Chapter 804: Breaking the Ancient God's Blessing
Everyone finally finished their research and organized a plan. Afterward, each person chose a research direction to focus on.
The demonic path divine treasury was a vast system. If one person tried to study it comprehensively, they would exhaust their entire life's energy and still might not fully understand it.
Even though they only chose one aspect to research, they still needed to gather a large number of talented individuals. For example, the Heavenly Saint Academy where Granny Si and the Village Chief were located, the Dao Sect where Linxuan Dao Lord was, and the Little Jade Capital where Wang Muran was—all could provide many talented people to help them deduce and enrich the details within each demonic path divine treasury. They only needed to grasp the general direction.
Everyone spent another few dozen days organizing the various gods' blessings behind Imperial Heaven Lord's head. The Woodcutter compiled the divine runes and handed them to Yanfeng Emperor.
Yanfeng Emperor wept tears of joy, saying, "From now on, the divine arts and techniques of Yankang will soar to the heavens."
Everyone shared the same sentiment.
Imperial Heaven Lord was a vast treasure trove. Simply studying the halo behind his head was enough to cause a leap forward in Yankang's divine arts and techniques!
"Yankang Emperor, that's not quite right."
The Woodcutter said, "Emperor, you only see the divine arts and techniques of the gods, but you haven't seen the divine arts and techniques of us, the post-natal beings. Don't abandon the root for the branches."
Yanfeng Emperor bowed deeply and said sincerely, "Please teach me, sir."
The Woodcutter laughed. "I am the Celestial Master of the Opening Emperor, not your Celestial Master. I won't teach you. Go ask your own Celestial Master."
Yanfeng Emperor was momentarily stunned, then suddenly understood. He turned to consult the Yankang National Teacher.
"Your Majesty, the teacher's meaning is that although we have obtained the divine runes and techniques of the ancient gods, these techniques and runes do not belong to us, the post-natal beings."
The Yankang National Teacher said solemnly, "Although we post-natal beings are inherently deficient, we have created the paths of the sword, the blade, music, chess, calligraphy, painting, martial techniques, and divine arts. These are not the great paths of the ancient gods, nor are they the great paths of heaven and earth. They are paths we have opened from nothing. The teacher means that these are our foundation."
Yanfeng Emperor suddenly understood.
The Yankang National Teacher continued, "Your Majesty, in reform and change, we can absorb the strengths of the ancient gods, but we cannot abandon our own strengths. Only by possessing both can society progress."
Yanfeng Emperor agreed, saying, "The National Teacher's words have resolved many years of confusion for me."
The Yankang National Teacher lowered his voice. "The teacher also has another meaning. By understanding the divine runes of the ancient gods, we can understand the weaknesses of each ancient god."
Yanfeng Emperor's heart trembled violently. "The National Teacher means?"
"Your Majesty naturally understands."
The Yankang National Teacher said, "Now that the Primordial Realm has broken its seal and various forces have emerged, we need to prepare early. The strong ones of the Opening Emperor era are helping us, but in the end, we must rely on ourselves. If Your Majesty relies on the gods and men of the Opening Emperor for everything, what meaning is there in the Yankang reforms? Your Majesty must prepare now, so that when facing the ancient gods in the future, you will not be completely powerless to resist."
Yanfeng Emperor became solemn. He looked at the mountains of books that everyone had organized, exhaled a turbid breath, and said in a low voice, "I will not disappoint the National Teacher's expectations, nor the expectations of the predecessors and sages! Even if I must sacrifice myself for the country, the reforms must endure!"
The three Heavenly Kings and the four Celestial Masters gathered together. Diyue Yue's eyes flickered as she said, "I am somewhat confident in removing the ancient gods' blessings. However, there are too many ancient gods' blessings on Imperial Heaven Lord, and they are widely interconnected. It's hard to avoid the ancient gods sensing it. Therefore..."
