Chapter 1697: Hunting the Spirit Official
"Who is this so-called Spirit Official?"
Heavenly Yin Empress was somewhat bewildered. The Spirit Official had suddenly appeared, looking extremely powerful and terrifying, but then inexplicably died just as abruptly, leaving her at a loss: "This person seemed very strong—who killed him?"
She quickly set aside this bizarre matter and devoted herself fully to dealing with the Heavenly Court's Seven Dukes army that had invaded the Heavenly Yin Realm.
The Seven Dukes of the Heavenly Court were the most ancient Emperor Seat powerhouses, and also the seven Emperor Seat powerhouses who were rarely replaced. They could be said to be the seven elders of the Heavenly Court, meritorious ministers from the Dragon Han Era!
They presided over the Seven Administrations of the Heavenly Court: Governance, Military, Law, Fire, Prison of Fiends, Water Prison, and Years. They were extremely formidable. Even without that Spirit Official, the Seven Dukes alone would be incredibly difficult to deal with, let alone with the addition of the Ancestral Court and Yao Chi!
"The Heavenly Yin Realm must never fall into the hands of the Heavenly Court. Otherwise, they will release the Black Sand, turning it into starving ghosts, and the entire Yan Kang, even the Yuan Realm, will become a Great Ruin!"
The Battle of Heavenly Yin had officially begun!
On the Taiqing Realm of Carefree Village, Lan Yutian sat idly beside Lady Yuanmu. Lady Yuanmu seemed to be having some problem. Just moments ago, she had been chatting and laughing with him, but suddenly she fell into a daze, not moving for a long while.
After a moment, Lady Yuanmu awoke and continued their previous topic, giggling: "Who would have thought that the once handsome and heroic Imperial Heavenly Lord has now turned into a little fatty? When my sister sees you, she will surely be heartbroken."
Lan Yutian looked up, gave her a glare, and tossed away the small stone in his hand: "I'm not fat anymore. Yuanmu, you've been ambushed."
Lady Yuanmu asked curiously, "I've been ambushed? How would I not know?"
"You keep zoning out, and after you zone out, you forget that you zoned out."
Lan Yutian said seriously, "Just now when you came to find me, you zoned out twice in a short time! Each time you zoned out was very brief—about the time it takes to say one character, twelve seconds, and three hu. Then you wake up." (Note: Character, second, and hu are ancient time units. One character is about five minutes, one second is about nine seconds, and one hu is 0.09 seconds.)
Lady Yuanmu blinked her eyes. She had not felt herself zoning out at all.
Lan Yutian rested his chin on his hand, pondering: "You must have been hit by someone's divine ability. If I wanted to kill you, I definitely could. But I also sense a strange power sealed inside you. If I killed you, that power would be released. Then, I definitely wouldn't be able to defeat you. Even if I ganged up on you, I couldn't win."
Lady Yuanmu saw him squatting on the ground, a murderous glint in his eyes, and was about to strike. Lan Yutian said, "The moment you form the intent to kill, you will zone out. I think you've been hit by my brother's Reincarnation divine ability. Every time you form a killing intent, you undergo one reincarnation. I wonder if my guess is correct."
He looked up. Lady Yuanmu had a murderous glint in her eyes, but stood there motionless, clearly having entered another daze.
"Whether I'm right or not, I just need to enter your consciousness and take a look!"
Lan Yutian's divine consciousness rippled, and with a swoosh, he plunged into Lady Yuanmu's consciousness. Moments later, he arrived in the vast ocean of her thoughts. Looking around, he was horrified.
Lady Yuanmu was not, as he had imagined, undergoing one reincarnation when she formed a killing intent. Instead, she was undergoing as many as nine hundred and sixty reincarnations!
Not only that, but he also saw, deep within the ocean of Yuanmu's thoughts, the consciousness of Empress Empress lurking, like a pitch-black hole hidden beneath the ocean, constantly growing!
Clearly, the danger he had sensed came from this!
If he killed Yuanmu, Empress Empress would be released, with no way to suppress her!
Therefore, Yuanmu absolutely could not be touched, or else Empress Empress would be unleashed!
Yuanmu was a means created by someone to suppress Empress Empress!
And that someone was unquestionably Qin Mu!
As for why Lady Yuanmu was reincarnating over and over again, it might simply be because Empress Empress was too strong. Qin Mu could not completely suppress her, and the Reincarnation divine ability had developed a flaw.
Lan Yutian withdrew his divine consciousness, his eyes wide. After a long moment, he murmured, "My brother is ruthless... His path of reincarnation has reached an inconceivable level. I can't understand it."
