Chapter 1,017: Seeing the Dragon in the Sky
Long Qilin untied the rope harness from his body and glanced sideways at Qin Mu. Qin Mu glared fiercely back at him, and Long Qilin quickly said, "Master, I never said you had to pull the carriage!"
Lang Wan, the Divine King, smiled and said, "Let's get off and fly over instead."
Qin Mu nodded and got off the carriage with her, leaving the six dragon deities behind. He said, "You guard this treasure carriage and wait for my return."
The six dragon deities acknowledged the order. Qin Mu led Lang Wan, Long Qilin, and Yan'er toward the Azure Dragon Heavenly Palace.
They walked across the sky, with rolling majestic mountains beneath their feet, clouds and mist entirely below them.
In the sky, there were dragon cities built by divine dragons, magnificent beyond compare. The cities were vast, with architecture so complex and beautiful that it left one in awe.
"Has Yan'er never been here before?" Qin Mu asked.
Yan'er shook her head, flying around curiously, taking in the scenery of the Eastern Extreme Heaven.
She was the daughter of the Southern Emperor Zhu Que and the Eastern Emperor Qing Long. In her childhood, the Southern Emperor had sent her to Moon Heavenly Venerable, where she developed a habit of liking to serve others, but she rarely went out.
Moon Heavenly Venerable lived in seclusion in the Peach Grove, and Yan'er could only stay within the Peach Grove on ordinary days. Only after Moon Heavenly Venerable gifted her to Qin Mu did she have the chance to go out and see the vast world.
She was very unfamiliar with her father, the Eastern Emperor Qing Long. The Eastern Emperor had never gone to see her and basically never interacted with her. The Southern Emperor Zhu Que also rarely visited her. Last time she went to the Heavenly Court, she finally got to spend a few days with the Southern Emperor Zhu Que.
"I wonder where the Spirit Treasure Mountain is."
Qin Mu looked around, trying to find the legendary Spirit Treasure Mountain.
He was quite curious about the Spirit Treasure Mountain. The first time he heard about it was from Zhe Huali, who said that in the Eastern Extreme Heaven there was a divine mountain called the Spirit Treasure Mountain, which was the Eastern Emperor Qing Long's tooth-grinding stone.
The Eastern Emperor Qing Long had vigorous vitality, and his dragon fangs grew very quickly. He needed to grind them often, so he used the Spirit Treasure Mountain to sharpen his teeth. The dragon fangs that broke off during grinding fell onto the Spirit Treasure Mountain and transformed into strange tooth-shaped lifeforms.
Many young people in the Heavenly Court who studied the blade would often go to the Spirit Treasure Mountain to search for treasure, trying to obtain a dragon fang blade. Zhe Huali's demon blade was also obtained from there.
That demon blade possessed miraculous qualities. Back when the Carefree Sword was still in Qin Mu's hands, the demon blade had clashed with the Carefree Sword many times. Even when it was chipped, the demon blade could quickly heal itself and return to its original state. It was truly wondrous.
Last time when Qin Mu was at the three rooms at the end of the Void Bridge in the Great Void Land, when he opened and closed the door, he inadvertently caught a glimpse of the Eastern Emperor Qing Long squinting his eyes while hugging a divine mountain to grind his teeth.
Both the Eastern Emperor Qing Long's dragon fangs and the Spirit Treasure Mountain were extraordinary treasures, which made him quite envious.
Especially the Spirit Treasure Mountain, which could grind off the Eastern Emperor's dragon fangs—its quality was likely far superior to the dragon fangs themselves. This made Qin Mu even more tempted!
Everywhere in the Eastern Extreme Heaven were magnificent towering mountains. Each divine mountain was extremely tall and majestic, and even in the Primordial Realm, they would be rare divine mountains.
The Heavenly River surged grandly, rushing from the starry sky into the Eastern Extreme Heaven, flowing past the Azure Dragon Heavenly Palace. Many divine dragons swam freely in the Heavenly River, and some fish-dragons leaped from the water, spitting out dragon pearls that vied with the sun and moon in the sky.
