Chapter 835: Fire Heavenly Venerable
He turned around, his face now that of Mu Qing’s.
“It’s you!”
Fire Heavenly Venerable’s expression shifted dramatically. Taking advantage of the moment, Qin Mu pushed off with his toes and leaped backward toward the Gate of Bearing Heaven behind him. His body leaned back, about to fall into the darkness.
Fire Heavenly Venerable’s divine power erupted. His five fingers spread apart, and just as Qin Mu was about to plunge into the Netherworld, he felt a vast, profound force freeze him in place!
Looking outward, Fire Heavenly Venerable outside the Gate of Bearing Heaven resembled a god standing tall, reaching the heavens. He loomed high above, and the flames around him twisted the space into distortion.
“Mu Heavenly Venerable, it has indeed been a long time since we last met.”
His voice seemed to come from another world. That boundless divine power was beyond imagination. Even across the barrier of worlds, his power could still easily control Qin Mu’s life and death.
“Do you still remember the Yao Pool Grand Assembly back then?”
Fire Heavenly Venerable spoke leisurely, “A million years, hasn’t it? What intrigues me is that after a million years, you’ve made no progress at all—still as weak as before.”
The distance between Qin Mu and him was closing rapidly, and he was about to return to the Heavenly Court.
But at that moment, a paper boat appeared in Fire Heavenly Venerable’s line of sight. An old man stood at its bow, holding a horse lantern.
Fire Heavenly Venerable suddenly felt his divine power severed. He immediately stopped, gazing from afar at the old man, the Netherworld emissary on the paper boat.
The two stood—one atop the top floor of the Scripture Repository in the Heavenly Court, surrounded by light; the other in the Netherworld, engulfed in darkness.
“Netherworld Heavenly Venerable.” Fire Heavenly Venerable’s eye twitched as he spoke softly.
The old man in the darkness replied calmly, “Fire Heavenly Venerable.”
Fire Heavenly Venerable’s expression grew complex. He lowered his voice, “Back then, we were both among the Seven Heavenly Venerables, with excellent rapport. How did it come to this confrontation? Netherworld Heavenly Venerable, after Imperial Heavenly Venerable died, you fell into decline. You shouldn’t have gone to the Netherworld. Once there, your temperament became increasingly erratic and withdrawn, and you finally strayed onto the wrong path. I still remember, when Imperial Heavenly Venerable died, you wore a ghost-face mask and wept for him, convulsing with grief. At that time, you were the epitome of true emotion and sagehood. Though I found your demeanor annoying, I never hated you.”
“When Imperial Heavenly Venerable died, you wept too.”
The Netherworld emissary on the paper boat seemed utterly devoid of emotion, speaking indifferently, “Yet afterward, you too fell into decline and finally strayed onto the wrong path. The upright Fire Heavenly Venerable of those days died along with Imperial Heavenly Venerable. Standing in the darkness and looking at you, I no longer recognize you.”
Fire Heavenly Venerable’s pupils contracted sharply.
Just then, an aged voice came from behind him, rapidly approaching the top floor of the Scripture Repository, saying, “Has the Scripture Repository been invaded by an enemy? Impossible—this is a sealed space, deep within the heart of the Heavenly Court, the forbidden zone within forbidden zones...”
In the darkness, the Netherworld emissary’s paper boat carried Qin Mu away into the distance.
Fire Heavenly Venerable’s expression returned to normal. He lightly waved his hand, as if bidding them farewell. As his palm rose, Qin Mu’s Gate of Bearing Heaven was completely erased, leaving no trace.
Behind him, a white-haired old Daoist ascended to the top floor. He looked around but saw no one, a puzzled expression on his face. “No intruder?”
Fire Heavenly Venerable said calmly, “It was a misjudgment on my part. No one came here. Why isn’t the Dao Ancestor here?”
The old Daoist chuckled, “The Dao Ancestor hasn’t returned here in over a hundred years. He appears and disappears like a dragon, never showing his full form. I don’t know when he’ll be back.”
