Chapter 1741 — On the Misty River, Clouds Unfurl and Fold

The Second Young Master's body was pressed into the Ultimate Void by that terrifying force; the power of the sacrifice made her body explode in an instant, her flesh and her Great Dao exposed within the Ultimate Void! At once the wind of cold silence turned utterly savage.

The Second Young Master's Dao of Guixu, and even her flesh, blood, and primordial spirit, dissolved at flying speed, and soon her white bones were laid bare! Within her, another body emerged, also struggling in the void, its face contorted, striving to break free of its connection to the Second Young Master; it was none other than Emperor Haotian! A shrill, miserable scream rang out, like a woman's voice, yet mingled with a man's, the two overlapping, making the Empress's blood run cold; she hastily slipped away.

Lan Yutian wanted to give chase, but then he saw the Cloud Heavenly Venerable walk down out of the Ultimate Void, and could not help hesitating.

"Brother Yu, go on," the Cloud Heavenly Venerable said, waving to him as though nothing were amiss. "Cloud Heavenly Venerable, just call me Lan Yutian; I am not the Yu Heavenly Venerable! Something is very wrong with you!

" Lan Yutian went to meet him. "That blow from the Second Young Master is stamped inside your body; it is extremely perilous!

" The Cloud Heavenly Venerable waved to him from afar.

"No need to come closer.

Just do what you have to do. If you see the Mu Heavenly Venerable, tell him: what he could not accomplish, I have accomplished.

" Lan Yutian was taken aback. He did not go after him, but turned and gave chase to the Empress.

His mind was in a daze, and within the Ultimate Void the phantom images of Miluo Palace's Lingxiao Treasure Hall and Zixiao Treasure Hall suddenly appeared, quaking with a thunderous roar; Emperor Haotian's body and the Second Young Master's body abruptly split apart!

Emperor Haotian coughed blood in great mouthfuls, then swiftly drew away from the Second Young Master, flew out of the Ultimate Void, and headed for the armies of the Heavenly Court.

The Cloud Heavenly Venerable halted, gazing at Emperor Haotian from afar, and a faint smile appeared on his lips. "Haotian Heavenly Venerable, for the rest of your days you will never be able to erase the shadow I have left in your heart of Dao.

I, Yun, will make you remember it for a lifetime!

" He drifted away, utterly free and at ease.

The remnants of Wuyou Township were marching toward Jingping. The Woodcutter Sage and Di Yiyue, one at the front of the ranks and one at the rear, had all along the way endured the onslaughts and slaughter of the Heavenly Court's vanguard, crossing mountains and fording rivers in their hard advance.

Then the Woodcutter and many of Wuyou Township's officers and soldiers raised their heads and saw the Cloud Heavenly Venerable's figure passing above them. "Has the Cloud Heavenly Venerable won?

" one officer murmured. The Woodcutter's face was expressionless, and he said nothing.

The remnants of Wuyou Township pressed on; another group of officers and soldiers volunteered to stay behind and hold the rear, ensuring the rest could reach Jingping as quickly as possible. The Moon Heavenly Venerable and the God King Langwan were locked in desperate combat with the Heaven Duke's physical body and the Ancestral God King.

The Moon Heavenly Venerable, severing the heavenly river that the Heaven Duke's body swept at her, happened to glimpse the Cloud Heavenly Venerable passing across the battlefield, and hastily called out to him.

The Cloud Heavenly Venerable heard, gave her a faint smile, and waved farewell.

Langwan saw him too; the Cloud Heavenly Venerable bowed deeply to him, then drifted away.

The Heaven Duke and A Chou were leading the defenders of one divine city after another in Jingping, straining to hold back the onslaught of the Xuandu army and cover the evacuation of the people in the cities throughout Jingping's territory.

The Heaven Duke distributed the fifty supreme treasures of the Heavenly Dao among the defenders of each city, while he himself raised the supreme treasure of Heavenly Sha, the God-Slaying Mystic Blade, and slaughtered all around him. Yet even so, this bitter battle was fraught with peril.

Seeing the Cloud Heavenly Venerable pass by, the Heaven Duke hastily called out at the top of his voice, "Cloud Heavenly Venerable, you have won?

Come and help, quickly! " A Chou was contending with the formation of the Heavenly Court's Dragon and Martial Guards; catching sight of the Cloud Heavenly Venerable, his heart lurched, and he shook his head.

"Brother of the Dao, let him go.

" The Heaven Duke's cultivation and strength were far below A Chou's; he relied on the might of the fifty supreme treasures of the Heavenly Dao, whereas A Chou had already cultivated the Dao of Youdu to the thirty-fifth heaven, and could therefore perceive the Cloud Heavenly Venerable's condition. The Heaven Duke was baffled, but let the Cloud Heavenly Venerable depart. The Cloud Heavenly Venerable crossed the long battle line and came to Lanfeng Valley, the first formidable pass in western Jingping, guarded by hundreds of thousands of gods and demons.

Along the way many Jingping troops were hurrying to the front, carrying refugees deeper into Jingping, to steadier places.

The Cloud Heavenly Venerable entered Lanfeng Valley, and saw that every divine city was held by heavy garrisons. Jingping had made this place the vital ground for holding the west; here were stationed the finest masters of Jingping's younger generation, and here had been brought Jingping's most advanced heavy weapons. The Cloud Heavenly Venerable walked into one divine city.

The commander guarding it was named Yan Shaoqing, formerly the Left Shaobi of the Heavenly Court, who had chiefly cultivated divine consciousness and had later entered Jingping to seek the Dao.

Seeing him, Yan Shaoqing was startled, and was about to step forward to pay his respects, but the Cloud Heavenly Venerable waved a hand and walked into a mansion within the divine city.

The Yun Estate.

Lady Yunxiao came out to meet him at the head of the many widows of the Yun family, with Yun Jianli and his wife and the others; she held his hand and would not let go, choking on her tears. "Your Majesty, since your rebirth you have never once come back to see your family; why are you willing to come today.

. .

" There was inevitably some complaint in her words, but the joy in her heart scattered it away.

The Cloud Heavenly Venerable smiled.

"Xiangying, I could not rest easy without coming to see you all. " Yun Jianli hastily came forward to pay his respects, his eyes reddening.

"This grandson greets the Ancestor! " The Cloud Heavenly Venerable looked him up and down.

"You are very good.

The Mu Heavenly Venerable spoke highly of you; his eye did not fail him. In this battle for Jingping, the Yun family must take the field as well.

Do you have children? " Yun Jianli's wife hastily led three children over and knelt to worship the ancestor. The Cloud Heavenly Venerable smiled.

"Good, very good.

The Yun family has heirs; the bloodline will not be cut off. Jianli, once you are on the battlefield, do not bring shame on the Yun family. " Yun Jianli straightened his back, his voice ringing with force.

"Jianli is of the blood of the Yun Emperor of Heaven, and will never bring shame on the Ancestor! " The Cloud Heavenly Venerable's expression turned stern. "If you survive, remember one thing well: in this world there is no such thing as the blood of an Emperor of Heaven.

I was born a man, never a cut above others; I too began from the ordinary. Among the descendants of the Yun family, which one has achieved more than I, or won greater merit?

I myself do not dare to call myself the blood of an Emperor of Heaven, and you dare? " Yun Jianli was stricken with awe, and dared not say more.

Lady Yunxiao drew him into the main hall, smiling.