Chapter 1693: Heaven's Gate Path Fire, Burning My Sparrow Soul

Upon Meng Yungui's death, his primordial spirit immediately dispersed, his soul shattering and transforming into particles of black sand that flew from his corpse. His injuries were too severe; both the spirit and soul within his primordial spirit were already broken. He should have died long ago, but his cultivation was so powerful that he had been forcefully clinging to life.

"Master Bai, you've finally put my mind at ease," King Yiluo said with a relieved sigh, seeing the black sand of Meng Yungui's soul dissipating from his body. He stepped forward with a smile. "Before this journey, His Majesty instructed me that the Third Heavenly Master, Bai Yuqiong, being human and befriending Meng Yungui, should not be underestimated. Throughout our travels, I've harbored suspicions and tested you repeatedly. But Master Bai, your profound understanding of righteousness, demonstrated by personally slaying the traitor Meng Yungui, earns my admiration and allows me to finally rest assured."

Bai Yuqiong lowered her head, looking at the sword in her hand. Her voice was filled with cold indifference: "That villain Meng failed to recognize the times, acted unwisely, harbored no loyalty to the Emperor, and despite receiving the Heavenly Court's grace, harbored no thought of repaying it. He is worse than a beast. Naturally, I had to kill him and clearly distance myself from him."

Tears welled in her eyes and slipped down her cheeks, but strangely, the falling tears transformed into flames that hovered beside her face.

Though her voice was cold, within her, a soul burned with blazing holy fire, struggling and roaring! Her heart was filled with boundless sorrow and indignation, making this unyielding soul hotter and hotter, as if it sought to break free from the constraints of her flesh, unleash its terrifying claws, tear through her body, and release infinite power.

Bai Yuqiong raised her other hand and tightly clutched the jade pendant hanging around her neck. That jade pendant was given to her by Qin Mu to break the Yin Son of Heaven's reincarnation divine ability. It had once helped her reincarnate ninety-eight times, ensuring her divine soul remained intact.

This jade pendant was both her inner demon and her deepest unresolved issue.

"I am me! The one and only me! There is only one Bai Yuqiong in this world! I am not the Southern Emperor!" She had once told Qin Mu this, adamantly and with full confidence.

Yet... Bai Yuqiong looked at Meng Yungui's corpse before her, then at the terrified Southern Heavens people around her. The Southern Emperor Vermilion Bird was not only the Emperor of the Southern Pole Heaven but also the Emperor of the Southern Heaven. As the Southern Emperor Vermilion Bird, failing to protect the Southern Pole Heaven and its people was a dereliction of duty, a failure of responsibility, a mistake made by the Southern Emperor. And none of this should have been borne by the people of the Southern Heaven, nor by Meng Yungui! The people of the Southern Heaven had never done anything wrong; they simply lived there. Meng Yungui had also never done anything wrong; he merely happened to arrive in the Southern Heaven!

Bai Yuqiong's hand, clutching the jade pendant, trembled. "I don't want to become the Southern Emperor, or part of her. I am me..." Drops of holy fire, formed from her tears, floated towards the jade pendant and seeped into it.

King Yiluo approached, smiling. "His Majesty entrusted me with control of the Southern Heavenly Gate precisely to guard against you. However, you have done well and have not disappointed His Majesty. Master Bai, in the future, you are destined to become a Heavenly Venerate, just like Fire Heavenly Venerate. Fire Heavenly Venerate gained His Majesty's favor by killing Cloud Heavenly Venerate, but Fire Heavenly Venerate is ambitious. You should not repeat his mistakes."

"I will become another Fire Heavenly Venerate?" Bai Yuqiong smiled. Inside her, the flames emanating from that maddened soul grew fiercer and harder to suppress. It was something she dared not face: the divine soul of the Southern Emperor. This divine soul was actually showing signs of self-awakening, without needing the final reincarnation!

Was it the conscience Meng Yungui spoke of? Did Meng Yungui's death awaken the conscience of the Southern Heavens people, and at the same time, awaken her own? Was it this conscience that caused the Southern Emperor's soul within her to begin awakening, erupting in blazing flames, threatening to incinerate her physical body and break free from its constraints? Wild fire burned her Dao heart and her soul, making her want to release this uncontainable fire, to unleash the endless energy within her chest, to guard the Southern Heaven in Meng Yungui's stead, and to accomplish what the Southern Emperor never did.

