Chapter 1171: Eleventh Divine Artifact

Qin Mu watched the scene unfold, finding everything happening on the altar utterly absurd and bizarre. Each of these eight Heavenly Venerables spoke of benevolence, righteousness, and morality, claiming to consider the welfare of all beings. Yet, the harm they caused far surpassed that of the ancient gods.

Heavenly Venerable Qiang was the traitorous Emperor Tai, whom she herself spoke of; Heavenly Venerable Xiao was the ancient god, Heavenly Emperor Taichu; Heavenly Venerable Gong was one of the three great divine kings of the creators, the ancient divine king who enslaved the ancient gods; Consort Yan was suspected to be the Empress Dowager; and Heavenly Venerable Hong was none other than the Heavenly Duke they intended to overthrow!

As for Heavenly Venerable Hao, Divine Emperor Lang Xuan, and Ancestor God King, they were all sons of the most powerful ancient gods! The pompous words these individuals uttered almost made him burst out laughing.

"What irony, what utter irony!"

Qin Mu looked at their solemn expressions and finally couldn't help but laugh out loud.

The eight Heavenly Venerables glanced at him, each letting out a cold snort.

"Heavenly Venerable Mu, you are of no use to us anymore. Why are you laughing?" Ancestor God King asked, perplexed.

Qin Mu chuckled, "You are mistaken, Divine King. Apart from a few exceptions, none of you present would kill me. I know too many secrets; if I were to reveal them now, it would be over for all of you!" With that, he laughed heartily.

Heavenly Venerable Xiao, Heavenly Venerable Hong, Heavenly Venerable Gong, Consort Yan, and Consort Qiang also began to laugh, leaving only Heavenly Venerable Hao, Divine Emperor Lang Xuan, and Ancestor God King unamused.

Heavenly Venerable Hao said indifferently, "Knowing many secrets can sometimes preserve your life, but other times it can lead to a swift and inexplicable death. Take the Great Sun Star Lord, for example."

Qin Mu smiled faintly, "Thank you for the advice, Fellow Daoist Hao. As long as I can live for now, I am content."

Heavenly Venerable Hao turned and said, "In that case, let us break open the Ancestral Court rift, leave this place first, and then seal the rift!"

The eight Heavenly Venerables flew towards the rift in the Ancestral Court's sky, with Qin Mu following behind. Each of the eight Heavenly Venerables harbored ulterior motives. While they wouldn't openly turn on Qin Mu and kill him on the spot, sealing him within the Ancestral Court was certainly within their capabilities. Therefore, Qin Mu had to seize the opportunity to escape with them.

At the Ancestral Court rift, the eight Heavenly Venerables exchanged glances. Heavenly Venerable Hong smiled, "Everyone, let us each employ our methods to break this Ancestral Court seal."

They all assented in unison.

The eight Heavenly Venerables immediately acted in concert. From their display, one could discern the varying levels of their cultivation.

Heavenly Venerable Hao was the most outstanding, manifesting twenty-eight Heavenly Palaces that were vast and magnificent. Next was Divine Emperor Lang Xuan, with a total of twenty-six Heavenly Palaces, interconnected to form a Celestial Court. Heavenly Venerable Hong had twenty-five Heavenly Palaces; Consort Qiang and Consort Yan each had twenty-four; Heavenly Venerable Xiao had fewer, only twenty; and Ancestor God King and Heavenly Venerable Gong only had eighteen.

Qin Mu observed this, and although the number of Heavenly Palaces usually indicated one's cultivation level, he didn't believe a single one of the numbers displayed by these eight Heavenly Venerables! Even though Heavenly Venerable Hao had demonstrated his twenty-eight Heavenly Palaces more than once, Qin Mu still didn't believe it. Heavenly Venerable Hao might be considered the most "honest" among these eight, but "honest" was a relative term when speaking of the Ten Heavenly Venerables, all of whom were cunning and seasoned schemers. The number of Heavenly Palaces they displayed was merely what they wanted their opponents to see. Even if one of them had suddenly revealed thirty-five Heavenly Palaces, Qin Mu wouldn't have been surprised in the slightest!

The eight Heavenly Venerables each unleashed their divine arts. Surprisingly, the divine arts they employed belonged to the ancient god divine art system, formed by the Dao Ancestor who analyzed the grand paths of various ancient gods using the art of numerology! Qin Mu didn't believe this at all either. These eight Heavenly Venerables were sly and cunning, having long since entered the Dao. Their divine arts were definitely not ancient god divine arts based on numerology, but rather grand divine arts of the Dao that they had personally comprehended. The divine arts they demonstrated were merely intended to deceive others!

