Chapter 1274: Two Sickly Individuals

After Haotianzun prostrated himself, he indeed felt his nine almost shattered Celestial Palaces rapidly recovering. The speed of their restoration surprised and delighted him.

He found it extremely difficult to refine or heal such profound Dao injuries himself, yet for the Goddess of Primordial Beginning, it seemed effortlessly simple!

It wouldn't be long before his nine great Celestial Palaces were fully restored.

"The Dao of Primordial Beginning is incredibly profound. If I could acquire it..."His mind began to race with possibilities. The Goddess of Primordial Beginning seemed to read his thoughts, smiling faintly. "I can help you restore your nine Celestial Palaces, but your other palaces won't be so easy. Those have been completely abolished, their Dao foundations gone. Forcibly restoring them would deplete my own cultivation. Since you've chosen to cultivate them yourself, I won't force you."

Haotianzun expressed his gratitude.

The Goddess of Primordial Beginning said, "The Primordial Beginning ore vein in the Ancestral Court has fallen into the hands of Heavenly Venerate Gong. I cannot defeat her, and I need your help, esteemed nephew."

Haotianzun's heart stirred slightly, and he felt a bit more at ease with the Goddess of Primordial Beginning. He replied, "Aunt, you have saved my life. I will find a way to deal with the Primordial Beginning ore vein." The Goddess of Primordial Beginning clearly had a request for him, which explained her kindness. A collaboration would benefit them both. Furthermore, the Goddess of Primordial Beginning's cultivation wasn't exceedingly strong, at most on par with the Four Ancient Emperors, making her manageable.

However, each time he needed a restoration, Haotianzun had to kowtow to her, which somewhat displeased him.

The Goddess of Primordial Beginning said, "With your word, esteemed nephew, I am at ease."

Soon, Haotianzun's nine Celestial Palaces were restored to their original state, and his Dao injuries vanished without a trace. However, his primordial spirit remained trapped within the Grand Emperor's divine consciousness, the Great All-Embracing Heaven, unable to escape.

The Goddess of Primordial Beginning apologized, "The Grand Emperor's abilities are too profound. I cannot break his divine art now. I imagine if you cultivate two or three dozen Celestial Palaces yourself, you will be able to unseal your primordial spirit."

Cold sweat broke out on Haotianzun's forehead. He suddenly realized a crucial point: his primordial spirit!

With his primordial spirit trapped in the Grand Emperor's divine consciousness, the Great All-Embracing Heaven, he couldn't activate his cultivation techniques to quickly refine his other damaged and destroyed Celestial Palaces. The primordial spirit was the core of his cultivation. Vital energy flowed from the seven divine treasuries and the seven realms of the Celestial Palace, but it had to pass through the primordial spirit for his cultivation to grow daily. Without his primordial spirit, his cultivation techniques were completely disjointed and ineffective!

More importantly, he had completely abolished twenty-six Celestial Palaces, not merely formed Dao cocoons. If they had been Dao cocoons, he could have used the Return to the Ruins divine art to refine them and return to his former peak state, which would have taken only four or five months at most. However, with twenty-six Celestial Palaces completely abolished, he would have to start cultivating them from scratch! And without his primordial spirit, he couldn't possibly recultivate them!

The Goddess of Primordial Beginning watched him, remaining silent.

After a moment, Haotianzun knelt and kowtowed once more. "Aunt, I humbly request you restore my other Celestial Palaces!"

The Goddess of Primordial Beginning revealed a faint smile. "No matter how formidable your past methods were, you now find yourself within my grasp, with no escape."

When the Heavenly Court's reinforcements arrived, Carefree Village's attack on the Heavenly Court encampment finally ended with the signal to retreat. Carefree Village and the Creators did not seize the opportunity to plunder land. Instead, they took advantage of the chaos caused by Qin Mu and Haotianzun, and the instability among the Heavenly Court's gods and devils, to launch an attack and claim lives. With the arrival of Heavenly Court reinforcements, they naturally had to withdraw.

Carefree Village had achieved a great victory this time, and cheers erupted everywhere. However, the Woodcutter Sage ordered an immediate contraction of forces, preparing to retreat and defend the Void Bridge.

The powerful individuals within Carefree Village and the Creators also recognized the situation. Retreating to the Void Bridge was a reluctant but inevitable move. The battle between Haotianzun and the Grand Emperor had damaged the collapsing void, shortening the distance between the Void Entrance and the Void Land countless times over. Previously, Heavenly Court reinforcements would take at least a year to reach the Void Land from the Void Entrance, but now, it didn't even take a day! Under these circumstances, there was no way for Carefree Village to fight the Heavenly Court. The Void Land was completely indefensible!

