Chapter 1258: Restoring Divine Ability (Fourth Update)
Heavenly Lord Hao’s aura withered and decayed as he lay motionless in the center of a net woven from countless strands of silk. Above his body floated a mysterious realm, not large, only about ten to twenty feet in span. Within it stood a Dao Tree, blooming with Dao Flowers and bearing Dao Fruits. Heavenly Lord Hao’s primordial spirit was trapped inside, struggling incessantly but unable to escape.
That was the Divine Sense Great Firmament.
The Divine Sense Great Firmament was not the true Divine Sense Great Firmament; the real one existed in the Ultimate Void. This version was merely a divine ability manifested by the Grand Emperor using his own divine sense.
Heavenly Lord Hao’s injuries were too severe. Besides having his primordial spirit sealed, he had been forced to expel all his cultivation from his body, using his own inner demons to heal himself. He was indeed exceptionally clever—without someone as intelligent as the Woodcutter Sage, no one could break his seals and find his true hiding place.
However, even though he remained unconscious, the others still treated him as a formidable enemy, daring not to slack off in the slightest. Everyone could sense that, despite his withered aura, a pure and refined energy was slowly gathering within him!
Heavenly Lord Hao’s cultivation technique was so miraculous that it was now regenerating on its own. After rebirth, he would likely become even stronger and more terrifying! His battle with the Grand Emperor had also granted him great benefits!
Seat Heavenly Lord said hoarsely, “All the inner demons of Mu Heavenly Lord who entered here have died…”
They looked ahead and saw large cocoons hanging from the strands of silk, each containing an upside-down inner demon of Mu Heavenly Lord. Many inner demons had attacked this place, yet none had managed to kill Heavenly Lord Hao; instead, they had become his nourishment!
After a long while, no one moved.
Suddenly, a braying laugh rang out. Smoke Cloud Xi’s donkey, the Great Demon King Lu Zheng, brayed with laughter: “Heavenly Lord Hao is right there, lying unconscious, yet none of you dare to make a move! Heh heh, you so-called Emperor Seat cultivators are nothing special! Third Brother, let’s go!”
The donkey kicked its hooves, throwing Smoke Cloud Xi off its back. It shook its body, its form swelling dramatically, transforming into a donkey-headed, human-bodied, ferocious demon. It shouted, “Senior Brother Niu Sanduo, let’s take down Heavenly Lord Hao together and shame them all! Little Black Cat, do you want to join?”
The Black Tiger God, stirred by the words, stood upright and looked at Niu Sanduo.
Niu Sanduo rose, transforming into a bull-headed, human-bodied demon god, and laughed, “With such a rare opportunity, of course I want to claim this great merit!”
The three charged forward. Suddenly, strands of silk moved, weaving and intersecting, leaving no room to dodge or evade—only a direct confrontation. Niu Sanduo and Lu Zheng both cried out in alarm. When their divine abilities or divine weapons touched these strands, they felt their power greatly diminished, and the might of their weapons was drained away by the silk.
Even stranger, once a divine weapon stuck to the silk, it couldn’t be shaken off. Soon, their weapons were wrapped in strands, impossible to pull free. Even their bodies quickly became coated with silk, gradually losing flexibility.
The Black Tiger God shouted, “I’m skilled in numerology; I can use a teleportation technique! Come to me!”
Niu Sanduo and Lu Zheng struggled, dragging the silk strands to his side. The Black Tiger God activated the teleportation technique, and with a flash of light, the three vanished.
But the strands of silk in the air moved swiftly in pursuit, as if they knew exactly where they had teleported. The Black Tiger God brought Niu Sanduo and Lu Zheng to appear above Heavenly Lord Hao. The moment they materialized, they found themselves falling into the net.
Strands of silk quickly bound them tightly, hanging them upside down by their feet. The silk pierced through their skin, taking root inside their bodies, drawing out their energy. The three were horrified—the silk even penetrated their divine treasuries and heavenly palaces, covering them in a thin layer of gauze!
Even their primordial spirits were shrouded in that gauze!
Niu Sanduo was about to call for help when Lu Zheng’s cries for rescue came first, braying incessantly.
