# Chapter 1457: Death of the Heavenly Duke (Part 2)
The reforms of the Kaihuang Era were an attempt for the acquired path to triumph over the innate path. Although the achievements of that era's reforms were not as numerous as those of the Yankang Era, the seed of acquired triumphing over innate had already been planted. It was only because the Kaihuang Era lasted too short a time that although the seed sprouted, it never grew.
The greatest achievement of the Kaihuang reforms was not actually the Kaihuang Sword Technique, but rather a reform of the Heavenly Court Realm presided over by the First Heavenly Master of Kaihuang, the Woodcutter Sage Wen Tiange!
Although the Woodcutter Sage was a man "without the strength to truss a chicken," ranking at the bottom among the Four Heavenly Masters, his wisdom was beyond what others could reach.
The Seventy-Two Treasure Halls assisting the Thirty-Six Heavenly Palaces came from his hand—using seventy-two acquired paths to alleviate the pressure of the thirty-six innate paths, reducing the damage the Heavenly Court Realm inflicted on the physical body.
Through his improvements, theoretically, a Heavenly Court Realm composed of seventy-two Treasure Halls assisting thirty-six Heavenly Palaces would possess more abundant divine power than the traditional Heavenly Court Realm, with higher combat power and no lingering worries.
However, the Woodcutter Sage did not widely publicize this method. Few knew of it, and the only one to receive his complete teachings was the former Yankang National Teacher, Jiang Baigui.
As to whether Jiang Baigui had cultivated it successfully, that was unknown.
What Hong Tianzun had obtained was merely an early incomplete manuscript created by the Woodcutter Sage, which contained considerable hidden dangers—an outdated method.
But even so, this incomplete method was enough to allow the Divine Weapon Imperial Heavenly Lord to persist longer in the Heavenly Court Realm, with astonishingly improved combat power!
The Divine Weapon Imperial Heavenly Lord clashed head-on with the Heavenly Duke, nearly matching him in strength. Such combat power was truly eye-opening!
Moreover, Hong Tianzun's techniques and divine abilities originated from the Heavenly Dao yet were not limited by it. With him as the main attacker against the Heavenly Duke, supplemented by the three great lords—Langxuan Divine Emperor, Qiang Tianfei, and Shi Qiluo—the Heavenly Duke once again fell into a disadvantage!
Hong Tianzun attacked with speed, sparing nothing. He could feel his power waning and knew he must end the battle quickly!
The Heavenly Duke struggled to move, struggled to shrink his form, but more and more wounds appeared on his body.
However, cracks also appeared on the body of that Divine Weapon Imperial Heavenly Lord. His skin burst open, muscle textures shattered, and he could collapse under the pressure of the Heavenly Court at any moment!
Suddenly, the Divine Weapon Imperial Heavenly Lord struck the Heavenly Duke's brow center, shaking his primordial spirit violently!
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Qiang Tianfei activated the Execution Platform. Two blade lights pierced into the Heavenly Duke's brow center, and at the same time, her divine sense erupted, striking the Heavenly Duke's divine sense!
Simultaneously, Langxuan Divine Emperor's divine sense also charged straight into the Heavenly Duke's brow center, striking his divine sense until it nearly shattered!
Seeing an opening, Shi Qiluo quickly controlled the other two Divine Weapon Imperial Heavenly Lords, shrinking their forms and whistling as they charged into the Heavenly Duke's brow center. The two Divine Weapon Imperial Heavenly Lords, with three heads and six arms, spun rapidly as they advanced, unleashing a rain of countless fist techniques and divine abilities, bombarding the Heavenly Duke's primordial spirit.
Divine sense was spiritual consciousness; the primordial spirit was the soul. The Heavenly Duke's divine sense was nearly shattered, and his primordial spirit was struck by Shi Qiluo until his heavenly soul and earthly soul nearly burst apart!
At this moment, the Heavenly Dao consciousness sensed that the Heavenly Duke's consciousness had lost control of his physical body. It immediately formed Heavenly Dao consciousness within the Heavenly Duke's body, taking control of his physical form across time and space.
Just then, Langxuan Divine Emperor let out a sharp cry, activated the Dao Fruit within his Heavenly Court, and also struck it into the Heavenly Duke's brow center. A vast Dao resonance erupted, sealing off the Heavenly Dao consciousness and preventing it from descending!
