362: How to become the Heavenly Dao

Deep within the Heavenly Venerable Palace, inside a sealed secret hall.

Emperor Qin, Shen Wuya, and Ling Tian sat on a Dao platform, coldly observing the confrontation outside the palace, which would decide the fate of the Spirit Realm.

Emperor Qin took a sip of spiritual wine, a self-mocking sneer playing on his lips:

"How ridiculous. I commanded all territories, controlled life and death, and ruled the world. Yet now, I've become 'cargo' fought over by the Spirit Realm and the Immortal Realm, like a Magic Treasure or a Cultivation Technique, openly priced and contended for."

Shen Wuya sat with his eyes closed, his voice like the deep waters of a cold pond, icy and indifferent:

"These fools still refuse to believe in the existence of the Heavenly Dao, insisting that Lu Chen is merely a reclusive Immortal Venerable. How ignorant!"

Ling Tian's eyes were bloodshot, and a ferocious smile spread across his lips:

"What do we do now? Once that Formation is fully activated and the Spiritual Veins are depleted, everyone will become cripples! Even if we don't die, we'll be trapped here waiting to die! It's better to take advantage of the current chaos, tear open a spatial rift, and escape! I don't want to be a chess piece; I want to control my own destiny!"

Emperor Qin slowly shook his head, his gaze as deep as an abyss:

"Escape? Where can you escape to? Didn't Zi Xuwu say? The entire Spirit Realm will be drained, turning into a dead zone, space will collapse, and Laws will be chaotic. Forget about Ascension; even Divine Souls will struggle to survive! Outside, there is no path left."

Shen Wuya sneered, his aura as steady as a mountain:

"What's the panic! Whether the Spirit Realm wins or the Immortal Realm triumphs, it's irrelevant to us. The harder they fight, the more opportunities we'll have. We just need to focus on Cultivating. The lower Realms of this world are much stronger than those of our world, but after Ascension, they're about the same. Once all three of us Ascend, with the experience accumulated from our previous civilization, we'll easily crush them. By then, what are the Spirit Realm and Immortal Realm but mere chickens and dogs."

Ling Tian licked his lips, his killing intent surging, his voice low and crazed:

"Exactly! By then, who cares about Realm Lords, Heavenly Venerables, or Immortal Emperors! I will personally destroy all of them! What damned Spirit Realm or Immortal Realm, they'll all be buried with me! I will, by my will, reshape heaven and earth, creating a world that belongs only to me! I am the only God, the only Dao, the only Heaven!"

As his words fell, the air in the secret hall solidified.

Emperor Qin and Shen Wuya exchanged glances, a silent understanding passing between them.

They were both old foxes who had navigated power struggles and walked over mountains of corpses and seas of blood. How could they not see Ling Tian's ambition?

This man was arrogant, bloodthirsty, and utterly unprincipled. Once he gained power, he would surely become a grave threat!

If the opportunity arose in the future, they must unite to eliminate him!

Emperor Qin sighed softly, retracting his gaze, his tone low:

"Don't worry about outside. At least we still have a year. Focusing on Cultivating and making a Breakthrough in our Realm is the Righteous Path."

He paused, frowning slightly,

"It's just that I always have an uneasy feeling. Is Lu Chen really dead? I always feel he's still alive, just hiding somewhere we can't see, coldly watching all of this..."

Shen Wuya said indifferently: "It's normal for you to have this concern. You think the Heavenly Dao is invincible and cannot die, but in fact, before Lu Chen, there were at least four previous Heavenly Daos, and without exception, they all died. So the Heavenly Dao is nothing special. Perhaps, we too have a chance to become the next Heavenly Dao."

Emperor Qin suddenly looked up, his eyes flashing with brilliance:

"Become the Heavenly Dao? How does one become it?"

Shen Wuya shook his head, his tone uncharacteristically tinged with confusion:

"I don't know. The Heavenly Dao I fused with didn't explain in detail, only saying that it suddenly and inexplicably knew it had become the Heavenly Dao."

The three fell into silence.

Outside the Heavenly Venerable Palace, the world was on the verge of collapse; inside the Heavenly Venerable Palace, ambition quietly brewed... At this moment, outside the Heavenly Venerable Palace, the winds were still, and heaven and earth were silent.

