Chapter 1146: You Still Owe Me a Favor

Qin Mu's gaze moved away from Heavenly Venerable Qiang's chest. Seeing this, Long Qilin breathed a sigh of relief, but then Qin Mu looked at the white cat in Heavenly Venerable Yan's arms, making Long Qilin nervous again. "The Cult Master is truly restless," he thought. "He's not really looking at the cat... For heaven's sake, these two Heavenly Consorts are the Ancient God Heavenly Emperor's women! The Ancient God Heavenly Emperor is right in front of you, don't look around!"

Inside the divine palanquin, the four Heavenly Venerables took their respective seats. Long Qilin, concerned about Qin Mu glancing around, crouched beneath the seats. Yan'er, having transformed into a green sparrow, dozed on his forehead.

Heavenly Venerable Qiang and Heavenly Venerable Yan's gazes swept around. As consorts of the Heavenly Emperor, both were naturally peerlessly beautiful. Even their eyes held a gentle, flowing tenderness, an ineffable charm that conveyed immense beauty.

Heavenly Venerable Qiang was more unreserved; her attire was minimal, exuding a seductive allure. What was meant to be shown was, and what was hidden appeared exceptionally alluring.

Heavenly Venerable Yan, on the other hand, was much more demure, but the white cat in her arms was an undeniable focal point, always drawing one's gaze to it.

Their gazes shifted, sweeping past Heavenly Venerable Xiao's face and landing on Qin Mu.

Qin Mu, however, smiled, looking self-assured.

As the Nine-Dragon Divine Palanquin departed from the Celestial Heavens, Heavenly Venerable Xiao cleared his throat, about to speak, when Qin Mu interjected, "Equal distribution of benefits!"

The gazes of the three Heavenly Venerables simultaneously fell upon him. Qin Mu, beaming, declared, "There are no outsiders here, so I'll speak my mind frankly. I can enter the Ancestral Court, but my power is limited, making it difficult for me to gain many benefits there. The three of you are strong enough, yet whether it's restoring the Ancestral Court or entering it, you will require my assistance. Therefore, I propose an equal distribution of benefits."

Heavenly Venerable Yan held the white cat and remained silent.

Heavenly Venerable Qiang, pulling a bag of sunflower seeds from who knows where, leisurely cracked them open, a smile playing on her lips as her gaze constantly flitted between the faces of the other three.

"The Ancestral Court must be sealed," Heavenly Venerable Xiao stated gravely. "It must never be broken open."

"My master, Heavenly Venerable Yun, said that if the Ancestral Court's seal is broken, it will lead to a cataclysm that would destroy the world. Heavenly Venerable Mu, don't just think about benefits; consider all living beings in this universe."

"If the Ancestral Court's seal breaks open, the Ancient Gods will be more worried than us," Heavenly Venerable Yan remarked, her gaze falling on Heavenly Venerable Xiao. "Some people are even more worried than the Ancient Gods."

Heavenly Venerable Xiao said earnestly, "I am human, so I naturally worry about humanity's safety. Heavenly Venerable Yan, since you are not human, you may not understand my inner anxiety. However, surely you too are concerned about this world? Otherwise, why would you have rushed here to join me in inspecting the Ancestral Court?"

"I am concerned with no one," Heavenly Venerable Yan replied, gently stroking the white cat's head. "Like Heavenly Venerable Mu," she continued, "I believe there are great benefits within the Ancestral Court. I've heard that the Ancient Gods reaped considerable benefits from there. Moreover, the Ancestral Court concerns the origins of both the Creation Race and the Ancient Gods, so we must go. What do you think, Elder Sister Qiang?"

Heavenly Venerable Qiang giggled. "I've never had much of an opinion on my own. I want to listen to Xiao, and I also want to listen to you all; it truly puts me in a dilemma. How about this: the Ancestral Court must be sealed, but I also want a share of the benefits within! What do you think of that idea?"

Qin Mu clapped his hands in approval. "The Grand Emperor will undoubtedly go to the Ancestral Court to release the void beasts within. Though deceased, he remains a formidable force and is extremely difficult to deal with. This time, Ancient Gods like Heavenly Duke and Earth Count will also be watching that area. The four of us should work together and unite against this formidable challenge!"

The three Heavenly Venerables wore peculiar expressions. Heavenly Venerable Qiang chuckled, "Heavenly Venerable Mu, whose side are you on? You actually want to unite us against the Ancient Gods."

Qin Mu burst into laughter, declaring with righteous conviction, "I stand on the side of justice!"

Everyone chuckled aloud. Even Long Qilin grunted out a couple of laughs, startling the dozing Yan'er awake. The white cat peered out from Heavenly Venerable Yan's arms, staring at Yan'er, its eyes showing hostility.

Heavenly Venerable Xiao smiled. "Brother Mu, what do you think about what Heavenly Venerable Qin said, regarding the use of Dao Realm to replace the Heavenly Palace and Celestial Heavens realms?"

Heavenly Venerable Qiang and Heavenly Venerable Yan also turned their gazes to Qin Mu.

