Chapter 569: Heaven's Gate Slays the Divine Dragon

The divine dragon looked at the Gates of Heaven’s Will behind him, a look of confusion on its face. Jiang Miao whispered, “Sect Master, can you truly kill him?”

Qin Mu quietly replied, “I don’t know.”

Jiang Miao’s eyes widened. He blurted out, “You don’t know?”

“I haven’t yet tested if these gates can kill a deity,” Qin Mu explained. “Before, at most, they only killed demon experts at the Celestial Being realm. I was just trying to scare him. He’s already in such a dire situation, yet he still acts so superior. So, no matter what, we have to be more ruthless than him…”

After explaining, Qin Mu apologized to the divine dragon, saying, “Senior, if I can’t kill you later, please don’t laugh at me.”

As he was about to activate the Gates of Heaven’s Will, the divine dragon’s expression drastically changed, as if remembering something. “Wait a moment!” it exclaimed.

Qin Mu paused, and the Gates of Heaven’s Will immediately stopped. He said patiently, “Please speak, Senior.”

The divine dragon stared at the gates, its eyes filled with terror. It hissed, “I’ve seen these gates before! What is your relationship with Heavenly King Mingdu? He also possesses such gates!”

“This Heavenly King Mingdu also has Gates of Heaven’s Will?”

Qin Mu was surprised and asked, “I once saw someone open the Gates of Heaven’s Will in the Nether Valley. Could that person be the Heavenly King Mingdu you mentioned?”

The divine dragon’s voice trembled. “Are you a descendant of Heavenly King Mingdu? No wonder, no wonder you can also open these gates…”

Qin Mu shook his head and chuckled. “My surname is Qin, Qin from Carefree Village. Who is Heavenly King Mingdu? Is his surname Qin as well?”

The divine dragon seemed not to have heard him at all, instead sinking into terrifying memories. It muttered to itself, “Heavenly King Mingdu controlled a set of gates that could connect to Youdu. Countless powerful enemies died by his hand. Emperor Kai crowned him Heavenly King and commanded him to open Youdu. Emperor Kai had grand ambitions; he wanted to incorporate Youdu into his territory and grasp the mysteries of life and death. But he angered Earth Count, who refused to submit. So Emperor Kai had the Heavenly Works Divine Race forge a divine blade. Heavenly King Mingdu wielded the blade and cut off a large piece of Youdu, which Emperor Kai then ordered built into Fengdu…”

Qin Mu was stunned. “Heavenly King Mingdu cut Youdu apart, and a portion became Fengdu? That powerful?”

The divine dragon mumbled, “Heavenly King Mingdu angered Earth Count by stealing territory from Youdu. But Mingdu was clever; he transformed into stone, and his primordial spirit escaped into Fengdu. In those days, countless gods and devils died beneath his gates, which is why Emperor Kai bestowed upon him the title of Heavenly King in charge of souls… Your gates cannot possibly be the same as his!”

Qin Mu’s eyes lit up. He quickly said, “Senior, I saw a stone statue in the Nether Valley, and behind that statue, there were also gates connecting to Youdu, but they were sealed by gods and devils with a beehive-like structure. Could that person be Heavenly King Mingdu?”

The divine dragon looked distraught, mumbling, “Your gates cannot be like his. You don’t have the power to harm me. You’re just a weak, pathetic human, like a little lizard…”

Qin Mu’s face flushed. “Senior, you’re being insulting! This Heavenly King Mingdu, I believe I’ve seen him before. My guess is he was merely a pseudo-Overlord Body; he never cultivated to my level!”

The divine dragon snapped back to reality and sneered, “You call these gates the Gates of Heaven’s Will? How absurd! In the Kaihuang era, these gates were called the Divine Slaying Profound Gates. From deities in the Nine Heavens above to demon gods in the Nine Hells below, none could escape being slain! When the gates open, and then close, gods and devils alike return to Youdu. That’s why they’re called Divine Slaying! The fact that you don’t even know this shows your cultivation isn’t orthodox. Go ahead, try to slay me. Let’s see what you’re capable of!”

