Chapter 896: True Fire, Karmic Fire, Calamity Fire, Immaculate

Of the Divine Realm's five authorities, four now have masters!

The three gods of Sun, Moon, and Stars withdrew their gaze from the vortex, looking across the void towards the mountains and seas.

The Divine Realm's final authority will be chosen under their watchful eyes.

Just as they did not interfere in the struggle for the Emperor's corpse deep within the vortex, Xu Qing and the Team Captain's fate—whether they live or die, succeed or fail—is sealed.

Since they chose to contend for their destiny here, everything must unfold as fate dictates for each.

For the three gods, the struggle for the Emperor's corpse was the opportune moment they had been waiting for, a key to unlock the grand stage.

And the contention of the mountains and seas… is the karma that spans time, connecting the Northern Immortal Emperor Realm with the Wanggu Continent.

It has taken form, it is now linked.

Therefore, they will not intervene in the success or failure of the mountains and seas at this moment.

Regardless of karma or destiny, while promises were made through time, it also depends on whether the fate of those promised can bear the burden.

If the mountains and seas can bear this fate, their destiny is indeed profound, and the gods will willingly fulfill their promises, adding to their glory and bestowing the chance to become deities.

If they cannot bear it, that too is karma. The fifth authority will return, empowering the three gods. The promises will serve as fuel, burning their lives across tens of thousands of years to forge the gods' own divine path, which is also a divine fruition.

At that time, the mountains and seas will have nothing to say, blaming no one but destiny itself.

Therefore, nothing is truly predetermined, except for the inevitable demise of the Foot Spider God.

It will either perish amidst the mountains and seas, or at the hands of the three gods.

Time passes.

While the mountains and seas were still making their choice, the Divine Realm's destiny had already settled into the fate of those with authority. Consequently, the aura of the three gods of Sun, Moon, and Stars grew increasingly potent under this blessing, appearing with even greater splendor within the vortex shrine.

Their own divine ranks similarly stirred; their respective golden divine fires burned powerfully, and at their peak, a faint trace of a hidden black flame subtly appeared, unsealed within the gold.

The Sun God's was the most potent, followed by the Moon God's, and then the Star God's.

“The Tribulation Fire is finally unsealed!”

The Sun God closed his eyes, the Moon God remained silent, and the Star God waited in anticipation.

Those with authority also included the Emperor's corpse, currently deep within the vortex.

Consequently, destiny invisibly flowed into the river of fate belonging to this Emperor's corpse.

Because his physical body was controlled by the Team Captain, and his soul by Xu Qing.

The two of them, as if occupying the river's end, determined the entire trajectory of the Emperor's corpse's fate.

Thus, this flowing destiny naturally belonged to the two of them.

The Team Captain's choice was to transform the Divine Realm's destiny into a furnace to burn the Nameless scroll, while also extracting two feathers and burning them with destiny as fuel.

It was like a refining process.

This method of refining was exceedingly rare; merely speaking of it would be enough to astound Wanggu.

After all, few cultivators on the Wanggu Continent could possess such fortune: luxuriously refining artifacts using the Emperor's corpse's vitality as fire and the Divine Realm's destiny as fuel.

What's more, the artifacts being refined were equally extraordinary.

One was the mysterious Nameless scroll, which escaped from the Great Derivation; its ability to support them all the way here demonstrated its extraordinary nature.

The other was a life born after the ancient teleportation array was activated, a marvel of creation that embodied the changes of Wanggu, inherently combining profundity and wonder.

Its feathers were, naturally, astonishing.

Even ordinary objects would become divine after such a refining process, let alone these two exceptional items.

As the refining continued, the madness within the Team Captain's heart intensified, and his divine sense began to mutter.

“Burn faster, even faster.”

“It’s almost done. Spirits of heaven and earth, bless me! May Immortal Xia, Xuan You, Master, myself, and Little Junior Brother bless me! It must succeed.”

The Team Captain’s divine sense entered Xu Qing’s perception. As the two were currently fused into one body, Xu Qing couldn't avoid witnessing or hearing the Team Captain's actions and words, no matter how much he wished to.

Moreover, based on his understanding of the Team Captain, Xu Qing had already formed a judgment in his mind after the successful refining of the Emperor's corpse remnant soul.

The Team Captain's ambition was certainly not limited to this.

Although they had acquired this corpse and gained authority over the Divine Realm, this achievement, in terms of sheer ambition, seemed somewhat unsuited to the "super grand event" the Team Captain had previously spoken of.

