Chapter 856: Celestial Venerable and Celestial Emperor
From outside the suspended coffin came the sound of water breaking, followed by the clanking of chains wrapping around it. The coffin immediately stopped.
Inside the coffin, Qin Mu's heart stirred slightly, and he immediately understood that this suspended coffin had left the ancient well and was now secured by chains.
The suspended coffin was about to open.
Yan'er quickly put away her red lantern and looked around. Suddenly, a square opening appeared above them, light streaming down from above, revealing their surroundings faintly.
"I see you!" Sky Dragon King's massive head waved its green dragon whiskers, gleefully chasing after Starry Marten.
Qin Mu also looked around, searching for the whereabouts of Dragon Qilin, feeling somewhat uneasy in his heart: "Could Fatty Dragon really have been eaten by Sky Dragon King?"
Just then, Yan'er found Dragon Qilin: "Over there!" With that, she transformed into a green oriole and flew over.
Qin Mu looked in the direction she was flying and indeed saw Dragon Qilin curled up in a corner, fast asleep.
Yan'er grabbed Dragon Qilin and rushed toward the entrance of the suspended coffin with a whoosh. Qin Mu also hurried to fly out.
Outside the suspended coffin, Qin Mu set foot on solid ground. Suddenly, he saw that the rosy clouds in Fallen God Valley were rapidly contracting. All the seals here had now completely failed!
"Damn it, the blind old man Yi Shisheng plans to destroy this place!"
Qin Mu made a snap decision and flew out with Yan'er, one after the other. Dragon Qilin had already woken up and quickly revealed his true form, carrying Qin Mu as he accelerated to rush out.
The rosy clouds that had filled every corner of Fallen God Valley contracted into a tiny dot in a short time. Starry Marten, Yan Qiling, and Sky Dragon King's massive head rushed out of the suspended coffin, also fleeing in panic toward the valley's exit. Only Sky Dragon King's massive head wasn't fleeing—it was chasing after them with its gaping maw.
Hum—
A dazzling light burst forth. The ancient well and suspended coffin were destroyed in an instant. The chains securing the coffin snapped section by section. Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh—the broken chains were sent flying backward by the terrifying wave of annihilation, passing right by Qin Mu and the others.
Qin Mu stood on Dragon Qilin's back and looked back. He saw the mountains surrounding the ancient well and suspended coffin leveled to the ground, the abyss filled in. Amid this terrifying annihilation fluctuation, the sword technique imprints left by the Founding Emperor were also triggered, crisscrossing with stunning sword lights of terrifying power.
Dragon Qilin roared and bellowed, pushing his speed to the limit. Soon he reached the floating bridge, leaped over it, and charged straight out of this ruin.
Just as he was about to slow down, Qin Mu shouted, "Keep running!"
Dragon Qilin continued to sprint with all his might. Qin Mu turned his head to look back and saw the sword that the Founding Emperor had hung above the floating bridge struck by the annihilation light, its sword light suddenly erupting.
The rosy clouds outside the valley had already contracted into a tiny dot. After this sword light erupted, the dot burst forth again.
As the saying goes, raise a dragon for a thousand days, use him for a moment. This was the first time Qin Mu had discovered that Dragon Qilin could run so fast, and he felt greatly relieved: "It's not in vain that the bulk of my daily expenses go to him..."
He didn't spend much money on a daily basis. Wherever he went in Yan'kang, food and clothing were basically free for him. Ninety-nine percent of his money was spent on raising Dragon Qilin.
"You can stop now!"
Qin Mu called out to Dragon Qilin and looked back. He saw that the annihilation light in Fallen God Valley was still churning, but its power was contracting.
"Starry Marten probably won't die—he has too many tricks. Yan Qiling and Sky Dragon King are harder to say."
His injuries were about seventy to eighty percent healed. Starry Marten taking away the Imperial Heaven Venerable's body made by the Heavenly Court wasn't a good thing for him, but it wasn't entirely bad either.
