Chapter 1294: Big Business

One or two Queqi giant beasts would have been fine, but the presence of an entire community of them here truly puzzled him.

The Void Beasts dominated the ancestral court, making it impossible for any other creatures to survive. So where did these Queqi giant beasts come from?

"Does Reverend Celestial Mu know about this kind of giant beast?" Xiu Hongsu asked, looking at the Queqi giant beasts rising from the swamp. She smiled and continued, "Heavenly Consort Empress said these giant beasts are called Queqi, and they are quite docile. Besides the Queqi, various other giant beasts have also been appearing in the ancestral court."

Qin Mu's curiosity was piqued. "Other giant beasts have appeared too?" he asked. "Haven't these creatures gone extinct? Why are they reappearing?"

"I don't know about that," Xiu Hongsu replied. "However, Heavenly Consort Empress might know. I've asked her, but she hasn't said anything."

Qin Mu's eyes flickered as he pondered, "Could it be those two ancient gods from the Grand Ultimate mine, who used Yin and Yang energies to create all sorts of giant beasts in the ancestral court? But considering how stingy and petty those two ancient gods are, they shouldn't be willing to expend their own power to create so many giant beasts, right?"

If it wasn't the work of the ancient gods from the Grand Ultimate mine, then where did these giant beasts come from?

Along the way, Qin Mu saw various other giant beasts. There were the Mountain Whistling beasts, whose backs were covered with mountains, and as they walked, mountain winds would blow rapidly through the mountains and caves on their backs, creating whistling sounds.

There were also Bahe, with wingspans of a hundred miles. They usually lay on the peaks of divine mountains that towered into the clouds, and upon spotting prey, they would spread their fleshy wings, glide through the high air, and swoop down on their quarry.

If they missed their prey, these Bahe would limp and crawl, using the claws under their fleshy wings to hook onto the mountain and climb back up.

He also saw giant beasts like the Great Fierce and Scent Wind, and he even spotted a Taibo.

The Taibo giant beast was an extremely terrifying creature. Its combat power was no less than that of a Void Beast, and perhaps even stronger.

Shujun, one of the three ancient kings, had tamed a Taibo giant beast, whose combat power was no less than that of the Void Mother Beast.

But the Taibo giant beasts had clearly gone extinct too!

"Grand Ultimate creation, creating one or two giant beasts would be acceptable," he mused. "But creating so many would surely be the death of those stingy ancient gods. These giant beasts definitely aren't their creations!"

Finally, they arrived at the Grand Beginning mine.

Qin Mu stepped down from the imperial carriage and, led by Xiu Hongsu, walked into the mine.

The depths of this mine were permeated with hazy, swirling Grand Beginning Qi, which was extremely dangerous. Qin Mu saw that some divine beings had turned into ghost-like entities, their bodies ethereal and transparent.

This was the result of prolonged exposure to and assimilation by the Grand Beginning Qi.

The Way of Grand Beginning was tangible in form but without substance. Due to long-term contact with the Grand Beginning Qi, these divine beings had lost their physical bodies, retaining only their form. Their physical bodies, primordial spirits, vital qi, souls, and everything else had ceased to exist.

But they weren't exactly dead.

They had form but no substance, muddled and confused, without thought. Unable to see, hear, or feel, their existence was worse than death.

These divine beings stood in the mine, occasionally drifting and passing through the rock formations.

The strangeness here was extremely terrifying.

"Even with Heavenly Consort Empress's Celestial Venerable treasure suppressing this place, it cannot completely subdue the strangeness of this mine." Xiu Hongsu sighed. "The strangeness here is extremely potent," she explained. "I am tasked with guarding this place, but I often feel a thrill of fear and the risk of being assimilated by the mine. That's why I have to leave from time to time to consolidate my cultivation outside."

Filled with sympathy, Qin Mu said, "If you have time, Xiu Xiu, come visit me more often. My place isn't as dangerous as this."

