Chapter 1597: Victory and Defeat in a Single Thunderous Instant
Tần Mục arrived before the Nghiệp Hỏa bi lâm, his gaze flickering as he said in a deep voice: "A Sửu Thổ Bá, where are you?"
Lang Hiên Thần Hoàng still sat atop the Nghiệp Hỏa Công Đức bi, swinging his legs, and laughed: "You only ask about A Sửu, not about Thiên Công? Mục Thiên Tôn, A Sửu Thổ Bá has fallen into my hands, and the reincarnated Thiên Công is also in my grasp. Thiên Công will be heartbroken to hear your words."
Tần Mục smiled slightly and asked: "Then where is Thiên Công?"
Lang Hiên Thần Hoàng waved his hand, and suddenly a golden rope descended from mid-air. Thiên Công was bound with his hands behind his back, tied together with his legs, and hung in the air by that golden rope.
Below him was the Nghiệp Hỏa in the bi lâm, burning continuously, just barely able to reach Thiên Công.
Tần Mục looked up. Though Thiên Công had been burned beyond recognition, he was at least still alive, so he continued: "Then what about A Sửu Thổ Bá?"
Lang Hiên Thần Hoàng clapped his hands again, and another golden rope hung down from the sky, suspending A Sửu Thổ Bá, bound in the same manner as Thiên Công.
Tần Mục couldn't help but laugh: "Serves them right!"
Lang Hiên Thần Hoàng asked curiously: "Mục Thiên Tôn seems not the least bit worried about them."
"Worried?"
Tần Mục said leisurely: "Back then they actively sought death, doing everything imaginable to court disaster, never asking for my opinion. They forced me not only to risk my own life and fortune for them, but also to drag my friends' lives and fortunes into the fray. If it were only my own life and fortune, that would be one thing. But making my friends risk everything for those two old bastards—that I do not appreciate. Does Thần Hoàng have a whip? Beat them a few times for me!"
Lang Hiên Thần Hoàng's gaze fixed on him as a divine whip slid out from his sleeve. Without turning his head, he cracked it once across Thiên Công's body.
"Well struck!" Tần Mục cheered.
Lang Hiên Thần Hoàng released his grip, and the divine whip flew up on its own, cracking repeatedly against the suspended Thiên Công and A Sửu.
Tần Mục's three eyes gleamed, cheering continuously, feeling a surge of satisfaction in his heart.
Lang Hiên Thần Hoàng saw that he did not seem to be feigning, and said doubtfully: "Mục Thiên Tôn, you don't seem to feel any pity for them."
"Pity? Pah!"
Tần Mục said angrily: "Those two old fools courted death themselves. If they had died, fine—at least after rebirth your strength would be about the same as before! But even after their rebirth, they're still the kind who get captured by you in a single move. They truly disappoint me greatly!"
Thiên Công was deeply ashamed.
His current strength was indeed far from what it had been in his previous life.
As for A Sửu Thổ Bá, because his three souls had scattered and he had not yet been revived by Tần Mục, there was no thinking consciousness within his body, so Tần Mục's words had no effect on him.
Lang Hiên Thần Hoàng's gaze flickered as he laughed: "Then how about I just kill them?"
Tần Mục waved his hand dismissively: "Thần Hoàng may kill them as he pleases. I have been honored by the ancient gods as the Vạn Kiếp Bất Diệt Đại Pháp Sư. If you kill them, I can still bring them back to life. You've only destroyed their physical bodies and their cultivation—they can simply start over."
Lang Hiên Thần Hoàng raised an eyebrow. Using this method to force Tần Mục to submit seemed somewhat difficult.
"Then I shall kill them!"
Lang Hiên Thần Hoàng laughed: "I would very much like to test whether my Thái Sơ thần thông can shatter your myth of Vạn Kiếp Bất Diệt!"
"Oh?"
