Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
âYun Chuxiuâs character is somewhat peculiar and jumpy. Itâs rumored that ever since her birth, Celestial Empress had the qualities needed to be the motherly model of the world. Meanwhile, Mistress Yuanmu was an active and energetic person that was also oddly clever.â
Qin Mu brought Yun Chuxiu with him towards Yun Jianli, Qi Jiuyi, and the others. Intense waves tossed around in his heart as he thought, âCould Yun Chuxiu not be Celestial Empress and instead be Mistress Yuanmu? If it isnât Mistress Yuanmu but Celestial Empress that died during the Celestial Empressâ assassination...â
âCelestial Venerable, there are a lot of goosebumps on the back of your neck!â
Yun Chuxiu curiously looked at it and exclaimed her discovery, shocked, âYouâre sweating at the back of your neck! How strange!â
She extended her gentle and warm hand to touch his forehead and exclaimed, more shocked than before, âYour forehead is completely dry! Celestial Venerable, youâre sick!â
âNo, youâre sick!â
Qin Mu was furious and shook her off to return to the others before whispering, âSister Yanâer, come onto my shoulder.â
It was only when Yanâer morphed into a little green sparrow and sat on his shoulder that Qin Mu felt relieved.
When his hand was held by Yun Chuxiu, he had an unexplainable uneasiness. She was peculiar and temperamental. Just now, she was dramatic to the point of death. Now, she was sweet to the point of sickening.
He couldnât deduce what Yun Chuxiuâs real thoughts were.
When Yun Chuxiu held his hand, it gave him the feeling that a venomous python was coiled around him. It was only when Yanâer landed on his shoulder that he felt relaxed.
Yanâer also observed the back of his neck curiously before wondering, âMaster wasnât nervous before, why is he nervous now?â
âThereâs still one suspicious part. I summoned the soul of Celestial Empress and discovered that she wasnât dead. Even more peculiar was how Mistress Yuanmu had her body in the crystal coffin move once, which was suppressed by Big Brother Wei Suifeng.â
Qin Muâs eyes flashed as doubts began to rise. âThen who is this Yun Chuxiu? If she is Celestial Empress, this personality of hers is too far apart from her usual one. Or, is this her nature?â
Yun Jianli, Qi Jiuyi, and the others were extremely guarded towards Yun Chuxiu. Although they were as well-mannered towards her as before, they didnât dare to be too close to her. Only Qin Mu felt relatively at ease, and he became even closer to her than before.
The two were chatting heartily as they walked towards Ancestral God Kingâs Ancestral King Palace.
âThe Qin guy wants to come to my place?â
Within the Ancestral King Palace, Ancestral God King Celestial Venerable Zu had already heard the news. He laughed and said, âDoes this fellow not know that I want to kill him and that heâs sending himself to death? Unless he believes that I canât strike in my Ancestral King Palace.â
âDo you really want to kill him?â Great Sun Sovereign asked.
This Great Sun Sovereign wasnât the one from the ancient gods. The one from the ancient gods was betrayed for knowing too much, dying during the Dragon Han Era.
Todayâs Great Sun Sovereign was a god from the High Emperor Era named Dan Fenglai. He was a disciple of Ancestral God King and was tasked to become the general of the Heavenly Cycle Stars of the celestial heavens.
The reason that Ancestral God King was able to be an equal rival of Celestial Venerable Hao and God Emperor Lang Xuan was because of how he was the son of Heaven Duke and had mastered the Heavenly Cycle Stars. Most of the star gods had to listen to his orders.
âOf course not.â
Ancestral God King laughed. âDo you think Iâm that foolish? If I was, would I be at the position I am today? Sometimes, bumbling around isnât necessarily bad. For example, the Jade Pool incident. All of the other Celestial Venerables were there and hid their identities so they wouldnât be recognized. The nine of them are suspicious of and guarded against one another, but since only I revealed my identity, they wonât be suspicious of me, the boorish man.
He put his arms behind him and continued, âCelestial Venerable Mu came here to get killed by me, but I wonât touch him at all. He isnât my enemy, at least for now. He might have the title of Celestial Venerable, but heâs nothing more than a small figure with an over-glorified title. Killing him would only spell trouble.â
Great Sun Sovereign Dan Fenglai was impressed and praised, âBrilliant, Celestial Venerable. So how do we deal with his arrival here?â
Ancestral God King said, âCelestial Venerable Muâs aptitude is actually not bad. I fought him at the palace of Mahakala with the strongest weapon. I was at the Divine Bridge Realm, and he was able to match me. Even after I used the realmâs twenty-eight heavens, I couldnât take him down. Instead, he killed Celestial Venerable Yuâs clone. Thus, restrain the disciples to not provoke him.â
He smiled. âSay that Iâm not around and force the disciples to treat him respectfully. Donât give him a chance to create a scene, treat him as if heâs a real Celestial Venerable. Once he realizes that he canât gain anything from here, heâll back off.â
Great Sun Sovereign Dan Fenglai bowed and replied, âI will now receive him.â
Ancestral God King halted him with one more instruction, âOne more thing, prevent anyone from infiltrating the Ancestral King Palace to assassinate him. He was the victim of an attempt at Lang Xuan Divine Palace, so there will probably be a second time. Donât let this failure of a man die at my place.â
Dan Fenglai left and led the disciples to receive Qin Mu.
