Yang Hong's premonition was correct.
Just as he had flown a thousand miles, a deafening roar erupted from behind him.
He quickly turned his flying sword to look.
The black locusts that had been floating in the sky were gone, replaced by a sky full of black flames.
And at the center of the black flames was a crystal-clear red flame!
"Karma Fire! It's Karma Fire, retreat quickly!"
Only then did Du Yuan Bodhisattva's exasperated voice reach him.
So, he wasn't dead yet.
Yang Hong grumbled inwardly about all baldasses cherishing their lives, and immediately accelerated his retreating flying sword.
Yang Hong naturally knew what Karma Fire was – a flame that naturally burned when one's karma reached a certain depth, usually appearing only when exceptionally wicked individuals died.
That's right, it was said that the Nine Netherworld was also filled with Karma Fire, used to scorch the souls of those who had done evil in life, causing them unbearable pain!
It was enough to make ghosts suffer, and once a living person was touched by Karma Fire, it could not be extinguished by any means. They could only overcome it through their own merit and karma.
Those with high merit would directly use it to reduce the suffering of the burning by karma. Those without merit could only see how much karma they had accumulated.
Those with heavy karma would be annihilated, while those with less would be fine after enduring the pain of the soul-scorching.
Yang Hong didn't need to evade the Karma Fire, but those baldasses had saved countless people throughout their lives, accumulating deep karma.
In an instant, the sky seemed to light up with black torches – these were the Buddhist cultivators who had been ignited, and the higher their cultivation, the brighter the torches.
Hmm, black flames, how magical. This truly lived up to the cultivation world!
As Yang Hong marveled at the magical black flames, the faint red lotus-like red flame suddenly transformed, burning amongst all the black flames within a few breaths.
"Holy crap! Red fire burning in the middle of black fire?"
Please forgive Yang Hong's astonishment. Even though he hadn't seen many spiritual fires, he had never heard of such flames.
Furthermore, the red flames seemed to be using the black flames as fuel, much like parasitic vines used trees as sustenance.
"Enter the Ascension Gate!"
Du Yuan Bodhisattva, the largest black torch in the sky, shouted with difficulty, and then plunged into the golden light gate with the Karma Fire and Red Lotus Karma Fire.
The eighteen Arhats were not slow either, their black torches rushing into the golden light gate one by one.
The Buddhist cultivators from the lower realm acted quickly upon receiving the order.
But their black torches began to extinguish one by one, turning into white ash, which scattered into the heavens and earth with the wind.
Almost all Buddhist cultivators whose karma reached a certain level were instantly burned to ashes by the black karma fire.
Only those with lower cultivation and thus less karma managed to fly into the Ascension Gate.
Below the Ascension Gate, a fire of black and red burned fiercely, with no living beings nearby!
Anyone who approached had been burned to death by the Karma Fire!
The cultivators of the Immortal Sect were either devoured when the black locusts appeared earlier, or had fled long ago, resulting in relatively few losses.
"The Buddhist sect has hoisted a rock only to drop it on their own feet this time. With Karma Fire and Red Lotus Karma Fire appearing simultaneously, those with insufficient merit can only be burned to ashes, and even hiding in the Immortal Realm would be useless."
As Yang Hong stopped his flying sword to watch the "fireworks," the old man from before appeared beside him again.
"Oh, so the Buddhist sect has suffered great losses this time."
"It should be considerable.
However, the losses in Yu Rou Plain are also not small.
Tens of millions of mortals died, and over a million cultivators perished. It will be impossible to recover without three thousand years, and the Yu Rou Great Array will need at least a thousand years to recover from this ordeal."
Ancestor Zhaoyang spoke with a sigh, as if he were truly in a difficult situation.
At least Yang Hong was not foolish. He saw that this old man must have a purpose in approaching him and was unwilling to engage in casual conversation. He merely continued to watch the fireworks.
"That black flame is Karma Fire, born from the burning of karma; that red flame is Red Lotus Karma Fire, which can burn karma, Karma Fire, and even merit. It is the most dangerous spiritual fire in the world."
