Chapter 1694: Ten Steps to Slay a God (Another Long Chapter)
"Time is short, no more drinking."
Cloud Heavenly Venerable and Qin Mu were surrounded by piles of empty wine jars, with only one jar left untouched. Cloud Heavenly Venerable smiled and said, "For beings like us, it's already very hard to get drunk. You need to go stop the Spiritual Officer Hall Master—after all, he's split himself thirty ways, and eliminating him won't be easy. I'll leave this jar of celebration wine here. Between you and me, whoever returns first gets to drink it!"
"Deal!"
Qin Mu also knew there was no time to waste. He rose to his feet and laughed, "This jar is the celebration wine! Whoever returns here first has the right to drink it!"
He turned and left.
At the moment he turned, Cloud Heavenly Venerable sensed a faint, barely perceptible aura slip into his shadow—it was Shang Jun leaving Qin Mu's shadow to conceal himself within Cloud's. Under normal circumstances it would be hard to detect, but Shang Jun deliberately emitted a slight fluctuation to signal his arrival.
Cloud Heavenly Venerable looked down at the various battlefields below. The war around Wuyou Township was magnificent in scale—Yankang's reinforcements and supplies flowed ceaselessly through the teleportation gates. The rulers of the thirty-three heavens under Wuyou Township's command had all led their troops into battle. Of the Four Great Heavenly Masters, only the Woodcutter remained to oversee the overall situation, unleashing his wisdom to direct the battlefield!
Because Moon Heavenly Venerable, Cloud Heavenly Venerable, and Qin Mu were stationed at Wuyou Township, even Martial Combat Heavenly Master had led the warriors of the various heavens into the fray, without staying to protect the Woodcutter, Wen Tian'ge.
Cloud Heavenly Venerable's gaze flickered. The Spiritual Officer Hall Master's first battle—and the most perilous one—was Wuyou Township!
Wuyou Township was the closest, so it would inevitably be the first battlefield he reached, to hunt down the Four Heavenly Kings of Wuyou Township: Emperor Kaihuang Di Yuerue, Qinghuang Old Man, Emperor Shitian, and Nether Capital Heavenly King Tian Shu!
Beyond that, he would also hunt the Four Great Heavenly Masters on this battlefield: Wen Tian'ge, Yan Yunxi, Zhuo Cha, and Han Tang!
If Wuyou Township fell into chaos with no leader, even with Yankang's heavy weapons and countless gods and demons, without someone to direct them, defeat would be unavoidable.
The Spiritual Officer Hall Master's ancient god avatar would arrive second at the Southern Sea battlefield, where Southern Emperor Zhuque, the Two Emperors of Chiming, the First Ancestor Human Emperor, and Red Emperor Qi Xiayu were stationed.
Then came Tianyin Realm, to hunt down Tianyin Empress!
And residing behind Taihuang Heaven, in the heartland of Yankang, Heavenly Duke and Earth Count would be his fourth destination!
Little Earth Count Qin Fengqing's Nether Capital would be his fifth destination!
Then came the Black Tortoise and Azure Dragon Emperors who had just descended to the Kan Region of the Northern Frontier, along with Wei Suifeng who commanded the overall situation there.
The next targets were the Dao Sect Ancestor and the Great Brahma Heavenly King Buddha of the Buddhist Sect!
Closest to the Dao Sect were Yankang's capital's Emperor Yanfeng and Earth Virtue Primordial Lord Gongsun Yan, followed by Jiang Baigui of the Eastern Sea and the newly resurrected Eastern Emperor Azure Dragon.
After the Eastern Sea, the Spiritual Officer Hall Master would arrive at the Western Lands, where Western Emperor White Tiger had descended—eliminating the Western Emperor and Heavenly Master Yue Tingge was his goal!
After that came the Beast Realm's master Dragon Qilin, and finally Xushenghua beneath the World Tree in the Ancestral Court!
What Qin Mu needed to do was reach these places in the shortest possible time and slaughter the Spiritual Officer Hall Master's ancient god avatars!
