Chapter 1744: The Dagger Is Revealed
On the Heavenly Court, palaces collapsed with thunderous roars, and one after another, prehistoric powerhouses who had secretly crossed over slid down from the upper half of their bodies, meeting untimely deaths.
The collapse of the Heavenly Court was even more terrifying in scale. The arrangements of the Five Elders of Phong Thứ were virtually useless before the single zither string of the Fourth Young Master!
One string, one note of zither music, and the Heavenly Court was cleanly sliced apart, even slaying Phong Hóa Liên, the leader of the five elders. Such skill was unheard of!
There were still quite a few prehistoric powerhouses in the Heavenly Court who had narrowly escaped disaster, not wounded by the Fourth Young Master's zither string. But the shock caused by this string instantly shattered all their grand ambitions and crushed their Dao hearts!
The Four Elders of Phong Thứ broke out in cold sweat on their foreheads, their Dao hearts also wavering precariously.
They had believed that by seizing the initiative, they could definitely block the descent of the Di La Cung. In the past, the Di La Cung had merely held the upper hand in the grand scheme, and with the Master of the Di La Cung present, suppressing one cosmic era after another, they had willingly remained dormant.
Now that they held the advantage, the Young Master of the Di La Cung was merely occupying a position without fulfilling its duties—a man of false reputation. In terms of real skill, he was not necessarily more brilliant than they were. That was why they had conceived the idea of blocking the Di La Cung from dominating the Seventeenth Era.
But when they actually came to blows, they realized just how vast the gap was between themselves and the Young Master of the Di La Cung!
Hạo Thiên Đế stood up, suddenly stepping forward, and said grimly: "Four Elders of Phong Thứ, will you still not submit? If I pluck the zither string once more, I shall turn your ten thousand years of bitter cultivation into nothing!"
Tần Mục furrowed his brow slightly.
He had long anticipated that Hạo Thiên Đế's Dao heart would collapse and disintegrate, but he hadn't expected it to be in such a manner—so utterly pathetic.
In the battle at Nguyên Giới, Vân Thiên Tôn had slain the Second Young Master's avatar while also shattering his Dao heart, creating a flaw in it.
In the counteroffensive battle of Diên Khang, Tần Mục had held him back, dragging things out until Giang Bạch Khuê had pacified Huyền Đô and come to support, dragging things out until his advantage was completely lost.
Since then, Hạo Thiên Đế's Dao heart had completely collapsed.
Tần Mục had experienced a similar situation himself.
After Hạo Thiên Đế seized U Đô, Tần Mục had also experienced a complete collapse of his Dao heart, wanting to go to the Heavenly Court to beg for forgiveness and kneel in surrender.
The difference was that at that time, Ngọc Thìn Tử had brought news of the Đạo Tổ and Đại Phạm Thiên Vương Phật, bringing a glimmer of hope. The current situation of Diên Khang was precisely turned around by that insignificant glimmer of hope, defeating the seemingly invincible Heavenly Court.
Hạo Thiên Đế also had hope—hope that came from the ancestral court, Ngọc Kinh Thành—but he had failed to revive his Dao heart and push himself further.
This was because Tần Mục and Hạo Thiên Đế had different purposes.
Tần Mục fought to realize his ideals and aspirations, to obtain the right to survival and equality, to make gods serve humanity, to promote the philosophy that the daily needs of the people are the path of the sage.
After he had lost all hope, any hope brought him closer to his ideals and aspirations, and thus his Dao heart grew stronger.
Hạo Thiên Đế fought for his own desire for power, and his Dao heart was also built on that foundation of desire for power.
Even if he obtained the support of the ancestral court Ngọc Kinh Thành, his Dao heart could never return to what it was. Ngọc Kinh Thành held him in absolute control, becoming his master, and he was nothing more than a puppet on strings.
He was getting further and further away from monopolizing power.
"Four Elders of Phong Thứ, kneel before me, kneel before Your Emperor!"
Hạo Thiên Đế's gaze fell upon the four old men, and he said grimly: "Your power, I intend to command! I order you to immediately send word—capture the Seventh Young Master Tần Mục and annihilate the Diên Khang bandits!"
The Four Elders of Phong Thứ hesitated for a moment, exchanging glances in pairs, silently looking at Phong Hóa Liên's corpse lying on the altar, somewhat indecisive.
