Chapter 833: The Ancestor’s Heavenly Court
Qin Mu manipulated countless jade slips, flying around the jade pillar. The rune imprints on the jade slips were projected into the pillar, forming the shape of a youth. As the jade slips moved, the youth within the pillar slowly rotated his body.
Qin Mu could clearly see the internal structure of this youth’s brain, as well as the internal structure of his various organs. By shifting the positions of the jade slips, he could even magnify the youth’s bodily organs to examine even finer details.
This youth was Imperial Heavenly Lord.
Standing before the jade pillar, Qin Mu carefully studied Imperial Heavenly Lord within it. The projection of Imperial Heavenly Lord reflected by the jade slips felt somewhat off to him.
The projection of Imperial Heavenly Lord in the jade pillar was unlike that of other ancient gods. Other ancient gods used mathematical calculations to structure their Dao runes, reconstructing their Dao, whereas Imperial Heavenly Lord was directly structured using mathematical calculations for his physical body.
These jade slips were not meant to recreate an Imperial Heavenly Lord; they were merely meant to recreate Imperial Heavenly Lord’s body.
Qin Mu examined the runes on the jade slips closely, and as he expected, these runes were not Dao runes but rather Creation runes.
The runes on the jade slips in the hundreds of jade towers below were all Dao runes, rune imprints formed by the Ancestor using mathematical calculations to deconstruct the Dao of ancient gods.
Mathematical Dao runes differed from Creation runes. The Creation Dao was also a Dao created by post-natal races, yet it was not a mathematical structure.
Qin Mu himself was a great expert in this field, and the runes on the jade slips were no challenge for him.
“What is the Ancestor’s purpose in using these Creation runes to reconstruct Imperial Heavenly Lord’s physical body?”
He fell into thought. The weight of these Creation runes was clearly less than that of the Dao runes in the other layers. At the time of his death, Imperial Heavenly Lord’s cultivation had only just reached the Heavenly Palace, becoming a deity.
Yet the Ancestor had placed the Creation runes on the highest level, placing Imperial Heavenly Lord above the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor. What was his intention?
Qin Mu looked downward and saw that this jade pillar extended straight down to the very bottom layer. Layers of jade steps spiraled upward around the pillar, and the six sides of the jade pillar were lined with bookshelves holding jade slips.
Qin Mu pondered. Linxuan Dao Master and Xiao Chunfeng were climbing toward the topmost layer, while the red-clad girl, Yu Hongxiu, was still unconscious.
Suddenly, his heart stirred. His primordial energy erupted violently, surging downward along the jade pillar!
Xiao Chunfeng was startled, thinking Qin Mu was about to strike him down, but then he saw Qin Mu’s primordial energy flow into each floor, sweeping up the jade slips from the bookshelves. With a rustling sound, countless jade slips unfurled, all facing the jade pillar!
These hundreds of floors contained an immense number of jade slips, too many to count, and now they were all unfurled at once!
Manipulating so many jade slips, even though Qin Mu had cultivated to the pinnacle of the divine ability user realm, was somewhat taxing.
At that moment, the runes on the jade slips emitted light, casting reflections into the jade pillar. Within the pillar, projections of ancient gods, both large and small, began to appear.
Just then, the light reflected upon itself, and a beam of light shot upward along the interior of the pillar!
Buzz—
All the light converged into the body of Imperial Heavenly Lord at the very top layer, and an incredibly dazzling radiance burst forth from the jade pillar!
Qin Mu shielded his eyes. After a moment, he adapted to the intense light and looked into the jade pillar.
The projections of ancient gods formed by the rune imprints on the jade slips, after being refracted by some marvelous structures inside the jade pillar, transformed into points of light within Imperial Heavenly Lord’s body. These points gradually converged to form the Embryonic Deity Divine Treasury.
After the Embryonic Deity Divine Treasury formed, the Five Luminaries Divine Treasury also took shape. On the five luminaries of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth, there was a projection of an ancient god.
