Chapter 1618: The Fool of the Southern Heaven
The moment Madam Yuanmu made her move, she manifested the Great Heavenly Court formed by the Thirty-Six Heavenly Palaces, pushing the Dao of Return to the Void to its absolute limit!
She should more properly be called the Divine Maiden of Return to the Void, but at this moment, Madam Yuanmu's consciousness held dominance. She had fused Madam Yuanmu's Dao of Destruction with Empress Dowager's Dao of Creation, merging them into one, transforming into the perfect Dao of Return to the Void.
The power of the perfect Dao of Return to the Void was extremely peculiar. It could devour all things, devour all energy, while simultaneously converting it into one's own strength.
The power of Fire Heavenly Venerable's Dao Fire was almost comparable to the Wind of Heat Death, yet within the Return to the Void, there was true Wind of Heat Death, grinding matter to dust and converting it into pure energy.
Incredibly terrifying energy compressed together—that was the Wind of Heat Death!
When facing Madam Yuanmu in combat, one would discover that one's own magical power was steadily decreasing, while her strength was steadily increasing!
Boom!
Fire Heavenly Venerable clashed head-on with this strike, then immediately sensed that his Dao techniques and divine abilities had sunk into the vast ocean, unable to cause any damage to his opponent.
Yet Madam Yuanmu's magical power suddenly surged by a thread at that moment. The lotus directly broke through his defenses, spinning with a hissing sound, slicing open his chest!
A sharp lotus petal swept across his face, and the mask on his face let out a crisp crack as it split in two, revealing a hideous and terrifying visage.
Fire Heavenly Venerable's face had been destroyed by Qin Mu, his features beyond recognition, leaving only white bone and scattered bits of flesh.
His facial skin had been completely peeled away, his nose reduced to only nasal bone, his ears reduced to only ear holes, his eyes completely exposed without any flesh to protect them, his lips gone, his teeth bared to the world.
His face looked like a skull with traces of flesh clinging to it.
In the current world, Qin Mu was unquestionably the number one in Dao techniques. The Dao wound he had left on Fire Heavenly Venerable's face had persisted until now, unable to be broken, and even the Medicine Master could not heal the wounds on his face.
When Madam Yuanmu saw this face, she too was startled.
The two fought at lightning speed. Fire Heavenly Venerable was hampered and constrained, feeling that all the divine abilities he unleashed had lost their due power. No matter how he attacked, the power would be devoured by Yuanmu.
He had not cultivated the Thirty-Six Heavenly Palaces, only thirty-five. This one point caused his magical power to be far weaker than Madam Yuanmu's, placing him in a position of being beaten.
His strength lay in the fact that he had no weaknesses, his Dao techniques and divine abilities had no flaws. Although his Dao techniques and divine abilities were restrained by Madam Yuanmu, his physical body was powerful and could clash head-on with Yuanmu, but the longer he fought, the more he suffered.
Petal after petal drifted down, dancing around him above and below. The petals were incomparably sharp, slicing open his flesh and blood, nearly flaying him alive!
Whoosh—
The Great Abyss of Return to the Void suddenly appeared behind him. A violent gravitational force came, twisting his physical body and pulling him into the abyss.
Fire Heavenly Venerable roared in fury, struggling with all his might to charge out of the abyss. The moment he emerged, Madam Yuanmu, holding the lotus, swept it across his body.
Fire Heavenly Venerable spat blood, tumbling and rolling as he flew out.
Shua shua shua—from within the lotus, stamen after stamen shot out like snakes, wrapping around him and pulling him toward Madam Yuanmu.
Fire Heavenly Venerable immediately raised his hand and severed the stamens one by one, but Madam Yuanmu had already arrived before him.
Fire Heavenly Venerable's form suddenly rose, transforming into a streak of firelight and fleeing into the distance at a speed that left one dumbfounded.
But the Great Abyss of Return to the Void was like a massive mouth devouring the myriad worlds, causing space to collapse. No matter how fast he flew, he was always just circling beside the Great Abyss of Return to the Void, unable to escape the range of its gravitational pull.
"My life ends here!"
Despair filled Fire Heavenly Venerable's heart. He looked back and saw Madam Yuanmu had already arrived behind him, smiling as she held the twin lotus flowers, preparing to deliver the killing blow.
