Chapter 1062: Three Celestial Venerables Raid the Zhaoyang Hall
Ahead, Heavenly Venerable Hao held a small white banner, slaughtering gods and demons alike as he advanced—ruthless and merciless.
His cultivation was already extremely high. Though he had not yet reached the Imperial Throne realm, he was after all the son of the Heavenly Emperor and Lady Yuanmu, with formidable bloodline power and astonishing combat prowess.
The harem was in utter chaos at this moment. The powerful deities had already departed for Yujing City to prepare against A Chou's invasion, and the remaining gods and demons were no match for him. Often, before they could even see Heavenly Venerable Hao's face clearly, they had already died by his hand, their souls collected into the small white banner refined by King Yan of the Underworld.
Heavenly Venerable Hao charged forward, with Heavenly Venerable Yun following behind.
Before long, Qin Mu, who was trailing the two, suddenly paused. He spotted a treasure hall.
The Pixiang Hall.
His heart pounded violently several times. The two ahead sensed this pounding almost simultaneously. Heavenly Venerable Yun immediately concealed his form, while Qin Mu suddenly seemed to melt, transforming into a shadow that clung to the ground.
Heavenly Venerable Hao saw nothing and continued onward.
After a moment, Heavenly Venerable Yun reappeared, looked around, found nothing, and immediately tracked in Heavenly Venerable Hao's direction.
Qin Mu emerged from the shadow, glanced at the Pixiang Hall, and his expression grew complicated.
Within this Pixiang Hall was sealed the remnant soul of Imperial Venerable Yu. However, this hall was the Heavenly Emperor's most favored hall, covered in far too many seals and restrictions—so densely packed that even Cripple could not enter. He was powerless to do anything about it either.
Qin Mu took a long breath and continued tracking the two—Yun and Hao.
Before long, he encountered the second of the Seventy-Two Treasure Halls: the Zhaoyang Hall.
Heavenly Venerable Hao arrived before the Zhaoyang Hall. Two Qilin ancient gods stood guard outside, their faces fierce and imposing. Heavenly Venerable Hao stepped forward, and the two Qilin ancient gods raised their claws, barking in deep voices: "This is a restricted area! Celestial Venerable, halt!"
Heavenly Venerable Hao beamed with smiles, chuckling: "I have come on my father's orders to inspect the Zhaoyang Hall. I ask that you two seniors make an exception."
"On the Emperor's orders? Do you have His Majesty's written decree?"
Heavenly Venerable Hao produced the decree and stepped forward, smiling: "Please take a look, you two."
The two Qilin ancient gods—ancient gods born from primordial sacred mountains—looked at the decree in his hand. But at that moment, Heavenly Venerable Hao suddenly flipped the decree over. The back of the decree was a mirror, and a burst of light erupted from it, shining upon the primordial spirits of the two Qilin ancient gods.
The two Qilin ancient gods were frozen in place. Heavenly Venerable Hao struck swiftly, killing both ancient gods, then collected their primordial spirits. Only then did he let out a breath of relief and quickly stride to the front of the Zhaoyang Hall, muttering: "Mother said those two treasures must be here. A Chou attacking the Heavenly Court is the perfect opportunity to steal them. With those two treasures, we can rule that ancient race..."
Before the Zhaoyang Hall lay countless seals and restrictions. Heavenly Venerable Hao had clearly received guidance from Lady Yuanmu on how to break them. He took two steps back, his hands flying, primordial qi transforming into roaming dragons and soaring phoenixes as he pressed forward.
Instantly, countless chains materialized around the Zhaoyang Hall, sealing the entire structure.
Heavenly Venerable Hao's eyes flickered, his heart tense. He continuously formed various hand seals to break the restrictions, and after a moment, he finally unlocked the seal.
The instant the seal broke, his form transformed into a streak of light and shot into the hall.
The seal closed behind him immediately.
No sooner had he entered than Heavenly Venerable Yun stepped forward. He pondered for a moment, then his hands flew, primordial qi transforming into various seal-breaking techniques—and he replicated every single hand seal Heavenly Venerable Hao had just used, exactly as they were!
Breaking the seals of the Zhaoyang Hall was extremely complex. Even a peerless genius would find it impossible to learn so many unsealing techniques in such a short span.
Yet he had watched once and learned them all, without the slightest error!
He was the first being in the world to cultivate to the Imperial Throne realm. His Purple Cloud Azure Nether Art had always excelled at absorbing and imitating other supreme techniques. In later generations, his descendant Yun Jianli would continuously evolve the Purple Cloud Azure Nether Art, absorbing the essence of reforms across eras, keeping the art forever relevant.
Heavenly Venerable Yun finished breaking the seals, the restrictions of the Zhaoyang Hall opened, and he too flashed into the hall.
The moment his form entered, the seal closed on its own.
