Chapter 898: The Iron Pass and the Long Road Ahead
The Thái Thanh Cảnh đạo kiếm had already achieved the realm of kiếm đạo lĩnh vực, which was fundamentally different from the thirty-two heavens of kiếm đạo before it.
The previous thirty-two heavens of kiếm đạo had still not escaped the pattern of nhập đạo chiêu thức, whereas the Thái Thanh Cảnh đạo kiếm entered the realm of kiếm đạo lĩnh vực, somewhat similar to the Vô Thượng Thần Thức Lĩnh Vực, and was therefore called kiếm vực.
However, the kiếm đạo lĩnh vực was still different from the Vô Thượng Thần Thức Lĩnh Vực.
The Vô Thượng Thần Thức Lĩnh Vực placed greater emphasis on the influence of thần thức over external things. Upon entering the thần thức lĩnh vực, everything gradually came to a standstill—this was the pinnacle of quán tưởng.
The Khai Hoàng's kiếm vực, on the other hand, placed greater emphasis on offense—it was the pinnacle of the sword.
The Thái Thanh Cảnh đạo kiếm was already difficult for Tần Mục to understand and comprehend, yet above this heaven there was yet another heaven, causing Tần Mục's scalp to tingle.
Finally, the Khai Hoàng's thirty-fourth heaven kiếm vực was unleashed—that was the Thượng Thanh Cảnh kiếm vực. The moment this sword appeared, the entire Khai Hoàng Thiên Đình nearly boiled over.
The old ministers of the Khai Hoàng era wept tears of joy, their voices merging into a torrent, collectively calling out Tần Nghiệp's name. That fervor was like a great flood sweeping heaven and earth, even the new-generation thần ma of Vô Ưu Hương found themselves involuntarily swept up, falling into worship of the Khai Hoàng.
Their calls were like the worship of the Tạo Vật Chủ toward Thái Đế in the ancient era—so fervent, so frenzied, so irrational.
Tần Hán Trân and his wife furrowed their brows slightly, looking at the crowd around them that had lost all reason. This kind of fervor was something the couple had never encountered before, making them somewhat uneasy.
Yên Vân Hy also frowned. This situation made her deeply uneasy as well.
She had never seen the Khai Hoàng unleash the Thượng Thanh Cảnh kiếm vực. It should have been a sword art created after the Khai Hoàng entered Vô Ưu Hương, but that was not the key point.
The key point was that the old ministers of the Khai Hoàng and the new-generation thần ma now regarded the Khai Hoàng as an omnipotent deity. When the Khai Hoàng fought with Tần Mục, both unleashing the thirty-three heavens kiếm đạo, the old ministers were awakened by the spirit contained within the kiếm đạo, as if they had returned to the glorious years of the past.
Yet the situation was far more complicated than she had anticipated.
Tần Nghiệp had not been the Khai Hoàng from the very beginning. He had become the leader of that era gradually, through battle after battle, through life-and-death struggles against his enemies.
He carried too many legends upon himself. Before he knew it, he had become the symbol of an era, the backbone of that era.
By the end of the Khai Hoàng era, even the old ministers regarded the Khai Hoàng as an undefeatable existence, an omnipotent existence, the most sagely and wise existence. They dared not question any of his decisions, would not question them.
This was also the reason why, after arriving at Vô Ưu Hương, the old ministers suddenly lost their spirit and vitality—and it was the root cause of the Khai Hoàng's failed reforms.
They had erected a god in their đạo tâm, and the Khai Hoàng was that god, becoming their faith.
When the Khai Hoàng's image collapsed, their faith crumbled, leaving them despondent and decadent for twenty thousand years.
Now, the thirty-three heavens kiếm đạo seemed to have returned them to that era of blind worship of the Khai Hoàng.
Yên Vân Hy's heart was in turmoil. Re-establishing the Khai Hoàng as the god in the hearts of everyone in Vô Ưu Hương—this was absolutely not good!
Tần Mục using the Khai Hoàng's thirty-three heavens kiếm đạo to awaken the dusty and withered đạo tâm of the old ministers of Vô Ưu Hương—this was a good thing. Yên Vân Hy had even abandoned the thought of having Tần Mục give the Khai Hoàng a good beating.
But the Khai Hoàng's charisma was too strong. Tying the spirit of an entire era to a single person would only repeat the same mistake!
"The Khai Hoàng must lose!"
Veins bulged on her forehead, her teeth clenched tightly. Now she missed Tiều Phu Văn Các somewhat, thinking to herself: "If Văn Các were here, he would surely have a way to prevent this from happening! Unfortunately, this bastard swore he would never enter Vô Ưu Hương..."
The Khai Hoàng era was not the era of a single person, and the Khai Hoàng's reforms were not the reforms of a single person.
