Chapter 1401: Damn It, Grand Emperor
Langxuan Divine Emperor held the Dao Fruit high, examining it over and over, his heart filled with boundless joy. Looking back at Qin Mu, he no longer found him so irritating; in fact, he seemed somewhat endearing.
"Mu Tianzun, work hard under my command!"
He couldn't help but laugh, saying, "I just love seeing you, a treacherous minister and a sycophant, forced to flatter me!"
Qin Mu kindly reminded him, "Divine Emperor, this Dao Fruit contains the divine consciousness of a prehistoric powerhouse. Be careful not to be possessed. If the Divine Emperor can truly extract the eternal and indestructible Great Dao from this Dao Fruit, then being your powerful minister and sycophant wouldn't be so bad." With that, he burst into laughter.
Langxuan also laughed heartily, saying, "Although that prehistoric existence has some consciousness hidden in the Dao Fruit, as long as it doesn't entrust itself to the Ultimate Void of our universe, I can manipulate it however I wish. If it can't reach the Ultimate Void, it's just a soft persimmon."
Seeing him in good spirits, Qin Mu seized the opportunity and said, "Divine Emperor, look—I helped you repair the Jade Pool, restoring its grandeur from the ancient times, and I helped you come here to subdue the Dao Fruit, bringing you closer to the final realm. So, could the Divine Emperor's Jade Pool perhaps..."
"No." Langxuan Divine Emperor put away the Dao Fruit, and the smile on his face faded as he said flatly.
Qin Mu quickly added, "What I mean is, with such great merits I've rendered, could Your Majesty allow the divine beings under my command to come and comprehend the Great Dao of the Jade Terrace?"
"That'll cost money."
Langxuan Divine Emperor said bluntly, "Calling me 'Your Majesty' won't help. You extorted two-tenths of the Primordial Origin Liquid from me, and just thinking about it pains me. If you want your people to enter the Jade Terrace for enlightenment, you'll have to pay."
Qin Mu fumed, "No room for sentiment at all?"
Langxuan Divine Emperor nodded with a smile and raised two fingers: "If you want your people to come to the Jade Terrace for enlightenment, return the two-tenths of Primordial Origin Liquid to me."
Qin Mu gritted his teeth and raised one finger.
Langxuan Divine Emperor thought for a moment, then laughed, "You called me 'Your Majesty' just now, and it sounded pleasant. Fine, I'll leave the other tenth of Primordial Origin Liquid for you."
Qin Mu breathed a sigh of relief. Even if Langxuan had demanded the full two-tenths, he would have given it. Primordial Origin Liquid was a renewable resource, though incredibly precious, but in his view, it was far less valuable than nurturing talents from Eternal Peace.
Talents were the most important thing.
"I wonder if Xu Shenhua and Lan Yutian have finished mapping the Four Heavenly Gates. I need to have them come here—not only to comprehend the Jade Pool and cultivate their Dao hearts, but also to map out the entire Jade Pool and Jade Terrace!"
He thought to himself, "Once the Dao Realm and Heavenly Palace system are unified, I won't have to rely on Langxuan's goodwill anymore."
The two left this fragment of the Great Luo Heaven, and Qin Mu immediately took his leave. Langxuan Divine Emperor, eager to refine the Dao Fruit, didn't stop him.
"If Langxuan Divine Emperor refines the Dao Fruit and gains the knowledge of the previous cosmic era hidden within, he'll likely become the most powerful among the Ten Heavenly Lords. However..."
Qin Mu left the Jade Pool and glanced back at it, a faint smile curling at the corner of his mouth. "The Dao Fruit isn't so easy to refine. And even if he does refine it, so what? He still has to cultivate step by step on his own. If he directly takes someone else's Dao Fruit as his own, then he's no different from Grand Emperor."
His heart was calm, exuding composure.
Langxuan Divine Emperor's increase in strength was a good thing. Originally, among the Ten Heavenly Lords, Hao Tianzun, Qiang Tianfei, and Xiao Tianzun had the best chance of winning the final struggle. Now, with Langxuan Divine Emperor added, the muddy waters of the Ten Heavenly Lords would become even murkier.
"If Heavenly Lord dies and Hong Tianzun gains the greatest benefit, we'll have to add Hong Tianzun to the mix."
Qin Mu looked up at the sky of the Ancestral Court. Heavenly Lord must be watching the Ancestral Court now, right?
Yet Heavenly Lord hadn't come to see him.
