Chapter 1276: Blue Yutian's Path

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Except for Qin Mu, everyone at the grand gathering was quite displeased. Some felt apprehensive, some were filled with dread, and others were seething with anger.

Nevertheless, the atmosphere remained orderly.

Qin Mu proposed leading the troops to attack Wuyou Township. However, the generals collectively dissuaded him, insisting, "Celestial Venerable is severely wounded. It would be best for you to stay and recuperate properly, lest your injuries worsen on the battlefield and lead to an untimely death."

Qin Mu had no choice but to relent.

Heavenly Venerable Fire intended to propose that Qin Mu join the battlefield, hoping the divine generals he had trained—who could easily counter Qin Mu's divine arts—would eliminate him. However, the other generals strongly opposed Qin Mu leading the troops. Coupled with Qin Mu's continuous coughing and claims of severe injury, Heavenly Venerable Fire found it inconvenient to suggest sending Qin Mu to his death.

After the grand gathering, Qin Mu "recuperated from his injuries," while the Heavenly Court dispatched troops to eliminate the Corpse Walkers and Inner Demons scattered across various regions, thereby stabilizing the rear.

Soon after, news arrived that the rebels from the Primordial Realm's Netherworld and the Primordial Realm itself had consolidated their forces, retreating to a remote corner and hiding in the eastern part of the Primordial Realm.

Qin Mu quietly sought out Bai Yuqiong and asked if Lan Yutian had emerged from seclusion.

Bai Yuqiong, still recovering from the severe injuries inflicted by Heavenly Venerable Hao, whose injuries had not yet fully healed, said, "Brother Lan... Heavenly Venerable Yu should still be undergoing his enlightenment. He has been in Heavenly Venerable Yue's lantern and hasn't come out."

She took out Heavenly Venerable Yue's lantern, opened the small door on it, and peered inside, where she was stunned.

The lantern was empty. Lan Yutian had vanished without a trace!

Both broke into a cold sweat. Bai Yuqiong asked, her voice trembling with a hint of a sob, "When did he get out? Where did he go?"

Veins bulged on Qin Mu's forehead. He said in a deep voice, "Don't panic or spread the news for now. Let's search around!"

They quickly searched everywhere, turning Bai Yuqiong's mansion upside down, but still found no trace of Lan Yutian.

Bai Yuqiong questioned her servants. A servant replied, "When the Celestial Master was in seclusion, this young man said he was the Celestial Master's younger brother, so he was allowed to leave."

Qin Mu's spirits lifted. He said, "It's good that we have a clue, meaning he's still within your Westfall Divine City."

They searched the entire city but still could not find Lan Yutian. A general then reported, "That divine being injured a few of our comrades and left the city with some people."

Veins bulged on both Qin Mu's and Bai Yuqiong's foreheads. They both knew that Lan Yutian possessed a strange allure, which could involuntarily draw those with a strong desire for the Dao to him. They hadn't expected him to abduct a group of people immediately after emerging from seclusion!

Bai Yuqiong asked, "How many of my soldiers did he take?"

The divine general replied, "Initially, only a dozen or so followed him, but after he left the city, over a hundred people joined him."

Bai Yuqiong was furious. "Why wasn't this reported?"

"The Celestial Master had gone to the banquet," came the reply.

Bai Yuqiong felt helpless. Qin Mu consoled her, saying, "With over a hundred people following him, he's a big target. It'll be much easier to find him now!"

Bai Yuqiong nodded repeatedly.

They followed the tracks of these hundred-plus deities, only to find that Lan Yutian was heading towards the Heavenly Venerables' encampment.

"This is bad!"

Cold sweat poured down Qin Mu's and Bai Yuqiong's foreheads. They chased after them frantically, but then saw Lan Yutian's group suddenly change direction outside the Heavenly Venerables' encampment, surprisingly not heading for the Heavenly Venerables' abode!

Qin Mu was overjoyed. He laughed, "He's lost his way again!"

Bai Yuqiong laughed, "He never knew the way to begin with!"

They hurried onward. From the tracks left by Lan Yutian and his followers, it was clear that more and more people were joining him. Earlier, there were only over a hundred, but now there were as many as a thousand!

Along the way, they also found a few divine beings who had fallen behind.

Qin Mu questioned one of them. The divine being replied, "I don't know how I ended up following him; I was in a daze. I just felt a profound peace in my heart, listening to the sounds of the Dao and his teachings. It was both joyful and serene."

Qin Mu asked, "Why did you fall behind?"

The divine being said, "I followed them for a long time, then suddenly woke up and realized I had somehow ended up here. I felt as though he was using sorcery to bewitch us, so I dared not continue following."

Bai Yuqiong, hidden deep within space, did not reveal herself. She communicated to Qin Mu, "Ask him if, after listening to that person for so long, he still believes it was sorcery."

Qin Mu questioned him again. The divine being shook his head in confusion and said, "It wasn't sorcery. On the contrary, I understood a great deal from it, and some things that had previously puzzled me suddenly became clear. However, the more I understood, the more I feared, and the less I dared to continue following."

