Chapter 1483 — My Will Is the Will of Heaven

In the Sky Sea of the Ancestral Court, Kaihuang walked lightly across the face of the sea, and only when his foot came down did the Sky Sea raise ring after ring of ripples.

"The heart of Heaven is my heart.

" At first, when he had come to this place and walked upon the sea, the waters had suddenly heaved and surged; such was the manner in which his Dao-heart was reflected upon the Sky Sea.

The sight was as startling as a dream, for he could see the flaws and the shortcomings that dwelt within his Dao-heart. Those flaws and shortcomings would evolve into towering waves and furious billows; he passed through them, subdued the demons of his heart, nourished his Dao-heart, and made it purer and purer. And now, as he walked upon the sea, no more did towering waves arise — only ripples, line upon line.

His Dao-heart knew no wave of alarm, so calm it was almost frightening.

He halted his steps and gazed at the surface of the Sky Sea; the sea was like a mirror, faithfully reflecting all that took place in Xuandu.

The battle in Xuandu was caught within his eyes, and ripples appeared beneath his feet once more, proof that his Dao-heart was not wholly still.

"There is no time to go to the Terrace of the Nine Prisons; I must go to Xuandu.

" Kaihuang straightened his robes, glanced at his own visage in the mirror of the Sky Sea, and strode away.

Not long after he had gone, the figure of Haotian Venerable gradually walked forth from the void, turning from emptiness into substance, his feet coming lightly down upon the sea.

When his foot touched the water, the waves surged violently, yet they quickly returned to stillness.

Haotian Venerable drew his gaze back from the direction in which Kaihuang had departed, let it fall upon the calm sea, and watched the course of the battle in Xuandu.

"It is time to go to Xuandu.

" A smile came to Haotian Venerable's lips, and behind him the phantom of the Goddess Taisu emerged, casting no reflection at all upon the surface of the Sky Sea.

"A true powerhouse should be like Kaihuang — able to keep his composure.

" Haotian Venerable stepped forward, and at the movement of his foot waves rose upon the sea once more; yet the waves were not great, and he passed through them as though he saw nothing.

Though his Dao-heart was not the equal of Kaihuang's, he was by no means a weakling.

Had another come to the Sky Sea, the turmoil in his Dao-heart would surely have become world-engulfing waves — yet for him, only waves rose, nothing more! And as his steps advanced, those waves gradually grew fainter.

"This battle is not merely about doing away with the Lord of Heaven; it is also about doing away with a formidable enemy among the Ten Venerables, one capable of threatening your position.

" The Goddess Taisu behind him slowly dimmed, yet her voice came clear into his ears, as though whispering beside them: "Venerable Hong will no longer be a threat to you.

. . Nephew, the waves you tread out upon the Sky Sea are exceedingly slight; it seems your Dao-heart is no weaker than Kaihuang's.

" Haotian Venerable walked on toward the River of Heaven and said, "It is only that my Dao-heart is steady — in that alone I am a notch below him. But in the realm of Dao he surpasses me by a great deal. Kaihuang prizes the realm of Dao, while I prize power; from now on I shall learn from him in the realm of Dao.

That is my greatest strength. " He smiled faintly and said with ease, "In those years I learned Venerable Yu's method of attaining godhood and did away with Venerable Yu; today I can likewise learn Kaihuang's realm of Dao and do away with Kaihuang.

My Dao-heart is strong enough — learning the realm of Dao is not so difficult as one imagines.

" Taisu's figure faded away entirely, and she asked in a soft, fine voice, "Then how did you cultivate your Dao-heart to such a level?

" "At the moment of my greatest glory, I plunged suddenly to the bottom of the valley and lay upon a sickbed for a thousand years. " Haotian Venerable stopped his steps and tilted his head, recalling the past. "In those thousand years I met with countless cold stares, countless mockeries; even those who had once followed me left me one after another, jeering at me, spitting curses upon me.

Having passed through that great rise and great fall, my Dao-heart thereafter became incomparably tenacious and steady. " A supremely powerful confidence and conviction flowed from his eyes as he declared loudly, "The reason I lay upon that sickbed so long was not the wounds of my flesh, but the wounds of my Dao-heart! When at last I rose from that bed, there was no one left under heaven who could vanquish my Dao-heart! From that time on I have seen all the warmth and coldness of the world; I saw through so-called family, friendship and love.

From that time on, I have lived only for myself!

" "I did away with one obstacle after another among my brothers and sisters; even the eldest crown prince I schemed against and reduced to Xie Wuqi! " "I leapt up to become the leader of the demigod clan and founded the Longxiao Heavenly Court, once more commanding the demigods under heaven. I joined hands with Venerable Yun and did away with my imperial father, who sat so high and seemed impossible to defeat; and I seized another's nest for my own, nibbling away step by step and entrenching myself step by step, and in this way stole the power of the Heavenly Alliance!

" "For the past million years: my imperial father was defeated, Venerable Yun was defeated, Venerable Huo submitted, Venerable Yue was defeated, Venerable Ling was defeated — my opponents grow fewer and fewer. " The confidence and conviction in his eyes turned into a smile: "And now it is Kaihuang's turn — the turn of our own Ten Venerables!

Venerable Hong is the first; after him, the Great Emperor, and then the Father God who rises again! " His Dao-heart grew steadier and steadier; upon the face of the Sky Sea no waves stirred, not a single ripple appeared!

Taisu slowly revealed her form again and said softly, "Then what of the one who made you lie upon a sickbed for more than a thousand years a million years ago, and a million years later made you fall once more from the peak into the dust, losing every shred of face in the Taixu?

" Her voice seemed to hold a strange magic; the muscles at the corners of Haotian Venerable's eyes twitched wildly, and the calm Sky Sea suddenly erupted into towering waves and furious billows, wind and surge rising in an instant! World-engulfing waves lashed the vast sky; the heavens turned black and heavy, and thunder and lightning cracked and crashed without cease, a horror like hell itself!

Only after a long while did the strange phenomenon of the Sky Sea subside.

The flapping of Haotian Venerable's robes slowly stilled as well; he did not answer Taisu's question, but walked straight on toward the River of Heaven.

The two great rises and falls of his life had both been granted him by Shen Mu: the thousand-odd years he lay upon a sickbed were the sword wound and the Dao-heart wound that Shen Mu had inflicted upon him.

The encounter with the Great Emperor in the Taixu, the head-on struggle, was likewise Shen Mu's doing; Shen Mu had even sought him out in person while he was healing his wounds and preparing to advance another step.

Not only did he wreck his grand plan to advance, he hunted him for six hundred thousand li!

His dignity was utterly swept away before the hosts of the Heavenly Court and the hosts of the Land of No Sorrow! He had been forced to kneel in worship to Taisu and lick her feet in order to survive!

To rise again, he had been forced to bargain with the tiger, forced to rely upon Taisu's power.

All of this, every last bit of it, was Shen Mu's gift!

The only one who could throw his Dao-heart into chaos was Shen Mu!

The Goddess Taisu smiled, then gradually faded and vanished away.