Chapter 321: God

Gu Mo hadn't expected the Heavenly Gate to flee so decisively. However, it aligned with the Heavenly Gate's nature. After all, when he had merely undergone a physical ascension previously, the Heavenly Gate had hidden itself, proving it to be an exceedingly cautious entity.

"Trying to flee?" Gu Mo sneered. He immediately activated the Devil Heart Seed Dafa, bolstered by the God of War Scroll. His domain roared to life, and the immense demonic energy, no longer formless, solidified into a viscous, churning torrent of darkness, brimming with destructive and devouring intent. It erupted with an explosive force.

This power instantly linked with the Demonic Blade's aura of slaughter. Concurrently, Gu Mo also drew upon the Demonic Stone Source Qi.

Buzz— A colossal, pitch-black domain instantly materialized, encompassing the entire sky and displacing the previously vibrant multicolored light and raging lightning storm. This was the ultimate domain, the Demonic Immortal Barrier, forged by combining the Devil Heart Seed Dafa with the Demonic Blade's aura of slaughter and the Demonic Stone Source Qi.

Within the barrier, demonic energy churned like a billion roaring black dragons. Space was forcibly twisted and solidified, and the very flow of time became sluggish and viscous. Upon contact with this pure, dark demonic domain, the multicolored light melted away like ice, emitting a "sizzling" lament. The entire Tiansheng Lake region was plunged into absolute darkness and bone-chilling cold, a suffocating void that seemed capable of freezing even the soul, as all light was completely devoured. Water vapor in the air boiled violently under the immense demonic pressure, yet, strangely, no steam rose. It was as if even the water molecules were suppressed by the demonic energy, unable to escape.

"Roar—!" The colossal eye of the Heavenly Gate, forcibly trapped by the Demonic Immortal Barrier, emitted a bizarre roar.

Behind the tightly sealed Heavenly Gate, countless pale tentacles, previously observed and adorned with suckers and grotesque patterns, emerged like frenzied pythons from a lair. Coated in nauseating, foul-smelling mucus and emanating chaotic psychic shocks, they frantically lunged towards the obsidian barrier wall.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle—! The tentacles slammed against the barrier with a corrosive hiss. Demonic energy clashed violently with the chaotic, viscous essence, generating strange sparks that intertwined dark red and pitch black. The barrier vibrated violently, appearing on the verge of being torn asunder!

"Slay!" Gu Mo scoffed. The Gouchen Demonic Blade in his hand erupted with boundless malevolence. Its flames surged, shifting from crimson to a profound, dark gold, radiating terrifying heat capable of incinerating all creation. He stepped forward, his form merging seamlessly into the demonic domain, as though he had become darkness incarnate. The blade flashed!

There was no earth-shattering clang, only a slender, dark-gold line, appearing capable of cleaving chaos and ending eternity, flashed across the void and vanished.

Thwack, thwack, thwack, thwack—! Those incredibly tough, horrifying tentacles, resilient enough to withstand primordial spirit attacks, shattered piece by piece like rotten wood before the blade's gleam, which was infused with ultimate destruction and Demonic Dao Source Qi! Viscous, foul-smelling, dark yellow blood sprayed like torrential rain. As it splattered onto the demonic barrier, it produced a "sizzling," corrosive sound before being immediately annihilated by an even more ferocious surge of demonic energy. The severed tentacles writhed and convulsed wildly, swiftly retracting into the Heavenly Gate's fissure, leaving behind a chilling shriek.

"Break!" Gu Mo's blade strike was not yet finished; he reversed his grip and pressed down.

Boom! The entire Demonic Immortal Barrier abruptly collapsed inward, intensifying the pressure. The boundless demonic energy materialized into an immeasurable, crushing weight, as if an ancient demonic mountain had toppled, grinding relentlessly towards the tightly sealed Heavenly Gate. Space groaned under the unbearable strain, squeezed until dark fissures spiderwebbed across it. This was a pure, brutal exertion of force, intended to pulverize this "sacred" yet defiled gate, along with the creature within, into dust.