Preparing to retreat to the Void Bridge now would prevent many unnecessary losses in the future. Moreover, the Void Land was currently overrun with heart devils and corpsewalkers, which could also delay the Heavenly Court's advance. Even if the Heavenly Court gained control of the Void Land, its usefulness would be limited, as they would need to guard against heart devil attacks. By consolidating their own forces, they would face far fewer heart devils.

In the Heavenly Court's grand encampment, reinforcements arrived. Heavenly Venerate Huo and Heavenly Venerate Void, despite their ailing bodies, went to comfort the troops. The reinforcing Heavenly Court army was originally stationed at the Void Passage and had brought the Divine Artifact of the Eastern Emperor and the Divine Artifact of the Southern Emperor.Haotianzun also returned to the Heavenly Court encampment, causing a stir. Generals from all divisions of the Heavenly Court came to pay their respects. Heavenly Venerate Huo and Heavenly Venerate Void also hosted a grand banquet to welcome Haotianzun, with all the generals offering blessings to dispel his misfortune. Haotianzun appeared sickly and dispirited, evidently suffering from severe injuries that had not yet healed.

At that moment, a divine general suddenly rushed into the banquet, reporting, "Heavenly Venerate Mu has arrived!"

A hush fell over the banquet. Even Heavenly Venerate Void and Heavenly Venerate Huo remained silent. All eyes instantly focused on Haotianzun, who appeared frail, his breath shallow, frequently breaking into violent coughs as if on the verge of death. He gasped two deep, ragged breaths and said weakly, "Heavenly Venerate Mu is one of the five founding elders of the Heavenly Alliance. How can we leave him waiting outside? Please, quickly invite him in—"

Qin Mu, with his vertical eye open on his forehead, waited quietly outside the grand gathering. The Egg of Primordial Beginning within his brow complained, "My friend, aren't you afraid Haotianzun will turn hostile on the spot and kill you? You've humiliated him so terribly, completely destroying his prestige; he must hate you to the core!"

"Brother Dao, although you are worldly, you don't understand human nature," Qin Mu replied, his divine consciousness fluctuating with a smile. "If I were Haotianzun, I would certainly pretend to be critically injured and on the verge of death. The weaker I appeared, the more hesitant those with ill intentions would be to act against me. Then, I would subtly exert my authority, striking fear into everyone, ensuring no one dared to challenge me. Haotianzun's target for asserting dominance isn't me. With your protection, he can't kill me, and attacking me would only expose that his cultivation hasn't recovered. As soon as he exposes himself, the other Heavenly Venerates won't miss such a rare opportunity."

The Primordial Beginning in the egg thought for a moment, acknowledging that this was indeed true.

"Therefore, when we meet, we will still be polite, as if nothing has happened." Qin Mu watched the arriving divine attendant, suddenly letting his aura wane. The attendant cried out in alarm, "Heavenly Venerate is injured?"Qin Mu nodded feebly, trembling as he raised his arm. The attendant hastily helped him walk towards the banquet hall. Qin Mu's divine consciousness fluctuated as he continued, "Haotianzun and I will only exchange pleasantries. The only person he can use to establish his authority in front of everyone, without revealing his true condition, is the Yin Heavenly Son."

The Primordial Beginning in the egg stirred, asking, "Why do you say that?"

"The Yin Heavenly Son is Haotianzun's confidant, even closer to him than Heavenly Venerate Huo. They share a bond forged through life and death. However, when I pursued Haotianzun, the Yin Heavenly Son stood by and did nothing. That's why Haotianzun will use him to assert his authority." Qin Mu, barely breathing, was led into the banquet hall, his body trembling under everyone's gaze. He sat down, shaking like a sieve, seemingly having expended all his strength, and continued his divine consciousness transmission, "The Yin Heavenly Son also knows that Haotianzun resents him for not rescuing him. The way to resolve this resentment is to be beaten by Haotianzun. Haotianzun beating him is also to reassure him; after the beating, he won't hold a grudge, and the Yin Heavenly Son will continue to wholeheartedly pledge allegiance to Haotianzun, no longer daring to have second thoughts."

The Primordial Beginning in the egg was silent for a moment, then sighed, "Are there so many intricacies to human nature? Can't one unify the world simply with invincible might?"

Qin Mu let out a long breath and said sadly, "Haotianzun, Heavenly Venerate Void, esteemed sirs, please forgive me for being injured and unable to offer proper courtesy. In order to rescue Haotianzun, I was severely wounded by the Grand Emperor."As soon as he spoke, the banquet grew even more silent. A divine being, in the midst of eating, had meat hanging from their mouth, forgotten to chew.