Chapter 1040: They Are All Taught by Me
"Pastoral Heavenly Venerable, ignorant child! I didn't go looking for you, yet you dare come seeking trouble with me! Do you want to turn the heavens upside down?"
Qin Mu's sword energy reached the front of Lingxiao Hall, only to shatter as if striking an invisible wall.
"Do you think that just because you rely on your high cultivation realm, you can climb above my head and throw your weight around?"
Langxuan Divine Emperor's figure stood there—four faces, eight arms—lofty and looking down from above at Qin Mu and the others walking toward the divine palace. He sneered coldly: "You Nine Heavenly Venerables established the Divine Treasury Heavenly Palace system and created fourteen realms. But these realms have only existed for less than two thousand years!"
His palm reached out, grabbing toward Qin Mu and the others: "Let me tell you, two thousand years ago, what ruled the universe wasn't realms like the Divine Treasury Heavenly Palace—it was bloodline! Bloodline determined your strength, bloodline determined your status. And I am the first demigod in the world, standing at the apex of all species!"
His palm arrived before Qin Mu. This wasn't magical power formed from primordial energy—it was pure, raw strength.
As the first son of the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor, he had not only inherited the bloodline of the Heavenly Emperor who governed the great Dao of the world, but also the bloodline of Gongjun Divine King, one of the three Divine Kings of the Creator race.
His palm contained natural laws of the great Dao. As his five fingers closed down, Moon Heavenly Venerable, Dragon Qilin, and the others looked up from below and saw that the lines on Langxuan Divine Emperor's palm resembled mountain ranges and rivers formed by countless Daos. His five fingers seemed to embody the laws of the Five Elements—metal, wood, water, fire, earth arranged in order, generating and overcoming each other, forming a Five Elements formation!
Within his fingers, the divine abilities created by the Human Race's Nine Heavenly Venerables were like the light of a grain of rice. In terms of scale and understanding of the Dao, even to this day, the divine abilities of the Nine Heavenly Venerables could not compare.
The realms were established by the Nine Heavenly Venerables: Spirit Embryo, Five Radiances, Six Harmonies, Seven Stars, Heavenly Human, Life and Death, Divine Bridge, Venerable God, True God, Jade Pool, God-Slaying Platform, Jade Capital, Lingxiao, Imperial Throne, Heavenly Court—fourteen realms in total.
To this day, the seven realms of the Divine Treasury had existed for nearly two thousand years, and the seven realms of the Heavenly Palace had been established for over a thousand years. Yet most gods were still exploring the seven Heavenly Palace realms, trying to find where their boundaries lay.
Even the Heavenly Venerables were still pushing the limits of these realms.
But in the endless ages before two thousand years ago, the demigod race had already begun studying bloodlines and had formed their own unique civilization.
The power of demigods was inherited from the Ancient Gods. The Ancient Gods mastered powerful laws of the great Dao, and the demigods inherited their blood. As they grew, their control over the laws of the great Dao grew stronger and stronger.
This was the reason the demigod race had flourished for hundreds of millions or even billions of years. It was also the reason that, in the million years that followed, after learning the Divine Treasury Heavenly Palace system, the demigods were able to suppress the human race and other acquired races.
Langxuan Divine Emperor's palm came down, his voice shaking the air: "The Heavenly Venerables of your human race are nothing but titles casually bestowed by the Ancient Gods when they saw your creativity. Empty titles without real substance. Do you really think you can storm the Heavenly Palace?"
His palm descended, terrifying power erupting. Moon Heavenly Venerable beneath his palm couldn't help but want to strike back, when suddenly her vision blurred. She was shocked to find that they had somehow arrived on the back of Langxuan Divine Emperor's hand!
Moon Heavenly Venerable couldn't even see how they had passed through Langxuan Divine Emperor's terrifying Five Elements Dao laws to reach the back of his hand. Her heart shook violently: "Cloud Heavenly Venerable's divine abilities are nowhere near this sophisticated. Could it be, could it be..."
