God

Gu Mo had not expected the Heavenly Gate to flee so decisively.

Still, it suited the Heavenly Gate's nature. After all, when he had previously undergone Physical Body Ascension, the Heavenly Gate had hidden itself and refused to appear. That alone showed what an exceptionally cautious thing it was.

"Trying to run?"

Gu Mo snorted coldly.

He immediately circulated the Dao Heart Seed Demon Great Technique empowered by the God of War Catalog. His domain suddenly roared. The vast demonic qi was no longer formless, intangible energy, but transformed into a thick, tangible black torrent rolling with the will to destroy and devour, erupting with a crash.

This power instantly connected with the demonic qi of Demonic Blade Slaughter. At the same time, Gu Mo mobilized the Origin Qi of the Demonic Stone.

Buzz—

A colossal pitch-black domain that covered the entire sky instantly took shape, replacing the colorful rosy clouds and thunderstorm.

This was the ultimate domain evolved from the Dao Heart Seed Demon Great Technique combined with the demonic qi of Demonic Blade Slaughter and the Origin Qi of the Demonic Stone—the Demon Immortal Barrier.

Within the barrier, demonic qi churned like countless roaring black dragons. Space was forcibly twisted and frozen, while even the flow of time became sluggish.

The moment the colorful rosy clouds touched this pure domain of dark demonic power, they melted like ice snow, letting out chiching wails. Throughout the Tiansheng Lake region, all light was completely devoured, plunging the land into absolute darkness and bone-deep cold so suffocating that it seemed capable of freezing even souls.

The water vapor in the void boiled violently beneath the demonic pressure, yet strangely, no steam rose. It was as though even the water molecules had been suppressed by the demonic qi and could not escape.

"Roar—!"

The Heavenly Gate's Giant Eye, forcibly intercepted by the Demon Immortal Barrier, released an eerie roar.

Behind the tightly shut Heavenly Gate, countless pale tentacles that had appeared before, covered in suckers and bizarre patterns, carried nauseatingly foul mucus and chaotic mental assaults as they shot out like mad pythons leaving their dens, stabbing frantically at the pitch-black barrier wall.

Chichichichi—!

The tentacles struck the barrier with corrosive sounds. Demonic qi fiercely clashed with that chaotic, viscous energy, scattering bizarre sparks woven from dark red and black.

The barrier shook violently, as though it could be torn apart at any moment!

"Slash!"

Gu Mo snorted. The Gouchen Demon Blade in his hand erupted with boundless evil intent. Flames surged across its blade, changing from scarlet to profound dark gold and radiating terrifying high temperature capable of burning the eight desolations to ashes.

He took one step forward, his body merging with the demon domain as though he had become darkness itself. The blade flashed!

There was no earth-shattering boom, only a slender dark-gold line that seemed capable of cleaving chaos apart and ending eternity, flashing past!

Puff puff puff puff—!

Those incomparably tough, terrifying tentacles capable of withstanding Nascent Soul attacks shattered inch by inch like rotten wood before this blade light containing ultimate destruction and demonic Origin Qi!

Thick, foul-smelling Dark Yellow blood sprayed down like a rainstorm. When it landed upon the demonic qi barrier, it too gave off chiching corrosive sounds, only to be annihilated by even more violent demonic qi moments later. The severed tentacles twisted and convulsed madly before rapidly withdrawing into the gap in the Heavenly Gate, leaving behind scalp-numbing shrieks.

"Break for me!"

Gu Mo's blade momentum remained unspent as he pressed downward with his backhand!

Boom!

The entire Demon Immortal Barrier suddenly collapsed inward, compressing.

The boundless demonic qi became a tangible pressure weighing hundreds of millions of jin, like the collapse of a Primordial Demonic Mountain, crushing viciously toward the tightly shut Heavenly Gate.

Space groaned beneath the unbearable burden, squeezed into streaks of pitch-black cracks.

