Primordial Era: Starting with slaughtering all the gods and Buddhas in the sky

Chapter 94

Ashi gripped the corner of Huang Chen's robe tightly, the veins on the back of his hand bulging out.

He seemed afraid that if he loosened his grip even slightly, the person on top of the monument would be swept away by the crack in the sky.

The wind was still blowing wildly over the city.

The ashes left behind after the giant finger of law shattered did not immediately dissipate. Instead, they fell like snowflakes falling backwards, hitting the face with a cold, astringent, and indescribable burnt smell.

Huang Chen stood atop the prison-suppressing monument, his chest not heaving violently.

But with every breath he took, it felt as if red-hot iron filings were grinding inside his lungs.

After I closed my palms, the fine golden lines didn't disappear. Instead, they seeped into my wrist bones through my fingers, causing an itchy, burning pain.

"My lord, my lord, please get down first."

Ah Shi looked up, his eyes filled with panic.

"You're standing so tall, it scares me."

Huang Chen glanced down at him.

Ashi's face was still covered in blood and ash, his nose was red, and his voice was hoarse from crying, but he stubbornly refused to shed any more tears, looking like a little animal that had been battered by a rainstorm.

"What's there to be afraid of?"

'

Huang Chen's voice was hoarse.

"The monument won't collapse."

'

"I'm not afraid of the monument collapsing, I'm afraid of you collapsing."

After saying this, Ashi was stunned for a moment.

The guy next to him twitched his lips and cursed.

"Damn, that brat's words are even more unlucky than mine."

'

He looked up at Huang Chen, his brows furrowed.

"Stop trying to hold on, get down quickly."

The dust in the sky hasn't completely cleared up yet; who knows if something else might fall down.

Li Chen stood with his spear held horizontally beneath the monument, its tip pointing diagonally, deflecting the lingering shockwaves of the laws that roamed around Huang Chen.

Those tiny, almost invisible cracks struck the spear shaft, producing a series of soft, crackling sounds, like sand and gravel exploding on an iron plate.

He didn't turn around.

"Old buddy is right, let's remove the stele first."

Huang Chen didn't move.

It's not that I don't want to move.

The surface of the monument beneath his feet seemed to have grown into his flesh and blood.

An ancient, heavy pulse emanated from the depths of the Prison-Suppressing Stele, striking his spine and his brow with each beat, as if recognizing a master, or as if scrutinizing him.

Higher up.

The crack in the sky has not yet closed.

The light outside the crack was no longer as cold as before; only a suffocating silence remained.

In the silence, a sound suddenly fell.

It didn't come from my ear.

It smashed directly into the soul.

"Neither immortal, nor Buddha, nor demon, nor witch."

'

The voice was extremely faint.

It was so calm it didn't seem like anger; rather, it was like an eye looking down at the dust, finally taking a serious look at the ground.

"What kind of karmic sins are you?"

The embers in the city crackled and popped.

After the wall collapsed, the wounded soldiers, the laborers, the humans of Xinhuo City, and the remnants of the Gonggong tribe all raised their heads almost simultaneously.

Someone covered their ears and knelt down.

Some people vomited blood on the spot.

Some people gritted their teeth and stubbornly held their heads even higher.

There was still blood on Huang Chen's lips that hadn't been wiped off.

He looked up and stared straight at the crack.

That's not looking at the sky.

It was as if one were looking behind the crack, beyond the Thirty-Three Heavens, into the Jade Purity Dao Court, at the quasi-saint's true form who regarded all living beings as ants and human lives as worthless grass.

When he spoke, his voice was low at first.

It was so low it looked like it had been ground out of the bones.

"A sin against the Dao?"

Ashi trembled upon hearing this.

The old man also instinctively shut his mouth.

The blood-red river in Huang Chen's chest was still surging.

It's not spiritual power.

It's not demonic energy.

It's not witch blood.

Those were the mountains of corpses he had seen, the stench of blood he had smelled, the dead infants he had held, the cries he had heard, the names he had remembered, and the faces he hadn't had time to memorize, all along the way he had come this far.

It is the grievance of the human race.

It is also the fate of the human race.

His voice gradually rose in volume.

"High above, watching as human lives are boiled into lamp oil, forged into bone contracts, and cast into sacrificial vessels."

'

"The Heavenly Way that you speak of."

"For my human race, this is a sin."

'

As the last sentence fell, the Prison-Suppressing Stele trembled violently.

The ancient patterns on the monument, which had been dormant for so long, lit up one after another, like countless cracks of crimson gold burning out from the ground, turning the entire ruined city a dark red.

