Chapter 1258: Enemies Meet

Bai Yuqiong's battle with her inner demons was not as effortless as Qin Mu's. The Void Devil Realm could not perfectly replicate the Great Dao of Grand Beginning, Grand Change, Grand Initial, and Grand Ultimate. As a result, Qin Mu's heart demon was never as formidable as he had imagined Lan Yutian to be.

Bai Yuqiong, however, had not transcended the Divine Consciousness Dao, making her fight exceptionally arduous.

The weakest link among her heart demons was, surprisingly, Heart Demon Qin Mu. Her three adversaries included Yin Tianzi, whom she had fought against for hundreds of thousands of years. In truth, Bai Yuqiong felt no fear of Yin Tianzi.

For Heavenly Teacher Zi Xi, she felt more admiration, captivated by his talent and learning, and drawn to his dashing and elegant demeanor, yet unattainable due to their opposing sides.

In fact, her deepest fear was Qin Mu.

She constantly worried that Qin Mu would obliterate her consciousness, causing her to awaken her Southern Emperor divine soul and restore the Southern Emperor's memories. In the Southern Emperor's long and ancient history, Bai Yuqiong's small consciousness was merely a drop in the ocean of her memories, utterly insignificant.

Yet, as Bai Yuqiong, she knew she was a complete being with her own loves, hates, ambitions, and ideals. She did not want to become just another page in the Southern Emperor's extensive history.

She feared Qin Mu's divine arts, dreaded him awakening the other soul within her, and was terrified of her own death. Therefore, when facing the siege of the three heart demons, she always dodged Heart Demon Qin Mu's attacks, afraid to confront him directly, lest she fall into his trap.

Qin Mu observed for a moment, then suddenly called out, "Heavenly Teacher Bai, start with me! Heart Demon Qin Mu doesn't possess my abilities; he doesn't know my Samsara divine art!"

"Really?"

Bai Yuqiong's spirits soared, surprised and delighted. Qin Mu then watched as one of Bai Yuqiong's divine arts shot forth, tearing Heart Demon Qin Mu into countless pieces.

Qin Mu's face darkened. "It seems Heavenly Teacher Bai has a lot of prejudice against me..."

With Heart Demon Qin Mu eliminated, Bai Yuqiong finally unleashed her full power. Her divine arts became endlessly varied, and her movements were unpredictable. Spatial divine arts, creation divine arts, numerology divine arts, Buddhist divine arts, dragon divine arts, phoenix divine arts, and even Northern Emperor divine arts, Western Emperor divine arts, and the divine arts of other Celestial Venerables—she unleashed them all!

Soon, Heart Demon Yin Tianzi was also severely wounded by Bai Yuqiong. To Qin Mu's slight relief, Heart Demon Yin Tianzi's death was even more gruesome than Heart Demon Qin Mu's, clearly indicating Bai Yuqiong's greater hatred for Yin Tianzi.

However, to Qin Mu's surprise, Bai Yuqiong consistently refrained from striking a fatal blow against Heart Demon Zi Xi. Not only did she avoid a killing strike, but she engaged Heart Demon Zi Xi with tenderness and affection!

Given Bai Yuqiong's strength, eliminating Heart Demon Zi Xi would have been no difficult feat. Qin Mu grew suspicious, observing that Bai Yuqiong's eyes and brows seemed to soften with tender affection, making it look less like a life-or-death struggle and more like teasing and flirting.

Qin Mu's suspicion deepened, and he gradually grew anxious. The sounds of clashing divine arts echoed from ahead, indicating that others were also searching for Hao Tianzun and had already ventured quite far. If others found Hao Tianzun and, instead of killing him, rescued him, wouldn't all their efforts be in vain?

"It seems Bai Yuqiong has a crush on Heavenly Teacher Zi Xi..."

The more Qin Mu watched, the more doubtful he became. The tenderness in Bai Yuqiong's eyes was almost overflowing, and she consistently refused to deliver a killing blow, wasting too much time.

"Bai Yuqiong has lived for nearly two hundred lifetimes; she's quite experienced. Could she really not have realized that Heavenly Teacher Zi Xi is Yan Yunxi in disguise as a man?"