And now, history was repeating itself, yet she was powerless to stop it.
The Thượng Thanh Cảnh kiếm vực displayed astonishing combat power before everyone—nearly invincible combat power. Tần Mục struggled desperately to resist, yet before this kind of kiếm đạo lĩnh vực, he seemed utterly fragile!
In the blink of an eye, he was covered in wounds.
He recognized this kind of kiếm đạo lĩnh vực. In the Tạo Vật Chủ city within Thái Hư chi địa, Hỏa Thiên Tôn had left behind his own đại đạo ấn ký. At that time, he had faced the Khai Hoàng.
The Khai Hoàng's kiếm đạo lĩnh vực erupted, forcing Hỏa Thiên Tôn to raise his cultivation and power to their peak, yet Hỏa Thiên Tôn was still wounded by the Thượng Thanh Cảnh kiếm vực!
Facing the Khai Hoàng's kiếm vực, he exhausted every means, unleashing various sword techniques, even his own kiếp kiếm, yet in the end, he was still pierced through by the Khai Hoàng's single sword strike!
At this moment, the cheers of the people of Vô Ưu Hương reached their peak, frenzied waves of sound surging into the clouds, shaking the entire Vô Ưu Hương!
The Khai Hoàng gripped the Vô Ưu Kiếm, his expression still as ever—calm and unruffled. Nothing could shake his đạo tâm.
Yet at this moment, a trace of sorrow and grief appeared in his eyes.
Just then, suddenly, rolling yellow sand swept in, filling the sky in an instant. Gale winds howled, as if an invisible giant had spread out a desert across the heavens, forming the extraordinary vision of a thousand-mile desert in the sky.
The Khai Hoàng stood within the yellow sand desert, raising his sword and looking ahead.
Tút tút——
Above the Khai Hoàng Thiên Đình, an exceptionally resounding horn call rang out, like the eve of war. A giant blew upon a war horn, the stirring sound bringing waves of killing intent.
Ahead, fierce winds swept up the yellow sand like a sandstorm, burying even the Khai Hoàng Thiên Đình beneath the sand.
Tần Mục's figure emerged from the dust storm. Countless starlights shimmered in the sky. Behind him, a Nguyên Mộc took root and sprouted, growing branches, rapidly becoming a towering tree that reached the height of the sun and moon, even rising beyond the heavens.
The Khai Hoàng looked up and saw Thiên Công. He looked down and saw Thổ Bá.
Around him, one celestial palace after another emerged from the yellow sand desert. Rolling dust flowed out from the palaces, pouring down, while the evil celestial palaces floated in the sky, some sinking underground.
One ancient thần kỳ after another took their seats within the various celestial palaces, seated upon this vast thiên đình. Countless ancient thần ma with towering, ferocious forms were like the most ancient masters of this world, controlling the fates of all living beings.
Tần Mục walked forward, and the entire heaven and earth moved with him, pressing down upon the Khai Hoàng with supreme pressure.
Starlight reflected upon him, the đại đạo phù văn of the cổ thần shining with brilliant colors. Thiên Công's Huyền Đô, Thổ Bá's U Đô, Địa Mẫu's Nguyên Đô, the two empress sisters' Quy Khư, Thiên Âm nương nương's Thiên Âm giới, the four cổ thần đế's Tứ Cực Thiên—all the various cổ thần cast their đại đạo upon him, empowering him.
He was like the lofty Cổ Thần Thiên Đế, possessing unparalleled power, controlling the life and death of all!
And the Khai Hoàng—the Khai Hoàng's era, the Khai Hoàng's people—were all ants that could be crushed at will!
He possessed the strongest power in the world!
The Khai Hoàng broke into a sprint, thrusting the Vô Ưu Kiếm forward with all his might—one sword, thirty-three heavens—like a peerless warrior striking at the heavens.
Ầm ầm ầm!
One Nam Thiên Môn after another rose from the ground before him. He charged through with his sword, each time he passed through a Nam Thiên Môn, his body felt as if it were bearing the weight of a celestial palace. He passed through fourteen Nam Thiên Môn in succession, then leaped into the air—only to be met by Tần Mục's fist.
The enormous fist contained power that made one feel despair. It smashed through his kiếm đạo thirty-three heavens, struck his body, and sent him sprawling into the yellow sand.
This scene brought the cheers in the Khai Hoàng Thiên Đình to an abrupt halt. Whether old ministers of the Khai Hoàng or new-generation thần ma, all stared blankly at this sight—watching their invincible leader in their hearts being knocked down by a single punch.
Suddenly, the Khai Hoàng soared into the air. The Vô Ưu Kiếm flew around him, reflecting countless truyền tống phù văn, transforming his form into a stream of sword-light teleportation, rapidly circling that vast thiên đình, weaving around the towering Tần Mục, searching for an opening.
