Chapter 934: What the Heart Desires Becomes Reality
"Divine Blade Lạc Vô Song? He's also going to Thái Hư?"
Tần Mục furrowed his brow slightly. Lạc Vô Song's hatred toward him ran extremely deep. If Lạc Vô Song was also going to Thái Hư, the danger would indeed be immense.
"What exactly is Thái Hư?"
Tần Mục subtly withdrew his arm from her embrace, unable to resist asking: "Ever since I arrived at the Heavenly Court, I've heard of this place. It's very mysterious. Why do we need to explore it?"
"Isn't it because of Vô Ưu Hương?"
Vân Sơ Tú said: "Tần Thiên Tôn established Vô Ưu Hương and moved the Khai Hoàng Heavenly Court there. Although the Khai Hoàng era was annihilated, the main force of the Khai Hoàng Heavenly Court still survives. Why didn't this expedition against the rebels of Nguyên Giới touch Phong Đô? Isn't it because they haven't found Vô Ưu Hương?"
Tần Mục's heart stirred slightly.
Vân Sơ Tú continued: "Khai Hoàng is, after all, Tần Thiên Tôn. Although he betrayed the Heavenly Alliance, he was one of the five founding elders who created the Heavenly Alliance. As long as he doesn't die, many people will feel uneasy. Moreover, he refuses to stay quiet. During this campaign against the Nguyên Giới rebels, there were rumors that he was issuing orders from Vô Ưu Hương, telling Phong Đô to avoid battle and go into hiding. Phong Đô is just a minor nuisance, but Vô Ưu Hương is the true thorn in the Heavenly Court's side."
She carefully studied Tần Mục's expression but found nothing unusual about his demeanor. She smiled ambiguously: "Mục Thiên Tôn is quite composed. Tần Thiên Tôn Tần Nghiệp is your ancestor. Aren't you the least bit curious about him?"
"Back then, I traveled with him through the early Long Hán Heavenly Court. He was indecisive and hesitant in his actions, and moreover, he had a rebellious bone in his body. He even dared to make a move against Hạo Thiên Tôn, dared to kill people at Dao Trì, and defied Phu Nhân Nguyên Mỗ! I could tell at the time that he was destined to become a rebel, and I despised his conduct and character. My physical body carries his bloodline, but my soul has nothing to do with the Khai Hoàng bloodline."
Tần Mục was full of righteous indignation, speaking with great conviction: "Now he is a rebel, and I am the Mục Thiên Tôn of the Heavenly Court. Naturally, I must draw a clear line between myself and this traitor! If I encounter him in Thái Hư, I will thoroughly denounce him! Nương Nương, have Hỏa Thiên Tôn and Hư Thiên Tôn found this rebel?"
Vân Sơ Tú carefully observed his subtle expressions but still couldn't detect anything amiss. It seemed that severing ties with Khai Hoàng was indeed Tần Mục's true intention.
She shook her head: "There are rumors that Vô Ưu Hương might be located in Thái Hư. That's why the Heavenly Court has been exploring Thái Hư all these years, trying to find Vô Ưu Hương's whereabouts and eliminate this hidden danger. After Hỏa Thiên Tôn and Hư Thiên Tôn arrived at Thái Hư, they split up. They found many strange places. This place called Thái Hư is filled with weirdness everywhere... When going to Thái Hư, you can't bring too many people. The more people there are, the more dangerous it becomes. This time, you, as a Thiên Tôn, will lead the expedition to Thái Hư, with only three hundred people in total."
Tần Mục's heart stirred slightly. "Has Nương Nương been to Thái Hư?"
Vân Sơ Tú's expression changed slightly, clearly recalling the past, but she was unwilling to discuss it further. She said: "The Heavenly Emperor's decree will arrive at Dao Trì soon. Wait here to receive the decree, make your preparations, and then go to Thái Hư to court death."
Tần Mục's eyes flickered. He smiled: "Isn't Nương Nương going?"
Vân Sơ Tú giggled: "What would I do in a place like that? It's so dangerous and terrifying there. I wouldn't go to such a horrible place."
Tần Mục asked curiously: "Then why did Nương Nương summon me here so urgently? It can't be just to tell me about this, right?"
Vân Sơ Tú's expression shifted between uncertainty and hesitation. Suddenly she sighed: "I want to go, but I don't dare to go in my true body."
Tần Mục was about to ask for more details when Long Kỳ Lân said: "Giáo Chủ, it's time to eat."
Tần Mục walked over, refined some spiritual pills, and handed them to Long Kỳ Lân. Long Kỳ Lân stared at his food bowl, seriously dealing with the spiritual pills, then suddenly burst into snickering laughter: "Giáo Chủ, I heard a story from Tề Cửu Nghi that nearly killed me laughing. Let me tell it to you, Giáo Chủ."
