Chapter 1588: No Gods Under Heaven
Qin Mu was stunned. Along the way, he had thought of countless possibilities, considering how to deal with Void Heavenly Venerable, Langxuan Divine Emperor, and Ancestral God King while simultaneously slaying Tu Bo. He thought about how Tu Bo would counterattack under the control of the Netherworld Dao, and how Netherworld Heavenly Venerable would respond in this battle.
He also thought of another extremely important figure: Tai Chu.
Tai Chu had returned to his true identity. Would he see through Qin Mu’s plan? Would he interfere?
Moreover, another key point he considered was that the Third Young Master and the Fourth Young Master had reached an agreement. In other words, the schemes of these two young masters had merged into one.
The Third Young Master’s Lingxiao trap and the Fourth Young Master’s ancestral court blood sacrifice—both plans were proceeding simultaneously, with the two young masters no longer tripping each other up. What schemes would they have in this battle to kill Tu Bo?
What benefits had they given Tai Chu and Hao Heavenly Venerable?
How much of a threat would these benefits pose to him, Kai Huang, Yun Heavenly Venerable, and the others?
Qin Mu had also considered the possibility of failure. If he failed to kill Tu Bo, how would he salvage the situation and minimize losses?
If he succeeded in killing Tu Bo, how would he protect the Netherworld?
If he couldn’t protect it, he had to come up with countermeasures.
Killing Tu Bo involved a complexity of circumstances he had never faced before, which had left him racking his brains.
Yet, he had overlooked the most critical point: killing Tu Bo might not be difficult at all. All he needed was to get Ling Heavenly Venerable in front of Tu Bo, and she could finish him off in one move!
Back then, Moon Heavenly Venerable had sent Ling Heavenly Venerable behind the Grand Emperor, and Ling Heavenly Venerable had taken him out in one blow. Tu Bo was even weaker than the Grand Emperor in the Divine Consciousness Great Luo Heaven, so if Ling Heavenly Venerable could enter Tu Bo’s brow, killing him in one move wouldn’t be hard.
“I worried too much and forgot the simplest path.”
Qin Mu followed Netherworld Heavenly Venerable into the Tianqi Rensheng King’s mansion, thinking to himself: “But while Ling Heavenly Venerable killing Tu Bo is simple, the before and after require extremely detailed strategy to avoid casualties and prevent the Netherworld from falling into the Heavenly Court’s hands.”
In the mansion, Qin Mu didn’t see Netherworld Heavenly Venerable’s mother and was surprised, asking about it. Netherworld Heavenly Venerable personally served tea and water, entertaining the two, and said calmly, “Mother has reincarnated.”
Qin Mu was astonished and gave him a deep look.
Netherworld Heavenly Venerable said, “In the Netherworld battle, no one can be fully protected. If my mother stayed here, I’d have to divide my attention to care for her, so I sent her to reincarnate.”
Qin Mu was silent for a long time before sighing, “You could actually bear to do that.”
“I was too selfish. Because of this familial bond, I bound my mother for a million years, making her stay with me in the Netherworld. It was time to let go.”
Netherworld Heavenly Venerable’s body trembled slightly, his voice a bit hoarse, but then he regained his calm: “After she reincarnates, she won’t awaken memories of her past life and won’t remember having a son like me. She’ll become an ordinary human woman, with her own life and her own future. I once went to see her. She’s fine, she’s living well. She doesn’t recognize me anymore…”
Qin Mu’s heart was filled with myriad emotions, but he didn’t know what to say, so he could only pat him on the shoulder.
After Netherworld Heavenly Venerable recalled all his Yin Cha old man avatars, he had reverted to his youthful body, like the autistic boy who once wore a ghost-face mask.
His mother had occupied almost all the space in his closed heart, supporting him to keep going, supporting him to live until now.
Very few people could carve a place in his heart, except for three.
The first was Yu Heavenly Venerable, who died at the Yao Chi banquet. Yu Heavenly Venerable was his elder brother, who supported and encouraged him. After his mother’s death, it was Yu Heavenly Venerable who entered his heart, making him pull himself together and accomplish the feat of opening the Life and Death Divine Treasury.