Hong Tianzun rose to his full height, his wide sleeves fluttering as he flew into the Heavenly Duke's brow center. With a sweep of his sleeves, he caught the two Divine Weapon Imperial Heavenly Lords inside, then shook them violently, sending them flying away.
Shi Qiluo was furious, shouting, "Hong Tianzun! We've just defeated the Heavenly Duke, and already you're turning your back? Won't you even leave a scrap for your fellow Daoists?"
Langxuan Divine Emperor was about to charge into the Heavenly Duke's brow center when suddenly the Divine Weapon Imperial Heavenly Lord controlled by Hong Tianzun slammed into him sideways.
The impact left Langxuan Divine Emperor dazed, his body sent flying tens of thousands of miles. He could hear the crack-crack-crack of his ribs breaking.
Chi—
That Divine Weapon Imperial Heavenly Lord had its forehead burst open by a single finger strike from him. The back of its head exploded, blood splattering across the Heavenly Court, covering the numerous heavenly palaces.
The Divine Weapon Imperial Heavenly Lord had already been pushed to its limit by Hong Tianzun, its physical body unable to bear the strain. Now, with its forehead burst open by his finger, its entire body exploded with a thunderous boom.
Langxuan Divine Emperor coughed up mouthfuls of blood. The attack power of a complete Heavenly Court Realm Divine Weapon Imperial Heavenly Lord was truly too fierce—even he could not withstand it.
"My Dao Fruit!"
Forcibly suppressing his injuries, he rushed toward the Heavenly Duke, only to see the Heavenly Duke standing there motionless. Suddenly, two strands of baleful energy twisted together within his brow center. With a chi sound, they split the Heavenly Duke's head from left and right, lifting off his skull!
It was Qiang Tianfei who had charged into the Heavenly Duke's brow center, destroying from within and cleaving open his skull.
The power of this strike was extremely strong, but flying out with the blade light was Qiang Tianfei herself. This Heavenly Lord was nearly flattened against the Execution Platform by Hong Tianzun, who kicked both her and the platform flying away!
Flying out alongside Qiang Tianfei were the countless streams of essence energy erupting from the Heavenly Duke's skull!
Stream after stream of essence pierced the void. Within the essence, the Heavenly Dao trembled, and the forty-nine Heavenly Dao within the Heavenly Duke's body began to flee and escape!
"The Heavenly Duke is going to die!" Shi Qiluo, forgetting his anger with Hong Tianzun, shouted joyfully.
His treasure chest suddenly opened, and countless strange divine weapons flew out from it, capturing the Heavenly Duke's essence and collecting the Heavenly Dao.
"The baleful celestial energy is so intense—the Heavenly Duke truly is dying!"
Qiang Tianfei, flattened against the Execution Platform by Hong Tianzun, was also overjoyed. Her body swelled and deflated, swelled and deflated again, then inflated back to its original form. She fully activated the Execution Platform and the two baleful energy divine blades, devouring the celestial baleful energy of the Xuan Du.
The celestial baleful energy was incredibly intense, allowing her two baleful energy divine blades to absorb it madly.
In the distance, Tu Bo's enormous head had already appeared in the Xuan Du—an ox head with a tiger face and long horns, colossal in size. One of his palms pressed against Gong Tianzun's body, while the other hand gripped Yan Tianfei.
Gong Tianzun and Yan Tianfei had been severely wounded by You Tianzun at all costs, and Tu Bo's arrival was perfectly timed. Catching them off guard, he suppressed these two Heavenly Lords.
Suddenly, Tu Bo's body shook violently. He turned his head to look in the direction of the Heavenly Duke.
There, red light filled the sky. The Heavenly Duke's essence had dyed the Xuan Du crimson, turning countless stars blood-red.
Tu Bo's expression darkened, but then a look of anticipation appeared in his three eyes: "Daoist brother, have you transcended the Heavenly Dao? Should I congratulate you, or should I weep for you?"
At that moment, the Taiji Diagram flowed, spinning around Tu Bo. His expression shifted slightly, and he quickly released Gong Tianzun and Yan Tianfei, raising his left and right hands to block the Taiji Diagram.
A violent tremor erupted. Tu Bo blocked the power of the Taiji Diagram, his enormous body crackling and popping. Chunks of molten rock fell off, and countless ghost souls of the Netherworld ran about in all directions, wailing to the heavens.