"That mountain should be the Spirit Treasure Mountain!"
Qin Mu saw behind the Azure Dragon Heavenly Palace a magnificent towering mountain that seemed like the king of all mountains, its height far surpassing the other divine mountains. But it wasn't a single peak—it had as many as nine peaks.
This mountain range actually radiated an aura of precious gems and treasures, magnificent beyond compare, no smaller than Mount Sumeru with its twenty layers of heavens!
"Is the Eastern Emperor Qing Long coiled there, hugging the Spirit Treasure Mountain to grind his teeth?"
Qin Mu imagined the scene of the Azure Dragon grinding his teeth and praised, "The Eastern Emperor's size is definitely not small!"
"Master, there are Heavenly Court people here!" Long Qilin said in a low voice, looking at the divine city ahead.
Qin Mu looked toward that divine city and felt a chill in his heart. The deities and demons in the city were not dragon-kind but the Heavenly Court's divine demon army, currently drilling with blades and practicing formations. They should be the army stationed here by the Heavenly Court.
However, this divine city was built on the palm of the divine artifact Imperial Heavenly Venerable—or rather, the divine artifact Imperial Heavenly Venerable was holding this divine city in its hand!
Qin Mu raised his gaze and examined that divine artifact Imperial Heavenly Venerable. Unlike the one in the Primordial Realm, this Imperial Heavenly Venerable had eight arms, sitting in the sky with its body motionless. Six arms were spread apart with palms open, each palm holding a divine city.
The divine city they had just seen was only one of them.
The two central arms of the Imperial Heavenly Venerable each formed a hand seal with their palms. The seals concealed profound mysteries, giving one a sense of boundless energy waiting to erupt!
And the direction these two hand seals pointed was precisely the Azure Dragon Heavenly Palace of the Eastern Extreme Heaven!
The Imperial Heavenly Venerable had four faces, with eyes closed, not yet open.
"The Eastern Emperor Qing Long probably won't be able to sleep peacefully. This divine artifact Imperial Heavenly Venerable is even larger than the Spirit Treasure Mountain. It's probably not smaller than the Eastern Emperor's body, and its power is even harder to gauge."
Qin Mu looked at the Imperial Heavenly Venerable and thought to himself, "I don't know which Heavenly Venerable controls this divine artifact, but if it suddenly launched an attack, the Eastern Emperor would be doomed!"
Many idle deities, demons, and practitioners flew out from the six divine cities, often carrying blade cases or long blades on their backs, flying toward the Spirit Treasure Mountain. They were probably demigods planning to search for treasure there.
Just then, a demigod with a booming voice shouted loudly, "The Eastern Emperor is grinding his teeth again! Hurry up and go pick up the treasure!"
From the six divine cities, thousands of deities, demons, and practitioners whooshed out, crowding together and gathering like clouds. It was very lively.
Qin Mu heard this and felt quite envious, thinking to himself, "Dragon fang blades are the cream of the crop among blades. In today's world, it's truly hard to find a better divine blade. If I could refine it with the Yan Kang microscopic casting technique, the power of such a divine blade would be absolutely astonishing! Unfortunately, I'm a Heavenly Venerable. I can't lower myself to go treasure hunting..."
He was truly conflicted inside. He really wanted to run over and pick up dragon fangs, but he couldn't bear the loss of face. If the Eastern Emperor found out, he would definitely mock him.
"Saint Infant, this Eastern Extreme Heaven isn't the Ancestral Court either, so I won't go to the Azure Dragon Heavenly Palace."
Lang Wan, the Divine King, had a flicker in her eyes as she gazed at the divine artifact Imperial Heavenly Venerable. She said, "In the Primordial Realm, I had no time to examine this divine artifact, but here, I want to inspect it carefully and study whether this divine artifact has any weaknesses."