But strangely enough, the lotus in Madam Yuanmu's hand had just been raised when she paused, not unleashing the fatal strike.
Fire Heavenly Venerable was startled. He saw Madam Yuanmu standing there, and on her face actually appeared a look of panic, and this panic was growing stronger and stronger.
Her expression did not seem feigned. She already had the upper hand now; there was absolutely no need for her to fake it.
Yet not only did Madam Yuanmu show panic, her body even began to tremble. At the same time, the black mole on her brow was gradually changing, from black to red.
"Little wench..."
Madam Yuanmu gritted her teeth and hissed: "Jumping out at this time, are you courting death?"
Fire Heavenly Venerable did not understand what was happening, but he immediately struck out, blasting Madam Yuanmu hard. Suddenly, the twin lotus flowers in Yuanmu's hand grew larger and closed with a swoosh, wrapping Madam Yuanmu within them.
Fire Heavenly Venerable's strike slammed into the layers of petals, blasting petals into withering, but the terrifying force still transmitted deep into the twin lotuses.
A muffled grunt came from within the lotus, and then another voice spoke: "Little wench, how could this palace concede so easily? This palace is the orthodox one, the true master of this body. Now that you have healed your injuries, this is the perfect opportunity for this palace to take back the body..."
"Sister, if you fight me for the body, you'll only let Fire Heavenly Venerable take advantage!"
"If you don't retreat, this palace will perish together with you, letting Fire Heavenly Venerable kill us both!"
...
Fire Heavenly Venerable struck several heavy blows in succession, breaking through the twin lotuses and charging inside. He saw Madam Yuanmu frozen there, unable to move.
In an instant, he unleashed countless divine abilities upon this woman. Madam Yuanmu was blasted high into the air, slamming hard into the ground.
Boom!
Fire Heavenly Venerable landed, one foot stepping on Madam Yuanmu's chest, his eyes gleaming with excited light: "My fortune is still heaven-defying; my life was not meant to end here. Yuanmu, please take the road..."
At this moment, the black mole on Madam Yuanmu's brow completely turned red. A pair of eyes coldly looked at him, and her voice changed to Empress Dowager's tone: "Fire, my beloved minister, do you dare to trample upon this palace's body?"
Chi—
Fire Heavenly Venerable's leg was grabbed by Empress Dowager and slammed hard into the ground. Fire Heavenly Venerable was smashed until he was seeing stars, but fortunately Empress Dowager was also severely injured and did not directly take his life.
Murderous light blazed in Fire Heavenly Venerable's eyes, and he thought to himself: "She was heavily wounded by me just now. This battle, I may not necessarily lose!"
Patriarch Shen and Void Heavenly Venerable approached, only to see the twin lotus flowers' petals closed, tightly intertwined. The flower chamber alternately swelled and shrank, sometimes expanding, sometimes contracting, and from within came wave after wave of terrifying divine ability fluctuations, truly horrifying.
Patriarch Shen and Void Heavenly Venerable were both severely injured. They exchanged a glance, both showing looks of shock.
The battle within the twin lotuses ended very quickly. Suddenly, the petals split open, and a streak of firelight charged out. The figure was covered in blood—it was Fire Heavenly Venerable.
Patriarch Shen and Void Heavenly Venerable immediately moved to block him. The three fought at lightning speed outside the flower chamber. Void Heavenly Venerable chopped off Fire Heavenly Venerable's left arm, and Fire Heavenly Venerable twisted Void Heavenly Venerable's head from front to back, making her see her own buttocks.
Patriarch Shen activated the Heavenly Duke's physical body and smashed Fire Heavenly Venerable's head down into his chest cavity with one blow. Fire Heavenly Venerable grew a pair of eyes on his chest, his right hand grabbing Patriarch Shen who stood on the Heavenly Duke's face. Dao Fire spun like a wheel, twisting his body into over a dozen wheels, his physical body and primordial spirit stretched thinner than a twisted dough twist!
At this moment, the Great Abyss of Return to the Void erupted, devouring the Great Heavenly Court behind Fire Heavenly Venerable, pulling his primordial spirit into the Great Ruins.
Fire Heavenly Venerable retreated, crashing into Empress Dowager. Empress Dowager staggered backward, and the red mole on her brow immediately turned black, transforming into Madam Yuanmu.
