Chapter 794: The Death of the Heavenly Emperor
The Heavenly Duke's avatar and the Molten Earth Lord remained silent. Nearby, the Old Buddha and the Crimson Emperor sat at a stone table, leisurely sipping tea, occasionally glancing over with smiles.
The Great Sun Star Lord sat obediently to the side, head bowed, holding his tea cup. From his beak, a small flame occasionally spurted as he muttered, "I don't know anything. Don't ask me. I died early, and it was because I knew too much—took an arrow in the back..."
The white-bearded old man coughed repeatedly, glanced at the Earth Lord, then at Qin Mu, and finally couldn't help but say, "Child of the Qin family, let me consult with the Earth Lord first."
Qin Mu nodded slightly.
The Heavenly Duke and the Earth Lord walked to a distance, away from the others, and spoke in low voices. "Fellow Daoist, what should we do now?" the Heavenly Duke asked.
The Earth Lord replied, "You are well-traveled and knowledgeable. You speak first."
The Heavenly Duke said, "All the dead end up with you. You know the most."
The Earth Lord said nothing.
The Heavenly Duke had no choice but to continue, "That girl named Yan Qiling just made it clear, telling the boy to be wary of us, sowing discord. If we don't reveal some secrets, the boy will surely hold a grudge."
The Earth Lord grumbled, "I don't know much."
The Heavenly Duke laughed in exasperation. "You've done all this, and you still say you don't know much? Do you want me to expose everything you've done? In this current era, the Primordial Realm has broken its seal, and even the false and true Earth Mothers have popped up. The Heavenly Alliance, the Heavenly Court, and even the ancient Heavenly Emperors are emerging one after another. Clearly, they intend to throw the world into chaos and then cast the net to catch the fish! Do you think our Netherworld and Heavenly Capital can be preserved?"
The Earth Lord was silent for a moment before saying, "I agree to tell him some secrets, but we cannot reveal everything that involves us."
The Heavenly Duke finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Will you speak, or shall I?"
"I have a tight mouth. I'll speak," the Earth Lord said.
The two turned back. Qin Mu looked at them expectantly.
The Old Buddha and the Crimson Emperor at the stone table also pricked up their ears, full of anticipation.
The Great Sun Star Lord originally dared not listen and planned to leave, but his curiosity got the better of him. He steeled himself and stayed, thinking, "I'm already dead. What do I have to fear?"
In the distance, the big-headed child Qin Fengqing crept out of the Qin Character Mountain Range. His ears suddenly grew enormous, towering higher than the mountain peaks as he strained to listen.
The Heavenly Duke cleared his throat but did not speak. He glanced at the Molten Earth Lord. The Molten Earth Lord was silent for a moment, then suddenly spoke, unhurriedly: "The Heavenly Emperor of the Dragon Han Heavenly Court is indeed dead."
Qin Mu's heart trembled violently as he looked at him expectantly.
The voice of the big-headed child came from afar, shouting, "Big Earth Lord, where can I eat the Heavenly Emperor's soul? Did you hide it? I knew you still had plenty of good stuff hidden away!"
Seeing the expectant looks in everyone's eyes, the Earth Lord hesitated for a moment before saying, "That's all. Heavenly Duke, I have a tight mouth and don't know what else to say. I'm afraid they'll pry information out of me. You take over."
Qin Mu was suspicious and looked expectantly at the white-bearded old man.
The Heavenly Duke felt his head swelling as big as a bucket and laughed in exasperation. "You don't have a tight mouth; you just want me to speak! Fine, I'll do it! The Heavenly Emperor of the Dragon Han Heavenly Court was murdered while reincarnating to marry a woman!"
The Old Buddha spat a mouthful of tea onto the face of the Great Sun Star Lord opposite him. The Great Sun Star Lord was stunned, forgetting to wipe the water from his face. He was originally a mass of primordial spirit, scorching hot, and the tea sizzled as it evaporated on his face, turning into a rising plume of white mist.
The Crimson Emperor's three heads all widened their eyes, somewhat bewildered.
Qin Mu stammered, "The Heavenly Emperor died while reincarnating to marry a woman? Was it the Empress's younger sister?"
"No."
The Heavenly Duke sighed. "His Majesty was brilliant, strategic, and resourceful. None of us—me, the Earth Lord, or the Earth Mother—could outwit him. He had us all by the short hairs. As the first life in the universe, his abilities were extraordinary, and his methods were unmatched. I admired him wholeheartedly. But he had one weakness: he was fond of women."
The Earth Lord coughed.
