Chapter 1058: Initial Exploration of the Ancestral Sect

"Void Beast?" Qin Mu frowned, as did Gu Xiao and Da Hong.

Qin Mu had gained knowledge of the Creator race from the primordial spirits of the Spirit Realm, and their wisdom included records of Void Beasts.

Void Beasts were a type of primeval giant creature found in the Ancestral Court. These beasts could traverse the void, appearing and disappearing at will, making them one of the most powerful predators of the primeval era. Only the formidable divine consciousness of the Creators could control such beasts. Other races during the primeval era often found themselves powerless against them. They roamed the void, capable of devouring stars and even entire heavens.

What kind of catastrophe would summoning a Void Beast unleash?

Da Hong's eyes flickered, and a faint smile appeared on his face.

Gu Xiao sighed, his expression impassive.

Qin Mu shivered, sensing the killing intent emanating from Gu Xiao. He knew that if Luo Xiao insisted on his path, Gu Xiao would undoubtedly strike him down. Gu Xiao's objective was to find the surviving Creators. However, if Luo Xiao were to locate the Ancestral Court and summon a Void Beast from it, it would signify that Luo Xiao had lost control. In such a scenario, killing Luo Xiao would be the best course of action.

Suddenly, Qin Mu calmly said, "Brother Luo, isn't there another way to verify if this is the Creator Ancestral Court without summoning a Void Beast? I've heard that Void Beasts are incredibly difficult to control and consume everything. If you can't manage it, wouldn't it bring disaster upon the world?"

He had always wanted to protect Luo Xiao, hoping to alter history. This was yet another attempt to save him. If Luo Xiao hadn't encountered Qin Mu after leaving the Grand Empty, he would have died long ago and certainly wouldn't have returned with the three prophecies. Qin Mu had gone to great lengths to protect the Creator's life. He had to ensure this historical event unfolded as it should.

Luo Xiao hesitated, thought carefully, and then said sheepishly, "My divine consciousness isn't truly strong enough to subdue a Void Beast. However, during my journey, the patriarch only taught me how to summon Void Beasts. They didn't impart the methods for summoning other primeval creatures."

Qin Mu proposed, "Since it's a summoning, it must be bidirectional. Our divine consciousness can establish a connection with Void Beasts to summon them, and through that same connection, we can also ascertain their location."

Luo Xiao listened, looking confused.

Da Hong and Gu Xiao, however, understood. Da Hong probed, "Reverse summoning?"

Qin Mu nodded. "If divine consciousness can establish a mutual connection with Void Beasts, then it's possible to use divine consciousness abilities within their minds. Establishing a reverse summoning is not out of the question."

After his explanation, Luo Xiao also understood. He hesitated, saying, "Our clan doesn't possess such a divine consciousness ability..."

"Then it needs to be created." Sensing Gu Xiao's killing intent gradually fading, Qin Mu felt a slight relief and smiled. "You know my divine consciousness isn't weaker than yours, and modifying divine abilities is my forte. Teach me the method for summoning Void Beasts, and I'll establish the reverse summoning."

At this moment, he suddenly felt a faint killing intent emanating from Da Hong. Qin Mu's heart grew cold. Da Hong's killing intent wasn't directed at Luo Xiao; it was aimed at him! Clearly, his words had provoked Da Hong's murderous intentions. He had defused Gu Xiao's killing intent toward Luo Xiao, but in doing so, he had ignited Da Hong's killing intent toward himself!

"Perhaps I've displayed too much talent," he thought. Qin Mu blinked, thinking, "I mentioned being able to modify the Creator's divine consciousness summoning and establish reverse summoning. He probably never considered that possibility before. My showing too much intelligence has made him wary, hence his desire to kill me. I should be a little less astute..."

Luo Xiao's divine consciousness pulsed, transmitting the method for summoning Void Beasts into Qin Mu's mind. "Brother Mu, you can try it," he said.

Qin Mu glanced at Da Hong, who offered a slight smile and encouraged, "Brother Mu, why don't you give it a try?"

Qin Mu then looked at Gu Xiao, probing, "If I attempt reverse summoning, there might be unpredictable and great dangers. Brother Gu Xiao, you must ensure my safety."

Gu Xiao shot a glance at Da Hong, then said with a half-smile, "I also wish to witness the mastery of Heavenly Venerate Mu, renowned for establishing a Dao through divine abilities. Rest assured, you and I are both humans, and brothers; I won't let you fall into danger."

