Chapter 921: Where to Find the Winning Move, Placing a Piece on the Heavenly Court (Second Update, Asking for Monthly Tickets!)
The winding corridor pavilion fell into silence.
Que Jingxue and the others sank into silence, their expressions complex, their hearts tangled with indecision.
The Tianhe Divine Treasury had given them great shock, but what shocked them even more were Qin Mu's words that struck at their very hearts.
Qin Mu had not spoken wrongly. The reason the Heavenly Court harbored enmity toward reform was not because they feared the lower realm threatening their rule. Given the Heavenly Court's current scale, even if Yankang were given several thousand or even ten thousand years, Yankang would still not be the Heavenly Court's match.
The reason the Heavenly Court opposed reform was because those who held power in the Heavenly Court could not gain any benefit from reform. Supporting reform or ignoring reform would shake the very foundation of their rule!
If the rulers of the Heavenly Court accepted reform, they themselves might fall, might be taken advantage of by political enemies.
Even if they did not reincarnate, they would need to revise their cultivation techniques, comprehend their techniques anew—equivalent to starting over from scratch!
The energy reform required was too great, the time it took too long. What if younger newcomers surpassed them during this period? What if younger newcomers replaced them?
How could they be willing to hand over their power and status?
And ignoring reform meant new gods replacing old gods. The new deities would be stronger than them, the old gods, more driven, and would sooner or later overthrow their rule—just as they had overthrown the rule of the ancient gods!
Therefore, the simplest solution was to treat reform as rebellion, as an act of great treason, as something that must be strangled!
Only this way could they ensure they would never fall, ensure their rule would last long, ensure no later generation would have the chance to replace them.
Yet even understanding this, Que Jingxue and the others still faced a dilemma.
Should they cultivate the Tianhe Divine Treasury? Should they accept the Yankang reforms?
If they did not accept, they would die on the battlefield in the future. The benefits brought by the Tianhe Divine Treasury could not be matched by the traditional Shenqiao Divine Treasury. If they encountered someone who had opened the divine treasury on the battlefield, they would certainly be killed by that person!
If they accepted the reforms, their sects would first refuse to tolerate them. Their former sect elders would immediately change their faces and kill them, even implicating their clans!
Qi Jiuyi walked in from outside, silently taking a seat, saying nothing.
A trace of blood aura emanated from him.
The people in the pavilion were startled. Earlier, Qi Jiuyi had said he would see off those who were leaving, and now he carried the scent of blood—it seemed those people had met with misfortune.
Qin Mu showed a questioning expression. Qi Jiuyi said calmly, "Already handled properly. The Heavenly Court sent them here for no other reason than to kill Mu Tianzun, so they died at Mu Tianzun's hands."
Qin Mu frowned slightly, saying, "Why did you need to eliminate them? Just let them go."
Qi Jiuyi sneered coldly, "Let them go? Cult Leader Qin, you want to use their mouths to disrupt the Heavenly Court, don't you? You underestimate the Heavenly Court too much. After they leave, all the young people who came to Yaochi today will die inexplicably—not one will remain, including me!"
Que Jingxue and the others felt a chill in their hearts, a lingering fear.
Qin Mu asked with concern, "Then did Brother Qi handle it cleanly?"
"Soul scattered, spirit extinguished. Very clean."
Qi Jiuyi spoke with a hint of pride: "Cult Leader Qin need not doubt my abilities. Since I opened the Tianhe Divine Treasury, I am no longer what I once was! Their techniques and divine powers are all outdated. In the past, I might not have been their match, but now they cannot withstand a single blow."
Behind him, a nine-headed phoenix soared above the Tianhe. That nine-headed phoenix primordial spirit was wild and untamed, ferocious beyond measure: "They were killed by Mu Tianzun. They challenged Mu Tianzun, but did not expect Mu Tianzun to be so vicious, directly extinguishing their primordial spirits! This crime—Mu Tianzun shouldn't mind bearing it, right?"
Qin Mu revealed a smile: "I don't mind. I can bear it."
Qi Jiuyi swept his gaze around, his eyes growing more ferocious: "Everyone can rest assured. They have already been killed by me. Even if you cultivate the Tianhe Divine Treasury, no one will know."
A young man said with a trembling voice, "What if one of us does not cultivate the Tianhe Divine Treasury?"
Qi Jiuyi said nothing more, but the nine-headed phoenix behind him spread its wings, blazing flames roaring.
That person said in despair, "After we open the Tianhe Divine Treasury, we definitely cannot hide it from our fellow disciples, let alone our masters! My master is a Heavenly King of the Heavenly Court!"
Yun Jianli suddenly spoke: "You can go to the Yuan Realm."
Everyone was stunned, not understanding why he suddenly said this.
