Chapter 924: Peace and Prosperity Under Song and Dance (Second Update!)
Though the Moon Celestial was a cripple, her legs useless, she was still the most ancient of Celestials.
Even if she had been in seclusion for many years, she was not to be underestimated.
The space around the Jade Pool was nearly crushed into nothing by these terrifying presences, leaving only the island where the Winding Corridor Pavilion stood as a relatively safe haven.
Looking outward from the island, space was shattered into countless fragments, forming a terrifying spatial storm that churned wildly, while those fearsome beings stood unmoving amidst the broken spatial currents.
This scene was so horrifying that Qin Mu and the others felt an illusion, as if the outside world had already been destroyed, leaving only their isolated island behind.
"If a war of Celestials were to break out, I'm afraid the Heavenly Court would be completely destroyed."
Qin Mu nudged the still-sleeping Dragon Qilin with his foot, feeling regret inwardly: "It's a pity they won't fight."
The Dragon Qilin woke up, glanced around, and said in surprise, "Chief, it's not over yet?"
Qin Mu nodded, and the Dragon Qilin lay back down to sleep.
Yun Jianli chuckled, "This fellow is fortunate, still able to sleep."
The Dragon Qilin opened his bleary eyes and said in a muffled voice, "If the sky falls, the Chief will hold it up. If the Chief dies, I won't survive either, so I might as well sleep."
The others were speechless, then laughed.
But upon reflection, the Dragon Qilin's words did make a great deal of sense.
The situation now was far beyond their control. Even Qin Mu, the instigator who had torn apart the Heavenly Court's structure, could no longer steer the course.
No matter how much they cared about the situation, they had no way to change its direction, so worrying was useless.
The Dragon Qilin's ability to still sleep soundly in this life-or-death crisis was truly admirable.
"There are already ten Celestial-level beings present, six of them from the Heavenly Court."
Yun Jianli analyzed, "That means there are still four Celestials in the Heavenly Court, maintaining an overwhelming advantage. Mu Celestial, the situation hasn't truly become optimistic. If a few more Celestials appear, do you have reinforcements? Will Qin Celestial appear?"
Qin Mu smiled faintly: "The Kai Emperor guards Carefree Village. He wouldn't have appeared before, and he won't now. Besides, who says the remaining four Celestials definitely won't help me?"
Not far away, Yun Chuxiu was startled and looked at him thoughtfully.
The ten Celestials of the Heavenly Court—Hao, Huo, Xiao, Zu, Lang, Qiang, Yan, Hong, Xu, Gong—only Ancestral God King had revealed his true face. The others had not shown their real appearances, to avoid leaving evidence of harming Mu Celestial for their political enemies.
Among them was the Empress, hiding in their midst, helping Qin Mu.
The Empress helped Qin Mu because Yuanmu Lady's corpse was in his hands. She feared her sister's resurrection and had no choice but to assist.
Qin Mu confidently claimed that others would help him. Who among the ten Celestials would that be?
The ten Celestials of the Heavenly Court had never been a unified whole.
In the past, they had bickered and tripped each other up. Not long ago, Hao Celestial had driven the strongest divine artifact down to the lower realms, only to be forced back, losing the Yuan Realm to others.
Another Celestial approached, and even the island of the Winding Corridor Pavilion could no longer withstand it. The island's edges began to collapse, rocks shattering into dust.
The palace maids on the island screamed in terror, retreating toward the Winding Corridor Pavilion to avoid being annihilated by the Celestials' terrifying auras.
Although the Winding Corridor Pavilion where Qin Mu stood was by the sea, it was secretly protected by the Heavenly Duke, Earth Lord, Empress, and others, so it wouldn't be affected for a while.
But this Celestial's arrival broke the balance again. The island they were on wouldn't last long before it was ground to ash, and they would all be crushed to dust, their souls scattered!
Just then, another Celestial descended upon the Jade Sea.
His arrival rebalanced the situation, and the island stopped crumbling.
"Among the ten Celestials, there are actually those who stand against the Heavenly Court!"
A Celestial whose face was hidden in layers of light laughed coldly, "And here we call each other fellow cultivators, never knowing the heart behind the face. But you are always the minority!"
