Chapter 920: Heavenly Court Reform (First Update! Begging for Monthly Tickets!)
Before the Meandering Corridor Pavilion, many young experts from the Azure Glory List and the Divine Excellence List stared wide-eyed, dumbfounded, as they watched Qin Mu pull his sword from Yun Jianli’s body, blood trailing behind it.
Just one move.
Qin Mu had used only one move to defeat Yun Jianli, who had seemed invincible moments ago!
Not only had he defeated him, but he had also severed his Divine Bridge with a single sword strike, knocking him down from the Divine Bridge realm to the Life and Death realm!
This wasn’t the most terrifying part. The most terrifying thing was that Yun Jianli’s Divine Bridge divine repository had been completely destroyed!
That meant Yun Jianli could never cultivate back to the Divine Bridge realm in this lifetime. He would forever remain a cultivator at the Life and Death realm, with no possibility of ever becoming a god!
Of course, this might not be entirely bad for Yun Jianli. After all, the men of the Yun family were born with ailments that plagued them, and they would suddenly die upon reaching the Divine Bridge realm.
By cutting off his Divine Bridge, Qin Mu might have actually allowed him to live longer.
But to others, this was utterly horrifying!
Their bodies trembled. Facing Yun Jianli’s move, none of them had much chance of victory. And if they had to face Qin Mu’s sword strike, none of them could dodge it; they would only end up in the same state as Yun Jianli!
Each of them inevitably had the image of Qin Mu’s sword thrust branded into their minds. Yet no matter how many times they tried to deduce it, they still couldn’t evade it.
Every time, they would be struck by that sword, their divine repositories severed—not just the Divine Bridge repository, but all the others: the Embryonic, Five Luminaries, Six Harmonies, Seven Stars, Heavenly Being, and Life and Death—all would be cut through!
This was Qin Mu’s full-powered strike!
Suddenly, the bird-headed, human-bodied woman giggled. “I suddenly remembered I have something to do. I’ll take my leave first and visit the Celestial Venerable another day! Farewell—”
Her wings spread open, and the others also shifted their feet.
Qin Mu, supporting Yun Jianli, walked over and said loudly, “Since you’ve all come, why rush to leave? Those who don’t know might think I, the Shepherd Celestial Venerable, don’t understand the ways of hospitality, and rumors would spread.”
The bird-headed woman, who had been about to fly away, froze at his words, not daring to move.
The others also stopped in their tracks, cold sweat beading on their foreheads.
Qin Mu smiled faintly, his red lips and white teeth showing, and said gently, “Everyone, no need to be nervous. We people from the lower realm don’t eat people.”
But in their eyes, this smile was utterly terrifying and evil. Though they were all prodigies on the Azure Glory List and the Divine Excellence List, facing Qin Mu’s sword strike, they deeply felt powerless to resist.
The bird-headed woman trembled as she asked, “Do people from the lower realm eat demigods?”
Qin Mu didn’t answer. He helped Yun Jianli up onto the island and arrived before the Meandering Corridor Pavilion, saying helplessly, “Brother Yun, you asked me to go all out. Now look—I was planning to kill a few blind young experts from the Heavenly Court to establish my authority, but how can I kill them now to make a point?”
Everyone felt a chill run down their spines, staring at him in terror.
Qin Mu showed a simple, honest smile, looked around, and said apologetically, “Everyone, I’m not saying I’ll kill you, so don’t worry. Did you come here to challenge me?”
His face lit up with excitement, but the crowd remained silent, all shaking their heads.
Qin Mu looked very disappointed.
Yun Jianli had been injured by him and was growing weaker, but even though Qin Mu’s sword had severed his Divine Bridge, he remained composed, as if he hadn’t been hurt at all and felt no loss over the destruction of his Divine Bridge repository. He laughed and said, “Celestial Venerable, why take it out on the younger generation to establish your authority?”
Qin Mu laughed heartily. “You’re right. But my cultivation level is low; if any random venerable god made a move, I wouldn’t be able to withstand it.”
Yun Jianli coughed repeatedly and said to the crowd, “Don’t believe him. He wants to kill a venerable god to make a point. If you go back and call your senior brothers here, they’ll likely die by his hand too.”
The crowd stared wide-eyed, saying nothing.
Qin Mu helped Yun Jianli walk through them, and Qi Jiuying quickly followed to support Yun Jianli, muttering reproachfully, “Brother Qin, you were too harsh! You severed Brother Yun’s Divine Bridge—do you think his grandmothers will let you off? In the Heavenly Court, everyone knows the Yun family widows are the hardest to deal with! You’ve touched their precious treasure; you’ll lose at least eight layers of skin!”
Yun Jianli smiled bitterly. “Are my great-grandmothers and great-great-grandmothers really that troublesome?”
