Chapter 1465: Taiyi Borrows a Treasure (First Update)
Shu Jun’s messy, oversized head was extremely conspicuous. Seeing everyone’s gaze fixed on him, he finally breathed a sigh of relief and said in a deep voice, “This Pixiang Hall is a building from Yujing City.”
“Which Yujing City?” Everyone was somewhat puzzled.
There were too many Yujing Cities.
The Yankang Kingdom had a small Yujing, the Heavenly Court also had a Yujing City, and the celestial palaces of other great emperors all had buildings like Yujing City.
“The Yujing City of the Ancestral Court.”
Shu Jun paused, then said, “Back then, when I was still an ancient divine king, I once went on an expedition to a mysterious place with the Grand Emperor, Tai Chu, and other divine kings. That place was the Yujing of the Ancestral Court. We saw many incredible things…”
His expression was strange, clearly still finding it unbelievable even to this day. After a moment, he continued, “There, we suffered heavy casualties, but our discoveries were too astonishing, so we sealed that place. I suspect that during that expedition, one of us brought the Pixiang Hall out.”
Qin Mu examined the Pixiang Hall. This great hall was indeed not a treasure that the ancient Creators could have manufactured.
In the ancient era, Creators fought by relying on divine will visualization, and their buildings were also extremely minimalist, without decoration, without developing their own art.
Each era had its own unique artistic heritage. The architecture and aesthetics of the Dragon Han era mostly focused on ancient god totems and ancient god worship, with strange-looking ancient god patterns everywhere.
The Chi Ming era revered the beauty of masculinity, with powerful three-headed, six-armed divine demon patterns everywhere, showcasing the beauty of physical strength.
The Shang Huang era saw the Northern and Southern Shang Emperors in opposition. The Northern Shang Emperor was ruled by demigods, while the Southern Shang Emperor was ruled by humans. The Southern Shang Emperor’s philosophy was that human life was greater than heaven, so art mostly expressed the concept of man triumphing over nature.
By the Kai Huang era, divine abilities became precise, and art reached its peak. The art of this era was extremely intricate, mostly showcasing acquired great paths and daily life.
The art of the Yankang era had not yet fully developed, with even more diverse categories. For example, the Deaf Painter was skilled at painting gods, ghosts, demons, and monsters, as well as beautiful women.
But the artistic style of the Pixiang Hall had no inherited relationship with any of these eras. The Pixiang Hall indeed might have come from the Yujing City of the Ancestral Court.
However, this kind of art was clearly not innate but created by people. That was strange!
“Could it be that the Yujing City of the Ancestral Court was not naturally formed but artificially created?”
Qin Mu’s expression was strange. After witnessing the Four Heavenly Gates of the Ancestral Court, the Nine Hell Platforms, the Execution Platform, the Heavenly Sea, and the Jasper Terrace, he had formed a preconceived notion that the Yujing City of the Ancestral Court was also a peculiar place formed by the great paths of heaven and earth.
But judging from the Pixiang Hall, this Yujing City was probably not a natural wonder formed by heaven and earth but a divine city artificially forged!
Since there was no civilization before the Creators, then in what era was the Yujing City forged?
He became alert. Connecting it to the coffin of the previous universe under the Jasper Pool and Jasper Terrace, and the entire Ancestral Court being a massive altar, he formed a guess in his mind.
“The Yujing City of the Ancestral Court is likely a product of the previous cosmic era, not destroyed by the universe’s annihilation… However, this is just my guess. Whether it’s true or not, I’ll have to enter Yujing to see!”
His gaze fell back on the Pixiang Hall. The Grand Emperor, Tai Chu, and others had explored Yujing City back then, taken the Pixiang Hall, and then sealed it.
The oldest seal on the Pixiang Hall could be traced back to the ancient era.
That is to say, after the Grand Emperor and Tai Chu took the Pixiang Hall, they discovered a terrifying thing: something dreadful inside the Pixiang Hall was about to escape!
Even the Grand Emperor and Tai Chu of that time felt threatened, so they gathered the strength of all the powerful figures to seal the Pixiang Hall together!