Just then, Heavenly Consort Yan's voice echoed, and she chuckled, "If Hongsu goes to your place, she won't even know how she died. Although this mine is dangerous, it's still a gentle haven, a safe harbor compared to your place."

Xiu Hongsu quickly bowed, and Heavenly Consort Yan waved her hand, dismissing her.

Qin Mu stepped forward and bowed in greeting. "Heavenly Consort Empress," he asked, "why aren't you holding your white cat this time?"

Heavenly Consort Yan gracefully returned the bow. "I sent him to find out who is secretly causing mischief and releasing these giant beasts," she said. "Little Seven is the most vigilant; he can find what I cannot."

Qin Mu's heart stirred slightly. "These giant beasts were released?" he asked.

Heavenly Consort Yan nodded. As she invited him into her private palace hall, they walked and talked. "Precisely," she said.

"So where did these giant beasts live before?" Qin Mu asked.

"Some lived on the back of the Primordial Realm, some on the back of the Four Extreme Heavens. There were some in worlds like the Celestial Heavens, Xuandu, and Youdu. Even on the back of my Return to the Ruins, some powerful giant beasts survived."

Heavenly Consort Yan gave a half-smile. "Revered Celestial Mu," she said, "you creatures born after the primeval era and demigods often say that we ancient gods are cruel. But you don't realize that it is actually us ancient gods who maintain the order of the world. Before sealing the ancestral court, we relocated these giant beasts to the backsides of these worlds, allowing them to reproduce and thrive. And what about you creatures born after the primeval era and demigods?"

She showed a hint of scorn. "We were overthrown by you under the guise of cruelty," she stated. "Yet, how many races have been exterminated by your hands? When it comes to cruelty, you are far more cruel than us ancient gods!"

Qin Mu smiled. "Empress, there's no need to say more," he replied. "I've witnessed the cruelty of the ancient gods during the Dragon Han era, and I have my own judgment on whether they are crueler than demigods and creatures born after the primeval era. For you, ancient gods are not cruel, but for us, if ancient gods don't die, we have no way to survive."

Heavenly Consort Yan remembered that he had been to the Dragon Han era more than once, so she stopped discussing the matter. She invited him to sit down and asked, "How much of Heavenly Venerable Hao's blood essence did you obtain?"

"Heavenly Venerable Hao possesses thirty-five Celestial Palaces," Qin Mu replied. "He publicly claims to have twenty-eight."

Qin Mu sat down and gently waved his hand in front of him. Drops of blood floated before them, each drop of Celestial Venerable blood crystal clear, gleaming with brilliant luster, like the purest rubies.

Heavenly Consort Yan's heart pounded twice. The Celestial Venerable blood Qin Mu presented amounted to thirty-five drops.

Thirty-five drops of Celestial Venerable blood, representing Heavenly Venerable Hao's thirty-five Celestial Palaces.

"I have a big business proposition to discuss with Empress."

Qin Mu waved his sleeve, and the thirty-five drops of Celestial Venerable blood vanished. He smiled slightly, "Give me fifty percent of this mine's output, and I will give you Heavenly Venerable Hao's thirty-five drops of Celestial Venerable blood, allowing you to gain insight into his cultivation techniques and divine arts. How about this deal?"

Heavenly Consort Yan's eyes flickered, and she smiled faintly. "Revered Celestial Mu, you are right here before me," she said. "If I wanted to seize them by force, could you resist me?"

She gracefully stood up. Gone was the charming, delicate demeanor of a Heavenly Consort; instead, she exuded an aura of reigning supreme, a confident smile on her face. "With a snap of my fingers, I could make you die a thousand times," she declared. "I could even completely obliterate your soul, erasing all traces of your existence in this world."

She chuckled. "Your so-called Grand Master of Indestructibility Across Ten Thousand Calamities is nothing in my eyes," she stated. "In this world, only I can truly break your divine arts, not even Grand Emperor. In this world, the only one who can truly subdue you is me. Hand over Heavenly Venerable Hao's divine blood, and I'll spare your life."

Qin Mu burst into laughter, which reverberated through the private palace hall.