Chapter 737: Equal to the Gods
Everyone laughed, shook their heads, and dispersed in a hubbub. What Ling Tianzun was explaining was too profound, too arcane; they simply couldn't understand it.
They had originally gathered around Ling Tianzun to hear this genius girl's insights and realizations from her years of study, to learn her divine abilities and techniques. But now, what Ling Tianzun was talking about was so esoteric and incomprehensible that it clearly meant she had lost her mind. Listening to a madwoman's ravings would only ruin the purpose of this Jasper Pool Gathering.
Soon, the area around Ling Tianzun was empty, leaving only Qin Mu, the Kai Emperor, and Old Ox.
The Kai Emperor lowered his voice. "Surge River."
Qin Mu's heart tightened. He nodded, but was also puzzled.
The Surge River—its waters flowed endlessly from west to east, day and night without pause. This great river might be the current Heavenly River. Judging by the flow of the water, the Surge River did not match the divine ability Ling Tianzun described, which would make matter eternally static.
Unless, although the water of the Surge River was flowing, all the particles composing the water remained in a state of stasis. The flow was merely an illusion; in reality, this river flowed from the past to the future. The river water was always still; what moved was the matter around it.
But such a divine ability was too incredible. The principles involved were something Qin Mu could no longer understand or fathom.
"Perhaps it's not the Surge River that is still, but the mist..." A thought stirred in his mind, but he didn't know how to create such an ability.
The Surge River did seem to be a point connecting the past, present, and future. Both times he had inexplicably traveled back in time, it was because he stepped into the source of the Surge River and encountered the mist incident, which led to his bizarre time travel. This kind of travel was either caused by the Surge River or by the mist!
Ling Tianzun was still somewhat indignant, sneering, "All mediocrities, all dullards! When I create the divine ability that makes matter unchanging, unalterable, unvarying, neither increasing nor decreasing, then you'll know there is no such thing as time! This senior brother, you understand me, don't you?"
She looked at him with hopeful eyes.
"Sister Ling, I understand you very well."
Qin Mu suddenly spoke. "I understand your idea. Changing matter, reversing it to its former state, can make a person reverse from old age back to youth, even bring the dead back to life. But this isn't turning back time; it's turning back matter."
The Kai Emperor nodded. "I understand too. We use creation divine abilities to make plants grow, animals grow, to make them grow up and mature quickly. But this isn't a time ability; it's a creation ability. Creation abilities work by changing the internal arrangement of matter in plants and animals to make them grow. This isn't letting them enter the future ahead of time."
Old Ox couldn't understand, so he just flapped his ears and stared blankly, utterly confused.
Ling Tianzun was very troubled. She kicked at her worn-out shoes, her toes poking out, and said dejectedly, "But they don't understand me, don't believe me. Even Yu Tianzun and the others think I'm crazy. Do I have to make the entire universe's matter static, make matter flow backward, before they realize they were wrong and I was right?"
Qin Mu shuddered. Make the entire universe's matter flow backward? This woman's ideas were truly dangerous!
But no one possessed such terrifying magical power.
"Sister Ling, you should continue down your own path. Perhaps in the near future, you will meet someone who has traveled back in time through your divine ability, proving that the world's view of you is wrong."
Qin Mu smiled and encouraged her. "Keep going, keep walking down this path, and prove you're right!"
Ling Tianzun was greatly encouraged, but then shook her head, looking dejected. "I don't know if I can prove it. I'm too lonely. Almost everyone says the old Ling Tianzun no longer exists, only a madwoman remains... You two are among the very few people I've met who can understand me. Let's study together!"
Her eyes lit up again, and she looked at them eagerly. "I've been studying alone, with no fellow cultivators to walk with or exchange ideas. I'm afraid that one day I'll give up. I don't want to become the madwoman in others' eyes!"