This was pure, tyrannical force crushing down, intent on grinding this "sacred" gate that harbored filth and corruption, along with the monster within, into dust!

Creak... boom—!

Unable to withstand that terrifying demonic pressure, the tightly shut Heavenly Gate was actually smashed open from within... with a violent crash!

This time, the gates did not open to welcome an ascender. Instead, they were forcibly broken apart, exposing without any concealment the endless, twisted, writhing dark void behind them, as well as the blood-thread-covered pale Giant Eye that filled his entire vision beneath the dark Sky Curtain of the Demon Immortal Barrier.

The Giant Eye's pupil constricted violently, reflecting Gu Mo's Demon God-like figure. It was filled with shock, fury, and a trace of... inconceivable fear.

"I found you. Let me see what exactly you are."

Demonic flames rose in Gu Mo's eyes as he locked on to his target.

He gripped the blade with both hands, pouring the Origin Qi of the Demonic Stone and slaughtering demonic qi into the Gouchen Demon Blade without holding anything back!

The blade trembled violently. Its dark-gold flames transformed into an ultimate void Demonic Blade that seemed able to devour all light.

"Slash!"

A Blade Aura whose color could not be described in words left the blade.

It did not travel in a straight line. Instead, it warped space like a living thing. Wherever it passed, the Demon Immortal Barrier proactively made way and amplified it, while the very concepts of time and space became blurred before this strike.

This was an attack gathering Gu Mo's strongest power at that moment, containing the most powerful and perfect killing intent in the world!

The Blade Aura aimed directly at the center of the Giant Eye's enormous pupil.

The Giant Eye sensed the deadly threat. Countless shattered stars spun madly in the depths of its pupil, trying to gather the strongest chaotic mental barrier. At the same time, countless newly born tentacles interwove into a thick flesh shield before it, while viscous Dark Yellow energy layered itself into solid shields.

Yet before Gu Mo's all-in, myriad-law-shattering slash, every defense appeared futile!

Chich—

The Blade Aura passed without obstruction through layer after layer of tentacle flesh shields, tore apart the viscous energy shields, and finally plunged with incomparably precise accuracy into that pale, blood-thread-covered pupil!

"Screech—!!!!!"

An unprecedented scream, one that surpassed the limits of hearing and exploded directly at the level of the soul, erupted.

That scream contained endless pain, resentment, and madness.

At the Giant Eye's struck pupil, a massive wound burning with demonic qi suddenly blossomed open.

It was no longer the Dark Yellow blood of severed tentacles. Instead, Dark Gold Blood as viscous as magma, radiating destruction and ominousness, sprayed out wildly like a river bursting through its banks!

This blood possessed terrifying corrosive power. When it fell upon the Demon Immortal Barrier, even the incomparably sturdy barrier rippled violently, giving off chiching wails as strange black smoke rose in waves.

Gu Mo did not pause in the slightest.

The Gouchen Demon Blade rose again as even more terrifying demonic might began gathering.

Strike while it was sick—take its life!

With his next slash, he intended to completely destroy this bizarre Heavenly Gate and the Giant Eye within it.

However, at the very instant Gu Mo's second strike was about to descend!

An indescribable, irresistible sense of deadly threat, surpassing everything Gu Mo had understood up to now, coiled around the core of his soul like an icy venomous snake!

It was not an impact of power, but an absolute suppression at the level of life itself.

At that moment, what shocked Gu Mo was—

The laws of the world as he saw them actually twisted.

Law Qi was suppressed, and the Origin Qi of the Demonic Stone could not move at all.

Boom—!!!

Without any warning or energy fluctuation, the Demon Immortal Barrier, built with the Dao Heart Seed Demon Great Technique at its core and formed from slaughtering demonic qi and the Origin Qi of the Demonic Stone, was like a glazed dome struck by a hammer weighing hundreds of millions of jin. It could not even endure for an instant before releasing an overloaded wail and exploding apart!

Pfft!

