# Chapter 1606: Mother’s Kindness and Son’s Filial Piety
“Mother Empress need not worry. I will surely summon the finest divine physicians to treat your injuries!”
Heavenly Lord Hao carried Lady Yuanmu as they rose from the Guixu Abyss, surging upward into Netherworld.
The Netherworld lay shattered and broken. Void Heavenly Lord, Dark Heavenly King, and other gods who cultivated demonic paths were diligently trying to restore order, attempting to piece together the fragmented worlds.
Yet without Earth Lord, they could not restore the Netherworld.
“Your Majesty’s filial piety moves heaven and earth! Mother’s kindness and son’s filial devotion—a model for all the world!”
Dark Heavenly King saw Heavenly Lord Hao carrying his mother and hastily knelt, choking with sobs: “What kind of heartless wretch would harm the Empress Dowager? Truly deserving of death ten thousand times over!”
Heavenly Lord Hao said: “It was that old villain, Heavenly Lord Mu, who wounded my mother.”
Dark Heavenly King burned with righteous indignation, his eyes nearly splitting with rage as he screamed: “He harmed my great-grandmother! I will never coexist under the same sky with him! Your Majesty, please issue an order to punish Yan Kang! I beg to serve as the vanguard to crush the traitor Mu!”
Heavenly Lord Hao shook his head: “Zhaojin, I know you have always been loyal, your devotion clear as sun and moon. But a dead Yan Kang is not the best Yan Kang. The Heavenly Court may appear glorious now, but I have yet to ascend the throne, and my father still sits in power. Should any unforeseen incident occur, I will still need Yan Kang to forge divine weapons and suppress the disloyal. Moreover, Heavenly Master Meng has submitted a memorial, telling me of chaos spreading across the myriad realms—likely to engulf half of all heavens. We cannot be unprepared.”
He sighed, desolate: “My martial power is unmatched in the world, but pacifying the realm relies on force, while sitting upon the realm requires more than mere force. Governing the realm is even more difficult. The ancient gods who ruled through brute force have long been overthrown. Past lessons must not be ignored. That is why I must obtain both the Netherworld and the Heavenly Capital. These two places can secure my dynasty from change.”
Dark Heavenly King bowed: “Your humble servant does not understand.”
Heavenly Lord Hao said: “If the myriad realms rebel against me, the Heavenly Capital can send down heavenly disasters, cutting off their sun, moon, and stars, causing crops to fail and plants to wither. Let the rebels starve for a hundred years, and they will die off on their own. If there are creators who build sun ships and moon ships, then I will strike from the Netherworld, directly deprive them of their lifespans, beheading the ringleaders, and the world will be at peace. But such deterrence is not enough. I cannot exterminate entire heavens at every turn. If the people are all dead, whom will I rule?”
Dark Heavenly King suddenly understood: “Your Majesty means that these commoners will still find ways to rebel, so you need even stronger measures?”
Heavenly Lord Hao’s gaze flickered: “The Dao Fire of the Southern Pole Heaven can transform into a Dao fire calamity that burns everything, scorching thousands of miles. The Metal Qi of the Western Pole Heaven can become a war calamity, causing the commoners to slaughter each other. The Divine Water of the Northern Pole Heaven—a single drop can become an ocean, turning rebellious commoners into fish and turtles in the sea. Then there are the Five Great Cloud Thunders to strike down these rebels. The Zhen Tripod of the Eastern Pole Heaven—one tripod can change the geography of the world, shaking the entire heavens and burying the rebels. Unfortunately, these four places are not in my hands.”
Dark Heavenly King’s heart stirred. The Eastern Azure Dragon, Western White Tiger, and Northern Black Tortoise were all ancient gods, disloyal subjects who had always opposed the Heavenly Court.
But the Southern Vermilion Bird of the Southern Pole Heaven had already died at the hands of Fire Heavenly Lord, and the Southern Pole Heaven had fallen under his control.
Fire Heavenly Lord could be said to be Heavenly Lord Hao’s foremost general, always loyal to him, his most trusted minister. Why then did Heavenly Lord Hao say that the Southern Pole Heaven was not under his control?
