Chapter 129: Nanluo Emerges from the Pass

The Hall of the Gods, the main sanctuary.

Fierce Annihilation swiftly strode to the grand entrance. A flash of violet light flickered across his body as he effortlessly bypassed the gate’s enchantments and stepped into the main hall of the Hall of the Gods.

Upon entering, Fierce Annihilation was immediately captivated by the wondrous spectacle within the sanctuary. His blood-red eyes gleamed with fierce light as he surveyed the surroundings, exclaiming in astonishment, “Incredible! Truly incredible!”

Above, the dome of the main hall bore a ceaseless rotation of billions of stars, casting streams of starlight downwards. The four walls were adorned with bas-reliefs of myriad living beings, rendered with lifelike precision. Even the tiles beneath his feet were miniature, perfectly scaled landscapes of ancient primeval terrain, astonishingly vivid.

The entire inner chamber of the Hall of the Gods resembled a miniature version of the primordial world.

“An internal world contained within. This is the true power of an innate supreme treasure!” Fierce Annihilation slowly made his way toward the center of the hall, examining the various bas-reliefs of living creatures along the way, feeling the immense power of the laws embedded within them.

When his gaze landed upon the highest bas-relief on the western wall, it suddenly shifted to one of shock and doubt. He instinctively approached the western wall.

There, carved at the apex, was a creature bearing twin horns upon its head, with the head of a beast and the divine body of a god. Behind it spread twelve pairs of enormous blood-red wings. It roared skyward, exuding an unparalleled aura of fierce malevolence.

“Is this not the very form of my true self?!” Fierce Annihilation stared in horror at the figure, murmuring involuntarily.

He then turned to the bas-reliefs on the other three walls. The highest on the eastern wall depicted a nine-clawed golden dragon; on the southern wall, a nine-tailed fire phoenix; and on the northern wall, a nine-headed qilin—each unmistakably the progenitor of dragons, phoenixes, and qilins respectively.

“How can this be possible?! We have all stepped beyond that threshold, having initially broken free from the river of time and space. Why then are our images here?” Fierce Annihilation’s face darkened as he looked at the carvings, sensing the overwhelming power of the laws they contained, refusing to believe they were mere decorations.

“Could it be that only the Saints are free from the constraints of this Hall of the Gods?”

“But why are the sculptures of the Southern Luo and the Divine Clan absent? Are they not creatures of the primordial world?” Fierce Annihilation scanned the walls and found no depiction of any deity from the Divine Clan, his irritation growing.

“There must be some deception here.” A thousand thoughts raced through his mind before he resolved to act, eyes flashing with ferocity as he fixed his gaze on the ancestral dragon’s relief.

Boom!

A beam of blood light shot from Fierce Annihilation’s hand, striking the nine-clawed golden dragon carving precisely.

Though the blood light hit the sculpture with perfect accuracy, an invisible, mysterious force neutralized it entirely, preventing any damage.

Fierce Annihilation frowned, then randomly targeted several other bas-reliefs, ranging from true god realms to divine lord realms, each time unleashing a beam of blood light.

After multiple attempts, he finally grasped the secret of the bas-reliefs.

These carvings corresponded to all living beings of the primordial world. In theory, breaking a bas-relief could erase the corresponding being, either killing it or eliminating it utterly.

Killing meant destroying the physical body; erasing fundamentally meant obliterating the body, soul, and every trace of existence.

A destroyed body could still be possessed or reincarnated; fundamental erasure was irreversible, even by a Primordial Great Dao Immortal.

However, such a potent treasure naturally came with limitations.

First, only the owner of the Hall of the Gods could wield this weapon.

Second, all living beings possessed fate. Killing through the bas-reliefs meant breaking the original fate of the being, which came at a corresponding cost.

Killing a being of the true god realm demanded the price of a main god realm.

This was hardly worthwhile.

Third, only living beings from the primordial world were subject to these restrictions; Saints transcended all.

For someone like Fierce Annihilation, who had barely stepped beyond the river of time and space as a demigod, to be killed via the bas-reliefs, the Southern Luo would have to pay the price of a Primordial Saint God.

And if Southern Luo could afford that price, why bother using the bas-reliefs at all? A single palm strike would suffice.

In other words, using the bas-reliefs to erase the strong was somewhat like a useless delicacy—neither wholly satisfying nor completely discardable.

Having unraveled the mystery of the bas-reliefs, Fierce Annihilation finally exhaled in relief.

If such a formidable treasure had no restrictions and allowed one to kill at will, he might as well have ended himself outright.

The delay had cost him precious time.

After solving the riddle of the bas-reliefs, Fierce Annihilation suddenly sensed something amiss.

“I came to kill Southern Luo, so why was I immediately drawn to these carvings upon entering the main hall, wasting so much time?”

Fully alert now, Fierce Annihilation recalled his behavior since entering the hall. He had felt a powerful suggestion while observing the bas-reliefs: It is dangerous, it is dangerous, it is dangerous...

Under such a strong suggestion, he had been irresistibly and uncontrollably driven into a frenzy to decipher the bas-reliefs’ mystery.

“Damn it! Could this be fate’s interference?” he cursed inwardly.

With his cultivation, only a Primordial Saint Immortal or the Will of Heaven and Earth could implant such a powerful suggestion, plunging him into an obsessive madness.

Yet, this was the interior of the Hall of the Gods, the core of an innate supreme treasure. Moreover, Fierce Annihilation was suffused with the power of the Sacred Dao.

If a Primordial Saint Immortal had attacked him, he would have sensed it immediately.

Only the Will of Heaven and Earth could so subtly infiltrate the Hall of the Gods, even leveraging its power to ensnare Fierce Annihilation so deeply.

Piecing together the cause and effect, his expression darkened.

“Southern Luo must be on the verge of a breakthrough—perhaps even this very moment. Otherwise, the Will of Heaven and Earth would not obstruct me so.”

Standing at the center of the hall, he scanned the vast chamber but found no sign of Southern Luo.

Furthermore, with his murderous aura suppressed here, searching with his eyes alone would be futile. Southern Luo could emerge unnoticed.

“Damn it, no choice then.”

Fierce Annihilation’s face twisted as he turned his right hand, summoning a violet Sacred Dao power into his palm.

“Go! Eliminate Southern Luo!”

With a sharp command, the violet Sacred Dao power tore through the air instantly.

Fierce Annihilation transformed into a streak of blood light, following the violet power as it vanished into the void.

...

Within the Hall of the Gods, beneath the galaxy-studded dome, deep within the Celestial Star Domain.

A golden figure resided at the center, countless stars orbiting endlessly around him, as if he were the lord of the celestial stars.

Southern Luo sat upon the Throne of Creation. The 365 divine apertures on his godly body had transformed into 365 primordial stars, radiating immense law-enforcing power, enveloped in endless divine radiance.

At that moment, a violet Sacred Dao power tore through the void, fiercely aimed at Southern Luo on his throne.

This violet Sacred Dao power was monstrously overbearing, shattering the countless stars and infinite star force surrounding Southern Luo with a single shockwave.

Just as the violet power was about to strike Southern Luo’s face, he slowly opened his eyes.

In that instant, an unparalleled, irresistible aura erupted from him.

One gold, one silver—one yang, one yin.

In his left eye, a blazing, incomparable sun star revolved ceaselessly; in his right eye, an icy, profoundly cold moon star spun relentlessly.

The sun star in his left eye released a golden light; the moon star in his right eye emitted a silver glow. The two beams converged midair, merging into a chaotic light that met the incoming violet Sacred Dao power head-on.