Chapter 741: The Yao Chi Incident
He was about to mention the second matter when the Celestial Emperor of Darkness suddenly shouted, "Heavenly Lord Hao!"
Another young man, hearing the Celestial Emperor of Darkness's call, turned around. Seeing the group, he revealed a smile and greeted them, saying, "Heavenly Lord Yu, these friends of yours are truly remarkable! You've already managed to win them over?"
Heavenly Lord Yu laughed heartily, "It's not about winning them over. Brother Qin and Brother Mu are both wise sages; this Yao Chi Gathering cannot do without them. I plan to submit a memorial to the Emperor, requesting two titles of Heavenly Lord be granted, so that we may be known together as the Nine Heavenly Lords. Heavenly Lord Hao, what do you think?"
Qin Mu studied this Heavenly Lord Hao. Heavenly Lord Hao was the pioneer of the Five Luminaries Divine Repository. He wore a dark robe adorned with patterns of birds, beasts, and fish, which was quite splendid.
Behind his head was also a halo of light, within which were five stars, presumably the Five Luminaries Stars. Heavenly Lord Huo's halo was elliptical in shape, while his was perfectly round.
His temperament differed from the other Heavenly Lords Qin Mu had met. Heavenly Lord Ling was absorbed in research and careless about his appearance, Heavenly Lord You had a peculiar childlike disposition, Heavenly Lord Huo was straightforward and simple, and Heavenly Lord Yu was so tactful and charming that it was hard for anyone who interacted with him to feel dislike or become his enemy.
As for Heavenly Lord Hao, Qin Mu felt that this person had a fierce and resolute heart. Once he set a goal, he would advance with boldness and vigor, regardless of consequences, determined to achieve his objective by any means necessary.
Compared to Heavenly Lord Yu, he was somewhat lacking in the art of interpersonal relations, but because of his immense drive, he could not be underestimated.
Although Heavenly Lord Yu's personality had reached a state of near perfection, precisely because of this perfection, he tended to be overly cautious, hesitant, and prone to missing opportunities.
"However," Qin Mu thought to himself, "from the Heavenly Lords I've encountered so far, they are all figures of extraordinary talent, each not to be taken lightly."
"This era is truly magnificent and grand, which is why it can give birth to so many outstanding geniuses."
Heavenly Lord Hao's gaze fell on Qin Mu's face. Qin Mu smiled and nodded in greeting, but Heavenly Lord Hao's gaze quickly shifted, glanced at the Founding Emperor and Old Ox, and said, "The title of Heavenly Lord, you two senior brothers are certainly worthy of it. I also witnessed your battle, which was truly splendid and brilliant. I am deeply impressed. However, whether the Heavenly Emperor will approve Heavenly Lord Yu's memorial is another matter. I have other matters to attend to." With that, he turned and left.
Heavenly Lord Yu watched him walk away, smiling, "Heavenly Lord Hao is just like that. Don't take it to heart."
The Celestial Emperor of Darkness said, "Heavenly Lord Hao is actually a half-god..."
Heavenly Lord Yu glanced at him, and the Celestial Emperor of Darkness quickly fell silent.
The Founding Emperor asked curiously, "Why is Heavenly Lord Hao a half-god? And how was he able to open the Five Luminaries Divine Repository and become a Heavenly Lord?"
Qin Mu said, "Why are you so curious?"
The Founding Emperor looked at him: "Aren't you curious?"
Qin Mu snorted, then turned around with a face full of curiosity and asked, "Indeed, Heavenly Lord Yu, why is Heavenly Lord Hao a half-god, and how was he able to open the Five Luminaries Divine Repository?"
The Founding Emperor suppressed the urge to draw his sword and strike him, and also looked at Heavenly Lord Yu.
Heavenly Lord Yu hesitated for a moment, then explained, "There is actually another reason behind this. Heavenly Lord Hao's opening of the Five Luminaries Divine Repository was an experiment by the ancient gods. He is the son of an ancient god and a human."
Both of them were slightly taken aback.
Heavenly Lord Yu led them into the Empress's detached palace, which was already packed with people. He pushed through the crowd and said, "Heavenly Lord Hao is half-human, half-god, possessing a human body and the bloodline of a god. The reason it was an experiment was mainly because, after I opened the Embryonic Divine Repository back then, it caused changes in the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, allowing people to cultivate. At that time, I had already sensed the existence of other divine repositories. Some ancient gods felt that half-gods could not cultivate, and perhaps in the future, we cultivators would suppress them. They were already trying to find a way to solve the problem of half-gods being unable to cultivate, and thus Heavenly Lord Hao came into being."
