Chapter 825: Slaying Heaven (Bonus Chapter for Subscriptions)
Capital City.
At the end of Celestial Avenue, within the magnificent and vast Imperial Palace, shrouded in a layer of golden light.
Above the Nine Heavens Grand Palace, the Dao Court Celestial Emperor, clad in a twelve-emblem imperial robe, was brimming with surging purple qi, as five-colored auspicious clouds gathered around him.
He gazed towards the direction of the Earth God Temple, watching a pillar of light shoot skyward, a sacrificial text slowly burning within it.
Above the firmament, the sky instantly changed color!
Terrifying pressure descended, as rolling thunderclouds and converging electrical arcs formed a single eye!
— The Eye of Heaven's Path!
"It's done!"
Upon seeing this, the Celestial Emperor's face swiftly flashed with a hint of joy: "Outer Realm Evil God, though I know not from which world it hails, or if it descended from Heaven. . . But. . . while I might struggle to capture you, the Celestial Emperor is a different matter."
As long as it originated from beyond this world, it was naturally an Outer Realm Evil God!
Its divine rank might even surpass that of the Son of Heaven!
As the saying goes, a man of high status does not risk himself needlessly. Naturally, he would not personally lead the campaign.
Coincidentally, as the founding ancestor of the Dao Court, he was well aware of the reasons for the previous dynasty's downfall, and upon discovering the Outer Realm Evil God's entry into the Capital, he immediately devised this scheme to lure him into a trap!
Once that Outer Realm Evil God fell into the Celestial Emperor's eye, its fate was self-evident.
It was a way to eliminate a great hidden danger without a single drop of blood!
The Celestial Emperor looked towards the Earth God Temple, his eyes, brimming with purple qi, shimmered with anticipation.
...
Earth God Temple.
Fang Xi suddenly felt that after that sacrificial text shot skyward, this entire world seemed to have changed!
An incomparably powerful existence, from thirty-three heavens above, cast down a terrifying gaze!
The world's laws of this minor realm seemed to retreat! Or rather. . . they were being used by it.
With a single decree, a heavenly tribulation might even form to smite him!
Upon the divine altar, the statue of the yellow-robed youth, the Earth God, seemed to come alive, its eyes suddenly shifting!
"Celestial Emperor. . . you are finally awake!"
A mellow voice sounded.
Fang Xi's Divine Consciousness swept out, and he saw the old woman who had been sweeping fallen leaves outside, clad in ragged, patched clothes, had entered the main hall at some point.
She lightly shed her patched robes, revealing a face as resplendent as peach blossoms, radiant as morning clouds. Clad in dark-gold profound robes, her aura was immensely noble, almost forbidding direct gaze.
"Netherworld Lady? !"
Fang Xi gazed at the noblewoman the old woman had transformed into, murmuring the name.
"Netherworld Empress? !"
Gan Yu knelt on the ground, his expression incredibly agitated, yet tinged with fear.
This was the Netherworld Empress who, with a single thought, had caused immense devastation to the former dynasty's Capital City!
In terms of noble rank, she should be a Heavenly Monarch!
Crushing an ant like him wouldn't even require a single finger!
The Netherworld Empress, however, did not spare Gan Yu a glance. She merely looked at the statue of the young Earth God, then let out a wistful smile: "This concubine has followed the Celestial Emperor, personally witnessing him rise from a mere Earth God. . . and personally witnessing his assimilation with the Heaven's Path. If not for the Celestial Emperor's assimilation, why would he have commanded the former Crown Prince to destroy this, the only place where you and I shared memories of our love. . ."
Fang Xi took a step back, a chill running through his heart.
Deities face the peril of Dao assimilation and loss of self!
As the Celestial Emperor, the assimilation by the Heaven's Path was truly terrifying!
Or rather, the other party was the Heaven's Path itself!
'The Celestial Emperor assimilated with the Heaven's Path, thus becoming utterly impartial. . . Commanding the former Crown Prince to destroy this place was destroying the last anchor point of his humanity? '
Fang Xi's thoughts raced, and he immediately thought of two pieces of evidence supporting the Celestial Emperor's assimilation with the Heaven's Path!
Firstly, outside of the Dao Laws, there was still a trace of spiritual energy, albeit extremely thin, which gave mountain spirits and self-cultivators a sliver of hope. This was Heaven leaving a path!
Secondly, within the Shinto system, there were still Heaven-bestowed divine offices that allowed for independent advancement of divine ranks!
