The Divine Spirit Dies, Incense and Fire Scatters

The Incense and Fire Qi around Golden Light Divine Lord was chaotic and tangled, constantly writhing.

"Still not enough!"

"There's no time, and I can't wait to gather the incense and fire beneath Cuiping Mountain!"

"This method may be like killing the chicken to get the eggs, but if I can break through, it'll be worth it!"

Golden Light Divine Lord's Dharma Body was clearly on the verge of collapse, yet in his own perception, he had reached the threshold of a breakthrough.

Inside the Spirit Devouring Jar, Chen Ming watched Golden Light Divine Lord descend into such madness, and a chill ran through his heart.

Golden Light Divine Lord's current state was partly due to Chen Ming's illusion, but even more so due to the Mastermind's calculations.

Who knew how many tricks had been planted within the Incense and Fire Qi he had absorbed.

Otherwise, how could someone in the Contemplation Realm, whose Divine Soul suppressed and stabilized his own body, fall into madness so quickly?

What was more, Golden Light Divine Lord cultivated the Divine Path. The foundation of all his cultivation lay in his Divine Soul, yet even that could not withstand it!

"Edict!"

Golden Light Divine Lord shouted. His Dharma Body trembled as he recited a Dharma Incantation.

All those who believed in Golden Light Divine Lord felt a summons rise from the depths of their hearts. No matter what they were doing, they seemed possessed, abandoning everything as they chanted Golden Light Divine Lord's Divine Name, wishing to offer up themselves.

As Golden Light Divine Lord acted, vast amounts of Incense and Fire Qi gathered once more within the Divine Domain Dojo.

This Incense and Fire Qi differed from before. It had all been offered by Golden Light Divine Lord's Believers. It contained not only thoughts of desire, but some were even mixed with scattered Souls.

Upon reaching the Divine Domain Dojo and seeing Golden Light Divine Lord's Dharma Body, those Souls became wildly excited, crying out loudly to the god.

Golden Light Divine Lord merely glanced at them. His Dharma Body opened its mouth wide and generated a powerful suction, devouring both the Believers' incense and fire and their Souls.

If Golden Light Divine Lord directly refined and devoured them like this, those Believers' Souls would be unable to return from the Divine Domain. In the future, they could only become mindless idiots.

This had always been a method of killing the chicken to get the eggs. Unless they faced a life-or-death crisis, ordinary Divine Path Cultivators would never tear down their own Great Wall.

Yet Golden Light Divine Lord did exactly that.

Golden Light Divine Lord gathered all the incense and fire he had accumulated since beginning cultivation into the Divine Domain Dojo. Not another shred could be squeezed out.

"Ha ha ha!"

"Now! Break for me!"

Golden Light Divine Lord roared. The incense and fire condensed into a single point and gathered between the brows of his Dharma Body, seeking to forge a Golden Light Divine Flame.

"Rumble!"

The incense and fire at his brow ignited in an instant, completely engulfing Golden Light Divine Lord.

"Incense and fire refine the Dharma Body; within the Divine Domain, I alone reign supreme!"

Golden Light Divine Lord recited those two lines amid the burning incense and fire, then gradually fell silent.

Chen Ming saw everything clearly. The condensed incense and fire did indeed temper Golden Light Divine Lord's Dharma Body, making it purer. All the chaotic thoughts within it were burned by the Golden Light Divine Flame into filth that fell away.

But Golden Light Divine Lord's Divine Soul was silently burned to death within the blazing incense and fire.

Moreover, he had willingly let the flames burn his Divine Soul. It was more like he had immolated himself, dying within the illusion of his breakthrough.

All that remained was a radiant golden Divine Dharma Body standing within the Divine Domain Dojo.

With Golden Light Divine Lord's death, the Divine Dharma Body he had left behind returned to its original size, while the Divine Domain Dojo contracted and condensed.

"According to the cultivation method Ling Yangzi practices, at this point, I should refine the Divine Dharma Body into a Supernatural Ability and achieve the Spirit Condensation Realm!"

"But this cultivation method is clearly a means of someone's scheme. How could I use it?"

With a turn of his Spiritual Sense, Chen Ming activated the Red Spirit Worm.

"Go. Dissolve that Dharma Body and refine it into Origin Energy!"

Driven by Chen Ming, the Red Spirit Worm leaped out of the Spirit Devouring Jar. Its body swelled enormously, and its Supernatural Ability spread forth, returning the Divine Dharma Body to its original source.

