Chapter 1035: Two Thieves, One Constable
The Pixing Hall hung high above the ninth heaven of the Dao Fire. This great hall was covered in layer upon layer of talisman seals, and even having crossed through to the Antarctic Forbidden Zone, it remained completely unaffected by the sacred flames of this place.
It was a bronze great hall, extremely ancient, having weathered a million years of time. It exuded an air of antiquity, yet was also extremely solemn.
The seventy-two Treasure Halls of the Heavenly Court were likewise seventy-two treasures of astonishing power. This great hall hanging overhead gave Qin Mu a deep sense of powerlessness.
That was a place his Soul-Guiding Incantation and resurrection arts could not reach.
The majestic divine being within the flames walked toward Qin Mu, growing taller and taller, as the blazing firelight converged into his body.
And behind him stood an even taller figure.
Behind him was the Divine Artifact Yutian Supreme!
At this moment, Fire Heavenly Venerable was absorbing the Dao radiance of the Antarctic Forbidden Zone, strengthening his own power. Having cultivated to his current step, it was already extremely difficult to improve further.
To make progress, aside from cultivating to the Heavenly Court realm, he could also absorb the heavenly Dao of the same attribute as himself, and the Antarctic Forbidden Zone, which gave birth to Southern Emperor Vermillion Bird, was undoubtedly the finest treasure land.
While Southern Emperor Vermillion Bird was alive, he could not forcibly seize the power here, for this was after all the Vermillion Bird's lair. But after Southern Emperor Vermillion Bird died, he could claim the power of this place as his own.
Qin Mu watched Fire Heavenly Venerable walk out from the firelight, so tall, so majestic, a figure to be looked up to.
This Heavenly Venerable gave him a feeling of unfamiliarity.
"Back then, when you became a Heavenly Venerable, the Four Emperors bestowed their blessings upon you, allowing you to live long and see far, turning misfortune into fortune."
Qin Mu suppressed the anger in his heart and said, "And now you have killed one of the Four Emperors. Is your heart pleased?"
Behind Fire Heavenly Venerable's head, the wheel of flames grew ever more brilliant. His gaze fell upon Qin Mu, and the strength of Fire Heavenly Venerable's current power was such that even his mere gaze gave Qin Mu the feeling that his primordial spirit was about to burn.
"The blessings of the Four Emperors were not without being a form of surveillance, a form of control."
Fire Heavenly Venerable said, "In fact, as early as the middle of the Longhan Era, I had already dissolved the blessings of the Four Emperors. Ever since Yutian Supreme died, I realized that my fate could only be firmly grasped in my own hands, not in the hands of the ancient gods!"
He bent down to look down at Qin Mu, stretched out his great hand and clenched it heavily before Qin Mu's face, saying coldly, "Yutian Supreme was one who hoped that the ancient gods could coexist equally with the human race and the postnatal beings. He naively trusted the ancient gods, and that is why he died! In all the years I followed this elder brother, the one thing I learned was that one must never trust the ancient gods—any ancient god!"
He straightened his waist and said indifferently, "Mu Heavenly Venerable, you are fortunate. After obtaining the title of Heavenly Venerable, you left directly and never received the blessings of the ancient gods. Among the Heavenly Venerables who received the blessings of the ancient gods, how many came to a good end? You were lucky, never experiencing the suffering of the Longhan Era, but I did. The Four Emperors blessed me only to control me. Is it not right that I resisted and eliminated Southern Emperor, one of the Four Emperors?"
His gaze was fierce as he said, "I know why you have come. You want to use the power of the ancient gods to oppose the Heavenly Court. But you have not considered that the Four Emperors of that time were also terrifying existences that accepted the flesh and blood sacrifices of postnatal beings. The current era is far better than that one!"
Qin Mu said woodenly, "As long as we don't resist?"
"Correct, as long as we don't resist!"
Fire Heavenly Venerable continued to absorb the Dao radiance of the Antarctic Forbidden Zone, saying in a clear voice, "As long as we don't resist the Heavenly Court, as long as we don't engage in this so-called reform, everyone can live. As a Heavenly Venerable of the human race, I can protect you all! If Yutian Supreme were still alive, he would certainly be proud of my achievements!"
The corner of Qin Mu's eye twitched: "Fire Heavenly Venerable, you have lived in the Heavenly Court for too long. You have not seen the conditions of the people living in the various heavens and the Primordial Realm. Every time gods and demons descend to the mortal world for flesh and blood sacrifices, are not the offerings also from the human race? Not resisting does not mean survival—at best, only a portion of those with power and money survive!"
