Chapter 1706: Through Fire, Rebirth (Monthly Ticket Request!)
In the main camp of the Heavenly Court, the Heavenly Emperor Hao sat in the main hall of the detached palace, his expression dark and gloomy.
He had been sitting here for two days without moving, the doors and windows sealed shut, never once stepping outside. The corpses of several divine officials lay on the ground, their deaths horrifically brutal.
These were officials who had barged in to offer remonstrance, only to be slain by him the moment they entered.
For the past two days, no one had dared to come in again.
The Heavenly Court had already breached Carefree Village, the Earth Master had suffered heavy losses, and the Divine Master and Water Master were pursuing the remnants of Carefree Village, reaping abundant victories. The Xuan Du army, led by the Divine Strategy Left Guard, had invaded the Buddha Realm with the demon gods of the Netherworld, breaking into Yankang from the Great Thunderclap Monastery, preparing to advance westward and join forces with the Xuan Du army.
But Wei Suifeng, Qi Xiayu, the Southern Emperor, and the Loose Cultivator of Dragon Mountain were each approaching from different directions. To the east, Jiang Baigui was leading the Yankang army, closely following the Divine Strategy Left Guard.
Now, the battlefield situation was changing with every passing moment. The Heavenly Court held a favorable position, seemingly smooth sailing, yet it could turn into a headwind at any moment!
In such a critical period, only the Heavenly Emperor Hao could control the overall situation, issue commands, expand the Heavenly Court's gains, and prepare for contingencies.
Yet the Heavenly Emperor Hao had hidden himself in the detached palace for two days without emerging, truly causing anxiety among the ambitious officials of the Heavenly Court.
"Lost..."
On the Heavenly Emperor's throne, Hao's face was sallow. Suddenly, a sweetness rose in his throat, and he spat out a mouthful of blood, his aura wilting as he murmured, "Lost. In this battle, I have already lost..."
The Heavenly Court had pacified Carefree Village, and the situation was excellent. Up to now, Yankang and Carefree Village's victories were merely small triumphs, while the Heavenly Court had achieved a great victory!
To the discerning eye, with Carefree Village leveled, the path east to conquer Yankang was a clear road. The Heavenly Court was firmly in control of victory, no matter how Yankang resisted, it could hardly withstand the severalfold or even tenfold greater forces of the Heavenly Court!
What the Heavenly Emperor Hao saw, however, was his own defeat.
The Heavenly Court had not been defeated; on the contrary, it had won a great victory. Yet he had already lost.
He had lost to Cloud Sovereign.
"I have lost..."
His body trembled, and the white hair on his head shook along with it, like snow on a branch.
In just two days, his hair had turned white from worry.
The Heavenly Court had won, but it was not his victory.
Even if the Heavenly Court leveled Carefree Village and flattened Yankang, the winners would be Tai Chu, Yuan Mu, Tai Ji, Ancestral God King, Void Sovereign, and the others—not him, the Heavenly Emperor Hao!
Because Cloud Sovereign had cut him down from the realm of achieving the Dao!
Cloud Sovereign had destroyed his Dao Tree, his Dao Flower, and his Great Luo Heaven!
Not only had he been cut down from the realm of achieving the Dao, but his other body—the one possessed by the Second Young Master—had also been completely destroyed by Cloud Sovereign!
He could have become the unique achiever of the Dao in all history, even across the sixteen universes before this era, combining the Dao of Strength and the Dao of Return to Nothingness. In the future, he might even have achieved the Dao through the Dao Realm!
But now, it was all ruined!
Admittedly, he was still one of the most powerful beings in the world, but his strength was no longer a match for Tai Chu. Even if the Heavenly Court won, it would be Tai Chu who held the reins of power!
If Tai Chu were severely wounded by Lord Shang, the one to take over might even be the Ancient God Tai Ji, and he would have to endure and hide!
"The battle between the Supreme Emperor and Lord Shang was half-hearted. Lord Shang, like the Kaihuang Qin Ye, cultivates only one Great Dao, with high offensive power, but he doesn't understand the Five Tai Daos well. As long as the Supreme Emperor doesn't confront him head-on, Lord Shang can't take his life."
"The Ancient God Tai Ji is even more of a pair of slippery characters, caring only for themselves, unwilling to fight to the death."
"Void Sovereign, Ancestral God King—heh, they're all eyeing my position..."
The Heavenly Emperor Hao smiled as if laughing, yet as if crying: "Lost. I have lost. Brother Cloud, you've finally beaten me... No! This power, I cannot hand it over!"