The second was Qin Mu.
Qin Mu avenged Yu Heavenly Venerable, daring to offend the Heavenly Court, daring to offend Yuanmu Consort and Heavenly Emperor Tai Chu, earning his respect. Qin Mu also stole Yu Heavenly Venerable’s corpse, promising to revive him after a million years. Netherworld Heavenly Venerable stayed in the Netherworld for a million years because of this promise—a promise lighter than eternity, yet so heavy.
The third was Tu Bo.
On the surface, Tu Bo and Netherworld Heavenly Venerable were lord and subject. Tu Bo was the ruler of the Netherworld, and Netherworld Heavenly Venerable was his appointed Tianqi Rensheng King, managing all Netherworld affairs, while also serving as the Yin Cha old man, guiding all the dead from the myriad realms.
Tu Bo had only one subordinate: Netherworld Heavenly Venerable. All the work was essentially done by Netherworld Heavenly Venerable alone, and the hardship was unimaginable.
But in reality, Netherworld Heavenly Venerable and Tu Bo were friends.
How similar they were, both bound by familial ties. Tu Bo was trapped by his father-daughter bond with Void Heavenly Venerable, and Netherworld Heavenly Venerable was trapped by his mother-son bond with his mother.
They had many common topics. Though when they chatted, they were like gourd mouths that couldn’t spill a single seed, they understood each other deeply.
Both were autistic, yet they saw their own shadows in each other and found courage in each other.
In the Xuan Du battle, Netherworld Heavenly Venerable, for Qin Mu’s sake, could step out of his bond with his mother, willingly follow Qin Mu to Xuan Du to fight, risking life and death.
And in the Netherworld battle, Netherworld Heavenly Venerable, for Tu Bo’s sake, was willing to let his mother reincarnate, letting her forget all memories of him!
“We’ve come to kill Tu Bo. The one who will find it hardest to accept should be Netherworld Heavenly Venerable.”
Qin Mu thought silently: “But Netherworld Heavenly Venerable should understand. He will let go and put down the burden in his heart, because Ugly Tu Bo will come back to life.”
“I can feel from you both that you have killing intent toward Tu Bo.”
Netherworld Heavenly Venerable gave Qin Mu and Ling Heavenly Venerable a deep look, a glint of vigilance flashing in his eyes, warning them: “Don’t act rashly. Don’t do anything foolish.”
Though autistic, he was exceptionally perceptive and vaguely guessed Qin Mu’s thoughts.
“It must be because the Netherworld Dao is hostile to me. I once revived a million people, angering the Netherworld Dao.”
Qin Mu laughed heartily, activating his reincarnation divine ability, and said, “So the Netherworld Dao is driving Tu Bo to kill me. Ling Heavenly Venerable is worried about me, and we’re both on alert, which you’ve mistaken for killing intent toward Tu Bo.”
Netherworld Heavenly Venerable shook his head: “My perception won’t be wrong. You’re using a wondrous Dao to mask your killing intent toward Tu Bo. This Dao is very peculiar, but it originates from the Netherworld Dao, a new Dao developed from it. So it can’t fool me.”
Qin Mu continued to activate his reincarnation Dao, trying his best to block his perception, and probed, “What about now?”
“I can still sense it, but it’s fainter,” Netherworld Heavenly Venerable said.
Qin Mu focused his mind, activating the divine ability of the thirty-first level of the Dao realm: Reincarnation Silent, Formless and Nameless.
Behind his head, reincarnation spun, and a dazzling light flashed.
Qin Mu asked again, “And now?”
Behind Netherworld Heavenly Venerable, his primordial spirit’s robes fluttered in the light of reincarnation, rustling, but even after the Reincarnation Silent Great Divine Ability passed, he still sensed Qin Mu’s killing intent toward Tu Bo, not controlled by this move. He said, “A bit fainter, but it’s already very light. Tu Bo might not be able to sense your killing intent toward him.”
Qin Mu breathed a sigh of relief, and reincarnation spun as he cast the divine ability on Ling Heavenly Venerable.
