Chapter 1614 — Upheaval in the Netherworld: The Yin Sovereign's Life Is at Risk

Madam Yuanmu and the Empress appeared once more in the same body, and as the twin lotuses from a single stem sank, they, too, plunged into the Great Abyss. No matter how they struggled or rebelled, they could not break free of the Red Rope Knot.

Shen Mu had comprehended only one percent of the Red Rope Knot, but even that one percent had enough might and power to bind them fast and leave them no escape. He had not sunk them into the Chaos Sea, and even if they wished to communicate with the Second Young Master of Miluo Palace, they had no means to do so. What was more, the Red Rope Knot Shen Mu had left behind was unlike the one with which the Master of Miluo Palace had sealed the Second Young Master; that earlier knot had left a sixth thread, a thread of life for the Second Young Master.

Shen Mu had left them no such thread.

If someone came to their rescue and rashly touched the Red Rope Knot he had left, the full force of the binding mark would erupt and strike straight into their bodies. Only someone able to crack it by brute force, or else thoroughly versed in the Red Rope Knot, could undo the mark and save Madam Yuanmu.

But that would require the rescuer's strength to far exceed Shen Mu's, or an understanding of the Red Rope Knot surpassing his. In all the world today, those whose strength exceeded Shen Mu's were few indeed, and those whose grasp of the Red Rope Knot exceeded his even fewer.

Of course, there was still a chance for Madam Yuanmu and the Empress to survive, because Shen Mu's comprehension of the Red Rope Knot was only one-hundredth of the Master of Miluo Palace's.

Shen Mu's Red Rope Knot did not contain so many complex permutations as the Master's, which left it open to solution.

Following the Nether River, Shen Mu left Guixu and entered the Nether Capital. The Jade Lock Pass of the Nether Capital still stood.

The Earl of Earth had almost destroyed it, yet thanks to the presence of Achou, Earl of Earth, and the reincarnated body of the Duke of Heaven, it had been preserved, though the Heavenly Court army stationed there had been entirely wiped out, destroyed by the Earl of Earth's onslaught. The moment Shen Mu arrived at Jade Lock Pass, the Great Dao of the Nether Capital became aware of him, and the demonic aura of the Nether Capital grew incomparably thick.

He smiled slightly.

The Dao of Reincarnation turned into a spinning wheel of light, and as the wheel revolved, it wholly screened him from the Nether Capital's perception, so that the turbulent demonic aura immediately fell still. He had not completely erased cause and effect; the Dao of Reincarnation could avert calamity, but he could not yet erase karma completely, only make the Great Dao of the Nether Capital think that this man was not Shen Mu. If one had attained a profound level of cultivation in the Great Dao of the Nether Capital, with a Dao realm reaching the thirty-sixth heaven, one could still search through all reincarnation by means of karma and find his trace within the web of cause and effect. But the Great Dao of the Nether Capital would not actively seek him out, and so it would not find him.

"Huh!

The Nether Capital feels a little strange. .

. Looks like quite a few things have happened while I was filling the Sea Eye.

" Shen Mu went into the Forest of Karma-Fire Steles inside Jade Lock Pass and looked up. The demonic aura of the Nether Capital, though no longer restless, was still exceedingly dense, quite different from the Nether Capital on ordinary days.

On ordinary days, one could see hundreds of millions of paper boats shuttling across the Nether Capital, with aged netherworld emissaries riding those boats to guide the souls or nascent spirits of the dead from every land into the Nether Capital for judgment.

Now, all those paper boats had vanished.

The entire Nether Capital had stopped functioning; no one was attending to the dead of all the realms. If things continued this way, it was bound to stir up tremendous chaos across the heavens and myriad worlds.

The souls of the dead would run wild in the world of the living; those who had died unjustly or been murdered, those who harbored resentment or ambition, would turn into vengeful ghosts. And more than that, fallen gods with great power could seize the bodies of living beings and throw yin and yang into disorder. At worst, they would carve up the world of the living and found ghost kingdoms upon it.

When the dead did not die, catastrophe was sure to follow.

At this moment, the Nether Capital was filled with a desolate killing intent, and the operations of its Great Dao had become more active than before.

The demon races within the Nether Capital had also grown quiet, but Shen Mu could clearly sense the power of the Demonic Dao increasing.

This was very much like the changes that had overtaken the Heavenly Dao of the Mystic Capital when the punitive campaign against the Duke of Heaven was launched back then. "The Nether Capital has stopped running, so something major must be happening!

Which means the Heavenly Court is preparing to attack the Earl of Earth!

" Wariness chilled his heart, and he walked into the Forest of Karma-Fire Steles, where he soon found the reincarnated body of the Duke of Heaven.

The Duke of Heaven's reincarnated body was still suffering from karmic fire, writhing within the flames.

"Heavenly Venerable Mu! " the Duke of Heaven called out, enduring the sharp pain that racked his soul. Shen Mu offered a salute and looked him over from head to toe.

The Duke of Heaven's Heavenly Dao was more perfect than ever; not only the Heavenly Dao, but his understanding of every great Dao in the world had reached an extraordinary level.

Submerged in karmic fire and tempered by it, he had instead attained the deepest profundities in the Heavenly Dao and all other Daos.

His Dao realm had advanced by leaps and bounds, and his cultivation and power were extraordinary.

"Duke of Heaven, now that you have cast off the shackles of the Ancient God, the attainment of the Dao is within reach.

" Shen Mu smiled and congratulated him.

The Duke of Heaven said, "It is thanks to your assistance, Heavenly Venerable Mu, that I have hope of attaining the Dao. You have noticed the changes in the Nether Capital, haven't you? Fellow Daoist Earl of Earth is about to be released as well. My path to the Dao will no longer be lonely, with him to support me.

" Shen Mu's heart sank a little.

The Heavenly Court was attacking the Earl of Earth, and the Earl of Earth would use the opportunity to shed his Ancient God body and become Achou.

This was the Earl of Earth's long-cherished wish, so Shen Mu naturally ought to fulfill it. But if the Earl of Earth died and the Nether Capital fell into enemy hands, the Heavenly Court would possess the power of the Nether Capital in addition to the Mystic Capital, and neither Yan Kang nor the Land of No Sorrow would have even the slightest strength to resist. The Mystic Capital controlled the sun, moon, and stars and could plunge the heavens and myriad worlds into darkness, calling down all manner of natural catastrophes.

The great snow disaster that had once struck Jingping had cost it several hundred million lives. If the Heavenly Court controlled the Mystic Capital and waged war, the disasters would only be too vast to imagine.

If the Heavenly Court were to take the Nether Capital as well, it could invade directly through the life-and-death divine vaults of every god and practitioner of divine powers in Jingping, making it far too easy to slaughter gods, demons, and practitioners alike. More terrifying still, if the Heavenly Court obtained the Earl of Earth's body and mobilized the Nether Capital's ghost armies to invade the world of the living, the calamity would be beyond imagination.