He gritted his teeth and rose from the Heavenly Emperor's throne, pacing back and forth before the corpses of the divine officials. His feet were covered in blood, leaving bloody footprints on the white jade floor of the hall.
His expression grew darker and darker: "Even if I've been knocked down from the realm of the Dao achiever, I can still imprint myself on the void again and achieve the Dao once more! But by then, I will no longer be the Heavenly Emperor! The Supreme Emperor will surely replace me. Then, I won't be his match, and he can make me kneel to him! Yet the Supreme Emperor is no match for Herder Sovereign! Cloud, you've ruined my excellent situation!"
"But I still have a chance to turn things around!"
"That chance is the Jade Capital in the Ancestral Court! It is the Third Young Master and Fourth Young Master of Miluo Palace!"
He stopped walking, his expression turning somewhat manic—Cloud Sovereign had driven him to this madness: "If I fall from the Heavenly Emperor's throne, I will become an object of ridicule for everyone. Herder Sovereign will mock me, the Supreme Emperor will mock me, Ancestral God King, Void Sovereign, and the Ancient God Tai Ji will all mock me! All the civil and military officials will mock me too, mocking me as nothing but a delusional bastard, mocking me as a mongrel born of an Ancient God and a human! You're all pushing me, all pushing me..."
"But if I fully pledge myself to the Third and Fourth Young Masters, then I can still be the Heavenly Emperor!"
He laughed heartily, his face twisted: "With the support of the Third and Fourth Young Masters, I will still be your Heavenly Emperor, the one you kneel to, high above, and you will all submit to me! None of you will dare to mock me!"
Behind his head, the phantom images of the Lingxiao Hall and Zixiao Hall of Miluo Palace emerged.
The Heavenly Emperor Hao turned to face the phantoms of these two halls.
He hesitated for a moment, but his greed for power shattered his pride and broke his spine, causing his legs to weaken as he knelt down.
"From today onward, I will serve you wholeheartedly, serve the Lingxiao Hall and Zixiao Hall of Miluo Palace. From today onward, I will be the loyal dog under my masters' command, arranging the matters of their descent."
"From today onward, I will have no second thoughts!"
The phantom images of the two ancient halls were filled with strange power, and obscure, incomprehensible Dao words came from within, sounding very pleased, very gratified.
Finding a loyal servant in the Seventeenth Era was difficult, but they had finally managed it. The Heavenly Emperor Hao was their best candidate.
The Heavenly Emperor Hao, like a dog being petted, wagged his tail and begged: "I implore my masters, strip the Yankang rebels of all power from the Jade Capital and Lingxiao Hall! Hao, your servant, is willing to blood-sacrifice the Primal Realm to welcome my masters' arrival!"
"Hao."
From the Lingxiao Hall and Zixiao Hall came the gratified laughter of the Third and Fourth Young Masters: "We have finally molded you into the form we desired."
The Heavenly Emperor Hao looked up, his face full of smiles.
At that moment, Cloud Sovereign died. And the Hao Tianzun of old, full of fighting spirit and unyielding will, also died.
When Qin Mu arrived at Yankang, he sensed a strange fluctuation coming from the depths of time and space. His expression changed slightly, but then he relaxed.
This fluctuation came from the Jade Capital in the Ancestral Court—not just the Lingxiao Hall, but all the various halls within the Jade Capital!
When this fluctuation spread across the entire Primal Realm, any force not aligned with the Heavenly Court would find that the Jade Capital Realm, Lingxiao Realm, and even the Emperor Throne Realm they had painstakingly cultivated could no longer grant them power!
In other words, these three realms were instantly abolished!
Qin Mu had long anticipated this.
The Heavenly Palace and Heavenly Court of the Heavenly Court imitated the Heavenly Palace and Heavenly Court of the Heavenly Court, which in turn imitated the Jade Capital of the Ancestral Court. The origin of all this stemmed from the ancient era when the Great Emperor and Tai Chu ventured into the Jade Capital of the Ancestral Court to explore its secrets.
The Creators declined, the Ancient Gods like Tai Chu triumphed, and based on their memories of the Jade Capital, they established the Dragon Han Heavenly Court. The human Yu Tianzun, upon seeing the grandeur of the Heavenly Court and sensing the power within it, pioneered the Heavenly Palace realm.
In the Dragon Han era, Cloud Sovereign and other brilliant minds of the time perfected the Jade Capital, Lingxiao, and Emperor Throne realms. Over the following six hundred thousand years, the Ten Heavenly Sovereigns perfected the Heavenly Court realm.