The Five Great Heavenly Venerables stood side by side, their Qi as vast as an abyss, intertwining!

They had no retreat, only to fight to the death!

Grand Flame Heavenly Venerable Lord Chi Xiao had the most volatile temper. His eyes were bloodshot, and a scorching sun rotated in his palm, with heaven-burning flames raging around him!

He roared:

"Big Brother! Why waste words with these rotten fish and shrimp?! Just kill them all! I alone can slaughter these ten thousand heavenly soldiers and let them know what 'True Fire Soul Refining' is!"

He took a step forward, his killing intent soaring to the sky. With a flick of his finger, a hundred-zhang wave of fire swept out, directly charging towards the Immortal Soldier Formation!

Great Evolution Heavenly Venerate The Celestial Venerable Taiyan suddenly raised his hand, and a barrier of starlight appeared out of thin air, forcefully blocking the wave of fire!

His expression was calm, his gaze as deep as the Milky Way, his voice low yet extremely penetrating:

"Fourth Brother, stop!"

"If you kill them... it will play right into the enemy's hands!"

Everyone was stunned, looking at him in unison.

The Celestial Venerable Taiyan slowly spoke, his words astonishing:

"Actually, not taking action is most beneficial to us. If we kill these ten thousand heavenly soldiers, their deaths will accelerate the operation of the Reverse Spirit Returning to Ruins Formation. Within a year, our Spirit Realm will be gone. Instead, if we find a way to keep these ten thousand heavenly soldiers from dying, we can delay the demise of our Spirit Realm!"

Even Taichu Heavenly Venerate's eyes flashed with brilliance!

"Good! What a brilliant strategy of using life to control death! Fifth Brother, your mind is truly quick!"

He laughed up to the sky, his Battle Intent erupting like a volcano:

"Since that's the case, not a single one of these ten thousand heavenly soldiers can die! The four of you, immediately take action to Seal the Five Elements Spirit Guiding Formation nodes, and use the power of the Seal to suppress their Divine Soul fluctuations, ensuring they remain alive!"

"As for the culprit—"

He suddenly turned, his gaze like a knife, piercing directly at Zi Xuwu,

"Leave him to me!"

Before his voice faded—

Boom!!!

Taichu Heavenly Venerate moved!

He stomped his foot, and the entire ground cracked. Nine bolts of tribulation lightning descended from the sky, coiling around his body!

The might of a Golden Immortal erupted without reservation, the heavens and earth changed color, and clouds rolled back, as if an ancient god had awakened!

He formed hand Seals, and a pitch-black rift, dark as ink, condensed in his palm—that was the Space Collapse Fist, a forbidden ultimate art capable of tearing space with a single strike!

"Zi Xuwu—prepare to die!"

The punch shot out like a Dragon, silently breaking through the air, yet causing the Void Realm to collapse layer by layer!

Its target was directly at Zi Xuwu's glabella!

Zi Xuwu's face drastically changed, filled with terror!

He never expected that Taichu Heavenly Venerate would be so decisive, giving him no chance to negotiate, and directly going for the kill!

He hurriedly activated the Nine-Layer Profound Light Body Protection Armor bestowed by the Immortal Court, while simultaneously forming hand Seals, attempting to summon the power of the Immortal Realm's reception!

"Stop!"

He shrieked in rage, his voice even carrying a hint of tremor,

"You dare to kill me? Don't you believe I'll detonate the Five Elements Spirit Guiding Formation right now and make the entire Spirit Realm perish with me?!"

Taichu Heavenly Venerate, however, was unmoved, instead laughing wildly up to the sky:

"Hahaha! Who are you trying to scare?! If you had that resolve, you would have detonated it a month ago! Why waste words here, pretending to talk about cooperation! You're stalling for time, testing my bottom line, and even deliberately provoking me to act—it shows you're not at all prepared to die together! With such little courage, you dare to be an envoy for the Immortal Court's negotiations?!"

"Die!"

As the last word left his mouth, the punch had reached its Peak!

The spatial rift, like a giant maw, devoured everything, directly approaching Zi Xuwu's face!