Chapter 1067: Unprecedented Changes in History

"Since leaving Eternal Peace and arriving at the Celestial Heavens, I haven't achieved any breakthroughs in my reforms for five years," Qin Mu sighed. "And when I went back to the past, this trend became even more evident."

Ever since he left the Primordial Realm and came to the Celestial Heavens, he had rarely innovated any divine arts or doctrines. Each time he returned to Eternal Peace, he invariably learned something new. This highlighted the importance of the 'soil.' Eternal Peace's reforms were still progressing, but by detaching himself from that environment of change, every return became an opportunity to replenish his knowledge and insights.

If this was the case even in the Celestial Heavens, then remaining in the past would be even worse. That era was still primitive and ignorant to him, with doctrines and divine arts only just beginning to form. Any divine art from a later age would be groundbreaking if brought to that time, but what would Qin Mu rely on for his own growth? His objective was to surpass the ancients, not to become one of them.

The Celestial Heavens drew nearer. Meanwhile, the twenty-seven Ancient Gods of the Constellations, bringing the God-Slaying Platform and the God-Slaying Profound Blade, made their way to the heavens where Ah Chou resided. Kuimu Wolf instructed, "It's not convenient for us to show ourselves directly this time. You take this divine blade and slay him. We'll remain hidden in the shadows as a precaution. If you succeed, Crown Prince Qi will reward you handsomely!"

In that realm, Ah Chou was cornered. Many demigods stood on high cliffs, holding Ah Chou's children, and shouted down to him, "Kneel!"

Meanwhile, in the Celestial Heavens' Imperial Garden, Heavenly Venerate Yun walked closely behind the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor. During this visit, Yun had impeached Heavenly Venerate Hao in court. After the assembly, the Heavenly Emperor had invited him to stroll through the Imperial Garden and have a private, intimate conversation.

"Yun," the Heavenly Emperor began, "you manage humanity, so you must know that being an emperor is not easy. Yet, I govern the entire cosmos, all the heavens and myriad realms." He rubbed his temples, a headache brewing, and sighed, "Humanity is just one of countless races in these myriad realms, and it already causes such turmoil. Just now, you were arguing fiercely with Hao'er in court. I truly am in a difficult position. I must consider the wishes of my old comrades, maintain the loyalty of the demigods, and also address the concerns of you post-celestial beings. This seat of Heavenly Emperor is not an easy one to occupy."

Heavenly Venerate Yun chuckled, "I understand Your Majesty's predicament. Heavenly Venerate Hao is, after all..." The Heavenly Emperor shot him a glance, and Heavenly Venerate Yun, understanding the unspoken warning, ceased speaking.

Suddenly, the Solar Star Lord hurried over, bowed, and announced, "Your Majesty, something terrible has happened!" The Heavenly Emperor frowned, rebuking him, "What terrible thing? The world is prosperous, peace reigns, and all beings live in contentment. Where could anything bad possibly be happening?"

The Solar Star Lord anxiously explained, "The twenty-eight Ancient Gods of the Constellations have arrived, and they borrowed the God-Slaying Platform from the Celestial Heavens! I fear they are about to cause a major incident! Your servant, acting under Your Majesty's command, monitors the heavens, and I've now observed unusual activity among the demigods. It seems they are colluding with the twenty-eight constellations. This involves... this involves..." He gritted his teeth, then bravely declared, "I fear Crown Prince Qi is also implicated!"

"Audacious!" the Heavenly Emperor roared, his voice cold. "Solar Star Lord, you are far too presumptuous to sow discord between Our son and Us!" Trembling, the Solar Star Lord protested, "Your servant is thinking of Your Majesty's empire! Earth Count is Your Majesty's loyal subject; nearly half of Your Majesty's imperial achievements are thanks to him! Crown Prince Qi's attempt to eliminate Earth Count is an attempt to clip Your Majesty's wings!"

"Begone!" the Heavenly Emperor roared, raising a hand to point. "Get out of my sight! Yun, you may also withdraw!" Heavenly Venerate Yun bowed and retreated with the Solar Star Lord.

Still simmering with indignation, the Solar Star Lord muttered, "Your Majesty doesn't believe me. I fear a great calamity will surely arise from within the imperial harem in the future!" Heavenly Venerate Yun cast a glance at him and chuckled, "How could His Majesty not trust you, Star Lord? His Majesty's anger stems from the fact that you know too much."

Heavenly Venerate Yun continued walking, saying, "In these Celestial Heavens, the more you know, the greater the danger. You occupy the most perilous position. Take care of yourself." The Solar Star Lord stood bewildered, then scratched his chin with a bird-like leg, chuckling, "This Heavenly Venerate Yun is a foolish fellow, talking nonsense. I am utterly loyal to His Majesty; who would dare scheme against me?"

