Chapter 995: The Eastern Palace Crown Prince
The divine maidens tending to the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor's physical form were at a loss, having never seen the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor in such a state of panic and loss of composure.
The current Ancient God Heavenly Emperor seemed to have completely lost control of his body. The muscles on his face twisted, contorting in different directions. His single face could be divided into eight parts, each part like an independent face, each with its own expression.
The muscles of his body also seemed out of control. His ten fingers twisted, major sinews writhed chaotically, and strands of muscle beneath the skin coiled and fought like countless great dragons.
This scene was so horrifying that those divine maidens were frozen in terror.
Qin Mu stood up and said, "You may withdraw."
The divine maidens withdrew one after another, leaving the Nourishing Glory Hall.
Qin Mu bowed and said, "Your Majesty seems unwell. Your servant begs leave to retire."
He was about to leave when suddenly waves of fluctuations came. The eight Heavenly Honored Ones had all stopped fighting, leaving the Heavenly Emperor's physical form almost simultaneously. Each withdrew their own dharma power and divine consciousness, no longer entangled with the other seven Heavenly Honored Ones!
They were all wary. While inside the Heavenly Emperor's body, attacking each other while also having to defend against attacks from the other seven Heavenly Honored Ones, each felt mentally exhausted. Some might even be forced by others working together to expose their true cultivation techniques.
Rather than that, it was better to simply retreat.
After all, being together within the Heavenly Emperor's physical form was extremely dangerous for each of them. The matter of the Grand Emperor hiding among them could be investigated slowly, but exposing one's greatest capital would be a loss not worth the gain.
In an instant, the Heavenly Emperor's physical form was emptied.
Without their control, the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor slowly closed his eyes. The halo behind his head still rotated gently, not as violently as before. His chest rose and fell; he was still breathing.
His aura returned to calm, and the blood within him still flowed, like a mighty heavenly river surging through his blood vessels.
Within his heart lay the most surging power, like the energy source of an entire galaxy, extremely terrifying!
Although this was merely a physical form crafted using mathematical techniques and creation arts, not the Heavenly Emperor's true body, it still possessed boundless power.
Qin Mu was stunned. In this Nourishing Glory Hall, only he and the Heavenly Emperor's physical form now remained!
He looked at the Heavenly Emperor's body, his gaze flickering. Although it was a replica of the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor, this physical form could still be said to be the crystallization of Heavenly Court wisdom, second only to the supreme divine artifact, the Imperial Heavenly Lord's Divine Artifact!
But the key was not the power of this divine artifact Heavenly Emperor, but the authority and status it represented!
"If the Ten Heavenly Honored Ones can play with it, then as the Mu Heavenly Honored One, whose status is even higher than theirs, why can't I play with it too..."
Qin Mu, as if possessed, walked toward the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor's physical form, muttering to himself: "The Heavenly Court hides many secrets. Shu Jun said this is also the birthplace of the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor, with the remnant soul of the Imperial Heavenly Lord, and the creation divine artifact of the Zao Fu Palace. I can't approach any of these places. But if I take over the Heavenly Emperor's physical form..."
He suppressed the pounding in his heart and kept walking, soon arriving at the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor's brow.
Although this Heavenly Emperor physical form was a replica, looking at its bodily structure, there was no trace of mathematical techniques.
The Heavenly Court's Dao Sect had studied the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor's body and runes not for a day or two, but for hundreds of thousands of years. Their research on this ancient god could be said to have reached its peak.
Although Qin Mu had obtained the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor's Dao runes, he had not yet thoroughly studied this Heavenly Emperor's Dao. On the contrary, he had gained much from the Heavenly Duke's Dao runes, which showed the precision and difficulty of the Heavenly Emperor's Dao runes.
His divine consciousness surged out, entering the Heavenly Emperor's brow.
He immediately "saw" a haze of purple light within the Heavenly Emperor's mind. In the purple light, the Heavenly Emperor's brain seemed composed of countless intricate runes, like countless Daos linked together.