Fire Heavenly Venerable nodded slightly, “Dao Lord, activate the Scripture Repository, imprint the runes, and send them to the Creation Divine Artifact. I’ll take my leave first.”
The old Daoist quickly channeled his divine power. All the jade slips in the Scripture Repository flew up toward the central jade pillar. A beam of light rose from bottom to top, illuminating the shadow of Imperial Heavenly Venerable at the very top.
“Hold!”
The old Daoist shouted, freezing the light in place. Then he drew a sword and cut the shadow of Imperial Heavenly Venerable out of the jade pillar.
Strangely enough, the jade pillar, having had a large chunk removed, began to slowly regenerate, soon restoring itself to its original state.
Within that piece of jade, Imperial Heavenly Venerable and the runic imprints remained clearly visible. The old Daoist had used his divine power to activate the runes, imprinting them into the fine jade.
If Qin Mu, Lin Xuan, and the others were still there, they would have been dumbfounded, secretly stamping their feet in frustration.
They had only thought about how to record these runic great paths. Qin Mu had even crafted a bright mirror, painstakingly building an internal mirror space, spending a long time to create a treasure capable of imprinting these runic great paths.
Yet even they, brilliant as they were, hadn’t realized that the method to imprint these runic great paths was right there on the top floor—and so simple!
All one had to do was imprint the runic great paths, cut them out, and take them away. That would yield all the runic great paths from the Scripture Repository without leaving any trace.
But the smarter one is, the easier it is to get stuck in a rut.
Fire Heavenly Venerable walked downstairs and soon left the Scripture Repository.
Yet he hesitated, not heading toward the Lingxiao Treasure Hall. He thought to himself, “Mu Heavenly Venerable, you’ve appeared again. Is this time truly you? In those dark years past, you showed yourself many times, but I knew it wasn’t you.”
He looked toward the distant Lingxiao Treasure Hall, his expression shifting between light and shadow. “Though you once struck me, you investigated the murderer for Imperial Heavenly Venerable and avenged him. I hold no hatred for you in my heart—only respect. But why have you appeared this time? You don’t realize that this is no longer a million years ago. The you of now is far too weak...”
He withdrew his gaze and walked in the direction opposite the Lingxiao Treasure Hall.
In the Netherworld, Qin Mu stood on the boat, looking around, searching for Lin Xuan, Xiao Chunfeng, and Yu Hongxiu. “I pushed them into the Netherworld. They should have landed nearby.”
The Netherworld emissary at the bow hung the horse lantern on the prow and said, “The Netherworld is vast. They are not Netherworld beings, nor the Netherworld god or the Netherworld King. They cannot use divine abilities here and cannot fly. Naturally, they will keep falling, just like you did back then. If they aren’t gods, they might fall for several hundred years before dying of old age, or they might suffocate. There’s no air in the darkness; they can’t breathe.”
Qin Mu stared at him, wide-eyed, and said, “You could catch me, so you can certainly catch them too.”
The Netherworld emissary said flatly, “I entrusted Imperial Heavenly Venerable to you. Where is he?”
Qin Mu’s heart skipped a beat, and he said guiltily, “He’s doing very well, living happily—even happier than me. He’s with an elder of mine, the one who taught and nurtured me. This elder has good character, high cultivation, never keeps what he finds, and is a model scholar and pillar of the nation in Yancheng!”
The Netherworld emissary’s expression darkened, and he snorted coldly, “Someone who taught you to be like this can’t possibly be a good person! I’m not at ease leaving Imperial Heavenly Venerable with such a person!”
Qin Mu retorted angrily, “What’s wrong with me? I’m also a Heavenly Venerable, famous throughout the ages. The one who nurtured me must naturally be a paragon of virtue!”
The Netherworld emissary said indifferently, “I’ll go with you to Yancheng and meet this paragon of virtue.”
Qin Mu quickly said, “You’re all ghostly and eerie. If you go to the mortal world, you’ll scare people to death! Rest assured, I won’t mistreat Imperial Heavenly Venerable. I treat him well! Hurry and save my three friends, or they’ll suffocate soon.”
