Chapter 832: Reconstructing the Heavenly Court
"There's no need to pursue!"
The Azure Cloud Sect Leader called back the old Daoists who were trying to chase after the attacker, shaking his head. "That person is too fast, and he's highly changeable, able to alter his appearance at any moment. Even if we chased him, we couldn't catch him, and even if we caught him, we wouldn't recognize him. Let this matter rest. There's no need to investigate further or make it public. Someone go find Junior Brother Flying Crane. That old scoundrel was disguised as Junior Brother Flying Crane, so he must have tied him up and stuffed him somewhere."
Immediately, a Daoist went to search for Flying Crane's whereabouts, while the other elders swiftly gathered around the Azure Cloud Sect Leader, asking, "Just now, the celestial phenomena transformed into the Heavenly Lord resurrected, activating the formation. What happened?"
"Naturally, it was the Dao Ancestor making a move."
The Azure Cloud Sect Leader said calmly, "Both the Yan Kang Overlord Body and the Heavenly Court envoy wanted to eliminate the other, leaving the Dao Ancestor with no choice. But what kind of existence is the Dao Ancestor? How could he let these two juniors decide his own future and destiny? That would not be the act of a wise man."
The Daoists' hearts trembled. "What does the Sect Leader mean?"
"The Dao Ancestor brought them to the Heavenly Court to make his own decision. We need not worry about the future of the Azure Cloud Sect. The Dao Ancestor will arrange everything clearly for us."
The Azure Cloud Sect Leader said, "For now, we only need to think about the aftermath."
A Daoist quickly said, "Yu Chenzi has already taken people to make preparations, saying they are preparing for two contingencies."
The Azure Cloud Sect Leader inquired further and couldn't help but praise, "Yu Chenzi has done well. The Heavenly Court is full of talented people. Even in a small place like Yan Kang, there are so many outstanding geniuses. Fortunately, our Azure Cloud Heaven also has a younger generation that can rival them, so we won't fall too far behind."
Outside the Azure Cloud Heaven, the "Flying Crane" Daoist, carrying the young Daoist, sped through the void, quickly putting tens of thousands of miles between them and the Azure Cloud Heaven. He changed his appearance multiple times, shifting between male and female, old and young, sometimes even taking on a demigod form. He also produced various sets of clothing, leaving the young Daoist utterly astonished.
This old man was not only highly changeable himself but also proficient in the art of creation, altering the young Daoist's appearance over a dozen times as well.
"We're safe now. Those Daoists from the Azure Cloud Heaven won't be able to catch up."
The old man reverted to his true form, clasping his hands behind his back with a simple, honest expression as he circled around Imperial Heavenly Lord, scrutinizing him from head to toe. Just as Qin Mu had predicted, this old man was none other than Cripple.
Imperial Heavenly Lord felt uneasy.
"What a fine seedling."
Cripple praised, "You learn everything so quickly, even faster than that rascal Mu'er. Come with me, and we'll master the art of the Empty Hand, stealing from all under heaven!"
Imperial Heavenly Lord quickly shook his head. "I need to find my brother..."
"What for?"
Cripple shook his head, looking a bit displeased. "That kid was fun when he was little, but he's not as interesting now that he's grown up. I taught him the Heaven-Stealing Earth-Swapping Art, thinking he'd join me in stealing from all under heaven and become a grand master thief duo. But no, he goes out playing every day without taking me along, and he doesn't steal anything either. He's filled his head with nothing but muscles, learning from the Butcher. Come on, let me show you my treasure vault! I tell you, I've hit the jackpot in recent years. Even Emperor Yan Feng has to call me 'Thief Lord' when he sees me. Can you fly? I'll teach you how to ride the wind..."
Light flickered, and Qin Mu found himself amidst a stream of radiance, his heart jolting. "This is... a teleportation technique? It's even more refined than the one Teacher Woodcutter taught, somewhat like a spatial translocation... Could it be that the Dao Sect has some unclear connection with the Kai Emperor?"
The teleportation technique was passed down by Woodcutter to the Heavenly Saint Sect, while the radiance Qin Mu and the others were in was a spatial translocation, more exquisite and employing more sophisticated mathematical principles.
The two had similarities, leading Qin Mu to suspect that Woodcutter had once seen the Dao Sect's spatial translocation.
He had been somewhat alarmed at first, but now he calmed down, quickly sorting out his thoughts. "Fisherman Heavenly Master said that the older generation is all so cunning... Well, wise and insightful, indeed. This spatial translocation technique must have been performed by the Dao Ancestor using the power of the celestial phenomena. He didn't want me and Xiao Chunfeng to decide the Dao Sect's stance for him, so he brought us here to make the decision himself."
