Chapter 1730: The Blood Rust War
The Heavenly Duke gazed at the corpse of the Ancestral God King, a nameless sorrow welling up within him that words could not express. He had thought he would weep, that tears would fall, but now his state of mind was too elevated; he only felt a deep sadness.
He was drawing ever closer to the enlightenment that Tai Yi had spoken of, but this ascent in the realm of the Dao was also causing him to gradually lose some of his fundamental emotions.
The true body of the Heavenly Duke continued to transform into celestial Dao starlight, flowing into his being, elevating his cultivation and power to ever greater heights. He had already broken free from the shackles of being the ancient god Heavenly Duke, but the realm of the celestial Dao, and the Heart of Heaven—were they not another kind of constraint?
When the people of the ancient era looked up at the starry sky, Heaven was born.
Thus, the Heart of Heaven is the human heart, the heart of all living beings.
The Heavenly Duke had leaped beyond the celestial Dao, but he had acquired the Heart of Heaven. This Heart of Heaven would constrain him, compelling him to act in accordance with its will.
Achieving enlightenment was not as beautiful as he had imagined.
But neither was it terrible.
His words and deeds would never transgress the celestial Dao, yet he would not be limited solely to it. He could also comprehend other great Daos to elevate himself.
He sat down in silence, quietly meditating and seeking self-improvement, attempting to break through the final barrier.
On the other side, the Heavenly Court's grand army had been driven out of the Primordial Realm. Along the way, they abandoned their armor and weapons, suffering heavy losses. During their retreat, the Heavenly Court's soldiers had tried to re-establish their positions and set up camps to confront the Yan Kang pursuers, but the Yan Kang forces gave them no such opportunity.
The Heavenly Court troops sent to block the enemy often had no time to form their battle arrays before being ambushed by the Netherworld Sovereign from the Nether Realm. Then, the Yan Kang army would sweep in, turning the battle into an overwhelming encirclement and annihilation.
At the same time, the Yan Kang army grew larger and larger. The two Red Ming Emperors arrived, and reinforcements from the other heavens of the Primordial Realm swarmed in. The allied forces increased in number with each passing day.
Meanwhile, the Heavenly Court's armies that had been sent to plunder other heavens also encountered fierce resistance. After bloody, unending battles, they finally managed to escape and return.
During their flight, one heaven after another declared rebellion, rising up against the tyranny of the Heavenly Court.
Ling Yuxiu had established Spirit Energy Transfer Bridges with the various great heavens on the eve of the war, facilitating mutual travel and communication. The usefulness of these bridges now became starkly apparent.
It was precisely because of these Spirit Energy Transfer Bridges that news of the Heavenly Court's defeat in the Nether Realm and the Celestial Realm spread so quickly across the myriad heavens and countless worlds. It was also because of these bridges that the rulers of the great heavens could arrive in the Primordial Realm in such a short time to besiege the Heavenly Court.
Heavenly Emperor Hao and Empress Dowager organized several counterattacks, attempting to use their authority as enlightened beings to hunt down the high-ranking officers of the enemy forces. However, the arrival of Xu Shenghua, the Moon Venerable, the two Xuanwu Emperors, Lang Wan, and others—along with Yue Tingge, who was guarding the Western Lands and led his troops to block their retreat, attacking from the rear—forced them to retreat once again in bitter frustration.
In terms of combat power at the Venerable level, Yan Kang had now surpassed the Heavenly Court. With Tai Chu dead in battle and the Ancestral God King defeated, the Heavenly Court's cause was truly lost.
The Heavenly Court completely withdrew from the Primordial Realm, embarking on a long journey through the starry sky towards the Ancestral Court. Along the way, various great heavens rose up in rebellion, sending their armies into the stars to attack the remnants of the Heavenly Court.
This path was truly a road stained with blood.
As they fled and fought their way to the battlefield where the Creators had been annihilated long ago—the Blood Rust Zone—they encountered an unexpected turn of events.
