Chapter 1398: Dao Realm Sweeps the Celestial Venerable (Major Chapter)

The ancestral land of Dao fire, also known as the Southern Pole Restricted Zone, is the birthplace of the Southern Emperor Vermilion Bird. Qin Mu had visited this place before. It contains nine layers of heavenly Dao fire, which is incredibly intense and capable of melting anything. By the eighth layer, even Heavenly Venerate Yue's lantern could not withstand the heat and would be incinerated.

The Dao fire in the Southern Pole Restricted Zone is exceptionally potent; it can even distort space, melting the void and drawing distant locations closer.

The first layer of Dao fire alone could transform the Southern Pole Heaven into a ring, bringing it within arm's reach. The second layer distorted the heavens and constellations of the Southern Heaven, forming a second ring.

The third layer distorted the Primordial Realm and the myriad heavens and worlds, transforming them into a third ring.

This was followed by Profound Capital, Youdu, Return to the Ruins, the Celestial Heavens, and the other three cardinal directions. Qin Mu did not witness the phenomenon of the ninth layer of Dao fire because, by then, Heavenly Venerate Huo had already absorbed much of the power from this ancestral land of Dao fire.

However, it is conceivable that the ninth layer of Dao fire would reveal the Ancestral Court, which would then form the ninth ring.

This mechanism allowed the primordial creators to quickly traverse the vast starry sky, reach the Southern Pole Heaven, and offer sacrifices to the Southern Emperor Vermilion Bird.

Only then could the Southern Emperor Vermilion Bird become an ancient god emperor, born from these sacrifices, and protect the creators of the Ancestral Court.

The ancestral land of Dao fire possessed immense power. However, the Southern Emperor Vermilion Bird, having been born from sacrifices, could not fully harness her own strength, which ultimately led to her defeat and demise at the hands of Heavenly Venerate Huo.

Heavenly Venerate Huo, conversely, absorbed and assimilated the power of the Dao fire ancestral land, along with the Southern Emperor Vermilion Bird's own strength. He transformed these into his cultivation and magic power, thereby comprehending the Great Dao contained within the Dao fire ancestral land.

Consequently, the profoundness of his cultivation has now reached the pinnacle among the Ten Heavenly Venerates. Unless the Grand Emperor or Grand Beginning emerges, no one can surpass him in magic power.

Free from the Great Dao restrictions that limited the Southern Emperor Vermilion Bird, he could practice other ultimate arts and gain comprehensive insights, thus elevating his cultivation and mastery of Dao fire.

His current mastery of Dao fire has reached an unparalleled level that no one can hope to achieve.

When Heavenly Venerate Huo manifested his Dao fire ancestral land, Emperor Kaihuang's thirty-fifth Heavenly Sword Dao, specifically the Yuqing Realm sword domain, appeared like a ring of sword light suspended outside the nine layers of Dao fire, attempting to breach each one.

At his level of cultivation, an enemy's divine abilities could hardly touch him. To get close, one would have to break through the nine layers of Dao fire.

Each of the nine layers of Dao fire was more ferocious than the last, akin to traversing nine distinct Dao realms!

Seeing Heavenly Venerate Huo unleash his power, with Dao fire spreading and space distorting, Divine Emperor Lang Xuan, Ancestral God King, and others were awestruck. "Heavenly Venerate Huo gained immense benefits from eliminating the Southern Emperor!" they thought. "The Dao fire ancestral land in the Southern Pole Restricted Zone contains power that is supremely rigid and fierce, elevating Heavenly Venerate Huo's cultivation and magic power to an unparalleled level!"

In this attack, Heavenly Venerate Huo's entire cultivation manifested as the Dao fire ancestral land, resembling nine stacked domains. Its power was supremely rigid and fierce, capable of melting anything; it seemed even the Great Dao of the heavens could be incinerated and dissolved!

Originally, Heavenly Venerate Huo was considered one of the lower-ranking members among the Ten Heavenly Venerates. His ability to maintain his position for a million years was widely believed to be due to Heavenly Venerate Hao's patronage.

