Chapter 1687: Honest and Reliable Heavenly Lord Mu
Qin Mu was slightly startled. He had some understanding of the grievances and grudges between East Heaven Azure Emperor and East Emperor Azure Dragon.
After the Yan Kang Calamity, Martial Extremity Divine Sovereign had come to him and spoken of Azure Emperor's past.
Before the Heavenly Court was established, Imperial Heavenly Lord had realized Dao beneath a withered tree, comprehending the method to open the Spirit Embryo Divine Treasury. The withered tree where he realized Dao received this opportunity, and thus the old tree welcomed spring and came back to life.
This old tree was the future East Heaven Azure Emperor, but the process was very tortuous. Because the old tree had become a divine tree, it was cut down by someone and refined into a treasure. It passed through many hands until it arrived at the Yao Pool Grand Assembly in the early Long Han era, where it heard Qin Mu and Hao Heavenly Lord teach the method of becoming a god.
Afterward, the owner of the divine tree was killed, and this divine tree fell into the Yuan Realm, taking root there. It absorbed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and its cultivation grew higher and higher. However, in the Chi Ming era, it was cut down again by humans and refined into a treasure. It fell into the hands of Emperor Ming, who refined it into an Imperial Throne divine weapon of immense power.
In the Shang Huang era, Azure Emperor was already the most powerful divine weapon at that time, having nurtured a spirit. However, he was interrupted by East Emperor Azure Dragon, who nearly beat him into oblivion, body and soul.
Azure Emperor then became useless and was discarded. Yet, relying on a single belief, he survived, shed his treasure form, and cultivated to the Imperial Throne level. He was valued by the then Dawn Heavenly Lord and was called East Heaven Azure Emperor, used to restrain East Emperor Azure Dragon.
His grievances and grudges with East Emperor Azure Dragon began from this point. East Emperor was the master of the Eastern Extremity Heaven, while Azure Emperor was the Great Emperor of the East Heaven. The two naturally clashed, and their grudges grew deeper and deeper, accumulating more and more.
In the palace of Martial Extremity Divine Sovereign, the mural depicted East Emperor Azure Dragon prostrating at the feet of Azure Emperor, gasping for breath, fawning for survival. This showed how deep Azure Emperor's hatred for East Emperor was.
Cloud Heavenly Lord said, "Yan Kang National Master asking for East Emperor's dragon scales should be to resurrect East Emperor, to have East Emperor lure out Azure Emperor, forcing Azure Emperor to engage in an all-out war with him. Taking this opportunity, he can break the East Heaven's army and solve the problem of the East Heaven's gods and demons in one fell swoop. Only then can he free his hands to support Carefree Village."
Qin Mu glanced at Ling Yuxiu, who immediately got up to look for the dragon scales of East Emperor Azure Dragon.
"East Emperor Azure Dragon is unruly and arrogant, with an extremely high opinion of himself. However, his methods are despicable and lowly, despised by others. He was the first to surrender to the Heavenly Court and became Azure Dragon Heavenly Lord, thinking he could save his life. But how could Hao Heavenly Emperor let him off?"
Qin Mu smiled and said, "Hao Heavenly Emperor sacrificed him in order to kill Fire Heavenly Lord. When I married my wife, Tai Chu sent someone to deliver East Emperor's dragon scales to test whether I was truly disheartened. So I didn't resurrect him. When Yan'er and South Emperor came to see me, they didn't mention resurrecting him either, so I forgot about it. Resurrecting East Emperor now can be considered repaying the favor of him helping me refine my sword back then."
Cloud Heavenly Lord said, "I have heard people say that Heavenly Lord Mu's favors are not to be taken lightly, and IOU notes are absolutely not to be accepted, otherwise there will be danger to one's life."
"These are all slanders!"
Before Qin Mu could speak, Ling Yuxiu walked over with East Emperor's dragon scales and said coldly, "They are all rumors spread by the Ten Heavenly Lords to ruin my husband's reputation! Many tongues can melt metal, accumulated slander can dissolve bones. My husband's reputation has been ruined by them, to the point where even Cloud Heavenly Lord believes it!"
Cloud Heavenly Lord quickly said, "Actually, I don't believe it!"
Qin Mu sighed with emotion, "One who knows me is my wife."