Lady Yuanmu was no longer a danger to him, but the Reincarnation divine ability left by Qin Mu would eventually be worn away by Empress Empress. By then, Empress Empress would completely merge with Lady Yuanmu, becoming a true Return to Ruins Divine Maiden, slaughtering in all directions—extremely dangerous!
Lan Yutian rested his chin, thinking: "But my brother could ambush Empress Empress, causing her to get stuck. When she gets stuck, I am not in danger. So why don't I think about how to plant some other divine ability inside Empress Empress's body? That way, even if she breaks free in the future, she won't be as dangerous..."
He racked his brains, deep in thought. The Taiqing Realm truly lived up to its name—it was very quiet. Meanwhile, the other heavens of Carefree Village were engaged in increasingly brutal slaughter.
However, in the Yuan Realm Netherworld, which overlapped with Carefree Village and Yan Kang, Nether Heavenly Lord was battling Void Heavenly Lord, and the fighting was also exceptionally fierce.
Fengdu could no longer hold out. King Yan led the ghostly gods of Fengdu to fight against the Netherworld monsters and demon gods. They had already been pushed into the divine cities of Fengdu. King Yan had abandoned several divine cities in succession and was now holding the line at the Eighth Divine City. Fengdu only had nine divine cities!
The Eighth Divine City was also in imminent danger. Under the attack of countless Netherworld monsters and demon gods, the entire city had become riddled with holes. Street fighting had become extremely intense.
As more and more monsters and demon gods surged in, King Yan was forced to order the abandonment of the Eighth Divine City.
Just then, Heavenly King Tian Shu charged into the Netherworld, leading many demon gods who cultivated the demonic path to provide support, temporarily easing the pressure on Fengdu.
On another battlefield, Nether Heavenly Lord had transformed into a youth, offering up the Book of Life and Death, carrying a horse lantern, and stepping on a paper boat, battling Void Heavenly Lord, who wielded the Nether River Whip!
Both were renowned for their vast primordial spirits. Their primordial spirits were extremely powerful. In the boundless Yuan Realm Netherworld, they fought with all their might—the long whip like a great river, the golden light of the Book of Life and Death, the horse lantern dancing. With every step, they crossed thousands of mountains and rivers!
Nether Heavenly Lord's primordial spirit was slightly stronger. In recent years, he had tried to maximize his strengths, striving to achieve enlightenment through his primordial spirit. His primordial spirit's power had grown increasingly formidable.
However, Void Heavenly Lord had the advantage of a powerful physical body. After refining Earth Lord's physical form and obtaining the incomplete Netherworld Great Dao, his dharma power had made significant progress. Coupled with over a decade of guidance from the Spirit Official Hall Master, his progress was rapid!
Their battle was a spectacular display. The dharma and techniques of the Netherworld were originally known for their strangeness and eeriness. In their hands, this eeriness was brought to its fullest expression.
Suddenly, the two fought their way into the heart of Yan Kang. From afar, they saw the enormous Six Paths Heavenly Wheel revolving around a towering figure—Qin Fengqing.
Little Earth Lord Qin Fengqing kept his eyes tightly shut, his vertical eye on his forehead open, maintaining the integrity of the Yuan Realm Netherworld.
If the Netherworld invaded without him maintaining the Yuan Realm Netherworld, the demon gods and monsters of the Netherworld would not just charge into the Yuan Realm Netherworld but would ascend to the mortal world, slaughtering their way into Yan Kang, inevitably causing a bloody massacre!
His six arms were spread wide, and the Six Paths Heavenly Wheel revolved around him. His gaze constantly shone upon the various heavenly wheels. On the wheels, all kinds of magnificent words and runes flashed and changed, causing changes in the Great Dao of the Yuan Realm Netherworld.
Strange sounds of the Dao came from the heavenly wheels. It could be seen that on the battlefield surrounding Carefree Village, the souls of fallen gods and demons continuously flew over, drawn by the Six Paths Heavenly Wheel.
Even the other heavens and myriad realms were subtly influenced by the Six Paths Heavenly Wheel.
Void Heavenly Lord caught sight of Qin Fengqing and his heart tightened. He swung the Nether River Whip with all his might. The Nether River surged, heading straight for Qin Fengqing within the Six Paths Heavenly Wheel!
If he could severely wound Qin Fengqing and break his self-body, which was the Netherworld, the Yuan Realm Netherworld would shatter. The Netherworld demon gods and monsters could then charge straight into Yan Kang, turning it into a hell on earth!
"Don't even think about it!"
Nether Heavenly Lord threw himself in front of the Nether River Whip. His physical body was shattered with a crack by the whip, turning into countless Nether Heavenly Lords riding paper boats and flying in all directions. However, his primordial spirit leaped up and struck Void Heavenly Lord's primordial spirit out of his body with a single palm strike!
