. You must have forgotten!”

“We already said that is not Gu Tang. If you don’t believe me, ask it yourself,” Gu Hai retorted indifferently.

“Do you think we don’t know what you are thinking in pretending not to care? Haha! This is not your son? How is this not your son?” Ji Dihong scoffed.

“It is a replica that Jiang Gautama created back then. Just ask it whether Jiang Gautama created it,” Gu Hai countered indifferently.

“Huh?” That green soul body shuddered, staring at Gu Hai in horror.

Ji Dihong glared at Gu Tang’s souls, apparently having noticed something wrong.

“That’s impossible! You are Gu Tang; it can’t be wrong! Mister Cangjie can’t have been mistaken!” Emperor Kong said in disbelief.

Looking at this green soul body, Ji Dihong could tell from its eyes that it was a fake. However, he did not dare to believe this. This should not be the case.

“Mister Cangjie did not get it wrong. However, Emperor Kong swapped out those fake souls for the real Gu Tang’s souls after that. Don’t you remember?” Gu Hai smiled.

“Me?” Emperor Kong’s expression changed.

Everyone looked at Emperor Kong. Then he immediately recalled.

Emperor Kong’s expression changed dramatically. “Mister Starless? It’s him? He swapped them? He is your man?”

“It is all thanks to Emperor Kong that our son did not end up in Ji Dihong’s hand.” Gu Hai smiled.

“No! No! No! How can it be like this?” Emperor Kong protested with despair on his face.

Blood rushed to Ji Dihong’s head. He had yet to vent his rage over his earlier defeat. Now, Emperor Kong’s mistake sent Ji Dihong’s rage shooting through the roof.

First, Emperor Kong had helped Shangguan Heng capture Lifespan Beiming. Then he had ruthlessly kicked Cangjie without clarifying the situation. Now, he had blundered such an important mission.

“Your failures outweigh your achievements!” Ji Dihong threw a palm strike at Emperor Kong in his fury.

“Your Holy Eminence, don’t!” Emperor Kong pleaded desperately.

Boom!

Ji Dihong’s palm strike landed, shattering Emperor Kong.

Fengbo and Limu showed unsightly expressions. His Holy Eminence is going berserk?

Phish!

Ji Dihong crushed the fake Gu Tang souls with one hand, radiating a crimson aura of fury.

“So what if I don’t have Gu Tang’s souls? It’s your turn now! No one can save you in our Blood Maple Forest! You will die today!” Ji Dihong snarled with a frosty expression.

An overwhelmingly murderous intent pressed towards Gu Hai.

“We won’t be dying today; you will, Ji Dihong!” Gu Hai retorted, a hint of coldness appearing on his face.