And the source of these realms—Jade Capital, Lingxiao, Emperor Throne, Heavenly Court—was the Jade Capital of the Ancestral Court!
Qin Mu had long foreseen that the Young Masters of the Jade Capital would use this to control the gods and demons of this universe, arbitrarily stripping them of their power, or even borrowing their strength to strengthen the Jade Capital and themselves!
And he had long prepared a backup plan.
That backup plan was the Dao Realm cultivation system, along with the brand-new Ancestral Court cultivation system pioneered by Lan Yutian and Xu Shengsheng!
The Dao Realm cultivation system was difficult to enter, but once one entered, it could complement the Ancestral Court cultivation system, advancing together!
In the future, these two systems might even merge into a single Ancestral Court Dao Realm cultivation system!
"Before this, neither Yankang nor Carefree Village had the will or courage to promote the Ancestral Court Dao Realm cultivation system on a large scale. After all, the new system was just pioneered by Lan Yutian and Xu Shengsheng, and as its creators, they made the realms too profound, too hard to understand. But this time, the Jade Capital has directly cut off four realms, forcing Emperor Yanfeng and Emperor Kaihuang Diyue to make a painful decision and fully implement this backup plan!"
Qin Mu flew over Yankang. The front lines of Yankang were already in chaos. Both the gods and demons of Carefree Village and Yankang were filled with terror and panic, their hearts full of despair.
Even Moon Sovereign and Langhuan God King, who were battling Ancestral God King, momentarily lost their composure. The two women had lost three realms in succession, their cultivation base nearly depleted, and they were almost killed by Ancestral God King!
Fortunately, Moon Sovereign's Dao Realm cultivation remained, and she immediately used the Ultimate Void to escape with Langhuan.
Ancestral God King pressed the advantage, leading the Xuan Du army to sweep through and flatten the Maple Valley region in western Yankang, when a massive shadow flew past the Xuan Du army.
"Herder Sovereign!"
Ancestral God King was startled and quickly mobilized his forces to protect himself, retreating far away.
At the same time, the same situation occurred in the Netherworld of the Primal Realm. Any god or human from Yankang or Carefree Village who had cultivated to the Jade Capital, Lingxiao, or Emperor Throne realms felt their power rapidly fading!
The higher the realm, the greater its proportion in one's magical power. For the Emperor Throne realm, it accounted for as much as ninety percent of one's cultivation!
If one lost the Emperor Throne realm, their power would be reduced to just one-tenth!
If an Emperor Throne powerhouse also lost the Lingxiao and Jade Capital realms, their remaining power would be only one-thousandth of what it was!
How devastating would this be to the high-level combat power of Yankang and Carefree Village?
This was one of the reasons Emperor Yanfeng and Emperor Kaihuang Diyue dared not directly and on a large scale promote the new cultivation system.
The Heavenly Palace and Heavenly Court system was deeply ingrained. A hasty promotion would inevitably cause chaos and lead to a short-term decline in high-level power.
With the Primal Realm war imminent, the new system was not yet complete, and there was no time for widespread promotion. It could only be implemented on a small scale at the Yankang Academy of Dao.
Now, however, they had no choice but to promote the new system.
What the Third and Fourth Young Masters of Miluo Palace lost would be the future cultivators, who would never again practice the traditional Heavenly Palace and Heavenly Court system, cutting off their future source of power!
This move by the Third and Fourth Young Masters forced the cultivators, gods, and demons of Yankang to be reborn through fire!
Qin Mu made a circuit of the western war zone, intimidating the heroes of the Heavenly Court and forcing the various army commanders to dare not continue fighting. They had to pull back their forces and first secure the territories they had already occupied.
Qin Mu then ventured deep into the Netherworld of the Primal Realm, forcing Void Sovereign to abandon the golden opportunity to kill Netherworld Sovereign and retreat to the Heavenly Court's camp.
Meanwhile, in the Heavenly Court camp, two halls rose slowly, emitting an intense Dao light that even obscured the light of countless suns in the sky!
These were the phantom images of the Lingxiao Hall and Zixiao Hall!
Although they were phantoms, the Dao was so highly condensed that it almost became solid, giving everyone an unparalleled sense of power and pressure!
Qin Mu glanced into the distance and said softly, "Cloud Sovereign, you have succeeded. Our opponent is no longer Hao Tianzun. Hao Tianzun has become a puppet. Our opponent has finally emerged from the shadows! Where are you now?"