Next came the Six Harmonies Divine Treasury. Earth Mother Yuanjun and Primordial Wood formed within the light, while various minor ancient gods like dragon veins, phoenix nests, mountain gods, and river gods each took their positions.
Then came the Seven Stars Divine Treasury. The sun, moon, stars, and the Milky Way emerged. Great Sun Star Lord and Great Yin Star Lord appeared within the sun and moon, while the three hundred and sixty Zhou Celestial Star Deities appeared upon the stars and constellations of the Milky Way.
The stars, constellations, and the Milky Way together constructed the projection of Heaven Duke, forming the Heavenly Human Divine Treasury!
Qin Mu looked further down. Below was the Life and Death Divine Treasury. Netherworld emerged, and Earth Lord stood within the darkness beneath the Primordial Capital.
Next was the Divine Bridge Divine Treasury. A divine bridge stretched straight toward the Heavenly Palace!
Qin Mu looked toward the Heavenly Palace, his mind shaken. He saw even more points of light formed by rune imprints, constructing an immensely grand Heavenly Palace within Imperial Heavenly Lord’s brow.
It was not just one Heavenly Palace, but thirty-six Heavenly Palaces!
Not only were there thirty-six Heavenly Palaces, but also seventy-two Precious Halls!
This was a complete Heavenly Court!
However, the complexity of this Heavenly Court was beyond imagination. It was constructed from the Dao runes of various ancient gods. Even the Heavenly Emperor was merely an ancient god seated within the Lingxiao Hall!
Not to mention the Heavenly Court, even the seven divine treasuries were vastly different from those of ordinary divine ability users in the world.
The divine treasuries within Imperial Heavenly Lord’s body encompassed the Dao runes of Heaven Duke, Earth Lord, Earth Mother, and various other ancient gods. Their complexity far surpassed the divine treasuries of today’s divine ability users.
Yet even such complex divine treasuries were nothing compared to the Heavenly Court.
One could imagine just how complex and meticulous the Heavenly Court that the Ancestor had constructed within Imperial Heavenly Lord’s body was.
If this method were to be spread, it would not be a subversion of the current cultivation system in the world, but a tremendous enhancement!
“Did the Ancestor compile these things in the Heavenly Court’s Repository Pavilion for the use of the strong within the Heavenly Court?”
Qin Mu was stunned.
The scene within the Repository Pavilion was too shocking, yet it was not simply about perfecting the divine treasury cultivation system and the Heavenly Palace cultivation system.
These ancient gods, who had comprehended all the mysteries of the Dao, if any of them were disobedient, would likely be replaced in the future!
Heaven Duke and Earth Lord would probably be the same.
However, what puzzled Qin Mu was why it had to be Imperial Heavenly Lord.
“Actually, the rune imprints on the highest layer could be transformed into anyone. Why does it have to be Imperial Heavenly Lord?”
He was somewhat confused.
Adding to this, Imperial Heavenly Lord’s soul was incomplete. A portion of his soul was hidden within this outer realm Heavenly Court, making Qin Mu even more unable to see through the Ancestor’s motive.
“What Imperial Heavenly Lord’s soul lacks is memory. Could it be that the Ancestor intends to recreate an Imperial Heavenly Lord and implant his memories into this new body? But would the Heavenly Emperor of this Heavenly Court allow him to do that?”
“Or does that Heavenly Emperor believe that Imperial Heavenly Lord’s physical body is the most perfect, and thus intends to reincarnate into this body?”
“It could also be that this Heavenly Court cultivation system is not perfect, and that Heavenly Emperor needs Imperial Heavenly Lord’s memories and wisdom to perfect it!”
“Is this the Ancestor’s idea, or that Heavenly Emperor’s idea?”
He began to get a headache, because the Ancestor’s attitude was too puzzling.
He had met Yan Qiling, a disciple of the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor, once. The information Yan Qiling revealed was that the Ancestor was helping the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor, who was not the same person as the Heavenly Emperor of the outer realm Heavenly Court, but rather an irreconcilable enemy!