He took the East Emperor's dragon scales and performed a soul-summoning ritual. Suddenly, Qin Mu showed a surprised expression: "East Emperor's soul is not in Youdu, nor in the Tianyin Realm!"
Cloud Heavenly Lord and the others were slightly stunned. If Azure Dragon had been killed, his soul should have fallen into Youdu. If his soul had been shattered into black sand, it would definitely have fallen into the Tianyin Realm.
But Qin Mu said that East Emperor's soul was in neither of these places, which was strange.
"That's it."
Qin Mu smiled and said, "Tai Chu killed East Emperor Azure Dragon, so Azure Dragon's soul must have fallen into Tai Chu's hands. His soul should also be hidden by Tai Chu."
Cloud Heavenly Lord's heart stirred: "The Ultimate Void, the One Qi Great Luo Heaven!"
"It could also be the ancestral court treasure halls that Tai Chu obtained. Both of these places can shield my divine ability's perception."
Qin Mu pondered, "If it's Tai Chu's One Qi Great Luo Heaven, that's fine. Now Tai Chu's Great Luo Heaven has descended into the Yuan Realm to intimidate Yan Kang. It wouldn't be difficult for me to forcefully cast a spell and reclaim Azure Dragon's soul. But if it's suppressed in the ancestral court treasure halls, that would be troublesome."
He took a deep breath and strode out, his voice hard to conceal excitement: "Tai Chu sent the dragon scales and hid East Emperor's soul, probably intending to scheme against me when I perform the ritual! Since that's the case, I'll indulge him!"
Ling Yuxiu quickly walked out of the hall, and Cloud Heavenly Lord also hurried out. They saw Qin Mu standing on an open space, his divine consciousness surging, and he immediately visualized a massive altar.
The altar rose from beneath his feet, and his primordial qi transformed into various Dao runes imprinted on it. The runes formed Dao patterns, and the Dao patterns formed Dao chains, creating a most basic domain.
Behind Qin Mu, the Great Heavenly Court floated, and the Jade Capital City appeared. In the center of the Jade Capital City, in front of the Chaos Hall, his primordial spirit stood. With a stomp of its foot, an altar also appeared in front of the Chaos Hall, but it was the reverse of the altar beneath Qin Mu's physical body.
Cloud Heavenly Lord watched for a moment but didn't understand, saying, "Sister-in-law, what is the use of Heavenly Lord Mu's other altar?"
Ling Yuxiu also didn't understand, saying, "It has its own wonderful use."
Cloud Heavenly Lord nodded, "Well said."
Qin Mu's physical body performed the ritual on the altar, while at the same time, his primordial spirit performed the ritual in front of the Chaos Hall. However, what Qin Mu's physical body was performing was the Soul-Pulling Spell, to pull the soul of East Emperor Azure Dragon, while what his primordial spirit was doing was incomprehensible.
A mysterious force spread out, penetrating the void, giving a feeling of being elusive, gentle, ethereal, hidden, and formless.
When this force soaked in and invaded all the heavens and myriad realms, Qin Mu finally sensed the location of East Emperor Azure Dragon's soul.
East Emperor Azure Dragon's soul was hidden in Tai Chu's One Qi Great Luo Heaven. Now, Tai Chu's One Qi Great Luo Heaven was floating above the Heavenly Court's camp, facing Carefree Village's Thirty-Three Heavens from afar.
Just as Qin Mu's force invaded the One Qi Great Luo Heaven, under the Dao tree in the One Qi Great Luo Heaven, Tai Chu stood up, revealing a smile: "Heavenly Lord Mu, you still came! You can't bear to lose a combatant like East Emperor Azure Dragon; you need him to fight for you! But you don't know that I have been waiting for you for a long time!"
Under the Dao tree, beside the roots, stood a bronze jar as tall as a person, its mouth tightly sealed.
At this moment, this bronze jar was constantly shaking, as if a force was shaking the jar, trying to break it open and release what was inside!
"Your power, when it reaches my Great Luo Heaven, has already weakened. At this moment, I can counterattack your primordial spirit and your physical body!"
Tai Chu roared, and his physical body instantly became extremely massive!
Throughout the long years, his physical body had always been number one in the world, even able to withstand the attacks of Dao Achievers. It was only in recent years that he was surpassed by Qin Mu. Qin Mu had cultivated the Hong Meng physical body, which was incredibly powerful, surpassing even his Ancient God Heavenly Emperor physical body!
