Chapter 883: The Only Chance for Survival
Qin Mu walked out of Fengdu. Yan'er transformed into a Vermilion Bird and carried him and the Dragon Qilin as they flew toward the Tianyin Realm.
In the Tianyin Palace of the Tianyin Realm, the Tianyin Empress and the remnant soul of the Heavenly Emperor within the black sand remained silent, while Yan Qiling stood behind the remnant soul.
Qin Mu waited quietly, awaiting the remnant soul's reply.
After a long while, the remnant soul of the Heavenly Emperor within the black sand spoke: "Mu Tianzun, do you know whose weapon the Imperial Lord descending to the mortal realm this time is? If you knew, you should flee far away, as far as possible."
Qin Mu's heart shook violently. He had a guess.
"It is precisely that rebellious son."
The remnant soul of the Heavenly Emperor laughed: "It is precisely that Hao Tianzun, whose plans you disrupted at the Yao Chi Grand Assembly, and whom you severely wounded with a single sword strike before his mother and the heroes of the world. Now his power and influence have reached their peak; in the Heavenly Court, his word is law. You, ah..."
He shook his head and said: "You should have fled farther away. That rebellious son's current strength has reached the level of the Heavenly Court. Though incomplete, such power can be said to be the strongest existence in all of history. Not to mention you, even if the Kai Emperor came, it would be useless. Half a Heavenly Court realm—such ability is no longer something that a few Emperor Throne realm existences can withstand, let alone the fact that he is wielding a peerless weapon like the Imperial Lord?"
Qin Mu smiled and said: "Your Majesty, you need someone to gather your scattered souls and reshape your spirit. That person can only be me. You cannot watch me go to my death."
The remnant soul of the Heavenly Emperor within the black sand stared straight at him. After a long time, he continued: "This descent of the strongest divine artifact not only involves the Yuan Realm but also the Xuan Du, the You Du, and the Four Heavenly Extremes of the Four Emperors. This is not Hao Tianzun's idea alone, but the idea of all the giants of the Heavenly Alliance. The only thing you can be thankful for is that the descent of the strongest weapon is not aimed at Yan Kang, but at the Earth Mother Yuan Jun. Although I am also a giant in the Heavenly Alliance, I also nodded in agreement with their descent."
Qin Mu's brow twitched.
"I cannot help you."
The remnant soul of the Heavenly Emperor sighed: "Our alliance ends here."
Qin Mu was unwilling to give up and said: "I can reshape your soul and revive you."
The remnant soul of the Heavenly Emperor shook his head, smiling wryly: "Mu Tianzun, do you still not understand? There is no chance of victory! Not even a shred of a chance! Mu Tianzun, if I help you, I will be implicated. Although I only have one soul left, it is still a soul. If I help you, even this one soul will not remain."
Qin Mu stood there woodenly. After a long time, he suddenly burst into loud laughter, stomping his feet: "How ridiculous! These ancient gods are truly ridiculous! And I am too ridiculous! I should never have placed my hopes on ancient gods!"
The remnant soul of the Heavenly Emperor watched him quietly, saying nothing.
Yan Qiling snorted coldly and said: "Mu Tianzun, what is the source of your laughter?"
"I laugh at how naive the ancient gods are!"
Qin Mu was somewhat manic, clapping his hands and laughing: "And I laugh at how naive I am!"
The remnant soul of the Heavenly Emperor still watched him quietly, saying nothing.
Yan Qiling glanced at him secretly and said softly: "Mu Tianzun, why do you say that?"
"The Heavenly Court's strongest divine artifact descends to the mortal realm, not to deal with Yan Kang. Yan Kang's predicament is merely that of a fish caught in a pond fire. The descent of the strongest divine artifact is precisely to deal with the ancient gods."
Qin Mu laughed until tears flowed: "The Heavenly Court wants to deal with Tu Bo, and Tu Bo is afraid, not daring to speak of war. The Heavenly Court wants to deal with Tian Gong, and Tian Gong cowers, not daring to risk his life. The Heavenly Court wants to deal with the Yuan Realm, kill the Earth Mother, and pacify the remnants of various eras. The Kai Emperor also retreats, and the heroes all fold their hands. The Heavenly Court wants to deal with the Four Emperors of the Four Directions, and the Four Emperors are helpless, only able to stretch their necks for the slaughter. The Heavenly Court wants to eradicate all the forces of the ancient gods. And the former Emperor of the ancient gods can only hide here, chattering like ants in the autumn fields, discussing gains and losses. I am too ridiculous, coming to seek you out."
Yan Qiling's expression changed drastically, and she shouted: "How dare you! What ants? Before His Majesty, how dare you speak such nonsense?"
The remnant soul of the Heavenly Emperor raised his hand to stop Yan Qiling, laughing: "Let him continue."