"Creak... Boom—!" Unable to endure the terrifying demonic pressure, the tightly shut Heavenly Gate was forcibly... burst open from within! This time, the gate did not open to welcome an ascender; instead, it was as if violently torn apart. The endless, twisted, writhing dark void behind it, along with the ghastly pale, bloodshot colossal eye that consumed the entire view, were laid bare without concealment beneath the Demonic Immortal Barrier's dark canopy.

The giant eye's pupil contracted violently, mirroring Gu Mo's demonic, god-like silhouette. It was filled with shock, fury, and a trace of... unbelievable apprehension.

"I've found you. Let's see what you truly are," Gu Mo declared, demonic flames surging in his eyes as he locked onto his target. Gripping the blade with both hands, he poured the Demonic Stone Source Qi and the aura of slaughter unreservedly into the Gouchen Demonic Blade! The blade vibrated violently, its dark gold flames transforming into an ultimate void-demonic blade that seemed to devour all light.

"Slay!" A blade aura, its color beyond description, detached from the blade. It was not a linear strike; instead, it twisted space like a living entity. As it passed, the Demonic Immortal Barrier actively made way and amplified its power. The very concepts of time and space blurred before this single blade. This was a strike that condensed Gu Mo's current peak power, imbued with the world's mightiest and most flawless will to slaughter! The blade aura aimed directly at the center of the giant eye's colossal pupil.

The colossal eye perceived a fatal threat. Within the depths of its pupil, countless shattered stars spun frantically, attempting to coalesce into the strongest possible chaotic psychic barrier. Simultaneously, countless nascent tentacles interwoven to form a thick, fleshy shield before it, while viscous, dark yellow energy layered like substantial protective shields. However, before Gu Mo's all-consuming, world-shattering strike, all defenses proved futile!

Whoosh— The blade aura effortlessly pierced through the layers of fleshy tentacle shields, tore through the viscous energy barriers, and finally, with unerring precision, plunged into the bloodshot, ghastly pale pupil!

"Screech—!!!!!" A shriek, utterly unprecedented, beyond the limits of auditory perception and erupting directly on a soulful plane, so agonizing it defied description, burst forth. This scream was laden with endless pain, malevolence, and madness. Where the colossal eye's pupil had been pierced, a massive, demonic-energy-burning gash violently erupted. No longer the dark yellow blood from severed tentacles, but thick, dark golden blood, viscous like molten lava and exuding an aura of destruction and ill omen, gushed forth like a breached river! This blood possessed terrifying corrosive properties; when it splattered onto the Demonic Immortal Barrier, it caused the incredibly sturdy barrier to fluctuate violently, emitting "sizzling" laments and plumes of eerie black smoke.

Gu Mo did not hesitate. The Gouchen Demonic Blade was raised once more, as an even more terrifying demonic might began to coalesce. Strike while it's vulnerable; finish it off! With his next strike, he intended to utterly annihilate this eerie Heavenly Gate and the colossal eye within it.

However, just as Gu Mo's second strike was about to be unleashed! An indescribable, irresistible sense of fatal menace, transcending all of Gu Mo's understanding to date, instantly coiled around his soul's core like a cold viper! It was not a surge of raw power, but an absolute suppression at the very level of life itself.

At that moment, what shocked Gu Mo was that the very laws of the world he perceived seemed to twist. The Qi of Laws was suppressed, and the Demonic Stone Source Qi became utterly immobile.

Boom—!!! Without warning or any discernible energy fluctuation, the Demonic Immortal Barrier—constructed around the Devil Heart Seed Dafa, infused with the aura of slaughter and Demonic Stone Source Qi—shattered. It was as if a glass dome had been struck by a hammer weighing billions of tons; it couldn't even sustain itself for an instant before emitting an unbearable wail and exploding into fragments!

