Chapter 1731 — A Senior's Masterful Hand Breaks the Deadlock

In this battle, it was hard to say whether the most crucial link lay on Shen Mu's side or on the side of Wuyou Township. For if either place fell, both Jingping and the Yuan Realm would be lost.

When the Heavenly Venerable Yun descended from Wuyou Township, the Heavenly Venerable Yue, the God King Langwan, the Heavenly Venerable You, Taishi, and Lan Yutian each met their own opponents.

The Heavenly Venerable Yue and the God King Langwan soared into the air to block the Ancestral God King, who sought to fly over Wuyou Township and lead the Xuandu Sun Guardians in an assault on Jingping. The Heavenly Venerable You confronted the Heavenly Venerable Xu, who had stormed into Youdu of the Yuan Realm. Taishi, practiced as ever in such matters, moved to block the two Taiji Ancient Gods. Each of the three summoned their companion supreme treasures and earnestly tried to persuade their opponents.

As for Lan Yutian, he muddled his way into facing Madam Yuanmu, striking terror into the hearts of all who witnessed it.

The Heavenly Venerable Yun, meanwhile, walked toward the Heavenly Emperor Hao.

One by one, the Heavenly Venerables and Dao Achievers strode through the air, while below surged a torrent of gods and demons, spreading out from three sides of Wuyou Township. The battlefield even extended to Taihuang Heaven, and the whole of Taihuang Heaven was ablaze with the fires of war!

The Heavenly Court's offensive this time was terrifying in the extreme. They had committed their full strength. Even with Wentian Pavilion coordinating the overall situation, even with Yan Yunxi, Zhuo Cha, and Hantang each commanding a front, even with the Founding Emperor Yiyue personally taking the field, the flames of war still reached Wuyou Township under the full deployment of the Heavenly Court's Three Masters!

The Heavenly Venerable Yun ignored all of this and went straight to meet the Heavenly Emperor Hao.

The Heavenly Emperor Hao was presently in male form. The Second Young Master had merely been astonished that Shen Mu could slay the eight Ancient God avatars of the Spirit Official Hall Master in such a short time, and had come out to take a look. But she had no interest in the great decisive battle at Wuyou Township, and so had yielded the body back to the Heavenly Emperor Hao.

"Yun, you are merely a defeated general beneath Our command."

The Heavenly Emperor Hao's gaze fell upon the Heavenly Venerable Yun's face, then slid away, looking toward the highest level of Wuyou Township, the Taiqing Realm. He said leisurely, "What an exquisite scheme. The Spirit Official Hall Master's physical body has been transformed into Ancient Gods in every part. He can send avatars to slay the leaders of Wuyou Township, Jingping, Tianyin, the Buddhist Realm, the Daoist Sect, and the Beast Realm one by one. This is striking at what they must save. The Heavenly Venerable Mu has one weakness: he values kinship and friendship too greatly. I perceived his weakness long ago. Whoever has a weakness is not invincible."

He smiled and said, "Whether or not the Spirit Official Hall Master can slay these pillars of Jingping, my strategy has already succeeded. That is, to force the sentimental Heavenly Venerable Mu to leave Wuyou Township and go to the rescue. With him absent from Wuyou Township, Wuyou Township cannot withstand Us and Our armies. In this battle, Wuyou Township can be pacified."

The Heavenly Venerable Yun said calmly, "Heavenly Venerable Hao, but you have forgotten—I am still here."

"You also have a weakness, Heavenly Venerable Yun."

Behind the Heavenly Emperor Hao, Taichu walked slowly forward. The Heavenly Emperor Hao, composed and unhurried, said, "Brother Yun, your weakness is your heartlessness and forbearance. Heartlessness makes it difficult to win the loyalty of others; forbearance means retreat. It was by exploiting this weakness of yours that I defeated you in the Longhan Era. You could not obtain the aid of the Heavenly Venerable Huo, Langxuan, the Ancestral God King, the Heavenly Venerable Gong, Consort Qiang, and the others, while I better understood how to get along with them, how to forge a community of shared interests with them. Your forbearance meant that to achieve your goals you would choose to retreat, to cede more benefits. That is how I was able to devour, step by step, the Heavenly Alliance you had painstakingly built, seize its power, and push you to the margins."

The Heavenly Emperor Hao laughed. "Are you convinced now?"

The Heavenly Venerable Yun smiled and shook his head. "I have never been convinced."

The Heavenly Emperor Hao gave a light laugh and said, "The Retired Emperor—I leave him to you. Brother Yun, kindly step aside. I wish to go look at the palace of the Heavenly Venerable Shen, Shen Ye, and sit for a while."

Taichu stepped forward. Behind him, in the One Qi Grand Luo Heaven, the branches of the Dao Tree swayed as he walked toward the Heavenly Venerable Yun.

The Heavenly Venerable Yun still blocked the way between him and the Heavenly Emperor Hao. The Heavenly Emperor Hao frowned, then laughed despite himself. "Brother Yun, do you intend to block both Us and the Retired Emperor at once?"

At that very moment, Taichu suddenly halted, staring at his own shadow and the shadow of the Heavenly Venerable Yun.

The Ancestral God King and countless Sun Guardians flew over Wuyou Township. In the sky hung great sun after great sun, their light poisonously fierce—even the Heavenly River was boiled into seething vapor!

Because there were too many suns in the sky, at this moment they cast no shadows. Yet Taichu discovered that he and the Heavenly Venerable Yun now had shadows—and that their two shadows were joined together.

Taichu's eye twitched. Even as his hand reached to draw his sword, the Innate One Qi erupted!

At that instant, blade-light flared from within the shadow, rising from beneath Taichu's crotch—an upward slash!

Shhk—

Taichu was split in two!

The figure of Lord Shang appeared. With a single blade he cleaved Taichu's body upward, and then the blade-light fell like rain, chopping Taichu's two halves into fragments!

In those years, Taichu's body had been the body of an Ancient God Heavenly Emperor, hailed as the mightiest of physical forms. Yet now it was hacked into countless pieces beneath Lord Shang's blade-light!

What Lord Shang shattered was not merely Taichu's body, but Taichu's primordial spirit as well!

As one who had attained the Dao through slaughter, Lord Shang's every strike was a peerless killing move. Even a Dao Achiever like Taichu had no way to withstand it!

Lord Shang's figure burst forth from the drifting fragments of flesh falling through the air, charging straight for the Dao Tree in Taichu's One Qi Grand Luo Heaven. At this moment, the killing intent within him was even more intense than the killing intent of the countless gods and demons on the battlefield of Wuyou Township—enough to make one tremble, enough to make one recoil in terror!

Upon Taichu's Dao Tree, the Dao Flowers spun, the Innate One Qi burst forth, and boundless Dao might surged to meet Lord Shang!

At the same time, Taichu's body and primordial spirit, chopped into countless fragments, suddenly dissolved, transforming into Innate One Qi that merged together and reassembled into body and primordial spirit.

Shhk—

The blade-light was breathtaking, splitting the Dao Flowers, severing the Dao Tree. Lord Shang, cold and ruthless, delivered a powerful slash, and the stump and roots of the Dao Tree, together with the One Qi Grand Luo Heaven, were cleaved apart!

"Very good."