The Heavenly Dragon Imperial Carriage finally reached the South Heavenly Gate. At that very moment, an earth-shattering tremor emanated, and darkness instantly enveloped the sky above the Primordial Realm. Qin Mu's heart pounded. He quickly turned back to see one of the heavens tearing apart, revealing a monstrous giant with a bull's head, human body, and tiger's face, roaring furiously at the sky.

That day, Youdu's Grand Dao invaded the Primordial Realm, manifesting as chains that bound the bull-headed giant and the shattered heaven. Simultaneously, the Great Green Bird took flight, carrying the palace towards Youdu. The man bound to the pillar chuckled, "That's right, just like that! Let's go to Youdu and try to seize Earth Count's physical body! Once we control Earth Count, we can control the lives of all post-celestial beings and all demigods!" A voice snapped back, "Shut up! Speak one more word, and I'll tear you apart!"

Simultaneously, the Heavenly Dragon Imperial Carriage sped towards the South Heavenly Gate. The Celestial Heavens' army guarding the gate had no time to block it, as even more gods and devils surged towards the Celestial Heavens, causing widespread panic and cries of distress. The Celestial Heavens' army stared blankly at the Primordial Realm. Their gaze slowly rose from below, watching in stunned silence as Earth Count's colossal body, with an entire vast heaven beneath his feet, steadily ascended, growing ever larger.

A gigantic cauldron spun beneath his feet—it was the Celestial Heavens' God-Slaying Platform, forged from countless lives. The cauldron was named Life Slayer.

Countless demigods fled frantically, their cries filling the heavens as they escaped towards the Celestial Heavens. The twenty-seven Ancient Gods of the Constellations finally revealed themselves, confronting Earth Count. "Earth Count," they called out, "they were merely jesting with you. Why such genuine wrath?" Kuimu Wolf even smiled at the fleeing demigods, "Aren't you going to come and apologize?"

On this day, among the Ancient Gods, the twenty-eight Ancient Gods of the Constellations who guarded the Four Extremities fell, their faces now imprinted within the Life Slayer Cauldron. Ah Chou, seething with boundless fury, arrived at the Celestial Heavens' South Heavenly Gate.

The Celestial Heavens' army of gods and devils, ordered to lead the charge, rushed towards the increasingly colossal yet sorrowful demonic god. Simultaneously, Qin Mu's Heavenly Dragon Imperial Carriage seized the chaotic opportunity to burst into the Celestial Heavens, heading directly for the Southern Emperor Vermilion Bird's Heavenly Palace.

He glanced back and saw that countless gods and devils from the Celestial Heavens' army had already turned into corpses before even reaching Ah Chou. This day felt like the end of the gods; even incredibly powerful Ancient Gods and demigods of boundless strength had their souls utterly scattered upon the slightest contact with Ah Chou's power! The Celestial Heavens' forces suffered an almost fatal blow.

The unsightly man, enveloped in Grand Dao shackles, dragged a heaven transformed into darkness as he stormed into the Celestial Heavens. The realm beneath his feet was a chaotic mix of magma and demonic energy, with molten rock floating everywhere.

Qin Mu hastily saw Ah Chou's colossal fist crashing down on the South Heavenly Gate; the gate crumbled wherever the fist struck. Ahead, countless gods and devils of the Celestial Heavens' army surged towards the South Heavenly Gate, making it difficult for the Heavenly Dragon Imperial Carriage to advance. Yet, in the next instant, the spatial storm unleashed by Earth Count's punch swept up everyone, along with countless palaces!

In the spatial storm, countless beings were torn to shreds, their primordial spirits disintegrating, and their souls plummeting into the world's most fearsome weapon. The power of the Life Slayer Cauldron grew even more terrifying!

The Heavenly Dragon Imperial Carriage was also tossed into the air, flying over the Vermilion Bird Heavenly Palace and towards Jade Capital City. Yan'er let out a sharp cry, activating a divine art to protect the carriage. The six heavenly dragons also unleashed their magical power, resisting with all their might, but the lantern hanging on the carriage looked as though it could extinguish at any moment. Qin Mu quickly reached out to shield the lantern.

Endless darkness surged into the Celestial Heavens, like a vast tide of obscurity submerging everything in its path. Even the lanterns forged from the sun and pearls refined from the moon within the Celestial Heavens extinguished instantly upon encountering this demonic energy. The demonic energy and its inherent malevolence were too formidable, causing everyone enveloped by the darkness to be instantly assailed by the energy, assimilated by its nature, and then consumed by the Life Slayer Cauldron, becoming faces within the cauldron.

