Chapter 1619: The Death of Fire Heavenly Venerable
The villagers continued to beat him relentlessly, all of them wanting to beat him to death. Fire Heavenly Venerable was burning with rage. At that moment, a basin of black dog blood was splashed across his face.
Fire Heavenly Venerable stood there woodenly, drenched in black dog blood from head to toe.
Some of the black dog blood flowed into the center of his brow, where there was a hole—a hole punched through by Ancestral God King using Heavenly Duke's physical body—open front to back, and the dog blood flowed into his brain.
For an ordinary person, he would have died long ago, but a Heavenly Venerable was, after all, a Heavenly Venerable.
A young man raised a cleaver and swung it at his head, shouting, "His sorcery has been broken by the black dog blood! Hurry and chop him to death! Take his head to claim the reward..."
Before the word "reward" even left his mouth, Fire Heavenly Venerable's fist landed on his face. The young man's entire body exploded, turning into a mist of blood!
Although Fire Heavenly Venerable's heavenly palace had collapsed and his divine repositories had crumbled, his physical body was still that of a Heavenly Venerable.
These villagers were nothing but ordinary people—how could they possibly be his match?
Fire Heavenly Venerable's face darkened as he went on a killing spree. Soon, the women, children, and elderly of this village all lay in pools of blood. Not a single one was spared.
"You traitors! I protected you, allowed you to survive in this cruel world, allowed you to bear children and raise families—yet you repay kindness with enmity..."
Fire Heavenly Venerable dragged his heavy footsteps away, staggering forward. Something kept dripping from his mouth—whether it was black dog blood or his own blood, he couldn't tell.
His destination was the nearest divine city, to leave the Southern Heaven and head to Yankang.
"You were raised by me, yet you turned against me. Without my protection, you would be nothing but insects to Yankang, destroyed by the demigods and ancient gods long ago! You deserved to die—don't blame me. Heh heh, don't blame me..."
He still had one last lifeline: Pastoral Heavenly Venerable. As long as he reached Yankang, he could persuade Qin Mu to spare his life!
If he couldn't persuade Qin Mu, then he would persuade Cloud Heavenly Venerable!
Also, Moon Heavenly Venerable had a soft heart. If he knelt down and kowtowed to admit his mistakes, then Moon Heavenly Venerable would surely be unable to bear it and would plead for him before Qin Mu.
He also possessed many secrets of the Heavenly Court—these were all capital for him to survive, or even to advance his position.
Betraying Heavenly Emperor Hao, betraying the Heavenly Court—he felt no psychological burden whatsoever. On the contrary, he would become a hero of the human race.
"Cloud Heavenly Venerable will arrange for me to have the image of one who endured humiliation to fulfill his mission—a million years lurking in the enemy camp, willing to bear the infamy of selling out his race and ancestors. Heh heh, people's hearts are the easiest to fool. They can hardly tell right from wrong—doesn't it all come down to what you say?"
"I will become the most dazzling hero of the human race. Even Pastoral Heavenly Venerable's prestige won't compare to mine. Heh heh, he'll know to read the times and hand over the leadership of the human race to me..."
He trudged forward with difficulty, activating the Creation Mystic Art to repair the wounds on his body. However, his realm had fallen, and he couldn't recover in a short time.
Fire Heavenly Venerable was not at all worried about his destroyed divine repositories. The Seven Heavenly Venerables of the Dragon Han Era were existences who had created realms out of nothing. Now that his divine repositories had been broken, he could simply cultivate the fruits of the Yankang Reform.
He also had avatars lurking in Yankang, and the fruits of the Yankang Reform had not been hidden from him. He could completely cultivate according to Yankang's new system, and his abilities would surely surpass what they were before!
Along the way, he tried to avoid the villages of the Southern Heaven to prevent being discovered. But how could he possibly avoid being discovered?
Ancestral God King had already ordered all of the Southern Heaven to search for his whereabouts. Fire Heavenly Venerable forced himself to muster his energy and killed everyone who discovered him, leaving no survivors.