Lady Yuanmu’s breath was faint, but she laughed: “The sky is high and the emperor far away. The Southern Pole Heaven is too far from the Heavenly Court. Fire Heavenly Lord is the Heavenly Emperor of the Southern Heaven, the Heavenly Emperor of the Southern Pole Heaven. How could Red Emperor Qi Xianyu possibly contend with Fire Heavenly Lord? In today’s Southern Heaven and Southern Pole Heaven, they only know of Fire Heavenly Lord—who knows of Heavenly Lord Hao?”
Heavenly Lord Hao sighed: “Moreover, Fire Heavenly Lord is after all of the human race. And his loyalty is suspect. When I was trapped in the Taixu Land, that old thief Mu chased me until I had no way to heaven and no door to earth. Fire, my beloved minister, who claims to be my most loyal subject, stood by and watched. He even sent people to search for my hiding place while I was recovering. His intentions are worthy of death.”
Dark Heavenly King couldn’t help but shiver, bowing and daring not to speak.
At that time, Heavenly Lord Hao had encountered the Grand Emperor, fought a fierce battle, and nearly died. The various Heavenly Lords in the Taixu Land had secretly sent many experts to search for Heavenly Lord Hao, intending to take advantage of his severe injuries to eliminate him!
Later, Qin Mu found Heavenly Lord Hao and chased him for sixty thousand miles, causing Heavenly Lord Hao to lose all face. Fire Heavenly Lord and the others had not come to his rescue, all harboring the intention of using Qin Mu’s blade to remove Heavenly Lord Hao!
At that time, Dark Heavenly King’s status was very low, and he dared not help.
Heavenly Lord Hao bringing up this matter now clearly had the intention of settling old scores.
“Fire, my beloved minister, controls the mighty armies of the Southern Heaven. Now that the world is pacified, if he would hand over his military power, remove his armor, and return to his fields, I could grant him a lifetime of glory and inexhaustible wealth.”
Heavenly Lord Hao said unhurriedly: “I am one who shares hardship and also one who shares wealth. No matter how much wealth he wants, I can give it to him—only the Southern Heaven and Southern Pole Heaven are not negotiable. Zhaojin, you are close to Fire, my beloved minister. Go and advise him.”
Dark Heavenly King acknowledged the order.
Heavenly Lord Hao patted his shoulder, sighing with emotion: “If Fire, my beloved minister, were a loyal and righteous subject like Zhaojin, I would be at ease. Zhaojin, Void Heavenly Lord is the Heavenly Lord of the demon race, and all demons obey her commands, but her energy is limited after all. Zhaojin should diligently assist her. The Netherworld will be divided in two—half will be managed by Zhaojin.”
Dark Heavenly King was moved to tears of gratitude, hastily kneeling and prostrating himself, choking with sobs, unable to speak.
Heavenly Lord Hao extended both hands to help him up, laughing: “You are too easily moved by true emotion. If I told you that I plan to enfeoff you as Dark Heavenly Lord, you would probably cry yourself to death!”
Dark Heavenly King indeed burst into loud sobs, crying until he nearly stopped breathing. After a moment, he recovered and said tearfully: “Your Majesty’s kindness in recognizing my worth—I would gladly die a thousand deaths to repay it! But I heard that when Your Majesty last proposed enfeoffing me as Heavenly Lord, Fire Heavenly Lord suppressed it. This time, Fire Heavenly Lord…”
“I proposed enfeoffing you as Heavenly Lord not once, but twice, and both times he suppressed it.”
Heavenly Lord Hao sighed: “I don’t have much real power either. I am still constrained by Fire Heavenly Lord, my foremost general. He has many schemes—I know them all, and I can tolerate them. But now that the world is about to be unified, he has become my greatest worry…”
Dark Heavenly King dared not say more.
Suddenly, Lady Yuanmu coughed repeatedly, then laughed: “Hao’er is worried that Fire Heavenly Lord is holding out for a better price, isn’t he? If the price you offer him isn’t high enough, he might defect to Taichu, or even to Heavenly Lord Mu!”
“Heavenly Lord Mu is no longer a concern. His greatest weakness is in my hands—the human race.”