"This is someone who lacks an affinity with the Dao," Bai Yuqiong said to Qin Mu.

Qin Mu nodded and continued to follow the tracks left by Lan Yutian and his group. Along the way, more divine beings who had fallen behind appeared from time to time.

These divine beings also held the same doubts as the previous one and thus did not continue to follow Lan Yutian. Numerous Heavenly Court watchtowers stood along the path, many of which were now empty, their occupants having been taken by Lan Yutian.

Qin Mu and Bai Yuqiong encountered bewildered divine beings along the way. Some sat blankly by ponds, some lay under the shade of trees, some held their heads in deep thought, some muttered incoherently, and others simply lay on the ground, sound asleep.

Still others intended to leave the Primordial Realm and return home.

Qin Mu and Bai Yuqiong exchanged glances. These stragglers seemed to have suffered a tremendous shock to their souls, appearing far from normal.

Judging from the tracks on the ground, the Heavenly Court divine beings following Lan Yutian now numbered as many as three thousand!

Qin Mu suddenly sighed and whispered, "Establishing a doctrine, establishing words, establishing deeds — achieving sagehood through these 'Three Establishments'. Lan Yutian has already unconsciously achieved the establishment of doctrine and words. He is but one step away from achieving sagehood through the Three Establishments, as taught by my Heavenly Saint Cult. If he creates cultivation methods that benefit all beings and reforms the world's cultivation and divine art systems, thereby establishing deeds, he will have achieved it."

Bai Yuqiong did not understand his sentiment.

As the Heavenly Saint Cult Master, the Heavenly Saint Cult had a profound influence on Qin Mu. Establishing a doctrine, establishing words, and establishing deeds, leading to sagehood through these 'Three Establishments', were essentially Qin Mu's lifelong principles and goals.

There had been many Heavenly Saint Cult Masters, but none had ever achieved this level.

The Woodcutter was the founder of the 'Three Establishments to Sagehood', yet he himself did not achieve all three. He wanted to create a method for cultivating post-celestial grand paths to attain divinity.

However, his goal was too ambitious: to cultivate a vast post-celestial Heavenly Court system based on the 360 trades and 360 grand paths, thereby benefiting all beings.

He was trapped in the Jade Platform realm by his grand ideals, and the God-Slaying Platform became an insurmountable obstacle for his entire life.

Wei Suifeng, the founding patriarch of the Heavenly Saint Cult, also failed. He absorbed the Woodcutter's ideas, establishing a doctrine and words, and he wanted to establish deeds.

He wanted to uncover the mysteries of history, unravel the essence of dynastic changes, eradicate the extraterrestrial Heavenly Court, and bring justice to the world.

This would have been a great merit and virtue, yet his goal was also too grand. He became Emperor Yunluo, but his identity was exposed, and he was captured. He was taken to be drowned in the river, and had Qin Mu not rescued him, he would likely still be reincarnating on a ghost ship.

Qin Mu took Yankang as his doctrine and legal reform as his words. He wanted to go against the heavens and overthrow the Heavenly Court, considering this his great deed and virtue to achieve sagehood through the Three Establishments. He also aimed to change the world's divine arts and cultivation systems, to ensure that Dao arts and divine arts progress, surpassing ancient times today, and today surpassing the future.

However, when the Yankang Calamity erupted, he too was severely battered. To this day, he still toils tirelessly for these two goals.

Looking back at the million-year history from the Dragon Han era to the present, only the combined efforts of nine individuals were truly worthy of the title of 'sage' by achieving all 'Three Establishments'.

These nine individuals were the Nine Heavenly Venerables of the Dragon Han era.

Yu, Hao, Ling, Fire, Yue, You, Yun, Qin, and Mu. They pioneered the Divine Treasure and Celestial Palace system and the Dao Realm system. Their combined contributions earned them the title of 'sage'.

However, the individual contributions of each of these nine people were far from sufficient to earn the title of 'sage'.

"Now it seems," Qin Mu mused, "the first person who might truly become a sage could actually be Lan Yutian."

Qin Mu gazed into the distance. Lan Yutian, leading his three thousand disciples, moved grandly. These lost divine beings, under the guidance of the directionally challenged Lan Yutian, were heading towards Wuyou Township's territory.

"Lan Yutian is not Heavenly Venerable Yu," Qin Mu mused. "He should be like me, a second consciousness born within Heavenly Venerable Yu's body, a pure being, born for the Dao."

A paternal smile appeared on Qin Mu's face. As Lan Yutian's guide and mentor, and as someone who shared a similar plight with Lan Yutian, he felt greatly comforted.

Lan Yutian had finally grown up.

"Celestial Master Bai," Qin Mu said, "I suddenly understand why you don't want to become Southern Emperor Vermilion Bird anymore."

Qin Mu turned around and laughed, "My situation is the same as yours, and also the same as Lan Yutian's. From now on, I will no longer force you to become the Southern Emperor. Let's go back."