Chapter 904: What Is Nothing Becomes Something, What Is Something Returns to Nothing
He suddenly seemed to go mad, laughing and crying at the same time. Many prison guards hurriedly dropped their tasks and rushed over to support Yan Shaoqing.
Yan Shaoqing shouted, shaking off the crowd, and said mournfully, "Fake! You're all fake!"
He injured several prison guards and killed a few others, then suddenly stiffened like a puppet, standing woodenly in place, staring blankly at his hands, which were covered in blood.
After a long time, he turned his head with difficulty and said to Qin Mu, "Heavenly Venerable Mu, is this real or fake?"
Qin Mu sighed and said, "Left Deputy Minister Yan, I plan to leave. Won't you see me off?"
Yan Shaoqing's facial muscles twitched wildly, his face contorted.
He followed behind Qin Mu and walked outward.
Not long after, he escorted Qin Mu and the others out of the prison. Qin Mu turned and smiled, "Left Deputy Minister, please stay. No need to see me further."
Yan Shaoqing bowed and said woodenly, "Farewell, Heavenly Venerable."
Qin Mu smiled, slowly sat down. Fire clouds rose from beneath Dragon Qilin's feet, carrying him as he prepared to leave.
"Heavenly Venerable Mu, is this real or fake?" Yan Shaoqing's voice came from behind.
Qin Mu patted Dragon Qilin's head, and Dragon Qilin quickly stopped.
Qin Mu smiled, "When truth becomes falsehood, falsehood becomes truth. What is nothing becomes something, what is something returns to nothing. Left Deputy Minister, you are the foremost expert in divine sense techniques in the Heavenly Court. Is truth or falsehood, existence or non-existence, really that important? Please go back."
Yan Shaoqing's body trembled slightly. He looked up at him.
Dragon Qilin carried Qin Mu into the distance.
Yan Shaoqing's eyelids twitched. He saw the shadow of Qin Mu on Dragon Qilin's head writhing, splitting from one shadow into three shadows!
His mind roared. He immediately turned and ran back, charging into the prison, flying to the cages where the Yan Kang National Teacher and Yan Feng Emperor were held.
He stood there woodenly. Both cages were empty. Neither Yan Feng Emperor nor Yan Kang National Teacher was inside!
"So that's how it is, so that's how it is..."
Yan Shaoqing laughed softly, "So it was I who taught you how to break the seals on the cages. So now is not a dream, not a divine sense illusion... When truth becomes falsehood, falsehood becomes truth. What is nothing becomes something, what is something returns to nothing. Excellent methods, excellent methods..."
Suddenly, a prison guard passed by, saw the empty cages, let out a scream, and shouted harshly, "The prisoners have escaped!"
Yan Shaoqing turned to look at him and smiled, "The prisoners are clearly still in the cages. Where did they escape to?"
The prison guard was stunned. He looked at the cages again. Yan Feng Emperor and Yan Kang National Teacher were indeed inside.
The prison guard showed a confused expression. Yan Shaoqing said, "Making a fuss over nothing. Go do your work... Wait a moment. How long did Heavenly Venerable Mu's prison visit take?"
The prison guard said, "Less than a quarter of an hour."
"Less than a quarter of an hour?"
Yan Shaoqing's heart sank. He felt as if several months had passed. He waved his hand, letting the prison guard leave.
Yan Shaoqing slowly walked out, his hands and feet icy cold, silently thinking to himself, "You kidnapped Yan Feng Emperor and Jiang Baigui, yet I have to cover for you. With my divine sense techniques, even if the Heavenly Court sends someone to investigate, as long as it's not someone at the Emperor Throne realm, they won't be able to tell that the Jiang Baigui and Yan Feng Emperor in the cages are just my mental illusions. You knew I wouldn't chase after you to reclaim Yan Feng Emperor and Jiang Baigui, because you know I can't break your techniques. Even if I caught up, I'd just fall into your illusions and dreams again."
"You also knew I would help you cover it up, because I've already been sent to the God Execution Platform once. To save my own life, I have to help you cover it up. You even deliberately left a clue, letting your shadow split into three. Those two other shadows are Yan Feng Emperor and Jiang Baigui, aren't they?"
"Heavenly Venerable Mu, oh Heavenly Venerable Mu, you've become so terrifying..."
He arrived at the Judge God Hall, opened the official documents, picked up his brush, and wrote the words "Heavenly Venerable Mu's prison visit proceeded as normal." He put down the brush and stared blankly into space.
Suddenly, he clenched his fist tightly, his nails piercing his palm until it bled. But then he helplessly loosened his grip, smiled bitterly, and continued handling official business.