A divine light flashed in Netherworld Heavenly Venerable’s eyes. After a moment, he said, “Ling’s killing intent has also lessened. If you approach Tu Bo now, he won’t attack you on his own. You can go kill Tu Bo.”
From Qin Mu’s actions, he had already guessed their intention, and his insight was admirable.
“You know we’re going to kill Tu Bo?” Qin Mu probed.
Netherworld Heavenly Venerable shook his head: “Hao Heavenly Venerable is scheming, using Tu Bo’s life to trap you, making you fall into his laid trap. To escape the trap and avoid losses among Qin, Yue, Ling, and the others, you have to strike first and kill Tu Bo. Once Tu Bo is dead, the hostage is gone, and Hao Heavenly Venerable’s trap ceases to exist. I’m not stupid. When I felt the killing intent from you, I knew your goal.”
Ling Heavenly Venerable looked at him, a trace of admiration in her eyes.
Qin Mu asked, “Netherworld, won’t you stop us?”
“Tu Bo wants to become the real Ugly. I will only help him achieve it, not stop him.”
Netherworld Heavenly Venerable said, “But you must be fully prepared. After Tu Bo dies, what happens to the Netherworld?”
The divine light in his eyes gradually dimmed: “Tu Bo’s physical body must not fall into the Heavenly Court’s hands. The Netherworld must not fall into the Heavenly Court’s hands either. The Netherworld Dao must also not fall under the Heavenly Court’s control. These are things you need to watch out for after Tu Bo’s death. And you can’t control them.”
Qin Mu nodded.
Indeed, he couldn’t control them.
He had come to kill Tu Bo to avoid falling into Hao Heavenly Venerable and Tai Chu’s trap, preventing heavy casualties among his own people. But while he could jump out of this trap, the subsequent Netherworld battle was inevitable.
He could kill Tu Bo to seize the initiative, but the Netherworld battle was equally crucial!
Tu Bo was the Netherworld. Tu Bo’s physical body carried everything in the Netherworld, including the Netherworld Dao. Tu Bo’s physical body absolutely could not be lost.
The worst-case scenario involved Tu Bo’s Book of Life and Death!
So he had to come and steal the Book of Life and Death.
“You’ve already stolen the Book of Life and Death, haven’t you?”
Netherworld Heavenly Venerable suddenly said, “When you hugged me and walked into the mansion, you swiped the Book of Life and Death, right?”
Qin Mu sighed, took out the Book of Life and Death, placed it on the table, and pushed it in front of him, saying, “Since you’ve seen through it, it’s better for you to hold onto the Book of Life and Death. You are Netherworld Heavenly Venerable, the opener of the Life and Death Divine Treasury. Use the Book of Life and Death to cast divine abilities, protect the human race, and remove them from the Book of Life and Death.”
Netherworld Heavenly Venerable shook his head: “I can’t do that.”
Qin Mu was taken aback.
Netherworld Heavenly Venerable said, “Removing everyone from the Book of Life and Death—not even Tu Bo could do that. This Book of Life and Death is the book of justice, manifested by the Netherworld Dao. The Netherworld Dao cannot go against itself. The Book of Life and Death cannot free the human race from the Netherworld’s control.”
Qin Mu frowned deeply.
If Tu Bo’s Book of Life and Death couldn’t guarantee the safety of the human race, then when the Netherworld truly fell into the Heavenly Court’s hands, the human race’s doom would descend!
“With the Book of Life and Death, I can only do one thing.”
Netherworld Heavenly Venerable didn’t push the book back but placed his hand on it, his expression calm: “Erase everyone’s Life and Death Divine Treasury.”
Qin Mu’s eyelid twitched, and his voice turned hoarse: “What will happen if everyone’s Life and Death Divine Treasury is erased?”
Netherworld Heavenly Venerable said, “All gods will have a limit to their lifespan. Only certain powerful beings, like those proficient in the Dao of Creation, might transcend it.”
Qin Mu’s heart pounded a few times, his throat growing drier, and he rasped, “What are the consequences?”
“No gods under heaven.”
Netherworld Heavenly Venerable looked directly into his eyes and said word by word, “Do you need me to do this?”
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