Chapter 146: Only When My Fate is Mine to Command, Can a Golden Lotus Bloom in Fire (Part 3)
But then again, both of them were Transcendents!
Even while caught in a rear-naked choke, his face flushed crimson, Su Zhou had a way to fight back. He twisted his back, his entire spine whipping like a Great Dragon and flinging the National Preceptor outward. Then, the muscles in Su Zhou’s neck bulged, pushing outward. The two forces combined, and the Transcendent’s muscles, tougher than steel, actually shattered the bones in the National Preceptor’s arms in a reverse break!
But this didn’t mean Su Zhou had won. The instant the choke failed, the National Preceptor lashed out with a kick, fracturing Su Zhou’s spine. It had assumed a paralyzed Su Zhou would be powerless to stop it and was about to drag its half-ruined body to destroy the Divine Soldiers. But it never expected Su Zhou’s one remaining right hand to shoot out, grab its ankle, and drag it back to the ground!
A tremendous force erupted, crushing the National Preceptor’s ankle to pieces!
’Who cares if I have no hands or feet? Snakes don’t have them either, and they live just fine!’
At this very moment, Su Zhou was the very picture of madness and calm pushed to their absolute limits. He fully exploited the advantage of possessing Undying Blood; since he couldn’t die, even with a broken spine and his body unresponsive to nerve signals, he forcefully controlled his legs with Spiritual Power and once again entangled the National Preceptor.
But as if it had learned this trick from Su Zhou, the moment it was pulled down, the National Preceptor twisted its head and bit down, tearing a chunk of flesh from Su Zhou’s shoulder!
Both had lost their mobility. Both had crippled parts of their bodies. Both bore wounds that would have instantly killed an ordinary person. And both fought on, fueled by a mixture of madness, calm, obsession, and a desperate desire for victory!
Pain. Yes, pain! Both of them were in agony—but a fight is a ritual of enduring pain to seize victory!
Su Zhou and the National Preceptor continued to grapple, headbutting and tearing at each other, trying to gouge out eyes and use short-range strikes to crush hearts. The National Preceptor pointed a finger, and a blast of Thunder Light destroyed Su Zhou’s right eye. Su Zhou retaliated by smashing a row of the National Preceptor’s ribs with one hand.
Gradually, the two of them rolled and tumbled until they were utterly spent. The scion of the Divine Wood and the scion of the Holy Snake were both exhausted, unable to lift so much as a finger to harm the other, without a single ounce of strength left to move.
They now lay halfway between the large pool of molten iron and the opening in the volcano that led to the lava lake.
The sound of bursting magma could be heard. In the Spirit Realm, a tornado of Extreme Yang Primordial Qi howled, letting out a deafening roar.
Su Zhou was truly more exhausted than he had ever been. ’I’ve never been this worn out in my entire life. This fight with the National Preceptor has wrung every last drop of strength from me... How can I win? Am I supposed to leave my fate to the outcome of the battle between the Divine Wood Guard and the Castle Guardian Martial Artists?’
’Am I supposed to entrust my fate to others?!’
Just then, Su Zhou saw the molten iron pool for the Divine Soldiers, and many things came to mind. As if by a flash of inspiration, or perhaps something he should have realized all along, Su Zhou recalled the image of the Demon General Red Land’s Undying Root being thrown into the molten iron to temper a blade. He froze for a moment. Then he looked at the nearby opening that led to Taibai Volcano’s lava pool, a Spiritual Light flickering in his one remaining eye.
CRUNCH!
Su Zhou bit down on his own charred left hand, tearing off a piece of his own cooked flesh. ’The Ouroboros can eat itself, so why can’t I?!’ He swallowed his own flesh and blood, Refining Essence and Transforming Qi, and regained a sliver of strength. Then, before the National Preceptor—who had a look of sudden realization and was also biting its own arm to recover—could fully regain its power, Su Zhou lunged. He sank his teeth into its shoulder and charged, dragging it straight toward the opening to the volcano’s lava lake!
The National Preceptor thought Su Zhou was just trying to push it into the lava lake, so it bit down on Su Zhou as well. The two became a tangled, rolling mass, but they continued to tumble relentlessly toward the volcanic opening.
The National Preceptor assumed Su Zhou, having just gained a slight advantage, would stop. It never imagined that Su Zhou had no intention of pausing at all. Instead, he unhesitatingly accelerated their roll, dragging them both over the edge and into the Taibai Volcano Crater!
As they plummeted toward the lava lake, Su Zhou released his bite and relaxed his muscles. He allowed the National Preceptor to tear off another piece of his flesh, which caused the stunned creature to separate from him as they both fell into the lava.
"How can you have this kind of courage?"
As it fell, with no strength left to use Qinggong, the National Preceptor knew its defeat and death were certain. Its face was filled with surprise. Though it pursued Longevity, it showed no fear of death as it plunged into the volcano.
It wasn’t even angry, merely puzzled. "Death itself is not to be feared, but shouldn’t everyone pursue Longevity? You are so young. How can you be even more resolute than I in making such a decision?"
Su Zhou couldn’t speak. His tongue had long since been paralyzed by the Thunder Technique, and heaven only knew how long it would take to heal.
Besides, throughout this long battle, he had come to understand the National Preceptor’s will. It was a terrifying Determination born from Seeking the Dao, a will that sought the infinite with infinite resolve, one that would unhesitatingly destroy nations, exterminate clans, and slaughter millions to achieve its goal.
It had nothing to do with cruelty or tyranny. In the National Preceptor’s heart, there was only the pursuit of Longevity, the pursuit of a higher realm. If killing was necessary, it would kill, just as one might burn down a forest to clear land for farming.
Worldly sentiment, human empathy, human ways of thinking—all had long since vanished from it. The National Preceptor had not become inhuman when it took the Dragon Transformation Pill. It had happened during its long journey of Seeking the Dao, at the very moment it severed all worldly passions and cast aside its Human Soul.
That was why it was already an ’Evil Demon’... or perhaps, a ’Monster.’
WHOOSH. The power of Wind Aid activated. Su Zhou separated from the National Preceptor and began to float slowly in mid-air. The National Preceptor was left to fall into the lake of lava alone.
A lava lake wouldn’t kill someone instantly. Its density was too high; it would only burn a person to cinders bit by bit. But even so, as it watched Su Zhou’s figure floating in mid-air, the National Preceptor showed not a hint of resentment.
"Oh, of course! Of course!"
To the very end, the Daoist’s tone carried a hint of wonder and the satisfaction of discovering a truth. "A Dragon... can fly!"
Then, its body was swallowed by the lava.
"Aaaah..."
’I won... Finally...’
Utterly exhausted in body and mind, Su Zhou let out a long, weary breath. He controlled his Wind Aid, flying toward a protrusion on the side of the cavern wall. He landed gently on the rock face above the lava lake and waited quietly for his regeneration to restore him.
Not long after, a Soul of Cyan Jade, crackling with Thunder Light, emerged and floated above the lava.
It was like a blue lotus blooming amidst the inferno of Hell.
