Chapter 1460: Imperial Heavenly Lord and Fire Heavenly Lord (Third Update!)
Above the ancestral court, the Heavenly Court suppressed the ancestral court's destiny. Not long after the battle in Xuan Du had concluded, Hong Heavenly Lord was dead, Xiao Heavenly Lord had been exiled, and only Xu Heavenly Lord remained in the Heavenly Court to guard it.
However, Xu Heavenly Lord did not stay within the Heavenly Court. Instead, she stood on the surface of the Heavenly Sea, staring at the water. The sea was like a mirror, reflecting the battle in Xuan Du.
Only after the dust had settled on the battle in Xuan Du did Xu Heavenly Lord finally shift her gaze and return to the Heavenly Court.
Before she even arrived at the Heavenly Court, she heard an uproar within. Countless heavenly soldiers and generals guarding the court were searching and investigating everywhere. Xu Heavenly Lord went forward to inquire, and a divine official quickly reported: "A great calamity has occurred! The Heavenly Court has been burglarized! A thief has come!"
Xu Heavenly Lord asked urgently, "What is missing?"
"Someone broke into Jade Capital City and entered the rear palace to steal treasures!"
Hearing this, Xu Heavenly Lord's heart tightened. "Could it be that Mu Heavenly Lord has come to steal the Heavenly Emperor's eggshell?"
The divine official continued, "...They stole a divine hall! During our patrol just now, we discovered that the Incense-Bearing Hall had vanished without a trace!"
Xu Heavenly Lord breathed a sigh of relief upon learning that Qin Mu had not come to steal the Heavenly Emperor's eggshell. But then, hearing that the Incense-Bearing Hall had been stolen, her heart tightened again. She thought to herself, "The Incense-Bearing Hall is said to be a place that suppresses the souls of many extraordinary gods and demons. Hao Heavenly Lord and the others were secretive about this hall. They never told me what was suppressed inside, only asking me to help reinforce the seals. Fire Heavenly Lord even used this hall to take away the Southern Emperor's soul, preventing Mu Heavenly Lord from resurrecting her and breaking his reputation as the indestructible great mage. Could Mu Heavenly Lord have stolen it?"
She was also somewhat suspicious. Qin Mu had participated in the battle in Xuan Du. No matter how fast he was, he couldn't have run to the Heavenly Court to steal treasures so quickly.
Moreover, if Qin Mu had come to steal treasures, he would surely have gone to the altar of the Heavenly Emperor Tai Chu's birth to steal the Tai Chu eggshell.
This thief, however, left the Heavenly Emperor's eggshell untouched and stole the Incense-Bearing Hall instead—truly strange.
—She didn't know that there was a shortcut between Xuan Du and the Yuan Realm through the Tian Yin Realm. If one passed through the Tian Yin Realm, they could quickly return from Xuan Du to the Yuan Realm, and then from the Yuan Realm's Spiritual Energy Transfer Bridge, reach the ancestral court's Heavenly Court in the shortest possible time.
The Incense-Bearing Hall had little to do with her, so Xu Heavenly Lord wasn't too tense. She ordered the Divine Capture Camp to conduct a thorough search, saying, "The Incense-Bearing Hall is extremely large. If its sudden disappearance was noticed so quickly, then the thief must not have had time to leave. He must be hiding in the Heavenly Court using the art of transformation. As long as he hasn't left the Heavenly Court, we need not worry about him escaping. I have a Soul-Recalling Mirror here. No matter how he transforms, one shine from this mirror will reveal his true form!"
The Divine Capture Camp received the Soul-Recalling Mirror and began searching and investigating everywhere.
Xu Heavenly Lord settled down to guard the court, thinking, "They're in Xuan Du dividing the spoils, but there's no share for me... Right, the Heavenly Court has a thief who stole the Incense-Bearing Hall. Why don't I also play the thief?"
Driven by a whim, she quietly made her way to the rear palace, heading straight for the altar where the Heavenly Emperor was born.
"Once I get my hands on this Tai Chu eggshell, I can blame it on the thief who stole the Incense-Bearing Hall. This treasure is no less valuable than the benefits from Xuan Du!"
She went to steal the other half of the Tai Chu eggshell. When she arrived at the Heavenly Emperor's birth altar, Xu Heavenly Lord looked there and suddenly felt her hands and feet turn cold. That altar was also completely empty!
The other half of the Tai Chu eggshell had also vanished without a trace!
"Who dares to steal my treasure!" Xu Heavenly Lord roared with rage.