The instant his domain was forcibly crushed, Gu Mo suffered a heavy blow. His Ascension Realm physical body felt tearing agony. The flames of world-ending destruction burning on the Gouchen Demon Blade in his hand seemed snuffed out by an invisible hand, instantly dimming, while even the blade itself released a faint mournful cry.

The surging, overwhelming demonic qi around him, enough to make the Heavenly Gate's Giant Eye tremble in fear, encountered an absolute nemesis and was brutally suppressed back into his body by a mysterious force, making its circulation incomparably difficult.

Gu Mo's expression became exceptionally grave.

He realized that this might be an existence beyond Origin Qi.

In the sky, the heavily wounded Heavenly Gate Giant Eye now emitted strange, urgent syllables, as though calling out and mourning at the same time.

Gu Mo was, after all, a being Above Ascension. After listening carefully, he clearly "heard" one word:

"God!"

At that moment, the System Prompt rang out in Gu Mo's mind:

[New target detected]

[Wanted target—God]

[Mission level—Nine Star?]

[Mission reward—Max-level Six Extinctions Selfless Sword Twenty-Three]

Gu Mo's heart trembled violently.

He immediately recalled the tale of the Seven Saints Slaying God that Venerable Monk Huineng had spoken of when they met in the Northern Zhou Kingdom some time ago.

There really was a God.

Previously, the system had not detected it at all. It was only detected now, after God made a move. The height of God's level was impossible to fathom.

For a moment, Gu Mo's entire body went numb.

Light burst from his eyes as he mobilized Law Qi to look, yet he could see nothing at all.

But—

He could clearly sense a terrifying power descending.

At that very instant—

Gu Mo clearly saw the hidden restrictive power within Wang Qingping's Nascent Soul, left by White Jade Capital, react as though startled. It immediately severed itself and vanished without a trace.

That power seemed to be nothing but invisible, intangible pressure, and more like merely a distant gaze cast toward them. There was nothing there, and nothing could be sensed.

Yet it made Gu Mo feel the threat of death.

"Roar—!"

At that moment, the power of Dragon God Skill within Gu Mo was stimulated to the extreme.

A Dragon's roar that pierced metal and split stone, shaking the Nine Heavens, erupted. His entire body instantly transformed into a divine dragon a hundred zhang long, its Dragon Scale flashing with dark-gold and lightning radiance.

The divine dragon roared, broke through space, and summoned thunder that filled the sky.

In an instant, the dark clouds above Tiansheng Lake scattered completely, replaced by a terrifying Thunder Pool covering the heavens.

Dense lightning bolts descended like whips of heavenly punishment, carrying Heaven's Might that could destroy everything as they struck madly toward the source of that invisible pressure. Torrential rain poured down wildly while the divine dragon darted through the cloud layer.

Yet before this thunderstorm capable of destroying heaven and earth, the invisible pressure merely... paused slightly.

Then, an even more vast and colder force, seemingly representing the universe's ultimate will, lightly swept past.

Crack crack crack—!

The Purple Gold Divine Thunder dancing wildly across the sky shattered and vanished inch by inch like fragile threads of glazed glass! It failed to raise even a single ripple!

That power descended without hindrance, imprinting itself precisely upon the divine dragon's body!

"Roar...!"

The divine dragon released a pained, low wail. Vast patches of Dragon Scale, harder than divine metal, broke and fell from its enormous dragon body, turning into vapor and dispersing.

The colossal dragon body was smashed down viciously by an irresistible force. Like a burning meteor, it crashed into the already turbulent Tiansheng Lake below!

Boom—

It was as though heaven and earth had collapsed.

The unimaginable impact force instantly blasted an enormous vacuum depression into Tiansheng Lake. Immediately afterward, the lake water compressed to its limit formed massive ring-shaped waves that surged outward with the force of mountains toppling and seas overturning. They smashed past the ice walls and dams, rushing onward in a torrent toward Qingyang City downstream.

Gu Mo flicked his dragon tail in the water and shot out from the lake surface.

