Chapter 1241: The Ruler of Bygone Ages (Third Update)
The ten Celestial Venerables of the Heavenly Court had created the divine artifact Yutian, with the goal of reaching the state that the Grand Emperor currently occupied. Yet, it was always a reliance on external objects, not a true measure of their own strength.
The Grand Emperor, relying solely on himself, could achieve this step, and even surpass it!
"An unparalleled overlord of the primordial era, truly extraordinary!" Qin Mu couldn't help but marvel. The Grand Emperor's current state was not yet his strongest. If he were to reach his peak, he would need the complete Primal Chaos Origin Stone embedded in his brow!
Not only that, he would also need to reclaim the magical power and divine consciousness of Qiang Celestial Venerable!
Only then would he be the complete Grand Emperor!
With the Divine Consciousness Grand Paradise above, this form of the Grand Emperor was undoubtedly the most terrifying existence under heaven, throughout all ages!
Now, Qin Mu finally understood that the Creators' rule over the Ancient Gods, enslaving them, was no empty boast.
It was the Creators of the primordial era who had forged such a formidable monster as the Grand Emperor.
They could create one Grand Emperor, and they could create a second, a third—enslaving the Ancient Gods was not an idle threat.
"However, the path of divine consciousness, born from the Primordial Beginning Path, has a great flaw: Ling Celestial Venerable's Immutability Divine Ability."
Qin Mu's expression turned peculiar. Under the influence of the Immutability Divine Ability, the Grand Emperor could not visualize anything at all, could not conceive any great path. He was utterly suppressed, with no chance to resist!
Within the full might of the complete Immutability Divine Ability, he wouldn't even have the opportunity to strike before being completely solidified by it.
Compared to the Primordial Unity Qi, the path of divine consciousness had a significant drawback.
The Primordial Unity Qi, also derived from the Primordial Beginning Path, could resist the Immutability Divine Ability, and even kill its master.
"This should also be the reason why the Grand Emperor's reincarnated soul, Ming Fangyu, used the Heavenly Emperor Taichu's physical body to ambush and kill Ling Celestial Venerable," he mused inwardly.
Suddenly, he felt an inexplicable Dao resonance emanating from beside him. He quickly turned his head and saw that Lan Yutian, listening to the Dao rhythm within the zither's melody, had unconsciously fallen into a state of enlightenment!
Qin Mu was stunned. Despite possessing the Heavenly Emperor's eggshell, despite having remarkable attainments in the Primordial Unity Qi and the path of divine consciousness, and even having received the divine consciousness insights of the past Creators from the Taixu Spirit Realm, he had not fallen into enlightenment upon hearing the zither's sound.
Lan Yutian, who should be experiencing the path of divine consciousness and the Primordial Unity Qi for the first time, had fallen into enlightenment just by listening to the rhythm of the zither. This talent was simply too heaven-defying!
Qin Mu pondered for a moment, then suddenly entered the Dao through his dreams. Patches of dreams spread out from the light strings, and countless industrious little Qin Mu diligently listened to the Dao sound of the zither's rhythm, comprehending its mysteries.
Although his natural talent was far inferior to Lan Yutian's, Lan Yutian's proficiency in mathematical calculations was not as high as his, nor was his understanding of the Great Brahma Heavenly King Buddha's Buddhist mind teachings.
Thus, he could enter the Dao through his dreams to comprehend, while Lan Yutian could not. This was his shortcut, something others could envy but not replicate.
His physical body slept, but his primordial spirit remained awake, using it to watch the battle between the Grand Emperor and Hao Celestial Venerable, deducing the divine abilities of these two supreme beings, without neglecting either.
Bai Yuqiong, on the other hand, looked at the two of them, her small, sandalwood-scented mouth agape, unable to speak.
After a moment, she let out a faint sigh.
"I relied on nearly two hundred lifetimes of experience to earn my current position, while the talent and intelligence of Mu Celestial Venerable and Brother Lan are innate. One uses techniques and divine abilities to deduce, the other directly enters the Dao. Comparing people..."
She shook her head. Although she could also hear many wonders of the Great Path from the zither's melody, comprehending them thoroughly would require an unknown amount of time.
