Chapter 999: Encountering the Dutian Heavenly Demon King Again
There were only two eggshells in total. Back when the Heavenly Emperor's physical body was still alive, the Heavenly Alliance was even more chaotic internally. At that time, one only needed to control the Heavenly Emperor's physical body to enter the ancestral land and retrieve the eggshells.
However, none of them were willing to let the eggshells fall into another's hands. The strongest opponent was Heavenly Sovereign Hao. The other Heavenly Sovereigns and leaders of the Heavenly Alliance, for various reasons, also opposed retrieving the eggshells.
By the time the Heavenly Alliance unified internally, and the elders like Heavenly Sovereign Ling and Heavenly Sovereign Yue had successively fallen, leaving only the faction of Heavenly Sovereign Hao and Heavenly Sovereign Hong, they discovered that while there were no longer any opponents, the Heavenly Emperor's physical body was also gone, making it impossible to retrieve the eggshells.
Although everyone coveted the treasures in the Heavenly Emperor's ancestral land, none had the strength to retrieve the eggshells, so they had to give up.
Heavenly Sovereign Hao tried several times, even risking using the divine artifact Imperial Heavenly Sovereign to enter the ancestral land, but he could never approach that altar.
He had always regarded these two eggshells as his own possessions.
Moreover, the Heavenly Emperor was born from an egg. The Heavenly Emperor was his father, and in his heart, the Heavenly Emperor's possessions rightfully belonged to him as his inheritance.
Unexpectedly, this time, while they were all on guard against each other, someone had secretly infiltrated the ancestral land and taken one of the eggshells!
Heavenly Sovereign Hao looked around, suppressing the anger in his heart, and said in a deep voice, "Fellow Daoists, we have not come this far easily, nor have we achieved our current positions easily. If you return that treasure, we can still be fellow Daoists. If not, heh, the Ten Heavenly Sovereigns might just become Nine Heavenly Sovereigns."
The surrounding Heavenly Sovereigns remained silent.
They too coveted those two halves of the eggshell from which the Heavenly Emperor was born.
The eggshell bore the most complete Dao runes of the Heavenly Emperor, but that was not its greatest use. The best use of the eggshell was actually to seal the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor!
Even if another Heavenly Sovereign obtained the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor's physical body, as long as they controlled the eggshell, they could still seal the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor within it and suppress him!
Being able to seal the physical body of the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor naturally meant sealing the divine artifact Imperial Heavenly Sovereign was also within their power.
With this treasure, one would have a great advantage among the Ten Heavenly Sovereigns. Unfortunately, only half remained now.
Who had taken the other half? That was what the Ten Heavenly Sovereigns cared about most.
Heavenly Sovereign Hao swept his gaze around, then suddenly laughed in extreme anger and flicked his sleeves as he left: "It seems the Ten Heavenly Sovereigns will not only become Nine, but also Eight!"
He left in a rage, leaving the other seven Heavenly Sovereigns, who remained silent.
Suddenly, Heavenly Consort Qiang broke the silence: "When I arrived here, it was already like this. That treasure was definitely not taken by me. I did see a certain Daoist, controlling the Heavenly Emperor's physical body, enter here together with Prince Mingya."
Heavenly Sovereign Xiao said indifferently, "After Prince Mingya left here, he hurriedly departed from the Heavenly Court and is now missing. He probably knows something. Why not capture him and interrogate him thoroughly?"
Heavenly Consort Yan stroked the white cat's head and said with a smile, "Prince Mingya fled the Heavenly Court? How interesting."
Divine King Langxuan coughed and said, "Which senior brother took that treasure? It would be best to return it, to avoid causing us unease."
No one answered.
Heavenly Sovereign Hong stroked his white beard and said thoughtfully, "Besides the Heavenly Emperor's physical body, the only one capable of entering this forbidden zone is probably the Grand Emperor, right? Ancestral Divine King, you have seen the Grand Emperor's abilities and should be familiar with his methods."
Ancestral Divine King said calmly, "The Grand Emperor indeed has that capability. If he were lurking in the Heavenly Court or the Heavenly Alliance, no one would be able to find him."
Everyone fell silent again. The seven Heavenly Sovereigns were expressionless.
Who was the Grand Emperor?
Could the Grand Emperor really be hiding among them?
Among the seven people present, could one of the Heavenly Sovereigns actually be the Grand Emperor?
The seven Heavenly Sovereigns looked at each other but then averted their gazes. At this moment, anyone could be the Grand Emperor, and even the departed Heavenly Sovereign Hao became a suspect in their eyes.
Suddenly, Heavenly Consort Yan left, holding her white cat, and said with a laugh, "Heavenly Sovereign Fire and Heavenly Sovereign Void have returned."