Ah Shi was thrown back by the blast of air.

Old Tie raised his arm to shield his eyes and cursed gruffly, "Not again?"

! "

Li Chenshuo's feet sank, and the spearhead sank three feet into the ground.

"Back off!"

Huang Chen raised his hand at that moment.

It wasn't a sword strike.

It's not a hand seal.

He simply raised his hand and pointed to the sky.

"today.

'

"I, for the sake of humanity—establish the will of Heaven."

boom!

The blood-red river of cause and effect that had not yet dissipated after the giant finger of law was broken suddenly reappeared.

This time, it won't just flow behind Huang Chen.

Instead, it was drawn from the city, from beneath the monument, from the broken streets, from every burial ground, and from every wisp of lingering human resentment, one by one, and then flowed into it.

Beside the charred corpse lying on the street corner, half a bloody bone trembled.

Deep within the abandoned well, a remnant soul, having cried too many times and long since lost its voice, emits a sharp, silent roar.

In the direction of the City of Fire, the remaining humane law network also trembled for a moment, as if responding to this finger strike from an extremely long distance.

A blood-red river shot straight into the sky.

It's not water.

Like fire.

It is heavier, dirtier, and more painful than fire.

It rushed upwards along the crack, following the broken path of the law, pouring in inch by inch.

A piercing scraping sound suddenly rang out from deep within the crack.

It's like something pure and immaculate is being tightly gripped by the most filthy and heavy things, rotting, decaying, and being dragged down.

The voice from the sky has finally changed.

The previous aloof indifference cracked open.

"presumptuous!

'

Just two words.

The rest of the sky over the entire city was shaking.

Another mouthful of blood gushed from Huang Chen's mouth.

Blood trickled down his chin, dripping onto the surface of the monument, where it was instantly swallowed up by the ancient, crimson-gold patterns.

He didn't wipe it.

He just stared at the sky, his voice like nails, each word hammered in.

"You dare utter those two words?"

Click.

Suddenly, an even louder crash came from the crack.

That was no longer the sound of the Finger of Law shattering, but rather like a causal line that was originally hanging high in the sky, never tainted by dust, being forcibly pulled down, dragged into the mud, and then torn apart.

The crimson river flowed even deeper along the broken cause and effect.

At that moment, the scene before Huang Chen's eyes suddenly changed.

It's not a city.

It's not a monument.

Not embers and ruins.

It was as if he were seeing a corner of a distant palace through countless layers of sky.

White jade steps, with clear light cascading down.

Above the sea of ​​clouds, the Taoist temple stands majestically.

Deep within the main hall, a tall figure sat cross-legged on a Dharma throne, surrounded by a ring of laws, so pure that not a speck of dust could be found.

But at this moment, a red spot suddenly appeared on the left shoulder of that holy body that should have been spotless.

It started as small as a pinhead.

Then it spread rapidly.

The red was eerily red, so red it was blinding.

That wasn't an ordinary flame.

It was the boundless resentment and karma of the human race stirred up by the Twelve-Rank Karmic Fire Red Lotus, the karma accumulated by Huang Chen along the way of slaying sins, and the cries of those suppressed at the very bottom of this blood-soaked world, all burning up to the heavens.

For the first time, that figure let out a truly painful roar.

It wasn't thunder.

It is not the Dao sound.

It just hurts.

"Karmic Fire?"

! "

"How is that possible—"

The sound pierced through the Thirty-Three Heavens, causing Huang Chen's ears to ring.

Ashi couldn't see anything but Huang Chen standing on the monument, a strange blood-red fire reflected in his eyes, as if half of his life had been taken away.

He was so anxious that his voice became hoarse.

"Sir! Stop looking!"

grown ups! "

Old Tie also sensed something was wrong and rushed towards the monument.

"Damn it, drag him down first!"

Li Chenshuo suddenly raised his hand to stop him.

"Don't touch it!"

Old Tie angrily said, "If we don't touch him, we'll let him burn to death up there."

! "

Li Chenshuo stared at Huang Chen, his gaze unusually deep.

"If we touch him now, we'll both get dragged into this."

Top of the monument.

The illusion of the Jade Purity Dao Court before Huang Chen was being partially swallowed by blood and fire.

That quasi-sacred statue was finally brought down from its pedestal.

He no longer simply looked down on people with indifference.

They feel anger, pain, and disbelief.

However, Huang Chen's price was also considerable.

It felt as if countless blunt knives were scraping back and forth deep within his soul.