Later, he simply stopped avoiding the villages along the way. With a gloomy face, he walked into those villages.
Moments later, he walked out of the village, leaving a field of corpses behind him.
"I will avenge you, my people."
Fire Heavenly Venerable murmured to himself: "You were killed by Ancestral God King, Void Heavenly Venerable, and Lady Yuanmu—killed by Heavenly Emperor Hao. If they hadn't forced me, pushed me so hard, you wouldn't have had to die. I, Fire Heavenly Venerable of the Dragon Han Era, will surely avenge you all!"
...
Finally, as night fell, he arrived at the divine city of this heavenly realm.
The divine city was brightly lit, with not a single guard on the city walls. The city gates were wide open, and the divine soldiers and generals who should have been guarding the city were nowhere to be seen.
Fire Heavenly Venerable shook off the blood scabs on his body, and they fell to the ground all around him. The wound on his brow had also shrunk considerably—the Creation Mystic Art he had learned from Yankang was working.
It was just that Ancestral God King's blow had been too powerful, leaving him with severe dao wounds that would be difficult to heal in a short time.
"Master!"
As Fire Heavenly Venerable walked into the city, he suddenly saw Yan Yazi leading his disciples, kneeling down with a clatter, a dark mass of figures ahead.
Fire Heavenly Venerable's voice carried a note of pleasure as he said hoarsely, "Yan Yazi, you truly are the disciple I value most. Your master knows..."
"Master, why did you betray the Heavenly Court? Why did you betray His Majesty?"
Yan Yazi raised his head, tears brimming in his eyes. He slowly drew a dao-fire mystic blade and choked out, "You're making things very difficult for your disciple—"
Fire Heavenly Venerable froze.
Yan Yazi braced himself on the blade and stood up, his aura exploding as he locked onto Fire Heavenly Venerable. Tears streaming down his face, he said, "Master, the one I respect most is you. You taught me: ruler and minister, father and son—a minister must be loyal to the Heavenly Emperor. To betray is to be worse than a beast. Your disciple does not wish to be a disloyal and unfaithful person."
Fire Heavenly Venerable clenched his fists, breathing heavily, staring fixedly at Yan Yazi.
Yan Yazi's tears slid down his cheeks, but a faint smile and excitement appeared on his face: "Master, you love your disciple, don't you? You value me the most. Surely you also hope that the Southern Heaven can flourish under your disciple's hands, right? Master, don't resist your disciple. Let your disciple carry your head to the Heavenly Court to claim merit!"
Fire Heavenly Venerable laughed heartily, but he coughed continuously, coughing up blood: "Good disciple, good disciple! Truly worthy of being taught by me!"
"Of course!"
Yan Yazi also laughed aloud: "Master, see how well I've learned from you? There's no need for you to resist. Fellow junior brothers, send master on his way—"
His voice was so excited it became somewhat hoarse, dragging out the final syllable: "Let master die quickly, don't let master suffer too much pain!"
Behind him, Fire Heavenly Venerable's hundreds of disciples rose to their feet, activating various divine weapons and divine abilities, howling as they charged at Fire Heavenly Venerable.
Fire Heavenly Venerable's rage burned like a blazing fire. He struck out fiercely, charging forward through the divine abilities he himself had taught them. With a single palm strike, he smashed a disciple to pieces. With a thunderous roar, he sent the group of disciples staggering.
Yan Yazi did not make his move. Instead, he circled unhurriedly outside the battle.
He was an Emperor Throne expert, but he was extremely cautious. Fire Heavenly Venerable had already suffered severe injuries, with little of his magical power remaining and heavy dao wounds. Yet Yan Yazi was extremely wary of him and did not dare to strike rashly.
After all, although Fire Heavenly Venerable had little cultivation left, his physical body was still that of a Heavenly Venerable.
A physical body cultivated to the pinnacle, nearly a body of achieved dao—this was the capital that had allowed Fire Heavenly Venerable to make it this far!
Soon, the disciples were slaughtered to the last by Fire Heavenly Venerable. Corpses lay strewn everywhere, and Yan Yazi's pupils contracted sharply.
