Chapter 1619: The Death of Fire Celestial Venerable
The villagers continued to beat him relentlessly, all intent on beating him to death. Fire Celestial Venerable was furious. Just then, a basin of black dog blood was suddenly splashed onto his face.
Fire Celestial Venerable stood there woodenly, drenched in black dog blood from head to toe.
Some of the black dog blood flowed into the gap in his brow—a hole that Ancestral God King had punched through him using the Heavenly Duke's physical body, a hole that went straight through, allowing the dog blood to seep into his brain.
For an ordinary person, they would have died long ago, but a Celestial Venerable was, after all, a Celestial Venerable.
A young man raised a kitchen knife and swung it at his head, shouting, "His spells have been broken by the black dog blood! Hurry and kill him! Take his head to claim the reward!"
Before he could even finish the word "reward," Fire Celestial Venerable's fist landed on his face. The young man's entire body exploded, turning into a mist of blood!
Although Fire Celestial Venerable's Heavenly Palace had collapsed and his Divine Treasury had been shattered, his physical body was still that of a Celestial Venerable.
These villagers were nothing but ordinary people—how could they possibly be his match?
Fire Celestial Venerable's face darkened as he launched a massacre. Soon, every man, woman, child, and elder in this village lay in pools of blood, not a single one left alive.
"You traitors! I protected you, allowed you to survive in this cruel world, to bear children and raise families, and yet you repay kindness with enmity..."
Fire Celestial Venerable dragged his heavy steps away, staggering forward. Something kept flowing from his mouth—whether it was black dog blood or his own blood, he couldn't tell.
His destination was the nearest Divine City, from which he would leave the Southern Heaven and head to Yancheng.
"You were raised by me, yet you turned against me. Without my protection, you would be nothing but insects in Yancheng, long since wiped out by the demigods and ancient gods! You deserved to die, it's not my fault. Heh heh, not my fault..."
He still had one last lifeline: Mu Celestial Venerable. As long as he reached Yancheng, he could persuade Qin Mu to spare his life!
If he couldn't persuade Qin Mu, then he would persuade Yun Celestial Venerable!
And there was also Yue Celestial Venerable, who had a soft heart. If he knelt down and kowtowed to admit his mistakes, Yue Celestial Venerable would surely be unable to bear it and would plead for him to Qin Mu.
He also possessed many secrets of the Heavenly Court—these were his capital to survive, and even to rise in status.
Betraying Heavenly Emperor Hao, betraying the Heavenly Court—he felt no psychological burden whatsoever. On the contrary, he would become a hero of the human race.
"Yun Celestial Venerable will craft an image of me enduring humiliation to bide my time, lurking for a million years in the enemy camp, bearing the infamy of selling out my race and ancestors for glory. Heh heh, people's hearts are the easiest to fool. They can hardly distinguish right from wrong—whatever I say goes, doesn't it?"
"I will become the most dazzling hero of the human race, and even Mu Celestial Venerable's prestige won't compare to mine. Heh heh, he'll know what's good for him and hand over the leadership of the human race to me..."
He trudged on with difficulty, activating the Creation Divine Art to heal the wounds on his body. However, his cultivation realm had fallen, and he couldn't recover anytime soon.
Fire Celestial Venerable was not at all worried about his shattered Divine Treasury. The seven Celestial Venerables of the Dragon Han Era had originally created their cultivation realms out of nothing. Now that his Divine Treasury was broken, he could simply cultivate the achievements of the Yancheng Reformation.
He also had avatars lurking in Yancheng, so the results of the Yancheng Reformation were not hidden from him. He could completely follow the new system of Yancheng to cultivate, and his strength would surely surpass his former self!
Along the way, he tried to avoid the villages of the Southern Heaven to prevent being discovered. But how could he possibly avoid detection?
Ancestral God King had already ordered everyone in the Southern Heaven to search for him. Fire Celestial Venerable forced himself to gather his breath and killed everyone who found him, leaving no survivors.
