Chapter 1035: Two Thieves and a Constable
The Fragrant Incense Hall hung high above the ninth heaven of Dao Fire. This great hall was covered in layer upon layer of talisman seals, and even when transported to the Antarctic Forbidden Zone, it remained completely unaffected by the sacred flames there.
It was a bronze hall, exceedingly ancient, having weathered a million years of time. It appeared both rustic and profoundly solemn.
The seventy-two treasure halls of the Heavenly Court were also seventy-two extraordinary treasures of astonishing power. This hall suspended in the sky gave Qin Mu a deep sense of powerlessness.
It was a place his Soul-Pulling Spell and Resurrection Art could not reach.
The majestic divine figure within the flames walked toward Qin Mu, growing taller and taller, the blazing fire converging into his body.
And behind him stood an even taller silhouette.
Behind him was the Divine Artifact, Imperial Heavenly Lord!
At this moment, Fire Heavenly Lord was absorbing the Dao radiance of the Antarctic Forbidden Zone, strengthening his own power. Having reached his level, it was already extremely difficult to improve further.
To advance, aside from cultivating to the realm of the Heavenly Court, he could also absorb the Heavenly Dao that matched his attributes. The Antarctic Forbidden Zone, birthplace of Southern Emperor Vermilion Bird, was undoubtedly the best place for this.
When Southern Emperor Vermilion Bird was alive, he could not forcibly seize this power—after all, this was the Vermilion Bird's lair. But after her death, he could claim this power for himself.
Qin Mu watched Fire Heavenly Lord emerge from the flames, so tall, so majestic, commanding reverence.
This Heavenly Lord gave him a strange feeling.
"Back when you became a Heavenly Lord, the Four Emperors blessed you, granting you longevity and protection from misfortune."
Qin Mu suppressed the anger in his heart and said, "Now that you have killed one of the Four Emperors, are you happy?"
Behind Fire Heavenly Lord's head, the wheel of flames grew increasingly intense. His gaze fell upon Qin Mu. At Fire Heavenly Lord's current level of power, even his mere glance made Qin Mu feel as though his primordial spirit was about to ignite.
"The blessings of the Four Emperors were nothing more than surveillance and control."
Fire Heavenly Lord said, "In fact, as early as the middle of the Dragon Han Era, I had already dissolved the blessings of the Four Emperors. Since Imperial Heavenly Lord's death, I realized that my fate could only be firmly grasped in my own hands, not in the hands of the ancient gods!"
He bent down to look at Qin Mu, extended his large hand, and clenched it heavily before Qin Mu's face, saying coldly, "Imperial Heavenly Lord expected the ancient gods to coexist equally with humans and post-natal beings. He naively trusted them, and that's why he died! In all my years following that elder brother, the one thing I learned was never to trust any ancient god—any of them!"
He straightened up and said indifferently, "Pastoral Heavenly Lord, you are fortunate. After receiving the title of Heavenly Lord, you left immediately and did not receive the blessings of the ancient gods. How many of the Heavenly Lords who received their blessings met a good end? You are lucky; you did not experience the suffering of the Dragon Han Era. I did. The Four Emperors blessed me only to control me. Was it not right for me to rebel and eliminate Southern Emperor, one of the Four?"
His gaze was fierce as he continued, "I know why you have come. You want to use the power of the ancient gods to oppose the Heavenly Court. But you haven't considered that the Four Emperors of that time were also terrifying beings who accepted the blood sacrifices of post-natal beings. This era is far better than that one!"
Qin Mu said woodenly, "As long as we don't resist?"
"Yes, as long as we don't resist!"
Fire Heavenly Lord continued absorbing the Dao radiance of the Antarctic Forbidden Zone, speaking loudly, "As long as we don't resist the Heavenly Court or engage in so-called reform, everyone can live. As a Heavenly Lord of the human race, I can protect you! If Imperial Heavenly Lord were still alive, he would surely be proud of my achievements!"
Qin Mu's eyelids twitched. "Fire Heavenly Lord, you have lived in the Heavenly Court for too long. You haven't seen the conditions of the people living in the various heavens and the Primordial Realm. Every time gods and demons descend to the mortal world, blood sacrifices are made, and the offerings are often humans! Not resisting does not guarantee survival—at best, only a portion of the rich and powerful survive!"
