Chapter 1579: The Little Monsters of Dragon Qilin’s Family
Qin Mu and Ugly Tu Bo fell silent. Since Heaven Duke had stepped forward, the two of them were still willing to listen, but how much they would actually take to heart remained questionable.
Heaven Duke stood there, wanting to say something, but after a long moment, he still couldn’t find the right words.
Both Qin Mu and Tu Bo were stubbornly terrifying individuals. Persuading them to change their minds was nearly impossible.
Moreover, Heaven Duke himself was not innocent. Back then, driven by personal desires, he had given no thought to Qin Mu and Eternal Peace’s predicament, allowing Heaven Sovereign Hong and the other Heaven Sovereigns to attack him.
Qin Mu was his ally, yet he had not considered his ally’s situation. Still, Qin Mu had done everything in his power, using his connections to invite numerous experts—from Kai Huang Lang Wan to Nether Sovereign—and even personally joining the battle. In the end, he saved Heaven Duke, resurrected him, and gave him hope of attaining the Dao.
Otherwise, Heaven Duke would have had no chance of surviving that time!
Now, Palace Heaven Sovereign had borrowed the Nether Realm to go to the Return to Ruins to suppress Qin Mu, and Tu Bo had taken the opportunity to slaughter the Heavenly Court’s soldiers at Jade Lock Pass, inviting the Heavenly Court’s retribution—a move identical to Heaven Duke’s actions back then.
He, too, had not considered Qin Mu and Eternal Peace but had acted for his own selfish desires.
As allies, these two ancient gods were both unqualified.
Before them, the Southern Emperor Vermilion Bird had also acted on her own, rebelling without notifying Qin Mu and drawing Fire Heaven Sovereign’s attention. She had hoped to use Fire Heaven Sovereign to break free from the shackles of being an ancient god, but instead, she was suppressed in the Fragrant Incense Hall.
Even so, Qin Mu had done everything he could, searching for a way to break the Fragrant Incense Hall and resurrect the Southern Emperor Vermilion Bird.
From this perspective, Heaven Duke, Tu Bo, and the Southern Emperor all owed Qin Mu a great deal.
After a long silence, Qin Mu said desolately, “Tu Bo, no matter what, the Nether Realm cannot fall into the Heavenly Court’s hands. Otherwise, I won’t be able to turn things around. I hope you have absolute certainty. This is the last time your ancient god camp acts on its own. If, after you break free from the shackles of being an ancient god, any other ancient god follows your example, don’t expect me to save them.”
He said flatly, “At that time, I’ll watch you all court death.”
Ugly Tu Bo was silent for a moment, then said, “Thank you.”
Qin Mu snorted, flicked his sleeves, and walked away. His voice came from afar, saying, “If the Heavenly Court comes to kill you, they won’t send their entire army. A few Heaven Sovereigns will be enough. I’ll do my best to invite Kai Huang and the others to help. But if the Nether Realm falls into the Heavenly Court’s hands, heh... I’ll just kneel before Heaven Sovereign Hao and surrender!”
His figure passed through the karmic fire and vanished without a trace.
Heaven Duke watched him go, praising, “Pastoral Heaven Sovereign’s skills are becoming more and more unfathomable. Even the karmic fire doesn’t faze him. It’s just that his temper is too fiery—calling himself ‘I’ in front of us.”
“His cultivation and strength have already reached the level of a Heaven Sovereign. Even among the Ten Heaven Sovereigns, he’s not weak. I can no longer fully understand his abilities.”
Ugly Tu Bo said, “This time, he was truly angered. I could feel the flames of rage igniting in his Dao heart. If you hadn’t rushed over just now, he would probably have raised his fists and fought me, giving me a thorough beating.”
Heaven Duke laughed. “How would he dare?”
Ugly Tu Bo said nothing.
Heaven Duke asked curiously, “How did he evade the Nether Realm’s Dao perception?”
Ugly Tu Bo shook his head. “I don’t know. But I sensed a strange Dao within him, one that deeply concealed the karmic consequences of resurrecting the dead. I could detect it, but the Nether Realm’s Dao couldn’t.”
Heaven Duke smiled. “Your realm is even higher now. I didn’t see that Dao. Fellow Daoist, do you think Void Heaven Sovereign will still recognize you as Ugly?”
Ugly Tu Bo was silent for a moment, then a smile appeared on his hideous face. “She will. Isn’t her goal in becoming one of the Ten Heaven Sovereigns to kill Tu Bo and rescue her father, Ugly?”