Qin Mu looked at this Great Sun Sovereign and laughed. âGreat Sun Sovereign, I still vividly remember the last time I met you. I almost died at your hands.â
Dan Fenglai said, âI didnât know it was you then, and I also held back. Then, I was merely using clones and the fire crow army to kill those of Crimson Light. I didnât treat you as an opponent. Celestial Venerable Mu, my master isnât here, so allow me to treat you properly as host. Please.â
Qin Mu followed them into the Ancestral King Palace as he joked, âThat night at the Jade Pool, I saw someone that looked like a star sovereign trying to kill me. He wasnât powerful but had many clones and morphed into three-legged golden crows that flew near the water surface.â
Dan Fenglai joined him in laughter. âCountless people cultivate the Great Sun Technique. How could it be me? Celestial Venerable, you must be joking.â
âThatâs true as well.â
Qin Muâs breath became exhausted as he coughed repeatedly. He glanced at Great Sun Sovereignâs brothers and sisters and saw that they were looking downwards, pretending not to see his sign of weakness.
Dan Fenglai asked, concerned, âIs your body alright?â
Qin Mu seemed slightly lost before returning. His expression changed slightly as he took out a couple of spirit pills that he consumed while trembling. He spat out a ragged breath after catalyzing the medicineâs power, then sighed. âI have no soul and spirit and am only kept alive by my consciousness. If it disperses, Iâll die. I only came to the celestial heavens to revisit old haunts and catch up with old friends.â
After that, he subtly glanced at those youthful and competitive disciples of Ancestral God King.
They were smiling, their tempers remarkably good.
Dan Fenglai grew to become more concerned. âYou have a sickly body, Celestial Venerable. However, good people will be blessed by heaven. It seems that this sickness of yours is dubious and complex and strikes irregularly. I have heard that Celestial Venerable killed a lot of people at Lang Xuan Divine Palace. Very powerful, indeed. I can tell that you were feeling better then.â He laughed as he spoke.
Qin Mu laughed with him and was visibly filled with vital qi.
Dan Fenglai sneered internally. âThis old fellow is truly shameless! He didnât even blush from that!â
Yet, he was impressed by Qin Muâs acting abilities. He ordered his brothers and sisters, saying, âPlease treat Celestial Venerable nicely, I will call upon some strong practitioners to protect him.â
The masses nodded and brought Qin Mu and the others to view the beautiful scenery at the Ancestral King Palace.
Dan Fenglai immediately got the demon gods in the Ancestral King Palace to place a net in the skies and a web on the ground to prevent anyone from attacking sneakily and framing Ancestral God King.
It wasnât until everything was set up properly that he sought out Qin Mu. A disciple ran and told him, âBrother, Qin Mu opened a forum to lecture. He is imparting techniques at the Abyss Stage. The other brothers flocked there.â
âOpening a forum to impart techniques at the Abyss Stage? What is this fellow up to?â
Dan Fenglai rushed to the Abyss Stage and saw that it was filled with disciples of the Ancestral King Palace, who were sitting beneath the stage and listening to the ones lecturing.
âThus, we must reform and destroy the Divine Bridge Divine Treasure and open the Celestial River Divine Treasure, for it is orthodox. Look, which one amongst you lot can qualify as my opponent despite being in the same realm as me? This isnât due to me being stronger than you, itâs because I opened the Celestial River Divine Treasure. What Iâm teaching you is what Celestial Venerable Zu cannot teach. Now I can impart the technique to comprehend the celestial riverâs power to you...â
Once Dan Fenglai heard him, he was perplexed. âThis plague god is really imparting a technique, itâs just that heâs somewhat crazy, talking some nonsense about destroying the divine bridge. Iâll listen to him and see how he continues his bluff. I just need to secure the surroundings and prevent him from being assassinated by external enemies.â
He retrieved and opened a bottle, and as it fell, countless glass balls fell out of it. Going along with the wind, they inflated and flew into the sky to morph into glaring suns. From the suns, three-legged golden crows flew out, carrying the suns into the sky.