She looked at the back of Qin Mu ahead of her. Qin Mu continued leading them along Langxuan Divine Emperor's arm, not stopping.
Around Qin Mu, terrifying magnetic divine power twisted space itself. Countless stars appeared in the sky of the Primordial Realm, growing larger and larger, their starlight growing more intense. Even the magnetic divine power within the earth of the Primordial Realm turned violent, mutually attracting with the magnetic divine power of the stars in the sky!
Moon Heavenly Venerable looked up and saw that the positions of the stars and constellations had already begun to shift. The light radiating from the stars was even brighter than the great sun of the Primordial Realm.
Those stars appeared even more massive than the sun. If one had cultivated a pair of divine eyes, one could even see the enormous palaces within those stars—the dwelling places of the Ancient Gods who governed countless stars and constellations.
—In the sky of the Primordial Realm in later ages, such sights were rarely seen. Only in this ancient, primitive era could one get so close to the Ancient Gods.
Magnetic divine power erupted, pressing down together with the power contained in Langxuan Divine Emperor's palm!
Around Langxuan Divine Palace, magnetic storms raged!
Beneath the divine palace, the colossal demigod giants who bore thousands of palaces and halls on their backs let out heart-rending howls, pressed down and sinking continuously into the earth.
Thud.
One powerful demigod couldn't bear it and knelt, the divine palace on his back shaking violently. The demigods inside the palace staggered, unable to keep their footing.
Thud, thud—the sounds came continuously. More demigods supporting the Langxuan Divine Palace knelt one after another, and the divine palace high in the sky suddenly dropped a great deal!
Though they possessed immense strength, though they were demigods of extremely high bloodline, Qin Mu's mobilization of magnetic divine power to suppress them, combined with Langxuan Divine Emperor's own power, crushed them!
Langxuan Divine Emperor was both shocked and enraged. His other seven arms all raised, palms slapping toward Qin Mu and the others on the back of his hand.
In terms of pure combat power alone, Qin Mu had an insurmountable gap with him. He was the son of the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor and Gongjun Divine King, a mature demigod whose combat power could rival beings at the Imperial Throne realm.
He had experienced the Blood Rust Campaign, slaughtered the Creator race, and received the Heavenly Emperor's blessing. His power was boundless—one of the most powerful beings of this era.
His strength even surpassed that of many Ancient Gods.
Yet every palm he brought down never landed on Qin Mu. Every attack he launched with the laws of the great Dao, every time it seemed about to strike Qin Mu, their figures would vanish and reappear on the back of his hand.
He couldn't even tell what divine ability Qin Mu was using!
Within Langxuan Divine Palace, thousands of demigods reacted and flew up to attack Qin Mu and the others!
Demigods were favored by heaven, their strength formidable. They were born stronger than humans, and as they grew, the gap between humans and them widened. As they matured, their mastery of the world's Dao laws grew stronger too.
In the past, they suffered from birth, aging, sickness, and death. But now that the Nine Heavenly Venerables had created the seven Heavenly Palace realms, they only needed to cultivate to the Venerable God realm to achieve immortality and remain at their peak forever.
The sight of thousands of demigods charging in was terrifying. Moon Heavenly Venerable felt despair in her heart. Though she was one of the Human Race's Heavenly Venerables, she was still groping her way through the Heavenly Palace realms. The Heavenly Venerables of this era were not the most powerful beings in the world.
On the contrary, among the demigods, those whose strength surpassed the Heavenly Venerables were countless, as numerous as ox hairs.
The Creator Luo Xiao also changed expression. According to the memories of the Creator ancestors, the campaign in which the Ancient Gods exterminated the Creator race had mobilized countless demigods to charge!
The terrifying scene of those adult demigods who had mastered the Dao laws surging toward the Creators—he hadn't experienced it himself, but he had seen it in the memories passed down from his ancestors!
