Chapter 1553: At the End of the Road
"However, it seems there are other people on that golden ship of the Herder Celestial Venerable!"
Cloud Celestial Venerable was astonished. He had inadvertently caught a glimpse earlier and saw that besides Qin Mu, there were other figures moving about on the golden ship, though he hadn't been able to make them out clearly.
But now Qin Mu had already sailed away, joining the battle to besiege the Grand Emperor, leaving him no time to ask. He had to keep his questions bottled up inside.
"Perhaps the Herder Celestial Venerable truly has a way to defeat the Grand Emperor and rescue me." For the first time, a glimmer of hope arose in his heart.
He had been trapped here for far too long, and the Grand Emperor was far too powerful.
Opening Emperor, Dawn Celestial Venerable, Hao Celestial Venerable, and the Tai Su Goddess were locked in a chaotic melee with the Grand Emperor. In just a few exchanges, all four were already battered and bruised. Tai Su's companion innate treasure was repeatedly crushed, only to reform again and again.
Dawn Celestial Venerable also found himself in constant danger. The Grand Emperor was fixated on him, obsessed with devouring and refining him.
Faced with such a formidable opponent, even his own situation was precarious.
Suddenly, the Grand Emperor flicked his fingers, sending Opening Emperor's incoming sword light rebounding backward. He slammed his body sideways, shattering Hao Celestial Venerable's bones and tendons. With a mighty roar, he blasted the Tai Su Goddess flying!
Mid-air, Tai Su was shattered into pieces by the shockwave of his roar!
He raised his palm, and beneath it, the Divine Sense Grand Heaven descended, freezing Dawn Celestial Venerable in place!
Dawn Celestial Venerable felt as if he were trapped in quicksand. Outside, he could see Opening Emperor's sword light raining down, countless times faster than usual. Hao Celestial Venerable's speed had also increased dramatically, as had the attack speeds of the Tai Su Goddess and the Grand Emperor!
He looked up and saw the Grand Emperor's palm stretching out like the azure sky, vast and boundless, pressing down upon him from above.
His heart sank. He knew he had fallen into the Grand Emperor's supreme divine sense domain, trapped within it like an ant.
The Grand Emperor's supreme divine sense domain was overwhelmingly domineering. This domain, bearing the title "supreme," was unmatched. Back in the Grand Emperor's prime, when his primordial spirit and physical body were still intact, he had relied on this supreme divine sense domain to dominate the Primordial Era!
Within his supreme divine sense domain, anyone would feel the passage of time slow to a crawl, while time outside would race ahead. This disparity between fast and slow rendered any action, any attack, any divine ability utterly laughable.
Meanwhile, the Grand Emperor could seize the opportunity to strike, killing powerful enemies outright, while those trapped in the domain had no time to react.
The reason the Grand Emperor had dared not use his supreme divine sense domain earlier was because Ling Celestial Venerable was present. Now that she had left, he had no more reservations!
Dawn Celestial Venerable saw the Grand Emperor's finger descending. That finger moved at an unimaginably high speed, each strike incredibly precise.
In the past, Dawn Celestial Venerable could have blocked it, could have broken the technique. But now, as he desperately channeled his own power, straining to move his body, his physical form simply couldn't react in time!
"A supreme divine sense domain is still just a domain. I am one who attained the Dao through strength! With my power flowing through, no domain can withstand me!"
Dawn Celestial Venerable roared in fury. Behind him, the thirty-six heavenly palaces formed the Great Heavenly Court's Dao resonance, which boomed as Dao light surged. His blood and qi surged to their peak in an instant, dyeing the supreme divine sense domain crimson!
The terrifyingly elevated power split his physical body open, blood gushing forth. At this moment, the power of the Heavenly Court had already exceeded the limits of his flesh!
If he continued to increase it, this body would surely collapse. After this battle, he would likely have to abandon it!
Even so, he madly pushed his power higher, reckless of the consequences!
His speed increased, but against the onslaught of the Grand Emperor's finger, his reactions were still far too slow!
Despair filled Dawn Celestial Venerable's heart. Facing this strike from the Grand Emperor, there was no chance of survival!
Just then, a massive golden ship suddenly crashed into the supreme divine sense domain. At the bow, Qin Mu activated the Immutable Divine Ability, reversing the domain. The Grand Emperor's finger slowed to a crawl, and Dawn Celestial Venerable felt the pressure lift!