Niu Sanduo and the Black Tiger God felt both shame and regret, thinking, “From now on, no matter how convincingly this donkey speaks, we must not listen to him…”
Lu Zheng kept shouting for help, while at the entrance, Smoke Cloud Xi, Battle Heavenly Master, and the Woodcutter Sage wore grave expressions, not directly intervening.
“Even if I went in, I couldn’t withstand those strands. Once they stick to you and enter your divine treasuries and heavenly palaces, there’s no escape.”
Battle Heavenly Master Zhuo Cha said solemnly, “These Dao-text strands are supremely soft; once attached, they can’t be shaken off. Woodcutter, I suspect Seat Heavenly Lord and Red Emperor have no solution either. Do you have any tricks?”
Red Emperor Qi Xiayu asked, “Can heavenly fire work?”
The Woodcutter Sage smiled, “Red Emperor can give it a try.”
Red Emperor Qi Xiayu flipped her hand, carefully took out a wisp of heavenly fire, and tossed it into the strands. Soon, that heavenly fire crystal was wrapped into a small dumpling, hung up alongside the inner demon of Mu Heavenly Lord, Lu Zheng, and Niu Sanduo.
Qi Xiayu widened her eyes and said nothing more.
Seat Heavenly Lord said politely, “Brother Wen, you always have ideas. Come up with a plan.”
The Woodcutter Sage shook his head, “I can’t break through Heavenly Lord Hao’s setup either.”
Seat Heavenly Lord smiled at this and prepared to kill—if he couldn’t kill Heavenly Lord Hao, then helping him eliminate those who came to kill him would also be a great merit!
“However…”
The Woodcutter Sage changed his tone, and Seat Heavenly Lord quickly suppressed his murderous intent. The Woodcutter Sage continued, “I can’t break through Heavenly Lord Hao’s setup, but I can use his setup to break his setup.”
Everyone was puzzled.
The Woodcutter Sage explained, “The reason Heavenly Lord Hao had to form thirty-five layers of Dao cocoons is that his physical body is broken, his primordial spirit is sealed in the Divine Sense Great Firmament, and his body can’t handle such immense power. Moreover, his power is also shattered, and his Dao patterns are fragmented.”
Everyone listened quietly, but the Woodcutter paused, carefully choosing his words. They grew impatient before he continued, “Therefore, the simplest way to break his setup is to send the Dao cocoons he expelled from his body back into him!”
Everyone’s minds shook, and they were all stunned. The Silkworm Woman sighed, “Woodcutter Heavenly Master, is there anyone in this world you can’t kill?”
“Yes!”
The Woodcutter Sage said solemnly, “Heavenly Lord Hao is one of them. Though he’s severely injured, I’m not entirely sure this method will kill him. He’s already accumulated a significant amount of energy inside him. If he endures it, then we’ll be the ones to die. If he can’t…”
He didn’t finish, instead looking at Seat Heavenly Lord and Red Emperor Qi Xiayu. “Two fellow Daoists, will you join me?”
Seat Heavenly Lord hesitated for a moment, then looked at Red Emperor Qi Xiayu.
Qi Xiayu’s expression was blank. “Sage, go ahead. We have our own plans.”
Seat Heavenly Lord hesitated, then gritted his teeth and laughed darkly, “Starve the timid, stuff the bold… Wen the Thief, go ahead!”
The Woodcutter Sage took a Taotie pouch from his waist and pulled out two scrolls of calligraphy. “Back when the Kai Emperor was still on good terms with the Xuan Du and You Du, I followed him to visit them as guests. Heavenly Duke and Earth Lord knew I liked to pretend to be cultured, so they each wrote a piece and gave it to me.”
He unrolled the scrolls, which bore the handwriting of Heavenly Duke and Earth Lord, written in divine script and demon script. He continued, “I never used these two scrolls. Later, I took on a worthless disciple who created the soul-summoning and soul-shaping arts, borrowing the power of Heavenly Duke and Earth Lord. I thought, perhaps I could build on his foundation to create a divine ability that restores any attack directed at me and stuffs it back into the attacker…”
Everyone present felt a chill run down their spines.