Chapter 921: Where to Find the Winning Move, Placing the Piece in the Celestial Court (Second Update, Asking for Monthly Votes!)
The winding corridor pavilion was enveloped in silence.
Que Jingxue and the others fell into silence, their expressions complex, their hearts tangled in knots.
The Heavenly River Divine Treasury had greatly moved them, but what moved them even more were Qin Mu's words, which struck straight to the heart.
Qin Mu was not wrong. The reason the Celestial Court was hostile to reform was not out of fear that the lower realms would threaten their rule. Given the current scale of the Celestial Court, even if Yan Kang were given several thousand or even ten thousand years, it would still not be a match for the Celestial Court.
The reason the Celestial Court opposed reform was that those who held power in the Celestial Court could gain no benefit from it. To support reform or to ignore it would shake the very foundation of their rule!
If the rulers of the Celestial Court accepted reform, they themselves might fall, might be taken advantage of by political enemies.
Even if they did not reincarnate, they would need to revise their cultivation techniques, to comprehend them anew, essentially starting from scratch!
The effort required for reform was too great, the time too long. What if a younger generation surpassed them during this period? What if a younger generation replaced them?
How could they willingly hand over their power and status?
And to ignore reform would mean the new gods replacing the old. The new deities, stronger and more driven than the old gods, would eventually overthrow their rule, just as they had overthrown the rule of the ancient gods!
Therefore, the simplest solution was to label reform as rebellion, as treason, as something that must be eradicated!
Only in this way could they ensure they would never fall, ensure their rule would last forever, ensure that no later generation would have the chance to replace them.
Yet even understanding this, Que Jingxue and the others still faced a difficult choice.
Should they cultivate the Heavenly River Divine Treasury? Should they accept the Yan Kang reforms?
If they did not, they would die on the battlefield. The benefits brought by the Heavenly River Divine Treasury were unmatched by the traditional Divine Bridge Divine Treasury. If they encountered someone who had opened the Divine Treasury on the battlefield, they would surely be killed!
If they accepted the reforms, their own sects would first reject them. Their former senior elders would immediately change their faces, kill them, and even implicate their clans!
Qi Jiuyi walked in from outside, silently sat down, and said nothing.
A faint scent of blood emanated from him.
The people in the pavilion were startled. Earlier, Qi Jiuyi had said he would see off those who were leaving, and now he carried the smell of blood. It seemed those few were in grave danger.
Qin Mu showed a questioning expression. Qi Jiuyi said calmly, "It's been handled. The Celestial Court sent them here to kill the Celestial Venerable Mu, so they died at the Celestial Venerable Mu's hands."
Qin Mu frowned slightly and said, "Why did you have to eliminate them? Just let them go."
Qi Jiuyi sneered, "Let them go? Chief Qin, you wanted to use them to stir up trouble in the Celestial Court, didn't you? You underestimate the Celestial Court too much. After they leave, every young person who came to the Jade Pool today will die mysteriously, not a single one left—including me!"
Que Jingxue and the others felt a chill, a lingering fear.
Qin Mu asked with concern, "Then, Brother Qi, was it handled cleanly?"
"Soul scattered, very clean."
Qi Jiuyi carried a hint of pride: "Chief Qin, you don't need to doubt my skills. Since I opened the Heavenly River Divine Treasury, I am no longer what I was! Their techniques and divine abilities are all outdated. Before, I might not have been their match, but now they are utterly powerless."
Behind him, a nine-headed phoenix soared above the Heavenly River. The nine-headed phoenix's primordial spirit was unruly and fierce: "They were killed by the Celestial Venerable Mu. They challenged the Celestial Venerable Mu, not expecting him to be so vicious, directly extinguishing their primordial spirits! The Celestial Venerable Mu shouldn't mind taking this blame, should he?"
Qin Mu smiled: "I don't mind. I can bear it."
Qi Jiuyi looked around, his gaze growing fiercer: "Everyone can rest assured. They have been killed by me. Even if you cultivate the Heavenly River Divine Treasury, no one will know."
A young man trembled and said, "What if one of us doesn't cultivate the Heavenly River Divine Treasury?"
Qi Jiuyi said nothing, but the nine-headed phoenix behind him spread its wings, flames blazing.
The man said in despair, "After we open the Heavenly River Divine Treasury, we definitely can't hide it from our fellow disciples, let alone our masters! My master is a Celestial King of the Celestial Court!"
Yun Jianli suddenly spoke: "You can go to the Yuan Realm."
Everyone was stunned, not understanding why he said that.
