Chapter 1484 — One Strike Pierces the Daoist's Heart

If the Lord of Heaven's primordial spirit comprehended the heart of Heaven, then even if he broke free of the Way of Heaven's bonds, he would still act in accordance with the Way of Heaven, and would not become a Hong Heavenly Venerable devoured by desire for fame, profit, and power! This was Shen Mu's hope.

So long as the Lord of Heaven's primordial spirit could leap out of the Terrace of the Nine Prisons, Hong Heavenly Venerable would not become the dominant consciousness of the Lord of Heaven, could not bring calamity to the world, and might become his fellow Daoist! As the Lord of Heaven's cultivation in the Dao realm grew higher and higher, that perilous personality-consciousness of Hong Heavenly Venerable would grow ever fainter, and would not much affect the Lord of Heaven.

The key was whether the Lord of Heaven could, in so short a time, raise his Dao realm in the heart of Heaven enough to break through the bonds of the Terrace of the Nine Prisons!

Fire Heavenly Venerable's gaze flickered; he shifted his eyes from Shen Mu and the others and let them fall upon the Lord of Heaven and the Heavenly Venerables besieging him. Palace Heavenly Venerable did the same.

The situation had now reached a critical moment; with the four great Heavenly Venerables joining hands, the Lord of Heaven could not hold out, and would surely be slain by them!

And the moment he was slain would be the critical moment for them to contend for their interests!

The one nearest the water tower gets the moon first; arrive too late, and forget getting the moon — you will be lucky to drink the foot-washing water!

Fire Heavenly Venerable suddenly turned into a streak of firelight and sped toward the Lord of Heaven; Moon Heavenly Venerable moved her feet, the zither sounded, and she blocked him in midair!

The two moved swiftly through Xuandu, zither notes clashing with Dao fire, the exchange fierce!

Moon Heavenly Venerable suddenly plucked a string; the zither notes rang with killing intent, and thousands upon thousands of spaces crisscrossed, trapping Fire Heavenly Venerable within.

Flames blazed all around Fire Heavenly Venerable, melting space; he passed through layer after layer of space, and then saw before him a peach grove ten thousand li wide, peach blossoms in full riot.

Fire Heavenly Venerable gave a cold snort; Dao fire blazed, burning the peach grove to utter ash!

The ten-thousand-li peach grove became scorched earth.

Fire Heavenly Venerable landed, walked a few quick steps, looked around, his eye twitching wildly, and cried out sharply, "Moon Heavenly Venerable—" What met his eyes were the mountains and rivers, the sun and moon of the Yuan Realm; he had passed through the spatial art Moon Heavenly Venerable had laid down, and in one step had come from Xuandu to the Yuan Realm!

To travel from the Ancestral Court to Xuandu had taken him more than a month; now, even if he set out at once, it would likely take more than a month to reach Xuandu again! By the time he arrived, the day lily would have gone cold through!

Fire Heavenly Venerable was frantic, furious beyond measure, yet he felt deeply powerless; sent here, he was cut off from the great opportunity in Xuandu.

When he possessed the Ancestral Land of Dao Fire, Moon Heavenly Venerable could not have sent him away; the Ancestral Land of Dao Fire twisted space, and the vast worlds all lay within the nine heavens of the Ancestral Land, so Moon Heavenly Venerable's art could do nothing to him.

But Shen Mu had struck by surprise, and Moon Heavenly Venerable had seized the chance to send the Ancestral Land of Dao Fire away; there was nothing he could do.

"Then I should return to the Heavenly Court and wait beside the Pixing Hall for Yu Heavenly Venerable.

.

. " Just then, he suddenly sensed the aura of the Way of Heaven, and his heart stirred; he looked toward the source of that aura.

"The Tianyin Realm!

" Fire Heavenly Venerable flew toward it: "By the Lord of Heaven's own sole!

This aura of the Way of Heaven — can it mean that Ancestor God King, that thick-browed, big-eyed, forthright, honest fellow with not a shred of cunning, is at this moment in the Tianyin Realm?

Truly, appearances can be deceiving.

. .

" In Xuandu, Palace Heavenly Venerable also rose to her full height and charged at the Lord of Heaven; You Heavenly Venerable and Langwan God King moved at the same time to intercept her!

Palace Heavenly Venerable then saw Moon Heavenly Venerable send Fire Heavenly Venerable away, to some unknown place, and her heart trembled.

She did not fear Moon Heavenly Venerable; in single combat, Moon Heavenly Venerable's spatial art could not be brought to bear before her at all — she could disturb Moon Heavenly Venerable's thoughts before the art was even unleashed! Moon Heavenly Venerable's art she could interrupt with ease!

Moon Heavenly Venerable could not send her away at all!

Yet if You Heavenly Venerable and Langwan God King were added, with Shen Mu also eyeing her like a tiger, then she would be in dire peril.

Shen Mu, with Zaifu and the others, charged excitedly toward the lone Palace Heavenly Venerable; at the same time, Moon Heavenly Venerable, having exiled Fire Heavenly Venerable to the Yuan Realm, breathed a sigh of relief and then also charged at Palace Heavenly Venerable!

Palace Heavenly Venerable's face was grave; she gave a shout, and behind her one Heavenly Palace after another rose towering, thirty-five Heavenly Palaces joined into one great Heavenly Court. She had been gravely wounded by Kaihuang because Kaihuang had struck by surprise in the instant she stepped into the Lingxiao Hall, giving her no chance to react; but her strength was by no means the weakest among the ten Heavenly Venerables!

Were any one of the ten Heavenly Venerables to be ambushed by Kaihuang, surviving at all would be a remarkable feat!

After all, though Kaihuang's cultivation could not match the ten Heavenly Venerables, the attack power of his sword Dao surpassed theirs; even Mu Heavenly Venerable, Xiao Heavenly Venerable, and Qiang Heavenly Consort in their prime would not dare claim their arts were mightier than Kaihuang's sword Dao! Shen Mu flew to the scene, then suddenly halted, his face grave as he looked at Palace Heavenly Venerable, counted the Heavenly Palaces behind her, and said with some doubt, "How does Kaihuang handle matters?

I told him to gravely wound Palace Heavenly Venerable, and even this small thing he could not manage.

. .

"