Chapter 1599: Death of the Upper Exalted
“So, Heavenly Lord Hao is unwilling to fulfill his promise?”
Within the Dao Fruit, the consciousness of Upper Exalted Lingyu transmitted coldly, “You spoke so eloquently just now, but it turns out you’re just as bad as the Seventh Young Master! Heh! The servants of the Third and Fourth Young Masters share the same virtue! This is precisely why I refused the invitation when the master of Miluo Palace asked me to join!”
Heavenly Lord Hao couldn’t be bothered to argue further. He directly slammed his palm down onto the red-string knot.
The red-string knot possessed no power. Within the Wheel of Ten Thousand Daos, Qin Mu drawled lazily, “Brother Hao wants to use my hand to kill someone. Did you ask me first?”
Heavenly Lord Hao chuckled lightly. His Guixu divine ability erupted, engulfing Upper Exalted Lingyu’s Dao Fruit, along with the primordial spirit of Emperor Langhuan and the Heavenly Court itself!
After a moment, his expression turned grave. As the Guixu divine ability dissipated, Upper Exalted Lingyu, Emperor Langhuan’s primordial spirit, and the Heavenly Court remained exactly where they were. Even Qin Mu’s red-string knot had not been refined by his Guixu Abyss divine ability.
Upper Exalted Lingyu said flatly, “I have endured the Great Extinction Calamity without perishing. What ability do you possess that could compare to the Great Destruction of the universe?”
Heavenly Lord Hao’s expression grew heavy.
Upper Exalted Lingyu had seized Langhuan’s primordial spirit, and the power within his Dao Fruit was too immense. It prevented Heavenly Lord Hao from even refining Langhuan’s primordial spirit!
Qin Mu’s voice drifted over, ethereal: “Upper Exalted Lingyu, the reason you remain undying is due to my divine ability. If I hadn’t suppressed that Calamity-Breaking Sword hidden within your Dao Fruit, you would be dead by now.”
Upper Exalted Lingyu snorted coldly: “Seventh Young Master, do you think you can kill me?”
Qin Mu sneered: “You’re nothing but a single Dao Fruit left. Do you think I can’t kill you?”
Upper Exalted Lingyu laughed heartily: “I have endured the Great Destruction Calamity of the universe without perishing! What ability do you have to kill me?”
Qin Mu roared with laughter: “A mere Dao Fruit, and you dare act arrogant before me? As the Seventh Young Master of Miluo Palace, I have plenty of ways!”
“Miluo Palace? Only the master of Miluo Palace is worth mentioning. Aside from him, you’re all a bunch of useless trash!”
Upper Exalted Lingyu’s voice was filled with rage: “What nonsense ‘Young Masters’? You’re just a group of cowards who only dare to rely on Miluo Palace to survive the calamity! Those with true ability rely on their own power to endure it!”
Heavenly Lord Hao blinked his eyes, waiting quietly, eagerly anticipating a fight to the death between them.
Both sides’ anger was difficult to suppress, and the more they spoke, the harder it became to control.
Suddenly, Qin Mu sneered: “Upper Exalted Lingyu, I can undo the red-string knot, and I can also erase the Calamity-Breaking Sword within your Dao Fruit. Would you like to join forces with me?”
Heavenly Lord Hao laughed out loud.
“Fine! Join forces it is!” Upper Exalted Lingyu agreed readily.
The smile on Heavenly Lord Hao’s face instantly froze.
Upper Exalted Lingyu said, “Do you need me to swear an oath?”
“No need.”
Qin Mu’s voice came from within the Wheel of Ten Thousand Daos: “If you betray your word, I have plenty of ways to deal with you!”
“Good!”
Upper Exalted Lingyu said decisively: “When do we strike?”
Heavenly Lord Hao’s heart grew alert, and he immediately began to activate the Wheel of Ten Thousand Daos. However, at that very moment, Qin Mu suddenly raised his index finger and thrust it forward.