However, she did not want to die. If she released the Southern Emperor's soul, Bai Yuqiong would no longer be Bai Yuqiong; she would be the Southern Emperor!

King Yiluo walked up to her, looking at the struggling people of the Southern Heaven. "You will do better than Fire Heavenly Venerate. All of you, kneel!" His expression darkened as he bellowed at the Southern Heavens people, "The farce is over. All of you, kneel!"

However, not a single person knelt before him.

King Yiluo's face grew even gloomier. He sneered, "You worms, do you wish to die?"

Suddenly, a young boy picked up a piece of broken wood and, with all his might, hurled it, striking him on the forehead. The blow was negligible to an existence like King Yiluo, yet it was like touching a dragon's inverse scale, a profound humiliation that instantly ignited an uncontrollable fury within him!

King Yiluo raised his hand, seized the boy's throat, and lifted him, saying coldly, "Hit me again!" The boy gasped for breath but still raised his fist, attempting to punch him in the face. King Yiluo sneered, opening his mouth wide. "Pitiful creature, utterly powerless..." Just as he was about to swallow the boy, a flash of sword light appeared, severing his hand that clutched the boy's neck at the wrist!

"I am not Fire Heavenly Venerate!" A voice filled with immense anger rang in his ears. In an instant, sword light pierced his brow, eyes, throat, and chest! The sword light in Bai Yuqiong's hand was incredibly agile, stabbing into his body in a flash, wantonly destroying his physical form, piercing through his divine treasures and Celestial Palaces, aiming directly for his primordial spirit!

King Yiluo roared, his wings spreading wide. Countless feathers flew, like golden flying swords, blocking Bai Yuqiong's sword light! His primordial spirit soared into the air, its Celestial Palaces arranged in intricate patterns, forming a small Heavenly Court! Any Heavenly Court with fewer than eighteen Celestial Palaces was called a "small Heavenly Court." King Yiluo was the Northern Heavenly King of the Heavenly Court, and among the Four Heavenly Kings, the Northern Heavenly King was the most esteemed. He had already cultivated six Celestial Palaces! A small Heavenly Court formed from six Celestial Palaces was considered a top-tier fighting force in the Heavenly Court!

Unexpectedly, just as his small Heavenly Court emerged, a cloud of vital qi steamed above Bai Yuqiong's head. From within the cloud, four Celestial Palaces leaped forth. From each of the four Celestial Palaces, a Bai Yuqiong stood up and flew towards him, exhibiting unpredictable divine abilities! These Bai Yuqiongs were all truly existent, each possessing an independent physical body and an independent primordial spirit. This was the unique secret of Qionghua Palace!

Bai Yuqiong had reincarnated one hundred ninety-seven times. Throughout these one hundred ninety-seven lives, to evade the death calamity brought upon her by the Yin Son of Heaven, she had cultivated an immense number of cultivation techniques and divine abilities. She had once studied under Heavenly Venerate Yue, learning the nascent "Scripture of Boundless Void." She had also been a Daoist nun in the Dao Sect, a Bodhisattva in the Buddhist sect, and even a disciple to various Great Emperors of the Heavenly Court! Her cultivation technique was remarkably unique. Based on Heavenly Venerate Yue's "Scripture of Boundless Void," it incorporated various other cultivation methods. While its spatial application naturally couldn't compare to the current "Scripture of Boundless Void," she had integrated so much that she had forged her own extraordinary path.

The five Bai Yuqiongs instantly lunged forward, ignoring Yiluo's small Heavenly Court and primordial spirit, and instead charged directly at his physical body. King Yiluo's physical body was wounded, and he immediately unleashed his full combat power. No longer restraining his form, layers of golden feathers burst from within him, and his body grew larger and larger! He was a demigod, the patriarch of the Golden-Winged Great Peng clan from the Primordial Realm. His body, composed of divine sinews and demonic bones, rippled with fiercely bulging muscles. His wings became wider and wider, covering an increasingly vast area! As a Heavenly King, responsible for the Heavenly Court's combat functions, he had endured countless battles. His combat experience and abilities far surpassed those of a Heavenly Master!

However, before his physical body could fully shed its humanoid constraints, his peng head was pierced through by one of the Bai Yuqiongs, who then pressed down on his head and slammed him fiercely onto the deck of the giant ship! The other four Bai Yuqiongs formed a formation. Before King Yiluo could even stand up, the formation erupted. In just an instant, he was hit by countless attacks, his physical body exploding with bursts, flesh and blood splattering everywhere!

