Chapter 1448: Nine Hells Lock the Heavenly Duke (Third Update)
"Dead?"
The Heavenly Duke's primordial spirit welcomed them, inviting them into his heavenly palace, and said leisurely: "I have been looking forward to this day, looking forward to my own death, to escape the shackles of the Heavenly Dao. Mu Tianzun, you are free and unfettered. You are not an ancient god born of the Dao, so you cannot understand the oppression the Dao places upon me. This is my body—look, can I even use my body now?"
"What does it mean to be unable to control oneself?"
He said gloomily: "Gods born of the Dao have never been able to control themselves from birth. Now, the consciousness of the Heavenly Dao has completely taken over my body, and even my primordial spirit. Although I still have my own consciousness, every move, every word, every action I make is dictated by the Heavenly Dao. Do you think it is me who is controlling this body right now? No! It is the Heavenly Dao!"
"It is the Heavenly Dao that wanders endlessly through this universe! I am not a free being—I am merely a puppet of the Heavenly Dao! You envy the Heavenly Duke's power, his lofty position, his boundless authority and might, but I hate the fact that I was imprisoned in this body the moment I was born, imprisoned in this cage!"
At this moment, he was actually somewhat excited, but in front of Qin Mu and the others, he was suppressing his excitement.
"I even envy the sacrificial gods—they are born from worship and do not have as many restrictions as gods born of the Dao. I also envy the countless living beings in the vast world. They are as small as ants, but they can be free and unfettered..."
"No! You do not envy them!"
Qin Mu stopped in his tracks and coldly looked at him: "How could the Heavenly Duke envy these ants? Heavenly Duke, your goal is to escape the control of the Heavenly Dao, and when you escape, you do not intend to become an ant—you intend to keep the power of the Heavenly Duke, to remain lofty and above all! What you want to do is not to become one of the masses, but to rule over the masses!"
"Wrong!"
The Heavenly Duke's primordial spirit also stopped, turned around to look at the five of them, and said solemnly: "You are right that I do not envy ants, but the second half of your sentence is completely wrong! I do not want to rule over the masses—what I want to do is transcend! Transcend the Heavenly Dao, reaching a state of absolute freedom like Brother Taiyi!"
Qin Mu pointed at him and laughed heartily: "Do you know what Hong Tianzun's thoughts are? Do you know that what Hong Tianzun calls transcending the Heavenly Dao is to let the former Heavenly Duke die completely, to become one of the Ten Heavenly Venerables, to become the master of this universe? You cannot transcend!"
Although he was laughing, there was not a trace of joy on his face or in his heart.
The Butcher frowned.
He knew Qin Mu very well. After all, Qin Mu was raised by him and the other elders of the Crippled Elderly Village. This expression on Qin Mu's face often indicated that his concern and seriousness had reached the point where he was willing to abandon all reason!
At this moment, Qin Mu had only one way of acting—and that was to spare no effort, no matter the cost!
The Butcher quietly turned the hilt of his Heavenly Blade. Zhe Huali, Luo Wushuang, and the others immediately understood. Tian Shu suddenly raised his head and fiercely gulped down two mouthfuls of wine to bolster his courage.
They were already prepared. Even if Qin Mu truly tore all pretense apart with the Heavenly Duke on his divine platform, even if they had to face the attacks of the Heavenly Dao, they would not hesitate.
"Of course I know."
The Heavenly Duke's primordial spirit remained as calm and indifferent as before, speaking unhurriedly: "Hong Tianzun is me. His thoughts are my thoughts. Mu Tianzun, do you think Hong Tianzun is merely one soul of mine, that he wandered too long in the mortal world, was polluted by the mundane, and thus became one of the Ten Heavenly Venerables? Do you think he and I are not of one mind, that his thoughts are not one with mine? Do you think he did those things behind my back? Then you are wrong—completely wrong."
The white light in his eyes drifted like mist, and his voice was as resounding as a heavenly bell: "Hong Tianzun is me. All his thoughts are my thoughts! All his actions are my actions! Every single one of his intentions is reflected without reservation in my Heavenly Heart. His desires and pursuits are also my desires and pursuits!"
Qin Mu clenched his fists and said in a hoarse voice: "His desires and pursuits are part of your desires and pursuits, right?"
