Chapter 952: Grand Emperor, Please Die
If the third seal were broken, the next moment the Grand Emperor's divine consciousness would rush into Qin Mu's Lingtai Divine Treasury, shattering his divine consciousness, erasing his awareness, and turning Qin Mu into another him!
The Celestial Origin Three Struggles taught by Shu Jun was almost instantly shattered when faced with the Grand Emperor's divine consciousness. The strength of the Grand Emperor's divine consciousness exceeded everyone's expectations.
Yue Tingge and Luo Wushuang were extremely tense, looking up. They saw the Grand Emperor's figure battling the Heavenly Emperor's seals. In the end, the Grand Emperor's phantom proved superior, shattering the final seal of the Celestial Origin Three Struggles.
The Celestial Origin Three Struggles taught by Shu Jun was different from the version Qin Mu had improved. After Qin Mu's modifications, the final level of the Celestial Origin Three Struggles featured the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor, which was far more powerful than the traditional version. Yet it was easily broken by the Grand Emperor's divine consciousness.
However, after passing through three layers of seals, this phantom formed from the Grand Emperor's divine consciousness had also weakened considerably.
Yue Tingge looked up toward the heavens and saw the Grand Emperor's phantom drawing closer and closer, pressing down on the starry sky of Qin Mu's Lingtai Divine Treasury until it trembled like the surface of water.
Yue Tingge and Luo Wushuang's divine consciousness and primordial qi surged in continuously, causing their bodies to grow larger and larger.
Whoosh—
Their primordial spirits descended first, arriving in Qin Mu's divine treasury and landing on the Taiji Diagram, merging with their previous incarnations.
One of them was at the complete Imperial Throne realm, the other at the Lingxiao realm. With their primordial spirits personally present, they were naturally far superior to Qin Mu's primordial spirit.
Compared to them, Qin Mu's Lingtai appeared extremely small and insignificant.
Beyond the heavens, the Grand Emperor's phantom descended, invading the Lingtai Divine Treasury. His enormous face looked down, curious about Qin Mu's divine treasury.
"A dead man, and yet you dare to stir up trouble?"
Yue Tingge roared. Behind his primordial spirit, his primordial qi transformed into a heavenly palace, vast and majestic. His primordial spirit ascended through the heavens and charged straight at the Grand Emperor's phantom.
At the same time, Luo Wushuang raised her blade with one hand and soared into the sky, slashing at the Grand Emperor.
Although neither of them was a master of divine consciousness, their cultivation levels were there. Even though their divine consciousness was not as strong as the Grand Emperor's, they were confident they could fight.
The moment they charged upward, the Grand Emperor's divine consciousness surged forth like a mighty flood. Wherever it passed, their divine consciousness instantly crumbled, utterly defenseless!
With their divine consciousness shattered, their divine abilities also spiraled out of control. Their primordial qi became chaotic, and their primordial spirits fell from the sky, their hearts filled with shock.
"Primordial spirit close combat!" Yue Tingge shouted.
Luo Wushuang understood. Since divine abilities couldn't withstand the Grand Emperor's phantom, the only option was for their primordial spirits to engage in close-quarters combat. Only then might they be able to eliminate the Grand Emperor's phantom.
However, in battle, the primordial spirit's role had always been to unleash divine abilities from a distance to obliterate opponents. Close combat with the primordial spirit was a major taboo.
After all, the primordial spirit was not a physical body but an energy body forged from the Lingtai and soul. If it were slain by the enemy, the cultivator would be utterly destroyed, body and soul!
Yet the current situation left them with no better ideas. Only primordial spirit close combat could possibly defeat the Grand Emperor's phantom.
The Grand Emperor's phantom was formed from divine consciousness and likewise had no physical body. His divine consciousness lacked primordial qi, so his divine abilities were not powerful, nor did he have the sharpness of divine weapons. He couldn't cause too much damage to the primordial spirit.
The Grand Emperor's figure swooped down. Yue Tingge and Luo Wushuang's primordial spirits charged forward, ready to strike. Suddenly, dragon roars and tiger howls rang out. Vicious, ferocious flood dragons flew out from within the Grand Emperor's body, charging at the two!
"Is this what Mu Tianzun calls visualization divine abilities? Divine abilities formed by visualizing with divine consciousness?"
Luo Wushuang and Yue Tingge's hearts shook violently. This method of constructing divine abilities was completely different from their own cultivation system. It was an entirely different cultivation system!
Nowadays, most divine abilities were based on runes. Cultivators learned various runes, used primordial qi to form runic patterns, and many runes together constructed different forms of divine abilities.
As early as the early Dragon Han Era, cultivators had studied the Ancient Gods and demigods, examining the runes on their bodies, comprehending their meanings, and organizing them into various rune systems.
