Chapter 1591: Tu Bo’s Legacy
Qin Fengqing’s tears splattered heavily onto the flawless Book of Life and Death. The golden tome shimmered, illuminating each droplet until they became translucent.
Gradually, light began to radiate from within the tears, as if rays were piercing through crystals, refracting in all directions and flowing endlessly.
Qin Fengqing flew into a rage and hurled the scroll of the Book of Life and Death away!
“What use do I have for this foot-washing cloth? Give me back Tu Bo—“
Whoosh—
The Book of Life and Death floated in the air, its scroll unfurling, growing larger and larger. In an instant, a golden radiance enveloped the space above his head.
The golden light continued to expand and extend.
At that moment, Void Heavenly Venerable had already followed the Celestial River to the Nether Capital. She happened to look up and saw a golden canopy spreading from above Tu Bo’s head, growing ever wider, soon covering countless worlds in the darkness!
Swish—
The Styx River was severed by the golden light as well. The surging waters of the Styx poured into the golden canopy, flowing within it!
Void Heavenly Venerable was startled and uncertain. The Nether Capital was almost as vast as the entire universe—wherever there was death, there was the Nether Capital. Even the Ancestral Court overlapped with it!
Only a few worlds were beyond the Nether Capital’s reach, such as the Mystic Capital, the Heavenly Netherworld, and the Heavenly Court.
Now, the golden canopy was expanding at an unimaginable speed, covering nearly every world and severing their connection to the Nether Capital!
“Has Tu Bo gone mad?”
Void Heavenly Venerable’s eyes gleamed with sharp light. “Is he determined to drag all living beings into death with him? He truly has lost his mind, beginning a great slaughter! But then again, this is the real Tu Bo—this is the true demonic path!”
Demonic energy surged around her, blackening the Styx River. She laughed, “You always pretended to be fair and just, acting impartial and selfless. But I am your daughter—how could I not know what the demonic path truly is? Now you’ve finally shown your true face!”
Behind her, the void split open. The enormous face of the Heavenly Duke burst through the sky, leaning down to look.
Patriarch God King stood at the center of the Heavenly Duke’s brow. Demonic energy clashed with the divine aura of the Mystic Capital, annihilating each other, filling the sky with flames born of their mutual destruction.
“Void Heavenly Venerable, Tu Bo is about to slaughter all living beings. If he kills everyone, whom will we rule over?” Patriarch God King shouted.
“Let him kill!”
Void Heavenly Venerable waved her sleeve dismissively and sneered, “The more he kills, the easier it is for us. Even if he destroys every world, so what? He cannot escape death in the end!”
Patriarch God King frowned.
Void Heavenly Venerable said coldly, “At worst, we will recreate the heavens and forge new living beings, creating a batch of obedient creatures and gods!”
Suddenly, tears wet her cheeks without her realizing it. They slid down her face, drifting through the air, turning into floating demonic flames.
“Why am I crying?”
Void Heavenly Venerable murmured, “I’ve only cried once in my life, when I was young and ignorant. I haven’t shed a single tear since…”
She stared at her own demonic flame tear droplets floating in the air, momentarily lost, a vague unease stirring in her heart.
Just then, a name appeared on the surface of the Book of Life and Death, which now covered the entire Nether Capital.
“Tu.”
Void Heavenly Venerable stared at the name, puzzled. “Who is Tu?”
The character “Tu” gradually faded, and an image emerged on the surface of this supreme treasure of the Nether Capital. It depicted an ancient, primordial era—the age of desolation. At that time, a race of giants roamed the world, the predecessors of the Creators, though they had not yet become such.
They lived on the continent of the Ancestral Court, ignorant and unaware of what death meant.
Until one day, a giant named “Tu” died.
In that moment, the ignorant giants finally understood death. They gathered around the fallen giant, praying and offering sacrifices. Bonfires illuminated the dark sky, melting the earth, turning rocks and soil into molten lava.
Lava flowed together with the Celestial River. The ancient giants offered sacrifices to Tu’s corpse, begging death to spare them.
They built a raft, placed Tu upon it, and set it adrift on the Celestial River, watching it float away along with the river of lava.
As the Celestial River flowed, the great Dao of the world began to change. The river turned pitch black, filled with demonic nature, saturated with the giants’ fear of death.
Splash!
The Celestial River and the lava river suddenly plunged downward, falling into a forming dimensional space. Tu’s raft burned, his corpse turning to ash in the flames. Lava swirled around his remains, forming two enormous horns!
His flesh was replaced by molten rock, his soul burned to cinders. The Great Dao of the Nether Capital merged with his lingering soul, forming a new three-part spirit.
His body became filled with the power of the Nether Capital’s Great Dao. His form grew more and more massive, and the Nether Capital expanded rapidly!
The demonic path transformed him into a deity with a bull’s head, a tiger’s face, and a human body. The Celestial River flowed here, becoming the Styx, turning into a long whip held in his hand.
The Nether Capital made him a primordial god, the god who governs death. He carried out the will of the Nether Capital, ruling its world.
The order of the Nether Capital’s Great Dao became his order. The will of the Nether Capital’s Great Dao became his will!