After all, what they had obtained was not the complete destiny of the Divine Realm.

Xu Qing could now sense through destiny that the Divine Realm's authority... was divided into five portions.

He and the Team Captain had only secured one portion combined.

While this gain might be an unparalleled fortune for others, Xu Qing knew that his eccentric Senior Brother would not be satisfied. Now, with destiny flowing in, the Team Captain was using it to refine artifacts... Xu Qing realized his judgment had been correct.

But he couldn't intervene.

Because at this moment, the most crucial matter for Xu Qing was not his Senior Brother's eccentricity, but the opportunity for his own cultivation breakthrough.

His Lifebound Hidden Gate had long been open, with the Azure Dragon, as the Heavenly Dao, roaring furiously as it roamed within his divine repository.

The Poison Ban Hidden Gate was likewise open, its Nether-Fei already formed, mysterious with a single eye, bearing the Six Impurities mark.

After absorbing the power of the Lunar Yin, the Purple Moon Hidden Gate saw the Heavenly Dao Nether-Ying truly taking residence, and the gate had already opened wide.

The Emperor's Hidden Gate was also complete; the remnant soul within had achieved the Heavenly Dao under the Emperor's Sword, transforming into Xu Qing's exclusive Emperor Sword Spirit, now fully opened.

Of the five Hidden Gates, four were already open, with only the final one remaining in a half-opened state.

That was the Witch Hidden Gate.

This Hidden Gate did not require an additional Heavenly Dao; the Sub-Witch race body within it was what the Heavenly Dao needed to gather the power of the Witch race and push open the Hidden Gate.

This power, Xu Qing perfectly supplied using the Divine Realm's destiny.

Because this use was not a one-time affair; the Divine Realm's authority existed eternally, and he was merely guiding its direction of blessing.

The next instant, the invisible destiny that had settled into his fate surged towards the Witch Hidden Gate under Xu Qing's divine sense.

The Witch Hidden Gate boomed, and the Witch Ancestor's body rapidly took shape, growing taller and larger.

The nine heads of Jiuli roared in unison, integrating one by one until they formed a colossal figure that supported heaven and earth, radiating the light of ancient and weathered ages.

Like a giant, it stood within the Witch Hidden Gate.

This giant raised what appeared to be a hand of heaven and earth and, within the Witch Hidden Gate world, pointed it towards the void.

The great gate of the Witch Hidden Gate within Xu Qing, already half-open, was suddenly pushed wide from within.

The moment it opened, all five Hidden Gates shone with dazzling, brilliant light, enveloping Xu Qing's entire sea of consciousness.

This was the simultaneous opening of all Five Hidden Gates.

A torrent of immense power erupted from these five Hidden Gates, sweeping through Xu Qing's entire body.

His cultivation instantly soared, and his soul sublimated in that very moment.

His combat power steadily increased, and his divine rank ascended, like a carp leaping over the dragon gate.

Visible on the Five Hidden Gates, the Azure Dragon roared to the sky, the Fei's eyes were arrogant and disdainful of the world, the Nether-Ying ascended to supremacy, the Emperor Soul walked with a sword, and the Witch Ancestor opened eyes like the sun and moon.

This was the simultaneous emergence of the Heavenly Daos.

Earth-shattering changes unfolded within Xu Qing's body, and as the five Heavenly Daos emerged, Xu Qing's five Hidden Gates transformed into furnaces and began to erupt.

Booming sounds, louder than heavenly thunder, continuously exploded, as flakes of volcanic ash erupted from the furnaces of the Five Hidden Gates.

That dust, like volcanic ash, was composed of Dao, formed by destiny, and transformed from the traces Xu Qing had left in this world.

Its name... Void Dust.

It would lay out a stretch of Void Soil above Xu Qing's sea of consciousness, capable of accommodating Dao traces.

This was the Gui Xu realm, its hallmark and foundation.

Xu Qing's eyes gleamed with a strange light. At this moment, for him, breaking through the Spirit Repository and entering the Gui Xu realm presented no obstacles; it was within his grasp. However, recalling his assessment of the Team Captain's grand scheme, Xu Qing's sea of consciousness suddenly calmed, and the Five Hidden Gates furnaces instantly solidified.

Since he could break through at any moment, he chose to hold back for a while.

It was precisely at this moment that the Team Captain's voice softly drifted over.

“Little Junior Brother!”

The Team Captain felt a deep regret. He had originally intended to intervene just as Xu Qing was about to advance, adopting the demeanor of a Senior Brother. He had even prepared his words, planning to extort a significant future favor.