Qin Mu arrived before the hall, considered the two men's methods of breaking in, and shook his head: "I didn't memorize it all. Fortunately, the mirror I refined with my painting dao helped me remember."
He flipped his palm and produced a mirror. Light shone from it, reflecting the methods the two had used to break the seals and restrictions.
Wherever the mirror light shone, the seals of the Zhaoyang Hall continuously opened. Qin Mu stepped forward and charged inside as well.
Inside the Zhaoyang Hall, Qin Mu's foot suddenly stepped into empty air. This hall had no floor at all—within it was a vast open space.
He quickly flew up to avoid falling endlessly.
Only then did he notice that the Zhaoyang Hall contained all manner of treasures floating in the air, radiating various precious glows, dazzling to the eye.
But besides the treasures, there were also palace lanterns.
The lanterns floated in the hall's space, each about the height of a person, their light suppressing the glow of the treasures. Strangely, the lanterns emitted countless fine rays of light arranged in very regular patterns.
Qin Mu's heart tightened: "These lanterns are the restrictions guarding this treasury's treasures!"
The treasures floating within the Zhaoyang Hall were all enormous in form, covered in talismans. Nearby, Qin Mu spotted a massive sphere, about six zhang tall, perfectly smooth, without a single flaw.
"What is this sphere?"
He wanted to approach for a closer look, but then he heard a strange heartbeat coming from within the sphere. Qin Mu's heart jolted: "This isn't a sphere—it's an egg! There's a living creature inside!"
Before he could reach it, suddenly the person-tall lantern's light blazed brilliantly. Ten thousand fine rays converged and shot toward him.
Qin Mu's form flickered repeatedly, dodging the rays with ever-changing footwork. The movement arts Cripple had taught him shone brilliantly here.
Qin Mu closed in on the sphere, pressing his palm against its surface. He immediately felt the heartbeat within transform into a grand dao sound, as if someone inside was chanting the mysteries of the Great Dao.
"Could this be an ancient god?"
Qin Mu was puzzled. Hadn't the ancient gods already been born in the primordial era? Why was there still an ancient god that had yet to be born, and sealed here at that?
At that moment, the lights ahead blazed bright. Countless fine rays shot in every direction with a clattering sound. In an instant, every lantern in the Zhaoyang Hall was triggered, billions of rays illuminating the space—making it nearly impossible to evade!
Whether it was Heavenly Venerable Hao or Heavenly Venerable Yun who had triggered the lanterns guarding these treasures, a chain reaction had been set off, plunging all three inside the hall into danger at once!
Qin Mu's body rapidly shrank, becoming a tiny speck of dust, darting back and forth across the sphere to avoid the rays. Then, a curtain of light shot from his brow, sweeping over the nearby lanterns, and he collected one of them into the Qin Continent.
Light blazed from Qin Mu's brow as he continuously swept it across, clearing away the nearby lanterns and forming a safe zone.
In the distance, shockwaves of divine abilities erupted, and lantern after lantern went dark.
Qin Mu's heart stirred: "In this era, Heavenly Venerable Yun has already reached the Imperial Throne realm, and Heavenly Venerable Hao is at the Lingxiao realm. Their strength is already above mine—these lanterns can't harm them."
Soon, all the lanterns in the hall were extinguished, leaving only the precious glows radiating from the various treasures.
Light blazed from Qin Mu's brow as he collected the massive egg—suspected to be an ancient god—into his brow, then flew toward another treasure.
That was a treasure mountain. Light flickered from Qin Mu's brow, and before he even reached the mountain, he had already collected it.
The mountain was jade-like throughout, but the material was something he had never seen before. Still, for it to be placed in the Heavenly Emperor's treasury, it must have significant origins.
"Could this be treasure the ancient god Heavenly Emperor plundered from the Ancestral Court?"
He also collected a winding river. The river had been refined down to a mere five or six zhang in length, yet it was incredibly heavy. Even after storing it in the Qin Continent, Qin Mu felt his brow sink heavily.
"What river is this?"
Qin Mu felt the pupil of his vertical eye being weighed down, constantly drooping. His heart shook violently.
But he had no time to think about it. Soon, the Heavenly Emperor would cast A Chou into the Netherworld. He could only use this window to plunder treasures to his heart's content.
Heavenly Venerable Yun and Heavenly Venerable Hao harbored the same intention. The treasures in the Zhaoyang Hall dwindled rapidly. Qin Mu caught a glimpse of Heavenly Venerable Hao producing a snakeskin pouch and stuffing treasures into it—clearly, that pouch was also a remarkable treasure.
Heavenly Venerable Yun also held a sack, though it didn't seem to be an ordinary one. Qin Mu sensed the aura of a taotie—it must have been a treasure refined from taotie hide.
Within the hall, the glow of treasures continuously vanished, gradually dimming.
