Under Li Qingshan’s order, the vicious Poison Assimilating Ghost King blocked the giant god of fire’s path. Brutal, green flames burned within its deep eye sockets as it gazed at the blurry face that burned with fire.

  Boom!

  The confrontation had only lasted for a moment before the two colossal beings collided violently. Flames of two different colours mixed and sprayed out.

  The giant god of fire waved its fists and launched a furious attack, without any wondrous techniques anymore. Fortune favoured the bold after all.

  The Poison Assimilating Ghost King howled, like the scream of a thousand ghosts, making people shudder inside. If any mortals were present, they probably would have died on the spot, but it did not have much effect on the giant god of fire. Instead, the Poison Assimilating Ghost King rapidly retreated under the attacks of the flames. Brutal green clouds rose up from its body, like the blood that flowed out of wounds.

  This was not because the Myriad Poison Ancestor was not trying his hardest, but because fire naturally restrained ghosts and the undead. The flames on the giant god of fire were anything but ordinary too, and the Myriad Poison Ancestor was not skilled in close combat like this, which made him even less of an opponent!

  “Piss off!” the giant god of fire roared furiously. It raised its right shoulder and slammed over like a truck, unleashing an explosive force and sending the Poison Assimilating Ghost King flying.

  The giant god of fire paused slightly before suddenly staggering. A black spirit turtle slammed heavily into its back, and the flames on its back immediately dimmed.

  “Again!” Li Qingshan and Gong Yuan held each other’s hands firmly. At that moment, they had cast aside all of their grudges and prejudice, devoting themselves to fending off the enemy. They wanted to emerge victorious no matter what.

  “Then let’s die together! Explode!” Zhu Yan bellowed. He actually chose to detonate himself immediately, wanting them to perish with him.

  Li Qingshan shivered inside, but it was already too late for him to dodge. The flames on the giant god of fire suddenly flared up, and the surroundings were illuminated. For a moment, roaring flames filled everyone’s eyes. The last thing they saw was the three-hundred-meter-tall giant god of fire blurring before twisting and vanishing.

  Terrifying flames gushed out in all directions with enough force to topple mountains, swallowing the black spirit turtle and the Poison Assimilating Ghost King.

  Under the impact of the flames, the black spirit turtle rapidly twisted and became disfigured, like a piece of candy in great heat. Even the cold and silent power of Ruin’s End seemed to heat up slightly.

  Gong Yuan felt the last bit of energy in her being used up. She basically could not control the Heart of the Abyss anymore. The power of Ruin’s End rapidly receded while the flames constantly ate away at it. An intense omen of death filled her mind.

  “I didn’t think I’d actually die here, and I’d die with someone like you. Though, without Zhu Yan, they won’t be able to unleash much of the Divine Fire tablets’ powers anymore. Fire Melt mountain will definitely fall!”


  She smiled. She felt some reluctance, yet also some relief. As the Merfolk Queen, at least she had lived up to her responsibilities, being reduced to ashes in the flames just like her sister.

  Li Qingshan continued to stare at the centre of the explosion. He casually pulled Gong Yuan behind him and said without even looking back, “Who said we would die?”


  He definitely had not charged over with Gong Yuan as a result of being in the heat of the moment. Instead, he had considered that the giant god of fire had been fighting the entire time, and a lot of its power had been depleted, so the power of self-detonation definitely would not be as great as before. However, he was still uncertain whether they could actually withstand it or not. However, the worst-case scenario was just being reduced to a phoenix’s egg, which the flames should not be able to destroy. That was why he was not as pessimistic as Gong Yuan.

  Gong Yuan’s heart skipped a beat. His wide back really seemed to be able to block and defend her from all danger, which made her feel a hint of hope. She vaguely understood why her younger sister had been so stubborn back then.

  The power of Ruin’s End was rapidly worn down, until only a thin layer remained. Li Qingshan could already feel the scorching pain on his face, but at this exact moment, the flames that filled his vision actually receded.