Fire Heavenly Venerable stood amid the corpses, saying coldly, "You were taught by me—you are nothing but a pack of dogs I raised. I know every single one of your weaknesses clearly. Killing you is as easy as turning my hand for me—including you, Yan Yazi!"
He spun around suddenly, but what greeted him was Yan Yazi's dao-fire mystic blade!
Yan Yazi struck without hesitation, laughing: "Master, now there are no junior brothers or sisters to fight me for the credit! That's right, I was taught by you, but you're too weak now. Relying on your physical body alone, you're no match for me!"
Fire Heavenly Venerable raised his hand to block. Yan Yazi whirled around him, the mystic blade like light and lightning, chopping down again and again, shouting fiercely: "Master, will you die or not? Die or not?!"
Fire Heavenly Venerable's injuries grew worse and worse, yet he remained extraordinarily composed. Suddenly catching sight of an opening, his right hand's five fingers flicked in rapid succession—clang, clang, clang, clang, clang—sending the dao-fire mystic blade flying.
Yan Yazi's heart jolted. Fire Heavenly Venerable had already pressed a finger to his brow.
Yan Yazi's brow exploded, a large hole bursting through his skull. He hastily retreated, fleeing like a startled swan in the firelight, laughing: "Master, you can't escape!"
Boom!
The spiritual energy transfer bridge in the divine city was swept by his distant strike and collapsed in a thunderous crash, cutting off Fire Heavenly Venerable's hope of escaping into Yankang.
Fire Heavenly Venerable's heart sank. He turned and left this divine city, heading for another one.
His steps were unsteady, but his qi and blood gradually stabilized. Within his body, he re-opened the divine repositories of Five Luminaries, Six Harmonies, Seven Stars, Heavenly Human, Life and Death, Heavenly River, and more. He even planted a Jianmu innate divine bridge to unify the various divine repositories.
His cultivation and magical power rose to the Heavenly River realm. With one more step, he would be able to cultivate the new heavenly palace system that circulated in Yankang.
Before he knew it, he arrived at a small village. The villagers were beating drums and gongs, charging out of the village with cleavers, hoes, and other farm tools, rushing to kill him.
"After you die, I will avenge you."
Fire Heavenly Venerable murmured, about to strike without mercy. At that moment, he saw a young man appear in the village, standing with his hands clasped behind his back, looking up at a green tree.
It was a World Tree. The young man beneath the tree looked young in years, but his temples were full of white hair.
"Pastoral Heavenly Venerable!"
Fire Heavenly Venerable was both startled and overjoyed. Ignoring the villagers charging at him, he laughed heartily: "Pastoral Heavenly Venerable, have you come to save me? You and I truly share a spiritual connection..."
Qin Mu stood beneath the tree, not looking at him. Instead, he raised his hand and gently pointed.
A wheel of light spun, enveloping Fire Heavenly Venerable within it, giving him no chance to dodge.
The wheel of light revolved once. Fire Heavenly Venerable felt as if he had awakened from a dream. When he opened his eyes, he saw that the wounds on his body had completely disappeared! He hastily touched his face—his face had also been restored to its original state!
He was both startled and overjoyed. At that moment, a cleaver chopped into his shoulder.
His Heavenly Venerable physical body—at this moment—was actually cut into flesh and blood by an ordinary cleaver! An unimaginable, excruciating pain came, and Fire Heavenly Venerable's tears flowed freely.
He suddenly realized that his magical power had also disappeared. There was no primal energy in his body, and no divine repositories either!
He had become as weak as these ignorant, foolish villagers!
"Kill him!"
The villagers' faces showed fanatical excitement. Face after face swayed before Fire Heavenly Venerable's eyes, looking utterly twisted.
Pfft—
The three prongs of a manure rake embedded themselves in Fire Heavenly Venerable's forehead, piercing into his brain. Fire Heavenly Venerable opened his mouth, wanting to speak, but someone thrust a hunting spear into his chest.
