Chapter 767: The Yellow Sparrow, the Dark Heavenly Emperor
Qin Mu watched the entire process of the Heavenly Court battle from the perspective of the Earth Lord, from the Earth Lord’s slaughter at the Southern Heavenly Gate, to the Jade Pool, to shattering the Execution Platform and destroying one heavenly palace after another.
He arrived at Jade Capital City, the residence of the Heavenly Emperor, but by this time the multitude of chains binding him had already locked him tight. Those chains were the Dao rules of the Netherworld. He was bound securely, yet he still charged forward madly.
He was bound tighter and tighter. These chains came not only from the Netherworld but also from within himself.
Since he was the incarnation of the Dao, every move he made had to conform to the Dao. The more powerful an ancient god, the more restricted they were by their own rules.
Such was the Earth Lord.
Even if he reincarnated, he was still the incarnation of the Dao. Even if he reincarnated into the human race, he still had bull horns and a tiger’s head.
The rules of the Netherworld would limit his power in the mortal world. Even if he awakened the power of the Netherworld, his own power would still restrict him.
The harder he fought, the more he killed, the deeper his own suffering became.
The Heavenly Court was in chaos. The gods of the Heavenly Court were terrified by the slaughter. To the gods of the Heavenly Court, they could not understand the Earth Lord’s anger.
Ancient gods lived as long as heaven, coexisting with the world. They would never understand the life, death, love, and hatred of mortals, nor their grudges and enmities.
The life and death of mortals lasted only a hundred years. A hundred years was but a fleeting moment to an ancient god. Before they even noticed these insignificant little insects, the insects had already died of old age.
The Earth Lord reincarnated. Because of the death of his reincarnated wife and children, he went on a killing spree, charging into the Heavenly Court. This was simply too much.
Even worse, he slaughtered the gods of the Heavenly Court, beating them to death or forcing them to flee.
Mortals were just insects breeding and multiplying in various worlds. For an ancient god to reincarnate and experience the life of an insect, and then to go on a killing spree against the gods of the Heavenly Court because of the death of those insects—this was incomprehensible to them.
Using great ancient gods and half-gods with the bloodline of ancient gods to accompany the deaths of a few mere mortals—this proved that the Earth Lord had gone mad.
Yet even the most heavily defended Jade Capital City could not stop the enraged Earth Lord. The city gates were smashed through, and the gods wailed and cried, scattering in all directions.
The Earth Lord paid no attention to the fleeing gods and continued walking into Jade Capital City. Behind him, half of the Heavenly Court was already shrouded in the dark demonic energy of the Netherworld.
And within that demonic energy, chains pierced through his physical body.
The chains were pulled taut. Blood continuously flowed from his body, turning into Netherworld demonic fire where it fell.
Yet he still stubbornly advanced, heading toward the Qianlong Hall of the Chonghua Palace within Jade Capital City.
Chonghua Palace, Qianlong Hall, was one of the thirty-six heavenly palaces and seventy-two treasured halls, the residence of the imperial princes.
The children of the Heavenly Emperor lived there.
The Earth Lord’s goal was clear: to go there and destroy it.
The power of the Life-Slaying Cauldron was too great. This cauldron was born from the Heavenly Court’s Execution Divine Blade. The Execution Divine Blade was originally the number one fierce weapon of the Heavenly Court. Now, the Earth Lord had reforged it into the Life-Slaying Cauldron. The great cauldron slaughtered, and any deity it encountered, whether a peak half-god or an ancient god, would inevitably die.
This great cauldron devoured the power of the gods, and its power grew stronger and stronger.
Ahead was the Qianlong Hall of Chonghua Palace, but the Earth Lord’s power had also reached its limit.
He roared in fury, struggling to move forward, but he could never break through the restraints of the Netherworld’s Dao.
The Earth Lord howled in grief and hurled the Life-Slaying Cauldron toward the Qianlong Hall of Chonghua Palace. The great cauldron radiated a power that could almost crush the Heavenly Court, spinning down toward it!
This was a strike filled with rage, carrying the desire for revenge from Ugly. It was determined to destroy all life there, whether they were the sons of the Heavenly Emperor or whether their sins towered to the heavens!
However, a single hand caught the Life-Slaying Cauldron, whose power could overwhelm the world, holding it steady and preventing the power of this number one fierce weapon from erupting.
“Daoist friend, you have fought your way here. Your anger should be vented by now, shouldn’t it?”
The Heavenly Emperor stood high before the Lingxiao Hall, one hand gripping the Life-Slaying Cauldron, his gaze falling on the Earth Lord, his voice carrying from afar: “I did not stop you earlier because I knew they had done wrong, so I allowed you to fight your way here. Now that you have vented your anger, why must you cut off my descendants?”
