Book 08 Chapter 081: Nether Fire Divine Commander
Roaring flames surged directly at them. Simultaneously, Gu Hai felt suppression from a force akin to heavenly might.
This force fell like a sledgehammer, almost crushing his resolve.
The Unborn Man trembled momentarily, his body bent as if overwhelmed by this heavenly might, submitting to it. This apparent submission seemed to alleviate the pressure considerably.
However, Gu Hai refused to yield. The more formidable the pressure, the more resolute he became, defiantly raising his head against the heavenly might.
Rumble…!
The area around Gu Hai resounded with thunderous noise.
“Your Holy Eminence, as long as you bow your head, this terrifying heavenly might will dissipate!” the Unborn Man called out.
Bow my head?
No amount of pressure or aura can make me do that. Ji Dihong couldn’t, Jiang Lianshan couldn’t, Long Zhanguo couldn’t, and not even the heavenly might of the Six Paths Immortal in the past could force me to lower my head. Am I supposed to bow down here?
Gu Hai was drenched in sweat, but he tenaciously withstood this pressure.
“What an incredible aura! Is this the aura of the Vermilion Bird Prime? Impossible. His aura couldn’t be this powerful! Even the Six Paths Immortal’s aura wasn’t as potent. This is…” Gu Hai’s countenance darkened.
“Your Holy Eminence, just lower your head!” The Unborn Man called out once more.
“Is this…Sa’s aura?” Gu Hai’s expression abruptly turned grave.
Rumble…!
A tremendous pressure surged directly at Gu Hai, and his body emitted crackling sounds. Gu Hai understood that if it were not for his robust physical body, this heavenly might and aura would have already crushed him.
They waited in silence for thirty minutes, and gradually, the heavenly might began to recede.
Throughout it all, Gu Hai never bowed his head.
“Your Holy Eminence, are you alright?” the Unborn Man inquired.
Gu Hai shook his head and stated, “I’m fine now.”
“Your Holy Eminence, have you acclimated to the pressure of the East Spiritual Fire Sea?” the Unborn Man exclaimed in astonishment.
Gu Hai nodded.
As Gu Hai gazed at the boundless sea of flames, his countenance turned slightly somber. This aura belongs to Sa. In ancient times, the vermilion bird sought power from Sa. It was not that the ritual had failed; it should have reached Sa. Does this East Spiritual Fire Sea truly contain Sa’s power?
Gu Hai took a deep breath. He now had a more tangible understanding of Sa.
Even these residual energy imprints emit such a formidable heavenly might. As the ruler of the world, would all beings be required to bow down to Sa? These are merely residual energy imprints; how powerful must Sa be?
The heavenly might had retreated, but Gu Hai could still sense it suppressing his three spiritual souls. At this moment, all three spiritual souls were within his heavenly palaces, seemingly trapped and unable to step out.
Gu Hai could not bring out even a thousandth of his three spiritual souls’ full strength.
“When ordinary cultivators enter here, the power of their three spiritual souls is suppressed. The deeper they go, the greater the suppression. I’ve heard that in the depths, they can’t use them at all!” explained the Unborn Man.
“Regardless, since we’ve come, we should look around first. Among the physical souls, the fire physical soul is unaffected. That’s good enough!” Gu Hai said firmly.
“Agreed! So now, I only have the strength of a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator!” sighed the Unborn Man.
Gu Hai’s Spiritual Progenitor deity king was already unrivaled in the world. The deity king had always nurtured Gu Hai’s five deities, including the fire deity. At this moment, Gu Hai’s strength remained extremely formidable. Moreover, Gu Hai’s physical body was extraordinarily powerful.
“However, the heavenly might is still suppressing us, preventing us from flying. So, Your Holy Eminence,…” the Unborn Man trailed off uneasily.
Gu Hai narrowed his eyes. “This is Sa’s domain of power. The laws are not present here, and the effect is more than just the suppression of flight.”
Gu Hai said that because he sensed that the entrances to the five paths of reincarnation were all sealed and could not be opened here. The Go Dao laws were also absent in this place.
