Chapter 1597 — The Elder Is My Brother

She was about to carry the Myriad Ways Heaven Wheel and rush at full speed to the place where the Ming River fell, when she saw the wheel suddenly sprout two legs — Shen Mu's legs had thrust out from beneath the wheel. The two legs strode forward with extreme speed, like two swiftly spinning wheels, howling toward Guixu!

Heavenly Venerable Gong was stunned for a moment, then hurried after him and reached out to seize the wheel. Shen Mu's face was frantic with alarm, and he cried out loudly, "Run! Run quickly!"

"This fellow Heavenly Venerable Mu seems even more panicked than I am. Is Tu Bo not his elder brother?"

Doubts rose in Heavenly Venerable Gong's heart, but by now the vertical eye at Tu Bo's brow had been activated, and a bolt of incomparably dark demonic fire descended from the heavens, crashing toward Yusuo Pass!

Heavenly Venerable Gong braced herself and charged forward. The Way-might stirred up by that demonic fire was terrifying beyond measure; before it even reached Yusuo Pass, countless Heavenly Court soldiers within the pass burst into flame!

This burning was not of the flesh but of the primordial spirit. The demonic fire born of their burning primordial spirits spurted from their eyes, ears, mouths, and noses; in an instant, the primordial spirits of untold numbers of demon-gods were burned to ashes!

They raised their heads and spread their arms; wisps of black smoke spurted from their eyes, ears, mouths, and noses; their bodies shook violently, then quickly fell still, standing motionless where they were.

Their flesh remained, but their primordial spirits were dead; the bodies were hollow!

The whole of Yusuo Pass, in an instant, became an empty city strewn with corpses!

Chill after chill rushed up in Heavenly Venerable Gong's heart; her scalp went numb. Tu Bo was not like the Heavenly Duke — the Heavenly Duke was the Way of Heaven, and even when he attacked Xuandu, the Heavenly Duke had not wrought much slaughter.

But Youdu was the origin of the demonic Way, and Tu Bo was a demonic Way ancient god born of nature; the sixty-four Great Ways of Youdu were sixty-four innate demonic Ways!

Once this demonic Way ancient god's killing intent was roused, there was no one he dared not kill!

In years past, he had stormed the Heavenly Court!

"Faster! Faster!"

Shen Mu seemed even more anxious than she was, urging her on: "Gong Yun, can you do it? If you cannot, undo the seals and let me out, and I will carry you into Guixu!"

Heavenly Venerable Gong clenched her teeth and charged forward, her doubts growing: "Heavenly Venerable Mu seems even more afraid of Tu Bo than I am..."

Her speed was extreme, a fleeting gleam and shadow. She rushed into one stele forest after another — forests of steles where countless demon-gods who had committed grave sins suffered torment, burning ceaselessly in karmic fire, enduring agony beyond measure.

Passing a karmic-fire stele forest, Heavenly Venerable Gong cast a careless glance and was slightly startled.

"Ugly Tu Bo!"

She saw Ugly Tu Bo seated amid an incomparably thick and dreadful karmic fire, a fire so terrible that even she felt her heart quail.

That dreadful karmic fire was full of sin — the deepest sins of the mortal world and of demon-gods, the most evil of negative emotions. Even one such as her, a Heavenly Venerable, if touched by it, would likely fall into the demonic Way, breeding all manner of evil thoughts and inner demons, and have her cultivation destroyed!

"Though Ugly Tu Bo has committed great sins, they should not warrant burning in such a fierce karmic fire, nor for so long..."

Scarcely had this thought crossed her mind when she saw, in the karmic-fire stele forest, an old man with white brows, white beard, and white eyes, also enduring torment in the fire, in utter agony.

"This old man looks like the Heavenly Duke..."

Heavenly Venerable Gong had no time to think further. She rushed howling past the karmic-fire stele forest. Beyond the stele forest lay the Ming River; the vast Ming River here poured into an enormous cavern mouth!

Behind her, the blow from the vertical eye at Tu Bo's brow had already fallen. The whole of Yusuo Pass shook violently and crumbled; surging waves of qi flung countless corpses into the air!

Strangely, though this shockwave was dreadful, the corpses of those demon-gods were not damaged in the least; the bodies were whole. And though the earth of Yusuo Pass shook and crumbled, it too remained whole, not damaged in the slightest.

Heavenly Venerable Gong strove to press forward. The shockwave raised by Tu Bo's blow behind her had already reached her back; the demonic fire blazed, setting her primordial spirit alight.

Heavenly Venerable Gong felt a piercing agony in her soul, and in her mind it was as if countless inner demons were screaming desperately, so loud that she could hear nothing else!

In the Myriad Ways Heaven Wheel, Shen Mu hastily thrust out his legs again and ran at full speed.

Heavenly Venerable Gong clenched her teeth and followed. The two of them, one behind the other, plunged into the Ming River, and were seized by its waters, tumbling and rolling downward!

Tu Bo's blow had missed. He reached out a great hand and seized the entire Ming River. This river, formed when the Heavenly River flowed into Youdu, was exceedingly broad, yet he grasped it easily in his hand and tore at it with force.

For a moment the waters of the Ming River flowed backward, and the two within the water were dragged back bodily.

Shen Mu and Heavenly Venerable Gong were aghast, each thinking, "My life is over!"

Just then, amid the rolling waves, a mad old woman was also dragged out by Tu Bo. Fury surged in her heart, and she shrieked, "Tu Bo, you dare come and ruin our good work?"

The mad old woman cut the Ming River in two with a single blow, and Shen Mu and Heavenly Venerable Gong were at once sucked into that great rift and fell down.

The mad old woman charged to meet Tu Bo's great hand, utterly savage, and fought Tu Bo for several hundred rounds before her anger subsided; then she returned into the great rift of Youdu.