For a time, neither could gain the upper hand over the other. They each stabilized their positions and stared at each other cautiously.
Suddenly, demonic qi rolled in thickly. A demon god with a bull's head and a human body descended from the sky, landing with a thud in the Yuan Realm Netherworld, right in front of Qin Fengqing.
That demon god looked like Earth Lord, but was somewhat different. However, he also had a vertical eye on his forehead. He looked around for a moment, then fixed his gaze on Qin Fengqing within the Six Paths Heavenly Wheel and said, "Brother Qin Fengqing, Spirit Official offers his greetings..."
Bang!
That Earth Lord-like ancient god suddenly exploded. The power of Heavenly Dao surged and churned in that instant, startling Nether Heavenly Lord and Void Heavenly Lord. The strength of that Earth Lord-like ancient god was extremely formidable. First, he was struck by a terrifying force, and then he was forcibly erased by the power of Heavenly Dao!
The two quickly looked over and saw a beam of teleportation light carrying a figure hurtling away at incredible speed, leaving a deep black trail in the Yuan Realm Netherworld!
Then, that figure leaped up, jumping out of the Yuan Realm Netherworld and disappearing!
Void Heavenly Lord and Nether Heavenly Lord each withdrew their gazes, their hearts filled with shock. But this battle had to be decided; they could not afford to be distracted.
At the same moment Qin Mu leaped out of the Yuan Realm Netherworld, the Spirit Official's ancient god clone, who was rushing through the icy snow toward the Northern Frontier Kan Region, changed expression drastically. He sensed the destruction of his ancient god clones in Carefree Village and the Southern Sea Jade Cliff Pass. His heart skipped a beat.
His speed was too fast, and the distance was too great. Each ancient god clone was an independent entity. Only now did he sense the deaths of the other clones.
"Having such speed and being able to kill my thirteen clones in such a short time—only Seventh Young Master can do that!"
At the same time, the Spirit Official's ancient god clone rushing toward the Great Thunderclap Monastery, having arrived at the foot of the mountain, also sensed the destruction of twelve clones. He could not sense the Heavenly Yin Realm or the Yuan Realm Netherworld because they were independent worlds.
"Seventh Young Master has made his move against me. His speed is terrifying!"
Meanwhile, two other Spirit Official ancient gods had already spotted Heavenly Lord and Ugly. The two were looking up, watching Ancestral God King, who was battling Moon Heavenly Lord and Lang Wan in the sky. Heavenly Lord and Ugly were poised to strike, clearly planning to ambush Ancestral God King!
The Spirit Official's ancient god clones heading toward the Yan Kang Dao Sect, the Imperial Capital, the Yan Kang Yuan Tree, and other locations also changed expression drastically. The destruction of the clones could not be hidden from their senses.
But Qin Mu's speed was too fast. Their perception could not keep up with his speed, resulting in the strange phenomenon of "fast to say, slow to happen."
"Seventh Young Master is hunting down my clones at this speed. His body and dharma power may not be able to withstand it! But even so, my clones are hardly a match for him."
"He found me because I was too conspicuous. But if I hide my tracks, he won't be able to find me and will have to run back and forth!"
"Killing me at this speed, he will soon be coughing up blood from exhaustion, completely drained!"
One by one, the Spirit Official's ancient god clones immediately restrained their aura and moved stealthily.
At the foot of the Great Thunderclap Monastery, the Spirit Official's ancient god transformed into a large monk and unhurriedly walked up Mount Sumeru.
The Great Thunderclap Monastery on Mount Sumeru was the dwelling place of the World-Entering Buddha. The one guarding this place was War Void Tathagata. Above the Great Thunderclap Monastery was the twenty heavens of the Buddhist Realm. The twentieth heaven was where Great Brahma Heavenly King Buddha resided.
At the same time, Heavenly Lord and Ugly were preparing to ambush Ancestral God King, while the other two Spirit Official ancient gods were preparing to ambush them!
Boom!
Qin Mu leaped out of the Yuan Realm Netherworld and appeared before Heavenly Lord and Ugly!
The two ancient gods changed expression drastically. One went left, the other right, fleeing in different directions!
Hum—
Qin Mu's divine consciousness exploded, impacting the minds of the two ancient gods. Following that, layers upon layers of Reincarnation divine abilities spread out, like another spinning Six Paths Heavenly Wheel, enveloping the two ancient gods within the wheel.
The ancient god monk climbing the mountain changed expression drastically, sensing that two more of his clones had disappeared!
—Recommendation: A xianxia novel, Nine Dragons Swallowing Pearls. Very interesting.