They were powerful, and they flapped their wings, cut across space, and stuck themselves in it to lie in ambush. They observed every tiny movement around the place.
Dan Fenglai stood atop a hill not far away. All that was witnessed by the three-legged golden crows would be reflected in his brain.
With the impenetrable net he laid down that covered the sky and the ground, the Ancestral King Palace was akin to an iron fortress that couldnât be infiltrated without his knowledge!
He secured the surroundings and heard Qin Muâs voice in his ear. He somehow became interested in him as he thought, âThis plague god does have some unique points. His technique, which requires one to comprehend the celestial riverâs power to open the Celestial River Divine Treasure, is certainly feasible. If oneâs talent is high enough, one can really open the Celestial River Divine Treasure. However, one has to scrap the Divine Bridge Divine Treasure before that... Not good!â
His mind flew into chaos as cold sweat rolled down his forehead. âNot good! His technique requires one to scrap the Divine Bridge Divine Treasure! Him lecturing here is akin to eliminating my Ancestral King Palaceâs teachings!â
He flew and hollered, âCelestial Venerable Mu is tempting everyone with ridiculous and demonic teachings. No one is allowed to listen!â
His voice was so bright that it suppressed Qin Muâs voice for a moment.
Qin Mu laughed as he stood and asked leisurely, âWhy does Star Sovereign say that? How is my technique a demonic teaching?â
Dan Fenglaiâs face became green as he flew to the Abyss Stage, hollering, âCelestial Venerable Mu is the head of the traitorous forces of the lower bound, a demonic reformist. What heâs teaching is evil and demonic! Donât listen! Forget his words! I will immediately kill anyone who dares cultivate that!â
Beneath the stage, the many disciples of the Ancestral King Palace looked at each other, wondering when Great Sun Sovereign became so strict.
A youth laughed and said, âBrother, I think that Celestial Venerable Muâs Celestial River Divine Treasure is feasible. If one destroys the divine bridge and opens the Celestial River Divine Treasure, their power within the same realm could increase by 40 to 50%, perhaps more!â
Before he could finish, Dan Fenglai grabbed him and flung him up. He flew and landed in his arms, his neck being strangled.
âWhat did I say? This is an evil and demonic technique!â
Dan Fenglai shook him and threw him on the ground. He spat out blood and broke multiple bones.
Before Dan Fenglai could continue, the sky suddenly started raining blood.
His expression changed rapidly, as someone had snuck deep into the Ancestral King Palace and killed his clone!
More streaks of blood rained from the sky as the rate by which his clones died accelerated. Yet, he couldnât even catch a glimpse of his enemy!
âThe enemy is a being at the Celestial Heavens Realm and might even be a Celestial Venerable!â
A cold sweat broke out on Dan Fenglaiâs forehead. At this moment, huge rays of light burst out from the sky. The huge body of Ancestral God King appeared in the air and solemnly warned, âCelestial Venerable Mu, someone is here to kill you. The Ancestral King Palace isnât a place for you to stay. Dao Brother, please leave quickly. I will block the assassin for you!â
Qin Mu saluted him and replied, âAncestral God King, itâs our first meeting. I donât think you should chase away your guest.â
Ancestral God King returned the favor and saluted half a hand lower to signal his inferior status as he pleaded, âA strong enemy is invading. I cannot protect Dao Brotherâs safety. Please leave quickly, or else you might be in danger. Forgive me for being rude, but it would also burden my Ancestral King Palace. Come, Feng, send the guests away.â
Dan Fenglaiâs face was green as he raised his hand and said, âPlease, Celestial Venerable!â
Qin Mu and the rest stood up and left.
Dan Fenglai led Qin Mu and his entourage out of the Ancestral King Palace. He was still visibly nervous as he coldly laughed and said, âCelestial Venerable Mu, itâs not I who wishes to chase you away. There really is a foreign enemy invading and attempting to frame us for killing you!â
Qin Mu expressed his thanks and warned, âStar Sovereign, how do you know itâs an invasion by a foreign enemy? It could be an internal enemy instead.â
Dan Fenglai was slightly stunned. He saw him off before he realized it. After, he immediately returned to the Ancestral King Palaceâs Abyss Stage.
Before he reached the stage, he saw multiple bodies belonging to his brothers and sisters.
His heart shuddered as he made a mad dash forward. The bodies piled up on the way. When he reached the Abyss Stage, he saw that his brothers and sisters, who were just listening to Qin Muâs lecture, including the one whose bones he had broken, were dead.
Ancestral God King stood on the stage, looking at him silently.