Chapter 1652 — Twelve Kinds of Dao Fruits
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 4
"So strong!
" Aboard the Golden Ship of Salvation, Shen Mu, Shen Fengqing, and Taishi spoke in unison.
The battle power the Fire Heavenly Venerable now displayed was simply too great; around his palm space itself revolved, and the Void Heavenly Venerable could scarcely keep her footing.
Both were of the Ten Heavenly Venerables, and the Void Heavenly Venerable would not admit to being half a step behind the Fire Heavenly Venerable. Especially after Tubo's death, she had spent these days refining the Great Dao of the Nether Capital, her cultivation and strength advancing by leaps and bounds, and her self-regard had grown exceedingly high.
Though she had not obtained the whole of the Nether Capital's Dao, nor Tubo's complete fleshly body, the benefits she had reaped in the Nether Capital far exceeded what the Fire Heavenly Venerable had gained in the Southern Heaven. The Southern Heaven's Dao Fire Ancestral Ground could never compare with the Nether Capital.
And yet, for all she had gained, she still felt the gap — the gap between herself and the Fire Heavenly Venerable.
A gap almost equal to that between thirty-five Heavenly Palaces and thirty-six.
A single Heavenly Palace's difference, and the distance was as heaven from earth.
The Fire Heavenly Venerable's soul was not his weakness, but only a shortcoming — and a shortcoming he had deliberately cultivated.
His Dao fire could temper the soul, and could also temper his own soul to incomparable strength. From the Longhan Era onward he had ceaselessly forged his soul with Dao fire; after obtaining the Southern Heaven's Dao Fire Ancestral Ground, he cultivated his soul through that ground, making it stronger than ever before.
But if his soul was to be tempered to a degree that could rival the Nether Heavenly Venerable — forged a hundred times into diamond, his fleshly body, vital essence, divine treasury, Heavenly Palaces, runes, Dao patterns, Dao chains, divine arts, and domains had all been hammered by Dao fire to their utmost, attaining diamond indestructibility. Yet his soul still lacked one crucial link to reach that utmost: the demonic fire of the Nether Capital.
From first to last, the Fire Heavenly Venerable knew of this shortcoming, but it could only be called a shortcoming, never a weakness.
He could not obtain the demonic fire from the Nether Heavenly Venerable; that withdrawn man had long since seen his true face. So he could only get it from the battle to strangle Tubo, or from the Void Heavenly Venerable, or from the Divine Son of the Nether Capital.
In those years, when Shen Mu was the Divine Son of the Nether Capital, the Fire Heavenly Venerable had tried to win him over, hoping he would join his camp.
Later that hope was shattered, and Shen Mu became his fiercest opponent; he had no choice but to try to win over the Void Heavenly Venerable.
If she married him, he could use her demonic fire to cultivate his soul. But the Void Heavenly Venerable sought counsel from the Celestial Master Meng Yungui, and a single speech from Meng Yungui shattered his illusions regarding her.
In the battle of the Nether Capital, Shen Mu struck first, killing Tubo before anyone else could, letting Shen Fengqing draw upon the Dao of the Nether Capital and inherit Tubo's mantle.
The Void Heavenly Venerable seized the Dao of the Nether Capital by force, and fought fiercely with Shen Fengqing, the Heavenly Lord, and the rest. As for the Fire Heavenly Venerable, he was held up by the Moon Heavenly Venerable and Langwan, and had no chance at all.
Only one chance remained to him: to make the Void Heavenly Venerable kill him.
How to make her kill him became the final problem. But the chance came silently of itself: the reincarnated body of the Divine Emperor Langxuan fled to the Southern Heaven, giving him the capital to join hands with Taichu. He resolutely threw in with Taichu, and after the enthronement ceremony fell out with the Haotian Emperor.