Boom!
The center of the Wheel of Ten Thousand Daos exploded violently. A vast, surging purple light rushed forward with overwhelming power, turning everything in its path to dust!
Primordial Unity Finger!
Heavenly Lord Hao flipped backward, dodging the strike by sidestepping. However, Qin Mu’s finger was no longer the simple Primordial Unity Finger of the past—a straightforward thrust with no variation in power.
Now, the Primordial Unity Finger incorporated the forty-thousand years of insights that Celestial Venerable Ling had imparted to Qin Mu. Qin Mu had comprehended countless variations of the Miluo Palace Dao patterns. Not only was its power greater, but it was also unpredictable and ever-changing.
As Heavenly Lord Hao twisted to evade, he saw the finger transform into a purple sword, slashing toward his waist!
He fell backward, and the purple sword swept across his upper body, cutting through his robes before stopping.
Cold sweat broke out on Heavenly Lord Hao’s forehead. He moved his feet, shooting backward along the ground like a bolt of lightning. The purple sword slashed down between his legs, and then a streak of purple light chased after his form!
At that moment, a Divine Artifact Imperial Heaven was precisely being created. Heavenly Lord Hao immediately seized control of the Divine Artifact Imperial Heaven and sent it charging straight toward the Wheel of Ten Thousand Daos.
Within the Wheel of Ten Thousand Daos, Qin Mu resisted the wheel’s grinding force, pushing his cultivation to its absolute limit. Under the influence of his divine ability and Dharma power, the thirty-five heavenly palaces of Heavenly Lord Hao nearly ground to a halt.
He struggled to squeeze outward, but the Divine Artifact Imperial Heaven had already reached him.
The Divine Artifact Imperial Heaven roared, its hands coming together from left and right, aiming to crush his head!
Just as it seemed the Divine Artifact Imperial Heaven would shatter his skull, Upper Exalted Lingyu, controlling Emperor Langhuan’s primordial spirit, slammed into the Divine Artifact Imperial Heaven with a thunderous crash, sending the deity tumbling and rolling, unable to steady itself!
As Heavenly Lord Hao struggled to regain control of the Divine Artifact Imperial Heaven and get it back on its feet, Upper Exalted Lingyu, still controlling Langhuan’s primordial spirit, appeared before it once more. The primordial spirit’s hands merged together and shot toward it like a projectile.
Heavenly Lord Hao raised his hand to block, but it was too late. Langhuan’s primordial spirit’s hands pierced through the Divine Artifact Imperial Heaven’s brow with a sharp *shua* sound.
Inside the Divine Artifact Imperial Heaven, Heavenly Lord Hao’s divine consciousness erupted, resisting Langhuan’s primordial spirit. The Imperial Heaven’s hands reached out, grabbed the primordial spirit’s legs, and pulled outward with force.
Within Langhuan’s primordial spirit, the Dao Fruit rotated, and divine consciousness exploded forth. Langhuan’s divine consciousness was far more powerful than Heavenly Lord Hao’s—arguably second only to Langhuan himself.
Langhuan was already dead, but Upper Exalted Lingyu had seized his body. His control and manipulation of Langhuan’s divine consciousness surpassed even Langhuan’s own!
In his previous life, he had once seized the body of Taichu, one of the Five Primordials of the Sixteenth Universe. Handling Langhuan’s divine consciousness came naturally to him. After this surge of divine consciousness, Heavenly Lord Hao’s consciousness within the Divine Artifact Imperial Heaven was completely erased, wiped clean without a trace!
Upper Exalted Lingyu immediately took control of the Divine Artifact Imperial Heaven’s physical form, letting out a long, relieved breath. His heart was filled with boundless joy.
He had finally succeeded in surviving the Great Extinction Calamity and had firmly established a foothold in the future universe!