The Heavenly Duke said discontentedly, "This can be said. It doesn't matter. Besides, when the Heavenly Court was established, Mu Celestial was also present and knew some inside information. He should have seen His Majesty's character."
Qin Mu's expression turned strange. "I know that the Heavenly Emperor reincarnated once to sleep with the Empress's sister, which gave rise to Hao Celestial. I don't know what happened after that."
The Heavenly Duke continued, "Later, the death of Yu Celestial caused a huge uproar. The post-natal races were furious, clamoring for Hao Celestial's execution, and several Celestials even planned to assassinate him. To protect Hao Celestial, the Heavenly Emperor formally married that lady, finally getting what he wanted. Hao Celestial thus became an Imperial Son, and no one dared to touch him."
Qin Mu's eyes widened. "The Heavenly Emperor married both the Empress and her sister?"
The Earth Lord coughed heavily.
"It's fine, it's fine. This can also be said. Don't keep coughing and interrupting me."
The Heavenly Duke said, "People often say that ancient gods are selfless. Actually, that's wrong. Ancient gods are not selfless; it's the Dao they are born with that is selfless. Therefore, ancient gods often follow the Dao and act according to its instructions. But ancient gods do have selfish motives. For example, many ancient gods tried reincarnation to break free from the constraints of the Heavenly Dao, and they also had children. Some ancient gods, driven by momentary desires, had many children with post-natal beings, forming half-god races. Others were born from the union of two ancient gods..."
The Earth Lord coughed repeatedly, reminding him, "Fellow Daoist, why are you saying all this? It damages the image of the ancient gods. Just get to the point."
The Heavenly Duke was unconcerned. "Ever since I came into this seal, I've been beaten up by the Netherworld Divine Son every day. My image is long gone. Saying a bit more won't hurt. Besides, this is related to what I need to say later. If I don't explain clearly, this boy will ask again, and it will all come out anyway."
The Molten Earth Lord grumbled, "Show some restraint. Don't end up like the Great Sun Star Lord."
The Great Sun Star Lord quickly nodded. "I didn't know I had a big mouth until I took an arrow in the back..."
The Heavenly Duke continued, "His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor was deep and calculating. We ancient gods couldn't outwit him. In the early years of the Dragon Han era, when the Heavenly Court was established, we ancient gods were the leaders. We elected him as the Heavenly Emperor, and we were all sincerely convinced. At the time, our thinking was that post-natal beings and half-gods were increasing rapidly, and we needed rules to restrain them to prevent endless killing. But we never expected that the Heavenly Emperor would be so domineering and so deep in his schemes. We treated him as a fellow Daoist, but he treated us as his subjects."
Qin Mu's heart stirred as he recalled the ugly figure he had seen inside the Life-Death Cauldron.
The Heavenly Duke said, "Almost all ancient gods had their weaknesses exploited by him. The Earth Lord had his, I had mine, and the Earth Mother had hers. The old brothers and fellow Daoists of those days—who could outwit him? Hah, who wasn't firmly in his grasp? Whether it was the Primordial Capital, the Netherworld, or my Heavenly Capital, he had planted countless spies, and we couldn't even see the Heavenly Court."
Qin Mu thought of Yu Celestial's experiences and what he had seen in the Life-Death Cauldron, and he nodded silently.
The Heavenly Emperor was deep and calculating. Neither the Earth Mother, the Earth Lord, the Heavenly Duke, nor any other ancient god could outwit him.
The Heavenly Emperor's position would only grow more secure, eternal and unchanging.
Yet this emperor had still died.
"In fact, after Mu Celestial left the Dragon Han era, half-gods and post-natal beings developed rapidly, giving rise to many powerful existences. Half-gods and post-natal beings progressed, but ancient gods struggled to advance. Ancient gods could not learn Dao techniques and divine abilities outside their own, so they could only study their own Dao and improve themselves."
The Heavenly Duke sighed. "By the time half-gods and post-natal beings also became immortal, their respect and worship for ancient gods gradually faded. The Old Buddha was a man of his time, but he was not the most outstanding among half-gods and post-natal beings."
The Great Brahma Heavenly King Buddha nodded. "Each of the Seven Celestials surpassed me by far."
"Old Buddha, don't belittle yourself. You are only a step behind them."
The Heavenly Duke offered a word of comfort before continuing, "The Heavenly Emperor was wary of the human race among post-natal beings, wary of the talented half-gods, and even more wary of his own children. So he stirred up many conflicts to drain the strength of half-gods and post-natal beings. He even tacitly allowed half-gods and humans to each establish their own minor Heavenly Courts, watching them fight and kill each other. At that time, Crown Prince Wuqi had a vast power base. The Heavenly Emperor deliberately gave him an opportunity to rebel, then used it to execute him. After Wuqi's death, the Heavenly Emperor was relentless, posthumously giving him the surname 'Evil,' calling him Evil Wuqi, and suppressing him in the Netherworld."