He withdrew his gaze and silently thought, "I've locked Hong Tianzun's Dao heart into the Nine Hells. If Hong Tianzun breaks free from my Nine Hells Heart Lock, then although he'll still have selfish desires, he'll also align more with the Heavenly Heart and Heavenly Dao, retaining a portion of the Heavenly Heart. Even if Heavenly Lord dies, we'll still be like-minded. If Hong Tianzun fails to break the Nine Hells Heart Lock..."
Qin Mu's eye twitched. "Then, when Heavenly Lord dies, the one who gains the most might not be Hong Tianzun! At that time, he might not be able to compete with Ancestral Divine King! Then, the muddy waters of the Ten Heavenly Lords will include both Ancestral Divine King and Hong Tianzun!"
As for Heavenly Lord, he had already given up hope.
Heavenly Lord was doomed to die.
When the Heavenly Alliance meeting issued the proclamation to attack Heavenly Lord, his fate was sealed. Meeting Heavenly Lord before the Heavenly Alliance meeting might have left room for negotiation, but now it was pointless.
He had locked Hong Tianzun's Dao heart in the Nine Hells to prepare for the worst. He couldn't let Hong Tianzun, filled with ambition and desire, gain all of Heavenly Lord's power and steal the Heavenly Dao for himself!
The Heavenly Dao is selfless. For Hong Tianzun to steal it for himself would be the greatest betrayal of the Heavenly Dao!
"Taiyi said Heavenly Lord would succeed, break free from the constraints of the Heavenly Dao, and achieve liberation. What does that mean?" He frowned in thought.
Suddenly, a brilliant light shot up ahead. Qin Mu walked over and saw that it was Qiang Tianfei's territory. Another large-scale Spiritual Energy Transfer Bridge was being constructed. The Daoist priests of the Heavenly Court Dao Sect were packing up, looking hurried, and heading to another location.
Many great ships of the Heavenly Court flew out from this new Spiritual Energy Transfer Bridge, loaded with divine beings and demons under Qiang Tianfei's command, as well as cultivators from various races, migrating to the Ancestral Court through this bridge. These ships flew in all directions, searching for suitable settlement sites.
Qin Mu looked at the sky. Now, three Spiritual Energy Transfer Bridges connected the Heavenly Court. Once all the bridges were built, the Heavenly Court could be pulled into the Ancestral Court!
The Heavenly Court had originally been above the Primordial Realm, then flew out of it, and now was returning to the Ancestral Court. Qin Mu felt a surge of emotion.
"Artifact Imperial Heaven!"
Qin Mu's heart skipped a beat. Suddenly, he saw an Artifact Imperial Heaven walking out of the Spiritual Energy Transfer Bridge. The Artifact Imperial Heaven was tall and imposing, staring into the distance at Qiang Tianfei's territory with a cold sneer.
"This should be Yumu Madam's Artifact Imperial Heaven, right?"
Qin Mu's eyes flickered. Now, the most prominent sacred lands in the Ancestral Court had all been claimed by the various Heavenly Lords, leaving few precious places for Yumu Madam.
Was Yumu Madam's Artifact Imperial Heaven coming out now to cause trouble and seize territory from other Heavenly Lords?
"Could Yumu Madam have set her sights on Grand Emperor's territory?"
But to his surprise, the Artifact Imperial Heaven didn't attack Qiang Tianfei's territory. Instead, it soared into the air. As it rose, a Return to Void Abyss suddenly appeared in the sky, swallowing the Artifact Imperial Heaven!
"Sneaky and underhanded. That little vixen Yumu must be up to something again!"
Qin Mu grew excited. He opened his vertical eye on his forehead, gazing into the void to track the Artifact Imperial Heaven's movements.
Just then, he saw a figure shoot up from Qiang Tianfei's territory, causing no ripples, emitting no aura, silently slipping into the void to follow the Artifact Imperial Heaven.
"It's that little vixen Grand Emperor... Bah! It's that little vixen Qiang Tianfei!"
Qin Mu grew even more excited. Qiang Tianfei was Grand Emperor's reincarnation, and she had also noticed Yumu Madam's movements and was secretly tracking her!
He looked at Qiang Tianfei's territory. It was the Execution Platform of the Ancestral Court, radiating intense baleful energy—arguably the most baleful place in the entire universe. From a distance, he could see two blood-red baleful auras rising into the sky, intertwining like the most massive tornadoes in the world!
Those two baleful auras were blood-red and razor-sharp. Qin Mu couldn't help but shiver just from looking at them from afar.
