Chapter 1585: Cloud and Fire Meet
Cloud Deity’s heart grew even more panicked. In just a short moment, only his Spiritual Fetus remained among his Divine Treasures!
And what did he mean by doing the opposite?
Weren’t they supposed to protect Lord Tu?
Heavenly Deity and the others were using Lord Tu as a hostage, forcing Qin Mu and the others to come to the rescue and willingly fall into their trap. How could Qin Mu instead plan to kill Lord Tu, the hostage, first?
No matter how useless Lord Tu was, he was still an ally. Where was the logic in eliminating one’s most powerful ally before the battle even began?
Lord Tu was also a being with formidable combat power. Although the current Heavenly Deities were far stronger than in the past, Lord Tu should still be able to fight Ancestral God King, who controlled the body of Heavenly Lord of the Ages, to a mutual destruction!
Instead of letting Lord Tu and Ancestral God King destroy each other, Qin Mu wanted to kill Lord Tu first. His strategy was baffling and incomprehensible.
“As long as Lord Tu lives, he’s a big target. Any arrow can be shot at that target!”
Qin Mu enthusiastically sealed Cloud Deity’s Heavenly Palace completely, preventing any energy from leaking out, and said, “Heavenly Deity can shoot, and naturally, we can too! Our goal is to prevent the Heavenly Court from taking the Netherworld, and secondly, to rescue Lord Tu, allowing him to break free from the shackles of the ancient gods and be reborn as a human. As long as we strike before the Heavenly Court, we can set up the Netherworld ahead of them and seize the initiative!”
Cloud Deity’s eyes widened, and he stammered, “I…”
“Earlier, Heavenly Deity and Primordial had the upper hand. If they attacked the Netherworld and killed Lord Tu, we would have to respond. And as long as we responded, we would fall into their trap.”
Qin Mu’s fingers flew, constantly tapping on Cloud Deity’s body, his speech faster than his finger speed, as he said rapidly, “They can strike whenever they want, set up their traps at their leisure, while we can only watch helplessly and then rush headlong into their snares. Once we charge in, they can close the net, trapping us inside and slaughtering us at will. But if we do the opposite and set up our own trap, what if we kill Lord Tu ourselves?”
His eyes were bright as he looked at Cloud Deity, an expectant expression on his face.
Cloud Deity opened his mouth, “I…”
“I know you’ll definitely agree to this plan!”
Qin Mu clenched his fist excitedly and laughed, “Then it’s settled! You focus on your cultivation!”
Cloud Deity quickly grabbed him, “Don’t leave yet! You’ve destroyed my Divine Treasures—how am I supposed to cultivate? You have to compensate me!”
Qin Mu shook off his hand and laughed, “I’ve already found you a teacher. Now that you have a physical body, you can leave the Great Luo Heaven. I’ll send you to Yankang, and someone will take you to the World Tree in the Ancestral Court. Your teacher is waiting for you there.”
Cloud Deity felt that he couldn’t muster even a shred of power from his physical body and was deeply disheartened.
There was a time when he admired Qin Mu, fantasizing about fighting alongside him, drinking and laughing with him, and discussing grand plans to command the world.
But now, the more he interacted with Qin Mu, the more he felt that the real Qin Mu was vastly different from the Mu Deity he had imagined.
This real Mu Deity was somewhat unreliable.
Qin Mu remembered something and instructed, “Brother Yun, hide that Primordial Emperor Sword of yours well and don’t carry it on you. In the Great Luo Heaven, Primordial can’t sense his Emperor Sword, but if you leave the Great Luo Heaven, he’ll be able to sense this companion treasure of his, find you, and kill you. The Emperor Sword must never fall into his hands.”
Cloud Deity nodded and said, “The Ultimate Void is vast and boundless. Even though Primordial and Heavenly Deity have the Great Luo Heaven, as long as I want to hide, they won’t be able to find me.”
After preparing, he followed Qin Mu onto the Golden Ship of Salvation.
