Chapter 876: Hello, Wei Suifeng
"Emperor Consort's younger sister... why is her corpse here?"
Qin Mu's mind went completely blank, almost unable to believe his own eyes!
The Emperor Consort's corpse had been hidden aboard the ghost ship, and Qin Mu's experience on that ghost ship had been extremely strange—one he could never forget. To solve the mystery of the ghost ship, he had memorized every detail on board, every cycle of reincarnation, and thus his memory of the ship was exceptionally profound.
On the ghost ship, the Emperor Consort and Jue Wuchen's physical bodies had both been placed in the same coffin. When Qin Mu performed a soul-summoning for Jue Wuchen, he discovered that Jue Wuchen had no soul at all—she was an artificial beauty, a perfect female construct created by Ling Tianzun using the Art of Creation to eliminate the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor.
When Qin Mu performed a soul-summoning for the Emperor Consort, he was horrified to discover that the Emperor Consort was not dead at all—she was still alive in the mortal world!
Afterward, he deduced the process by which the Emperor Consort sisters had conspired with the Heavenly Alliance to murder the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor.
The Emperor Consort sisters had joined forces—the younger sister remained in the Heavenly Court to hold the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor in check, while the Emperor Consort returned to her hometown to visit family, using the nearby Longbo Kingdom to have King Longbo rebel and wound the Emperor Consort, trapping her in the Guixu Abyss.
The Heavenly Emperor ordered Wei Suifeng to lead the Imperial Guard to suppress the rebellion and rescue the Emperor Consort. After Wei Suifeng quelled the rebellion, on the eve of his triumphant return to court, the Emperor Consort assassination case erupted—the Guixu undercurrents surged, two Emperor Consorts appeared in the darkness, and the real Emperor Consort perished.
Wei Suifeng led the Emperor Consort's body back to the Heavenly Court, but on the Tianhe River, Ling Tianzun cast her divine ability. Wei Suifeng immediately used the fog to escape from the Longhan Era back to his own time, while the Imperial Guard and the tower ship were transformed by Ling Tianzun's divine power into a ghost ship that traversed the thirty-six dimensions of time and space.
Yet the Emperor Consort had not died—she had become Jue Wuchen.
The Heavenly Court also announced that the Emperor Consort had not died. Qin Mu deduced that the Emperor Consort in the Heavenly Court should be the Emperor Consort's younger sister.
According to this deduction, both Emperor Consort sisters had participated in the plot to murder the Heavenly Emperor.
However, before him lay the coffin of the Emperor Consort's younger sister, her corpse lying within!
What if, at that time, the Emperor Consort's younger sister had not remained in the Heavenly Court to hold the Heavenly Emperor in check, but had instead followed the Emperor Consort to the Guixu Abyss, incited the Longbo Kingdom to rebel, and taken the opportunity to strike at her elder sister—only to be killed by her instead?
The elder sister hid her younger sister's corpse in the Guixu Abyss, then pretended to be attacked and killed herself, letting Wei Suifeng send her corpse to the Heavenly Court, then used the ghost ship to escape and transform into Jue Wuchen.
Wei Suifeng, however, discovered the discrepancy—the one who had died was actually the Emperor Consort's younger sister—so he left behind a map, pointing Qin Mu toward uncovering the truth.
"But there's a flaw in this guess: why did the Heavenly Court announce that the Emperor Consort had not died?"
Qin Mu steadied himself and sank into thought: "The Emperor Consort in the Heavenly Court must be one of the two sisters. So which one is it? Perhaps there's another possibility—at that time, the Emperor Consort sisters were playing a double act. The younger sister pretended to ambush her elder sister, killing her in front of everyone. The elder sister faked her death to escape and transform into Jue Wuchen, while the younger sister returned to the Heavenly Court and was promoted from deputy to full status, becoming the legitimate Emperor Consort."
"After the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor was killed, the Emperor Consort eliminated her younger sister and sent her corpse here to bury the truth! Until Wei Suifeng came here and discovered the corpse of the Emperor Consort's younger sister..."
"There are still inconsistencies! One sister's corpse is hidden on the ghost ship, the other in the Guixu Abyss—so who are they now? Is there still an Emperor Consort in the Heavenly Court? Or did the Emperor Consort not eliminate her younger sister, but instead the sisters share one body, remaining in the Heavenly Court to control the Heavenly Emperor's physical form?"
