Chapter 1383: The Scapegoat Heavenly Lord (Second Update)
Qin Mu’s face immediately darkened. It was clear that while Lady Yuanmu was spreading this news, she had also pinned the blame on him.
Of course, the idea had indeed been Qin Mu’s, so pinning it on him wasn’t entirely unjust.
But Qin Mu had originally wanted Lady Yuanmu to wear this blame, aiming to avoid offending Palace Heavenly Lord, Qiang Tianfei, and Langxuan Divine Sovereign as much as possible.
He hadn’t expected Lady Yuanmu to be so clever, directly shifting it onto him, leading to Palace Heavenly Lord coming to demand an explanation.
Qin Mu laughed heartily, his eyes darting around, while Palace Heavenly Lord stared at his shifting gaze, sneering coldly.
“This idea was mine.”
Qin Mu stopped laughing and said seriously, “Dao friend, if the beast realm weren’t established, do you think you could compete with Qiang Tianfei? She is the Grand Emperor. How powerful is her divine consciousness? In the end, the ancient giant beasts would be controlled by the Grand Emperor, giving her wings. It’s better to simply open up the beast realm, where everyone can rely on their own abilities and all can make use of the ancient giant beasts. What do you think?”
Palace Heavenly Lord said calmly, “If the Grand Emperor could control all the ancient giant beasts, then she wouldn’t have been overthrown by the ancient gods. Her divine consciousness isn’t that strong. She controls the Void Beasts, and even then, only the Void Mother Beast. As for the ancient giant beasts, she can only control a batch of them. Establishing the beast realm still diminishes my interests.”
Qin Mu was at a loss for words, mumbling, “Since things have come to this, I’m afraid the other Heavenly Lords will all agree to establish the beast realm. I have no choice either.”
Palace Heavenly Lord suddenly turned from anger to laughter, saying, “I heard that Hong Heavenly Lord has an IOU from Mu Heavenly Lord, owing him a favor. So, I’ll be bold and ask Mu Heavenly Lord to give me an IOU as well.”
Qin Mu’s expression shifted slightly. After hesitating for a moment, he said, “I’ll write it.” So he wrote an IOU.
Palace Heavenly Lord took the IOU, stood up, and said, “Your legs are inconvenient; no need to see me out.”
Qin Mu had no choice but to sit there, watching helplessly as she left.
No sooner had Palace Heavenly Lord left than another palace maid rushed in, flustered, saying, “Heavenly Lord, something terrible has happened! Qiang Tianfei has come to visit!”
Qin Mu’s face changed dramatically, and he said angrily, “Other Heavenly Lords don’t come to visit, but the aggrieved party shows up! I won’t see her!”
“I’ve already arrived!”
Qiang Tianfei’s furious voice came from outside, and then she barged straight in.
Qin Mu had no choice but to wave for the palace maid to withdraw, inviting Qiang Tianfei to sit down, saying, “I had a qi deviation while training, and both my legs are crippled…”
“Did Palace Heavenly Lord cripple them?”
Qiang Tianfei was overjoyed, praising, “As expected of my woman, she acts swiftly, crippling you before I could. Mu Heavenly Lord, I heard you proposed establishing the beast realm? How dare you!”
Qin Mu said seriously, “No, it wasn’t me. Lady Yuanmu proposed establishing the beast realm; it has nothing to do with me!”
Qiang Tianfei sneered, “We’re this close; with just a thought of my divine consciousness, I can tell the color of your underwear. Do you think you can fool me?”
“Heavenly Consort, you don’t understand—I never wear any.”
Qin Mu sighed helplessly, saying, “Dao brother, your edge is too sharp right now. As soon as the Grand Emperor was revived, she crippled Hao Heavenly Lord, severely wounded Fire Heavenly Lord and Void Heavenly Lord, and crippled Qin Heavenly Lord and Langhuan Divine King. In the battle at the ancestral court, she heavily injured Xiao, Yan, Zu, and Lang, the four Heavenly Lords. Your momentum is too strong. Can the Ten Heavenly Lords still tolerate you? If you gain control of the ancient giant beasts, your death will truly be at hand. This time, opening the beast realm might not be a bad thing for you.”
Qiang Tianfei stared at him.
Qin Mu remained expressionless: “I’m thinking of you, Dao brother. Think about it: without the beast realm, Palace Heavenly Lord and Langxuan Divine Sovereign, mother and son, would gain the most benefits. If they eliminate you, they’ll surely monopolize all the giant beasts. Why make a wedding dress for others?”
