Chapter 892: Backwardness Is Not the Original Sin, Weakness Is
The gods of the Heavenly Court suppressed their fury, but the Azure Emperor of the Eastern Heaven remained very composed, his expression dignified as he said, "Celestial Venerable Mu, there is nothing improper in what you say, after all, you are a Celestial Venerable with vast divine powers. But now, you are already a cripple. People often say that the heroic spirit is indestructible, but you have lost your soul; all you rely on is your heroic spirit."
Emperor Yanfeng and the Imperial Preceptor of Yankang trembled inwardly, their gazes falling on Qin Mu.
"The heroic spirit is indestructible" meant that Qin Mu had already scattered his soul and spirit, leaving only his spirit, without his soul.
In other words, among the three heroes of the Yankang Reformation, Qin Mu was already dead!
The Imperial Preceptor of Yankang suddenly shed tears, thinking to himself, "Senior brother must be unwilling to let go of Yankang, his obsession unextinguished, his consciousness undispersed, forcing himself to hold on until now?"
He had seen too many people like this. Even though they had fallen in battle, a powerful obsession within them drove them not to collapse; even in death, they continued to fight.
But Qin Mu's situation was somewhat different from what he imagined.
The Azure Emperor of the Eastern Heaven grew even more solemn and majestic, his voice resonating like a great bell or cauldron, echoing everywhere: "Celestial Venerable Mu, Yankang is merely a small nation, occupying a tiny speck of land in the Primordial Realm. I came here on orders to clean up the mess in Yankang, and it is only out of respect for you that I have not struck with lethal force. Do not make things difficult for me, Celestial Venerable Mu. Because of Wei Suifeng, I am already in a state of guilt; beheading the ringleaders is imperative!"
Qin Mu turned around, a faint, ambiguous smile on his face. "Not making things difficult for you will make things difficult for me."
The Azure Emperor of the Eastern Heaven said, "If I destroy their physical bodies, leaving not a trace of their bloodline, can Celestial Venerable Mu still recreate their bodies for them and resurrect them?"
Qin Mu shook his head and said, "I can only gather their souls for them and let them reincarnate. Twelve years later, I will guide them, restore their past-life memories, and let them return in full force. If their physical bodies still exist, it would be even simpler for them to revive the moment you leave."
Around them, the gods roared in anger.
The Azure Emperor of the Eastern Heaven raised his hand and said coldly, "Celestial Venerable Mu, you are overstepping! Where do you place the Heavenly Majesty? Do you want to destroy the authority and dignity of the Heavenly Court?"
Qin Mu waved his hand dismissively. "Since you can't make the decision, then get lost and go back. Find someone who can make the decision to come see me!"
The gods grew furious, and dark clouds gathered in the sky, thunder and lightning crashing down repeatedly with crackling sounds.
"Celestial Venerable Mu, stop resisting the Heavenly Majesty!"
Suddenly, among the kneeling people of Yankang, an old man on the ground kowtowed repeatedly and shouted harshly, "That is Heaven! Resisting Heaven is great treason!"
Qin Mu was momentarily stunned, darkness flashing before his eyes before he recovered after a moment.
More people of Yankang shouted from below, "That's right! What right do you have to make decisions for us? If they must be killed, kill the Imperial Preceptor of Yankang and Emperor Yanfeng!"
"It's their fault for causing this disaster! What reformation? What revolution? Kill those two traitors!"
"Pray to Heaven to send down its wrath and kill this rebellious minister, Celestial Venerable Mu, as well!"
...
Qin Mu's eyelid twitched violently, but his expression quickly returned to normal. The Azure Emperor of the Eastern Heaven laughed heartily, "Celestial Venerable Mu, the people you want to protect don't seem to appreciate you. You protect a bunch of livestock, risking life and death for them, even gouging out your own eyes, abandoning your identity as the Prince of Youdu, leaving yourself with only an indestructible heroic spirit. Is it worth it?"
Qin Mu sneered, "Get lost. Go find someone who can talk!"
The Azure Emperor of the Eastern Heaven snorted, stood up abruptly, and was about to order a retreat when suddenly a voice came leisurely, "Azure Emperor of the Eastern Heaven, if you order a retreat like this, where will the authority and dignity of the Heavenly Court be? If you retreat, the Heavenly Court's dignity will be swept away, and there will be even more rebellious ministers resisting the Heavenly Majesty in the future."
The Azure Emperor of the Eastern Heaven was startled and quickly knelt down.
