Chapter 655: Unity of Purpose (Big Chapter!)
The Crimson Bright Godchild looked at the void realm cultivator who had landed before him, his gaze slowly rising to rest on Qin Mu's face. His eyes then passed over Qin Mu, looking into the distance, and he saw that the square was filled with large pits, each pit planted with a void realm cultivator.
There were also many who had not been planted in pits, but most had been severely injured by Qin Mu, either with broken bones or fractured arms or legs.
There were also some who had not suffered serious injuries, only having been transformed into sheep by the Creation divine ability, wandering aimlessly and bleating in the square.
If this were a battlefield, the younger generation of the void realm would have been completely annihilated, and a long-standing civilization would have been shattered in an instant, creating a discontinuity!
The Crimson Bright Godchild rose, walked past Qin Mu, and came to the steps. He paid no attention to Qin Mu, instead looking down at the scene below.
"The Crimson Bright Divine Dynasty spanned two generations. Crimson Emperor rose from the grassroots, building an empire from nothing. Bright Emperor was appointed in a time of chaos and danger, saving the dynasty from collapse. The people of my Crimson Bright era, with the fervor of a hundred generations, fought bravely and created a brilliant age!"
His voice was not particularly loud, but it was heavy, penetrating into everyone's ears: "But ever since we hid in this void realm, everything has changed. The people who hid here gradually forgot the external enemies that destroyed our homes, our country, and our people. They gradually forgot the courageous and tenacious spirit of the two Crimson Bright Emperors. They forgot that they were once warriors, forgot that their race was a race of warriors! Hiding in a small corner, ignoring the world outside—wrong! By hiding, you deserve this defeat! You deserve this humiliation!"
His voice grew louder and louder. The crowd below in the square was filled with shame, not daring to look up at him. Even Crimson Stream and other deities of the Crimson Bright era lowered their heads in shame.
"I used this outsider's hand to humiliate you, to disgrace you, to wake you up!"
The Crimson Bright Godchild's voice carried anger: "I used his hand to warn you, to tell you that you have forgotten your traditions, forgotten your hatred, forgotten the spirit of the Crimson Bright era! Without this spirit, the Crimson Bright era is truly dead! Not destroyed by the Heavenly Court, not destroyed by the gods and demons who died fighting for you, but destroyed by you, by you survivors!"
His voice softened again, heavy with some gloom: "Do you know why I only dare to call myself Godchild? Do you know why I insisted on sending people out of the void realm to scout the outside world? Do you know why I insisted on contacting the Opening Emperor three thousand years ago, even willing to submit to him? It's because I couldn't bear it..."
"I couldn't bear to see you continue to sink, couldn't bear to see the Crimson Bright era completely destroyed in your hands, couldn't bear to see you become sinners..."
"I wanted you to return to the real world, wanted you to revive the spirit of the Crimson Bright era, to regain your fighting spirit, to regroup, and not to watch you sink day by day."
He paced slowly before the steps: "I dare not call myself Emperor, only Godchild or Your Highness. Not because I am inferior to the emperor of a small country like Eternal Peace, but because my subjects are unworthy! You are unworthy, and I am unworthy!"
"Is the envoy of Eternal Peace strong? Yes! He can single-handedly defeat six of you! But think about it—has he been fighting like this all along? From start to finish, among your ten thousand people, only six could attack him?"
His voice stopped, giving people time to think.
The defeated void realm cultivators below showed confused expressions, then someone whispered, "That's right. After he charged into the crowd, only six people could attack him."
More and more people nodded, whispering among themselves. Just now, Qin Mu's defeat had shattered their confidence and beliefs, wiping out the pride of an era. They had developed a mindset that Qin Mu was invincible.
But now, a glimmer of hope was slowly emerging.
Qin Mu could only defeat six people at a time; he was not absolutely invincible!
The Crimson Bright Godchild's voice rang out again, coldly: "But during the Crimson Bright Divine Dynasty, a single warrior of our Crimson Bright era could defeat six opponents from the Heavenly Court! One against six—that's how we earned our unmatched reputation, how we were called warriors! And now, you have been defeated by a newly rising nation. Where do you place your ancestors? Where do you place the name of the warrior? Are you going to hand it over? You make me feel ashamed, but you can feel shame and then become brave!"
"In your battle just now, you were a scattered mess, trampling each other, crowding, chaotic, without any order. Not even six people could attack him at the same time. You were not defeated by the envoy of Eternal Peace, but by yourselves, by your own people! Shame! Utter shame!"