“Later, the Heavenly Emperor Tai Chu eradicated the Creators, sealed the Ancestral Court, and unified the universe. He then placed the Pixiang Hall in the Heavenly Court, turning it into a weapon to suppress dissidents. Anyone who disobeyed was executed, and their soul and primordial spirit were collected and suppressed inside the Pixiang Hall. Later, under the rule of the Ten Celestial Venerables, this custom continued.”
Thinking this over, Qin Mu saw the Cripple and Lan Yutian circling the Pixiang Hall, walking around it again and again. Qin Mu had once used the divine mirror to illuminate the seals of the Pixiang Hall, and they had studied them for many years. The Mute had even imitated the specifications of the Pixiang Hall to build a few replicas.
But facing this divine hall directly, the Cripple and Lan Yutian still had no confidence.
The seals on the Mute’s replicas were not as powerful as those on the real Pixiang Hall. To enter the hall, one had to pass through layers of incredibly strong seals!
Moreover, going in was one thing; coming out was another!
If they had the ability to go in but not the ability to come out, that would be disastrous.
“Don’t act rashly!”
Qin Mu gave an order and summoned Yan’er. “Is Taiyi still in the Sacred Mountain?”
Yan’er said, “He was just repairing the Sacred Mountain. I don’t know if he’s finished.”
Qin Mu said in a deep voice, “Take Lan Yutian to see him. You must beg him to lend us one of his willow branches.”
Yan’er immediately flew up, transformed into a Roc, grabbed Lan Yutian by the arm, and flew toward Taiyi’s location.
The others gathered around the divine hall, recording various seals and compiling them for the Blind Man, who, along with Granny Si and Xu Huasheng, worked out methods to break them.
Wei Suifeng tried to break the outer seals, but Qin Mu stopped him, shaking his head. “Fire Celestial knows the Pixiang Hall fell into our hands, but the other Celestial Venerables don’t. If we touch their seals, they’ll sense it. Only when absolutely necessary should we attempt to break their seals.”
Wei Suifeng’s eyes flickered, and he lowered his voice. “You mean?”
“If we get trapped in the Yujing City of the Ancestral Court, then we can try to break the Celestial Venerables’ seals.”
Qin Mu winked and smiled. “I imagine the Ten Celestial Venerables coming to rescue us would be quite a grand spectacle.”
Wei Suifeng laughed heartily and stopped touching the seals.
Qin Mu took out the divine bow and strapped it on his back.
The Cripple was eager to try beside him. Qin Mu hesitated, then reached out and grabbed. The Glazed Azure Canopy rumbled as the twenty-eight layers of heavens folded in one by one, quickly forming a canopy over three zhang tall.
“Grandpa Cripple, take this treasure for self-defense.”
Qin Mu handed him the Glazed Azure Canopy, then suddenly remembered something and quickly said, “It’s borrowed, not given! Once we get out of this hall, you have to give it back!”
“Stingy!”
The Cripple took the Glazed Azure Canopy, examined it, and praised, “What a fine treasure… Since I didn’t steal it myself, I naturally won’t keep it. Don’t worry, I’ll return it.”
Qin Mu breathed a sigh of relief. After a while, Yan’er returned with Lan Yutian and said, “Taiyi said he can’t lend it to you, because if he does, you won’t give it back. It was only because Fatty Lan pleaded that Taiyi reluctantly agreed, but he’ll only lend you a single leaf.”
“Outrageous! Am I the kind of person who borrows things and doesn’t return them?”
Qin Mu took the leaf. The leaf had complex patterns on it; it was a leaf from Taiyi’s Dao Tree. He felt a pang of regret: “If I could have borrowed that branch, losing one leaf wouldn’t matter. But only borrowing one leaf makes it hard to embezzle…”
He perked up, looked around, and said in a deep voice, “This time, I, Grandpa Cripple, and Lan Yutian will enter the hall. Everyone else stays outside. If we get trapped inside and can’t escape, then Shu Jun and Senior Brother Wei, take the hall to the Yujing City of the Ancestral Court. Once inside the city, try to break the outer seals to lure the Ten Celestial Venerables to come and rescue us!”