Chapter 831: Heavenly Court Librarian
The Northern Emperor’s disciple had already been slain in the flesh by Sect Master Lin Xuan’s sword, his primordial spirit escaping in flight, while the Eastern and Western Emperor’s disciples were severely wounded under Lin Xuan’s blade.
Now, none of these three could evade the divine light shot from Qin Mu’s third divine eye!
Within Qin Mu’s third eye, layer upon layer of heavens fully opened, totaling nine layers of sky.
This was the Nine Heavens Eye-Opening Technique taught to him by Blind. Previously, Qin Mu could only open the Jade Firmament Heavenly Eye, but now he could open all nine heavens!
These nine heavens transformed into rings of array patterns within his third divine eye, nine rings in total, while at the center of the eye, clusters of stars revolved into a river of stars, and at the very heart of that river, a great sun rose and fell unsteadily.
Blind’s Nine Heavens Eye-Opening Technique had absorbed the Sun and Moon Dual Pupils of the First Divine Eye, the Zi Qing Deity from the Kaihuang Era, and improved upon them. Since Blind had only obtained the Sun Pupil array at the time, when he passed it to Qin Mu, it only contained the Sun Pupil.
Blind later supplemented it with the Moon Pupil, but Qin Mu had been running around everywhere and hadn’t had time to learn the Moon Pupil Divine Eye. If the Sun and Moon had been combined, the power would have been even greater.
Now, Qin Mu used his third divine eye to drive the Nine Heavens Eye-Opening Technique, which differed from what Blind had taught him. In his eye, the river of stars surrounded a black sun.
The third eye on his brow was no ordinary eye; it was the symbol of the Prince of Youdu’s identity, the same as the vertical eye on Tu Bo’s brow—a demon eye formed from the Great Dao of Youdu, an eye of sinking, driving away ghosts and gods, slaying ghosts and gods.
Originally, this eye of Qin Mu’s had been sealed by Tu Bo, but it awakened later when he inadvertently released his brother, Qin Fengqing.
Now, transformed into a three-headed, six-armed form, he shot out three beams of light, tracing three straight lines through the air—pitch-black lines.
The Eastern and Western Emperor’s disciples were not far from him and couldn’t dodge in time. The black lines pierced through their brows, while the Northern Emperor’s disciple, killed by Lin Xuan, had only his primordial spirit left and had fled the battlefield, so he was farther away.
Yet the black light was extremely fast, leaving him no time to react before it passed through his body.
His primordial spirit was a Xuanwu spirit—a tortoise-snake fusion. The black light pierced through the hard shell of the Xuan Tortoise and then struck the Teng Snake. Where the black light hit, darkness rapidly spread, soon infecting the entire primordial spirit. Both the Xuan Tortoise and the Teng Snake were stained pitch black.
Bang.
His primordial spirit exploded, turning into countless black soul-sands, which were blown away by the wind of Qingyun Heaven, quickly vanishing, invisible to the naked eye.
Meanwhile, the Eastern and Western Emperor’s disciples each fell from the sky, landing near the Dao Palace. One transformed into a green dragon stretching over a hundred zhang, the other into a white tiger covered in light.
The two giant beasts struggled to rise, roared twice, then suddenly lost all signs of life. Their bodies rapidly petrified, turning into two lifelike stone statues, still showing their struggling postures.
On the other side, the Southern Emperor’s disciple let out a scream, shook herself, and transformed into a Vermilion Bird, fleeing for her life, leaving a trail of fire in the air.
Below, Lin Xuan called out loudly, “Young lady, Sect Leader Qin said he has ties with your master and won’t kill you!”
The woman in red ignored him. The Vermilion Bird she had become was extremely fast, heading straight for the gateway of Qingyun Heaven. She flew toward the green light and plunged into it, but the green light rippled, and the woman found herself caught in a net, hanging from it.
The Vermilion Bird struggled fiercely on the net but couldn’t break free. Around the net were four old Daoists, each holding a corner, trapping her.
Sect Master Lin Xuan opened his Yin-Yang Dao Eye to look and saw that the net’s structure was exquisitely intricate, containing profound mathematical skill, and he couldn’t help but praise it repeatedly.
“Qingyun Heaven follows macro-mathematics, and their skill in this area surpasses the Yan Kang Dao Sect by an unknown degree.”
He was delighted and said to the badger Daoist beside him, “Our Dao Sect, on the other hand, has unmatched skill in the Tai Wei Calculation Classic. If we combine the two, it will be a great boon for Yan Kang’s Daoist methods!”
The badger Daoist hesitated for a moment, then tentatively asked, “Sect Master, it’s still hard to say whether Qingyun Heaven is friend or foe. Are you so sure Qingyun Heaven will help our Dao Sect? After all, our Yan Kang Dao Sect was founded by renegade disciples of the Heavenly Court Dao Sect…”
“Sect Leader Qin can definitely handle it!” Lin Xuan said confidently.