The Spiritual Officer Hall Master—an existence who had achieved the Dao across four lifetimes, with three lifetimes of Dao Fruits and one lifetime of Dao Flowers. He cultivated the Miluo Palace's Dao Realm system and the system of achieving the Dao through raw power, having attained the Dao through four great Daos.
His physical body was split into thirty parts, transforming into thirty of the most powerful ancient gods, each with strength rivaling top-tier Heavenly Venerables!
The techniques he cultivated were countless, the Daos he had practiced were numerous and varied. The thirty ancient god avatars likely wielded Dao techniques and divine powers that never repeated!
Neither Cloud Heavenly Venerable nor Shang Jun could hope to discern the Dao powers of his ancient god avatars in the shortest time and slay him.
The fastest being in this world was Southern Emperor Zhuque, the ancient god who controlled the Dao Fire Ancestral Land—but the Southern Emperor was no longer an ancient god, and the Dao Fire Ancestral Land had fallen under Yankang's control.
Moon Heavenly Venerable's Ultimate Void wasn't about speed—it was about folding space, creating the illusion of ultimate velocity.
The third fastest was the Cripple, whose speed reached the point of ignoring space entirely.
Then came teleportation divine powers, and the spiritual energy exchange bridges between different worlds.
And Qin Mu was the only being who combined the strengths of many schools—he had even pioneered the spiritual energy exchange bridge with the Black Tiger God in his youth.
Therefore, he was the only one who could possibly intercept and kill the Spiritual Officer Hall Master's thirty ancient god avatars. Even so, there was a high chance he would fail to save everyone.
Cloud Heavenly Venerable looked toward the battlefields around Wuyou Township. In those battlefields, there were eight brief, urgent, and incomparably violent fluctuations of divine power—eight in total!
Eight brief fluctuations of divine power might not be conspicuous in the vast battlefield, but the shock they gave to a Heavenly Venerable was beyond compare. Even Emperor Throne realm experts couldn't sense how terrifying the power contained in those eight brief fluctuations was—but for a Heavenly Venerable, it was absolutely horrifying!
Moon Heavenly Venerable, Lang Wan, Nether Heavenly Venerable, Taishi, and Lan Yutian all felt their hearts leap into their throats. They roused themselves and peered toward the battlefield. At the same time, on the Heavenly Court's side, the two Taiji Ancient Gods, Ancestral God King, Void Heavenly Venerable, Yuanmu Madam, and even Haotian Emperor and Taichu all changed expression drastically and looked toward the battlefield as well.
Haotian Emperor even transformed directly into a woman, controlled by Second Young Master, gazing into the battlefield from afar.
The eight fluctuations came from eight different directions, spanning seven war zones, plus Taihuang Heaven where Wen Tian'ge commanded the overall battle. The intervals between the eight fluctuations were extremely short—only a single breath's time!
Eight locations, eight breaths, and then all was settled!
Cloud Heavenly Venerable gazed into the distance at these eight locations. He saw eight ancient gods of extremely strange appearance lying dead in the battlefield. The ancient god before Wen Tian'ge hadn't even fallen yet—his corpse was still tilting, about to topple over.
And not far from Wen Tian'ge, there were streams of light from teleportation divine power and Ultimate Void divine power. Within the streams of light were actually a row of enormous footprints, stepping through the light, not yet faded!
"Pastoral Heavenly Venerable."
Cloud Heavenly Venerable picked up the unopened jar of wine, slapped the seal off the mouth, and tilted his head back to drink deeply.
"This celebration wine, I'll drink it first. You said whoever returns first drinks this wine—I hope when you return, you'll see this empty jar and mistakenly believe I returned alive."
He drained the celebration wine in one go, wiped the wine from his lips, and smiled softly: "You're too clever, skilled at breaking situations and resolving calamities. I know such a petty trick won't fool you. But you're also human—no matter how clever you are, if there's even a glimmer of hope, you'll cling to it and imagine something more beautiful."
He set down the empty jar and strode down from the Supreme Purity Realm. Reaching out his hand, the Taichu Emperor Sword flew to him, and the Supreme Divine Sense Great Luo Heaven moved with him.
