Chapter 1626: Fire Heavenly Venerable's Twilight

“Hao'er, this battle will determine everything.”

Taichu blocked Emperor Haotian, a smile on his face. He looked at Emperor Haotian’s countenance and calmly said, “Ever since my defeat in the Dragon Han Era, I realized that honor and disgrace are fleeting. A momentary rise or fall cannot determine a powerful being’s lifelong success or failure. From a young age, your father’s fate has been full of twists and turns. In my early years, I was ignorant in the Taichu Divine Mine, knowing nothing of good or evil, right or wrong; I only knew how to refine the Taichu mineral veins until Grand Emperor dug me out of the divine mine.”

Emperor Haotian frowned slightly, a peculiar smile on his face. “Grand Emperor, you truly are old,” he said. “The battle between father and son hasn’t even begun, yet you’re already speaking words only a victor would utter.”

Taichu waved his hand and continued, “Back then, I was weak, fearful of Grand Emperor’s power, so I acknowledged him as my foster father. He took my Taichu Imperial Sword and then had the Creation Masters sacrifice to me, which seemingly boosted my strength. In reality, he knew my growth potential was too great, so he used the Creation Masters to restrict me. I endured, slowly plotted, and finally, in the Battle of the Blood Rust Zone a million years ago, I thoroughly defeated him, ensuring he couldn’t recover for a million years.”

Emperor Haotian listened patiently, without interrupting him.

“From then on, I ascended the throne and became emperor, uniting the entire universe, achieving an unparalleled hegemony. The four seas and eight wildernesses submitted to me. Even Tu Bo, Heavenly Duke, and Earth Mother were held by their metaphorical pigtails, unable to resist me. The Creation Masters were no longer a concern. The world was at peace, and demigod races flourished.”

Taichu sighed, “At that time, Yutianzun and the other Seven Celestials rose, and I vaguely saw a future that would destroy my rule—a powerful, unstoppable tide that would crush me, and all ancient gods, into dust. That’s why I had you kill Yutianzun, to sever that terrible future. But I never imagined that this surging tide wouldn’t end there; instead, it grew even stronger, and ultimately, I still met my demise at your hands and Yuntianzun’s. For these million years of decline, I’ve had to scheme and grovel, living under a false identity, lurking among the Ten Celestials.”

The two Grand Ultimate Celestials praised in unison, “Great rise followed by great fall, and then great magnanimity after the fall—that is the true character of a hero.”

The mockery on Emperor Haotian’s face deepened.

Taichu’s spirits lifted, and he laughed, “Over these million years, Hao’er, you accumulated momentum, and not long ago, that momentum finally reached its peak, a surging torrent that forced me, even after regaining my physical body and achieving the Grand Unity Great Luo Heaven, to abdicate and let you ascend the Emperor of Heaven’s throne. I even had to kneel and bow to you—a father kneeling before his son, what an utter humiliation!”

The two Grand Ultimate Celestials praised in unison, “To remain unfazed by favor or disgrace—that truly shows a hero.”

Taichu beamed, laughing, “You flatter me, fellow Daoists. Although it was my first time enduring such utter humiliation, kneeling before my own son, I knew, Hao’er, that you are still too green. Hao’er, you crave power too much; you simply don’t understand how to share it. For instance, as for me, as long as Tu Bo, Heavenly Duke, and Earth Mother Yuanjun submitted to me, I wouldn’t touch their interests in the slightest. You are different; you want to grasp all power for yourself. You began stripping power from your vassals as soon as you ascended the throne. How could Fire Celestial not rebel against you?”

He smiled slightly, “You are too impatient; you destroy your own wings. Fire Celestial siding with me finally allows me to crush you. The nine Celestials of the Dragon Han Era were all exceptionally talented. You underestimate Fire Celestial too much. None of the nine Dragon Han Celestials can be compared to the likes of Ancestor God King or Void Celestial! As long as I hold you off, Fire Celestial will clip your wings, eliminating Ancestor God King and Void Celestial! From this battle onward, I will gain the upper hand!”

