Chapter 901: The Wood Core Reveals Its Edge
The primeval wood stretched lush and verdant, shrouding the vast territories of the Primordial Realm. The many heavens in the sky of the Primordial Realm revolved around this single tree. From a distance, it seemed unremarkable, but the closer one drew to the wood, the more magnificent it became.
Though the Earth Mother Primordial Sovereign had perished, this primeval wood still possessed astonishing vitality.
The divine beings of the Heavenly Court gathered divine gold from the myriad heavens and built the most grand and spectacular palace within the canopy of the primeval wood. Constructed to the specifications of the Celestial Palace, it featured a Jasper Lake and a Jade Capital, with a thousand halls and ten thousand palaces, and was called the Primordial Realm Celestial Palace.
The true body of the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor resided within the Heavenly Court, while the "Imperial Heavenly Lord," serving as a weapon to suppress the Primordial Realm, remained in the Primordial Realm, living in the Hall of Ascending Clouds within the Primordial Realm Celestial Palace.
The Celestial Palace was incomparably luxurious, but at the roots of the primeval wood lay the darkest place. The armies of the Heavenly Court had piled the corpses of countless gods and demons from the Primordial Realm here, using them as nourishment for the wood.
Amidst the mountains of corpses and seas of blood was the Great Prison of the Primordial Realm.
The Great Prison was built in the most shadowy and filthy place of the Primordial Realm. The divine beings of the Heavenly Court used white bones to build walls and forge cages, imprisoning the most serious offenders of the Primordial Realm. Here, the sun never shone, eerie winds howled constantly, and it was extremely cold and damp. Because there were so many divine and demonic corpses, the ground was covered in never-drying divine blood and demon blood, mixed together. Often, demonic creatures were born from the filth, running rampant through the prison.
Few heavenly gods of the Heavenly Court ever came here. Only the prison guards, wardens, and judges of the Heavenly Court settled in this place.
The prison guards, wardens, and judges of the Heavenly Court were all demon gods of the Netherworld lineage. The filth here was unbearable for others, but for them, it was quite comfortable.
At this moment, however, many guests had arrived at the Great Prison. A woman dressed in an exquisite court dress frowned as she watched a warden pick up a newborn demonic creature, wash it in a pool of blood, and get the creature covered in gore.
After the warden washed it, the creature was still squeaking, splashing divine and demon blood everywhere. The warden then lifted it up, opened his mouth wide, and put it in.
The woman quickly turned her face away, not daring to look closely.
"Sister Yun Huayan, the wardens here are demon gods born from the Netherworld. Demonic creatures born from filth and darkness are their food. To you, these creatures are utterly disgusting, but to them, they are an incredibly delicious meal."
Beside the woman, a young man said with a gentle smile, "Especially newborn demonic creatures—they are even more delicious."
Yun Huayan covered her mouth and nose, frowning. "This Great Prison is too barbaric. It's no place for a person. Why hasn't that Eternal Peace Overlord Body arrived yet? Let's deal with him early so we can go back and report our mission."
The warden's eyes lit up. He grabbed a demonic creature from the pool of blood, held it up, and grinned at the young man. "Young Master Taoyu, this one is fresh. Want to eat it?"
The young man, Taoyu, frowned deeply and quickly waved his hand.
The warden muttered a regretful "what a pity" and went back to washing it in the blood pool. Suddenly, a burly man in a black round-collared robe walked over, laughing, "Such a delicacy, and you won't eat it? Warden, wash it well and give it to me. I like it."
The warden washed the creature clean and handed it over.
The burly man suddenly opened his mouth wide, his mouth like a pool of blood, and swallowed the squeaking creature.
Taoyu, Yun Huayan, and the others all frowned deeply. Yun Huayan shouted, "Vimalakirti, that's enough!"
The burly man, Vimalakirti, swallowed the creature, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and laughed, "You are gods, but I am a demon. This is what I eat. As they say, 'When in Rome, do as the Romans do.' You should try it too!"
Taoyu's face changed color. He changed the subject, saying, "That Eternal Peace Overlord Body is the Shepherd Heavenly Lord among the Nine Heavenly Lords. I heard that in the early years of the Dragon Han Era, he was the one who spread the Dharma on behalf of the Imperial Heavenly Lord, allowing the beings of the world to become gods. Once the method of becoming a god was revealed, the beings of the world could stand alongside the ancient gods and enjoy long lifespans. If we are ordered to eliminate him, is that..."
Vimalakirti laughed, "If he hadn't spread the method, the Hao Heavenly Lord would have done it. I heard from my master that this Shepherd Heavenly Lord merely stole the Hao Heavenly Lord's credit. He's a fame-seeking fraud who happened to travel back to the Dragon Han Era. The Heavenly Emperor was foolish enough to let him get away with the title of Heavenly Lord..."
