Chapter 1734: Cataclysmic Change in the Ancestral Court
The Empress Dowager gazed at the Heavenly Court’s army. They were now drawing closer and closer to the Ancestral Court, but only a little over seven hundred thousand soldiers remained. Inside the Heavenly Emperor’s chariot, Emperor Hao sat motionless, his face cold and grim, his form withered and lifeless, as if he were already dead.
Emperor Hao felt worse than death itself.
Throughout this desperate flight, they had been repeatedly ambushed. The armies of Eternal Peace and the myriad realms grew larger and larger. After leaving the Yuan Realm and advancing to the place where Emperor Ming had fallen, the Heavenly Court’s forces had become roughly equal in number to the Eternal Peace coalition.
The site of Emperor Ming’s death was originally a battlefield from the end of the Chi Ming era. After Emperor Chi and Emperor Ming were resurrected, they had marched ahead of the Heavenly Court at full speed to reach this location, where they launched another major battle against the remnants of the Heavenly Court.
The earlier battle in the Blood Rust Zone had already inflicted heavy casualties on the Heavenly Court’s remnants. At the site of Emperor Ming’s death, this battle involved even figures like Moon Venerable, Lang Wan, Nether Venerable, Xu Shenghua, and Gongsun Yan. After a fierce struggle, Jiang Baigui deliberately left an escape route, allowing the Heavenly Court’s remnants to break through the encirclement.
From that battle onward, the Heavenly Court’s momentum waned day by day. Nether Venerable frequently launched sneak attacks from the Nether Realm, infiltrating the life-and-death divine treasuries of the Heavenly Court’s divine and demonic soldiers, stealing their souls and causing them to die inexplicably.
A mutiny among the Heavenly Court’s soldiers occurred on the night Emperor Hao ordered all troops to abolish their life-and-death divine treasuries.
After this order was issued, widespread discontent arose among the Heavenly Court’s forces. Abolishing the life-and-death divine treasuries meant that the lifespans of gods and demons would no longer be as eternal as heaven and earth; instead, everyone would have a finite lifespan.
The Heavenly Court had already suffered repeated defeats. If the Four Heavenly Masters had still been present, they could have boosted morale and reorganized the formation. But only Shang Pingyin remained in the Southern Heaven; the other Heavenly Masters were either dead or had defected.
The mutiny was suppressed by Emperor Hao, but more than half of the soldiers fled into the starry sky that very night.
From then on, every day a portion of the Heavenly Court’s soldiers deserted. By the time they neared the Ancestral Court, only these seven hundred thousand gods and demons remained.
“Emperor Hao has suffered a complete defeat.”
The Empress Dowager’s eyes flickered. She thought to herself, “His Dao heart is already shattered. Even if he returns to the Ancestral Court, he won’t be able to regroup. The various races have rebelled, the number of soldiers is dwindling, and the Heavenly Court simply cannot develop in the Ancestral Court. In this battle, Venerable Mu has completely crushed him… Should I take his place?”
She quickly shook her head. Now Eternal Peace held the advantage of timing, geography, and popular support. The myriad realms had rebelled, and the Heavenly Court’s territory was shrinking rapidly. Whether the Ancestral Court could even be preserved was uncertain.
Seizing power now and declaring herself emperor would only invite disaster!
Whoever became the Heavenly Emperor would die the most miserable death!
“Besides, I should start planning for my own future.”
The Empress Dowager thought to herself, “The Heavenly Court’s momentum is gone. My power and position will inevitably turn into a dream. If I rebel against the Heavenly Court now and defect to Venerable Mu, I can still be a loyal minister who abandoned darkness for light, still hold a high position and enjoy authority, still be one of the Ten Venerables. If I delay, I’ll just be a defeated general surrendering, only fit to be a prisoner…”
Power was a commodity that could be traded. Dynasties changed, but the figures and forces at the center of power remained. This was how the game had always been played.
The Empress Dowager had seen it all too many times.
Just as she was thinking this, suddenly the Lingxiao Treasure Hall behind Emperor Hao’s head trembled. The red rope knot opened automatically, and waves of surging Dao might poured out, instantly filling Emperor Hao’s body with an unceasing, surging power!
The Empress Dowager’s heart leaped, and she quickly suppressed her treacherous thoughts.
“All troops, prepare to enter the Ancestral Court!”
Emperor Hao stood up, his previous dejection swept away. He shouted loudly, “The Ancestral Court is our homeland, the place where we will rise again! This battle is not yet lost!”