Yun Jianli said, "Going to the Yuan Realm is a way to survive, to avoid the inspections of your sects. Moreover, the lower realms have the Yan Kang reforms, where you can absorb more of the reform's strengths. After seeing the Celestial Venerable Mu's skills, I also want to go to the lower realms and take a look. Staying in the Celestial Court is like looking at the sky from the bottom of a well; you can't see the true world. We cultivators are also seekers of the Dao. Since the Celestial Court is stagnant, with the upper gods clinging to power and refusing to advance, staying here offers no hope. It's better to go to the lower realms!"
Que Jingxue stood up and left, laughing: "Celestial Venerable Mu, Yun Jianli, and you with nine heads, you fierce one, we'll meet again in the Yuan Realm!"
Suddenly, she stopped, turned around, and looked with a half-smile at a young man in yellow robes who had been silent all along: "Prince Yu, you are of the royal family. You can't possibly support reform, can you? You can't possibly cultivate the Heavenly River Divine Treasury either, right?"
The young man in yellow robes changed color drastically, quickly stood up, and said warily, "Senior Sister Jingxue, what are you saying? Even if I have the highest cultivation, I can never sit on the throne! The Celestial Emperor is immortal and indestructible. Naturally, I want to rebel. I support reform!"
"Well said! But I don't trust you."
Que Jingxue smiled: "Fellow Daoists of the Azure Flower List and the Divine Excellence List, we all need to get a little blood on our hands to trust each other. Otherwise, if news of our cultivating the Heavenly River Divine Treasury gets out, none of us will survive!"
The people in the pavilion silently stood up.
The young man in yellow robes knew something was wrong and immediately leaped into the air, trying to break through the roof of the winding corridor pavilion to escape.
The moment he moved, almost everyone in the pavilion struck out simultaneously. Figures flashed, and countless divine abilities erupted in an instant, blasting the young man in yellow robes into pieces!
Even his primordial spirit could not escape; it was forcibly shattered by the group until its soul scattered!
The people landed, their clothes rustling, and it took a long time for them to calm down.
Qin Mu, Qi Jiuyi, and Yun Jianli watched this scene silently, not intervening or speaking.
Que Jingxue wiped the bloodstains from her hands, gave Qin Mu a deep look, and said tentatively, "Prince Yu challenged the Celestial Venerable Mu and was killed by him in the winding corridor pavilion."
Qin Mu nodded: "I killed him."
"Thank you, Celestial Venerable, for your grace!"
Que Jingxue bowed deeply to Qin Mu, then rose and left.
The others also bowed to Qin Mu and departed one after another.
Soon, only Qin Mu, Qi Jiuyi, and Yun Jianli remained in the pavilion, with Yan'er and the Dragon Qilin guarding outside.
Qin Mu broke the silence first, sighing: "When I came to the Celestial Court, I originally intended to kill a few to establish my authority and cause a stir. Unexpectedly, I haven't killed a single person, yet I've taken on many lives."
Yun Jianli coughed a few times, the black aura on his brow growing thicker, and said, "This is precisely the Celestial Venerable Mu's brilliance. Celestial Venerable, you've already lured away more than twenty geniuses from the Azure Flower List and the Divine Excellence List. These are talents painstakingly cultivated by the Celestial Kings, Celestial Venerables, and ancient gods of the Celestial Court. You've turned them against their own, forcing them to rebel. I can't help but be curious—what does the Celestial Venerable do in the Yuan Realm?"
Qin Mu became interested, leaning in and saying, "Brother Yun, have you heard of the Heavenly Saint Cult? You see, Brother Qi always calls me Chief Qin because I am the leader of the Heavenly Saint Cult. Brother Yun, are you interested..."
Yun Jianli laughed heartily, then coughed violently.
Qin Mu's heart tightened. He opened his vertical eye on his brow, examined him, and said, "After opening the Heavenly River Divine Treasury, your cultivation and strength have greatly increased, but your death is drawing closer!"
Yun Jianli smiled: "My death may be near, but the Celestial Venerable's death is even closer. You've taken on many lives, and soon, upper gods will come to kill you!"
Qin Mu said leisurely, "There are many in the Celestial Court who want me dead, but also many who don't want me dead. Besides being one of the three reformers of the Yan Kang Overlord Body and the Celestial Venerable Mu, I am also the Ten-Thousand-Calamity Indestructible Great Mage. After I fought you with all my strength, those who don't want me dead, seeing my abilities, will do their utmost to protect me. The seemingly unbreakable Celestial Court will, because of my arrival, split into two parts, divided in two. Their accumulated grievances will grow deeper and deeper, becoming clearer."
