Asura Mad Emperor

"What is that..."

"Heavens, that is actually a peacock!"

Qinchuan was agape, staring at the corpse in the cage ahead that was unmistakably a lofty peacock.

The peacock is a descendant of the phoenix, an ancient fierce beast and devil of the higher realms.

In the ancient world, the phoenix was known as a grand fierce beast and a divine beast simultaneously. But, an undeniable fact is that the phoenix was an entity that devoured both demons and devils.

Even the Red Luan, with only a very scant portion of the Phoenix Bloodline in its body, now takes pleasure in devouring Divine Demon Fragments.

Its direct descendant, the peacock, surpasses the phoenix not only in devouring demons and devils but also in not sparing gods and spirits, voraciously consuming all that exists in heaven and earth.

"In ancient texts, there is little mention of peacocks, aside from their devouring nature. Nobody knows their whereabouts, and who would have thought they would end up imprisoned beneath the Devil Mountain in the ancient realm!"

Qinchuan sighed deeply.

The peacock's wings soared and its tail fanned out, and even imprisoned deep in the abyss, it could not conceal its divinity and radiance; it was unspeakably beautiful.

It seemed like a declaration to the world that one day, the peacock would reemerge among the people.

"Unfortunately, even deities ultimately cannot withstand the erosion of time. In the end, their lifespans exhausted, they fall and perish in the depths of the earth, never to return to Divine Wilderness."

"I wonder what other divine creatures or fierce beasts have been imprisoned in this place?"

At this moment, Qinchuan became even more cautious.

If the peacock, a non-ordinary deity, had met its end here, it was a strong indication of the peril of this place.

As he continued forward, Qinchuan saw that the number of cages hanging around had increased, with the imprisoned divine beings densely packed in this area.

Some of these deities had dragon bodies and human heads, some resembled Great Rocs soaring with outspread wings, and there were even Pureblood Divine Dragons. Of course, most were in human form.

All of them died here, unresigned to their fate.

"How terrible the war between the demon-devil tribes and the god-spirit tribes must have been, to have had so many deities captured and perish in this place!"

Though only their corpses remained, the terrifying aura still suppressed everything in the vicinity. At that moment, Qinchuan felt like an ant peering up at a Divine Peak, a tiny creature amidst the vast ocean, utterly insignificant.

"What a pity, if I could obtain the corpse of a deity to temper the Innate Body, it would be infinitely useful."

As he moved along following the undercurrent, controlling his body to navigate around these terrifying cages, Qinchuan felt regret.

In the end, reason overcame greed, and he bypassed the thick array of cages.

Suddenly, the undercurrent ahead slowed down.

Underwater, Qinchuan moved forward and before long, he saw a light.

"Eh! We are still deep underground, far from the surface. How can there be light?"

Curious, Qinchuan swiftly moved through the water.

"It's an opening!"

Qinchuan arrived at the flickering light and saw a small opening, just large enough to allow a single person to pass through.

Without hesitation, he slipped through the opening.

There was a strange prohibition at the mouth of the cave, preventing the water from flowing in.

Qinchuan was underwater, his Divine Power greatly suppressed. His clothes were washed away in a burst of current. He retrieved a clean set of spiritual robes from his Storage Space to change into before carefully observing the space around him.

He saw that he was in a crystalline and lustrous secret room. The walls of the entire room rippled with water, a place entirely enveloped by flowing water.

Leaving the secret room, ahead was a path shimmering with silver light, another corridor formed of flowing water, its brilliance cutting through the dim and gloomy environment.

"It seems we're approaching the center of the formation!"

Qinchuan pondered quietly in his heart.

Such affairs of ancient times were too distant; many details no longer had records. He also did not know what kind of formation this mysterious array beneath the Ancient Realm was.

But once a formation is laid, countless changes would not alter its essence; he could roughly feel that he was getting close to the central area of the formation.

"Beneath this formation, perhaps there's some horrific existence being suppressed!"

This gleaming waterway wound its way tortuously, and after Qinchuan had walked for almost several days, he finally arrived before a palace.

Atop the palace stood a statue of a Demon God, forged from Black Luminous Immortal Gold.

This Great Devil had a humanoid form, but two horns grew atop its head, and in the middle of its forehead, a third eye had split open.

Its towering and majestic body was immensely large, with one hand holding a Sky-opening Giant Axe that seemed to surge towards the heavens, as if to split the very sky.

The other hand was stretched out with a clenched fist, and from between the gaps of its fingers, streamed five different colored divine belts.

Qinchuan braced himself; these five rays of light corresponded to the metal, wood, water, fire, and earth elements.

The water element divine belt that had led Qinchuan here originated from this very fist.

Qinchuan recalled his journey, from entering the Demon Pool and following the path of water to this place, which all centered around the water element, so it seemed that this ancient formation under the Ancient Realm was based on the Five Elements.

The Five Elements are the fundamental elements that make up the Divine Wilderness Continent, so it was not strange for the devil and ghost races to utilize the Five Elements.

"Apart from the path I took, it seems there are four other passageways leading to this place!" Qinchuan thought to himself.

The area was eerily empty; Qinchuan could not see a single person. He checked outside the palace for a while and found no dangers, but also no opportunities.

Only then did he push open the door made of Black Luminous Immortal Gold and walked inside.

"Hiss—"

Once Qinchuan entered the palace, he couldn't help but hiss long and loud.

A blast of scorching air rushed towards him, as if intending to melt him on the spot.

In the center of the palace blazed an incredibly brilliant flame, so dazzingly resplendent that the scene within was obscured.

Even when he opened his Innate Pupils, he could only see a dim shadow with outstretched wings, radiating an undying brilliance, yet he could not discern its true form.

"Could it be that what's suppressed inside is..."

Qinchuan's heart surged with astonishment. Among the ancient divine creatures and fierce beasts, few possessed a pure Fire Attribute.

Furthermore, the deity within the flames had been dead for countless eons; over a hundred million years had passed, yet this flame remained unextinguished, likely one of those few mentioned in legends.

At that instant, Qinchuan channeled his mana, forming a thick Spiritual Energy Shield around himself as he made his way towards the central area of the palace.

As he approached the center, the heat in the air grew more suffocating, piercing through his Spiritual Energy Shield; his skin began to crack and even emitted a scent like that of cooking flesh.

Finally, he reached the central area of the divine flames.

"Break for me!"

Qinchuan bellowed.

His Innate Pupils operated at their peak, and even the slumbering Emperor Soul seemed to sense something, releasing a force of karma.

In that moment, his Innate Pupils emanated golden light, his eyes bloodshot. He stood like a divine demon, in extreme confrontation with the godly flame that had burned for billions of years, undying.

At this time, he also finally saw clearly the deity in the center of the flames.

"It's actually that!" Qinchuan couldn't help but cry out in shock at that moment.