He would use the Nether Capital’s order to rule the world of the dead, upholding its will with absolute impartiality and fairness!
The second Dao-born ancient god, Tu Bo, was born.
In those days, the giants looked up at the sky, and thus the Mystic Capital was born. When the first giant died, the Nether Capital came into being.
And Tu Bo was the god born in response to the passing of life.
This scene on the Book of Life and Death flashed by rapidly. Then a second name appeared, a third, and suddenly countless names and faces emerged on the scroll, vivid and lifelike, flickering past!
They were the names of all beings who had died from antiquity to the present. The sheer number was dizzying, impossible to take in before they vanished.
Patriarch God King and Void Heavenly Venerable were filled with shock and doubt. Suddenly, all the names disappeared from the Book of Life and Death, leaving only one.
Qin Fengqing.
“The Little Tu Bo, Qin Fengqing?”
Void Heavenly Venerable’s heart trembled. She watched as the name grew larger and larger, soon filling the entire scroll. The name dissolved, revealing the weeping figure of Qin Fengqing.
Then, to their horror, Void Heavenly Venerable and Patriarch God King saw Qin Fengqing standing in the palm of Nether Heavenly Venerable’s primordial spirit. Tu Bo was right before him, but now Tu Bo’s immense body had become cracked and brittle. The lava on his surface boiled and churned, the indestructible molten rock softening!
Lava was Tu Bo’s blood, and now it was flowing out of his body, as if countless blood vessels had burst!
Not only that, Tu Bo’s enormous horns began to collapse. The death worlds that formed them were shattering, melting, and falling from above!
Qin Fengqing cried even harder, but the demonic Dao of the Nether Capital spilling from Tu Bo’s body was burrowing into him, as if it had found a new vessel.
“No!”
Void Heavenly Venerable shouted sharply, “Tu Bo is dead!”
In the Nether Capital, beneath the Book of Life and Death, Qin Fengqing was like a helpless child, his eyes blurred with tears.
The Great Dao of the Nether Capital, illuminated by the Book of Life and Death, left Tu Bo’s unmatched body and surged into him. His form began to grow, just like Tu Bo’s in the past. Lava formed into horns atop his head.
They were the horns he had envied for so long. He had secretly spied on Tu Bo countless times, studying his horns, sucking his fingers while dreaming of having such majestic long horns himself.
He had also peeked at Void Heavenly Venerable, envying her long horns, complaining about why none had grown from his own head.
Now, his wish was fulfilled. He had inherited Tu Bo’s legacy and gained his own horns.
Not only that, the Styx flowed from the Book of Life and Death through his hands. He sensed it had become his weapon, his long whip.
Tu Bo’s physical form collapsed, and the Great Dao of the Nether Capital poured into him, yet he felt no joy—only overwhelming sorrow.
“I don’t want this…”
Soon, the palm of Nether Heavenly Venerable’s primordial spirit could no longer hold him. Qin Fengqing grew rapidly, surpassing his control.
He was no longer a chubby baby. He quickly grew into a youth, but Tu Bo’s horns had collapsed down to their roots, and Tu Bo’s head was about to disintegrate.
Qin Mu and Ling Heavenly Venerable emerged from the vertical eye on Tu Bo’s brow, looking up at Qin Fengqing, who was growing taller and larger.
“Big brother has grown up…”
Qin Mu’s gaze was complicated. He wanted to smile but couldn’t hold back his tears. He thought silently, “I wanted you to stay innocent forever, like an infant who never grows up, carefree and happy. But I couldn’t. I couldn’t protect you and let you live joyfully in this bleak, cruel world. So I had to make you see its cruelty, make you grow up quickly, so you could protect yourself and the ones you love…”
He said to Ling Heavenly Venerable, “Tu Bo’s body is about to collapse. We need to hurry to his feet. That’s where Ugly Tu Bo and the Heavenly Duke are…”
Before he could finish, the Styx long whip suddenly swept across him with a whoosh, wrapping around and coiling him up.
Qin Mu was bound tightly by the Styx, spinning uncontrollably until he was pulled before Qin Fengqing.
“Big brother, listen to me!”
Before Qin Mu could say more, Qin Fengqing roared in fury, “Bad little brother—!”
Boom!
A fist like a mountain slammed into Qin Mu, sending him flying. Before he could get far, the Styx whip coiled around him again!
“I’ll beat you to death, bad little brother!”
Qin Fengqing charged forward and struck Qin Mu with another punch.
Qin Mu coughed blood, flying backward, only to be caught and yanked back toward Qin Fengqing.
Qin Fengqing’s horns blazed with fire. The power of his Dao techniques grew stronger and stronger. He had already been no weaker than the Nether Emperor, and now his strength was surging!
His fist came crashing down, but suddenly Qin Mu raised his hand, his small palm gently blocking the blow.
“Big brother.”
Qin Mu looked up, his divine consciousness rippling. “I can resurrect Tu Bo.”
Qin Fengqing was both shocked and overjoyed. But then, a thunderous roar echoed as a massive hand slammed into the Book of Life and Death that covered the Nether Capital!
The terrifying force twisted the golden tome, cutting off the flow of the Nether Capital’s Great Dao to Qin Fengqing!