Phong Hóa Liên's blood flowed from his corpse, staining this altar red. Yet the blood sacrifice in the ancestral court was still ongoing, devouring vital essence, unhurriedly carrying out energy exchange.
The Four Elders of Phong Thứ silently stood up one by one, and Hạo Thiên Đế revealed a smile.
Nguyệt Thiên Tôn's heart tightened, and she loosened the strap binding her zither.
Seeing this, the Joyful Hall Master beside her smiled slightly: "Little sister, this elder sister would very much like to hear your zither melody."
Suddenly, a Dao fruit on her Dao tree floated up, spinning. With a hum, Nguyệt Thiên Tôn saw the Joyful Hall Master everywhere around her!
This was the ultimate expression of the Dao of Space!
Tần Mục had once told her that the Joyful Hall Master also cultivated Tái Cực Hư Không, but her manifestation of Tái Cực Hư Không was different from hers. Now, it seemed, this was indeed the case.
The Joyful Hall Master's Dao of Space followed the path of external appearance, entrusting her Dao to the ultimate void and achieving enlightenment through it. When her Dao of Space was unleashed, it manifested as the surrounding space being folded into countless copies, with countless Joyful Hall Masters.
When fighting her, the Joyful Hall Master could attack from countless directions!
Moreover, every leaf on her Dao tree could be said to be an incarnation of the Joyful Hall Master. When her divine powers were activated, countless incarnations attacked simultaneously, winning through numbers while making it impossible to distinguish her true body!
Nguyệt Thiên Tôn laid her zither horizontally, her slender jade fingers gently plucking a string. As the zither note sounded, she said: "If elder sister wishes to hear, this younger sister will make a fool of herself."
The Joyful Hall Master let out a soft exclamation. The moment the zither note sounded, the Nguyệt Thiên Tôn in her eyes underwent a transformation.
She had folded space into countless layers, appearing to have countless versions of herself, allowing her to observe every aspect of her opponent—even her opponent's internal organs, the structure of her divine treasures, the structure of her primordial spirit, and the structure of her Dao—all clearly visible!
This was the ultimate expression of the Dao of Space!
However, when she looked at Nguyệt Thiên Tôn from her angle, all she saw was Nguyệt Thiên Tôn's front. No matter which angle she looked from, she only saw the front, unable to see any other direction!
This was the inner aspect of Tái Cực Hư Không—the manifestation of the Dao of Space being entrusted internally.
Although she and Nguyệt Thiên Tôn both cultivated the Dao of Space, they had walked two completely different paths to enlightenment. Even with the Joyful Hall Master's vast experience, she couldn't help but marvel!
Beside Nguyệt Thiên Tôn, Tần Mục's brow slightly raised. Nguyệt Thiên Tôn's Tái Cực Hư Không actually bore some resemblance to his divine treasure domain, which surprised him considerably.
But he didn't dwell on it. Tần Mục's techniques and divine powers had all been sent to Diên Khang's Văn Đạo Viện for anyone to study. Nguyệt Thiên Tôn had most likely studied them as well and gained some insights.
The two women faced off, Nguyệt Thiên Tôn wearing a smile as she gently plucked the zither strings. The notes came sporadically, not forming a melody, scattered and disconnected. Yet the Joyful Hall Master sensed her wounds aching faintly.
Although Nguyệt Thiên Tôn wasn't playing a tune, her plucking of the strings stirred the ultimate killing intent left in the Joyful Hall Master's wounds by Thương Quân, making it possible for that ultimate killing intent to erupt at any moment.
For her, although the Dao wound left by Thương Quân couldn't kill her, it was definitely a considerable threat!
If they came to blows and the ultimate killing intent erupted, her strength would plummet. In a battle between enlightened ones, the slightest mistake could mean death and the annihilation of one's Dao. She couldn't afford to be careless!
Among the Four Elders of Phong Thứ, Hoàng Đường threw his head back and laughed heartily, tears of blood streaming from his eyes, his aged voice deep and sonorous: "Hoàng Đường's wind turns, green banners unfurl!"
Thương Nham Thúy wept as he said: "Strange rocks and gray cliffs cast emerald shadows!"
"Four seas of common folk rely on the fields!"
"Yến Các's new fragrance, three elegant blooms!"
The four chanted in unison: "Above the tower, a thousand mountains green; at the summit, the peak blooms the lotus! Eldest brother, if we don't avenge this, what use is our enlightenment? We cannot guard our Dao hearts—"
"The four of us once swore an oath: not to be born in the same year, month, or day, but to die in the same year, month, and day!"