The Divine Dharma Body had been entirely constructed and refined from Incense and Fire Qi to begin with. Struck by the Red Spirit Worm's Supernatural Ability, it collapsed in an instant.

It transformed back into streams of Incense and Fire Qi. Even the desires and Believers' Souls mixed within emerged.

The Red Spirit Worm split open its great mouth, about to devour them.

Chen Ming pointed with one hand. The scattered Souls within were separated out and fled from the Divine Domain Dojo, returning to their respective bodies.

"The rest is all yours!"

The Red Spirit Worm chirped twice. Its body shook, and it devoured every last Incense and Fire Thought in the Divine Domain Dojo. Then it dropped back into the Spirit Devouring Jar, curled into a ball, and did not move.

When Chen Ming sensed it, he found that the Red Spirit Worm had swallowed too many Incense and Fire Thoughts, mixed with all kinds of desires. It had fallen asleep and would likely need time to digest them properly.

At the very moment the Red Spirit Worm devoured all the Incense and Fire Thoughts, every statue and shrine dedicated to Golden Light Divine Lord in the mortal world turned to powder.

The Believers whose Souls had returned and who had awakened stood there blankly, deeply confused, with no idea what they had just done.

There was not the slightest memory in their minds of Golden Light Divine Lord, the god they had worshipped for so many years!

Golden Light Divine Lord had utterly vanished from this world, leaving behind not the faintest trace.

"Divine Path Cultivators are like this. Once they die, they leave no trace behind—unless Believers arise once more and generate incense and fire!"

"Only, the Spirit God reborn from that incense and fire might bear the same name, but it would no longer be the original one!"

Chen Ming sighed, his Spiritual Sense sweeping across the entire Divine Domain Dojo.

This Divine Domain Dojo had been derived from a trace of Divine Nature after the Golden Light Divine Lord achieved his Dharma Body.

Now that the Golden Light Divine Lord had fallen, with no one to nurture that trace of Divine Nature, it would gradually dim and ultimately vanish.

Chen Ming gathered that trace of Divine Nature, transforming it into a speck of Golden Light and storing it within the Spirit Devouring Jar.

The Divine Domain Dojo collapsed and scattered with a crash, while the Spirit Devouring Jar appeared out of thin air within the ruined temple.

"With the Golden Light Divine Lord fallen, that Mastermind will surely sense it. He will be here before long!"

"This is no place to linger. The Spirit Tree in the temple is also that man's target—I must make preparations early!"

With a thought, Chen Ming swept up the Spirit Devouring Jar, Recited Incantation, and fled into the void. Relying on his connection with his divine soul and fleshly body, he used a Secret Method to return to Cuiping Mountain in an instant.

His Spiritual Sense returned to its place in the Sea of Consciousness, and the Lotus Platform protecting his divine soul concealed its radiance as well.

Chen Ming opened his eyes and flipped his palm. The Spirit Devouring Jar appeared in his hand.

Mist billowed behind him. The insects hiding within it transformed into an Insect Stream and fell into the Spirit Devouring Jar, carrying the flesh and blood and divine souls of the Chayi Sect Female Cultivators as they merged into the body of the Red Spirit Worm.

The Red Spirit Worm remained asleep.

Having devoured so many Incense and Fire Thoughts, along with the flesh and blood and divine souls of those Chayi Sect members, it would surely encounter a stroke of fortune once it awakened.

Chen Ming put away the Spirit Devouring Jar for the time being and took out the speck of Golden Light formed from the Divine Domain Dojo.

After considering it, Chen Ming placed that speck of Golden Light upon the Wood Heart of the Spirit Tree.

The Spirit Tree had also received incense and fire offerings before. It was perfectly suited to nurture Divine Nature and stabilize the Divine Domain Dojo.

Upon receiving the Golden Light, the Spirit Tree's Wood Heart trembled, releasing an azure glow that stained the Golden Light jade-green.

The Golden Light struggled repeatedly. It possessed considerable spirituality and refused to submit.

Seeing this, Chen Ming had a sudden inspiration. He Recited Incantation, and the Azure Wood Life and Death Gas began to turn, blending the Wood Heart and Golden Light together and refining them into a single object. It broke free from the Spirit Tree and transformed into an azure seed streaked with golden patterns.