Qin Mu hesitated, then shook his head. "I can't stay here long. Sister Ling, how about this: spend these days with us. We'll discuss and study together. My intelligence and his may not match yours, but we can help you solve some problems. When the day comes for us to leave in a few months, you can decide whether to be a madwoman. What do you think?"
The Kai Emperor's heart stirred, and he looked at Qin Mu. "He knows we'll leave in a few months? What else does he know? This fellow seems to know me well. And he seems hostile toward me. Could he be my future enemy? The one who knows me best is my adversary."
Ling Tianzun's eyes sparkled. She laughed, "As long as you don't mind me being a bit crazy and messy, I'll stay with you for these few months. Lately, many old friends have been avoiding me..."
Qin Mu said, "I only see the sister's spirit, not her form. In my eyes, sister is a divine maiden, peerless and unmatched!"
Ling Tianzun was moved. She still used the wooden hairpin to tie up her hair and said, "I have a palace here at the Jasper Pool Gathering. Let's go there to study. Although Yu Tianzun thinks I'm wrong, he's still kind enough to give me a palace."
The three followed her. The Kai Emperor asked, "Now that the Heavenly Court has many ancient gods, and it's the time of the Heavenly Court Gathering, why can Yu Tianzun hold a gathering at Jasper Pool? Shouldn't Jasper Pool be the residence of some ancient god?"
"Jasper Pool is a place of amusement in the rear palace."
Ling Tianzun walked forward and said, "The Empress greatly admires Yu Tianzun. Since the Empress and the Heavenly Emperor will personally attend this Heavenly Court Gathering, she granted Yu Tianzun the use of Jasper Pool to host the Jasper Pool Gathering."
"The Empress admires Yu Tianzun and gave him Jasper Pool to host the gathering?" Qin Mu and the Kai Emperor exchanged glances, each lost in thought.
They hadn't met Yu Tianzun yet, but for him to connect with the Empress, he must be a shrewd and diplomatic figure—not just a genius who opened the Embryonic Spirit Divine Treasure.
Just then, a voice came: "Ling Tianzun, are you still studying that so-called 'time doesn't exist' divine ability?"
Ling Tianzun stopped, looking displeased. This girl had no guile; her feelings were always written on her face. She said irritably, "Fire Tianzun, what do you mean by 'time doesn't exist' divine ability?"
Qin Mu, the Kai Emperor, and Old Ox looked at the speaker. A young man walked toward them, his body wrapped in red patterns that intertwined to form a garment that looked like fire but wasn't. Behind his head was a strange phenomenon—a vertical halo, an oval ring made of flame, though whether it was real fire was unclear.
"No wonder he's called Fire Tianzun."
Qin Mu studied him curiously. "This is the one who opened the Heavenly Being Divine Treasure? Ling Tianzun's talent is already stunning enough; this Fire Tianzun must be extraordinary too!"
He had now met two of the Seven Tianzun. Both should be at the Divine Bridge realm. Compared to the mighty ancient gods of the Heavenly Court, their cultivation and strength were insignificant. Even compared to demigods, the Seven Tianzun's power was negligible.
Yet it was these youths and maidens who were called Tianzun.
They were called Tianzun not for their cultivation, but for their achievements.
Fire Tianzun glanced at Qin Mu, the Kai Emperor, and Old Ox, paused briefly, but didn't pay them much attention. He said, "You've wasted your intelligence on useless things for too long. Since you opened the Six Harmonies Divine Treasure, you've made no further progress, all because you've been obsessed with proving time doesn't exist! With your wisdom and talent, if you hadn't squandered your energy and instead focused on breaking through the seven divine treasures, you might have been the first to do so!"
Ling Tianzun shook her head. "Yu Tianzun is smarter than me and better at networking. He was the first to open a divine treasure. The reason he's been quiet for the past few hundred years is that his sights are set on higher, more distant levels. He is destined to be the first to surpass the divine treasures, not me."