...
Qin Mu felt his head was about to explode. He suddenly shouted, "Long Pang, come down—open the coffin!"
Long Qilin trembled all over, lying on the crystal coffin and not daring to move. Qin Mu raised his hand, flipping the crystal coffin along with him aside, then immediately activated the Overlord Three Elixir Art.
Behind him, the Gate of Heaven's Mandate appeared—but strangely, it was extremely dim, barely visible, unable to take form at all!
Qin Mu frowned. The Guixu Abyss was extremely strange, suppressing the Netherworld divine abilities. He couldn't use the Soul-Pulling Charm to test whether the Emperor Consort's younger sister was alive or dead.
"Wei Suifeng left the Emperor Consort's younger sister's corpse here as a treasure—does he want me to take this corpse away?"
His frown deepened. He paced around the coffin, staring at the corpse of the Emperor Consort's younger sister inside, lost in thought.
Should he really take it away?
Suddenly, a tremendous sound of water came from outside. Qin Mu was startled, quickly walked out of the Red Palace, and looked up. The water sound came from beyond the heavens, but it hadn't penetrated into the flower world.
"The Tianhe River has been cut off—where is this water sound coming from?"
Qin Mu was puzzled: "Could it be..."
At that moment, fog began to drift down from the sky. The mist seeped through the cracks of the flower world, gradually filling it entirely.
Yan'er and the beautiful serpent transformed from the flower pistil were still locked in combat, appearing and disappearing within the fog.
After a moment, the fog dispersed, and the water sound vanished as well. Only a resounding noise could be heard as the flower world trembled violently. Then Qin Mu felt the two great flowers slowly rising!
"These two flowers are about to rise from the Guixu Abyss!"
Qin Mu's heart stirred. He immediately turned back to the Red Palace, grabbed Long Qilin, and pried him off the coffin lid.
Qin Mu closed the crystal coffin and said, "Long Pang, stop trembling. I'll give you extra food. Go quickly and call Sister Yan'er over—we'll take advantage of these two flowers surfacing from the Great Abyss to leave this place!"
Long Qilin's spirits soared. He immediately rushed out of the Red Palace, glanced around, and called out, "Chief, the flowers have bloomed! Sister Yan'er and that Ancient God have fought into the dark world! It's too dark in there—I don't dare go in!"
"Two extra meals!"
Long Qilin charged into the dark world to find Yan'er. Qin Mu hoisted the crystal coffin onto his shoulder and chuckled: "I don't know what tricks the Emperor Consort sisters are playing, but once I carry this coffin out, I'll know whether you're alive or dead..."
He had just walked out of the Red Palace when he saw a middle-aged man approaching from the opposite direction. The man wore coarse cloth clothing, travel-worn and weary, with large hands and feet, thick eyebrows and big eyes, a rough hemp rope tied around his waist. Before him floated a piece of sheepskin paper, moving along with him.
In front of the sheepskin paper was also a brush, automatically writing and drawing on the paper, mapping the geography of the flower world.
The two met face to face, both momentarily stunned.
"Founding Ancestor... Senior Brother!"
The coffin on Qin Mu's shoulder fell to the ground. He stared blankly at the middle-aged man, stammering: "Wei, Wei Suifeng!"
"Who are you?"
The middle-aged man was taken aback. His gaze shifted to the crystal coffin on the ground, where he saw the coffin had been opened and a female corpse had rolled out, face down, with a hole broken in the back of her head and a peachwood hairpin stuck in it.
The middle-aged man became alert and immediately withdrew his sheepskin scroll and brush: "Who are you? Why do you recognize me? What do you intend to do with this female corpse?"
Qin Mu's mind was in chaos. The fog just now, the sudden appearance of Senior Brother Wei Suifeng, the peachwood hairpin in the back of the Emperor Consort's younger sister's head—a series of sudden events left him unable to sort out his thoughts for a moment.
The middle-aged man was indeed Wei Suifeng, the founding ancestor of the Heavenly Sage Sect. His portrait hung on Mount Shenglin, the sect's headquarters, and every Chief who underwent the Saint Teacher's Instruction Stone transmission would see the scene of Wei Suifeng listening to the Woodcutter Sage preach.