"No wonder we lost..."
He thought to himself: "Demigods reproduce faster than us, their Daos are more varied, their races are numerous, and they grow rapidly. For our Creator race to return to our homeland will be extremely difficult."
Just as he thought this, Qin Mu's voice rang out: "Heavenly Venerable Yu, during his lifetime, never taught me the seven Heavenly Palace realms, nor did he teach me how to become a god."
His palm raised, darkness surging within Langxuan Divine Palace. The power of the great Dao of the Netherworld appeared in the Primordial Realm.
Qin Mu said calmly: "It was I who created the method of becoming a god, comprehended the realms of the Heavenly Palace, and taught them to all living beings. You..."
A hint of pride appeared on his face: "You are all taught by me!"
His five fingers spread apart, and the Gate of Inheriting Heaven stood within Langxuan Divine Palace. Wherever it passed, countless seemingly powerful demigods immediately lost their primordial spirits, their souls beaten into the Netherworld, dying on the spot.
Countless corpses fell like rain, crashing into Langxuan Divine Palace, smashing through palace after palace, toppling wall after wall.
Qin Mu's five fingers clenched heavily. Netherworld demonic energy howled as it drilled into the Gate of Inheriting Heaven, and the gate vanished.
He continued walking forward, along Langxuan Divine Emperor's arm until he stood before him, expressionless: "Langxuan, your Heavenly Palace was also taught by me."
Langxuan Divine Emperor's massive face showed a flicker of panic, then his body rapidly shrank, his aura growing stronger and stronger. Rays of Dao light burst from within him, flinging Qin Mu and the others away.
His strength was indeed terrifyingly powerful, far surpassing Qin Mu's. But he had no confidence whatsoever in dealing with Qin Mu, because any attack he made was a flaw in Qin Mu's eyes!
And Qin Mu's divine abilities—he couldn't understand them!
If they truly fought, with his four faces and eight arms, in terms of combat power he had no fear of Qin Mu. But Qin Mu had no reason to fear him either!
Light flashed around Qin Mu and the others, and they appeared before him again.
"Can we talk now?" A smile appeared on Qin Mu's expressionless face, growing wider and wider, his tone amiable.
Langxuan Divine Emperor was uncertain: "Talk about what?"
Qin Mu grew even more amiable, saying: "After the Jade Pool Gathering, I and Heavenly Venerable Qin have been in seclusion, comprehending divine abilities. Now that the Human Race's Heavenly Court has been established, I came out to stretch my limbs. In the past, the human race had no Heavenly Court, and we troubled the demigods under your command to look after them. But now that the Xiaohan Heavenly Court exists, we can no longer continue to trouble Your Imperial Majesty."
Langxuan Divine Emperor steadied himself and laughed: "So that's it. Why didn't Pastoral Heavenly Venerable say so earlier? With such a grand display, I thought you had come to exterminate my divine race."
Qin Mu laughed heartily: "When I do things, I use courtesy first, then force."
"Courtesy first, then force?"
Langxuan Divine Emperor looked at the nearly destroyed divine palace. Thousands of corpses lay scattered across palaces and walls, and even the dried-up Jade Pool was stuffed full of demigod corpses.
His eyes twitched involuntarily, his smile ambiguous: "This is Pastoral Heavenly Venerable's courtesy first, then force?"
"Yes."
Qin Mu clasped his hands behind his back, saying leisurely: "If we can't reach an agreement, then the scene will only be a hundred times more tragic than this. So it's courtesy first, then force. Your Imperial Majesty knows that I established my Dao through divine abilities and was titled Heavenly Venerable by the Heavenly Emperor. All the demigods under your command who cultivate the Heavenly Palace were taught by me. If I were to fully unleash my divine abilities..."
