Chapter 126: That Familiar Energy Again, What Exactly Is It?
The very space around them began to shiver and wail, scorched by the sea of golden flames.
Chu He’s magnificence was truly without equal.
His thick, black hair now seemed to have turned to gold.
His eyes were like twin golden suns, outshining the sky itself. Majestic and spectacular, his entire being was aglow with resplendent light.
With a single step, he advanced with the force of one who could shove mountains aside.
At this moment, Chu He was the one true sun in the sky!
"AHHH!"
Flame devoured flame. The crimson fire radiating from DeHart.
In that instant, it was utterly routed!
A figure stood tall within the sea of golden flames, so imposing that DeHart dared not look at it directly.
"Second Stage! Fetal Birth Garuda!"
DeHart dared not hold back any longer. He unleashed the power within him, burning it at a ferocious rate.
In the blink of an eye, his entire body transformed into a great bird.
Its wings shimmered with sacred, jeweled hues. Atop its head rested a Ruyi Pearl. Its cry was mournful, and its entire body blazed with crimson flames.
The great bird flapped its wings, unleashing torrents of sacred, jeweled flames, yet it seemed to cower, not daring to advance.
Faced with the sea of golden fire, which was as majestic as a descending god, the flames released by the great bird were filled with fear!
"Not enough! Still not enough!"
DeHart gritted his teeth so hard that blood trickled out, staining his chin and feathers red.
"Third Stage! Wet-Born Garuda!"
His energy grew chaotic as the crimson flames once again engulfed the great bird’s form.
At the same time, his flesh twisted and began to change once more.
Within the flames, it was as if DeHart was being reborn.
Clad in a white robe, he returned to a human form, though his face still bore the sharp beak of an eagle.
He radiated a surprisingly sacred and majestic aura.
The sea of golden flames was like a waterfall from the highest heavens, converging into a single torrent that poured down upon DeHart.
The crimson flames DeHart unleashed once again began to gutter,
as fragile as if made of paper.
’Still not enough?’
"Still not enough!"
"Is this the strongest expert on Blue Star?"
Driven to madness, DeHart raised his sharp talons and plunged them into his own chest.
He tore out his own still-beating, crimson heart.
Blood stained his body, but he paid it no mind, raising the crimson heart high.
He roared, "A sacrifice of life! Transformed Garuda!"
’Oh no, oh no, what have I done?’
Terrified, Galava collapsed to the ground, limp and powerless.
If he hadn’t called out to DeHart, why would the Divine Child of the White Elephant Empire be fighting Chu He to the death?
He had torn out his own heart. DeHart was truly putting his life on the line.
Galava knew Chu He was strong—very strong.
But he hadn’t expected Chu He to be so unyielding, his determination to take him away so absolute.
Likewise, he had never imagined
that even DeHart, the Divine Child of the White Elephant Empire, would be forced to stake his life on the outcome in such a short amount of time.
If the White Elephant Empire found out about this, he would surely face a disastrous fate as well.
Galava also knew some details about DeHart.
DeHart was a Divine Child who had been granted Divine Power by the Garuda.
The Garuda’s power was divided into four forms: Transformed Birth, Wet-Born, Fetal Birth, and Egg-Born.
Among them,
the Transformed Garuda was the most powerful, followed by the Wet-Born Garuda, then the Fetal Birth Garuda, and finally, the Egg-Born Garuda.
Galava had never imagined that achieving the state of the Transformed Garuda would require DeHart to sacrifice his own lifespan!
The heart was swiftly incinerated in the crimson flames, followed by DeHart’s entire body.
He wailed amidst the crimson flames, struggling and writhing in agony, until he too was reduced to a pile of ashes.
"He... he’s dead?"
"No way. The Divine Child of the White Elephant Empire put on such a spectacular show. I thought we were about to see some ultimate explosion, but instead, he just turned into a pile of ash."
"He’s probably not dead yet. Within that pile of ash, there’s still an extremely faint, almost imperceptible flicker of life.
It’s like a candle in the wind. I feel like if someone were to walk up and gently blow, that spark of life would be extinguished completely."
"..."
Among the many Martial Artists present, there were indeed some masters with exceptionally sharp perception.
’Please, don’t die!’
Galava prayed fervently, his eyes fixed on the pile of ashes, desperately hoping for a miracle.
Whether for his own sake or for the White Elephant Empire, the loss of a Divine Child would be a devastating blow that pained him to the core.
"Why isn’t Chu He finishing DeHart off? What’s he doing just standing there, motionless?"
"That must be the confidence of Blue Star’s number one expert."
"Chu He is doing it on purpose. Haven’t you noticed? The sea of golden flames has only surrounded DeHart, it hasn’t advanced any further.
This means Chu He is waiting for that pile of ashes to see if it will rise from the embers."
"..."
A particularly high-realm expert discerned Chu He’s intentions and spoke in amazement.
If it were them, they would never dare to take such a gamble.
If DeHart really did rise from the ashes stronger than before, they’d be the ones paying the price.
BOOM!
Deep within the seemingly dormant pile of ash, a tide of life began to stir.
It swelled with the ferocity of a dormant volcano suddenly awakening, growing at a jaw-dropping speed.
This life force was like an ancient soul awakened by an old Spell, unwilling to remain dormant and vowing to see the light of day once more.
As the power gathered within the ashes,
a crimson light began to bloom—the prelude to a rebirth in fire, heralding an extraordinary metamorphosis.
A mysterious being was slowly reborn from the flames, its form so strange it was breathtaking.
His upper body was like that of a majestic heavenly king descending to the mortal realm—tall and stately.
But his lips had become a sharp eagle’s beak that glinted with a faint green luster. The beak was slightly upturned, revealing sharp fangs and radiating an aura of wrath.
His lower body, meanwhile, had taken the form of a powerful eagle, with strong legs and hook-like talons.
This strange combination—the upper body of a man and the lower body of an eagle—was not jarring. Instead, it possessed a transcendent, harmonious beauty.
He wore a dazzling, pointed crown, inlaid with gems of unknown origin that shimmered with an enigmatic light.
His hair cascaded like a waterfall to his shoulders, each strand seeming to sway gently in the breeze, emitting a faint golden glow.
He was draped in magnificent, bejeweled celestial silks,
their hems fluttering and dancing in the wind, every fold seemingly imbued with endless blessings and good fortune.
Bracelets glittered on his arms.
All over his body, golden light and crimson flames intertwined,
casting him in the image of a War God descended from the highest heavens—at once sacred and inviolable.
The surrounding Martial Artists, including even the Emperor Realm experts,
all felt an uncontrollable urge to immediately prostrate themselves on the ground and worship the reborn DeHart.
"He did it! He succeeded!"
Galava let out a long sigh of relief, unable to contain his joy.
Moreover, judging by DeHart’s appearance, his power had clearly undergone a fundamental transformation.
"He who would be a Garuda Divine must first practice the Great Renunciation. By holding a heart that transcends all things, he earns this new life."
DeHart gazed at Chu He, his voice rumbling across the heavens and the earth.
’It’s that familiar energy again. What exactly is it?’ Chu He thought, raising an eyebrow.
This familiar power was identical to the aura he had sensed from Jerry, the Vampire from the Lighthouse Empire.
It was a power that seemed capable of absolutely suppressing anyone or anything.