The Scholar smiled. "Therefore, we need an experimental subject!"
The other Celestial Masters and Heavenly Kings immediately turned their gazes to Qin Mu.
Qin Mu was still oblivious, explaining the cultivation essentials of the Heavenly River Divine Treasury to the reincarnated Human Sovereigns, preparing to use Yishan Human Sovereign and Qikang Human Sovereign as experimental subjects.
Although Qikang and Yishan Human Sovereigns were unwilling, the other Human Sovereigns were very willing, and the First Ancestor had also nodded, so they had no choice.
The Scholar withdrew her gaze, looked at Diyue Yue, and fanned her feather fan, smiling. "The First Heavenly King is praised by the Opening Emperor as the most outstanding existence in terms of talent. You can remove the Earth Mother's blessing. Can you remove the Heavenly Lord's blessing?"
Diyue Yue looked at her and said calmly, "The Opening Emperor's greatest formation master, the only one among the four Celestial Masters that the Opening Emperor took to the Carefree Realm. His regard for you surpasses his regard for me. So, Zixi, how many ancient gods' blessings can you remove?"
The Scholar smiled. "Although I am the only one the Opening Emperor took to the Carefree Realm, and I know that the Opening Emperor didn't take the others, causing some resentment, I have never betrayed the Opening Emperor. Among the four Celestial Masters, not one has ever betrayed the Opening Emperor. However, among the four Heavenly Kings, two have fallen."
Diyue Yue's expression immediately darkened.
Emperor Shi Tianwang's face also looked very unpleasant.
Tian Shu shouldered the Divine Emperor Que Blade and sneered, "Are the four Celestial Masters so great? Don't forget, it was I who swung my blade and cut off the Earth Lord's horn, creating the Netherworld Capital, allowing the remnants of the Opening Emperor who stayed here to have a place to rest, and protecting this land of Yankang. You four Celestial Masters, some fled, some hid, and some wallowed in self-pity, turning into stone for twenty thousand years. What face do you have to mock us four Heavenly Kings?"
The Woodcutter and the Fisherman Celestial Master remained silent. They had indeed turned into stone statues after the defeat and had no face to speak.
The Farmer also stopped talking. After the defeat, he had guarded the Bullfighting Realm and hadn't accomplished much.
In terms of merit, Tian Shu, the Netherworld Capital Heavenly King, had the greatest contribution.
The Scholar sneered. "The Netherworld Capital Heavenly King is indeed remarkable, but among the four Heavenly Kings, you rank last. The First Heavenly King married the Netherworld Emperor before the war and was ambushed by him on their wedding night, dying for twenty thousand years! The Opening Emperor's strongest combat power fell instantly. How were we four Celestial Masters supposed to fight? We are teachers, not fighters!"
She looked at Emperor Shi Tianwang and said coldly, "Li Youran, the Third Heavenly King, was also remarkable. He actually fell in love with Chi Qiyu, the Red Emperor of the false dynasty! The Opening Emperor ordered you to build the Carefree Realm, but you were trapped by love and became a monk! As the War Heavenly King, you ran away, and we teachers had to step in. How could we not lose?"
"Don't mention the Green Emperor. He is old, an elder. But you, Tian Shu? In the later stages of the war, you were lured by Yan Shaoqing, the Left Deputy Minister of the false dynasty, and tricked into the Divine Emperor Que Blade. Without you, how could we teachers fight? I know how to set up formations, I teach formations—music, chess, calligraphy, painting—but I have never led troops! The farmer, the woodcutter, the fisherman—who among us has led troops?"
She sneered. "The Opening Emperor entrusted his troops to you four Heavenly Kings, but you all collapsed one by one, leaving us four teachers to lead the troops and fight the Outer Heaven Court to the death. If we didn't lose, who would?"
Diyue Yue, Emperor Shi Tianwang, and Tian Shu fell silent.