"It is already far better than the ancient era."
Fire Heavenly Venerable bent down once more, flames burning fiercely in his eyes, and the breath from his mouth turned into a blazing sea of fire that flew past Qin Mu's side, saying, "In the future, it will only get better. I now have the strength to protect the human race. I am different from the other human Heavenly Venerables! Cloud Heavenly Venerable was defeated and perished, Moon Heavenly Venerable retired into seclusion, Ling Heavenly Venerable did not know how to adapt and died without a burial place, Nether Heavenly Venerable only knows self-pity and hides in the Netherworld, and Qin Heavenly Venerable only knows to defy heaven, and after failing, he hides his head and shrinks his tail, not daring to show himself. Only I—"
"Mu Heavenly Venerable, only I exhaust my mind and strength for the human race, seeking a chance for them to survive! For this chance, I can cooperate with those who make me feel the most disgusted, and I can engage in false pleasantries with other cunning fellows! For this chance, I must use their power to eliminate the ancient gods, to remove all ancient gods!"
His palm reached toward Qin Mu, and he said sincerely, "Stop the reform. Do not make things difficult for me in the Heavenly Court. Come to the Heavenly Court and help me. You are Mu Heavenly Venerable, the strong one who once struck me. I know you have talent. If you and I join hands, we can bring about that better era sooner! By then, we will divide power with the Heavenly Court, we can shelter the human race, and the human race will no longer be used as sacrifices!"
Qin Mu did not take his hand. Instead, he stared at that palm, smiling ambiguously: "You want the human race to survive, even if it means kneeling, even if it means sacrificing a portion as offerings to please the gods and demons. But I also have a dream. In my dream, people stand tall and live, kneeling to no one."
"In my dream, everyone can fully utilize their talents. People can become members of the divine, can master celestial phenomena, and the heavenly Dao of heaven and earth serves humanity. They can also choose not to pursue power—they can read books, become Book Gods; they can paint, become Painting Gods; they can do what they love, and become gods in the fields they excel at."
"I want them to live with dignity, to live in abundance, so that they can pursue their own dreams. Not like what you said—muddling through life, only seeking survival."
Fire Heavenly Venerable withdrew his hand and said coldly, "You still think about reform. You are as stubborn as Qin Heavenly Venerable. Mu Heavenly Venerable, the era of the Ten Heavenly Venerables has arrived. The corrupt ancient gods will eventually be buried in the tomb of history, and the era of stubborn people like you will never come."
Qin Mu clenched his fist and shouted, "Where is Southern Emperor's corpse?"
Fire Heavenly Venerable turned around, and the wheel of flames behind his head madly absorbed the Dao radiance of this place. The Antarctic Forbidden Zone visibly shrank at a rapid pace.
"The ancient gods are the source of chaos and turmoil in this world. Emperor Kaihuang borrowed the power of the ancient gods to plot rebellion, hence the Kaihuang Calamity. The Upper Emperor had Earth Mother Primordial Sovereign supporting the Northern Upper Emperor, leading to three hundred thousand years of warfare and slaughter, with the people living in misery. The Chiming Era and the Longhan Era were even more times when the ancient gods stirred up storms behind the scenes!"
Fire Heavenly Venerable turned his head sideways and said coldly, "And what of your Yankang Era? Were there no ancient gods stirring up trouble behind the scenes? Mu Heavenly Venerable, if you still care so much about Southern Emperor, then you are my enemy!"
The Antarctic Forbidden Zone was contracting madly, growing smaller and smaller. The Dao radiance at the periphery gradually disappeared, and even the ninth heaven of the Dao Fire was slowly thinning.
Qin Mu took out his brush and ink, swiftly wrote a letter of severance, flicked his sleeve, and the letter flew toward Fire Heavenly Venerable. He said indifferently, "Since you think I am your enemy, then sign your name on this letter of severance! I have already signed my name. You write yours, and from this day forward, you and I will have nothing more to do with each other!"
Fire Heavenly Venerable picked up the brush and, with a few swift strokes, wrote his name on the letter of severance.
The letter flew back into Qin Mu's hands.
Qin Mu took the letter, carefully examined Fire Heavenly Venerable's signature, tucked it into his bosom, and shouted, "Where is Southern Emperor's corpse?"
Fire Heavenly Venerable sat down and said coldly, "Mu Heavenly Venerable, you may leave now. You are merely another lackey cultivated by the ancient gods. Do not force me to kill you. If I make a move, I will not fight you at the same cultivation level. I will beat you to death."
Qin Mu took out a mirror and shone it at the Pixing Hall in the sky, saying, "Fire Heavenly Venerable, please give me one of Southern Emperor's relics. After all, she and I were acquainted."