Shocked and overjoyed, he forcefully repelled the Grand Emperor's finger, sending the Grand Emperor's palm flying upward!
At the same time, the Ferry World Golden Ship tore through the frozen supreme divine sense domain. The colossal vessel swelled to immense proportions, slamming into the Grand Emperor, crushing his face, and dragging him for dozens of miles beneath the ship's hull!
The entire Divine Sense Grand Heaven, along with the Dao Tree and Dao Fruit, was knocked sideways, shifting dozens of miles through the ultimate void!
"Dawn Celestial Venerable, enter my domain!"
Qin Mu shouted, spreading his divine storage domain to overlap with the supreme divine sense domain.
Dawn Celestial Venerable soared into the air, landing within Qin Mu's domain. He immediately felt as if he had a thousand faces and a thousand eyes, able to see in all directions. He marveled inwardly.
Qin Mu had once fought alongside Moon Celestial Venerable and Nether Celestial Venerable against him. Back then, the two Celestial Venerables had stood within Qin Mu's domain, greatly enhancing their power.
Dawn Celestial Venerable had always been curious about Qin Mu's domain. This was his first time observing his surroundings from such a perspective, and his heart grew cold: "The Herder Celestial Venerable's domain is no less than the supreme divine sense domain, and its mysteries even surpass it! This child cannot be allowed to live—"
This was their first time fighting side by side. They exchanged a glance, then each looked away, both finding the other's appearance utterly detestable and insufferably annoying.
"Herder Celestial Venerable, you truly seek death!"
The golden ship suddenly halted. With a thunderous crash, the Grand Emperor lifted the ship, hoisting it onto his shoulder. With one free hand, he blocked Opening Emperor's sword light and Hao Celestial Venerable's Ten Thousand Dao Heavenly Wheel, displaying overwhelming power!
His supreme divine sense domain expanded once more, and he sneered, "Even Ling Celestial Venerable does not frighten me! My Primordial Beginning Qi is not afraid of the Immutable Divine Ability!"
Boom!
A stream of Primordial Beginning Qi instantly filled the entire divine storage domain. Qin Mu's body shuddered violently, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. He immediately sensed that his Immutable Divine Ability had been broken, and the supreme divine sense domain was pressing in again!
The divine sense domain clashed with his divine storage domain. As the two different domains intersected, Qin Mu immediately felt his divine storage domain being completely suppressed!
His divine storage domain was of a higher order than the Grand Emperor's supreme divine sense domain, containing far more profound Dao mysteries. But the Grand Emperor was one who had already bloomed a Dao Flower and formed a green, unripe Dao Fruit. In terms of cultivation, he surpassed Qin Mu by an immeasurable margin!
With sheer raw power, the Grand Emperor could suppress Qin Mu completely!
In an instant, Qin Mu's divine storage domain was compressed to a mere few feet in radius. His face flushed red, and his blood and qi were nearly boiling within him!
Now he understood the immense pressure that Dawn Celestial Venerable and the others had been enduring!
The Grand Emperor was beneath the ship, while he was on it. The pressure should have been on the Grand Emperor, yet now he himself could not hold out!
"Rise!"
Qin Mu gritted his teeth and roared, activating the Hongmeng runes hidden within the Heavenly Emperor's physical body.
Just as the Grand Emperor was channeling his power, intending to crush him, the Hongmeng runes hidden within the Heavenly Emperor's body suddenly lit up. In the blink of an eye, they assembled into an incredibly vast and complex Dao pattern!
This Dao pattern mobilized the blood and qi of the Heavenly Emperor's body, forming so quickly that the Grand Emperor had no time to react. By the time the pattern's power erupted, it was too late!
Sss—
A beam of purple qi shot upward, piercing through his divine sense. Not only did it bore through his divine sense, but it also blasted a massive hole through the Heavenly Emperor's physical body's crown!
The Hongmeng purple qi was overwhelmingly fierce and domineering. It grazed the edge of the golden ship as it shot upward, not only punching through the Heavenly Emperor's crown but also tearing a huge hole through the canopy of the Grand Emperor's Dao Tree!
Wherever the Hongmeng purple qi passed, the Divine Sense Grand Heaven in the ultimate void was pierced, leaving a massive opening. Cold, desolate winds howled into the Divine Sense Grand Heaven, blowing in all directions!
