Chapter 1457: The Death of the Heavenly Duke (Part 2)
The reforms of the Kaihuang Era were an attempt for the acquired path to triumph over the innate path. Although the fruits of that era's reforms were not as numerous as those of Yankang, the seed of acquired triumphing over innate had already been planted. It was only because the Kaihuang Era lasted too short a time that the seed, though it sprouted, never grew to maturity.
The greatest achievement of the Kaihuang reforms was not actually the Kaihuang Emperor's sword arts, but rather a reform of the Heavenly Court realm presided over by the First Heavenly Master of Kaihuang, the Woodcutter Sage, Wen Tien Pavilion!
Although the Woodcutter Sage was a man "without the strength to truss a chicken," ranking last among the Four Heavenly Masters, his wisdom was beyond the reach of others.
The Seventy-Two Treasure Halls assisting the Thirty-Six Heavenly Palaces was his design—using seventy-two acquired paths to alleviate the pressure of the thirty-six innate paths, reducing the damage the Heavenly Court realm inflicted upon the physical body.
After his improvements, theoretically, a Heavenly Court realm composed of the Seventy-Two Treasure Halls assisting the Thirty-Six Heavenly Palaces would possess more profound magical power than the traditional Heavenly Court realm, with higher combat prowess and no lingering concerns.
However, the Woodcutter Sage did not widely publicize this method. Few knew of it, and the only one to receive his complete teachings was the former Yankang National Preceptor, Jiang Baigui.
As for whether Jiang Baigui had cultivated it to completion, that was unknown.
What Heavenly Venerable Hong had obtained was only an incomplete manuscript from the Woodcutter Sage's early days, and it carried considerable hidden dangers—an outdated method.
But even so, this incomplete method was enough to allow the Divine Artifact Imperial Heavenly Venerable to persist longer in the Heavenly Court realm, with a terrifying boost in combat power!
The Divine Artifact Imperial Heavenly Venerable clashed head-on with the Heavenly Duke, nearly matching him in raw strength. Such combat prowess was truly eye-opening!
Combined with Heavenly Venerable Hong's techniques and divine abilities, which originated from the Heavenly Dao yet were not confined to it, with him as the main attacker against the Heavenly Duke, supplemented by the three great Heavenly Venerables—Langxuan Divine Emperor, Qiang Heavenly Consort, and Shi Qiluo—the Heavenly Duke once again fell into the disadvantage!
Heavenly Venerable Hong fought fast and furiously, sparing nothing. He could feel his own power waning and knew he must end this quickly!
The Heavenly Duke struggled to move, struggled to shrink his form, but the wounds on his body grew more numerous.
Yet cracks also appeared on the body of that Divine Artifact Imperial Heavenly Venerable—skin bursting open, muscle fibers shattering, on the verge of being crushed by the Heavenly Court at any moment!
Suddenly, the Divine Artifact Imperial Heavenly Venerable struck the Heavenly Duke's brow, sending his primordial spirit into violent turmoil!
Seizing the opportunity, Qiang Heavenly Consort activated the Divine Execution Platform. Two blade lights stabbed into the Heavenly Duke's brow while her divine consciousness erupted simultaneously, assaulting the Heavenly Duke's consciousness!
At the same time, Langxuan Divine Emperor's divine consciousness also surged straight into the Heavenly Duke's brow, blasting his consciousness to the brink of shattering!
Shi Qiluo saw the advantage and hastily controlled the other two Divine Artifact Imperial Heavenly Venerables, shrinking their forms and howling as they charged into the Heavenly Duke's brow. The two Divine Artifact Imperial Heavenly Venerables, with their three heads and six arms, spun rapidly as they advanced, unleashing a rain of countless fist and kick techniques that hammered upon the Heavenly Duke's primordial spirit.
Divine consciousness is mental awareness; the primordial spirit is the soul. The Heavenly Duke's consciousness was nearly shattered, and his primordial spirit was being battered by Shi Qiluo until his heavenly soul and earthly soul were on the verge of collapse!
At this moment, the Heavenly Dao's awareness sensed that the Heavenly Duke's consciousness had lost its ability to control his body. It immediately formed within the Heavenly Duke's body, taking temporal and spatial control of his physical form.
Just then, Langxuan Divine Emperor let out a sharp cry and drove the Dao Fruit from his own Heavenly Court, also sending it into the Heavenly Duke's brow. A vast, ancient Dao resonance erupted, sealing off the Heavenly Dao's awareness and preventing it from descending!