He couldn’t use any power now, so Qin Mu used his own magical power to lift him onto the ship. Cloud Deity came to stand beside Ling Deity, who was sitting there, seemingly calculating something, and ignored him.
“Ling, you’re still as eccentric as ever,” Cloud Deity shook his head and sat down unsteadily.
He had spent much more time with Ling Deity than Qin Mu had. Throughout the entire Dragon Han Era, Ling Deity had always had this strange temperament, barely responding when spoken to.
Qin Mu said, “Once you reach the Ancestral Court and meet your teacher, it shouldn’t be long before you can reopen your Divine Treasures. At that point, your Heavenly Palace will automatically open. By the way, I’ve only sealed your physical body. If you encounter an enemy, you can use the power of your primordial spirit. Otherwise, it would be a shame if the esteemed Cloud Deity, the Heavenly Emperor of the Vast Sky, and a current Dao Achiever, were killed by some insignificant underling who doesn’t know better.”
Cloud Deity asked in surprise, “You’re not coming to the Ancestral Court with me?”
Qin Mu shook his head, “I need to go see Nether Deity.”
Cloud Deity nodded, then suddenly asked, “Why don’t you teach me yourself? How does this teacher’s skill compare to yours? If he’s not as good, I’d rather follow you.”
Qin Mu laughed, “His skill is naturally inferior to mine, but he cultivates the orthodox path. My methods are unorthodox and not suitable for you. You’ll understand when you get there, so don’t ask too many questions.”
Hearing this, Cloud Deity became even more curious about who the teacher was, but since Qin Mu refused to say, he had no choice but to accept it.
The Golden Ship of Salvation left the Ultimate Void and arrived at Yankang. Qin Mu entered the Dao Inquiry Institute to see Village Chief, suppressing the urge to uphold the tradition of beating up teachers in the Human Sovereign Hall, and said, “Grandpa Village Chief, this is Cloud Deity. Escort him to the Ancestral Court and find Fatty Blue.”
Village Chief looked at Cloud Deity, his expression turning solemn. He bowed and said, “The junior student Su Muzhe pays respects to Cloud Deity! Cloud Deity, please follow me!”
As Cloud Deity followed him away, Qin Mu heard Village Chief’s voice drifting from afar: “Cloud Deity is a good friend of Mu’er, right? Speaking of which, I am also Mu’er’s teacher. I taught him swordsmanship. When he was young, he was even sold to a cloth shop by the village matriarch, hahaha! I’ll tell you all about it on the way…”
Qin Mu’s face darkened as he watched the two disappear into the distance. Then he urged the Golden Ship toward the Netherworld.
Ling Deity was still on the ship, having not moved at all. As the Golden Ship of Salvation entered the Netherworld and headed toward Lord Tu’s horns, Qin Mu diligently studied the changes in the Dao patterns of the Miluo Palace. However, there were still many difficult points that he couldn’t comprehend in a short time.
He wanted to ask Ling Deity, but after being discouraged by her before, he lacked the confidence to speak up.
After a long while, Ling Deity raised her head, smoothed the hair at her temples, and said, “If you really don’t understand, then ask.”
Qin Mu’s spirits lifted, and he quickly voiced his difficulties.
On the other side, Village Chief led Cloud Deity toward the Ancestral Court. They first went to the Spirit Energy Teleportation Bridge in the lower capital of Yankang, which led to the Ancestral Court.
At that moment, Cloud Deity saw Moon Deity standing beside the bridge.
Moon Deity stood there quietly, as if waiting for him.
Village Chief stopped talking about Qin Mu’s affairs. Cloud Deity walked forward, smiled, and said, “Moon, it’s been a long time.”
Moon Deity couldn’t help but shed tears, yet she laughed, “Yes, it’s been far too long. It’s really good to see you again.”
Cloud Deity unconsciously recalled the glorious years of the Dragon Han Era. Back then, the human race was lowly, and the strongest among them were these human Heavenly Deities.