Qin Mu breathed a sigh of relief.

Da Hong chuckled, his hands clasped within his sleeves.

Gu Xiao also smiled, pulling out a nail file from seemingly nowhere and leisurely filing his nails.

Luo Xiao sensed something was amiss with the atmosphere, but he couldn't quite pinpoint what it was.

Qin Mu thoroughly studied the Void Beast summoning method several times, quickly grasping its principles. After all, he possessed the accumulated wisdom of the Creators from the void of the other shore, so comprehending their divine consciousness techniques was not difficult for him. He integrated the Dao runes of later generations to deconstruct the Void Beast summoning method. After a long while, he completed this summoning technique. Following that, he used numerology to deconstruct the summoning method evolved from Dao runes, and then reverse-engineered a new summoning method.

Finally, having completed all this, he stretched. Then, he approached the altar Luo Xiao had brought out and meticulously studied its structure.

Qin Mu pondered for a moment, then immediately began modifying the altar. Gu Xiao, Da Hong, and Luo Xiao watched him bustling about, engraving formation runes onto the altar. They tried to understand, but found they couldn't fully comprehend the runes Qin Mu was using. Some of these formation runes were Qin Mu's later-generation Dao arts used to deconstruct divine consciousness, while others were Qin Mu's divine consciousness used to deconstruct later-generation Dao arts, forming cross-era runes. Furthermore, many of them were runes of the Post-celestial Great Dao, leaving the others completely bewildered.

Qin Mu then set up a refining platform, forging divine weapons and components before it. He instructed the Dragon Qilin to take these components and use them to modify the altar. The Dragon Qilin, without needing his guidance, embedded these divine weapon components into the altar.

"Heavenly Venerate Mu, who established a Dao through divine abilities, is indeed extraordinary!" Da Hong and Gu Xiao secretly marveled, "Even his mount is proficient in Dao arts and divine abilities! Its capabilities are truly immense!"

Qin Mu refined more divine weapon components, assembling the remaining ones into a smaller altar, which he placed next to the other one. The two altars, one large and one small, had opposite structures.

Qin Mu ascended the larger altar, his gaze sweeping over everyone's faces. "Gentlemen, once you're on this altar, I'll activate the formation, and we can attempt to enter the Ancestral Court. On the other altar, I've laid down a different set of runes. The Ancestral Court is sealed, and I cannot break the seal with my current power. Therefore, I left the second altar. Once inside the Ancestral Court, we can use the reverse summoning method to call ourselves out. This second set of runes requires my activation. Do all three of you understand?"

Da Hong chuckled. "Brother Mu, you've thought of everything. I understand."

Gu Xiao also nodded, saying, "I understand as well."

Qin Mu sighed with relief. With their assurances, his life was temporarily safe. At the very least, neither of them would kill him before they left the Ancestral Court.

The Celestial Dragon Carriage also drove onto the altar. The six Celestial Dragons, Dragon Qilin, and Yan'er were present, with Yan'er guarding the lantern Wei Suifeng had entrusted to them.

Qin Mu let out a soft cry and activated the Void Beast summoning method. Countless runes on the altar immediately erupted, transforming into myriad points of light. The lights ascended, converging at his brow, and suddenly, a beam of light shot forth from Qin Mu's glabella, piercing into the void!

The void trembled faintly. Immediately, Qin Mu sensed one colossal life form after another within the emptiness, incredibly brutal and filled with bloodthirsty desires! He chose a powerful life form and sent his divine consciousness surging toward it. He felt a faint tremor, and vaguely, it seemed he had established a connection with that mighty life form.

On the altar, Qin Mu's eyes were vacant, yet his hands moved deftly. The divine weapon components affixed around the altar suddenly became incredibly bright. The various rune markings Qin Mu had imprinted upon them seemed to come alive, slithering and swirling like snakes and pythons across the components! Beams of light shot skyward, forming another ethereal altar composed of runes above their heads. Then, this ethereal altar plunged into the void!

*Boom!*

A violent tremor resonated in the ears of everyone on the altar. Suddenly, the entire altar seemed to be pulled by an immense force, soaring into the void. Just then, Qin Mu saw a gigantic eye suddenly opened in the pitch-black void, revealing an eerie eyeball that rolled once.