Qin Mu sneered: "When I revived the ancient gods, I actually borrowed the power of Tian Gong and Tu Bo to revive the Tianyin Empress. If Tian Gong dies, if Tu Bo dies, even if I had the ability to reach the heavens, I would be helpless. This time, the Heavenly Court comes to kill the Earth Mother Yuan Jun, and you ancient gods have no reaction. Next time, they will kill the Four Emperors, and you ancient gods will still have no reaction. Then they will kill Tian Gong, then Tu Bo, and the ancient gods will become a thing of the past! The era of the ancient gods will end forever! And all of this is because of Your Majesty's inaction."
Yan Qiling was furious and shouted: "Bullshit! How dare you speak to His Majesty like this! His Majesty should cut off your dog head! My master, honored as the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor, the greatest emperor in history, even if he was stripped of power, even if he was schemed to death, he would never fall for your provocation!"
The remnant soul of the Heavenly Emperor laughed heartily: "Qiling, enough, enough. You don't need to speak for him."
Yan Qiling bowed, stepped back, and said angrily: "Disciple could not bear to see him insulting Master, so I defended Master. Saying things like ants chattering, this scoundrel deserves ten thousand deaths!"
The remnant soul of the Heavenly Emperor was both amused and exasperated, saying: "Mu Tianzun, what you said does have some truth. But in the current situation, forceful action is a dead end. In this situation, I cannot help. What do you suggest I do?"
"What Your Majesty needs to do is simply leave a thread of life for Yan Kang!"
Qin Mu said solemnly: "If Yan Kang is destroyed, the ancient gods, all eras in history, everything will turn to nothing, including the Kai Emperor! My only request is for Your Majesty to mobilize all forces to protect Yan Kang!"
The remnant soul of the Heavenly Emperor pondered, still showing difficulty, and sighed: "Too difficult. I still see no hope at all."
Qin Mu still refused to give up, saying: "I can now borrow the power of Tian Gong and Tu Bo to reshape Your Majesty's two souls!"
The remnant soul of the Heavenly Emperor shook his head and sighed: "If the situation were different, I would definitely agree. This condition is too tempting for me. But you don't know that even if I recover all my divine souls, I cannot be the same as before."
"Is it because of Your Majesty's physical body?" Qin Mu suddenly asked.
The remnant soul within the black sand suddenly shook violently, and said coldly: "What do you know?"
Qin Mu took out the peachwood hairpin and said: "I know that Your Majesty's physical body is trapped within Ling Tianzun's divine ability."
"Ling Tianzun's hairpin!" The remnant soul of the Heavenly Emperor reached out to grab the peachwood hairpin, his expression extremely agitated.
Qin Mu released his hand, allowing him to take the hairpin.
The remnant soul of the Heavenly Emperor snatched the hairpin into his hand, then paused, and the violently trembling black sand of his soul slowly calmed down.
He carefully examined the peachwood hairpin, then suddenly gently squeezed it. The peachwood hairpin shattered, but the next moment, the hairpin appeared in his hand again.
"It is indeed Ling Tianzun's peachwood hairpin. It seems she found you."
The remnant soul of the Heavenly Emperor placed the hairpin back into his hand, chuckling: "I am tempted. I am truly tempted. However, Hao Tianzun is descending to the mortal realm. He is enough to handle everything. I have no reason to descend..."
He stood up and paced back and forth, sighing: "That rebellious son holds all the power in the court. My forces are far inferior to his. Moreover, if anyone discovers that I am the former Heavenly Emperor, they will surely join forces to eliminate me. I have no reason to descend."
Qin Mu's eyes lit up, and he said urgently: "If Hao Tianzun cannot handle the Yuan Realm, would Your Majesty then have a reason to descend?"
The remnant soul of the Heavenly Emperor was stunned.
Qin Mu said: "Then it depends on whether Your Majesty is willing to sacrifice."
"You are a demon! Mu Tianzun, you are truly a demon!"
The remnant soul of the Heavenly Emperor sighed, paced rapidly, and suddenly stopped: "I must be willing to sacrifice, no matter what! I have nothing left that I am unwilling to sacrifice! It's a pity for the Earth Mother Yuan Jun... But this is also the only chance for me to descend. Only like this can there be a thread of life!"
Yan Qiling also immediately understood what they were going to do. Her delicate body trembled slightly, but she said nothing.
"Qiling!"
Yan Qiling bowed: "Disciple is here."
The black sand of the soul around the remnant soul of the Heavenly Emperor surged. After a moment, a round, bright mirror flew out from the black sand and landed in Yan Qiling's hand.
The remnant soul of the Heavenly Emperor said: "Go see the Earth Mother Yuan Jun. Let her see this mirror directly."
Yan Qiling silently put away the mirror.
