Chapter 1428: Moon over the River (Third Update)
On the Heavenly River, Qin Mu, the Butcher, Tian Shu, and the others sat on a fast boat, the cabin piled high with fine wine. Heavenly King Tian Shu was so anxious he was scratching his ears and cheeks, occasionally reaching for a jar to drink his fill, only for the Butcher to smack his hand away with the flat of his blade.
"Ration it."
Luo Wushuang said coldly, "You're as timid as a mouse. This one boatload of wine is all we have, and we're saving it to give you courage when we face the Heavenly Venerables. If you drink it all on the way, you'll be so scared you'll piss yourself when you stand before them."
Heavenly King Tian Shu sneered, "I'll be scared shitless? Yes, I will be scared shitless! Luo Wushuang, facing a Heavenly Venerable, can you honestly say you don't feel a twinge of fear?"
Luo Wushuang looked at his divine blade and said calmly, "No. Ever since I broke through the god within my heart, no matter who stands before me, nothing can stop me from drawing my blade."
Tian Shu grunted, "After a drink, neither can I."
Zhe Huali sat on the gunwale, looking at Qin Mu, and suddenly laughed, "Qin Cult Leader, what realm are you in now? I notice that after going to the Heavenly Court, you weren't completely useless—your cultivation has deepened considerably."
"Nine Prison Terrace realm."
Qin Mu thought for a moment, then said, "Roughly equivalent to your Jade Capital realm, but I have an additional Five Primordials realm on top of that."
Everyone grew curious and crowded around to ask. Qin Mu explained, "My realm has always been only one: the Spirit Embryo Divine Treasury realm. But my Spirit Embryo Divine Treasury realm is divided into two types—one is the Dao Realm, which is the Thirty-Six Heavens Dao Realm system. The other is the Grand Ancestral Court realm. The Dao Realm and the Grand Ancestral Court realm are actually intertwined; as my cultivation realm rises, so does my Dao Realm."
"The Grand Ancestral Court realm is divided into the Heavenly Palace Heavenly Court realm and the Five Primordials realm. The Heavenly Palace Heavenly Court realm is the same system you all cultivate, except mine differs—I've developed the Nine Prison Terrace realm, giving me one more realm than you."
"But I haven't yet figured out how the Jade Capital realm within the Ancestral Court is divided. I've never seen the Jade Capital City of the Ancestral Court. Whether the Jade Capital realm includes the Heavenly Ascension and Emperor's Throne is still unknown."
"As for the Five Primordials realm, I'm still exploring. I've initially refined four of the Primordials, comprehended several divine abilities, and realized a few levels of the Dao Realm. Whether they can form five distinct realms is also still unknown."
Qin Mu paused thoughtfully, then said, "That's about it."
The other four were dumbfounded, unable to speak for a long moment. Zhe Huali stammered, "This is what you comprehended in the Ancestral Court?"
Qin Mu smiled, "If you go to the Ancestral Court, you should visit the Four Great Heavenly Gates, the Jade Pool and Jade Terrace, and the Nine Prison Terraces. When the five of us join forces, we can reach the Thirtieth Heaven of the Dao Realm, but separately, none of our Dao Realms are very high—mine is the highest at the Twenty-Sixth Heaven. If you can walk through those places, your Dao Realm will likely catch up to mine."
He paused, then added, "Probably still a hair behind, but not by much."
Zhe Huali rubbed his fists excitedly, "If I survive this trip to the Dark Capital, I definitely want to make that journey!"
"Pah pah, good luck and fortune!"
Tian Shu spat a few times, "Out of the mouths of babes—don't say such inauspicious things."
Qin Mu showed a confident smile, "This time, Heaven's Dao seeks to preserve itself. Once we reach the Dark Capital, Heaven's Dao will sense our Dao hearts. With Heaven's Dao's blessing, our strength will rise another step. It's not impossible that we survive! Add the Kai Emperor, Lang Wan, Moon Heavenly Venerable, and Dark Heavenly Venerable—with these experts helping us, we can definitely turn danger into safe—"
Before the word "ty" left his mouth, Qin Mu's gaze went dull as he stared ahead.
Everyone hurriedly looked forward and saw a middle-aged man with a sword at his waist walking along the Heavenly River toward them. It was none other than the Kai Emperor, Qin Ye.
The Kai Emperor arrived at the boat and stopped. The Butcher and the others quickly paid their respects, while Tian Shu hid in the cabin, not daring to show his face.