Heavenly Venerable Hong rose to his full height, his great sleeves fluttering as he flew into the Heavenly Duke's brow. With a sweep of his sleeves, he scooped up the two Divine Artifact Imperial Heavenly Venerables into his sleeve, then gave a violent shake, sending them flying away.
Shi Qiluo flew into a rage and shouted, "Heavenly Venerable Hong! We've just defeated the Heavenly Duke, and now you turn your back on us? You won't even leave a scrap of the spoils for your fellow Daoists?"
Langxuan Divine Emperor was about to charge into the Heavenly Duke's brow when suddenly the Divine Artifact Imperial Heavenly Venerable controlled by Heavenly Venerable Hong slammed into him sideways.
Struck by the impact, Langxuan Divine Emperor's mind went foggy, his body sent tumbling across tens of thousands of miles. He could hear the crack-crack of his own ribs breaking.
Ssshh—
The Divine Artifact Imperial Heavenly Venerable's forehead was burst open by a single point from his finger, the back of its head exploding, blood splattering across the Heavenly Court and drenching the many heavenly palaces.
The Divine Artifact Imperial Heavenly Venerable had already been pushed to its limits by Heavenly Venerable Hong, its body unable to withstand more. Now, with its forehead burst open by that finger, its entire frame suddenly exploded.
Langxuan Divine Emperor coughed up mouthful after mouthful of blood. The attack power of a complete Heavenly Court realm Divine Artifact Imperial Heavenly Venerable was simply too savage—even he could not withstand it.
"My Dao Fruit!"
He forcibly suppressed his injuries and rushed toward the Heavenly Duke, only to see the Heavenly Duke standing there, motionless. Suddenly, two strands of baleful qi twisted together in his brow, and with a ssshhh sound, they split the Heavenly Duke's skull open from left and right, flipping off the top of his head!
It was Qiang Heavenly Consort who had slain her way into the Heavenly Duke's brow, destroying from within and cleaving open his skull.
The power of that strike was immense, but flying out with the blade light was Qiang Heavenly Consort herself. This Heavenly Venerable had been nearly flattened onto the Divine Execution Platform by Heavenly Venerable Hong, who kicked her and the platform flying away together!
Flying out alongside Qiang Heavenly Consort were the torrents of vital essence erupting from the Heavenly Duke's opened skull!
Stream after stream of vital essence pierced the heavens, the Heavenly Dao trembling within them. The forty-nine Heavenly Daos within the Heavenly Duke's body began to flee outward!
"The Heavenly Duke is dying!" Shi Qiluo, forgetting his anger at Heavenly Venerable Hong, cried out in delight.
His treasure box burst open, and countless bizarre divine weapons flew out, capturing the Heavenly Duke's vital essence and collecting the Heavenly Daos.
"The baleful killing aura is so thick—the Heavenly Duke truly is dying!"
Qiang Heavenly Consort, flattened on the Divine Execution Platform by Heavenly Venerable Hong, was also overjoyed. Her body puffed up and deflated, puffed and deflated again, then reinflated like a balloon. She poured all her power into the Divine Execution Platform and her two baleful qi divine blades, devouring the baleful killing aura of the Dark Capital.
The baleful killing aura was incomparably dense, allowing her two baleful qi divine blades to madly absorb it.
In the distance, the Earth Count's enormous head had already appeared within the Dark Capital—ox-headed, tiger-faced, with long horns, colossal beyond measure. One palm pressed against Heavenly Venerable Gong's body, the other gripping Heavenly Consort Yan.
Heavenly Venerable Gong and Heavenly Consort Yan had been gravely wounded by Heavenly Venerable You's desperate assault, and the Earth Count's arrival was perfectly timed. Fresh and waiting, he suppressed these two Heavenly Venerables.
Suddenly, the Earth Count's massive body shuddered. He turned his head toward the direction of the Heavenly Duke.
There, red light filled the sky. The Heavenly Duke's vital essence dyed the Dark Capital crimson, turning countless stars blood-red.
The Earth Count's expression darkened, but then a glimmer of anticipation appeared in his three eyes: "Dao brother, have you transcended the Heavenly Dao? Should I congratulate you, or should I weep for you?"
At that moment, the Taiji Diagram flowed and spun sharply around the Earth Count. His expression shifted slightly, and he hastily released Heavenly Venerable Gong and Heavenly Consort Yan, raising both palms left and right to block the Taiji Diagram.
A violent tremor erupted. The Earth Count blocked the Taiji Diagram's power, but his colossal body crackled and popped, chunks of molten rock falling away as countless ghosts of the Dark Capital wailed and scattered in panic.
The Earth Count hurriedly tried to soothe those ghosts and gods, only to see a male and female pair of ancient gods appear before him, drenched in blood, covered in sword wounds. They snatched up Heavenly Consort Yan and fled.
