Chapter 942: The Imprint of Fire Heavenly Venerate
Ahead lay the Creator's palace, an exceedingly magnificent complex of buildings. Gazing into the distance, the first thing to catch the eye was the towering city wall, like a sheer cliff face stretching across their path, extremely steep, perfectly smooth, with no trace of any brick or stone joints.
Before they even drew near, they could feel the awe-inspiring presence emanating from this wall.
The wall's surface was as smooth as a mirror, so reflective that standing before it, they could even see themselves and the vast landscape stretching behind them!
The buildings within the city were even taller, rising higher than the wall itself. Through the wall, they could glimpse those lofty, majestic palaces, towers, and defensive structures like arrow towers.
Qin Mu and Luo Wushuang arrived outside the city, studying the towering architecture.
The Creators' city was far too immense; they were but insignificant little figures.
Forging the wall's surface to such smoothness was nearly impossible. Even the craftsmen of the Heavenly Court and Yankang possessed no such astonishing skill.
Artisans could polish a surface to such a mirror-like finish, but constructing a city wall on this colossal scale while maintaining such flawless flatness was simply unattainable.
No matter how precise the mathematical calculations, there would always be minute imperfections during the forging process. Yet this wall had none!
The Creators' city wall could only be achieved through visualization; it could not be forged.
"Why are there no decorations on these buildings?"
Luo Wushuang looked into the distance, noticing that both the wall and the structures within the city were completely blank, devoid of any ornamentation. He couldn't help but wonder, "All these white walls, green tiles, and red bricks—it's far too monotonous."
Qin Mu explained, "That's just the nature of the Creators. Besides, the Creators are still quite primitive. Their society exists somewhere between tribes and a nation, lacking much in the way of art. They're essentially a group of savages."
A furious voice echoed in his mind from Shu Jun: "You're the savage! You bumpkins are all savages! We are Creators, omnipotent Creators who brought forth everything in this world. To us, you are the bumpkins!"
Qin Mu walked towards the city, chuckling, "The lives of these Creators are also quite monotonous. When tribes war with each other, a bunch of people in leather shorts charge at each other, swinging big bone clubs at their enemies' heads."
Shu Jun's voice trembled with rage: "You little brat, stop slandering us..."
"After they learned visualization and became Creators, they would even visualize beautiful women for pleasure," Qin Mu continued.
Luo Wushuang couldn't help but sigh, "Truly primitive people."
Shu Jun was hopping mad.
Suddenly, Qin Mu stopped in his tracks. Luo Wushuang was puzzled and looked at him questioningly.
"No, this isn't right!"
Qin Mu looked up, studying the city wall with a perplexed expression, murmuring, "This is the world the Creators created. They created everything here. In this place, they have no enemies. So why did they build a city? Why construct such a high wall? What could make the Creators, who created this world, so afraid of the outside..."
Luo Wushuang also grasped the key point. City walls were for defense. The Creators built such a wall, naturally, to keep something outside from breaking in!
So, what were they worried about?
They were the creators of the Taixu. What could possibly frighten them?
"This wall is very clean. There are no signs of battle on it."
Luo Wushuang said, "I think you might be overthinking it. Maybe they built the wall just because it looked nice. Or perhaps they were very narcissistic and wanted a mirror to look at themselves all the time."
Qin Mu shook his head. He drew his sword and gently scraped it against the wall. A sword mark appeared, but it quickly vanished, and the wall returned to its smooth, mirror-like state.
Luo Wushuang's heart skipped a beat. His expression turned serious as he said, "This wall reminds me of a certain Heavenly Venerate. I've heard she created the technique of the Indestructibility of Matter."
"This isn't the Indestructibility of Matter technique; it's Creation through Divine Consciousness, which is visualization."
Qin Mu said, "This city is enveloped in the Creators' divine consciousness, making the buildings indestructible. Even if they are shattered, they will reassemble. Also, consider the arrow towers. The Creators' combat style is extremely wild and untamed; they rarely use things like arrow towers. Furthermore, the reason the houses and palaces here are so tall is more likely for looking into the distance, to observe if an enemy is approaching."
A look of confusion crossed his face. This was a world the Creators had made for themselves. Would they create powerful enemies for themselves?
If so, where did the enemies come from?
Were they the invaders from the Heavenly Court?
Or did the Taixu truly harbor some terrifying monsters?
He recalled the scene he had witnessed in the Corpse Walker's divine consciousness and felt a stir in his heart. "Could it be that Creator who caused the Taixu's perilous state?"
Luo Wushuang drew the Wooden Core from between his brows, his primordial spirit leaving his body and soaring into the air. He peered into the city, surveying it.
"There's no one in the city... Fire Heavenly Venerate!"