Only to see a pitch-black, unfathomable fissure silently split open in the void, as though it led to the end of the universe.

The Giant Eye did not dare linger in the slightest. With Dark Gold Blood still flowing endlessly, it hurriedly slipped into that fissure.

The fissure instantly closed, as though it had never appeared.

In the sky, nothing remained but pouring rain and flashing lightning.

"Roar..."

With a low Dragon's roar, Gu Mo slowly returned to human form. His clothing was already in tatters, his hair hung loose and disheveled, and bloodstains covered his body, leaving him in a miserable state.

However, the wounds on his body healed at a visible rate. Before long, not even a trace remained.

Gu Mo reached out and retrieved the Gouchen Demon Blade that had fallen into the lake. He raised his head and watched the sky for a long time. Only after confirming that the Heavenly Gate had left and God's power had also vanished did he quickly fly behind the ice wall.

Fortunately, Red Clothes and Gu Chundong had acted in time and intercepted most of the water that had surged outward. Although a great deal of water still rushed out, it was not enough to cause a flood.

"Brother, how are you? Are you hurt badly?"

Gu Chundong swiftly flew over and anxiously examined Gu Mo's body.

Only after confirming that Gu Mo was not seriously injured did she breathe a sigh of relief. "Brother, what happened just now? You were clearly suppressing the Heavenly Gate at first. How did it suddenly..."

"God!"

Gu Mo's eyes were filled with gravity. "The legend Venerable Monk Huineng spoke of is true. There really is a God Above Human Realm. It is just that I cannot see it. The Heavenly Gate and the Inner Demon should both be under its control."

Gu Chundong said in shock, "Is it strong?"

"Very strong," Gu Mo said. "Mortal Warrior, domain, ascension, Above Ascension—I had always thought Origin Qi Above Ascension was already the end. But that God just now was absolutely an existence at a level even higher than Above Ascension."

At that moment—

Red Clothes had already successfully reinforced the ice wall. She slowly floated over and said, "My lord, if that is so, then if God acts, would that not be impossible to resolve?"

Gu Mo frowned. "I don't know. Even 'beyond Origin Qi' is merely a concept I used to describe it. I do not even know what that power was just now. It felt as though it was only a gaze. It had not truly descended. If it really descended, I definitely would not be able to defeat it!"

This was the first time since Gu Mo had begun his journey that he had encountered an enemy he knew with absolute clarity he was no match for.

Even when facing Qi Miaoxuan before, despite suffering a great loss during their clash, Gu Mo had never entered a state like this one, where he knew plainly that even if he gave everything he had, victory was impossible.

Gu Chundong asked, "Then what do we do?"

Gu Mo waved his hand. "Judging by the difference in time, where one day in heaven equals one year on earth, even if that so-called God truly wants to make trouble for me, it will not happen anytime soon. Let us deal with matters here first!"

After saying that—

Gu Mo raised his hand and pulled Wang Qingping, whom he had bound with demonic qi, out of the lake.

At that moment—

Wang Qingping had instead become very calm. He said, "Gu Mo, I know I am certainly going to die now. There is no chance that I can escape from your hands. But could you let me die knowing the truth? I want to know just how much of a frog at the bottom of a well I have been!"

"What do you want to ask?" Gu Mo said.

Wang Qingping asked, "Today, did you deliberately allow me to ascend?"

Gu Mo nodded. "The Heavenly Gate did not dare come to see me. Since you happened to be ascending, I could use the opportunity to see what exactly the Heavenly Gate was!"

"So, ascension is fake?"

Gu Mo said, "I do not know that. But the Heavenly Gate is definitely fake. I suspected it long ago, and after killing the Inner Demon, I was basically certain."

"So it was you who killed the Inner Demon!"

Wang Qingping's eyes widened. Then he smiled bitterly and said, "I actually... Has this world already developed to such a level?"

"There has always been a group of existences in the human realm that surpass the Ascension Realm, such as the Thirteen Taboos," Gu Mo said. "You carry the Spiritual Energy of the Seven-Colored Peacock. You should know that the legendary taboos are real."