In comparison, her wisdom and methods were inferior to Qin Mu's, and her natural talent was a hundred thousand miles behind Yutian's.
"Diligence can compensate for lack of talent!"
She looked at the little Qin Mu in his dreams, who were as industrious and diligent as little bees, and snorted: "But I'm not as diligent as him either... What if I awakened the Southern Emperor's divine soul? What if I became the Southern Emperor..."
She suddenly shuddered and quickly erased this terrifying thought.
In the distance, the might of the divine artifact Yutian was also pushed to its limit by Hao Celestial Venerable. This colossal artifact, like the Grand Emperor, had each of its body's apertures inhabited by ancient deities, controlling the myriad paths of the world, with overwhelming combat power.
However, compared to the Grand Emperor, the divine artifact Yutian was still a step behind.
In terms of physical body, the divine artifact Yutian was inferior to the Grand Emperor. Its body was born through the path of creation, and even with the support of the Great Path, the Grand Emperor also had the support of the Great Path, and was further enhanced by the daily sacrifices and rituals of the primordial Creators.
In terms of vital energy, the divine artifact Yutian's vital energy far surpassed the Grand Emperor's, but the Grand Emperor's cultivation was in divine consciousness, which had become so powerful that it could imprint itself onto the Ultimate Void!
Even in terms of vital energy, the divine artifact Yutian had not reached this level.
Under the Grand Emperor's attacks, the divine artifact Yutian repeatedly retreated, its skin torn open, its body's Dao patterns shattered, and the Ancient God Dao lights within its apertures extinguished one by one.
The divine artifact Yutian was a world-shattering giant, suppressing all realms, but before the Grand Emperor, it was like a little brother, only able to take a beating.
Just then, a series of heavenly palaces suddenly leaped out from behind Hao Celestial Venerable. At the same time, a series of heavenly palaces also leaped out from behind the divine artifact Yutian, causing their magical power to surge!
Two Heavenly Courts materialized, their structures different from each other. Different combinations of heavenly palaces could form different Grand Heavenly Court techniques, each possessing different powers.
With the appearance of the two Heavenly Courts, the power of their divine abilities and Dao techniques immediately skyrocketed!
Hao Celestial Venerable had been holding back, like a venomous snake watching its prey, waiting for the perfect moment for a killing blow.
Now, he no longer needed to hold back, directly unleashing his true skills!
The Grand Emperor laughed heartily: "Hao Celestial Venerable, I've been waiting for you to make this move!"
His divine consciousness erupted, forming a series of heavenly palaces behind him, connecting into a Heavenly Court.
Bai Yuqiong's eyes widened as she watched this scene, her heart pounding wildly.
She suddenly thought of a possibility: one of the ten Celestial Venerables was the Grand Emperor!
The Grand Emperor, who had been killed by Yun Celestial Venerable and Ling Celestial Venerable back then, naturally could not have comprehended his own Grand Heavenly Court technique. After his resurrection, he could not have comprehended it in such a short time. For him to be able to unleash his own Grand Heavenly Court technique meant only one thing.
"That is, the Grand Emperor is hidden among the ten Celestial Venerables, and this Celestial Venerable is currently nearby!"
A chill ran down her spine.
Although she knew there were many dirty secrets and schemes among the ten Celestial Venerables, she never imagined they were so numerous and so deep!
The ten Celestial Venerables were exalted beings. For many, even a Celestial Master like her was also exalted, but before the ten Celestial Venerables, she was utterly insignificant. Crushing her would be like crushing an ant.
Now that she knew this secret, how much longer could she live?
Just then, she suddenly saw that Qin Mu's primordial spirit had somehow left his body and was watching her with great interest.
Bai Yuqiong steadied herself and decided to tell him her discovery, saying: "Mu Celestial Venerable, one of the ten Celestial Venerables of the Heavenly Court is the Grand Emperor, and he is nearby right now!"
Qin Mu's primordial spirit smiled at her and said leisurely: "I already knew that. And I also know that this Celestial Venerable is Qiang Tianfei. I also know that the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor is among them, as Xiao Celestial Venerable. Do you want to know the identities of the Empress, Yuanmu, the Heavenly Lord, and the Primordial Divine King among the ten Celestial Venerables?"