Xu Zimo raised his head and stared at the statue.
It seemed as if it might come alive, locking eyes with him.
The statue floated high above the sea of flames, towering over everything below.
Beneath it lay a black pool thick with demonic energy.
Xu Zimo guessed that this must be the Pool of Demon Transformation that Meng Yu had mentioned.
A dense wave of demonic energy mixed with the aura of beasts spread out from within.
The demonic energy condensed into black water, streaked faintly with crimson in the darkness.
The bull horn in Xu Zimo’s hand began to tremble violently.
Strands of demonic energy curled through the air, swirling restlessly.
Xu Zimo spread his hands. Demonic energy surged from his right hand, vast, boundless, and burning even within the inferno.
He pressed his palm downward, channeling torrents of demonic power into the pool.
A deafening boom echoed out as the demonic waters churned wildly.
The flames boiled and hissed, gurgling like molten metal.
Sensing something beneath, Xu Zimo slowly lifted his hand and shouted, “Rise!”
A counterclockwise vortex formed in the center of the pool, spinning furiously.
At last, a massive tombstone ascended from the depths.
The stone was a thousand meters tall, and on its face, an enormous creature was bound by chains of black iron.
This being was just as large as the tombstone itself.
Two broken bull horns crowned its head, one cracked and splintered, the other half-missing.
Xu Zimo glanced down at the fragment of horn in his hand, silent.
The bull demon’s massive body was encased in armor made of stone.
Its frame was gigantic and muscular, the sinews visibly bulging beneath thick fur.
Two long brown braids hung down from either side of its face.
At the center of its brow was a triangular mark.
The bull demon appeared unconscious, completely devoid of awareness.
Flames of deep crimson burned constantly across its body.
As the stone monument rose from the pool, two fiery dragons burst from the molten depths.
They seemed to be made of pure flame, lashing out like whips, striking the bull demon again and again.
Even in its unconscious state, the relentless punishment did not stop.
“It’s the Red-Blade Bull Demon!” cried Seven-Face anxiously.
“Lord, that old bull, it looks in terrible shape!” Paimon shouted.
“How could the old ox end up here?”
“Save him first,” Xu Zimo ordered.
He waved his right hand, and endless waves of demonic energy surged forward, engulfing the flaming whips and extinguishing them instantly.
Drawing out Shadow Tyrant, he slashed at the chains that bound the bull demon.
But with two dull clang sounds, the iron did not even crack, and Shadow Tyrant was instead repelled by a tremendous force.
At that moment, something seemed to awaken.
The entire world of flame began to quake.
“Lord! Move!” Paimon shouted.
From below, the molten lava erupted like a volcano, spewing massive fireballs into the air toward Xu Zimo.
The heat was so intense it burned even the void itself into nothingness.
Xu Zimo dodged through the storm of fireballs, until he saw the statue above begin to move.
Its head tilted downward, lifeless eyes staring directly at him.
“Those who trespass upon forbidden ground... die!”
The statue’s voice was cold, but filled with overwhelming killing intent.
It raised its hand, and all the flames in the realm seemed to obey, surging toward Xu Zimo from every direction.
Xu Zimo’s eyes narrowed as the fire laws within him stirred.
But to his shock, the flames he controlled no longer obeyed his will.
All the fire in this world seemed to recognize only one master, the statue before him.
He commands every flame.
Xu Zimo quickly shifted his elemental focus, converting his fire attribute into water.
Yet in a realm of fire, water energy drained rapidly.
Flames detonated all around him, and without the chance to resist, he was blasted backward.
From the God World within him, Paimon and Seven-Face tore open the void and appeared in front of him.
This statue, this thing, was like the true progenitor of fire itself.
Flames moved with its will, as effortlessly as flexing a hand.
“I think I know who he is,” Xu Zimo said gravely.
“Who?” the two demons asked.
“The Ancient God Zhurong,” Xu Zimo answered, each word heavy.
An elder in the Unfinished Palace, the one called San, had told him before that when the Nine Ancient Gods sought enlightenment, the Fire God Zhurong’s Divine Secret had been hidden within the North Sea.
Zhurong, the fire among Ancient Gods.
Now, everything added up.
“Be careful,” Paimon warned. “This one’s strong.”
“This shouldn’t be the true Ancient God,” said Seven-Face. “It’s only a remnant, an echo of his consciousness.”
Even a mere remnant of awareness was enough to pressure Saint Sovereigns.
If the real Ancient God were here, his power would be unimaginable.
None from the Primordial Era were ever simple beings.
“Die, die, die…!”
The consciousness moved like a machine, mindlessly executing its single command.
The world’s flames grew even wilder, boiling seas of fire, exploding magma.
Paimon soared upward, demonic power surging.
Rolling clouds of darkness and sacred might gathered in his palm as he struck down.
A thunderous explosion rocked the fiery realm, waves of molten energy rising into the sky.
The consciousness vanished beneath the strike, but before Paimon could act again, scarlet fire burst before his eyes.
He was forced back at once.
“Cage of Despair!” Paimon roared.
His demonic aura poured forth, shaping itself into a vast black prison that sealed the Fire God’s remnant within.
“Seven-Faced Execution!”
Seven-Face raised his mask, which split into seven, each representing Joy, Rage, Sorrow, Thought, Grief, Fear, and Shock.
The seven masks laughed maniacally, releasing torrents of demonic energy that enveloped the consciousness.
“Erase its awareness,” the Infernal Archon commanded.
Infernal power spread outward, the world itself swallowed by darkness.
He held a seven-petaled lotus; one by one, the petals withered away.
“This creature’s will… it’s terrifyingly strong,” he muttered, face tense.
Before he could finish, the void shattered before them.
Countless pillars of flame erupted skyward, sending all three of them flying.
Zhurong’s consciousness let out a furious roar.
The sea of fire ignited anew, heat so fierce it obliterated everything.
“What’s happening?” Paimon shouted.
“I can’t suppress it,” the Infernal Archon replied grimly. “Its mind is like forged steel, I can’t erase it.”
Against the will of a Saint Sovereign, he could normally dominate for a moment.
But this... this was something entirely beyond his reach.
“Fall back!” Paimon ordered.