  “What’s going on?” Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow. The flames actually had not even harmed a single hair on him. Was this the handiwork of the Divine Nun of the South Sea again? The self-destruction of the giant god of fire definitely should not have been so weak. Even if Zhu Yan detonated himself, it should not have been so weak!

  There was a flash of firelight. All he saw was a colossal ball of fire that vaguely resembled the shape of a heart rushing towards the main peak.

  Li Qingshan suddenly realised what had happened. The self-detonation this time was only a feint by Zhu Yan. He had only blown up the power that composed the giant god of fire’s body. At first glance, it was an extremely shocking disturbance, but in reality, it was nothing more than that. However, it did create an opportunity for Zhu Yan to slip away.

  “Dharmagupta-vinaya, Conduct of Vinaya,” the Divine Nun of the South Sea’s voice rang out once more.

  Zhu Yan came to a sudden halt and realised he was immobilised. He let out another curse, “Damned old nun!” He struggled as hard as he could to break free.

  “Gravity of the Earth! Get over here!” Li Qingshan raised his right hand and enveloped the fire god’s heart from afar, gathering all the strength in his body to use the innate ability.

  Zhu Yan felt an invisible force grip him and pull him backwards. The main peak was right before him, but it had grown distant all of a sudden again.

  In that moment, he experienced an urge to use this force to rush back and perish together with Li Qingshan, but upon further thought, he dismissed this idea. The main peak of Fire Melt mountain was already on the brink of collapse. If he died here, it would probably fall very quickly!

  The Poison Assimilating Ghost King lunged back, and Zhu Yan bellowed, “Explode!”


  The fire god’s heart suddenly exploded, even more powerful than the explosion from earlier. The Divine Nun of the South Sea’s expression changed, and blood oozed out from the corner of her lips. She did not even bother to explain the essential ideas of the school of vinaya to Xiao An, sitting down in a hurry to meditate and recuperate.

  Zhu Yan broke free from the restraints and used the might of the explosion to rush head-first into the formation. Zhu Fen was overjoyed by this sight, immediately leaving Ye Duanhai and turning into a streak of firelight as he returned to the main peak.

  The sword flashed, and a man appeared again. Ye Duanhai breathed a little heavily while a large part of his cloak had been burned away. Clashing against the strongest of the three kings, Zhu Fen, had been a tough battle for him too. He was powerless to stop him now.

  The three Fire Devouring Kings worked together and each wielded a Divine Fire tablet, immediately stabilising the formation on the brink of collapse. At the same time, they tossed three red wutong fruits with specks of gold into their mouths and began absorbing the extremely pure fire spiritual qi that sprayed out from the main peak, rapidly recovering their strength.

  The three Merfolk Kings continued to power the flood with whatever that was left in them, but their faces had already become sheet-white. The flood became weaker and weaker, and the main peak became more and more stable instead. As they grew weaker while the Fire Devouring Kings grew stronger, breaching the main peak where the royal court of Fire Devouring Folk stood seemed to become more and more impossible. The glorious eye of the storm drew closer and closer too.

  Ji Changfeng had overexerted himself and entered a feeble state a long time ago. He could still swing the Feilian flag with some difficulty, but not only was he incapable of controlling the storm, but he would even be swallowed by the storm instead.

  The Myriad Poison Ancestor had transformed back from the Poison Assimilating Ghost King. The two explosions were not enough to kill him, but they still left him with rather deep wounds.

  The Divine Nun of the South Sea retreated a few more kilometers. Although she still had some remaining strength, that was clearly not for throwing her life on the line, but for escaping when she needed to, such as right now. She held Xiao An’s hand.

  Gong Yuan emerged from behind Li Qingshan. She wanted to grip the Heart of the Abyss firmly, but she felt her entire body soften. Was it going to end like this? They had spent so much time preparing and planning, only for it all to come just one step short of success?