The Imperial Heaven Venerable's body made by the Heavenly Court contained ancient god runes, constructing a seemingly perfect divine repository system and heavenly palace system, capable of mastering the power of all ancient gods.
This was something the beings of the lower realms didn't possess.
However, it lacked the most crucial Heavenly River divine repository, and the power of the two giants, Heaven Duke and Earth Lord, was also incomplete.
Moreover, the Imperial Heaven Venerable's body was made based on the macro-mathematics of the Dao Ancestors, lacking micro-mathematics, so it could never be called perfect.
More critically, Qin Mu had already copied down the runes from the Heavenly Court's Archive Pavilion. Once Lin Xuan, the Dao Lord of Yan'kang Dao Sect, perfected the Supreme Subtle Calculation Canon, these runes could be supplemented with a micro-mathematical framework. That would be the most perfect version.
Starry Marten had only obtained the Imperial Heaven Venerable's body and could comprehend some things from it, but he was still far from cultivating the most perfect physical body and primordial spirit.
Suddenly, Sky Dragon King's massive head rolled out of Fallen God Valley, trying to fly into the air but failing completely, clearly heavily injured.
This corpse-transformed head suddenly extended its dragon whiskers to support the ground. The long whiskers, like thick legs, propped up the massive head and began to walk outward.
"I see you..."
This massive head stood in the air like a moving hill, revealing a foolish grin as it looked around.
As it moved, the earth shook and mountains swayed, clearly searching for something to eat.
Qin Mu frowned. Sky Dragon King had undergone corpse transformation. If he escaped this place, he would likely wreak havoc everywhere, devouring people. He had to be eliminated.
However, Sky Dragon King hadn't died even in the annihilation, his strength truly terrifying.
"Sky Dragon King, like Feng Qiuyun, is an existence at the Lofty Summit realm. How can I get rid of him?"
Qin Mu took out the geographical map Starry Marten had given him, found the Fallen God Valley he had marked, and searched nearby.
After the Primal Realm was unsealed, Starry Marten had visited many places, which was why he could draw this geographical map.
Qin Mu's eyes lit up as he found the nearest ancient ruin. He thought to himself, "Luring him into the ancient ruin and letting it trap him might be a good choice."
Just as he thought this, light flickered in the distance. A black-backed, white-bellied swallow flew out of the light, landed, and transformed into Yan Qiling, staggering slightly.
Yan Qiling immediately noticed him, extremely alert.
Qin Mu showed a friendly smile, but his sword orb silently flew out of his glutton pouch and burrowed into the ground without a sound.
Yan Qiling quickly took out a bare branch, only three inches long, and stuck it into the ground. The branch immediately took root, countless roots growing wildly, covering the underground area.
Meanwhile, the above-ground part sprouted and branched out, growing into a towering tree hundreds of feet tall in an instant.
"A branch of the Primeval Tree?"
Qin Mu was surprised. He withdrew his sword orb and smiled, "Sister Yan Qiling, I would very much like to meet the Celestial Emperor."
Yan Qiling was stunned for a moment, then raised her hand and pulled the great tree out by its roots. The tree turned back into a small branch three inches long.
"Pastoral Celestial Venerable..."
Qin Mu quickly waved his hand, letting Dragon Qilin chase after Sky Dragon King. He turned back and smiled, "Sister Yan, no need to be formal. Just call me Sect Leader Qin. 'Pastoral Celestial Venerable' is just a joke—the Celestial Emperor probably doesn't take it seriously, and neither do I. In Yan'kang, friend and foe alike call me Sect Leader Qin."
Yan Qiling hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward to follow him, saying, "Sect Leader Qin was originally quite hostile to the Celestial Emperor, even giving His Majesty's decree to a pig demon and avoiding His Majesty at all costs. Why are you now taking the initiative to seek an audience with His Majesty?"
Dragon Qilin ran ahead of Sky Dragon King. The corpse-transformed head immediately turned its eyes green, drooling corpse fluid as it chased after them.
Qin Mu said seriously, "It's not an audience, but a meeting between equals. If the Celestial Emperor still holds himself in high regard, then this meeting is unnecessary."