Qin Mu suddenly coughed, reminding her, "Heavenly Teacher Bai, Heavenly Teacher Zi Xi is indeed immensely powerful and a formidable opponent! This woman's true name is Yan Yunxi. She disguised herself as a man to deceive people's emotions and is a truly heinous character under Emperor Kai. You absolutely must not let her go! I'll lend you a hand!"

Upon hearing this, Bai Yuqiong's mind was thrown into disarray. Heart Demon Zi Xi seized the opportunity, nearly ensnaring her in her deadly tribulation array. Bai Yuqiong escaped in a sorry state and instantly exploded with fury: "Yan Yunxi? Disguised as a man? Deceived my feelings?"

Qin Mu watched with satisfaction as Bai Yuqiong regrouped. Heart Demon Zi Xi's death was a hundred times more gruesome than Heart Demon Yin Tianzi's and Heart Demon Qin Mu's combined!

Bai Yuqiong walked over, her face expressionless, clearly displeased. She calmly stated, "Celestial Venerable Mu, let's hurry. We shouldn't let others claim the main credit!"

Qin Mu cautiously followed her, not saying a word. Bai Yuqiong also remained silent. Qin Mu secretly glanced at her and saw tears streaking her cheeks. His heart skipped a beat, and he opened his mouth, but no words came out.

"Deceiving my feelings! Yan Yunxi—" Bai Yuqiong gnashed her teeth, radiating a murderous aura that sent shivers down Qin Mu's spine, making him feel as if he had fallen into a dark abyss.

"Hehe..." Qin Mu gave a dry laugh, his eye twitching. He thought to himself, "Yin Tianzi played with feelings and harmed Emperor Yi Yue. Yan Yunxi played with feelings and led Bai Yuqiong astray. These two are likely in for trouble. However, Yan Yunxi is also Emperor Kai's second Heavenly Teacher. I should tell her first so she can prepare. But then again, Yan Yunxi should be helping Emperor Kai with state affairs and won't encounter her for now..."

Just as he thought this, a donkey's bray suddenly echoed from ahead: "Hee-haw, hee-haw—Black Cat, Brother Sanduo, you're useless! You can't even defeat the Heavenly Court's Martial Serjeant! Watch me!"

Qin Mu's face changed slightly. This bray was from Yan Yunxi's mount, Great Devil King Lü Zheng.

"Oh no!" he thought. Great Devil King Lü Zheng was here, which meant Yan Yunxi must be here too! Remembering Heart Demon Zi Xi's gruesome death, Qin Mu couldn't help but shiver repeatedly.

Bai Yuqiong's face was as still as water, her murderous aura growing even stronger.

"Hmm, when Heavenly Teacher Bai attacks Heavenly Teacher Zi Xi later, I'll keep my distance. I'll pretend I didn't say anything about this..."

At that moment, someone ahead suddenly shouted, "The head of the divine weapon Celestial Venerable Yu is here! Everyone be careful, Hao Tianzun must be nearby!"

Qin Mu was both surprised and delighted. "Hao Tianzun is nearby? It seems he can't escape this time!"

He and Bai Yuqiong hurried forward. Along the way, giant corpse walkers lay prostrate, leading countless heart demons in a frenzied battle. Bai Yuqiong and Qin Mu fought their way through; Qin Mu confronted various heart demons, while Bai Yuqiong took on the corpse walkers.

Unleashing their full power, the two carved a bloody path through the demonic mountains and seas of demons, crossing several raging volcanoes, traversing seas of lava and fire, and passing through dense black smoke. Along the way, countless heart demons lay dead, and even the corpses of corpse walkers! Besides these, they also saw the bodies of many Heavenly Court gods and devils, as well as Creation Masters, indicating the fierce combat that had taken place.

Ahead lay Celestial Venerable Yu's head. This head, originally as large as a planet, had now shrunk countless times, though it was still the size of a mountain peak. It had crushed the surrounding mountains where it rested. Hao Tianzun must have stirred up his remaining magic power to bring this head here, after which his magic power went out of control, and his Dao heart shattered.

The number of Heavenly Court, Carefree Village, and Creation Master members who had reached this point was small, but they were all top-tier beings, numbering just over fifty. Most were in the Jade Capital, Numinous Sky, and Emperor's Throne realms, their Celestial Palaces hovering behind them! They confronted each other, extremely cautious. After all, too many powerful individuals had arrived here; aside from Saint Qiaofu, no one present could be underestimated! Not even that arrogant donkey!