King Yiluo's primordial spirit transformed into a Golden-Winged Great Peng, spreading its wings. Bearing the small Heavenly Court composed of six Celestial Palaces, it flapped away, shouting fiercely, "Divine Martial Guards! Activate the Southern Heavenly Gate and suppress the traitor Bai Yuqiong!"

The two Divine Martial Guards, twenty thousand soldiers strong, roared in unison, unleashing their magic power to activate the Southern Heavenly Gate of the Ancestral Court! Between the two mountain ranges of the Southern Heavenly Gate, the Dao fire instantly erupted to its extreme. Blazing Dao flames swept across the sky, evaporating the waters of the Heavenly River and twisting and collapsing the starry sky of Blazing Heaven. Tongues of fire licked the starry sky and the Heavenly River; wherever they passed, everything turned to nothingness!

The five Bai Yuqiongs disregarded pursuing King Yiluo's primordial spirit and rushed to block the Southern Heavenly Gate! She could have dodged the power of the Southern Heavenly Gate's Dao fire, but the Southern Heavens people on this ship certainly could not. She could not allow the awakening of the Southern Heavens people, bought by her Senior Brother Meng Yungui's death, to be reduced to nothing! Her aura completely erupted, and her divine abilities met the Dao might of the Southern Heavenly Gate!

The blazing Dao fire surged forth, blocked by the five Bai Yuqiongs in front. The Dao fire was like an invisible wall, constantly impacting and vibrating, attempting to break through it. Before the wall stood Bai Yuqiong's figures, and behind Bai Yuqiong were the multitude of living beings on the ship. The bodies of the five Bai Yuqiongs were scorched, their fair arms turning as black as charcoal. Suddenly, one Bai Yuqiong turned to ash, engulfed by the Dao fire, then a second Bai Yuqiong was consumed by the Dao fire, followed by the third, and the fourth! Soon, only the sole Bai Yuqiong remained on the ship, her body trembling, unable to support herself any longer.

King Yiluo's primordial spirit shrieked, "Burn her to death! Burn these worms on the ship to death!" Infuriated, he mobilized other armies, ordering tens of thousands of Heavenly Court gods and devils to collectively activate the Southern Heavenly Gate of the Ancestral Court. The Southern Heavenly Gate of the Ancestral Court was a naturally formed Dao gate, containing the most sacred Dao fire. Even the twenty thousand strong experts of the Divine Martial Guards, ranging from Jade Capital to Empyrean and even Emperor's Throne realms, could not unleash the full power of this gate. Now, with tens of thousands of other gods and devils from various paths, the power of the Southern Heavenly Gate of the Ancestral Court immediately soared again!

Bai Yuqiong was pushed back relentlessly, her body trembling more and more. She had retreated to stand before the Southern Heavens people on the ship, her foot already touching the hem of Meng Yungui's corpse. Bai Yuqiong cried out loudly, grabbing the reincarnation jade pendant from her chest with one hand. Her heart trembled, and she exerted immense force. "I am Bai Yuqiong!"

The Dao fire from the Ancestral Court's Southern Heavenly Gate engulfed her. From within the flames, her voice resonated: "I am Bai Yuqiong of the human race—" The cry was clear and crisp, somewhat like the call of a phoenix, yet distinctly different.

Although the Dao fire had swallowed her, it could no longer advance a single step. King Yiluo and countless Heavenly Court gods and devils saw Bai Yuqiong's figure standing tall within the Dao fire, still not reduced to ash by it. The woman was bathed in the Dao fire. Within her, an incredible heat and an incredible blaze emanated, connecting and merging with the Dao fire of the Ancestral Court's Southern Heavenly Gate. Inside her, something seemed to suddenly awaken, ready to tear through her body, tear through her physical form, growing from within her and breaking free.

At this moment, the gods of the Heavenly Court saw Bai Yuqiong's body begin to transform. Exquisitely beautiful feathers emerged from within her, appearing exceptionally stunning even amidst the Southern Heavenly Gate's Dao fire.

"It's a phoenix!" a general cried out loudly.

"No, it's not a phoenix! Phoenixes are creatures of flesh and blood!" King Yiluo, feeling the fear of a natural enemy, shrieked, "It's the Vermilion Bird—Quick! Recall the Southern Heavenly Gate! The Dao fire cannot harm her; instead, it's increasing her power!"

