Chapter 1562: The Sky Lantern
"The Empress Dowager seems even crazier than when I last saw her."
Qin Mu frowned. The Empress Dowager's symptoms had not only failed to improve but had worsened, becoming even more severe than before, utterly deranged.
In truth, the current Empress Dowager could no longer be called the Empress Dowager, nor could she be called Yuan Mu. She should instead be called the Guixu Goddess.
Because back in the Jade Capital of the Ancestral Court, the Taiji Ancient God, driven by impatience, had forcibly merged the Empress Dowager and Yuan Mu. Their consciousnesses fused into one, neither destroying the other, but instead becoming a single entity, a peculiar state where each existed within the other.
The Taiji Ancient God had attempted to find a path from them that would allow his own brother and sister to merge and achieve enlightenment. The result was the creation of this bizarre enlightened being, the Guixu Goddess.
The Guixu Goddess had two personalities. One believed itself to be the Empress Dowager, the other believed itself to be Yuan Mu. But in reality, they were both parts of the Guixu Goddess. It was just that the Guixu Goddess had been driven mad by this torment, unaware of this fact.
The Empress Dowager and Yuan Mu had fought their entire lives. When they were twin lotuses on a single stem, it was manageable. But to coexist within the same body was a matter of grave consequence.
Whoosh! The sound of water was deafening.
Qin Mu and Heavenly Venerable Gong were swept along by the Styx's currents, passing through the great rift and arriving at Guixu.
Above Guixu, dead stars and constellations floated. Huge planets hung over their heads, broken and shattered, drawn by the Great Abyss. Occasionally, a star would fall into the Abyss, erupting with dazzling light.
Even destroyed heavens drifted here, pulled in by the Great Abyss, captured and torn apart.
The Styx surged, arriving here, also drawn by the Great Abyss, pouring into this unfathomable cosmic rift.
Qin Mu poked his head out from the Myriad Dao Heavenly Wheel, his eyes flickering. Guixu was more complete than when he had last visited, having likely restored its original form.
Last time he was here, the Heavenly River flowed into the Eastern Sea of the Yuan World, not directly into the Great Abyss. Instead, the waters of the Eastern Sea poured into the Abyss.
Now, the Heavenly River had returned to its original course, flowing through the Netherworld, transforming into the Styx there, thus restoring the universe's original form.
Suddenly, the Guixu Great Abyss, having devoured too many stars and fragments of heavens, experienced a tide, spewing forth a torrent of light.
This was the Guixu Tide. Qin Mu had encountered it when he was here before.
But this time, with the Styx flowing in, the eruption of the Guixu Tide was even more violent and spectacular. The torrent of light, vast and mighty, resembled another Heavenly River composed of light and shadow, spraying into the void, flying off to an unknown destination.
The Styx, however, continued to pour into the Great Abyss, not being expelled with the Guixu Tide.
Two large flowers, intertwined, rose slowly from the Abyss. The Styx coiled around this twin lotus on a single stem as it flowed into the depths of the Great Abyss.
The twin lotuses were vibrant and beautiful, still enchanting even in such a harsh environment.
"Heavenly Venerable Gong, don't you find it strange?"
Qin Mu stared blankly at the two large flowers, then suddenly spoke: "Ancient gods can be born from eggs, born from the Dao, born from worship, or born from heaven and earth. Among the Dao-born ancient gods, there are Heavenly Lord, Earth Lord, Heavenly Yin, and the Empress Dowager sisters."
Heavenly Venerable Gong didn't know what he was getting at, but she listened quietly.
"Heavenly Lord, Earth Lord, and Heavenly Yin Empress all lack accompanying treasures. Only the Empress Dowager sisters have them."
Qin Mu leaned out from the Myriad Dao Heavenly Wheel, pointing at the twin lotuses. "These twin lotuses are their accompanying supreme treasures! As the Primordial Five Tais, from Taiyi to Taiji, they all have accompanying supreme treasures!"
Heavenly Venerable Gong's expression shifted slightly. She probed, "What are you suggesting?"
"Could it be that the Empress Dowager sisters are not Dao-born ancient gods, but deities similar to the Five Tais?"
Qin Mu voiced the doubt in his heart. "The geography of Guixu is extremely unique. Dao-born ancient gods appear when the Dao is born, like Heavenly Lord, Earth Lord, and Heavenly Yin. These three ancient gods are all related to life. Because life exists, they were born. But Guixu doesn't seem to be the same. So, what caused Guixu to be born? And in what era was it born?"