Tần Mục's right hand rested on the hilt of the Kiếp Kiếm, his knees slightly bent, body leaning forward a little, and he smiled: "Thần Hoàng may make his move to kill them, but the moment Thần Hoàng kills them, Thần Hoàng will also die."
Lang Hiên Thần Hoàng's swinging legs stopped. His body involuntarily tensed as he stared fixedly at Tần Mục's every move, and he laughed: "Mục Thiên Tôn, are they hostages for you to threaten me, or hostages for me to threaten you? Right now, I feel like I'm the one being coerced."
Tần Mục said calmly: "Perhaps both. Lang Hiên, with your intelligence, you should be able to guess that Hạo Thiên Tôn sent you to block me—it's actually killing two birds with one stone. He's not trying to kill me; he's trying to kill you. Because you are his elder brother, the greatest threat to his imperial throne."
A celestial court materialized behind Lang Hiên Thần Hoàng's head, with his Đạo Quả floating above the Lăng Tiêu Điện, and he laughed: "Is Mục Thiên Tôn trying to sow discord between ruler and minister? Do you think that with your strength alone, you can kill me?"
"It's not sowing discord—it's fact."
Tần Mục's đạo tâm was utterly serene as he said calmly: "Ever since you all tried to refine me in the celestial court, I've had seven or eight parts certainty on how to slay any of you. Any Thiên Tôn in the celestial court—except for Thái Sơ and Hạo Thiên Tôn, who have achieved the Đạo—I am confident I can kill. Cung Thiên Tôn died by my hand. Thần Hoàng should know this."
Lang Hiên Thần Hoàng narrowed his eyes, staring at him intently, then suddenly said: "Killing Thiên Công and Thổ Bá only takes me one move!"
"Killing you only takes me one move as well!"
Tần Mục said coolly: "Moreover, you can kill Thiên Công in one move, but killing A Sửu Thổ Bá cannot be done in a single move. Thổ Bá has been preparing for today for countless tens of thousands of years. Perhaps from the very day A Sửu Thổ Bá attacked the celestial court, he began his planning. Over these eight hundred thousand years, he has used Nghiệp Hỏa to forge A Sửu Thổ Bá's body, refining an indestructible kim thân. Never mind you—even if your father Thái Sơ came personally, he might not be able to destroy his Nghiệp Hỏa kim thân in one move!"
Lang Hiên Thần Hoàng's palms were slick with sweat, and he laughed loudly: "You can kill me in one move? Mục Thiên Tôn, you're really blowing your own horn!"
His celestial court rumbled, with twenty-eight bảo điện guarding it, making his combat power stronger and stronger, his momentum more and more overwhelming!
Even the Nghiệp Hỏa Công Đức bi he was sitting on could not withstand his pressure, cracking apart bit by bit, the broken pieces turning directly into powder, even being assimilated into Thái Sơ chi khí!
Vù——
Tần Mục's Linh Thai Thần Tàng lĩnh vực spread out, the World Tree manifesting behind him, his momentum also rising sharply!
Lang Hiên Thần Hoàng activated his Đạo Quả, which spun above the Lăng Tiêu Điện of his celestial court. His nguyên thần sat upon the Đế Tọa in the Lăng Tiêu Điện, his voice booming and deafening: "Mục Thiên Tôn, you are far too arrogant! After obtaining the Đạo Quả, my cultivation and abilities have risen in a straight line! My comprehension of Thái Sơ chi đạo far surpasses yours, and even surpasses my father Thái Sơ's! I have already cultivated the Thái Sơ đạo cảnh to the thirty-fifth level of heaven!"
His momentum shook the heavens, pressing down upon everything. Mere momentum alone caused the Nghiệp Hỏa bi lâm around Tần Mục to collapse and disintegrate continuously!
At the same time, the divine whip that had been lashing Thiên Công suddenly coiled around his throat, strangling tighter and tighter!
Thiên Công said nothing, his face turning red from the strangulation.
The divine whip was like a python, squeezing tighter and tighter, making Thiên Công's neck thinner and thinner!