The Ancestor stood on the side of the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor, yet he also served as the Pavilion Master of the Heavenly Court’s Repository Pavilion in the outer realm Heavenly Court, helping that Heavenly Emperor establish this grand Repository Pavilion!
Now, the Ancestor had summoned Qin Mu and the others into the Repository Pavilion, revealing the plan of the outer realm Heavenly Court’s Heavenly Emperor to them!
“Is the Ancestor good or evil? Is he neutral or does he have a bias? Or is he just…”
Qin Mu’s expression turned strange: “A troublemaker?”
Linxuan Dao Master and Xiao Chunfeng arrived beside him, staring blankly at the scene within the jade pillar. They too were frightened and stunned, standing there speechless.
“Senior Brother Xiao!”
Qin Mu said with a smile, “Have you seen the divine treasury system and Heavenly Court system in the Repository Pavilion before?”
Xiao Chunfeng shook his head in confusion.
“Then have you heard of it?” Qin Mu continued to ask.
Xiao Chunfeng shook his head again.
“You haven’t heard of it, and you haven’t seen it. Then do you think anyone in the Heavenly Court has cultivated this system?”
Qin Mu guided him step by step, saying, “Someone who cultivates this system would undoubtedly be immensely powerful in terms of cultivation and strength, invincible at the same cultivation level. They would inevitably be a figure like me, even making you think they are the Overlord Body, another Qin Mu, an existence you look up to but can never reach. Have you ever encountered such a person?”
Xiao Chunfeng snapped back to reality, looking at him with a strange expression.
Linxuan Dao Master also secretly felt that Qin Mu was a bit shameless, praising himself like that.
However, Qin Mu’s words about someone who cultivated this Heavenly Court system being invincible at the same level, an existence to look up to but never reach, were indeed not wrong.
If someone truly cultivated according to this Heavenly Court system, from the seven divine treasury realms to the seven Heavenly Palace realms, they would absolutely have no rival at the same level!
If that person could cultivate to the Heavenly Court realm, they would surpass all past and present, be invincible under heaven, and even surpass the ancient gods!
The only pity was that here there were only the divine treasury and Heavenly Court structures, no cultivation techniques.
The Repository Pavilion contained countless jade slips, with an innumerable number of Dao runes. Organizing and integrating these Dao runes into a single cultivation technique would be an absolutely monumental task!
Linxuan even doubted whether there existed a cultivation technique capable of accommodating such a vast cultivation system!
“Moreover, this cultivation system is not perfect.”
He looked at Qin Mu. Xiao Chunfeng did not know the imperfections of this cultivation system, but Qin Mu certainly knew them clearly.
The first point was that this system still had the Divine Bridge Divine Treasury.
Yet the Divine Bridge Divine Treasury had already been replaced by the Heavenly River Divine Treasury pioneered by Qin Mu, which was superior.
The second point was also within the divine treasury system: the seven divine treasuries were isolated from each other, not forming a complete divine treasury. Even if Primordial Wood was rooted in the Six Harmonies Continent, it was still incomplete and could not connect to the Divine Bridge.
If replaced with Qin Mu’s Heavenly River Divine Treasury, this point could be perfectly resolved.
The third imperfection lay in the mathematical calculations the Ancestor used to deconstruct the ancient gods.
The Ancestor used macroscopic mathematical calculations, such as the Supreme Mystery Calculation Classic and the Maiden Calculation Classic, but lacked microscopic mathematical calculations. Microscopic mathematical calculations were the Supreme Subtlety Calculation Classic pioneered by Qin Mu and perfected by the Yan’kang Dao Sect!
Without the Supreme Subtlety Calculation Classic, the Dao runes of the ancient gods deconstructed by the Ancestor were imperfect.
With these three constraints, the Heavenly Court system constructed by the Ancestor was imperfect.
There should be other imperfect factors, but Linxuan Dao Master could only think of these three for now.
“I now know the purpose of the Ancestor summoning us.”