Finally, the light faded, and Qin Mu saw the surrounding brightness gradually recede. Xiao Chunfeng, the red-clad girl, and Lin Xuan Dao Master also emerged from the receding light.
The red-clad woman looked terrified, adopting a defensive posture.
Xiao Chunfeng coughed and said, "Yu Hongxiu, no need to panic. The Dao Ancestor has summoned us."
Lin Xuan Dao Master praised, "The mathematical principles the Dao Ancestor used to mobilize the celestial phenomena and the Heavenly Lord are truly unparalleled."
Qin Mu looked around and saw that they were in a massive jade structure. The building was made of fine jade, with extremely high beams. Looking up, he could see six corners, indicating it was a hexagonal, upturned-eaved tower.
Looking outward, he could vaguely see thousands of palaces and halls, resplendent and magnificent.
"Is that the Outer Heavenly Court out there?"
Qin Mu's heart stirred. He wanted to step out of the jade tower to see if the Heavenly Court was the same as the Long Han Heavenly Court from back then, but he held back.
He continued to examine the tower. The interior was hollow, with a jade pillar in the center so thick that it would take over a dozen people to encircle it. A spiral staircase wound around the pillar, ascending upward. From below, he couldn't tell how many floors the tower had.
On each floor, the six walls were lined with bookshelves, also carved from fine jade. Several jade bridges connected each floor to the pillar, allowing one to walk across to the bookshelves on the walls.
Strangely, the tower was completely empty. No one came to question them when they suddenly appeared here.
Looking outside, the area around the tower was also deserted.
"This is... the Heavenly Court's Archive Pavilion!"
Xiao Chunfeng's eyes flickered as he whispered, "The Archive Pavilion is the supreme sacred place for the Heavenly Court's collection of books! The books here are said to be the highest secrets of the Heavenly Court! Strange, why would the Dao Ancestor summon us here? Isn't he afraid that the Heavenly Court will discover he's also summoned rebels from the lower realm?"
The red-clad woman, Yu Hongxiu, calmed down, suppressing her pain, and said, "The Dao Ancestor summoned us, so why hasn't he appeared himself?"
Qin Mu asked with concern, "Sister Hongxiu, is your injury serious? I'm quite skilled in medicine. With my treatment, you'll be bouncing around in no time."
Yu Hongxiu snorted coldly, moving away from him and closer to Xiao Chunfeng.
Lin Xuan Dao Master stepped forward and said kindly, "Senior Sister Yu, Sect Leader Qin is known as a national healer in Yan Kang. In his early years, he was even a renowned gynecologist, famous throughout the land."
Yu Hongxiu gritted her teeth and sneered, "Neither of you has good intentions!"
Qin Mu shrugged and climbed the spiral staircase along the jade pillar, arriving at the second floor of the Archive Pavilion. He casually pulled out a scroll from the bookshelf.
The scroll was made of polished jade strips, strung together with gold thread, resembling bamboo slip books. However, the inscriptions on them were not words but runes.
Lin Xuan, Xiao Chunfeng, and Yu Hongxiu also came forward. Xiao Chunfeng and Yu Hongxiu kept their distance from the others, also pulling out a jade slip to examine.
"These strange symbols..."
Yu Hongxiu shook her head, not recognizing the runes, and stuffed the jade slip back.
"These are fundamental Dao runes constructed using mathematical principles, belonging to the Heavenly Gang runes of the Zhou Tian Star Lords. The one I have is the rune of the Heavenly Kui Star."
Xiao Chunfeng said, "Could the other scrolls be the Dao runes of other Heavenly Gang True Gods?"
"No."
Qin Mu shook his head. "The one I have is also the Heavenly Kui Star rune."
"Mine too," Lin Xuan said, putting down the scroll.
Xiao Chunfeng moved swiftly, opening other scrolls, only to find that all of them contained the Heavenly Kui Star runes. The Heavenly Kui Star Lord was a Zhou Tian Star Lord, an ancient god born from heaven and earth on the Heavenly Kui Star.
His fundamental Dao runes should only number in the hundreds, but the number of rune imprints on these jade slips was enormous, leaving Xiao Chunfeng confused. "Could these jade slips record the Heavenly Kui Star Lord's divine abilities? That's too many abilities..."
Qin Mu's heart stirred. Suddenly, he waved his hand, and his primordial energy flew out. All the jade slips on the six walls flew up, spreading out around the jade pillar with a rustling sound, their runes facing the transparent pillar.
The pillar refracted light, reflecting the runes on the jade slips. All the runes gradually lit up, and within the pillar, a crimson dragon heavenly god materialized, fierce and lifelike!
"I see!"
Qin Mu flicked his sleeve, and all the jade slips flew back to the bookshelves on the six walls.
