Chapter 1561: Earth Lord, My Elder Brother
Qin Mu's expression was grave. Heavenly Venerate Hao was surely heading to the Ultimate Void to attain enlightenment through power, imprinting his strength upon the Ultimate Void itself!
Once he reached that step and achieved mastery in attaining enlightenment through power, Heavenly Venerate Hao would accomplish a feat never before achieved by anyone!
Before him, no one in this universe had been able to attain enlightenment through power, and he would be the first!
"Imprinting the void through power attained by force—perhaps there were those in the ancient universe who did this, but not in the present. After Heavenly Venerate Hao attains enlightenment through power, what impact will it have on this universe?"
He sat within the Myriad Dao Heavenly Wheel, lost in thought.
Heavenly Venerate Hao cultivated the Lingxiao Hall and the Purple Firmament Hall, borrowing the power of these two Miluo Palace halls to grant himself unprecedented strength.
If his power were to imprint upon the Ultimate Void, would that mean the Purple Firmament Hall and the Lingxiao Hall would also be imprinted into the Ultimate Void of this universe?
Would doing so cause the two Miluo Palace young masters to arrive ahead of time?
The Spirit Energy Reciprocal Transfer Bridge was activated. Palace Heavenly Venerate hesitated for a moment but still led the Myriad Dao Heavenly Wheel onto the bridge.
Entering the Reciprocal Transfer Bridge meant entering the territory of Earth Lord. She couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy.
Earth Lord was a being as renowned as Heaven Duke. Relying on her own strength alone, it would be difficult to contend with Earth Lord, and to enter the Return to Void, she had to pass through the Nether Realm.
At Jade Lock Pass, the Spirit Energy Reciprocal Transfer Bridge shone brightly. Palace Heavenly Venerate emerged from the altar with the Myriad Dao Heavenly Wheel. Lu Li waited nearby, about to bow in greeting, but Palace Heavenly Venerate waved her hand and said, "No need for words. Immediately head to the Return to Void!"
Lu Li quickly led the way, speaking rapidly: "Heavenly Venerate, please follow this minor god! As for the Return to Void, this minor god originally didn't know its location until the River Styx reappeared and revealed its position. That River Styx flows to Jade Lock Pass and pours into the Return to Void..."
Palace Heavenly Venerate turned to look back. She saw the Heavenly River surging mightily, rushing from the Primordial Realm into the Nether Realm, where it transformed into the River Styx. The River Styx flowed endlessly, passing between Earth Lord's horns—a truly awe-inspiring sight!
That River Styx circled Earth Lord's colossal body, winding its way down to his feet, ultimately falling into the darkness before them, which was within Jade Capital City.
"...In recent years, this minor god has been oppressed by Earth Lord, making life extremely difficult. Earth Lord is fierce and cruel to us gods of the Heavenly Court faction, especially that Heavenly Equal Sage King, who is even more ferocious. These years, he simply hasn't allowed us to meddle in the Nether Realm... Oh, and there's one more thing!"
Lu Li said, "Some time ago, the Empress Consort ran over here and injured some of our people!"
Palace Heavenly Venerate was slightly startled: "Yan Heavenly Consort came running over and injured you? What was she doing here?"
She thought for a moment. Since the incident at the Primordial Realm Jade Capital City where the Taiji Ancient God betrayed them and captured Yan Heavenly Consort and Shi Qiluo, she hadn't heard any news of Yan Heavenly Consort.
Still, she wasn't afraid of Yan Heavenly Consort and dismissed the matter.
"...This minor god has been bullied and oppressed, so I was hoping that Heavenly Venerate could put in a good word with the Heavenly Court and transfer me to the Nether Capital? I am willing to serve under the Nether Emperor as a general and work with utmost loyalty." Lu Li said cautiously.
Palace Heavenly Venerate was about to speak when she suddenly sensed something amiss. She quickly looked around, her expression changing, and immediately said, "Lu Li, why has the demonic aura in Jade Lock Pass suddenly intensified?"
Lu Li was taken aback and quickly looked around. He saw that the Nether Realm's great dao aura in Jade Lock Pass was growing stronger and stronger, and the Nether Realm's demonic energy had become denser than before. Even those demon gods who hadn't yet attained the dao could feel that the Nether Realm's great dao had suddenly become violent at this moment!