This seemingly undermined the authority of the Dao Court's Dao Laws, but in reality, it also affected the authority of Heaven!
If rogue deities could independently advance their divine ranks, then couldn't Heavenly ranks also be self-promoted? That would be akin to rebelling against the Celestial Emperor!
"The perfect man has no self; the divine man has no merit; the sage has no fame. . . Heaven's Path is utterly impartial, the human Dao utterly selfish!"
"If the Celestial Emperor still possessed humanity, he would have done things to the extreme, leaving no spiritual energy to dissipate between Heaven and Earth, and forcing even innate deities to be bound by the Dao Court's edicts, making it impossible for them to advance their divine ranks!"
"But now, he acts in direct opposition. . . utterly impartial! Indeed, he has been assimilated by the Dao to an extreme degree."
"The karmic link to the Qingtong Monarch's treasure should be here. Could it be that I'm meant to die once?"
Rumble!
At this moment, above the Earth God Temple, boundless thunderclouds gathered, and five-colored light shimmered, like a net cast by the heavens, bringing an incredibly heavy aura of majesty!
These were the Heavenly Statutes!
An existence far surpassing 'Dao Laws', the Celestial Emperor wields the Heaven's Path, and the Heavenly Statutes are the 'laws of Heaven and Earth'!
With a word, the law descends, capable of being a teacher for a hundred generations!
Instantly, streams of multi-colored iron chains appeared out of thin air, filled with intricate runic decrees, burrowing into Fang Xi's body.
Fang Xi grunted, able to discern the numerous divine runes within the chains—
'Those of Heavenly Marquis rank and above are forbidden from descending to the mortal realm without permission! '
'Forbidden from interfering with the mortal realm's dragon qi! '
'Forbidden from wantonly taking lives! '
...
Each decree was a Heavenly Statute he had violated, binding him so tightly that he couldn't break free!
'This feeling is similar to the suppression experienced in the Human World. . . '
Fang Xi clenched his teeth and chuckled, a seven-colored feather fan appearing in his hand. Seven-colored radiance dispersed, a magnificent aura permeated the surroundings, and its potent spiritual pressure seemed capable of suppressing all directions.
Boom!
Thunderclouds gathered in the sky, transforming into the Eye of Heaven's Path!
From within the eye, purple-gold heavenly lightning descended!
Chiiu!
Fang Xi, holding the 'Five Fires Seven Birds Fan', swung it fiercely!
With a startling phoenix cry, Heavenly Phoenixes, Green Luans, Peacocks, Kunpengs, Blood Owls. . . and other spirit birds flew out from the fan, transforming into seven-colored flames, soaring skyward with prolonged cries.
Huala!
Fire and lightning surged, as if a rain of fiery meteors had arrived.
Countless fiery meteors scattered in all directions, but then the Netherworld Empress let out a soft sigh, and a misty darkness suddenly appeared over the land, a profound black aura emerging in mid-air, dissipating the fiery meteor shower one by one, thus preventing the Capital City from being directly annihilated by this great calamity!
Inside the Imperial Palace.
"It's actually a Heavenly Duke rank. . . looking at its divine might, it's nearly a Heavenly Monarch."
The Celestial Emperor murmured, unable to help but feel deeply relieved that he hadn't personally led the campaign, otherwise, he feared he might have been beaten to death by this malevolent deity!
As the founding ancestor of the Dao Court, if he were to ascend, his rank might be elevated by one or two levels as a reward, perhaps a Heavenly Marquis or Heavenly Count. It was unlikely to even reach Heavenly Duke, so he naturally wouldn't be a match for that malevolent deity!
"No. . . no deity can resist the Celestial Emperor. Even the Netherworld Empress, under the Heavenly Statutes, can only be captured without resistance!"
The Celestial Emperor suddenly thought of something, his eyes widening: "That malevolent deity. . . no, that's not a malevolent deity. . . it's. . . an existence beyond the Heavenly Statutes!"
How could an unorthodox cultivator cultivate to a level comparable to a Heavenly Monarch?
This was almost impossible.
Yet, it was truly happening before his eyes!
"To conform is to be human; to defy is to become immortal. . . Haha!"
With a flash of fire, Fang Xi's figure appeared in mid-air, laughing heartily.
At this moment, he was particularly glad that he hadn't refined the Seal of Qingtong Monarch!
Even a Heavenly Monarch, before the Heavenly Statutes, could only bow in submission, just as officials of the Dao Court, even if granted death by the Celestial Emperor, could only kowtow in gratitude for the great favor!