"I lost, but your divine sense techniques aren't invincible. Your cultivation is low. Breaking your techniques is too simple. All it takes is an outsider's intervention, and your techniques will unravel on their own. Your techniques can only last less than a quarter of an hour."
"Aren't you going to the Heavenly Court? If you use this technique there, you'll die for sure! However..."
He stopped writing, fear spreading across his face. He shivered several times. "However, if you cultivate to the Emperor Throne realm and combine divine sense techniques with the Infinite Calamity Sutra and the You Du Great Way, that would be too terrifying!"
He didn't dare imagine how terrifying that scene would be!
He continued writing official documents. Suddenly, his brush tip stopped. His eyelids twitched.
"How do I know that the current me has truly escaped his dream illusions?"
Yan Shaoqing's pupils contracted sharply. "What if this is also an illusion? Am I in a dream or reality right now?"
Despair filled his eyes. "Is it really as he said? Do I have to abolish my Divine Bridge divine storage and accept the Yan Kang reforms to completely escape his dreams? If so, what difference is there between me and those Yan Kang rebels..."
The fear on his face grew thicker.
Although Qin Mu had left and his techniques had stopped, the influence of the divine sense techniques had taken root in his heart like demonic seeds sprouting.
Yan Shaoqing knew he had to walk out. He had to abolish his Divine Bridge divine storage, accept the Yan Kang reforms, and cultivate the Heavenly River divine storage. Otherwise, he would be forever troubled, unable to distinguish between dreams, reality, and illusions. The flaw in his Dao heart would also make it impossible for him to cultivate to the Emperor Throne realm!
However, the Heavenly Court strictly forbade reforms. If he accepted the Heavenly River divine storage, he would become one of the reformist rebels.
"Abolishing my Divine Bridge divine storage... my Heavenly Palace will collapse on me. I'll die... Jiang Baigui told me that he created a method to seal the Southern Heavenly Gate, allowing one to abolish the Divine Bridge divine storage without dying... Why did he tell me this?"
Yan Shaoqing suddenly realized: "Those two brothers teamed up to set a huge trap for me! A trap within a trap... I need to learn about the Yan Kang reforms. Secretly learn about them. I won't participate in the Yan Kang reforms. I'll just secretly learn..."
Qin Mu, far from the prison, had Dragon Qilin stop. He smiled, "Yan Shaoqing didn't chase after us. The prison break is settled. You can come out now. Yan Shaoqing is a smart man. He'll use his divine sense techniques to cover for us. No one will know you've escaped."
Beneath his feet were three shadows. Two of them writhed, stood up, and slowly transformed into Yan Kang National Teacher and Yan Feng Emperor.
Yan Feng Emperor greedily breathed the outside air, still somewhat incredulous. He murmured, "I actually managed to get out alive. I thought I would die in there..."
Yan Kang National Teacher bowed to Qin Mu, "Thank you, Senior Brother, for the rescue!"
Qin Mu quickly returned the bow, smiling, "If you hadn't taught him the Three Origin Indestructible Divine Sense, I wouldn't have been able to so smoothly find the flaws in his technique and plant a demon seed in his Dao heart. To make that Emperor Throne realm technique, the Three Origin Indestructible Divine Sense, keep up with the times, we spent countless manpower and intelligence studying its flaws."
Yan Kang National Teacher said solemnly, "But being able to suppress him so thoroughly is not easy to accomplish."
"I used the Great Brahma Heavenly King Buddha's Infinite Calamity Sutra to enter his dreams. In a short time, I deduced countless possibilities and found the simplest way to suppress him. Then, using the You Du Great Way to plant a demon seed in his Dao heart, the demon flower bloomed in his Dao heart, trapping him in dreams and illusions."
Qin Mu continued, "My techniques invaded his divine storage through his Dao heart and took root there. It became too difficult for him to break free from the dreams and illusions I created. Every time he forcefully broke through an illusion, he sank deeper into the dream. Each time he tried to break my divine sense techniques, he fell deeper into the Infinite Calamity, experiencing calamity after calamity."
Yan Feng Emperor and Yan Kang National Teacher were full of admiration.
The Infinite Calamity Sutra was the Great Brahma Heavenly King Buddha's Emperor Throne true scripture. The Indestructible Divine Sense was Emperor Red's Emperor Throne technique. And the Dao heart demon seed was a method from Woodcutter Saint's Great Nurturing Demon Sutra.
