Chapter 1443: The Heavenly Duke's Sole (Second Update)
The Heavenly Duke and the Heavenly Dao are not omnipotent or all-pervasive. There are places in this world where the radiance of the Mystic Capital cannot reach, and places the Heavenly Dao cannot touch.
The place the Heavenly Duke cannot illuminate is beneath his own feet.
Within the Mystic Capital, he exists as a four-faced deity, similar to Qin Mu's divine treasury domain. No matter from which direction one attacks him, it is merely an assault on his front. To attack him is to attack the Heavenly Dao itself, inviting the most ferocious counterattack from the Heavenly Duke!
The Mystic Capital is the birthplace of the Heavenly Duke. There, his power is elevated to its peak, absolutely not inferior to the Primeval Heavenly Emperor at the height of his prime!
Even a Heavenly Venerate, facing such an onslaught, would find it difficult to avoid injury or even death.
However, the Heavenly Duke cannot illuminate the soles of his feet. The Mystic Capital is the brightest place, and the Heavenly Duke is also the brightest ancient god in the world, but the darkest place in the world is born from this very brightness.
That place is the Celestial Nether Realm beneath his feet.
The Heavenly Dao cannot reach here either, causing this place to become a gathering ground for Soul Black Sand. Here, the Heavenly Dao does not exist. The Soul Black Sand coalesces into starving ghosts, devouring everything, forever unable to be sated.
The Great Dao of the Nether Capital cannot reach here either. Lord Tu Bo governs the wandering souls of the world, but he is powerless against the Soul Black Sand.
The Celestial Nether Goddess was the divine being born from this place.
The Celestial Nether Goddess looked at the countless beings she had awakened with her Dao within the Celestial Nether Realm, then glanced at Ancestral God King. Her strength was utterly insufficient to contend with Ancestral God King.
Forcing a war with Ancestral God King for the sake of the Heavenly Duke would only result in her being killed by Ancestral God King, and even the beings of the Celestial Nether Realm would be slaughtered clean!
Although she had forged her own path and was no longer the simple, ignorant ancient god of the past, as Qin Mu had said, her Dao techniques and divine abilities were meant for creating life, not for killing or fighting.
After a moment, the Celestial Nether Goddess retreated, guarding the beings of the Celestial Nether Realm, and said, "When the God King makes his move, please do not harm the innocent."
Ancestral God King smiled faintly, taking out the Heavenly Dao treasures he had refined from the divine gold and divine materials of the Ancestral Court, combining them into a Heavenly Dao Supreme Treasure. He said, "Lady, rest assured. Heaven has the virtue of cherishing life. I am not a cruel or bloodthirsty person, and I will not let the beings of your Celestial Nether Realm die out completely. However, when my divine abilities erupt, it will be difficult to avoid affecting the Celestial Nether Realm. Do your utmost to protect them. If the beings of the Celestial Nether Realm truly perish, then you can create another world and re-evolve all living beings."
The Celestial Nether Goddess raised an eyebrow but held back her anger and did not turn hostile.
Ancestral God King looked up at the Heavenly Duke's sole, smiling faintly. "No one knows a father better than his son. The Heavenly Duke is my father, my greatest divine father. But he is too bright and majestic. He believes that good and evil are simply the principles by which the world operates, requiring no interference. He will not think for the demigods, nor will he think for his own children. The life or death of his children, their glory or shame, is none of his concern. Yet, he is also too hypocritical."
He let out a cold laugh, his tone indifferent. "The Heavenly Dao is truly selfless, but it gave birth to him. Once he gained his own consciousness, he could no longer be selfless. If the Heavenly Duke were truly selfless, why would he have created me?"
The mockery on his face deepened, as if speaking to the Celestial Nether Goddess or muttering to himself. He said leisurely, "He also covets beauty and power; he too has his own desires. In ordinary times, the Heavenly Dao suppresses his desires, maintaining his image of brightness and majesty. But the Heavenly Dao always has loopholes."
He sneered. "In the battle to eradicate the Creator race, he found this loophole. So, he split his soul and reincarnated, and thus I came into being. In that battle, the Heavenly Emperor Primeval seized his weakness, forcing him to submit to the Heavenly Emperor. Hah, I saw it all. I understand the desires in my father's heart better than anyone else, because I am the son born from those very desires."