Ahead, three more paper boats flew over, each with a Netherworld emissary standing at the bow, carrying Lin Xuan, the Dao Lord, and the others.
Qin Mu breathed a sigh of relief and laughed, “You’re all talk and no bite. I knew you’d save them. Just take us to the banks of the Yong River...”
The Netherworld emissary sneered, “You’re the only one who thinks I’m a good person. Look at those three boats—who isn’t pale as ash at the sight of me?”
Qin Mu looked at the three boats and indeed saw Lin Xuan, Xiao Chunfeng, and Yu Hongxiu with ashen faces, huddled in the corners of their boats, terrified.
“What were you doing at the Heavenly Court?”
The Netherworld emissary softened his tone and said, “Is the Heavenly Court a place you can just go to? If I hadn’t sensed you opening the Gate of Bearing Heaven again, you’d be dead by now! Reckless and audacious—I regret entrusting Imperial Heavenly Venerable to you!”
Qin Mu smiled, “But you arrived in time and saved me. I know you care about me.”
The Netherworld emissary shook his head, “I was only worried that Imperial Heavenly Venerable might have been brought to the Heavenly Court. If I’d known it was just you, I wouldn’t have come.”
Qin Mu’s face darkened, and he sneered, “Then take Imperial Heavenly Venerable back. Let’s see how you manage to teach him well.”
The Netherworld emissary’s face also darkened. After a moment, he said hesitantly, “I don’t know anyone else. You’d better teach him yourself. I don’t trust those who raised you... Fire Heavenly Venerable is very dangerous. Don’t get close to him.”
Qin Mu’s heart stirred, and he said, “When Imperial Heavenly Venerable died, the ones most grieved were you and Fire Heavenly Venerable. I could tell that he, like you, respected Imperial Heavenly Venerable from the bottom of his heart. Perhaps Fire Heavenly Venerable has been deceived by others. Maybe we can bring him over to our side...”
The Netherworld emissary cut him off, saying firmly, “People change!”
Qin Mu was taken aback, then asked, “Why did Fire Heavenly Venerable change? What has he experienced over the years? Back then, I exposed that the murderers of Imperial Heavenly Venerable were Hao Heavenly Venerable and the Netherworld Emperor, with the Heavenly Emperor’s hand behind it all. Even if he wasn’t the sharpest, he could see that! Why does he still stay in the Heavenly Court?”
“People change.”
The Netherworld emissary repeated himself, then suddenly said, “The mortal world is here. You should get off the boat. Don’t go to the Heavenly Court again, and don’t trust Fire Heavenly Venerable. You’ll die.”
Qin Mu suppressed the doubts in his heart and jumped off the boat. Lin Xuan, the Dao Lord, and the others were picked up by the Netherworld emissary and tossed off the boat.
Below the boat was darkness, but in the next moment, it burst into light. The four of them stood on solid ground. Looking around, they saw a surging river and towering mountains not far away. Their recent experience felt like a dream.
Qin Mu turned his head, but the Netherworld emissary had already vanished.
“Fire Heavenly Venerable, have you really changed?” Qin Mu stared blankly, lost in thought.
“Lord Qin! Lord Qin!”
Lin Xuan, the Dao Lord, called him back to his senses, saying, “We should return to Qingyun Heaven and handle the follow-up matters.”
Qin Mu snapped out of it and nodded. He looked at Xiao Chunfeng and Yu Hongxiu, then asked, “After this experience, what are your plans, you two?”
Xiao Chunfeng hesitated for a moment, then said, “I come from the Heavenly Court Dao Sect, sharing the same heritage as Dao Lord Lin. So I plan to go to the Yancheng Dao Sect first, then gradually develop and make a name for myself in the future.”
Yu Hongxiu thought for a moment and said, “I’ll go to the Dao Sect too, but I won’t become a Daoist nun.”
Qin Mu’s eyes lit up. “Sister Hongxiu, have you heard of the Heavenly Saint Cult? My Heavenly Saint Cult is a righteous sect...”