Tần Mục acted as if he saw nothing. The bi lâm around him collapsed, leaving only the ground beneath his feet completely unmoved.
"Lang Hiên, back when we jointly explored the dangers beneath the Tổ Đình Dao Trì and encountered the master of that Đạo Quả of yours, I truly admired your domineering spirit."
Tần Mục said unhurriedly: "You rejected the temptation of the Đạo Quả's master, striking him down into the destruction tribulation of the prehistoric universe. At that time, you were full of vigor and spirit—how soaring was your pride! Why is it that today, you no longer have that sharpness, and have become Hạo Thiên Tôn's dog? And Hạo Thiên Tôn has become the dog of the Mị La Cung công tử—you're not even as good as him. What reason has made you so dispirited?"
"Mục Thiên Tôn, you will never become one of the Ten Thiên Tôn."
Lang Hiên tightened the divine whip, sneering: "If you had become one of the Ten Thiên Tôn, you would understand my choice. For us Ten Thiên Tôn, there are no ideals, no principles—only interests. For my own interests, I suppressed the master of the Đạo Quả and forcibly devoured his Đạo Quả. For my own interests, I can also submit to Hạo Thiên Tôn! By the same logic, Hạo Thiên Tôn will also submit to the Mị La Cung công tử for his own interests!"
Tần Mục's expression darkened: "I understand..."
Before he even finished speaking, suddenly within his Linh Thai Thần Tàng lĩnh vực, forty-nine Thiên Đạo chí bảo came crashing down. Along with them fell the Tổ Đình Trảm Thần Đài, and the two Trảm Thần Huyền Đao upon it!
As the Trảm Thần Huyền Đao appeared, the other forty-nine Thiên Đạo chí bảo roared, and the Heavenly Dao trembled!
The Trảm Thần Huyền Đao was precisely the fiftieth Heavenly Dao—Thiên Sát!
With the Huyền Đao appearing, the fifty Heavenly Daos were made complete!
Thiên Công immediately sensed those fifty Thiên Đạo chí bảo. Focusing his mind, the fifty Thiên Đạo chí bảo flew whistling out of Tần Mục's Linh Thai Thần Tàng, slashing toward the golden rope above his head and the divine whip coiled around his neck!
The Nghiệp Hỏa Công Đức bi beneath Lang Hiên Thần Hoàng's buttocks collapsed instantly. His feet touched the ground, and in that moment his nguyên thần turned, struck out, attacking both Thiên Công and A Sửu Thổ Bá simultaneously!
This strike was majestic and overwhelming, unleashing the đạo cảnh thần thông of Thái Sơ chi đạo to its absolute limit!
At the same time, his great celestial court spun howlingly, channeling terrifying power into his physical body, mobilizing all his cultivation to attack Tần Mục!
He would not only slay Thiên Công and A Sửu—he would also slay Tần Mục!
But in the instant he made his move, the spinning Đạo Quả suddenly halted. Lang Hiên Thần Hoàng suddenly felt that all his comprehension of Thái Sơ chi đạo had vanished without a trace, not a shred remaining!
Only the Thần Nguyên nhất chỉ he had comprehended from Thái Sơ chi đạo remained. But at this moment, the đạo cảnh thần thông of Thái Sơ chi đạo his nguyên thần was executing, and the thirty-fifth level of heaven đạo cảnh thần thông his physical body was executing—all of them had lost their power!
Thần Nguyên nhất chỉ was his first level of đạo cảnh, the great Thái Sơ thần thông he had comprehended himself. After that, he had been unable to comprehend the second level for a long time.
It wasn't until he entered the Đại La Thiên fragment beneath the Dao Trì with Tần Mục that he obtained that Đạo Quả.
After obtaining the Đạo Quả, comprehending the Thái Sơ đạo cảnh became like having divine assistance. He comprehended one level after another, pushing Thái Sơ chi đạo all the way to the thirty-fifth level of đạo cảnh!
