Chapter 1057: The Subverter of Realms

Among his fifteen Celestial Palaces, the foremost was the Primary Celestial Palace, formed from the Great Dao within his Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure. The second was the Grand Luo Divine Consciousness Celestial Palace, followed by the Sword, Dragon, Demon, Creation, Martial Dao, and Painting Dao Celestial Palaces. These eight Celestial Palaces were complete. The remaining seven—the Saber, Medical, Divine Arts, Forging, Buddhist, Thief, and Formation Celestial Palaces—were incomplete.

This time, Qin Mu attempted to break through the South Heavenly Gates of the eight complete Celestial Palaces with his primordial spirit. Successfully doing so would signify his entry into the True God realm, albeit an incomplete one. Once Butcher, Old Ma, and the others achieved breakthroughs in their cultivation and comprehended techniques leading directly to the Emperor's Throne, Qin Mu could learn their methods from them to complete his remaining seven Celestial Palaces. His Overlord Body Three Elixir Technique could now be considered a Minor Heavenly Court cultivation method, still a distance from the Grand Heavenly Court method that encompassed eighteen Celestial Palaces.

Qin Mu activated his Overlord Body Three Elixir Technique. His primordial spirit stood before the South Heavenly Gate of the Primary Celestial Palace, then suddenly split into sixteen. These sixteen primordial spirits appeared within sixteen Celestial Palaces. This was the primordial spirit splitting technique from the Three Primordial Spirits Immortal Divine Consciousness. Red Emperor's Three Primordial Spirits Immortal Divine Consciousness, improved and integrated into Qin Mu's Overlord Body Three Elixir Technique, differed from the methods of other Heavenly Court cultivators like Lady Yuanmu and the Empress. Their Grand Heavenly Court methods utilized primordial spirit projections, which, though cast into various Celestial Palaces, were not true primordial spirits. Qin Mu, however, used true primordial spirits through his primordial spirit division technique.

Qin Mu's sixteen primordial spirits advanced in unison, stepping into the South Heavenly Gate. An invisible pressure assailed him. The South Heavenly Gate's pressure was peculiar, originating from all directions. Every inch of his primordial spirit's surface endured immense force, and even the innermost corners of his primordial spirit felt pressure from every side. Previously, Qin Mu hadn't understood the source of this pressure, but now he knew it was Dao pressure.

The Celestial Palace realm was modeled after the structure of the Heavenly Court. The South Heavenly Gate within this realm was a replica of the Heavenly Court's South Heavenly Gate, which itself was formed from the Great Dao of the ancient gods. One could say that for every divine being entering the divine realm, their South Heavenly Gate was a projection of the Heavenly Court's South Heavenly Gate. Only by entering the gate, enduring the Dao pressure, and stepping into the Celestial Palace could one truly be considered a True God.

However, Qin Mu's Celestial Palaces featured South Heavenly Gates formed from Post-natal Great Dao. Consequently, the pressure exerted by the Sword, Creation, Martial Dao, and Painting Dao Celestial Palaces differed from each other and from the pressure of traditional Celestial Palace South Heavenly Gates. Within the South Heavenly Gate of the Sword Celestial Palace, it felt as though countless flying swords were piercing his primordial spirit from every direction, disrupting his primordial spirit's Sword Dao. This compelled him to activate his Sword Dao in resistance. He felt as if he were confronting Emperor Kaihuang, the Great Emperor of the Sword Dao. His primordial spirit instinctively unleashed various sword techniques to contend with that invisible Kaihuang.

Within the South Heavenly Gate of the Painting Dao Celestial Palace, he seemed to step into countless inconceivable worlds of Painting Dao. Each step forward was like traversing myriad realms, enduring a multitude of tribulations. His primordial spirit used Dao as its brush, and vital qi and divine consciousness as its ink, painting bizarre and wondrous worlds within the South Heavenly Gate. It was as if he were contending with Deaf, the Painting Saint, using Painting Dao to resist Painting Dao itself. Within the South Heavenly Gate of the Creation Celestial Palace, he felt as if he were encountering Red Emperor and Ming Emperor, contending with the most majestic Great Emperor of Creation in the Dao of Creation! And within the South Heavenly Gate of the Martial Dao Celestial Palace, he felt as if he were contending with the most powerful Great Emperor of Martial Dao, akin to facing the Martial God Heavenly Teacher himself!

Qin Mu's eight primordial spirits simultaneously stepped forward. The increasing pressure from the South Heavenly Gate caused his primordial spirits to gradually shrink. He decisively mobilized his physical functions, integrating spirit and flesh to resist the pressure and advance with difficulty. Resisting the traditional South Heavenly Gates was the simplest, but confronting the Celestial Palaces formed by Post-natal Great Dao proved to be the most challenging. This was because the Great Dao of the ancient gods had been thoroughly studied, whereas the Post-natal Great Dao was only just beginning.

