Chapter 1506: Stirring the Waters on the Chaotic River
On the second Chaotic Long River, everyone employed their own methods. These Heavenly Venerables all had Dao Trees in hand, using them to cross the river. However, Qiang Tianfei no longer had her Dao Tree. Fortunately, Qin Mu kindly invited her to stand on his small boat, which was not too crowded.
This Chaotic Long River was also filled with various bizarre phenomena. Qin Mu let Qiang Tianfei handle things, having her fend off the withered bones and souls of those prehistoric cultivators who had achieved the Dao that surged from the river, while he enjoyed his leisure.
He looked around and saw that Hao Tianzun and Xiao Tianzun also had not made a move, instead letting the other Heavenly Venerables deal with the anomalies.
The gazes of these several Heavenly Venerables had been fixed on the small boat beneath Qin Mu's feet from start to finish. This boat was transformed from Taiyi's walking staff. Xiao Tianzun, the Taiji Ancient God, and Taisu all showed great respect to the staff's owner, which inevitably piqued their curiosity.
Qin Mu raised an eyebrow, thinking to himself: "Taiyi has fallen to the fourth prehistoric universe, and now the Great Black Mountain has lost its backing. I absolutely cannot let them know about this, or else disaster will befall me. Hmm, letting them think I have a powerful backer is fine..."
"Mu Tianzun, this sword of yours is a Dao-achiever's divine weapon, isn't it?"
Qiang Tianfei blocked a Dao-achiever's withered bones, knocking them back into the river, and suddenly spoke: "It seems you have also gained much in this Jade Capital City, with excellent luck! Since a Heavenly Venerable has obtained a Dao-achiever's Dao Weapon, why not take it out and let us feast our eyes?"
Qin Mu's gaze fell on her, while Qiang Tianfei's gaze landed on the Calamity Sword.
Qin Mu understood and quietly covered the sword's hilt, laughing heartily: "Where would I get a Dao-achiever's Dao Weapon? This sword of mine was personally refined by me—a crude and shallow object, unfit for refined gatherings. I'd better not embarrass myself by showing it."
Hao Tianzun, Xiao Tianzun, and the others all turned their gazes to the Calamity Sword in Qin Mu's hand, their eyes flickering.
From the outside, this sword revealed no secrets, but the scabbard made them pay extra attention.
Because the scabbard was made of ordinary wood, unlike other divine swords whose scabbards were crafted with the utmost luxury.
Using wood for a scabbard was more like a cover-up!
Qiang Tianfei sneered: "Even if you have a small boat to cross the river, you don't have the strength to handle the anomalies in this river. Without that Dao-achiever's Dao Weapon, you would have died in the river long ago! Mu Tianzun truly lives up to being the Alliance Master of the Heavenly Alliance. None of us found a Dao Weapon, only you obtained one."
"This sword of mine really isn't a Dao Weapon!"
Qin Mu said solemnly: "If I'm lying, may heaven strike me down with thunder!" As he spoke, the corner of his eye involuntarily twitched upward, glancing at the chaotic sky.
Qiang Tianfei said no more.
Langxuan Divine Emperor sighed: "Mu Tianzun's luck in obtaining a Dao Weapon is truly enviable."
"Using a wooden scabbard to cover it up, Mu Tianzun is a bit too obvious in trying to hide the truth."
Shi Qiluo laughed: "It backfired. Are you afraid we might snatch it from you?"
Qin Mu laughed heartily, but his expression darkened, though inwardly he was quite pleased: "The Grand Emperor is truly loyal. After suffering a loss at my hands, he still helps me set up the other Heavenly Venerables! In the future, I will make sure he dies a quick death, as painless as possible."
The small boat approached the Dao Tree beneath Hao Tianzun's feet. In the Chaotic Long River under that tree, a skeletal corpse rose slowly from beneath the water, grabbing hold of the Dao Tree and trying to drag it into the river.
Suddenly, a streak of fire shot into the river—it was Huo Tianzun, helping Hao Tianzun knock the skeletal corpse back down.
Qin Mu laughed: "Huo Tianzun is such a considerate good man."
Huo Tianzun snorted coldly and did not respond. If he had, Qin Mu would have found a way to humiliate him endlessly.
Qin Mu then looked behind Hao Tianzun. The Taisu Goddess felt his gaze and was slightly uncomfortable.
Qin Mu smiled: "Brother Hao's Dao-Inquiry Divine Ability is truly masterful, catching me off guard as well. Your cultivation in the Dao Realm is no longer weaker than mine."