Just then, all the gods and devils saw an incredibly magnificent Vermilion Bird burst forth from within Bai Yuqiong, soaring into the sky. It broke free from her physical constraints and unfurled its peerlessly brilliant wings amidst the Dao fire. At that moment, all the Heavenly Court gods and devils controlling the Southern Heavenly Gate immediately felt they had lost control of it. The power of the Dao fire within the Southern Heavenly Gate surpassed its former might, but the one controlling this Great Dao gate was no longer them.

"Retreat—" King Yiluo roared loudly, flapping his wings to rise, and carrying his Celestial Palaces, he fled away.

On a distant warship, Shang Pingyin, who had been in a state of madness, witnessed this scene. He suddenly regained clarity and shrieked, "You can't retreat! Immediately form a formation to resist!"

However, it was too late. King Yiluo's command had become a death warrant for the Heavenly Court army. If the Heavenly Court gods and devils had not retreated and had formed a formation, they could have withstood the power of the Ancestral Court's Southern Heavenly Gate's Dao fire. Their strength was immense, and the Heavenly Court's formations were profoundly sophisticated; although not as intricate as Yankang's formations, they could have put up a fight against the Vermilion Bird in a proper formation. But King Yiluo was not a Heavenly Master after all, and his ability to assess the situation was inferior to Shang Pingyin's. With this retreat, deprived of formation protection, the Vermilion Bird flapped its wings, and the Southern Heavenly Gate's Dao fire instantly turned, roaring and surging forth, engulfing everyone!

Countless Heavenly Court gods and devils struggled and fled within the Dao fire, turning to ash as they tried to escape. Many gods and devils had their primordial spirits detach from their physical bodies and fly up, but they had no time to escape the Dao fire before being reduced to ash!

"I am Bai Yuqiong!" The cry of the Vermilion Bird echoed in the sky. Its massive figure, burning with Dao fire, flew through the sea of flames formed by the Southern Heavenly Gate and its Dao fire, flapping its wings to pursue King Yiluo, who had transformed into a great peng and fled bearing his Celestial Palaces!

The fastest god under heaven was not the Nine-Headed Phoenix Crimson Emperor Qi Xiayu, nor the ancient god Great Sun Star Lord famed for speed, nor even King Yiluo, patriarch of the Golden-Winged Great Peng clan. It was the Southern Emperor Vermilion Bird, who flew by controlling Dao fire! When the Southern Emperor Vermilion Bird flew, Dao fire twisted countless spaces, and she arrived at various Heavens with a single flap of her wings!

"I am Bai Yuqiong, Bai Yuqiong of the human race!" The Vermilion Bird flapped its wings, catching up to King Yiluo's primordial spirit. In a few rapid movements, King Yiluo's primordial spirit was torn apart, then reduced to ash by the Dao fire, burning into black sand of souls.

The Vermilion Bird flew back, landing on the bow of the slave ship. Its body grew smaller and smaller, and it cried out mournfully to the sky, "I am Bai Yuqiong, Bai Yuqiong of the human race—" Her eyes showed confusion as various fragmented memories surged, filling her mind with chaos.

"I am Bai Yuqiong, Bai Yuqiong of the human race..." She seemed only capable of repeating this phrase, not understanding its meaning, only wailing mournfully again and again, desperately trying to recall the past.

Behind her, a small girl from the Southern Heaven human race bravely stepped forward. She trembled as she reached out a hand. The Dao fire was not as scorching as the girl had imagined; instead, it felt very gentle. The little girl gently stroked her feathers, attempting to calm her. She turned her head, looking at the girl. Her eyes were still full of confusion. "I am Bai Yuqiong, Bai Yuqiong of the human race..."

"You are Bai Yuqiong of the human race," the girl told her.

The Vermilion Bird quieted.

The Southern Emperor Vermilion Bird possessed billions of years of memories. When the Vermilion Bird's divine soul awakened, so too did the Southern Emperor's memories. Bai Yuqiong's mere one hundred ninety-seven lives' worth of memories were completely scattered, leaving her mind in disarray. She could no longer remember who she was.

"I am Bai Yuqiong," the Vermilion Bird would occasionally say. She only remembered a man's voice in her heart, a voice that had become a conviction, compelling her to guard this land of the Southern Heaven and its people.