Behind him, many ancient gods appeared, each one an incredibly powerful existence.
The Earth Lord panted heavily. His blood flowed out along the chains binding him, and demonic fire blazed fiercely.
The Heavenly Emperor sighed: “Those deities deserved to die. But now you are controlled by anger, and with your reincarnated body, you have lost your reason and your Dao heart. You think you are right, but when you return to the Netherworld and your Dao heart recovers, you will realize how terribly wrong your actions today were. You and I are Daoist friends. I will not make things difficult for you. Go back.”
The Earth Lord struggled against the chains, panting heavily. Flames of anger shot from his nostrils like dragons, and blood and fire flowed from his three eyes.
The Heavenly Emperor sighed again and said softly: “Reincarnating as a human was just a spiritual trial. You have fallen too deep. Let me help you return to the Netherworld.”
He flicked his sleeve, and the Earth Lord could no longer stand firm in the Heavenly Court. The chains dragged him into the darkness. Behind him, the Netherworld continent carried him as it sank madly, falling into the dark Netherworld.
In the Netherworld, the Earth Lord’s immensely vast true body finally awakened at this moment. His three eyes opened one after another, gazing up at the Heavenly Court from the darkness.
And the Earth Lord’s reincarnated body, once known as Ugly, was wrapped in countless chains, carried by the Netherworld continent as it fell continuously, plunging into the deepest darkness, landing at the feet of the Earth Lord’s true body, becoming a dark continent.
The chains bound him there.
Soon, a great black city would be built on this continent, forged from black jade, called the Jade Lock Pass, used to suppress those with sins that towered to the heavens.
And the Earth Lord’s reincarnated body was the first prisoner here.
“Daoist friend.”
On the Heavenly Court, the Heavenly Emperor’s gaze looked down toward the Netherworld, meeting the eyes of the awakened Earth Lord. The Heavenly Emperor’s voice came from beyond the nine heavens, saying: “Are you awake now? Do you think my words just now were correct? Now that you have returned to the Netherworld, awakened your Dao heart, and returned to your true self, you should know how absurd your actions just now were.”
The majestic Earth Lord looked down, his gaze falling on Ugly’s shoulder.
Ugly’s shoulder was empty.
He lifted his gaze again, looking toward the Heavenly Court.
When he was beaten back to the Netherworld, the infant girl on his shoulder had fallen and was caught in the Heavenly Emperor’s hand.
“I was blinded to my Dao heart by mortal emotions. Thank you, Your Majesty, for awakening me,” the Earth Lord said.
The Heavenly Emperor revealed a smile, saying: “I am relieved that you have come to your senses. There is no need to call me Your Majesty. You and I have been Daoist friends for many years. Although you were born a few years later than me, we have always addressed each other as Daoist friends. There is no need to become distant just because I have ascended to the throne.”
“I dare not.”
The Earth Lord lowered his head: “In the past, I was ignorant. Now I understand. There is a difference between ruler and subject. Your Majesty occupies the highest position; I cannot be presumptuous.”
The Heavenly Emperor sighed: “You are being distant again. I return this cauldron to you.”
He threw the Life-Slaying Cauldron down, and it fell into the Netherworld.
The Earth Lord did not catch it, letting it fall onto the continent at his feet, saying: “This cauldron has killed too many. I dare not accept it.”
“When a ruler bestows something upon a subject, how dare the subject refuse?”
The Heavenly Emperor laughed: “However, this cauldron is indeed useless to you. How about I send some deities to the Netherworld to temporarily keep it for you?”
The Earth Lord agreed, saying: “I will follow Your Majesty’s instructions.”
His gaze still fell on the Heavenly Emperor’s hand. The Heavenly Emperor handed the infant girl to a nearby ancient god to hold, laughing: “You are being distant again.”
The Earth Lord closed his eyes, and Qin Mu felt the scene before him gradually sink into darkness, no longer able to see the thrilling events just past.
“The memories of the Life-Slaying Cauldron have finally ended.”
Qin Mu stared blankly, lost in thought. When the Netherworld demonic energy surged into his body within the Life-Slaying Cauldron, he felt he would be burst apart. Suddenly, he had become Ugly the Earth Lord, experiencing the latter’s half-life from Ugly’s perspective.
“In truth, when the Earth Lord awakened in his rage, Ugly was already dead.”
He touched his face. It was wet.
Ugly had already died at that moment, leaving only the vengeful Earth Lord.
Ugly’s child, that infant girl, had become a hostage in the Heavenly Court, a handle against the Earth Lord.
“She will live well. The Heavenly Court will not harm her. The Earth Lord’s bloodline can continue.”