The Taiji Diagram was the manifestation of the Taiji Ancient God's supreme treasure, the sand table. These two ancient gods had been clashing with the Kaihuang Emperor, and upon seeing Heavenly Consort Yan wounded, they rushed to rescue her—only to be struck by the Kaihuang Emperor, suffering grievous wounds.
The Earth Count was about to reach out his hand when suddenly Heavenly Venerable Gong's wounds healed at terrifying speed. Startled, he looked over and saw Heavenly Venerable Hao walking toward him.
Behind Heavenly Venerable Hao, a figure stirred. The Earth Count focused his gaze and saw it was Heavenly Venerable Xu, with twin horns on his head, following behind Heavenly Venerable Hao.
That Heavenly Venerable Xu walked toward him, his form gradually shrinking, his age growing younger, until he became a little girl with horns on her head, hidden beneath two little buns tied with hair ribbons.
"Ugly Daddy." The little girl called out to him.
"Daughter..."
The Earth Count's heart trembled. The Great Dao of the Dark Capital instantly transformed into dense prison chains, wrapping around his heart and squeezing tight.
"Daughter!"
The Earth Count vomited blood—molten lava spewing from his mouth—his mind in utter chaos. Suddenly, Heavenly Venerable Hao raised his hand, and the Wheel of Ten Thousand Daos flew out, spinning faster and faster, growing larger and larger, slashing toward his brow.
The Wheel of Ten Thousand Daos unified ten thousand daos into one, transforming into the Primordial Unity Qi. The Primordial Unity Qi shone like a flower, incomparably sharp, and in the next instant it was before the Earth Count!
"Earth Count, wake up!"
Heavenly Venerable You, dragging his grievously wounded body, flew over and stood before the Earth Count. His towering primordial spirit rose slowly, both hands blocking the Wheel of Ten Thousand Daos—blood immediately pouring from them!
His physical body and primordial spirit ignited with blazing Dark Capital demonic flames as he desperately tried to block the Wheel of Ten Thousand Daos. But his injuries were already severe, and he simply could not withstand Heavenly Venerable Hao's strike.
A sword light flew in, flashing repeatedly, attacking both Heavenly Venerable Hao and the Taisu behind him!
Heavenly Venerable Hao laughed heartily, leaping into the air and vaulting over the Earth Count's head. In the instant the two flew past the Earth Count, Taisu turned back to look at the Kaihuang Emperor holding the Carefree Sword, surprise on his face: "You can see me?"
The Kaihuang Emperor did not answer. He flicked the sword with his finger three times. Heavenly Venerable Gong, who was about to kill Heavenly Venerable You, suddenly burst with sword light erupting from all over his body—pfft pfft pfft—blood spraying everywhere. Forced to retreat, he fled alongside Taisu.
The baleful killing aura filled the sky, growing denser and denser. At this moment, the stars of all the myriad worlds turned blood-red, the heavens themselves turned blood-red, as if the sky were bleeding, as if a waterfall of blood might pour down at any moment.
Even the two divine blades on the Divine Execution Platform could not devour such dense baleful qi fast enough. The two blades grew more and more solid within the baleful killing aura, gradually condensing true physical forms—tangible, substantial!
Two blood-red great dragons, with rows of reversed scales standing on end and glinting coldly, coiled around each other on the Divine Execution Platform. Their dragon scales clashed, sparks flying everywhere!
Qiang Heavenly Consort trembled with excitement, her gaze immediately locking onto the Heavenly Duke's physical body.
"Devour the Heavenly Dao, devour the Heavenly Duke, forge these two divine blades, make their power even stronger—absolutely not inferior to Tai Chu's companion supreme treasures!"
With that thought, she immediately activated the two baleful qi divine blades and once again struck at the Heavenly Duke, who stood frozen in place.
"Great Heavenly Dao Seal!"
Within the Heavenly Duke's brow, Heavenly Venerable Hong ignored the fleeing Heavenly Daos and vital essence. He swung his palm in a full circle, and in an instant, countless Heavenly Dao seals stamped onto the Dao Fruit. That Dao Fruit possessed immense Dao resonance, but with no one to activate it, it was instantly suppressed by Heavenly Venerable Hong's power!
Heavenly Venerable Hong flicked his finger, and the sealed Dao Fruit shot out from the Heavenly Duke's brow. Qiang Heavenly Consort, riding the Ancestral Court Divine Execution Platform, flew in to meet it. Seeing the withered Dao Fruit brimming with Heavenly Dao power, she unhesitatingly drove her two divine blades toward it!