Heavenly Venerable Gong lifted the Myriad Dao Heavenly Wheel, observing the Guixu Tide. Waiting for the tide to recede, she prepared to toss him into the Great Abyss. She laughed, "Pastoral Heavenly Venerable, you're already on the verge of death, yet you still have the heart to study these strange and bizarre things?"
"To hear the Dao in the morning is to die content in the evening. Heavenly Venerable Gong, the reason you are inferior to the Grand Emperor, to Taichu, to Heavenly Venerable Hao, is that you lack much curiosity."
Qin Mu smiled. "Therefore, you are also inferior to me."
Heavenly Venerable Gong sneered, "When we first met back then, how harmonious we were! I used your abilities to escape the Ancestral Court, owing you a favor, which I later repaid. During the Longhan split, I snatched the Heavenly Emperor's physical body and suffered a terrible fate. You saved my life, and I repaid that too. Pastoral Heavenly Venerable, if you weren't so stubborn, how could things have come to this?"
Qin Mu recalled the past, sighing with emotion. He asked, "Gong, do you think I would have saved you back then if I had known what you would do?"
"No."
Heavenly Venerable Gong stated decisively. "You would have kicked me while I was down, wishing me dead."
Qin Mu said flatly, "So I don't need to remind you that the Empress Dowager is right behind you."
Heavenly Venerable Gong's hair stood on end. She whirled around, and sure enough, the Empress Dowager was standing right behind her!
The Empress Dowager had reincarnated as Yan Tianfei, and the two women had different appearances. Yan Tianfei had always been one of the Ten Heavenly Venerables, and few suspected her identity.
Now, she had returned to the appearance of the Empress Dowager.
This woman stood there expressionless, staring straight at Heavenly Venerable Gong, motionless.
Heavenly Venerable Gong breathed a sigh of relief. "Yan Tianfei, although I have sided with Heavenly Venerable Hao and you with Heavenly Venerable Xiao, there is no great enmity between us. On the contrary, we share the same interests. There's no need for us to fight to the death. Whether Heavenly Venerable Xiao or Heavenly Venerable Hao ultimately wins, we will still be Heavenly Venerables."
The Empress Dowager continued to stare straight at her, saying nothing.
Heavenly Venerable Gong frowned slightly, also sensing something off about her state. She continued, "Although we had some grudges in the ancient times, that is in the past. Let bygones be bygones."
The Empress Dowager still stared straight at her. Suddenly, she raised her hand. Heavenly Venerable Gong prepared to defend herself, but she blocked nothing. The Empress Dowager's hand had already touched her face.
Goosebumps rose on Heavenly Venerable Gong's skin. She dared not move.
The Empress Dowager caressed her face for a while, then murmured softly, as if in a dream, "Little sister, haven't you caused enough trouble? Here is a fine body. You can transfer into this body and stop fighting with me."
Heavenly Venerable Gong's scalp tingled. "A fine body... is she talking about me?"
Suddenly, another woman's voice came from behind the Empress Dowager's head, sounding like Madam Yuan Mu, giggling, "Sister, when have I ever fought with you? It's you who fights with me! If you really want to separate from me, kill Heavenly Venerable Gong and take over her body!"
"Shut up, you slut!" the Empress Dowager roared, her black hair flying wildly.
Madam Yuan Mu's voice from behind her head giggled, "I'm a slut? What makes you any better? You're a slut too! I only slept with our brother-in-law, just one man. But in these past million years, how many lovers have you kept? How many pretty boys?"
She taunted, "If you lined up all the pretty boys you've kept, I bet they'd stretch from the Southern Heavenly Gate to the Northern Heavenly Gate, right?"
"Slut!"
"You're the slut!"
A chill ran up Heavenly Venerable Gong's spine. She quietly took a step back, but behind her was the Guixu Great Abyss.
She didn't know what was wrong with the Empress Dowager, but she could see that the Empress Dowager's situation was extremely dire, and her own situation was even worse!
The Empress Dowager and Yuan Mu's voices argued for a moment, then suddenly quieted down. The Empress Dowager lowered her head, her hair covering her face, hiding her features.
Two different women's voices came from her mouth. One chuckled softly, "Sister, aren't you tired of fighting all these years? Come to think of it, fighting over a stinky man for so long is really quite shameful."
"Yes,"
Another voice said. "That stinky man is still alive and well, while we've torn each other apart, damaging our sisterly bond."
The Empress Dowager slowly raised her head. It was still the same face, but the mole between her eyebrows had split into red and black halves.
Qin Mu poked his head out from the Myriad Dao Heavenly Wheel. Seeing this, he shuddered and quietly retreated, but he also had nowhere to go. Behind him was the Guixu Great Abyss!