Yun Jianli was horrified. After a moment, he sighed: "I finally understand why you insisted on coming to the Celestial Court, knowing full well the danger. In the Yuan Realm, the internal conflicts of the Celestial Court could still be suppressed. But when you came to the Celestial Court, you provoked and ignited those conflicts, leading to its division. From now on, the Celestial Court will no longer focus its attention on the lower realms. To deal with external threats, one must first settle internal ones. They will definitely deal with their internal crisis first. Celestial Venerable Mu, is your scheming so deep?"
Qin Mu smiled ambiguously: "In the lower realms, we call this being an old hand. I was toyed with by the old hands, leading to the outbreak of the Yan Kang Calamity. Now, I'm just collecting a little interest."
Outside the door, the Dragon Qilin's voice came: "Chief, Miss Yun Chuxiu has arrived."
They immediately stopped this topic. Qin Mu smiled and said, "I'll have someone arrange rooms for you siblings. Stay here for now."
Yun Chuxiu arrived at the winding corridor pavilion. This girl was very lively and active, bustling about, always hovering around Qin Mu and Yun Jianli. Qi Jiuyi, on the other hand, hovered around her, much to her annoyance.
Because Yun Jianli's condition was becoming increasingly critical due to his profound cultivation, Qin Mu intensified his cultivation of the Supreme Palace Upper Knowledge, strengthening his divine consciousness to prepare for refining away his bloodline curse.
His divine consciousness grew stronger and stronger. The Supreme Palace Upper Knowledge, after his improvements, cultivated at a speed beyond his imagination.
"Before long, I can attempt to break Yun Jianli's bloodline curse!"
Suddenly, the sky gradually grew dim and unclear. Qin Mu's heart stirred, and he stopped cultivating, quickly walking out of the winding corridor pavilion. The winding corridor pavilion was the residence of the Empress, which should have been perpetually bright, impossible for the sky to darken.
Yet now, the sun and moon in the sky were dim and unclear, the stars growing fainter and fainter, the sky turning to dusk.
Many palace maids in the winding corridor pavilion also came out. Some hurried to find lanterns, intending to hang them up.
Yun Jianli, Yun Chuxiu, and Qi Jiuyi also came out, looking up at the sky.
In the sky, the sun slowly faded away, the moon also darkened, no moonlight visible. One by one, the stars in the sky disappeared, and the night grew deeper and deeper.
"Is the entire Celestial Court like this?"
A palace maid called out loudly: "Or is it only the sky over my Jade Pool that has darkened?"
The other palace maids were busy lighting lanterns and hanging them up, no one answering her.
More and more lights appeared in the winding corridor pavilion, strikingly bright in the darkness.
Yun Jianli was startled and quickly ran toward the winding corridor pavilion, shouting: "Not good! Don't light the lanterns! Put them out quickly!"
Qin Mu grabbed him and smiled: "Brother Yun, no need to rush. Let's see what the various factions can do!"
Cold sweat broke out on Yun Jianli's forehead. Yun Chuxiu, on the other hand, looked around curiously and suddenly exclaimed in surprise: "Something is coming from the Jade Sea! Something has entered the Jade Sea from a tributary of the Heavenly River!"
In the darkness, the surface of the Jade Sea suddenly rose into a huge wave, standing tall in the sky like a wall connecting heaven and earth, moving at a terrifying speed straight toward the winding corridor pavilion!
Crack—
Thunder and lightning flashed in the sky. Unbeknownst to them, dark clouds had gathered over the Jade Pool. Firelight suddenly appeared within the thunderclouds, growing brighter and brighter, making the dark clouds look as if they were about to burn.
Then, from the thunderclouds and dark clouds, the fierce face of a bearded thunder god emerged. Lightning seemed to form his beard, spreading out in all directions like writhing flood dragons, indescribably terrifying!
The bearded thunder god looked down at the great wave in the Jade Sea, suddenly opened his fierce mouth, and let out a heaven-shaking roar, collapsing the wave!
A massive creature rose from the sea, its dragon roar shaking the heavens, like an enormous black-green island slowly ascending from the seabed.
Qin Mu watched the terrifying spectacle, his eyes growing brighter and brighter. He softly chanted: "Where to find the winning move, placing the piece in the Celestial Court? The Celestial Court, from tonight, is divided."
Yun Chuxiu heard this, suddenly turned her head to look at him, her gaze complex.
Qin Mu smiled at her, and Yun Chuxiu returned a sweet smile.