The instant his domain was forcibly pulverized, Gu Mo felt as if he'd been struck by a colossal blow. His Ascension Realm body experienced a tearing agony. The world-destroying flames that had wreathed the Gouchen Demonic Blade in his hand were extinguished by an unseen force, plunging it into instant darkness, and even the blade itself emitted a faint whimper. The immense demonic energy that had surged around him, powerful enough to make the colossal eye of the Heavenly Gate cower, was as if it had met its absolute nemesis. A mysterious force ruthlessly suppressed it back into his body, making its circulation incredibly arduous.

Gu Mo's expression turned exceedingly grave. In his heart, he realized this might be an existence transcending Source Qi.

In the sky, the heavily wounded colossal eye of the Heavenly Gate now emitted bizarre, rapid syllables, resembling both a summoning call and a mournful lament. Gu Mo, being a being beyond Ascension, clearly "heard" a single word after careful discernment:

"God!"

At that moment, a system notification echoed in Gu Mo's mind: "New target detected. Wanted Target: God. Mission Level: Nine-Star? Mission Reward: Max-level Six Extinctions No-Self Sword Twenty-Three."

Gu Mo's heart violently trembled. He immediately recalled the tale of the Seven Sages Slaying Gods, recounted by Master Huineng during their encounter in the Northern Zhou Kingdom a while ago. There truly was a god. Previously, the system had failed to detect it; only now, with its intervention, had it been registered. The unfathomable power level of this god was beyond comprehension.

For a moment, Gu Mo's entire body went numb. Light blazed from his eyes as he mobilized the Qi of Laws to peer into the void, yet he could discern nothing. Still, he clearly sensed a terrifying power descending. In that instant, Gu Mo distinctly observed the forbidden power of Baiyujing, hidden within Wang Qingping's primordial spirit, react as if startled. It immediately severed its connection and vanished without a trace. That power seemed to be nothing more than an invisible, intangible oppressive force, or perhaps merely a distant gaze. Nothing could be discerned, nothing could be sensed. Yet, it made Gu Mo feel the imminent threat of death.

"Roar—!" At that moment, the power of the Dragon God Art within Gu Mo was unleashed to its utmost. A dragon's roar, capable of shattering metal and stone and shaking the heavens, burst forth. He instantly transformed into a hundred-zhang-long divine dragon, its scales glinting with dark gold and lightning. The divine dragon roared, tearing through space and summoning a sky full of lightning. In an instant, the dark clouds above Tiansheng Lake completely dissipated, replaced by a terrifying lightning pool that enveloped the firmament. Dense bolts of lightning, like whips of divine retribution, carrying the magnificent, destructive power of the heavens, fiercely struck towards the source of the invisible pressure. Torrential rain poured down relentlessly, as the divine dragon weaved through the clouds.

However, confronted by this cataclysmic lightning storm, the invisible oppressive force merely... paused for a brief moment. Immediately afterward, an even vaster, colder force, as if embodying the ultimate will of the cosmos, swept gently over.

Crack, crack, crack—! The wildly dancing purple-gold divine lightning, like brittle glass threads, shattered and annihilated inch by inch! Not even a ripple was disturbed! That force descended unimpeded, imprinting itself with precision upon the divine dragon's form!

"Roar...!" The divine dragon emitted a painful, guttural lament. Large sections of its colossal body's scales, as durable as divine gold, cracked and flaked off, dissipating into vapor. The colossal dragon's body was slammed down with irresistible force, plummeting like a burning meteor into the already turbulent Tiansheng Lake below!

Boom— The sound was like the heavens rending and the earth crumbling. The unimaginable impact instantly created a massive, vacuum-like depression in Tiansheng Lake. Immediately, the lake water, compressed to its limit, formed colossal, ring-shaped waves that crashed outwards with overwhelming force, instantly overflowing the ice wall and dam, surging downstream towards Qingyang City.