In the Heavenly Court, a figure was constantly changing forms—now a bird or beast, now a fish or insect. Crouching by a wall, he became a tender blade of grass; standing in a garden, he turned into a flowering tree. With endless transformations, he made his way out of the Heavenly Court.
The Divine Capture Camp activated the Soul-Recalling Mirror, shining it in all directions. Suddenly, the mirror went out of control. With a whoosh, it floated into the sky, its light blazing brightly, covering an extremely wide area. With a hum, it enveloped all of Jade Capital City in its glow!
Xu Heavenly Lord stood murderously atop the Soul-Recalling Mirror, looking down at its surface to examine the scenes within Jade Capital City.
Anyone using the art of transformation, once caught in her mirror's light, would revert to their original form with a bang!
Many gods and demons in the Heavenly Court were non-human beings who had become deities. There were many demon cultivators and fiend cultivators. Usually, they would transform into more pleasing forms, but now, under the mirror's light, they all revealed their true selves. Jade Capital City was overrun with monsters and fiends!
The rear palace of the Heavenly Emperor was filled with beautiful consorts and maids. Some were bathing, others, lonely in their chambers, were secretly meeting celestial gods for illicit affairs. Caught by the mirror's light, chaos erupted everywhere.
Xu Heavenly Lord broke out in a cold sweat. The Heavenly Court was usually sacred and majestic, but under her mirror's light, all kinds of dark secrets were exposed, impossible to contain.
There was so much chaos that even she couldn't immediately identify which figure was the thief who had stolen the Heavenly Emperor's eggshell and the Incense-Bearing Hall.
At that moment, a young man had already jumped into the Heavenly River. Transforming into a massive Kun, he swam leisurely and stealthily underwater, heading out of the Heavenly Court.
When he reached the Southern Heavenly Gate, the great Kun leaped up, soaring over the gate. The divine guards stationed there looked up and saw this, letting out cheers of admiration.
The great Kun plunged into the Heavenly River, splashing a huge spray of water. Once submerged, he transformed into a fish-dragon and slipped away.
After swimming an unknown distance, the fish-dragon turned into a giant Heavenly River crab, scuttling sideways onto the riverbank. The crab shook the water off its body and transformed back into a young man. He let out a long sigh of relief, took out a divine hall to examine it, showed a delighted expression, quickly stored it back in his Taotie pouch, and hurried onward.
This young man moved extremely fast, a fleeting shadow, distancing himself from the Heavenly Court. He planned to travel upstream along the Heavenly River toward the Heavenly Sea.
The Heavenly River originated from the Heavenly Sea. When he reached the midway point, he suddenly felt the sky growing hotter.
He quickly looked up and saw a tall and majestic Heavenly Lord standing ahead. A wheel of Dao fire revolved behind his head. His expression was a mix of sorrow and joy, and his gaze fell upon him.
"Fire?"
The young man's eyes met Fire Heavenly Lord's. He was momentarily startled, then broke into a smile. "Fire Heavenly Lord, is that you?"
Fire Heavenly Lord's eye muscles twitched wildly as he stared blankly at this young man. His voice hoarse, he said, "Imperial Heavenly Lord, big brother, you have truly come back to life."
His body involuntarily shrank, as if he had become the Fire Heavenly Lord from the Jade Pool, staring dazedly at the elder brother he had once admired.
This young man was none other than Lan Yutian. Seeing him, Lan Yutian's spirits soared. His gaze was warm, his bearing peerless. He smiled and said, "I have returned. Fire Heavenly Lord, I stole back my remnant soul. The old me is back!"
He was full of vigor and confidence, laughing. "I never thought we would meet again after a million years! In this world, half-gods still rule. What difference is there between half-gods ruling and ancient gods ruling? We humans are still their food!"
His eyes burned with passion, as if he had regained the powerful charisma of that Imperial Heavenly Lord from the Jade Pool a million years ago. His bearing was equally extraordinary, yet it gave people a sense of closeness—the innate charm of a leader!
"Fire Heavenly Lord, I need you!"
Lan Yutian extended his hand, his words sincere and earnest: "Come on, let's work together! For the sake of humanity, let's overthrow this rotten world!"
But Fire Heavenly Lord did not reach out. The blazing fire in his eyes gradually dimmed. He said softly, "Brother Lan, the person I respected most in the past was you. You were the leader of our human race, the big brother of all Heavenly Lords. As a leader, no one disobeyed you. We were all willing to follow you, to fight alongside you, even to risk our lives."
Lan Yutian did not withdraw his outstretched hand, still eagerly waiting for his response.
