Chapter 1448: Nine Hells Locking the Heavenly Duke (Third Update)
“Dead?”
The Heavenly Duke’s primordial spirit welcomed them, inviting them into his celestial palace. Leisurely, he said, “I have been looking forward to this day, looking forward to my own death, to breaking free from the shackles of the Heavenly Dao. Celestial Venerable Mu, you are free and unfettered. You are not an ancient god born from the Great Way, so you cannot understand the oppression the Great Way exerts on me. This is my body. Look, can I still use my body now?”
“What does it mean to be unable to control oneself?”
He said gloomily, “From the moment a Dao-born god is born, they are unable to control themselves. Now, the consciousness of the Heavenly Dao has completely taken over my body, and even my primordial spirit. Although I have my own consciousness, every move, every word, and every action I make is dictated by the Heavenly Dao. Do you think it is me controlling this body right now? No! It is the Heavenly Dao!”
“It is the Heavenly Dao that pervades this universe! I am not a free being; I am merely a puppet of the Heavenly Dao! You envy the Heavenly Duke’s power, his lofty position, his boundless authority and might, but I hate it—I hate that from the moment I was born, I was imprisoned within this body, imprisoned within this cage!”
At this moment, he was even somewhat excited, but in front of Qin Mu and the others, he was suppressing that excitement.
“I even envy the sacrificial gods. They are born from worship and do not have as many restrictions as the Dao-born gods. I also envy the countless living beings in the vast universe. They are as tiny as ants, but they can be free and unfettered…”
“No! You don’t envy them!”
Qin Mu stopped walking, looking at him coldly. “How could the Heavenly Duke envy these ants? Heavenly Duke, your goal is to escape the control of the Heavenly Dao. When you break free, you don’t want to become an ant; you want to retain the power of the Heavenly Duke and still be exalted! What you want to do is not to become one of the living beings, but to rule over them!”
“Wrong!”
The Heavenly Duke’s primordial spirit also stopped, turning to face Qin Mu and the other four, and said solemnly, “You are right that I don’t envy the ants, but the second half of your statement is completely wrong! I don’t want to rule over the living beings; what I want is to transcend! To transcend the Heavenly Dao and reach a state of unrestrained freedom like Brother Taiyi!”
Qin Mu pointed at him and laughed heartily. “Do you know what Celestial Venerable Hong thinks? Do you know that what Celestial Venerable Hong calls transcending the Heavenly Dao is to completely kill the former Heavenly Duke and become one of the Ten Celestial Venerables, the master of this universe? You cannot transcend!”
Though he was laughing, there was no joy on his face or in his heart.
The Butcher frowned.
He knew Qin Mu very well, after all, Qin Mu was raised by him and the other elders of the Crippled Village. Qin Mu’s expression often indicated that his concern and seriousness had reached a point where he would abandon reason!
At such times, Qin Mu had only one course of action: to do whatever it takes!
He quietly turned the handle of his Heavenly Blade. Zhe Huali, Luo Wushuang, and the others immediately understood. Tian Shu suddenly raised his head and took two big gulps of wine to bolster his courage.
They were ready. Even if Qin Mu really fell out with the Heavenly Duke on the Heavenly Duke’s divine platform, even if they had to face the attack of the Heavenly Dao, they would not hesitate.
“Of course I know.”
The Heavenly Duke’s primordial spirit was still as calm and indifferent as before, speaking unhurriedly. “Celestial Venerable Hong is me; his thoughts are my thoughts. Celestial Venerable Mu, do you think that Celestial Venerable Hong is just one of my souls, that he wandered too long in the mortal world and was corrupted by it, thus becoming one of the Ten Celestial Venerables? Do you think he is not of one mind with me, that his thoughts are not one with mine? Do you think he did those things behind my back? Then you are wrong, completely wrong.”
The white light in his eyes drifted like mist, and his voice was as resonant as a celestial bell. “Celestial Venerable Hong is me. All his thoughts are my thoughts! All his actions are my actions! Every single one of his thoughts is reflected without reservation in my Heavenly Heart. His desires and pursuits are also my desires and pursuits!”