Later, he simply stopped avoiding the villages along the way. With a dark expression, he walked straight into those villages.
A moment later, he walked out of the village, leaving a trail of corpses behind him.
"I will avenge you, my people."
Fire Celestial Venerable murmured to himself, "You were killed by Ancestral God King, Void Celestial Venerable, and Lady Yuanmu. You were killed by Heavenly Emperor Hao. If they hadn't forced me so hard, you wouldn't have had to die. I, Fire Celestial Venerable of the Dragon Han Era, will surely avenge you!"
...
Finally, as night fell, he arrived at this Divine City of the heavens.
The Divine City was brightly lit, with not a single guard on the city walls. The city gates were wide open, and the divine soldiers and generals who should have been guarding the city were nowhere to be seen.
Fire Celestial Venerable shook off the blood scabs on his body, which fell to the ground in clumps. The wound on his brow had also shrunk considerably—the Creation Divine Art he had learned from Yancheng was proving useful.
However, Ancestral God King's strike had been too powerful, leaving him with severe Dao injuries that would be difficult to heal in a short time.
"Master!"
As Fire Celestial Venerable walked into the city, he suddenly saw Yan Yazi leading his disciples, who all knelt down with a loud rustling sound, forming a dark, dense crowd ahead of him.
Fire Celestial Venerable's voice carried a hint of pleasure as he said hoarsely, "Yan Yazi, you truly are my most valued disciple. Your master knows..."
"Master, why did you betray the Heavenly Court? Why did you betray His Majesty?"
Yan Yazi raised his head, tears welling in his eyes. He slowly drew a Dao Fire Mystic Blade and choked out, "You've made things very difficult for your disciple—"
Fire Celestial Venerable froze.
Yan Yazi propped himself up with the blade, stood up, and unleashed his aura, locking onto Fire Celestial Venerable tightly. His face was streaked with tears as he said, "Master, I have always respected you the most. You taught me the principles of ruler and subject, father and son—that a subject must be loyal to the Heavenly Emperor. Betrayal makes one worse than a beast. I don't want to be a disloyal and unfaithful person."
Fire Celestial Venerable clenched his fists, panting heavily, his eyes fixed on Yan Yazi.
Tears rolled down Yan Yazi's cheeks, but a faint smile and excitement appeared on his face: "Master, you love your disciple, don't you? You value me the most. Surely you also hope that the Southern Heaven can flourish under my leadership, right? Master, don't resist your disciple. Let me take your head to the Heavenly Court to claim credit!"
Fire Celestial Venerable burst into loud laughter, but it turned into coughing, and blood was coughed up. "Good disciple, good disciple! Truly worthy of being taught by me!"
"Of course!"
Yan Yazi also laughed out loud: "Master, I've learned from you so well. There's no need for you to resist. Fellow junior disciples, send our master on his way—"
His voice was hoarse with excitement, dragging out the last syllable: "Let master die quickly, so he doesn't suffer too much!"
Behind him, hundreds of Fire Celestial Venerable's disciples rose to their feet, activating various divine weapons and techniques, and charged at Fire Celestial Venerable with a roar.
Fire Celestial Venerable was burning with rage. He struck out fiercely, charging straight into the techniques he himself had taught them. With a single palm strike, he smashed one disciple into pieces. With a thunderous roar, he sent the other disciples staggering.
Yan Yazi did not attack. Instead, he paced unhurriedly around the edge of the battlefield.
He was a master at the Emperor Throne level, but he was extremely cautious. Although Fire Celestial Venerable was severely wounded, with almost no divine power left and heavy Dao injuries, Yan Yazi was still deeply wary of him and dared not strike recklessly.
After all, even though Fire Celestial Venerable had little cultivation left, his physical body was still that of a Celestial Venerable.
A body cultivated to the pinnacle, nearly a Dao-achieving body—this was Fire Celestial Venerable's capital for making it this far!