At that very moment, Langxuan Divine Emperor flew in. Seeing this scene, his eyes nearly split with rage. He immediately hurled a Tai Chu divine ability at Qiang Heavenly Consort!
The strike blasted open the back of her heart. Her delicate body shuddered violently as she was knocked off the Divine Execution Platform. She then turned and slashed backward, two blood-red baleful dragons sweeping across Langxuan Divine Emperor's neck with a ssshhh sound.
Langxuan Divine Emperor's head tumbled off. Flesh writhed at his neck stump, and with a pop, another head emerged. He reached out, grabbed the Dao Fruit, and raised it aloft, letting it float within the Heavenly Court.
Qiang Heavenly Consort turned. Their eyes met, then broke apart. Each lunged toward the Heavenly Duke's physical body, while Shi Qiluo also came charging in. This burly, rough man laughed so hard his whole body shook: "Devour the Heavenly Duke's cultivation—the Heavenly Court realm is within reach!"
At that moment, the Wheel of Ten Thousand Daos flew past. Shi Qiluo's body was sliced in two by the wheel. His lower half kept running below, while his upper half reached out from above, grasping for the Heavenly Duke's body.
Langxuan Divine Emperor's heart jolted. He hastily turned to defend, only to see Tai Chu Heavenly Emperor standing behind Heavenly Venerable Hao. His expression changed drastically, and then Heavenly Venerable Hao pointed at his brow.
Langxuan Divine Emperor vomited blood and fled.
On the other side, Qiang Heavenly Consort saw Heavenly Venerable Gong flying toward her. She hastily withdrew her two baleful qi blades, afraid of harming her—only to be struck by a whip from Heavenly Venerable Gong, sent spinning like a top.
Inside the Heavenly Duke's body, Heavenly Venerable Hong's expression was calm as he gazed at the Heavenly Duke's collapsing heavenly soul and earthly soul. His voice was hoarse: "Why did you betray yourself?"
The Heavenly Duke smiled. His primordial spirit dissolved, his heavenly soul and earthly soul shattered.
Pain stabbed through Heavenly Venerable Hong's heart. He reached out his right hand, as if to gather the Heavenly Duke's souls and prevent their collapse—but then he withdrew his hand.
He flicked his finger, and the Heavenly Duke's final consciousness scattered as well.
"You are no longer yourself. Leaving your consciousness behind would only pollute my purity."
Heavenly Venerable Hong let out a long breath, feeling a great sense of liberation. Tears streamed down both cheeks unbidden. His primordial spirit flew out from Heavenly Venerable Hong's body—so powerful—and quickly took over the Heavenly Duke's form, beginning to draw upon the Heavenly Duke's power.
"You are dead. I will live in your place, fulfill the long-cherished wish you dreamed of—master the Heavenly Dao, transcend the Heavenly Dao, become the sovereign of this universe..."
Suddenly, Heavenly Venerable Hong's expression changed drastically. He discovered to his horror that he could not devour or refine the Heavenly Duke's power—not a single drop, not a single wisp, not a single iota could be refined!
The Nine Hell Platform emerged from his Dao heart. Countless sharp mountains growing at oblique angles densely packed together, trapping him within the Nine Hell Platform!
Heavenly Venerable Hong saw himself standing on the tiny ninth platform, looking up to see only the gaps between the razor-sharp mountains, unable to see the mouth of the well.
He struggled and roared, but he could not escape.
The excruciating pain twisted him, shattered his Dao heart, and his cultivation poured away like a flood!
At that moment, a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering power surged up from the soles of his feet. Ancestral God King, wielding the Heavenly Dao Supreme Treasure, carved his way up through the Heavenly Duke's colossal body, charging upward from within. He blasted Heavenly Venerable Hong's primordial spirit to pieces section by section!
BOOM!
A terrifying shockwave erupted from the Heavenly Duke's brow. Ancestral God King destroyed Heavenly Venerable Hong's soul in a single strike, then transformed the Heavenly Dao Supreme Treasure into a great hammer and smashed it down on the forehead of Heavenly Venerable Hong's physical body!
"Father God!"
Ancestral God King was ecstatic. He hammered down on Heavenly Venerable Hong's corpse—one strike, then another.
"Father God, you've grown old! You can't outfight me anymore! Yet you still dream of ruling the universe! Isn't it my turn now? If you don't die, how can it ever be my turn? I learned this from you—I learned it well, didn't I..."
One strike, then another. Heavenly Venerable Hong was beaten into a pulp, yet Ancestral God King continued smashing down, tireless.
—Four-thousand-character chapter, plot flowing in one breath, begging for monthly tickets!