Chapter 1167: The Eerie Great Dark Mountain (First Update)
Regarding the three Heavenly Venerables who had stepped in to rescue Qin Mu at the Jade Pool that day, Qin Mu had always assumed one of them was Lady Yuanmu. However, since Lady Yuanmu had transformed into Shi Qiluo, the Palace Master of the Zaofu Heavenly Palace, it couldn't have been her.
Shi Qiluo's status within the Heavenly Court wasn't high enough, and she had risen to power during the era of the Shanghuang, lacking the foundation of the Ten Heavenly Venerables. Lady Yuanmu certainly wouldn't take such a risk.
Even though she controlled the divine artifact, Imperial Heavenly Venerable Yu, she still had to tread carefully, as if walking on thin ice, doing her best not to reveal any flaws.
Otherwise, if eleven Heavenly Venerables appeared at the Jade Pool, the Ten Heavenly Venerables would definitely launch a thorough investigation. So she could only wait. Therefore, the first person to rescue Qin Mu couldn't have been her.
Once the Ten Heavenly Venerables each made their move, she had even less reason to act, because by then Qin Mu was already safe.
On the contrary, she could watch the internal strife among the Ten Heavenly Venerables—Heavenly Duke, Earth Lord, Moon Heavenly Venerable, and the others—from the sidelines, while also making Qin Mu owe her a favor.
"These old-timers who have managed to survive since the Longhan Era truly are no simple characters."
Qin Mu's head throbbed with pain. These ancient monsters were not easy to deal with; if he let his guard down even slightly, they might devour him completely, leaving not a single scrap behind.
He shook off Yun Chuxiu and walked side by side with Ling Yuxiu, telling her about his experiences in the Ancestral Court. Ling Yuxiu hesitated for a moment, then said, "Yankang's strength is too meager. It's unlikely to gain a firm foothold in the Ancestral Court. I always feel we don't have enough people. We still need to dispatch a group of divine beings to the Ancestral Court to mine ores. Can we really contend with the Ten Heavenly Venerables there?"
She thought for a moment and added, "It's hard to establish a foothold in the Ancestral Court. If we do too poorly, we'll suffer heavy casualties. If we do too well, we'll be suppressed by the Ten Heavenly Venerables. It's a difficult situation to manage."
"The Ancestral Court is related to Yankang's future. We must fight for it."
Qin Mu said in a deep voice, "Yankang can't spend its entire life working for the Heavenly Court. Once the Heavenly Court pacifies the Ancient Gods and the Taixu, it will be Yankang's turn. The Ancestral Court is very likely the key to Yankang's rise. It would also be a good thing for Yankang's younger generation to gain experience there. Right now, the younger generation of Yankang has too few opportunities for training."
Ling Yuxiu smiled and said, "That's because you haven't been in Yankang. Your cultivation level is high now, you stand higher and see farther, so you rarely pay attention to the mortal world. The opportunities for training in Yankang now are more than we could have ever imagined in the past. The younger generation is exploring the Yuan Realm, competing with the demigods, and interacting with the young talents of various major heavens in the Yuan Realm. It's very lively, and many outstanding young talents have emerged, no less than you and I back then."
Qin Mu's spirits lifted, and he laughed, "That's good. I was always worried they were growing up in a greenhouse, never experiencing great storms."
"The young people today are more accomplished than we were back then, and they've seen more of the world."
Ling Yuxiu said, "Although it may not be possible for another Mu Heavenly Venerable to emerge, in the future, there will be a group of beings at the Imperial Throne Realm."
Qin Mu felt relieved. The development of Yankang was extremely important. If they worked so hard to build it up, only to have no one to take over, wouldn't that be a great regret?
"However, the Ancestral Court is still a must. Let's do this: first, send the successive generations of Human Sovereigns from the Human Sovereign Hall to the Ancestral Court. My territory does indeed need a large number of experts. The First Ancestor Human Sovereign will take command there."
Qin Mu thought for a moment and said, "Blind Grandpa and Mute Grandpa also need to go there. Besides needing them to identify various gems and ores, I also need them to reforge the Glazed Azure Sky Canopy. The current Glazed Azure Sky Canopy is too crude, and there's an Ancient God egg inside it. I don't trust that egg."
Ling Yuxiu smiled and said, "You are the State Preceptor. You decide the national policy. I'll listen to you."
Qin Mu laughed heartily and then asked if she had any news about Fengdu. Ling Yuxiu shook her head and said, "Fengdu is still missing. However, not long ago, the Woodcutter Sage appeared in Yankang, but I didn't see him. He sent someone to deliver a letter."
Ling Yuxiu took out the letter and handed it to him, saying, "The Woodcutter Sage explained why Fengdu didn't act during the Yankang Calamity. He was very self-blaming. Take a look for yourself."
Qin Mu unfolded the letter. It was in the Woodcutter Sage's handwriting.
The letter said that the Kaijiang had given orders, and as a subject, he had no choice but to obey. He felt very guilty that Fengdu hadn't been able to help during the Yankang Calamity. Upon hearing that Emperor Yankang and former State Preceptor Jiang Baigui had gone to the Taixu region to help the Carefree Village resist the Heavenly Court, he felt even more remorseful.