Gu Mo lashed his dragon tail in the water, surging back to the surface. He then saw the void silently split open a deep, pitch-black fissure, as if it led to the very end of the universe. The colossal eye, not daring to linger, plunged frantically into the fissure, its dark golden blood still gushing. The fissure instantly sealed itself, as if it had never existed. In the sky, only torrential rain and flickering lightning remained.

"Roar..." Accompanied by a low dragon's lament, Gu Mo slowly reverted to his human form. His clothes were tattered, his hair disheveled, and his body was covered in bloodstains, leaving him looking thoroughly disheveled. However, the wounds on his body healed at a visible rate, vanishing completely within moments.

Gu Mo reached out, retrieving the Gouchen Demonic Blade that had fallen into the lake. He gazed at the sky for a long moment, and only after confirming the Heavenly Gate's departure and the god's power dissipation, did he swiftly fly behind the ice wall. Fortunately, Hongyi and Gu Chudong had intervened promptly, intercepting most of the surging river water. While a significant volume still escaped, it was insufficient to cause a full-blown flood.

"Brother, are you alright? Are you hurt?" Gu Chudong swiftly flew over, anxiously examining Gu Mo. Only after ascertaining Gu Mo was unharmed did he sigh in relief, then asked, "Brother, what just happened? You were clearly suppressing the Heavenly Gate at first, then suddenly..."

"God!" Gu Mo's eyes were filled with solemnity. He stated, "The legend spoken of by Master Huineng is true; there truly are gods above the human realm. However, I cannot perceive it. The Heavenly Gate and the Inner Demon are likely all under its control."

Gu Chudong gasped, "Is it very powerful?"

"Extremely powerful," Gu Mo affirmed. "Human martial artists, domains, ascension, beyond ascension—I always believed that Source Qi beyond ascension was the pinnacle. However, that god, just now, is undoubtedly an existence on a level far surpassing even that."

At that moment, Hongyi, having successfully reinforced the ice wall, floated slowly over. She asked, "My Lord, if that is true, then if a god intervenes, wouldn't it be an insurmountable problem?"

Gu Mo frowned. "I don't know," he replied. "Even 'beyond Source Qi' is just a concept I'm using to describe it. I don't even know what that power was just now; it felt like nothing more than a gaze. It didn't truly descend. If it had, I certainly wouldn't have stood a chance!" This was the first time since his debut that Gu Mo had encountered an enemy he so clearly knew he could not defeat. Even against Qi Miaoxuan previously, despite suffering significant losses in their confrontation, Gu Mo had never before felt such absolute certainty that he couldn't win, even if he exerted his full power.

Gu Chudong asked, "What then?"

Gu Mo waved his hand. "Considering the time differential, where one day in the heavens equals one year on Earth, even if this 'god' truly intends to seek trouble with me, it won't happen anytime soon. Let's deal with matters here first!"

With that, Gu Mo raised a hand, pulling Wang Qingping, still bound by his demonic energy, out of the lake. By then, Wang Qingping had become remarkably calm. He spoke, "Gu Mo, I know I'm certainly going to die now; there's no escape from your grasp. However, could you at least let me die with clarity? I wish to know just how much of a frog in a well I truly was!"

"What do you wish to know?" Gu Mo asked.

Wang Qingping asked, "Did you intentionally allow me to ascend today?"

Gu Mo nodded. "The Heavenly Gate dared not face me directly. Since you were preparing for ascension, I seized the opportunity to uncover its true nature!"

"So, ascension is a falsehood?"

Gu Mo replied, "That, I don't know for certain. However, the Heavenly Gate is undoubtedly a deception. I'd suspected it for a long time, and my suspicions were largely confirmed after I slew the Inner Demon."

"So it was you who killed the Inner Demon!" Wang Qingping's eyes widened, then he offered a dispirited smile. "I... Has this world truly progressed to such a level now?"