Tu Bo hurriedly calmed those ghost deities, only to see a male and a female ancient god, covered in blood, appear before him. Their bodies were full of sword wounds. They grabbed Yan Tianfei and flew away.
This Taiji Diagram was transformed from the Taiji Ancient God's supreme treasure, the Sand Table. These two ancient gods had been battling the Kaihuang Emperor when they saw Yan Tianfei wounded and rushed to rescue her. However, the Kaihuang Emperor had struck them, leaving them heavily injured.
Tu Bo was about to reach out his hand when suddenly Gong Tianzun's wounds healed rapidly. Startled, he looked over and saw Hao Tianzun walking toward him.
Behind Hao Tianzun, a figure stirred. Tu Bo looked closely and saw it was Xu Tianzun, with two horns on his head, following behind Hao Tianzun.
That Xu Tianzun walked toward him, his form gradually shrinking, his age also decreasing, until he became a little girl with two horns on her head, hidden by two small buns tied with hair ribbons.
"Ugly Daddy," the little girl called to him.
"Daughter..."
Tu Bo's heart trembled. The Netherworld Great Dao immediately transformed into dense chains of imprisonment, wrapping around his heart and tightening.
"Daughter!"
Tu Bo spat blood—gushing magma—his mind in chaos. Suddenly, Hao Tianzun raised his hand, and the Ten Thousand Dao Heavenly Wheel flew out, spinning rapidly, growing larger, and slashing toward his brow center!
The Ten Thousand Dao Heavenly Wheel united all paths into one, transforming into Primordial One Qi. The Primordial One Qi was like a flower, sharp and incomparable, reaching Tu Bo in the next instant!
"Tu Bo, wake up!"
You Tianzun, dragging his heavily wounded body, flew over and stood before Tu Bo. His majestic primordial spirit rose slowly, his hands blocking the Ten Thousand Dao Heavenly Wheel, instantly drenched in blood!
His physical body and primordial spirit ignited with blazing Netherworld demonic fire as he desperately tried to block the Ten Thousand Dao Heavenly Wheel. But his injuries were already extremely severe—he simply could not withstand Hao Tianzun's attack.
A sword light flew over, flashing repeatedly, attacking both Hao Tianzun and the Tai Su behind him!
Hao Tianzun laughed heartily, leaping into the air and vaulting over Tu Bo's head. As the two flew past Tu Bo, Tai Su turned back to look at the Kaihuang Emperor, who held the Carefree Sword, and showed a surprised expression: "You can see me?"
The Kaihuang Emperor did not answer. He flicked his finger against his sword three times. Gong Tianzun, who was about to kill You Tianzun, suddenly had sword light burst forth from all over her body, blood flowing freely again. Forced to retreat, she followed Tai Su as they fled.
The celestial baleful energy filled the sky, growing increasingly intense. At this moment, the stars of all the myriad realms turned blood-red, the sky itself turned blood-red, as if the heavens were bleeding, as if blood waterfalls might fall from the sky at any moment.
Even the two divine blades on the Execution Platform could not devour such intense baleful energy fast enough. The two blades became increasingly real in the celestial baleful energy, gradually condensing into true physical forms with substance and mass!
Two great blood-colored dragons had rows of reversed scales standing up, gleaming coldly. Their dragon bodies intertwined on the Execution Platform, dragon scales clashing, sparks flying everywhere!
Qiang Tianfei trembled with excitement, her gaze immediately fixed on the Heavenly Duke's physical body.
"Devour the Heavenly Dao, devour the Heavenly Duke, refine these two divine blades, make their power even stronger—absolutely not inferior to Tai Chu's companion supreme treasures!"
With this thought, she immediately activated the two baleful energy divine blades, once again attacking the Heavenly Duke, who stood frozen in place.
"Heavenly Dao Grand Seal!"
Within the Heavenly Duke's brow center, Hong Tianzun ignored the escaping Heavenly Dao and essence energy. He swung his palm in a circle, and in an instant, countless Heavenly Dao seals were imprinted onto the Dao Fruit. That Dao Fruit had extremely strong Dao resonance, but with no one to activate it, it was immediately suppressed by Hong Tianzun's power!
Hong Tianzun flicked his finger, and the sealed Dao Fruit flew whistling out of the Heavenly Duke's brow center. Qiang Tianfei, riding the Ancestral Court Execution Platform, charged forward. Seeing the withered Dao Fruit containing the power of the Heavenly Dao, she immediately activated her two divine blades to strike at it without hesitation!
