Chapter 1271: The Grand Emperor Has No Head (First Update)
Qin Mu walked out of the Tai Xu Land and, after not going far, arrived at the entrance of Tai Xu.
He looked back and saw that the Tai Xu Land was right beneath his feet.
The collapsed void had been shattered, and the Tai Xu Land was now directly exposed before the Heavenly Court. Defending it was impossible; the only option was to use the Void Bridge as a natural moat to buy time, though it was uncertain how long it could hold.
From the entrance of Tai Xu to the Heavenly Court, with his pace, it would take several months.
The geography of Tai Xu was unique, making it impossible to use the Spirit Energy Transfer Bridge to transport supplies. Therefore, it would take the Heavenly Court's army half a year to over a year to march here.
However, for the Heavenly Venerables, it would only take a few days of full-speed travel to descend directly upon the Tai Xu Land!
This was perilous!
In the past, Emperor Kai Huang could threaten other Heavenly Venerables using the safety of the Heavenly Court, because the distance from the Heavenly Court to the Tai Xu Land was too great, and the Heavenly Venerables would need a long time to travel back and forth.
But now, the distance had been greatly shortened, and the Tai Xu Land could face the danger of annihilation at any moment!
"To hold the Void Bridge, we still need the Moon Heavenly Venerable. After all, the three rooms on the other side of the Void Bridge were created by her."
Qin Mu frowned. The Moon Heavenly Venerable's injuries had not yet healed; her legs had been severed. Asking her to face such danger was something Qin Mu could not bear to do.
"Tai Shi might be able to heal the Moon Heavenly Venerable's Dao wounds. However, Tai Shi's conditions would certainly be extremely harsh, and besides, Tai Shi has not yet emerged from seclusion..."
He frowned deeply. The Tai Shi Ancient God had been imprisoned by the Heavenly Emperor Tai Chu in the Zhao Yang Hall for so many years, making him extremely cautious and also very worldly. He would surely use this as leverage to make demands that Qin Mu could not accept.
Trying to persuade him to emerge and heal the Moon Heavenly Venerable was almost an impossible task!
"I should still make a trip to the Ancestral Court and see if Grandfather Medicine Master's current medical skills can deal with Dao wounds."
Qin Mu made up his mind, took out the Moon Heavenly Venerable's lantern, and headed toward the Heavenly Court. Using this lantern, he would not need several months—only a few short days to reach the Heavenly Court.
As he walked on his way to the Heavenly Court, a thought suddenly stirred in his heart: "I wonder how the Grand Emperor is doing..."
The Grand Emperor and the Hao Heavenly Venerable had both suffered severe injuries. His wounds would definitely not be lighter than the Hao Heavenly Venerable's—they might even be worse!
Empress Qiang Tianfei had also suffered a heavy blow, her injuries no less severe than the Grand Emperor's true body!
"There is no Ultimate Void in the Tai Xu Land; it only exists outside. Once outside, the Grand Emperor's Divine Sense Da Luo Tian imprint in the Ultimate Void can descend, and his divine sense cultivation should recover quickly. But the Dao wounds on his body will not heal so easily... Wait a moment!"
Qin Mu suddenly became alert: "Why did I suddenly think of the Grand Emperor? Everything has a cause, and so do thoughts and ideas! My divine sense is already among the strongest in the world. The reason this thought suddenly surfaced is probably..."
His brow twitched, and he immediately realized that he had unknowingly deviated from the path to the Heavenly Court. Being able to invisibly influence his judgment and make him stray from the path without noticing could only be the work of an existence whose divine sense far surpassed his own!
Qin Mu acted decisively, activating the Moon Heavenly Venerable's lantern. The power within the lantern erupted, transforming into a strand of light tens of miles long!
He had not cultivated the Moon Heavenly Venerable's space Dao, nor had he received teachings from her or Bai Yuqiong. He relied only on his own exploration, so the light strand's length and power were far inferior to the spectacular display when Bai Yuqiong activated it!