The other six Heavenly Sovereigns each vanished.
Heavenly Sovereign Fire and Heavenly Sovereign Void had rushed back to the Heavenly Court from the Netherworld, which took some time, so they were a few days later than Qin Mu.
The Ten Heavenly Sovereigns gathered. When they heard Heavenly Sovereign Fire and Heavenly Sovereign Void recount their experiences in the Great Void, their hearts were greatly shaken.
The experiences described by Heavenly Sovereign Fire and Heavenly Sovereign Void were similar to Qin Mu's—various bizarre encounters: corpse walkers, the city of the Creator, the mad Heavenly Master Yue, the domain of supreme consciousness, and the Void Bridge.
Qin Mu had not lied about a single word but had truthfully reported everything he had seen and heard in the Great Void!
Heavenly Sovereign Mu had always been a rebel. When had he become an iron-boned, loyal, and devoted minister?
However, based on the accounts of Heavenly Sovereign Fire and Heavenly Sovereign Void, it was indeed highly possible that the Grand Emperor was hiding among them!
Heavenly Sovereign Fire and Heavenly Sovereign Void immediately sensed the strangeness among the Heavenly Sovereigns—mutual wariness, even open hostility!
Although the Ten Heavenly Sovereigns had never been completely harmonious in the past, they had only been secretly wary of each other. When had it ever been brought into the open?
Heavenly Sovereign Fire frowned slightly and thought to himself, "Since Heavenly Sovereign Mu arrived at the Heavenly Court, the rift among the Ten Heavenly Sovereigns seems to have grown wider. The split of the Heavenly Alliance seems inevitable. However, the Ancient Gods have not yet been eradicated. The original purpose of establishing the Heavenly Alliance was to eliminate the rule of the Ancient Gods…"
"So, the Carefree Village at the end of the Void Bridge has still not been found?" Ancestral Divine King asked.
Heavenly Sovereign Fire and Heavenly Sovereign Void nodded simultaneously. Heavenly Sovereign Fire said, "We were trapped in the middle room and didn't come out until half a year later."
"Where was Heavenly Sovereign Mu at that time?" Heavenly Sovereign Gong asked.
"Right outside the door."
Heavenly Sovereign Void said indifferently, "After seeing us, he closed the door. By the time we came out, he was already gone."
Heavenly Sovereign Hao asked the most critical question: "So, did Heavenly Sovereign Mu find the Carefree Village?"
Heavenly Sovereign Void shook her head and said, "That is unknown."
Heavenly Sovereign Fire glanced at her, surprised that Heavenly Sovereign Void did not mention that Qin Mu had two more people with him. He wondered what this woman was planning.
However, since Heavenly Sovereign Void did not say it, he also held back.
The ten Heavenly Sovereigns fell silent, the atmosphere somewhat heavy. Logically, since they had found traces of the Carefree Village, they should immediately send troops there, even at great cost, to eradicate the Carefree Village and eliminate the Kai Emperor.
But now, none of them had that intention.
Comparatively, the Carefree Village was just a minor ailment. The Grand Emperor hiding among them was the real threat.
No matter which Heavenly Sovereign used their forces to attack the Great Void, they would face resistance from the Creators of the Great Void and the Carefree Village. Their own side would suffer losses, and their power would decline.
The current Ten Heavenly Sovereigns of the Heavenly Court were no longer what they used to be. If their own power declined, and then they fought to the death with the Kai Emperor Qin Ye, they might not die at the hands of the enemy but from a cold arrow shot by their own people!
After all, there was the precedent of the Great Sun Star Lord!
"The Carefree Village must be attacked."
The kind-faced Heavenly Sovereign Hong sighed, "I originally thought that the Carefree Village where Heavenly Sovereign Qin lived was a land of carefree happiness, but I didn't expect it to be such a dangerous place. Naming such a broken place 'Carefree Village' is laughable. To attack there, we must first pass through the various dangers of the Great Void. Why not let the children go ahead and scout the path first. Once the external dangers are cleared, we can go and deal with Qin Ye and those Creators."
The other Heavenly Sovereigns nodded in agreement, saying, "Let the children from the various heavens clear the path first. Then we will deal with Qin Ye."
Heavenly Sovereign Fire frowned and said, "Everyone, sending ordinary gods and demons to the Great Void is completely useless. They would only be going to their deaths!"
The other Heavenly Sovereigns laughed and said, "Heavenly Sovereign Fire has many disciples and strong subordinates. Why not lead the troops yourself to the Great Void and subdue Qin Ye?"
Heavenly Sovereign Fire was furious. He flicked his sleeves and stood up, storming off angrily: "I entered the Great Void, risked life and limb, and obtained information, yet you are all here bickering with each other. Fools! I am ashamed to be associated with you!"
