Chapter 1271: The Grand Emperor Without a Head (First Update)
Qin Mu walked out of the Land of Extreme Emptiness and, after not going far, arrived at its entrance.
He turned back to look, only to see the Land of Extreme Emptiness right beneath his feet.
The Collapsed Void had been shattered, leaving the Land of Extreme Emptiness directly exposed before the Heavenly Court. It could not be defended; the only option was to use the Void Bridge, that natural chasm, to buy time—though how much time it could buy was uncertain.
From the entrance of the Land of Extreme Emptiness to the Heavenly Court, with his pace, it would take several months.
The geography of the Land of Extreme Emptiness was peculiar, making it impossible to use Spirit Energy Teleportation Bridges to transport supplies. Thus, it would take the Heavenly Court’s armies half a year to over a year to march here.
However, for the Heavenly Venerables, it would only take a few days of full-speed travel to charge straight into the Land of Extreme Emptiness!
That was the real danger!
In the past, the Kai Emperor could threaten other Heavenly Venerables using the safety of the Heavenly Court, because the distance from the Heavenly Court to the Land of Extreme Emptiness was vast, and the Heavenly Venerables would waste much time traveling back and forth.
Now, with the distance greatly shortened, the Land of Extreme Emptiness faced the risk of destruction at any moment!
“To hold the Void Bridge, we still need the Moon Heavenly Venerable. After all, the Three-Room House on the other side of the Void Bridge was created by her.”
Qin Mu frowned. The Moon Heavenly Venerable’s injuries had not healed; her legs were severed. Asking her to face such danger weighed heavily on his conscience.
“The Grand Beginning might be able to heal the Moon Heavenly Venerable’s Dao wounds. But the Grand Beginning’s conditions would surely be extremely harsh, and besides, the Grand Beginning hasn’t emerged yet…”
He furrowed his brow deeply. The Grand Beginning Ancient God, imprisoned by the Heavenly Emperor Tai Chu in the Zhaoyang Hall for so many years, had become exceedingly cautious and also deeply worldly. He would certainly use this as leverage, demanding conditions Qin Mu could not accept.
Convincing him to emerge and heal the Moon Heavenly Venerable seemed nearly impossible!
“I’ll go to the Ancestral Court and see if Grandpa Medicine’s medical skills can now handle Dao wounds.”
Having made up his mind, Qin Mu took out the Moon Heavenly Venerable’s lantern and headed toward the Heavenly Court. With this lantern, he wouldn’t need months—just a few days to reach the Heavenly Court.
As he traveled toward the Heavenly Court, a thought suddenly stirred within him: “I wonder how the Grand Emperor is doing…”
The Grand Emperor and the Hao Heavenly Venerable had both been gravely wounded. The Grand Emperor’s injuries would certainly be no lighter than the Hao Heavenly Venerable’s—perhaps even worse!
The Qiang Heavenly Consort had also suffered severe damage, her injuries no less than those of the Grand Emperor’s true body!
“The Land of Extreme Emptiness lacks the Ultimate Void; it exists only outside. Once outside, the Grand Emperor’s Divine Awareness imprint from the Great Luo Heaven in the Ultimate Void can descend, and his divine awareness cultivation should recover quickly. But the Dao wounds on his body won’t heal so easily in a short time… Wait a moment!”
Qin Mu suddenly became alert: “Why did I suddenly think of the Grand Emperor? There must be a reason for it—thoughts and ideas are the same! My divine awareness is now among the strongest in the world. The sudden emergence of this thought is likely…”
His eyes twitched, and he immediately realized he had unknowingly deviated from the path to the Heavenly Court. Something had subtly influenced his judgment, causing him to stray without noticing. Only an existence with divine awareness far surpassing his own could do this!
Qin Mu acted decisively, activating the Moon Heavenly Venerable’s lantern. The power within the lantern erupted, forming a light string dozens of miles long!
He had never studied the Moon Heavenly Venerable’s spatial Dao, nor had he received teachings from her or Bai Yuqiong. He relied solely on his own exploration, so the light string’s length and power were far inferior to the spectacular display Bai Yuqiong could achieve!