Qi Jiuying sneered, “Don’t you know? Ask anyone else! In the Heavenly Court, everyone knows the Yun family women are fiercely protective! Brother Qin, you’ve stirred up a hornet’s nest!”
Qin Mu said, “Cutting off Brother Yun’s Divine Bridge was intentional. With it gone, he can try the results of the Eternal Peace Reform and attempt the Heavenly River divine repository. You all come too.”
He turned and waved, smiling. “Back then, I gave lectures here, teaching people the way to become gods. A million years later, I’ll teach here once more.”
The people on the Azure Glory List and the Divine Excellence List exchanged glances, then reluctantly followed him into the Meandering Corridor Pavilion.
Qin Mu treated Yun Jianli’s injuries and said with a smile, “Back then, the Cloud Celestial Venerable created the Divine Bridge divine repository because the Nether Celestial Venerable had opened the Life and Death divine repository, leaving no path ahead. He wanted to build a bridge to pave a way. So the Cloud Celestial Venerable created the Life and Death divine repository. This gave the Imperial Celestial Venerable inspiration, leading him to open the Heavenly Palace realm, and thus the idea of ascending to the Heavenly Palace to become a god emerged. The Divine Bridge divine repository is very important; without it, there would be no Heavenly Palace realm. The Cloud Celestial Venerable’s contribution is immense.”
Yun Jianli said, “Celestial Venerable, you mentioned the Heavenly River divine repository earlier. What’s that about?”
Qin Mu explained, “The Heavenly River divine repository is a result of the Eternal Peace Reform. Although the Divine Bridge divine repository connects the past and future, it’s not essential. The Heavenly River connects all realms, breaks through life and death, and links to the Heavenly Palace. If you destroy the Divine Bridge divine repository and open the Heavenly River, it will fully connect the Heavenly Palace with the seven divine repositories, merging them into one!”
Yun Jianli’s eyes lit up.
The people in the Meandering Corridor Pavilion also trembled slightly, thinking about the key point Qin Mu had made.
If the seven divine repositories were merged into one, their vital energy would skyrocket. At the same cultivation level, their vital energy reserves would far surpass those who cultivated step by step in the traditional way!
Moreover, because the repositories were one, the speed of circulating techniques would be much faster than the traditional seven-repository method. Traditional techniques required vital energy to start from the Embryonic repository, follow the technique’s path, flow to the Five Luminaries repository, then to the Six Harmonies, Seven Stars, Heavenly Being, Life and Death, and Divine Bridge.
But if the Heavenly River divine repository connected all other repositories into one, vital energy would circulate directly within this single large repository, skipping many unnecessary steps, turning complexity into simplicity!
By the same logic, the activation speed of divine abilities would also be faster than with the traditional seven repositories, providing an astonishing boost to a cultivator’s combat power!
After all, they were outstanding talents on the Azure Glory List and the Divine Excellence List, with exceptional intelligence. They immediately recognized the immense potential of the Heavenly River divine repository.
Qin Mu continued, “After reaching the Heavenly Palace realm and becoming a god, the seven divine repositories that cultivators previously trained become negligible to the Heavenly Palace, mere appendages. But with the Heavenly River divine repository, the power within the Heavenly Palace can merge with the repositories, strengthening them. The cultivator’s magical power will also be much more abundant than with traditional methods, bringing great benefits even to gods!”
The bird-headed woman suddenly spoke up. “Celestial Venerable, if the Heavenly River divine repository is so good, why has the Heavenly Court never thought to replace the Divine Bridge repository with it?”
Qin Mu looked at her with a puzzled expression.
The woman quickly said, “I’m Que Jingxue from the Azure Glory List, a disciple of Grandmother Tai.”
“Grandmother Tai?”
Qin Mu had never heard of this god and said with a smile, “After the gods of the Heavenly Court reach the Heavenly Palace realm, who still cares about the divine repositories? They’re like a door-knocking brick—once used, they’re thrown away. They’re more concerned with the Heavenly Court realm itself. Once they hear about it, they focus all their efforts on it. As for you cultivators, do you dare to question your masters? Do you dare to question the divine repository cultivation system passed down by the Celestial Venerables? If you did, you might have the potential to open the Heavenly River divine repository.”
The crowd was taken aback, reflecting on their cultivation journey.
As the most outstanding geniuses in the Heavenly Court, they had indeed never thought about abolishing the Divine Bridge repository. Their greatest innovation was probably trying to create a few divine abilities on their own.
To them, each fixed realm was an iron law, not worth questioning, and they never thought to question it.