He shouted loudly: "The shame of Crimson Bright—what should be done about it?"
He paused, then roared sternly: "Fight back! Only by fighting back can you erase the shame, can you hold your head high! Today, the envoy of Eternal Peace defeated you. In the future, you will defeat him. In the past, the Heavenly Court defeated our Crimson Bright. Then in the future, we will crush the Heavenly Court!"
Below, countless void realm cultivators were stirred by his words, their blood boiling. Many, despite their pain, shouted loudly, their voices chaotic at first, but gradually, all their voices merged into a thrilling torrent. The roar was earth-shattering, deafening!
The combined shouts of tens of thousands of people formed a torrent so shocking, so stirring, that Qin Mu and Ling Yuxiu both changed expression.
Qin Mu turned and looked down. He saw the momentum of the void realm cultivators connecting, like a prairie fire, like the earth welcoming spring, like a flood spreading.
"Unity of purpose—this is the spirit of unity, the spirit of the Crimson Bright era, revived..." Qin Mu murmured.
The voice of the First Ancestor Human Sovereign came from behind him, saying, "This is the role of a good leader. Emperor Yanfeng is such a person, and the Godchild is also such a person. You and the Eternal Peace National Teacher are not such people; you cannot speak such inspiring words. Only such a leader can unite people's hearts."
Qin Mu nodded, saying, "A true leader can turn bad things into good, can unite people's hearts into a single rope. I am not yet capable of that."
Ling Yuxiu whispered, "This Godchild, with just a few words, turned your defeat of ten thousand people into a defeat of six, and then said that even those six couldn't fully exert themselves, further downplaying your strength. He has deep schemes."
Qin Mu smiled, saying, "What he said is not wrong. Defeating ten thousand cultivators at the Seven Stars realm is indeed difficult for me. In a formation, not to mention ten thousand, a hundred cultivators at the Seven Stars realm could easily kill me with a single round of divine ability attacks. My method was to first disrupt their formation, scatter them, cause chaos, and then take the opportunity to land in the chaotic crowd. Only six people could attack me, while the others wanted to rush over but were hindered by each other. In reality, only three or four could actually attack me. That's how I defeated ten thousand cultivators."
Ling Yuxiu smiled, "But still, he did it to diminish your prestige."
"He did it for his own race, which is understandable."
Qin Mu said, "And my goal was to use this battle to secure fifty years of peace between Eternal Peace and Crimson Bright."
He smiled, saying, "The gods, demons, and cultivators of the Crimson Bright void realm are arrogant. Even if they ally with Eternal Peace, they will look down on us. Arrogance breeds prejudice, and prejudice leads to bullying. Because they look down on us, they will inevitably bully the people and cultivators of Eternal Peace, which will eventually lead to disaster. Now that I've beaten them, for fifty years, the cultivators of the void realm will not dare to cause trouble."
Ling Yuxiu was surprised, "I didn't expect you to think so deeply. And after fifty years?"
"Beat them again after fifty years."
Qin Mu said leisurely, "And we can have another fifty years of peace."
The Crimson Bright Godchild let the excited cultivators go down to heal their injuries. He turned and walked back, returning to his seat, smiling, "Envoy of Eternal Peace, please sit."
Qin Mu, Ling Yuxiu, and the First Ancestor Human Sovereign each sat down. The Crimson Bright Godchild's eyes were bright as he carefully examined the three, then said to the First Ancestor, "Fellow Daoist, are you from the Opening Emperor era?"
The First Ancestor said, "A remnant of the Opening Emperor era."
"I sent Crimson Stream to meet the Opening Emperor, intending to submit to him and join forces with him against the Heavenly Court."
The Crimson Bright Godchild sighed, "Unexpectedly, times have changed, and things are different. Crimson Stream hadn't even reached his destination when the Opening Emperor era had already ended. The Opening Emperor era lasted twenty thousand years, but for my void realm, it was only three thousand years ago. Regrettable, regrettable. Fortunately, there is still Eternal Peace."
His gaze then fell on Ling Yuxiu, and he smiled, "Princess Yuxiu's personal visit brings great honor to my void realm. I have already seen the treaty that Crimson Stream signed on my behalf with the Eternal Peace Emperor. If my disciples had defeated the envoy just now, I could have negotiated terms and modified a few clauses more favorable to me. But since they lost, I will not change a single word of the terms Crimson Stream signed."