Wang Qingping fell silent for a moment before slowly saying, "Before I die, let me reveal something to you. When I was nearly eaten by the Heavenly Gate just now, a restriction appeared within me and pulled me back into the human realm.

"That restrictive power came from White Jade Capital. I do not know what White Jade Capital intends to do. If not for what happened just now, I am afraid I would never have known that White Jade Capital had planted a taboo within my Nascent Soul. You must have also gone to Penglai Island. You... should be more careful!"

Gu Mo said, "I know. Everyone who goes to Penglai Island to see White Jade Capital receives a restriction. Once they die, White Jade Capital uses the taboo to seize their Nascent Soul. The reason I did not kill you directly just now was because I wanted to follow the vine and find White Jade Capital. But I did not expect an accident to happen just now, and White Jade Capital was frightened into cutting off the connection."

Wang Qingping fell silent and shut himself away.

The shock he had suffered was immense,

He had always believed himself to be among the most supreme beings in the world.

Yet now he learned that he had always been a frog at the bottom of a well. Even if he successfully ascended, reaching the Ascension Realm he had pursued by every means possible for one or two hundred years, he would still be nothing more than a frog at the bottom of a well.

"...Kill me!"

Wang Qingping closed his eyes.

Gu Mo immediately pressed a finger against Wang Qingping's forehead and, in an instant, used the Dao Heart Seed Demon Great Technique to erase Wang Qingping's consciousness.

He did not directly destroy the Nascent Soul.

Because he intended to keep it. Just as he had once used Ling Xiao's Nascent Soul as the sword spirit of the Grand Void Flying Sword, he would fuse Wang Qingping's Nascent Soul into the Dragon Scale Blade he planned to forge.

Wang Qingping's Nascent Soul was complete, belonging to an Ascension Realm cultivator. It was far stronger than Ling Xiao's Half-step Ascension Realm Nascent Soul.

The moment Wang Qingping's consciousness was erased, the System Prompt rang out in Gu Mo's mind:

[Six Star Wanted Criminal slain]

[Obtained Six Star Reward—max-level Mighty Dragon Divine Palm]

[Claim reward?]

Gu Mo immediately claimed the Mighty Dragon Divine Palm.

Afterward,

Gu Mo swiftly left with Tie Tou and the others, then went to notify Du Sha and organize the authorities to clear the riverways and prevent flooding.

What had happened on Gu Mo's side seemed to be over.

But in truth, it set off a great upheaval in certain unknown corners of the mortal world.

Far North Land, Eternal Frozen Ice Plains.

Deep within an iceberg that had lain silent for who knew how many tens of thousands of years, an exceedingly faint crack suddenly sounded. The thick ice snow and ten-thousand-year mystic ice covering it seemed to be forced apart from within by an invisible power, spiderweb-like cracks spreading in an instant. Then came a boom, a muffled sound, as a massive ice crystal exploded and shards of ice flew everywhere.

At the heart of the ice crystal was not some rare treasure, but a gigantic peacock with a graceful form and dull, lusterless plumage. A thin layer of frost covered its body, as though it had only just awakened from a long slumber.

The peacock slowly opened its eyes. Deep within its pupils, colorful rosy clouds flashed and vanished. It raised its head slightly, as if sensing the earth-shaking change in the distant south through endless layers of ice and space.

After a brief silence, it actually spoke human tongue. "The first eye disappeared not long ago, and now something has happened to the second eye as well? Has the real opportunity finally come... or is this another bait and trap carefully laid by Him?"

At that moment, a giant white-haired woman in white robes walked out of a snow cave and said evenly, "Peacock, it has only been two thousand years since Azure Dragon's cautionary example. God has been waiting for you to reveal yourselves. You barely survived five hundred years ago, so don't go stirring up trouble again."

The Seven-Colored Peacock looked up at the sky, then slowly condensed back into an ice sculpture.

