Chapter 755: The Tagalong Imperial Heavenly Lord
The Ruins, Crippled Elderly Village.
At daybreak, Qin Mu and the Underworld Judge Elder brought Imperial Heavenly Lord to this small village. This was where Qin Mu had once lived, though now it was occupied by chicken-dragon creatures.
In the village, Qin Mu stewed a chicken, stir-fried a few dishes, and dug out a jar of wine buried under the bed in the Butcher's house.
—He had attended a ghostly feast at the Heavenly Duke's Benevolent Sage Manor, but it had no flavor at all, leaving him craving real food. Besides, Imperial Heavenly Lord had just been resurrected and was also hungry.
After eating and drinking their fill, Qin Mu and the Underworld Judge Elder walked to the banks of the Surging River, watching the rushing waters flow past.
The Underworld Judge Elder rubbed a divine ability together, about to toss it into the surging river. Qin Mu quickly grabbed his hand and shook his head. "The Surging River is teeming with countless living beings, and there's also the Surging River Dragon King, the Dragon Tamer Lord. Are you, with your vast divine powers now, trying to blow up an entire river's worth of life?"
The Underworld Judge Elder thought for a moment, then dispersed the divine ability. "Is his current state due to missing soul fragments, or is he genuinely suffering from amnesia?"
Qin Mu looked back. In the village, chaos reigned. Flocks of chicken-dragons were chasing Imperial Heavenly Lord all over the place. He was pecked bloody and battered, utterly miserable, until finally the chicken-dragons knocked him to the ground. Several rooster chicken-dragons stood on the young man, crowing "cock-a-doodle-doo" at the sun.
The Underworld Judge Elder sighed, rubbed another divine ability together, thought about it, and dispersed it again. "Look at him. Where is the man he once was? The Imperial Heavenly Lord of old—how spirited and free-spirited he was! Now even chicken-dragons dare to bully him."
Qin Mu got up and went over, shooing the chicken-dragons away. Imperial Heavenly Lord scrambled to his feet, patted his clothes, and a cloud of chicken feathers flew everywhere.
"I can't figure out the cause of his amnesia either. His soul is missing something—less than a tenth of his soul is gone, but his three souls and seven spirits are all still present."
Qin Mu mused, "I think the best course now is to go to the Netherworld and ask Lord Tu Bo to locate his lost soul fragments. If he still has amnesia after recovering his soul, then it's a problem with his brain."
The Underworld Judge Elder nodded, then looked back. Imperial Heavenly Lord was cornered by a group of chicken-dragons, squatting and covering his head.
"If he doesn't regain his memory, how can he survive in this cruel world?" the Underworld Judge Elder shook his head.
Qin Mu walked over, raised his hand, and a flame turned into a fire dragon that lunged in all directions, driving the chicken-dragons away.
Imperial Heavenly Lord's eyes lit up. "That's a good trick!" he said happily, then waved his own hand.
The chicken-dragons nearby were about to approach but quickly dodged, only to see that nothing happened after he waved. Enraged, they charged again.
Imperial Heavenly Lord quickly waved again. A streak of fire like a dragon shot out, twisting and turning.
The chicken-dragons scattered in all directions. One chicken-dragon couldn't dodge in time and was burned black, a smell of roasted meat wafting through the air.
Imperial Heavenly Lord was stunned, staring at his own hand in disbelief. Then he ran to the dead chicken-dragon and burst into tears, grieving over its death.
He wanted to bury the chicken-dragon's body, crying as he dug a hole. After a moment, he found it smelled delicious, secretly took a bite, and ate while still crying. He abandoned the dug hole and tossed the chicken bones into it.
Qin Mu and the Underworld Judge Elder exchanged glances, both showing surprise.
"Was that divine ability you used the fire runes of the Blazing Star Lord?" the Underworld Judge Elder asked.
Qin Mu nodded. "The Blazing Star Lord's fire runes aren't structurally complex, but my mastery is high. I compressed the runes to their extreme, making it hard for anyone to see the intricacies."
The Underworld Judge Elder said, "But he saw them. And he learned them."
"And he could even execute them."
Qin Mu lowered his voice. "His cultivation hasn't completely disappeared; some remains. More importantly, his talent and comprehension are simply heaven-defying. I suspect..."
He paused, a strange expression on his face. "Imperial Heavenly Lord is also a Dominator Body."
The Underworld Judge Elder pondered for a moment. "Not having memories isn't a big deal, as long as he's not stupid. But... his brain seems a bit off. Have you ever seen anyone cry over burning a chicken to death, and eat it while crying?"
Qin Mu tugged at his little beard. "His brain does seem a bit off... Let's go see Lord Tu Bo first!"
