Chapter 1614: The Death of the Nether Emperor
"Forty-two years later?"
Qin Fengqing's eyes lit up with anticipation. Although his younger brother Qin Mu always gave off an impression of being unreliable, in his heart, Qin Mu was the most dependable and trustworthy person—even more worthy of reliance than their mother.
If Qin Mu said that in forty-two years, the Founding Emperor would appear on the Ferry of Salvation, then the Founding Emperor would definitely appear!
"That being who saved the Founding Emperor truly possesses miraculous abilities beyond imagination..."
Qin Mu murmured: "Even I am in awe of his Dao techniques and divine powers. How can such a powerful existence exist in this world? Why would he save the Founding Emperor? And the Chaos Hall—that name seems similar to the Lingxiao Hall, the Purple Firmament Hall, the Supreme Hall, and other names. Could he also be one of the young masters of the Mirage Palace? If so, he should be a young master worth befriending..."
His gaze fell upon the battle in the Southern Heaven, and he cast aside all distracting thoughts.
Below, the Nether Emperor suddenly cast a spell and bowed his head in worship toward Fire Heavenly Venerate!
That was the Netherworld divine art the Nether Emperor excelled at most—a technique specifically for bowing the souls of others to death. When bowed by him, even cultivators with higher cultivation than his would have their souls shattered into pieces, transforming into black soul sand!
Fire Heavenly Venerate remained standing there, steady as a mountain, receiving the Nether Emperor's bow.
The moment the Nether Emperor bowed, he suddenly sensed something was wrong—within his soul, Dao fire was blazing fiercely!
This fire had followed his own divine art back to him, directly igniting his soul with incredible speed!
The Nether Emperor hastily activated his divine arts to resist the Dao fire, but it was already too late.
He could only throw himself into the Nether Capital Heavenly Gate, using its power to reincarnate and cycle through rebirth, hoping to extinguish the Dao fire through reincarnation.
The moment he flew out of the Nether Capital Heavenly Gate, he had already transformed from a man into a woman. Yet Fire Heavenly Venerate's Dao fire followed him through reincarnation, continuing to burn toward his soul!
Startled, the Nether Emperor immediately reincarnated once more.
His Nether Capital Heavenly Gate could better be called the Reincarnation Heavenly Gate—each time one passed through this portal, one would reincarnate once. Previously, when he had schemed to harm the Southern Emperor's reincarnated body, Bai Yuqiong, every time she died, she would pass through the Nether Capital Heavenly Gate and reincarnate as another person. That was the principle at work.
Of course, the functions of the Nether Capital Heavenly Gate were not limited to this.
When the Nether Emperor himself passed through the Nether Capital Heavenly Gate, his cultivation and power after reincarnation remained intact. Had it been anyone else, passing through the gate would typically result in reincarnation as a beast, losing all cultivation and becoming completely vulnerable to his whims.
The Nether Capital Heavenly Gate also possessed the remarkable effect of shielding one from karmic consequences. This was why the Nether Emperor used the gate to evade the Dao fruit Fire Heavenly Venerate was burning toward his soul. However, he had never imagined that Fire Heavenly Venerate's Dao fire could invade the cycle of reincarnation itself—even reincarnation could not save him!
He had originally believed that Fire Heavenly Venerate's soul was weak, that his Dao techniques could not be cultivated into the soul, and so he had recklessly bowed, attempting to bow Fire Heavenly Venerate to death.
But Fire Heavenly Venerate did not die, and instead he had attracted Dao fire that invaded his soul and could not be shaken off.
He reincarnated repeatedly within the gate, cycling through rebirth countless times in an instant. The Eastern Emperor Azure Dragon could only watch as the Nether Emperor within the portal constantly changed form, changed gender, changed race.
After each transformation, it felt as though he had become an entirely different person—no trace of his former characteristics could be found.
Such divine arts were truly beyond comprehension!
Yet the terror on the Nether Emperor's face only grew deeper, his panic intensifying.
He had pioneered the Great Dao of Reincarnation, evolved from the Netherworld Great Dao. The Netherworld Great Dao had no reincarnation—in this single regard, the Nether Emperor could be called extraordinarily talented, worthy of the title "Emperor."
But at the same time, limited by his own talent and wisdom, although he had pioneered the Great Dao of Reincarnation, he could not perfect it. Instead, it was Qin Mu who had developed and expanded it.
His path of reincarnation could not completely isolate Fire Heavenly Venerate's Dao fire.
He also had unique attainments in the Heavenly Yin path. The Nether Sea had been refined using the Heavenly Yin path—it was an ocean composed entirely of pure black soul sand.
Back in the day, the darkness of the Great Ruins was an anomaly created by him activating the Nether Sea, combined with the Heavenly Yin loophole, giving rise to the terrifying legend of "don't go out after dark."
But now, the Nether Sea was evaporating in vast swaths, being drawn into the Nether Capital Heavenly Gate to serve as fuel for each of his reincarnations.
After he reincarnated, his soul would be different—the change in soul was accomplished using the black soul sand from the Nether Sea.