He lost his strength and fell to the ground. Around him were the ecstatic villagers, clubs flying, cleavers rising and falling, all landing on his body.
"Wait a moment!"
He heard someone shout: "Don't ruin his face! We still need to cut off his head to claim the reward!"
Fire Heavenly Venerable's vision went dark. He could only feel a rough hand grabbing his hair, a knife placed against his neck, sawing back and forth, intending to cut off his head.
His consciousness sank completely into darkness.
Then, he heard the sound of fingers snapping.
Beneath the World Tree, Qin Mu snapped his fingers. Fire Heavenly Venerable's physical body was restored, his soul flew back into his body, and his consciousness became clear once more.
"The Unchanging Divine Ability?"
Fire Heavenly Venerable was both startled and overjoyed, laughing: "Pastoral Heavenly Venerable, you can't bear to kill me, right? You're just punishing me. I know I was wrong!"
Qin Mu walked out from beneath the World Tree, and the World Tree moved with him. Fire Heavenly Venerable was also carried along by an invisible force.
After a while, he followed Qin Mu to a second village.
Another batch of villagers surged out. They seemed not to see Qin Mu at all—only Fire Heavenly Venerable. Howling with excitement, they charged with all kinds of crude weapons.
Fire Heavenly Venerable fell into a pool of blood once again. Again, he felt someone grab his hair and saw at his neck with a knife.
The sound of fingers snapping came, and everything was restored.
Fire Heavenly Venerable followed Qin Mu helplessly, shouting: "Pastoral Heavenly Venerable, I truly know I was wrong! With my help, the world can be secured! I know..."
Beside another village, he was killed once more.
The snap of fingers came, and Fire Heavenly Venerable was revived. Again, he followed Qin Mu toward the next village.
"Pastoral Heavenly Venerable, you should have vented your anger by now, right?"
Fire Heavenly Venerable suppressed his fear and forced a smile: "If you and I join forces, we will be invincible in the world! The situation is excellent right now. I can help you eliminate Tai Chu, eliminate Heavenly Emperor Hao..."
He was chopped to death again by a group of jubilant villagers.
As the repetitions continued, deep fear began to grow in Fire Heavenly Venerable's heart. Qin Mu kept repeating this same thing—using the Path of Reincarnation to erase all his cultivation, letting the ignorant people of the Southern Heaven chop him to death, then reviving him!
And throughout this entire process, Qin Mu had not even looked at him once, nor spoken a single word to him!
The fear in Fire Heavenly Venerable's heart grew greater and greater: "He wants to kill me. He truly wants me dead! He's just toying with me..."
Finally, Qin Mu stopped walking. His expression calm, he said: "I'm tired. I originally thought that watching you die over and over again would bring me joy, would give me the satisfaction of avenging the people of the Southern Heaven. But I've discovered that after the ignorant people of the Southern Heaven kill you, they are still ignorant. Your dying again and again doesn't bring me much joy."
A glimmer of hope rose in Fire Heavenly Venerable's heart. He forced a smile: "Pastoral Heavenly Venerable, I truly know I was wrong. To know one's mistakes and correct them is the greatest good. I am still useful. I can be your dog, fight for you. I only ask..."
"If knowing one's mistakes is enough to be forgiven, then what need is there for law and order?"
Qin Mu shook his head, still not looking at him. He spread his five fingers.
Bang, bang, bang—Fire Heavenly Venerable's head, body, and limbs burst apart into four pieces. His soul emerged.
Qin Mu clenched his five fingers heavily and walked away.
Fire Heavenly Venerable's soul struggled for a moment, but the next instant it exploded with a thunderous boom, turning into a mass of black soul sand.
Then, the black sand collapsed, forcibly compressed into a ball of primordial chaos energy!
A gust of wind blew, and the chaos energy dissipated into the world, vanishing without a trace.
—Another four-thousand-word chapter! Zhai Zhu has not broken his promise—Fire Heavenly Venerable is thoroughly dead!
Now I'm asking for monthly votes. That should be acceptable now, right? Please vote!