That soaring river of cause and effect wasn't sustained by spiritual power; it was tearing his bones, burning his blood, and ripping his life apart.

The system panel vibrated wildly in my mind.

[Warning: The host is exceeding its capacity limit]

[Warning: Threshold for the backlash from karmic retribution is rising]

[High-level causal backtracking attack detected]

[Should we activate the "Merit and Karma Converter" to force traffic redirection?]

Huang Chen didn't even finish reading it before suppressing his thoughts.

start.

hum.

Deep within his consciousness, the long-dormant outline of the system suddenly lit up.

Merit and karma spun around him like two opposing vortexes.

The portion of the Crimson Lotus Karmic Fire that was originally meant to devour his soul was forcibly diverted, flowing out along the direction of the Prison Suppression Stele, the Humanity Law Network, and the City of Firewood.

The price he paid was a tightness in his chest, and his knees finally sank half an inch down.

Ah Shi's face turned pale.

"grown ups!

'

Huang Chen's breathing became erratic for a moment, but he forced himself to stand up straight again.

In the sky, the crack began to collapse.

It does not close on its own.

It was as if it was being torn apart simultaneously by the surging power inside and the karmic fire poured in from the outside, with large pieces falling off the edges and turning into a mixture of black and white ash.

The roar of that quasi-saint pressed down across the sky, no longer as complete as before.

It's like being burned mute.

"You wretched creature...how dare you..."

Huang Chen tilted his head back and grinned.

There was no warmth in that smile.

"Does it hurt?"

In a word.

This caused the oppressive force in the sky to suddenly become violent.

The last sliver of clear light pierced down through the crack, as if it wanted to deliver a final blow.

But it had only ventured out half an inch when it was tightly entangled by the blood-red river.

Shila-

Amidst the piercing, tooth-grinding corrosive sound, the clear light, like ice thrown into boiling oil, quickly turned black, twisted, and melted away.

next moment.

Thirty-three days later, a roar even deeper and more miserable than before came from beyond the heavens.

As the roar subsided, Huang Chen could no longer hold on. He felt a sweet taste in his throat, and the blood he spat out splattered directly onto his chest.

The crimson gold patterns on the top of the prison-suppressing monument darkened.

The blood-red river did not immediately dissipate.

It was as if it had completed its final reverse surge, finally withdrawing from the depths of the sky, carrying with it a shower of crumbling light, shattered magic, and a wisp of crimson lotus fire tail that even a quasi-saint could not extinguish, before crashing back into the city.

A fierce wind swept across the ground.

The fire in half of the ruined city was suppressed for a moment.

Ignoring the aftershocks, Ashi scrambled upwards.

This time, Li Chenshuo didn't stop him.

Lao Tie also rushed up, still cursing.

"Damn it, I knew he was going to get into trouble!"

'

Huang Chen stumbled.

Everything in my field of vision is doubled.

The stone beneath the monument multiplied into two, the iron stone into three, and even Li Chenshuo's black spear left a long afterimage.

Just as he was about to exhale, a sudden weight settled on his shoulder.

Ashi pounced on him.

"My lord, my lord, please look at me!"

'

Huang Chen turned his head away.

Ashi's tears fell again, landing on his sleeve.

"Sir, please don't remain silent."

Huang Chen's Adam's apple bobbed.

"Quarrel."

Ashi was stunned for a moment, then seemed to come alive and laughed through his tears.

"It's good to argue; arguing means you can still hear me."

Lao Tie rushed to the other side and grabbed Huang Chen's arm.

His expression changed the moment he got his hands on it.

"Why is it so hot?"

'

Huang Chen's body temperature was frighteningly high.

Even through the fabric, it felt like touching a piece of iron that had just been pulled from a fire.

After Li Chenshuo climbed the stele, he only glanced at it before saying in a deep voice, "The karmic fire has entered your body, go down first."

"nonsense.

'

The old man gritted his teeth.

"The problem is that this kid can still stand, like he's nailed to a monument."

'

Huang Chen really seemed to have grown into the monument.

Not just the feet.

Even his spine, palm bones, and soul seemed to be still entangled with the ancient power deep within the Prison-Suppressing Stele.

He looked down at his palm.

That golden pattern was no longer just moving across the palm of my hand.

It's crawling up the wrist to the forearm right now, like a tiny chain, or like a living vein.

Ashi followed his gaze and saw it, and was also startled.

"Sir, what is this?"

'

Huang Chen remained silent for two breaths, then said in a hoarse voice, "The cause and effect of not being completely dead."

The old man felt a chill run down his spine.