At that moment, another Celestial descended, breaking the balance again, and the island continued to collapse!
But as soon as that Celestial stopped, yet another Celestial arrived, restoring balance, and the island's collapse ceased.
All ten Celestials of the Heavenly Court had arrived!
Adding the Heavenly Duke, Earth Lord, You Celestial, and Moon Celestial, that made fourteen supreme beings!
Yun Jianli sighed with emotion, "Such a scene is rare indeed—never before seen on such a scale. Fourteen Celestial-level beings. If they were to fight, it would be an unprecedented spectacle!"
"Spectacle my ass!"
Qi Jiuyi was furious, spittle flying everywhere as he shouted, "Right now, we should be begging on our knees, praying they absolutely don't fight! If they do, we'll all die without a trace! Second Brother, damn it, you're still sleeping! The real problem is how to end this!"
Qin Mu suddenly spoke: "If you think about it, only the Heavenly Emperor, who rules the entire Heavenly Court, can stop this conflict. Perhaps the Heavenly Emperor's decree will arrive soon."
Everyone felt a chill. The Heavenly Emperor was still the master of the Heavenly Court. All gods, whether ancient gods or Celestials, were his subjects.
Although the Heavenly Emperor had not involved himself in state affairs for years, leaving the court to the ten Celestials, and although the Earth Lord, Heavenly Duke, and others rarely obeyed his commands, he was still the nominal sovereign of the Heavenly Court.
If he stepped in, he could surely stop this strife.
But Qin Mu and the Empress knew full well that the nominal sovereign, the ancient god Heavenly Emperor, had died in the Long Han era. The reason the Heavenly Court still kept the ancient god Heavenly Emperor as its nominal ruler was merely a matter of interest distribution among the ten Celestials.
Without the ancient god Heavenly Emperor, which of the ten would become the new Heavenly Emperor?
They had to maintain the ancient god Heavenly Emperor's identity, continuing to weaken the ancient gods' power while strengthening their own. Only when their strength and influence surpassed the other nine could they depose the ancient god Heavenly Emperor and proclaim themselves emperor.
Until they achieved that, none of the ten would expose the fact that the ancient god Heavenly Emperor was dead. They would still recognize him as the common sovereign.
—As for Yun Jianli, he didn't know the ancient god Heavenly Emperor was dead. The Yun family hadn't passed down this information.
Because the death of the ancient god Heavenly Emperor was too significant. If the Yun family had passed it down, they would have been wiped out long ago and wouldn't have become a major clan in the Heavenly Court.
Sometimes ignorance was necessary for survival—an unwritten rule in the Heavenly Court.
Suddenly, a voice broke the deadlock at the Jade Sea: "The Holy Emperor has issued a decree! Mu Celestial, with great merit and hard work, has ascended from the lower realms without sparing any effort. He is granted fine wine and beautiful women as a reward for his labors!"
Yun Chuxiu glanced at Qin Mu, who smiled.
Yun Chuxiu snorted.
On the Jade Pool, a Celestial also snorted, retreating into the darkness and vanishing. The ten-thousand-mile peach forest rapidly disappeared, along with the palace within it, until only a single peach blossom floated in the air, spinning away.
The other Celestials faded away one by one. The Heavenly Duke shot up into the sky as a streak of light, the Earth Lord sank into the darkness, and You Celestial's paper boat sailed into the Nether Realm. Soon, the place was empty, leaving only the shattered Jade Sea, its turbulent space unable to calm for a time.
Many divine soldiers and officers lined up in formation, escorting a divine official who broke through the spatial currents with great effort, landing on the island. He held an imperial decree and announced loudly, "Mu Celestial, receive the decree!"
Behind him followed some attractive palace maids, carrying various treasures bestowed by the Heavenly Emperor: fine wines, delicacies, rare curios, and the maids themselves were also gifts.
Qin Mu bowed and said clearly, "Your servant receives the decree."
The divine official placed the decree in his hands and quickly said, "Celestial, please rise. You are a Celestial; just go through the motions. No one can bear your full courtesy. Men, tidy up the Celestial's resting place!"
