Chapter 1447: You Are About to Die (Second Update)
Qin Mu's brow twitched. He withdrew his gaze from the Heavenly Venerable Hong and said in a deep voice, "We continue forward!"
At this moment, attacks from the Heavenly Duke were raining down all around them. Every single Heavenly Dao divine ability was so perfect, its power so surging. The void was collapsing everywhere around them, making their group of five's advance extremely difficult.
Qin Mu led them, striving to climb upward. The five of them unleashed their saber techniques, cleaving apart the void fragments that pressed in on them. Even so, they were soon covered in wounds.
Ahead, the Heavenly Duke's shoulder seemed to be an endless road stretching on forever, with no end in sight.
Just then, violent tremors came from behind. Qin Mu braced himself against the collapsing void and looked back. The light was blinding; he couldn't make out what was happening.
His vertical eye on his brow opened wide. He saw the Heavenly Venerable Hong breaking through the Heavenly Duke's attacks one after another. His magical power was overwhelming, his divine abilities exquisite—he dismantled the Heavenly Dao divine abilities as if he were traversing familiar ground, with utter ease!
He rescued the Divine Emperor Langxuan and the others. No matter how fierce or domineering the Heavenly Duke's attacks were, they couldn't harm him in the slightest.
This scene looked as if it had been rehearsed many times over. He was intimately familiar with every single Heavenly Dao divine ability the Heavenly Duke possessed, and had even devised ways to counter all of the Heavenly Dao's attacks!
"Of course you can counter your own divine abilities, Heavenly Venerable Hong. Do you truly yearn for the Heavenly Duke's power that much..."
Qin Mu's expression darkened. He turned back around and said in a hoarse voice, "Continue forward!"
"Where are we going?"
Zhe Huali was drenched in blood, his face flushed with rage. "Patriarch Qin, even if we manage to reach the Heavenly Duke's shoulder, facing this kind of onslaught, we can't even get a hand in! If even the Heavenly Duke himself can't withstand it, how can we?"
Luo Wushuang silently nodded. He glanced at the Imperial Que Divine Saber flashing past before him—his own reflection in the blade was covered in wounds—and said, "Heavenly Venerable Mu, we have done all we could."
"We can withstand it!"
Qin Mu continued striding forward, saying in a deep voice, "As long as we reach the Heavenly Duke's spiritual platform, we can withstand it!"
Suddenly, the sound of a zither came, drifting unpredictably from all directions—now east, now west. The chaotic void currents around Qin Mu and the others were stirred by the zither notes and vanished without a trace.
"Now! Let's charge up!" Qin Mu shouted.
The five of them quickened their pace, charging forward. Gradually, the Heavenly Duke's shoulder came into view, and faintly, they could also see the Heavenly Duke's face hidden within the radiance.
The zither music suddenly cut off. The sound of Dao fire roaring and zither strings snapping came from behind.
Qin Mu's heart sank. He didn't dare look back to check on the Heavenly Venerable Yue's safety, and instead charged forward madly.
Finally, they reached the Heavenly Duke's shoulder. Here, the wind was calm and the waves still—no terrifying void storms or turbulent currents, no void fragments.
On the Heavenly Duke's shoulder stood magnificent divine cities, one after another. Within these cities were many gods and demons of the Dark Capital, guarding each city, standing at full alert.
The five of them, drenched in blood, charged into the nearest divine city.
Inside the city, countless citizens of the Dark Capital were prostrate on the ground, worshipping and offering sacrifices to the Heavenly Duke's statue at the city center, praying for his protection.
Their prayers and sacrificial chants merged together, forming a torrent that shook the heart.
Breaking the god within one's heart is difficult because people worship power, fear the unknown, and long for a beautiful future without being willing to strive and struggle for it.
Especially in a place like the Dark Capital, breaking the god within one's heart is even harder.
The Heavenly Duke was facing a great calamity, unable to protect even himself, yet these citizens of the Dark Capital still prayed, hoping the Heavenly Duke could protect them.
The five of them bore the blessing of the Heavenly Dao, so the Dark Capital gods and demons guarding the city did not block them. Qin Mu swiftly arrived at the city center. Zhe Huali drew his saber to cut down the Heavenly Duke's statue, but the Butcher reached out and stopped him, shaking his head. "Let them keep a shred of hope. If you cut down the Heavenly Duke's statue, the hope in their hearts will be gone."