Qin Mu’s body rotated, and the demonic qi of Youdu spilled from the Gates of Heaven’s Will, filling the hall with immense density.

The gates opened, moving horizontally towards the divine dragon.

“Wait!” The divine dragon, cold sweat beading on its forehead, stared intensely at the gates that were about to engulf it. It suddenly spoke.

Qin Mu stopped, very patiently asking, “What else do you wish to say, Senior?”

“What is your cultivation level?” the divine dragon asked, its voice hoarse, still fixated on the Gates of Heaven’s Will.

Qin Mu replied, “This junior has cultivated to the realm, but has also opened the Seven Stars Divine Treasure.”

The divine dragon was taken aback. “The realm, and you’ve opened the Seven Stars Divine Treasure? What kind of logic is that… Regardless, you’re at the Seven Stars realm. And someone at the Seven Stars realm wants to kill me? Hahahaha! Truly, a newborn little lizard fears no true dragon!”

It relaxed, saying arrogantly, “Let’s see how you slay me!”

Qin Mu continued to activate the Gates of Heaven’s Will, and the demonic qi of Youdu permeated the air. Suddenly, the divine dragon cried out, “Wait!”

Qin Mu’s patience wore thin. He couldn’t help but urge, “Senior, if you have something to say, please say it all at once.”

The divine dragon sneered, “Brat, if you slay me this time, once I break free, I will exterminate your entire clan. Have you thought this through? The cause you sow today will be the effect of your clan’s annihilation tomorrow!”

Qin Mu nodded and continued to activate the Gates of Heaven’s Will. He said, “I’ve thought it through. If you don’t die, then feel free to try and exterminate my clan.”

The Gates of Heaven’s Will moved. Qin Mu’s voice, obscure and difficult to understand, recited the arcane demonic language of Youdu.

The divine dragon quickly said, “Wait! These gates aren’t quite like the ones I’ve seen. What language are you speaking…?”

Whoosh—

The Gates of Heaven’s Will grew even more imposing, sweeping past it. Inside the gates, it was pitch black, with faintly visible enormous curved horns, wreathed in flames, standing in the boundless darkness.

The gates suddenly stopped. The divine dragon’s body stiffened, then with a thud, its head dropped to the ground. Its body relaxed, slumping to the floor like a dead snake, utterly motionless.

Qin Mu dismissed the Gates of Heaven’s Will. Suddenly, a sharp stinging pain shot through his glabella, and a drop of black blood trickled from his forehead.

Qin Mu quickly covered his glabella. The stinging grew more intense, becoming unbearable. Suddenly, he fell to his knees with a thud, clutching his head tightly!

Meanwhile, Jiang Miao watched as the Gates of Heaven’s Will devoured the divine dragon. The instant the gates engulfed the dragon, a monstrous maw abruptly appeared between Earth Count’s horns and the Gates of Heaven’s Will, swallowing the divine dragon’s primordial spirit in one gulp!

Jiang Miao’s expression was blank. The monstrous maw was terrifyingly grotesque and incredibly evil, truly frightening him!

When he recovered, he stepped forward to examine the divine dragon, his heart filled with dread. The divine dragon was completely lifeless!

Its primordial spirit had indeed been swallowed by that suddenly appearing mouth; it had not fallen into Youdu!

“Sect Master Qin, it seems there’s something strange inside your gates… Sect Master Qin!”

Hearing Qin Mu’s cries of pain, Jiang Miao quickly rushed over and helped him up. Qin Mu was disoriented from the severe pain. From his chest, a jade pendant emitted faint glows, pushing back the stinging sensation.

