Chapter 1026: The Crown Prince Freed
He had only now determined the general location of the Ancestral Court, but he still knew nothing about its seals. He also needed to understand the specific spatial and geographical data of the Four Extremes, the Mystic Capital, and the Guixu Abyss, as well as the detailed spatial dimensional coordinates of the Dragon Han Heavenly Court before its division.
Only then could he accurately pinpoint the Ancestral Court’s position.
For the spatial geography of the Four Extremes, the Mystic Capital, and the Abyss, he could use the data from the Spirit Energy Teleportation Bridges.
The Spirit Energy Teleportation Bridges were originally designed by Qin Mu and the Black Tiger God. Connecting different worlds required different spatial geographic data, and obtaining this data was no challenge for Qin Mu.
However, as for the Guixu Abyss, it was likely that no Spirit Energy Teleportation Bridge had yet connected to that place. Even if one existed, it would be in the hands of the Empress and Yuan Mu.
Nevertheless, Qin Mu had been to the Guixu Abyss before. He only needed to go there once more to determine its spatial dimensions.
The only difficulty was knowing the original height of the Dragon Han Heavenly Court.
He had no precise data on this matter.
Once he established the exact location of the Ancestral Court, he could, among other things, build a large-scale spatial teleportation array and teleport directly into the Ancestral Court.
“No wonder Northern Emperor Xuanwu’s eldest son, Youming, said he had seen me in the Dragon Han era. I suppose I went to measure the height of the Heavenly Court.”
Qin Mu’s expression turned strange. He thought to himself, “So, when did I go to the Dragon Han Heavenly Court? Who were the man and woman who stole the Glazed Azure Sky Canopy from the Xuanwu Heavenly Palace? However, the back side of the Heavenly Court is also part of the Ancestral Court’s seal. Why did the Heavenly Court move upward? If the Heavenly Court moved, doesn’t that mean there’s a flaw in the seal?”
He was about to study the consequences of the Heavenly Court’s upward shift when the Celestial Dragon’s voice came from outside the carriage again, saying, “Heavenly Venerable, the Martial Emperor has led his troops to welcome you!”
“No time. I’ll calculate the consequences of the Heavenly Court’s shift after we leave the North Pole Heaven!”
Qin Mu set aside his thoughts, dispelled the grand cosmic star map, and smiled, “Dragon Fatty, Yan’er, come with me to meet the Martial Emperor!”
The carriage stopped. He stepped out and saw that the other half of the Xuanwu Heavenly Palace lay ahead. The Martial Emperor had already led a group of divine priestesses waiting for him.
The Martial Emperor did not have the demeanor of the “bewitching woman” that the Mystic Emperor had described. Instead, she appeared far more upright and dignified than the Mystic Emperor. This woman wore a red-and-black imperial robe embroidered with a peony fragrance pattern, with a flying serpent weaving among the flowers, poised to leap upward.
Her eyebrows were like spread goose feathers, with a vermilion dot between them. Her lips were lightly painted with powder. She did not give Qin Mu a cold reception as the Mystic Emperor had suggested. Instead, she greeted him gracefully and generously, saying, “Mu Heavenly Venerable.”
Qin Mu quickly descended from the carriage and returned the greeting, “Sister Martial Emperor.”
The Martial Emperor couldn’t help but laugh, saying, “People say that the Mu Heavenly Venerable calls every woman he meets ‘sister.’ Seeing you today, it’s indeed true.”
Qin Mu said seriously, “That’s not always the case.”
The Martial Emperor raised an eyebrow. Qin Mu continued, “When I meet a beautiful woman, I can’t help but call her ‘sister.’ Just now, when I saw you, I couldn’t control myself and blurted it out without thinking. My mouth is even more honest than my heart.”
The Martial Emperor laughed out loud, shaking her head, and said, “Brother Mu is an honest man. Honest men are rare these days. Unlike that blockhead of mine, who can’t even say a sweet word and only knows how to make me angry every day. If I say two words to him, he’ll just stuff me full of anger.”
Qin Mu smiled, “Brother-in-law is also an honest man, just clumsy with words and unable to express his feelings.”
The Dragon Qilin silently praised, “The Sect Leader really knows how to talk. In front of the Mystic Emperor, he calls the Martial Emperor ‘sister-in-law,’ and in front of the Martial Emperor, he calls the Mystic Emperor ‘brother-in-law,’ always speaking like a close brother. After reading my ‘Human Rearing Sutra,’ his skills have grown stronger and stronger, surpassing the master!”
“Let’s not talk about him.”
The Martial Emperor invited him, smiling, “Let’s go inside and talk.”
She glanced at the Dragon Qilin and Yan’er, a look of surprise in her eyes, and asked, “Could this be the princess of the Vermilion Bird family?”
Yan’er quickly bowed, saying, “Yan’er greets Aunt.”