At the same time,

Within a vast and boundless abyss in the extreme sea.

Beneath a ten-thousand-zhang trench untouched by sunlight, amid eternal darkness and crushing pressure, an unimaginably huge reef shaped like an island slowly moved.

The heavy silt and deep-sea sediment covering it slid away in streams, revealing beneath them the outline of a dark shell like black iron, covered in the marks of time.

Two enormous pupils like miniature searchlights slowly opened in the darkness, radiating a faint ghostly green glow.

A low, deep voice, like undersea mountain ranges grinding against one another, carried enough power to make the seawater tremble and resonate. It slowly spread through the silent abyss, scattering the glowing strange fish swimming nearby:

"Wuu... the Heavenly Gate has disappeared as well,"

The massive head lifted slightly, looking toward the utterly invisible sea surface, as though its gaze pierced through vast waters and endless space.

The giant turtle's voice carried the ancient desolation of one who had seen through countless ages. "The Inner Demon has dissipated... the Heavenly Gate has been damaged... has someone finally been unable to hold back any longer... and decided to enter the fray?"

It paused, as though savoring the distant lingering pressure that made even the depths of its soul quiver.

"It seems... a new era of 'slaughtering gods'... has come again..."

Its enormous pupils slowly closed, and the surrounding seawater once again fell into deathly stillness. Only that mountain-like outline remained, flickering in and out of sight within the abyss.

Chu Kingdom, Great Bright Light Temple, deep within the Scripture Repository.

Sandalwood incense curled through the air, while Buddhist chants echoed low.

Dharma Master Liansheng sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion, fingers rolling a string of ancient Bodhi prayer beads as he softly recited sutras. His face was as calm as an ancient well without ripples, as if he had become one with the silent meditation chamber.

Suddenly, the fingers turning his prayer beads paused for the briefest instant.

That almost imperceptible pause seemed to shatter some fixed rhythm.

Beneath his lowered eyelids, a trace of exceedingly complex light flashed through eyes calm as a deep pool. The fingers rolling the prayer beads seemed to move a little slower than before.

An extremely soft sigh, there yet not there, blended into the low sound of scripture recitation:

"Amitabha..."

Then a sentence like a piercing Zen koan flowed soundlessly through his heart:

The struggle for the Heavenly Dao... in the end... cannot be avoided.

Within the Scripture Repository, the Buddhist chants remained, and so did the sandalwood incense. Only the Bodhi beads being turned made a more sluggish, faint rubbing sound in the silence, as though they bore some indescribable weight.

Chang'an City,

On the second floor of a bustling tavern, at an elegant window-side seat, Qi Miaoxuan lounged against the railing. He toyed with an exquisite white jade wine cup in his hand, watching the bustling crowd below with great interest.

A faint smile rested on his lips, as though he were admiring a vivid painting of city life. The clear wine in his cup reflected the lanterns that had just begun to glow outside the window.

At that moment,

The lazy smile on Qi Miaoxuan's face abruptly vanished,

He suddenly raised his head. His gaze was no longer a teasing look down upon all living beings, but instantly became as sharp as a hawk's. It pierced through the tavern's rooftops, through Chang'an City's clamorous night mist, and stabbed straight into the depths of the vast night sky. He said in surprise, "It wasn't Jiang Ruoxu. Someone actually attacked the Heavenly Gate. Don't tell me Gu Mo did it again? What a pity—I wonder whether he managed to kill it!"

"No." The sealed Azure Dragon suddenly spoke.

Qi Miaoxuan asked doubtfully, "How do you know?"

Azure Dragon said, "Because... God made a move just now. It may not have descended, but as long as it acts, no one can kill the Heavenly Gate in the sky."

"Couldn't someone have killed the Heavenly Gate in the mortal world?" Qi Miaoxuan said.

"If it were in the mortal world, God would not act. It cannot come down," Azure Dragon said.

Qi Miaoxuan asked doubtfully, "How do you know?"