Chapter 1705: River and Sky Above the Clouds, Clouds Rolling and Unfurling
The moment Lan Yutian saw Lady Yuanmu charge out, his body followed suit. Lady Yuanmu was severely wounded, presenting him with a rare opportunity.
Although he lacked combat experience, over the years he had watched the great war between the Heavenly Court and Carefree Village, learning from the techniques exchanged between the gods and demons on the battlefield. He had learned a great deal.
He was naturally intelligent, able to infer the whole from a single instance and understand by analogy, progressing rapidly.
The moment the two collided in the sky, Lady Yuanmu’s and Lan Yutian’s divine abilities erupted simultaneously, but they separated after a single clash. Lan Yutian’s heart sank: “The one in this body isn’t Yuanmu!”
The instant he engaged the opponent, he sensed it. Lady Yuanmu, due to her severe injuries, had fallen into a state of dormancy.
Now, the one controlling this body and fighting him was Empress Dowager, or rather, the Abyssal Goddess!
“The reincarnation technique my brother used to trap the Abyssal Goddess was broken by her when Yuanmu was injured. But this is a good thing!”
Behind Lan Yutian, one divine artifact Lan Yutian after another surged forward, rising and falling in waves, launching a frenzied assault on Empress Dowager. He thought to himself, “This way, the technique I left inside her body can take effect!”
Empress Dowager suddenly let out a muffled groan. The Abyssal Dao within her was twisted by a strange force, with part of the Great Dao transforming into the Supreme Ease Dao!
Caught off guard, her divine abilities became chaotic. She was heavily wounded by the swarm of divine artifact Lan Yutians, spitting blood. Forced to retreat, she soared into the sky, trying to evade Lan Yutian.
Lan Yutian’s eyes flickered as he pursued closely.
Above the Supreme Purity Realm of Carefree Village, while Lady Yuanmu was lost in thought due to her reincarnation, Lan Yutian had planted his own divine ability within her body.
His approach differed from Qin Mu’s. Qin Mu had learned from the Nether Emperor, developing the incomplete reincarnation Dao of the Nether Emperor, using the reincarnation Dao to trap the Abyssal Goddess and forcibly create a personality and consciousness for Lady Yuanmu to restrict the Abyssal Goddess.
At that time, Qin Mu was at a loss as to how to break the Abyssal Goddess’s Great Dao and could only seal her.
The Abyssal Goddess had already attained the Dao. Logically, even if she were destroyed and turned into chaos, she could not be killed; she would still be reborn. Qin Mu himself had cultivated the Abyssal Dao and grown a Chaos Lotus that bloomed into a Chaos Lotus Flower, so he knew he could not eliminate the Abyssal Goddess.
Moreover, even Qin Mu’s reincarnation seal was only a temporary measure. The reincarnation seal could not keep the Abyssal Goddess sealed under Lady Yuanmu’s consciousness forever. One day, the Abyssal Goddess would break through the reincarnation and devour Yuanmu’s consciousness!
Lan Yutian, on the other hand, thought about how to break the Abyssal Dao. As for whether to kill the Abyssal Goddess, that thought never crossed his mind.
He started from the Five Primordial States, borrowing the reincarnation technique left by Qin Mu to plant a Five Primordial States reincarnation seal inside the Abyssal Goddess’s body.
His goal was simple. The Abyssal Goddess could devour all things and turn them into chaotic energy, making her magical power grow stronger in battle. Moreover, she was unkillable, so her cultivation and strength would eventually surpass yours.
But chaos gives birth to the Five Primordial States. By leaving the Five Primordial States reincarnation seal, Lan Yutian was stealing the Abyssal Goddess’s magical power. During her battles, the chaotic energy would transform into the Supreme Ease Dao, the Primordial Beginning Dao, undergoing the changes of the Five Primordial States, preventing her from ever unleashing her full power.
Qin Mu sealed the Abyssal Goddess’s consciousness, while he sealed her magical power and Great Dao.
However, Lan Yutian could not achieve this step on his own, so he had to borrow the reincarnation technique left by Qin Mu.
Empress Dowager also sensed the problem with her body. When she activated her cultivation and magical power, her body was filled with foreign Great Daos. These foreign Great Daos were draining her cultivation, making her extremely uncomfortable, and she could only unleash less than half of her full strength!
Lan Yutian pursued relentlessly. Empress Dowager fought while fleeing, but she could never shake him off.