"It is already far better than the ancient times."
Fire Heavenly Lord bent down again, flames blazing in his eyes. The air he exhaled turned into a sea of fire that swept past Qin Mu, and he said, "It will only get better in the future. I now have the strength to protect the human race. I am different from other human Heavenly Lords! Cloud Heavenly Lord fell, Moon Heavenly Lord retired, Ling Heavenly Lord was inflexible and died without a burial place, Nether Heavenly Lord only knows self-pity and hides in the Netherworld, and Qin Heavenly Lord only knows to defy heaven, hiding his head and tail after failure. Only I—"
"Pastoral Heavenly Lord, only I have exhausted my mind and energy for the human race, seeking a chance for them to survive! For this chance, I can cooperate with those who disgust me the most, and I can play along with other cunning individuals! For this chance, I must use their power to eliminate the ancient gods—all of them!"
He extended his hand toward Qin Mu, speaking earnestly, "Stop the reform. Don't make things difficult for me in the Heavenly Court. Come to the Heavenly Court and help me. You are Pastoral Heavenly Lord, the strong one who once defeated me. I know you have talent. If we join forces, we can bring that better era sooner! At that time, we will divide power with the Heavenly Court, we can protect the human race, and humans will no longer be used as sacrifices!"
Qin Mu did not take his hand. Instead, he stared at it with a faint, ambiguous smile. "You want humans to survive, even if they have to kneel, even if some must be sacrificed to appease the gods and demons. But I have a dream too. In my dream, people live standing upright, kneeling to no one."
"In my dream, everyone can fulfill their potential. People can become part of the divine, master the celestial phenomena, and use the Heavenly Dao for themselves. They can also choose not to pursue power. They can read, become gods of books, paint, become gods of painting, do what they love, and become gods in their own fields of expertise."
"I want them to live with dignity, to live in abundance, so they can pursue their dreams. Not like what you said—drifting aimlessly, merely seeking survival."
Fire Heavenly Lord withdrew his hand and said coldly, "You still think about reform. You are as stubborn as Qin Heavenly Lord. Pastoral Heavenly Lord, the era of the Ten Heavenly Lords has arrived. The decaying ancient gods will be buried in the graves of history, but the era of stubborn people like you will never come."
Qin Mu clenched his fists and shouted, "Where is Southern Emperor's corpse?"
Fire Heavenly Lord turned around. The wheel of flames behind his head frantically absorbed the Dao radiance here, and the Antarctic Forbidden Zone visibly shrank.
"The ancient gods are the root of chaos and turmoil in the world. The Opening Emperor borrowed their power to plot rebellion, hence the Opening Emperor Calamity. The Upper Emperor had Mother Earth Primordial Lord supporting the Northern Upper Emperor, leading to three hundred thousand years of war and slaughter, with the people living in misery. The Crimson Bright Era and the Dragon Han Era were also stirred up by the ancient gods behind the scenes!"
Fire Heavenly Lord turned his head and said coldly, "Your Yan Kang Era—was there no ancient god stirring up trouble behind it? Pastoral Heavenly Lord, if you still care so much about Southern Emperor, then you are my enemy!"
The Antarctic Forbidden Zone contracted violently, growing smaller and smaller. The Dao radiance on the periphery gradually disappeared, and even the ninth heaven of Dao Fire became faint.
Qin Mu took out his brush and ink, quickly wrote a letter of severance, flicked his sleeve, and sent it flying toward Fire Heavenly Lord. He said indifferently, "Since you think I am your enemy, then sign this letter of severance! I have already signed my name. Write yours, and from now on, we are done with each other!"
Fire Heavenly Lord picked up the brush and swiftly wrote his name on the letter.
The letter flew back to Qin Mu.
Qin Mu took the letter, carefully examined Fire Heavenly Lord's signature, tucked it into his bosom, and shouted, "Where is Southern Emperor's corpse?"
Fire Heavenly Lord sat down and said coldly, "Pastoral Heavenly Lord, you may leave. You are just another lackey cultivated by the ancient gods. Don't force me to kill you. If I act, I will not fight you at the same cultivation level. I will beat you to death."
Qin Mu took out a mirror, shone it at the Fragrant Incense Hall in the sky, and said, "Fire Heavenly Lord, please give me a relic of Southern Emperor. After all, we were acquainted."