He then went to the third floor and repeated the process. All the runes on the jade slips shone toward the pillar, and within it, the figure of the Heavenly Gang Star Lord appeared.
The fourth floor's runes were those of the Heavenly Mechanism Star Lord, the fifth floor the Heavenly Leisure Star Lord. Qin Mu ascended rapidly, soon reaching the three hundred and sixtieth floor, directing the jade slips there toward the pillar.
Xiao Chunfeng's body trembled violently as he stared blankly at the ancient god's phantom materializing in the pillar. It was his mother, the Taiyin Star Lord.
His heart was in turmoil. "What is the Dao Ancestor doing, using these runes to reconstruct the Star Lords?"
Qin Mu continued upward. The three hundred and sixty-first floor contained the runes of the Sun Star Lord, also known as the Great Sun Star Lord.
Looking at the Great Sun Star Lord in the pillar, Qin Mu chuckled. "No wonder the Great Sun Star Lord died so cleanly. He had already been thoroughly studied. After his death, a new Great Sun Star Lord could be recreated!"
Lin Xuan Dao Master, Xiao Chunfeng, and Yu Hongxiu quickly followed him, their hearts pounding at his words. Xiao Chunfeng laughed nervously. "Qin Overlord Body, what nonsense are you spouting? When did the Heavenly Court's Great Sun Star Lord die? He's perfectly fine!"
Qin Mu glanced at him but said nothing.
The higher they climbed in this Archive Pavilion, the more shocking it became. After the three hundred and sixty-first floor, the ancient gods depicted on the jade slips on the six walls became more exalted, such as the Ziwei True God and the Tianhuang True God.
Finally, Yu Hongxiu screamed. She saw the runes on the jade slips combine within the pillar to form the figure of her master, the Southern Emperor, the Vermilion Bird!
Qin Mu said calmly, "Not only the Southern Emperor, but the other three Emperors are likely here as well!"
They continued climbing, and indeed, on the following floors, they found the jade slips for the Northern Emperor, the Eastern Emperor, and the Western Emperor.
"With the Four Emperors accounted for, what's above?" Xiao Chunfeng suddenly felt a surge of fear. His legs trembled, and he stopped, afraid to go higher.
Qin Mu glanced at him and shook his head. "A waste of the Heavenly Court."
Xiao Chunfeng was furious. "Don't underestimate the Heavenly Court!" With that, he gritted his teeth and followed.
"This is the Yin Calamity Empress."
"This is the Empress Dowager... Hmm? No, it's the Empress Dowager's younger sister."
"This one is the actual Empress Dowager."
Finally, they reached the floor of the Earth Mother Primordial Lord. Qin Mu looked at the Earth Mother in the pillar, his emotions surging. He chuckled. "No wonder the Earth Mother Primordial Lord died in Yuan Du. You've been completely deciphered, with no secrets left."
Xiao Chunfeng and Yu Hongxiu were terrified, staring at the Earth Mother in the pillar, unable to imagine the story behind it.
Qin Mu shook his head and continued climbing.
On this floor, he saw the Heavenly Lord.
The jade slips on this floor seemed incomplete, as the Heavenly Lord's figure hadn't been fully constructed, but the construction was nearly complete.
"The Heavenly Lord is not far from death either," Qin Mu suddenly said.
Xiao Chunfeng and Yu Hongxiu's eyes were filled with terror. They wanted to flee, but there were still a few floors left before the top, and these floors held a fatal attraction for them, making them unconsciously want to ascend.
Qin Mu climbed another floor. The runes on this floor were those of the Earth Lord, but many runes were missing. The Earth Lord constructed in the pillar was also incomplete, with even more missing parts than the Heavenly Lord.
"Further up should be the Heavenly Emperor among the ancient gods, right?" Qin Mu chuckled.
Xiao Chunfeng and Yu Hongxiu nearly fainted. Lin Xuan Dao Master's voice was also a bit hoarse as he forced a laugh. "Sect Leader Qin, you're joking. How could the Heavenly Emperor allow the Dao Ancestor to reconstruct himself? Does he want to kill himself and take his place?"
Qin Mu smiled. "Hard to say."
After a moment, the three of them stared at the ancient god emperor in the pillar, speechless for a long time.
Yu Hongxiu finally let out a soft moan and fainted. Xiao Chunfeng's face was pale, his whole body trembling, unable to speak.
Qin Mu looked up and saw that there was still one more floor above the Archive Pavilion. He murmured, "The ancient gods have basically been reconstructed. What is this top floor for?"
His curiosity was boundless. While the others dared not climb further, he eagerly continued upward.
A moment later, Qin Mu's eyelids twitched as he stared blankly at the young man in the pillar.
"Dao Ancestor, what exactly are you trying to do?" he murmured.