Suddenly, flames appeared within the Nether Sea—Dao fire.
The Dao fire burned out from the Reincarnation Heavenly Gate, spreading rapidly across the entire Nether Sea, igniting the whole sea!
Dao fire also appeared on the Nether Capital Heavenly Gate itself, setting the gate ablaze!
Within the portal, the Nether Emperor screamed.
Fire Heavenly Venerate stood with his hands clasped behind his back, coldly watching him. Behind his head, the heavens twisted into a wheel, slowly rotating.
The Eastern Emperor Azure Dragon watched this scene in terror. The newly ascended Heavenly Venerate, the Nether Emperor, could not even last a single exchange against Fire Heavenly Venerate!
Fire Heavenly Venerate had not even made a move—had not displayed any divine art. He had merely, when the Nether Emperor bowed to him with his shamanic divine art, reflected the Dao fire on his own soul back at him, and the Nether Emperor could not withstand it!
His Dao fire was so powerful that it could burn even black soul sand to nothing!
"His soul has no weaknesses!"
A terrifying thought suddenly arose in the Eastern Emperor Azure Dragon's mind: "Does Heavenly Venerate Hao know that Fire Heavenly Venerate's soul is this powerful? If he does, then what was the purpose of sending us here..."
He felt a chill run down his spine.
On the Ferry of Salvation, Qin Mu's eyes flickered, and he said softly: "The number one sacred flame in the world lives up to its reputation. Even if I were to activate my reincarnation divine arts, I might not be able to escape it. Fire Heavenly Venerate's Dao fire is already approaching chaos, carrying a hint of the Wind of Heat Death."
"I am immortal! I am the Lord of the Netherworld, the newly ascended Earth Count! No one in this world can kill me!"
The Nether Emperor shouted. The burning Nether Sea and Nether Capital Heavenly Gate suddenly descended, crashing with a thunderous boom into the Netherworld!
The Netherworld was now divided into two major spheres of influence—one was Void Heavenly Venerate's territory, the other was the Nether Emperor's territory. Each was guarded by countless demon gods, as solid as iron.
Void Heavenly Venerate's territory had already been tidied up by her. She had forcibly pieced together the Netherworld continents formed from the collapse and disintegration of the Earth Count's physical body, forming the primordial continent of the Netherworld—vast, boundless, and immeasurable.
The Nether Emperor's territory was much more scattered. Countless continents floated within the Netherworld, connected by chains forged from Netherworld black iron, forming countless rope bridges.
After the Earth Count's death, the souls of the Netherworld, no longer under his governance, fled in all directions. Some escaped to the mortal world, forming haunted territories in the yang realm, wreaking havoc upon the world. Others pledged allegiance to the Nether Emperor and Void Heavenly Venerate, becoming ghost-path demon gods under their command.
Within the Nether Emperor's territory were also countless ghost-path demon gods—in life they had been gods and demons, and after death they fell into the Netherworld. Combined with the original Nether Capital demon god army, they constituted what could be called the most powerful force in all the heavens and myriad worlds.
At this moment, countless ghost-path demon gods and Nether Capital demon gods suddenly felt a premonition and looked up, only to see the burning Nether Sea and Nether Capital Heavenly Gate descending from the heavens.
The Nether Emperor stood within the gate, his entire body wreathed in blazing Dao fire. In this life, he had reincarnated as a woman, and the burning Dao fire made her look like a bride dressed in bright red wedding garments!
"I am the Nether Heavenly Venerate! No one can kill me!"
From within the portal, the Nether Emperor's shrill scream came, extremely piercing: "Better that I betray the world—"
Suddenly, the Nether Emperor within the portal bowed downward. The ghost-path demon gods and Nether Capital demon gods who had been looking up trembled violently. From the eyes, ears, noses, and mouths of countless Nether Capital demon gods, rolling black sand surged forth wildly as their primordial spirits were directly bowed to death by the Nether Emperor!
As for the ghost-path demon gods, they had no physical bodies—only primordial spirits or souls. Bowed by him, they shattered directly into countless black soul sand.
The Nether Emperor bowed again and again. On continent after continent of the Earth Count's territory, countless demon gods had their primordial spirits disintegrate, and the black soul sand transformed into rolling torrents that howled upward, flying toward the burning Nether Capital Heavenly Gate and Nether Sea.
The Nether Emperor continued bowing. On the continents below, the ghost-path demon gods and Nether Capital demon gods seemed to realize that disaster was imminent and fled in all directions.
Some demon gods even directly tore open the void, intending to escape into the yang realm. But the moment their bodies rose, they shattered directly into countless black sand that shot into the sky!
To save his own life, the Nether Emperor had opened the killing path. The Netherworld had fallen into the hands of the Heavenly Court, and he had divided half of it for himself, commanding countless mighty troops—he could be said to be one of the greatest powers of the Heavenly Court.
But now, this ghost-god army was rapidly diminishing and perishing under his own massacre!