Qin Mu quickly halted the boat, leaned out half his body, and asked, "You're not going to the Dark Capital—why are you here?"
The Kai Emperor's expression was calm as he said leisurely, "You asked me to come to the Ancestral Court, saying that comprehending the Dao Realm here could help me break through to the Ultimate Void. So I came."
Qin Mu said irritably, "At this point in time, you should be preparing to go to the Dark Capital, not the Ancestral Court! What were you doing earlier?"
Tian Shu's face turned ashen upon hearing this. In this world, the only person who dared speak to the Kai Emperor like that was probably Qin Mu. Ever since the Kai Emperor wounded several Heavenly Venerables with his sword at the Heavenly Alliance meeting, even the Ten Heavenly Venerables treated him with respect.
The Kai Emperor didn't mind, saying, "Earlier, the Ten Heavenly Venerables were all here, so I had no opportunity. Now that they've rushed to the Dark Capital, I have the chance to walk through the Ancestral Court."
Qin Mu was about to speak when the Kai Emperor continued, "Traveling from the Heavenly River to the Dark Capital takes some time. If I comprehend the Ancestral Court first and then go, I'll still make it in time. You all hold the line first."
Qin Mu gritted his teeth, watching helplessly as he walked toward the Ancestral Court.
"Qin Ye, remember to collect my corpse!" he called to the Kai Emperor's back.
"Alright." The Kai Emperor replied flatly.
Qin Mu pulled off his shoe and hurled it at him. The Kai Emperor tilted his head, the shoe missed, then flew back and automatically slipped onto Qin Mu's foot.
"Wait! Since you're going to the Ancestral Court, do something for me!"
Qin Mu put his shoe back on, and his divine consciousness rippled into the Kai Emperor's mind, relaying the matter. The Kai Emperor paused mid-step, turned his head, and said, "Somewhat difficult."
Qin Mu said in a low voice, "Fifty percent chance?"
"I can try." He lifted his foot and departed.
Qin Mu snorted, then said gravely, "We hold the line!"
Everyone exchanged glances. Tian Shu poked his head out of the cabin, "How do we hold it?"
Qin Mu gritted his teeth, "With our heads!"
Tian Shu quickly ducked back inside.
The cheerful atmosphere on the boat vanished. Everyone was breathing heavily. The Butcher scooped up some Heavenly River water and sharpened his blade by the side of the boat, laughing, "One Kai Emperor can raise his sword Dao to the Thirty-Fifth Heaven, but we roughnecks who use blades can only reach the Thirtieth Heaven. Is the Dao of the blade inferior to the Dao of the sword? Gentlemen, success comes from effort!"
Despite his words, they still found it hard to relax. Just then, the faint sound of a zither drifted from ahead—a beautiful, moving melody that made the Heavenly River ripple in time with the music.
Qin Mu soared into the air and looked ahead. He saw the vast Heavenly River dancing like jumping notes, hidden killing intent lurking within. Strange divine abilities merged with the river water in the leaping waves, striking out when they encountered boats, filling the river's surface with hidden danger.
"It's Moon Heavenly Venerable's zither music!"
Qin Mu looked into the far distance and saw the Heavenly Court's divine-demon army pushing out divine artifacts—the Four Emperors—to suppress the Heavenly River, preventing Moon Heavenly Venerable's zither music from exerting its full power.
Then, from within that Heavenly Court divine-demon army, a Heavenly Venerable suddenly soared into the air and charged at Moon Heavenly Venerable. That Heavenly Venerable was powerfully built, his muscles like boulders, his beard bristling with fury—extremely imposing. It was Heavenly Venerable Shi Qiluo.
The two Heavenly Venerables fought while moving through the starry sky, always weaving up and down around the Heavenly River, slowing the Heavenly Court divine-demon army's advance.
"So that's it. The Kai Emperor had Moon Heavenly Venerable slow down the Heavenly Court's march to give himself ample time to comprehend the Ancestral Court's Four Heavenly Gates, Jade Terrace, and Jade Pool." Qin Mu suddenly understood.
The only one who could slow the Heavenly Court's march was Moon Heavenly Venerable—her spatial divine abilities allowed her to come and go freely, making her extremely difficult to trap.
Qin Mu relaxed. The fast boat quickly caught up to the Heavenly Court divine-demon army ahead.