The only surviving Creator God King, Shu Jun, stood at the center of the Blood Rust Zone, filled with a myriad of emotions. Over a million years ago, he had led the Creators here in a decisive battle against the ancient gods and demigods led by the ancient god Heavenly Emperor Tai Chu.
That was the most massive battle in recorded history. No campaign in the following million-plus years could compare to it. Only the recent war in the Primordial Realm surpassed the Blood Rust Campaign in scale!
In that battle, he, the ancient God King, had suffered a complete and utter defeat!
The Creator race, which had emerged from the Ancestral Court, was wiped out completely, not a single one remaining. Even he, the God King, had only a sliver of consciousness left, hidden within a fragment of the Tai Chu Primeval Stone!
Later, he was found by Wei Suifeng, who hid the stone and eventually passed it to Qin Mu, granting Shu Jun a new lease on life.
After that campaign, the only surviving remnants of the Creator race were those who had hidden in the Tai Xu region beforehand—the branch led by Lang Wan.
"Back then, my flawed decisions buried the era of the Creators. The Creator race was nearly destroyed because of me."
Shu Jun passed by one altar after another. These blood-stained altars had once been the origin of civilization in this universe. The Creators could never return to their former glory; they could only integrate into the present age.
"But the Creators can still shine brilliantly in this new era!"
Shu Jun bowed deeply. His Three Enclosures Upper Consciousness erupted, his voice ringing with strength and passion, full of surging, majestic fervor: "For the sake of future Creators, my fellow tribesmen! Follow me, your once-defeated leader, and awaken once more! Fight against the Heavenly Court!"
The Heavenly Court's grand army had already arrived at the Blood Rust Zone. Amidst this vast, magnificent interstellar ruin, a rolling wave of consciousness suddenly erupted, sweeping across the entire Blood Rust Zone!
Buzz, buzz, buzz—
The Three Enclosures Upper Consciousness activated all the altars within this long, narrow stretch of ruins. Above each altar, various ancient god apparitions materialized. Shu Jun charged at the forefront, and the ancient god apparitions formed from the consciousness of the long-dead ancient Creators followed behind him, surging towards the Heavenly Court army!
The soldiers of the Heavenly Court fought desperately, charging forward. They finally managed to break out of the Blood Rust Zone before the Yan Kang army arrived, but their casualties were severe, leaving countless divine and demonic corpses behind.
The Blood Rust Zone dimmed. One by one, the ancient altars were destroyed. The ruins would never again display their former magnificent spectacle.
When Lang Wan found Shu Jun, he was kneeling before the shattered bones of the Creators.
Lang Wan approached, looking at this man who had buried an entire era. After a long moment, she spoke slowly: "God King, the fault is not yours. Anyone else would have lost that battle."
She had once blamed Shu Jun, but after learning the full story of the Blood Rust Campaign, the hatred in her heart had dissipated.
Shu Jun staggered to his feet, wiping the bloody tears from his face, and shook his head: "I am no longer the God King of the Creators. I am now a human. You are the God King of the Creators. Our race has only a few hundred people left. Lang Wan, the Creators have poor reproductive abilities. For the sake of our race's survival, you must take on the responsibility. You need to find the most powerful man and use his bloodline to improve the Creator bloodline."
Lang Wan's eyes flickered, but she said nothing. She led the remaining Creators and continued the pursuit of the Heavenly Court army.
Jiang Baigui walked over, passing by Shu Jun, and said calmly: "In the future, the Mu Venerable will not remain at the center of power. Even if Lang Wan borrows the Mu Venerable to change the Creator bloodline, the Creators will not become the rulers because of this."
He glanced at Shu Jun: "Yan Kang does not need a new Ten Venerables."
Shu Jun chuckled nonchalantly, joining his army with a carefree air, and said: "Jiang Saint King, you are a sage, but your senior brother is not. When Lang Wan makes her move, there is no chance of failure. No man can resist her temptation! With only a few hundred Creators left, our race faces extinction at any moment. To survive and reproduce, we must change our bloodline. This is not about seeking power or authority, but about survival!"