Roars filled with boundless rage also echoed in Qin Mu's ears—they were Ah Chou's. The Heavenly Dragon Imperial Carriage plunged down, crashing into Jade Capital City, and only came to a halt after careening for over a hundred *li*.

Qin Mu was about to turn the carriage back towards the Vermilion Bird Heavenly Palace when he saw that darkness had already engulfed it, chilling his heart. If he were to rush into that darkness now, the lantern refined by Wei Sufeng would likely be unable to withstand Ah Chou's malevolent nature and would surely extinguish. At that point, he wouldn't be able to see Southern Emperor Vermilion Bird at all!

Darkness, like an enraged ocean, swept in, devouring everything. It had already reached the outskirts of Jade Capital City, colliding with it with a resounding crash. The Celestial Heavens' imperial city burst forth with dazzling, brilliant light, incredibly bright, actually managing to block Youdu's demonic energy. Qin Mu breathed a sigh of relief and fled with the deities within Jade Capital City towards the Heavenly Emperor's imperial harem. This was because the Life Slayer Cauldron was spinning furiously, brought down by Ah Chou's hand, smashing Jade Capital City's gates to rubble!

From within the cauldron, countless faces flew out, emitting shrill screams, swirling through the air, and charging towards the fleeing people. Qin Mu, riding the Heavenly Dragon Imperial Carriage, plowed through the chaos. Some imperial princes attempted to leap onto the carriage, begging him for a ride to escape, but Qin Mu, with swift strokes of his sword, cut down several of them.

Behind him, a terrifying spatial storm erupted again—it was another of Ah Chou's attacks! The Heavenly Dragon Imperial Carriage was once more swept up by the tempest, and countless palaces behind them were shattered to pieces in the gale.

When the Heavenly Dragon Imperial Carriage landed, suddenly, the wind and waves ceased. Qin Mu looked back to see the High Heavens Palace behind them, where immensely majestic Ancient Gods stood, blocking the storm unleashed by Ah Chou. Qin Mu's pupils constricted; he recognized the figure of the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor. The Ancient God Heavenly Emperor radiated brilliant, dazzling light, preventing Ah Chou's Youdu demonic energy from invading the area.

"Excellent," Qin Mu thought with a sigh of relief, "Soon, Ah Chou will be driven back into Youdu, and I can use this chaos to sneak into the Vermilion Bird Heavenly Palace to meet the Southern Emperor." He mused, "However, this imperial carriage is probably unusable now; it's too conspicuous. And Mu Qing's face isn't suitable for this operation. I'll need to change my appearance."

He jumped off the carriage, took down the lantern, and stated gravely, "Yan'er, Dragon Fatty, this is the Celestial Heavens. It's inconvenient to move with so many people around. I'll take you into my glabella!" Without another word, his glabella eye opened, and a beam of light shot out, enveloping the Heavenly Dragon Imperial Carriage. Dragon Qilin, Yan'er, and the six heavenly dragons, along with the carriage, vanished without a trace, having been absorbed by him into the Qin Continent.

Qin Mu paused to reflect, then activated the Creation Profound Art. His appearance gradually shifted, transforming into Luo Xiao's likeness. He thought, "Third Brother, I'm borrowing your appearance; you won't mind, will you?"

Just then, he suddenly spotted Heavenly Venerate Hao. Qin Mu was momentarily startled to see Heavenly Venerate Hao furtively gliding towards the imperial harem. "This is his own home, so why is he being so sneaky?" Qin Mu wondered. At that moment, he saw Heavenly Venerate Yun as well.

Qin Mu's heart stirred with a hint of pleasure; Heavenly Venerate Yun was also acting furtively, trailing Heavenly Venerate Hao. The two of them, one after the other, stealthily infiltrated the Heavenly Emperor's imperial harem. Qin Mu's mind stirred, and he, too, crept stealthily after them.

Ahead, Heavenly Venerate Hao encountered the palace maids guarding the imperial harem. He suddenly erupted, shattering the two maids, then produced a white banner, waved it in the wind, and absorbed their souls into it. "The Yin Emperor's treasure!" Qin Mu thought, observing the scene from afar.

Meanwhile, Heavenly Venerate Yun, who was following Heavenly Venerate Hao, took out a yellow paper talisman, affixed it to himself, and his appearance instantly changed dramatically. Qin Mu blinked. "Heavenly Venerate You's treasure! Both of them must have anticipated Ah Chou's rampage in the Celestial Heavens and arrived prepared. It seems they're after some treasure here! What exactly do they intend to steal?"