“Indeed. This official also cannot open the passageway between the nether realm and the land of the living here,” the Unborn Man said with a bitter smile.
“Let’s go!” Gu Hai said firmly.
The two strode deeper into the fiery sea.
The flames scorched their bodies, but they had already changed into fire-attributed enchanted treasures for clothes, protecting themselves from the torrid onslaught.
“It’s truly peculiar here. Everything is made of flames. Are these trees? They are also flames? Those mountain peaks, they are flames, too! That large lake over there, the water inside is also flames and magma?” Gu Hai marveled.
“This is a world of flames. The ghosts here are all fire monsters!” the Unborn Man explained.
Gu Hai nodded. Along their journey, they did indeed see some ghosts and even a few skeletons, but all of them were engulfed in flames.
Squawk!
A flaming eagle flapped its fiery wings and charged straight at Gu Hai. The eagle was nothing more than a skeleton, but its eyes emitted a red-hot light as if it wanted to tear them apart.
The Unborn Man reached out and tapped.
The flaming eagle instantly exploded.
Along the way, numerous fire-attributed ghosts came to attack, apparently having sensed the presence of outsiders. However, the Unborn Man repelled them one by one.
After walking for a while, they slowly ascended a massive mountain of flames.
“The flames have incinerated all clues, and we do not know where Lifespan Xiahou went!” The Unborn Man frowned.
“The suppression from this heavenly might is getting stronger and stronger. We feel that the strength of our three spiritual souls is about to be completely suppressed!” Gu Hai’s expression darkened.
“Me, too, Your Holy Eminence. Where should we go now?” The Unborn Man looked at the vast world of flames before him, unsure of how to proceed.
“We need a guide!” Gu Hai said firmly.
“A guide?” The Unborn Man was slightly puzzled.
“Yes, the fire-attributed ghosts that attacked us earlier were mindless. Let’s look for intelligent ones. I remember, during the time of the Yuan Imperial Dynasty, you had a confrontation with Lifespan Dongfang, and he once summoned a type of ghost from the East Spiritual Fire Sea, the Nether Fire Divine Commander?” Gu Hai said solemnly.
“The Nether Fire Divine Commander?” The Unborn Man suddenly stilled.
“Yes, they are the ghosts of this place, the natives here. They should be familiar with this place. Let’s find them and have them lead the way,” Gu Hai suggested. “I remember you could also summon a Nether Fire Divine Commander?”
The Unborn Man smiled wryly. “I used to be able to summon three of them, but they…they’re all gone. I can’t sense them anymore. Furthermore, I could only contract them because they accidentally broke out of the East Spiritual Fire Sea, and I rescued them. Then they reluctantly agreed to help me. As for Lifespan Dongfang, I don’t know how he got lucky, but it’s best not to encounter them!”
“Why?”
“The Nether Fire Divine Commanders are a unique feature of this place. At the very least, they possess Middle Heavenly Palace Realm strength, and the stronger ones have Upper Heavenly Palace Realm strength. Moreover, they are incredibly violent and often fight among themselves. The three Nether Fire Divine Commanders I could summon perished in internal disputes. Nether Fire Divine Commanders have a special fondness for the flesh and blood of the living. If we encounter them, wouldn’t that mean…” The Unborn Man looked worried.
However, it seemed like Gu Hai had not heard him. Gu Hai was looking at a distant fiery lake, his eyes lighting up. “There they are! Look!”
At the fiery lake was a heavily armored horse with black flames all over its body. Atop the horse sat a knight shrouded in flames, fully clad in armor, his face obscured. He held a chain of fire in his hand and swung it.
The Nether Fire Divine Commander caught a one-meter-long flaming fish and yanked it out of the lake.
The giant flaming fish struggled for a moment, but the chain of the Nether Fire Divine Commander was even more formidable. With a sudden pull, the giant flaming fish was instantly crushed and compressed and then absorbed by the Nether Fire Divine Commander, disappearing.
“That’s a Nether Fire Divine Commander with Middle Heavenly Palace Realm strength!” The Unborn Man suddenly grew anxious.