Above continent after continent of the Earth Count's territory, massive pillars of black soul sand spun like mad tornadoes, rolling in and surging into the Nether Capital Heavenly Gate, actually suppressing the Dao fire until it was extinguished!
The number of dead demon gods was simply too great. Their powerful souls even suppressed Fire Heavenly Venerate's Dao fire, preventing it from wreaking havoc. Even the Dao fire on the Nether Sea was pushed down.
The Nether Emperor's cultivation and power skyrocketed. After the Earth Count's death, he had devoured and refined the Netherworld Great Dao. Although he had not improved as quickly as Void Heavenly Venerate, his cultivation and power were still increasing at a terrifying rate, far surpassing before. This was why he dared to attack Fire Heavenly Venerate.
Now, having obtained countless black soul sand, his cultivation and power received another astonishing boost. But the Dao fire within his soul was still there. He immediately began rapidly passing back and forth through the Nether Capital Heavenly Gate, frantically reincarnating. Each of his reincarnated bodies was ignited by the Dao fire and burned to ashes, but before each reincarnated body burned out, he always managed to escape successfully!
In the past, the Grand Venerable Ban Gongcuo, famous throughout Yankang, had cultivated his Dao techniques and divine arts, counting as his disciple's disciple, and was hailed as Yankang's number one escape artist. But compared to the Grand Venerable, the Nether Emperor made him look like a mere amateur.
The Nether Emperor frantically reincarnated and finally shook off the Dao fire. He immediately severed his connection to the Nether Sea and the Nether Capital Heavenly Gate and flew out from the portal.
He looked back. Without his activation, the Nether Sea and the Heavenly Gate burst into fierce flames and were quickly devoured by the Dao fire.
The Nether Emperor's face flushed red, and he vomited blood—whether from internal injuries or grief over his treasures, it was hard to say.
At that moment, he suddenly saw the figure of Void Heavenly Venerate.
Void Heavenly Venerate stood upon the other half of the Netherworld. The horns atop her head had grown to resemble the molten lava rivers of the Netherworld, winding and twisting through nine bends and eighteen curves.
This Heavenly Venerate looked up toward the Southern Heaven, then suddenly rose into the air, cutting through the Netherworld and drilling into Fire Heavenly Venerate's Life-Death Divine Treasury!
"So Heavenly Venerate Hao's true trump card was never me."
The Nether Emperor's heart turned cold, and he felt even more miserable. A mouthful of blood surged to his throat. Heavenly Venerate Hao had only used him to test the depths of Fire Heavenly Venerate's power—the real trump card was Void Heavenly Venerate, who was far stronger than him!
Void Heavenly Venerate was directly invading his physical body through Fire Heavenly Venerate's Life-Death Divine Treasury to slay his primordial spirit!
The Nether Emperor had just realized this when, at that moment, he saw a bride dressed in bright red wedding garments walking toward him.
"Zhaojin, do you still remember the oath you swore on the day you married me?"
The bride gave him a sweet smile: "You said you would never betray me."
"Emperor Yiyue!"
The Nether Emperor panicked and immediately turned to flee. But the moment he turned around, a hand grabbed him and pulled him out of the Netherworld.
"Yin Yulang, we meet again."
In the Heavenly Yin Realm, the Nether Emperor broke free from that hand and looked up to see Heavenly Yin Empress. Heavenly Yin Empress said coldly: "I have been waiting for you."
At the same time, Emperor Yiyue, dressed in the bright red wedding garments of a bride, entered the Heavenly Yin Realm from the Netherworld.
At the same moment, Void Heavenly Venerate slaughtered her way into Fire Heavenly Venerate's Life-Death Divine Treasury, attacking his primordial spirit!
She activated her supreme demonic fire and ignited Fire Heavenly Venerate's primordial spirit in an instant!
But Fire Heavenly Venerate seemed to have anticipated this. The layers of Dao fire wheels behind his head spun wildly as he laughed heartily: "Dao fire tempers the divine soul, indestructible great vajra! Void, you are too inexperienced! I will use your demonic fire to complete the final link in my soul cultivation that I could never achieve!"
Boom!
Fire Heavenly Venerate's primordial spirit frantically devoured Void Heavenly Venerate's demonic fire. Void Heavenly Venerate was shocked to the core—she watched as Fire Heavenly Venerate's primordial spirit did not burn in her demonic fire, but instead absorbed its power!
"I once went to see Nether Heavenly Venerate, asking him to help me temper my soul with demonic fire, but he absolutely refused, saying something about 'those who walk different paths cannot work together'! I once wanted to marry you—not to join forces with you, but to obtain your demonic fire! But now..."
Void Heavenly Venerate was about to withdraw her demonic fire when suddenly Fire Heavenly Venerate's aura exploded, blasting her out of his body!
Fire Heavenly Venerate reached out to grab her, sneering: "But now, I no longer need you!"
His palm grew larger and larger, warping space itself, completely enveloping Void Heavenly Venerate!
—The 17th anniversary celebration of Qidian has ended, and Zhai Zhu should go home. He hasn't slept well these past few days, so he needs to go home and catch up on rest.