For example, the Four Spirits divine abilities originated from the four innate Ancient Gods—Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise. The Netherworld divine abilities came from Tu Bo, and the Celestial Capital divine abilities came from Tian Gong. There were also the Earth Mother Primordial Sovereign's divine ability system, the Zhou Tian Star Lords' divine ability system, and so on.
This cultivation method had persisted for a million years.
—The only things not within the rune system were the acquired great daos, such as the Sword Dao, Blade Dao, Painting Dao, Martial Dao, and Music Dao. These were acquired creations and had no runes.
But the divine abilities displayed by the Grand Emperor's phantom leaped out of this system entirely. They belonged to the visualization divine consciousness system, visualizing powerful beings like dragons and phoenixes, demons and gods, to aid in battle!
Although Luo Wushuang and Yue Tingge had seen Qin Mu visualize fine wine, delicacies, beautiful women, and even a divine dragon along the way, Qin Mu had never used visualization in combat.
Now, witnessing this fighting style firsthand, they finally felt the shock.
The divine dragons visualized by the Grand Emperor's phantom were countless times stronger than the one Qin Mu had visualized. They possessed physical bodies, and their physical strength was comparable to that of a Jade Capital realm expert. They fought fiercely against the two, utterly fearless.
For a time, the sky was filled with endless dragon roars and howls!
Luo Wushuang and Yue Tingge were powerful, slaughtering the horde of dragons. Dragon heads and bodies kept falling from the sky, crashing into the Taiji Diagram. But the next moment, the dragon corpses would disappear one after another, transforming into a torrent of divine consciousness that surged back into the sky, once again forming divine dragons that charged at the two.
They couldn't kill them all. Their hearts grew anxious. The Grand Emperor's phantom's divine consciousness was too strong. In this situation, they would likely be worn down to death here, unable to stop the Grand Emperor's phantom at all!
The Grand Emperor's phantom split off a portion of his divine consciousness to block them, shrinking slightly as he continued walking toward Qin Mu. Just then, an altar appeared in the sky, blocking his path. On the altar, a massive head opened its eyes, its empty, hollow mouth opening and closing as it laughed heartily: "Grand Emperor! Long time no see!"
The swooping Grand Emperor's phantom halted immediately, his gaze falling on the incomplete head. He said in surprise, "Shu Jun, one of the Three Kings of Antiquity? You're still alive?"
"That's right! Your old man is alive!"
Divine consciousness surged from Shu Jun's massive head, transforming into a towering creator god with his own head tucked under his arm. He grinned fiercely: "Didn't expect that, did you? I actually managed to survive that battle! Grand Emperor, I'm here! Get lost!"
The Grand Emperor's phantom snorted coldly and said calmly, "You're nothing but my defeated opponent. What right do you have to speak of courage?"
"Pah!"
Shu Jun sneered: "Grand Emperor, back then, if you hadn't gathered the people of the world to visualize you together, could you have defeated the Three Kings and claimed the title of Emperor? Don't leave today! I'll fight you for three hundred rounds!"
The Grand Emperor's phantom chuckled lightly: "Your body is now broken, your divine consciousness not yet recovered. Fighting you won't require three hundred rounds."
His body shifted, splitting in two. One Grand Emperor phantom met Shu Jun, while the other walked toward Qin Mu.
Shu Jun was furious: "Looking down on me? Let me show you my Three Enclosures Supreme Consciousness!"
His divine consciousness exploded forth. The Ziwei Enclosure, Taiwei Enclosure, and Tianshi Enclosure manifested, along with countless star demons and gods. Starlight surged, forming a void storm. At the storm's center, countless towering demons and gods charged out, their forms nearly identical to those of Ancient Gods, wielding swords, spears, halberds, and blades as they rushed at the Grand Emperor's phantom.
"The Three Enclosures Supreme Consciousness is nothing special. Can it compare to my Great Luo Supreme Divine Consciousness?"
The Grand Emperor's phantom laughed heartily and also visualized various divine creatures. The two sides clashed fiercely.
Shu Jun roared like thunder. His massive head flew up, charging at that Grand Emperor phantom. The Grand Emperor was unafraid, colliding with him in close combat, causing heaven and earth to shatter within Qin Mu's Lingtai Divine Treasury!
The other Grand Emperor phantom lightly tapped his foot and landed in front of Qin Mu's Lingtai, looking at him curiously.
Qin Mu also studied this legendary existence with curiosity. The "Grand" in Grand Emperor meant ancient, beginning, origin. Grand Emperor meant the most ancient and original Heavenly Emperor.
Such an existence could not help but pique his curiosity.
"Dragon Han Invincible Body, we finally meet." The Grand Emperor's phantom smiled.
Qin Mu's heart stirred. He said, "Grand Emperor knows of me?"