Qin Mu had fused these three techniques and divine abilities, catalyzed by the Yan Kang reforms, and had actually trapped a terrifying existence at the Ling Xiao realm. It was truly miraculous.
Yan Kang National Teacher's eyes flickered. He said, "Yan Shaoqing might become our comrade in the future. I've already pointed a path for him. Now it's up to him whether he walks it."
"You two are free now, but you can't show your true faces. You need to change your appearances," Qin Mu reminded.
Yan Feng Emperor and Yan Kang National Teacher nodded. They had cultivated the Three Origin Indestructible Divine Sense and the Flawless Creation Profound Sutra, the pinnacle of creation techniques. Changing their appearances or even the structure of their primordial spirits was simple for them.
Qin Mu took out a mirror and handed it to Yan Kang National Teacher. He said, "This mirror contains the Heavenly Court's research on ancient gods over the past million years. The Dao Ancestor gave it to me. The Heavenly Court also used the knowledge inside to recreate weapons like Imperial Heavenly Lord. Study it well."
Yan Kang National Teacher examined it closely. The mirror contained a world within, filled with countless jade slips inscribed with various runes.
"You're giving this to us? What about you?" Yan Kang National Teacher asked.
"I refined the mirror. I can make as many as I want."
Qin Mu flipped his hand and took out another mirror. He smiled, "Two identical mirrors facing each other can copy the jade slips into the other mirror. I still have a few more mirrors. Don't worry about me. You two, farewell!"
He bowed, "I'm going to the Heavenly Court. I don't know when I'll return. I made an agreement with Yan Xiu Emperor, setting a one-year deadline. I'll return to see her within that year. If you two return to Yan Kang, tell her I'm safe!"
Yan Kang National Teacher said, "You're not going back? You're really going to the Heavenly Court?"
Qin Mu smiled, "I want to see if the Heavenly Court has any weaknesses. Know yourself and know your enemy, and you'll never be defeated. If I don't go to the Heavenly Court, I won't know its true strength! So I must go!"
Yan Feng Emperor suddenly spoke, "You married Yu Xiu? You became her empress?"
Qin Mu's face turned red. He quickly waved his hands, "Your Majesty, why would you say that? We're innocent!"
Yan Feng Emperor spat, sneering coldly, "I... as Yan Xiu Emperor's father, I certainly don't want you two to be innocent. You rascal, I'm worried you won't find a wife. It's not like I'm selling my daughter to you. Why are you so scared? I won't have your head cut off! You and the National Teacher are alike—you can't find wives on your own merits. If I hadn't given the National Teacher a wife back then, look at him now, still a lonely old man..."
Yan Kang National Teacher coughed, reminding him, "Your Majesty, it's time to go."
Yan Feng Emperor sighed, "I'm not the emperor now. Yu Xiu is the emperor. You're not the National Teacher either. I wonder which bastard is the Yan Kang National Teacher now."
Qin Mu reminded him, "That bastard is right in front of you, and that bastard just saved you."
Yan Feng Emperor laughed heartily and waved goodbye.
Qin Mu was in high spirits. He shouted, "Fat Dragon, let's go!"
Yan Feng Emperor and Yan Kang National Teacher watched him disappear into the distance. After a long time, Yan Feng Emperor changed his appearance and said, "Yu Xiu became the emperor, and he became the National Teacher. What a twist of fate. I originally hoped they would end up together."
"Actually, Your Majesty, didn't you already foresee this future?"
Yan Kang National Teacher also changed his appearance and walked eastward. He said calmly, "We had plans long ago. If the reforms failed and we died, someone needed to carry on our will. The person Your Majesty chose was Yan Xiu Emperor and Lord Qin."
Yan Feng Emperor caught up with him. He was silent for a moment, then said, "Back then, I was the emperor. I didn't think about Yu Xiu's happiness. I only wanted her to carry on our cause. Now I'm not the emperor, but a father. I don't want her to bear that burden. I only hope she finds a good husband and lives a peaceful, happy life. Now that she's emperor, the possibility of her being with Qin Mu is almost nonexistent. That kid can't be her empress, and the emperor can't marry out. The two of them..."
He shook his head and didn't finish.
Yan Kang National Teacher understood what he meant.
When Ling Yu Xiu inherited the throne and became Yan Xiu Emperor, and Qin Mu became the new Yan Kang National Teacher, the possibility of them being together vanished.
Ling Yu Xiu must have realized this outcome when she took the throne, but she still accepted it.
Qin Mu also realized this outcome when he agreed to become her Yan Kang National Teacher, but he still became it.
In silence, both of them had sacrificed some feelings in their hearts, though neither had ever spoken of it.