Despite his impassioned words, few responded. The Heavenly Court’s hundreds of thousands of soldiers trudged stiffly through the starry sky like walking corpses.
Emperor Hao turned to the Empress Dowager and said joyfully, “Mother, the Third Young Master has broken free from his seal. The situation is settled! Once we reach the Ancestral Court, all past hardships will only temper us and make us stronger!”
The Empress Dowager smiled but said nothing.
Finally, the remnants of the Heavenly Court entered the Ancestral Court. Ahead, the magnificent Heavenly Court came into view.
The Heavenly Court was a supreme divine weapon formed from countless divine artifacts combined, the most formidable fortress in the world, and their last hope.
As long as they entered the Heavenly Court and sealed the world barriers of the Ancestral Court, the coalition forces of Eternal Peace and the myriad realms would suffer countless casualties trying to attack!
Moreover, the Ancestral Court was incredibly rich. Occupying it meant holding an invincible position!
Eternal Peace, a barren land, had developed to its current scale in just two hundred years, nearly unifying the Yuan Realm. The current Heavenly Court was countless times better than Eternal Peace had been back then. Given time, the Heavenly Court could also become immensely powerful!
But then, the joy on Emperor Hao’s face and that of all the Heavenly Court soldiers froze. They stood dumbfounded in the sky.
Before them, above the Heavenly Court, five Dao trees hung suspended at the five poles—east, south, west, north, and center. These were the Dao trees of five Dao-achievers, exuding a stern Dao might.
Within the Heavenly Court, various divine beings comparable to Venerables stood with different appearances, their divine might filling the court.
Below, in the Ancestral Court, divine cities of all sizes were scattered everywhere, shining brilliantly, each guarded by powerful Venerable-level divine beings!
Further away, where Venerable Mu’s territory had once been, at the location of the Great Black Mountain, beneath the World Tree, magnificent divine cities had risen from the ground. Even the leaves bore divine cities!
The Ancestral Court now looked completely different from when they had set out with their full army to attack the Yuan Realm!
Suddenly, Emperor Hao sat down heavily, lost control of his emotions, and burst into loud sobs.
“Venerable Mu, to defeat me, to seize my power and position, you have no shame!”
He wept bitterly, tears streaming down his face as he cursed and sobbed, “You knew you couldn’t defeat me, so you released the prehistoric strongmen from beneath the World Tree! You’re a scoundrel, a sinner to the entire universe! Venerable Mu, you old dog, you seek fame and reputation, but you’ve harmed the whole universe, harmed everyone! You should kill yourself to apologize to the world! You will die a miserable death!”
At that moment, the Third Young Master’s voice came from the Lingxiao Treasure Hall behind his head, speaking calmly, “I ordered the Spirit Hall Master to release those strongmen. This is our path to victory.”
Emperor Hao immediately stopped crying and bowed respectfully, saying, “The Young Master’s action must have deep meaning. May I ask for your guidance?”
The Third Young Master Lingxiao’s voice came again, “Not all the strongmen beneath the World Tree are Dao-achievers; Dao-achievers are still a minority. The Spirit Hall Master fought to the death and released them, a great merit. These prehistoric strongmen can be easily subdued, and the more of them die, the easier it will be for my blood sacrifice.”
Emperor Hao bent his body, listening quietly, a hint of joy gradually appearing on his face.
The Third Young Master continued, “The key to winning them over is to enter the Jade Capital City of the Ancestral Court. Once you arrive there, in the Chaotic River of the Sixteenth Era, the Fourth Young Master Zixiao will give you a string. You will hold this string, and with it, you can reap countless lives! Anyone who dares to disobey, you can destroy with a single pluck.”
Emperor Hao was overjoyed.
The Third Young Master went on, “On the other side, the blood sacrifice in the Yuan Realm is also at a critical stage. Within the next two years, the three Hall Masters—Huanxi, Changfeng, and Chuge—will descend. With these three Hall Masters assisting you, the situation will be settled.”
Emperor Hao knelt and bowed, sobbing, “The Young Master’s favor and kindness are beyond my ability to repay!”
“No need for that.”
The Third Young Master Lingxiao said indifferently, “My Miluo Palace has always valued life. If you hadn’t harbored ulterior motives back then and been disloyal to the Miluo Palace, you wouldn’t have ended up like this. But the fault is not yours; it lies with the Seventh. He is like a stone in a latrine—hard and stinking—insisting on opposing me, causing so many tragedies and battles. But this time, the situation is settled.”