The Tianyin Empress beside them had been silent all along. She was very naive and had never understood what Qin Mu and the remnant soul of the Heavenly Emperor were talking about. But when this mirror appeared, she finally understood its meaning.
However, she became even more silent.
The remnant soul of the Heavenly Emperor said: "Mu Tianzun, I am sacrificing my most powerful general. What do you think of my sincerity?"
Qin Mu bowed: "Your Majesty's sacrifice will surely be rewarded!"
The remnant soul of the Heavenly Emperor shook his head and laughed: "Naturally, I want a reward. Now, perform the ritual for me to reassemble my soul. After that, you can go with Qiling to meet the new Earth Mother Yuan Jun."
Qin Mu was about to agree when the Tianyin Empress coughed. Qin Mu heard it and knew her meaning, but he pretended not to hear and immediately set up an altar to perform the ritual.
When he opened the Gate of Bearing Heaven and borrowed the power of Tian Gong and Tu Bo, Tian Gong and Tu Bo immediately sensed it and looked over from across the worlds.
Qin Mu bowed and kowtowed to these two ancient gods.
The two ancient gods had a great enmity with the Heavenly Emperor. They had originally intended to withdraw their power and not lend it to him. But when they saw him kneel down, his head hitting the altar until it bled, the two ancient gods fell silent. Their faces faded from behind the Gate of Bearing Heaven, and they did not pursue the matter of him stealing their power.
Qin Mu got up and continued the ritual.
Reshaping a soul for the Heavenly Emperor was extremely difficult. He exhausted himself until he vomited blood, but he gritted his teeth and persisted, carrying the ritual through to the end!
When the Heavenly Emperor's two souls were finally reshaped, Qin Mu's eyes widened, and he fell straight backward, unconscious on the altar.
The Heavenly Emperor's Earth Soul and Spirit Soul condensed into a majestic figure, who leaned over to look at the altar and laughed: "If it weren't for the fact that you are still useful, and I need your help to find my physical body, I would really like to deal with you right now. Mu Tianzun, letting you grow is truly too dangerous..."
"Your Majesty!"
The Tianyin Empress stepped forward and bowed: "Your Majesty's words are golden and jade. You cannot go back on your word."
The Heavenly Emperor's two souls' gaze fell on her. After a long time, he sighed: "Tianyin, your elbow is turning outward. I will not blame you, after all, he saved your life. You are too naive. The world is treacherous, and there are many things you do not understand. Rest assured, he will not die. Not yet."
He flicked his finger, and a wisp of essence flew into Qin Mu's brow. After a moment, Qin Mu slowly woke up.
"Qiling, go with Mu Tianzun. Let Mu Tianzun see my sincerity."
The Heavenly Emperor's two souls flew out of the Tianyin Realm, and his voice came: "Mu Tianzun, the rest is up to you. How to make Hao Tianzun, that rebellious son, return in defeat depends on your skill and methods! I await in the Heavenly Court for you to give me the opportunity to descend to the Yuan Realm! Before I descend, your Yan Kang must be protected by yourselves! If you can hold out, then there will be this thread of life!"
Qin Mu turned over and stood up, saying to Yan Qiling: "Thank you."
Yan Qiling shook her head: "I am not helping you. I just don't want to see you die like this. I still want to personally defeat you and make you beg for mercy under my hand. Come with me. I will take you to see the new Earth Mother Yuan Jun."
Qin Mu turned to the Tianyin Empress and said: "Empress, you should not have spoken for me before the Heavenly Emperor. He no longer trusts you."
The Tianyin Empress was in a state of turmoil. Suddenly, tears fell, and she said: "Are you really going to eliminate that Earth Mother sister? She is just like me, a pitiful person."
Qin Mu took his leave: "She has always been a pawn of the Heavenly Emperor. Empress, take care of yourself!"
He turned and left with Yan Qiling.
Outside the Tianyin Realm, Yan Qiling sat with him on the back of the Vermilion Bird transformed from Yan'er, directing the bird's flight direction. After a long time, Yan Qiling suddenly said: "The new Earth Mother Yuan Jun is actually my master's wife in this life. She is my master's wife."
Qin Mu's body shook slightly, but he remained silent.
"I am somewhat reluctant, but I have to do it."
Yan Qiling stared blankly into space, then suddenly laughed: "I considered myself supremely talented and looked down on the young experts in the Heavenly Court. When I descended to the mortal realm, I thought I could easily pacify the Yuan Realm and help my master unify it. Then I met you, and you made me return in defeat. I also considered myself favored by heaven. But after experiencing so many things, I have realized..."
Qin Mu reached out a finger and gently tapped the back of her head.
The halo of the Heavenly Emperor's blessing behind Yan Qiling's head immediately became murky and dim.