"Can you please stop spouting this nonsense?"

Li Chenshuo raised his hand and pressed it against Huang Chen's back, slowly channeling a powerful stream of Wu Yuan energy into him.

After only a short while, his brows furrowed.

"It's no use."

This is not an ordinary injury.

Huang Chen closed his eyes.

This is not an ordinary injury.

That strike was tantamount to stepping on the face of Heaven and burning the karmic fire onto the Quasi-Saint's true form along the path of cause and effect.

If this kind of backlash happened to anyone else, their soul would have exploded long ago.

He can still stand up now thanks to the Prison-Suppressing Monument, the Humanitarian Law Network, the system's guidance, and the bit of luck he's accumulated along the way.

The cracks in the sky finally began to collapse on a large scale.

Grayish-white fragments drifted down from the sky, scattering as soon as they hit the ground.

The invisible pressure that had been weighing on people's hearts throughout the city gradually eased.

From the distant ruins came a long-suppressed cry.

First one.

Then two, ten, a hundred.

Some people knelt on the ground and kowtowed towards the top of the monument.

Someone hugged the living person next to them and burst into tears.

Some people just sat by the broken wall, staring blankly at the sky, as if they hadn't recovered from what they had just witnessed.

As Huang Chen listened to the cries, his eyelids grew heavy.

Ashi noticed that his breath was dropping, so he quickly held his arm even tighter.

"Sir, shall we go down first?"

'

Huang Chen did not answer.

The old man was cursing and swearing.

"You ask him what he's doing? Just carry him away."

He was about to actually start doing it when he said that.

Huang Chen suddenly raised his hand to stop him.

The movement was minor.

My friend, you just had to stop.

"What's wrong now?"

'

Huang Chen looked up at the last remaining crack in the sky.

A faint ray of light still lingered there.

Like an eye.

Like willpower.

It was like taking one last, reluctant look.

Huang Chen's mouth was still bloody. He raised his hand to clean the crack and slowly raised a blood-stained middle finger.

The guy was stunned.

Ashi was also stunned.

Even Li Chenshuo was unusually silent for a moment.

The sliver of clear light in the sky trembled violently, then shattered completely.

The entire crack collapsed with a crash.

The night sky reappeared.

There is no divine eye.

There is no shadow.

All that remained was the dome blackened by the fireworks and the ash slowly falling from the sky.

The guy snapped out of his daze, his lips twitched for a while, and finally managed to squeeze out a sentence.

"……Hold."

Ashi sniffed and asked in a low voice, "Sir, was that gesture you just made when you were cursing the heavens?"

'

Huang Chen's voice was terribly hoarse.

"Um.

'

Ashi's eyes lit up, and a hint of admiration appeared on his face, which was red from crying.

"Well said."

'

After saying this, Huang Chen's legs went weak.

He finally fell forward from the top of the monument.

"grown ups!"

Huang Chen!

'

Lao Tie and A Shi pounced at the same time.

Li Chenshuo stepped forward, his spear held horizontally, supporting Li Chenshuo's upper body.

Ah Shi was practically hanging on Huang Chen's arm, frantically trying to support his head.

Old Tie gritted his teeth, hoisted the person onto his shoulder, and was about to curse when he smelled a burning odor.

It's not the fire outside.

It came from Huang Chen.

He looked down and saw a faint red light shining through Huang Chen's clothes, as if a fiery lotus was slowly opening under his skin.

Li Chenshuo's face darkened.

"Quickly remove the monument."

Without another word, Lao Tie picked up the person and charged down the slope.

Ashi supported him the whole way, calling out to him repeatedly.

"Sir, don't sleep!"

"Sir, did you hear me?!"

Everything was black before Huang Chen's eyes.

It was dark and stained with blood.

The sounds of crying, wind, and footsteps mingled together in my ears, near and far, as if separated by water.

Just before he completely lost his clarity, his mind suddenly jolted again.

[High-level hostile target detected suffering scorching heat]

[Trial by an outsider established]

[Trial feedback and settlement in progress...]

【…】

I didn't have time to finish reading that string of words.

Huang Chen's eyelids drooped, and he turned his head toward A Shi's arm.

Ah Shi was so scared that his soul almost flew out of his body, and his voice even changed tone.

"My lord! My lord!

'

The old man jumped down the last step, and loose stones rolled around beneath his feet.

The wind was still blowing in the city.

The ashes are still falling.

He carried Huang Chen and rushed towards the open space illuminated by the remaining embers, his voice booming loudly.

"Someone come here! Make room!"

quick!"