Heaven‑Guide Venerable shook his head, noticing something white flying out from the center of his brow.
He reached up and touched his forehead; his hand came away smeared with white brain matter and red blood.
“That sword was truly fast—caught me completely off guard…"
He extended a finger and poked at the center of his brow; it sank into his brain.
He felt the back of his head—it was the same situation there.
Quinn Shepherd landed at a slant, took two steps forward, the Celestial River billowing behind him and slowly drawing back, drifting in the air. Above the river, a faint Heaven Palace hung in view.
Within the Heaven Palace, divine voices clamored, as if countless gods and demons were chanting there. As Quinn’s aura receded, the chanting gradually faded, then slowly vanished.
Quinn’s Primordial Spirit returned with sword in hand, standing outside the South Heaven Gate of the Heaven Palace, upon the surface of the Celestial River, quietly watching Heaven‑Guide Venerable without any extra movement.
Heaven‑Guide Venerable shook his head again, his mind growing fuzzier and fuzzier. He smiled, “This body really is imperfect—still plenty of gaps to fill. The lower realm’s divine arts are advancing faster than I ever imagined.”
Quinn shook his head. “You’re only using this body’s innate power, not your own. This shell is packed with nearly all the ancient gods’ Dao‑laws, but it’s missing anything of your own. Are you trying to mask your true identity, or is your power unable to pierce the world barrier? Either way, with nothing of yourself inside, you’re doomed to die by my hand.”
Back then, Lou Yunqu and the others descended to the lower realm aboard Red Empress Claudia Qi’s Phoenix Ship, avoiding rejection by the world barrier. Because Mingdu and Youdu have similar properties, they could also use the Mingdu Heaven Gate to travel through Nether City.
Even when 'Heaven-Guide Venerable' descends, this principle still applies.
The realm of 'Heaven-Guide Venerable' must be capped at the divine arts level, at most reaching peak Divine Bridge. Any more power and he can't pass through the Origin-Capital Realm's world barrier.
Unless a Heavenly Venerable in the Heavenly Court forcibly shatters the world barrier—but the chaos that would cause is unimaginable.
That's why Quinn Shepherd is sure he can kill 'Heaven-Guide Venerable'—it all comes down to this principle.
He has absolute confidence and conviction—at equal realm, nothing in this world can defeat an Overlord Body, not even a Heavenly Court-made Heaven-Guide Venerable built to hold all the ancient gods’ Daos!
Brain matter still oozing out, 'Heaven-Guide Venerable's' brain has been shattered by Quinn’s sword, and his inner divine treasury system destroyed.
Quinn’s Primordial Spirit controlled his sword, sending it flying into the heavens to assassinate Heaven-Guide Venerable’s body and shatter the Primordial Spirit within.
Why isn’t that a Divine Bridge behind you? Why is your seventh divine treasury a Celestial River?
Heaven-Guide Venerable looked confused, his brain nearly drained dry, yet he kept scrutinizing Quinn and the Celestial River divine treasury behind him.
His body contains many Daos, but all are innate—ancient gods’ Daos. The Creation Dao isn’t among them.
He can’t use the Creation Dao to heal his injuries like Quinn can, so he can only let his brain matter drain away.
You’ve pioneered a brand-new divine treasury? With this treasury, you can link the Heaven Palace to all the other treasuries as a complete whole?
Heaven-Guide Venerable’s head wobbled again—his skull was already empty.
He could still speak and think, though. He said, 'Cult Master Shepherd, you truly deserve your name. You’ve reached a level where you stand shoulder to shoulder with the Seven Heavenly Venerables. Yet the others in the Heavenly Court are still fighting for fame and power, blind to the changes in the lower realms. Ha! If the Heavenly Emperor weren’t a committee, things would be much simpler.'
Quinn locked eyes with him and said in a deep voice, 'So, Cloud-Venerable, what do you think of my seventh divine treasury?'
Heaven-Guide Venerable smiled faintly and said, 'So you mistook me for him, and exposed your Celestial River just to bait Cloud-Venerable into revealing himself. Since Cloud-Venerable pioneered the Divine Bridge Treasury, seeing your seventh treasury would shake his Dao-heart—it’s superior to his own. But you guessed wrong. I’m not him.'
Suddenly, Dao-fire flared up around him. He smiled, 'Cult Master Shepherd, you’re still too young—showing your trump card so soon. This body is just an experiment, a test of Heaven-Guide Venerable’s combat power. Now I see its flaws. I know your secrets, but you won’t get anything from this shell. Next time you meet another Heaven-Guide Venerable, it’ll be your death…'
Suddenly, the Dao-fire went out.
Heaven-Guide Venerable was startled, tried again to ignite Dao-fire and burn the body, but the flames just wouldn’t catch!
"Your body—I'm collecting it."
A voice came from behind him. Heaven-Guide Venerable turned to see Aiden Starr emerge from the darkness, one hand clutching his chest, the other raised, fingers splayed, using some unknown technique to suppress the Dao-fire.
Aiden’s eyes burned with feverish excitement. He set down his chest, which sprouted legs and popped open with a click, visibly thrilled.
But Aiden’s gaze wasn’t on Heaven-Guide Venerable—it was locked on Quinn, watching him warily.
Quinn said coolly, 'Aiden, there’s a consciousness hidden in that body with a background you can’t imagine. You want to collect it? Not afraid of dying?'