He spoke words that even filled the Celestial Nether Goddess with fear: "When he became one of us Ten Heavenly Venerables, thinking he could fool the world, I alone recognized him. How could I not recognize him? I am the child born from his desires! I watched him become the Hong Heavenly Venerate, still so transcendent, so calm and composed. But when he took control of the Heavenly Emperor Primeval's physical body, I could feel his ambition and desires swelling, growing larger and larger."
He stared at the Heavenly Duke's sole, gazing up at everything within the Mystic Capital. There, the Hong Heavenly Venerate was rushing towards the Mystic Capital to kill the Heavenly Duke.
"I have been waiting for an opportunity, Father."
Ancestral God King burst into loud laughter, but there was little joy in it, only coldness: "The opportunity I have been waiting for is for you to reveal your true flaw. This flaw can only be exposed by you yourself!"
"All along, I have been the most reckless among the Ten Heavenly Venerables, even more reckless than the Fire Heavenly Venerate, more crude, more lacking in cunning. You knew I was pretending, but you thought I was pretending for the other Heavenly Venerables. What you didn't know was that I act according to my nature—why would I need to pretend for them?"
"I was pretending for you!"
"I have been waiting for the moment you would actively expose your fatal weakness. I have waited for this opportunity for far too long, and I have pretended for far too long! Now, I have finally gotten this chance!"
...
Within the Mystic Capital.
The Heavenly Court's army advanced steadily. Although the Hong Heavenly Venerate, Langxuan Divine Sovereign, Qiang Heavenly Consort, Shi Qiluo, and the Fire Heavenly Venerate were constantly harassed by the Moon Heavenly Venerate, Nether Heavenly Venerate, and Langhuan God King, these three did not dare to engage them head-on. They would strike and retreat immediately, never lingering, thus causing no major trouble.
However, Qiang Heavenly Consort was a major headache for the various Heavenly Venerables.
The power of the two Blood Fiend Executioner Blades on the Execution Platform grew stronger and stronger, devouring heavenly baleful aura and sweeping away all the baleful energy within the Mystic Capital, causing the Heavenly Venerables to become secretly vigilant.
Qiang Heavenly Consort's identity as the Primeval Emperor was almost an open secret among the Ten Heavenly Venerables. This was largely thanks to Qin Mu's mischief. Although Qin Mu had not openly declared that Qiang Heavenly Consort was the Primeval Emperor, because of Qin Mu's involvement, Qiang Heavenly Consort and the Primeval Emperor had repeatedly suffered heavy blows, with Qiang Heavenly Consort being injured alongside the Primeval Emperor every time.
Although the Ten Heavenly Venerables were allies, they also checked and monitored each other, planting their own informants around their peers, even sending disciples to infiltrate their ranks and become their followers. Truly, no method was too extreme.
Qiang Heavenly Consort's several injuries had not escaped their notice. Not to mention injuries, they knew exactly what Qiang Heavenly Consort had eaten for dinner, what she had said, and whom she had met.
Now, the identities of most of the Ten Heavenly Venerables were already transparent. With the addition of Shi Qiluo, that troublemaker who delighted in chaos, and Qin Mu, that stirrer of trouble, it would be strange if Qiang Heavenly Consort's identity, hidden for hundreds of thousands of years, wasn't exposed.
"If he manages to refine these two divine blades..."
The Fire Heavenly Venerate glanced at Qiang Heavenly Consort standing on the Execution Platform, the corner of his eye twitching.
The Execution Platform he saw had twenty-four steps.
Langxuan Divine Sovereign's gaze also fell on Qiang Heavenly Consort. The Execution Platform he saw had twenty-eight steps. He thought to himself, "If Qiang Heavenly Consort dies gloriously in the battle to punish the Heavenly Duke, it would be quite heroic. Ancestral God King is a brilliant writer; the manifesto for punishing the Heavenly Duke was his work. He could be asked to write a eulogy for Qiang Heavenly Consort... Strange, Ancestral God King is always at the forefront of the charge to kill his father. Why is he nowhere to be seen?"