Qin Mu nodded: "It's good that Divine King Sister isn't going to see the Eastern Emperor. If he discovered you're a Creator, he'd definitely stir up trouble again. My friendship with Lord Tu Bo runs deep, but I don't have much connection with the Eastern Emperor. The reason he helped me in the Heavenly Court was mainly because of my identity as the Ten-Thousand-Kalpa Indestructible Great Mage."
Lang Wan, the Divine King, departed and walked into a divine city in the palm of the Imperial Heavenly Venerable.
Qin Mu continued forward with Long Qilin and Yan'er. Yan'er was a bit nervous, and Long Qilin quickly asked why. Yan'er said dejectedly, "Although I've seen him before, I've never spoken with him. Most likely he doesn't even know I'm his daughter."
Long Qilin laughed and said, "The Eastern Emperor not acknowledging you probably has its reasons. It's likely because he's worried your identity would bring you danger."
Yan'er's mood improved slightly.
Before they even reached the Azure Dragon Heavenly Palace, suddenly an incredibly massive Azure Dragon lowered its head from the sky. Its body, stretching who knows how many tens of thousands of miles, slithered and swam into the Spirit Treasure Mountain.
The enormous dragon body coiled around the mountain peaks. Two dragon claws gripped a divine mountain, and it opened its mouth, hugging the mountain to grind its teeth. Lightning and thunder crackled from its fanged mouth, and flames burst forth.
Qin Mu, Long Qilin, and Yan'er stared with mouths agape, unable to speak for a long while.
"It broke! It broke!"
Many deities, demons, and practitioners had already flown to the Spirit Treasure Mountain but dared not approach. They watched from afar as one of the dragon fangs in the divine dragon's mouth was ground off. The enormous dragon fang fell from the sky and crashed into the mountain.
As the dragon fang fell, it grew smaller and smaller. Then the dragon fang grew eyes, and blade aura emanated from it. It rode the blade light, darting through the mountains like light and lightning.
Clanging sounds came from the mountains—it was the dragon fang transforming into a demonic lifeform. Because the Spirit Treasure Mountain had separated it from the Eastern Emperor, it was filled with resentment and kept slashing at the Spirit Treasure Mountain, sending sparks flying from the mountain range.
Those deities, demons, and practitioners had shining eyes, staring at the flying dragon fang, eager to try.
Someone couldn't resist and flew forward. Before they even got close, a monster born from dragon blood in the mountain grabbed the person and swallowed them in one gulp.
Qin Mu watched from afar and saw that because the Eastern Emperor Qing Long was grinding his teeth, the corner of his mouth had been scraped raw. Dragon blood fell into the mountain and transformed into demons and monsters. So obtaining a dragon fang was not easy.
"The Eastern Emperor's vitality is truly too strong. Anything that falls off his body will transform into a demonic creature with a life of its own!"
Qin Mu couldn't help but marvel, but his gaze fell on the nine peaks of the Spirit Treasure Mountain. He thought to himself, "But the Spirit Treasure Mountain is even stronger! If I could carry this mountain away and refine it into a treasure, that would truly be the number one divine artifact!"
The Azure Dragon had its eyes closed, carefully grinding its overgrown dragon fangs. Suddenly, Qin Mu's divine consciousness flew over, and he laughed, "Eastern Emperor, Qin Mu has come to visit."
The Eastern Emperor Qing Long was startled. He quickly opened his eyes and followed Qin Mu's divine consciousness to look. When he saw Qin Mu, he felt somewhat embarrassed. His body rose into the air and flew toward the Azure Dragon Heavenly Palace.
His form grew smaller and smaller until it disappeared into the heavenly palace. His voice carried into Qin Mu's ears as he laughed, "The Great Mage comes to visit without giving advance notice, making me look foolish in front of the Great Mage. Great Mage, wait a moment—I'll lead everyone out to welcome you!"
"I'm here on a private visit. No need for ceremony."