Soon, the disciples were slaughtered to the last man by Fire Celestial Venerable. Corpses lay scattered everywhere, and Yan Yazi's pupils contracted sharply.
Fire Celestial Venerable stood amidst the corpses, saying coldly, "You were taught by me, raised like a pack of dogs by me. I know every single one of your weaknesses. Killing you is as easy as turning my hand for me—including you, Yan Yazi!"
He spun around abruptly, only to find Yan Yazi's Dao Fire Mystic Blade right in front of him!
Yan Yazi struck without hesitation, laughing, "Master, now there are no junior brothers or sisters to compete with me for the credit! You're right, I was taught by you. But you're too weak now. With just your physical body, you're no match for me!"
Fire Celestial Venerable raised his hand to block. Yan Yazi whirled around him like a gale, his mystic blade flashing like light and lightning, chopping down repeatedly. He shouted fiercely, "Master, will you die or not? Die or not!"
Fire Celestial Venerable's injuries grew worse and worse, but he remained remarkably composed. Suddenly, he spotted a flaw. His right hand's five fingers flicked rapidly—dang, dang, dang, dang, dang—sending the Dao Fire Mystic Blade flying.
Yan Yazi was startled. Fire Celestial Venerable had already pointed a finger at his brow.
Yan Yazi's brow exploded, a large hole opening in his skull. He quickly retreated, fleeing like a startled swan in the firelight, laughing, "Master, you can't escape!"
Boom!
The Spirit Energy Transfer Bridge in the Divine City was shattered by a distant sweep of his hand, cutting off Fire Celestial Venerable's hope of escaping to Yancheng.
Fire Celestial Venerable's heart sank. He turned and left this Divine City, heading for another.
His steps were unsteady, but his blood and energy gradually stabilized. Inside his body, his Divine Treasuries—Five Radiances, Six Harmonies, Seven Stars, Heavenly Human, Life and Death, Heavenly River—were being re-established. He even planted a Jianmu Divine Bridge, unifying all the Divine Treasuries.
His cultivation and divine power rose to the Heavenly River realm. If he could go further, he could cultivate the new Heavenly Palace system that had spread from Yancheng.
Unknowingly, he arrived at a small village. The villagers were beating drums and gongs, rushing out of the village with kitchen knives, hoes, and other farming tools, charging at him.
"After you die, I will avenge you."
Fire Celestial Venerable murmured, about to strike ruthlessly, when he suddenly saw a young man in the village. The young man stood with his hands behind his back, looking up at a green tree.
It was a World Tree. The young man beneath the tree, though appearing young in years, had temples full of white hair.
"Mu Celestial Venerable!"
Fire Celestial Venerable was both surprised and delighted. Ignoring the charging villagers, he laughed heartily, "Mu Celestial Venerable, have you come to save me? Truly, our hearts are connected..."
Qin Mu stood beneath the tree, not looking at him. Instead, he raised a hand and gently pointed.
A wheel of light spun, enveloping Fire Celestial Venerable, leaving him no chance to dodge.
The wheel of light revolved once. Fire Celestial Venerable felt as if he had awakened from a dream. When he opened his eyes, he saw that all the injuries on his body had completely disappeared. He quickly touched his face—it had also been restored to its original state!
He was both surprised and delighted. Just then, a kitchen knife chopped into his shoulder.
His Celestial Venerable physical body was now being cut into by an ordinary kitchen knife! An unimaginable pain shot through him, and tears streamed from Fire Celestial Venerable's eyes.
He suddenly realized that his divine power had also vanished. There was no primal energy in his body, and no Divine Treasuries!
He had become as weak as these ignorant, foolish villagers!
"Kill him!"
The villagers' faces were filled with fanatical excitement, their features flickering before Fire Celestial Venerable's eyes, twisted beyond recognition.
Pfft!
The three prongs of a dung rake pierced into Fire Celestial Venerable's forehead, sinking into his brain. Fire Celestial Venerable opened his mouth to speak, but someone thrust a hunting spear into his chest.