Heaven Duke frowned slightly, a hint of worry in his heart.
He looked up. The Nether Realm was now filled with a grim atmosphere. Many Nether Realm monsters had taken advantage of Nether Sovereign’s absence to slip away, planning to hide in the mortal world to escape the disaster.
Qin Mu left the Nether Realm and arrived at the intersection of the Heavenly River and the Styx River. It was here that the Heavenly River entered the Nether Realm, becoming the Styx. Countless Nether Realm monsters and demons used this route to sneak into the mortal world.
As he walked, he saw countless monsters swimming in the surging waters, lurking in the river, even staining the Heavenly River pitch black!
Unlike the Mysterious Realm, whose people deeply loved Heaven Duke and didn’t flee during the Mysterious Realm’s calamity, instead fighting to the death against the Heavenly Court, the Nether Realm’s monsters and demons were born from the various negative emotions of the world. The Nether Realm gods also cultivated demonic Dao. Facing the Nether Realm’s calamity, their first thought was to flee.
“Pastoral Heaven Sovereign!” someone suddenly called out to him.
Qin Mu followed the sound and saw Void Heaven Sovereign standing on the surface of the Heavenly River. Beneath her feet was the black water, and countless monsters surged behind her, their numbers growing into a sky-covering demon army.
Qin Mu stopped, his gaze falling on Void Heaven Sovereign’s face. He said flatly, “Void Heaven Sovereign, what advice do you have?”
“Advice? I wouldn’t dare. By seniority, I should call you uncle.”
Void Heaven Sovereign bowed slightly and said, “Palace Heaven Sovereign escorted uncle to the Return to Ruins, planning to use you to fill the sea eye. But she hasn’t returned, and Pastoral Heaven Sovereign has come back alive. Could it be that Palace Heaven Sovereign has met with misfortune?”
Qin Mu smiled ambiguously. “You’ve planted so many spies in Eternal Peace. Don’t you know whether Palace Heaven Sovereign is dead or not?”
Void Heaven Sovereign said, “Palace Heaven Sovereign has indeed met with misfortune. Someone saw her turn to ashes in the Origin Realm, and your mount went to kill her reincarnated body. Someone found her reincarnated body washed up on the shore. I imagine that if I die in the future, uncle will also order someone to kill my reincarnated body in Eternal Peace, without mercy.”
Qin Mu laughed heartily, then his smile completely vanished. “Void Heaven Sovereign, you seem to be in a good mood. Since I’ve known you, this is the longest conversation we’ve had.”
Void Heaven Sovereign smiled slightly. “Heaven Sovereign Hao has imprinted the Ultimate Void, cultivated his Dao tree and Dao flower, and opened the One Qi Great Luo Heaven.”
Qin Mu said, “Heaven Sovereign Hao has that strength. It’s not surprising that he imprinted the Ultimate Void.”
Void Heaven Sovereign said, “Heaven Sovereign Hao said that besides imprinting the Great Luo Heaven, he sensed another path to achieving the Dao. He has cultivated two types of Great Heavenly Court techniques, but one technique hasn’t yet led to the Dao.”
Qin Mu’s pupils contracted slightly, but he said nothing.
Void Heaven Sovereign continued, “His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor has returned from the ancestral court’s Jade Capital City. Using his powerful physical body, he imprinted the Ultimate Void and also opened a Great Luo Heaven—the Primordial Beginning Great Luo Heaven.”
Qin Mu shook his head. “Primordial Beginning is half-crippled. Even with the support of the Fourth Young Master, he can’t complete the Primordial Beginning Dao. His Great Luo Heaven isn’t the Primordial Beginning Great Luo Heaven, but the One Qi Great Luo Heaven. He has lost all his fortune and is no match for Heaven Sovereign Hao.”
Void Heaven Sovereign praised, “Uncle sees things very clearly. No wonder you’ve survived this long. After His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor returned to the Heavenly Court, he issued an edict to prepare for abdication, appointing Heaven Sovereign Hao as the crown prince.”
Qin Mu’s heart pounded violently. He said in a deep voice, “Have the Third Young Master and the Fourth Young Master formed an alliance?”
Void Heaven Sovereign couldn’t help but admire, “Uncle is truly formidable. Just from the Heavenly Emperor’s intention to abdicate, you deduced what happened behind the scenes. Your niece is impressed.”
Qin Mu fell silent.