Tần Mục hummed in acknowledgment and asked curiously: "What interesting story did Tề Cửu Nghi tell?"
Long Kỳ Lân said: "Once upon a time, there was a man who was very lustful, and then he died. The story is finished. Isn't it funny? Hahahaha—"
Tần Mục stared at him. Long Kỳ Lân stopped laughing and continued seriously eating his spiritual pills.
Tần Mục stood up and said calmly: "You told your story well. Let me tell you one. Among these spiritual pills in the bowl, one of them is poisoned. My story is finished."
Long Kỳ Lân immediately stopped eating, stared at the pills in the bowl, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
Before long, a divine official arrived to deliver the decree, ordering Thiên Tôn Tần Mục to lead three hundred gods and demons to Thái Hư to rendezvous with Hỏa Thiên Tôn and Hư Thiên Tôn.
Tần Mục received the decree and saw that behind the divine official stood three hundred gods and demons. At the head was Lạc Vô Song, accompanied by a disciple of the Linh Tú Army, also missing an arm. The cultivation levels of the other gods and demons varied—they were probably disciples of various Thiên Tôn.
The divine official stepped forward. It was the same official who had come to clean Dao Hải last time. He smiled: "Mục Thiên Tôn, the ship is ready. Please make your preparations and set off as soon as possible."
Tần Mục looked toward the sea and indeed saw a large tower ship. He smiled: "Are the supplies ready? Where is the geographical map of Thái Hư?"
The divine official shook his head: "Thái Hư doesn't need supplies, and Thái Hư has no geographical map. When you get there, Thiên Tôn, you'll understand."
Lạc Vô Song and the others had already boarded the ship. Tần Mục furrowed his brow slightly and said to Yên Nhi and Long Kỳ Lân: "This journey is extremely dangerous. You two stay behind. There's no need to accompany me. After I leave, Yên Nhi, take Long Béo to see Nam Đế Chu Tước. With her protecting you, there will be no danger."
Yên Nhi hesitated for a moment, then said: "Công Tử, among these three hundred gods and demons, at least two hundred harbor murderous intent toward you. I can stay by your side to protect you..."
"No need."
Tần Mục smiled slightly: "If Vô Ưu Hương truly exists in Thái Hư, then my elder brother is there too. With my brother there, no one can touch me!"
Yên Nhi thought it over carefully, then took out a lantern and said: "Công Tử, take this treasure. It was given to me by Thiên Tôn Nương Nương for protection."
Tần Mục accepted the lantern and boarded the tower ship. To his surprise, he saw Vân Sơ Tú also on the ship. He was momentarily startled, then smiled: "Didn't Nương Nương say she wasn't going?"
Vân Sơ Tú sighed, looking somewhat listless, and said with a worried expression: "A hundred times I don't want to go, but I also very much want to make another trip to probe the true face of Thái Hư."
The tower ship slowly rose into the air and sailed toward the north of the Heavenly Court. Tần Mục probed: "Is Thái Hư really that terrifying? Since Nương Nương has been there before, why not tell us about the dangers inside so we can prepare in advance?"
Vân Sơ Tú hesitated for a moment, then said: "I have indeed been there. At that time, I led the hundred-thousand-strong Thần Vũ Army of the Heavenly Court, along with two of the four Heavenly Masters of that era, and my most accomplished disciples, intending to explore Thái Hư."
Tần Mục's heart skipped a beat. The Thần Vũ Army was one of the Ten Guards of the Heavenly Court, on par with the Vũ Lâm Army. Its ranks were filled with the most powerful gods and demons, every single one of them battle-hardened veterans!
He had seen soldiers of the Vũ Lâm Army on the ghost ship—every one of them was a terrifying existence at the Ngọc Kinh realm or even stronger!
The Empress leading one of the Ten Guards, the Thần Vũ Army, to explore Thái Hư—her purpose was probably not exploration but conquest of the place!
"Thái Hư is a relic within this universe, a halo-like zone. But once you enter it, you'll find another world within."
Vân Sơ Tú leaned against his shoulder, recalling the past, and whispered: "At that time, after we entered that halo zone, strange events kept occurring. All sorts of bizarre happenings, creatures born from imagination, appeared one after another."
She furrowed her brow tightly: "We were attacked by all kinds of strange events, suffering heavy casualties. Fewer than one in ten of the Thần Vũ Army survived. Even I and those two Heavenly Masters were severely wounded! It wasn't until later that Heavenly Master Nhạc suddenly had an epiphany and comprehended the secret of Thái Hư. That secret is: what the heart desires becomes reality."
Tần Mục's heart shook: "What the heart desires becomes reality? Does this Heavenly Master Nhạc mean..."
"His meaning was that what attacked us and killed the soldiers of the Thần Vũ Army were actually the great terrors we imagined in our hearts. The things we feared became reality in Thái Hư."
