Chapter 1343: Displaying Power (Fourth Update!)
The mass of karmic fire suddenly split apart. Its structure resembled a cocoon, with layer upon layer of intricate construction. Each layer of the karmic fire cocoon was imprinted with the grand dao runes of the Nether Realm, extremely resplendent.
The karmic fire egg had a total of thirty-six layers of cocoon. The deeper one went, the more intense the karmic fire became, and the greater its power.
When the final layer of the karmic fire cocoon was peeled away, Qin Mu and Moon Venerable saw Ugly Earth Lord.
Ugly, who was suppressed within the Jade Lock Pass, enduring the tempering of boundless karmic fire.
Ugly was not inside this karmic fire egg; rather, he was within the Jade Lock Pass. Yet the energy within this karmic fire egg flowed unceasingly into Ugly's body!
Ugly had committed heinous crimes. He was covered in chains formed from the grand dao of the Nether Realm, yet he forcibly dragged the Nether Realm toward the Heavenly Court, bloodily cleansing the Heavenly Court to avenge his family and fight for his daughter's life.
He had destroyed nearly half of the Heavenly Court, causing countless ancient gods and demigods to fall by his hands, even slaughtering princes and imperial descendants.
His sins were monstrous. Even though he was the reincarnated body of Earth Lord, he had to atone, forever sinking in the flames of karma, enduring the torment of karmic fire.
Ugly was Earth Lord, but Earth Lord was not Ugly. Earth Lord had to act impartially and could not show favoritism, so Earth Lord suppressed Ugly.
But Earth Lord could not be completely without personal feelings. He still had selfish desires. He envied Ugly and wanted to become Ugly, so he used the karmic fire of all living beings to forge a true body for Ugly.
"The sins of all beings return to me."
Earth Lord's expression was calm as he said, "On the day I die, that will be the moment I break free from my bonds."
Qin Mu frowned but said nothing more.
Moon Venerable's brow furrowed slightly, and she also fell silent.
They had hoped Earth Lord would become their ally and fight alongside them. Now was the weakest moment for the Ten Celestial Venerables.
Heavenly Venerable Hao was severely wounded, Heavenly Venerable Xiao had been exiled, the Grand Emperor was left with only a head, Qiang Heavenly Consort's threat would not be great even if her injuries healed, Ancestral God King, Langxuan Divine Sovereign, and Yan Heavenly Consort were each wounded, and Heavenly Venerable Fire and Heavenly Venerable Void had yet to fully recover.
Heavenly Venerable Hong was the reincarnated body of Heavenly Lord, and Heavenly Venerable Gong was likely to choose neutrality. The only one maintaining peak combat power was Lady Yuanmu.
Now was the best time to strike against the Ten Celestial Venerables. If Heavenly Lord and Earth Lord raised the call, with Moon Venerable, Heavenly Venerable Hong, and Nether Venerable assisting, with East Emperor Azure Dragon, West Emperor White Tiger, and North Emperor Black Tortoise rising in rebellion, and with Opening Emperor Qin Ye and Langhuan Divine Sovereign charging out from the Great Void, the balance of victory would tilt in their favor.
However, Earth Lord had a desire for death, wanting to shed his current grand dao body.
This was something neither Qin Mu nor Moon Venerable had anticipated.
"Earth Lord cultivates Ugly, and Heavenly Lord cultivates Heavenly Venerable Hong. They must both be weary of their own grand dao bodies, wanting to use a great calamity to escape their current identities and gain freedom."
As Qin Mu and Moon Venerable left Earth Lord's body, Moon Venerable said to Qin Mu, "Or rather, Earth Lord and Heavenly Lord are actually indulging the Ten Celestial Venerables in killing them."
Qin Mu nodded and said softly, "Now is indeed not the time for war. If we fight, Earth Lord cannot leave the Nether Realm, and Heavenly Lord cannot leave the Celestial Realm. They can only fight on their own territories. Leaving those places would severely diminish their combat power. Moreover, although we have no shortage of high-end combat power, your strength, along with Nether Venerable's, Opening Emperor's, and Langhuan's, actually falls short of the Ten Celestial Venerables."
Moon Venerable nodded in agreement.
She had been crippled for over forty thousand years, Nether Venerable had isolated himself for a million years, Opening Emperor had hidden in the Land of No Worries for over twenty thousand years, and although she had never met Langhuan, her strength likely wouldn't be much higher.
Black Tortoise, White Tiger, and Azure Dragon were very strong on their own territories, but their power waned when they left those domains.
Even if Earth Lord and Heavenly Lord wanted to fight, this battle would be extremely difficult, and might even result in total annihilation!