He lost all strength and fell to the ground. Around him, the ecstatic villagers swung clubs and raised kitchen knives, raining blows down on him.
"Wait!"
He heard someone shout, "Don't ruin his face! We still need to cut off his head to claim the reward!"
Fire Celestial Venerable's vision went dark. All he could feel was a rough hand grabbing his hair, a knife placed against his neck, sawing back and forth, trying to sever his head.
His consciousness sank into complete darkness.
Then, he heard the sound of a finger snap.
Beneath the World Tree, Qin Mu snapped his fingers. Fire Celestial Venerable's physical body was restored, his soul flew back into his body, and his consciousness awakened once more.
"The Unchanging Divine Ability?"
Fire Celestial Venerable was both surprised and delighted, laughing, "Mu Celestial Venerable, you can't bear to kill me, can you? You're just punishing me! I know I was wrong!"
Qin Mu walked out from beneath the World Tree, the tree moving with him. Fire Celestial Venerable was also carried along by some force.
Before long, he followed Qin Mu to a second village.
Another batch of villagers surged out, acting as if they didn't see Qin Mu at all. Their eyes were fixed only on Fire Celestial Venerable. Howling with excitement, they charged at him with all kinds of crude weapons.
Fire Celestial Venerable fell into a pool of blood once more. Again, he felt someone grab his hair and saw at his neck with a knife.
The sound of a finger snap came, and everything was restored.
Fire Celestial Venerable was compelled to follow Qin Mu, calling out, "Mu Celestial Venerable, I truly know I was wrong. With my help, the world can be pacified! I know..."
Beside another village, he was killed again.
The finger snap sounded, and Fire Celestial Venerable was resurrected, once again following Qin Mu to the next village.
"Mu Celestial Venerable, you must have vented your anger by now, right?"
Fire Celestial Venerable suppressed his terror, forcing a smile, "If we join forces, we'll be invincible! The situation is excellent now. I can help you eliminate Tai Chu, eliminate Heavenly Emperor Hao..."
He was hacked to death once more by a group of jubilant villagers.
As this repeated over and over, a deep fear took root in Fire Celestial Venerable's heart. Qin Mu was doing the same thing repeatedly—using the path of reincarnation to erase all his cultivation, letting the ignorant people of the Southern Heaven hack him to death, then resurrecting him!
And throughout this entire process, Qin Mu hadn't even glanced at him, hadn't spoken a single word to him!
The terror in Fire Celestial Venerable's heart grew and grew: "He wants to kill me. He really wants me dead! He's just toying with me..."
Finally, Qin Mu stopped. His expression calm, he said, "I'm tired. I originally thought that watching you die over and over would bring me joy, would give me a sense of avenging the people of the Southern Heaven. But I've found that after the ignorant people of the Southern Heaven kill you, they're still ignorant. Your repeated deaths don't bring me much pleasure."
A glimmer of hope rose in Fire Celestial Venerable's heart. He forced a smile, "Mu Celestial Venerable, I truly know I was wrong. To err and then correct—there is no greater good. I can still be useful. I can be your dog, fight for you. I only ask..."
"If admitting a mistake could earn forgiveness, what need would there be for laws?"
Qin Mu shook his head, still not looking at him. He spread his five fingers.
Bam, bam, bam! Fire Celestial Venerable's head, body, and limbs burst apart into four pieces. His soul emerged.
Qin Mu clenched his five fingers tightly and strode away.
Fire Celestial Venerable's soul struggled for a moment, but in the next instant, it exploded with a bang, turning into a cloud of black soul sand.
Then, the black sand collapsed, compressed into a mass of chaotic energy!
A gust of wind blew, and the chaotic energy dissipated into the heavens and earth, vanishing without a trace.
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Another four-thousand-word chapter! Pig Butcher hasn't broken his promise—Fire Celestial Venerable is dead for good!
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