Chapter 1653 — The Twilight of That Heavenly Venerable

"Haosheng, this battle will decide the fate of the universe."

Taichu blocked Haotian Di, a smile on his face. He gazed upon Haotian Di's countenance and spoke unhurriedly: "Ever since my defeat in the Longhan era, I came to understand that honor and disgrace are ever fickle. The honor or disgrace of a single moment can hardly determine the victory or defeat of a powerful being's entire life. Your father was ill-fated from a young age. In my early years, I was ignorant and naive in the Taichu Divine Mine, knowing neither good nor evil, right nor wrong—I only knew to refine the Taichu mineral vein, until Taidi dug me out from the divine mine."

Haotian Di frowned slightly, his expression half-smiling, half-mocking: "Taishang Huang, you have indeed grown old. The patricide has not even begun, and yet you already speak such words as only victors dare to speak."

Taichu waved his hand dismissively and continued: "Your father was weak in those days, frightened by Taidi's power, and so I acknowledged him as my adoptive father. He took my Taichu Imperial Sword and had the Creator offer sacrifices to me—on the surface it seemed he was boosting my power, but in truth he knew my potential for growth was too great, and so he used the Creator to restrain me. I endured in silence, biding my time, until a battle in the Blood Rust Zone a million years ago, when I struck him down completely, leaving him unable to rise for a million years."

Haotian Di listened quietly at his leisure, without interrupting.

"Your father then ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor, unifying the universe and all of creation, achieving unparalleled hegemony. The four seas and eight wildernesses submitted. Tubo, Tiangong, and Dimu—all were caught by the short hairs in my grip and could not resist me. The Creator was no longer a concern. The world was at peace, and the demigod races flourished."

Taichu sighed heavily: "It was then that Yutian Zun and six other Heavenly Venerables rose to prominence. In a hazy vision, I saw a future that would destroy my rule—a rolling tide of destiny that would grind me, and all the ancient gods, to dust. Therefore I had you kill Yutian Zun, severing that terrible future. But I never imagined that this rolling tide would not end there, but instead grow ever more fierce, and in the end your father still met his downfall at the hands of you and Yuntian Zun. These million years of degradation forced me to scrape by ignobly, to hide my name and conceal my identity, mingling among the Ten Heavenly Venerables."

The two Taiji Heavenly Venerables praised in unison: "Great rise followed by great fall, great fall followed by great spirit—this is the true character of a hero."

The mockery on Haotian Di's face grew thicker.

Taichu, invigorated, laughed: "A million years—Haosheng, you accumulated your momentum, and not long ago your tide was finally complete. The flood rolled on, forcing your father—even after recovering his physical body, even after achieving the Dao of Yiqi Daluotian—to abdicate and let you ascend the throne of the Heavenly Emperor. I was even forced to kneel to you, to bow to you—a father kneeling to his son, the ultimate humiliation."

The two Taiji Heavenly Venerables praised in one voice: "Unmoved by favor or disgrace—this reveals the true hero."

Taichu's face glowed red as he laughed: "You two daoists flatter me. Though I suffered this ultimate humiliation, kneeling to my own son, I knew that you, Haosheng, are ultimately still too young. Haosheng, your thirst for power is too great—so great that you simply do not understand how to share it. Take me, for instance: so long as Tubo, Tiangong, and Dimu Yuanjun submitted to me, I would not touch their interests in the slightest. But you are different. You want to grasp all authority in your own embrace. The moment you ascended the throne, you began stripping the fiefs—how could Huotian Zun not rebel against you?"

He smiled faintly: "You could not hold your temper, and you destroyed your own wings. Huotian Zun defected to me, finally allowing me to crush you. The nine Heavenly Venerables of the Longhan era were each heaven-sent geniuses—you underestimated Huotian Zun far too much. Every one of the Longhan Nine Heavenly Venerables is beyond comparison with the likes of Zushen Wang and Xutian Zun! All I need do is hold you off, and Huotian Zun will clip your wings and slay Zushen Wang and Xutian Zun! From that battle onward, I hold the upper hand!"

Haotian Di said calmly: "Taishang Huang, you have said too much. With your wisdom, you surely must have considered that the Third and Fourth Young Masters of Miluo Palace still support me."

Taichu shook his head: "In the art of strategy, I am more skilled than you. You are too young. How could the Third and Fourth Young Masters not know of your wolfish ambition? They need to support someone who can contend with you on the stage, to facilitate their plan of entering the world. With me contending against you, they are only too happy to see it. You cannot borrow any power from the Third or Fourth Young Masters—if you do not believe me, try it."

Haotian Di wore an amused smile, clapping his hands in admiration: "Well said, well said! Unfortunately, Taishang Huang, you scheme too much, you scrape by ignobly—and yet in the end, you have still grown old."

He spoke leisurely: "My stripping of the fiefs—on the surface it seems I monopolize power and slaughter meritorious ministers, a foolish act. But what I seek is the eternal stability of my realm for a million years, ten million years, even a hundred million years! Kill one Huotian Zun, and my foundation of rule is shaken?"

He was unconcerned: "It cannot be shaken. Enfeoffing vassals—that is what would shake my foundation. You think that with Huotian Zun dead, Mutian Zun would dare rebel? Even if he did, I have ample means to handle him. At worst, I can borrow a few Dao-achievers from the Zuting Jade Capital. The Zuting Jade Capital has nothing else, but it has no shortage of Dao-achievers from the prehistoric universe."

He revealed a mocking expression: "The Third and Fourth Young Masters have no choice. Only by relying on my power do they have a chance, any hope, of entering the present universe. Because they know that neither you nor Mutian Zun can match me!"

Taichu laughed heartily: "Yin Tianzi, Dongdi Qinglong—killed by borrowed blades. Zushen Wang and Xutian Zun—dead. What forces do you have left?"

At that moment, Dongdi Qinglong happened to flee to this very place. Hearing their conversation, his heart turned cold once more: "I died again? How did I not know... Better hurry and run!"

Haotian Di smiled as he looked at his father, and said with sympathy: "Taishang Huang, you truly have grown old."

He sighed.

At the same time, an incomparably violent upheaval erupted. Huotian Zun fought against Zushen Wang and Xutian Zun with all his might, battling until heaven and earth split asunder. Zushen Wang pushed Tiangong's physical body to its utmost limit, forcibly breaking through the flame wheel behind Huotian Zun's head.

But the moment he broke free, Huotian Zun struck with a palm. He stood upon Tiangong's physical body, and at that very moment when Tiangong's body was extricating itself from the flame wheel, there was no time to block.

Zushen Wang could only activate the Heavenly Dao treasures he had painstakingly refined to resist head-on. Within Huotian Zun's strike were hidden twenty-eight layers of Dao realms, each layer of Dao fire stronger than the last. By the twenty-eighth layer, all the Heavenly Dao treasures Zushen Wang had painstakingly refined were burned into molten copper and liquid gold!

"Zushen Wang, are you even worthy to share my name?"

Huotian Zun sneered coldly. His primordial spirit pressed down from the Heavenly Court, driving Xutian Zun back again and again, unable to resist.