"Shut up!"
Yun Huayan looked around warily. Many experts had gathered here upon hearing the news, waiting for Qin Mu. There were four or five hundred of them, all young experts of the Heavenly Court, a mixed bag with many eyes and ears.
These young experts were disciples from various celestial palaces of the Heavenly Court. The Heavenly Court was on a punitive expedition against the Primordial Realm, and they had been ordered to join the army, enter the Primordial Realm to fight and gain experience, and earn military merits for future promotions.
"Criticizing the Heavenly Emperor—do you want to die?"
Yun Huayan lowered her voice, saying, "If this gets to the Heavenly Court, even our master won't be able to protect you!"
Vimalakirti laughed, "In the Heavenly Court, my master has never taken the Heavenly Emperor seriously. What harm is there in saying a few words? If it were us who traveled back to the Dragon Han Era, we wouldn't just get the title of Heavenly Lord—we'd even become the Heavenly Emperor himself, heh heh..." Even so, he still lowered his voice.
"Western Celestial Palace, Northern Celestial Palace, Qianyun Celestial Palace, Pisha Celestial Palace, Wuming Celestial Palace, Miluo Celestial Palace, Guangming Celestial Palace, Miaoyan Celestial Palace..."
Taoyu said in a low voice, "Almost every celestial palace of the Heavenly Court has sent their most elite disciples. Our Dao Sect's Jade Purity Palace may not be able to take the lead and eliminate the Shepherd Heavenly Lord!"
"The Shepherd Heavenly Lord is living on a reputation he doesn't deserve. I heard he's already half-dead, without a soul. Whoever strikes first will claim the credit. If we're even a step late, we won't even get the scraps!"
Vimalakirti said, "In my opinion, we should go outside the Great Prison, wait for the Shepherd Heavenly Lord to arrive, and snatch the credit!"
Taoyu hesitated for a moment, then said, "I just saw many experts from various celestial palaces heading outside. They clearly have the same idea. If we go now, the Shepherd Heavenly Lord will probably have been killed by someone else by the time we get there."
Vimalakirti urged, "Staying here won't get us a damn thing! My master said that if we can get this credit, he will recommend us to follow the Hao Heavenly Lord, and the Hao Heavenly Lord will guide our cultivation for thirty years!"
Yun Huayan and Taoyu gritted their teeth. The three of them immediately headed out of the Great Prison. At the same time, more than a dozen others also walked out.
The three of them panicked and sped up, rushing out like the wind.
They sprinted for over a thousand li before shaking off the dozen or so from the other celestial palaces. Just as they were about to speak, they suddenly saw a red glow ahead, and from the red glow came the sounds of battle.
"The Shepherd Heavenly Lord has arrived!"
The three were overjoyed. Vimalakirti took the lead and rushed toward the red glow, urging, "Hurry! Someone has already made a move! If we're a step late, the Shepherd Heavenly Lord will be killed by someone else!"
He was extremely fast. As he ran, his body swelled, and in an instant, he transformed into a demon god, roaring furiously.
Taoyu and Yun Huayan were a step behind, both startled: "Senior Brother Vimalakirti's cultivation and strength have soared since descending to the mortal world! Just as our master said, only through battle can one grow quickly and comprehend deeper Dao techniques and divine abilities!"
The two tried their best to catch up. Suddenly, they saw a bizarre sight: a hole appeared in Vimalakirti's head, going straight through from front to back.
The two were stunned. Then a voice came: "Long Fatty, Sister Yanyan, I've discovered another use for the Wood Core. Look, it can turn into an extremely fine wooden needle. If I use the needle to perform sword techniques, like the simplest move—a thrust..."
Taoyu's sharp eyes immediately spotted a wooden needle as fine as a hair approaching his eye!
Taoyu roared, and runes flew as he used the great techniques of the Heavenly Court Dao Sect to construct defensive divine abilities. In an instant, hundreds of Black Tortoise Divine Shields appeared before him!
The hundreds of layers of Black Tortoise Divine Shields were pierced by the wooden needle, making only a soft *pop* sound.
The wooden needle entered through Taoyu's left eye and exited through the back of his head.
Taoyu's mind roared, and his primordial spirit disintegrated. He turned his head with difficulty and said to Yun Huayan, "Sister, run..."
In his left eye, a mass of blood light scattered, and on the surface of his pupil, Yun Huayan's figure was reflected.
Yun Huayan was urging a Dao Sword to slash at an extremely fine wooden needle. The bright surface of the Dao Sword immediately showed a tiny pinhole. The next moment, Yun Huayan grunted, and a faint streak of blood burst from the back of her head.