"Heavenly Sovereign Fire still has that hot temper." Everyone shook their heads.
At the residence of Heavenly Sovereign Mu.
Fox Ling'er had already descended to the lower realm, while Qin Mu stayed in the Heavenly Sovereign's mansion, spending his days studying the eggshell in his own eyes, comprehending the runic imprints on the eggshell, and occasionally joking around with Yun Chu Chu and Lang Wan Divine King.
Yun Chu Chu had taken up residence in the Heavenly Sovereign's mansion, occupying a room and refusing to leave. Lian Hua Hun also came from time to time, accompanied by Lang Wan Divine King, making the three women quite lively.
When the three women were together, Qin Mu tried his best not to get involved.
Soon, news arrived that the Heavenly Court had decided to wage war on the Great Void, conscripting gods and demons from the various heavens. Fox Ling'er also sent word that the Heavenly Court's Zao Fu Palace had assigned many tasks to Yan Kang, urgently producing the divine weapons and tools needed for war.
"Heavenly Sovereign, a poor relative from the lower realm has come, saying they are here to seek refuge with you," a palace maid reported.
"A poor relative?"
Qin Mu was surprised and laughed, "What poor relatives do I have? They are all quite wealthy. Invite them in."
After a moment, an eight-armed demon god walked in under the maid's guidance. The demon god had eight arms, four faces, and twelve eyes, looking very imposing and spirited. He bowed and said, "Dutian Heavenly Demon King pays respects to Heavenly Sovereign Mu!"
Qin Mu quickly stepped forward and said with a smile, "Old brother Dutian, how did you end up here?"
This demon god was the Dutian Heavenly Demon King of the Dutian World. He said shamefully, "The Dutian World was destroyed. We couldn't survive there, so we wandered through the starry sky. After we left, Tu Bo took the Dutian World and refined it into a horn. In recent days, countless of us Dutian demons have died from starvation and exhaustion. Hearing that the Heavenly Court was going to war with the Great Void, we had no other choice and wanted to join the Heavenly Court. I didn't expect to hear that there was a Heavenly Sovereign Mu in the Heavenly Court. I found it strange, so I inquired and found out it was indeed you."
Qin Mu laughed, "Isn't it me?"
The Dutian Heavenly Demon King was filled with emotion and said, "Who would have thought that the young leader of those days would become today's Heavenly Sovereign Mu? I came to seek refuge with you, but I had to bribe the guards of the Jade Capital heavily to enter. Now, the people and subjects of the Dutian World have no way out. I beg Heavenly Sovereign Mu, in consideration of our past pleasant interactions, to give us a way to survive."
Qin Mu looked him up and down and said with a smile, "Don't you want to join the Heavenly Court and go on the expedition to the Great Void?"
The Dutian Heavenly Demon King hesitated for a moment and whispered, "I feel that the Heavenly Court has ill intentions. If the Great Void were so easy to fight, countless gods and demons in the Heavenly Court would be scrambling for military merit. The reason they are selecting gods and demons from the various heavens is probably to send them to their deaths as sacrificial offerings."
Qin Mu laughed heartily and raised his hand to pat his shoulder, but he couldn't reach.
The Dutian Heavenly Demon King quickly stooped down, and Qin Mu finally patted his shoulder, satisfied, and said, "Exactly. Old brother Dutian is still as perceptive as ever, seeing through the problem at a glance. This expedition to the Great Void is just the Ten Heavenly Sovereigns not wanting to deplete their own forces, deliberately sending people to die."
The Dutian Heavenly Demon King's face was weathered, as if carved by knives and axes, clearly showing that he had not had an easy time in recent years. He forced a wrinkled smile and said timidly, "Then, Heavenly Sovereign, can you protect the people of Dutian?"
Qin Mu's gaze fell on his face, and he said nothing.
The Dutian Heavenly Demon King fell to his knees with a thud, deeply bowing his head, and said, "The demons of the Dutian World are few in number now. I beg the Heavenly Sovereign to grant us a way to live! I know I have wronged the Heavenly Sovereign in the past and offended you. I am willing to bow my head and await execution."
Qin Mu shook his head and said, "Get up. My Yan Kang can barely protect itself. Where would I find territory to settle your people?"
The Dutian Heavenly Demon King quickly said, "Heavenly Sovereign, first protect my people. I will go to the Great Void to earn military merit. With military merit, I will have territory, and then I will bring my people back!"
Qin Mu laughed, "Going to the Great Void is going to your death. Not to mention you, even beings at the Lingxiao realm or the Di Zuo realm dare not claim they can return unscathed from the Great Void. You won't get a single bit of military merit."
—Happy birthday to Chuan Chuang and Buddhist Male God!