The Inextinguishable Flame

“Protect Suiren.” Daoist Three Purities was so frantic that he deployed his Extermination Immortal Sword Formation. After all, Master Stonerule was far from him; he could temporarily shake him off. A dazzling, icy sword-light streaked across the void, slashing directly at the surging river surrounding Suiren.

Boom!

A torrent of water rose to meet it, colliding head-on with the sword formation.

The sword-light shattered; the Extermination Immortal Sword Formation was sent flying backwards.

“Save Suiren!” Ji Ning and Jueming Buddha also desperately tried to charge in, but the endless river suppressed them both; they could not advance.

“Don’t even think of leaving.” The Lord of All Demons easily intercepted the black-robed Ji Ning and the Tathagata Buddha.

For a moment, all the mighty figures of Nuwa’s camp wanted to rescue Suiren, but not a single one could get close.

“Shennong, be careful!” Fuxi shouted in alarm.

Boom!

The surging river swept in.

The Lord of Demonheart had transformed into six rivers. Two rivers suppressed Ji Ning and Jueming Buddha, two rivers were grinding Suiren to death, and the last two were striking in other directions. Divine Farmer Shennong commanded the Pangu Heaven-Opening Formation; as a close-combat formation, he was at the front, closest to the Lord of Demonheart.

The river rolled on. Divine Farmer tried to retreat, but the endless bamboo forest kept blocking him. Soon the river surrounded him.

Boom! Boom! As the surging river hammered at him, the Pangu Heaven-Opening Formation under Divine Farmer’s command began to tremble and was on the verge of collapse.

“No good.” Everyone in Nuwa’s camp changed color.

Suiren was an Elder God; his divine body could turn into flames. Against the Lord of Demonheart, he could hold on for quite a while—though it looked dangerous, he still had some time. But Divine Farmer was weaker; the Pangu Heaven-Opening Formation could not withstand the Lord of Demonheart for long either. He would likely die soon.

“Three Purities, Fuxi—protect the Three Realms.” Suiren’s voice suddenly rang through the void. Then came a voice as calm as eternity: “The flame… inextinguishable…”

Though the voice was calm, it made everyone’s heart clench.

Suiren, whose flames had been faint but still holding, suddenly blazed with light. In the next instant, all his light condensed into tiny tongues of flame. Suiren vanished completely, leaving only eight little flames.

Sizzle, sizzle…

The eight seemingly fragile flames bobbed in the river. These strange flames seemed filled with endless life force. Though the river raged around them, it could not extinguish them; instead, the river hissed and was constantly consumed. The river shrank and thinned, while the little flames drifted on its surface. One by one they winked out—two, three… As more than one river was depleted, all the flames finally vanished.

Suiren’s aura had completely disappeared.

Suiren was dead.

Thwip! Thwip! Thwip! Even as Suiren turned into flames, arrows rained down on the river, first striking the river that was entwining Divine Farmer. As the river weakened, it could no longer threaten him.

The arrows were extremely fast.

Though the Lord of Demonheart fought madly in his final frenzy, Suiren’s explosion had hastened his demise.

“I won’t accept this… won’t accept it… I won’t…” The surging river still echoed with the Lord of Demonheart’s voice, thick with endless resentment. Under Houyi’s arrows, the river dwindled further and further, until it vanished completely into the void.

The entire void fell silent.

Both the Seamless Gate and Nuwa’s camp were quiet.

Everyone felt stunned. This great calamity had been set off by the Lord of Demonheart to free himself from the Heavenly Dao. As the ‘king’ of the Seamless Chaosworld from that primordial era, who didn’t know the Lord of Demonheart’s fearsome reputation? Nuwa’s camp had been anxious and terrified; the Lord of Demonheart’s displayed power was truly horrifying.

But… just like that, he was dead?

“How could this happen?” The Blackclad Godking stared blankly at the scene. He had been overjoyed to see his master appear; after all, though the Seamless Gate was nominally led by him, the true leader was the Lord of All Demons. Many of the old timers didn’t really care about him. He had hoped to rely on his master as a great tree… but now his master, the Lord of Demonheart, was dead!

“This is fate?” The Lord of All Demons sighed softly.