From the chest, a mass of arms reached out, gripping the edges. A massive multi-armed, multi-headed demon god crawled out, carrying Marcus Autumnwhite on its back!
Marcus Autumnwhite had been captured and refined into a puppet.
Aiden narrowed his eyes and murmured, 'A Heavenly Venerable, is it? If even a Heavenly Venerable covets this body, then I want it even more. Not just the shell—I want the Heavenly Venerable’s consciousness too!'
His fingers twitched, and a flurry of ultra-fine needles flashed into Heaven-Guide Venerable’s body!
Heaven-Guide Venerable’s face changed dramatically, but he couldn’t move—a wisp of his consciousness was sealed inside the body, unable to escape!
'When did juniors from the lower realm become so arrogant?'
He was furious. Quinn killing his body and Primordial Spirit was one thing—after all, Quinn was once Shepherd Heavenly Venerable, one of the Nine Heavenly Venerables.
But who was this boy with a chest? How dare he try to seize even a wisp of his consciousness!
'I still want to collect a true Heavenly Venerable someday…'
Aiden narrowed his eyes, staring at Quinn like a venomous serpent. 'A true Heavenly Venerable—their flesh is even more exquisite.'
Quinn smiled. 'Aiden, take your prize and get lost, or I’ll kill you too.'
Aiden snorted, quietly spreading his fingers as faint rays of light flickered between them. He said softly, 'You were injured fighting him—I saw his overwhelming divine arts. You only beat him by catching him off guard with painting Dao and other tricks. His cultivation still surpasses yours.'
Quinn didn’t reply. Behind him, the Gate of Bearing Heaven suddenly appeared with a buzz.
Aiden’s eyelids twitched—he hesitated.
'I’m back—!'
Behind him came the corpse-dragon king’s eerie laughter: 'I see you! If I eat you, I can regrow my body!'
Aiden’s face changed. The chest rushed forward and swallowed Heaven-Guide Venerable, while the multi-armed demon god carrying Marcus Autumnwhite retreated, slipped back into the chest, and closed the lid.
Aiden picked up the chest and vanished into the darkness.
Quinn breathed a sigh of relief—then suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood.
'I smell fresh blood.'
Out of the darkness, the corpse-dragon king’s huge green head swooped in, jaws wide, lunging for Quinn!
Quinn fell backward, turning into a black shadow pressed flat against the ground. But this time, the corpse-dragon king didn’t fly away. Suddenly, two eerie green eyes shone down on Quinn’s shadow.
'This corpse-dragon—when did it get so clever?'
Quinn’s face changed. With a bang, the shadow exploded, turning into black smoke and fleeing.
The corpse-dragon king chased after the darkness, mouth wide, sucking hard—the black smoke was about to be swallowed whole.
Just then, the black smoke twisted and turned into a lotus flower. Quinn sat inside, petals folding around him layer by layer.
The corpse-dragon king swallowed the lotus. Far away, another lotus bloomed silently in the darkness—Quinn sat inside, hurriedly rose, forced the blood down his throat, and escaped, thinking, 'Great Venerable, thanks. Next time, I promise not to kill you.'
The corpse-dragon king ate the flower, convinced he’d devoured Quinn. Ecstatic, he roamed about, hunting for more prey.
Soon after, Quinn spotted a red light in the darkness and crept closer. It was a woman holding a lantern, warily scanning her surroundings.
'Sister Annie.'
Quinn breathed a sigh of relief and staggered over. Annie saw him and exclaimed with joy, 'Young master, have you seen Fat Dragon? I lost him!'
Quinn quickly activated the Overlord Three-Core Art to repair his injuries—Heaven-Guide Venerable’s Heaven-Net divine art had battered him badly.
'Fat Dragon’s probably just sleeping. No need to look for him—once the Suspended Coffin returns to Fallen-God Valley and opens, we’ll see where he is. Aiden, you’re still here?'
He suddenly turned—two eyes appeared in the darkness. Aiden, clutching his chest, quietly withdrew.
The corpse-dragon king chased after the darkness, mouth wide, sucking hard—the black smoke was about to be swallowed whole.
Just then, the black smoke twisted and turned into a lotus flower. Quinn sat inside, petals folding around him layer by layer.
The corpse-dragon king swallowed the lotus. Far away, another lotus bloomed silently in the darkness—Quinn sat inside, hurriedly rose, forced the blood down his throat, and escaped, thinking, 'Great Venerable, thanks. Next time, I promise not to kill you.'
The corpse-dragon king ate the flower, convinced he’d devoured Quinn. Ecstatic, he roamed about, hunting for more prey.
Soon after, Quinn spotted a red light in the darkness and crept closer. It was a woman holding a lantern, warily scanning her surroundings.
'Sister Annie.'
Quinn breathed a sigh of relief and staggered over. Annie saw him and exclaimed with joy, 'Young master, have you seen Fat Dragon? I lost him!'
Quinn quickly activated the Overlord Three-Core Art to repair his injuries—Heaven-Guide Venerable’s Heaven-Net divine art had battered him badly.
'Fat Dragon’s probably just sleeping. No need to look for him—once the Suspended Coffin returns to Fallen-God Valley and opens, we’ll see where he is. Aiden, you’re still here?'
He suddenly turned—two eyes appeared in the darkness. Aiden, clutching his chest, quietly withdrew.