“I’m fine, just a sudden headache,” Qin Mu opened his eyes, looking confused. He pushed Jiang Miao’s hand away and shook his head, saying, “I’m much better now. It must just be a side effect of activating the Gates of Heaven’s Will. Strange, this never happened before when I activated them…”

Jiang Miao stared blankly at his glabella. Qin Mu paused, then chuckled, “What are you looking at?”

Jiang Miao said in horror, “There’s a bloody mark on your glabella, and it seems there’s something inside…”

Qin Mu quickly took out a mirror and looked at himself. Sure enough, he saw a blood-red mark on his glabella. The mark was long and narrow, over an inch in length, pointed at both ends, and wider in the middle.

Strangely, the mark was also slightly raised, as if he had bumped his head and it had swollen.

He reached out and touched the blood mark. There seemed to be a round object inside, but even when he pressed lightly, he felt no pain.

“Was the pain so intense I bumped my head… That thing is moving!”

Qin Mu was horrified; his finger clearly felt the object under the blood mark shift!

“Could I be possessed by that divine dragon?”

He quickly activated his primordial spirit, performing an internal inspection. After searching for a long time, he found no abnormalities within his body. Even when his primordial spirit reached his glabella, it couldn’t find the object beneath the blood mark.

Jiang Miao carefully examined his glabella, then suddenly raised a finger. “Sect Master, look at my finger.”

Qin Mu looked at his finger as instructed. Jiang Miao moved his finger, watching Qin Mu’s glabella. He saw that the object beneath the blood mark also moved with his finger.

Jiang Miao tested it for a moment, then sighed in relief. “Beneath the blood mark, there appears to be an eye.”

“An eye?”

Qin Mu was greatly puzzled. The Great Creation Demonic Scripture indeed contained some miraculous cultivation methods that could allow one to grow a third eye, but he hadn’t transformed into the form of a Guardian Star Lord or a Blazing Star Lord. How could he have grown a third eye?

“Sect Master Qin, I just saw something sinister inside your gates!”

Jiang Miao composed himself. Remembering the scene he had just witnessed, he shivered, chills running down his spine. He said, “When your gates swallowed my uncle, his primordial spirit was pulled out and drawn towards that two-horned god-demon. Then a monstrous mouth suddenly appeared and ate my uncle’s primordial spirit!”

“A monstrous mouth suddenly appeared and ate your uncle?”

Qin Mu was astonished. He rubbed his forehead, wondering, “Youdu has many ferocious demon monsters, formed from the lingering souls and demonic nature of Youdu. They are terrifyingly grotesque. Could it be a Youdu demon monster at work?”

Jiang Miao shook his head. “I don’t know about that. I only managed to see that huge mouth swallow my uncle. That mouth even showed a cruel smile before disappearing, and then your gates closed.”

Qin Mu pondered for a moment, then sighed, “Earth Count’s control over Youdu is growing weaker, to the point where all these grotesque monsters are escaping… We came here to find the True Dragon characters for detoxifying the True Dragon Lair, and now we’ve come up empty-handed again…”

Suddenly, he noticed the chains that had passed through the divine dragon’s body slacken, and the demonic script on them stopped flowing. His heart skipped a beat.

“Oh no! The Ten-Mile Star Sand Calamity Array has stopped!”

Qin Mu immediately rushed outside. He saw yellow sand swirling like dragons above the canyon, rapidly flowing towards the large cauldron.

On the cliffs on both sides of the canyon, runes were self-immolating, turning into ashes.

Amidst the sky-high yellow sand, Xing An, covered in blood, was trudging heavily towards them, his face exceedingly grim.

Qin Mu quickly ran over and tried to lift the large cauldron, but he let out a grunt; he couldn’t move it. The star sand inside the cauldron was simply too heavy to lift.

He mustered his vital qi, attempting to activate the star sand within the cauldron. A dozen or so grains of star sand trembled as they floated into the air, slowly drifting forward.

Qin Mu’s face immediately darkened, becoming even grimmer than Xing An’s, who was approaching.