Qin Mu smiled. "What Kai Huang said was quite shocking at first, but upon closer thought, his Dao Realm, just like the Heavenly Palace and Celestial Heavens realms, cannot fully represent one's level of cultivation."

The three Heavenly Venerables looked puzzled.

Heavenly Venerable Qiang said, "I actually think Kai Huang's words hold great truth, though they may be difficult for people to accept. Heavenly Venerable Mu, why do you say otherwise?"

Qin Mu smiled. "My Sword Dao is at the triple heaven, and my divine arts at the eighth heaven. Calculated according to the thirty-six heavens of the Dao Realm, my cultivation level would only rank in the middle to lower tiers among gods and devils. However, even ordinary experts at the Jade Capital realm who clash with me usually end up dead."

The white cat shivered, turning to look at him.

Heavenly Venerable Yan gently stroked the white cat. "What about the Numinous Sky Realm?" she asked.

"While I would undoubtedly lose, no one at the Numinous Sky Realm should expect to kill me," Qin Mu continued. "It's clear that classifying by Dao Realm cannot fully encompass the true power of gods and devils. The Heavenly Palace and Celestial Heavens realms are also insufficient. I am currently only at the second tier of the Heavenly Palace Realm, the True God Realm, yet my strength has already reached a level comparable to beings at the Jade Capital Realm. This shows that both of these, as standards of measurement, have their deficiencies."

The white cat squinted its eyes and dozed off again.

Heavenly Venerable Qiang asked, "Then, Heavenly Venerable Mu, how do you think cultivation realms should be classified?"

Qin Mu thought for a moment. "I don't quite understand it myself," he said. "However, if I were to classify it based on my own experience, there would be only one realm: the Spirit Embryo Realm. The Spirit Embryo can directly reach the ultimate void, and it can also directly reach the Celestial Heavens. The so-called Dao Realm, the so-called Celestial Heavens and Heavenly Palace, are all just mere sub-realms within the Spirit Embryo Realm."

The three Heavenly Venerables burst into laughter, shaking their heads. "You're even more nonsensical than Kai Huang!" they exclaimed.

Qin Mu laughed heartily, and the atmosphere within the divine palanquin became lively and cheerful.

Suddenly, Heavenly Venerable Qiang opened the palanquin window and saw another divine palanquin speeding along not far from them.

"It's Heavenly Venerable Hao's vehicle," Heavenly Venerable Qiang remarked. "As a Heavenly Consort, it's not appropriate for me to hail him," she added. "Heavenly Venerable Xiao, call out to him."

Heavenly Venerable Xiao agreed and called out. The window of the other divine palanquin opened, and Heavenly Venerable Hao looked over at the sound. Seeing Qin Mu with the three Heavenly Venerables, he couldn't help but feel displeased.

Heavenly Venerable Xiao asked, "Heavenly Venerable Hao, weren't you pursuing Kai Huang? Why have you returned?"

Heavenly Venerable Hao snorted. "The Celestial Heavens have cracked open, and I fear a great catastrophe is imminent, so I had to turn back," he said indifferently. "Fellow Daoist Xiao, weren't you pursuing the Creation Race's sorceress?"

Heavenly Venerable Xiao sighed. "I saw the Celestial Heavens cracking open and knew that its destruction would lead to an even greater disaster. So, I abandoned the pursuit of the Creation Race sorceress and hurried here."

Heavenly Venerable Qiang laughed. "That Creation Race sorceress is truly beautiful; she's the most beautiful girl I've ever seen."

Heavenly Venerable Hao and Heavenly Venerable Xiao's faces reddened slightly. Qin Mu also felt a little uncomfortable.

"Heh, men," Heavenly Venerable Qiang snickered.

Suddenly, a streak of auspicious light flashed outside. Heavenly Venerable Yan quickly called out loudly, "Heavenly Venerable Hong!"

The auspicious light halted, transforming into an old man with white hair and white eyebrows. It was Heavenly Venerable Hong, who stood in the starry sky, looking at everyone with a broad smile and bowing to them all. "So it's all you fellow Daoists," he greeted.

Qin Mu smiled. "Heavenly Venerable Hong, where are you headed?"

Heavenly Venerable Hong smiled. "I saw that the Celestial Heavens were in distress," he explained, "and knowing that with the Celestial Heavens cracking and the Ancestral Court appearing, I feared a major event was unfolding, so I went to investigate."

"Excellent, excellent," everyone chimed in. "Fellow Daoist Hong is warm-hearted and righteous, a true role model for our generation," they urged. "Quickly, come into the palanquin; it's quite cold outside."

Heavenly Venerable Hong, having no choice, boarded Heavenly Venerable Xiao's divine palanquin. He looked around and smiled. "This vehicle is full, and my large frame is quite substantial. I'll go sit in Heavenly Venerable Hao's vehicle."

Everyone feigned annoyance. "There's room if you squeeze," they said. "You're a Demon Race Heavenly Venerable; just transform a little!"

Heavenly Venerable Xiao raised his hand, and the divine palanquin expanded slightly, with another seat materializing inside.

Heavenly Venerable Hong had no choice but to take the seat. He looked at Qin Mu and smiled. "Heavenly Venerable Mu, you still owe me a favor."