But now, even Heavenly Venerate Hao would not dare claim to surpass him in magic power.

"If I were to kill my father," Ancestral God King mused, "and inherit his power over Profound Capital, transforming it into a forty-nine layered Heavenly Dao domain..."

Ancestral God King's heart burned with fervor. Heavenly Duke, a divine being born of the Heavenly Dao, was far more powerful than the Southern Emperor. He wondered: if he were to kill Heavenly Duke and refine his power, along with the Heavenly Dao sacred land within Profound Capital, to what extent would his strength increase?

"At that time," he smiled, "not to mention Heavenly Venerate Huo, even Heavenly Venerate Hao would only be fit to carry my shoes! My grand ambitions could then be realized through me!"

Nearby, Heavenly Venerate Hong, seated in a subordinate position, noticed the smile on Ancestral God King's face and offered a faint smile himself, a glint of unknown meaning in his eyes. "Heavenly Duke has too many constraints," he mused. "By breaking free and becoming uninhibited, yet inheriting Heavenly Duke's power... from then on, Heavenly Duke's power would just be a part of mine. With myriad Great Daos in the world, my own path to Dao enlightenment would be within reach!"

Heavenly Venerate Hao and Heavenly Venerate Xu's eyelids twitched slightly. They had previously witnessed Heavenly Venerate Huo's power during the battle between the Grand Emperor and Heavenly Venerate Hao in the Grand Void. On that occasion, Heavenly Venerate Huo and Heavenly Venerate Xu had rushed to provide support but both suffered severe injuries, forcing them to return to the Grand Void to recuperate.

The strength Heavenly Venerate Huo displayed then was not as formidable as his current power.

"Heavenly Venerate Huo concealed his true abilities very well," Heavenly Venerate Hao remarked.

Heavenly Venerate Hao's left eyebrow subtly arched, a faint smile playing on his lips. "The stronger he becomes, the less other Heavenly Venerates will dare to oppose me, and the more stable my position will be," he thought. "As for Emperor Kaihuang, his boasted thirty-fifth Dao realm sounds incredibly formidable, but it's nothing special."

Heavenly Consort Qiang, however, had a twitch in her eye and a grave expression.

While others might not comprehend the power of the thirty-fifth Dao realm, she understood it clearly. Emperor Kaihuang's current strength allowed him to imprint his sword Dao directly into the thirty-fifth void.

Although his Yuqing Realm sword domain appeared to erupt from the Carefree Sword, it actually launched its attack from the thirty-fifth void. Heavenly Venerate Huo seemed to distort Emperor Kaihuang's Carefree Sword, but in truth, he had not diminished Emperor Kaihuang's sword Dao in the slightest!

This was because Heavenly Venerate Huo's cultivation in the Dao realm was vastly inferior to Emperor Kaihuang's. His Dao fire might appear to incinerate the void, but it had not yet even touched the thirty-fifth void.

"Before I received the worship and sacrifices of the primordial creators," Heavenly Consort Qiang mused, "I was far from reaching Qin Ye's current level!"

Heavenly Consort Qiang frowned. "He truly is the foremost person in the Dao realm..." she conceded.

Heavenly Venerate Huo and Emperor Kaihuang were old rivals, each intimately familiar with the other's divine abilities. This attack was a direct, full-power strike, held nothing back.

Both deeply understood the other's cunning; probing attacks would be futile. In fact, attempting to probe would only allow the opponent to seize an opportunity and launch a devastating offensive to overwhelm them.

Battles between Heavenly Venerates either dragged on for a very long time or concluded swiftly!

Both Heavenly Venerate Huo's Dao fire and Emperor Kaihuang Qin Ye's sword were designed to defeat opponents in the shortest possible time!

When the Yuqing Realm sword domain clashed with the nine-layered Dao fire ancestral land, the sheer power unleashed by the thirty-fifth heavenly sword domain was astonishing.

The Yuqing Realm sword domain instantly pierced through the first, second, and third layers of Dao fire, and the next moment, it entered the ninth layer.

This power originated from the thirty-fifth void. The Yuqing Realm sword domain, attacking from that void, only fully collided with the ninth layer of Dao fire once it reached it!

