Chapter 1164: The Eleventh Divine Artifact (Second Update!)
Qin Mu watched this scene, feeling that everything happening on this altar was utterly absurd and bizarre.
These eight Heavenly Venerables, each one full of righteous words about morality and justice, claiming to care for the welfare of all living beings under heaven—yet the calamities they had wrought were even greater than those of the Ancient Gods.
Qiang Heavenly Consort was the treacherous emperor Taidi she herself spoke of; Xiao Heavenly Venerable was the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor Taichu; Gong Heavenly Venerable was one of the three great Divine Kings of the Creator race, the Primordial Divine King who enslaved the Ancient Gods; Yan Heavenly Consort was suspected to be Empress Dowager; and Hong Heavenly Venerable was none other than the Heavenly Duke they all claimed they wanted to overthrow!
As for Hao Heavenly Venerable, Langxuan Divine Emperor, and Ancestral Divine King, they too were all the most powerful sons of the Ancient Gods!
These people spoke those high-sounding words, and it almost made him laugh out loud.
"Ironic. Damn ironic—" Qin Mu looked at their solemn expressions and finally couldn't hold back his laughter.
The eight Heavenly Venerables glanced at him, each letting out a cold snort.
"Mu Heavenly Venerable, you're of no use to us anymore. What are you laughing at?" Ancestral Divine King asked, puzzled.
Qin Mu chuckled: "Divine King is mistaken. Aside from a few people here, none of the fellow daoists present would kill me. Because I know too many secrets—if I were to spill them all right now, everyone would be finished!" With that, he burst into laughter.
Xiao Heavenly Venerable, Hong Heavenly Venerable, Gong Heavenly Venerable, Yan Heavenly Consort, and Qiang Heavenly Consort all joined in laughing, leaving only Hao Heavenly Venerable, Langxuan Divine Emperor, and Ancestral Divine King without smiles.
Hao Heavenly Venerable said calmly: "Knowing many secrets can sometimes keep you alive, but it can also get you killed very quickly—killed without even knowing what hit you. Take Great Sun Star Lord, for example."
Qin Mu smiled amiably: "Thank you for the advice, Brother Hao. As long as I can stay alive right now, I'll be satisfied."
Hao Heavenly Venerable turned around and said: "In that case, let us break open the Ancestral Court's rift, leave this place first, and then seal the rift shut!"
The eight Heavenly Venerables flew toward the crack in the Ancestral Court's sky, with Qin Mu following behind them. These eight Heavenly Venerables each harbored their own schemes—though they wouldn't openly turn on Qin Mu and kill him on the spot, sealing him within the Ancestral Court was well within their capabilities. Therefore, Qin Mu had to seize the opportunity to break out together with them.
At the Ancestral Court's rift, the eight Heavenly Venerables exchanged glances. Hong Heavenly Venerable smiled: "Everyone, let us each use our own methods to break through this seal of the Ancestral Court."
Everyone voiced their agreement in unison.
The eight Heavenly Venerables immediately struck out together. From this display, one could discern each person's level of cultivation.
Hao Heavenly Venerable was the most outstanding—the moment he made his move, twenty-eight Heavenly Palaces appeared, vast and magnificent in scale.
Next was Langxuan Divine Emperor, with a total of twenty-six Heavenly Palaces, interconnected to form a heavenly court.
Hong Heavenly Venerable had twenty-five Heavenly Palaces; Qiang Heavenly Consort and Yan Heavenly Consort each had twenty-four; Xiao Heavenly Venerable had fewer, only twenty; while Ancestral Divine King and Gong Heavenly Venerable had only eighteen each.
Qin Mu observed all this. Although the number of Heavenly Palaces represented each person's level of cultivation, he didn't believe a single one of the numbers these eight Heavenly Venerables displayed!
Even though Hao Heavenly Venerable had more than once shown himself to possess twenty-eight Heavenly Palaces, Qin Mu still didn't believe it.
Hao Heavenly Venerable was considered the honest one among these eight, but "honest" was relative to the Ten Heavenly Venerables—and which of the Ten wasn't a cunning, scheming old fox?
The number of Heavenly Palaces they displayed was merely what they wanted their opponents to know. Even if one of them suddenly revealed all thirty-five Heavenly Palaces at once, Qin Mu wouldn't feel the slightest surprise!
The eight Heavenly Venerables each used their divine abilities, and surprisingly, the abilities they employed were all from the Ancient Gods' system—abilities derived from the Dao Ancestor's analysis of each Ancient God's Great Dao using the art of numerology!
Qin Mu didn't believe a word of this either.
These eight Heavenly Venerables were cunning old foxes who had long since entered the Dao. Their abilities were by no means Ancient God abilities built on the foundation of numerology, but rather great Dao-entering abilities they had comprehended themselves.
The abilities they displayed were also merely meant to mislead others!