The Lord of Demonheart had secretly instigated everything. The Lord of All Demons, who had always kept aloof from the world, was actually angry—because now they were irreconcilably locked in war with Nuwa’s camp. They had no way back! They could only follow the Lord of Demonheart in annihilating Nuwa’s camp.

But now the Demonheart was truly dead. The Demonheart who had survived even the ancient Dawn War had died this time.

Last time, he could still merge into the Heavenly Dao. But this time, having broken free from the Heavenly Dao, the Dao would never let him merge again. So facing Houyi’s arrows, he had no escape.

“Suiren…” Nuwa’s camp felt no joy, only grief. When they saw Suiren turn into those tiny flames, sorrow filled the hearts of Daoist Three Purities, Tathagata Buddha, Ji Ning, Fuxi, and all the others.

“Big brother.” Tears shimmered in Divine Farmer’s eyes. “For my sake… why?”

The six rivers were the Lord of Demonheart’s divine body. The less body he had, the weaker he became. Suiren’s desperate final stand had burned away a full one and a half rivers, drastically reducing the Lord of Demonheart’s divine body and weakening his power. Combined with Houyi’s arrows, Divine Farmer barely escaped death.

“Don’t think too much. Suiren was already trapped; if he hadn’t fought, the Lord of Demonheart would have killed him anyway.” Daoist Three Purities sighed in consolation. “He just didn’t want both of you to die. If one can live… let one live.”

“Mm.” Divine Farmer nodded slightly, but could not hide his grief.

The mighty figures of Nuwa’s camp gathered.

“Houyi.” Everyone turned to look at Houyi as he flew over from afar. His face was pale, but he remained calm.

“Are you alright?” Kuafu, who commanded the Pangu Heaven-Opening Formation, asked hurriedly.

“I won’t die.” Houyi smiled and nodded. He soon flew to Ji Ning and Jueming Buddha’s side.

“Senior apprentice-brother Houyi.” Ji Ning looked at Houyi. “Thank you for everything.”

“Without Houyi, Nuwa’s camp would have been hard-pressed to survive this calamity.” Jueming Buddha sighed as well. “I never imagined the mastermind behind this tribulation was the Lord of Demonheart. His power is even more terrifying than during the Dawn War.”

Ji Ning, however, could sense the weakness in Houyi’s aura. He didn’t understand what those arrows represented, but he could tell that Houyi had paid a tremendous price.

“What a pity about Suiren.” Houyi sighed softly.

“Turning his body into the fire, passing on the inextinguishable heritage—the flame that burns with life… that is the true Inextinguishable Flame.” Jueming Buddha pressed his palms together. “Amitabha.”

Ji Ning nodded gently.

Suiren had led humanity from obscurity in the ancient era. He had seen countless human heroes die, and thus he had comprehended the ‘Inextinguishable Flame’. But this flame could only unleash its most terrible power when one truly embraced the spirit of sacrifice.

Though Nuwa’s camp grieved, every one of them now had full confidence. They had seized control of the overall situation. Hadn’t Old Man Yuan, Daofather Ink Bamboo, and Master Stonerule all temporarily withdrawn? Without the Lord of Demonheart, the Seamless Gate had lost all hope.

“Three Purities, Tathagata.” The Lord of All Demons’ two divine bodies merged into one. He stood in the void and said calmly, “The situation is very clear now. This tribulation was stirred up by the Demonheart to break free from the Heavenly Dao. As for the Heavenly Dao of the Three Realms… why did it intentionally lure us? Because there were too many living beings. This war has already cost us many lives, and it should have eased the burden on the Three Realms. In my opinion, let’s cease fire.”

“Cease fire?” Divine Farmer, still grief-stricken, said in a low voice, “Do you think the Seamless Gate can still return to the Three Realms?”

“The Three Realms are also our home.” The Lord of All Demons sighed.

“Ha ha ha…” Daoist Three Purities laughed coldly. “What a joke! We gave you a chance back then. Even before this calamity, our camp did not want to fight. But you kept provoking, kept provoking madly, wreaking havoc in the Three Realms, even assassinating the close friends and family of many great powers. Do you expect all that to be wiped away with a stroke? Besides… we were foolish once. Do you think we’ll be foolish a second time?”

The author’s note: Today’s second chapter was not written to satisfaction; I am revising it. Estimated upload before 3 PM.