After a moment, Diyue Yue sighed and bowed deeply. "I'm sorry, fellow Daoists. Diyue Yue has failed the Opening Emperor's trust."
Emperor Shi Tianwang and Tian Shu also bowed deeply and did not rise for a long time.
"Apologizing to me is useless."
The Scholar did not help them up. She said coldly, "You didn't wrong us four Celestial Masters. You wronged the Opening Emperor, the fallen soldiers, and the people of the Opening Emperor era. Heh, a divine dynasty of twenty thousand years, gone in an instant, countless lives lost, leaving only the small group of people that Qinwu Prince took away. I am also guilty. All four of us Celestial Masters are guilty. In truth, the one with the greatest merit in that catastrophe was not the four Heavenly Kings, nor the four Celestial Masters, but the deserter, Qinwu Prince. Sinners, we are all sinners..."
Everyone was silent.
If not for the First Ancestor Human Sovereign, Qinwu, who protected the last of the Opening Emperor's people during the catastrophe and led them in search of a way to survive, even the subsequent Yankang might not have existed.
The Woodcutter Sage was silent, then suddenly spoke. "Let's not talk about this. Is the Opening Emperor well?"
The Scholar did not answer. She turned her head to look into the distance.
In the distance, Qin Mu's ears suddenly grew larger. His ears, which originally faced outward from the ear holes, now twisted at a right angle, turning backward to listen to their conversation.
The Scholar withdrew her gaze and did not speak. She gestured with her hands, communicating in sign language.
Just then, the hair on the back of Qin Mu's head fell away, and another face grew out, its eyes wide open, staring at her hands.
The Scholar frowned deeply and said in a low voice, "Let's communicate with divine consciousness."
The seven strong beings' divine consciousnesses collided. Just as the Scholar was about to use her divine consciousness to tell them, she suddenly counted and found that the number of divine consciousnesses was wrong. There were actually eight!
The Scholar's head felt as big as a bucket. She gritted her teeth and said, "We'll talk about this another time."
The Woodcutter called Qin Mu over, revealing a smile. "Mu'er, we are now fully confident that we can remove the ancient gods' blessings from behind Imperial Heaven Lord's head, but we need an experimental subject. Fellow Celestial Masters and Heavenly Kings, are you willing to use Mu'er as the experimental subject?"
The other six looked at him with fierce eyes and said in unison, "What's there to be unwilling about?"
Cold sweat broke out on Qin Mu's forehead. He quietly stepped back, showing a simple smile. "Teacher, uncles and aunts, I didn't hear anything..."
Emperor Shi Tianwang pointed a finger, and a golden rope bound him tightly, pulling him in front of everyone.
Qin Mu opened his mouth to shout, but the Woodcutter immediately sealed his mouth with a divine art.
"Let's begin."
The seven exchanged glances. Suddenly, the Scholar and Diyue Yue each moved their feet, circling around Qin Mu, and successively struck out, pointing at the halo behind his head!
Boom! Boom!
A series of tremors came. Diyue Yue was a Throne expert, and although the Scholar was not a Throne, her overall strength was terrifyingly high. The two used their respective specialties, employing various methods to break the Earth Mother's great path runes. Soon, the halo behind Qin Mu's head became tattered and dim.
The Scholar suddenly said, "Everyone be careful! The Earth Mother has sensed it! Third Brother! Netherworld Capital Heavenly King!"
The Farmer bent his legs, then leaped into the air. Looking down, he saw the earth to the west of the capital churning, the mountains shaking violently, as if some huge creature underground was rushing over at incredible speed!
The Farmer roared, took a step, and appeared a thousand miles away in the next instant. His fist slammed into the earth. At that moment, the capital shook violently. Everyone in the capital saw the western sky light up as if it were daytime.
At the same time, a blade light descended from the sky. Heavenly King Tian Shu slashed his blade deep into the earth. Divine blood gushed from the ground, flowing into the Tu River, dyeing it red.