He looked around, gazing at the demigod deities in Langxuan Divine Palace who had survived, and smiled: "They would all die. Your race would go extinct because of this. I can't kill you, and you can't do anything to me. So I came with courtesy first, then force, to discuss the matters between our two sides going forward."
Langxuan Divine Emperor suppressed his anger and laughed: "What does Pastoral Heavenly Venerable want to discuss? No need to be coy."
"What belongs to humans should be governed by humans. What belongs to gods should be governed by gods."
Qin Mu said: "From now on, the humans under the protection of the demigods under your command will migrate to the territory of the Xiaohan Heavenly Court, and the demigods within the Xiaohan Heavenly Court's jurisdiction will return to demigod territory. What does Dao Brother think?"
Langxuan Divine Emperor smiled ambiguously: "My divine race has been farming these crops for so many years, from ancient times until now, always eating and drinking like this. This has been the tradition passed down. This season's harvest hasn't even been reaped yet, and Pastoral Heavenly Venerable has come to harvest it for us. If I agree, I'm afraid I won't be able to explain myself to the divine races under my command."
Qin Mu said flatly: "If the divine race dies out completely, then Your Imperial Majesty won't need to explain anything. The ancient traditions have been passed down to the present and are no longer suitable. What should be changed, let it be changed."
Langxuan Divine Emperor raised an eyebrow and laughed heartily: "Your Xiaohan Heavenly Court has just been established, and I haven't yet offered my congratulations. In that case, I'll give Pastoral Heavenly Venerable this face. These crops are yours. Pastoral Heavenly Venerable, at the Jade Pool Gathering, I was at the Heavenly Court Gathering, so we never met. Meeting you today, Pastoral Heavenly Venerable truly lives up to being titled Heavenly Venerable by His Majesty for your divine abilities. Why not go inside the hall for detailed discussion?"
Qin Mu said politely: "No need. I've troubled Your Imperial Majesty for so long, and I feel guilty. I won't disturb you further. Farewell."
Langxuan Divine Emperor said politely: "Then I won't detain the Heavenly Venerable."
Qin Mu said: "Stay, stay."
He turned and walked out. Langxuan Divine Emperor stared at his back, murderous intent surging across his four faces. Suddenly, countless ruins and broken walls within Langxuan Divine Palace flew up, as if time were flowing backward. The entire heavenly palace was rapidly restoring itself!
Soon, Langxuan Divine Palace was restored to its original state, exactly as before!
But the powerful demigods who had died at Qin Mu's hands did not revive. Corpses still lay everywhere.
Langxuan Divine Emperor's eight arms trembled uncontrollably as he forcibly suppressed his murderous intent: "This divine ability, this divine ability..."
He watched Qin Mu walk out of the divine palace. The collapsed Southern Heaven Gate also righted itself and closed.
"I really can't understand it!" He gritted his teeth so hard that blood flowed from his gums, feeling a deep sense of powerlessness wash over his entire body.
Qin Mu and the others walked toward the Xiaohan Heavenly Court. Qin Mu said: "Moon, after we return, you all should go to Langxuan Divine Emperor's territory and migrate the humans over. Try to find places with abundant water and lush grass suitable for farming and herding. Establish education, enlighten the people. I thought it over again carefully—you're right. If one generation doesn't awaken, there's the next. If two generations don't awaken, there's the third. Every generation has a few who awaken. They are the hope of our human race..."
Moon Heavenly Venerable followed behind him, listening quietly, then suddenly said: "Muqing?"
Qin Mu turned his head, revealing a bright, sunny smile: "Why did you change to calling me Muqing?"
"Nothing."
Moon Heavenly Venerable smiled and said: "I suddenly feel that the name Muqing has a beautiful artistic conception. Whenever I say this name, I can't help but think of a scene—a young boy herding cattle and sheep on an endless expanse of green grass. Tell me, is that how Pastoral Heavenly Venerable's name came to be?"
Qin Mu laughed: "You're overthinking it."