Qin Mu said, “It’s different in the lower realm. Many people there have had their Divine Bridge repositories severed, so countless people are studying how to improve the repositories and break through established knowledge. The Eternal Peace Reform doesn’t follow ancestral methods, doesn’t blindly believe in ancient gods, doesn’t blindly believe in the Heavenly Court, and doesn’t blindly believe in the Celestial Venerables. That’s why there was reform, and why the Heavenly River divine repository came into being.”
When the crowd heard the word “reform,” they were horrified.
Suddenly, a young man stood up, trembling, and said hoarsely, “I won’t listen anymore! Celestial Venerable, please forgive my cowardice—I’m leaving!”
Qin Mu asked with concern, “Don’t you want to know how to open the Heavenly River divine repository?”
“I do!”
The man’s smile was like a cry. “But I dare not listen! I’m afraid that if I hear about the Celestial Venerable’s Heavenly River divine repository, I’ll die inexplicably!” He turned and hurried away.
A few others also got up and left.
The rest wanted to leave too, but the Heavenly River divine repository was too tempting, making them hesitate.
Qi Jiuying’s eyes flickered, and he stood up. “I’ll go see them off.”
Qin Mu smiled faintly and continued explaining how to open the Heavenly River divine repository. “The Heavenly River divine repository aligns with the great Dao of heaven and earth, but it’s best to have seven divine repositories within the human body, so the Divine Bridge needs to be abolished. I’ve created several methods to sense the power of the Heavenly River. After abolishing the Divine Bridge, you can go to the banks of the Heavenly River and use my methods to sense its power.”
Qin Mu explained the several methods for sensing the Heavenly River one by one. The young people in the Meandering Corridor Pavilion were skeptical, but they memorized the methods, though they didn’t dare to try them.
Yun Jianli laughed. “Then let me, a dying man, try to see if I can open the Heavenly River divine repository.”
Que Jingxue looked incredulous and whispered, “Young Master Yun, are you willing to abandon the Divine Bridge divine repository created by your ancestor, the Cloud Celestial Venerable? Wouldn’t that be betraying him?”
Yun Jianli shook his head. “My ancestor wouldn’t be so closed-minded. I think if he saw the Shepherd Celestial Venerable’s Heavenly River divine repository, he would cheer with joy and voluntarily abolish his own Divine Bridge repository.”
Que Jingxue murmured, “This is reform! Think clearly—reform is rebellion!”
Yun Jianli smiled. “A dying man has nothing to fear.”
A tributary of the Heavenly River flowed into the Jade Pool, where the power of the Heavenly River was quite abundant. He immediately tried to activate the sensing method Qin Mu had taught.
His talent was extremely high, even surpassing that of the past Human Sovereigns, and he quickly grasped the technique, drawing in the power of the Heavenly River.
A Heavenly River gradually formed around him, growing wider and longer. Yun Jianli gathered his strength, waiting for the moment to break through.
Time passed bit by bit, and everyone in the pavilion watched him nervously.
If Yun Jianli could successfully open the Heavenly River divine repository, it would mean that the path Qin Mu had pointed out was feasible.
After an unknown amount of time, the Heavenly River surrounding Yun Jianli suddenly surged into his body. With a dull sound, his body shook violently, and a wondrous rhythm emanated from within.
It was a sound of the Dao, a rhythm like the mighty Heavenly River rising and falling, crossing through world after world, from the Heavenly Court’s Heavenly Palace to the mortal realm, then to the Netherworld and the Underworld.
The melody was so enchanting that everyone couldn’t help but become immersed in it.
Yun Jianli was also both surprised and delighted, obsessively examining his divine repositories. The waters of the Heavenly River cascaded down from the Heavenly Palace, piercing through all his repositories and flowing into the Underworld, forming a great cycle.
“Should we also cultivate the Heavenly River divine repository?” Que Jingxue murmured.
The others were eager to try, but deep down, they were filled with deep worry and didn’t dare to attempt it.
Qin Mu said meaningfully, “You can choose not to cultivate the Heavenly River divine repository. But if the Heavenly Court goes to war with the lower realm in the future, you will die at the hands of people from the lower realm. You can also choose to cultivate it, but then those who want to kill you will be your masters or other Celestial Venerables.”
Que Jingxue shuddered and then said with a forced laugh, “Celestial Venerable, don’t scare us! Our masters can also open the Heavenly River divine repository!”
“Them? Open the Heavenly River divine repository?”
Qin Mu flicked his sleeves and laughed heartily. “Then they would have to change their techniques, starting from the Embryonic divine repository. If they can’t modify them, they’ll have to reincarnate and start over. Reincarnation means giving up their current status, and even their lives might not be safe! The reason the Heavenly Court wants to destroy the lower realm is that they don’t want to change, they don’t dare to change!”
— First update today, begging for monthly tickets! This month, I want to make a push on the monthly ticket rankings for *The Shepherd’s Tale*. I hope fellow Daoists will support me! Thank you!