"Eldest brother, wait for us to avenge you!"
Hạo Thiên Đế sensed something was wrong and hastily bowed, saying: "The Four Elders of Phong Thứ are stubborn and unrepentant! Fourth Young Master, please slay the enemies! Blood-sacrifice this place!"
The Four Elders of Phong Thứ roared in unison, and the altar suddenly activated. In an instant, the altar became like a sea of blood. The Dao patterns and Dao chains buried beneath the entire altar activated, swishing as they pierced through the bodies of everyone on the altar!
Tần Mục sat there motionless. Behind him, the Hỗn Độn Điện suddenly materialized. The Dao chains from the altar pierced into his body but were shattered to pieces by the Hỗn Độn Điện, turning into chaotic energy.
Meanwhile, Nguyệt Thiên Tôn plucked her zither strings, and the music swelled. Countless spaces around her split open, resisting the altar's might. Her figure drifted unsteadily through one space after another. The tiny altar seemed to contain a vast universe, allowing her to dart back and forth freely.
On the other side, the Joyful Hall Master activated her Dao tree and shouted: "Four Elders of Phong Thứ, do you intend to be buried here entirely? You dug holes beneath the World Tree and hid through one cosmic era after another—why throw away your lives for a moment of passion!"
Her Dao tree spun, branches of all sizes dancing. The branches whipped at those Dao chains while the roots coiled around them, reducing the altar's power.
Suddenly, zither notes pierced into her ears, making her heart skip a beat: "The Tử Tiêu Enlightenment Melody! That girl is interfering with the Fourth Young Master!"
She abandoned her attempts to persuade the Four Elders of Phong Thứ and immediately struck viciously at Nguyệt Thiên Tôn, disrupting her playing!
The two women clashed for the first time, and the Joyful Hall Master immediately sensed that Nguyệt Thiên Tôn's cultivation was insufficient. Her heart rejoiced: "Her enlightenment is not perfect—her magical power is far inferior to mine!"
As Nguyệt Thiên Tôn played the Tử Tiêu Enlightenment Melody, the Fourth Young Master's zither string that Hạo Thiên Đế had drawn remained completely still. It seemed that the Fourth Young Master, Tử Tiêu, was listening to this melody during the great destruction tribulation of the Sixteenth Era, forgetting to activate his divine powers.
Puff puff puff—
Hạo Thiên Đế immediately suffered misfortune. Dao chains pierced through his body, hanging him in midair. The Four Elders of Phong Thứ charged in, each activating their Dao trees and Dao fruits, and each retrieving their enlightenment treasures. Hoàng Đường swung his jeweled banner, which spun and with a whoosh pierced through the Joyful Hall Master's Dao tree defenses. With a forceful twist, the Joyful Hall Master's Dao tree was torn into four pieces!
This old man's strength was extraordinarily fierce—he actually possessed combat power not inferior to a Hall Master!
Of course, this was also because the Joyful Hall Master had just descended and been severely wounded by Thương Quân, and had been startled by Tần Mục, leaving her no time to re-entrust herself to the void and complete her enlightenment.
The Five Elders of Phong Thứ, however, had descended long ago and had each re-entrusted themselves to the void, already achieving enlightenment in the Seventeenth Era. Thus, their strength even surpassed that of the Joyful Hall Master.
The third elder, Thương Nham Thúy, activated a patch of emerald clouds, enveloping Tần Mục, and activated his Dao tree and Dao fruit to strike at Tần Mục's brow.
The other two elders simultaneously activated their enlightenment treasures, and the power of their Dao trees and Dao fruits erupted at once, viciously striking at Hạo Thiên Đế and Nguyệt Thiên Tôn!
At that moment, Nguyệt Thiên Tôn's Tử Tiêu Enlightenment Melody was disrupted by the Joyful Hall Master, and the zither music broke off.
The zither string behind Hạo Thiên Đế's head suddenly vibrated—the Fourth Young Master's divine power erupted through that string!
The instant the power of that string erupted, Tần Mục raised his hand and summoned a Quy Khư Great Abyss, stuffing Thương Nham Thúy into the abyss. His form flickered as he appeared behind Hạo Thiên Đế's head, his two fingers pinching the zither string!
Boom!
The altar shattered into pieces!