Qin Mu and the Founding Emperor followed him, their hearts shaken by these words.
The emergence of Heavenly Lord Hao might have been a competition between later-born beings and half-gods.
Qin Mu asked, "If half-gods transform into humans, can't they cultivate then?"
"Brother Mu actually knows this?"
Heavenly Lord Yu was greatly shocked, looking at Qin Mu with a puzzled expression. After a moment, he said, "If half-gods transform into humans, possessing human-like divine repositories, they can indeed cultivate. However, half-gods are a superior race and disdain transforming into humans. Moreover, at that time, they had not discovered this path, nor were there any techniques that could allow half-gods to transform into humans. It wasn't until recently that Heavenly Lord Hao solved this problem. He pioneered a technique that allows half-gods to cultivate a human form. This matter has not yet been announced, yet Brother Mu knows of it—truly remarkable!"
Qin Mu felt a chill, inwardly blaming himself for revealing another clue.
In later generations, techniques for non-human races to cultivate human forms were very common, which is why he was puzzled, forgetting that such methods did not yet exist in this era.
Heavenly Lord Yu did not press further and continued, "The ancient gods have a long-term vision. Half-gods rely on growth; when they reach adulthood, their strength is almost comparable to that of ancient gods, but their lives are not long, and it is difficult for them to escape birth, aging, sickness, and death. At that time, I was not focused on opening other divine repositories but on finding a way for cultivators to achieve immortality like the gods. My own immortality was not the path of longevity; it was a gift from Lord Tu Bo. I felt I needed to find a path to longevity for all beings. After a few decades, when Heavenly Lord Hao opened the Five Luminaries Divine Repository, I woke up. But before I could thoroughly study the Five Luminaries Divine Repository, Heavenly Lord Ling had already opened the Six Harmonies Divine Repository."
He looked at Heavenly Lord Ling and smiled, "Heavenly Lord Ling and I were contemplating the Five Luminaries Divine Repository at the same time, yet she opened the Six Harmonies Divine Repository before me. So, Heavenly Lord Ling's intelligence and talent surpass mine."
Heavenly Lord Ling urged, "Hurry and find us a place to settle down. There are too many people here. I still need to study divine abilities with Brother Mu and Brother Qin!"
Heavenly Lord Yu led them through the palace to the back courtyard, heading towards a building, and said, "Later, one divine repository after another was opened. When Heavenly Lord Yun opened the Divine Bridge Divine Repository, I suddenly had a revelation and finally found a path for all beings to achieve long life and equal status with the gods."
He exuded strong confidence and laughed, "You two senior brothers, please stay in the Fenghua Tower. I still have to entertain others. This time, Heavenly Lord Hao is going to announce the method for half-gods to cultivate, and I am also going to announce the method for humans to become gods!"
His eyes were fervent, and he laughed heartily, "This time, I will enable later-born beings to stand alongside half-gods, and even alongside the ancient gods! This is a magnificent era. The arrival of you two senior brothers and the evolution of Dao techniques and divine abilities have shown me an even more magnificent future! Brother Yin, let's go!"
He rose and left. Qin Mu and the Founding Emperor saw him off. Qin Mu smiled, "Heavenly Lord Yu, you haven't signed your name in my little notebook yet."
Heavenly Lord Yu laughed heartily, picked up a brush, wrote a few seal characters in Qin Mu's notebook, returned the brush to him, and said, "I hope you two senior brothers will not be stingy and will also contribute your Dao techniques and divine abilities to help this grand era arrive sooner!" With that, he left with the Celestial Emperor of Darkness.
Qin Mu stood at the entrance of Fenghua Tower, looked at the name in the notebook. Although it was in ancient script, he recognized it.
Lan Yutian.
It should be Heavenly Lord Yu's true name.
He stared blankly as they walked away, then suddenly said, "Qin Kai, what do you think of this Heavenly Lord Yu?"
The Founding Emperor's expression was serious, and he said solemnly, "If I were born in the same era as him, I would not dare to contend with him for the world. I would serve him as my lord."
Qin Mu was stunned, "Are you so lacking in confidence?"
The Founding Emperor said solemnly, "In terms of vision, spirit, talent, conduct, and action, Heavenly Lord Yu surpasses me. I would willingly serve as his subject."
Qin Mu thought for a moment and had to admit that Heavenly Lord Yu's charisma was truly rare in all ages.
Among the people he had met, many possessed extraordinary talent, some had great vision and spirit, and others were very skilled in conduct and action, but none were as perfect as Heavenly Lord Yu.