The Underworld Judge Elder nodded and called Imperial Heavenly Lord over. Imperial Heavenly Lord had eaten half the chicken and, looking ashamed, walked over carrying the other half.
Qin Mu and the Underworld Judge Elder had no choice. The three boarded the small boat. The Underworld Judge Elder waved his hand, and a dark vortex appeared. The boat sailed into the vortex, which then shrank and vanished.
"Imperial Heavenly Lord, why aren't you eating?"
The Underworld Judge Elder looked at him. "Are you sad because you burned a playmate to death and then ate your friend?"
"I'm full."
Imperial Heavenly Lord said honestly, "I really can't eat any more. I'll save it for when I'm hungry."
Qin Mu didn't know whether to laugh or cry, thinking to himself, "The Imperial Heavenly Lord of old was such a sharp person, but now he's so foolish. Carrying this silly big brother around is going to give the Netherworld Heavenly Lord a hard time." He couldn't help feeling a bit of schadenfreude.
"Netherworld Heavenly Lord, who won in the Dragon Han Heavenly Court back then?" Qin Mu asked.
The Underworld Judge Elder hesitated, took off the mask from the back of his head and put it away, shaking his head. "I'm not entirely sure. At the end of the Dragon Han Era, there were three heavenly courts, each claiming to be orthodox. Who actually won, I don't know. I stayed in the Netherworld all along, rarely going to the outside world. The three heavenly courts vying for supremacy, reaping souls, was already a headache for me back then. However..."
He paused. "The Moon Heavenly Lord once came to me and said the Heavenly Alliance had lost, the Cloud Heavenly Emperor was dead, and she was preparing to retire into seclusion."
"Cloud Heavenly Emperor?"
Qin Mu asked, "Was that the Cloud Heavenly Lord?"
The Underworld Judge Elder nodded.
Qin Mu's face darkened. After a moment, he said hoarsely, "If he hadn't joined the Heavenly Alliance, perhaps he wouldn't have died. My words cost him his life. I..."
"It has nothing to do with you."
The Underworld Judge Elder said, "The Cloud Heavenly Lord was that kind of person. Though revered as a heavenly lord and usually quiet, he was warm-hearted. The Moon Heavenly Lord once said that before the Ling Heavenly Lord proposed establishing the Heavenly Alliance, the Cloud Heavenly Lord had already planned to gather like-minded people for the future of the post-natal races. The Cloud Heavenly Lord..."
He fell silent for a moment, then lowered his head. "He once impersonated Imperial Heavenly Lord, and also impersonated you and the Qin Heavenly Lord, acting in your names to give humanity and other races a glimmer of hope during their darkest times. In the Dragon Han Era, many people died. Humanity and other races were barely surviving. He had no choice but to do this..."
Qin Mu was lost in thought.
"Lord Tu Bo should know which heavenly court won, right?" he asked, pushing aside his worries.
"Lord Tu Bo won't say."
The Underworld Judge Elder shook his head. "I once asked him, but he didn't tell me. After that dark period passed, Lord Tu Bo became much more withdrawn, only doing his duty and rarely concerning himself with external matters. I also wanted to know who the final victor was—whether it was the Hao Heavenly Lord or the Primordial God Heavenly Emperor—but I've never seen the true face of the person on the throne."
Qin Mu was startled. "Never seen his true face?"
The Underworld Judge Elder nodded. The small boat approached Lord Tu Bo. At the bow, Imperial Heavenly Lord gaped in astonishment, staring at the colossal Lord Tu Bo, speechless.
"Never seen him."
The Underworld Judge Elder's expression was calm, like still water, unhurried. "People say the Dragon Han Era ended 450,000 years ago, followed by the Chi Ming Era. Heh, little do they know the Dragon Han Era never ended. The Dragon Han Era has always been here!"
Qin Mu's heart trembled.
The Dragon Han Era had always been here!
Even Lord Tu Bo, who was reticent about it, wouldn't mention the Dragon Han Heavenly Court. It was always there, like a vast shadow looming over every era—Chi Ming, Shang Huang, Kai Huang, and even the current Yan Kang!
"That heavenly court has many things I can't fathom."
The Underworld Judge Elder said, "The primordial gods of the Primordial God Heavenly Court are also in that heavenly court, and the deities born from post-natal beings and half-gods are there too. I can't figure out who the final victor was... Let's go see Lord Tu Bo."
The paper boat sailed into the third eye on Lord Tu Bo's brow. The Underworld Judge Elder docked the boat and entered the sacred hall within the eye.
In the hall, Lord Tu Bo, now reduced to a much smaller size, looked down at Imperial Heavenly Lord, who was carrying half a chicken. Imperial Heavenly Lord fidgeted under his gaze, then finally mustered the courage to raise the half-chicken above his head. "Do you want some? You look hungry too..."