Qin Mu clenched his fists, his voice hoarse. “His desires and pursuits are part of your desires and pursuits, right?”
The Heavenly Duke’s primordial spirit revealed a smile. “You have finally understood this point. Yes, all of Celestial Venerable Hong’s thoughts are just a part of my thoughts. He is a part of me and cannot replace me. After I die, once I break free from the control of the Heavenly Dao, my consciousness will descend, and all his thoughts and desires will become a part of me.”
“Then do you still have a Heavenly Heart? Do you still have the Heart of the Heavenly Dao?”
Qin Mu pressed on. “At that time, will you become one of the Ten Celestial Venerables, or will you still be the Heavenly Duke?”
The Heavenly Duke’s primordial spirit thought for a moment and said, “What is the Heavenly Heart? What the Heart of the Heavenly Dao seeks is that the Heavenly Heart is my heart, but what I seek is that my heart is the Heavenly Heart.”
The moment he finished speaking, Qin Mu struck immediately. His first move was the twenty-fifth level of the divine arts Dao realm, the Eternal Art of the Nine Hells Locking the Heart!
Countless sharp thorns erupted on the Heavenly Duke’s divine platform. The thorns were sharp and piercing, and the moment they landed, they began to swell, turning into tilted mountain peaks and forming prison platforms!
Layer after layer of prison platforms spun, swirling around the Heavenly Duke’s primordial spirit, firmly trapping him within the Nine Hells Platform!
The Nine Hells Locking the Heart locks the Dao heart!
The Dao heart is not the same as the Dao realm. If the Dao heart is locked, it affects the performance of the Dao realm, as well as one’s perception of the Dao, one’s recovery ability, and one’s cultivation progress!
The moment Qin Mu executed the Eternal Art of the Nine Hells Locking the Heart, the Heavenly Dao rune imprints on the ground of the Heavenly Duke’s divine platform hummed, and the Heavenly Dao treasures standing on the divine platform rumbled and vibrated—this was the wrath of the Heavenly Dao!
Anyone who dared to attack the Heavenly Duke would be killed by the Heavenly Dao controlling him!
As Qin Mu made his move, the Butcher, Zhe Huali, Tian Shu, and Luo Wushuang all drew their blades simultaneously. Four blade sounds rang out, and four figures were sent flying in different directions. Their cultivation was still insufficient; in the face of the Heavenly Duke’s and the Heavenly Dao’s overwhelming power, any exquisite blade technique or divine ability was easily shattered!
Just as Qin Mu was about to be consumed by the might of the Heavenly Dao, suddenly, all the Heavenly Dao treasures and imprints froze.
The Heavenly Duke’s primordial spirit trembled, exerting all his will to resist the will of the Heavenly Dao. His voice hoarse, he said, “Celestial Venerable Mu, dispel your divine ability, and you can still live. I cannot resist the will of the Heavenly Dao!”
Qin Mu looked at the Heavenly Duke within the Nine Hells Platform and clenched his fists. “Then walk out of this divine ability first!”
The Heavenly Duke’s primordial spirit took a step, moving upward.
As soon as he moved, thorns sprang up everywhere!
Countless thorns stabbed at him from the walls of the Nine Hells Platform, making it impossible for him to advance!
Even more terrifying was the thicket of thorns aimed at his Dao heart. Even if he stood still, he could feel the excruciating pain piercing his Dao heart!
Suddenly, the Heavenly Duke’s divine platform trembled again. The Heavenly Dao treasures and imprints once again unleashed their power. The Butcher and the others scrambled to their feet, surrounding Qin Mu protectively, their blades raised as they stared at the Heavenly Dao light spreading around them and the countless Heavenly Dao treasures!
The celestial might here was too strong, so strong that a single fluctuation would be enough to reduce them to ashes, wiping them out of existence!
“Chief Qin, I think you should consider the Heavenly Duke’s advice!”
Zhe Huali licked the blood from the corner of his mouth and suggested, “There’s no need to throw away your life, or ours, for someone you respect in your heart but who isn’t worthy of that respect in reality!”
— Recommending a historical novel, Ao Tang, by author Cang Shan Yue.