The power of this strike far exceeded Qin Mu's expectations, far surpassing the Grand Emperor's own strength. Even the Grand Emperor's Divine Sense Grand Heaven and Dao Tree could not withstand it!
Qin Mu was both shocked and delighted. This was a divine ability he had set up as a contingency, using the power of the Heavenly Emperor's body itself. He had originally thought it might only wound the Grand Emperor's divine sense, never expecting such astonishing results!
"Ferry World Golden Ship, obey my will! Heavy! Heavy! Heavy!"
He roared repeatedly, and the Ferry World Golden Ship became immensely heavy, crushing the Grand Emperor who had been lifting it.
The Grand Emperor crashed to his knees with a thunderous boom, then slammed flat onto the ground of the Grand Heaven.
Opening Emperor let out a long cry, flying over. His Sword Dao domain expanded wildly, merging with Qin Mu's divine storage domain. Countless sword lights flew in all directions, drilling beneath the ship.
On the other side, the Tai Su Goddess and Hao Celestial Venerable flew over. Hao Celestial Venerable wiped the blood from his mouth, and his Ten Thousand Dao domain expanded, merging with Qin Mu's and Opening Emperor's domains. The Ten Thousand Dao Heavenly Wheel howled as it slashed beneath the ship!
Dawn Celestial Venerable also unleashed his Primordial Beginning domain, channeling his Imperial Sword to strike beneath the ship!
Tai Su activated her battered and broken Grand Bell, furiously pounding it against the underside of the ship!
The Ferry World Golden Ship shook violently. From beneath it came the Grand Emperor's roar. The ship was lifted once more. Qin Mu frowned, channeling the Taiyi Crutch, using it as a sword to stab at the Grand Emperor beneath the ship.
His target was clear: the head of the Heavenly Emperor's physical body!
There, the Heavenly Emperor's crown had been blasted open with a large hole!
Everyone's attacks landed on the Grand Emperor almost simultaneously. They could clearly sense his weakening. Even the resilience of the Heavenly Emperor's body was far inferior to before.
Pfft!
The Taiyi Crutch plunged straight into the Heavenly Emperor's forehead, leaving only the handle exposed. Opening Emperor's sword pierced the Grand Emperor's eyes. Dawn Celestial Venerable's Imperial Sword stabbed into the Grand Emperor's temple, entering from the left and emerging from the right.
Hao Celestial Venerable's Ten Thousand Dao Heavenly Wheel slashed into the Grand Emperor's throat, cutting deep!
The Tai Su Goddess's Grand Bell clanged incessantly but achieved little. Her cultivation and strength still lagged behind Qin Mu and the others.
Yet the Ferry World Golden Ship was still lifted by the Grand Emperor. The body exerted its strength and hurled the ship away!
Qin Mu urged the golden ship to charge again. From a distance, he saw the Grand Emperor raise his hand and slap it heavily against his right temple. Dawn Celestial Venerable's Imperial Sword shot out from his temple. Though a replica, the sword was a Celestial Venerable's treasure of extraordinary power, yet the Grand Emperor's palm strike bent it, nearly breaking it!
The Grand Emperor's head drooped sharply, crushing Hao Celestial Venerable's Ten Thousand Dao Heavenly Wheel. His blinded eyes were healing at an astonishing speed!
Those at the ship's bow watched with eyes wide with fury. Hao Celestial Venerable cried out in shock, "The Creation Divine Ability! Has he learned it too?"
Qin Mu's heart stirred: "The Creation Divine Ability? If the Grand Emperor has learned the Creation Divine Ability, then this should be the Yan Kang Era! In the Yan Kang Era, the Creation Divine Ability was spread by me and learned by Qiang Tianfei! Ling Celestial Venerable's divine ability has already sent us to Yan Kang! That means Ling Celestial Venerable is likely close by!"
The Grand Emperor pulled the Taiyi Crutch from his forehead, bent it heavily, trying to snap it. But the crutch was too hard; he failed to break it, so he gripped it in his hand.
Dawn Celestial Venerable looked at Qin Mu with hope in his eyes, urging, "Herder Celestial Venerable, what was that divine ability just now? It even pierced my body! Truly formidable! Use it again!"
Qin Mu's face darkened.