"How did the blood baleful energy of the Execution Platform form? Why is it so heavy?"
He wanted to go in and experience the Execution Platform, but even at the outskirts of Qiang Tianfei's territory, he felt this blood baleful energy threatening the very Great Dao of heaven and earth. Here, he felt the Dao runes within him shattering one by one, being cut in half!
"The Execution Platform of the Ancestral Court can't be this strong!" Qin Mu shivered several times.
His primordial spirit also felt an incredibly sharp force assaulting it, like countless razor-sharp blades ready to strike at any moment!
Even more terrifying, the Execution Platform could sever the Dao heart!
The Heavenly Court's Execution Platform was a place for executing divine beings, cutting down the physical body and primordial spirit of rebellious gods, but it didn't sever the Dao heart.
Luo Wushuang was known as the First Divine Blade of the Heavenly Court because of his exceptional swordsmanship, having entered the Dao Realm. He had walked alone into the Heavenly Court's Execution Platform with his blade and emerged unscathed thanks to his mastery of the blade Dao.
However, Qin Mu suspected that if Luo Wushuang had gone to the Execution Platform of the Ancestral Court, he might not have passed even the Dao heart trial. Although Luo Wushuang's Dao heart was strong, it hadn't yet reached the height of the Twenty-Fourth Dao Realm.
"The Execution Platform's power is extraordinary! It can't sever my Dao heart, but it might cut my physical body or primordial spirit."
Qin Mu withdrew his gaze, but two blood-red blade lights still danced in his pupils, only fading after a moment.
"This Execution Platform must have been formed by absorbing the baleful energy of the world. Its power is immense—it likely executed extraordinarily powerful beings from ancient times, absorbing too much blood!"
He had originally planned to cultivate the Jade Terrace, then directly pass through the Execution Platform to reach the Nine Hells Platform realm, becoming a master of that level, and then seek out the Jade Capital City. After all, he had already passed the trial of the Nine Hells Heart Lock and emerged alive from the Nine Hells Platform.
But he had underestimated the Execution Platform of the Ancestral Court.
The Four Heavenly Gates, Jade Terrace, and Nine Hells Platform didn't grow on their own, but the Execution Platform could!
In ancient times, the leaders of the Creator races must have sent prisoners or traitors here to be beheaded by the Execution Platform, feeding it with blood until it grew stronger and stronger. Although it was the fourth realm in the Heavenly Palace system, its power could likely chop down several Imperial Seat-level experts as easily as cutting vegetables!
The danger of this Execution Platform far exceeded that of the Nine Hells Platform!
"That damn Grand Emperor! He promised to let me enter the Execution Platform for training, but he was definitely up to no good!" Qin Mu cursed loudly.
His current strength could only match Imperial Seat-level beings, relying on the subtlety of his techniques. He was proficient in various obscure Dao techniques, such as the Primordial Beginning Dao, Taiji Dao, Taiyi Dao, Taisu Dao, and Ling Tianzun's Immutable Technique.
His physical body and magical power hadn't yet reached the level of an Imperial Seat expert, nor had his primordial spirit.
Grand Emperor allowing him to enter the Execution Platform for training was clearly an attempt to use the platform's power to kill him!
"Damn it, Grand Emperor!"
Qin Mu cursed again. Suddenly, he executed Return to Void One Qi Birth, but only half the move. A Return to Void Abyss appeared, and he stepped into it, vanishing.
"Yumu, Grand Emperor, let's see what you're up to!"
After a long while, Qin Mu's vertical eye scanned and finally tracked down Qiang Tianfei's trail. She was following Yumu Madam's Artifact Imperial Heaven into a vast desert of black sand.
Qin Mu looked around, puzzled. "This should be the Taiji Star Domain, belonging to the Taiji vein. What is Yumu Madam doing here?"
Just then, he saw the Artifact Imperial Heaven.
The Artifact Imperial Heaven was hiding within a Return to Void technique, lurking in the void. Qin Mu was confused. "That little minx Yumu seems to be tracking someone too..."
At that moment, he saw a stunning beauty strolling through the black sand desert, heading toward the Taiji vein.
Jue Wuchen!
"It's Empress!" Qin Mu also hid within a Return to Void technique, his pupils contracting. Jue Wuchen was something he had given to Yan Tianfei. At the time, to trade for the output of the Taishi vein, he had exchanged the Empress's physical body along with Jue Wuchen to Yan Tianfei.
Now, Empress had taken over Jue Wuchen's body and was coming to meet the ancient god within the Taiji vein!