The infighting among the Ten Heavenly Venerables of the Celestial Court was more intense than anyone could imagine!

Even though the eight Heavenly Venerables didn't use their true abilities, they were still Heavenly Venerables. The power of their divine arts was vast and formidable, and surges of destructive energy swept towards the Ancestral Court rift! As these divine arts blasted into the rift, the reverse sides of worlds like the Celestial Court, Yuan Realm, Xuandu, Youdu, and Four Extreme Heavens immediately emerged from within the rift, resisting their divine arts!

At the end of the Primordial Era, the ancient god Heavenly Emperor Taichu led all the deities in the world to seal the Ancestral Court, attempting to bury all its inglorious history. This sealing utilized the blood of ancient gods and the grand paths of various ancient gods. Coupled with the reverse sides of worlds like the Celestial Court, Yuan Realm, Xuandu, and Youdu, how terrifying was this seal?

However, with the current eight Heavenly Venerables joining forces, their strength was fully capable of contending with the gods of that bygone era! Furthermore, they only aimed to create a passage, not to completely break the Ancestral Court's seal, which made breaking it even simpler!

The eight Heavenly Venerables grew increasingly colossal, their physical forms becoming immense. Even with over twenty Celestial Courts floating behind them, their size no longer seemed as astonishing. Divine light formed halos behind their heads, slowly rotating. Various divine arts leapt forth from these halos, widening the rift. They flew forward, delving deeper into the seal, drawing closer to breaking through the Ancestral Court's seal.

Qin Mu followed behind them. Looking back, he saw giant eyes emerging everywhere in the Ancestral Court's sky and on the ground, watching them greedily. These were the void beasts. The Void Mother Beast had been slain by Qin Mu within the Lapis Lazuli Azure Sky Banner. A new mother beast had not yet formed, leaving the void beasts leaderless. Without a mother beast, Heavenly Consort Qiang found it difficult to simultaneously mobilize so many void beasts. These void beasts were masterless and filled with covetousness for the outside world. However, their fear of Qin Mu and the eight Heavenly Venerables kept them from approaching.

Just as Qin Mu and the eight Heavenly Venerables were about to leave the Ancestral Court, the void beasts finally emerged from the void and flew towards the rift.

Finally, the eight Heavenly Venerables broke through the seal. A sharp glint flashed in Ancestor God King's eyes as he prepared to send Qin Mu back into the Ancestral Court, but suddenly a flash of light appeared. Qin Mu activated a teleportation divine art and warped out through the rift. Ancestor God King immediately abandoned the idea, secretly praising, "This young man is truly pervasive. If he had grown up with us back then, Heavenly Venerable Hao might not have become the leader among the Ten Heavenly Venerables today." Though he appeared reckless, he was in fact meticulous and full of admiration for Qin Mu.

As they stepped out of the Ancestral Court, the eight Heavenly Venerables immediately began to apply their respective seals, sealing the Ancestral Court rift layer by layer. Consort Yan chuckled, "Brother Mu, you are the most senior among the Heavenly Alliance. Why don't you also place a seal?"

"With Consort's command, how could I refuse?"

Qin Mu stepped forward, declaring with a righteous air, "For the sake of all beings in the world, I shall do my utmost to prevent the devils in the Ancestral Court from escaping!" He performed a sealing art, helping the eight Heavenly Venerables seal the Ancestral Court.

Divine Emperor Lang Xuan deliberately misdirected his seal, destroying most of Qin Mu's. The other Heavenly Venerables followed suit, one by one, reducing Qin Mu's meticulously placed seal to an incredibly slender needle. Everyone laughed in unison, "Heavenly Venerable Mu's seal is like a nail hammered into our seals, much like Heavenly Venerable Mu himself. Heavenly Venerable Mu is like a nail, driven into both the Celestial Court and the Heavenly Alliance!" Qin Mu also burst out laughing, and everyone's laughter was filled with mirth.

After they finished laughing, they looked around. Outside the Ancestral Court, Qin Mu's altar was indeed gone. Even the two Heavenly Venerable chariots and eighteen celestial dragons had vanished without a trace. Only faint ripples of divine power remained in this part of the starry sky, imparting an extremely terrifying sensation.

Heavenly Venerable Hao looked at Heavenly Venerable Hong and said, "Brother Dao, please see who is responsible for this." Heavenly Venerable Hong assented. A wisp of demonic energy flew out, merging with the residual divine power. It gradually transformed, causing the figure of the perpetrator to materialize.

The eight Heavenly Venerables' expressions all changed simultaneously. The figure that materialized was none other than a divine artifact, the Imperial Heavenly Venerable!