“If I force her into the Ultimate Void, she’s doomed.”
Lan Yutian’s eyes flickered as he thought, “Heavenly Lord Yun used this method against the Second Young Master of Miluo Palace. As long as Empress Dowager is forced into the Ultimate Void, part of her Abyssal Dao will transform into the Five Primordial States Great Dao, and she’ll die even faster!”
However, Empress Dowager was clearly aware of the danger of the Ultimate Void. Even though he repeatedly wounded her, she never ventured deep into the void to evade.
Just then, above the two of them, the Ultimate Void exploded. Both looked up hastily to see a Primordial Beginning Grand Paradise, which had been mostly fused, tilting and shattering within the Ultimate Void!
That Primordial Beginning Grand Paradise was already battered and full of holes, and the fusion of the One Qi Grand Paradise and the Divine Sense Grand Paradise was incomplete, never fully merging.
On the broken Grand Paradise, two Dao Trees that had mostly fused were destroyed by the heat-death wind, burned down to black stumps. The Dao Flowers on the trees had perished, and the Dao Fruits were shattered by the Second Young Master of Miluo Palace’s Hongmeng divine ability.
On this Grand Paradise, which was falling out of the Ultimate Void, the final battle between Heavenly Lord Yun and the Second Young Master Wuji had also reached its climax.
When Empress Dowager and Lan Yutian looked up, they saw the Second Young Master of Miluo Palace standing on the half of the Grand Paradise still in the Ultimate Void, while Heavenly Lord Yun stood on the half falling out of the Ultimate Void, still locked in a desperate struggle!
Heavenly Lord Yun’s Primordial Beginning Imperial Sword, fused with the Primordial Beginning Dao, emitted its final radiance, piercing through the Second Young Master Wuji’s body. At the same time, the Second Young Master’s palm struck his forehead!
The collapse of the Grand Paradise became even more violent!
At this moment, the Grand Paradise seemed less like it was being shattered by their power and more like it was caught in a sacrificial ritual.
Lan Yutian, with his high intelligence, recognized this as a blood sacrifice, while Empress Dowager, with her vast experience, immediately identified it as the sacrificial Dao that the Primordial Emperor had mastered.
However, neither of them knew that Heavenly Lord Yun had inherited the Primordial Emperor’s Grand Paradise and his techniques, perfecting the Primordial Emperor’s incomplete techniques.
Among these was the sacrificial Dao method that the Primordial Emperor had obtained from the Primordial Sage of Miluo Palace.
The Primordial Emperor’s sacrificial Dao method was incomplete, and Heavenly Lord Yun had helped him complete it.
The shattered Primordial Beginning Grand Paradise was directly sacrificed by Heavenly Lord Yun, turning into a torrent of the Primordial Beginning Dao that followed his sword strike into the Second Young Master Wuji’s body!
He sacrificed not only the Primordial Beginning Grand Paradise but also the Primordial Beginning Imperial Sword in his hand.
With such immense energy, he sacrificed the Second Young Master of Miluo Palace to the Ultimate Void!
The Second Young Master’s body was pressed into the Ultimate Void by that terrifying force. The sacrificial power caused her body to suddenly explode, exposing her flesh and Great Dao to the Ultimate Void!
Immediately, the cold, still wind became incredibly狂暴. The Second Young Master’s Abyssal Dao, along with her flesh and blood and primordial spirit, rapidly dissolved, soon revealing her bones!
Inside her body, another form emerged, struggling in the void, its face twisted as it tried to sever its connection with the Second Young Master. It was none other than Heavenly Emperor Hao!
A piercing scream rang out, sounding like a woman’s voice mixed with a man’s, overlapping and sending chills down Empress Dowager’s spine. She quickly turned and fled.
Lan Yutian wanted to give chase but then saw Heavenly Lord Yun descending from the Ultimate Void, causing him to hesitate.
“Brother Yu, go ahead.” Heavenly Lord Yun waved at him as if nothing had happened.
“Heavenly Lord Yun, call me Lan Yutian. I’m not Heavenly Lord Yu! Your condition is very wrong!”
Lan Yutian moved toward him, saying, “That strike from the Second Young Master is inside your body, extremely dangerous!”
Heavenly Lord Yun waved him off from a distance: “No need to come over. Do what you need to do. If you see Heavenly Lord Mu, tell him that what he couldn’t accomplish, I, Yun, have achieved.”