In the letter, the Woodcutter Sage also spoke on behalf of the Kaijiang, explaining the Kaijiang's difficulties, and asked Emperor Yankang for understanding.
Qin Mu folded the letter, pondered for a moment, and said, "I'll go see him."
Ling Yuxiu asked in surprise, "How will you find him?"
"With this letter, I can use the essence of his spirit within the handwriting to perform a soul-summoning ritual, sense the location of Fengdu, and then find it."
Qin Mu smiled and said, "I no longer hold a grudge against Fengdu for not helping Yankang. Your Majesty doesn't need to dwell on it either. As he said, the Kaijiang indeed had his difficulties."
Ling Yuxiu wanted to raise her hand to smooth her hair but, remembering her status, forcibly restrained herself. "I understand. You've returned to Yankang many times, and I know you're worried that Yankang will become another Carefree Village, that the people will forget the reforms. I've seen it all."
Qin Mu laughed heartily and said, "After they finish unloading the cargo, I'll return to Yankang with you."
Ling Yuxiu nodded gently.
In the Ancestral Court, the Great Dark Mountains.
Inside the palace, Dragon Qilin was trembling, Yan'er was also trembling, and in the middle, Little Earth Lord was shivering. The three of them stared in terror at the outside.
"Dawn is almost here! Don't be afraid!"
Dragon Qilin mustered his courage and walked outside, saying, "We have the Glazed Azure Sky Canopy! This treasure grants any wish!"
He reached the outside of the hall. The sky was dark, and in the darkness, the bones of the countless void beasts killed by Qin Mu were flickering with ghostly flames, drifting and swaying.
This wasn't what was eerie. The eerie thing was that after Qin Mu left, the corpses of these void beasts had shriveled up at a visible rate!
In just three to five days, the void beasts had turned into piles and piles of bones, completely devoid of flesh and blood!
Dragon Qilin, Yan'er, and Little Earth Lord had all witnessed this strangeness. They had even mustered the courage to go check the void beast bones to see what had sucked the flesh and blood from these giant beasts, but they had found nothing!
The unknown was the most terrifying thing.
On the tenth day, they saw the void beast bones beginning to rot, flickering with ghostly flames, as if they had weathered countless years.
On the eleventh day, they witnessed another spine-chilling scene.
Large mushrooms had grown on the void beast bones, many of them sprouting from the mouths of the beasts. They were huge, and the mushrooms bore human faces, twisted as if screaming.
Dragon Qilin had always been timid and was most afraid of this. He was scared out of his wits.
Fortunately, these mushrooms quickly withered. When the sun came out during the day, the mushrooms turned into patches of black, flocculent matter.
Now, within the Great Dark Mountains, sounds of bones collapsing could be heard everywhere—the noise of the void beast bones rotting and crumbling.
Dragon Qilin and Yan'er thought they could have a few days of peace, but that very night, strange events occurred again.
An unprecedented great earthquake erupted in the Ancestral Court. The intensity of the earthquake was something Dragon Qilin and Yan'er had never experienced before. The earthquake caused countless divine mountains in the Ancestral Court to collapse, the earth to split open, mountains to become canyons, and seas to dry up, revealing the seabed.
The Great Dark Mountains, however, were surprisingly quiet. They only heard the howling of the wind outside. When they walked out of the palace, they saw the heavens and earth outside the Great Dark Mountains were filled with thunder and rain, meteors flying chaotically, and the sky and earth seemed to be collapsing in large patches, as if it were the end of the world!
When everything calmed down and dawn broke the next day, the Ancestral Court was still the Ancestral Court, with no changes.
But when night fell again, the earth shook and mountains swayed once more, all kinds of strange events occurred, the sky cracked and the earth split, and it was like the destruction of the world again.
Yet when day came, the Ancestral Court was still the same as before, unchanged.
Dragon Qilin stood outside the hall, watching the east turn pale. The eerie phenomena of the previous night had disappeared again, and the bones of the void beasts were completely gone.
He looked into the distance and suddenly froze. He saw that the peak of a dark mountain in the Great Dark Mountains had been split open by the earthquake.
Yan'er and Little Earth Lord also mustered the courage to come out. Dragon Qilin summoned clouds beneath his feet and flew towards that peak. When he arrived, he saw five deep marks on the mountain peak, as if an incredibly huge hand had reached out from inside the mountain, grabbed hold of this dark peak, and been dragged back into the mountain's body, leaving behind five claw marks from its nails.
Yan'er brought Little Earth Lord over. They examined the five claw marks, which could be called canyons, and shuddered. "What kind of thing made these scratches?"
Dragon Qilin shook his head. "I don't know. But when night comes tonight, if we stay here, we'll find out what it is."
Just then, an old, hoarse voice came: "If you wait until tonight, the three of you will be eaten by whatever crawls out of there."
——Class ended a bit late, so the update is a little delayed. Sorry. The next chapter will be in ten minutes.
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