With a rustling sound, countless divine beings turned and prostrated themselves. A figure about the same height as Qin Mu, appearing as "Celestial Venerable Yu," walked over, smiling, "Celestial Venerable Mu, you really know how to cause me trouble. Yankang, a place the size of a mustard seed, requires me to make a personal trip."
Qin Mu coughed violently twice and said, "It's only because you, brother, push people too far."
"Celestial Venerable Yu" smiled, "The Imperial Preceptor of Yankang and Emperor Yanfeng can be spared death, but defying Heaven and violating the Mandate of Heaven cannot go unpunished if the Heavenly Court's dignity is to be preserved. I can refrain from killing them, but I will suppress them instead. This gives face to Celestial Venerable Mu and preserves some face for the Heavenly Court. What do you think?"
Qin Mu said, "There must be a time limit, otherwise, brother, you might as well kill them."
"Celestial Venerable Yu" said coldly, "You're pushing your luck."
Qin Mu said nothing.
After a moment, "Celestial Venerable Yu" smiled, "There are many rebellious ministers in the Primordial Realm, and I can't kill them all. I am planning to build a great prison, so I will suppress them in the Primordial Realm prison. As a favor to you, I will only imprison them for two hundred years. No bargaining."
Qin Mu was about to speak when "Celestial Venerable Yu" said calmly, "Although you can resurrect them, don't forget that the Heavenly Court has ways to prevent you from gathering their remnant souls. You still haven't found that wisp of Lan Yutian's remnant soul, have you?"
Qin Mu's heart shook violently, and his gaze fell on him.
The real Celestial Venerable Yu had always been foolish, with a wisp of his remnant soul suppressed in the Pixin Hall of the Heavenly Court, preventing him from ever returning to his former self.
The Heavenly Court indeed had ways to seal the souls of the Imperial Preceptor of Yankang and Emperor Yanfeng, leaving him, the great ritual master, helpless.
"Celestial Venerable Yu" arrived above the capital city, his gaze falling on Emperor Yanfeng. He smiled, "Heaven has the virtue of loving life. Your death sentence is commuted, but your living punishment is unavoidable. You will be eternally suppressed in the great prison. Yankang cannot be without an emperor. Choose a successor."
Emperor Yanfeng turned and looked at his offspring. His gaze fell on Ling Yuxiu, then moved away from her and landed on Ling Yushu. He smiled, "Yushu, come forward. After I leave, you will be the emperor of Yankang."
The Imperial Preceptor of Yankang understood his intention, a pang of bitterness in his heart.
Ling Yushu stepped forward, knelt, and bowed.
At that moment, "Celestial Venerable Yu" flicked his finger, and Ling Yushu's physical body instantly turned to dust, his soul scattered.
"Celestial Venerable Yu" smiled, "The child you chose must be the best, inheriting your ambition. I am not at ease. Choose again."
Emperor Yanfeng prostrated himself on the ground, weeping bitterly, tears streaming down his face. After a long time, he got up, his gaze wandering over his other offspring.
"Yuxiu, come forward."
Emperor Yanfeng said tearfully, "From now on, the nation of Yankang will be entrusted to you. Don't do too well. Be mediocre, be incompetent. From today, you are the emperor of Yankang!"
The Imperial Preceptor of Yankang sighed inwardly, understanding why Emperor Yanfeng had first chosen Ling Yushu instead of Ling Yuxiu.
His purpose was merely to protect Ling Yuxiu.
The divine beings of the Heavenly Court took Emperor Yanfeng and the Imperial Preceptor of Yankang into custody. A tower ship sailed away, taking them to the great prison. The other heavenly soldiers and generals of the Heavenly Court remained behind, destroying the systems of elementary schools, middle schools, and academies, burning the reformation scriptures, supporting the sects, smashing heavy divine artifacts like the Sun-Shooting Divine Cannon, the Sun Ship, and the Moon Ship, and monitoring Yankang.
Ling Yuxiu ascended the throne, with the reign name Yanxiu, and was called Emperor Yanxiu.
"A tiny nation like Yankang has held me up for so long. This lowly race of humans is truly troublesome."
The Heavenly Emperor, in the guise of "Celestial Venerable Yu," smiled at Qin Mu, "Now, I should return. Celestial Venerable Mu, I look forward to you emerging from the shadows and reclaiming my physical body soon. Do you know why I am imprisoning Emperor Yanfeng and the Imperial Preceptor of Yankang for two hundred years, and why I am giving you two hundred years?"
Qin Mu walked out of the Yankang capital with him, his expression calm and unruffled, and said, "In two hundred years, the Heavenly Lord will perish and be replaced. By then, I, the Great Ritual Master of Ten Thousand Kalpas, will become a thing of the past, with no power left to resurrect others."