The scheming and infighting among the Ten Heavenly Venerables of the Heavenly Court was more intense than anyone could imagine!
Even though the eight Heavenly Venerables hadn't used their true methods, they were still Heavenly Venerables after all. The power of their abilities was vast and formidable—waves of annihilation-force swept toward the Ancestral Court's rift!
As these abilities blasted into the rift, suddenly the reverse sides of worlds such as the Heavenly Court, the Prime Realm, the Dark Capital, the Netherworld, and the Four Extremes Heavens emerged from within the rift, resisting their abilities!
At the end of the Primordial Era, the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor Taichu led all the sacred beings under heaven to seal the Ancestral Court, attempting to bury all the disgraceful history within it. They used the blood of Ancient Gods and the Great Dao of one Ancient God after another.
Combined with the reverse sides of worlds like the Heavenly Court, the Prime Realm, the Dark Capital, and the Netherworld—how terrifying was that seal?
Yet now, with the eight Heavenly Venerables joining forces, their strength could fully contend with the gods of that era!
Moreover, they only needed to punch through a passage, not destroy the entire seal of the Ancestral Court, which made breaking the seal even easier!
The eight Heavenly Venerables' bodies grew towering and immense, their forms expanding ever larger. Even the twenty-odd heavenly courts floating behind them no longer seemed so astonishing.
Divine light formed wheels behind their heads, slowly rotating, and various abilities leaped forth from the wheels of light, opening up the rift.
They flew forward, delving deep into the seal, drawing closer and closer to breaking through the Ancestral Court's seal.
Qin Mu followed behind them. Looking back, he saw enormous eyes appearing all over the Ancestral Court's sky and ground, greedily watching them.
Those were Void Beasts.
The Void Mother Beast had been slain by Qin Mu within the Lapis Lazuli Azure Sky Banner. A new mother beast had not yet formed, leaving the Void Beasts without a leader. And without the mother beast, Qiang Heavenly Consort found it difficult to command so many Void Beasts at once.
These Void Beasts were in an ownerless state, filled with greed for the outside world. But their fear of Qin Mu and the eight Heavenly Venerables kept them from daring to approach.
Just as Qin Mu and the eight Heavenly Venerables were about to leave the Ancestral Court, the Void Beasts finally emerged from the void and flew toward the rift.
Finally, the eight Heavenly Venerables broke through the seal. Ancestral Divine King's eyes flashed with sharp light—he was about to send Qin Mu, who was behind him, back into the Ancestral Court—when suddenly a flash of light appeared. Qin Mu used a teleportation ability to transport himself out through the rift.
Ancestral Divine King immediately abandoned the idea, silently praising: "This kid slips through every crack. If he had grown up alongside us back then, Hao Heavenly Venerable might not have become the leader among the Ten Heavenly Venerables."
Though he appeared reckless, he was actually meticulous, and he held considerable admiration for Qin Mu.
Everyone stepped out of the Ancestral Court, and the eight Heavenly Venerables immediately set to work, each applying their own seals to layer the Ancestral Court's rift with heavy sealing.
Yan Heavenly Consort smiled: "Brother Mu, you are the most senior member of the Heavenly Alliance. You should add a seal as well."
"When the Heavenly Consort commands, how dare I refuse?"
Qin Mu stepped forward, speaking with great righteousness: "For the welfare of all living beings under heaven, I shall do my utmost to ensure that the demons within the Ancestral Court do not escape!"
He applied his seal, sealing the Ancestral Court together with the eight Heavenly Venerables.
Langxuan Divine Emperor deliberately misaimed his seal, destroying most of Qin Mu's. The other Heavenly Venerables followed suit one after another, each taking a turn, grinding Qin Mu's seal down until it became an extremely thin needle.
Everyone laughed together: "Mu Heavenly Venerable's seal is like a nail stuck in our seals—just like Mu Heavenly Venerable himself. Mu Heavenly Venerable is like a nail, wedged into the Heavenly Court and the Heavenly Alliance!"
Qin Mu also burst into laughter, and everyone laughed very merrily.
After the laughter subsided, everyone looked around. Sure enough, there was no trace of the altar Qin Mu had left outside the Ancestral Court. Even the two Heavenly Venerable chariots and the eighteen heavenly dragons had vanished without a trace. Only faint ripples of divine ability remained in this stretch of starry sky, giving one an extremely unsettling feeling.
Hao Heavenly Venerable looked at Hong Heavenly Venerable and said: "Brother, take a look and see who did this."
Hong Heavenly Venerable acknowledged, and a wisp of demonic aura flew out. The demonic aura merged with the residual ripples of the divine ability, gradually transforming, causing the figure of the perpetrator to materialize.
The faces of the eight Heavenly Venerables changed simultaneously—the figure that materialized was none other than a Divine Artifact Imperial Heavenly Venerable!