Ling Yuxiu slightly bowed, smiling, "Your Highness is magnanimous. Please forgive any offense we may have caused earlier."
"You are too polite, Princess. Originally, I also intended to give you a show of force, but instead, I was thrown off the horse."
The Crimson Bright Godchild laughed heartily, appearing very cheerful, but did not look at Qin Mu, saying, "I have agreed to the terms of this treaty. Please wait a few days, Princess and Envoy. I need to prepare some trivial matters, and then I will send some of my people to set out for Eternal Peace."
The negotiation ended in a harmonious atmosphere.
Ling Yuxiu, along with the First Ancestor and Qin Mu, returned to their residence. She immediately said, "This Godchild gives me a very tricky and frightening feeling. What kind of person is he really? I can't see through him at all! Would he really make concessions just because the cowherd gave him a show of force? I don't quite believe it."
Qin Mu stretched lazily, smiling, "He is naturally an ambitious person, but his current goal is to let his people leave this isolated place and return to the competitive world. However, he won't put all his eggs in one basket, so he will only send some of his people out of the void realm to Eternal Peace. With only some of his people, there is no danger to Eternal Peace. Instead, it is an opportunity for Eternal Peace to gain a great ally."
Ling Yuxiu pondered, "But once he truly establishes a foothold in Eternal Peace, that will be a threat to us."
Qin Mu said, "By then, Eternal Peace should also have grown stronger, right? We don't need to worry about these things. These matters should be a game between him and the Emperor, for the Emperor to worry about. While we have these few days, I plan to walk around and see the scenery of the void realm. Xiumei, would you like to come with me?"
Ling Yuxiu shook her head, "I need to think about some things."
She began to rack her brains, thinking about what she would do if she were Emperor Yanfeng, how she could win in this game.
"The Crimson Bright Godchild is a very formidable opponent. His talent, ambition, vision, and methods are no less than my father's. To surpass him in future games, I must be more talented, more ambitious, have a broader vision, and have better methods!" she thought to herself.
Qin Mu wandered around the city, observing the customs, culture, and architectural style of the void realm with his own eyes. The First Ancestor followed behind him, silent.
The void realm was actually not smaller than Eternal Peace, but its population was not very large, far less than Eternal Peace. This was probably due to prosperity, which made people lose interest in reproduction.
This was a strange phenomenon. When people are in danger, they will try every means to reproduce. But once life is prosperous and carefree, they lose interest in reproduction, and the population actually decreases. This was especially true in a place like the void realm, which had no external enemies, no war, and no worries about food and clothing.
"The Crimson Bright Godchild is right. If the void realm continues to hide here, it will likely become extinct on its own," Qin Mu murmured.
This divine city was built on a vast and majestic mountain. This mountain was even larger than Eternal Peace's Sumeru Mountain. Standing on the city wall, one could overlook the scenery of the void realm. The cleansing light in the sky seemed within reach.
Qin Mu looked around, feeling refreshed. He turned back and suddenly paused. He noticed that the highest point in this divine city was not the imperial city, but a magnificent and splendid palace behind it.
From within the city, this place was completely unnoticeable.
"What is that place?"
Qin Mu became excited and immediately walked down from the city wall, bypassing the imperial city, and headed towards that palace. The First Ancestor followed unhurriedly behind him, looking as if his heart had died.
They arrived before the palace behind the imperial city. They saw stone steps layered upon layers, continuously extending upward. No one knew how many layers there were. It was very intimidating, with no end in sight.
Qin Mu climbed up. As he was about to reach the top, several three-headed, six-armed gods and demons poked their heads out from above. Their faces were huge, about an acre in size, and they shouted, "Envoy of Eternal Peace, this is the holy land's forbidden area. Please turn back!"
Qin Mu stopped. Suddenly, a familiar voice came from above: "Golden Guard, let them come up."
"Is the Crimson Bright Godchild also here?" Qin Mu was slightly startled and walked up.
The Crimson Bright Godchild was dressed in a fitted purple-red robe, standing before him, facing this magnificent and splendid hall. He said leisurely, "Envoy of Eternal Peace, this is the location of Crimson Emperor's brow. Inside this hall lies the divine light of his brain."
Qin Mu hesitated for a moment, then said, "Since it is the holy land of Crimson Emperor, I'd better not enter."
——Still a four-thousand-word big chapter, wishing Night Owl Moderator a happy birthday!