Just Heavenly Venerable Xiao alone had forced Moon Venerable, Nether Venerable, and Earth Lord to join forces without being able to oppose him. If not for Qin Mu using the eggshell of the Heavenly Emperor Taichu to deal with him, those three would have suffered a great loss!
As for Azure Dragon, White Tiger, and Black Tortoise, these three ancient god emperors were all trapped in their own lairs, unable to leave!
Opening Emperor and Langhuan were also blocked in the Great Void by Heavenly Venerable Fire and Heavenly Venerable Void.
"I've realized that not many of our allies are truly of one mind with us."
Qin Mu felt somewhat disheartened and said in a low voice, "Azure Dragon, White Tiger, and Black Tortoise allied with us to restore their status as ancient gods and regain their rule. Heavenly Lord and Earth Lord allied with us to use our power to protect their reincarnated bodies, giving them a chance to break free from the constraints of the grand dao."
He smiled bitterly and continued, "Langhuan is for the future of the Creators. If she had to risk the extinction of the Creators, or if the Ten Celestial Venerables offered her favorable terms, she would not hesitate to defect. Heavenly Venerable Hong won't help us. My relationship with Heavenly Venerable Gong is merely one of mutual benefit. When I can't provide her with benefits, she'll side with whoever offers more. As for Lady Yuanmu, there's no need to mention her. What they pursue is different from what we pursue."
Moon Venerable stopped walking and smiled, "But now, we have the power to contend with the Ten Celestial Venerables, don't we?"
Qin Mu revealed a smile and also stopped. "Yes. Compared to the Yan Kang Calamity back then, with that deep sense of despair and powerlessness, things are much better now."
The two resumed walking, leaving Earth Lord's palace. Qin Mu said, "Among our allies, the ancient gods can't be relied upon much. They might drag us down at any moment, so we must have our own strength! Moon, you and Nether should go to Yan Kang and study the results of the Yan Kang reforms. Even if you can't abolish the Divine Bridge, you can at least gain more divine abilities."
Moon Venerable hesitated for a moment, then nodded in agreement, saying, "Now that the Primordial Realm has no master, the other Celestial Venerables will surely take advantage of the situation. This will likely be very unfavorable for Yan Kang."
Qin Mu said calmly, "Since we now have the power to contend with the Ten Celestial Venerables, why not use it? The Primordial Realm has no master, so it's time for us to display our power!"
Moon Venerable's heart shook violently as she probed, "What do you mean?"
"Power must be used!"
Qin Mu's spirit was revitalized, his eyes shining brightly. "Heavenly Lord, Earth Lord, Black Tortoise, White Tiger, Azure Dragon, Nether Venerable, and you, Moon, must all go to the Primordial Realm and carve out territories as kings!"
"If we don't dare to completely fall out with the Ten Celestial Venerables, do they dare to completely fall out with us?"
He clenched his fist firmly, his eyes bright. "The era of feudal lords contending for supremacy in the Primordial Realm has arrived!"
In the Primordial Realm, the Heavenly Court's Constable Camp, led by the Howling Sky Dog, the Sun Star Lord deploying the Golden Crow Army, as well as the Heavenly Eye Tribe and Heavenly Ear Tribe, were all searching everywhere in the Primordial Realm, turning every celestial realm upside down.
Even the Nether Emperor, hearing of the changes in the Primordial Realm, had come from the Great Void under orders from Heavenly Venerable Hao. Suddenly, many ghost spirits appeared in the sky, holding Books of Life and Death as they flew overhead.
The golden light of the Books of Life and Death shone, searching the entire world.
The various celestial realms of the Primordial Realm were greatly disturbed but dared not voice their anger. The Heavenly Court hadn't caught the culprits but had plundered no small amount of wealth.
Undercurrents surged in the Primordial Realm. Rumors spread everywhere, saying that the disappearance of the Primordial Tree and the Divine Artifact Imperial Heaven was because Heavenly Venerable Xiao had met with misfortune. Now that the Primordial Realm had no master, so many deities had come from the Heavenly Court to search for Heavenly Venerable Xiao's whereabouts.
There were also rumors that the Celestial Venerables were eyeing the Primordial Realm covetously, all wanting to take a share while Heavenly Venerable Xiao was missing.
Although these were rumors, they were highly credible.
On this day, the western part of the Primordial Realm suddenly became extremely bright. Rays of pure white light descended from the sky like comets crashing into the earth, thundering down onto the Western Lands.
Where the light fell, patches of palaces rapidly grew under the radiance!
It was divine gold and divine iron growing on their own!