Lord Tu Bo's eyes flickered, and he shook his head with a sigh. "Pitiful. The Imperial Heavenly Lord of old has come to this. You brought him here to find that missing wisp of his soul?"
Qin Mu nodded and bowed. "I beg Lord Tu Bo to use your divine arts to locate that wisp of his soul!"
"I blessed him back then. Even if you hadn't asked, I would have helped find it."
Lord Tu Bo opened the eye on his brow, and a beam of light shot out, forming a screen. He said solemnly, "When I saw his physical body, I already saw his remnant soul crossing countless worlds, passing through the myriad realms in an instant."
Imperial Heavenly Lord stood nervously in the light screen. Outside the screen, Qin Mu and the Underworld Judge Elder saw worlds flashing by rapidly—towering green mountains, vast deserts, fleeting stars, all passing in succession.
After a moment, an incredibly grand and magnificent heavenly palace appeared in the screen, with towering and majestic gods, followed by the eternally bright heavenly court.
In the screen, one palace after another passed through Imperial Heavenly Lord's body, the speed increasing. Suddenly, the scene's movement slowed, gradually becoming slower and slower, until it finally stopped at the entrance of a palace.
The scene passed through the entrance, through pavilions and towers, through several more gates, entering an inconceivable space, and then the scene cut off.
Lord Tu Bo said, "His remnant soul is suppressed in the Fragrant Incense Hall of the heavenly court. The seals within the hall are too heavy, cutting off my sight."
Qin Mu breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "As long as we know where it is, there's hope."
The Underworld Judge Elder's expression was grave, his brow deeply furrowed. Clearly, the Fragrant Incense Hall was not as simple as Qin Mu imagined.
"The Fragrant Incense Hall is one of the seventy-two precious halls of the heavenly court, on par with the heavenly palace itself."
Lord Tu Bo said calmly, "Let alone you, even ordinary Lingxiao-level experts can't infiltrate it."
Qin Mu smiled. "There's always a way in."
Lord Tu Bo asked, "Do you know how to enter the heavenly court? Do you know where the heavenly court is?"
Qin Mu was stunned.
He truly didn't know. People spoke of the Outer Realm Heavenly Court, but where exactly this Outer Realm Heavenly Court was, even the Woodcutter Sage couldn't say.
The Woodcutter Sage had never known who the enemy of the Kai Huang Era truly was.
And the Chi Emperor's consciousness within the Qin Continent didn't know who the enemy of the Chi Ming Era was either.
Lord Tu Bo looked at him. "You go out first. I have something to say to the Prefect."
Qin Mu walked out of the sacred hall, then poked his head back in. Suddenly, the hall's doors closed, shutting him out.
"Stingy! And so secretive!" Qin Mu muttered indignantly, but his gaze involuntarily fell on the Underworld Judge Elder's small paper boat.
Inside the sacred hall, Lord Tu Bo looked at the Underworld Judge Elder. "His remnant soul can't be retrieved for now. What do you plan to do with him?"
The Underworld Judge Elder was silent for a moment. "He is my second family member. I must protect him."
"He is now a blank slate."
Lord Tu Bo said, "And a foolish blank slate at that. If he follows you, he'll become as withdrawn as you. If he leaves the Netherworld, he'll die horribly. Prefect, the reason you've survived all these years is that you've stayed in the Netherworld. If you went out, you'd have died long ago. Following you will only lead to that fate."
The Underworld Judge Elder watched in silence as Imperial Heavenly Lord secretly licked the grease off his fingers. After a long pause, he looked up. "I've thought it through. I'm truly not suited to take him with me. I want to entrust him to the Mu Heavenly Lord."
Lord Tu Bo said, "Entrust him to him? Aren't you afraid he'll lead Imperial Heavenly Lord into a ditch?"
"But Imperial Heavenly Lord won't die."
The Underworld Judge Elder said, "What I worry about now is that the Mu Heavenly Lord won't want to take him. He was very enthusiastic about saving Imperial Heavenly Lord and was fervent about avenging him, but if it comes to taking care of him, he'll definitely refuse."
Lord Tu Bo showed a hint of a smile. "He has no choice. Right now, he's taken your small boat to the deepest part of the Netherworld, sneaking off to visit his mother. He's about to commit a great mistake and a great transgression. With this leverage, he'll have no choice but to take Imperial Heavenly Lord, this tagalong."
The Underworld Judge Elder was stunned for a moment, then praised, "Lord Tu Bo is wise."
——This chapter is 3,700 words. Today's update totals 7,800 words, right? I'm very proud!