Chapter 1480 — You Shall Die Where You Stand

Shen Mu's eye twitched.

He drew his gaze back from Heavenly Venerable Hong and said in a low voice, "We press on! " By now the Heavenly Duke's attacks were raining down on them from every side; each Heavenly Dao art was so flawless, its power so surging, and the collapsing void lay all around them, making the five's advance a bitter struggle. Shen Mu led them in a hard climb upward.

The five spread out their blade arts and cut apart the shards of void that pressed in on them; even so, they were soon covered in wounds. And ahead, the Heavenly Duke's shoulder seemed an endless road, with no telling when it would end.

Just then a violent tremor swept through.

Bracing himself against the collapsing void, Shen Mu looked back; the glare was blinding, and he could not make out what was happening. The vertical eye at his brow opened, and he saw Heavenly Venerable Hong breaking through the Heavenly Duke's attacks one after another, his magic power towering to the heavens, his divine arts exquisite; unraveling the Heavenly Dao's arts was for him as easy as walking a familiar road, simple beyond measure!

He rescued the Divine Emperor Langxuan and the others; however fierce and overbearing the Heavenly Duke's attacks, they could not wound him in the slightest. It was as though this scene had been rehearsed many times over: every Heavenly Dao art of the Heavenly Duke was utterly familiar to him, and he had even devised every means of unraveling the Heavenly Dao's attacks!

"Of course you can unravel your own arts, Heavenly Venerable Hong.

Do you long for the Heavenly Duke's power that much. .

.

" Shen Mu's face darkened.

He turned back and said in a hoarse voice, "Press on!

" "Where are we going? " Zhe Huali, drenched in blood, flared up in fury: "Cult Master Shen, even if we reach the Heavenly Duke's shoulder, against an assault like this we are powerless to intervene! Even the Heavenly Duke himself cannot hold out—how can we?

" Luo Wushuang nodded in silence. He glanced at the Imperial Gate Divine Blade flashing past before him; in the blade his own reflection was battered and bruised.

"Heavenly Venerable Mu, we have done all that honor and duty require.

" "We can hold!

" Shen Mu kept striding forward and said in a low voice, "Once we reach the Heavenly Duke's Spirit Terrace, we can hold! " Suddenly the sound of a zither came drifting over, wavering above and below, left and right, now east, now west; the chaotic currents of void around Shen Mu and the others were stirred by the zither notes and vanished without a trace.

"Now, while we can—charge!

" Shen Mu shouted. The five quickened their pace and rushed forward.

Gradually the Heavenly Duke's shoulder came into view, and dimly they could make out the Heavenly Duke's face hidden within the radiance.

The zither music broke off abruptly; Dao fire howled, and the sound of snapping strings carried over.

Shen Mu's heart sank. Heedless of Heavenly Venerable Yue's safety, he charged madly forward.

At last they came onto the Heavenly Duke's shoulder. Here all was calm, without those dreadful void storms and chaotic currents, and without shards of void.

Upon the Heavenly Duke's shoulder stood magnificent divine cities, and within them were many gods and demons of Xuandu, guarding each city in strict array.

Covered in blood, the five burst into the nearest divine city. In the city, countless people of Xuandu knelt prostrate, worshipping and making sacrifice to the statue of the Heavenly Duke at the city's center, praying for his protection.

Their prayers and their rites of sacrifice merged into one, becoming a torrent that shook the heart.

To shatter the god within one's heart is hard because of people's worship of power, their dread of the unknown, their yearning for a fair future—and their unwillingness to strive and struggle toward it. Especially in a place like Xuandu, shattering the god within the heart is harder still.

The Heavenly Duke faced calamity, hard-pressed to save even himself, yet these people of Xuandu still prayed, hoping he would protect them.

The five bore the Heavenly Dao's blessing upon them, and the gods and demons of Xuandu guarding the city did not bar their way.

Shen Mu sped to the city's center; Zhe Huali drew his blade to cut down the Heavenly Duke's statue, but Zai Fu reached out a hand to stop him, shaking his head: "Let them keep a little hope. If you cut down the Heavenly Duke's statue, the hope in their hearts dies with it. " Zhe Huali wiped the blood from his face and snorted. "What damned use is that?

" Still, he lowered the demon blade Dragon Fang and did not cut down the Heavenly Duke's statue. Shen Mu came before the statue and bowed.

"Dao Brother, I have a matter to discuss with you. I beg you, Dao Brother, shrink your body and guide us to the Spirit Terrace!

" A moment passed, and the statue showed no sign of movement.

Yet the divine city suddenly began to shake violently; the earth quaked and the mountains swayed, and building after building collapsed and crumbled.

The city filled with wailing and cries; the people of Xuandu kowtowed to the Heavenly Duke's image all the more urgently, murmuring incantations, faster and faster, their expressions ever more devout. Heavenly Venerable Hong had taken action himself, leading the three great Heavenly Venerables in assaulting the Heavenly Duke; the destructive force of a battle among Heavenly Venerables had begun to reach even here.

With a man like Heavenly Venerable Hong, who knew the Heavenly Duke and the Heavenly Dao down to their very roots, it would not be long before all the Heavenly Duke's attacks were dismantled—and this place, too, would soon be destroyed! Shen Mu frowned and said in a low voice, "I come at the command of Dao Brother Tai Yi, with a matter to discuss!

Though the Heavenly Dao has swayed your actions and taken control of your body, I know your consciousness remains! Dao Brother, will you not grant even Dao Brother Tai Yi this face?

" A moment later, the Heavenly Duke's statue suddenly came to life, opening its eyes to look at him, and said with a smile: "Heavenly Venerable Mu, how transcendent is Dao Brother Tai Yi? That he is indifferent to all that happens in Xuandu is not true indifference—rather, nothing can stir his Dao heart. Even beings such as you and I are no more than faint ripples in his Dao heart, an unremarkable wave.

He would not have sent you here. " Shen Mu fixed his gaze on the statue's eyes. "You are not Tai Yi. Do not measure Tai Yi's thoughts by your own, or you will judge wrongly. " The statue fell silent.

Even fiercer shockwaves struck the place; the earth split open, houses toppled, and the people of Xuandu in the divine city wailed without end. Shen Mu did not blink, seeming blind to all around him, staring only at the statue's eyes.

The Heavenly Duke's statue sighed.

"Though I know full well you are deceiving me, I truly do not know Tai Yi's thoughts and cannot judge with certainty.

Very well—come and see me.

" Suddenly the Heavenly Duke's immeasurably vast body shrank. Heavenly Venerable Hong and the others attacking him were startled; the Heavenly Duke, who had filled nearly all of Xuandu, grew smaller and smaller, and in an instant the distance between them and him opened up, leaving an endless void between them—empty, with nothing at all!

"Heavenly Venerable Mu! " Heavenly Venerable Hong gave a cold snort, his great sleeves fluttering, and sped toward the Heavenly Duke. Shi Qiluo, the Divine Emperor Langxuan, and Heavenly Consort Qiang hurried to follow.

The three Heavenly Venerables exchanged glances, then looked toward Heavenly Venerable Hong ahead, their eyes flickering.

Even shrunk to the utmost, the Heavenly Duke was still immeasurably vast. Shen Mu led Zhe Huali, Zai Fu, and the others soaring into the sky, flying toward the Heavenly Duke's brow.