Above the Jade Pool, the Four Emperors, Four Heavenly Masters, and other Emperor's Throne realm beings who comprised the second layer of the Celestial Heavens immediately felt the oppressive force from the two great Heavenly Venerates above them. This pressure caused the Celestial Heavens, formed by their Heavenly Palaces, to slightly sink.

Subsequently, this pressure was transmitted to the first layer of the Celestial Heavens, which was composed of the Heavenly Palaces of thirteen thousand realm masters from the myriad heavens and worlds.

The realm masters immediately felt the crushing pressure and, with a shudder, activated their cultivation techniques and divine abilities to resist it.

Individually, their cultivation and power were far inferior to that of Heavenly Venerates. However, their combined strength was immense; not only could two Heavenly Venerates not crush them, but even if all Heavenly Venerates attacked together, they could withstand the pressure!

The Great Dao Emperor Kaihuang had comprehended step by step clashed with the Great Dao Heavenly Venerate Huo had forcibly refined and seized, and the superiority was immediately apparent!

Heavenly Venerate Huo's expression changed dramatically as the Yuqing Realm sword domain reached him. He clasped his hands together, a wheel of flame rotated, and another nine layers of Dao fire erupted!

At that moment, the Yuqing Realm sword domain expanded, completely enveloping him. Heavenly Venerate Huo looked around and found himself transported to the thirty-fifth void!

This realm was pure as jade, with an endless flow of sword Dao.

"This is bad!" he exclaimed.

His expression drastically changed, and he immediately pushed his cultivation techniques and divine abilities to their maximum, swiftly attempting to leave!

Countless sword lights assailed him, accompanied by the immense power of the thirty-fifth void. The suppression from this Dao realm crushed his own power to its limit, causing his outer Dao fire to begin disintegrating!

In an instant, Heavenly Venerate Huo's body became riddled with holes, and the Dao fire within him erupted and flowed from his wounds!

In Heavenly Venerate Huo's perception, he had been pulled into the thirty-fifth void, yet to others, he still stood at the Jade Pool, on the second layer of the Celestial Heavens.

Emperor Kaihuang, holding his sword, pierced through Heavenly Venerate Huo's nine-layered Dao fire ancestral land, and the flowing sword light pierced through his physical body.

The Carefree Sword was incredibly swift; as the sword light flashed to and fro, hundreds of wounds appeared on his body.

"This is the true power of the thirty-fifth layer of the Dao realm," Heavenly Consort Qiang muttered.

Heavenly Consort Qiang's eyes flashed with intense killing intent. The Grand Emperor's limit back then was to imprint the thirty-fifth void with his divine consciousness, but that relied on powerful divine consciousness. His comprehension of the Dao realm was not as thorough as Emperor Kaihuang's.

"If I let him enter the thirty-sixth heaven," she thought, "my Divine Consciousness Great Luotian would not be able to compare to him!"

Heavenly Consort Qiang's killing intent was now irrepressible. "This Qin Ye must not be allowed to live," she decided. "Otherwise, if he reaches the thirty-sixth heaven, he will surely obliterate my Divine Consciousness Great Luotian and ruin my Dao fruit!"

Behind Heavenly Venerate Huo's head, Heavenly Palaces emerged one after another, forming a Grand Celestial Heavens. He finally stopped holding back, displaying all his Heavenly Palaces and fully revealing his Grand Celestial Heavens cultivation technique!

He possessed as many as thirty-three Heavenly Palaces, which conspicuously elevated his cultivation even further. In terms of magic power, his current power had actually surpassed Heavenly Venerate Hao!

Heavenly Venerate Hao raised an eyebrow. "Your cultivation isn't slow either," he remarked. "I thought you were hiding just a little, but I didn't realize you were concealing so much. What exactly do you intend to do by hiding so much power?"

Although Heavenly Venerate Huo was strong, he was still not considered a threat by Heavenly Venerate Hao, whose own power at its peak far surpassed Heavenly Venerate Huo's current might.