After the lantern was activated, Qin Mu's brow flashed, and with two thumping sounds, the two coffins of Empress Empress and Yuan Mu Furen flew out. With two bangs, the coffins opened.
His divine sense burst forth, and two Ancient God women who looked almost identical simultaneously stepped forward, striding out of their respective coffins, their robes fluttering and divine light flowing!
He simultaneously used his divine sense to control the two Gui Xu Divine Maidens, warily watching their surroundings.
Although the combat power of the two Gui Xu Divine Maidens did not reach the level of the Heavenly Emperor Tai Chu, nor match the Heavenly Duke, Earth Mother, or Earth Mother, their strength surpassed the Four Ancient God Emperors!
After Qin Mu used his divine sense to stimulate and control the bodies of the Empress sisters, his vertical eye opened, and the Tai Shi Egg flew out from it.
He raised his right hand, holding the giant egg with one hand.
From the moment he realized what was happening to completing all of this, it took only an instant—decisive and swift!
"Grand Emperor, come out and negotiate!" Qin Mu swept his divine sense in all directions and said in a deep voice.
The void was utterly silent.
This place was far from the Heavenly Court and far from Tai Xu, with neither heaven above nor earth below.
The distance to both the Heavenly Court and Tai Xu was roughly the same.
This distance was precisely the center point that the Grand Emperor had chosen when ambushing the Hao Heavenly Venerable.
The Grand Emperor had made it so that the Hao Heavenly Venerable could neither escape to Tai Xu nor escape the Tai Xu Land.
And now, the distance Qin Mu was at also made it impossible for him to flee back to Tai Xu or back to the Heavenly Court!
After Qin Mu's voice rang out, there was no response for a long time.
Qin Mu sneered and was about to head to the Heavenly Court under the escort of the Empress sisters when suddenly, from the darkness of space, there came a hair-raising weeping sound, along with mournful funeral music.
"Grand Emperor, just come out and see me directly. Why play these tricks?"
Qin Mu scoffed. Then he saw a glimmer of light in the dark void, growing closer. It was a group of strangely dressed men and women, wearing colorful clothes, carrying a coffin as they walked through the sky.
Those men and women had their faces powdered white, but with black round patches painted on their cheeks. They stared with dead fish eyes—no pupils, only white.
There were also men and women in green clothes blowing trumpets and suonas, the music mournful and sorrowful, enough to make anyone who heard it weep uncontrollably.
This was a funeral procession.
But in this vast void, without even a single star, suddenly appearing such a funeral procession with such bizarre attire was enough to make one's hair stand on end.
"Pastoral Heavenly Venerable, look—that coffin has your name written on it." The voice of Tai Shi came from within the egg.
Qin Mu sneered and said loudly, "Grand Emperor, since you cannot do anything to me, resorting to these empty tricks is nothing but a laughingstock! If you want a coffin, I have two here, both of the finest quality!"
The funeral procession stopped, and the bizarrely shaped men and women all turned their heads, staring straight at him, and said in unison, "Your two coffins are already occupied by the Empress sisters. But this coffin of ours is prepared to bury the Pastoral Heavenly Venerable!"
Qin Mu laughed heartily: "Grand Emperor, stop playing tricks! Show yourself quickly!"
"Pastoral Heavenly Venerable, I have already shown myself, but you simply did not notice."
A grand voice sounded. Only then did Qin Mu see that in the darkness ahead sat an incomparably massive black shadow. Because there was no starlight in the void, the shadow had not been illuminated.
That enormous, peerless black shadow sat there, and upon its neck—there was no head!
Suddenly, the ground beneath Qin Mu's feet trembled. He looked down and saw that beneath his feet there was also a patch of darkness. The undulating ridges of fingerprints and palm lines stretched like mountain ranges into the distance.
This was a palm—the Grand Emperor's only remaining palm.
Unbeknownst to him, he had already been lured to the Grand Emperor's presence, walking in the center of his palm!
"Pastoral Heavenly Venerable, you wish to negotiate? About what?" A grand voice came from the Grand Emperor's headless body.