He quickly withdrew his primordial spirit, a mixture of surprise and joy on his face. He reinserted the Wooden Core into his brow and said rapidly, "I saw Fire Heavenly Venerate!"
"Fire Heavenly Venerate!"
The two exchanged a glance, then immediately leaped into the air, slowly descending into the city.
Luo Wushuang hurried forward. Ahead, divine fire blazed fiercely, melting the void itself. A figure stood within the divine fire, his form blurry due to the warped space.
However, judging by the ring of fire behind his head, he was indeed the Heavenly Court's Fire Heavenly Venerate!
Luo Wushuang arrived behind Fire Heavenly Venerate, knelt on one knee, and clasped his hands above his head. "Luo Wushuang of the Lingxiu Army pays respects to Fire Heavenly Venerate! Fire Heavenly Venerate, Mu Heavenly Venerate and I have come to rendezvous with you!"
Qin Mu walked past him, heading straight forward. "Luo Divine Blade, that's not Fire Heavenly Venerate. It's a void imprint left by Fire Heavenly Venerate."
Luo Wushuang was taken aback. He stood up and followed Qin Mu to stand before Fire Heavenly Venerate's back. Upon closer inspection, he could make out the Dao runes that formed this phantom, though they were extremely tiny.
This Fire Heavenly Venerate was indeed his Dao imprint!
Fire Heavenly Venerate was incredibly powerful. He had fought someone here, and his terrifyingly immense cultivation base and Dao had imprinted his figure into the void of this city, impossible to erase!
Fire Heavenly Venerate must have encountered an unprecedented, formidable foe here, forcing him to push his techniques and divine abilities to their absolute limit. His Dao runes were so strong that they were imprinted into the void, forming his silhouette.
Even after he left, the phantom did not disappear.
Qin Mu followed Fire Heavenly Venerate's gaze forward, pondered for a moment, and then walked to the spot opposite Fire Heavenly Venerate. He stood with his feet neither too close nor too far apart. "His opponent stood right here. Strange. Fire Heavenly Venerate is this strong, so his opponent must have been no slouch either, definitely on the level of a Heavenly Venerate. But why didn't his opponent leave behind a phantom imprint?"
Luo Wushuang said, "Qin Overlord Body, you underestimate the Heavenly Venerates. Among the Heavenly Venerates, except for you, who isn't so powerful that they can't find a worthy opponent? Fire Heavenly Venerate's opponent naturally wasn't as strong as him and couldn't leave an imprint."
Qin Mu shook his head. "If his opponent wasn't strong enough, why would Fire Heavenly Venerate be so on guard, to the point of pushing his cultivation and strength to the absolute peak?"
Luo Wushuang was stunned. That was a valid point.
But if Fire Heavenly Venerate was this powerful, where in the world could one find someone capable of matching a Heavenly Venerate like him?
Unless...
A terrifying thought crossed his mind. Unless it was Void Heavenly Venerate, who had traveled with Fire Heavenly Venerate!
Void Heavenly Venerate had fought Fire Heavenly Venerate here, forcing him to unleash his full power, thus leaving behind this Dao imprint!
"Furthermore, Fire Heavenly Venerate was injured."
Qin Mu pointed at the imprint of Fire Heavenly Venerate. Luo Wushuang followed his finger and was greatly shocked.
The Dao runes at the heart of Fire Heavenly Venerate's imprint were extremely blurry. It was clear that Fire Heavenly Venerate's enemy had struck him there, causing an injury, which resulted in the missing part of the imprint at that spot.
Fire Heavenly Venerate was indeed injured!
But could anyone truly injure a Heavenly Venerate?
"Could it really be that Void Heavenly Venerate attacked Fire Heavenly Venerate?"
Just as Luo Wushuang was about to step closer for a better look, Qin Mu quickly grabbed him and shook his head. "If this were a complete set of Dao rune imprints, it would be stable and wouldn't easily erupt. However, since the runes at his chest are missing, this imprint is unstable. If you touch it, it will most likely explode, and we'll both be burned to ashes!"
Luo Wushuang immediately stopped, turning his head to look at Qin Mu. "You know a lot."
"I am a Heavenly Venerate, and an Overlord Body, so of course I know a lot."
Qin Mu smiled, carefully examining the wound on Fire Heavenly Venerate's imprint. Suddenly, a thought struck him. "Is Void Heavenly Venerate's weapon a sword?"
Luo Wushuang shook his head. "Void Heavenly Venerate's greatest strength lies in his divine abilities. He rarely uses divine weapons."
"That's strange. Who used a sword to wound Fire Heavenly Venerate..."
Qin Mu inquired, "Among the Heavenly Venerates of the Heavenly Court, whose swordsmanship is the highest?"
Luo Wushuang glanced at him.