Suddenly, Qin Mu poked his head out from the Myriad Dao Heavenly Wheel and sneered, "Palace Heavenly Venerate, great calamity is upon you! I've been brought here, and my elder brother Earth Lord has already discovered me! You're dead, you're going to die!"
Palace Heavenly Venerate was furious: "Pastoral Heavenly Venerate has been trapped inside the Myriad Dao Heavenly Wheel. With me here, it's difficult for your divine consciousness to transmit out. So who leaked the news and let Earth Lord know you're here?"
She cast a suspicious glance at Lu Li.
Lu Li's hair stood on end, and he dared not speak.
Qin Mu laughed, "Palace Heavenly Venerate, look up. Earth Lord has already noticed you!"
Palace Heavenly Venerate looked up and her face changed drastically. She saw that the great dao of the entire Nether Realm was boiling, converging into sixty-four streams, filled with overwhelming baleful aura, all surging into Earth Lord's massive body!
Earth Lord's enormous physical form was entwined with demonic energy and demonic dao, and his body began to stir. His incomparably huge head lowered, looking down at his own feet!
Jade Lock Pass was right beneath Earth Lord's feet!
When Earth Lord's third eye on his brow opened, even Palace Heavenly Venerate felt a chill run down her spine. She shouted sharply, "Who leaked the news?"
Lu Li's face turned ashen, and he shrieked, "Heavenly Venerate, how would I know..."
Before he could finish, his head exploded. Palace Heavenly Venerate struck him down with a single blow, shattering even his primordial spirit and soul into dust!
Qin Mu's expression was also tense at this moment, his heart pounding violently. He forced himself to stay calm and said, "Earth Lord, my elder brother. You can't escape death unless you can flee to the Return to Void before he makes his move! Palace Heavenly Venerate, surrender! Why not release me?"
He was trapped inside the Myriad Dao Heavenly Wheel. This wheel was a supreme treasure refined by Heavenly Venerate Hao using divine metals and divine materials from the Primordial Realm. It was divided into an Inner Heavenly Court and an Outer Heavenly Court, each with thirty-six heavenly palaces and fifty-six precious halls.
Fearing that Qin Mu might escape, Heavenly Venerate Hao had added layer upon layer of seals. Although these seals wouldn't stump Qin Mu, with Palace Heavenly Venerate present, as long as she exerted a little pressure, Qin Mu couldn't break free.
Palace Heavenly Venerate sneered. She saw demonic fire blazing wildly in Earth Lord's vertical eye, growing brighter and brighter. A chill ran through her heart, and she knew she couldn't withstand even a single strike from Earth Lord!
Creators were naturally weak in soul, and because they had developed the divine consciousness cultivation system, they didn't cultivate souls or primordial spirits. Thus, Earth Lord was the bane of the Creator race.
Although Palace Heavenly Venerate had reincarnated and had been making up for her deficiencies in soul and primordial spirit over the years, her primordial spirit was still inferior to those of other Heavenly Venerates.
Facing an existence like Earth Lord, a single blow could reduce her primordial spirit to ashes!
She was about to rush with the Myriad Dao Heavenly Wheel toward the place where the River Styx fell, when she saw the wheel suddenly sprout two legs. It was Qin Mu's legs extending out from beneath the wheel. The two legs moved swiftly, spinning like two fast-turning wheels, and rushed toward the Return to Void with a whoosh!
Palace Heavenly Venerate was stunned for a moment before quickly catching up and grabbing the heavenly wheel. Qin Mu's expression was extremely tense as he shouted, "Run! Run fast!"
"This Pastoral Heavenly Venerate seems even more nervous than I am. Isn't Earth Lord his elder brother?"
Palace Heavenly Venerate was puzzled, but at that moment, Earth Lord's vertical eye had already activated. A pitch-black demonic fire descended from the sky, blasting toward Jade Lock Pass!
Palace Heavenly Venerate gritted her teeth and charged forward. The power of the dao stirred by that demonic fire was astonishing. Before it even reached Jade Lock Pass, countless Heavenly Court soldiers within the pass began to burn!
This burning wasn't of their physical bodies, but of their primordial spirits. The demonic fire formed from the burning of their primordial spirits spewed from their eyes, ears, noses, and mouths. In an instant, who knew how many demon gods' primordial spirits were burned to ashes!