At that moment, Langxuan Divine Emperor flew over. Seeing this scene, his eyes nearly split with rage. He immediately unleashed a Tai Chu divine ability at Qiang Tianfei!
The strike blasted open Qiang Tianfei's back. Her delicate body trembled violently as she was thrown from the Execution Platform. She immediately drew her blades and slashed backward. Two blood-colored baleful dragons swept across Langxuan Divine Emperor's neck with a swish.
Langxuan Divine Emperor's head rolled off. Flesh writhed at his neck, and with a pop, another head emerged. He reached out, grabbed the Dao Fruit, and raised it, letting it float within the Heavenly Court.
Qiang Tianfei turned. Their eyes met, then they looked away. Each rushed toward the Heavenly Duke's physical body. Shi Qiluo also charged forward. This burly, rough man laughed so hard his whole body shook: "Devour the Heavenly Duke's cultivation! The Heavenly Court Realm is within reach!"
At that moment, the Ten Thousand Dao Heavenly Wheel flew past. Shi Qiluo's body was sliced in two by the wheel. His lower half ran wildly below, while his upper half reached out above, grabbing toward the Heavenly Duke's physical body.
Langxuan Divine Emperor's heart leaped. He quickly turned to defend himself, only to see Tai Chu Heavenly Emperor standing behind Hao Tianzun. His expression changed drastically, and then Hao Tianzun pointed at his brow center.
Langxuan Divine Emperor spat blood and fled.
On the other side, Qiang Tianfei saw Gong Tianzun flying over. She quickly withdrew her two baleful energies, afraid of harming her, but was struck by Gong Tianzun's whip, spinning like a top.
Within the Heavenly Duke's body, Hong Tianzun's expression was calm as he looked at the Heavenly Duke's collapsing heavenly soul and earthly soul. His voice was hoarse: "Why did you betray yourself?"
The Heavenly Duke revealed a smile. His primordial spirit dissolved, his heavenly soul and earthly soul shattered.
Hong Tianzun's heart ached. He reached out his right hand, as if wanting to condense the heavenly soul and earthly soul to prevent their collapse, but then withdrew his hand.
He flicked his finger, and the Heavenly Duke's last consciousness also scattered.
"You are no longer yourself. Leaving your consciousness would only pollute my purity."
Hong Tianzun let out a long sigh, feeling a sense of great liberation. Tears streamed down his cheeks. His primordial spirit flew out from Hong Tianzun's body—so powerful that it quickly occupied the Heavenly Duke's form and began to absorb his power.
"You are dead. I will live in your place, fulfill your lifelong dream—master the Heavenly Dao, transcend the Heavenly Dao, become the ruler of this universe..."
Suddenly, Hong Tianzun's expression changed drastically. He discovered, to his horror, that he could not devour or refine the Heavenly Duke's power—not a single drop, not a single wisp!
The Nine Hell Platform emerged from his Dao heart. Countless sharp mountains growing at oblique angles densely covered the area, trapping him within the Nine Hell Platform!
Hong Tianzun saw himself standing on the tiny ninth platform, looking up only to see the gaps between the sharp mountains, unable to see the opening above.
He struggled and roared, but could never escape.
The intense pain twisted him, shattered his Dao heart, and his cultivation drained away!
At that moment, a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering power surged up from the soles of his feet. Zu Shenwang, wielding the Heavenly Dao Supreme Treasure, broke through the Heavenly Duke's majestic body, charging upward from within. He shattered Hong Tianzun's primordial spirit section by section!
Boom!
A terrifying shockwave came from the Heavenly Duke's brow center. Zu Shenwang destroyed Hong Tianzun's soul with a single strike. Then the Heavenly Dao Supreme Treasure transformed into a great hammer, smashing down on Hong Tianzun's physical body's forehead!
"Father God!"
Zu Shenwang was ecstatic. He furiously smashed down on Hong Tianzun's corpse—one blow, then another.
"Father God, you've grown old! You can't defeat me anymore! And yet you still dream of ruling the universe! Isn't it my turn now? If you don't die, how can it be my turn? I learned this from you—I've learned well, haven't I..."
One blow, then another. Hong Tianzun was beaten into a pulp, but Zu Shenwang continued smashing down, tireless.
——Four-thousand-word chapter, the plot flows seamlessly, requesting monthly votes!