"There have always been beings in the human realm who transcend the Ascension stage, such as the Thirteen Taboos," Gu Mo explained. "You possess the spiritual energy of the Seven-Colored Peacock, so you should know that the legendary Taboos are real."

Wang Qingping was silent for a moment before slowly saying, "Before I die, let me reveal something to you. Just now, when the Heavenly Gate almost consumed me, a restriction appeared on my body, pulling me back to the human realm. That restrictive power originated from Baiyujing. I don't know what Baiyujing intends to do; had that incident not just occurred, I might never have discovered that Baiyujing placed a taboo within my primordial spirit. You must have visited Penglai Island as well, so... be vigilant!"

"I know," Gu Mo stated. "Everyone who visits Penglai Island to meet Baiyujing has a restriction placed upon them. After their death, Baiyujing uses this taboo to seize their primordial spirit. I didn't kill you immediately just now because I hoped to follow this lead back to Baiyujing. However, an unexpected incident occurred just now, and Baiyujing was startled into severing its connection."

Wang Qingping fell silent, retreating into himself. He had been profoundly shaken. He had always believed himself to be among the world's pinnacle existences. Yet now, he realized he had merely been a frog in a well. Even if he had successfully ascended, attaining the ascension he had desperately pursued for one or two centuries, he would still have remained a frog in a well.

"You... kill me!" Wang Qingping closed his eyes.

Gu Mo immediately touched Wang Qingping's forehead with a finger, instantly employing the Devil Heart Seed Dafa to erase Wang Qingping's consciousness. He did not directly obliterate the primordial spirit. He intended to preserve it, just as he had once used Ling Xiao's primordial spirit as the sword spirit for the Grand Void Flying Sword. He planned to integrate Wang Qingping's primordial spirit into the Dragon Scale Blade he was preparing to forge. Wang Qingping's primordial spirit was complete, an existence at the Ascension Realm, far more potent than Ling Xiao's Half-step Ascension Realm spirit.

The moment Wang Qingping's consciousness was erased, a system notification echoed in Gu Mo's mind: "Six-star wanted criminal slain. Six-star reward obtained: Max-level Majestic Dragon God Palm. Claim?" Gu Mo immediately claimed the Majestic Dragon God Palm.

Following this, Gu Mo swiftly departed with Iron Head and his companions, then proceeded to inform Du Sha to organize the local authorities for riverbed clearing and flood prevention.

While Gu Mo's involvement seemed to conclude, in truth, it ignited a profound upheaval in certain undisclosed parts of the human realm.

In the far north, on the Permafrost Ice Plain, deep within a glacier dormant for countless millennia, an almost imperceptible "crack" sound suddenly echoed. The thick layers of ice and ancient profound ice encasing it seemed to expand from within by an unseen force, as spiderweb cracks instantly propagated. Then, with a muffled "thump," a colossal ice crystal exploded, sending shards of ice scattering.

At the core of the ice crystal was no rare treasure, but a majestic peacock of elegant form, though its plumage was dull and lusterless. A thin layer of frost coated its body, as if it had just awakened from a prolonged slumber. The peacock slowly opened its eyes, and in the depths of their pupils, a flash of multicolored light flickered. It subtly raised its head, seemingly sensing the monumental upheaval in the distant south, as if through endless layers of ice and space.

After a moment of silence, it startlingly spoke in human tongue: "The first Eye vanished not long ago, and now this second Eye... has also encountered trouble? Is this truly an opportunity, or... is it another meticulously laid bait and trap by That One?"

Just then, a giantess with white hair and clad in white robes emerged from a snow cavern. She spoke calmly, "Peacock, the Azure Dragon's cautionary tale was only two millennia ago. The God is merely waiting for you to reveal yourselves. Five hundred years ago, you barely survived; do not stir up trouble again." The Seven-Colored Peacock gazed up at the sky, then slowly coalesced back into an ice sculpture.