Madam Yuan Mu's voice came from the Empress Dowager's mouth, full of temptation. "Our strength is so great, why should we rely on this one or that one? Why don't we become the Heavenly Emperor ourselves? If we fancy a man, we can just take him."
The Empress Dowager said, "You make a good point. Even the Earth Lord can't defeat us. There's really no need for us to fight over a stinky man."
She seemed to be talking to herself, giving off an incredibly insane feeling. "We should kill the Ten Heavenly Venerables first. There's one right in front of us..."
Upon hearing this, Heavenly Venerable Gong acted immediately, striking at the Empress Dowager. She shouted, "Yan Tianfei, you've gone mad..."
Boom!
The Empress Dowager raised her hand and struck back. The entire Guixu trembled violently. The next moment, Heavenly Venerable Gong lay flat on her back, still dazed.
Almost all her bones were broken. Her Heavenly Palace and Heavenly Court were also battered and ruined.
Strangely, however, the Empress Dowager did not continue to attack her.
After a long while, Heavenly Venerable Gong suppressed her injuries, activated her Creation Mystic Art to mend her broken bones, struggled to her feet, and coughed up several mouthfuls of blood.
It was then that she noticed the Empress Dowager was setting up a huge furnace by the edge of Guixu. She was furtively stoking the Dao fire, heating the furnace until it was red-hot.
"Shhh—"
The Empress Dowager turned her face towards her, making a shushing gesture. She whispered with a smile, "Big sister is asleep. That little slut has finally fallen asleep. I'm refining a divine furnace to turn that little slut into a miraculous elixir."
Her eyes sparkled with excitement. She muttered to herself, looking like a villain up to no good.
Heavenly Venerable Gong saw that the material used for the furnace was none other than Heavenly Venerable Hao's Myriad Dao Heavenly Wheel!
This supreme treasure of Heavenly Venerable Hao possessed extraordinary power, containing seventy-two positive and negative Heavenly Palaces and one hundred and sixteen positive and negative divine halls. But now, this supreme treasure had been dismantled by this madwoman and was being used as material for refining a treasure!
Heavenly Venerable Gong's heart skipped a beat. She hurriedly looked for Qin Mu in the Myriad Dao Heavenly Wheel, only to see him being held in the madwoman's hand, looking utterly innocent.
The madwoman was using him as a torch, lighting him up to melt and refine this furnace.
Heavenly Venerable Gong was horrified. How formidable was Pastoral Heavenly Venerable? If it came to a direct confrontation, even Heavenly Venerable Gong wouldn't dare say she could definitely defeat him!
And now, Qin Mu was being subdued by the Empress Dowager, his entire Dao cultivation ignited and transformed into Dao fire!
Fear and amusement warred within Heavenly Venerable Gong. She thought to herself, "That thief Mu is doomed. Even if she doesn't throw him into Guixu, he's finished. The Empress Dowager has gone mad. I can't get caught up in this."
Just as she was about to leave, the Empress Dowager suddenly collapsed to the ground, snoring loudly.
Heavenly Venerable Gong was stunned for a moment. She was about to take the opportunity to leave when the Empress Dowager stood up stiffly. In the blink of an eye, she appeared behind Heavenly Venerable Gong, a cold smile on her face. "That little slut tried to ambush me. Did she think I wouldn't know? It's hard for me to refine her to death, but that little slut is the Zaofu Palace Master, proficient in the Dao of Creation and the Dao of Casting, and she controls the Creation Divine Artifacts. The treasures she creates can refine me to death, so they must also be able to refine her to death! So I gave her this opportunity to create this furnace. Tell me, isn't my plan clever, Heavenly Venerable Gong?"
Heavenly Venerable Gong forced a smile. "The Empress Dowager's wisdom is boundless..."
The Empress Dowager grabbed her, holding her in her palm, and walked towards the furnace, muttering, "Pastoral Heavenly Venerable's Dao cultivation is high, but his magical power is weak. I need to light another Heavenly Venerable to complete this treasure..."
After a moment, Qin Mu and Heavenly Venerable Gong were like two giant human torches, radiating blazing Dao fire, placed beneath the furnace.
The two looked at each other, both wearing expressions of helplessness.
"Have you seen my sister, that little slut?"
Suddenly, the Empress Dowager's tone changed to Madam Yuan Mu's. She excitedly asked the two beneath the furnace, "That little slut must be plotting how to ambush me, right?"
Qin Mu said helplessly, "Sister Yuan Mu, stop messing around..."