His divine consciousness entered the Heavenly Emperor's Dao, like entering an extremely precise machine. Which part of the brain controlled the eyes, which part controlled the mouth, which part controlled the fingers—all needed to be figured out.
Even with Qin Mu's current immensely powerful divine consciousness, fully controlling this body was somewhat difficult.
The Heavenly Emperor's physical form was too massive. Different brain parts represented different Daos, controlling different parts of the body. Mobilizing these parts required him to precisely control the Heavenly Emperor's brain. For him, it was difficult to fully master this body in a short time.
Moreover, controlling the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor's physical form required continuous consumption of divine consciousness, and this consumption rate also put great strain on him.
"Perhaps I can use the method of 'borrowed life' to mobilize the body's own power..."
As soon as the thought came to Qin Mu, he acted. Having obtained the wisdom of the Creator race, he was very familiar with the Creator's unique method of "borrowed life." The Grand Emperor had once said that he could borrow life in anyone's body, transforming into anyone.
Although Qin Mu's skill was not as good as the Grand Emperor's, he could still perform the borrowed life method.
After a short while, he felt his divine consciousness perfectly merge with the Heavenly Emperor's physical form, as if he had become the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor. His control over the body reached an extremely acute level, as if controlling his own body.
Not only that, but he could also precisely locate all the power sources within the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor's body.
Although it was a replica, the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor's body contained nearly two thousand power sources, large and small. Mobilizing these powers required minimal expenditure from Qin Mu himself.
And mobilizing these power sources of the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor made him feel unprecedentedly powerful!
"The Creator race's borrowed life method is truly formidable. I can now mobilize all the power in this body! I wonder how strong the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor's power is?"
Qin Mu was overjoyed. The Ancient God Heavenly Emperor rose with a thunderous motion, reached out and drew a line across his brow. His brow split open, and Qin Mu flew up, landing inside the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor's brow. Then the brow closed, and the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor walked out of the Nourishing Glory Hall.
Outside the Nourishing Glory Hall, a group of palace maids all knelt down, not daring to raise their heads.
Qin Mu waved his hand and said calmly, "Rise."
Those palace maids all acknowledged, but only stood up after he had walked far away.
Qin Mu drove the Heavenly Emperor's physical form to wander around. However, this was the inner city, and he was unfamiliar with the place, so he could only barge around randomly. Fortunately, he was now the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor, so even if he barged around, no one dared to question him. Instead, wherever he passed, whether female officials in the palace, eunuchs, or divine generals guarding the Jade Capital Imperial City, all knelt down.
"Shu Jun sensed the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor's birthplace in the rear palace, so that place should be in the rear palace."
Qin Mu excitedly headed toward the rear palace, a frivolous thought rising in his heart: "I've heard that the Heavenly Emperor's rear palace has countless beauties, with stunning women from all races. If I enter the rear palace, what if those consorts beg to serve me in bed?"
He blinked his eyes, somewhat troubled.
"Your son kowtows to see Your Imperial Father!"
Suddenly, a tall, robust young divine being knelt and bowed to Qin Mu, looking up joyfully and saying, "Your Imperial Father usually stays deep within the palace and rarely goes out. Your son hasn't seen Your Imperial Father for many days."
Qin Mu's heart tightened. He didn't recognize this young prince and didn't know his name. He could only raise his hand and say, "Rise. I have been very busy these days and have neglected you."
That young divine being was extremely delighted, quickly stood up, tears glistening in his eyes which he forcefully held back, and said, "Your Imperial Father hasn't bothered with your son for over forty thousand years. Although your son is the Eastern Palace Crown Prince, the number of times he has seen Your Imperial Father is even less than the palace maids. He cannot fulfill his filial piety before Your Imperial Father."