Yun Jianli said, "Going to the Yuan Realm is a path to survival, avoiding the inspections of your sects. Moreover, the lower realm has the Yankang reforms, where you can absorb more of the strengths of reform. After witnessing Mu Tianzun's abilities, I also very much want to go to the lower realm and walk around. In the Heavenly Court, one is like a frog at the bottom of a well, unable to see the true heaven and earth. We cultivators of divine powers are also seekers of the Dao. Since the Heavenly Court is lifeless and stagnant, with the upper gods clinging to power without ambition, staying in the Heavenly Court means we cannot see any hope. We might as well go down to the lower realm!"
Que Jingxue stood up and left, giggling: "Mu Tianzun, Yun Jianli, and you fierce fellow with nine heads, we shall meet again in the Yuan Realm!"
Suddenly, she stopped in her tracks, turned around, and looked with a half-smile at a young man in yellow robes who had remained silent all along in the pavilion: "Prince Yu, you are of the royal family. You cannot support reform, right? You also cannot cultivate the Tianhe Divine Treasury, right?"
That young man in yellow robes' face changed drastically. He hurriedly stood up, saying warily, "Senior Sister Jingxue, what are you saying? Even if I had the highest cultivation, I could never sit on the imperial throne! The Heavenly Emperor is immortal, undying, and indestructible. Naturally, I would rebel. I support reform!"
"Well said! But I cannot trust you."
Que Jingxue laughed: "Fellow Daoists of the Qinghua Ranking and Shenxiu Ranking, we all need a little blood on our hands to trust each other. Otherwise, if news of our cultivation of the Tianhe Divine Treasury spreads, none of us will survive!"
The people in the pavilion silently stood up.
The young man in yellow robes knew things had gone wrong. He immediately soared into the air, trying to break through the roof of the winding corridor pavilion and escape from above.
The moment his body moved, almost everyone in the winding corridor pavilion struck out simultaneously. Figures flashed, and who knew how many divine powers erupted in that instant, blasting the young man in yellow robes into pieces!
His primordial spirit also failed to escape, beaten until his soul scattered and spirit extinguished by the crowd!
Everyone landed, their clothes rustling in the wind. It was a long while before things settled.
Qin Mu, Qi Jiuyi, and Yun Jianli silently watched this scene, neither stopping it nor speaking.
Que Jingxue wiped the bloodstains from her hands, took a deep look at Qin Mu, and tested: "Prince Yu challenged Mu Tianzun and was killed by Mu Tianzun in the winding corridor pavilion."
Qin Mu nodded: "I killed him."
"Thank you, Tianzun, for your cooperation!"
Que Jingxue bowed deeply to Qin Mu, then rose and left.
The others also bowed to Qin Mu one after another, each departing.
Soon, only Qin Mu, Qi Jiuyi, and Yun Jianli remained in the pavilion, with Yan'er and Dragon Qilin guarding outside the door.
Qin Mu was the first to break the silence, sighing: "When I came to the Heavenly Court, I originally intended to kill someone to establish my authority and cause a ruckus in the Heavenly Court. I never expected that I wouldn't kill a single person, but instead ended up bearing many lives on my back."
Yun Jianli coughed a few times, the black aura between his brows growing thicker, and said: "This is precisely Mu Tianzun's brilliance. Tianzun, in one stroke you have lured away more than twenty geniuses from the Qinghua Ranking and Shenxiu Ranking. They were all talents painstakingly cultivated by the Heavenly Kings, Tianzuns, and ancient gods of the Heavenly Court. You turned them in this way, and they had no choice but to turn. I cannot help but be curious—what does Tianzun do in the Yuan Realm?"
Qin Mu became interested, turning sideways and saying: "Brother Yun, have you heard of the Tiansheng Sect? You see, Brother Qi always calls me Cult Leader Qin, precisely because I am the Tiansheng Cult Leader. Brother Yun, are you interested..."
Yun Jianli laughed heartily, then coughed violently again.
Qin Mu's heart tightened. His vertical eye on his forehead opened, and he examined him, saying: "After you opened the Tianhe Divine Treasury, your cultivation and strength increased greatly, but you are getting closer and closer to the day of your death!"
Yun Jianli laughed: "My day of death may not be far, but Tianzun's day of death is even closer. You bear many lives on your back. Before long, upper gods will come to kill you!"
Qin Mu said leisurely: "There are many in the Heavenly Court who want me dead, but there are also many who do not want me dead. Because besides being one of the Three Heroes of Yankang's Reform and Mu Tianzun, I am also the Myriad Kalpas Indestructible Great Mage. After my battle with you, when I used my full strength, those who do not want me dead will see my abilities and do their utmost to protect me. The unbreakable Heavenly Court will, because of my arrival, split into two parts, divided in two. The grievances between them will grow deeper and deeper, gradually coming into the open."