The cheers rose once more, wave after wave of grand sound—the people of the Khai Hoàng Thiên Đình cheering for the Khai Hoàng, encouraging him.
The Khai Hoàng struck out with his sword once more, the Thượng Thanh Cảnh kiếm vực erupting—but what met him was an enormous palm, as if swatting a fly, slamming him hard into the ground!
The cheers stopped once more.
The Khai Hoàng staggered to his feet, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth, looking up at the towering figure in the thiên đình.
He let out a furious roar and charged forward with his sword once more, fighting desperately.
Ầm!
He was slammed into the ground once again, this time even harder than before, leaving his limbs weak and limp. He struggled briefly, trying to get up, but collapsed back onto the ground.
Finally, he climbed to his feet once more, looking at the fist hurtling toward him, barely raising the Vô Ưu Kiếm in his hand.
Ầm ầm!
He was driven deep into the yellow sand desert, his body tumbling and rolling like a tattered sack, kicking up waves of sand.
Tần Mục struck again and again. The people of the Khai Hoàng Thiên Đình below watched this scene in a daze. Tần Mục's fists did not seem to be striking the Khai Hoàng's body, but their own—shattering their worship, shattering their pride.
"You want to reform?"
The voice that came from Tần Mục's mouth was like a thần kỳ from beyond the nine heavens—lofty, aloof, utterly cold: "You want to change this world?"
"With just you?"
"Just you alone?"
"Ridiculous!"
Ầm!
He raised his great foot and stomped the Khai Hoàng hard beneath it, laughing loudly: "The so-called Khai Hoàng era never existed! There was only ever you, alone, holding on! Who do you rely on? What đạo hữu do you have? You only have a pack of mewling servants! They are not your đạo hữu—they are merely servants who worship you!"
"Why don't you go along with the tide? Why don't you become a Tần Thiên Tôn who smiles at everyone with kindness? Why do you still raise your head?"
Tần Mục stomped down heavily once more, roaring: "Why do you still get back up?"
The Khai Hoàng held up the sole of his foot with both hands, kneeling on one knee, swaying unsteadily, struggling with all his might to stand.
"Don't get up!"
A young thần ma wailed loudly: "Your Majesty, don't get up! Just admit defeat!"
Tần Mục's leg muscles tensed, stomping the Khai Hoàng heavily into the dust, his face twisted and ferocious: "You owe no one anything! You have failed no one! All you have to do is kneel, and you can still be Tần Thiên Tôn! Not the rebel Tần Nghiệp, not the Khai Hoàng enshrined on the altar by Vô Ưu Hương! Kneel! Be a Tần Thiên Tôn!"
He lifted his foot, and the Khai Hoàng lay in the imprint of his step.
Tần Mục extended two fingers and pinched him up, like pinching up a tiny ant.
He looked down upon all living beings, laughing uproariously: "These people are your đạo hữu? These people are the main force of your Khai Hoàng reforms? They are nothing but a bunch of pitiful worms!"
"Tần Nghiệp, surrender. These people are not worth fighting for! Take off your clothes, come to the Thiên Đình, kneel before the Thập Thiên Tôn, and confess your sins with brambles on your back. You can still be Tần Thiên Tôn, still lofty and exalted, still admired by countless people, still worshipped by countless people."
Just then, Tần Mục suddenly felt an endless, boundless rage.
Below, in the Khai Hoàng Thiên Đình, an old minister tore off the clothes on his upper body, raised two great hammers, and struck the war drum hanging before the Nam Thiên Môn of the Khai Hoàng Thiên Đình. The thumping drumbeats rang out, and a hoarse, weathered voice transformed into a weighty war song: "Tây phong liệt——"
Phòng Do Cơ tore off his clothes, removed his hat, let his hair hang loose, set his coffin upright, and slapped it as he sang: "Tây phong liệt! Trường không nhạn khiếu sương thần nguyệt!"
Yên Vân Hy drew her sword, the blades ringing with a clear, crisp note: "Sương thần nguyệt! Mã đề thanh toái, lạp ba thanh yết. Hùng quan mạn đạo chân như thiết!"
One by one, the old ministers of the Khai Hoàng erupted with the spirit and vitality of that calamity-ridden era, their spirit soaring like rainbows. Their voices were no longer those of worshipful calls, their đạo tâm no longer the twisted đạo tâm that placed all hope upon the Khai Hoàng alone.
Their voices were low, yet filled with penetrating power, showing the new generation of Vô Ưu Hương the suffering and hope of those glorious years, shaking the soul.
"Hùng quan mạn đạo chân như thiết, nhi kim mại bộ tòng đầu việt!"
"Nhi kim mại bộ tòng đầu việt——, tòng đầu việt!"