On the other side, Heavenly Lord Hao tumbled through the air, dodging the power of Qin Mu’s finger. He unleashed a variety of divine abilities, layer by layer weakening the Primordial Unity Finger’s might, and shouted angrily: “Celestial Venerable Mu! You have allowed a prehistoric Dao-Achiever to descend alive into this universe! You have sinned against Heaven!”
Qin Mu laughed heartily as he burst out of the Wheel of Ten Thousand Daos.
The moment he broke free, the Wheel of Ten Thousand Daos spun rapidly and shot away, landing behind Heavenly Lord Hao. Heavenly Lord Hao raised his hand and slammed it forward heavily. Boom, boom, boom—layer after layer of dark Wheels of Ten Thousand Daos spread out before him.
Qin Mu’s Primordial Unity Finger struck, piercing through layer after layer of wheel divine abilities, passing through twenty-eight layers of wheels before its power was still not completely worn away!
Heavenly Lord Hao roared, clenching his fists and madly punching forward. In an instant, he threw an unknown number of punches.
By the time the power of Qin Mu’s finger was completely erased, his hands were dripping with blood, trembling from the pain.
Qin Mu raised his hand and summoned the Calamity Sword, standing not far from him.
On the other side, Upper Exalted Lingyu had already grown accustomed to the Divine Artifact Imperial Heaven’s body and walked over as well.
The wheel behind Heavenly Lord Hao’s head rotated slowly, his gaze flickering: “Upper Exalted Lingyu, if I die, I will be devoured by the Blood Sacrifice Grand Array of the Netherworld. The Third and Fourth Young Masters of Miluo Palace have already accumulated enough power. While it may not be enough to support their own descent, allowing a single Dao-Achiever to descend is not difficult.”
Upper Exalted Lingyu stopped in his tracks. Heavenly Lord Hao retreated step by step, a smile spreading across his face: “Upper Exalted Lingyu, you and we Ten Heavenly Lords are the same kind of people. You have grand ambitions. You didn’t join Miluo Palace not because you distrust the Young Masters of Miluo Palace, but because you don’t want to be beneath anyone. Your goal is to surpass the Young Masters of Miluo Palace and become the master of this universe, isn’t that right?”
Qin Mu’s heart tightened. He turned to look at Upper Exalted Lingyu and said, “Upper Exalted, you wouldn’t be such a mundane person, would you?”
Upper Exalted Lingyu sighed, a desolate tone in his voice: “I would very much like to deny it, but I am precisely that kind of mundane person. What meaning is there in merely surviving? As a Dao-Achiever, one should have greater pursuits, to pass the time of the future and make life interesting.”
Qin Mu said, disappointed: “So you can’t be relied upon either.”
Heavenly Lord Hao stopped retreating. Footsteps sounded behind him—the footsteps of Celestial Venerable Ling.
Celestial Venerable Ling had arrived at this Zaofu Heavenly Palace.
Upper Exalted Lingyu’s gaze fell upon Celestial Venerable Ling. He immediately sensed that her cultivation was not high and dismissed her, saying with a smile: “This body is not suitable for me. It can only be considered barely usable, but it cannot guarantee that I can enter the Ultimate Void and entrust my Dao Fruit.”
His gaze swept around, taking in the fragments of the Great Luo Heaven and the hexagonal pillars within them.
“The Fourth Young Master of Miluo Palace is still talented, to be able to design such an ingenious blood sacrifice method. I only need to make a few adjustments, and the blood sacrifice will serve my purposes.”
He spread his arms and laughed heartily: “As long as the physical body of Taichu descends, I can eternally dominate this universe! Above the azure sky, below the yellow springs, there will be no opponent! You!”
His gaze fell upon Heavenly Lord Hao: “You and your Heavenly Court forces will all submit, and you may live.”