Lan Yutian was stunned for a moment, then did not pursue him. Instead, he turned and chased after Empress Dowager.
His mind was in a daze. Meanwhile, in the Ultimate Void, the phantom images of the Lingxiao Palace and Zixiao Palace of Miluo Palace suddenly appeared, shaking violently. Heavenly Emperor Hao’s body and the Second Young Master’s body abruptly separated!
Heavenly Emperor Hao coughed up blood, immediately distancing himself from the Second Young Master. He flew out of the Ultimate Void, heading toward the Heavenly Court’s army.
Heavenly Lord Yun stopped, gazing into the distance at Heavenly Emperor Hao, a faint smile appearing on his face: “Heavenly Lord Hao, for the rest of your life, you will never erase the shadow I have left in your Dao heart. I, Yun, will make you remember this forever!”
He drifted away, utterly carefree.
The remnants of Carefree Village were marching toward Yankang. The Woodcutter Sage and Emperor Yi Yue were at the front and back of the formation, respectively. Along the way, they had endured the assaults and skirmishes of the Heavenly Court’s vanguard forces, traveling over mountains and rivers with great difficulty.
At that moment, the Woodcutter and many soldiers of Carefree Village looked up and saw the figure of Heavenly Lord Yun flying overhead.
“Did Heavenly Lord Yun win?” a soldier murmured.
The Woodcutter remained expressionless, silent.
The remnants of Carefree Village continued their march. Another group of soldiers voluntarily stayed behind to cover the rear, ensuring that others could reach Yankang as quickly as possible.
Heavenly Lord Moon and Goddess Langhuan were locked in battle with the Heavenly Lord’s physical body and the Ancestral God King. Heavenly Lord Moon severed the Heavenly River swung by the Heavenly Lord’s body and, catching a glimpse of Heavenly Lord Yun passing through the battlefield, quickly called out to him.
Heavenly Lord Yun heard her, smiled slightly, and waved goodbye.
Langhuan also saw him. Heavenly Lord Yun made a deep bow to her and then drifted away.
The Heavenly Lord and Ugly were leading the defenders of various divine cities in Yankang, fiercely resisting the impact of the Xuan Du army, covering the evacuation of people from various cities within Yankang’s borders.
The Heavenly Lord distributed the fifty Heavenly Dao treasures to the defenders of each city, while he himself activated the Heavenly Calamity treasure, the Slaughtering Divine Blade, wreaking havoc. Even so, this fierce battle was extremely perilous.
When they saw Heavenly Lord Yun passing by, the Heavenly Lord quickly called out, “Heavenly Lord Yun, did you win? Come and help!”
Ugly was resisting the formation of the Heavenly Court’s Dragon and Tiger Guards. He caught a glimpse of Heavenly Lord Yun, his heart jolting. He shook his head and said, “Dao brother, let him go.”
The Heavenly Lord’s cultivation and strength were far inferior to Ugly’s. He relied on the power of the fifty Heavenly Dao treasures, while Ugly had already cultivated the Netherworld Dao to the level of thirty-five heavens. That was why he could see Heavenly Lord Yun’s condition.
The Heavenly Lord was puzzled but let Heavenly Lord Yun leave.
Heavenly Lord Yun crossed the long front line and arrived at the first strategic pass in western Yankang, guarded by hundreds of thousands of gods and demons: Maple Valley. Along the way, many Yankang troops were heading to the front, transporting refugees to the safer hinterlands of Yankang.
Heavenly Lord Yun entered Maple Valley, seeing that each divine city was heavily guarded. Yankang had turned this place into a key stronghold for defending the west, stationing the most outstanding young experts of Yankang and deploying the most advanced heavy weapons.
Heavenly Lord Yun entered a divine city. The commander stationed there was named Yan Shaoqing, originally the Left Deputy Advisor of the Heavenly Court, specializing in divine sense, who later came to Yankang to seek the Dao.
When Yan Shaoqing saw him, he was startled and was about to step forward to pay respects. Heavenly Lord Yun waved his hand and walked into a mansion within the city.
The Yun Mansion.
Lady Yunxiao, leading the many widows of the Yun family and Yun Jianli and his wife, came forward to greet him. Lady Yunxiao held his hand tightly, sobbing, and said, “Since Your Majesty was reborn, you have never returned to see your family. Why have you deigned to come today…”
Her words carried some resentment, but it was washed away by the joy in her heart.