And as powerful as the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor physical body was his primordial qi, the Innate One Qi!
The Innate One Qi was both primordial qi and Dao, capable of transforming into any Dao in the world!
Although his Innate One Qi had not reached the level of Dao Achievement, it was still extraordinary. He took the path of achieving Dao through force, borrowing the power of the ancestral court's Jade Capital City, and in terms of magical power, he far surpassed those who achieved Dao through Dao realm!
"What you didn't expect even more is that my treasure halls are now complete!"
Tai Chu activated the Innate One Qi, and behind him, the Great Heavenly Court appeared, with seventy-two treasure halls flanking the thirty-six heavenly palaces!
Since Hao Heavenly Emperor retreated after his battle with Qin Mu in the Ultimate Void, Hao Heavenly Emperor had reached a consensus with him. The father and son exchanged their respective halls, no longer keeping secrets.
Both Hao Heavenly Emperor and Tai Chu had now cultivated the seventy-two treasure halls, reaching perfection in the path of achieving Dao through force!
Tai Chu's magical power was even stronger than before. The Ancient God Heavenly Emperor's physical body took steps, walking around the bronze jar. His arms flew, and the Innate One Qi transformed into divine abilities, moving in the opposite direction against Qin Mu's soul-pulling force!
His divine abilities were subtle and silent, tracking Qin Mu's force all the way, following Qin Mu's Soul-Pulling Spell to counterattack Qin Mu's physical body and primordial spirit!
This was a calculated attack against an unprepared opponent. Qin Mu was fully focused on pulling the soul of East Emperor Azure Dragon, with neither his physical body nor his primordial spirit having any defense. This was the best time to counter-kill Qin Mu!
Tai Chu's spirits were high, and he roared repeatedly. One divine ability after another followed the vine to attack Qin Mu.
Meanwhile, Qin Mu's force continued to pour in, trying to shake the bronze jar. However, this bronze jar was located in the One Qi Great Luo Heaven. Although the One Qi Great Luo Heaven had left the Ultimate Void and come to the Yuan Realm, it was still a Dao achievement. Qin Mu's force, upon arriving here, was weakened layer by layer and was no longer at its peak.
Moreover, this bronze jar was suppressed by the One Qi Great Luo Heaven. For Qin Mu to shake this jar, he would have to contend with the entire Great Luo Heaven and Tai Chu's Dao conduct!
Heaven's time and earth's advantage were all on Tai Chu's side. Tai Chu had victory in his grasp!
In an instant, he had unleashed who knows how many great divine abilities, displaying the full power of a Dao Achiever!
Just then, Tai Chu's eyelids twitched. He saw that beneath the bronze jar, dense imprints suddenly appeared!
These imprints formed rings, one ring after another, stacked and expanding outward. Just as he noticed these ring-shaped imprints, they had already spread from the bottom of the jar to half the extent of the Great Luo Heaven!
The ring-shaped imprints were extremely peculiar, like the annual ring patterns of a tree. In a short time, there were already hundreds of millions of annual rings.
"This is... the World Tree!"
Tai Chu suddenly realized: "Damn it! He's scheming against me too!"
Boom!
Those annual rings spun, and the imprints within the rings turned into light that shot into the sky. A deafening sound came from above the Heavenly Court's camp. On Tai Chu's One Qi Great Luo Heaven, a giant tree as thick as half the Great Luo Heaven suddenly appeared, its branches flying, its roots plunging into Tai Chu's One Qi Great Luo Heaven!
Those roots were incredibly thick, like majestic mountain ranges, cracking the earth of the One Qi Great Luo Heaven, toppling the mountains. Tai Chu, caught off guard, was blasted away by the massive tree trunk, falling from the One Qi Great Luo Heaven!
His Dao tree was also crushed and toppled. Suddenly, a loud crack came from the entire Great Luo Heaven, and it was forcibly split in half!
At the same time, the bronze jar exploded with a bang, and the three souls of East Emperor Azure Dragon flew up, summoned by a mysterious force!
And that World Tree, after splitting the One Qi Great Luo Heaven, turned into countless specks of light and dissipated into the air, leaving only the split One Qi Great Luo Heaven falling from the sky!