Emperor Haotian said indifferently, “Grand Emperor, you’ve said too much. With your wisdom, you couldn’t possibly fail to realize that the Third and Fourth Young Masters of Miluo Palace are still supporting me.”

Taichu shook his head, “I am far more proficient than you in the art of strategy; you are too young. How could the Third and Fourth Young Masters not know your wolfish ambitions? They need to support someone who can contend with you, to facilitate their plan for entering this world. With me challenging you, they will be happy to see it happen. You won’t be able to borrow any power from the Third and Fourth Young Masters. If you don’t believe me, you can try.”

Emperor Haotian wore an amused smile, clapping his hands in praise. “Well said, well said! But alas, Grand Emperor, you plot too much, you scheme and grovel, yet in the end, you are still old.”

He said calmly, “My actions to strip power from my vassals might seem like seizing absolute authority and ruthlessly eliminating loyal ministers—a misguided move. However, what I seek is the eternal stability of the empire for millions, tens of millions, even billions of years! Will killing one Fire Celestial really shake the foundations of my rule?”

He shrugged, “It won’t shake it. Granting fiefdoms to princes is what would truly undermine my foundation. Do you really think if Fire Celestial dies, Celestial Venerable Mu would dare to rebel? Even if he did, I have plenty of ways to control him. At worst, I’ll just borrow a few Dao achievers from Ancestral Court Jade Capital City. Ancestral Court Jade Capital City may not have much else, but it has many Dao achievers from prehistoric universes.”

A sneer appeared on his face. “The Third and Fourth Young Masters have no choice but to rely on my power. Only then do they have a chance and hope to enter the current universe. Because they know that neither you nor Celestial Venerable Mu can possibly defeat me!”

Taichu burst into laughter, “Yintianzi and Eastern Emperor Qinglong were killed using borrowed knives! Once Ancestor God King and Void Celestial are dead, what forces will you have left?”

Just then, Eastern Emperor Qinglong, who had just escaped to this location, overheard their conversation and felt a chill run through him. “I’m dead again? How did I not know… I’d better run while I still can!”

Emperor Haotian smiled faintly at his father, saying with sympathy, “Grand Emperor, you truly are old.”

He sighed.

Meanwhile, an incredibly violent tremor erupted. Fire Celestial was fighting Ancestor God King and Void Celestial, causing the very heavens and earth to shatter. Ancestor God King pushed Heavenly Duke’s physical body to its limit, forcefully breaking through the flame wheel behind Fire Celestial’s head.

But as he broke free, Fire Celestial’s palm struck. Standing on Heavenly Duke’s physical body, and with Heavenly Duke’s body just emerging from the flame wheel, he had no time to block.

Ancestor God King could only activate the Heavenly Dao treasures he had refined to forcefully meet the attack. Fire Celestial’s strike secretly contained twenty-eight layers of Dao realm, each layer of Dao fire stronger than the last. By the twenty-eighth layer, all the Heavenly Dao treasures he had painstakingly refined were burned into molten copper and gold liquid!

“Ancestor God King, do you truly think you are worthy of being named alongside me?”

Fire Celestial sneered. His primordial spirit pressed down from the Heavenly Court, forcing Void Celestial to retreat continuously, making it impossible for him to resist.

Fire Celestial let out a long cry, “Among the nine Celestials of Dragon Han, Emperor Haotian is the strongest, but I am by no means inferior!”

Ancestor God King and Void Celestial were greatly shaken, retreating steadily under his onslaught.

After Fire Celestial killed Southern Emperor Vermillion Bird, his strength soared to among the top three of the Ten Celestials that year. However, Ancestor God King had acquired Heavenly Duke’s physical body, and Void Celestial had gained half of Youdu’s Great Dao, leading them to believe that Fire Celestial’s power was far inferior to theirs, and that together, they could easily capture him.

However, the cruel reality exceeded their expectations.

Now, they were the lambs to be slaughtered; Fire Celestial was the hunter!