Heavenly Lord Yun smiled and said, “Xiangying, I couldn’t rest easy without seeing you all.”
Yun Jianli quickly stepped forward to pay respects, his eyes reddening: “Greetings, Ancestor!”
Heavenly Lord Yun looked him up and down and said, “You are very good. Heavenly Lord Mu speaks highly of you, and he didn’t misjudge you. In this Yankang war, the Yun family must also take the field. Do you have children?”
Yun Jianli’s wife quickly led their three children forward to kneel and pay respects to their ancestor. Heavenly Lord Yun smiled and said, “Very good, very good. The Yun family has descendants; the bloodline continues. Jianli, when you go to the battlefield, do not disgrace the Yun family.”
Yun Jianli straightened his back, his voice resolute: “Jianli is of the bloodline of the Yun Heavenly Emperor; I will never disgrace my ancestors!”
Heavenly Lord Yun’s expression turned serious: “If you survive, remember this one thing: there is no such thing as the bloodline of a Heavenly Emperor in this world. I was born a human, never above others, and started from humble beginnings. Which descendant of the Yun family has achieved more than I have, or made greater contributions? If I dare not call myself the blood of a Heavenly Emperor, how dare you?”
Yun Jianli was startled and dared not speak further.
Lady Yunxiao embraced him and led him into the main hall, laughing, “You’re being so serious again. Let your descendants pay their respects to you and offer you tea.”
Heavenly Lord Yun sat in the main hall. Lady Yunxiao stood beside him, and he asked her to sit down as well, smiling, “Husband and wife are one. I am the ancestor of the Yun family, and you are also the ancestor of the Yun family. Sit down.”
Lady Yunxiao sat down.
The Yun family had only one son per generation, leaving behind a house full of widows. They all knelt and offered tea. Heavenly Lord Yun and Lady Yunxiao accepted the daughters-in-law’s teacups, drank, and set them down.
Heavenly Lord Yun looked around and smiled, “The men of the Yun family mostly die young, leaving you to be widows. They died early and left no instructions. As the head of the Yun family, I will give the instructions: you may all remarry. If you meet a good person you like, marry them.”
In the hall, the many widows of the Yun family were stunned, exchanging glances.
Heavenly Lord Yun turned his head to look at Lady Yunxiao and said, “I owe you, I owe all of you greatly. Xiangying, from now on, you can also remarry. Don’t worry about me.”
Lady Yunxiao’s heart trembled, and she suddenly understood something.
“You and I are husband and wife. When you died in battle before, I had to take care of the child in my womb and couldn’t accompany you. Later, the child died young, leaving only a grandson. I had to survive to preserve the Yun family’s bloodline, living on until now.”
Lady Yunxiao took his hand, looked up at his face, and smiled, “Now you have returned, and the Yun family has descendants. Wherever you go, I will follow. Isn’t that what husband and wife are supposed to be?”
Heavenly Lord Yun felt a pang in his heart and withdrew his hand: “I have wronged you for six hundred thousand years. I am sorry for you. How could I bear… The place I am going is very far. You cannot come. Stay here.”
Lady Yunxiao grabbed his hand again: “Wherever you go, I go!”
Heavenly Lord Yun looked at her and nodded silently.
Yun Jianli stared blankly at them. Heavenly Lord Yun and Lady Yunxiao, hand in hand, walked out of the main hall, out of the Yun Mansion, and left this divine city.
Yun Jianli tried to catch up, but they walked farther and farther away, and he could not catch up.
After a long time, Heavenly Lord Yun stopped and landed on the ground. It was the bank of the Yong River. The waters of the Yong River surged, flowing eastward.
By the river was an abandoned village, uninhabited. The couple walked into the village and sat facing each other in a thatched hut.
“This is the place.”
Heavenly Lord Yun took Lady Yunxiao’s hand, lowered his head, and his breath grew weaker and weaker. He whispered, “Xiangying, don’t let anyone know I died here…”
The Second Young Master of Miluo Palace had long since destroyed his soul. What occupied his body was merely the final obsession.
Now, that obsession was fulfilled.
Lady Yunxiao’s primordial energy erupted, covering this abandoned village.
“My lord, don’t go far.” Her breath grew fainter and fainter until it finally dissipated.
The waters of the Yong River surged, endless and mighty. Above the river, clouds rolled and unfurled across the sky.