Hao Tianzun's gaze fell on his face, suppressing the turmoil in his Dao heart, and said: "What does the Alliance Master want to say?"
Qin Mu, however, spoke to the Taisu Goddess: "Lady, do you sense that there is someone else behind Brother Hao?"
The Taisu Goddess was momentarily stunned, trying to read his thoughts through his gaze, but Qin Mu's thoughts were too chaotic, making it impossible for her to grasp his true intention.
"Brother Hao, how many layers of the Dao Realm have you cultivated to?"
Qin Mu changed the subject, saying: "What do you think of the Execution Platform? Does it have thirty layers? The Grand Emperor trapped your primordial spirit in his divine ability, the Divine Awareness Great Luo Heaven. It seems you have already escaped, haven't you? You are twenty years earlier than I expected. Calling you a peerless genius is not an exaggeration."
The Taisu Goddess felt a chill in her heart, carefully pondering the meaning of Qin Mu's words.
The speed at which Hao Tianzun's injuries had healed indeed exceeded her expectations, and the speed at which his primordial spirit had broken free from the Grand Emperor's Divine Awareness Great Luo Heaven divine ability also surpassed her predictions.
She had originally estimated that, with her help, Hao Tianzun would need fifty years to fully recover from his Dao wounds, break the Divine Awareness Great Luo Heaven divine ability, and retrieve his primordial spirit.
However, although Hao Tianzun's Heavenly Palace was still in ruins, with many parts needing her help to reshape using the divine ability of "answering every request," his primordial spirit had already escaped from the Divine Awareness Great Luo Heaven!
Even more terrifying was that Hao Tianzun's cultivation was not weaker than before his injury—it was even stronger!
This power came from his improvement in the Dao Realm!
After Qin Mu's reminder, Taisu realized that she had previously underestimated Hao Tianzun.
"So, does the Dao-achiever behind Hao Tianzun that Mu Tianzun mentioned really exist?"
The Taisu Goddess recalled Hao Tianzun's Dao-Inquiry Divine Ability, which used Dao language to form a divine ability that questioned the Dao heart. This required exceptional skill in Dao language. Was this divine ability something Hao Tianzun had comprehended on his own, or had someone taught it to him?
However, Taisu had always been hidden behind Hao Tianzun and had never seen any Dao-achiever meet or communicate with him. Clearly, the first possibility was more likely!
"Then, his Dao language has only one source!"
Taisu felt a chilling sensation: "That is, he comprehended it from me! With such heaven-defying talent and insight, can I truly control him?"
Qin Mu was still looking at her, and suddenly he smiled faintly. Taisu could sense his thoughts from his gaze, but as an expert in the Way of Taisu, he could also observe her thoughts in return.
Now that doubt had arisen in her heart, his goal was achieved.
From Taisu's reaction, he could also discern many things, thinking to himself: "It seems Taisu believes there is no Dao-achiever from the prehistoric universe behind Hao Tianzun. So, Hao Tianzun's Dao language divine ability and his achievements in the Dao Realm were all comprehended by him during his injury. The Heavenly Venerables who founded the various realms that influenced later generations during the early Longhan Era cannot be underestimated!"
Hao Tianzun's gaze was cold, fixed on Qin Mu's face. The small boat beneath Qin Mu's feet suddenly sped up, moving ahead of him.
"Taisu, some people are beyond your control."
Qin Mu's voice came from ahead, leisurely: "In the early Longhan Era, Qin Tianzun opened the Imperial Court and saw Hao Tianzun. After observing for a long time, he said, 'I will contend with this man for the world, to decide who is superior.' Do you think you can control the Imperial Court? You cannot control the Imperial Court, yet you want to control Hao Tianzun, who is on par with him? You are too naive!"
Behind Hao Tianzun, the aura of Taisu stirred violently before calming down after a moment.
Hao Tianzun said indifferently: "Auntie, do you believe his words? Have you forgotten that my life is in your hands? Everything I have now was given by you. Without you, my Heavenly Palace would collapse, my Dao wounds would recur, and not only would I lose my position, but my life would also be at risk! Can a few words from him make you doubt my loyalty to you?"
"Hao'er, turn around and look at me!" Taisu suddenly said.
Hao Tianzun turned his head, his gaze falling on the mass of Taisu aura, a look of infatuation appearing on his face.
Taisu immediately sensed that what he saw was Yuanmu Furen, and she felt slightly relieved.
Just then, Xiao Tianzun urged his Dao Tree to drift past them. Standing on his Dao Tree, he said leisurely: "My son truly has extraordinary means—killing his old father and even playing his auntie around his fingers! Su Mei, take care of yourself."
