Chapter 1233: Second Heavenly Master (Third Update)
The four Heavenly Masters and four Heavenly Kings of the Heavenly Court all led their great armies to the Land of Ultimate Void at this moment, each with their own encampment, each commanding their own route of troops.
Besides them, there were also the Four-Colored Emperors, each with their own contingent of soldiers.
Among the four Heavenly Masters, the First Heavenly Master was the Northern Heavenly Master Shang Pingyin, the Second Heavenly Master was the Eastern Heavenly Master Meng Yungui, the Third Heavenly Master was the Western Heavenly Master Bai Yuqiong, and the Fourth Heavenly Master was the Southern Heavenly Master Zhu Shaoping.
Among the four Heavenly Kings, Qin Mu had already met Shang Pingyin and Bai Yuqiong, but as for this Second Heavenly Master Meng Yungui, although Qin Mu had never met him, he had long heard of his reputation.
Meng Yungui came from the Feather Transformation Heaven and loved to plunder treasures and wealth, which was why his reputation was not very good.
The Cripple had brought Lan Yutian through rigorous training, and one of the extremely important assessments was to steal from the treasure vault of Meng Yungui of the Feather Transformation Heaven.
Old Master Ma, the former divine constable and former Tathagata, also followed alongside, responsible for keeping watch for them, detecting divine ability traps, and wiping away their traces so as not to leave any clues behind.
Of course, Old Master Ma was not greedy for wealth; he merely wanted to guide and supervise Lan Yutian, this "junior," lest Lan Yutian stray down the wrong path—although the Cripple and Lan Yutian did give him a share of the "spoils."
Qin Mu arrived at the divine city where Meng Yungui's Eastern Camp was stationed, and saw that Meng Yungui maintained strict military discipline. Although his reputation was poor, he was indeed a capable hand at leading troops and fighting battles.
"The four Heavenly Masters of the Heavenly Court are all figures skilled in leading troops and fighting wars, while the four Heavenly Masters of Emperor Kaihuang were not military commanders but capable ministers of governance."
Qin Mu pondered, sinking into thought.
The Woodcutter, the Scholar, the Old Farmer, and the Old Fisherman—the Woodcutter Wen Tiange oversaw the overall situation of Emperor Kaihuang's reforms, grasping the main direction; the Scholar Yun Yanxi managed military and political reforms; the Old Farmer managed reforms concerning the livelihoods of the common people; the Old Fisherman managed reforms in divine abilities and cultivation methods.
The four Heavenly Masters of the Heavenly Court focused on combat power and had no need for reforms.
"The four Heavenly Masters of the Heavenly Court are merely four people skilled at training soldiers and fighting battles, bearing the empty title of Heavenly Master. They have little achievement in overall strategic vision and the affairs of the myriad heavens."
Just as Qin Mu thought this, he heard a loud laugh: "The Venerable Mu has come from afar; Yungui failed to welcome you properly. I hope you will forgive me!"
Qin Mu followed the sound and saw a middle-aged man striding quickly toward him, his face full of smiles. His upper lip had long whiskers that hung down from both sides of his mouth, forming a fork shape together with his chin beard.
This man was precisely the Eastern Heavenly Master Meng Yungui.
Meng Yungui stepped forward quickly, bowed in greeting, and laughed: "The Venerable Mu has come all this way on inspection, and Meng is deeply honored. Just now I returned from the Nether Emperor, Lord Yama of the Underworld. Lord Yama was full of praise for you, saying that the Venerable is righteous and loyal to his own people, sending charcoal in the snow, while treating enemies with raging fire and thunderous means—truly a model for us all."
Qin Mu smiled warmly: "What else did the Nether Emperor say?"
Meng Yungui said: "Lord Yama also said that when he heard the Venerable had been ambushed, his heart was filled with anxiety, and he wished he could fly over immediately to offer his humble apologies. But with heavy responsibilities on his shoulders, he dared not abandon his post. He hopes the Venerable will not take offense."
Qin Mu waved his hand: "These are all trivial matters. Tell the Nether Emperor that I do not blame him. The enemies who came to attack were all killed by me. Let him not take it to heart."
Meng Yungui said with emotion: "The Venerable is magnanimous. If Lord Yama hears this, he will surely weep with gratitude and be choked with sobs."
Qin Mu laughed heartily.