Fire Heavenly Lord did not move. His voice came, "Southern Emperor's physical body has already been refined by me. I will never give it to you, nor give any ancient god a chance to be resurrected!"
"Master..." Yan'er said, her voice trembling.
"Let's go."
Qin Mu took Yan'er's hand and walked out. The Antarctic Forbidden Zone was collapsing, the Dao radiance rapidly flowing into Fire Heavenly Lord's body. Soon, Fire Heavenly Lord would absorb all the energy that gave birth to Southern Emperor here.
The ninth heaven of Dao Fire collapsed, and the power of the Dao Fire also diminished, surging like a tide toward the core of this forbidden zone.
In the end, all the Dao radiance here would become Fire Heavenly Lord's cultivation, and even Southern Emperor Vermilion Bird's own cultivation would become part of his.
Fire Heavenly Lord's power would greatly increase!
Qin Mu walked out of the ninth heaven of Dao Fire, led the dazed Yan'er onto the treasure carriage, and said, "Fatty Dragon, set off."
Dragon Qilin dared not speak. He silently drove the Heavenly Dragon Treasure Carriage outward.
Qin Mu's palm was ice-cold. He let go of Yan'er's hand, took out the letter of severance from his bosom, and then a small booklet. He opened it, and inside were the signatures of Fire Heavenly Lord, Ling Heavenly Lord, and other Heavenly Lords.
This was from when he returned to the early Dragon Han Era and met the seven ancient Heavenly Lords, shamelessly begging for their signatures.
Qin Mu placed Fire Heavenly Lord's signature from the booklet next to the one on the letter of severance and compared them. The handwriting of the two Fire Heavenly Lords was identical.
"He is still the same Fire Heavenly Lord from before, not the Imperial Emperor or the Heavenly Emperor. But he is no longer the Fire Heavenly Lord of the past."
Qin Mu sighed, tucked the letter of severance into the booklet, and asked Yan'er, "Do you have any relic of your mother? Something with her essence. With such a treasure, I can try to summon her soul. Even if I can't call back the soul suppressed in the Fragrant Incense Hall, I can summon the scattered fragments of her soul from the world."
Yan'er shook her head. "I only saw her a few times. She never gave me anything..."
Qin Mu frowned and comforted her, "Southern Emperor had a very good relationship with Moon Heavenly Lord. Perhaps Moon Heavenly Lord has something of your mother's. Don't worry."
From outside came Dragon Qilin's voice. "Chief, Crimson Emperor requests an audience."
Qin Mu raised his hand, and the bead curtain automatically parted to both sides. Crimson Emperor Qi Xiayu stood outside the carriage, bowing. "Heavenly Lord."
Qin Mu closed the bead curtain and said, "You may leave. Southern Emperor is dead."
Qi Xiayu's body shook violently. After a moment, he came to his senses and quickly said, "Then, Heavenly Lord..."
Qin Mu's voice was filled with powerlessness. "I cannot resurrect her. Dragon Pi, set off. Head to the Primordial Realm. Heh, you people..."
A few days later, the Heavenly Dragon Treasure Carriage stopped outside the peach forest in the Primordial Realm. Qin Mu got off and walked into the forest. Yan'er carried a lantern and walked ahead.
Soon, Moon Heavenly Lord's palace came into view.
"Yan'er, wait outside with Fatty Dragon."
Qin Mu instructed and walked alone into the palace ahead.
"Southern Emperor left no relic with me."
Yan'er faintly heard Moon Heavenly Lord's voice. "Pastoral Heavenly Lord, do you need a relic to summon her soul?"
"The best would be her physical body, then a relic. Without a relic, I cannot accurately summon her remnant soul. But Fire Heavenly Lord has suppressed part of her soul in the Fragrant Incense Hall, so I am helpless."
Qin Mu's voice was very soft. "Moon Heavenly Lord, did Southern Emperor split off a soul for reincarnation?"
"That, I do not know. Although she and I were close, the matter of a reincarnated body is extremely important. She would not tell me."
Qin Mu pondered for a moment and said, "Sister, your spatial techniques are vast. Can you find a few people for me?"
"Who are you looking for?"
"Two thieves and a constable. They are committing crimes in the various heavens of the Primordial Realm."