Once the lantern was activated, Qin Mu’s brow flashed, and with two thuds, the coffins of the Empress and the Yuanmu Consort flew out. With two bangs, the coffins opened.
His divine awareness surged, and two nearly identical Ancient God women stepped out of their respective coffins, their robes fluttering and divine light swirling!
He simultaneously controlled the two Guixu Divine Maidens with his divine awareness, warily scanning the surroundings.
Though the combat power of the two Guixu Divine Maidens did not reach the level of the Heavenly Emperor Tai Chu, nor match the Heaven Duke, Earth Lord, or Earth Mother, their strength surpassed the Four Ancient God Emperors!
After using his divine awareness to activate and control the bodies of the Empress and her sister, Qin Mu opened his vertical eye, and the Grand Beginning Egg flew out from it.
He raised his right hand, holding the massive egg aloft.
From the moment he realized what was happening to completing all this, it took only an instant—swift and decisive!
“Grand Emperor, come out and negotiate!” Qin Mu swept his divine awareness around and said in a deep voice.
The void was silent.
This place was far from the Heavenly Court and far from the Land of Extreme Emptiness, suspended in the middle of nowhere.
The distance to both the Heavenly Court and the Land of Extreme Emptiness was roughly equal.
This distance was precisely the center point the Grand Emperor had chosen when ambushing the Hao Heavenly Venerable.
The Grand Emperor had ensured the Hao Heavenly Venerable could not escape to the Land of Extreme Emptiness or the Heavenly Court.
And now, the distance Qin Mu was at also made it impossible for him to flee back to the Land of Extreme Emptiness or the Heavenly Court!
After Qin Mu spoke, there was a long silence with no response.
Qin Mu sneered and was about to head to the Heavenly Court under the escort of the Empress and her sister, when suddenly, from the dark void, a hair-raising weeping sound came, accompanied by mournful music.
“Grand Emperor, just come out and see me directly. Why play these tricks?”
Qin Mu laughed scornfully, just as a glimmer of light appeared in the dark void. The light grew closer, revealing a group of bizarrely dressed men and women, wearing colorful clothes, carrying a coffin as they walked through the sky.
Their faces were caked with white powder, with black circular spots painted on their cheeks. They had dead fish eyes, white with no pupils.
Others in green clothes blew trumpets and suonas, the music sorrowful and mournful, enough to make anyone who heard it weep.
This was a funeral procession.
But in this vast void, without even a single star, such a funeral procession suddenly appearing, with such strange attire, was enough to make anyone’s hair stand on end.
“Mu Heavenly Venerable, look—that coffin has your name on it,” came the voice of the Grand Beginning from within the egg.
Qin Mu sneered and said loudly, “Grand Emperor, since you can’t do anything to me, resorting to these empty tricks is nothing but a laughingstock! If you want coffins, I have two right here—both top-quality, premium wood!”
The funeral procession stopped. The grotesque men and women all turned their heads, staring straight at him, and said in unison, “Your two coffins hold the Empress and her sister; they already have owners. This coffin of ours is meant to bury the Mu Heavenly Venerable!”
Qin Mu laughed heartily: “Grand Emperor, stop playing tricks! Show yourself now!”
“Mu Heavenly Venerable, I have already shown myself, but you haven’t noticed.”
A booming voice sounded. Only then did Qin Mu see a massive black silhouette sitting in the dark void ahead. Because there was no starlight, the silhouette hadn’t been illuminated.
That enormous, peerless black figure sat there, with no head on its neck!
Suddenly, the ground beneath Qin Mu’s feet trembled. He looked down and saw a vast expanse of darkness below, with fingerprint and palmprint ridges stretching like mountain ranges into the distance.
This was a palm—the Grand Emperor’s only palm.
Unbeknownst to him, he had been lured right before the Grand Emperor, walking in the center of his palm!
“Mu Heavenly Venerable, you want to negotiate? Negotiate what?” came the booming voice from the Grand Emperor’s headless body.