If he had already entered the Shinto system, even as a Heavenly Monarch, he might have been reduced to ashes by that single lightning strike.
But now, with his Return to Void Perfected realm cultivation, coupled with the 'Five Fires Seven Birds Fan', he was actually able to block a lightning strike from the Celestial Emperor—a truly remarkable achievement!
'Of course, this is also thanks to being in a minor world. If it were in Heaven's Middle Thousand World, the Celestial Emperor could crush me with a single finger. . . '
'Even now, two more lightning strikes and I'd be done for. '
Fang Xi suddenly spat out a mouthful of demonic blood, murmuring: "Thankfully. . . it's not a loss!"
Even if his Outer Dao Incarnation perished here, at the very least, he had already transported the Shinto system back to Trapped Sky Island. As long as his Shinto Avatar could escape back, bringing with it the Shinto talismans of innate deities, it wouldn't just be not a loss, it would seem he had even profited a little!
He looked up at the sky, where the Heavenly Statutes still flickered, countless divine runes converging into large characters:
'Guilty, and deserving of execution! '
Streams of five-colored chains appeared, finally coalescing into a long sword, seemingly about to descend with a single strike.
At this moment, the Netherworld Empress cried out: "Emperor. . . you have not truly assimilated with the Heaven's Path, otherwise, you would not have, in a fit of rage, annihilated the national destiny of the former dynasty!"
The Celestial Emperor had secretly exerted influence, causing the former Crown Prince to destroy the Earth God Temple.
But then, he immediately brought down a heavenly punishment, destroying the former dynasty's national destiny.
This action seemed like that of a contradictory madman, but in reality, it was proof that his inner humanity still existed, struggling against his divine nature!
But now, could that sliver of humanity truly still exist?
Fang Xi felt somewhat doubtful about this.
'Forget it. . . it's better not to resist. If the avatar dies, then it dies. . . '
Just then, within the Earth God Temple, the divine statue of the yellow-robed youth completely 'came alive'.
He flicked a finger, and the five-colored 'Heavenly Punishment Sword' in mid-air suddenly disintegrated from within.
"Celestial Emperor? !"
Fang Xi was somewhat surprised. Was this the Celestial Emperor's true form, or a long-laid hidden hand?
He looked up and saw the Eye of Heaven's Path continuously expanding, then transforming into a face ninety percent similar to the young Earth God, yet more mature.
This face opened its mouth, as if a five-colored torrent was about to descend.
If this might of the Celestial Emperor were to bear down, even this minor world could be directly obliterated!
"Zhu'er. . ."
The young divine statue glanced at the Netherworld Empress, uttering a clear voice, then smiled at Fang Xi: "Daoist friend, please assist me!"
"Are you. . . the Celestial Emperor's remaining humanity? Or a hidden hand laid down long ago?"
Fang Xi's thoughts raced.
"None of that matters. What matters is that I can only buy Daoist friend one opportunity."
The yellow-robed youth stepped out, ascending into the nine heavens and merging with the Celestial Emperor's face!
A trace of pain immediately appeared on the massive face, and a talisman slowly emerged from its brow.
"Fine, let's take a chance!"
Light burst from the Outer Dao Incarnation's eyes, and he formed hand seals: "Proxy Combat Art!"
With a flash of silver light, a figure appeared, its Integration realm magic power overflowing: "Spirit Domain. . . activate!"
A verdant green light shimmered, and wherever it passed, the chains of Heavenly Statutes snapped one after another!
The power of the Earthly Immortal Spiritual Realm could resist the suppression of the Human World's laws, and naturally, it could also resist the laws of this world!
Fang Xi's main body held the Qing He Sword (Fifth Generation), his expression cold, and he suddenly made the motion of drawing a sword.
Whoosh!
From the sword-child puppet of the Earthly Immortal Spiritual Realm, another foot-long flying sword flew out, landing on the Qing He Sword (Fifth Generation).
This Immortal Abode Rare Treasure grade flying sword was instantly mostly completed.
This sword was entirely verdant green, three feet long. Aside from its hilt and tip, there was a section of illusory light in between, which Fang Xi had barely managed to fuse into one with his magic power.
He let out a long cry, injecting all his magic power into the largely restored Qing He Sword (Fifth Generation), and swung the most glorious and resplendent sword strike of his cultivation life towards the talisman on the forehead of the human face in the sky!
A single sword strike to slay Heaven!
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