Chapter 522: Undying Flame Demon, Celestial Dao Ascender

“You’re not dead? How interesting.”

“No, you *are* dead. You are no longer you,” Ginseng Fruit Tree·Celestial Dao said, slowly rising to his feet as the light of the five elements cycled behind him.

But before he could even make a move, the two greatswords in the Flame Demon’s hands were already cleaving down.

BOOM—

The pure speed and power, combined with the Flame Demon’s own heat, sent Ginseng Fruit Tree·Celestial Dao flying on the spot.

The impact even shattered the flower bud on his mangled body.

Halting himself in mid-air, Ginseng Fruit Tree·Celestial Dao wore an expression of utter horror.

Before, his opponent was no match for him. He only needed to use a minuscule fraction of his power to put the creature on the defensive.

But now, things were different. The creature’s sheer speed and brute force alone were enough to make him dodge. This change in strength was simply incomprehensible to him.

“Heh, you think killing me will solve everything?” Ginseng Fruit Tree·Celestial Dao let out a soft chuckle.

The moment the five planets were embedded into his home world, the plan had already begun.

He could feel the entire universe slowly being mended. At the same time, his former, mangled body was channeling the great Power of the World into his core.

This meant he had begun ascending to become the Celestial Dao. Before an entire world, things like speed and brute force were utterly useless.

The Flame Demon paid his words no mind, launching another attack. This time, both its speed and power had risen to another level.

With a single slash, Ginseng Fruit Tree·Celestial Dao was cleaved in two, his body bursting into blood-red flames.

This fire burned everything from flesh and soul to essence and spirit. It clung to him like a maggot on a bone; even if he were to carve away the afflicted piece of flesh and soul, it would be useless.

The bisected Ginseng Fruit Tree·Celestial Dao slowly healed, and the blood-red flames on his body gradually flickered out.

He hadn’t even taken any action. Relying on just a small, instinctual fraction of the Power of the World, he had easily dealt with the Flame Demon’s assault.

“You… you’re one step too late. If the plan hadn’t started, with your current strength, you could have indeed slain me.”

“But now, it’s all too late,” Ginseng Fruit Tree·Celestial Dao said, his tone laced with mockery.

The moment his words fell, an infinite power descended, crushing the Flame Demon into a pulpy mess, leaving only a faint, blood-red flame flickering in the air.

“See? Killing you is easy. A gentle wipe, and it’s all over.”

After Ginseng Fruit Tree·Celestial Dao finished speaking, the faint flame was snuffed out as if wiped away by a giant, invisible hand.

It was as if it had never existed.

He had mobilized the Power of the World to delete and erase his opponent from the most fundamental level of logic. The entire process was as smooth as flowing water, without a hint of resistance.

“From the moment the plan began, the outcome was already set. There are always those who court death by provoking the Celestial Dao.”

Ginseng Fruit Tree·Celestial Dao spoke softly, his gaze then falling upon the Red Meteor. He wanted to find the mastermind who had created the Flame Demon.

But as far as he could see, there was nothing out of the ordinary.

‘How can there be nothing? This shouldn’t be. Did they run away?’ Ginseng Fruit Tree·Celestial Dao’s expression shifted slightly. This development had truly caught him by surprise.

Logically, he had already obtained a portion of the Celestial Dao’s power. Even though he had not fully become the Celestial Dao, it should be impossible for anyone within the universe to hide from him.

WHOOSH—

A wave of heat surged toward him from behind, but Ginseng Fruit Tree·Celestial Dao blocked it with the Power of the World.

“It’s alive? That’s impossible. I clearly killed you on a world level. Even if you have the ability to resurrect, it shouldn’t work,” Ginseng Fruit Tree·Celestial Dao said as he turned his head to look at the Flame Demon, who had reappeared.

This time, its form was even more warped, the consciousness born from destruction and slaughter having fully materialized around it.

‘So your creator… is far superior to me?’ At this moment, Ginseng Fruit Tree·Celestial Dao began to doubt himself.

After mulling it over, it was the only remaining possibility.

But the possibility was too absurd. He was already half a Celestial Dao. Something stronger than him couldn’t possibly be a *complete* Celestial Dao, could it?

It wasn’t entirely impossible, but the problem was that if a true Celestial Dao already existed in his universe, it wouldn’t have allowed his plan to succeed. It would have eliminated the threat he posed at the very beginning of his machinations.

It would never have waited until he had already initiated his plan to make a move.

When he initiated his plan, it wasn’t a desperate, last-ditch effort made from a position of weakness. On the contrary, all preparations were complete, and he was at his strongest stage.

To not deal with him before, only to wait until the most critical moment to act—wasn’t that just plain stupid?

That was why Ginseng Fruit Tree·Celestial Dao couldn’t understand what was happening.

The Flame Demon didn’t answer him, however. It simply launched another attack without hesitation.

The resurrected Flame Demon was even more powerful. Its every move shattered the space it passed through, creating a long, narrow zone of spatial turbulence.

“Myriad Lights of a Thousand Homes!”

The Flame Demon’s low roar reached Ginseng Fruit Tree·Celestial Dao’s ears.