Many divine soldiers and officers took out various treasures, capturing the shattered spatial fragments one by one, refining them together to repair the Jade Pool. Others used creation treasures to generate land and create islands, working busily but silently.
Some retrieved many corpses from the broken Jade Pool, ordering them loaded onto boats and shipped out for burial.
Clearly, the Heavenly Court had encountered such situations before and was well-prepared, handling everything methodically.
In the sky, celestial maidens danced gracefully, drum and music sounds were pleasant to the ear, and their movements were enchanting—a scene of peace and prosperity under song and dance.
The divine official was polite and courteous to Qin Mu, smiling, "Mu Celestial, you haven't returned to the Heavenly Court for a long time. Are you still comfortable here? The Holy Emperor, worried that you might not eat or sleep well, has sent these women for your enjoyment. If you need anything else, please tell your humble servant. Though I cannot decide, I can report to the Holy Emperor, who will surely not neglect you."
Qin Mu looked at the palace maids and smiled, "There are already enough maids in the Jade Pool. Why add more?"
The divine official seemed not to understand, puzzled, "Maids in the Jade Pool? Where are there maids in the Jade Pool? The Holy Emperor, seeing the Jade Pool empty and without attendants, ordered me to bring some for the Celestial's use."
Qin Mu was stunned. Screams reached his ears, and he quickly turned around.
He saw the divine soldiers and officers who had come with the official seizing the Jade Pool's maids, locking them up, then beheading them, annihilating their souls, and scattering their spirits.
The soldiers worked swiftly, slaughtering all the maids, dragging their bodies onto boats, and ordering them shipped away.
In the sky, celestial maidens danced, and divine music played melodiously. The songs continued, the dances went on, as if the dancers and musicians couldn't see the rivers of blood below.
A chill surged through Qin Mu's heart. He turned back to look at the divine official beside him.
The official was all smiles, whispering, "Last night, they heard things they shouldn't have and saw things they shouldn't have, so they had to be dealt with. Celestial, don't take offense, and don't make things difficult for your humble servant. This is standard procedure."
Qin Mu fell silent.
What was terrifying wasn't the official's words, but the fact that it was standard procedure.
He looked at Qi Jiuyi and Yun Jianli. They showed no reaction, clearly accustomed to such things happening in the Heavenly Court. That was the most terrifying part.
"Reform and change must not only alter Dao techniques and divine powers but also change this terrible mindset. Changing only Dao techniques and divine powers without changing this mindset, even if we overthrow this rotten Heavenly Court, we'll only build another, even more rotten one!"
A sense of sorrow welled up in his heart.
From the Shang Huang era, which promoted the idea that human life is greater than heaven, to the Kai Huang era, which advocated that people are the foundation and gods serve them, to the Yan Kang era, which upheld the principle of breaking the gods within one's heart and that the sage's way lies in the daily use of the common people—generations had fought and bled for these ideals.
Yet these ideals had never reached the Heavenly Court!
Reform, if it only changed Dao techniques and divine powers, could never truly be called reform!
"What is the Celestial thinking?" the divine official asked with a smile.
"I'm thinking..."
Qin Mu's face was calm, but beneath the calm surface surged molten magma, like a volcano about to erupt: "I will sooner or later smash this rotten world to pieces."
The divine official was taken aback, then laughed, "The Celestial's thoughts are good, but the rolling tide of the world is unstoppable by anyone. Hurry up!"
He shouted to the divine soldiers, "Clean this place up! Don't delay the Celestial's rest!"
Soon after, the darkness shrouding the Jade Pool dispersed. The Jade Pool was renewed, vast as a sea. The divine turtles that had once carried the sacred mountains and islands had all died in that night's battle, but the Heavenly Court had somehow procured another batch of divine turtles from somewhere, along with sacred mountains and islands, letting them carry these through the Jade Sea once more.
Some celestial maidens were planting giant lotuses, which bloomed, and tiny women, flower spirits, lived in the kingdoms within the flowers. They sat by the sea, washing their feet and hair, playing zithers and singing—a breathtakingly beautiful scene.
The divine official bowed to Qin Mu and said, "Celestial, everything has been restored to its original state. Are you satisfied?"
—Second update has arrived! There will be a third update tonight!