The Martial Emperor was very affectionate toward her. She stepped forward and took Yan’er’s hand, smiling, “I held you when you were little. Later, your mother was heartless and gave you away. By the way, you came from the East Pole Heaven. Have you seen your father?”
Yan’er’s expression darkened.
The Martial Emperor understood and smiled, “The Eastern Emperor has many children. He might not have remembered he had a princess like you.”
Qin Mu tested the waters, saying, “Sister Martial Emperor, when I arrived at the North Pole Heaven, I happened to meet your son, Youming. I saw him suffering greatly in the bitter cold, carrying a divine mountain on his back. I went down to ask and learned that he had made a mistake and was being punished by you and your husband. He’s already been punished for six hundred thousand years. I couldn’t help but feel pity, and tears almost fell…”
The Martial Emperor sneered, “He lost the Glazed Azure Sky Canopy, so he deserves it! That canopy was refined with the life savings of that blockhead and me, and he lost it through carelessness. He needs a lesson!”
Qin Mu nodded repeatedly, saying, “It’s right to teach him a lesson, but children are mischievous. Knowing the lesson is enough. To be honest, I went to see my brother-in-law earlier and mentioned this matter, hoping to plead for Youming. But my brother-in-law got angry instead and sent someone with a whip to give Youming ninety-nine lashes!”
The Martial Emperor flew into a rage, “You pleaded for him, and that old fool didn’t appreciate it and instead beat my son? This old thing is good at internal fighting but useless externally! If I, a woman, hadn’t been running around, bustling about, and managing things, he wouldn’t have gotten even a bit of this North Pole Heaven! He’d be lying in the Heavenly River drinking the northwest wind! Now he’s good at beating his own son!”
Qin Mu sighed, “Sister, calm down. Youming has already admitted his mistake and suffered the lashes. It’s time to let him escape his misfortune. Otherwise, if my brother-in-law remembers again and gives him a few more lashes, what then?”
The Martial Emperor called over a palace maid and said, “Take my decree and release the crown prince. Bring him to me. Don’t let him stay with that deadbeat father of his! That father of his has no ambition at all. Whenever something happens, he tucks his limbs into his turtle shell and pulls in his tail, pushing me, a woman, out to handle things! Following him, he’ll end up just as useless! Go quickly!”
The palace maid hurried off.
Qin Mu felt relieved and said, “Now that the young prince is freed, I’ve fulfilled a wish.”
The Martial Emperor grew fonder of him and smiled, “That blockhead of a husband of mine has never thought of others like this. That old fool stammers when he talks and is indecisive when he acts.”
Qin Mu said seriously, “Sister, you’ve misunderstood my brother-in-law. When I went to see him, he gave me two hundred Five Thunder Gourds and sent several hundred Sword Gods to support Yancheng.”
The Martial Emperor said suspiciously, “Would that blockhead be so generous? When he lived with me, he would rather split a copper coin into four pieces. Would he give you two hundred Five Thunder Gourds?”
Qin Mu blushed slightly and whispered, “Originally, he only wanted to give me one gourd and even lied that there were only sixteen in total. So I told him that you had given me two hundred, and then he became more generous.”
The Martial Emperor laughed so hard she swayed, “Brother Mu is honest but also a bit sly. Seeing me so generous, that blockhead will grit his teeth and give you that many, but his heart will probably bleed rivers. Don’t worry, little brother. I won’t be stingier than that blockhead.”
With her words, Qin Mu finally felt at ease. “Three hundred Five Thunder Gourds are enough to form an army. As long as this army acts, it will be a thunderous strike!”
The Martial Emperor was indeed more cheerful and straightforward than the Mystic Emperor. She gave Qin Mu two hundred and one Five Thunder Gourds and said, “That blockhead promised you several hundred True Martial Sword Gods. I can’t be outdone. When the Kai Emperor came here to learn my skills, as an exchange, his strongest formation masters designed the Flying Serpent Fortress Array for me. This array requires a thousand divine maidens to execute and can even contend with ordinary Imperial Seat powerhouses. I’ll give you this array.”
Qin Mu was overjoyed but hesitated, “My brother-in-law sent the Sword Gods down to help me but took back their surnames and expelled them from the North Pole Heaven, saying it was to avoid implicating him…”
The Martial Emperor understood and smiled, “You’re worried that my palace maids will bully the Yancheng people using their Xuanwu bloodline? Don’t worry, I’ll arrange the same.”
Qin Mu breathed a sigh of relief. Talking to such a clever woman was incredibly comfortable.
“Speaking of which, this is our second meeting. The first time was on the ghost ship, where I relied on my little brother’s wisdom to escape.”
The Martial Emperor said with a smile, “Sister Vermilion Bird also often mentions you. She said she saw you in the early Dragon Han era, and you mentioned the Heavenly Alliance.”
Qin Mu’s heart tightened, and he nodded slightly.
“Now the Ten Heavenly Venerables are the Heavenly Alliance. Little brother, do you know how much influence your casual words had back then?”