He had, of course, seen this move before. But he had seen it used not by the powerful Flame Demon before him, but by the weak Zuo Fan.

Therefore, its power was on a completely different level.

Lines of fire coiled around, transforming into a sky-blotting inferno. Combined with a sea of flames, it engulfed not only him but his mangled body as well.

This colossal form, larger than even five planets combined, was completely covered by the sea of fire.

RRRRIP…

Before the engulfing sea of fire could do anything more, it was instantly torn apart. Everything became calm once more.

Of course, Ginseng Fruit Tree·Celestial Dao couldn’t let the Flame Demon succeed. If it truly completed this sword technique, it would definitely interfere with his plan.

Thankfully, his plan was in progress. He was continuously “Dao-izing,” and his strength was increasing wildly, which was the only reason he could resolve this so easily.

Theoretically, the Flame Demon stood no chance of winning.

The Ginseng Fruit Tree·Celestial Dao of one second was on a completely different level from the Ginseng Fruit Tree·Celestial Dao of the next.

As long as he could stall for enough time to advance his “Dao-ization,” the difficulty of eliminating the Flame Demon would decrease.

Reaching out and pointing a finger, Ginseng Fruit Tree·Celestial Dao instantly froze the Flame Demon in place as it once again raised its greatsword to lop off his head.

Even though the “Myriad Lights of a Thousand Homes” technique had failed, it had provided the Flame Demon with partial cover, allowing it to rush in for a sneak attack.

However, such a petty move was completely incapable of harming Ginseng Fruit Tree·Celestial Dao.

To him now, the universe was an extension of his own body. The Flame Demon’s every action was laid bare before his eyes, impossible to conceal.

“It’s time to end this, little one,” Ginseng Fruit Tree·Celestial Dao said. The immobilized Flame Demon’s body began to slowly turn transparent, as if its color was being drained away.

But he wasn’t draining color; he was draining the Flame Demon’s very existence.

A deletion, an erasure, a cleansing of existence. Not only did the Flame Demon vanish, but its predecessor, Zuo Fan, vanished along with it.

“A very courageous ant, but that’s all you were.”

“Next is to find the mastermind…” Ginseng Fruit Tree·Celestial Dao didn’t even finish his sentence before a greatsword pierced through his chest.

He slowly turned his head, and as he did, the greatsword in his chest slowly disintegrated.

“This is impossible… You…”

What met his eyes was the Flame Demon, the very same one he had just eliminated for the second time. It had resurrected again.

Once could be an accident, but this was the second time. That meant there was a very big problem.

The great power of the Celestial Dao he had obtained from the Cosmic World was actually unable to erase his opponent. This was too much of a joke.

“Nothing is impossible.” A brand new greatsword squeezed out of the Flame Demon’s palm, and without any hesitation, it slashed down again.

The attack didn’t manage to hit Ginseng Fruit Tree·Celestial Dao again, but the self-doubt it spawned was already beginning to shake his resolve.

Furthermore, the newly resurrected Flame Demon was even stronger, giving him a distinct feeling—the more it died, the stronger it became.

Theoretically, with how much stronger he had become, his opponent shouldn’t be able to keep up at all.

But now, that theory was overturned. Every time he killed it, its power would skyrocket along with his own, leading to yet another stalemate.

This made Ginseng Fruit Tree·Celestial Dao extremely frustrated.

At this point, he was beginning to feel that his ascension to Celestial Dao was probably not going to be so easy.

“As expected of a character who’s been scheming for so long. It’s a good thing I’m a world and you’re just a half-baked Celestial Dao. Otherwise, the Flame Demon really would have been insta-killed.”

The one resurrecting the Flame Demon was, of course, Qi Suian. Who else could it be?

Ginseng Fruit Tree·Celestial Dao’s theory wasn’t wrong; it just failed to account for an external factor like Qi Suian.

Then again, since he didn’t even know Qi Suian existed, it was impossible for him to have considered it.

This was true even though he now realized there was a more terrifying force pulling the strings behind the Flame Demon.

But what good was realizing it if he couldn’t find or deal with that force? He couldn’t just go on a killing spree, could he?

With his current strength, that was simply impossible—unless he completed his ascension and became the Celestial Dao of this universe.

It was a nice thought, but therein lay a catch-22.

To become the Celestial Dao, he had to solve this problem. But to solve the problem, he first had to become the Celestial Dao.

The existence of this “bug” caused Ginseng Fruit Tree·Celestial Dao to get stuck in a logical loop.

Of course, there was one way to break the stalemate: stall for time. This was a solution remarkably similar to “trusting in the wisdom of future generations.”

Each time the Flame Demon was resurrected, Qi Suian made it stronger. So no matter how much stronger Ginseng Fruit Tree·Celestial Dao became, the Flame Demon could always keep up.

The reason for this, naturally, was that Qi Suian wanted Ginseng Fruit Tree·Celestial Dao to ascend and become a true Celestial Dao.

Then, he would capture it in one fell swoop. Whether he killed it or studied it afterward, the benefits for Qi Suian would be immense.

And the reason for pushing his opponent so hard was also simple: without pressure, the progress would be too slow, and Qi Suian couldn’t wait.