Heavenly Lord Hao said: “As long as the Netherworld is in my hands, I can issue a single decree and exterminate the human race in the blink of an eye. Heavenly Lord Mu has weaknesses. Grasping this one weakness, I have him by the throat, and he dares not move. Indeed, he does have the power to fight to the death with me, so I cannot push him too hard. I must proceed slowly. But Fire, my beloved minister, has no weaknesses…”
He showed a worried expression: “The humans of the Southern Heaven—he can casually sacrifice them to the demigods to curry favor with the demigod races, to please Langxuan, Zushen Wang, and Void Heavenly Lord. The demigods of the Southern Heaven can be said to live the best lives among all the myriad realms—carefree and happy. Using human lives cannot control Fire Heavenly Lord. Using the lives of his disciples cannot control him either. I cannot grasp any weakness of his. He has only given me one flaw—his weak soul—and I cannot even be sure if that is real…”
He sighed: “Fire, my beloved minister, is not reassuring. Zhaojin, I trust your loyalty. Keep an eye on him. If there is any unusual movement…”
His expression turned cold and severe.
Dark Heavenly King bowed and acknowledged: “What about Heavenly Lord Mu…”
“Heavenly Lord Mu is destined to come and surrender.”
Heavenly Lord Hao said indifferently: “As long as he surrenders, it will cause Ling, Yue, You, Yun, and the others to become estranged from him. Without their help, he cannot amount to anything. At that time, he will become one of the Ten Heavenly Lords, perhaps even another Fire Heavenly Lord.”
He revealed a faint smile: “I can tolerate him, but Ling, Yue, You, Yun, and the others cannot tolerate him. At that time, he will shed tears and kill them, then say, ‘You don’t understand me.’ The day he is transformed by me into another Fire Heavenly Lord is not far off.”
“Your Majesty is wise!” Dark Heavenly King’s mind shook greatly as he prostrated himself.
Heavenly Lord Hao laughed heartily.
Dark Heavenly King rose, and Heavenly Lord Hao had already disappeared, leaving only his voice behind: “Zhaojin, I will ascend the throne. Come to pay homage.”
Dark Heavenly King paced back and forth in excitement, unable to calm down for a long time.
“Dark Heavenly Lord… Dark Heavenly Lord… Hahahaha, I am finally a Heavenly Lord too!”
Heavenly Lord Hao returned to the Heavenly Court without alerting anyone. He did not want outsiders to know that he had rescued Lady Yuanmu.
When he had encountered Dark Heavenly King earlier, he had even entertained the thought of killing him to silence him, but he held back.
Lady Yuanmu was one of his trump cards—a trump card against Taichu. If he alerted Taichu now, he would not have sufficient reason to kill Taichu.
The conflict between Lady Yuanmu and Taichu was irreconcilable, and Lady Yuanmu was also a trump card against Ling Heavenly Lord, Yue Heavenly Lord, and the others. Naturally, she had to be well hidden.
“Hao’er, didn’t you say you would treat your mother’s injuries?”
Lady Yuanmu’s complexion had improved somewhat, and she smiled: “The Dao injury that Heavenly Lord Mu left on me is extremely stubborn. I cannot remove it with my own power. Hao’er devoured the Supreme Simplicity Goddess and cultivated the Supreme Simplicity Dao, which grants all wishes. I imagine it won’t be difficult for you to heal me. If you use the Supreme Simplicity Dao to heal me, I will fall into your control—isn’t that what Hao’er is thinking?”
Heavenly Lord Hao said solemnly: “Mother Empress is not an outsider. How could I attempt to control you? Mother Empress, rest assured. I have heard that there is a divine physician in Yan Kang. I will have Heavenly Lord Mu send that physician here. He would not dare to disobey.”
Suddenly, his expression shifted, and he said: “Mother Empress, rest first. I have some matters to attend to.” With that, he bowed and stepped back step by step. Only after retreating outside the palace did he turn and stride away.
“This boy, still so cautious when leaving, guarding against me ambushing him.”