Upon seeing Heavenly Venerate Huo's Heavenly Palaces, the other Heavenly Venerates all raised an eyebrow and smiled.

Heavenly Venerate Huo's cultivation greatly increased, allowing him to forcefully clash with the thirty-fifth heavenly sword domain. Yet, Emperor Kaihuang's Yuqing Realm sword domain was indestructible, and new sword wounds continued to appear on Heavenly Venerate Huo's body!

Even sections of his Grand Celestial Heavens' palaces were swept away by sudden flashes of sword light.

He moved through the thirty-fifth void with incredible speed, like lightning, traversing thousands of miles in an instant. Yet, no matter where he went, he could not escape this sword domain.

The Dao realm at the thirty-fifth layer was already difficult to comprehend. Even a Heavenly Venerate like him could not grasp its profound mysteries.

In just a short moment, he had traversed tens of millions of miles, but the sword Dao seemed omnipresent, forcing him to continuously clash and sustain injuries. Yet, in the eyes of others, Heavenly Venerate Huo merely flew in place, unleashing various grand divine abilities, but struggled to resist Emperor Kaihuang's Carefree Sword, with new wounds constantly appearing on his body!

"He cannot be allowed to remain!" Heavenly Consort Qiang declared.

Heavenly Consort Qiang finally could not hold back, rising to her feet and lunging at Emperor Kaihuang. The moment she moved, Ancestral God King, Divine Emperor Lang Xuan, and Heavenly Venerate Xu almost simultaneously set off, jointly attacking Emperor Kaihuang Qin Ye!

Emperor Kaihuang laughed heartily, his aura suddenly surging. With a swish, the thirty-five heavens unfolded. Above the second layer of the Celestial Heavens at the Jade Pool, the Grand Emperor Heaven sword domain and the Grand Bright Heaven sword domain spread out one after another, extending in the blink of an eye to encompass the Grand Pure Realm sword domain and the Yuqing Realm sword domain!

One layer of sword Dao, one heaven. Emperor Kaihuang stood high above the thirty-fifth heaven. He possessed only one Heavenly Palace—the Sword Heavenly Palace—yet this single palace encompassed thirty-five layers of Dao realm and thirty-five heavens, demonstrating a cultivation system entirely different from the Heavenly Palace-Celestial Heavens framework.

The thirty-five heavens resembled thirty-five Heavenly Palaces, but their arrangement was completely distinct, compelling one to marvel at his exceptional talent and ingenuity!

The four Heavenly Venerates were seen simultaneously invading the thirty-five heavens. With unstoppable momentum, they shattered the sword at the first heaven, breaking through layer after layer of sword domains, surging from bottom to top all the way to the thirty-fifth heaven!

The four Heavenly Venerates broke through the sword domain and descended into the Yuqing Realm sword domain. Their Heavenly Palaces erupted, pressing the thirty-five-layered sword domain almost on top of itself with a rumbling sound, one layer crushing the next!

Their cultivation and power were overwhelmingly strong. Although Emperor Kaihuang had achieved much, he could hardly withstand the crushing force of the four Heavenly Venerates.

"Grand Emperor..." Qin Mu murmured.

Qin Mu excitedly stood up, clenching his fists nervously, and stared intently at the scene. His vertical eye between his brows opened, and he murmured, "Another Grand Emperor..."

Hearing this, the other Heavenly Venerates felt a jolt in their hearts.

Heavenly Venerate Yue chuckled softly, then suddenly rose and floated towards Emperor Kaihuang Qin Ye. "Heavenly Venerate Qin," she began, "I was already disabled when you were born, and we have yet to fight together. Today, you face five great Heavenly Venerates. How about we, the two alliance leaders of the Heavenly Alliance, join forces for a battle and see how these so-called Ten Heavenly Venerates, these juniors, compare to the abilities of us two alliance leaders!"

She entered the Yuqing Realm sword domain, and as the sound of her zither resonated, Heavenly Venerates Huo, Qiang, Ancestral, Lang, and Xu instantly felt the world spin. Their respective spaces became abnormal; they were now at varying distances from Emperor Kaihuang, fragmented across different times and spaces!