“Middle Heavenly Palace Realm strength?” Gu Hai frowned.
“Your Holy Eminence, that chain has tremendous power. If an ordinary Middle Heavenly Palace Realm expert touched it, their souls would immediately burn and melt. Shouldn’t we go around it?” the Unborn Man suggested anxiously.
Gu Hai shook his head. “It’s too late; he has already spotted us.”
As expected, the Nether Fire Divine Commander, who had swallowed the giant flaming fish, suddenly raised his head and saw Gu Hai and the Unborn Man atop the fiery mountain.
“Hah!” The Nether Fire Divine Commander let out a roar.
Mounted on his fiery warhorse, he charged directly towards Gu Hai.
“Your Holy Eminence, our cultivation is restricted now. We can’t confront him head-on; we should retreat!” the Unborn Man urged.
“Where do you think you’re going?” the Nether Fire Divine Commander shouted.
The Unborn Man was growing frantic, but Gu Hai’s eyes gleamed. At the very least, this Nether Fire Divine Commander could speak.
Whoosh!
The Nether Fire Divine Commander swung his chain with great force, sending it straight for Gu Hai and the Unborn Man and summoning a firestorm.
The Unborn Man was panicking, but Gu Hai smirked. He had no intention of holding back. Extending his index finger, he flicked it forcefully.
Gu Hai hit the head of the chain, which instantly turned back, heading straight for the Nether Fire Divine Commander.
“What?” The Nether Fire Divine Commander’s face changed, and he attempted to change the direction of the chain, but it was too late.
The chain sent the Nether Fire Divine Commander, along with his warhorse, flying and crashing into a fiery mountain.
The Unborn Man showed a hint of amazement. “Your Holy Eminence, your cultivation hasn’t been sealed? How can you wield such great strength?”
Gu Hai, on the other hand, stepped forward.
He leaped up, then suddenly plummeted.
With a loud crash, Gu Hai landed on the Nether Fire Divine Commander, smashing him into the ground and creating numerous cracks.
“Who-who are you?” the Nether Fire Divine Commander exclaimed.
In the distance, the Unborn Man gaped in astonishment.
“You can speak? That’s even better. Tell us about the situation in the East Spiritual Fire Sea! Is there someone named Lifespan Xiahou here?” Gu Hai inquired casually.
“What? You’re looking for our lord?” The Nether Fire Divine Commander was surprised.
“Oh?” Gu Hai’s eyes lit up.
The Unborn Man, who had rushed over, exclaimed in joy, “You said lord? Is Lifespan Xiahou your lord? Where is he?”
Everything seemed to be going incredibly well. They had just arrived and were already about to find Lifespan Xiahou?
“I…I…I don’t know!” The Nether Fire Divine Commander struggled for a moment.
“You don’t know? Hmph, you’re currently under our control. I have ways to make you talk. If you don’t speak, I’ll extract your lifespan, and you’ll turn to ashes, becoming nourishment for this land!” The Unborn Man’s expression turned cold.
As he spoke, he placed his hand on the Nether Fire Divine Commander’s head.
“Argh!” The Nether Fire Divine Commander screamed in pain.
“I can’t say it. If I do, my lord won’t spare me!” the Nether Fire Divine Commander pleaded.
“If you don’t speak, do you think I’ll spare you?” The Unborn Man continued to draw black energy from the Nether Fire Divine Commander’s head.
“Let me go! If you have the guts, release me. We can fight one-on-one! Don’t extract my lifespan, please!” the Nether Fire Divine Commander begged in pain.
“One-on-one? You can’t defeat us. If you’re willing to help us find Lifespan Xiahou, we’ll take him away without harming you. Otherwise, we’ll eliminate you first, and then we’ll find another Nether Fire Divine Commander, who will surely tell us!” Gu Hai countered calmly.
After a painful cry, the Nether Fire Divine Commander finally yielded. “Stop extracting! I’ll talk!”
Gu Hai and the Unborn Man exchanged glances. They had not expected their journey to go so smoothly!