Jiang Baigui thought for a moment. A few hundred Creators were indeed on the verge of extinction. If their reproductive ability was any worse, they could practically be classified as an extinct race.
"Don't make too big a scene."
Jiang Baigui said: "Some people, when angered, might truly cause the Creator race to go extinct."
Shu Jun laughed: "Don't worry. Lang Wan knows her limits. By the way, do you have any healers in your army? I'm injured..."
In Yan Kang, Qin Mu's injuries had healed by one or two percent. He had finally managed to pull out the Execution Dao Nails and could get out of bed and move around.
For the past few months, Ling Yuxiu had been taking care of him, afraid that he would run off everywhere.
The aurora in the sky was still churning and drifting, clearly indicating that the battle between Tai Shi and the two Tai Ji ancient gods was not yet over.
Ling Yuxiu looked up, puzzled, and asked: "Is it really that hard for Tai Shi to fight Tai Ji?"
Qin Mu's body swayed, still unable to stand steadily. Ling Yuxiu quickly supported him.
Qin Mu took a deep breath and smiled: "Fighting Tai Ji is indeed difficult; it's hard to get any leverage. Let him be. The two Tai Ji ancient gods are no longer a major threat. The most critical thing now is whether the blood sacrifice altars left by the Hao Venerable have been found."
"Lan Yutian is already searching everywhere. There should be news soon."
Ling Yuxiu comforted him: "Don't worry too much. Lan Yutian is immensely powerful and extraordinarily skilled. If he finds those blood sacrifice altars, he will surely be able to destroy them."
Qin Mu shook his head: "What I'm worried about is that the blood sacrifice has been going on for so long. The enlightened being from the Mi Luo Palace will likely descend. With his strength, he cannot handle an enlightened being from the Mi Luo Palace. Even with the already-enlightened Shang Jun added, it would be absolutely impossible to contend with an enlightened being from the Mi Luo Palace!"
He exhaled a breath of turbid air, looked up at the starry sky, and after a moment, said: "I still need to go to the Ultimate Void, to see the Great Young Master. I must get him to release Tai Yi, no matter what! Hao Venerable doesn't know yet that the Ancestral Court has fallen and his Heavenly Court has changed hands, occupied by the prehistoric stowaways."
He pushed away Ling Yuxiu's hand and tried to walk a few steps, but nearly fell.
Ling Yuxiu stepped forward to support him. Qin Mu took another deep breath and said: "Junior Brother Jiang only needs to drive the Heavenly Emperor Hao back to the Ancestral Court. The two sides will then fight each other, and the Heavenly Court will be completely annihilated. Perhaps the Hao Venerable and the Empress Dowager will survive, but they will no longer be a concern. However, I am more worried that they will collude and cooperate. Given the Hao Venerable's current temperament, this is very likely. If that happens, we will have to face the prehistoric stowaways and the enlightened beings from the Mi Luo Palace! The pressure on us will only be greater than before!"
"Only by going to the Ultimate Void to see the Great Young Master of the Mi Luo Palace and releasing Tai Yi can there be a turning point in the Ancestral Court war!"
Ling Yuxiu shook her head: "Your injuries are not healed. How can you go to the Ultimate Void? Just rest quietly and recover. Don't run around. Besides, it will take the Heavenly Court army more than ten years to return to the Ancestral Court."
Qin Mu thought for a moment, nodded, and returned to his room to focus on his cultivation.
He entered his dreams once more. Layer upon layer of dreams spread out, and countless tiny Qin Mus within the dreams studied the changes in the Dao patterns of his Dao wounds, comprehending their mysteries.
Year after year passed. Six years later, the wounds on Qin Mu's body gradually shrank. Although his complexion was still somewhat poor and his body slightly weak, he was no longer in serious danger.
On this day, Qin Mu packed his belongings and boarded the Golden Ship of Crossing the Ages, smiling: "Now, I can go visit the thatched cottage for the second time!"