The more Fire Celestial fought, the more exhilarating it became. His long cries were incessant, and he unleashed various divine arts with effortless grace. His Dao heart, which had been dispirited moments ago, gradually cleared, showing a trend toward further advancement!

As long as he killed Ancestor God King and Void Celestial, then allied with Taichu to eliminate Emperor Haotian, he would surely gain Taichu’s heavy reliance and become an unparalleled powerful minister, a truly indispensable official!

Just then, he suddenly felt an incredibly strong sense of danger. Before he could react, a vast Great Abyss of Guixu suddenly appeared within the layered flame wheels behind his head!

As soon as the Great Abyss of Guixu appeared, it swept up the Dao fire, swallowing the Dao fruits within the layered flame wheels behind his head and drawing them into the abyss!

Not only that, even the Heavenly Court behind his head struggled to stabilize and began to fall into the abyss!

Behind his head was also a ring formed by the myriad heavens, which was now also falling into Guixu. The entire myriad heavens began to burn, stars plummeted, and flowed into the Great Abyss!

The Great Abyss was like a bottomless pit; it could never be filled.

Fire Celestial was horrified. He forcefully severed the layered flame wheels behind his head, abandoning even all the beings within the myriad heavens, and charged forward to escape the Great Abyss of Guixu’s entanglement.

His cultivation severely damaged, he whirled around, only to see that the Great Abyss of Guixu was not a divine ability but the true Guixu, forcefully moved here by an immense magical power!

Within Guixu was Empress Dowager’s traveling palace. Inside the palace, a woman lay languidly on a jade couch, her body exquisitely arrayed, looking very comfortable. She was smiling as she watched Fire Celestial’s horror; it was clearly Empress Dowager’s face.

However, the black mole between her eyebrows revealed her true identity: Madam Yuanmu!

“My dear Jade Gentleman, what do you think of my methods?”

Madam Yuanmu’s small, fragrant mouth slightly parted. Just then, a man’s figure appeared in the traveling palace. He held a spiritual pill between his thumb and forefinger and gently placed it between Madam Yuanmu’s lips.

This was Apothecary of Yankang, known as the Jade-Faced Medicine King. With his miraculous healing hands, he was the world’s foremost divine physician, having cultivated the supreme path of medicine, renowned throughout the world for healing Celestial Venerable Yue’s Dao injuries.

He was extremely handsome and debonair, even more so than Yintianzi.

Apothecary assisted Madam Yuanmu in taking the spiritual pill, observed her for a moment, and then said with a smile, “Madam, after this pill, your Dao injuries will be fully healed. I should return now…”

Madam Yuanmu gave him a reproachful look and chided, “Why are you in such a hurry to leave? I’ve heard people say you’re Celestial Venerable Mu’s elder. Do you think Celestial Venerable Mu still lacks motherly love? Is my dear gentleman planning to find him a stepmother or even a step-grandmother? Seeing you, one would think Celestial Venerable Mu was nothing but withered straw.”

Apothecary felt overwhelmed and quickly said, “Madam, please don’t! His Majesty will have my head… Fire Celestial is coming.”

Madam Yuanmu giggled as she leaped into the air, flying over his head. Apothecary looked up and instantly his nose began to bleed. He secretly muttered, “What a powerful enchantress.”

“My child Mu has been entangled with her for so long, yet he still managed to remain a virgin. How remarkable!”

Apothecary couldn’t help but feel immense admiration for Qin Mu: “If it were me, I wouldn’t have been able to withstand it!”

Madam Yuanmu reached out, and twin lotuses, joined at the stem, slowly rose from the Great Abyss, settling into her hand. She smiled. “Fire Celestial, my son Hao had me come here to send you on your way.”

Fire Celestial was greatly shaken. In the instant of their previous clash, he could feel that Madam Yuanmu’s combat power was absolutely no less than his own, perhaps even stronger!

Madam Yuanmu calmly smoothed a strand of hair at her temple. Suddenly, she swung the lotus. The lotus contracted, transforming into a large hammer, which she brought down upon Fire Celestial!

Boom—

As the lotus descended, it spun open, and the terrifying Dao of Guixu erupted!