Yun Jianli's hair stood on end. After a moment, he sighed: "I finally understand why you, knowing the danger, insisted on coming to the Heavenly Court. When you are in the Yuan Realm, the internal contradictions of the Heavenly Court can still be suppressed. When you arrive at the Heavenly Court, the internal contradictions will be provoked, erupt, and cause the Heavenly Court to split. From then on, the Heavenly Court will no longer focus its gaze on the lower realm. To deal with external threats, one must first settle internal affairs—they will definitely deal with their internal crisis first. Mu Tianzun, is your scheming really this deep?"
Qin Mu said with a half-smile: "In the lower realm, we call this being an old hand at the game. I was toyed with in the palms of old hands, to the point that the Yankang Calamity erupted. I am merely collecting a little interest now."
Outside the door, Dragon Qilin's voice came: "Cult Leader, Lady Yun Chuxiu has arrived."
They immediately stopped this topic. Qin Mu laughed: "I will have people arrange rooms for you siblings. You may stay here for now."
Yun Chuxiu arrived at the winding corridor pavilion. This young lady was very lively and active, bustling about, always circling around Qin Mu and Yun Jianli, while Qi Jiuyi circled around her, much to the young lady's annoyance.
Because Yun Jianli's cultivation was profound, his condition was becoming increasingly critical. Qin Mu intensified his bitter cultivation of the Taiwei Palace Upper Consciousness, strengthening his divine consciousness, preparing to refine away the bloodline great curse on him.
His divine consciousness grew stronger and stronger. The Taiwei Palace Upper Consciousness, after his improvements, cultivated at a speed beyond his imagination.
"Before long, I can attempt to break the bloodline great curse on Yun Jianli!"
Suddenly, the sky gradually grew dim and dark. Qin Mu's heart stirred. He stopped cultivating and quickly walked out of the winding corridor pavilion. The winding corridor pavilion was the residence of Empress Dowager Niangniang, and should have been eternally bright—it was impossible for the sky to darken.
Yet at this moment, the sun and moon in the sky were dim and unclear, the stars growing fainter and fainter, the sky turning to dusk.
Many palace maids in the winding corridor pavilion also came out one after another. Some hurriedly went to find lanterns, planning to hang them up.
Yun Jianli, Yun Chuxiu, Qi Jiuyi, and the others also came out, looking up at the sky.
In the sky, the sun suddenly slowly hid itself, and the moon also dimmed, no moonlight visible. Stars in the sky disappeared one after another, the night growing darker and darker.
"Is the entire Heavenly Court like this?"
A palace maid called out loudly: "Or is it only our Yaochi where the sky has turned dark?"
The other palace maids were all busy lighting lanterns and hanging them up, no one answering her.
More and more lights appeared in the winding corridor pavilion, glaringly conspicuous in the darkness.
Yun Jianli's heart jolted. He hurriedly ran toward the winding corridor pavilion, shouting loudly: "Not good! Don't light the lamps! Quickly extinguish the lanterns!"
Qin Mu grabbed him, laughing: "Brother Yun, no need to rush. Let us see what strength each side has!"
Cold sweat broke out on Yun Jianli's forehead, while Yun Chuxiu curiously looked around. Suddenly she cried out in surprise: "Something in the Yao Sea is coming! Something has entered the Yao Sea from a tributary of the Tianhe!"
In the darkness, the surface of the Yao Sea suddenly rose up high, standing tall in the sky. The waves were like a wall connecting heaven and earth, moving at a terrifying speed, charging straight for the winding corridor pavilion!
Crack—
Lightning and thunder erupted in the sky. Countless bolts of thunder burst forth. Unknown when, dark clouds had spread across the sky above Yaochi. Firelight suddenly appeared within the thunder layer, growing brighter and brighter, illuminating the dark clouds as if they were about to burn.
Then, from the thunder layer and dark clouds, the ferocious face of a bearded divine king emerged. Thunderbolts seemed to form his beard, spreading in all directions like writhing flood dragons—indescribably terrifying!
That bearded thunder divine king looked down at the great waves in the Yao Sea below, suddenly opened his ferocious maw wide, and let out an earth-shaking roar, collapsing the great waves!
A massive creature rose from the sea, dragon roars shaking the heavens, like an incomparably vast black-green island slowly rising from the depths of the sea.
Qin Mu watched the terrifying omens, his gaze growing brighter and brighter. He softly recited: "Where to find the winning move, placing a piece on the Heavenly Court? The Heavenly Court splits from this night onward."
Yun Chuxiu heard this and suddenly turned her head to look at him, her gaze complex.
Qin Mu smiled at her, and Yun Chuxiu returned a sweet smile.