He could not possibly mistake the man.
"The water sound just now was the Tianhe River reappearing, and then the fog erupted, bringing this place back to twenty thousand years ago."
Qin Mu's mind cleared, and he immediately sorted out the threads.
Ling Tianzun's divine ability had sent him back twenty thousand years. At this time, Wei Suifeng, in order to achieve the three accomplishments of establishing a doctrine, establishing words, and establishing merit to become a sage, had begun exploring the mysteries of the past—and he had come to the Guixu Abyss.
As for the peachwood hairpin in the back of the Emperor Consort's younger sister's head—it was because Ling Tianzun was the one who had killed the Emperor Consort's younger sister, not the Emperor Consort herself.
It was Ling Tianzun who had hidden the corpse of the Emperor Consort's younger sister here!
"Why aren't you speaking?"
The middle-aged man had various weapons strapped to his back. Suddenly his body shook, and all the weapons clattered to the ground, rapidly assembling as he cautiously stared at Qin Mu: "How do you know me? Are you someone left here by the Outer Heaven Court, or a tomb robber?"
His weapons were extremely peculiar—various components that could be freely combined into different weapon forms.
Qin Mu had figured out the key points and smiled: "Senior Brother, I am your second junior brother. You and I are fellow disciples of the same sect, both studying under the Woodcutter Sage..."
The middle-aged man reached behind him and grabbed—the divine weapon that had just assembled fell into his hand. He sneered: "You are my junior brother? The Saint Teacher has never accepted any other disciples! Who exactly are you?"
The weapon in his hand resembled a bamboo hat, though this was likely just one of its many forms.
"I am your junior brother from twenty thousand years in the future."
Qin Mu quickly said: "The Woodcutter Sage accepted me as his disciple twenty thousand years later. I am also the Chief of the Heavenly Sage Sect, separated from you by twenty thousand years. Did you just encounter fog? The fog is the reason I traveled back twenty thousand years. I found this place by following the geography map you left for me. This coffin and the woman inside—you left them for me to discover the truth of history. This woman is the younger sister of the Emperor Consort of the Outer Heaven Court..."
As he spoke, he could no longer continue.
These words—if he were in the other man's shoes, he wouldn't believe them either!
Because it was too absurd, too bizarre!
Qin Mu sighed and said: "If I say this, you definitely won't believe me, right?"
"You think I would believe you?"
The cold smile on the middle-aged man's face grew thicker: "Leave the coffin and the female corpse, and I'll let you leave."
Qin Mu sighed again and said: "The Sage said you are extremely stubborn—once you've decided something, nine oxen couldn't drag you back, and no one could change your mind. It seems the only way is to fight it out. Once I defeat you, you'll admit I'm your junior brother. Among us three brothers of the same sect, we've never actually sparred before."
The middle-aged man's appearance was very plain and simple. Hearing this, he smiled: "I also have a third junior brother? Today I came to this treacherous place of the Guixu Abyss, and suddenly I've gained two junior brothers. What a strange turn of events."
Qin Mu said seriously: "In the future, you will meet him. But today..."
Before he could finish his words, Wei Suifeng suddenly tossed the bamboo hat into the air. It spun and floated upward, vanishing in an instant. Qin Mu looked up—countless stars were shining overhead!
The starlight of ten thousand stars interwove and pressed down from above.
"Star sand? No—it's the myriad divine abilities from the Great Nurturing Demon Scripture!"
The moment he thought this, he was drowned by countless stars!
Wei Suifeng reached out and grabbed—the bamboo hat fell back into his hand. He said calmly: "Fighting me? Capturing you is no more than lifting a finger..."
Boom!
The bamboo hat in his hand suddenly exploded, countless divine weapons flying everywhere. Qin Mu burst through the bamboo hat and soared into the air, laughing: "Senior Brother, using the Sage's techniques against me won't..."
Wei Suifeng's expression shifted slightly. The countless divine weapons combined—before Qin Mu could rise—into a great cauldron that swallowed Qin Mu once more, suppressing him within!
"Galaxy Burial Heaven!"
A river of stars coiled around him. Suddenly the long river surged mightily, and countless stars rushed into the cauldron!