This level of attainment far surpassed his father Thái Sơ and his younger brother Hạo Thiên Tôn. One could say he was number one under heaven, only a single step away from Thái Sơ achieving the Đạo!
But now, all of it was like flowers in a mirror or the moon's reflection in water—gone without a trace!
In his desperation, he was about to change his technique when Tần Mục's Kiếp Kiếm had already left its sheath, arriving at his brow. With a gentle tremor, a beam of sword light pierced into his mind!
That beam of sword light split into five, transforming into five red ropes.
But the Kiếp Kiếm's main body did not pierce through his brain. Instead, it turned, driving straight in, passing through the Nam Thiên Môn of his celestial court, destroying all celestial court structures along the way, shaking the Thiên Hà in the court into two great waves, and piercing the Dao Trì, splitting it apart to both sides!
This sword strike cut Ngọc Kinh thành in half, and in the next moment arrived at the Lăng Tiêu Bảo Điện!
Within the Lăng Tiêu Bảo Điện, Lang Hiên Thần Hoàng's nguyên thần turned around!
"Thần Nguyên nhất chỉ!"
His finger met the sword light, and its power erupted. It truly lived up to its reputation as the number one thần thông among the Ten Thiên Tôn of that era—simple, yet terrifyingly powerful!
But that sword light met the power of Thần Nguyên nhất chỉ head-on, breaking through everything in its path, completely shattering the power of that strike!
Xuy——
The Kiếp Kiếm pierced in along the fingertip of his nguyên thần, shot out from the last segment of the thumb, and turned into a sliver of light that stabbed into his nguyên thần's brain.
Lang Hiên Thần Hoàng's nguyên thần stood frozen. His physical body also stood frozen.
At the same moment, that Đạo Quả smashed through the Lăng Tiêu Bảo Điện, thudding as it landed in the brain of Lang Hiên Thần Hoàng's nguyên thần, spinning rapidly, precisely pierced through by the Kiếp Kiếm in a single thrust!
Meanwhile, behind Tần Mục, Hạo Thiên Tôn appeared. The thirty-five celestial palaces behind his head transformed into Vạn Đạo Thiên Luân, crashing down, crushing Tần Mục's Linh Thai Thần Tàng lĩnh vực, sweeping Tần Mục together with his Linh Thai Thần Tàng lĩnh vực into the Vạn Đạo Thiên Luân!
"Hạo Thiên Tôn!"
Tần Mục's surprised voice came from within the Vạn Đạo Thiên Luân, and then his figure passed through the Vạn Đạo Thiên Luân, about to break free.
"Mục Thiên Tôn, you are always a move behind." Hạo Thiên Tôn pressed his palm down, forcibly suppressing him into the Thiên Luân.
Before the Vạn Đạo Thiên Luân, within Lang Hiên's celestial court, the Đạo Quả in Lang Hiên's nguyên thần spun madly, completely erasing Lang Hiên's consciousness and taking control of his nguyên thần.
His nguyên thần and celestial court palaces howled as they plummeted downward, preparing to seize Lang Hiên's physical body.
The Đạo Quả had just controlled the nguyên thần to enter Lang Hiên Thần Hoàng's physical body, arriving at the center of his brow, when suddenly it saw five red ropes hidden within Lang Hiên Thần Hoàng's brow. The nguyên thần happened to fall right into the red ropes.
The red ropes swiftly tied knots, wrapping around Lang Hiên's nguyên thần and the Đạo Quả in a single binding.
"Thất công tử!" A furious roar came from within that Đạo Quả.
Thiên Công broke free, grabbed the Thiên Cương đạo binh, and took control of the fifty Thiên Đạo chí bảo. The power and might of the fifty Thiên Đạo chí bảo boiled over instantly, and with a single strike, it slammed heavily into the back of Lang Hiên Thần Hoàng's heart. Lang Hiên Thần Hoàng's physical body shattered with a thunderous boom!