Qin Mu accelerated his looting. Suddenly, he spotted a dazzling jade pillar in the distance and froze, almost crying out loud.
That jade pillar was the very one from the Dao Ancestor's Scripture Repository—the pillar capable of imprinting the marks of various ancient gods, even creating the form of Imperial Venerable Yu!
"Could that jade pillar also be an incredible treasure?"
He charged forward, but saw Heavenly Venerable Hao reach the pillar first, stuffing it into his snakeskin pouch.
Their gazes crossed. Qin Mu flipped his palm, and Heavenly Venerable Hao rose higher and higher, his body growing larger and larger—it was Qin Mu's dao-entering divine ability, "Gathering Perfection in the Great Luo Heaven"!
At the same time, Heavenly Venerable Hao shook the white banner in his hand. Qin Mu's body swayed slightly, but the banner was completely useless against him.
Heavenly Venerable Hao's primordial qi erupted. A celestial palace materialized with a crash, forcibly shattering Qin Mu's divine ability.
Qin Mu inwardly lamented the missed opportunity. At this stage, Heavenly Venerable Hao's divine abilities were far inferior to his own, but his cultivation depth far surpassed Qin Mu's, and his physical body was extremely powerful—he was likely nearing adulthood.
The two went their separate ways, one east and one west, not continuing their clash but instead burying their heads in search of more treasures.
Time was too tight. Heavenly Venerable Hao judged that capturing Qin Mu would not be easy, and Qin Mu likewise felt he could not take down the current Heavenly Venerable Hao. So they simply stopped bothering with each other.
The Zhaoyang Hall grew darker and darker, with only a few scattered glows remaining.
At that moment, Qin Mu's eyes suddenly lit up. He nearly wept with joy.
He saw several fragments of Primordial Beginning Origin Stones!
Primordial Beginning Origin Stones!
The treasures of the Great Emperor—he never expected the Heavenly Emperor had collected them here!
Qin Mu immediately sprinted at full speed, his form transforming into a beam of divine light. At the same time, he saw two other beams of light also racing toward the same spot—Heavenly Venerable Hao and Heavenly Venerable Yun!
However, Qin Mu quickly noticed that their targets differed from his.
He followed their direction and his heart shook. Heavenly Venerable Yun's target was a seemingly small altar, while Heavenly Venerable Hao's target was a great seal!
"The Great Emperor's Seal and the Great Emperor's Altar!"
Qin Mu's divine consciousness flew out, sweeping toward the Primordial Beginning Origin Stones. The moment he rolled up the stones, his divine consciousness split in two, reaching for the Great Emperor's Seal and the Great Emperor's Altar simultaneously.
At the same time, Heavenly Venerable Yun's divine ability and Heavenly Venerable Hao's divine ability struck at him almost simultaneously.
Qin Mu's scalp went numb. Without a second thought, he pulled out the suspected ancient god egg and held it before him. The two divine abilities erupted, blasting Qin Mu and the egg flying together.
At that moment, Heavenly Venerable Yun noticed Qin Mu's face and suddenly his mind was thrown into chaos: "Luo Xiao! Aren't you dead?"
His heart shook violently, and in that moment of distraction, Heavenly Venerable Hao sent him flying with a single strike. Heavenly Venerable Hao laughed heartily, reaching out to grab the Great Emperor's Seal. With the seal in hand, he immediately charged toward the Great Emperor's Altar.
Heavenly Venerable Yun arrived, a step slower but faster in speed. Their hands grabbed the Great Emperor's Altar almost simultaneously.
Suddenly, the Great Emperor's Altar vanished!
Both their hearts shook violently. Then Heavenly Venerable Hao cried out in shock—the Great Emperor's Seal in his hand had also disappeared without a trace!
"Haunted?" The same thought rose in both their minds.
At that moment, a terrifying tremor came from outside the Zhaoyang Hall. The Heavenly Emperor had made his move against A Chou.
Heavenly Venerable Yun and Heavenly Venerable Hao made their decision instantly—they turned and fled, charging toward the exit.
If they didn't leave now, it would be too late. A Chou, the reincarnated body of Lord Tu Bo, could not possibly be a match for the Heavenly Emperor. He would surely be subdued in a single move. If they got trapped in the Zhaoyang Hall, they would die without a burial place.
Both of them had grand ambitions. They could not allow themselves to fall here.
The moment they rushed toward the gate, Qin Mu also steadied himself and flew at full speed toward the spot where the Great Emperor's Seal and Altar had vanished. In his hand, he was holding a Great Emperor's Seal and a Great Emperor's Altar.
The moment he stored the seal and altar in his brow, the Great Emperor's Seal and Altar in the Zhaoyang Hall suddenly reappeared.
Qin Mu grabbed both treasures and immediately turned to charge out of the hall.