Madam Yuanmu laughed merrily, her body trembling like flowers in the wind. She activated the Reincarnation divine ability to seal Empress Dowager, but saw Fire Heavenly Venerable's primordial spirit shoot up from within the abyss, carrying a tattered heavenly palace, and pierce straight through the back of Madam Yuanmu's head.
Whoosh—
Fire Heavenly Venerable's primordial spirit, carrying the tattered heavenly palace and heavenly court, flew out from between Madam Yuanmu's brows. From within Madam Yuanmu's head came a rumbling explosion. Blood sprayed from her eyes, ears, mouth, and nose without cease, and the sprayed blood transformed into firelight.
Fire Heavenly Venerable's chest heaved up and down, and his head grew out from his chest cavity. He was about to retrieve his primordial spirit when Void Heavenly Venerable, whose head was twisted backward, slammed both hands heavily onto his skull. Terrifying demonic power pierced through his physical body, destroying his Divine Bridge Divine Treasury!
This force drove straight in, dismantling his Life-Death, Heavenly Human, Seven Stars, Six Harmonies, and Five Radiances, about to destroy his Spirit Embryo Divine Treasury!
Fire Heavenly Venerable's primordial spirit flew over and, with one strike, knocked Void Heavenly Venerable's primordial spirit out of her physical body. Void Heavenly Venerable's physical body immediately began to burn in the Dao Fire.
Fire Heavenly Venerable's primordial spirit entered his body, transforming into firelight and soaring into the sky. He had just taken flight when Patriarch Shen, still burning, activated the Heavenly Duke's physical body and pierced through the back of his head with one finger!
A large hole burst open in Fire Heavenly Venerable's brow. The force of that finger pierced through the heavenly court within his brain, destroying the Heavenly Gate, Jade Pool, and God-Slaying Platform, sweeping across Jade Capital City.
The terrifying force surged mightily to the Lingxiao Hall, blasting it to smithereens!
The Lingxiao Treasure Hall exploded, and Fire Heavenly Venerable's primordial spirit, seated on the Emperor's Throne, was also pierced through by that finger of the Heavenly Duke's physical body!
Beneath him, the Emperor's Throne turned into a phantom image, slowly dissipating.
Fire Heavenly Venerable immediately felt his magical power dispersing, frantically draining away. His realm instantly fell from Heavenly Court to Emperor's Throne, then from Emperor's Throne to Lingxiao, then his cultivation was pushed down to Jade Capital, God-Slaying Platform, Jade Pool, Heavenly Gate, Divine Bridge, Life-Death, Heavenly Human!
"I have cultivated twelve kinds of indestructible achievements. This little injury cannot harm me!"
Fire Heavenly Venerable forcibly stabilized his scattering magical power. He saw Patriarch Shen and Void Heavenly Venerable dragging their heavily wounded bodies in pursuit, so he shook his form, and in an instant, millions of streaks of firelight shot out in all directions across the starry sky.
Streak after streak of firelight filled the Southern Heaven, flying off in different directions.
Patriarch Shen and Void Heavenly Venerable reached out and grabbed again and again, catching quite a few streaks of firelight, but they were all empty.
Patriarch Shen spat out mouthful after mouthful of blood, forcibly activating his magical power to suppress the Dao Fire on his body. He could hardly continue the pursuit. Void Heavenly Venerable's cultivation was slightly inferior to his, even more unable to bear it.
The two barely suppressed the Dao Fire. Patriarch Shen barely mustered a thread of magical power and shouted harshly: "All gods and demons of the Southern Heaven, hear my command! Fire Heavenly Venerable has betrayed us! Seal the Spirit Energy Bridge, hunt him down everywhere, kill him, and the Heavenly Court will reward you handsomely—enfeoffment as kings and marquises!"
More and more firelight appeared in the Southern Heaven. Every single heaven had millions of streaks of firelight falling, but upon landing, they transformed into flowing fire and dissipated.
Suddenly, a streak of firelight crashed into the ground, shaking mountains and rivers, transforming into Fire Heavenly Venerable's form. He tumbled for over ten li before finally stopping.
Fire Heavenly Venerable struggled to his feet, panting heavily: "I'm not dead yet..."
