Chapter 1273: Shifting the Blame (Third Update)
Qin Mu’s expression was grim. Protected by the physical bodies of the Imperial Consort sisters, he held the Primordial Beginning Egg in his hand and departed.
The Primordial Beginning Egg whispered, “If the Grand Emperor obtains the Primal Stone, how powerful will he become?”
“I don’t know. But back then, to eliminate the Grand Emperor, all the ancient gods joined forces. In the end, it was only accomplished when Divine King Gong Yun shattered the Primal Stone on his forehead.”
Qin Mu put away the Imperial Consort sisters’ bodies and mused, “Even so, the Grand Emperor didn’t die. It wasn’t until later, when Cloud Venerable ambushed him, that his physical body was finally destroyed.”
The Primordial Beginning within the egg was silent for a moment, then said, “Now that he has the Primal Stone, is there anyone left who can subdue him…?”
Qin Mu turned his hand over, and the Primal Stone in his palm appeared. He stared at it and said in a low voice, “Yes. The Primal Stone in my hand was never complete. The part I gave to the Grand Emperor only accounts for half of the true Primal Stone. The Grand Emperor is not at his peak. That person can still restrain him.”
The Primordial Beginning in the egg was momentarily stunned, but Qin Mu didn’t reveal who that person was. Instead, he stuffed the Primordial Beginning Egg back into the Qin Character Continent.
A day later, Qin Mu arrived at the North Heavenly Gate of the Heavenly Court.
Outside the North Heavenly Gate, an army composed of demons was preparing to set out. At its head was a Dark Heavenly Palace, completely shrouded in darkness so profound that even light couldn’t penetrate it.
“Pastoral Venerable!”
The master of the Dark Heavenly Palace was none other than the Demon Ancestor of the Yuan Realm, Great Black Heaven. Seeing Qin Mu, he hurriedly came to greet him.
Qin Mu didn’t enter his Dark Heavenly Palace but stood outside, asking, “Demon Ancestor, where are you headed?”
Although Great Black Heaven had some grudges with him, he treated Qin Mu with courtesy and respect, saying, “Reporting to the Venerable, the Heavenly Court has ordered me to rush to the Land of Extreme Emptiness. I hear a demonic tide has erupted there, wreaking havoc on the world, with heart demons running amok. Since I, as a minor official, am the ancestor of all demons and have ways to suppress heart demons, the Heavenly Court has commanded me to go and quell the rebellion.”
Qin Mu pondered for a moment.
As a being at the Imperial Throne level in the Yuan Realm, Great Black Heaven possessed extremely high cultivation and strength. Moreover, as the Demon Ancestor born from the Netherworld, inheriting its demonic nature and energy, he indeed had extraordinary abilities against the heart demons of the Land of Extreme Emptiness.
The Heavenly Court sending him to the Land of Extreme Emptiness was precisely because they recognized him as the demon among demons.
Great Black Heaven studied Qin Mu’s expression. After a moment, he said, “The Venerable knows the Land of Extreme Emptiness like the back of his hand. Since I’m about to depart, does the Venerable have any advice for me?”
Qin Mu said, “I do have a piece of advice. Just deal with some heart demons in the rear; there’s no need to go to the front lines. In the Netherworld of Extreme Emptiness, the Nether Emperor is facing off against the Netherworld Divine Son. That Netherworld Divine Son has vast supernatural powers, and you are no match for him. If you venture deep into the front lines, you will surely meet your doom.”
Great Black Heaven expressed his thanks, saying, “I will remember the Venerable’s words.”
Qin Mu nodded and watched as he led the demon army into the distance.
Not long after, Qin Mu arrived before the Heavenly Palace of Dawn Venerable.
The disciple guarding the gate quickly found Dawn Venerable and presented the Primal Stone, saying, “Pastoral Venerable ordered me to give this treasure to the Venerable, saying it was something borrowed long ago. Now it is being returned to its rightful owner. He asks that the Venerable not take offense.”
Dawn Venerable grasped the Primal Stone, surprised. “He actually has such good intentions, willing to return this treasure to me? This brat—could he have finally come to his senses?”
Having the Primal Stone back, Dawn Venerable was quite pleased. He put it away and laughed, “But he still skimped a bit; he still has selfish motives. What he stole back then was more than this. Where is Pastoral Venerable?”
The disciple replied, “Pastoral Venerable has already left. Before he left, he told me to inform the Venerable that the Grand Emperor has been reborn and has snatched the remaining Primal Stone from him.”
