Chapter 1224: A Great Joy at the Door (Second Update!)
Hu Mengdie’s body swayed, and she finally collapsed to the ground.
“The Nether Emperor truly possesses great skill, even his disciples are this outstanding.”
Qin Mu sheathed his sword, his expression grave. The reason Hu Mengdie had been utterly helpless before him was not because his cultivation was stronger; in fact, her cultivation was still deeper than his.
He had been able to slay Hu Mengdie because he had nearly thoroughly studied and understood the divine techniques and Dao methods of the Nether Emperor’s lineage.
Moreover, his own attainment in the Dao of Reincarnation was close to that of the Nether Emperor. Even so, the deficiency in his cultivation forced him to use his dream realm to lure Hu Mengdie, making her expend her magical power to break the dreams.
Only at the very end, when Hu Mengdie had exhausted her cultivation, did she die beneath his sword.
“The City of Unbridled Delusion that Hu Mengdie refined also shows great ingenuity; it’s a fine treasure.”
Qin Mu raised his hand, and the City of Unbridled Delusion flew up, transforming back into a wooden stake. This stake had only three hundred and sixty-five rings of annual growth, likely just a branch from the Primordial Tree. For Hu Mengdie to have refined it to such a degree was truly extraordinary.
Back then, the Earth Mother Primordial Sovereign had given Qin Mu a core of the Primordial Tree, with as many as fifty million rings of annual growth. If it were refined using Hu Mengdie’s method, the resulting power would be unimaginably terrifying!
“From this alone, one can also see the might of the Primordial Tree. Heavenly Lord Xiao is unfathomably deep—”
His vigilance toward the ten Heavenly Lords of the Heavenly Court grew even stronger. Heavenly Lord Hao had killed the Earth Mother Primordial Sovereign, and Heavenly Lord Xiao had seized the Primordial Tree. These two were likely the supreme existences among the ten Heavenly Lords!
Consort Qiang, who had reclaimed the body of the Imperial Emperor, was also incredibly terrifying, but whether she could suppress these two remained unknown.
He walked forward. He had already comprehended the Dao of Reincarnation, though it was still incomplete. The seventeenth heavenly palace, the Reincarnation Heavenly Palace, had not been fully established, but this was determined by his foundation.
His Dao of Reincarnation was more complete than the Nether Emperor’s. The Nether Emperor could refine the Reincarnation Heavenly Palace because his talent and natural ability were limited; he could only comprehend this much and hastily forge the heavenly palace.
But Qin Mu, striving for perfection and having too solid a foundation, wanted to refine it even more flawlessly, which paradoxically made it harder to complete the Reincarnation Heavenly Palace.
“The Heavenly Court’s main camp is almost here.”
Qin Mu looked ahead and saw the phantom images of divine cities towering within the Great Void. Viewed from the Great Void Netherworld, everything was gray; no figures were visible, only the constantly moving Life and Death Divine Treasures.
The Life and Death Divine Treasure was the sixth divine treasure of the human body. Anyone who opened it could understand life and death, knowing how much of their lifespan remained.
However, the Life and Death Divine Treasure connected to the Netherworld, which led to a terrifying consequence: one could invade another’s Life and Death Divine Treasure from the Netherworld, causing them to die inexplicably.
This was also the reason the Heavenly Court was determined to control the Netherworld.
If they mastered the Netherworld, no one in the world would be able to resist the Heavenly Court!
The Great Void Netherworld was built by Qin Fengqing and also possessed some traits of the Netherworld, allowing one to observe the Life and Death Divine Treasures of gods, demons, and cultivators here.
However, the Life and Death Divine Treasures of the Heavenly Court’s army were all sealed. Seen from the Great Void Netherworld, runic light flickered, likely set up by a powerful formation expert to guard against attacks from the Netherworld.
Beyond that, the various killing formations within those divine cities blazed with overwhelming aura. Even from within the Great Void Netherworld, they felt extremely perilous, making one hesitate to approach.
“It won’t be easy for me to sneak into the city. I’d better get a bit closer and reveal myself directly. As the Heavenly Lord Mu, Heavenly Lords Huo and Xu wouldn’t dare to outright destroy me in front of the entire army.”