Void Heaven Sovereign said, “Uncle is so sharp; you should also see that Tu Bo has no way out. Why bother being a mantis trying to stop a chariot, smashing an egg against a rock?”
Qin Mu laughed heartily. Suddenly, his body shifted horizontally, and the next moment, he stood right in front of Void Heaven Sovereign.
His aura exploded, colliding with Void Heaven Sovereign’s aura. With a thunderous boom, Void Heaven Sovereign’s black robe billowed, spreading in all directions!
The dark halo behind her head spun wildly, and the countless Nether Realm monsters and gods behind her connected their auras to hers. But even those billions of monsters and gods were shaken, flying into the air!
Boom!
An incredibly violent tremor came from above. The sky twisted and spun. Heaven Duke’s enormous face appeared on the celestial canopy, his snow-white eyes brighter than billions of suns, staring at Qin Mu!
Qin Mu looked up, glanced at Heaven Duke’s face, and sneered. “Ancestral God King, a clown who killed his father.”
Heaven Duke roared, and infinite starlight pressed down from above. But before it could reach Qin Mu’s head, it was blocked by the World Tree that appeared behind him, unable to fall.
Qin Mu retracted his aura, walked past Void Heaven Sovereign, and said softly, “Niece, no matter what, Tu Bo is your father. Do you want to be like Ancestral God King, a father-killer?”
Void Heaven Sovereign smiled. “Pastoral Heaven Sovereign, you have no chance of winning!”
Qin Mu laughed heartily, his figure fading into the distance. His voice came from afar: “Heaven Sovereign Hao and Heavenly Emperor Primordial Beginning are just the dogs of the Third and Fourth Young Masters. I am the Seventh Young Master. Fighting me? You’re far from qualified!”
Void Heaven Sovereign frowned. Ancestral God King, controlling Heaven Duke’s physical body in the sky, looked at her with a questioning expression.
Void Heaven Sovereign shook her head. “There’s no certainty of keeping him here. Heaven Sovereign Hao and His Majesty Primordial Beginning aren’t around. There’s no need to fight him to the death. The Nether Realm is more important.”
Ancestral God King slowly faded away.
Qin Mu walked along the Heavenly River to Eternal Peace and descended. Eternal Peace was changing with each passing day. He hadn’t returned here for over twenty years. Looking around, he saw floating divine cities, towering buildings, and large ships sailing between the structures.
At this moment, Eternal Peace’s techniques and Dao were advancing rapidly, which put him somewhat at ease.
“I need to find Ling Heaven Sovereign first...”
Just as he thought this, a familiar voice came from the Spiritual Energy Transfer Bridge, both surprised and delighted: “Sect Leader! Old Sect Leader!”
Qin Mu’s heart stirred. He followed the sound and saw a young man with a qilin head and human body walking out of the Spiritual Energy Transfer Bridge, joyfully running toward him. It was Dragon Qilin.
Dragon Qilin ran over, but seeing Qin Mu’s face grow darker, his heart trembled: “Oh no, I added ‘old’ before ‘Sect Leader,’ making the Sect Leader unhappy...”
He continued running, revealing his true form. His ears twitched, and several strange creatures—qilin bodies with vermilion bird wings and dragon tails—flew out of his ears, chirping and circling Qin Mu.
Qin Mu immediately cast aside his earlier displeasure. He raised his hand to catch one little monster, which gnawed on his finger, sparks flying between its teeth.
Qin Mu exclaimed in surprise, “Fat Dragon, are these your and Yan’er’s cubs? Yan’er incubated them for so many years—they’ve finally been born!”
These little monsters had dragon scales on their bird claws. The one in his hand wrapped its dragon tail around his finger, its claws clutching another finger as it looked him up and down, its big, dark eyes full of curiosity.
On the back of another, slightly larger little monster sat a tiny Tu Bo, looking very dignified, nodding to Qin Mu and saying, “Maha.”
Dragon Qilin smiled apologetically. “I just returned from the ancestral court, and my wife made me take care of the kids. I had no choice but to bring them along. I planned to return to Eternal Peace to find the Sect Leader, then take the children back to the Beast Realm.”
Seeing their family, the burden in Qin Mu’s heart vanished. Emotions surged within him, ultimately condensing into one sentence: “Fat Dragon has grown up.”
—The last two days of the month, asking for monthly votes! It’s double monthly votes now—one vote counts as two!
PS: Thanks to Qia Qia Hao Hao Hao for the million starting point coin tip!