Dawn Venerable’s face turned as black as iron. He flung the Primal Stone in his hand away and cursed, “I thought this bastard had suddenly developed a conscience, but it turns out he’s shifting the blame onto me! Damn it! Damn it all! Exterminate his nine generations!”
He laughed in fury, his curses unceasing.
The disciple shrank his head, not knowing what Pastoral Venerable had done to provoke such rage from his master.
Dawn Venerable stood up, pacing back and forth, his expression shifting between light and shadow.
He walked over to the Primal Stone, hesitated for a moment, then still picked it up.
He had to get his hands on the Primal Stone no matter what, even if it meant conflict with the Grand Emperor!
Qin Mu sending the remaining Primal Stone was meant to provoke a conflict between him and the Grand Emperor, using his hand to suppress the Grand Emperor. Although Dawn Venerable saw through Qin Mu’s scheme, he had no choice but to follow Qin Mu’s intent and contend with the Grand Emperor.
“Little bastard, scheming against me—ruthless enough, dark enough!”
Dawn Venerable suddenly laughed out loud. He waved his hand to dismiss the disciple and muttered, “The Primal Stone must be gathered together no matter what. But back when it shattered, the other fragments went missing. Those fragments must have fallen into the hands of those old friends. They’re also scheming against me, not wanting me to become the true Primordial Beginning, limiting my power…”
He looked up, his eyes flickering, and whispered, “The true Primordial Beginning is equivalent to my power plus the Grand Emperor’s power. How could it be limited by a mere Divine Treasury Heavenly Palace system? How could it be limited by a mere Heavenly Court realm? Unfortunately, part of the Primal Stone’s and divine consciousness’s power went to the Creators and the Grand Emperor. Even if I find all the Primal Stone fragments, I still can’t achieve perfection. And that bastard Grand Emperor even schemed against me, making the Creators sacrifice to me, cutting off my method of refining the Primal Stone and drawing its power, preventing me from growing into the true Primordial Beginning…”
“Over the years, I’ve been pondering a solution and found one: kill all the Creators, letting their divine consciousness return to heaven and earth.”
Dawn Venerable looked at the Primal Stone in his hand: “Capturing the Grand Emperor and refining him along with the Divine Consciousness Grand Heaven—that’s the second step. Gathering all the Primal Stone fragments and refining them—that’s the third step. With these three steps, I will become the true Primordial Beginning.”
He could barely contain his excitement, murmuring, “My feud with the Grand Emperor has lasted from the ancient era to the present. Now that part of the Primal Stone is in my hands and part in his, the time to settle our grudge is likely near! How I look forward to it…”
Qin Mu returned from the Heavenly Court to the Yuan Realm, arriving at Yan’gang.
Without the Primal Stone, he felt his divine consciousness had lost its former agility. Although his divine consciousness cultivation remained, its explosive power and intensity were far inferior to before.
“Borrowing the Primal Stone to cultivate—the longer it goes on, the deeper my entanglement with the Heavenly Emperor, the Primordial Beginning. Sending that stone away might not be a bad thing.” He exhaled a mouthful of turbid air, though he still felt some regret.
“I still have a Taiji Primal Stone. Since I no longer have the Primal Stone, I wonder what the effect would be if I used the Taiji Primal Stone to replace the pupil of my vertical eye?”
As soon as the thought came, he acted. He immediately took out the Taiji Primal Stone, intending to stuff it into the gap in the Qin Character Continent.
At the center of the Qin Character Continent was a huge gap, like the pupil of an eye. It had originally held the Primal Stone, but now it was empty, and the power of his divine eye had greatly diminished.
The ancient god in the Primordial Beginning Egg laughed, “You’ve only just gotten rid of the Primal Stone, and now you want to mess around with the Taiji Primal Stone? The ancient god in the Taiji vein hasn’t been dug out. Over the years, he’s been absorbing power from the vein, growing strong. Using his Primal Stone might boost your strength, but it will likely create a grudge with him!”
“Brother Primordial Beginning, what you say makes sense.”
Qin Mu thought for a moment, then sent out a surge of divine power, rolled up the Primordial Beginning Egg, and stuffed it into the gap in the Qin Character Continent.
The Primordial Beginning Egg got stuck in the gap, unable to move, and said angrily, “Pastoral Venerable, this is how you create a grudge with me!”
—Happy birthday to Alliance Leader Su Wen!