The badger Daoist scratched his black-and-white hair, thinking to himself, “Are you the sect master, or is he? Your faith in the Heavenly Demon Sect Leader is a bit too high…”
In the sky, Qin Mu and Xiao Chunfeng rose higher and higher. Xiao Chunfeng’s strength was extraordinary, and his skill in mathematics was terrifyingly high.
After all, he was a disciple of the Dao Ancestor, a successor of the Heavenly Court Dao Sect. Although he hadn’t received personal guidance from the Dao Ancestor, his achievements were still remarkable.
What he was using wasn’t swordsmanship.
The Yan Kang Dao Sect’s signature technique was the Fourteen Chapters of the Dao Sword, the sect’s foundational sword art, which every sect master had to study and comprehend. Their cultivation method was the Primordial Supreme Profound Skill, originally incomplete, later supplemented by the badger Daoist, who brought the Dao Sect’s techniques from the Kaihuang Era.
However, both the Fourteen Chapters of the Dao Sword and the Primordial Supreme Profound Skill were just two among thousands of techniques in the Heavenly Court Dao Sect.
The Dao Ancestor founded the Dao Sect with the purpose of using mathematics to explain the universe and all things, the Great Dao of heaven and earth. The Dao Sword was just one of these, and the Supreme Profound Skill was just one cultivation method, not even among the top-tier Imperial Throne techniques.
Even so, Sect Master Lin Xuan could be considered the most outstanding genius of Yan Kang, with only a few peers able to match him in strength.
What Xiao Chunfeng had learned, however, was the most orthodox technique of the Heavenly Court Dao Sect—complete mathematics, combined with the best teacher. As the son of the Tai Yin Star Lord, a half-god with extremely high bloodline, his strength among his peers in the Heavenly Court was also outstanding, surpassing even the Four Emperors’ disciples.
The two maneuvered in the sky. Xiao Chunfeng’s techniques intrigued Qin Mu. Behind the young Daoist, a divine bridge floated in the air, connecting to the void, with his primordial spirit standing on it.
His primordial spirit was a toad-like divine demon, standing upright, holding a medicine pestle in one hand and a wood-chopping axe in the other, with a wooden stick clamped in its mouth.
This divine demon primordial spirit drew upon the Great Dao of heaven and earth, causing the stars of Qingyun Heaven to continuously radiate light, amplifying the power of his techniques.
In just a short time, Xiao Chunfeng unleashed hundreds of different systems of techniques, dazzling Qin Mu!
These techniques encompassed the Great Dao systems of the three hundred and sixty star-lord righteous gods, including the techniques of the Sun Star Lord and the Tai Yin Star Lord!
Each of the star-lord righteous gods had a different attribute of the Great Dao, often conflicting with one another, yet Xiao Chunfeng could freely mobilize them all. Clearly, the Heavenly Court Dao Sect had used mathematics to reinterpret and reconstruct these Great Dao techniques.
Moreover, Xiao Chunfeng also used the Great Dao techniques of Xuan Du, You Du, and Yuan Du!
He quickly discovered that You Du techniques were of little use against Qin Mu and were even suppressed by him, while Qin Mu was also highly proficient in Yuan Du’s magnetic techniques. So, he switched to using Xuan Du’s Heavenly Dao techniques and the star-lord techniques to contend with Qin Mu.
The two rose higher and higher. In the sky of Qingyun Heaven, the man-made sun, moon, stars, and constellations were all activated by his techniques, causing the divine halls on each star to tremble continuously, sending beams of light hurtling toward Qin Mu!
Xiao Chunfeng had the advantage of location and timing, like a fish in water. In another place, he might not have been so powerful, but in Qingyun Heaven, he was almost invincible!
Sect Master Lin Xuan looked up at the starry sky, watching the two locked in battle within the river of stars. Xiao Chunfeng wielded various divine techniques and Dao methods with ease, filling Lin Xuan with deep emotion.
“This is the true successor of the Dao Sect.”
Xiao Chunfeng’s impact on him was the greatest. This trip to Qingyun Heaven had shaken him more than anything else, surpassing all others, nearly overturning his worldview.
The Yan Kang Dao Sect had always prided itself on being the world’s orthodox tradition, only to discover that it was founded by renegade disciples of the Heavenly Court Dao Sect to resist the Heavenly Court.
This meant that the Yan Kang Dao Sect and its old rival, the Heavenly Sage Sect, actually shared the same goal, yet they had fought pointlessly for twenty thousand years.