His gaze fell upon the sky above the Heavenly Court's great camp. There, two Great Luo Heavens were also moving. Taiji, Ancestral God King, Void Heavenly Venerable, and others were launching their general offensive—the Heavenly Court's army of gods and demons was nearly fully deployed!
He even saw Yuanmu Madam's Return to Void appearing in the sky!
Ancestral God King's Xuandu army began flying past Wuyou Township, advancing toward Yankang. In the Primordial Realm's Nether Capital, demons and monsters from the Nether surged forth like a tide!
Cloud Heavenly Venerable took a long breath, divine light blazing from his eyes: "Second Young Master, Haotian Heavenly Venerable—today, I shall make you never forget this Cloud! The shadow of this battle will be eternally branded upon both your Dao hearts!"
Yankang's Southern Frontier, Yuyaguan Pass.
The Two Emperors of Chiming and the Southern Emperor stared at the three ancient gods who had suddenly appeared. Their expressions were grave. These three ancient gods gave off an utterly terrifying feeling—like Heavenly Duke and Earth Count at their peak. But Heavenly Duke and Earth Count were dead; reborn as postnatal beings, they could also be called demigods.
Aside from them, were there really other ancient gods this powerful in the world?
The Southern Emperor's face changed drastically. She immediately said, "Yan'er, Qin Wu, Red Emperor, lead the troops away at once! I'll hold them off!"
She walked out alone to face the three strangely featured ancient gods, without looking back: "Yan'er, if you see Bai Yuqiong when you return, tell her she won. Your mother... your mother may not make it out. Red Emperor, Bright Emperor, you two go as well!"
Yan'er was bewildered. Red Emperor and Bright Emperor said in low voices, "Zhu Yan'er, we must leave this place—it's too dangerous here!"
These two had once sustained the Chiming Era for a hundred thousand years. Bright Emperor in particular was a ruthless figure who had nearly stormed the Heavenly Court. Had they not died, the Two Emperors of Chiming would likely have been existences on the level of the Ten Heavenly Venerables.
Their eyes were far too experienced—they immediately recognized the extraordinary nature of these three ancient gods!
Just then, another voice suddenly came: "Which one is Red Emperor Qi Xiayu? I searched the Southern Sea for a while but never found this Red Emperor... Ah, here you are! Fellow Daoist Qi, Miluo Palace's Spiritual Officer, greetings."
Red Emperor Qi Xiayu turned around and saw another ancient god, his entire body red as blood, walking over from the Southern Sea. Her eyes twitched wildly. She let out a long cry and transformed into her nine-headed phoenix form, standing on full alert.
"No need to be nervous, young friend."
That blood-colored ancient god laughed: "The gap between us is too great. You'll die quickly, and without pain. Haotian Heavenly Venerable asked me to act—besides killing you, I'm also to extinguish your soul, so Seventh Young Master cannot resurrect you. For me, this is a trivial matter."
Suddenly, another voice came, laughing heartily: "Is the Human Emperor Qin Wu here?"
The First Ancestor Human Emperor suppressed his pain and followed the sound. He saw an ancient god with a green face and fangs approaching, like a Nether Capital ghost king. That green-faced ancient god's gaze fell upon his face, and he laughed: "You are Human Emperor Qin Wu? Wonderful. I've been searching along the way, never expecting to find you here, young friend. Haotian Emperor asked me to kill you."
The Village Chief and the others silently rose, standing in front of the First Ancestor, who was most severely wounded.
"No need for this, gentlemen."
The five ancient gods exchanged glances and spoke in unison: "Killing you is but a lift of the hand for us. It's just that Haotian Emperor is cautious, inviting our five avatars to come, each to deal with one person. In truth, a single avatar would have been enough. Even if Fellow Daoist Southern Emperor wanted to flee, escape would be impossible."
The despair in the Southern Emperor's heart deepened. Dao fire blazed fiercely around her as she cried out: "Yan'er! From today onward, Bai Yuqiong is your mother! GO NOW—"
She soared into the air, her Vermillion Bird soul manifesting, Dao fire warping space itself. Magnificent and tragic, she hurled herself at the five ancient gods!