His body swayed unsteadily. Suddenly, his injuries erupted, and with a thud, he fell to his knees, hands supporting himself on the ground, chuckling: "As long as I survive this tribulation, I still have a chance to win, I can make a comeback... I can go seek refuge with Heavenly Venerable Mu. Yes, I can go seek refuge with Heavenly Venerable Mu!"
His eyes gradually brightened, his gaze fixed on the ground, filled with hope: "Cloud Heavenly Venerable was my lifelong close friend. He invited me more than once to join forces against the Heavenly Court. If I go to him, he definitely won't refuse. Heh heh, Heavenly Venerable Mu has suffered total defeat now. If I go over, I'll become his honored guest instead. He'll have no choice but to heavily employ me! Heh heh, with Emperor Kaihuang dead, I am the most powerful existence of the human race..."
At this moment, footsteps sounded.
Fire Heavenly Venerable barely lifted his head and saw that ahead was a small mountain village, all farming households, making their living by agriculture.
The footsteps came from an old farmer whose face was covered in wrinkles upon wrinkles. He looked seventy or eighty years old, but his actual age should be less than fifty.
Living conditions were too bitter and poor—face to the yellow earth, back to the sky. Aging quickly was a normal thing.
That old farmer should have been working the fields. Beside him was a manure pit, and he held a manure rake in his hand. He must have been raking manure just now, his body carrying a stench of excrement and urine.
The old farmer squinted his blurry old eyes as he approached, carefully sizing him up, and said tremblingly: "You... you are Fire Heavenly Venerable?"
Fire Heavenly Venerable nodded and said: "I am the sovereign of the Southern Heaven, Fire Heavenly Venerable. Does your village have any miraculous medicines? My injuries are extremely severe..."
The old farmer was both shocked and delighted. He swung the manure rake and brought it down viciously. The rake's three prongs stabbed into Fire Heavenly Venerable's forehead, sending firelight scattering everywhere and splattering feces all over his face!
"You..." Fire Heavenly Venerable's mind went blank.
Seeing that he hadn't stabbed him to death, the old farmer swung the manure rake again, bringing it down viciously, his voice filled with joy: "Come! Hurry, everyone! The fire traitor who betrayed the Heavenly Court has fallen in our village! We're going to be rich!"
Fire Heavenly Venerable was burning with rage, but his injuries were too severe, and he could hardly struggle to his feet.
He saw the village's old, young, women, and able-bodied men all pour out. Some held kitchen knives, some held grappling hooks, iron shovels, hammers, hoes, and spades, all surging forward, shouting for his blood!
The villagers surrounded him and beat him, various farming tools raining down on him.
But how could they possibly harm Fire Heavenly Venerable? No matter how they attacked, they couldn't touch a single hair on his body.
"Why do you want to kill me?"
Fire Heavenly Venerable was both shocked and furious, hissing: "You ungrateful wretches! It was I! I who protected the Southern Heaven, protected you lowly commoners! Otherwise, you would have died long ago!"
He didn't know where the surge of strength came from, but he actually managed to stand up against the villagers' beating, grabbing the manure-rake old farmer by the neck and lifting him into the air.
The surrounding villagers stared at him in terror, not daring to move.
The old farmer struggled weakly, but forced out a breath and shouted: "Fire dog, you still dare to talk back? Not being loyal to your sovereign is the greatest crime! The Sage's Teachings say: Those who are not loyal to their sovereign are like beasts, and everyone has the right to slay them! You are a beast!"
Fire Heavenly Venerable spat out a mouthful of blood. The "Sage's Teachings" that the Southern Heaven used to educate the human race was compiled by him, and it was because of this "Sage's Teachings" that the Heavenly Court had enfeoffed him as the Sage Venerable among the Heavenly Venerables.
The other villagers surged forward, kitchen knives, grappling hooks, iron shovels, hammers, and hoes all chopping down at him, shouting in unison: "Beat to death this unfaithful, unfilial, unkind, and unjust wretch! Take his head to claim the reward, and we'll become gods!"
"The traitor's body is too hard, can't chop him to death!"
"Hurry! Kill a dog, splash him with black dog blood, break his sorcery!"
...
————Four thousand character chapter, begging for monthly tickets!
。Truc But Trung Van Net m.