Qin Mu's divine consciousness followed him and transmitted the message: "Your Eastern Extreme Heaven is full of Heavenly Court spies. It's better if you and I meet quietly, without drawing attention."
The Eastern Emperor Qing Long flew into the Azure Dragon Heavenly Palace, and Qin Mu also walked toward it. After a moment, he arrived before the heavenly palace. There was also a Southern Heaven Gate here, but the Heavenly River didn't pass through it—it flowed alongside instead.
The divine dragons that had been playing in the Heavenly River surfaced, lying on the bank, curiously watching Qin Mu and the others approach.
On the bank, there was also a man in green robes with long, refined eyebrows and a beautiful beard like dragon whiskers, looking very elegant. He came forward with a smile and said, "Didn't Mu Heavenly Venerable come riding the Heavenly Dragon Treasure Carriage? Why is the carriage nowhere to be seen, and you've walked over instead?"
"Greetings, Eastern Emperor."
Qin Mu paid his respects and laughed, saying, "The Eastern Emperor is the ancestor of all dragons. If I used the Eastern Emperor's bloodline as my mount to enter the Eastern Extreme Heaven, wouldn't that be offending you?"
That man in green robes was none other than the transformed Eastern Emperor Qing Long. He burst into laughter upon hearing this and extended his hand in invitation, saying, "The Great Mage is too serious. The Ten Heavenly Venerables gave you that carriage to make you offend all the ancient gods. How could I not know their malicious intentions? Even if the Great Mage rode the carriage here, I wouldn't mind in the slightest. Please—"
Qin Mu walked side by side with him into the Azure Dragon Heavenly Palace, saying, "This is Yan'er, the princess of the Southern Emperor's household."
The Eastern Emperor glanced at Yan'er. Yan'er showed a look of expectation, but to her disappointment, the Eastern Emperor's gaze didn't linger—it moved away from her.
Qin Mu was puzzled. Then, he quickly understood.
"Father God." The dragon deity guarding the Southern Heaven Gate bowed to the Eastern Emperor.
"Father God!"
"Father God!"
As the Eastern Emperor walked into the Azure Dragon Heavenly Palace, all the dragon deities of various sizes he encountered bowed to him, calling him Father God. This Eastern Emperor's number of offspring was simply outrageous!
Perhaps the Eastern Emperor couldn't even remember that he had a daughter with the Southern Emperor Zhu Que!
"Could it be that all the deities in this entire Azure Dragon Heavenly Palace are his descendants?"
Qin Mu felt dizzy. The Azure Dragon Heavenly Palace had at least a million divine dragons, not to mention an entire army of dragon deities!
If all these dragon deities were the Eastern Emperor's children and descendants, then this ancient god great emperor was far too... prolific!
He couldn't help but grumble inwardly, though he didn't say it out loud. Instead, he laughed and said, "The Eastern Emperor's heavenly palace can be said to be as solid as gold. The Heavenly Court can infiltrate the Eastern Extreme Heaven, but it cannot infiltrate this place."
The Eastern Emperor, however, didn't seem very happy. He shook his head and said, "Great Mage, even the son of Lord Tu Bo betrayed him and wished to replace him. Although I have many offspring, that doesn't mean I have no worries. In this heavenly palace of mine, there are quite a few Azure Dragon Crown Princes who wish to take my place. Every family has its own difficult problems."
Qin Mu stopped walking and asked, "May I ask who controls that divine artifact Imperial Heavenly Venerable in the Eastern Extreme Heaven?"
"Four heads, eight arms—that's Lang Xuan, the Divine Emperor."
The Eastern Emperor said, "The first demigod in the world, considered to be in the same faction as Hao Heavenly Venerable."
"How much does the Eastern Emperor know about Lang Xuan, the Divine Emperor?"
Qin Mu's eyes flickered as he asked, "Which two ancient gods are his parents?"
The Eastern Emperor said with surprise, "Who said both his parents are ancient gods? His father is an ancient god, but his mother is not."