The Heavenly Duke's primordial spirit revealed a smile: "You have finally understood this point. That's right—all of Hong Tianzun's thoughts are merely a part of my thoughts. He is a part of me, and he cannot replace me. After I die, once I escape the control of the Heavenly Dao, my consciousness will descend, and all his thoughts and desires will become a part of me."
"Then do you still have a Heavenly Heart? Do you still have the Heart of the Heavenly Dao?"
Qin Mu pressed on: "At that time, will you become one of the Ten Heavenly Venerables, or will you still be the Heavenly Duke?"
The Heavenly Duke's primordial spirit thought for a moment, then said: "What is the Heavenly Heart? What the Heart of the Heavenly Dao seeks is that the Heavenly Heart is my heart, while what I seek is that my heart is the Heavenly Heart."
The moment he finished speaking, Qin Mu immediately struck out. The moment he moved, it was the twenty-fifth level of the Divine Ability Dao Realm—the Eternal Existence of the Nine Hells Locking the Heart Dao!
Countless sharp thorns erupted on the Heavenly Duke's divine platform. The thorns were sharp and piercing, and the moment they touched the ground, they began to surge upward, transforming into tilted mountain peaks, becoming prison platforms!
Layer upon layer of prison platforms spun, swirling around the Heavenly Duke's primordial spirit, firmly trapping him within the Nine Hells Platform!
The Nine Hells Locking the Heart locks the Dao Heart!
The Dao Heart is not the same as the Dao Realm. If the Dao Heart is locked, it affects one's performance in the Dao Realm, one's perception of the Dao, one's recovery ability, and one's cultivation progress!
The moment Qin Mu activated the Eternal Existence of the Nine Hells Locking the Heart Dao, the Heavenly Dao rune imprints on the ground of the Heavenly Duke's divine platform hummed, and the Heavenly Dao treasures standing on the divine embryo rumbled and shook—this was the wrath of the Heavenly Dao!
Anyone who dares to attack the Heavenly Duke will be erased by the Heavenly Dao controlling his body!
As Qin Mu made his move, the Butcher, Zhe Huali, Tian Shu, and Luo Wushuang all drew their blades simultaneously. Four blade sounds rang out, and four figures were sent flying in four directions. Their cultivation was still insufficient—before the overwhelming power of the Heavenly Duke's Heavenly Dao, any exquisite blade technique or divine ability would be easily shattered!
Just as Qin Mu was about to be buried beneath the might of the Heavenly Dao, suddenly those Heavenly Dao treasures and Heavenly Dao imprints all froze in place.
The Heavenly Duke's primordial spirit trembled, using all his will to resist the will of the Heavenly Dao, and said in a hoarse voice: "Mu Tianzun, disperse your divine ability, and you can still live. I cannot resist the will of the Heavenly Dao!"
Qin Mu looked at the Heavenly Duke's primordial spirit trapped in the Nine Hells Platform and clenched his fists: "Then walk out of this divine ability first!"
The Heavenly Duke's primordial spirit took a step, walking upward.
The moment his foot moved, thorns sprang up everywhere!
Countless thorns stabbed at him from the walls of the Nine Hells Platform, making it impossible for him to move even an inch!
Even more terrifying was the thicket of thorns aimed at his Dao Heart. Even if he stood completely still, he could feel the excruciating pain transmitted from his Dao Heart!
Suddenly, the Heavenly Duke's divine platform shook once more. One by one, the Heavenly Dao treasures and Heavenly Dao imprints once again radiated their might. The Butcher and the others climbed back to their feet, surrounding Qin Mu in a protective circle, holding their blades as they stared at the Heavenly Dao radiance spreading all around and those Heavenly Dao treasures!
The heavenly might here was simply too powerful—so powerful that a single fluctuation would be enough to reduce them to ashes, to wipe them out of existence!
"Qin Jiaozhu, I think you should consider the Heavenly Duke's suggestion!"
Zhe Huali licked the blood from the corner of his mouth and proposed: "There is no need to sacrifice your life, and ours, for someone you respect in your heart but who is not worth respecting in reality!"
—Recommend a historical novel, "Ao Tang," by author Cang Shan Yue.