But after Yu Deity died, the hope of the human race seemed to be cut off. Nether Deity went to the Netherworld, Fire Deity defected to Heavenly Deity, Qin Deity and Mu Deity vanished without a trace, leaving only the Heavenly Alliance, which was nothing but an empty shell.
At that time, the human race saw no hope.
He wanted to do something, but back then, only Moon Deity and Ling Deity supported him, following him as he pressed forward until his downfall.
He had grand ambitions, but their power was still too insignificant. Even though he was the first to cultivate the Emperor Throne, in that era, he still couldn’t turn the tide, still couldn’t defeat the ancient gods or the demigods.
The Dragon Han Era was still an era of immense oppression and despair. It was Moon Deity and Ling Deity who supported him, giving him hope and motivation.
Village Chief quietly waited for them to catch up. After a long time, Moon Deity left. Village Chief stepped forward and entered the Spirit Energy Teleportation Bridge with Yu Deity.
When they emerged from the bridge, they had already arrived at the Ancestral Court.
Cloud Deity marveled, his heart filled with emotion.
This kind of teleportation bridge was a bridge connecting different worlds, and its speed opened his eyes.
Along the way, as he listened to Village Chief recount Qin Mu’s various deeds, he gained some understanding of Qin Mu. He thought to himself, “Mu Deity is truly a combination of the nine elders of the Crippled Elderly Village. No wonder he has such a lively temperament and often comes up with shocking ideas.”
Suddenly, his pupils contracted, and he stopped in his tracks.
Village Chief was startled and looked puzzled.
“Su Muzhe, you can go back.”
Cloud Deity took a deep breath, his gaze fixed ahead, and said in a deep voice, “An old acquaintance has sensed my descent and is waiting for me on the path ahead. If you go, you won’t be able to protect yourself.”
Village Chief followed his gaze and looked ahead, his heart tightening. He saw a blaze of fire rising between two great mountains in the Ancestral Court.
That was Dao Fire.
The flames illuminated the two mountains, and faintly, a figure could be seen standing within the fire!
“Fire Deity!”
Village Chief’s eyes twitched, and he suddenly drew his sword.
Cloud Deity raised an eyebrow and, before Village Chief’s divine sword could leave its sheath, he pressed down on his hand, pushing the sword back into the scabbard. He said in a deep voice, “Don’t act rashly. You wouldn’t last a single move against him. We are old friends, so there won’t be any danger. You can go back.”
Village Chief’s hand still firmly gripped the sword hilt. His body, once old, returned to youth, quickly reaching its prime. His muscles were as if tempered by the great rivers and seas, without an ounce of excess fat. He said in a deep voice, “Cloud Deity, if anything happens to you, I won’t be able to answer to Mu’er!”
Cloud Deity hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward, “Follow me. Don’t speak, don’t make any moves. Just pretend you’re blind, deaf, and mute.”
Village Chief followed closely behind him. The two walked between the two great mountains.
The Dao Fire parted, revealing a safe passage.
Cloud Deity walked up to the person behind the fire. The person turned around, a look of joy on his face, his expression a mix of laughter and tears as he looked at him.
“Cloud Deity, my lifelong Dao companion!”
Fire Deity shed tears, each tear turning into a blossom of Dao Fire that floated around him. “We can finally meet again!”
Cloud Deity smiled, stepped forward, and said gently, “Fire Deity, we meet again.”
Fire Deity laughed heartily, his voice booming and shaking the valley.
“How ridiculous! Ling Deity is stubborn, Moon Deity is without strategy, Nether Deity is withdrawn, Qin Deity is blind, and Mu Deity is a stone in a latrine! None of them understand me!”
Fire Deity spread his arms and laughed, “Even if Blue Yutian, Brother Yu, is someone I admire, he is not someone I can open my heart to. Only Cloud Deity is my true confidant! Yun, the one who knows me best, the one who understands me most—your revival fills my heart with boundless joy!”
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