Fire Heavenly Lord choked up, saying, "When you died, I swore a poisonous oath that I would avenge you, that I would make the murderer pay with blood! But big brother, your ideals were too empty, too ethereal, too idealistic! What you wanted to achieve could never be realized! You would only be killed again!"
His voice grew louder, and the wheel of fire revolving behind his head spun faster and faster, churning up the waters of the Heavenly River, evaporating them into thick mist that filled the river.
Lan Yutian frowned slightly and said, "Fire, as long as we work together, as long as our human race works together, there is nothing we cannot accomplish..."
"No! It cannot be done!"
Fire Heavenly Lord shouted, "The human race is inherently inferior to other races and can never stand on its own! Humans cannot rely on their own strength. They can only depend on half-gods, attach themselves to half-gods, to have any chance of surviving in this cruel world!"
"Only my path is the correct path! The human race now is countless times better off than when you were their leader! Stop resisting the Heavenly Court!"
His demeanor was almost frenzied, practically roaring at Lan Yutian: "Stop using your ideals to harm the human race! You will only be killed again! And the human race, because of people like you, will once again fall into disaster!"
He clenched his fists tightly and said harshly, "Power—that is the truth of this world, the Dao of this world! Only power! The human race has no power, so they must attach themselves to power!"
"You have changed." Lan Yutian said calmly.
"I have not changed!"
Fire Heavenly Lord roared, but gradually calmed down. He chuckled darkly and said, "I have never changed. I have only learned to be smarter. Elder brother, you are the person I respect most. Give up your ideals. Come to my side, and I will protect you well. In the future, I will also personally kill your enemies."
Lan Yutian took a step and walked past him, shaking his head. "Those who walk different paths cannot work together. Fire Heavenly Lord, from today onward, you need not call me elder brother. You also need not avenge me..."
*Chi!*
A palm pierced through his back and came out through his chest. The five fingers of that hand tightly gripped his heart.
This hand was trembling, and the Fire Heavenly Lord behind him was also trembling. Lan Yutian showed an expression of disbelief. He turned his head and saw Fire Heavenly Lord's face covered in tears, which were then evaporated by the heat of his body along with the mist of the Heavenly River.
"Elder brother, you are already dead, aren't you? Why did you have to come back to life? Wasn't it fine for you to stay dead?"
Fire Heavenly Lord pressed close to Lan Yutian's ear, panting heavily, his face twisted, chuckling darkly. "When you were dead, you remained in my heart as that perfect, flawless elder brother, that perfect, flawless big brother. But coming back to life only makes things difficult for me. I don't know what to do with you... Better that you die. Better that you turn to ashes. Better that you keep your perfect image in my heart..."
His hand gradually tightened, crushing Lan Yutian's heart. Dao fire began to devour Lan Yutian's body.
"You should understand me. You must understand me, right?"
Fire Heavenly Lord's face twisted even more, deforming as he panted heavily, chuckling darkly. "Don't worry, I will avenge you. I definitely will. If your spirit is watching from heaven... No! Mu Heavenly Lord will summon your soul again. I can't let your spirit watch from heaven!"
He searched through Lan Yutian's corpse. "The Incense-Bearing Hall? Hurry and bring out the Incense-Bearing Hall! I'll seal you inside it, so he won't be able to resurrect you. The Incense-Bearing Hall..."
From the burning Taotie pouch, he found the Incense-Bearing Hall, which was itself ablaze.
Fire Heavenly Lord was stunned. The Incense-Bearing Hall was a hall formed by the combined power of the most powerful deities, the strongest seal. It was impossible for his Dao fire to ignite it.
He looked at Lan Yutian's corpse. The flesh and blood were burned to ashes, but even the ashes dissipated, leaving nothing behind.
"Divine Consciousness Illusion!"
Fire Heavenly Lord's face muscles twitched violently. *Whoosh!* A fiery wind blew, clearing the mist from the Heavenly River.
Then, in the distance on the river's surface, he saw Lan Yutian standing there. Beside Lan Yutian was Qin Mu, and beside Qin Mu was Langhuan Divine King.
On the Heavenly River, the wind howled, but for a long time, no one spoke.
Langhuan Divine King broke the silence, saying softly, "Mu Heavenly Lord, the task you asked of me, I have accomplished. Are you satisfied?"
"Very satisfied."
Qin Mu said flatly, "I can now let go of my hopes. Imperial Heavenly Lord, what about you?"
Lan Yutian shook his head. "Brother, there is no Imperial Heavenly Lord here."
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