Chapter 1265 — The Strings Beneath the Venerable One's Fingers
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 3
The beaded curtain of the Heavenly Venerable's treasure chariot was flung abruptly aside — yet the one seated within was not Heavenly Venerable Hao, but a Divine Artifact Heavenly Venerable!
At the sight, Tai Di's pupils contracted sharply.
"Heavenly Venerable Hao is not in the chariot — then where is he? " The thought had scarce taken shape when the treasure chariot burst apart.
A mocking smile spread across the face of that Divine Artifact Heavenly Venerable; its body swelled violently, and a palm came thrusting out to meet him.
Shen Mu's expression shifted, and he snatched up his lantern and retreated. He had seen the opening stance of the Divine Artifact Heavenly Venerable, and knew at once that things were bad. That Divine Artifact Heavenly Venerable was Heavenly Venerable Hao's treasure, and Heavenly Venerable Hao's greatest strength lay in his constitution.
He was the son of the Great Emperor and Lady Yuanmu; Lady Yuanmu was an ancient god of the Returning Void, and the Great Emperor was a primordial god born from the Taichu lode. The supreme power of their bloodline lay in the Great Emperor's Innate One Qi — the Innate One Qi is the source of all ten thousand Daos in the world, the One in "the One begets two, two begets three, three begets all things"!
And Lady Yuanmu's Returning Void Dao is the endpoint of all things: it devours the starry sky, devours the ten thousand Daos, and at the last returns all to the One!
The opening stance of the Divine Artifact Heavenly Venerable was precisely the divine ability of the Innate One Qi.
That ability gathers the ten thousand Daos into a single stream; Shen Mu had seen it in the battle between Kaihuang and Heavenly Venerable Hao. Even Kaihuang could do no more than pierce his palm, and was promptly stripped of his sword-domain.
That ability was called the Heavenly Wheel of Myriad Daos!
Shen Mu and the others stood far from the point of collision, yet by the measure of the divine abilities of Heavenly Venerable Hao and Tai Di, the distance was in truth very close. The aftershocks of their powers were something not Shen Mu alone, but even Bai Yuqiong, could not withstand.
In the very instant he swung his lantern up and retreated, Tai Di and the Divine Artifact Heavenly Venerable collided — and at almost the same moment, a small figure appeared abruptly behind Tai Di's head. Heavenly Venerable Hao!
Heavenly Venerable Hao had appeared behind Tai Di.
His divine ability erupted — yet what he unleashed was not the art of the Innate One Qi, but the art of the Returning Void, like the Heavenly Wheel of Myriad Daos turning in reverse: from the One begetting all things to all things returning to the One! The Divine Artifact Heavenly Venerable and his divine ability came one before, one behind, forming a cage that took Tai Di within it!
Shen Mu's face turned grave.
"Heavenly Venerable Hao is no longer the Heavenly Venerable Hao who stood above the Jade Pool a million years ago.
.
.
" Two supreme beings collided — and yet no sound came from the void.
Not only was there no sound; there was not even a ripple.
Shen Mu grew more frantic still, and fled swiftly with his lantern held high.
Suddenly a faint tremor came through the void. The hems of his robe, drifting before him, were shaken countless times in an instant — and crumbled to powder!
The tremor traveled with extraordinary speed; even with the Moon Heavenly Venerable's lantern, it soon caught up to him.
Shen Mu fled at full speed — and chanced upon an inner demon wandering the void.
That inner demon was the evil in men's hearts made flesh, ferocious and hideous, yet great in divine power.
Catching sight of him, it rejoiced, and made to pounce and devour him.
Then the inner demon shattered; it burst apart like dust ground finer than the eye can see. "To watch this battle is no easy thing!