Chapter 1318: The Ancestral Court’s Jade Capital (Second Update)
Amid the Grand Emperor’s cries, the treasure seal spun and flew up, its precious light blossoming. Within the seal, the Grand Emperor’s head let out a muffled groan. His divine consciousness was involuntarily stirred, and various strange Dao patterns emerged on the seal’s surface!
Boom!
Qin Mu’s strike shattered mountains and cracked the earth. The Grand Emperor’s head felt his own divine consciousness transformed into the energy within the treasure seal. Qin Mu hadn’t used his own cultivation base for this attack; he had merely activated the Four Mine Seals, causing the four mineral veins to absorb his energy and convert it into power!
“You motherf*cker, you’ve refined me into a treasure!”
The Grand Emperor’s head cursed loudly, but seeing Qin Mu about to activate the treasure seal again, he quickly said, “Pastoral Celestial Venerable, let’s talk things over!”
Qin Mu stopped, recalled the treasure seal, and said amiably, “Dao Brother, won’t you reconsider the matter of Cloud Celestial Venerable and Eminence Celestial Venerable?”
The Grand Emperor’s head’s expression flickered between gloom and uncertainty. He said dejectedly, “I’ve truly fallen this time. But as for Cloud Celestial Venerable and Eminence Celestial Venerable, I absolutely cannot hand them over to you. However, we can still negotiate other matters.”
Qin Mu made as if to activate the treasure seal again, and the Grand Emperor quickly said, “Stop! This head of mine is indeed worthless—it’s merely visualized from the Primal Origin Rough Stone, incomparable to Cloud Celestial Venerable’s soul or Eminence Celestial Venerable’s life! No matter how you humiliate me, I won’t trade them with you! We can exchange other things!”
Qin Mu withdrew his hand and said suspiciously, “What else do you have to trade? Grand Emperor Dao Brother, it’s not that I look down on you, but to be honest, I occupy the greatest treasure land in the Ancestral Court, commanding the Hundred Thousand Black Mountains, rich in minerals and abundant in resources! Moreover, I have dealings with Palace Celestial Venerable and Yan Heavenly Concubine. Frankly, I don’t even care about the meager output from your territory. If you’re planning to offer treasures from Qiang Heavenly Concubine’s territory, don’t bother speaking.”
The Grand Emperor’s head sneered coldly, “That Great Black Mountain of yours counts as a treasure land? That would make people laugh their teeth out! Pastoral Celestial Venerable, your Great Black Mountain is a place that even the Ten Celestial Venerables wouldn’t look twice at. You’re the only one treating it like a precious gem! My territory in the Ancestral Court is also a treasure land, far superior to your Great Black Mountain by countless times—it’s a place where baleful energy gathers. Of course, I won’t trade it with you.”
Qin Mu’s heart stirred, and he humbly asked for guidance, “What’s so special about the baleful energy gathering place that Qiang Heavenly Concubine occupies?”
The Grand Emperor laughed, “Nothing special—it’s just a natural God-Slaying Platform in the Ancestral Court.”
Qin Mu’s heart pounded violently a few times, and he said hoarsely, “A natural God-Slaying Platform?”
“Pastoral Celestial Venerable, you’re still too young.”
The Grand Emperor chuckled, “My treasure land is a natural God-Slaying Platform, while Langxuan Divine Emperor’s treasure land is a natural Jade Pool Sacred Realm in the Ancestral Court! Besides these, there are other treasure lands in the Ancestral Court, corresponding to the Four Heavenly Gates, the Thousand Palaces and Ten Thousand Halls, and even the Jade Capital Sacred City! Even the Chengtian Gate can be found in the Ancestral Court! Do you realize what this means?”
Qin Mu’s mind shook violently, and he blurted out, “You mean there’s a Heavenly Court from the Primordial Era in the Ancestral Court?”
“Wrong. It’s not a Heavenly Court from the Primordial Era.”
The Grand Emperor said with an air of authority, “Rather, the Heavenly Courts of later ages were all built according to the specifications of the treasure lands in the Ancestral Court of the Primordial Era. Taichu and those ancient gods constructed the Heavenly Court by almost directly copying the Ancestral Court’s treasure lands. The Jade Pool corresponds to the Ancestral Court’s Jade Pool, the Heavenly Gates correspond to the Ancestral Court’s Heavenly Gates, and the God-Slaying Platform was also modeled after the Ancestral Court’s God-Slaying Platform. Now you should understand why the Heavenly Palace realm is so important, right?”
Qin Mu’s mind buzzed.