Yan Qiling frowned slightly.
Qin Mu smiled and said, "The Celestial Emperor once wanted to control me, to master me. How could I let him have his way? So I avoided him. But if His Majesty is willing to be a collaborator, an ally, then we can meet and talk."
Yan Qiling sneered, "Sect Leader Qin, what cultivation level are you, to dare negotiate terms with the Celestial Emperor? Forget about you alone—even all of Yan'kang tied together doesn't have the qualifications to negotiate with His Majesty!"
Qin Mu smiled slightly: "I am the Pastoral Celestial Venerable, and also the Son of the Netherworld, possessing the power to revive ancient gods. Why can't I negotiate with him? Besides, he is dead, and I am alive. Without my mediation, would Earth Lord tolerate him? The first one to kill him would probably be Earth Lord! But with me as the intermediary, Earth Lord might just let him go. You can't make this decision—go ask the Celestial Emperor."
Yan Qiling hesitated, then gritted her teeth and said, "I will return and report this to His Majesty..."
"No need."
Qin Mu's gaze fell on the halo behind her head. He smiled faintly, "Why go back? Hasn't the Celestial Emperor been monitoring this place all along through his blessing? Isn't that right, Your Majesty?"
Yan Qiling was startled. The halo behind her head suddenly trembled slightly, and a face emerged from within the halo, saying softly, "Pastoral Celestial Venerable, we finally meet."
Qin Mu had Dragon Qilin continue to lead Sky Dragon King's massive head forward and smiled, "Then may I ask Your Majesty, are you willing to talk with me?"
The face in Yan Qiling's halo was silent for a moment, then said, "Netherworld Realm. I will speak with you in detail there."
Qin Mu's heart trembled slightly. He nodded and said, "Two months from now, we meet in the Netherworld Realm."
The face in Yan Qiling's halo dissipated like smoke.
Yan Qiling breathed a sigh of relief, her gaze somewhat wary.
Qin Mu said gently, "Don't be too guarded against him, or you might die for no apparent reason."
Yan Qiling steadied herself and bowed gracefully: "Thank you for the advice."
She straightened up, transformed into a swallow, and flew away with a flutter of wings, disappearing without a trace.
Qin Mu looked ahead. Another ruin appeared before him. The area around the ruin was desolate, not even a demigod to be found, clearly feared by them.
"I hope this place can trap Sky Dragon King."
In the Heavenly Court's Archive Pavilion, the Dao Lord of the Heavenly Court Dao Sect arrived at the top floor and cut down a piece of fine jade. Inside the jade was the figure of Imperial Heaven Venerable constructed from countless runes.
"Didn't the Heavenly Court make several Imperial Heaven Venerables some time ago?"
The Heavenly Court Dao Lord shook his head, somewhat puzzled, and carried the jade down from the Archive Pavilion, muttering under his breath, "Why make another one now?"
Fire Celestial Venerable was waiting below. Hearing this, he asked, "Made several Imperial Heaven Venerables? When did this happen?"
The Heavenly Court Dao Lord quickly smiled and said, "After the last time the Celestial Venerable came and asked me to send the Imperial Heaven Venerable runes to the Creation Divine Artifact, several ancient beings came, saying they also wanted to make a few Imperial Heaven Venerables to play with."
Fire Celestial Venerable was stunned for a moment, then sneered, "These old bastards, none of them are content!"
The Heavenly Court Dao Lord dared not say more and smiled, "Should this jade also be sent to the Creation Divine Artifact?"
Fire Celestial Venerable nodded, his eyes flickering: "Who came to ask you for it?"
The Heavenly Court Dao Lord hurriedly said, "Celestial Venerable, give this old man a way to live."
Fire Celestial Venerable frowned and didn't press further. He said, "After it's made, send it to my palace... How many did they make in total?"
"Nine, plus the original one, makes ten."
The Heavenly Court Dao Lord smiled and said, "If we add this one for the Celestial Venerable, that makes eleven."