Qin Mu said helplessly, "Besides me, whose swordsmanship is the highest?"
Luo Wushuang shook his head. "I haven't heard of any Heavenly Venerate whose swordsmanship is unparalleled. Each Heavenly Venerate has their own strengths. Swordsmanship is a post-heaven Dao created by later-born beings. Why would a Heavenly Venerate care about it? Heavenly Venerates pursue the pre-heaven Dao. Only those who haven't made the cut, like me, would pursue post-heaven Dao like the sword or the blade."
Qin Mu was stunned. A thought suddenly flashed through his mind, and he murmured, "Perhaps that Heavenly Venerate could... Is he here? Is he really here..."
Luo Wushuang didn't know who he was talking about and was inwardly puzzled.
But Qin Mu suddenly became excited.
The only person in history to have cultivated the Sword Dao to the Thirty-Third Heaven, the first person to reach the pinnacle of the sword.
He was not among the Ten Heavenly Venerates, yet he bore the title of Heavenly Venerate. He was one of the five founding elders of the Heavenly Alliance.
Heavenly Venerate Qin, Qin Ye, who had once traveled through the Dragon Han Era with him, the Kai Emperor who had used the alias Qin Kai!
"Was it the Kai Emperor who fought Fire Heavenly Venerate?"
Qin Mu suppressed his excitement. If this person was the Kai Emperor, then Carefree Realm should also be within the Taixu!
"If Carefree Realm is in the Taixu, then my brother should be there too! If I can make contact with my brother, then I can find Carefree Realm!"
He immediately tried to establish a connection with Qin Fengqing, but he couldn't sense him at all.
Qin Mu frowned slightly. He glanced at Luo Wushuang beside him and suddenly smiled. "Luo Divine Blade, are you interested in making a Little Earth Lord Pact?"
Luo Wushuang didn't understand his meaning.
Qin Mu laughed. "You and I will duel, your blade art against my sword art, your blade Dao against my sword Dao. No cultivation base, just these two skills. If I lose, I'll let you do with me as you please. If you lose, you betray the Heavenly Court and defect to Yankang."
Luo Wushuang tested the waters. "No cultivation base or divine power, just comparing sword and blade techniques, sword and blade Dao? You'll lose badly. I've already cultivated the Blade Dao to the Thirteenth Heaven, about to step into the Fourteenth. You're still at the Third Heaven of the Sword Dao, right?"
Qin Mu smiled. "Do we have a bet or not?"
Luo Wushuang shook his head. "No bet. I'd rather we fight at the same cultivation level, giving you the advantage in cultivation, than take advantage of you."
Qin Mu frowned. "Stubborn."
Luo Wushuang's persistence was something he had to admire.
"Fire Heavenly Venerate bled!"
Luo Wushuang went behind Fire Heavenly Venerate's imprint and looked at the city wall. At the corner of the wall was a single drop of burning blood, its flames churning.
Within the flames, a streak of sword light hovered above the blood.
Qin Mu came to his side and examined it closely. This was the divine blood of a Heavenly Venerate, containing a Heavenly Venerate's divine ability.
The power within the blood and the sword was contained but not released, yet both of them felt an inexplicable terror.
"Don't touch it, whatever you do. Touching it would break the balance. If the power within this drop of Heavenly Venerate's divine blood were to erupt, it would probably destroy everything here!"
Luo Wushuang drew a cold breath, slowly backing away, and whispered, "Even if my injuries were healed and I returned to my peak state, I wouldn't be able to escape in time!"
Qin Mu was also backing away, careful not to release any aura that might break the balance of the divine ability within the blood.
This drop of divine blood was far too dangerous. And what was even more terrifying was that if the blood erupted, it would inevitably trigger Fire Heavenly Venerate's imprint, which would also be activated!
Just then, two beams of light suddenly flew over the high city wall, dancing like colorful butterflies above the city. It was two women locked in a life-or-death struggle!
"You little slut! You stole my man and killed me, then took my identity to act!"
"You're the slut! You've always wanted to harm me, did you think I didn't know? You've been hiding for so long, I long ago guessed you were among the Ten Heavenly Venerates. Today, I'll tear off your skin and reveal your true form!"
Qin Mu and Luo Wushuang were stunned. They looked up at the two streaks of light. Suddenly, the light separated, and Yun Chu Xiu and Lian Hua Hun stood on two tall towers, one on the left and one on the right, their robes fluttering. Both women were breathtakingly beautiful.
"You allowed your son Hao to kill my son Qi, did you think I wouldn't know?"
"You kept that pretty boy Yu Heavenly Venerate as your lover, colluding with Yu Heavenly Venerate to scheme for the position of Heavenly Emperor, did you think I wouldn't know?"
"Bitch!" Both women shouted in unison, then immediately clashed again.