And the false celestial phenomena shrouding Yan Kang, created by the Qingyun Sect—a branch of the Dao Sect—had further damaged his Dao heart.
Now, seeing the true ultimate techniques of the Dao Sect, witnessing the true beauty of mathematics and the genuine Dao Sect inheritance, the impact on him was immense.
“Sect Leader Qin has met his match.”
Just as he thought this, suddenly the river of stars in the sky began to spin, all the stars rotating uncontrollably around the center, where the great sun converged!
Then, all the stars formed the figure of the Heavenly Duke.
The Daoists of Qingyun Heaven looked up, horror in their eyes, as the figure of the Heavenly Duke, made of light and man-made stars, took shape—a man-made Heavenly Duke!
“Who is manipulating the starry sky?” an old Daoist cried out in terror.
No one answered him.
This man-made Heavenly Duke was beyond the control of any Daoist in Qingyun Heaven, causing the Daoists cultivating in the divine halls on each star to panic, flying away from the stars in chaos.
Qin Mu and Xiao Chunfeng, fighting within the river of stars, were thrown off balance by the Heavenly Duke formed from the stars, unable to steady themselves, and were cast out by the spatial fluctuations caused by the stars’ movement.
Under the gaze of everyone in Qingyun Heaven, the man-made Heavenly Duke in the sky slowly stood up, causing Qingyun Heaven to shake violently. It seemed that this hundred-thousand-mile heaven could not withstand his power, on the verge of collapse!
The Dao Palace swayed unsteadily.
Those on the mountain struggled to keep their footing, watching as the Heavenly Duke’s head slowly rose, higher and farther away, while his eyes grew brighter, the light from the stars within them becoming more dazzling.
Sect Master Lin Xuan steadied himself and was about to search for Qin Mu and Xiao Chunfeng in the river of stars when he caught a glimpse of the Qingyun Sect Leader walking out of the Dao Palace.
“Senior Brother Sect Leader!”
Lin Xuan was about to ask something when the Qingyun Sect Leader’s voice came: “Young friend Lin, I have contacted the Dao Ancestor. He says he wants to see you before making a decision. The Dao Ancestor has been waiting in the Heavenly Court for some time.”
Lin Xuan’s mind went blank, and he blurted out, “Then the Heavenly Duke in the sky is…”
Before he could finish, the Heavenly Duke’s eyes shot out two immensely thick beams of light. The light struck down, illuminating Qin Mu and Xiao Chunfeng in the river of stars. Then, with a hum, one beam shot toward the Southern Emperor’s disciple caught in the net, and another beam headed straight for Lin Xuan.
The light faded, and the four vanished.
The Heavenly Duke in the sky suddenly scattered, turning into countless stars fleeing in all directions, each returning to its orbit.
The sky returned to calm, and the turmoil in Qingyun Heaven subsided.
Many Daoists flew up and rushed toward the Dao Palace. An old Daoist, leading a young Daoist boy, landed and quickly asked, “Sect Leader, where did they go?”
The Qingyun Sect Leader stood before the Dao Palace, looking up at the sky, and said unhurriedly, “They have gone to the Heavenly Court’s Library Pavilion. The Dao Ancestor will see them there.”
“The Heavenly Court’s Library Pavilion?” The old Daoist was momentarily stunned.
The Qingyun Sect Leader nodded, a look of envy on his face, and said, “The Heavenly Court’s Library Pavilion is where the Heavenly Court stores its books. The Dao Ancestor serves as its curator, overseeing the imperial family’s various texts. Strange.”
He suddenly paused, turning to look at the old Daoist and the young Daoist boy, his pupils contracting. “Junior Brother Fei He, how did you become so fast? The other brothers haven’t even reached the Dao Palace yet, but you arrived first.”
His aura suddenly exploded, locking onto the old Daoist, and he said coldly, “You are not Fei He. Who are you? Why are you stealing from my Qingyun Heaven?”
The old Daoist suddenly burst into loud laughter, and before his aura could lock him down, he grabbed the young Daoist boy and fled, moving so fast that the Qingyun Sect Leader was left stunned.
The Qingyun Sect Leader pointed a finger, and his flying sword shot into the air, as fast as light and lightning. But though his sword was fast, it fell farther and farther behind the old Daoist.
The Qingyun Sect Leader shuddered and shouted loudly, “Brothers, stop him! He is the thief!”
Countless techniques and divine weapons, trailing colorful lights, chased after the old Daoist in a grand and spectacular scene, but he left them all behind.
“Seal Qingyun Heaven!” the Qingyun Sect Leader called out.
At the entrance to Qingyun Heaven, the heavenly net and earthly net spread out, but a figure flashed by, passing through them like a shadow, leaving the Daoists guarding there with empty nets!
“A ghost, a ghost!” the Daoists cried out.