The Ancient God Heavenly Emperor laughed heartily, "Talking to an intelligent person saves effort. Within two hundred years, the Great Dao of the Celestial Realm will hold no secrets, and the Heavenly Lord can become history. A new Heavenly Lord will descend upon the world. You will be unable to borrow any power from the Celestial Realm, and your resurrection arts will become a thing of the past. By then, you will have no qualifications or capital for negotiation."
He stopped walking and said with a gentle smile, "Celestial Venerable Mu, let me tell you a truth."
Qin Mu also stopped. "I'm all ears."
The Ancient God Heavenly Emperor said leisurely, "Backwardness is not the original sin; weakness is."
"A new celestial map is already being forged. Within a few decades, it will reappear in the sky, becoming a star chart covering the entire Primordial Realm."
He looked up at the sky, where a sun had appeared—the true divine sun of the Primordial Realm.
"Enjoy all of this."
The Ancient God Heavenly Emperor smiled, "In the coming decades, you will see the true starry sky. After that, no one will remember what the true starry sky looked like. No need to see me off. Please, go back."
His figure rose into the air and disappeared into the horizon.
Qin Mu looked up, pondering his words. Backwardness invites beating, but Yankang was not backward. Yankang's techniques, Dao methods, and concepts even surpassed those of the Heavenly Court.
The reason Yankang was beaten, unable to stand up, was simply because it was weak.
Its development time was too short; it lacked the power to resist the Heavenly Court, and thus, in the face of the Heavenly Court's absolute strength, it suffered a complete defeat.
He stood there silently, unmoving for a long time, until night fell and lights began to glow.
Then, the darkness before him opened, and a faint light shone from another world, casting its glow on his face.
Qin Mu saw a continent floating in that other world. The mountains on the continent formed the character "Qin." A massive big-headed doll sat cross-legged with its arms folded across its chest, looking back at him.
Qin Mu's gaze fell on him. The big-headed doll snorted, hugged its arms tighter, and turned its head away, refusing to look at him, clearly very angry.
Qin Mu showed a smile. "Brother, I'm sorry. I took over your physical body."
He could tell that the big-headed doll had used that third eye to transform into flesh and blood, recreating its physical body.
"Hmph!" The big-headed doll pouted, even angrier.
The light came from an old man, a yama emissary, holding a horse lantern. He stood on the Qin-character continent, with Celestial Venerable Yu beside him. Celestial Venerable Yu waved at him.
The Heavenly Lord's avatar, the Molten Rock Earth Lord, the Crimson Emperor, the Great Sun Star Lord, and the Old Buddha were no longer on the Qin-character continent. They had gone somewhere unknown.
Qin Mu waved back at the old yama emissary and Celestial Venerable Yu.
A treasure ship sailed over, its deck crowded with figures.
Qin Mu saw the Zhen Consort and a tree-man—his former parents.
"Mu'er, the Earth Lord has released us. We plan to return to Carefree Village. Do you want to come back with us?"
The Zhen Consort stood at the bow, asking softly, "There is too much malice in this world. The dangers of the mortal realm are even greater than those of Youdu. Although Carefree Village has its dangers, it is a safe place compared to the outside world."
Qin Mu waved vigorously and smiled, "I am not Qin Fengqing, not your son. I am Qin Mu, an orphan from the Great Wasteland, a child picked up by Granny by the river. I long for Carefree Village, but my heart remains in the mortal world. In a few years, I will go to Carefree Village to find you, but not now!"
He drew the Carefree Sword and threw it with all his might.
The divine sword of the Opening Emperor traced a long arc and landed on the treasure ship of Carefree Village. Qin Hanzhen pulled the Carefree Sword from the deck.
"You are my child."
The Zhen Consort wept, waving desperately, "You are the flesh and blood I gave birth to! You have a home, you have family, you carry our bloodline!"
The treasure ship of Carefree Village sailed away, the Zhen Consort's voice drifting back, "You must come home! You must return!"
Qin Mu smiled, waving vigorously.
Family.
Family in Carefree Village.
He had once wanted countless times to find Carefree Village, to return to his homeland, to see the Opening Emperor, to see his family. But now, in the Primordial Realm, there were still people who were his family, people who needed him more.
He turned around. Emperor Yanxiu stood not far away.
"I thought you would leave." The former sixth princess, now Emperor Yanxiu, said softly.
"If I left, what would you do?"
Qin Mu walked toward her, smiling, "Let's go back. From today, I am your Imperial Preceptor of Yankang!"
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