Chapter 1239: The Moon Venerable’s Zither Strings (First Update)
The beaded curtain of the Heavenly Sovereign’s treasure carriage suddenly flung open, yet the figure seated inside was not Hao Tianzun, but a divine artifact—the Imperial Heaven Sovereign!
When the Grand Emperor saw this, his pupils constricted sharply: “Hao Tianzun is not in the carriage. Where is he then?”
The thought had barely crossed his mind when the treasure carriage exploded. The divine artifact Imperial Heaven Sovereign’s face twisted into a sneer as his body swelled violently, one palm thrusting forward to meet the attack.
Qin Mu’s expression shifted. Hastily retreating with his lantern in hand, he caught sight of the divine artifact’s opening stance and immediately sensed trouble.
This divine artifact Imperial Heaven Sovereign was Hao Tianzun’s treasure, and Hao Tianzun’s greatest strength lay in his constitution. He was the son of the Heavenly Emperor and Mother Yuanmu. Mother Yuanmu was an ancient god of the Guixu, while the Heavenly Emperor was a primordial ancient god born from the Taichu Vein.
The most formidable aspect of their bloodline was the Heavenly Emperor’s Primordial One Qi—the very source of all paths in the world, the “One” from which one gives birth to two, two to three, and three to all things!
Mother Yuanmu’s Guixu Dao, on the other hand, was the ultimate end of all things, devouring the starry sky, devouring all paths, and finally returning to the One!
The opening stance of the divine artifact Imperial Heaven Sovereign was precisely the technique of the Primordial One Qi.
This technique merged all paths into one. Qin Mu had witnessed it before during the battle between the Kaihuang Emperor and Hao Tianzun. Even the Kaihuang Emperor could only pierce his palm before having his sword domain shattered by it.
This technique was called the Myriad Dao Heavenly Wheel!
Though Qin Mu and his companions were far from the point of collision, the techniques of Hao Tianzun and the Grand Emperor were such that distance meant little. The residual waves of their clash would be unbearable not only for Qin Mu but even for Bai Yuqiong.
Just as he retreated with the lantern, the Grand Emperor collided with the divine artifact Imperial Heaven Sovereign. At almost the same instant, a tiny figure appeared behind the Grand Emperor’s head.
Hao Tianzun!
Hao Tianzun had appeared directly behind the Grand Emperor, his technique erupting. Yet what he unleashed was not the Primordial One Qi technique but a Guixu technique, as if the Myriad Dao Heavenly Wheel were spinning in reverse—from the myriad back to the One!
The divine artifact Imperial Heaven Sovereign and his technique formed a cage from front and back, trapping the Grand Emperor within!
Qin Mu’s face grew solemn: “Hao Tianzun is no longer the Hao Tianzun of the Jade Pool a million years ago…”
The two supreme beings clashed, yet no sound came from the void. Not only was there no sound, but there was not even a ripple.
Qin Mu grew even more tense, retreating swiftly with the lantern.
Suddenly, a faint tremor passed through the void. The hem of Qin Mu’s robe, floating before him, vibrated countless times in an instant, turning to dust!
The vibration spread with terrifying speed. Even with the Moon Venerable’s lantern, it quickly caught up to him.
As Qin Mu fled, he suddenly encountered a heart demon drifting through the void.
The heart demon, born from the evil within human hearts, was ferocious and malevolent, yet immensely powerful. Seeing Qin Mu, it rejoiced and lunged to devour him.
The next moment, the heart demon shattered, exploding into infinitesimal dust!
“Watching this battle is no easy feat!”
Qin Mu raised the lantern, compressing space around him. Suddenly, Bai Yuqiong’s voice rang out: “That’s not how the Moon Master’s treasure is used.”
Qin Mu’s heart stirred. He said gravely, “Day Master Bai, you take control of the lantern.”
Bai Yuqiong flew out from the lantern, her pale hand reaching out to take it. She channeled her divine power, and a thread-thin beam of light shot forth from the lamp. Instantly, the space around them shrank to an infinitesimal degree, becoming a string with no thickness at all.