"Then, what about Heavenly Lord Hao?" he continued to ask.
The Founding Emperor's expression brightened, and he laughed, "I have only met Heavenly Lord Hao once, but I can see that he is stubborn and self-willed. If I were to encounter Heavenly Lord Hao, I would contend with him as an equal, seize the momentum of the world, gather the hearts of the people, and it would still be uncertain who would emerge victorious."
Qin Mu suddenly laughed, "Then what if you encountered me?"
The Founding Emperor glared at him and remained silent for a long time.
Qin Mu looked at him expectantly, staring at him.
The Founding Emperor coughed, "You... you have too many personality flaws, as if your whole body is full of weaknesses, leaking everywhere..."
Qin Mu's face darkened like charcoal, his expression gloomy.
The Founding Emperor laughed, "Don't be angry, don't be angry. If we were in the same era, I don't think we would be rivals, but friends. Although your temperament is very strange and you always target me, I feel that you don't have any real malice towards me. Instead, there is a kind of, a kind of..."
His expression was strange, "A feeling of being disappointed that I'm not living up to expectations."
Qin Mu was speechless.
The Founding Emperor continued, "Your talent and ability are not inferior to mine, but you have not yet settled down, have not yet internalized them into true wisdom. This is where you fall short of me. Perhaps in the future, you will do better than me, but for now, you haven't achieved it."
Qin Mu nodded slightly, looking at him with a complex expression, silently thinking, "Actually, you have always been my role model. I want to be like you, but I don't want to be completely like you."
"Let's go into the building."
The Founding Emperor said, "Heavenly Lord Ling is waiting for us."
Qin Mu collected his thoughts and walked into the building with him.
Heavenly Lord Ling was extremely excited, laughing, "Finally free from those annoying matters, I can settle down and do research. I hate these social interactions the most! If it weren't for Heavenly Lord Yu's invitation, I wouldn't have bothered to come! Let's get started quickly!"
Qin Mu smiled, "Sister Ling, this time you take the lead. The two of us can only assist you. Where you don't understand or can't deduce, we'll handle it. I won't brag about anything else, but in terms of creation techniques and miscellaneous knowledge, we are both very strong—at least stronger than anyone else in this world!"
The Founding Emperor hesitated for a moment, then finally made up his mind, saying, "Although Mu Qing's tone is a bit arrogant, it is indeed as he says. In the universe, over the past hundred thousand years, or even longer, there is no one more erudite than the two of us. Heavenly Lord Ling, you organize your thoughts, and we'll help you perfect them."
Heavenly Lord Ling was overjoyed.
The three of them immediately began to work. Heavenly Lord Ling wanted to create a divine ability that would make matter eternally static. She had already opened the direction and made initial progress, but the knowledge involved was too vast and complex, and creation techniques were only one aspect.
Fortunately, Qin Mu and the Founding Emperor had very broad knowledge and were also rare masters of mathematics. One by one, Heavenly Lord Ling's problems were solved by them.
This research went on without regard for the passage of time. Unknowingly, half a month had passed. Old Ox was patient and could stay put, sitting in front of the building drinking tea and smoking a water pipe. Occasionally, he felt a bit bored, thinking, "This Empress's detached palace is really shabby. Why aren't there a few rice paddies? Not plowing for a few days makes my bones feel lazy..."
More and more cultivators came to the gathering. In the past two days, even near Fenghua Tower, many cultivators sat on the ground, and some fell asleep under the trees when tired.
Old Ox blew a few smoke rings, leisurely watching the cultivators discussing Dao techniques and divine abilities. In the Yao Chi, many half-gods had also arrived, some still flying in the sky without landing.
Just then, a commotion arose. Countless people were spreading the news, shouting, "The Seven Heavenly Lords are about to give a lecture!"
"I heard that Heavenly Lord Yu is going to talk about the method of becoming a god this time! Hurry to the main hall of the detached palace!"
"Go early to grab a good seat! If you're late, you'll have to drink the northwest wind outside the hall!"
The surroundings were in an uproar. A sea of people surged towards the front hall. Old Ox hurriedly got up, thinking, "This grand event, I need to inform the Founding Emperor and Qin Mu. They've been talking about it for a long time..."
Just as he thought this, another earth-shattering commotion erupted. Countless people were screaming at the top of their lungs.
The noise was too loud, and Old Ox couldn't make out what they were shouting.
"These people are too noisy. The ancient people were also ignorant fellows."
Old Ox shook his head and continued walking into the building. The shouting gradually became clearer.
Outside, someone was wailing loudly.
"Heavenly Lord Yu is dead!"
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