His Primary primordial spirit, Grand Luo Divine Consciousness primordial spirit, Dragon primordial spirit, and Demon primordial spirit each passed safely through their respective South Heavenly Gates. However, his Sword, Martial Dao, Painting Dao, and Creation primordial spirits remained trapped within theirs.

The treasure carriage journeyed deeper into the starry sky, and before they knew it, they had arrived at the Heavenly River once more. Dragon Qilin steered the carriage, while Yan'er diligently digested the ancient gods she had consumed.

"At this speed," Dragon Qilin mused, "it will likely take about half a year to reach the location the Cult Master mentioned."

Dragon Qilin peered ahead, noting that the Heavenly River's current course was vastly different from its later manifestation. In the distance, he saw a galaxy descending from a high, remote point in the cosmos, then flowing towards the four cardinal directions of the universe. Countless stars revolved around this galaxy. Presumably, the waters of the Heavenly River flowed from Xuandu, and Xuandu itself should be at the apex of that galaxy. The Heavenly Dragon Treasure Carriage was currently headed directly beneath the galaxy.

Inside the spacious carriage, Qin Mu was cultivating, preoccupied and unable to pay attention to others. Dahong and Gu Xiao were attempting to extract information from Luo Xiao, but despite their eloquent efforts, Luo Xiao steadfastly refused to reveal the true location of the Great Void.

As time flowed by, the Heavenly Dragon Treasure Carriage finally reached the area beneath the galaxy one day. It ceased its forward motion, instead proceeding deeper into the region where the galaxy descended. At this point, Qin Mu finally broke through the South Heavenly Gate of the Sword Celestial Palace. Soon after, he also breached the South Heavenly Gates of the Martial Dao and Creation Celestial Palaces, leaving only the Painting Dao unbroken.

"Cult Master, we are almost at our destination!" Dragon Qilin's voice rang out.

Qin Mu opened his eyes, exhaling a breath of turbid air. His Painting Dao primordial spirit withdrew from the South Heavenly Gate of the Painting Dao Celestial Palace, choosing not to persist further. His Painting Dao was still considerably inferior to Deaf's. Even if he had continued, he lacked full confidence in his ability to break through that South Heavenly Gate and become a True God of Painting Dao.

"Three brothers, the Ancestral Court is almost here," Qin Mu said to Dahong and the others. "Let's go out."

Dahong, Gu Xiao, and Luo Xiao stepped forward, looking at Qin Mu with expressions of surprise. The current Qin Mu was vastly different from how he had been mere months ago. The aura he exuded carried a peculiar Dao charm, making him seem isolated from the world as he stood there. It felt as if Qin Mu contained a universe within him, separate from the external one. This inner universe possessed its own Heavenly and Earthly Great Dao, its own primordial cosmos.

"His cultivation path is absolutely different from that of other divine arts practitioners and deities!" Gu Xiao and Dahong thought to themselves.

Qin Mu's cultivation path was indeed unique. Before the Dragon Han era, the concept of "realms" did not exist. The long period from the extinction of the Creator race to the establishment of the Heavenly Court in the early Dragon Han era was a time of growth and expansion for the demi-god races. During this period, individuals did not cultivate; rather, their strength was determined by their bloodline. Those with stronger bloodlines or superior lineage possessed greater power. During this time, the descendants of ancient gods ruled the various races of the world, with demi-gods like Divine Emperor Lang Xuan and Ancestor God King as their foremost leaders.

Around the beginning of the Dragon Han era, the Seven Heavenly Venerates established the Seven Divine Treasure realms. Following Heavenly Venerate Yu's death, Qin Mu, demonstrating on the spot, comprehended the longevity method for becoming a god. Alongside Heavenly Venerate Hao, he then imparted the Seven Celestial Palace realms and the Heavenly Court realm to the world. It was from that point onward that the concept of cultivation realms came into being. Thus, it is no exaggeration to state that cultivation realms were established by Qin Mu in collaboration with the other Heavenly Venerates. Many in later generations failed to consider this, rashly attempting to gauge Qin Mu's cultivation strength by conventional realms. This only led to erroneous conclusions, resulting in no small number of gods and devils dying at his hands.

For the people of the early Dragon Han era, the Divine Treasure and Celestial Palace cultivation system established by Qin Mu and the Seven Heavenly Venerates had not yet become deeply ingrained. Demi-gods and other races of that era primarily practiced this system to achieve immortality, much like the ancient gods. Demi-gods cultivated the Divine Treasure and Celestial Palace solely for the sake of immortality, with bloodline remaining the primary determinant of strength. However, in the long years that followed, more and more individuals discovered the profound power of the Divine Treasure and Celestial Palace system, gradually marginalizing the theory that bloodline determined strength. Bloodline no longer signifying strength was a subversion of both demi-gods and ancient gods. Thus, the transformative period of the Dragon Han era was known as the Dragon Han Revolution. It was a revolution that challenged the very existence of demi-gods and ancient gods.

