Chapter 1592 — Nothing Left to Live For
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 4
The Supreme Emperor's azure Dao Fruit withered at that moment as well, shriveling as though all vitality had departed it.
The Great Luo Heaven of Divine Consciousness had already been pierced by a great hole; now more of the cold wind poured in, blowing every which way, and the Great Luo Heaven of Divine Consciousness rotted and collapsed. Ling Heavenly Venerable watched it all quietly, her expression utterly unruffled, yet within her Dao heart a desolation welled up.
Gradually that desolation assailed her and worked upon her, until unknowingly tears wet both her cheeks, until she did not know from where this desolation sprang.
Perhaps it was the Great Way between heaven and earth that was desolate, and unknowingly it had infected her, infected her Dao heart, steeped her in that desolation, mourning the passing of an ancient existence.
By any measure, the Supreme Emperor could be called a forerunner, a pioneer.
In an age of ignorance and savagery, the Supreme Emperor had entered the Way through divine consciousness and created a myth: he had pioneered the runes of divine consciousness, the Dao patterns, the Dao chains, the art of sacrifice, and he had pioneered the supreme domain of divine consciousness.
Though he knew the how and not the why, though he proposed no complete system of cultivation and left no profound influence upon later ages, though in his later years the Supreme Emperor went astray and slaughtered the Creator race in blood sacrifice, though in the end he could only be reckoned half a Dao-achiever, his contributions remained indelible. Had his talents been bent to the benefit of those who came after, he might have become the most dazzling Heavenly Venerable in this world. Unfortunately, he did not.
The Supreme Emperor was dead, done to death by a single finger of Ling Heavenly Venerable. Shen Mu, Xiao Heavenly Venerable, Kaihuang and Hao Heavenly Venerable could not understand Ling Heavenly Venerable's desolation, but Ling Heavenly Venerable, as the one who had with her own hand laid the Supreme Emperor to rest, was deeply haunted by that desolation.
Suddenly, a Lingxiao Hall came to hover above Ling Heavenly Venerable's head; upon its surface countless gorgeous runes quivered, and it came crashing down!
At that very moment, Kaihuang threw himself across, barring her way. Drawing his sword, he rose; the Dao Tree of the Way of the Sword stood lush and verdant, its branches swaying as though ten thousand swords had soared into the air, stabbing up to meet the Lingxiao Hall, striking precisely upon every rune of that treasure hall!
A dreadful quaking burst forth. From within the Lingxiao Hall, Xiao Heavenly Venerable flew out, head down and feet up, and with a palm strike aimed at Ling Heavenly Venerable he pressed down upon her! Around him the runes of the Lingxiao Hall fluttered; Kaihuang was fending off the runes of the Lingxiao Hall, and he in turn was using the hall's runes to fend off Kaihuang's Way of the Sword.
Kaihuang frowned; his Dao flower revolved, petal after petal like the keenest of swords, meeting Xiao Heavenly Venerable's hand.
At the same time, the sword in his hand stabbed backward.
Behind him, Hao Heavenly Venerable rose straight up, and the next moment he was behind Ling Heavenly Venerable!
The wound at the back of his head had already been healed by the Goddess Taisu; in his hand the Myriad Dao Heavenly Wheel burst forth with a dreadful Dao might, spinning ceaselessly as it chopped toward Ling Heavenly Venerable's fair head! Behind his own head, the runes of the Zixiao Hall became countless seals, shining upon the Myriad Dao Heavenly Wheel, driving the power of both its faces to the utmost, making this blow of his seem all the more terrible!
Ding!
Kaihuang's sword stabbed into the center of the Myriad Dao Heavenly Wheel; the powers of the Way of the Sword, the Way of Taichu and the Way of Guixu burst forth. Kaihuang grunted and spat blood.