The five strangely featured ancient gods exchanged smiles and shook their heads: "Pitiful. A moth flying into the flame, seeking its own destruction. How could the Dao techniques and divine powers of Miluo Palace be something you can contend with?"
One of the ancient gods, whose Dao was like fire, raised his hand to meet her. An incomparably terrifying pressure descended—the space warped by the Vermillion Bird soul was sealed, the Southern Emperor's divine power was sealed, and she was frozen in midair!
The Dao fire emanating from that ancient god's body was stronger than hers, deeper and more profound, suppressing her utterly, leaving her without the slightest power to resist.
The Southern Emperor's heart was calm, with only one last concern remaining: "Silly girl, run... run..."
That ancient god smiled slightly and moved to deliver the killing blow.
At the same time, the other four ancient gods each stepped forward, advancing toward the Two Emperors of Chiming, Red Emperor Qi Xiayu, and the First Ancestor Human Emperor!
Suffocating despair filled Yuyaguan. Suddenly, Yan'er let out a sharp cry and lunged forward.
BOOM!
Space suddenly exploded. A fist burst through the back of the head of the ancient god who had frozen the Southern Emperor and was about to kill her—and out through the front of his skull!
The fist's five fingers spread wide. The five innate Daos of Taiyi, Taichu, Taishi, Taisu, and Taiji erupted from the five fingers, tearing the ancient god into four pieces!
Qin Mu's body crashed out of the space, smashing the ancient god's divided flesh into powder. The powder dissolved, scattering as streams of chaotic qi.
The Southern Emperor, frozen in midair, her red robes snapping in the wind, Dao fire streaming backward, stared at this scene in utter disbelief!
Qin Mu said not a word. His vertical eye on his forehead opened wide, and divine light of primordial chaos shot forth, piercing through the head of another ancient god. His right hand formed a blade, sweeping out in a level cut—one sword stroke to open the heavens!
The Heavenly Capital Heaven-Opening Chapter!
This sword stroke struck, and the third ancient god's body exploded, like the creation of the world itself, transforming within Yuyaguan into a rising world of heavens!
Qin Mu raised his left hand and pointed—the Primordial Chaos Finger erupted. The ancient god advancing toward the First Ancestor had just leaped when his body was pierced through by the Primordial Chaos Finger, nailed dead to the walls of Yuyaguan!
The ancient god charging at Red Emperor Qi Xiayu gnashed his teeth in fury, turned, and fled into the Southern Sea. Qin Mu took a single step—Yuyaguan let out a thunderous BOOM as a massive hole was smashed through it. The sea surface split open, revealing the deep seabed below—that was the terrifying destructive force caused by two figures moving at extreme speed!
Hundreds of thousands of miles out in the Southern Sea, it was like a planet crashing into the ocean. The sea surface exploded, and the resulting waves and tsunami roared toward Yankang's coastline!
"Seventh Young Master!" The Dao tones echoed endlessly over the Southern Sea.
The Southern Emperor, the Two Emperors of Chiming, and the others hadn't even recovered their senses when they suddenly saw Qin Mu's figure flying back, sprinting at full speed toward Yuyaguan!
He pressed both hands downward, and the tsunami was forcibly flattened. Then light flickered around his body, and just before he crashed into Yuyaguan, he suddenly vanished!
In Yuyaguan, bricks and stones fell from the towering fortress walls—that was the human-shaped hole Qin Mu had smashed through.
And on the inner wall, the ancient god who had been nailed dead by Qin Mu's Primordial Chaos Finger came loose from the wall, slowly sliding down to sit on the ground, head drooping.
Thump.
A soft sound came. That ancient god's body suddenly crumbled like sand, dissolving into a mass of purple primordial qi, slowly dispersing.
Yan'er flew to the Southern Emperor's side, hastily checking her injuries.
The Southern Emperor was shaken and uncertain. Suddenly she remembered something and hastily said, "Yan'er! Bai Yuqiong is NOT your mother—you're my own flesh and blood! If you dare call that thief mother, I'll beat you to death!"