Chapter 1797 — The Sacred Venerable Descends Again
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 4
The Jade Capital of the Ancestral Court.
With Elder Wuyai no longer siphoning the energy of the blood sacrifice, the descent of the Dao-attaining ones of the Miro Palace had grown far swifter; no longer did it take years upon years for one to arrive.
When Heavenly Venerable Moon, Heavenly Venerable You, the Two Emperors of the Black Tortoise, Lang Wan, Xu Shenghua, Lan Yutian, and Jiang Baigui arrived, they found the Heavenly Court's two hundred thousand routed troops guarding the place under the command of the Empress, Emperor Haotian, and the Master of the Hall of Joy.
Beyond the Jade Capital, all was bleak and desolate.
Through the city blew the wind of cold silence and the wind of heat death; the Dao Trees had withered, the groves grown sparse. Now and then these winds would gust out from this most sacred and ancient of cities, wreaking tremendous ruin upon all around.
The Two Emperors of the Black Tortoise set down their feet, and the two ancient gods gazed upward. They saw the ancient laws of the Great Dao turning; from the past, streams of pure and terrible energy surged forth, interweaving and interlacing, and behind the Heavenly Court's two hundred thousand divine and demonic troops, the figure of a Dao-attaining one took shape.
That Dao-attaining one was ancient and mighty; the speed of this mass-energy conversion far surpassed that of old, and the Dao-attaining one's fleshly body and primordial spirit formed at a rate visible to the naked eye.
Where once seven or eight years were needed for a Hall-Master-level existence to descend, at the present rate, half a month at most would bring a Dao-attaining one into the world!
The Two Emperors of the Black Tortoise exchanged a silent glance. They reckoned that they themselves would not escape unscathed, yet still they marshaled their mana in unison, drawing their ancestral land down from beyond the heavens!
Husband and wife, they were among the few ancient gods left in this heaven and earth.
Should they fall in this battle, then of the ancient gods only Taiyi and Taiji would remain.
As the Black Tortoise ancestral land drew nearer and nearer, the two ancient gods' power surged madly.
Suddenly the Empress cried out, and the Great Abyss of Guixu descended, appearing before Heavenly Venerable Moon and the others, devouring all things and the starry sky, sending star after star tumbling into the abyss.
The Great Abyss of Guixu stretched between heaven and earth, barring the way of Heavenly Venerable Moon and her companions.
Emperor Haotian gave a low shout; his innate qi surged skyward, piercing through thirty-five layers of void, then thirty-six heavenly palaces and seventy-two treasure halls spread open, forming the shape of the Wheel of Ten Thousand Daos, cutting into the ultimate void.
He was attempting to attain the Dao through force, to brand his own Great Dao into the ultimate void, and rebuild the Great Luotian.
Suddenly the sound of a zither arose. Heavenly Venerable Moon played, and Emperor Haotian's Heavenly Court, just as it cut into the ultimate void, was struck down by the zither's notes.
At that very moment, the Master of the Hall of Joy gave a soft laugh; a Dao Tree rose from the ground, shielding Emperor Haotian's heavenly palace and blocking Heavenly Venerable Moon's zither-note divine ability, allowing Emperor Haotian's Heavenly Court to enter the ultimate void unimpeded.
Lan Yutian and Xu Shenghua stepped forward together; a World Tree rose for each of them, taking root in the Great Abyss of Guixu, anchoring the abyss's terrifying power. The roots of the two World Trees extended, sealing the entrance to the abyss.
The Two Emperors of the Black Tortoise, Heavenly Venerable You, Lang Wan, and Jiang Baigui each came forward, taking their places upon the two World Trees.