The residual waves of the clash between the Grand Emperor and Hao Tianzun arrived. The terrifying vibrations plucked this string of light, as if an invisible hand were strumming a zither’s chord.
Within the string, Qin Mu, Lan Yutian, and the others heard a beautiful melody. The collision between the Grand Emperor and Hao Tianzun produced immensely complex vibrations, yet when transmitted to the string, it played a prelude to the Dao.
Though Qin Mu was well-acquainted with the Moon Venerable, he had rarely seen her use her techniques. Her methods had always been unfamiliar to him.
In truth, though he had traveled back in time and encountered her many times—whether it was the Moon Venerable herself or those close to her—Qin Mu could see that in every era, whether the early, middle, or late Longhan period, or the later Shanghuang era, the Moon Venerable was always a supporting figure.
A foil to the Cloud Venerable. A foil to the Ling Venerable.
She rarely took the lead in shaping an era’s transformation. She always seemed like the Cloud Venerable’s little sister, the Ling Venerable’s little sister. Her brilliance was always overshadowed by theirs, with everyone’s attention fixed on the Cloud Venerable or the Ling Venerable.
Yet the Moon Venerable was no insignificant figure. On the contrary, it was her support, her tireless efforts behind the scenes, that made the Xiao Han Heavenly Court and the later Shanghuang Heavenly Court so glorious.
Qin Mu had seen her zither, and he had seen the zither of her disciple, the Red Emperor Qi Xiayu. He had heard their playing—it was beautiful.
He had never imagined that the Moon Venerable’s zither playing was not mere music. It was not until Bai Yuqiong turned the lantern’s light into a string that he realized the vastness of the Moon Venerable’s techniques, their sheer incredibility.
Her music was not just sound; it was the string of the Dao itself. Pluck this string, and it would play a wondrous melody.
The techniques of the Grand Emperor and Hao Tianzun were indeed powerful and profound, containing their lifelong insights and their Dao. Yet now, Qin Mu was captivated by the beautiful melody played by this string, as if this was the most exquisite thing of all.
He listened, entranced. The melody from the string was not merely the Moon Venerable’s space Dao; it used the space Dao to play out the Dao of Hao Tianzun and the Grand Emperor.
“This Taicu rhythm contains the Dao law of the Primordial One Qi. To perceive the Dao resonance of the Primordial One Qi through its Dao law—how wonderful—”
Qin Mu was spellbound. When he had obtained the primordial runes from the Heavenly Emperor Taichu’s eggshell, he had struggled immensely, finding it hard to grasp the mysteries of the Primordial One Qi. But now, with the Moon Venerable’s zither melody reaching him, the runes he had once found incomprehensible suddenly became clear.
“This Wushe rhythm is the Dao law of the Supreme Divine Consciousness. Ah, ah! The Dao law of the Supreme Divine Consciousness shares a wondrous similarity with the Primordial One Qi!”
Within the string of light, Qin Mu danced with joy. From the Dao law of the Supreme Divine Consciousness, he heard a resonance identical to that of the Primordial One Qi.
If it were anyone else, they would not understand the reason. But he knew the connection.
In the ancient Taigu era, divine consciousness was prevalent. There were no later techniques, nor the cultivation system of divine treasuries and heavenly palaces.
The cultivation of divine consciousness in the Taigu era was built upon the foundation of Taichu Divine Stones, which came from the Taichu Vein. The Heavenly Emperor Taichu’s Primordial One Qi drew power from the divine stones and raw stones of the Taichu Vein.
In other words, the two were connected!
Qin Mu had never realized this before. But in the instant of the Grand Emperor and Hao Tianzun’s collision, when the fluctuations of their Dao and techniques reached the Moon Venerable’s string, he immediately saw it!
“My Primordial One Qi can be perfected!”
Qin Mu was ecstatic: “My seventeenth heavenly palace, the Primordial Heavenly Palace, can also be perfected!”