Hao Tianzun's eyes were hard to conceal with murderous intent, his gaze falling on the backs of Xiao Tianzun and Qin Mu.
Xiao Tianzun paid him no mind, catching up to Qin Mu's small boat and sailing alongside him.
Qin Mu glanced at him and offered a friendly smile.
Seeing his smile, Xiao Tianzun couldn't help but recall being shot down twice by him in his reincarnated bodies, as well as being exiled by Qin Mu, Yue Tianzun, You Tianzun, and others. A surge of inexplicable anger rose within him, which he quickly suppressed.
"Both pieces of the Divine Emperor's eggshell are in Mu Tianzun's hands, aren't they?"
Xiao Tianzun inquired: "And the two thefts of the Heavenly Court's treasury were also you, Mu Tianzun, weren't they? After this theft of the Heavenly Court, you brought the Pixin Hall here, using the Dao Trees and Dao Fruits here to break the seal of the Pixin Hall and rescue Yu Tianzun's soul. You also used the Pixin Hall to lure us here, trying to use the dangers of this place to wipe us all out."
Qin Mu acted flustered: "Your Majesty, why do you say that?"
Xiao Tianzun snorted, saying: "You stole the Divine Emperor's eggshell to deal with the Grand Emperor trapped in the Bu Yi divine ability, right?"
Qiang Tianfei's heart tightened, her gaze falling on Qin Mu's back.
Xiao Tianzun's words were not hidden from her, as if she didn't exist. But they also awakened her—if both pieces of the Taichu eggshell were in Qin Mu's hands, then his goal was obvious!
Qin Mu laughed heartily, saying loudly: "That's right! My purpose in stealing the two pieces of the Taichu eggshell is to send the Divine Emperor Taichu's physical body back into the eggshell and rescue Ling Tianzun! As for whose primordial spirit is inside Taichu's body, it has nothing to do with me. Whoever it is—"
He glanced at Qiang Tianfei, his words carrying killing intent and a warning: "...as long as they try to stop me from rescuing Ling Tianzun, I don't mind sealing them inside the Taichu eggshell as well! If that person is wise, they will leave on their own when I rescue Ling Tianzun and not resist me."
Despite his words, Qin Mu's heart was twitching.
The Taichu eggshell no longer existed. When he revived the World Tree, the World Tree had shattered both pieces of the Taichu eggshell, absorbing them as energy!
"It seems I need to forge fakes, creating two eggshells to scare the Grand Emperor."
He thought to himself: "If the Grand Emperor's primordial spirit is frightened by me, he might not dare to clash head-on with me. Otherwise, rescuing Ling Tianzun might turn into a bloody battle..."
The Grand Emperor's primordial spirit, combined with Taichu's physical body, was an unsolvable situation!
If he could scare off the Grand Emperor's primordial spirit and win without a fight, that would be best.
However, the biggest variable was not Qiang Tianfei, but Xiao Tianzun. Xiao Tianzun would do whatever it took to reclaim Taichu's physical body!
Qiang Tianfei remained noncommittal, and Xiao Tianzun also fell silent.
Qin Mu was uneasy, unsure of what the two were thinking.
On the river surface, the eleven Heavenly Venerables each harbored their own schemes. Just then, a thick surge of chaotic energy swept over, engulfing them, and everyone on the river immediately lost track of each other's positions.
"Ah—" Qin Mu let out a miserable scream, piercing and shrill, followed by the sound of a heavy object falling into the water.
The various Heavenly Venerables were startled: "Has Mu Tianzun been killed by Qiang Tianfei and thrown into the Chaotic River?"
On the small boat, Qiang Tianfei coldly watched as Qin Mu threw a lump of divine metal into the river, sneering: "Mu Tianzun truly is a master of deception and trickery. But your scream was too miserable, a bit overdone. If I were to kill you, it would be fast; I wouldn't let you scream for so long before dying."
Qin Mu glanced at her and laughed: "This surge of chaotic energy came at just the right time. We were being held hostage by them. Even if we fought our way through to the destination, they would still kill us. It's better to take this opportunity to fake our deaths and escape."
Qiang Tianfei snorted, saying indifferently: "Faking death won't fool Gong Tianzun's divine awareness. She is my woman, with incredibly powerful divine awareness..."
"Also Taichu's woman."
Qin Mu kindly reminded her, saying: "Now she is Hao Tianzun's woman."
Qiang Tianfei ground her teeth so hard they creaked, wishing she could chop him into mincemeat.