Concurrently, in a vast, boundless abyssal trench. Beneath a ten-thousand-foot deep chasm where sunlight could not penetrate, within a realm of eternal darkness and immense pressure, an unimaginably colossal, island-like "reef" slowly shifted. The thick mud and deep-sea sediment covering it rustled and slid away, revealing the outline of a carapace as dark as profound iron and etched with the marks of ages. Two colossal pupils, akin to small searchlights, slowly opened in the gloom, emitting a faint, eerie green luminescence.

A low, resonant sound, like subterranean mountains grinding, slowly reverberated through the silent abyss, imbued with enough power to make the seawater tremble and resonate, scattering the luminous, bizarre fish that swam nearby:

"Ooh... the Heavenly Gate has vanished as well." The massive head slowly lifted, gazing towards the imperceptible surface, as if piercing through ten thousand acres of water and endless space. The colossal turtle's voice carried the profound wisdom of ages: "The Inner Demon has dispersed... the Heavenly Gate is damaged... Has someone finally grown impatient... and is about to enter the fray?" It paused for a moment, as if savoring the lingering, oppressive reverberations that reached it from afar, causing a tremor deep within its soul. "It seems... a new era of 'God-Slaying'... is upon us once more..."

Its colossal eyes slowly closed, and the surrounding seawater once more fell into a profound stillness, leaving only its mountain-sized silhouette, faintly discernible in the abyss.

In Chu, deep within the Sutra Pavilion of Great Radiance Temple. Sandalwood incense wafted, and Buddhist chants resonated softly. Master Liansheng sat cross-legged on his meditation cushion, a string of ancient bodhi prayer beads twirling between his fingers, as he softly recited scriptures. His face was as serene as an undisturbed ancient well, as if he had merged completely with the tranquil meditation chamber.

Suddenly, his fingers, twirling the prayer beads, paused for an almost imperceptible moment. That minute halt, however, seemed to shatter a constant rhythm. Beneath his lowered eyelids, a fleeting glint of immense complexity flashed across his eyes, which were as calm as a deep pool. The fingers twirling the prayer beads seemed to slow, ever so slightly, from their previous rhythm. A whisper-thin sigh, barely discernible, merged into the low, sonorous chanting:

"Amitābha..." Immediately afterward, a phrase, like a Zen kōan, flowed silently through his mind: "The struggle of the Heavenly Dao... after all... is now unavoidable."

Within the Sutra Pavilion, the Buddhist chants persisted, as did the scent of sandalwood. Only the string of bodhi beads, being twirled, produced a subtly more hesitant friction in the silence, as if burdened by some inexpressible weight.

In Chang'an City, on the second floor of a bustling tavern, in an elegant window seat, Qi Miaoxuan leaned against the railing. He idly twirled an exquisite white jade wine cup, watching with interest the throng of people below. A faint, almost imperceptible smile played on his lips, as if he were appreciating a vibrant tableau of street life. The clear wine in his cup reflected the newly lit lanterns outside the window.

Just then, the languid smile on Qi Miaoxuan's face abruptly vanished. He sharply raised his head, his gaze no longer a playful survey of the populace, but instantly becoming as keen as a hawk's. It pierced through the tavern roof, through Chang'an's bustling night mist, and directly into the profound, boundless depths of the night sky. He exclaimed in surprise, "It wasn't Jiang Ruoxu! Someone actually attacked the Heavenly Gate. Could it be Gu Mo again? What a shame; I wonder if they managed to kill it!"

"No," the sealed Azure Dragon suddenly stated.

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

The Azure Dragon replied, "Because... the God just intervened. Although it did not descend, once it makes a move, no one can possibly slay the Heavenly Gate in the heavens."

"Couldn't someone slay the Heavenly Gate in the human realm?" Qi Miaoxuan countered.

"If it were in the human realm, the God would not intervene; it cannot descend," the Azure Dragon explained.

Qi Miaoxuan, puzzled, asked again, "How do you know?"