Vân Sơ Tú said: "Someone imagined being struck dead by lightning, and truly terrifying thunder came. Someone imagined a demon god with a thousand heads and ten thousand hands coming to kill him, and such a demon god truly appeared. Someone worried about the sky collapsing and the earth splitting apart, and truly the sky collapsed, the earth split, and stars fell from the heavens. All kinds of great terrors kept coming, until the most powerful army of the Heavenly Court was utterly routed. We never even saw the true face of Thái Hư before we were forced to turn back. In the end, only I walked out of Thái Hư alive, and even I was severely wounded, barely escaping death. As for the two Heavenly Masters..."
She sighed and said gloomily: "Both Heavenly Masters were beings of supreme wisdom, great masters at the viên mãn of the Đế Tọa realm. Unfortunately, neither of them made it out alive."
Tần Mục narrowed his eyes.
What Vân Sơ Tú described was truly terrifying. Was Thái Hư really such a dreadful place?
"What great terror severely wounded Nương Nương?" Tần Mục asked.
"The Heavenly Emperor. The true Heavenly Emperor."
Vân Sơ Tú's face showed fear, and her voice turned hoarse: "I killed him, but he was also the one I feared most! In Thái Hư, he appeared again, attacking us. I was afraid..."
She shivered several times, trembling with cold.
Tần Mục suddenly said: "Then how did the two Heavenly Masters and the other survivors die? Since Heavenly Master Nhạc had already comprehended the secret of Thái Hư and knew that what the heart desires becomes reality, he would certainly have restrained everyone from thinking of anything. For beings of their caliber, that shouldn't be difficult, right? Why did they all die in Thái Hư, with only Nương Nương walking out alive?"
Vân Sơ Tú revealed a pure and innocent smile, so beautiful it stirred the heart. She even puffed out her chest, the fabric at her collar straining tight, her beauty barely contained and threatening to burst forth. She laughed: "What is Mục Thiên Tôn trying to say?"
Tần Mục ignored her seductive demeanor and said with a faint smile: "What I want to say is that in that kind of great terror, the surviving soldiers of the Thần Vũ Army had already lost their reason and were panicked and fearful. Moreover, Nương Nương couldn't know what others were thinking. The best way to protect yourself would be to kill the others, so they could no longer think. What the heart desires becomes reality—as long as they were dead, they would never think again."
His gaze locked onto the young woman's beautiful face, and he said word by word: "So, Nương Nương killed them. Nương Nương also didn't trust the two Heavenly Masters, so she killed them too. That was how Nương Nương survived and walked out of Thái Hư."
Vân Sơ Tú giggled, her chest heaving like waves: "Mục Thiên Tôn, we really are the same kind of people! You guessed in one go how I escaped Thái Hư. Perhaps you and I are truly meant to be a pair!"
Tần Mục ignored her allure and said flatly: "Nương Nương, we are not a pair, and we can never be the same kind of people. I would never abandon my companions, and I would never slaughter them! I've merely seen too much darkness, which is why I can guess at Nương Nương's venomous heart."
Vân Sơ Tú sneered: "Mục Thiên Tôn, you're too idealistic. They weren't my companions—they were merely slaves and servants. It was either them dying or me dying, so it had to be them! When you reach Thái Hư and face the same situation as I did, your choice will be exactly the same as mine! We will always be the same kind of people! Even if we're not now, in the future you'll become just like me!"
Tần Mục furrowed his brow.
The tower ship sailed out through the North Heavenly Gate, passing over the Heavenly River. Below were the military camps of the Heavenly Court—Bắc Lạc Sư Môn. Countless gods, demons, and warships were stationed there. A series of heavens surrounded the stars of Bắc Lạc Sư Môn, supplying this military camp with provisions and equipment.
Tần Mục gazed at this military camp. Divine light shot into the heavens, vast and boundless, spanning millions of miles.
The Heavenly Court was too powerful. Never mind the Ten Guards—even Bắc Lạc Sư Môn alone was enough to destroy Diên Khang ten thousand times over!
"Ever since I revealed the secret of Thái Hư, the Heavenly Court has developed all sorts of methods to keep the mind free of thoughts. Among them, the Buddhist 'non-thought, non-non-thought' is the most famous."
Vân Sơ Tú said: "Non-thought, non-non-thought allows one's thoughts to exist in a state between being and non-being, preventing Thái Hư from turning one's thoughts into reality. This is a method created by Đại Phạm Thiên. Have you learned it?"
Tần Mục shook his head.
Vân Sơ Tú revealed a charming smile, gazing at a faint halo of light appearing in the dark starry sky.
Lạc Vô Song walked over and said in a deep voice: "Then, Thiên Tôn, what is it that you fear most?"
Tần Mục turned to look at him and smiled: "I am the bá thể. There is no fear in my heart. What does Divine Blade Lạc fear most?"
"I have my divine blade in hand. I fear nothing." Lạc Vô Song said calmly.