"In the early Dragon Han Era, you were enfeoffed as Mu Tianzun at the Jade Pool Banquet. I was there too, but I was attending the Heavenly Court's banquet, the feast hosted by His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor."
The Grand Emperor's phantom smiled: "By the time I heard of Mu Tianzun's name, you had already left the Dragon Han Heavenly Court. It's a pity we never met."
Qin Mu chuckled: "I traveled back to the early Dragon Han Era and met many existences who would later become famous throughout the world, but there were also many I never encountered. So, Grand Emperor, you intend to seize my body?"
The Grand Emperor's phantom shook his head: "Not seize. Borrow life."
Qin Mu asked curiously, "What is 'borrow life'? What's the difference between borrowing life and seizing a body?"
"The difference is huge."
The Grand Emperor's phantom said frankly: "Seizing a body means devouring your soul and using my soul to occupy your physical form. Borrowing life, on the other hand, has nothing to do with the soul. It's a level above seizing a body. The soul is extremely important to you, but to us, what sustains life is not the soul but divine consciousness. Divine consciousness is the foundation of life."
He smiled gently: "I use my own powerful divine consciousness to erase your divine consciousness, but your soul remains. Strictly speaking, after borrowing life, only your consciousness dies. You, as a person, including your soul, do not die. Consider it a small consolation."
Qin Mu's eyes flickered. He smiled: "Well said, well said. To be able to go through fire and water for Your Majesty and offer my body, I am deeply honored. But how did Your Majesty end up in your current state?"
The Grand Emperor's phantom's expression shifted slightly. He shook his head and smiled: "Telling you wouldn't hurt, but not telling you saves more trouble."
He stepped forward and said, "It's time for you to sleep."
His form suddenly transformed into a surging torrent of divine consciousness, hurtling toward Qin Mu's brow like a wisp of smoke, trying to burrow into Qin Mu's Lingtai body!
Suddenly, the sky became incredibly bright. Countless stars shone, converging into a pillar of light that fell from the heavens, landing in front of Qin Mu. It transformed into a Tian Gong with white eyebrows and a white beard, who raised his hand to block the torrent of divine consciousness from the Grand Emperor's phantom.
Shua, shua, shua—countless beams of light fell. One by one, the Star Lords rose slowly from the Taiji Diagram, trapping the torrent of divine consciousness.
That torrent of divine consciousness condensed once more, reforming into the Grand Emperor's phantom. His expression grew serious as he looked around.
At the same time, beneath his feet, he saw Tu Bo on the reverse side of the Taiji Diagram.
Whether it was Tian Gong or Tu Bo, even these Star Lords—all of them bore Qin Mu's face!
The Grand Emperor's phantom's eyelids twitched. He laughed: "Mu Tianzun, are you trying to reenact the scene from back then when the Ancient Gods besieged us ancient creators? Quite the formation. But it seems your formation is missing quite a few Ancient Gods."
"Is Your Majesty looking for Earth Mother, Tian Yin, and the Ancient Gods of the Four Directions and Four Emperors?"
Qin Mu smiled faintly. Behind him, a Primordial Tree took root and sprouted, growing into a towering tree in an instant. As the Primordial Tree grew, a woman emerged from within the tree, also bearing Qin Mu's face—male features on a female body.
At the same time, a goddess appeared from within the shadow of Tian Gong Qin Mu, also female-bodied with a male face.
Then, the Four Emperors—Vermilion Bird, Black Tortoise, Azure Dragon, and White Tiger—walked from the four cardinal directions of the Taiji Diagram, all of them wearing Qin Mu's face.
The Grand Emperor's phantom's expression shifted slightly. He smiled: "It seems Shu Jun taught you his Three Enclosures Supreme Consciousness, and you merged it with the rune dao. That's how you managed this. Unfortunately, you've never seen the Blood Rust Zone campaign. You're missing the two goddesses of Guixu, and you're also missing the Heavenly Emperor. You can't do anything to me."
Qin Mu smiled gently: "In the world of my self-created Lingtai Divine Treasury, I am the Heavenly Emperor here."
He gave a slight shake, and his body swelled up section by section. His soul merged with his Lingtai, and his primordial spirit expanded vastly. His voice boomed like thunder: "Since I've invited you into the urn, how could I not invest a little capital?"
His primordial spirit transformed into the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor, but his face remained his own. He roared: "Grand Emperor, please die!"
Above and below the Taiji Diagram, Tian Gong, Tu Bo, Earth Mother, Tian Yin, the Four Emperors of the Four Directions, and even the Zhou Tian Star Lords—all attacked the Grand Emperor's phantom simultaneously!
—The Grand Emperor is unhappy. You always call him Teddy. The meaning of Grand Emperor is actually Heavenly Emperor. The Grand Emperor is very unhappy. The Grand Emperor demands monthly votes to be appeased~~