"I've seen eyes like this somewhere before... in the other shore world!" A shock ran through him. When the Creators summoned the Spirit Realm in the other shore world back then, he had indeed seen similar eyes. They were an omen of the Spirit Realm's emergence. What Qin Mu didn't know, however, was that similar eyes also existed in the supreme divine consciousness domain of the Grand Empty, appearing in the land, mountains, and sky! He hadn't noticed them at the time; only the divine dragon he had conjured had witnessed that eye!

"Are these the eyes of a Void Beast? Does that mean the Spirit Realm was constructed from Void Beasts?" As he pondered this, the altar hurtled towards the gigantic eyeball.

The sky suddenly brightened. The gigantic eyeball seemed startled, quickly retracting. The altar followed the eye, hurtling forward. The next moment, a violent jolt occurred, and the altar abruptly halted. Dazzling light flooded the eyes of those on the altar.

An eyeball belonging to a primeval creature appeared next to the altar. Its pupil constricted as it gazed at the suddenly arrived altar, but even its pupil was far larger than the altar itself! Those on the altar tried to discern the full form of the eye's owner, but the beast's eyeball obscured half the sky, preventing them from seeing its true body.

"It's a Void Beast!" Cold sweat beaded on Luo Xiao's forehead. He quickly opened the vertical eye at his brow, sending his divine consciousness surging toward the eye. "Void Beasts devour everything; everyone, be careful!" he shouted. "I'll try to subdue it first!"

As his divine consciousness surged into the eyeball, a shrill, piercing scream erupted from within the massive eye. It was so grating that the six Celestial Dragons, Dragon Qilin, and Yan'er writhed on the ground in agony. Qin Mu and the others, with their extremely high divine consciousness cultivation, were unharmed by the scream emanating from the eyeball. However, the divine consciousness of Dragon Qilin and Yan'er was not as robust.

The colossal eyeball retreated. Its eyelid began to flip upward, seemingly to cover the eye. However, terrifyingly, beneath the eyelid was a gaping abyssal maw, completely devoid of lips! It was as if the enormous eyeball transformed into a mouth when its eyelid lifted. Qin Mu had never seen such a bizarre creature before.

The large maw was like a bottomless black hole. Terrifying gravitational force swept over them, and a long tongue coiled around the altar. The gravity then pulled everyone on the altar towards the abyssal mouth!

"Don't panic!" Luo Xiao shouted, "Trust me! My divine consciousness will surely subdue this Void Beast!"

He mustered his divine consciousness, desperately trying to control the Void Beast. Qin Mu hastily looked back to see the abyssal maw closing! Qin Mu activated his Three-Pillars Hegemon Body Technique, mobilizing his Grand Luo Supreme Divine Consciousness, and sent it surging into the Void Beast's body as well. No sooner had his divine consciousness gone forth than the Void Beast suddenly stopped devouring them. Its abyssal maw ceased closing, and its massive tongue pushed the altar back out.

Those on the altar were filled with doubt and astonishment. Qin Mu retracted his divine consciousness, also breathing a sigh of relief.

Luo Xiao wiped cold sweat from his forehead, exclaiming with delight, "I originally thought my cultivation wasn't enough to subdue a Void Beast, but thankfully, I unleashed my full power at the last moment and finally captured it."

The tongue, immeasurably long, unfurled and gently set the altar down. Qin Mu looked back to see the Void Beast's peculiar appearance. Its head bore rows of mountain-like bone spurs, so large they resembled ranges of bony peaks. This Void Beast had clearly endured countless battles; many of its bony peaks were broken, revealing sharp, jagged bone shards.

He soared higher, moving further from the Void Beast, to finally get a clear view of its full form. The Void Beast's two hind legs were crouched amidst towering mountains, while its four forelegs supported its massive body on the ground. It possessed six legs in total, and its size far surpassed the majestic mountains of the Ancestral Court.

Its head was perfectly round, with a single enormous eye in the center, dominating its entire face. Below the eye, a curved, canyon-like slit was visible, along with much wrinkled, rough skin. The slit seemed to be its mouth, and the wrinkled skin its eyelid. When the eyelid lifted, the mouth would expand, eventually leaving only a deep, abyssal maw filled with sharp, saw-like teeth on its perfectly spherical head, along with a long tongue inside!