Qin Mu's heart stirred. "Evil Wuqi? I saw him in the Jade Lock Pass!"
The Heavenly Duke said, "I didn't know the details at the time. I only knew that Evil Wuqi rebelled and was killed. The inside story was told to me by Little Bird. It wasn't until recently that I learned the Heavenly Emperor had deliberately given Evil Wuqi the chance to rebel in order to execute him."
The Great Sun Star Lord shrank his neck, his face full of dismay.
The Heavenly Duke said, "Humans and half-gods fought, the children dared not rebel, and the ancient gods all had their weaknesses in his hands. His rule was secure. In that era, no one could oppose him—not in the past, not in the present, and not in the future."
"And yet he died," Qin Mu said, his eyes flickering.
The Heavenly Duke was silent for a moment before saying, "Little Bird said earlier that he died early, but that's not right. The Heavenly Emperor actually died before you."
The Great Sun Star Lord's feathers stood on end. "Impossible! I was ordered by the Heavenly Court to campaign against Cloud Heavenly Emperor, and then I took an arrow in the back! I had the Heavenly Emperor's edict! Impossible!"
The Heavenly Duke sighed deeply. "Actually, your death came later. While half-gods and humans were fighting to the death, a beauty appeared in the Primordial Capital. She was so beautiful that even I couldn't help but cast my gaze upon her. Her name was Jue Wuchen—flawless, untouched by any dust. Her beauty even stirred my mortal heart..."
Qin Mu's expression turned strange.
The Old Buddha and the Crimson Emperor also looked odd.
The Heavenly Duke paused before continuing, "Then, the Heavenly Emperor reincarnated. Of course, he dared to reincarnate, but this time it was done in secret. No one knew who he reincarnated as, where he went, or what race he became. Until one day, a Celestial from the human race came to the Heavenly Capital and found me..."
Qin Mu tensed. "Which Celestial?"
The Heavenly Duke was silent, but he continued, "Cloud Celestial. At that time, he was already the Cloud Heavenly Emperor of the Xiao Han Heavenly Court, and he was also the leader of the Heavenly Alliance."
Qin Mu's body trembled violently, his gaze blank.
"Cloud Celestial came to me and said he could free me from the deadlock the Heavenly Emperor had me in, as long as on a certain day, at a certain time, I would only watch and not interfere."
The Heavenly Duke said, "I didn't know what he planned to do, but I agreed. At the same time, another Celestial went to the Netherworld and found the Earth Lord."
He looked at the Earth Lord. "Fellow Daoist, do you remember which Celestial came to visit you?"
The Earth Lord said, "Of course I remember. Hao Celestial, the leader of the half-gods, came to me and said that on a certain day, at a certain time, I only needed to watch what happened in the Primordial Capital and not interfere, and the Netherworld's troubles would be resolved. I agreed."
The Heavenly Duke said, "At that time, Hao Celestial was the Hao Heavenly Emperor of the Dragon Xiao Heavenly Court."
Qin Mu was dazed, muttering, "Hao Celestial and Cloud Celestial—how could they be together? Weren't they mortal enemies? One represented the half-gods, the other represented post-natal beings, and weren't they trying to kill each other?"
"That is also what I find most puzzling and terrifying."
The Heavenly Duke showed a look of confusion and fear, lowering his voice. "Later, when that day came, the killing began. The first to act was Jue Wuchen, followed by Cloud Celestial and Hao Celestial leading the elites of various races. Only then did I realize that the person they wanted to kill was the Heavenly Emperor. Bound by my oath, I did not intervene. Moreover, I was afraid of the Heavenly Emperor, and deep down, I wanted him dead. The Earth Lord also did not intervene..."
Qin Mu shook his head, his hands and feet icy cold, and whispered, "And the Earth Mother, Primordial Lord. She..."
"She also watched and did nothing."
The Heavenly Duke's gaze was strange as he whispered, "The Earth Mother even sealed the sky over the Primordial Capital, using the branches of the Primordial Tree to block the heavens, preventing the Heavenly Court from seeing what was happening there."
Thank you to the Golden Grand Alliance leader, Night Cold Emotion Deep Wind Blue, for the generous tip of ten million Qidian coins, one hundred thousand yuan. I am unworthy of such generosity! Zhai Zhu is greatly encouraged and will continue writing, striving to update another chapter by midnight!