Fire Tianzun was frustrated by her lack of ambition. "Yu Tianzun told me himself that you are the smartest of us Seven Tianzun. If you had focused on another realm, he wouldn't have had a chance. He said it himself! Now he has broken through and achieved a monumental accomplishment—making cultivators immortal, allowing them to stand alongside the ancient gods. That achievement should have been yours!"
Ling Tianzun's peachwood hairpin was knocked loose by his aura, and her hair fell in disarray. She took out a ribbon, tied her hair into a ponytail, and shook her head. "That's just another realm. If immortality could make one a god, I could have made cultivators immortal long ago. This senior brother just told me that the ability I created is called the creation divine ability. With his cultivation of my ability, physical immortality is easy."
Fire Tianzun frowned slightly, his flame halo swaying. He looked at Qin Mu and shook his head. "You believe the words of a charlatan?"
Qin Mu smiled slightly and bowed. "A humble junior greets Fire Tianzun. Fire Tianzun, do you have paper and a brush? Could you sign your name on this paper? I'm from a small place and haven't seen much of the world. If I could get Fire Tianzun's autograph, it would bring glory to my ancestors!"
He took out paper and a brush and presented them to Fire Tianzun with an expectant look.
Seeing his earnest expression, Fire Tianzun couldn't refuse. Somehow, he picked up the brush and wrote his name on the paper. He then shouted, "I don't care where you're from, but I won't allow you to mislead Ling Tianzun! Letting her study this nonsense about time not existing is wasting her youth and time! Yu Tianzun has created a realm that lets cultivators live as long as the ancient gods, but you tell Ling Tianzun that her damn creation ability can do the same! If you keep misleading her, I'll beat you to death!"
Qin Mu looked embarrassed. "I was the one who named it the creation divine ability, but I never said it could grant immortality."
Fire Tianzun's expression softened slightly. "I misjudged you..."
Qin Mu continued, "However, the creation divine ability can indeed achieve immortality without cultivating to godhood, allowing one to live as long as a god. Ling Tianzun wasn't wrong about that."
Ling Tianzun beamed. "The one who understands me best is indeed you!"
Fire Tianzun's face darkened. "Give me back my signature! I won't give it to you anymore!"
Qin Mu quickly put away the brush and paper, laughing. "No way. I'll need it later."
Fire Tianzun was furious. He reached out to strike, shouting, "I'll kill this charlatan first for deceiving people!"
Qin Mu shook his body, manifesting three heads and six arms. A series of violent impacts rang out, and Fire Tianzun crashed through a great hall with a thunderous boom, tumbling out of sight, leaving a trail of flames behind him!
The Kai Emperor was startled, almost crying out. "A Tianzun at the Divine Bridge realm—how can he be so weak?"
Qin Mu was also startled. He hadn't used his full strength, only about eighty or ninety percent, but his attack speed was so fast that Fire Tianzun was sent flying before he could even display his power.
Still, as a Tianzun at the Divine Bridge realm, this was far too weak.
Even compared to cultivators at the Divine Bridge realm from Yan Kang, he was inferior.
"This era is too ancient. Techniques and abilities are still very crude."
He thought to himself, "I can't go all out. If I do, I might accidentally kill some ancestral figure..."
The Kai Emperor glared at him fiercely and said in a low voice, "If you strike again, I won't let you off!"
Qin Mu smiled lightly and snorted. "It's not like I meant to send Fire Tianzun flying. Besides, are your skills better than mine?"
Behind them, Niu San Duo's head felt as big as a bucket. "This is what men are like—turning on each other in an instant!"
Ling Tianzun, however, was excited. She stared at Qin Mu's three heads and six arms, clapping her hands and laughing. "This is the creation divine ability, isn't it? Your creation ability is even stronger than mine! Even without cultivating to the realm Yu Tianzun opened, you can live forever, equal to the gods!"
——Begging for monthly tickets on Children's Day~~