The Martial Emperor said, seemingly intentionally or unintentionally, “After the early Dragon Han era, almost all major events were related to the Heavenly Alliance. As one of the oldest elders of the Heavenly Alliance, you should be the main force in quelling the chaos of the Heavenly Alliance.”
“Sister, do you think that if I hadn’t mentioned the words ‘Heavenly Alliance,’ would there still have been a Heavenly Alliance later?” Qin Mu asked.
The Martial Emperor was stunned.
“There would still have been a Heavenly Alliance, or maybe it wouldn’t be called the Heavenly Alliance. It might be called the Earthly Alliance or the Nether Alliance. The main reason for the formation of the Heavenly Alliance was not me but the ancient gods.”
Qin Mu walked side by side with her and said softly, “If the ancient gods had treated the post-natal beings and demigods better, there would have been no Heavenly Alliance. It was because the oppression was too heavy, leaving the post-natal beings and demigods with little room to survive, that the Heavenly Alliance came into being. Even if I and the other ancient gods eliminate the Ten Heavenly Venerables in the future, if you still act as before, there will be another Heavenly Alliance.”
The Martial Emperor was silent for a moment before saying, “The ancient gods today are much better than before. But the demigods in the current Heavenly Court are no different from the ancient gods of the past, still demanding blood sacrifices from the people. The Heavenly Alliance merely eliminated the ancient gods and became the new ancient gods themselves. Little brother, you should think about the future. How can you avoid becoming an ancient god that squeezes the people and drinks their blood?”
Qin Mu was stunned, then bowed in thanks, saying, “Thank you for the reminder, sister!”
The Martial Emperor returned the bow, saying, “I have seen too many dynasties rise and fall, too many partings of life and death, too many disasters of the people. Seeing so much, I can’t help but feel despair, thinking this is a great cycle. I can’t change the cycle. You have drive and momentum. Perhaps you will. I won’t keep you.”
Qin Mu took his leave.
The Martial Emperor saw him off to the half of the Southern Heavenly Gate, watching him disappear into the distance. After a while, the palace maid brought Youming, the crown prince. Youming transformed into human form, knelt, and kowtowed to thank the Martial Emperor.
“Rise.”
The Martial Emperor raised her hand and said, “The Mu Heavenly Venerable went to great lengths to get me to release you. He is a Heavenly Venerable, so I couldn’t refuse his favor, which is why I let you go. Your father beat you ninety-nine lashes because you talked too much, to teach you a lesson. Now that your punishment is over, you can’t be as naive as before.”
Youming acknowledged, stood up, and asked, “Where is the Mu Heavenly Venerable? I haven’t had the chance to thank him yet.”
The Martial Emperor said, “He has already left. He should be going to the West Pole Heaven to visit the Western Emperor. Although you are freed, your mistake remains. The Mu Heavenly Venerable has shown you kindness, so you should go down to the mortal world. You lost the Glazed Azure Sky Canopy, so this is your tribulation. When you retrieve the canopy, you can return to the North Pole Heaven.”
Youming kowtowed again.
The Martial Emperor sighed, helped him up, and said, “You are still my son. Although you look like your foolish father, your mother can’t bear to see you take risks and die. You are too naive. If I hadn’t suppressed you in the North Pole Heaven all these years, you wouldn’t have survived even the Dragon Han era. This Yancheng era is even more difficult. You need to be more cautious.”
She took out a snakeskin bag and said, “This is refined from my shed skin. It can collect and refine all things. Take it for self-defense. Also, go see your foolish father once and ask him for some defensive items.”
Youming choked up, turned, and left.
When he arrived at the Mystic Heavenly Palace, the Mystic Emperor saw him and flew into a rage, cursing, “That foolish woman! She released Ming’er. How long can he survive in this world of deceit and treachery?”
Youming knelt and said, “Father, I know I was wrong.”
The Mystic Emperor stepped forward, helped him up, and sighed, “You were not wrong. Losing the Glazed Azure Sky Canopy is no big deal. I wouldn’t blame you. The reason I punished you was that when the Heavenly Court split, you were my crown prince, naive and easily deceived by anyone. You were also close to those friends like Hao Heavenly Venerable and Yin Heavenly Venerable, who eat people without spitting out bones. Falling into their hands would have meant certain death! That’s why I locked you up! Now your mother has released you, and I have no choice.”
He shook his head, took out a mirror, and said, “This is the Bagua Mirror refined by the Kai Emperor using the Bagua diagram on my back. I have also imprinted Xuanwu patterns on it. Take it for self-defense. When you leave the North Pole Heaven, if someone calls you, don’t look back. Just walk straight. If you don’t look back, no one will dare to harm you. If you look back, you will fall into eternal ruin. Remember this, remember this!”
— Congratulations to the Divine Dynasty’s Great Refrigerator and Zhuo Cha, two alliance leaders, on their birthdays!