To his surprise, Xu Qing had actually delayed his breakthrough on his own.

“Never mind, even though he's already delayed, I've still got my speech prepared.”

With that thought, the Team Captain cleared his throat.

“Little Junior Brother, don't rush to break through just yet. I see your bone structure is astonishing; you're a cultivation genius truly one in a million. I happen to have an unparalleled, epoch-making fortune here for you. Are you interested?”

Upon hearing the Team Captain's words, Xu Qing immediately understood his intentions and nodded cooperatively. The Team Captain was satisfied.

“Little Junior Brother, do you remember when I said our era has arrived? Your Gui Xu can't be so simple!”

“Becoming the master of the Divine Realm is merely an appetizer for my grand scheme this time. You can view it as an entry ticket…”

“Wait a moment, outside, your sister-in-law, your lover, and that thrice-damned Sun God will put on a grand show. We can use the opportunity to rise.”

“However, this time, your Senior Brother has prepared for a very long time and paid a huge price, so you must promise me.”

“Okay…”

Before the Team Captain could finish, Xu Qing nodded.

“Ah, I haven't even told you what to promise me yet…”

“Senior Brother, as long as I can do it, I will agree to anything you ask!”

The two were now fused into the Emperor's body, their divine senses connected. The Team Captain could clearly perceive the steadfastness in Xu Qing's words, and for a moment, an unprecedented warmth rose within his heart.

Amidst this warmth, he felt that his earlier idea of extorting a favor was rather narrow-minded.

The responsibility and duty of being a Senior Brother surged passionately within him, so he spoke proudly.

“Helping my Junior Brother? What conditions are there to talk about? Your Senior Brother was just joking with you. Let's not dwell on that.”

“Let me tell you my plan. Junior Brother, you should already know that the distinguishing mark of a god is divine fire. Before igniting divine fire, they are merely divine beings. Only by kindling divine fire can they truly be called gods.”

“And the Divine Fire Realm… actually has three levels.”

“They are True Fire, Karma Fire, and Tribulation Fire!”

Xu Qing’s heart stirred. This was the first time he had heard about the different stages of gods after they ignited their divine fire.

“For instance, the fish we encountered in the Seal Sea Department's Immortal Palace was at the True Fire level, considered a Lower God. Once True Fire transforms into Karma Fire, one becomes an Upper God!”

“The designation of Upper God encompasses a wide range. Karma Fire falls within it, and so does Tribulation Fire, which is even higher.”

“If one can ultimately achieve complete mastery of Tribulation Fire and reach the state of Perfection, then there's a possibility of raising a divine platform. The divine platform is Li Zihua's current realm.”

Xu Qing listened intently, also sensing a hint of ancient weariness in the Team Captain's voice as he shared this information.

For gods, the Tribulation Fire level, while granting infinite power and omniscience, is also incredibly perilous, as it brings about personal catastrophes.

This tribulation exists beyond the god's omniscience. If it cannot be overcome, the divine fire extinguishes, the divine path becomes empty, and all turns to dust. Only upon reaching the transitional state of Perfection can one be free from tribulation and safely prepare to assault the divine platform.

And the realm of the Foot Spider God is this third level of the Divine Fire Realm; it has reached its limit but has not yet achieved Perfection, hence its tribulation has arrived!

The three gods, and you and I, are its tribulation!

The Crimson Mother of that year was also like this: her realm was that of an Upper God, having reached great perfection in Tribulation Fire, and was comparable in rank to the Foot Spider God, yet still a bit short of Perfection! Just like Li Zihua back then, the former Crimson Mother was also his tribulation… So, Li Zihua, you and I, are his tribulation!

“As for the three gods, from what I know of my past life, they sealed their Tribulation Fire and ceased advancing when they first entered that stage. So, although they are Upper Gods, they are much weaker than the Crimson Mother was!”

“And this time, I believe... the three gods' ultimate goal is to bypass the perilous Tribulation Fire realm in one step, directly reaching Perfection. This will clear the path to the divine platform, making it attainable.”

Just as the Team Captain reached this point, his voice suddenly paused. Xu Qing immediately sensed it, and the Emperor's corpse within the vortex, into which the two had merged, suddenly lifted its head in their shared mind.

Divine light shone in its eyes, piercing through the vortex to perceive the outside world.

A world-altering upheaval was descending.

“The wind is rising.”

The Team Captain's tone was wild with excitement.