Meng Yungui laughed along with him, then shifted the topic and said seriously: "Venerable, I have heard that the enemy has received reinforcements—the old loyalists of the rebel Qin Ye, troops from Fengdu, with several rebel leaders hiding among them. These past few days, two of the Venerables have inquired of us, saying that with the Fengdu rebels coming, it seems Lord Yama will find it difficult to conquer the Netherworld of Ultimate Void in a short time. Does the Venerable Mu have a plan to deal with this?"
Qin Mu pondered for a moment, then said: "I have also received news that the Great Emperor has been reborn and escaped from the Supreme Divine Consciousness Domain. Compared to the rebel faction Qin Ye, the Great Emperor is the true threat at the heart."
Meng Yungui raised his brows and mused: "The Venerable is right—the Great Emperor is indeed the threat at the heart! But then, how should we handle Fengdu and the Netherworld of Ultimate Void? Please enlighten me, Venerable Mu."
"That's simple."
Qin Mu said amiably: "My niece, the Venerable Void, is the daughter of the Earth Count. If she makes her move, not to mention mere Fengdu, breaking the Netherworld of Ultimate Void would also be effortless."
Meng Yungui said in a low voice with a smile: "If the Venerable Void goes to attack the Netherworld of Ultimate Void, then Emperor Kaihuang and the Creator God King will have their opportunity to join forces and attack the Venerable Fire. The Venerable Fire alone cannot hold."
"Then transfer another Venerable from the Heavenly Court."
Qin Mu thought for a moment, then said: "Three Venerables should be enough to handle the current situation."
Meng Yungui clapped his hands and laughed: "An excellent idea! Which Venerable does the Venerable Mu think should be summoned?"
Qin Mu said solemnly: "I believe it must be the Venerable Dawn. The Venerable Dawn is of the same race as the Venerable Fire, and they are close friends. With him coming, the Qin rebels can be broken."
Meng Yungui mused: "The Venerable is absolutely right, absolutely right... Does the Venerable think that after the Venerable Dawn leaves, the Primordial Tree and the Venerable Dawn's divine artifact, the Imperial Heavenly Lord, might be snatched away by bandits who suddenly appear?"
Qin Mu clapped his hands and laughed heartily.
Meng Yungui also laughed heartily along with him.
Qin Mu praised: "Heavenly Master Meng is a clever man. So who do you think should be transferred?"
Meng Yungui laughed: "How would I dare to transfer a Venerable? However, if the Venerable Hao could come to this Ultimate Void, that would certainly be excellent. The Venerable Hao has not been assigned territory, so he need not worry about bandits sneaking in after he leaves and seizing the divine artifact, the Imperial Heavenly Lord. Moreover, the Venerable Hao is extremely powerful in combat. With him coming, it would be enough to pacify the chaos in the Ultimate Void."
Qin Mu sighed: "You rank second among the four Heavenly Masters?"
"Yes." Meng Yungui bowed.
Qin Mu looked at him with deep, dark eyes: "You are very greedy for wealth?"
Meng Yungui said in a low voice with a smile: "A person cannot be without weaknesses. Greed for wealth can save one from death."
Qin Mu nodded slightly, turned and walked away, saying leisurely: "Not to be underestimated."
Meng Yungui watched him go. After a long while, he suddenly flicked his sleeve. The wall of a courtyard behind him collapsed, revealing a courtyard full of gods and demons.
Those gods and demons were all painters, holding brushes, with ink and paper beside them, painting on easels.
On the canvases of these painters—they were all paintings of Qin Mu!
These Heavenly Court painters had varying levels of skill, but all were remarkably lifelike. The Qin Mu in the paintings was vivid and could even walk around within the painting, and even speak!
Not only that, but the painters had also written inscriptions on the paintings—analyses of Qin Mu's personality, his tone of voice, his mannerisms, his schemes, his expressions, his clothing, his subtle facial changes, the flow of blood and energy in his body when he spoke, his heartbeat, the subtle muscle movements at the corners of his eyes—all of it was recorded by them.
Meng Yungui collected these paintings and waved his hand to dismiss the Heavenly Court painters. He then held the albums and flipped through them one by one in detail, but made no comments.
Suddenly, a voice came: "Heavenly Master Meng, how is your psychological analysis of the Venerable Mu coming along?"
Meng Yungui turned around, bowed deeply, and said: "Venerable Void, I believe we should kill the Venerable Mu as soon as possible, or else he will surely become a great calamity!"