Fire Heavenly Venerable did not move, and his voice came over: "Southern Emperor's physical body has already been refined by me. I will never give it to you, nor give any ancient god a chance to be resurrected!"
"Milord..." Yan'er said in a trembling voice.
"Let's go."
Qin Mu took Yan'er's hand and walked outward. The Antarctic Forbidden Zone was already collapsing continuously, the Dao radiance rapidly vanishing into Fire Heavenly Venerable's body. Before long, Fire Heavenly Venerable would absorb all the energy that gave birth to Southern Emperor in this place.
The ninth heaven of the Dao Fire collapsed, and the power of the Dao Fire was also continuously weakening, like a tide surging toward the core of this forbidden zone.
In the end, all the Dao radiance here would become Fire Heavenly Venerable's cultivation, and even Southern Emperor Vermillion Bird's own cultivation would become part of his power.
Fire Heavenly Venerable's strength would be greatly enhanced!
Qin Mu walked out of the ninth heaven of the Dao Fire, led the dazed Yan'er onto the treasure carriage, and said, "Fat Dragon, let's depart."
Dragon Qilin dared not speak, silently driving the Heavenly Dragon Treasure Carriage outward.
Qin Mu's palm was ice-cold. He released Yan'er's hand, took out the letter of severance from his bosom, and also took out a small booklet. He opened it, and on it were the signatures of Fire Heavenly Venerable, Ling Heavenly Venerable, and other Heavenly Venerables.
This was from when he returned to the early Longhan Era and met the Seven Ancient Heavenly Venerables, shamelessly begging for their signatures.
Qin Mu placed Fire Heavenly Venerable's signature from the booklet next to the signature on the letter of severance, comparing the two side by side. The handwriting of the two Fire Heavenly Venerable signatures was exactly identical.
"He is still the same Fire Heavenly Venerable as before, not Tai Emperor or Heavenly Emperor. However, he is no longer the Fire Heavenly Venerable he once was."
Qin Mu sighed, tucked the letter of severance into the booklet, and asked Yan'er, "Do you have any relic of your mother's? It must be a treasure carrying her essence. With such a treasure, I can try to summon her soul. Even if I cannot summon the soul suppressed in the Pixing Hall, I can still summon the shattered soul scattered across heaven and earth."
Yan'er shook her head and said, "I only met her a few times. She never gave me anything..."
Qin Mu frowned, then comforted her, saying, "Southern Emperor had a very good relationship with Moon Heavenly Venerable. Perhaps Moon Heavenly Venerable has something of your mother's. Don't worry."
From outside came Dragon Qilin's voice: "Sect Master, Red Emperor requests an audience."
Qin Mu raised his hand, and the bead curtain automatically parted to both sides. Red Emperor Qi Xiayu stood bowing outside the carriage, saying, "Heavenly Venerable."
Qin Mu closed the bead curtain and said, "You may go. Southern Emperor is dead."
Qi Xiayu's body shook violently. It took a moment before she came back to her senses, and she hurriedly said, "Then, Heavenly Venerable..."
Qin Mu's voice was filled with powerlessness: "I cannot resurrect her. Dragon Pi, set off. To the Primordial Realm. Heh, you people..."
A few days later, the Heavenly Dragon Treasure Carriage stopped outside the Peach Grove in the Primordial Realm. Qin Mu got off the carriage and walked into the peach grove, with Yan'er carrying a lantern and walking ahead.
Before long, Moon Heavenly Venerable's palace came into view.
"Yan'er, you and Fat Dragon wait outside."
Qin Mu gave the order and walked alone into the palace ahead.
"Southern Emperor left no relics with me."
Yan'er faintly heard Moon Heavenly Venerable's voice, saying, "Mu Heavenly Venerable wants to summon her soul—does he need a relic?"
"It's best to have her physical body, and relics are second best. Without a relic, I cannot accurately summon her remnant soul. However, Fire Heavenly Venerable has suppressed a portion of her soul in the Pixing Hall, and there is nothing I can do about that."
Qin Mu's voice was very soft, saying, "Moon Heavenly Venerable, did Southern Emperor split off a soul to reincarnate?"
"That I do not know. Although she and I had a very good relationship, the reincarnated body is extremely important. She could not possibly tell me."
Qin Mu was silent for a moment, then said, "Elder Sister, your spatial divine arts are extremely vast. Could you help me find a few people?"
"Who do you want to find?"
"Two thieves and one constable. They are currently committing crimes across the various heavens of the Primordial Realm."