In the even longer millennia that followed, the Divine Treasure and Celestial Palace system became deeply ingrained and rooted, so much so that people no longer questioned or pondered why it conferred such immense power. However, for Qin Mu and others born a million years later, he, along with pioneers of the Yankang reform like Jiang Baigui, Emperor Yanfeng, Xu Shenghua, Wang Muran, and Lin Xuan, had already begun to question this established truth. This led to the creation of the Heavenly River Divine Treasure, which subverted the Divine Bridge Divine Treasure.

Qin Mu was the greatest subverter of both the Divine Treasure and Celestial Palace systems within this reform. After the Yankang Calamity, having lost his soul and spirit, he sustained his life solely by divine consciousness, temporarily averting death. He then developed the Calamity Sword, using a single strike to raze his own Celestial Palaces and Seven Divine Treasures. He subsequently re-opened his Spirit Embryo, regaining his soul and spirit. Using a single Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure, he evolved the primordial cosmos and all the ancient gods, completely transcending the Divine Treasure cultivation system. He had forged a path entirely different from that of his predecessors and ancient sages.

Simply using conventional realms, it was already challenging to measure his achievements. The Divine Treasure and Celestial Palace realms, widely known to the world, were established by him and the Seven Heavenly Venerates, yet they were also the ones he broke. After re-opening his Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure, his cultivation could rival True Gods, or even Heavenly Gods of the Jade Pool realm! He could even completely abandon the Celestial Palace and Heavenly Court systems, continuously advancing on his own path until he reached an ineffable realm! However, to accelerate his growth, he still abandoned that independent path and returned to the Celestial Palace and Heavenly Court system.

Yet, having undergone that transformation, he differed significantly from divine arts practitioners and deities of the Divine Treasure and Celestial Palace system. For him, from beginning to end, he effectively had only one realm: the Spirit Embryo realm. This was because his Celestial Palaces, and even his Heavenly Court, were not *above* his Spirit Embryo Divine Treasure, but rather *within* it! The Celestial Palace and Heavenly Court realms were merely two sub-realms within his Spirit Embryo realm! The seven realms within the Celestial Palace realm were even smaller sub-realms! This marked his most significant difference from other divine arts practitioners and deities. All his Celestial Palace realms, and even the Heavenly Court realm, were a unified whole, integrated within the Spirit Embryo realm.

While others were diligent students, following a prescribed path, he had already transcended the very realms he created after the Yankang Calamity. Realms were frameworks designed by their creators to guide ordinary cultivators. As a creator himself, he sought to break free from these confines. Of course, Qin Mu still needed to leverage the accumulated wisdom of humanity over the past million years, and even the insights of the reformers, to advance further. This was also why he had not entirely abandoned the Celestial Palace and Heavenly Court system. He needed their wisdom to facilitate his own growth. Only by doing so could he cultivate to a level capable of contending with the Ten Heavenly Venerates in the shortest possible time. From this perspective, he was not a complete subverter.

True revolution entails complete subversion; anything less, merely mending and patching, constitutes reform. The Dragon Han era was a revolution that overturned the former bloodline determinism, making cultivation the mainstream. The Crimson Bright era was a revolution that dismantled the demi-gods' inherent advantage over humans, allowing humans to become as powerful as gods. The High Emperor era was a revolution that overturned human reverence for gods, proposing and enacting the philosophy that human life superseded even the heavens. The Kaihuang era was a reform, continuing the achievements of the High Emperor era. Had the Kaihuang era succeeded in imprinting Post-natal Great Dao into the void, making Kaihuang, Martial God Heavenly Teacher, and others the new generation of ancient gods, it would have been a revolution, not just a reform. Yankang did not subvert previous eras but rather reformed and perfected the Divine Treasure and Celestial Palace systems. This was why the Yankang reform could not be designated the Yankang Revolution.

Over five eras, the efforts of both humans and gods, with generations sacrificing their lives and blood, perfected the Divine Treasure and Celestial Palace systems and continuously advanced people's philosophies. Qin Mu was an anomaly within this million-year-long progression of revolutions and reforms.

Qin Mu stepped out of the treasure carriage and looked ahead. Before him was nothing but empty void—no stars, no nebulae, no light, nothing at all—like a region of profound darkness within the starry sky.

"The Ancestral Court is right here," he said, his heart stirring with emotion.

Gu Xiao glanced at him, then whispered, "Brother Mu, are you a Creator?"

Qin Mu shook his head.

"Then do not release devils," Gu Xiao said softly, gazing at the void.

Qin Mu paused, startled, while Luo Xiao excitedly moved to the front of the carriage. Through divine consciousness visualization, a void opened behind him, and an altar flew out from within.

"We'll know if this is the Ancestral Court by verifying it!" he exclaimed loudly.

"How do we verify?" Qin Mu asked.

Unable to conceal his excitement, Luo Xiao declared, "Summon a void beast!"