Qin Mu's heart skipped a beat: "Eastern Palace Crown Prince? Could this be the one who, at the end of the Upper Emperor Era, captured Red Emperor Qi Xiayu, forcing her to surrender? Damn! This crown prince is a great expert at the Imperial Throne level!"
Back then, Qi Xiayu, as an expert of the Southern Upper Emperor Heavenly Court, killed the previous Red Emperor, proudly erected a monument to commemorate it, and was then captured by this Eastern Palace Crown Prince, forced to surrender to the Heavenly Court.
This Eastern Palace Crown Prince was also an extremely formidable figure. After capturing Qi Xiayu, he also erected a monument to commemorate it. Qin Mu saw these two stone tablets when he broke the seal in the Yuan Realm and was deeply impressed.
"I wonder if this Eastern Palace Crown Prince can see through me..."
His heart was uneasy. Historically, the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor had established many crown princes, but none had come to a good end. This Eastern Palace Crown Prince was likely a prince born from the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor's true body, possessing extremely high bloodline, and thus extremely powerful.
If he saw through him, could this Heavenly Emperor physical form defeat him?
And more importantly, he didn't even know this Eastern Palace Crown Prince's name!
"If only Qi Xiayu or that little vixen Yun Chuxiu were here... No, no, that little vixen is Yuan Mu Madam. If she found out I had taken over the Heavenly Emperor's physical form, she wouldn't kill me but would skin me alive!"
Qin Mu looked down at this Eastern Palace Crown Prince and said warmly, "These days have been hard on you. Although I rarely see you, I know your cultivation techniques and divine abilities have progressed rapidly. But the imperial family rarely has father-son affection. The stronger you become, the harder it is for me to feel at ease, so I try not to see you as much as possible. Your several elder brothers, back then, also rebelled against me after achieving some success, leading to father and son parting ways between the living and the dead. This is the reason I have been distant from you. I don't want you to end up like your brothers."
The Eastern Palace Crown Prince quickly knelt again, choked with emotion, and said, "Your Imperial Father, your son's loyalty to Your Imperial Father is witnessed by heaven and earth, and he would never dare to have any second thoughts! In recent years, your son has seen the Ten Heavenly Honored Ones growing stronger, controlling the Heavenly Court's court, and sidelining Your Imperial Father. Your son is worried about Your Imperial Father's safety!"
Qin Mu's expression shifted slightly, and he said coldly, "You have quite the nerve, daring to criticize the Ten Heavenly Honored Ones. Do you know what a capital offense is?"
The Eastern Palace Crown Prince deeply prostrated himself, not daring to rise, choked with emotion, and said, "Nowadays, which ancient god in the court doesn't cower before the Ten Heavenly Honored Ones, afraid that if they slightly displease them, they will suffer a tragic fate? Your son worries that if this continues, Your Imperial Father will have no one to use!"
Qin Mu looked at him coldly, and after a moment, said, "Rise. Do you think I don't know what you speak of? I know your loyalty, and I have my own means to deal with it."
The Eastern Palace Crown Prince stood up, wiping the tears from the corners of his eyes.
Qin Mu was filled with emotion, sighing deeply, and said, "Good child, truly a good child. You are not like Hao..."
He seemed unwilling to mention Hao Tianzun, changing the subject, and said, "Within this Heavenly Court lies my birthplace. Do you know where this sacred ground is?"
The Eastern Palace Crown Prince was inwardly solemn, bowed, and said, "Although your son has not dared to inquire about that sacred ground, he has heard people in the palace mention that forbidden zone. But your son has never entered it!"
Qin Mu smiled and said, "Today, I... your father, will take you in to see this ancestral land. Come, lead the way."
The Eastern Palace Crown Prince heard him change his self-reference and was overjoyed, leading the way ahead.
Qin Mu followed him, inwardly worrying: "What is this Eastern Palace Crown Prince's name? If I don't know his name, I'll probably be exposed sooner or later... And which consort is his mother? It can't be the Empress, can it?"