Zhe Huali wiped the blood from his face and snorted. "What good will that do?" But he still put away his demonic saber Dragon Fang and did not cut down the Heavenly Duke's statue.
Qin Mu approached the statue, bowed, and said, "Dao brother, I have matters to discuss with you. Please shrink your body and guide us to your spiritual platform!"
After a moment, the statue showed no reaction.
However, this divine city suddenly began to tremble violently. The ground shook, mountains swayed, and buildings collapsed and crumbled one after another.
Cries and wails filled the city. The citizens of the Dark Capital kowtowed to the Heavenly Duke's statue even more frantically, muttering incantations under their breath, faster and faster, their expressions growing ever more devout.
The Heavenly Venerable Hong had personally taken action, leading the three great Heavenly Venerables in attacking the Heavenly Duke. The destructive power of a battle between Heavenly Venerables had already begun to reach this place.
With the Heavenly Venerable Hong—someone who knew the Heavenly Duke and the Heavenly Dao inside and out—it wouldn't be long before all of the Heavenly Duke's attacks were dismantled, and this place would soon be destroyed as well!
Qin Mu frowned and said in a deep voice, "I have come on the orders of Dao brother Taiyi to discuss matters with you! Though the Heavenly Dao has controlled your actions and taken over your body, I know your consciousness is still there! Dao brother, will you not even give face to Dao brother Taiyi?"
After a moment, the Heavenly Duke's statue suddenly came to life. It opened its eyes and looked at him, smiling. "Heavenly Venerable Mu, how transcendent is Dao brother Taiyi? He is indifferent to everything happening in the Dark Capital—not because he truly doesn't care, but because none of it can affect his Dao heart. Even beings like you and me are merely ripples faintly stirring in his Dao heart, unremarkable waves. He would not have sent you here."
Qin Mu's gaze fixed on the statue's eyes. "You are not Taiyi. Don't use your own thoughts to guess Taiyi's. You will judge wrongly."
The statue fell silent.
An even more violent shockwave struck this place. The earth split open, buildings toppled, and the citizens of the Dark Capital in the divine city wailed to the heavens.
Qin Mu did not look away. He seemed blind to everything happening around him, staring only at the statue's eyes.
The Heavenly Duke's statue sighed. "Though I know full well you are deceiving me, I truly cannot fathom Taiyi's thoughts, and I cannot make an accurate judgment. Very well. Come see me."
Suddenly, the Heavenly Duke's incomparably vast body began to shrink. The Heavenly Venerable Hong and the others who were attacking the Heavenly Duke felt a start of alarm. They watched as the Heavenly Duke, who had nearly filled the entire Dark Capital, grew smaller and smaller, instantly putting distance between them and him, leaving an endless void of nothingness between them!
"Heavenly Venerable Mu!" The Heavenly Venerable Hong snorted, his sleeves billowing as he flew swiftly toward the Heavenly Duke.
Shi Qiluo, the Divine Emperor Langxuan, and the Heavenly Consort Qiang hurried to follow. The three Heavenly Venerables exchanged glances, then looked at the Heavenly Venerable Hong ahead of them, their eyes flickering with various thoughts.
Even when the Heavenly Duke shrank to his absolute limit, he was still incomparably vast. Qin Mu led Zhe Huali, the Butcher, and the others soaring into the sky, flying toward the Heavenly Duke's brow.
The spiritual platform was located at the brow. At the Heavenly Duke's brow, starlight blazed intensely—it was the place where his consciousness gathered. Qin Mu led the four of them flying into the dense starlight, descending onto a platform.
The platform was condensed from the Heavenly Dao itself, like beautiful jade, covered with all manner of resplendent runic imprints of the Heavenly Dao. Around it were various forms of Heavenly Dao treasures manifested by the Heavenly Dao, also bearing various Heavenly Dao imprints.
None of the five had ever been here before. They each gazed at the exquisite architecture and treasure forms, their hearts filled with awe.
Qin Mu quickly walked toward the heavenly palace at the center of the platform. There, the Heavenly Duke's primordial spirit—with white brows, white beard, and eyes that were also pure white—was already waiting.
"You are about to die!" Qin Mu said without preamble.