"Oh~"
Yang Hong still did not respond, but he had a rough understanding of how Karma Fire was generated – it was a cannibalistic act, a chaotic and motiveless consumption of one's own kind, which produced extreme karma, thus igniting it.
As for the Red Lotus Karma Fire, it was likely a natural divine ability possessed by the crystal locusts themselves.
Considering the Buddhist sect's performance, it was highly probable that they were behind the appearance of the Scarlet Flame Locusts.
He assumed that Ancestor Zhaoyang beside him had also understood this, but with his entire family to consider, he dared not speak out in anger.
Therefore, knowing that Yang Hong possessed formidable means, he had specifically sought him out.
"This fire will burn for a very, very long time, perhaps for eternity. As long as there are wicked deeds in this world and karma is generated, the Red Lotus Karma Fire will continue to burn."
"Oh~"
"Does young friend not wish to persuade this Red Lotus Karma Fire?"
"Oh~"
Yang Hong was determined not to engage.
Having read many novels in his past life, Yang Hong remembered that the Red Lotus Karma Fire was one of the supreme flames capable of burning even saints. Immortals were mere fuel in the face of the Red Lotus Karma Fire.
He had no intention of seeking death.
"Ahem, ahem~ Young friend, do you still have Iron Thorn Wine?"
"Yes, we do. A bottle of Grade Three Iron Thorn Spiritual Wine costs 300 spirit stones."
Hearing that business was coming his way, Yang Hong's face lit up, and a bottle of Iron Thorn Wine appeared in his hand.
"Ahem, ahem~ Grade Three Spiritual Wine for 300 spirit stones is not expensive. May I ask, young friend, are these Iron Thorn fruits produced from Iron Thorn Grass?"
"Iron Thorn Grass seeds are also for sale. Three-grade seeds are 1,000 spirit stones each, four-grade seeds are 100,000 spirit stones each. Bulk purchases receive a 10% discount."
"Ahem, ahem, ahem~"
This time, Ancestor Zhaoyang truly choked on his own saliva.
At this moment, Yang Hong was acting like a complete swindler!
Ancestor Zhaoyang scrutinized Yang Hong, his hands itching to act, but he ultimately suppressed the impulse.
"Let me have one of each."
"Oh~"
Yang Hong responded with a somewhat disappointed "oh" and presented the three "goods" to Ancestor Zhaoyang, who very readily handed over 11,300 spirit stones to Yang Hong.
Without further pleasantries, Ancestor Zhaoyang turned and vanished in a blink.
"What a coward. You don't even dare to make a move against me, a Nascent Soul realm cultivator."
Yang Hong looked at the Red Lotus Karma Fire a hundred miles away with some regret. He had wanted to use a ninth-tier cultivator to test the power of the Red Lotus Karma Fire.
Unfortunately, Ancestor Zhaoyang was too cautious and didn't give him the opportunity.
Dong~ Dong Dong~~
Amidst the peal of grand bells, the Ascension Gate finally closed and slowly vanished from this world.
Simultaneously, over a hundred thousand human-shaped torches disappeared. In the end, only over a hundred thousand low-level Buddhist cultivators below the eighth tier were fortunate enough to enter the Ascension Gate.
Whether they could survive depended on the abilities of the Buddhas in the Buddhist Realm.
As the Ascension Gate vanished, the Red Lotus Karma Fire in the world suddenly converged at the spot where the Ascension Gate had disappeared, eventually forming a fist-sized, ruby-like flame that burned fiercely.
"Is that it?"
Watching the cultivators turn and head home, Yang Hong felt that this battle had been somewhat of a farce.
Although the total number of cultivators who died numbered four to five hundred thousand, and they were all mid-level cultivators above the Golden Core realm.
Yet, Yang Hong felt that the end had come too simply and too quickly. He had even used his [Eye of Insight] to scan the heavens and earth, but he had not seen any other black fortune clusters, thus confirming that the war had ended.
However, a voice in his heart kept reminding him that he had forgotten something important.