Qiang Tianfei burst into laughter, charming and alluring, saying, “I understand the reasoning, but being outmaneuvered by you leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. My physical body was almost completely ruined because of you, yet you want to stay out of it. That doesn’t sit well with me.”
Qin Mu probed, “The Heavenly Emperor’s physical body is still under your control, Dao brother. When I rescue Ling Heavenly Lord in the future, and you possess that body, your skills will surpass your former self.”
“Don’t you dare try to get Ling Heavenly Lord out!”
Qiang Tianfei sneered, “I’d rather leave the Heavenly Emperor Taichu’s physical body and my primordial spirit forever in the Heavenly River! Mu Heavenly Lord, you’ve ruined my plans, so you need to offer real benefits, not fob me off with empty talk!”
Qin Mu thought for a moment, then said with utmost sincerity, “I extracted the essence blood of Hao Heavenly Lord from his heart. Each drop of essence blood contains the imprint of a heavenly palace…”
Qiang Tianfei turned from anger to joy, laughing, “Hao Heavenly Lord’s heart was given to you by me, but I didn’t expect you to refine such good stuff from it. Give me a share, and this matter will be lightly settled!”
Qin Mu looked pained: “I used Hao Heavenly Lord’s heavenly palace to exchange with Yan Heavenly Consort for fifty percent of the Taishi Divine Stones…”
“That wasteful Empress Dowager gave you so many Taishi Prime Stones?”
Qiang Tianfei was surprised, then sneered, “But I won’t give you anything! Hand over the goods!”
Qin Mu had no choice but to hand over thirty-five drops of Hao Heavenly Lord’s essence blood. Qiang Tianfei carefully inspected them, then took the essence blood and swaggered away.
Qin Mu’s face darkened, thinking to himself, “Good thing I extracted a huge amount of essence blood from Hao Heavenly Lord’s heart; I can sell it a few more times…”
“Heavenly Lord! Langxuan Divine Sovereign requests an audience!” That palace maid rushed in again, flustered, to report.
Qin Mu was exasperated. He stood up and said angrily, “Girl, are you a jinx? You always bring bad news!”
“Mu Heavenly Lord, is my visit bad news for you?”
Langxuan Divine Sovereign’s voice came from outside, growing closer. Qin Mu quickly sat down, watching as Langxuan Divine Sovereign entered the main hall. He smiled, “I had a qi deviation while training…”
“I’ve already heard, Mu Heavenly Lord, no need to explain.”
Langxuan Divine Sovereign sat down leisurely, saying, “Qi deviation while training, both legs paralyzed. Palace Heavenly Lord and Qiang Tianfei came to visit. If you weren’t paralyzed, they would have beaten you into paralysis anyway. It’s better to pretend to be paralyzed, showing weakness to the enemy. Mu Heavenly Lord, your heart is quite dirty.”
Qin Mu coughed repeatedly to cover his embarrassment, saying, “Divine Sovereign, what brings you here? Is it also about the beast realm?”
Langxuan Divine Sovereign said calmly, “Not entirely. Mu Heavenly Lord, you’re a smart man. You’ve destroyed my Langxuan Divine Palace twice and coerced me repeatedly, but I won’t hold it against you.”
He waved for the palace maid to withdraw, saying, “This maid is one I planted in your Heavenly Lord’s mansion; I won’t hide that from you. What benefits did you give the Grand Emperor? I want a share too. But I won’t take it for nothing—I’ll tell you that besides the back of the ancestral court, there are other major matters at this Heavenly Alliance meeting.”
Qin Mu’s expression flickered, and he said, “What I gave the Grand Emperor was the imprints of thirty-five heavenly palaces hidden in Hao Heavenly Lord’s essence blood.”
Langxuan Divine Sovereign’s eyes lit up, and he clapped his hands, laughing, “It seems I didn’t come for nothing!”
Qin Mu gave him a share of the essence blood extracted from Hao Heavenly Lord’s heart, his eyes shifting, “What will be discussed at this Heavenly Alliance meeting?”
“Not discussed—the Ten Heavenly Lords have already made the decision, and you’re just here to nod in agreement.”
Langxuan Divine Sovereign smiled faintly, speaking unhurriedly, “Someone always has to take the blame. As the leader of the Heavenly Alliance, you’re naturally the best candidate for the scapegoat. This Heavenly Alliance meeting will discuss the campaign against the Heavenly Duke! Mu Heavenly Lord, it’s time for you to board this pirate ship of the Ten Heavenly Lords.”