Heavenly Venerate Yue's long sleeves danced, and the spaces around everyone shifted unpredictably. Heavenly Consort Qiang was the first to reach Emperor Kaihuang, and as Emperor Kaihuang's Carefree Sword moved, Heavenly Consort Qiang's scalp tingled. She only possessed thirty Heavenly Palaces, fewer than Heavenly Venerate Huo.

Without the Grand Emperor's physical body, she found it difficult to suppress Emperor Kaihuang!

*Shing! Shing! Shing!*

In an instant, Heavenly Consort Qiang's blood splattered, and her physical body was riddled with holes!

On the other side, the other four Heavenly Venerates sped over, continuously breaking through layers of space and quickly approaching. Heavenly Venerate Yue found it difficult to completely control these four Heavenly Venerates, so she hastily activated her ancient zither to its fullest. The music swelled, sending the other three Heavenly Venerates away, leaving only Ancestral God King.

Ancestral God King's forty-nine Heavenly Dao treasures merged, forging a supreme treasure. This ever-changing supreme treasure then attacked Emperor Kaihuang.

His Heavenly Dao treasure had been shattered in a previous battle with the Grand Emperor, but he had re-forged it using divine ores from the Ancestral Court, making it even more powerful than before!

The next moment, the supreme treasure was shattered by the sword light, splitting into forty-nine pieces.

Wounded, Ancestral God King retreated!

"Divine Origin Finger!" shouted Divine Emperor Lang Xuan as he attacked.

Divine Emperor Lang Xuan arrived, his divine consciousness merging with the Primordial One Qi to form a Divine Origin Finger. It violently collided with Emperor Kaihuang's Carefree Sword, unleashing two terrifying surges of power. The blinding light was so intense it completely illuminated the Celestial Heavens!

Emperor Kaihuang staggered backward, his Carefree Sword now covered in cracks. He couldn't help but praise, "How formidable! Among the Ten Heavenly Venerates, Lang Xuan, your strength is the greatest!"

His sword techniques shifted, and he unleashed Qin Mu's Heavenly Tribulation Sword. While he was undeniably the foremost in sword Dao, when it came to actual sword techniques, Qin Mu's were unparalleled!

He instinctively used Qin Mu's sword techniques to counter Divine Emperor Lang Xuan, the "foremost of the Ten Heavenly Venerates," which was also a mark of his respect for Lang Xuan!

Divine Emperor Lang Xuan recognized the subtlety of this sword strike and became flustered. He pointed again, sharply exclaiming, "Divine Origin Finger!"

"You only know this one move?" Emperor Kaihuang asked, dodging the finger with a suspicious look.

*Shing! Shing! Shing!* Divine Emperor Lang Xuan suffered hundreds of sword wounds across his body and retreated, bleeding profusely.

"Divine Origin Finger!" Divine Emperor Lang Xuan shouted as he retreated.

As Divine Emperor Lang Xuan retreated, he sent out another finger. Emperor Kaihuang hastily dodged, only to realize that Lang Xuan had feigned the move and had not actually unleashed the Divine Origin Finger.

At this moment, Heavenly Venerate Xu had already attacked from the other side. Emperor Kaihuang snorted, "That scoundrel Lang Xuan, a venerable Heavenly Venerate, would actually resort to deception!"

Heavenly Venerate Xu arrived before Emperor Kaihuang alone, immediately sensing trouble. She swung her long whip, attempting to cast Emperor Kaihuang into Youdu. However, when the whip struck Emperor Kaihuang, it broke into pieces, unable to get close at all.

"Unless Heavenly Venerate Yue is eliminated, it will be difficult to eliminate Emperor Kaihuang!" she thought to herself.

Just as she thought this, Heavenly Venerate Gong suddenly rose and strode towards Heavenly Venerate Yue. An immensely powerful divine consciousness erupted, and various illusions surged forth, enveloping Heavenly Venerate Yue.

Qin Mu frowned and sighed, acknowledging that their paths diverged.

His divine consciousness erupted, surging towards Heavenly Venerate Gong.