Qin Mu was about to step forward when suddenly, cherry blossoms fluttered before him, grass grew, and orioles sang. The entire world came alive, bringing other colors to the Netherworld.
In that cherry blossom grove, orioles sang and dancers swayed, with melodious music and the gurgling sound of water. Before he even saw the scene, Qin Mu’s mind involuntarily conjured a clear pond, with many women playing zithers and singing softly on the bank, while a young woman in the pond splashed water, revealing her fair arm, her fingers like white scallions.
Qin Mu smiled wryly and walked toward the cherry blossom grove.
He parted the flowers and willows, stepping into this enchanting place.
After a few steps, he saw several pieces of clothing hanging on a cherry blossom tree, as thin as cicada wings, as soft as silk.
Qin Mu paused to look, then continued forward. Suddenly, a piece of clothing slipped from the tree and landed on his shoulder. Qin Mu took it off—it was a white bellyband.
He picked up the bellyband, brought it to his nose, and sniffed. A faint fragrance.
Qin Mu crumpled the bellyband in his hand; it was so light it seemed weightless.
He took two more steps, and the music became clearer. Several rows of houses with red tiles and white walls appeared before him, along with a bamboo fence, not high, only reaching chest level.
Inside the fence was a clear pond, where many women were playing by the water. Some ran around barefoot in wet shorts, some sat by the pond playing zithers, some held pipas, and one with fiery red lips held a grape in her small mouth, pressing it against another girl in white, feeding her mouth-to-mouth.
The girl in white was already wet, her eyes closed as she accepted the grape from the red-lipped girl’s mouth.
Qin Mu peered over the fence and saw red garments covering the pond. A woman rose from the red cloth, revealing half her body, and said with a laugh, “The esteemed Heavenly Lord Mu, why only watch from outside and not dare to come in?”
The women by the pond turned to look outward, laughing, “The Heavenly Lord Mu’s reputation precedes him, yet he’s just a lecher, only daring to look, not to enter.”
Qin Mu laughed heartily. “The Nether Emperor truly knows how to enjoy himself, with so many beauties by his side. I see this red apricot branch is about to stretch out beyond the fence.”
The woman in red rose from the pond like a blazing flame. Her white toes lightly touched the water’s surface, and her red garments wrapped around her as she landed on a throne by the pond. The other women surged forward, lying on their sides or leaning against her, gathering around her.
Qin Mu pushed open the fence and walked in. With a slight visualization, a throne appeared, and he sat down by the pond opposite the women, smiling, “I’m not yet married. Could the Nether Emperor be willing to part with one of his beauties?”
The woman in red raised her hand to cover her chest, but her garment slipped from her slender leg, revealing a length of fair, smooth thigh. She giggled, “If the Heavenly Lord Mu can take a fancy to these common beauties, then by all means, pick one. Which one catches your eye?”
Qin Mu pointed a finger, and the woman in red laughed, “I won’t do. I’m old and faded, with the grace of a withered willow, and I’m also a consort of the Nether Emperor. Hardly fit for a Heavenly Lord’s gaze.”
Qin Mu smiled, “The green grass sways, my heart lingers; for your sake, I ponder still. If the Nether Emperor won’t part with you, then I’ll have to kill him and take you by force.”
The woman in red chuckled, her jade-like fingers pointing gracefully at him, “A Heavenly Lord killing a high minister of the Heavenly Court for a woman would surely invite harsh criticism. I wouldn’t want to be the one to burden you with such infamy.”
She was separated from Qin Mu by the pond, but her finger reached directly toward his brow.
Qin Mu sat there with a smile, unmoving.
Just as the woman’s fingertip was about to touch the vertical eye on his forehead, Qin Mu opened that eye.
The woman, Jade Dance Consort’s delicate finger suddenly exploded, flesh and blood dissolving, leaving only a bone!
Jade Dance Consort was both shocked and enraged. She let out a furious cry and rose abruptly, her red garments like flames!
Around her, the delicate women also soared into the air, landing behind her, valiant and spirited, holding various divine weapons, standing fiercely within her heavenly palace!
Qin Mu laughed heartily, and the throne beneath him collapsed into dust. “A man’s three great joys: promotion, wealth, and a dead wife! It seems the Nether Emperor is about to welcome a great joy at his door!”