Cold sweat broke out on Heavenly Lord Hao’s forehead. He immediately sensed that he was locked onto by Upper Exalted Lingyu. It was the pure aura of the Taichu Dao, the Taichu Dao of the Thirty-Six Heavenly Dao Realms—a Dao realm that even his father, Taichu, had dreamed of!
The power of this aura was so strong that it threatened not only his current body but even his Dao-Achiever form, should it arrive. He would be no match for Upper Exalted Lingyu!
Not only that, but he could also hear Celestial Venerable Ling’s footsteps closing in on him!
Upper Exalted Lingyu turned to look at Qin Mu, a smile on his face: “Seventh Young Master of Miluo Palace? The Seventh Young Master can pledge allegiance to the master of Miluo Palace, or he can pledge allegiance to me. I am in no way inferior to the master of Miluo Palace.”
Qin Mu laughed: “The last person who spoke like that, one of the Five Primordials, was struck down by the master of Miluo Palace into the Fourth Universe Era.”
Upper Exalted Lingyu was unconcerned: “A mediocre talent.”
The pressure on Heavenly Lord Hao grew heavier and heavier. Cold sweat dripped from his forehead. Suddenly, he let out a loud shout, forcibly enduring Upper Exalted Lingyu’s pressure, and fled!
The moment he moved, Upper Exalted Lingyu struck out with a palm. Heavenly Lord Hao suddenly tore open the sky of the Netherworld, revealing a Guixu Abyss ahead, and dove into it.
Upper Exalted Lingyu’s palm force followed closely, blasting into that abyss. The void trembled violently, and blood surged forth, plasma seeping from the void for ten thousand miles, as if the Netherworld itself were bleeding.
“Oh? Escaped into the Guixu beneath the Netherworld? To survive that, he has some skill.”
Upper Exalted Lingyu’s gaze fell upon the approaching Celestial Venerable Ling, and he smiled: “Have you come to pledge allegiance to me?”
“No.”
Qin Mu shook his head and said, “Upper Exalted Lingyu, she has come to send you on your way. I told you earlier: if you betray your word, I have plenty of ways to deal with you. Do you remember?”
Upper Exalted Lingyu frowned. Suddenly, Qin Mu’s divine ability erupted. With a single move, he launched the Unyielding Divine Ability at him!
Upper Exalted Lingyu raised his hand to block. The Taichu divine ability exploded, a vast and overwhelming force surging toward Qin Mu. He said coldly: “Seventh Young Master, you have disappointed me!”
His Dharma power was overwhelming, directly suppressing the Unyielding Divine Ability, preventing it from unleashing its power. This vast force could even grind Qin Mu into dust, rendering his Unyielding Divine Ability completely useless!
The power of the Thirty-Six Heavenly Dao Realms of the Taichu Dao was terrifying beyond imagination!
Qin Mu did not dodge or evade. He grabbed the Taiyi Staff and held it before him. With his other hand, he flicked his five fingers as if playing a zither. Though his fingers brushed against empty air, the sound of a zither rang out.
He pushed the Extreme Void of Celestial Venerable Yue to its absolute limit!
Boom!
Upper Exalted Lingyu’s Thirty-Six Heavenly Realm Taichu divine ability struck, destroying Qin Mu’s divine hide, leaving only the World Tree. His physical body was nearly completely obliterated, leaving only the hand gripping the Taiyi Staff!
Celestial Venerable Ling’s form appeared before Upper Exalted Lingyu. She extended a finger and pressed it against his brow.
“What are you doing?”
Upper Exalted Lingyu frowned, looking down at this woman. Suddenly, as if realizing something, his expression turned grave: “What divine ability is this?”
Celestial Venerable Ling said: “A mass-energy unyielding divine ability, comprehended from the Dao patterns of the master of Miluo Palace.”
Upper Exalted Lingyu’s brow was tightly furrowed. He turned and took two steps, then his knees gave way, and his body collapsed. His physical form disintegrated, and his Dao Fruit crumbled.
“So… I am inferior to him…” he murmured softly.