Taoyu's vision blurred. Then he saw a massive creature, half-dragon and half-qilin, walking over on fiery clouds. On top of this massive creature's head, a young man raised two fingers and gently pinched a small wooden needle.
On the young man's shoulder was a plump, round bird, holding a spirit pill in its beak and feeding it to the dragon-qilin.
"Shepherd Heavenly Lord..." Taoyu's vision went black, and his corpse fell.
The dragon-qilin walked unhurriedly toward the Great Prison, frowning as it looked down. Below, rivers of demon blood and divine blood flowed, filthy and foul. In the blood rivers, countless insect-like demonic creatures swam in the gore.
"Are the Eternal Peace National Teacher and the Eternal Peace Emperor imprisoned here?"
The dragon-qilin said in a rumbling voice, "The Eternal Peace Emperor is easy enough to deal with, but the National Teacher loves cleanliness. Can he stand it?"
Qin Mu flicked his finger, and the wooden needle flew out silently, heading toward a dozen or so Heavenly Court experts rushing toward them. "The Eternal Peace Emperor doesn't care about cleanliness—he can sleep in a pigsty. But the National Teacher does love cleanliness. He probably can't sleep."
The wooden needle flew back.
The dragon-qilin continued forward. Around them, corpses fell from the sky, flailing, and plunged into the blood rivers. The blood rivers boiled over as countless demonic monsters stirred up waves, fighting fiercely over the corpses.
"If this Wood Core could turn into a wooden sword, it would be incredibly powerful."
Qin Mu sighed, then suddenly grasped the wooden needle and said, "Grow—"
The wooden needle remained as thin as ever, but in an instant, it grew to a hundred li in length, like an imperceptible thread reaching a hundred li away.
Qin Mu gripped the hundred-li thread and executed a sword technique. Several Heavenly Court young experts a hundred li away didn't even know what was happening before they were suddenly torn apart.
Even when executing his sword technique from a hundred li away, Qin Mu's swordsmanship was still incredibly fine, making it impossible for anyone to dodge!
Moreover, the Wood Core was so thin it was almost impossible to detect.
"This treasure given by the Earth Mother is really useful," Qin Mu couldn't help but praise again.
They finally arrived at the Great Prison. A warden stopped them, standing atop a city gate made from a giant skull, looking down from a height and shouting, "Who goes there?"
"Qin Mu of Eternal Peace."
Qin Mu announced his name. "I've come to visit the prison."
The warden was startled and dared not be negligent. He quickly opened the city gate. The hundred-zhang-tall skull opened its mouth wide, letting them in. The warden said, "The Shepherd Heavenly Lord actually dares to come to the Great Prison. What courage! Please enter, Heavenly Lord. There are many good friends waiting for you inside. Some have been waiting for four or five months!"
Qin Mu walked into the city. Hundreds of experts immediately turned their gazes toward him, their eyes gleaming.
"Shepherd Heavenly Lord..." Someone could barely suppress their excitement, their body trembling as they murmured.
Suddenly, a young god flew out and shouted, "There's only one Shepherd Heavenly Lord, but there are hundreds of us. How do we divide him?"
For a moment, the area outside the Great Prison was in an uproar as everyone argued.
"Everyone! Everyone!"
Qin Mu waited for a moment, but they still couldn't come to an agreement. He raised his voice and said, "You don't need to discuss it anymore. Look at my hand."
The noise stopped. Everyone looked at his hand. They saw Qin Mu holding a small wooden needle.
Qin Mu smiled and said, "Big."
*Boom!*
A wooden pillar, a hundred li long and a hundred zhang thick, suddenly appeared. He swung it, rolling it along the Great Prison, sweeping everything flat around him. Countless people were crushed!
The wooden pillar vanished. The surviving Heavenly Court experts flew into the air, terrified, and frantically searched for where the pillar had gone.
Qin Mu said to the stunned warden, "Where is Jiang Baigui imprisoned?"
The warden's hair stood on end. He quickly said, "Heavenly Lord, please follow me."
He led the way. Suddenly, a corpse fell from the sky and landed with a *smack* at his feet.
The warden was startled and quickly looked up. In the sky, corpses fell like rain. Heavenly Court experts, as if meeting an invisible, merciless reaper, turned into corpses and fell from the air.
——Zhai Zhu's hometown is Xiao County. This time, Xiao County suffered from floods, and more than ten people have died. I heard that a family in the basement couldn't escape. My parents are in the countryside. The government has delivered clean water, rice, and flour. For now, they are safe. Currently, the floodwater is knee-deep, and I don't know when it will recede.