Lady Yuanmu shook her head and muttered to herself: “I can still heal the Dao injury myself. If I activate the Reincarnation Dao that Heavenly Lord Mu taught me, I should be able to recover. But the Reincarnation Dao has hidden secrets planted by that scoundrel Mu. If I activate it, I will likely fall into his trap again. Moreover, activating the Reincarnation Dao will temporarily cause me to lose control of my physical body, and that little bitch sister of mine has been waiting for this opportunity…”
She fell silent: “The divine physician from Yan Kang is said to be a handsome man. It wouldn’t hurt to have him take a look…”
“Your Majesty, the envoy from Yan Kang has arrived.”
Heavenly Lord Hao arrived outside the palace, and the Supreme Minister among the Four Ministers of the Heavenly Court hurried to report: “The envoy says that Heavenly Lord Mu requests to surrender and presents a surrender memorial. Your servant believes this matter is of great importance and has arranged for the envoy to stay.”
Heavenly Lord Hao raised his eyebrows: “Where is the surrender memorial?”
The Supreme Minister quickly smiled apologetically: “Your Majesty, the surrender memorial should be presented to Your Majesty before the assembled ministers of the myriad realms during the court session. Presenting it now would not be in accordance with protocol…”
“I don’t care about protocol!”
Heavenly Lord Hao sneered: “I thought that Heavenly Lord Mu, with no way out, would come bearing thorns on his back, kneeling before the Southern Heaven Gate, begging me to spare Yan Kang and the human race! I never expected him to merely send a surrender memorial! Tell that envoy that I want to see the surrender memorial now. As for presenting it at court, after I’ve read it, I’ll give it back to him! And you tell the Yan Kang envoy: surrender is acceptable, but Heavenly Lord Mu must kneel before the Southern Heaven Gate!”
The Supreme Minister stammered his assent, then said: “Our spies in Yan Kang report that Heavenly Lord Mu has already stripped off his clothes, bound himself, and prepared to come kneel before the Southern Heaven Gate bearing thorns to confess his crimes. However, Ling, Yue, and the others have repeatedly obstructed him and stopped him.”
Heavenly Lord Hao laughed derisively: “Heavenly Lord Mu’s Dao heart has collapsed. He understands the gains and losses, but Ling and Yue still refuse to give up!”
The Supreme Minister hesitated for a moment, then said: “Your Majesty, there is news from our eyes in the Southern Heaven. The reincarnated body of Langxuan Divine Emperor, Yu Cangqi, has fled to the Southern Heaven, to Fire Heavenly Lord’s heavenly palace, seeking refuge with Fire Heavenly Lord…”
Heavenly Lord Hao’s face turned as cold as frost, and he snorted.
The Supreme Minister felt as if struck by a thunderbolt, his mind dazed.
“Does Fire Heavenly Lord know about this?” Heavenly Lord Hao asked, his voice devoid of any emotion.
The Supreme Minister hesitated again, then said: “Fire Heavenly Lord’s senior disciple, Yan Yazi, has already sent someone to inform Fire Heavenly Lord.”
“And then?” Heavenly Lord Hao’s voice turned icy.
The Supreme Minister felt the killing intent in his voice, cold sweat beading on his forehead: “After Fire Heavenly Lord received the news, he acted as if nothing had happened. However, the messenger who brought the news was burned to ashes by him.”
“He did not leave his palace to go to the Southern Heaven?”
Heavenly Lord Hao said with interest: “Nor did he go to see the Emperor Emeritus?”
“No.”
The Supreme Minister replied honestly: “Fire Heavenly Lord did not step one foot outside his door, remaining in his palace the entire time. However, he did send another trusted subordinate out of the palace, heading to the Southern Heaven. It is unclear what he intends to do.”
Heavenly Lord Hao waved his hand, dismissing him, and said with a half-smile: “Fire, my beloved minister, oh Fire, my beloved minister. You did not come to see me immediately—are you holding out for a better price, planning to sell Langxuan at a high price? Yes, if you sell him to the Emperor Emeritus, you can gain an even higher status. As long as Langxuan grows up, combined with you, the Taiji Ancient Gods, and the Emperor Emeritus, you can turn the world upside down. And I only have Void Heavenly Lord and Zushen Wang—how could I possibly be your match?”
His expression darkened, and he sneered: “But you never expected that I have Mother Empress. You are all just jumping clowns! My kingdom will not tolerate a second person’s interference—not even the thought of it!”
— Four-thousand-word chapter, wishing everyone a Happy Mother’s Day!