Qin Mu thought to himself: “I wonder if the Earth Lord ever saw her again? The Heavenly Emperor’s methods are truly formidable. Cloud Heavenly Lord could not defeat him, and neither can Hao Heavenly Lord. Then, is the Heavenly Emperor of the Outer Heavenly Court him?”
He felt somewhat confused.
The demonic energy in the Life-Slaying Cauldron had stopped surging and had become very quiet. All around Qin Mu, huge faces floated in the darkness. These faces stared at him, revolving around him eerily, silent and terrifying.
“Ugly——”
Suddenly, a face flew in front of him, opened its mouth, and let out a strange cry.
The other faces also let out piercing cries in unison: “Ugly——”
Qin Mu snorted: “I am not Ugly. Ugly the Earth Lord could only awaken the power of the Netherworld after death, but I don’t need to. He had too many restrictions, too many constraints. I don’t!”
“Ugly!” the faces that had died in the Life-Slaying Cauldron called out.
“I am much more handsome than Ugly.”
Qin Mu’s face flushed, and he explained to these faces: “Look, I don’t have bull horns, and there are no patterns on my face.”
“Little brother, what nonsense are you muttering about?”
Qin Fengqing woke up and saw Qin Mu talking to those strange faces. He was surprised: “Have you gone mad?”
He became happy again: “If you’ve gone mad, let me eat you!”
Qin Mu snorted: “These faces are calling me Ugly. They think I am the suffering Earth Lord. I’m just arguing with them a bit. The Life-Slaying Cauldron didn’t kill us, probably because the cauldron’s spirit thinks we are Ugly. Perhaps we can use the Life-Slaying Cauldron to get out…”
He flew upward. In the darkness, more and more faces looked at them.
“Ugly,” they said.
Qin Mu’s face was as dark as a black pot. Qin Fengqing curiously examined those faces, then suddenly grabbed one and stuffed it into his mouth. He chewed a couple of times and then spat it out with a “pfft”: “Can’t eat! No taste at all! Might as well eat dirt!”
Qin Mu asked curiously: “Brother, have you eaten dirt before?”
“Tried it. Not good,” the big-headed doll said.
“Strange, why is the Life-Slaying Cauldron so quiet now?”
Qin Mu looked up at the river of stars in the sky. the Chaos Heavenly Net was also extremely quiet, without any power.
Outside the cauldron, Lu Li and the others stopped their actions, looking at this great cauldron. Seeing that everything inside was quiet, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
“The Netherworld Divine Son actually managed to resist for so long before being refined to death. He truly deserves the title of Divine Son.”
Yan Qianchong laughed: “He has been quiet for a while now. Can we open the Life-Slaying Cauldron now?”
Gao Tianwang’s eyes flickered: “I think we should first discuss who the Netherworld Divine Son belongs to!”
Lu Li, Xuan Ming, and the other four Grand Commandants felt a chill in their hearts. Suddenly, Lu Li’s murderous intent stirred: “These old ghosts have always wanted to compete with me. Why not take the opportunity when opening the cauldron to use the Life-Slaying Cauldron to refine them to death! Refining them to death is much simpler than refining the Netherworld Divine Son!”
Just then, the earth rose up, and a gate appeared. As the gate opened, a light laugh came from within: “It’s better to hand over the Netherworld Divine Son to me!”
Boom——
The Nether Sea hung upside down, crashing down upon the Netherworld overlords!
Within the Nether Sea, a dark light shuttled in a chain, killing Gao Tianwang, Yan Qianchong, and the other overlords in one fell swoop!
Lu Li and the others were crushed beneath the Nether Sea, their bones broken and tendons snapped, their hearts icy cold. They saw that dark light continuously kill dozens of Netherworld overlords, extinguishing their primordial spirits. Those overlords’ primordial spirits disintegrated, shattering into countless tiny soul particles, making the Nether Sea even vaster and more unfathomable.
Whoosh——
The Nether Sea surged into that gate and quickly disappeared.
And that dark light revolved around Lu Li and the others but did not kill them.
“You are the Grand Commandants appointed by His Majesty in the Netherworld. If I killed you, wouldn’t I be rebelling?”
From within the gate, an exceptionally handsome man walked toward them with his hands behind his back. Lu Li and the others’ faces changed drastically: “Dark Heavenly Emperor!”
The Dark Heavenly Emperor walked toward the Life-Slaying Cauldron, his heart burning with excitement. He laughed: “The Netherworld Divine Son will finally be mine! The Earth Lord’s power, my power…”
His hand fell on the Chaos Heavenly Net, trembling slightly as he slowly lifted it.
——Roar, roar, roar! The Dark Heavenly Emperor has arrived! Raise your signs and ask for monthly votes!