He had traveled a long distance from the Ancestral Court to the Primal Realm, and his own cultivation was nearly depleted. He did not dare to start a battle directly but instead came to Maple Valley.
His divine storage domain spread out, revealing a vast and boundless cosmic wonder. The Chaos Hall floated within his Great Heavenly Court, facing off against the Lingxiao Hall and Zixiao Hall from afar, boosting the confidence and faith of the Yankang and Carefree Village armies.
At the same time, various armies from the west arrived. Lan Yutian's figure appeared beside Qin Mu, spreading out his own Ancestral Court. The Ancestral Court cultivation system appeared before the world for the first time, complementing Qin Mu's cosmic wonder as they confronted the Heavenly Court's Lingxiao Hall and Zixiao Hall!
Moon Sovereign, Langhuan, Tai Shi, Netherworld Sovereign, Heaven Duke, Earth Lord, and others also arrived one after another, each spreading out the layers of Dao Realm heavens they had comprehended. Large and small Dao Realm heavens floated above Maple Valley, their Dao sounds resonating, stabilizing military and civilian morale.
"Where is Cloud Sovereign?" Qin Mu asked the crowd.
Lan Yutian told him what he had seen. Moon Sovereign and Langhuan also said they had seen Cloud Sovereign. After the battle in the Ultimate Void, many had seen him, walking from the western war zone into Yankang.
"The last place Cloud Sovereign came was here."
Yan Shaoqing told him, "Cloud Sovereign went to the Cloud Mansion, then came out with Lady Cloud Xiao and headed east."
Qin Mu was silent for a moment, then broke into a smile. He looked around and said with a laugh, "Cloud Sovereign is like a divine dragon that shows its head but not its tail. He eliminated the Second Young Master, severely wounded the Heavenly Emperor Hao, and forced him to become a dog for the Third and Fourth Young Masters of Miluo Palace. He has accomplished his mission but doesn't want fame, so he has taken Lady Cloud Xiao and gone into seclusion."
He looked up at the sky and laughed, "What an enviable couple. I wonder when I can be as free and unfettered as they are?"
"Yes," Moon Sovereign said, her expression dim but with a smile.
"Yes," Langhuan said, lowering her head.
"Yes," Netherworld Sovereign said, turning his head to look into the distance.
They all knew the truth, but no one exposed Qin Mu's lie.
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A new big chapter has been uploaded. July has arrived, and I'm asking for guaranteed monthly tickets!
The war in Yankang is in full swing. July has arrived, and a new chapter has begun. The Annals of the Shepherd God is also nearing its end. I'm asking for monthly tickets to climb the rankings!
The Annals of the Shepherd God is about a hundred chapters or so from completion, likely ending in late August or mid-to-late September.
Last month, June, marked the two-year anniversary of the upload of The Annals of the Shepherd God. August will mark the two-year anniversary of its release. Over these two years, we've weathered storms together—peaks and valleys, highs and lows, tears and laughter. Thank you all for accompanying Zhai Zhu and watching The Annals of the Shepherd God grow.
The next two months are the final stretch, a particular test of writing skill.
Writing to this point, The Annals of the Shepherd God is no longer just Qin Mu's story. It's the story of everyone in this era of The Annals of the Shepherd God—vivid faces often emerge in my mind, urging me to write about their joys and sorrows, their experiences, their struggles and spirit in this great age.
Meng Yungui, Bai Yuqiong, Cloud Sovereign, Ling Sovereign—their stories are no less compelling than Qin Mu's. Even an insignificant soldier on the battlefield has their own brilliance.
I want to write better, to present the story of this era to everyone, to bring you emotion and reflection. My limited skill may not achieve this, and I ask for your understanding and forgiveness for any shortcomings.
Oh, and one more thing: The Annals of the Shepherd God is about eight thousand points away from being a five-star work. I hope you can support it and help it become a five-star work before it ends!
Thank you!
Qidian Chinese Network, Book City—I read all the readers' comments, basically every chapter, once or several times.
The chapter comments on browsers are 1.4 or 1.5 times those on Qidian. WeChat Reading also has one or two hundred chapter comments per chapter. Bitter smile—browser and WeChat Reading comments don't add points. I still hope everyone can come to Qidian more often, leave chapter comments, and add points for The Annals of the Shepherd God.
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Also, I recommend the reader Yan Zhigui's work: The Ethereal Human Record. It's a xianxia novel. Writing isn't easy.