They raised their heads, spread their arms, and streams of black smoke shot out from their eyes, ears, noses, and mouths. Their bodies trembled violently before quickly falling still, standing motionless.
Their physical bodies remained, but their primordial spirits were dead—their bodies were empty!
In the blink of an eye, the entire Jade Lock Pass had become a ghost town filled with corpses!
Waves of cold air surged up Palace Heavenly Venerate's spine, and her scalp went numb. Earth Lord was not like Heaven Duke. Heaven Duke was the Heavenly Dao. Even when attacking the Mystic Capital, Heaven Duke hadn't committed much slaughter.
But the Nether Realm was the origin of the demonic dao. Earth Lord was a natural demonic dao ancient god. The sixty-four great daos of the Nether Realm were sixty-four innate demonic daos!
Once this demonic dao ancient god's killing intent arose, he would kill anyone!
Back then, he had even charged into the Heavenly Court!
"Faster! Faster!"
Qin Mu seemed even more anxious than she was, urging her on: "Palace Jun, can you do it or not? If you can't, undo the seals and let me out. I'll carry you into the Return to Void!"
Palace Heavenly Venerate gritted her teeth and charged forward, even more puzzled: "Pastoral Heavenly Venerate seems even more afraid of Earth Lord than I am..."
She moved at lightning speed, a fleeting shadow, rushing into a forest of steles. In that forest were countless gods and demons who had committed great sins, suffering and burning in karmic fire, enduring immense pain and torment.
As Palace Heavenly Venerate passed through a forest of karmic fire steles, she glanced sideways and was slightly startled.
"Ugly Earth Lord!"
She saw Ugly Earth Lord sitting in an incredibly dense and terrifying karmic fire. The horror of that karmic fire made even her heart tremble.
That terrifying karmic fire was filled with sin, the deepest guilt of mortals, gods, and demons, the most evil negative emotions. Even a Heavenly Venerate like her, if contaminated, would likely fall into the demonic dao, giving rise to all kinds of evil thoughts and inner demons, and have her cultivation destroyed!
"Although Ugly Earth Lord has committed great sins, he shouldn't have to endure such intense karmic fire, nor should he have been burning for so long..."
Just as she thought this, she saw another old man with white eyebrows, white beard, and white eyes also suffering in the fire, in agony.
"This old man looks like Heaven Duke..."
Palace Heavenly Venerate had no time to think further. She rushed past the karmic fire stele forest with a whoosh. Ahead of the forest was the River Styx, where the mighty river poured into a huge hole!
Behind her, the strike from Earth Lord's vertical eye had already landed. The entire Jade Lock Pass shook violently, the ground turning to powder. A surging wave of air lifted countless corpses!
Strangely, although the shockwave was terrifying, the corpses of those gods and demons were not damaged at all, remaining intact. And although the ground of Jade Lock Pass shook and crumbled, it also remained whole, not a single piece destroyed.
Palace Heavenly Venerate struggled forward. The shockwave from Earth Lord's strike had already reached her back. The demonic fire blazed, igniting her primordial spirit.
Palace Heavenly Venerate felt an excruciating pain in her soul, as if countless inner demons were screaming wildly in her mind, drowning out all sound!
Inside the Myriad Dao Heavenly Wheel, Qin Mu quickly extended his legs again and ran at full speed.
Palace Heavenly Venerate gritted her teeth and followed. The two of them, one after the other, plunged into the River Styx, swept away by its waters, tumbling and rolling downstream!
Earth Lord missed his target. He reached out his massive hand and grabbed the entire River Styx. This river, formed from the Heavenly River flowing into the Nether Realm, was extremely wide, but he easily seized it and pulled hard.
In an instant, the River Styx's waters reversed course, dragging the two people inside back toward him.
Qin Mu and Palace Heavenly Venerate were horrified, each thinking to themselves, "My life is over!"
Just then, amidst the surging waves, a madwoman was also pulled out by Earth Lord. She was enraged and shrieked, "Earth Lord, how dare you ruin our plans?"
With a single strike, the madwoman severed the River Styx. Qin Mu and Palace Heavenly Venerate were immediately sucked into the great fissure and fell down.
The madwoman charged at Earth Lord's massive hand, fighting fiercely for several hundred rounds before her anger subsided. She then returned to the great fissure in the Nether Realm.