Suddenly, Xiao Chunfeng sighed, his spirits low, and said with a self-deprecating laugh, “So that’s it. Now that I know the secrets of the Repository Pavilion, I can no longer stay in this Heavenly Court. If I want to live, I must leave the Heavenly Court, or else once the secret is exposed, I will surely die.”
He laughed bitterly.
He had originally been loyal to the Heavenly Court, but now he had no choice but to betray it.
The more secrets one knew, the more dangerous it was.
Now that he knew the secrets of the Repository Pavilion, if the Ancestor told the Heavenly Emperor about this, he would surely die, and die very cleanly!
The same went for Qin Mu and Linxuan.
They had to keep this secret. If they didn’t, the Ancestor wouldn’t need to kill them; someone else would naturally do it.
The Ancestor had summoned them, perfectly solving the problem of taking sides.
He wouldn’t stand on Qin Mu’s side or Xiao Chunfeng’s side. He only needed to summon Qin Mu and Xiao Chunfeng, and it would erase the distinction between their camps, forcing them to obediently stand in line.
“This is the old hand that the Village Chief was talking about,” Qin Mu couldn’t help but sigh.
Now he understood how naive his plan to kill Xiao Chunfeng and force the Ancestor to side with him was.
This kind of old hand could easily dismantle their petty schemes.
“Senior Brother Xiao, what do you plan to do after you return?” Qin Mu looked at the worried Xiao Chunfeng and asked with a smile.
“I plan to return to Azure Cloud Heaven, help Azure Cloud Heaven cover up the evidence, and frame Earth Mother Yuanjun. Anyway, Earth Mother Yuanjun won’t mind this small matter.”
Xiao Chunfeng sighed and said, “After that, I will fake my death and escape, staying far away from the Heavenly Court. I won’t contact my mother; I’ll hide as far away as I can… The Ancestor’s move is too ruthless!”
Qin Mu laughed and said, “You’ll hide and study this Heavenly Court cultivation system? When you have the strength, you’ll plan a comeback?”
Xiao Chunfeng said calmly, “My cultivation, strength, intelligence, and talent are no less than yours. Naturally, I have such ambitions. While the Ancestor hasn’t sent us back yet, I need to memorize all the Dao runes on the jade slips here. Farewell!”
He hurried downstairs.
Linxuan Dao Master watched him go down the stairs and disappear into the distance before saying, “Qin Cult Leader, the person in that jade pillar is your Imperial Younger Brother.”
Qin Mu nodded. “It’s a long story. Let’s not talk about that for now. Let’s go downstairs and memorize the runes on the jade slips!”
Linxuan Dao Master let out a long sigh. “Even if you told me, I wouldn’t dare to listen. I really don’t dare to listen. The things in this building are already frightening enough.”
He went downstairs with Qin Mu and whispered, “Xiao Chunfeng didn’t notice that when you fought him, you didn’t use your primordial spirit.”
Qin Mu glanced at him.
Linxuan Dao Master laughed and said, “Don’t look at me like that. I know your true strength. Although you always say your strength is only a hair’s breadth above mine, I know that the hair’s breadth you mention is a straight line, and most likely a vertical one.”
Qin Mu was about to be modest when Linxuan said, “Others think you’re bragging, but they don’t know you’re actually too modest. With the Divine Dao divine treasury plus the Demonic Dao divine treasury, plus the fusion of fourteen divine treasuries, and the Heavenly River connecting them, your strength has long been non-human. I wouldn’t be surprised if you killed a demon god with your bare hands.”
Qin Mu sighed. “One who knows me is Lin Dao Master. My modesty is actually learned from the Yan’kang National Teacher. He always says he’s a straight line, so as the Overlord Body, I have to be a hair’s breadth above my peers.”
Linxuan was silent for a moment, then said hoarsely, “If you keep talking like that, someone will beat you to death.”
— A four-thousand-word chapter. Readers from various websites, don’t forget to follow Zhai Zhu’s public WeChat account for a chance to win prizes from the Shepherd God Chronicles merchandise!