The Heavenly Palace realm was pioneered by Imperial Celestial Venerable. After Imperial Celestial Venerable created the Heavenly Palace realm, later generations cultivated according to the seven realms of the Heavenly Palace, naturally gaining powerful abilities.
Where did this power come from?
Why did every step forward in the Heavenly Palace bring such a massive increase in one’s own strength?
Why did gods, upon reaching a certain level of cultivation, have to pass through the God-Slaying Platform?
If the Longhan Heavenly Court was laid out according to the geography of the Ancestral Court, then it all made sense.
In the Ancestral Court, besides the Five Great Primordial Mineral Veins, there were other treasure lands like the Southern Heavenly Gate and the Jade Pool. The Heavenly Court was built based on the specifications of these lands, and the Longhan Heavenly Court inherently carried the Dao of the Ancestral Court!
When gods cultivated to the realm of the Southern Heavenly Gate, it was equivalent to passing through the Southern Heavenly Gate in the Ancestral Court and attaining the Dao, naturally gaining the corresponding power!
Qin Mu steadied his mind and suddenly asked, “So, Grand Emperor Dao Brother, what exactly do you intend to trade with me?”
“The location of the Jade Capital Sacred City!”
The Grand Emperor said solemnly, “The God-Slaying Platform is already my territory, and I will never give it up to you. But I can tell you the position of the Jade Capital Sacred City. This Jade Capital Sacred City is far superior to your Great Black Mountain. If you obtain this treasure land, your future rise to prominence, even becoming the Heavenly Emperor, is just around the corner!”
Qin Mu burst out laughing, his laughter growing louder and more resounding.
The Grand Emperor’s head said coldly, “What are you laughing at?”
Qin Mu laughed heartily and shook his head, “Grand Emperor, are you treating me like a three-year-old child? Let me tell you, I’m already sixteen! If the Jade Capital Sacred City were truly a supreme treasure land, wouldn’t you have occupied it? Wouldn’t Dawn Celestial Venerable, Yan Heavenly Concubine, and Palace Celestial Venerable have occupied it? They are also people who have obtained the secrets of the Ancestral Court, and they know no less than you.”
A faint smile curled at the corner of his mouth as he said lightly, “You probably do know the location of the Ancestral Court’s Jade Capital Sacred City, but the danger there is likely so great that even Celestial Venerables dare not set foot in it—perhaps even surpassing the dangers of the Five Great Mineral Veins. You’re just using this information to trick me into going to my death.”
The Grand Emperor’s head was silent for a moment, then sighed, “You guessed right. The Ancestral Court’s Jade Capital Sacred City is indeed a forbidden land, a restricted zone. Back when I was revered as the Grand Emperor, I led the most powerful ancient gods to explore that place, but we also retreated in the face of difficulty.”
Qin Mu asked, “Which ancient gods did you lead?”
“The Heavenly Emperor Taichu, Earth Mother Yuanjun, and the Northern Emperor Xuanwu. Besides them, there were Boyang, Shujun, and Gongyun. They also led other ancient gods, the Three Emperors, to explore that place together.”
The Grand Emperor was silent for another moment, then said, “We didn’t manage to fully explore it. We only explored the periphery and were ultimately forced to retreat and leave. How about this, Pastoral Celestial Venerable? I’ll tell you the location of the Jade Capital Sacred City and allow you to enter my God-Slaying Platform once. Then you let me go.”
He coaxed, “You must understand, the benefits you gain from experiencing the God-Slaying Platform in your own Heavenly Palace are merely a fraction of those from the real God-Slaying Platform! The God-Slaying Platform at my place is the real one! As long as you can pass the trials of my God-Slaying Platform, heh heh, the benefits…”
Qin Mu was greatly tempted. After hesitating for a moment, he gritted his teeth and said, “Give me the location of the Jade Capital Sacred City first!”
“What’s so hard about that?”
The Grand Emperor directly used his divine consciousness to transmit the location of the Jade Capital Sacred City into Qin Mu’s mind, saying, “Ever since our last failed exploration of the Jade Capital Sacred City, we sealed that place. Even if you find it, without the guidance of the ancient gods and creators who set up the seal, you won’t be able to find the Jade Capital Sacred City. Moreover, you absolutely must not go there on your own. Suppress your curiosity. The danger there is beyond your imagination!”
The more he said this, the more curious Qin Mu became. He felt as if hundreds of little fox spirits like Hu Ling’er were living in his heart, tickling his little heart with their tails, making it itch more and more.
The Grand Emperor’s head revealed a smile. As the Grand Emperor with unparalleled divine consciousness, he had long seen through Qin Mu’s weaknesses. Not just Qin Mu’s, but the weaknesses of all the other Celestial Venerables were also firmly within his grasp!