Chapter 1593 — Forged a Thousand Times Yet Undying
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 4 of 4
Huo Tianzun stepped out from the ranks despite his wounds and declared with fervor, "The thief Mu is a traitor to the human race! I am the Heavenly Venerable of the human race; it falls to me to clear the human race's name and root out this beast! Brother Hao, your subject is willing to try! " Hao leaned forward and smiled.
"Brother Huo, I am still crown prince and not yet enthroned; there is no need to call yourself my subject.
" Huo said gravely, "It is only a matter of time. The great enterprise His Majesty could not accomplish in a million years has been accomplished in Your Highness's hands.
Such a glorious achievement wins the hearts of all under heaven, and His Majesty will surely follow the will of the people and the will of heaven, and abdicate of his own accord in favor of the worthy. Your Highness taking the throne is what all hope for.
" Hao made a show of modesty and said, "We will speak of that afterward. What means does Brother Huo have to refine the thief Mu? " "I have thirty-five heavenly palaces and twenty-eight heavens of Dao-fire. I can refine this beast!
" Hao produced the Myriad Dao Heavenly Wheel, and Shen Mu's head poked out of it; he glanced around and saw that everyone was present. At the sight, they all laughed coldly, and the Ancestral Godking jeered, "Mu Tianzun, so even you have a day like this?
" Shen Mu shot him a glance, then shrank back into the wheel, ignoring him.
Huo begged pardon, sat cross-legged, and a heavenly court appeared behind his head—one layer of Dao realm, one layer of heaven—with Dao-fire spreading everywhere, burning the void until it collapsed; he placed the Myriad Dao Heavenly Wheel into the Dao-fire to be forged. Runes swirled about his body, turning into flame Dao-patterns that he struck ceaselessly into the wheel.
After refining in this way for forty-nine days, Huo rose to his full height and laughed long.
"It is done!
The thief Mu has been reduced to flying ash! " Everyone looked toward the wheel; the red-hot Myriad Dao Heavenly Wheel gradually cooled.
They all marveled, saying, "Huo Tianzun's Dao arts are unmatched!
" Huo hastily made modest noises—but just then, Shen Mu slowly poked his head out of the wheel, slowly turned his head in a full circle with cold eyes, and then slowly sank back into the wheel. Huo's face flushed crimson.
"Let me do it!
" The Ancestral Godking strode forward and said coldly, "I have the Lord of Heaven's fleshly body; I command a trillion star rivers, I rule the order of the heavenly Dao—to refine him to death is child's play!
" Xu Tianzun clapped his hands. "With the Ancestral Godking taking action, victory is certain! " The Ancestral Godking lifted the Myriad Dao Heavenly Wheel and walked out of the Lingxiao Treasure Hall to the Heavenly Altar outside; he flicked his sleeve, the clouds in the sky parted, and the incomparably vast fleshly body of the Lord of Heaven bent down over him, while the light of numberless constellations, stars, and star rivers surged and became chains of stars that howled into the Myriad Dao Heavenly Wheel.
The Ancestral Godking shouted again and again, circling the wheel without pause; the heavenly Dao gathered in the sky and became radiance that, at his urging, poured madly into the wheel.
After refining in this way for more than ten days, the Ancestral Godking, having driven the Lord of Heaven's fleshly body, was worn out and panting.
"The thief Mu must surely be dead! " said the Ancestral Godking, sending away the Lord of Heaven's body and wiping the sweat from his brow with a smile.
Shen Mu's face surfaced upon the Myriad Dao Heavenly Wheel, gazing at him with a faint and eerie look; suddenly he rolled both eyes, then slowly faded away.
Blood seeped from the corner of the Ancestral Godking's mouth, and his body trembled slightly. "I was wounded by Emperor Kai and cannot exert my full strength—I am ashamed before Brother Hao. . .
"