Emperor Hao straightened up and gritted his teeth, saying, “Venerable Mu commits all kinds of evil; he will surely come to no good end!”
The Third Young Master was also somewhat helpless and said, “If we could kill him, he would have died long ago. Sending him back to the past universe was a good move on your part.”
Emperor Hao hesitated for a moment, then steeled himself and said, “To report, Young Master, Venerable Mu was not sunk into the river. A traitor interfered and released him halfway…”
The Third Young Master was silent for a moment. “You are useless in success but efficient in failure.”
Emperor Hao quickly knelt and kowtowed repeatedly.
“Get up. Have some backbone.”
The Third Young Master’s voice carried some displeasure. “In my Miluo Palace, there is no distinction between master and servant. Anyone who enters the Miluo Palace is a Dao companion. When the Miluo Palace descends in the future, if you still kneel to me, you will be ridiculed. A Dao-achiever’s knees are not so weak.”
Emperor Hao felt ashamed and stood up.
“Prepare immediately. Go to the Jade Capital City and bring out that string that spans two universes and the great destruction!”
Emperor Hao composed himself and said to the Empress Dowager, “We have arrived at the Ancestral Court. The Heavenly Court has been occupied by prehistoric strongmen. The enemy has five Dao-achievers and many prehistoric strongmen to assist them; they are powerful, and it won’t be easy to attack. Moreover, we will have to work with them in the future. Mother, stay here and avoid direct conflict with them. I will go to the Jade Capital City and return.”
The Empress Dowager smiled sweetly and said, “Go ahead, Hao’er.”
Emperor Hao felt a twinge of displeasure at her calling him “Hao’er” instead of “Your Majesty.” He thought to himself, “When I rise again, I will take back everything I lost tenfold!”
He vanished in a flash.
In the Yuan Realm, Lan Yutian searched heaven and earth, scouring for the location of the blood sacrifice altars. Over the years, he had searched every corner of the Yuan Realm, even turning over the underground. Finding the blood sacrifice altars was not easy. They were forged from fragments of the Great Luo Heaven, easy to hide but difficult to find.
The Yuan Realm was vast, and searching it was time-consuming and laborious.
One day, while searching the thirty-six layers of void in the Yuan Realm, he suddenly felt a resonance. He quickly sat cross-legged, sensing carefully, then leaped up and sped through the thirty-fifth layer of void.
As he ran, he activated his divine abilities. The void ahead split open layer by layer, like peeling an onion!
Boom!
The final layer of void peeled away, revealing a fragment of the Great Luo Heaven before him!
Inside the Great Luo Heaven fragment, a hexagonal prism rotated, constantly imprinting bloodstained runic marks onto the Yuan Realm!
“Found the first altar! Then the others won’t be hard to find!”
Lan Yutian charged into the Great Luo Heaven fragment, standing on one foot on the hexagonal prism. His mathematical skills were not high. If Qin Mu were here, he would calculate the positions of the runic imprints on the altar and then use mathematics to determine the locations of the other altars. But Lan Yutian’s sensitivity to the Dao was stronger. He directly attached his divine consciousness to the hexagonal prism, spreading it along with the altar’s power.
“…Two, three, four, five, six…”
Lan Yutian sensed carefully and quickly found the positions of the sixteen Great Luo Heaven fragments covering the Yuan Realm. He breathed a sigh of relief.
“Then the center of the altars is…”
He continued sensing, and his expression changed slightly. There were three central points for the altars. From the counterattack battle until now, eight years had passed. In eight years, with three central altars, Dao-achievers from the Miluo Palace were likely about to descend!
Cold sweat broke out on his forehead. Any single Dao-achiever from the Miluo Palace was more than he could handle, let alone three!
Just then, he saw a Golden Ship of Salvation sailing out from the ultimate void.
On that golden ship, Qin Mu sat on an upright coffin, seemingly meditating with his eyes closed.
“Brother!”
Lan Yutian quickly rose into the air and landed on the golden ship, telling Qin Mu about his discovery. “Three Dao-achievers from the Miluo Palace—I’m definitely no match for them!”
Qin Mu opened his eyes and smiled. “Don’t sell yourself short. Besides, we’re not fighting alone. Isn’t Lord Shang here too? Little brother, take a look at this coffin. Can you open it?”
Qin Mu’s eyes were bright, full of encouragement. “If you can open it, even thirty Dao-achievers can be killed!”